US reporter, cameraman killed in on-air shooting

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "US reporter, cameraman killed in on-air shooting"

Transcription

1 SUBSCRIPTION THULQADA 12, 1436 AH 40 PAGES NO: FILS US reporter, cameraman killed in on-air shooting Gunman kills self after posting attack video online Min 30º Max 46º High Tide 09:05 & 22:50 Low Tide 02:25 & 16:05 Saudi suspect in Khobar Towers attack arrested Ahmed Al-Mughassil WASHINGTON: A man suspected in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers residence at a US military base in Saudi Arabia has been captured, a US official said yesterday. Ahmed Al-Mughassil, described by the FBI in 2001 as the head of the military wing of Saudi Hezbollah, is suspected of leading the attack that killed 19 US service personnel and wounded almost 500 people. The June 25, 1996, bombing at Khobar Towers, a military housing complex, was the deadliest such attack targeting US forces since the 1983 bombing of the US Marines barracks in Beirut that killed 241 American servicemen. Saudi paper Asharq Alawsat, which first reported the development, said he was arrested in Beirut and transferred to Riyadh. The Saudi Interior Ministry had no immediate comment. Mughassil, also known as Abu Omran, is one of 13 people named in a 2001 indictment in Alexandria, Virginia, in connection with the bombing. Charges include murder of federal employees and bombing resulting in death. None of the 13 has yet been brought to court to face charges, according to court documents. The lead prosecutor listed in court records from 2001 is James Comey, now the FBI director. In the Khobar attack, militants parked a fuel trailer truck just outside the shallow perimeter of the apartment complex, 85 feet away from one of the eight-story buildings. The blast demolished one side of the building, leaving a massive crater. Continued on Page 13 In this framegrab from video posted on social media, Vester Lee Flanagan II aims a gun over the shoulder of WDBJ-TV cameraman Adam Ward at reporter Alison Parker as she conducts a live on-air interview yesterday. Thumbnail images at left show (top to bottom) victims Parker and Ward, and the shooter Flanagan. AP MONETA, Virginia: A TV reporter and cameraman were shot to death during a live television interview yesterday by a gunman who recorded himself carrying out the killings and posted the video on social media after fleeing the scene. Authorities identified the suspect as a journalist who had been fired from the station earlier this year. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, he ran off the road and a trooper found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He died at a hospital later yesterday. The shots rang out on-air as reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were presenting a local tourism story at an outdoor shopping mall. Viewers saw her scream and run, and she could be heard saying Oh my God, as she fell. Ward fell, too, and the camera he had been holding on his shoulder captured a fleeting image of the suspect holding a handgun. WDBJ quickly switched back to the anchor at the station, her eyes large and jaw dropping as she said, OK, not sure what happened there. The station later went live again, reporting on their own station and staff as the story developed. Parker and Ward were killed as the gunman fired about 15 shots. Their interview subject, Vicki Gardner, was in stable condition later yesterday after surgery for her wounds. The gunman was Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, of Roanoke, who appeared on WDBJ as Bryce Williams, authorities said. Jeffrey Marks, WDBJ s president and general manager, said Flanagan had to be escorted by police out of the station when he was fired. Marks described him as an unhappy man and difficult to work with, always looking out for people to say things he could take offense to. Eventually after many incidents of his anger coming to the fore, we dismissed him. He did not take that well, Marks explained. Video posted hours after the shooting on Bryce Williams Twitter account and Facebook page showed an outstretched arm holding the handgun and firing repeatedly at Parker as she tried to run away. The shooter appeared to walk up to the victims and stand a few feet away from them while holding the weapon. The three, in the midst of a live TV interview, do not seem to notice the gunman, who doesn t start shooting until Ward points the camera at Parker. Ward was engaged to a producer at the station, Melissa Ott, who was celebrating her last day on the job and was in the control room, watching it live, as the shooting unfolded, Marks said. Continued on Page 13 Thirsty Mideast faces water stress Kuwait worst affected BARCELONA: Nearly half of 33 countries expected to face extremely high water stress by 2040 are in the Middle East, where surface water is limited and demand is high, said experts who ranked 167 nations. Thirteen Middle Eastern countries plus the Palestinian Territories are projected to face extremely high water stress in 25 years time, and eight fell in the global Top 10: Bahrain, Kuwait, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Researchers from the World Resources Institute (WRI) - who compiled the first index measuring competition for and depletion of surface water, such as lakes and rivers, each decade from 2010 to said the Middle East is already probably the least watersecure region in the world. It draws heavily on groundwater and desalinated sea water, and faces exceptional water-related challenges for the foreseeable future, they wrote in their findings. Betsy Otto, director of the WRI s Global Water Programme, said it was important for governments to understand the potential risks they face in terms of the water needed to run their economies, including rising demand as populations grow and the still uncertain impacts of climate change. The good news... is countries can take actions to reduce that stress and the risk associated with how they manage water resources, Otto told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, citing Singapore as an example of a state that uses innovative methods. Continued on Page 13 TEHRAN: Iranian shoeshine man Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani, whose nickname is Aliwaxima, drives his racy-red motorized stiletto on a street on Aug 19, 2015 in the capital. AFP (See Page 37) Basmati grown at Wafra farm KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti farmer, Yusuf Swilem Al-Kribani, has managed to grow basmati rice in Kuwait for the first time. Despite adverse conditions, he grew the Indian basmati on his farm in Wafra. Eventual success has capped many failure attempts, Kribani told KUNA yesterday. He added that basmati needs a soil capable of holding water for longer periods, such as heavy neutral soils (clay, clay loam and loamy), and be overwhelmed by water. So Kribani used closed cultivation basins with no holes. He pointed to other personal attempts to produce black tomatoes and white strawberries. This is a message that Kuwait is able to grow most crops, he noted KUNA KUWAIT: Kuwaiti farmer Yusuf Al-Kribani shows stalks of basmati rice that he managed to grow at his Wafra farm. KUNA AHMEDABAD: Indian commuters pass by a damaged bus which was set on fire during clashes yesterday. AP India s Hindu population drops, Muslim ratio rises 9 killed in Gujarat caste protests NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: India s Hindus have dropped below 80 percent of the population for the first time since independence and media had speculated the previous government deliberately delayed the release of the data because it showed a rise in the Muslim population. Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi s ruling Hindu nationalist party, which swept to power last year, have expressed growing concern about the rising numbers of Muslims. The census data shows that Hindus declined to 79.8 percent of the country s 1.2 billion people in 2011, from 80.5 percent a decade earlier. The share of Muslims rose to 14.2 percent from 13.4 percent in the only major religious group to record a rise. Christians stayed at 2.3 percent and Sikhs fell to 1.7 percent from 1.9 percent. Sakshi Maharaj, a Hindu priest-turnedpolitician, caused an uproar earlier this year when he said Hindu women should give birth to four children to ensure that their religion survives. In the first census, conducted after Britain carved India and Pakistan out of colonial India in 1947, Hindus accounted for 84.1 percent of the Indian population. Although population growth is slowing in all religious groups, India is still set to overtake China to become the world s most populous country by 2022, according to a United Nations forecast. India s population grew by almost a fifth during the period between the last two censuses, straining supplies of land, food and water and bloating its underemployed, poorly skilled workforce. Separately, at least nine people have died in the worst violence to hit Narendra Modi s home state in more than a decade, police said yesterday, as the Indian prime minister appealed for calm. Continued on Page 13

2 LOCAL HH the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah. HH the Prime Minister receives a gift from Ambassador Essa Abdulrahman Al-Essa. Crown Prince receives top state officials KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Sheikh Nawaf also received Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, and Director General and Chairman of the Board for the Public Authority for Youth and Sport (PAYS) Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Separately, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak received Ambassador Essa Abdulrahman Al-Essa, who presented a book to him titled Four Decades of Diplomatic Work. KUNA Bahrain, Kuwait keen on cementing ties MANAMA: The Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait are keen on cementing further the mutual cooperation and brotherly ties bonding them since a long period of time, Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa affirmed yesterday. The Bahraini Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa meets Kuwait s Ambassador Sheikh Azzam Al-Mubarak AlSabah. Prime Minister made his statements during a reception of the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and the State of Kuwait s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Sheikh Azzam Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti Embassy in Bahrain said in a statement. Prince Khalifa voiced satisfaction at the continuing improvement in these ties, during the meeting with Ambassador Sheikh Azzam, the statement added. Meanwhile, the ambassador expressed satisfaction at the level of the bilateral relations, noting that the Prime Minister is largely credited for the warmth in the bilateral relations between the two countries. These ties have become a stark example for the inter-gcc relations, he said. Bahrain and Kuwait are members of the six-seat GCC, founded in the early 1980s to bolster ties and mutual cooperation. These two regional countries have particularly maintained warm relations since many years ago. KUNA HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah meets Information and Youth Affairs Minister Sheikh Salman AlHumoud Al-Sabah, and PAYS Director General and Chairman of the Board Sheikh Ahmad Al-Mansour Al-Sabah. Project adds 632 beds to Adan Hospital KUWAIT: Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz AlKhaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received a team from Adan Hospital led by Director Dr Bader AlOtaibi to discuss the latest developments regarding the hospital s expansion project. Officials from the company that is carrying out the project attended the meeting as well. The governor underlined the project s importance in serving the increasing demands of the government s residence in light of expansion projects and demographic boom that it currently witnesses. Meanwhile, Otaibi said that the new project is set to increase the hospital s bed capacity by an additional 632 beds, and will Ahmadi Governor Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled meets a team from Adan Hospital. A model of the Adan Hospital expansion project. also include adding 40 operation rooms and a strategic medicine storehouse. Separately, Hawally Governor Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah received the Egyptian Ambassador to Kuwait Abdulkareem Suleiman yesterday on the occasion of ending his tenure in the country. Hawally Governor Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf meets Egyptian Ambassador Abdulkareem Suleiman.

3 LOCAL HH Sheikh Nawaf receives a gift presented by the Kuwait Sea Sports Club during the ceremony. KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, top officials and participants at the 27th Pearl Diving Commemorative Trip are pictured in a group photo at the ceremony. KUNA HH Sheikh Nawaf is pictured with two young pearl divers. Crown Prince attends pearl diving ceremony KUWAIT: His Highness the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attended the ceremony of the 27th Pearl Diving Commemorative Trip, which took place recently under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah. The ceremony was held at Bayan Palace yesterday. During the event, His Highness the Crown Prince received Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al- Sabah, Director General of the Public Authority for Youth and Sports Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah, Deputy Director General of the authority Ahmad Al- Khazal, Chairman of Kuwait Sea Sport Club (KSSC) Fahad Al-Fahad and participants of the expedition, organized by KSSC from August 6 to 13. His Highness the Amir pays much attention towards preserving the old Kuwaiti tradition of diving to teach youth the values of cooperation and loyalty between society members, said His Highness Sheikh Nawaf in his opening speech. Meanwhile, His Highness praised the efforts of participants from the UAE and Bahrain to create a successful experience out of the diving expedition. Struggle and efforts The Minister of Information on his part noted the importance of reminding youth of the struggle and efforts of our ancestors who faced the dangers of diving to make a living. The expedition had taught about 200 youth the values of patience and unity in facing challenges, amidst severe weather conditions, he added. KSSC Chairman Fahad also delivered a speech in the ceremony, where he noted that the expedition aimed to attract attention towards protecting marine environment and fish resources, an initiative presented by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) last year. The trip s theme Those are my sons represents the aim behind the event, which is brining all segments of the Kuwaiti society closer, he noted. The theme follows the famous sentence said by His Highness the Amir upon his arrival at the scene of Al-Sadeq Mosque terrorist explosion last June, he added. KUNA (Second row, from left) Captain Khalifa Al-Rashid, KSSC Chairman Fahad Al- Fahad, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Information and Youth Affairs Minister Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al- Sabah are pictured with children at the ceremony. Young divers display pictures taken from the trip to HH the Crown Prince. Documentary released on Americani hospital Celebrating 100 years of Kuwait s first hospital By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: On the occasion of the 100th anniversary since building the first hospital in Kuwait s history, a documentary was released on the American Hospital, otherwise known as Americani hospital. This documentary was screened on Tuesday at the Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah, the Americani Cultural Center, and was attended by the Minister of Information Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah and other officials. Also in the event, the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) awarded those who worked on this documentary. This documentary was produced by the Arab Information Center and was screened in cooperation with the NCCAL. Jasim Al-Ghareeb, the author of this documentary gave a short speech about the idea of the documentary. Through this documentary we aimed to appreciate the efforts and services of those who served in this hospital and saved the lives of hundreds of people during the first half of last century. It s an hour-long docudrama narrating the stories that took place in this hospital, Ghareeb said during the event. The Americani Hospital, which is now a historical building and cultural center lying on the seaside, has great value for the Kuwaitis and served them from 1914 till This hospital was the first concrete building in Kuwait and a gate to the modern medicine in Kuwait, although it was originally built for missionary purpose. This docudrama answers the question why this hospital continued working although it failed in realizing its Christian missionary mission. It also speaks about how the Kuwaiti doctors and pharmacists were working with their American and local counterparts regardless of cultural and religious differences, Ghareeb said. Digital technology This docudrama was shot with the cinema digital technology to give it high quality and to make it suitable to be shown anywhere. It also includes some old documentary scenes to give credibility. Also the scenes were shot as if it were shot during the past century through used cameras, technologies and direction, so the audience will live the feeling of its history. Producing this docudrama took huge efforts. To shoot this movie I built an imitation of the hospital. I also made long research in old documents and photos to get the correct outfits and accessories, from which some were antiques. Also I bought some of the medical tools such as the dentist s chair, operations room and the X- ray machine from auctions held in different countries. And whatever wasn t found in these auctions were made locally, he said. When the government preserves this building, it expresses the loyalty to humanitarian work, far from politics, and addresses the humanitarian message that Kuwait is the center of humanity and supports it, concluded Ghareeb. This documentary included recordings of interviews made in the past with the real personalities from that time or their family members. The Americani Hospital provided great services for Kuwaitis. It was in this hospital where the injured soldiers in Al-Jahra and Al-Riqqa Battles were treated. Also many diseases and epidemics were treated there, including the serious epidemic of smallpox in 1930 where it was treated by American missionary members, including Drs Miller, Beneath, Eleanor (Khatoon Halima), Iskandar and others who followed them. KUWAIT: Jasim Al-Ghareeb presents a memento to Information Minister Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah. Photos by Joseph Shagra Scenes from the documentary.

4 LOCAL Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled is seen in a group photo with Kuwaiti students he met during his recent visit to the United States. Minister mourns painter Abdul-Aziz Al-Sayyar KUWAIT: Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al- Sabah mourned yesterday the passing of distinguished painter and TV and stage artist Abdul-Aziz Al-Sayyar. The minister praised in a press statement the artistic talents and prowess of the deceased who started his career in Kuwait TV where he worked in numerous soap operas as the one in charge of props. Furthermore, the minister said that Sayyar also worked as a producer on many stage plays at the Al-Araby Playhouse, where he garnered accolades for some of the plays he worked on. He moreover was a competent painter, whose works were shown in exhibits both inside and outside of Kuwait, said the minister, noting that the show business community will miss his departure. KUNA WASHINGTON: Kuwait s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah is seen during a meeting with US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. KUNA Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled shakes hands with US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. Women to work as security guards at Parliament: official KUWAIT: Having women guards at the National Assembly has come to be a necessity amid the security conditions and developments in the country, an official said yesterday. Opening the door for female volunteers to join the parliament s guards, for the first time, aims to cope with changes that prompt developing the security system, Assistant Secretary General for National Assembly Security Guard Affairs Major General Khaled Al- Waqeet said in a statement. Their duties will include inspecting and frisking women, both staff and visitors, Waqeet said, noting that the new Assembly building that will be opened in six months time will provide all the needs of the woman guards. In line with directives by Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, coordination meetings have been held with Interior Ministry officials to set the mechanisms and conditions for volunteers to join the guard force, he said. Women started joining the ministry seven years ago. The deadline for those willing to apply for a guard at the parliament is August 31. KUNA Major General Khaled Al-Waqeet Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled welcomes a Kuwaiti student. Interior Minister discusses security co-operation with US counterpart WASHINGTON: Kuwait s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al- Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met with US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson in the US capital late Tuesday. During the meeting, the two sides discussed aspects of bilateral relations and ways to bolster them, commending solid mutual security cooperation between the two countries and expressed satisfaction towards the level of MILAN: The Kuwaiti pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 organized yesterday a comprehensive forum dealing with water security in Kuwait in conjunction with the Kuwaiti Ministries of Public Works and that of Water and Electricity. Adel Al-Saffar, a water specialist at the ministry of Public Works, presented a workpaper at the forum on the functions of the ministry which involves, among other things, treating drainage or waste water for multiple uses, not excluding irrigation and attempts at forestation. Using waste water for industrial or agricultural purposes lifts much pressure on the ministry in its desalination operations aimed at providing the public with fresh drinking water, said Saffar. Suhaila Maarafi, another water specialist at the ministry presented, a work-paper at the forum on the history of water in Kuwait, from early beginnings at acquiring fresh water in difficult circumstances dictated by the arid nature of the country s topography to eventually, after the discovery of oil, building water desalination plants, numbering currently ten, to provide the nation with its water needs. Khadija Bushehri, another specialist at the bilateral coordination in anti-terrorism and ports security fields. Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled expressed his gratitude to Johnson for facilitations provided by US security authorities to Kuwaiti citizens, residents, and visitors to the United States, particularly patients and Kuwaiti students. Sheikh Mohammad also requested further facilitations in visa issuances for patients and students in order to Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled and Secretary Johnson exit the meeting. ministry, presented yet another work-paper on the ministry s efforts to not only desalinate sea water but also ensure its high potable quality. She indicated that the ministry has two specialty centers where this insurance is constantly maintained. She made references to the ministry s labs that closely monitor water quality through running chemical and biological tests and issuing special studies for developing effective approaches to producing high-quality potable water. In doing so, the ministry keeps abreast of the newest developments in water production worldwide, she said. Braille pen Meanwhile, visitors of Expo Milano 2015 have expressed their admiration for Kuwaiti encourage larger numbers of Kuwaiti students to study in US universities. The meeting was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador to the US Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwait s MoI s Assistant Undersecretary for Criminal Security Affairs Major General Abdulhamid Al-Awadhi, Assistant Undersecretary for State Security Major General Issam Salem Al-Nahham and Colonel Khaled Al-Majed. KUNA inventor Shaikha Al-Majid s new tool to help blind people write, easily and without much effort. The Kuwaiti youth has presented her invention at Kuwait s pavilion in the Expo, which is a special pen for the blind and a device to easily print the Braille characters. The invention had won a patent in the US. The invention would make writing in Braille effortless and easier than the traditional way blind people use, Majid said yesterday. She added that the pen is of regular size works by pushing it with the thumb, so the writer can write in the Braille way, easily and without difficulty. Visitors of the Kuwaiti pavilion applauded the unique Kuwaiti invention which will be a handy and helpful tool for the blind to express their thoughts. Biomedical engineering In other news, the 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) kicked off in Milan yesterday with Kuwait taking part in this event. The theme of the Conference remarks the central role of biomedical engineering in the improvement Kuwaiti policewomen. Water security forum held at Kuwaiti pavilion Inventor presents Braille pen at Expo Milano MILAN: A scene from a forum held at the Kuwaiti pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 yesterday. KUNA and innovation of health care. The event will continue till August 29th. The Kuwaiti delegation, partaking in the event for the first time, will introduce two papers on Kuwait s experience with biomedical engineering. The EMBS was established on September 1st, A branch for the EMBS was established in Kuwait in Dubai Expo 2020 Separately, the UAE is preparing to host the Dubai Expo 2020 capitalizing on the success of the current event held in Milan. Dubai, a world international hub for business and tourism, will be the venue for the event which dates back to the 19th century. The Expo has been held 34 times since. The UAE won the honor of hosting the Expo 2020 back in November 27th, 2013 after beating Russia, Turkey, and Brazil via voting. Deputy high commissioner at the UAE pavilion in Expo Milan 2015 Abdullah Al- Aidarous said that Dubai will surprise the world during the holding of the event in The location in which the event would be held is about 20 percent complete, said the Kuwaiti inventor Shaikha Al-Majid official, noting that by the time the Expo will be held, the world should get ready to be mesmerized. Dubai Expo 2020 is expected to attract participants from 180 countries with the estimated number of 25 million visitors of which 70 percent are expected to be from abroad. The event will be held from October 20th to April 20th, added the official. On the current UAE participation, Aidarous said that visitors were delighted to track down Dubai s development from mostly a desert area into a colossal/world renowned economic center and metropolis. KUNA

5 LOCAL Kuwait dismisses any change in status quo of Durra oilfield KUWAIT: An official at the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry affirmed yesterday that there is no change in the status quo of the Al- Durra oilfield, located within Kuwait s territorial waters. The official was commenting on a report by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) regarding the investment opportunities in the Islamic republic; the report covered areas located near the Kuwaiti oilfield. The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry dealt with all aspects of the matter and called in the Charge D Affaires of the Iranian Embassy on Sunday to hand him a protest note, the official said. The Ministry is taking all necessary measures to protect Kuwait s interests and rights, and maintain neighborly ties with all countries of the region out of commitment to the provisions of the international laws, he added. The offshore gas field has been a bone of contention between Tehran and Kuwait since the 1960s. Iran said in 2012 it planned to develop the portion under its control, and which it calls Arash field. Kuwaiti newspapers reported on Tuesday that Iran had offered foreign investors two projects to develop the extension of the Durra field, despite Kuwaiti objections to any work in the area before the demarcation of the continental shelf. The reports prompted the speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament Marzouq Al-Ghanem to demand a clarification from the foreign ministry. The largest part of the field, which is not demarcated, is located on the Saudi-Kuwaiti common maritime border, but part of it lies in Iran. The dispute dates back to the 1960s, when Iran and Kuwait each awarded an offshore concession, one to the former Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Co, which became part of BP and one to Royal Dutch Shell. The two concessions overlapped in the northern part of the field. Iranian drilling at Durra in 2001 spurred Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to agree on a maritime border deal which stipulated that the two countries jointly develop the natural resources of the offshore zone. In 2013, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait shelved a project to develop the Durra field after disagreeing over how to share the gas back on land. The Durra field is estimated to hold 60 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Iran has reached a landmark nuclear agreement with world powers which could start easing international sanctions on Tehran by next spring. Agencies Kuwait least popular destination for expats KUWAIT: Kuwait is the least popular destination among expatriates, according to a recent survey. The survey, dubbed Expat Insider Survey 2015 and released by InterNations.org recently, ranks Kuwait in last place behind Greece, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia respectively, and falling three spots compared to 2014 ranking. In order to complete the survey, InterNations asked 14,000 respondents from 195 countries and overseas territories a range of questions on life abroad. Kuwait occupies the 64th and last place of the overall ranking, particularly due to its low score in the Ease of Settling in Index, the survey reads. In fact, 53 percent of respondents are unhappy with the general friendliness of local residents. The opportunities to find new friends also leave a lot to be desired for one-third of respondents. Unfortunately, the situation is similarly grim when it comes to the overall quality of life. Many expats are not satisfied with the available leisure options, while others see their personal happiness suffering. Only for the Job Security and Language subcategories does the country receive some decent results, making it to 26th and 25th place, respectively. Meanwhile, Ecuador came on top as the most favorite destination among expats for the second straight year, as it occupies first place in the Personal Finance and Cost of Living Indices. Mexico came in second place, as the survey says that it receives top marks from expats for feeling at home in the local culture and ranks second in the subcategories of Friendliness and Finding Friends. Malta, which came in third place, scores highest in the Working Abroad Index, mostly due to the high job satisfaction among survey respondents, according to the survey. Manpower Authority now on Twitter and Instagram By Meshaal Al-Enezi MP Dr Abdullah Al-Turaiji KUWAIT: The Manpower Public Authority (MPA) is now on Twitter and Instagram via their social media accounts, on and on Acting Director of the Manpower Public Authority Abdallah Al-Mutoutah said that the authority seeks to reach out people as fast as possible through their social media accounts. Let it Spoil The price of Zubaidi (silver pomfret) fish settled on KD 8 per kilogram for the local fish and KD 5 per kilo for the imported on the fifth day of the Let it Spoil campaign. There were a scarce in the number of buyers, be it citizens or expats. Fishermen said the number of idle boats reached 120 due to the crises. KUWAIT: Interior Ministry s Undersecretary Lieutenant General Suleiman Al-Fahad received yesterday Major Dafullah Al-Shemmari, who presented to him a copy of his Master s degree thesis on the effect of child abuse on the development of criminal behavior. Flames come out of a chalet used as a residence by workers next to Al-Wattiya park. Tramadol pills and cash found with a drug dealer in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The semiannual statistics of the traffic department indicate that KD 34,592,890 in fines was collected between January 1 and June 30, while the number of traffic violations reached 2,619,241. The collected tickets number 1,630,392. Airport sleuths at the ready Kuwait International Airport Customs Director General Suleiman Al-Fahd spoke about the monitoring team s work as they watch and follow passengers from the moment they arrive until they leave the airport, while those suspected are searched thoroughly and manually. He said the team is highly trained and works day and night. He said officers discovered 5 kilograms of heroin hidden in secret pockets in the bottom of an Asian domestic helper s bag. Separately, airport customs officers arrested an Indian man for attempting to smuggle nearly three kilograms of heroin in his luggage. Drug dealer arrested Farwaniya police arrested a wanted Asian in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh with 542 narcotic tablets thought to be Tramadol. The man admitted of trafficking. Furthermore, police found out that the man is wanted by authorities over previous charges. He was sent to the proper authorities for further action. Fire A fire broke out in a Sulaibiya warehouse, and Sulaibkhat and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh fire centers dealt with the blaze. No injuries were reported. Also, Nuwaiseeb fire center put out Delayed flight A Kuwait Airways flight bound for Bangkok was delayed for seven hours after sustaining a malfunction, causing irritation among its passengers. Flight number 411 was scheduled to fly at 11:00 pm Tuesday night, but it took off at 5:00 am the next morning. Detention The court yesterday renewed the detention of seven suspects in the case of joining Islamic State (IS). KD 34.5 million collected from traffic tickets in six months a fire that in a chalet in the laborers residences next to Al-Wattiya park. Meanwhile, an elevator malfunctioned in a Fintas house, and Mangaf firemen freed a man who was stuck inside. He was unhurt. An airport officer examines a hidden pocket inside a domestic helper s suitcase, where she put drugs that she tried to smuggle into Kuwait. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Turaiji wants answers on forged passports By A Saleh KUWAIT: MP Dr Abdullah Al-Turaiji asked Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al- Khaled Al-Sabah to investigate the exit of several expats using forged Kuwaiti passports from Kuwait International Airport in the past few days. We trust the interior minister and he works hard to improve security systems, but there are some leaders who are not as competent as they should be, he charged. He said that border crossings should be manned by highly responsible men. Turaiji said on August 19 two Iraqis left Kuwait airport using forged passports, and asked the minister to question the passport holders on how their passports reached the Iraqis who left Kuwait and reached a European country. He added that on May 22, a five-member family left Kuwait through Kuwait International Airport using forged Kuwaiti passports with the help of an official who was able to smuggle them out, but they were caught later in a Gulf country. He said on Aug 25, a Kuwaiti citizen got an expat out using a forged passport and both of them reached Europe through a Gulf country. The citizen then returned and was arrested in a Gulf country. Oil prices MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan yesterday claimed [MPs] had warned against the drop of oil prices in a dramatic fashion, while the government was assuring citizens that things will not get worse. We asked the government to find an alternative source of income, but they did not listen, and now what we warned against has taken place, so the government should shoulder full responsibility because of its negligence, he added. Peaceful resolution Deputy Speaker Mubarak Al-Khrainej said the issue of the offshore Durra field should be resolved diplomatically with Iran and affirmed his trust in Kuwait s diplomacy. He asked Iran to express its good intentions and comply with international charters and strengthen good neighborliness with Gulf countries.

6 Crime Illegal entry R e p o r t KUWAIT: Farwaniya police arrested a Yemeni man for entering the country illegally when he hid on top of a truck that entered through Nuwaiseeb border crossing. The arrest was made when police asked to see his ID and he attempted to escape. Once caught, he told police how he entered the country. In another story, a Pakistani man was arrested to serve a one-year jail sentence. He is also wanted on four civil cases. Suspicious graffiti A graphologist from the criminal evidence department was sent to Fintas co-op branch to check a graffiti that reads Hezbollah brigades passed by this place. State security sent specialists to follow the case and the graffiti was ordered removed. Attacked A man sustained a fractured skull when he was hit by a pipe on his head during a fight at a project site in Adan. Detectives are searching for an Indian man who was identified as the culprit. Kuwait University s entrance. Clinical pharmacy program in Kuwait University this year KUWAIT: A new program has been introduced for clinical pharmacy and will be applied electively by students who meet the conditions, said Dr Pier Moro, Dean of the College of Pharmacy at Kuwait University. Dr Moro said the scientific content of the curricula has been upgraded in cooperation with members of the faculty, adding the college s page on the Internet was upgraded to become a comprehensive reference about the college. As for the student and academic affairs, Dr Moro said the schedule for the new school year is ready and on schedule for the year, including distribution of teaching periods and exams, in a way that guarantees the best of results for students. He added laboratories were maintained and supplied with the required material and said requests were made for scientific equipment, chemicals, consumables and glassware. Al-Qabas 40 Us Dollars From the Arabic press Oil prices Repetition of oil accidents We do not know if the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) board of directors will discuss the report of the explosion at Shuaiba refinery, or Kuwait National Petroleum Company for that matter, but what concerns us is this: Is there anyone who asks about the number of oil accidents, be it at refineries or the oil sector during the past five or 10 years? Is there an improvement or is there an increase? What are the total sums of money spent to prevent oil accidents and the costs of increased insurance premiums? The answer we expect is a repetition of accidents in all oil sectors and an increase in the oil facilities insurance chapter. The stoppage at Shuaiba refinery, the oldest national refinery that was built in 1967 in the Arabian Gulf region and among members of OPEC, will result in a financial loss estimated at between $200,000 and $300,000 a day. This is the actual difference between selling crude oil directly and refining it, then selling 200,000 barrels of oil on the instant oil market. The reason behind the explosion is directly related to a gas leak in one of the pipes of the breakdown units, and if this was the case, then why did not the Unexpected fall!! Al-Anbaa Al-Qabas By Kamel Al-Harmy unit stop automatically? Or what happened was cracking and corrosion in the unit s walls, leading to an explosion due to the old age of Shuaiba refinery? The refinery is worn out and should be closed, because it completed its projected lifespan a few years back. And why the instance on operating the refinery especially that it is no longer producing oil derivatives according to international standards? We said it many times - if we want to limit oil catastrophes, we must comply totally with safety systems and apply them precisely. There should an implementation of the reward and punishment principle, and hold officials accountable, and they should understand the value of safety and the security culture. Oil accidents will not stop as long as we do not have the environment and culture of safety and security and do not comply with the simplest of traffic laws such as wearing a seatbelt, not using the mobile phone and sending messages while driving. The explosion at the Shuaiba refinery is a repeat like all accidents and fires, and leaks will continue in the oil sector, while investigations results will remain piled up in the drawers. Translated by Kuwait Times Generalizing terrorism Al-Anbaa By Adel Al-Ibrahim Terrorist acts are taking place in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by terrorist groups with different origins, ideologies and goals. They are tied to more than one sect, be it by action or by planning, and between them, pens compete and media rush to incite against this group or that and generalize the criminal act on the entire sect. Calls have been made for legislations to tackle it, as if we are calling for the displacement of an entire constituent of the society from the arena without considering the country s interest or the Amiri moves to contain any negative act that affects the internal front and the cohesiveness of its national fabric. But what is required is limiting the accusation to those involved or to the planners of the criminal acts, and that criticism be constructive without using the event to charge people for achieving group gains we are not in need of. Let us be realistic, and more precisely, the fabric of Kuwait society is made of two main sects Sunnis and Shiites who co-lived and will continue to do so on the country s soil, in love, for many years, and history bears witness to them and for their effective contributions to building Kuwait society politically, socially and economically. They defended it with all they had without regard to ideologies, which is considered a personal matter, but regretfully some political orientations that are wrapped in religious impressions with different names, loyalty and ideological aspirations, even within the same sect, that appear in the local arena due to the regional political events and attract youth, including extremist groups that have sympathy, links and even contacts with foreign bodies. Also, there are extreme opinions and ideas that do not belong to and are not linked to those sects, that work on the heinous sectarian aspect and spread division and strife among citizens of the one country. Yes, difference is the way of life, and what I see as right, others may see as wrong. Also any opinion can be wrong and the other s opinion may be right in all aspects of life, but to insult any sect and describe with the worst of terms, then this is the start of dismantling and slipping away, and it is a direct threat to the social security and peace. We have the right to ask: Are hearts charged so much with sectarian spirit and its poisons? And is that due to the government s forgiveness in allowing the freedom of opinion and expression, a way for strife and division? I say, while I am sure, that the government and security apparatus will never allow, along with the entire society, this matter, and that the government s stick is thick and can eradicate this sickness, regardless of its source, hoping to fear Almighty Allah for the sake of our country and realize the danger of what we say and we should have examples from history. Translated by Kuwait Times KUWAIT: Gardeners are seen working near a street in Kuwait City in this file photo. The picture is used for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Joseph Shagra Manpower Authority merges labor transfer decisions KUWAIT: The Manpower Public Authority (MPA) issued a decision to organize the conditions of transferring labor from one sponsor to another in many fields, an official sources at the authority said. The authority was working according to several ministerial decisions and decided to merge all decisions into one to make things easy, he said. According to the source, the most notable of the new conditions included the government contracts, as the decision allowed the transfer of the technical labor on government contract to transfer to another sponsor with the approval of both employers. The employer can transfer labor from one government contract to another, while the employer must cancel the work permit of workers registered on government contracts that cannot be transferred. The decision does allow the transfer of labor who are brought with work permits to work in the free trade zone or with foreign investors who practice economic activities mentioned in Law 116/2013, with regards to encouraging direct investment in Kuwait. Sponsors must comply with canceling the work permits of this labor to leave the country after the work is over. Private sector The decision allows the transfer of labor in the private sector after one year and obtaining approval from the sponsor. The time period for transferring work permits can be excluded for labor that is brought from abroad by a work permit with the approval of the sponsor in the following conditions: transfer of labor used locally in all sectors except industry, agriculture, shepherding and hunting and labor registered on government contracts through local transfers with the elapsing of one year on the issuance of the work permit. Transfer is allowed through the liquidation of the facility or its merger with another. Transfer is not allowed to outside the sectors for the labor brought to work in the industry, agriculture, shepherding, and hunting, and transfer is limited to within the same sectors. The decision allows the transfer of government workers to the private sector and vice-versa taking into consideration the systems followed at the Interior Ministry. The decision allows the labor to transfer the work permit from one employer to another within the private sector with approval by the employer when three years elapse, while the employer must be given 90 days warning period. The decision said that disputes in work permits presented by labor before the elapsing of one year of the date of issuance, then MPA has the right to discuss the dispute at the concerned department to approve the application or reject it. The decision allows the transfer of family residency to work in the private sector for those who spent one continuous year in the country, while bearing in mind procedures followed by the Interior Ministry. Al-Anbaa

7 Merkel faces down far-right mob on refugee centre visit Page 10 Fear, despair in Kashmir as India-Pakistan talks falter Page 11 BEIRUT: A Lebanese protester smokes a water pipe during clashes with security forces following a demonstration against the ongoing trash crisis on August 25, 2015, in front of the seat of the government in central Beirut. Lebanon s cabinet ended an acrimonious meeting with no solution to the trash crisis that has sparked violent protests and calls for the government s resignation. AFP Lebanon charges radical Islamist with terrorism BEIRUT: Lebanon s military prosecutor charged radical Islamist cleric Ahmad Al-Assir with terrorism yesterday over involvement in deadly clashes with the army, a judicial source said. Assir was Lebanon s best-known fugitive Islamist until his capture on August 15 after more than two years on the run. He was caught as he tried to flee through Beirut airport en route to Nigeria, using a fake passport and travelling in disguise. Assir is accused of having formed an armed group with the goal of committing acts of terrorism, and having killed and tried to kill Lebanese soldiers, the Caught attempting to flee through airport 40 dead in new migrant tragedy ROME: Around 40 people have been found dead in the hold of a migrant boat off the coast of Libya, the Swedish coastguard said yesterday, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean. The macabre discovery was made after Swedish ship the Poseidon was sent to the aid of the stricken vessel by the Italian coastguard, which said rescue operations for a number of other boats were ongoing. Swedish coastguard spokesman Mattias Lindholm told AFP the Poseidon had been able to save 439 people on the wooden boat. Unfortunately there were around 40 people dead in the hold, he said. The bodies are currently being transferred to the Poseidon. The Swedish ship was in the area as part of the EU border agency Frontex s search and rescue mission known as Triton. Just before the discovery of the bodies, the Poseidon had picked up 130 migrants from a rubber dinghy, Lindholm said. Italy s coastguard, which oversees rescue operations in the waters between Sicily and Libya, said a total of just under 1,900 people had been rescued by mid-afternoon but that hundreds more were still on board vessels drifting precariously off Libya. Italian media reported that one of the boats in trouble was carrying 700 people. MOAS, a Malta-based private organization, said in a tweet that its boat the Phoenix was taking part in a complex rescue operation. Phoenix is working with Italian and Swedish vessels to assist thousands, it said. On August 15, the Italian navy discovered the bodies of 49 migrants asphyxiated in the hold of a people smuggler s boat. Survivors later testified that the victims had been locked below deck and constrained to stay there by force. source said. He also stands accused of having planned the assassination of a number of political figures from a religious community, the source added, though there was no detail on which community was targeted. The charges carry a potential death sentence. Assir is set to appear before a judge for further questioning Thursday. Prosecutors in 2014 said they were seeking death sentences for him and 53 others, including singer-turned-fundamentalist Fadel Shaker. The charges were in connection with clashes More than 2,300 migrants have died at sea this year during attempts to reach Europe, almost invariably on overcrowded boats chartered by people smugglers. Calm weather this week appears to have encouraged the smugglers to get as many people as possible out to sea, knowing that, in most cases, they will be picked up by Italian or international boats and taken to Italian ports. Yesterday s rescue operations will lift to more than 110,000 the number of migrants to have landed at Italian ports this year. A further 160,000-plus have arrived in Greece triggering a crisis for which the European Union currently appears to have no solution. Israel frees hundreds more migrants Meanwhile, Israel released a second group of around 600 African migrants from a desert detention centre yestersday after a court order, the prison authorities said. The supreme court this month ordered Israel to free illegal migrants held for more than a year at the Holot Detention Centre in the Negev desert, in a ruling that affected 1,178 asylum seekers. A first batch of hundreds was freed on Tuesday but barred from entering the cities of Tel Aviv and Eilat in the face of hostility from many residents. Tuesday s release completed compliance with the ruling. That s it, an Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman told AFP. She said did not know where in Israel they would go once outside Holot. Official figures show 45,000 illegal immigrants are in Israel, almost all from Eritrea and Sudan. Most of those who have not been detained live in poor areas of southern Tel Aviv, where there have been several protests over their presence. AFP JUBA: South Sudan President Salva Kiir signed a peace accord yesterday to end 20 months of civil war, but also issued a list of serious reservations warning the deal might not last. The signing ceremony, held in the capital Juba in the presence of regional leaders, came hours after the UN Security Council threatened immediate action if Kiir failed to put his name to the accord, which has already been signed by rebel leader Riek Machar. The current peace we are signing today has so many things we have to reject, Kiir said at the ceremony, witnessed by regional leaders, diplomats and journalists. Such reservations if ignored would not be in the interests of just and lasting peace. Although a list of his concerns was handed out, the deal was welcomed by regional leaders, including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who had sent in troops to back Kiir s forces. Under the deal, they now have 45 days to leave. It is not a Bible it not the Koran, why should it not be revisited? Kiir said of the deal. Let us give ourselves time and see how we can correct these things, he added. The dealbacked by the regional eight-nation bloc IGAD, as well as the UN, the African Union, China and the troika of Britain, Norway and the United States-commits both sides to end fighting and implement a permanent ceasefire within 72 hours. Tens of thousands of people are believed to have died in a war characterized by ethnic massacres and rape, as well as a major humanitarian crisis that has left aid agencies struggling to pull the country back from the brink of famine. At least seven ceasefires have already between Assir s supporters and the army that erupted in the southern city of Sidon on June 24, The fighting began after Assir supporters opened fire on a military checkpoint and quickly spread. Eighteen soldiers were killed, along with 13 armed men, and dozens of civilians were wounded. Assir was able to escape and went on the run with some of his supporters, occasionally issuing audio messages but largely remaining out of sight. The radical preacher was virtually unknown politically before the outbreak of Syria s civil war in He began making headlines after the conflict erupted by criticizing Lebanon s powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and its ally, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Although he was born to a Shiite mother, his discourse was highly sectarian and he often accused Lebanon s army of failing to protect Sunnis and of being beholden to Hezbollah. He encouraged his supporters to join Syria s mainly Sunni rebels and to rise up against Hezbollah. He also grabbed headlines with media stunts, such as taking a group of his followers to the trendy winter ski resort of Faraya in early AFP South Sudan signs peace deal with reservations JUBA: South Sudan s President Salva Kiir (center) signs the peace agreement. AFP been agreed and then shattered within days-if slammed the accord as a sellout and said it not hours-in the world s newest country, which needed more time for consultations. broke away from Sudan in But on Tuesday the UN Security Council Both the government and rebels accused piled fresh pressure on Kiir to sign it, warning it each other of launching attacks against the would act immediately if he did not. other yesterday. The deal also gives the rebels Diplomats have said punitive measure could the post of first vice president, which means include an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against senior leaders, including asset that rebel chief Machar would likely return to the job from which he was sacked in July 2013, freezes and travel bans. We will take immediate action if he does not sign, or if he signs an event which put the country on the path to war later that year. Machar already signed the with reservations, said Nigerian Ambassador deal on August 17, but at the time, Kiir only initialled part of the text. His government then council. Joy Ogwu, whose country currently chairs the AFP

8 INTERNATIONAL Saudi Arabia executes four despite moratorium call RIYADH: Saudi Arabia yesterday executed three of its citizens for murder and a Syrian convicted of drugs smuggling, a day after Amnesty International urged a moratorium on rising executions in the conservative kingdom. The executions brought to 127 the number this year in Saudi Arabia, compared with 87 in 2014, according to AFP tallies compiled from interior ministry statements. Saudi Nawaf Al-Otaibi was executed in the western city of Taif after being convicted of shooting dead his father in a dispute, the interior ministry said. Fellow Saudis Bandar Al-Ghathim and Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Zahrani were executed in the country s southwest for murder, the ministry said in statements carried by state news agency SPA. Syrian Ezzeddine Al-Saleh was executed in the northern Jawf region for trafficking in amphetamines, the ministry said. Under Saudi Arabia s strict legal practices, murder, armed robbery, rape, drug trafficking and apostasy are all punishable by death. Most people sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded, but sometimes firing squads are used. Amnesty International on Tuesday criticized Saudi Arabia s deeply flawed judicial system as it issued a new report on the rising number of executions. The London-based group criticized trials it said blatantly flout international standards, citing secret hearings, denying defendants access to lawyers and convictions based on confessions obtained under torture. Saudi Arabia s sharia (Islamic) law-based justice system lacks a criminal code, leaving definitions of crimes and punishments vague and widely open to interpretation, Amnesty said. Amnesty says Saudi Arabia is one of the world s most prolific executioners, along with China, Iran, Iraq and the United States. AFP Palestine may raise flag at UN before pope s visit Move likely to upset Israel s government UNITED NATIONS: In a move likely to upset Israel s government, the Palestinians are seeking to raise their flag, along with the Vatican flag, at UN headquarters - just in time for Pope Francis visit next month. Supporters of the idea hope the UN General Assembly will adopt a resolution on the flag-raising shortly before the pope arrives. They re betting that the United States or other allies of Israel will not block the plan and risk offending the Holy See on Francis first US visit. The Palestinians proposal has been tabled and a draft of the resolution has been seen by The Associated Press. It would allow non-member observer states - there are only two - to display their flags with the 193 member states. While the Vatican s mission to the UN earlier expressed support for the idea, it circulated a letter this week distancing itself from the draft. The mission did not comment Wednesday. The United States and Israel oppose recognizing the Palestinian state, arguing that it undermines efforts to negotiate a peace agreement. That process, however, has largely been at a NEW YORK CITY: In this Sept 18, 2007 file photo, the flags of member nations fly outside of the United Nations headquarters. AP standstill since the deadly conflict in Gaza a year ago. Israel s UN mission did not respond to a request for comment. Many states have shown support for the Palestinians pursuit of statehood, including the Holy See. State of Palestine In May, the Vatican officially recognized the State of Palestine in their first formal, bilateral treaty. Israel s foreign ministry said it was disappointed. During Francis 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the Vatican s official program referred to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the State of Palestine. In 2012, the Vatican welcomed an overwhelming vote in the General Assembly to upgrade the Palestinians status to a UN nonmember observer state. Their delegation promptly unfurled the flag in the chamber. The pope has not been shy about ambitious diplomacy. He helped bring the United States and Cuba together for their historic reestablishment of diplomatic ties. Last year, he invited the Israeli and Palestinian presidents for a day of peace prayers at the Vatican. Most countries in Western Europe have held off on recognizing a Palestinian state, but some have hinted that their position could change if peace efforts remain deadlocked. Most countries in Africa, Asia and South America have recognized Palestine. Francis is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 25, opening a gathering of world leaders to launch a set of development goals aimed at ending both poverty and hunger over the next 15 years. More than 100 heads of state and government are expected at the gathering, which leads into the annual UN General Assembly of world leaders the following week. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are scheduled to speak on the first morning. This story has been corrected to reflect that the Vatican s mission to the UN this week sent a letter distancing itself from the draft. AP Qaeda destroys army HQ in Yemen s Mukalla city ADEN: Al-Qaeda militants yesterday blew up an army headquarters and set up checkpoints in the jihadist network s southeastern stronghold of Mukalla, officials in Hadramawt province said. The militants had deployed in force across Mukalla after receiving information of a possible operation by a Saudi-led military coalition to help government loyalists retake the provincial capital, the officials said. The coalition of Arab states has been carrying out air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March, but has so far not intervened against Al-Qaeda. Yesterday s explosion flattened the three-storey army building-the command centre for a zone covering Hadramawt and parts of neighboring Shabwa province. It came a day after Al-Qaeda dynamited a headquarters of the secret police in Mukalla, the officials said. In Aden a 100-strong Saudi force arrived late on Tuesday and was deployed at the main southern city s international airport, military sources said. This force s mission is to help secure the city, where Al-Qaeda militants surfaced last weekend, one of the sources said, referring to Aden. Backed by arms and troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, government loyalists recaptured Aden from Houthi rebels and their allies in mid-july before retaking four other southern provinces. But security has remained fragile in the port city, where Al-Qaeda suspects were accused of blowing up a building used by the secret police. They also set up checkpoints in one district and seized five buildings including an intelligence services facility, a presidential residence and a military hospital, security officials said. On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had suspended its operations in Aden after unidentified gunmen stormed its office there. Meanwhile, Riyadh announced its armed forces on Wednesday intercepted a Scud missile fired from Yemen at the Saudi region of Jazan, adding the explosion caused no casualties or damage. The air forces responded immediately by destroying the platform from which the missile was launched in Yemen, said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. The Shiite Houthi rebels website Sabanews.net had announced that Scud missiles had been fired from Yemen at a power plant in Jazan. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is considered among the jihadist network s deadliest affiliates. It has taken advantage of the chaos since the Houthis expanded across Yemen since last year, to seize territory including Mukalla. AQAP was behind several plots against Western targets, including this year s deadly attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The United States has for years carried out a drone war against Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen. AFP JERUSALEM: In this May 28, 2014, file photo, Ultra-Orthodox Jews watch people wave Israeli flags outside the Old City s Damascus Gate during Jerusalem Day celebrations. AP In Jerusalem s culture war, secular citizens make gains JERUSALEM: Crowds of angry ultra-orthodox Jewish men, wearing long beards, black and white garb and large black hats, protested in the streets of Jerusalem earlier this month against a new cinema opening its doors on the Sabbath. The demonstration was meant to be a show of strength in a long-running dispute over the role of strict Jewish law in the cultural life of Jerusalem. But in many ways, it was also a sign of desperation after a series of gains by the city s secular community in recent years. No one s saying we re giving up, said Shmuel Poppenheim, an unofficial spokesman for the ultra-orthodox community. But, he conceded, We know it s a lost cause.... We know that we can t stage a war over every new establishment open on the Sabbath. Despite Jerusalem s image as a city that grinds to a halt on the Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, more than 200 cafes, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums, cultural institutions and other entertainment centers now stay open in non-religious Jewish areas of the city. That is a major shift over the last 30 years from a time when only a handful of establishments stayed open and a law forbade cinemas from operating on the Sabbath. The Yes Planet cinema that drew the recent protests was the second major destination to open with Sabbath hours in the past two years, after a former train station reopened as a commercial center in Notable shift These initiatives have contributed to the most notable shift in secular-religious relations since the early 1990s, said Shahar Ilan of Hiddush, a group that advocates for religious equality. For decades ultra-orthodox communities have flexed their political muscle, sometimes violently, to keep workplaces, businesses and government institutions in Jerusalem s Jewish neighborhoods shut down for the Sabbath. While most Jewish Israelis are secular, Israel s founding fathers gave Judaism a formal place in the country s affairs, and Orthodox rabbis strictly govern religious events such as weddings, divorces and burials for the Jewish population. The ultra-orthodox also are perennial kingmakers in Israeli coalition politics, though they make up only about 10 percent of the country s population. Their influence is especially pronounced in Jerusalem, where their numbers are proportionally much larger than the national average. Jerusalem is split almost evenly into thirds between secular and modern Orthodox residents, Muslim Palestinians and ultra-orthodox Jews who live in insular enclaves. Jerusalem s ultra-orthodox communities also traditionally have held significant power in the municipal government. They are bolstered by laws and unwritten agreements that grant them certain protections, such as barriers to prevent cars from driving through religious areas on the Sabbath, said Menachem Friedman, a professor of Judaism at Bar Ilan University. Attempts to change Jerusalem s delicate balance have prompted violent backlashes from the ultra-orthodox, who have blocked roads, clashed with police and sent tens of thousands of activists into the streets on their rabbis orders. But Friedman said that contrary to the popular perception, the traditional power of the ultra- Orthodox is waning in areas where they are not a demographic majority due to changing geographic and economic pressures. Jerusalem s ultra-orthodox communities are often poor and depend on government handouts because men traditionally study in religious seminaries rather than work. With the cost of living in Jerusalem on the rise, younger members of the communities are increasingly moving out, while public support for their substantial financial aid is waning, Friedman said. Symbolic opposition This month s protests over the Yes Planet cinema complex were therefore more symbolic opposition rather than a real concerted fight, Friedman said. The cinema is located in Abu Tor, a mixed Jewish-Arab neighborhood far from the city s ultra-orthodox areas. On the first night of protests on Aug 14, several thousand ultra-orthodox rioted in West Jerusalem, breaking windows and prompting police arrests. But the following evening, just a few hundred demonstrators bothered to show up. It was a vivid contrast to weekly riots that rocked the city in 2009 when City Hall allowed a parking lot near Jerusalem s Old City to open on the Sabbath to serve tourists. The train station-turned-mall known as First Station, meanwhile, has remained open on the Sabbath without any protests for more than two years now. The battle is far from over. A week after Yes Planet opened, the municipality ordered eight minimarkets in Jerusalem s city center that now operate on weekends to close. City councilman Ofer Berkovitz, a vocal secular activist, accused Mayor Nir Barkat of making the move to compensate for the new cinema - a charge the mayor denies. In another recent case, political pressure prevented a popular cafe chain from opening a new branch in Jerusalem s Independence Park, which is government property. Since a restaurant cannot receive a kosher license if it is open on the Sabbath, Israel s official licensing body threatened to revoke Landwer Cafe s certificate nationwide if the new branch opened on the Sabbath, Berkovitz said. AP Erdogan urges Turkey to choose stability in polls SANAA: Yemeni female supporters of the Shiite Houthi rebel movement carry a placard during a rally to protest against a military offensive by a Saudi-led coalition. AFP ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday urged Turkish voters to back the ruling party in November snap elections, saying the polls would be a choice between stability and instability. The repeat elections come after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by Erdogan failed to win an overall majority in a June vote and talks to form a coalition government failed. I believe that November 1 will be an election of stability or instability, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara, a day after the Turkish election authority confirmed the poll date. The national will is going to be manifested in elections. God willing, this country will reach stability again... and no instability will emerge. The comments were a clear message to voters to vote for the AKP and return its overall majority, thus avoiding the notorious instability that had dogged Turkish politics before the party came to power in Erdogan voiced hope that the problems created by the June 7 election results will be solved on November 1. What s essential is the will of people. Our people will have its word once again on November 1, said Erdogan. Parliament failed to solve this, so who s the authority? It s people. Then people will solve. Critics have said Erdogan had no interest in the coalition negotiations and had sought early elections right from the start. But the president denied he impeded negotiations to form a coalition government and said he played a facilitator and encouraging role for Turkey to reach a new government as soon as possible. The June elections also wrecked Erdogan s dream of changing the constitution to create an executive-style presidency, which would have required a parliamentary majority of at least threefifths. The campaign will come at a time of political uncertainty and escalating violence between Turkey s security forces and Kurdish militants which nullified a 2013 ceasefire. Erdogan said the Turkish military was waging an effective campaign against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that would continue as arms ensure wellbeing. AFP

9 INTERNATIONAL Biden fans see him as honest, stark contrast to Clinton NEW YORK: Often maligned for speaking too frankly, Vice President Joe Biden s reputation for shooting from the lip might be one of his biggest weapons if he does decide to run against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 US presidential election. Voters in a Reuters/Ipsos survey who said they were open to backing Biden for the nomination described him as an honest and forthright political veteran who is free of scandal despite decades in Washington. Those perceived attributes could give Biden an edge over Clinton, whose trustworthy poll numbers have dropped as she struggles with perceptions that she has not been completely open about her use of a private account for official business when she was secretary of state. Clinton says she did nothing wrong and only used the private account because of convenience. The FBI is now investigating the security of the private server and any classified information on it. Reuters spoke to 22 of the poll respondents who said they would support Biden. More than half used words like honest, genuine and trustworthy to describe why they like the former senator. While many opinion polls have been throwing Biden s name into the mix for some months, few have examined the reasons for his relative popularity among many Democrats. His fans appear willing to overlook the 72-year-old s tendency to commit gaffes, which would be a handicap on a presidential campaign. He says what he means. It s not always good, but he s upfront and honest, said Mary Lampron, 70, of North Providence, Rhode Island. Maybe it s not what he should say, but it s what he thinks, which I admire, she said. In 2012, Biden surprised his boss, President Barack Obama, when he said he was absolutely comfortable with gay couples getting married, forcing Obama to publicly declare his own support for same sex marriage. Questions about transparency Eleven of the 22 poll respondents interviewed mentioned what they saw as Clinton s lack of transparency, or controversy surrounding her, as a mark against her candidacy. According to Quinnipiac polls, 64 percent of voters surveyed in August said Clinton is not honest and trustworthy - up from 54 percent in April. I don t support her because her credibility s been in question. That s the main issue. I don t trust her, said Icie Farnsworth, 53, a lifelong Democrat from Martinsville, Virginia, who said she liked Biden s voting record on the economy, civil rights and education. Last month Clinton blamed a constant barrage of attacks that are largely fomented by and coming from the right. People should and do trust me, she told CNN in an interview. Biden has not said whether he will run for president, but speculation grew at the weekend that he may soon challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination when he met with Senator Elizabeth Warren, a power broker among liberals. It is late in the nomination contest and Biden is still way behind both Clinton and liberal Senator Bernie Sanders. Only 13.3 percent of 690 Democrats in the Reuters/Ipsos online survey backed Biden while 47 percent supported Clinton and 24.9 percent were for Sanders, who has been attracting much larger crowds than Clinton. All the same, the fact that Biden might be considering a run compounds Clinton s headaches. At a minimum, he definitely shakes the race up and makes Hillary s path to the nomination arguably more difficult, said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, who is not working for any of the campaigns. People like him, people want to like him, he s charismatic, and he s got a very powerful personal story to say the least, Kofinis said. Several people interviewed referred to Biden s son Beau, 46, who died of brain cancer in May. His death was another tragic chapter in the life of the vice president, who lost his first wife and his daughter in a car accident shortly after winning election to the US Senate in Though Clinton has wide policy experience, Biden s 36 years in the Senate and almost two terms as vice president count in his favor among supporters. I know she was first lady and has experience in the White House in that capacity, and I know she was secretary of state, but I think the experience he has is closer to what is needed for the presidency, said Dee Garletts, 72, of Bellevue, Washington. Ruby Ellis, 74, of Lawrence, Kansas said she liked Biden because he was untainted by scandal. AP IOWA: Univision journalist Jorge Ramos, (right) asks Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a question regarding immigration issues during a news conference. AP Trump starts new media feud with Univision anchor Ramos DUBUQUE: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has opened up a new media feud, taking on another popular TV news personality even as his appearances continue to draw big ratings. Trump engaged in a prolonged confrontation Tuesday with Jorge Ramos, the Miamibased anchor for Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, during a news conference in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal, which includes ending automatic citizenship for infants born in the United States to parents in the country illegally. Trump interrupted him, saying he hadn t called on Ramos before repeatedly telling him to sit down and then saying, Go back to Univision. As one of Trump s security detail approached Ramos, the anchor continued to speak, saying: You cannot deport 11 million people. Ramos was referring to Trump s proposal to deport all people in the country illegally before allowing some of them to return. As he was taken from the room, Ramos said, You cannot build a 1,900-mile wall, another proposal in Trump s plan. Moments later, Trump defended Ramos removal, saying: He just stands up and starts screaming. Maybe he s at fault also. The Incident happened the day after Trump resumed his feud with Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly. Trump noted Kelly s return a vacation Monday night by tweeting that he liked her show better while she was away. He said Kelly must have had a terrible vacation because she s really off her game, and retweeted a message that referred to her as a bimbo. Empty promises Fox News chief Roger Ailes called on Trump to apologize. The billionaire businessman s immigration proposal has sparked intense debate within the 2016 Republican field. Several candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, have called it unrealistic. Ramos was later allowed back into Tuesday s news conference. Trump greeted him politely, though they quickly resumed their argument, interrupting each other during an extended back-and-forth. Your immigration plan, it is full of empty promises, Ramos began. You cannot deny citizenship to children born in this country. Why do you say that? Trump replied. Some of the great legal scholars agree that s not true. Citizenship for infants born in the United States is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Changing that would require amending the Constitution, a cumbersome process in which change must be approved by Congress and then by two-thirds of the 50 state legislatures. During the five-minute exchange, Ramos claimed that 40 percent of people in the country illegally enter through airports, not over the Mexican border. I don t believe that. I don t believe it, Trump responded. A 2006 report by the Pew Hispanic Center found that up to 45 percent of the people illegally in the US entered with legal visas which since have expired. Trump said he did not believe that a majority of immigrants in the US illegally were criminals, or in the country to commit crimes. Most of them are good people, he said. But he described recent cases where people had been killed by assailants later determined to be in the country illegally. Finally, Trump reminded Ramos that he was suing Univision, which dropped Trump s Miss Universe pageant after he described Mexican immigrants in the US illegally as criminals and rapists. Do you know how many Latinos work for me? Do you know how many Hispanics work for me? Trump said. Thousands. They love me. Isaac Lee, chief executive officer of Univision, responded to the confrontation with a written comment: We d love for Mr. Trump to sit down for an in-depth interview with Jorge to talk about the specifics of his proposals. AP LOUISIANA: A hurricane-damaged boat sits in the Pointe-aux-Chenes bayou in this August 16, 2015 file photo. AFP On Mississippi s shore, memories of Katrina s destruction still linger on Decade later, people still feel the storm s toll LONG BEACH: Between Mississippi s seashore and the railroad tracks a little ways inland, where Hurricane Katrina all but erased a neighborhood 10 years ago, Efrem Garza and a handful of other homeowners are still resettling a frontier. Once lined with houses and a small condominium complex, South Seashore Avenue in Long Beach was ravaged by wind and waves in Running from the beach highway to railroad tracks paralleling the shoreline - a zone of maximum destruction along the Mississippi coast - it was on the front lines of the storm s fury. Before Katrina, 10 houses and the condos stood between Garza s house and the beach highway, US 90. Now only two houses stand, giving Garza a new, clear view of the Mississippi Sound from the breakfast table in his rebuilt home. It s come back very slowly, he said. The storm leveled Garza s house and others near the beach, pushed a giant wall of debris halfway up the block and flooded the houses closer to the railroad track s elevated barrier. Empty concrete slabs from houses swept away still linger on some lots. For Sale signs that sprouted after the storm still dot the roadway. While the plight of a drowning New Orleans grabbed the nation s attention after Katrina, the Mississippi coast suffered its own deaths and destruction - and for miles, the strip between the beach and the tracks has yet to fully recover. Even a decade later, the people who lived there feel the storm s toll. Empty slabs Although the overall population of Mississippi s three coastal counties - Hancock, Harrison and Jackson - is now larger than before the storm, in many neighborhoods closest to the water the overgrown lots and empty slabs speak to a much slower recovery. Across Mississippi s coast, one study found Katrina seriously damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 houses and apartments. In much of Harrison County, which includes the larger cities of Gulfport and Biloxi, the crucial line dividing the damage was the CSX train tracks. More than 1,000 houses were destroyed or severely damaged in Long Beach, along with more than 1,000 apartments. Long Beach Mayor Billy Skellie counts only two or three structures north of the tracks damaged enough to be demolished. Unlike Garza, many former residents didn t return, stung by their losses and spurning the gritty rebuilding struggle that followed. Beachside areas are awash in lots for sale, but potential newcomers face expensive challenges, including mandates to elevate homes and steep costs of insurance against water and winds. A federal buyout program for surplus lots has stalled because Congress hasn t appropriated money. I finally said No, I don t think I want to go back, said Elaine Brock, who lost her husband John Noucher to Katrina. The few people I did know there weren t going back, and it just seemed like too much of a ghost town. Brock, whose married name then WASHINGTON: A survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York who was featured in one of the most haunting photographs of the outrage has died of stomach cancer. She was 42. The family of Marcy Borders first announced her death Monday on Facebook. Borders, who was 28 at the time of the attacks, was just one month into a job for Bank of America in one of the Twin Towers. As one of the towers collapsed, she took refuge in a nearby office building, where AFP photographer Stan Honda took a haunting photo of her completely covered in a thick layer of ash, which earned her the moniker The Dust Lady. The air appeared heavy and a distraught Borders was shrouded in a cloud of dust and backlit by an eerie yellow luminescence. I can t believe my sister is gone, her brother Michael Borders wrote on Facebook, asking for people s prayers. Her cousin Elnardo Borders wrote: My emotions are all over the place right now. He later wrote: peace now!!! After the attacks, Borders spiraled into a decade-long deep depression and alcohol and drug abuse, though she eventually recovered. She lost her job at Bank of America, where she ignored repeated offers of a transfer. She spent much of her time sequestered in her two-room flat, in one of the poorer parts of Bayonne, a bedroom community in New Jersey over the bridge from Manhattan. Something inside of her had died on that fateful day. I still live in fear. I can t was Noucher, was in Florida for a doctor s appointment and couldn t persuade her husband to flee before the storm. She spoke to him one last time by phone on that Monday morning, advising him to huddle in an interior laundry room. When she and her son returned, they found their two dogs, but not John. His body was eventually found in the remains of a neighbor s house, six doors north, and identified by his pacemaker. Noucher s death certificate says only, Hurricane Katrina Related Fatality. Noucher was one of five people who died in Long Beach, and one of 238 Katrina deaths counted by Mississippi officials. Brock, who has since remarried, sold the lot in 2007, for what she called a very low price. It remains vacant today. Even those who lost no loved ones paid a heavy toll in the months after Katrina, forced to seek shelter with relatives or friends or in faraway motels and apartments. Some never bothered to pick through the rubble. Others who returned still grieve. My brothers are dead and they left us a bunch of stuff, and I d lost it too, said Robert Pickett, briefly sobbing as he recounted the aftermath. He said it was even harder on his wife, Carolyn. Biggest trauma of our lives It was probably the biggest trauma in our lives and it was difficult to deal with, Pickett said. I was an orphan and I had been passed around and I was pretty hardened to adversity. But she wasn t. Rayetta Tanguis and her siblings still own the house on South Seashore that belonged to her mother, Viola Conner. She bought it before retiring from New Orleans in the late 1980s. Farther north than the Noucher or Pickett houses, it withstood the storm but flooded with fourand-a-half feet of water. Tanguis said her mother returned to Long Beach and lived in a FEMA trailer, but died in December 2006 at age 82 before volunteers finished renovating her house. It just got to be too much for her, Tanguis said. That s what happened to a lot of people who were in their 80s. Yet some, including Long Beach Alderman Gary Ponthiuex, overcame the obstacles and reclaimed their homes. You need a certain type of strength somewhere down deep, Ponthieux said. Ponthieux and his son fled the storm atop the railroad track after their home began to disintegrate. Despite his losses, there was never any question he would return. This is home, Ponthieux said. What else are you going to do? He and other neighbors drew from $1.9 billion in federal grants that Mississippi gave to homeowners who lacked flood insurance or needed additional aid. Like almost everyone who rebuilt, Ponthieux has downsized. His house is about a third smaller than the 3,200 square feet he had before the storm. That s partly because it costs more to build elevated structures, as is now required. Insurance costs more now, too. For a federally backed flood insurance Dust-covered woman from 9/11 photo dies of cancer think about being there, in those targets, the bridges, the tunnels, the (sub way) stations, she told AFP in a whisper in a March 2012 interview. The father of my daughter took her ; I can t take care of myself, so I can t take care of her. Her fridge was empty, and her television had long turned silent. I used to watch TV a lot, the TV was never off, she said. But now I fear that what happens in Jerusalem will happen here. All that violence... so I leave it off. Borders was relying on her mother for food at the time and said no one had contacted her in the months that followed the attacks and her photo was beamed around the world. No aid organizations helped her and no one had told her that mental services were available for free for 9/11 survivors. I basically do nothing. I stay indoors ; I feel safe inside, she said. I feel like I would have had to be killed in order for my daughter to get something. Sometimes, I think that you have to be the wife of a firefighter or a policeman to get money. It s so depressing, sometimes you re ready to kill yourself. Borders went into rehab in 2011, and has said that news of the death of Al- Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden helped her regain peace and recover from her trauma. Her family said she had fought cancer for a year. After her diagnosis, she suggested in interviews that her exposure to chemical pollutants emitted by the World Trade Center collapse likely had a role in her illness. AFP policy, a state-backed wind insurance policy and a private policy covering the remainder of homeowners risks, Ponthieux said he pays $4,600 a year, compared to $1,600 before the storm. Wind insurance policies, after a steep climb, have leveled off or even declined a little. Congress canceled steep increases in flood insurance for some policyholders in 2014, but rates continue rising significantly. Pickett said he s now going without insurance, an option for people without a mortgage. The kids will be upset. That s all, said Pickett, 80, of any future loss. Considering our age, we decided it s not worth it. The returning homeowners have been joined by a trickle of newcomers like homebuilder Chris Patrick, who just completed a house overlooking the beach and hopes to build more. Like many other South Seashore residents, Patrick said he loves living near the water, and he s willing to risk another storm. For me, the view is what I paid for, Patrick said, standing on a porch elevated high above ground. But he said it cost almost twice as much to build his new house 17 feet in the air as it would have cost on the ground. I don t think I could do it any cheaper, he said of the house, which he s trying to sell for $350,000. It s expensive just to get the Sheetrock up this high. Elevation and insurance Some, including Jackson-area auto dealer Mike Cox, would like to build new houses but say the costs of elevation and insurance are holding them back. Cox bought a lot in 2014, with plans for a three-bedroom house. They said it had to be 15 to 20 feet off the ground. It had to withstand 150 mph wind. Then you talk about trying to insure it, Cox said, It s not that I don t have the money to do it, it s just that I don t want to do it. I don t want to take the chance. Others can t sell their property. Paul Kraber of Yorkville, Illinois, is trying to avoid a fire sale of his lot after losing his house on South Seashore, saying he needs the money because he didn t recover the full value of the house from his insurer. A small For Sale sign brings occasional calls, but no one wants to pay his $50,000 asking price. Slightly smaller lots on Buena Vista Drive, a block east, are currently listed at $19,900 and $15,000. Everybody s looking for a bargain and I don t blame them, Kraber said. I didn t get it as a bargain. Long Beach sometimes cuts vegetation to keep lots from getting overgrown and collects the cost on tax bills. The city is now requiring owners to remove remaining empty slabs from destroyed structures. If lots were like this, cleared, with the grass growing, we d have a better chance of selling it, Ponthieux said. It s been 10 years. It s time for it to come up. One buyer could be the federal government. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won Congress approval last summer for a post-katrina improvements program along the Mississippi coast, including property buyouts in hazardous areas. AP NEW YORK: This September 11, 2001 file photo shows Marcy Borders covered in dust as she takes refuge in an office building after one of the World Trade Center towers collapsed when commercial planes crashed into them. AFP

10 INTERNATIONAL Ministers to talk security in Paris after train attack PARIS: European ministers will gather in Paris for security talks at the weekend following last week s targeted and premeditated jihadist attack on a high-speed train that was foiled by passengers, it was announced yesterday. Prosecutors have charged 25-year-old Moroccan Ayoub El Khazzani over the attack. After watching a jihadist video on his phone Khazzani entered a toilet in the train, removed his shirt and re-emerged armed with an assault rifle, 270 rounds of ammunition and a Luger pistol strapped to his chest. But he was stopped in his tracks by several French passengers, two young American offduty servicemen, their student friend and a 62-year-old British consultant who have since been awarded France s top honor, the Legion d Honneur. One of the French passengers was shot and seriously injured in the struggle to overpower the gunman and he is recovering in hospital. The thwarted shooting has raised fears of another large-scale attack in France, which was already on high alert after three jihadist gunmen went on a killing spree in and around Paris in January, leaving 17 people dead. Authorities have foiled several attacks since then. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced that interior and transport ministers from eight neighboring European countries-including Britain, Germany and Belgium-would gather in Paris Saturday to discuss security measures following the latest thwarted assault. We must examine whether we can implement a system that allows for more systematic checks in airports, in public transport, in a more coordinated way, he said yesterday. Attempted murder Khazzani was questioned for four days before being taken barefoot, handcuffed and with a mask over his eyes to a Paris courthouse to be charged on Tuesday. His lawyer Mani Ayadi slammed his treatment as outrageous and disgraceful, saying he should not have been left barefoot, but prosecutors said Khazzani himself refused to wear shoes. The suspect had been on the radar of several European intelligence agencies after authorities in Spain, where he lived until 2014, flagged him as a radical Islamist. But the 26 countries in Europe s Schengen Area have abolished border controls, which means people living in or visiting those nations can travel virtually undetected if they are not the subject of random checks. Khazzani claims that he was homeless and had stumbled upon the weapons stash in a Brussels park, which he intended to use to rob first-class passengers in the Amsterdam- Paris train. But Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the claim was barely credible, giving a raft of evidence for why Khazzani was being probed for attempted murder as part of a targeted and premeditated terrorist plot. He bought his first-class ticket on the day of the attack at Midi train station in Brussels, paying 149 Euros in cash-discrediting Khazzani s claim that he was penniless. The ticket seller asked if he wanted to travel earlier, on a less crowded train, but he refused. Khazzani also travelled to Turkey and back in May and June this year, creating suspicion he may have spent in war-torn Syria where the Islamic State group controls swathes of territory. And his Facebook page was mysteriously disabled on Saturday-the day after the foiled attack. Scant information Khazzani lived in Spain for seven years until 2014, where he came to the attention of authorities for defending jihad, attending a radical mosque in the southern port of Algeciras and being involved in drug trafficking. Molins said he had also spent time in France in 2014 working for mobile phone operator Lycamobile. In May, he came to the intelligence services attention once more when he boarded a plane in Berlin for Turkey, a common crossing point to Syria for would-be jihadists. In June, he landed back in Albania and on Friday boarded the Paris-bound train in Brussels. There is little information so far about whether Khazzani acted alone or had accomplices. French President Francois Hollande said what was certain was that a real carnage was averted thanks to the courage of a few passengers. On Monday, he awarded three Americans-Alek Skarlatos, a 22-year-old National Guardsman, Spencer Stone, a 23- year-old US Air Force member and Anthony Sadler, a student in Sacramento also aged 23 the Legion d Honneur. AFP HEIDENAU: German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media after her visit to a refugee shelter that was attacked by far-right protesters over the weekend. AP Merkel faces down far-right mob on refugee centre visit Hungary police uses tear gas on migrants HEIDENAU: German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed yesterday there would be no tolerance for shameful and vile anti-migrant violence, facing down a noisy far-right protest during a visit to a refugee centre. About 200 people massed in the eastern town of Heidenau, some booing and shouting traitor, traitor and we are the mob as she arrived at the shelter, in a show of defiance over a record influx of asylum-seekers. But following her visit, Merkel vowed: There will be no tolerance of those who question the dignity of other people. The more people who make that clear... the stronger we will be and the better we will be able to address this task of caring for refugees. The showdown in Germany came as chaotic scenes erupted at Hungary s border town of Roszke with police firing tear gas at migrants. Police had sought to stop around 200 people trying to leave the country s main refugee processing centre there. Budapest said it would send in police reinforce - ments to stem a record influx of asylum-seekers, as more than 2,500 people crossed into the EU country from its southern frontier with Serbia, days before a vast razor-wire barrier aimed at keeping out migrants is completed. Europe is struggling to cope with its biggest migrant crisis since World War II-from thousands of refugees landing on the shores of Italy and Greece to the hundreds climbing onto trucks to get from France to Britain. Hamstrung by a lack of a coherent European response to the crisis, governments have undertaken at times contradictory approaches to the issue. Hungary is building a wall to keep migrants out, while the Czech Republic s deputy Prime Minister Andrej Babis called for the visa-free Schengen zone be closed with NATO deployment. Germany, which is preparing to receive a record 800,000 asylum-seekers this year, instead eased the asylum application procedure for Syrians fleeing a brutal civil war. Natasha Bertaud, spokeswoman for the EU Commission, said Berlin s move was recognition of the fact that we cannot leave the member states at the external borders alone in dealing with a large number of asylum-seekers. Under the so-called Dublin rules, the first EU country where an asylum-seeker arrives is usually required to process the claimant s application. In practice, this means countries on the EU s southern borders like Greece or Italy are overwhelmed with applications. But Berlin s largesse was not always welcomed at home, particularly in the east where a spate of attacks has hit refugee centres. President Joachim Gauck blasted a dark Germany behind the series of xenophobic attacks, as German leaders went on the offensive to quell the wave of anti-migrant violence. Hungary sends in police Hungary, another country on the edge of the EU, is rushing to build a vast razor-wire barrier to keep migrants out. Police fired tear gas at migrants at a refugee processing centre in Roszke after they tried to leave without being fingerprinted. Hungary s police chief said more than 2,100 police called border hunters would be deployed to the border with Serbia from September 5. Rushing to get through before Hungary seals its border are Syrians, Afghans and Pakistanis, including more than 500 children. We left because we were scared, we had fear, bombs, war, killing, death... That s why we left Syria, one Syrian man heading for the Hungarian border told AFP. If I go to Europe, I think it s going to be better... better than my life in Syria. Some of the refugees arriving in Hungary count among the 7,000 whose gruelling journey to the EU was temporarily blocked last week when Macedonia declared a state of emergency and shut its borders for three days to halt the huge influx. The UN refugee agency has warned that the situation was also worsening in Greece and Italy, where the number of people arriving after crossing the Mediterranean this year is approaching 300,000. Since the beginning of 2015, more than 2,370 people have drowned in the Mediterranean, already exceeding the death toll for the whole of 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration. AFP Eu-Russia ties plunge to new low ahead of Ukraine talks BRUSSELS: Ties between the EU and Russia remain at their lowest ebb over the conflict in Ukraine, ahead of a series of key talks including a visit by President Petro Poroshenko to Brussels today. Renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-moscow rebels and Kiev s government forces has made a mockery of a February ceasefire, while the European Union has renewed tough sanctions against Russia. Poroshenko is set to call for renewed support from the European Union when he travels to Brussels, days after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Berlin. Poroshenko will meet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks centering on the implementation of the Minsk agreement that led to the ceasefire, the Commission said last week. At the same time, the EU is due to restart stalled three-way talks with Kiev DONETSK: A woman walks past her building, destroyed during recent shelling in the small town Avdiivka. AFP and Moscow on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, and on a landmark EU-Ukraine free-trade deal accord that Moscow says will harm its economy. These are the only two dossiers that the Russians agree to discuss with the EU, said Pierre Vimont, former secretary-general of the EU diplomatic service and now researcher for the Carnegie Institute. These talks are never easy. The Russians are difficult, and for their part the Ukrainians stick to their ground too. The EU s condemnation on Tuesday of a jail sentence handed down by a Russian court to Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov for terrorism added to the bad blood ahead of the meetings. Gas war The EU wants at all costs to avoid a gas war with Russia as winter looms, with any stand-off threatening supplies to Europe, around half of which pass through Ukraine. Experts say a deal is needed by October to avoid shortages. Maros Sefcovic, the EU s Vice President in charge of Energy Union, will on the sidelines of a western Balkans summit in Vienna today to re-launch talks with the Ukrainian side, which has not been supplied by Russian giant Gazprom for several months. A meeting with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak is also scheduled for the start of September. The trade talks are less urgent but cover highly sensitive ground, as the trade deal was originally the key part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement that then-president Viktor Yanukovych backed out of signing in November That led to the pro-eu Maidan movement which toppled him, and which was followed by Russia s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the fighting in eastern Ukraine which has claimed 6,800 lives. AFP Norway accused of taking away immigrant children STAVANGER: One August day, Airida Pettersen received the news many immigrant mothers have come to dread: School representatives told the Lithuanian that child welfare officials removed her two children from the classroom and placed them in a foster home. She pleaded to know why - but she said nobody would give her a straight answer. Pettersen, who moved to Norway in 2008 after marrying a Norwegian, is one of hundreds of immigrant parents whose children were taken away by Norway s Child Protection Service, or Barnevernet, ostensibly to protect them from mistreatment. After a series of highly charged custody disputes, the oil-rich Scandinavian country now faces accusations of cultural insensitivity at best and child theft at worst, as increasing numbers of immigrant children are being seized by officials and handed over to Norwegian foster families. Of 6,737 children taken in the latest available data - some 1,049 were immigrants or born to immigrant parents. That compares to 744 children of immigrants taken away, of a total of 5,846, in Heavy-handedness The authorities insist they re acting in the best interests of the children. But their perceived heavyhandedness has stirred diplomatic disputes with several eastern European countries and India. All Western European countries assert the right to place children, both of nationals and foreigners, in foster care when there is evidence of abuse. And complaints of unfair seizures, allegedly for cultural reasons, are known to arise. But Norway is the only country where it has become as major issue - both due to the scale of the phenomenon and the fierce criticism of the government. A relative managed to spirit Pettersen s children away from their foster family while they were at school and reunite them with their mother in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius - where they remain today. Morten Moerkved, head of the agency in the small town of Malvik where the Pettersens lived, said he could not comment on any specific case but insisted that the sudden removal of children happens only in acute circumstances, including cases of abuse or serious deficiencies in the daily care of a child, citing persistent drunkenness or drug use by the parents or evidence of malnourishment. Official guidelines also make a point of ensuring that the special needs of a sick or handicapped child are adequately met and that parents have to be able to take sufficient responsibility so that a child s health or development is in no way seriously injured. Pettersen believes officials took her children partly because of her 10-year-old daughter s clothes, which she alleges authorities found too provocative for a pre-teen. I dress my daughter in a pretty dress and make her comb her hair, she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Lithuania. They look at me like I m from a Third World country. In my country if you don t take care of yourself you don t get a husband. The child welfare agency insists children would never be removed from their families unless they were considered to be in danger, but Moerkved said that if children were attending class badly dressed or in smelly clothes it would be a factor in considering a child s welfare. There are some culture differences between families coming to Norway, said Solveig Horne, Norwegian Minister for Children and Families. All children who come to Norway have the same rights as Norwegian children... If they are neglected or abused or if there is violence in the family the (child protection) agency should protect the children first of all. Human rights abuses Statistics show that children born abroad are more than three times as likely to be removed from their homes as native Norwegians, with nearly 3 percent of foreign-born children in foster care. In May, hundreds of people marched in the capital Oslo to protest alleged human rights abuses by child welfare officials. The demonstration was organized by Norwegian human rights campaigner Marius Reikeras, who has denounced his country s child protection agency in television interviews in the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Turkey. Reikeras accuses the agency of depriving children and their biological parents of their fundamental human rights. The aim should be to reunite children with their families as soon as possible, he said. But Barnevernet too often does the opposite and seeks to break biological bonds. AP STAVANGER: In this photo taken Friday, May 11, 2015, Feridun Mustafaoglu hold pictures of his children in his small one-room rental during an interview. AP Spain retirees battle foreign pension tax MADRID: Eyeing a year-end general election, Spanish retirees who worked abroad have stepped up their protests against the cashstrapped government s bid to collect back taxes on their foreign pensions. When Spain went into recession in 2008, the government scrambled to find ways to boost state coffers, and since 2013 has tapped a new vein: back taxes on foreign pensions from hundreds of thousands of former expatriate Spaniards who returned home to live out their retirement. In some cases people have been given just 15 days to pay up. These people have suffered great moral and economic harm, said Eva Foncubierta, the president of the Spanish Federation of Returned Emigrants (FAER). These former emigrants greatly contributed to Spain s development and they don t deserve to be treated this way, said Foncubierta, whose parents emigrated from the southern Andalucia region to the Netherlands and now find themselves targeted by the tax office. About 800,000 people are affected by conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy s measure, according to FAER. Foncubierta points out that Spanish pensioners are only required to pay tax on annual income above 22,000 Euros provided they have only one source for the revenue. The problem is that the tax office considers a basic pension and a supplementary pension, even if they are paid by the same country, to be two separate revenues, resulting in a lowering of the tax threshold. We demand that pensions be considered as a single income, said Maruchi Alvarez, the spokesman of a Galician association of emigrants. Chained to tax office By the end of July around 145,000 retirees had settled their tax bill, increasing state coffers by 309 million Euros ($352 million), according to budget ministry figures. This is robbery and an injustice, said Miguel Martinez, who worked as an autoworker in Paris between 1964 and 1974 and receives a monthly pension of 330 Euros from the French state. He was shocked to receive a registered letter last year demanding the payment of back taxes on his French pension for the past five years of around 5,000 Euros-a sum equivalent to one third of his total yearly income. Before I paid 85 Euros in taxes on my Spanish pension of 11,700 Euros. When the extra 4,000 Euros (in pensions) from France were taken into account, the amount jumped to 962 Euros, he said. Martinez, who lives in the town of Callosa de Segura in the eastern Mediterranean province of Alicante, has chained himself to three different tax offices in protest. He says his anger is fuelled by the fact that he has a letter issued in 2011 by the tax authorities certifying that his French pension was not taxable. - AFP

11 INTERNATIONAL Suu Kyi: Rebels shouldn t sign peace deal in haste YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has warned armed ethnic minority groups not to rush into signing a nationwide cease-fire, a top party colleague said yesterday, a position that pits her against President Thein Sein, who has made reaching a deal before November elections his top priority. Talks between more than a dozen rebel groups and the government have been held on and off again for more than 18 months. Win Htein, an executive of the opposition National League for Democracy, said party leader Suu Kyi expressed her opinion at a Saturday meeting with Maj. Htoo Htoo Lay of the Karen National Union, which has announced it is ready to sign. The KNU is one of the bigger ethnic minority groups that have been fighting the central government for decades to win greater autonomy. Suu Kyi said ethnic groups will have to consider not signing the nationwide cease-fire agreement before the Nov 8 general election, he said. It has to be meaningful. Suu Kyi has so far stayed largely silent on the issue. But with elections around the corner and her party widely expected to win a majority of the JHARKHAND: In this photograph taken on August 5, 2015, Indian villager Anjali Hembrom speaks during an interview with AFP in Giridih district. AFP Women Maoists facing grim life on frontline GIRIDIH: A shiver runs down her spine each time Anjali Hembrom recalls the abuse she endured during six months spent with heavily armed Maoist guerrillas in their liberated zone deep inside India s remote forests. Hembrom, 20, was kidnapped four years ago after the rebels swooped on a tribal village in the state of Jharkhand, looking for new recruits. Taken to their self-declared liberated zone inside the jungles where the Maoists reign supreme, Hembrom endured repeated rapes as a punishment for refusing to join their ranks before staging a daring escape. I still wake up with cold sweats in the middle of the night, Hembrom told AFP in an oncamera interview in Giridih town, her face silhouetted for fear of being identified. Before fleeing her captors, Hembrom witnessed women combatants being subdued into cooking, cleaning and pleasuring their seniors in a cult-like setup. While Hembrom says she was pressganged into joining the Maoists, hundreds of women have willingly joined up to fight, desperate to escape grinding poverty in their deeply patriarchal communities. But as well as the risk of sexual abuse if captured by security forces, the women fighters are frequently raped by their brothers in arms. They must have joined the cadres with lofty revolutionary ideas, said Hembrom. It s not a life they would have imagined ever. Horrifying abuse The Maoists, who dominate thousands of square miles of the Red Corridor stretching across central and eastern India, claim to be fighting for the land rights of marginalised tribal communities. Their insurgency has claimed around 10,000 lives, and is considered India s most serious internal security threat. Hembrom s account of life inside Maoist camps resonates with a former cadre who has talked about rampant sexual violence in her autobiography. In Diary of a Maoist, Shobha Mandi, who surrendered in 2010, says she was repeatedly raped by her commanders over seven years. Every woman is seen as an object for satisfying the lust of the male cadres. What I experienced over there was horrifying, worse than the oppression that the women of rural India face, she wrote. The women fighters, believed to number around 4,000, are mainly used for cultural or support activities although many have had weapons training. A video recently seized by police from a rebel camp and shared with AFP showed young women fighters in olive green fatigues with machine guns slung on their hips joining their male counterparts on assault courses. Robin Hood allure Dayamani Barla, a 49-year-old woman tribal activist and political leader who was briefly jailed for aligning with the Maoist cause, said women are often driven to join the rebels for money and food. Also, the Maoists have a certain Robin Hood kind of allure. The whole idea of taking on the rich and mighty appeals to women who have experienced some kind of exploitation at the hands of either the police or the landlords, she told AFP. So it s a case of the devil and the deep sea for these women. Barla said tribal women had also been subjected to the most extreme forms of violence by the Salwa Judum, a civil militia created and funded by the state to counter the Maoists in 2005 but disbanded later. Allegations about police brutality and custodial rape abound but very few cases are reported for fear of retribution and a culture of impunity for among the armed forces. The murder in 2006 of a tribal man for being a Maoist and the subsequent gangrape of his wife over several days inside a police station in Chhattisgarh state is one of the few documented cases. Booker Prizewinning novelist Arundhati Roy who has recounted the time she spent with the insurgents in her book Walking with the Comrades, says women wronged by the state have no choice but to take up arms. When you have 800 CRPF (a paramilitary force)... marching three days into the forest, surrounding a forest village and burning it and raping women, what are the poor supposed to do?, she said in an interview to India s CNN-IBN news network in AFP Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghan insider attack KABUL: Men wearing Afghan military uniforms shot dead two NATO soldiers in the country s south yesterday, the coalition said, the first insider attack on foreign troops since the Taleban s bitter power transition. So-called green-on-blue attacks-when Afghan soldiers or police turn their guns on international troops-have been a major problem during NATO s long years fighting alongside Afghan forces. No group has so far claimed responsibility for yesterday s attack in the volatile province of Helmand. It was the first such incident since Mullah Akhtar Mansour was named the new Taleban chief following the announcement of the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar. Two Resolute Support (NATO) service members died early this morning when two individuals wearing Afghan (military) uniforms opened fire on their vehicle at an (Afghan security forces) compound in Helmand province, a NATO statement said. Resolute Support service members returned fire and killed the shooters, it added, without revealing the nationalities of the foreign soldiers. The statement did not give the precise location of the attack, which highlights long-simmering tensions between Afghan and foreign forces. Western officials say most such incidents stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings rather than insurgent plots. The killings have bred fierce mistrust between local and foreign forces even though their number has declined in recent years. The last insider attack was in April, when an American soldier was killed in a firefight between US and Afghan troops in eastern Afghanistan. Residual force It was the first apparent green-on-blue attack since Washington announced a delay in US troop withdrawals from the country. NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last December and pulled out the bulk of its troops although a 13,000- strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the time said the US soldier s killing showed that work remains to shore up Afghan forces in the dangerous country. One of the worst insider attacks took place last August when US Major General Harold Greene was killed-the most senior American military officer to die in action overseas since the Vietnam War. NATO troops have adopted special security measures in recent years to try to counter the threat. The Afghan military, which has been built from scratch since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001, has also struggled with insider attack killings, high casualty rates and mass desertions. AFP seats, she has begun speaking out more on some issues. Ethnic unrest was long used as an excuse for the army to exercise control over the country s administration, and is a very sensitive issue because it relates to the country s unity. Veto powers Some of the larger ethnic parties are loosely allied with her party, sharing the perception that the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party is their antagonist. It is unlikely, however, that she would have much influence over their NAKYAL SECTO: India and Pakistan aborted rare talks this weekend under a cloud of recriminations, while on the front line of their festering conflict in Kashmir, villagers cowering from artillery in mud huts despair of ever seeing lasting peace. Pakistan s National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz called off a trip to New Delhi for a planned icebreaking meeting on Sunday with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval at the last minute amid a row over the agenda for the talks. The cancellation dashed hopes of any imminent breakthrough in the nuclear-armed neighbors longfraught relations. Shelling across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC) in disputed Kashmir, has been on the rise this month, with several civilians killed. The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both, since the two countries gained independence from Britain in Nahra, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, just 400 meters from Indian army positions, is one of the worst affected villages, where locals say they were hit by shells almost every day last week. With no proper bunkers in which to take cover from mortars, residents are forced to hide in their mud-brick houses. Villager Muhammad Nazar, 53, described how his home was destroyed by an Indian barrage last week. I had just put my children to bed, they were afraid to sleep, then the Indian firing started and the walls of my house came crashing down, he told AFP. My children were screaming, I wrapped my arms around the children as we hid behind what was left of the walls. It ended early morning and I took my family to a neighbor s house where we live now-i have nowhere else to go. Beautiful, scarred Nahra lies in Nakyal sector, a collection of half a dozen small villages strung out across a lush green valley typical of Kashmir, a region famed for its beauty but blighted by positions, unless they believe her party can take power and offer a better deal. The military, however, has veto power over any constitutional amendments, limiting any major changes her party might try to make. While the government has been saying for more than a year that a cease-fire agreement is imminent, fighting continues with several groups, and it has refused so far to accept several demands from the rebel groups. The latest stumbling block is the government s decision to exclude the Shan state s Ta ang National Liberation Army, the Kokang group and the Arakan decades of conflict. Unfortunately for the locals in Nakyal, the Indian and Pakistani troops occupy the heights on either side of the valley, leaving the civilian population stuck in the middle-and badly exposed. Locals said around 100 families had fled villages to take cover in wooded areas on nearby hillsides. Crops have been destroyed, schools forced to close for weeks and shops open only long enough for people to buy essentials. Javed Budhanvi, a member of the Pakistani Kashmir parliament from Nakyal, said at least 15,000 people in around 10 villages had been affected by recent Indian firing. Children are terrified, they can t go to school, they can t step out of their homes to play and even in their homes they are not able to sleep because of the fear of Indian firing, he told AFP. India insists it is simply returning fire that Pakistan has started. Pakistani soldiers have been firing mortars and guns without any provocation, a defense source in Indian-administered Kashmir told AFP. Our people in border villages have been suffering as well. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said Pakistan was responsible for 91 ceasefire violations since the two countries prime ministers met at a regional summit in Russia last month. Weary pessimism That meeting, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s agreement to attend another regional summit in Pakistan next year, raised hopes of a breakthrough after months of heightened tensions. Little of substance was expected but the very fact that Aziz and Doval were to meet at all was seen as progress. But the plan faltered at familiar obstacles: Aziz s intention to meet Army from the pact because they are not among the 15 officially recognized rebel armies. Ethnic armed groups and government representatives have signed a number of cease-fire agreements since independence from colonial rule in quest of peace, but the deals have usually fallen apart. Martyred independence hero Gen. Aung San - Suu Kyi s father - in 1947 signed the Panglong Agreement, which was supposed to serve as a model for allowing autonomy for ethnic minority groups, but was ultimately neglected. AP Fear, despair in Kashmir as India-Pakistan talks falter Cancellation dashes hopes of breakthrough CANBERRA: The deep sea hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner will likely include cuttingedge sonar equipment when it ramps up again in October after the stormy southern hemisphere winter has passed, the Australian search leader said yesterday. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which oversees the recovery operation on Malaysia s behalf, has been criticized by some deep-sea salvage experts for not choosing synthetic aperture sonar, or SAS, from the outset of the search for Flight 370 that began far off the west Australian coast in October last year. With the standard side-scan sonar that has been used to scour half the search area so far, the sonar image of a seabed feature becomes less clear the farther it is away. With SAS, the sonar image remains Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi-an issue that skippered foreign secretary-level talks last year-and India s insistence the agenda should focus on terrorism. Pakistan s failure to hand over or prosecute the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai attacks has infuriated India, particularly when the suspected ringleader, Zaki-ur- NAKYAL SECTOR: In this photograph taken on August 18, 2015, Pakistani Kashmiri girls look through a damaged wall hit by a mortar during cross border shelling on the heavily militarized Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. AFP Rehman Lakhvi, was freed on bail. Islamabad, for its part, insists talks must be wide-ranging and include thorny issues like Kashmir. The two sides ended up blaming each other for the collapse of the talks, while back on the front line, retired schoolteacher Muhammad Farooq, 52, has only weary skepticism for the whole idea of talks. Pakistan and India have been negotiating since 1947 but what s the result? he said. We are forced to live the life of a fugitive here in these forests-what have we done to deserve it? AFP MH370 search to ramp up with new sonar equipment KUALA LUMPUR: A man walks pasts a mural representing the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at an alley in Shah Alam. AFP sharp regardless of the feature s distance. Martin Dolan, the bureau s chief commissioner, said negotiations are underway to hire SAS equipment to add to a fourth ship that would join the search during the approaching summer, with the aim of combing the entire 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) search area in the Indian Ocean by the middle of next year. Only two ships have continued the search through the harsh winter months using standard side-scan sonar. Our preference would be to get synthetic if we can, but we can make use of conventional side-scan, Dolan said. The advantage of synthetic is that you can get greater resolution, so it helps in those areas that require closer examination, he said. Fugro Survey Pty Ltd, the Dutch underwater survey company hired by Australia to search for the plane that vanished on March 8 last year with 239 people aboard, has defended its use of traditional side-scan sonar. Fugro search director Paul Kennedy has described SAS as developing technology with some questions about its reliability. Critics fear that aircraft wreckage several hundred meters (yards) from traditional side-scan sonar transponders could be invisible. Fugro points to its success in March in finding a 19th century ship wreck more than 300 meters (900 feet) from a sonar transponder as proof that their equipment works. Data gaps The search has covered more than 60,000 square kilometers of seabed, focusing on flat and featureless expanses where the expensive sonar equipment can be towed quickly with less risk of crashing into underwater mountains. But the searched area includes holes that searchers describe as data gaps due to shadows caused by geological features. These sonar shadows have been catalogued and will be searched later before any seabed is declared free of wreckage. Dolan said these shadows will be searched in detail from October by an underwater drone equipped with a video camera. The so-called autonomous underwater vehicle has spent the winter at the Australian port city of Fremantle because it does not cope well with mountainous winter seas. He hopes SAS will also be used to search shadows. But even without SAS, he expects the search will be completed by June or July if wreckage is not found. Senior government officials from Australia, Malaysia and China - which lost 153 Chinese citizens in the disaster - are to meet in Australia next month to discuss the future funding of the search. So far, the underwater search has cost 80 million Australian dollars ($57 million), with the Australian and Malaysian governments splitting the cost. China refused in June a request to pay a third. Malaysia has so far committed to spending a total of AU$43 million. Australia expects the search will cost another AU$80 million in the fiscal year that started July 1, and hopes Malaysia will again pay half. AP

12 INTERNATIONAL Obama apologizes to Japan after WikiLeaks spy claims TOKYO: US President Barack Obama yesterday apologized to Tokyo after WikiLeaks claimed Washington had spied on Japanese politicians, a government spokesman said yesterday. Obama held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday morning, spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, adding that the pair agreed to work together on global economic issues in the wake of a stock market meltdown sparked by fears over China. President Obama said he was very sorry... as the case caused a big debate in Japan, Suga told a regular news conference, without confirming the spying claims. He added that Abe reiterated his serious concern over the case. Prime Minister Abe told (Obama) that, if the Japanese people concerned were subject to these activities, it would risk jeopardizing trusting relations between allies, Suga said. In an earlier conversation with US Vice President Joe Biden, Abe voiced similar concerns if the spying claims were confirmed. Last month, WikiLeaks said it had intercepts revealing years-long espionage by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on Japanese officials and major companies. Tokyo s response has been widely seen as muted compared to the anger expressed in France and Germany following similar NSA spying allegations. Japan is one of Washington s key allies in the Asia-Pacific region and they regularly consult on defence, economic and trade issues. Unlike German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande, Abe did not appear to be a direct target of wiretapping-but other senior politicians were, according to WikiLeaks, including Trade Minister Yoichi Miyazawa. Obama and Abe also discussed market turmoil that has seen a massive global equities sell off after China cut the value of its Yuan currency in an apparent bid to boost exports, sparking fears of an economic slowdown and the subsequent impact on global growth. (Abe and Obama) will firmly work together on the economy issue, Suga said, without elaborating. He added that Obama repeated Washington s support for Abe s speech on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII in which he expressed regret but also said future generations need not apologize for Japan s war record. The president said he welcomed (Abe s remarks) as a whole, Suga said, referring to the speech earlier this month. Allies including the United States and Britain supported Abe s statement, but China and South Korea said he failed to properly apologize for Tokyo s war time aggression. Japan s neighbors suffered badly from its imperial march across Asia in the first part of the 20th century. AFP News i n b r i e f China safety chief sacked as blasts death toll rises HWACHEON: South Korean soldiers patrol the barbed-wire fence of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. AFP US says North military easing off war footing We re readjusting our own defense posture SEOUL: The North Korean military is slowly easing its battle-readiness posture, South Korean and US officials said yesterday after Seoul and Pyongyang secured a deal allowing them to step back from the brink of an armed clash. Under the agreement reached after marathon, top-level negotiations in the border truce village of Panmunjom, the North undertook to shift down from a semi war state once the South ended propaganda broadcasts across the border at midday Tuesday. The defense ministry in Seoul said it had noted a number of signs of de-escalation, including the re-appearance of a large part of the North s submarine fleet that had been deployed off-radar over the weekend. As the North is easing its combat readiness, we re readjusting our own defense posture, said a ministry official who declined to be identified. Both militaries had been on maximum alert for days, amid an escalating crisis that saw South Korean and US fighters flying dummy Marcos son mulls presidential run MANILA: The son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos said yesterday he may run for president in next year s elections, offering his once-exiled family the chance of the ultimate political comeback. Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, popularly known as Bongbong, said he would not seek a second term as senator and was aiming for higher office, which in the Philippines can only be president or vice president. The discussions I have been having with different groups, with other individuals have really centred on higher office, the 57-year-old said on ABS-CBN television. Asked directly if he would run for president or vice president, Marcos said: It s extremely difficult to make a decision at this point. Ferdinand Marcos Snr ruled the Philippines for two decades until 1986 when millions of people took to the streets in a famous people power revolution. The Marcos family fled to the United States, and the patriarch died in exile in Hawaii in The rest of the family, headed by controversial matriarch Imelda, returned in 1991 and began a successful political comeback despite accusations the presidential couple stole billions in state coffers and oversaw widespread human rights abuses. Bongbong Marcos won a Senate position in 2010, the first time since his father s demise that a family member had won a nationally elected post. The Marcos matriarch, famous for her luxurious lifestyle, has also since 2010 been a member of parliament, representing her husband s northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province. Imelda, now aged 86, has spoken often of her desire for her son to take the presidency back for the family. However, public opinion surveys currently show there is little support for Marcos Jnr as president. I always see surveys as a starting point, he said about his poor poll ratings. The current Philippine president, Benigno Aquino, is the only son and namesake of the late strongman s political nemesis, whose assassination in 1983 led to the popular uprising three years later. The assassinated hero s wife, Corazon Aquino, led the revolution and was the nation s first president after Marcos s fall. Highlighting the fickle nature of Philippine politics, Marcos said he could run for the vice presidency next year on a ticket with current presidential favourite Jejomar Binay. Binay was a human rights campaigner during the dictatorship and is now the vice president, but he has faced widespread accusations of corruption in recent years. This is Philippine politics, you cannot discount the possibility of things you did not imagine would happen, could happen. Never say never, he said when asked about a Binay union. Last month, Aquino anointed his unpopular interior minister, Manuel Roxas, as his preferred successor. AFP bombing runs and North Korean heavy artillery units being wheeled up to the border. The ministry official said the North had been observed closing gunports on heavy weapons installations guarding the Koreas disputed Yellow Sea border. Handguns, not rifles And North Korean security guards in Panmunjom were back to carrying handguns, rather than the rifles they had shouldered since Friday, he added. The latest inter-korean crisis had its roots in landmine blasts earlier this month that maimed two South Korean soldiers on patrol along the border with the North. Seoul blamed Pyongyang and responded by switching on banks of giant speakers, which had lain silent for more than a decade, and blasting propaganda messages into North Korea. The North denied any involvement and threatened to attack the propaganda units as cross-border military tensions soared. The agreement MANILA: The Philippine defense chief said he asked the visiting US Pacific commander yesterday to help protect the transport of fresh Filipino troops and supplies to Philippine-occupied reefs in the disputed South China Sea by deploying American patrol planes to discourage Chinese moves to block the resupply missions. The Philippines has protested past attempts by Chinese coast guard ships to block smaller boats transporting fresh military personnel, food and other supplies to a Filipino military ship outpost at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, which is also being claimed and guarded by Chinese coast guard ships. The tense standoff at the shoal has lasted two years. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the commander, Adm. Harry Harris Jr, assured him of US readiness to provide assistance, adding that the US military has flown reached in Panmunjom saw the North express regret-but not admit responsibility-for the maiming of the two soldiers, while the South undertook to cease the high-decibel broadcasts. The United States, which has close to 30,000 troops permanently stationed in ally South Korea, welcomed the decision to de-escalate after what it called a very tense few days. In a regular briefing for reporters, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said US surveillance had also noted a relaxation in the North s military stance. Efforts to de-escalate As this agreement s moved forward, we have seen, at least on the part of the North Koreans, some efforts to de-escalate... both on land and at sea, Cook said. It doesn t mean we re back to normal, but we feel better about this situation, Cook added. While both North and South have spun very different interpretations of the joint communique that came out an aircraft at least once when a Philippine boat delivered supplies last year to Filipino marines marooned on a rusty naval ship that ran aground years ago at the disputed shoal. We won t be troubled Journalists witnessing a resupply mission last year saw a US military plane hovering above a Filipino supply boat, which a Chinese coast guard ship tried but failed to block. Such US flights deter Chinese moves, Gazmin said, adding that Philippine resupply boats have been harassed less by Chinese coast guard ships after the deployment of the US patrol plane. If there are Americans flying around there, we won t be troubled, Gazmin told The Associated Press in an interview. We need to be helped in our resupply missions. The best way they could assist is through their presence. Second Thomas Shoal, which is called of the Panmunjom meeting, they have also made positive noises about an additional undertaking to hold official talks either in Seoul of Pyongyang. South Korea s Unification Ministry, which overseas cross border relations, said a broad range of issues could be discussed at such talksincluding Pyongyang s demand for the lifting of sanctions imposed after the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel in The South maintains the corvette was sunk by a North Korean torpedo and has demanded a full apology in return for lifting the sanctions which cut nearly all economic and commercial links with the North. North Korea had repeatedly denied the charge and frequently cited the sanctions as a major obstacle to improved relations. Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon- Hee said the North might well consider bringing up the sanctions issue at the proposed talks. In which case, I think it can be dealt with through dialogue, Jeong said. AFP Philippines seeks US help in sea dispute Ayungin by Filipinos and Ren ai by the Chinese, and the nearby Spratly Islands lie about 120 miles from the western Philippine province of Palawan, and about 700 miles from southern China. China s foreign ministry says Beijing has indisputable sovereignty over the shoal. The Philippine navy deliberately ran one of its ships aground at the shoal in 1999, fearing that Chinese forces would occupy it after taking control of nearby Mischief Reef four years earlier. A Chinese frigate and maritime surveillance ships arrived in 2013 and the uneasy standoff remains unresolved. The underfunded Philippine military has turned to the US, a longtime treaty ally, to rapidly acquire refurbished warships and planes as the territorial rifts intensified in recent years. Gazmin said Washington has agreed to provide two C-130 cargo planes previously used by the US Marines. AP MANILA: US Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry Harris (3rd left) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, General Hernando Iriberri (left), inspect an honor guard during a ceremony. AFP BEIJING: The head of China s work safety watchdog has been sacked, state media said yesterday, two weeks after giant explosions in one of the country s largest ports killed 139 and injured hundreds. Yang Dongliang, director and Communist Party chief of the State Administration of Work Safety, was fired for suspected severe violation of discipline and the law, according to a one-line report from the official Xinhua news agency. The phrase is generally used by the ruling party as a euphemism for corruption. Yang was put under investigation less than a week after a series of explosions rocked a chemical storage facility in the northern port of Tianjin on August 12. The death toll rose to 139 yesterday, with 34 still missing and more than 500 people in hospital, local officials announced on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. It was not clear whether there was any direct connection between Yang s removal and the explosions. But Yang, 61, worked in the city for 18 years and rose to be one of its vice mayors before taking office at the work safety agency in Industrial accidents are common in China, with corruption thought to be a key factor behind lax enforcement of safety regulations. State media said one of the owners of the company which ran the chemical facility was related to a former high ranking city police officer. The incident sparked widespread outrage over alleged government collusion with the firm, and fears of pollutants contaminating the air and water of the city, which is home to about 15 million people. The State Council, or cabinet, has vowed to conduct a rigorous investigation into the cause of the explosions. Thai Elephant kills keeper, runs off with 3 on its back BANGKOK: An elephant in northern Thailand went berserk yesterday, killing his mahout keeper before running off into the jungle with three terrified Chinese tourists still on his back, police said. The mahout who was killed was Karen and he was not familiar with the elephant. They (the tourists) are safe now, Colonel Thawatchai Thepboon, police commander of Mae Wang district in Chiang Mai province, told AFP. The Karen are an ethnic minority common in northern Thailand. Police said the incident took place at 9.30am (0230 GMT) as a Chinese family of three-a father, mother and a young child-took a ride on the back of a male elephant. Rides are a popular and lucrative tourist activity but many animal rights groups say it is cruel and stressful for the pachyderms. The elephant had not taken easily to his new keeper and turned on him suddenly, goring him to death, Channel 3 reported. The channel broadcast footage of the three frightened tourists being led back to camp still on the elephant s back once it had been calmed down by other mahouts and their rides. Thailand s roughly 4,000 domesticated elephants outnumber an estimated 2,500 remaining in the wild. Domestic elephants in Thailand-where the pachyderm is a national symbol have been used en masse in the tourist trade since they found themselves unemployed in 1989 when logging was banned. Accidents are not unheard of. In June an elephant killed a Thai man and injured another as they were eating dinner at a beachside restaurant. The pair had been talking to the animal s mahout when it suddenly flipped. Rights groups have documented the more unscrupulous mahouts using controversial techniques to crush the animal s spirit or severely overworking their rides to make more money. Flash floods kill 40 people in N Korea SEOUL: Flash floods caused by heavy rain killed 40 people in North Korea s northeastern border area over the weekend, the International Federation of the Red Cross said yesterday. Particularly heavy rain accompanying Typhoon Goni battered the Rason special economic zone where the borders of North Korea, Russia and China converge, the IFRC said in a statement. The floods affected more than 11,000 people, with 153 houses completely destroyed and 849 houses damaged, it said, adding its report was based on information provided by North Korean authorities. The federation said the North s Red Cross Society had quickly sent an 80-member team to assist evacuation and hand out non-food relief goods in cooperation with IFRC officials. These included tarpaulins, family tents, cooking sets, water containers, shelter toolkits, quilts, hygiene kits and water purification tablets. More rain is forecast in (North Korea) and many disaster-prone areas in other provinces are likely to be affected, Khaled Masud Ahmed, a IFRC disaster management delegate in North Korea, said in the statement. The North s official KCNA news agency confirmed heavy rain caused 40 human casualties in Rason and inundated large swathes of farmland. Up to 250 mm pummeled Rason from early Saturday to late Sunday, destroying 5,240 houses, 99 public service buildings and 51 railway sections, KCNA said. In June the impoverished country said its main rice-growing provinces had been badly damaged by what state media described as the worst drought for a century. Poor weather makes it harder for the communist state to feed its 24 million people as it lacks advanced agricultural technology and infrastructure. Decades of deforestation and decrepit infrastructure have left it vulnerable to floods.

13 NEWS Rick Yen is silhouetted as he casts a rod while fishing for salmon near the mouth of the Capilano River off Ambleside Park at sunset in West Vancouver, British Columbia on Tuesday. AP Iran enlists poor Afghan refugees to boost Assad KABUL: The fate of two brothers from Kabul, one grievously wounded, the other killed fighting in Syria, spotlights Iran s covert but active recruitment of Afghan refugees to buttress President Bashar Al-Assad s steadily depleting forces. Shiite Iran, Assad s key military and financial patron, denies enlisting Afghan mercenaries to fight alongside Syrian forces in the four-year conflict against opposition Sunni rebels that has left more than 240,000 people dead and millions displaced. But interviews with Afghan fighters and relatives of combatants killed in Syria point to a vigorous - and sometimes coerced - recruitment drive of Shiite Hazara refugees by Iran s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps propping up Assad s floundering regime. Tears well up in Jehantab s rheumy eyes as she recalls the haunting parting words of her husband, 35-year-old Haider, when he called two months ago from Tehran: I am going to Syria - and I may not come back. Very few fighters survive Syria s brutal conflict, he told me, said Jehantab, swaddled in a white scarf and sitting with three young children on the floor of her Kabul home. Haider, she said, was lured by the monthly salary of $700 - a tidy sum for a laborer with no combat experience - and the promise of an Iranian residency permit, an attractive inducement for refugees who otherwise live in constant fear of deportation. I begged him: Don t go, don t kill yourself US reporter, cameraman killed in on-air... Continued from Page 1 Tweets posted on Williams Twitter account yesterday described workplace conflicts with both victims. They say Williams filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Parker, and that Ward had reported Williams to human resources. Marks said Williams alleged that other employees made racially tinged comments to him, but said his EEOC claim was dismissed and none of his allegations could be corroborated. We think they were fabricated, Marks said. ABC News reported on its website that the network received a 23-page fax from someone claiming to be Williams. The network said the fax was turned over to authorities, and did not elaborate on its contents. This gentleman was disturbed at way things had turned out at some point in his life. Things were spiraling out of control, Franklin County Sheriff W Q Bill Overton Jr said at a news conference. Both the victims were romantically involved with other employees at the station, according to Parker s boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst. He wrote online that they hadn t shared their relationship publicly but were very much in love. He said they had just moved in together and wanted to get married. I am numb, he said. The shooting happened around 6:45 am at Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County, as Parker interviewed Gardner about the upcoming 50th anniversary festivities for Smith Mountain Lake, a local tourism destination. for money, said Jehantab, who asked to be identified only by her first name in order not to jeopardize her chances of getting the permit. Haider s premonition came true - a few days after he left, an Iranian official informed his relatives, also refugees in Tehran, that he had been killed in battle. Haider was part of a growing wave of jobless young Afghans seeking shelter in neighboring Iran from decades of turmoil and war tearing their country apart, only to be ensnared in another conflict. In terms of how they are recruited, deployed, and utilized in Syria, many Afghan Shiite fighters have suffered the fate of being used as cannon fodder, said Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militant groups, who estimates there are 2,000 to 3,500 Afghans currently fighting in Syria. Some are coerced to fight, others promised residency papers for their family, and a small salary. It demonstrates Iran s exploitation of Afghan Shiite refugees. The Iranian embassy in Kabul told AFP it rejects allegations that Tehran is enlisting Afghan refugees as completely baseless. But in a video posted online apparently by anti- Assad rebels last year, a dazed and bloodied Afghan militiaman is seen confessing that he was an illegal immigrant in Iran, where authorities offered him $600 a month to fight in Syria - or face deportation. It was not possible for AFP to verify the authenticity of the video. AFP Ward, 27, graduated from Virginia Tech, said WDBJ spokesman Mike Morgan. Adam was our go-to guy. He pretty much was available to do anything that we asked, Morgan said. He did live shots during our morning show for several years. Parker had just turned 24 and had joined the station as an intern after attending James Madison University, where she was the editor of the school s newspaper, The Breeze. According to her Facebook page, Parker spent most of her life outside Martinsville, Virginia. She was an avid kayaker and attended community theater events in her spare time. The station is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and serves the southwest and central part of the state. The shootings happened at a mall just off Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, about 25 miles southeast of Roanoke. According to his social media sites, Flanagan attended San Francisco State University. A university spokesman said he graduated in 1995 with a degree in radio and television. The White House said the shooting was another example of gun violence that is becoming all too common. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that Congress could pass legislation that would have a tangible impact on reducing gun violence in this country. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said, Keeping guns out of the hands of people who would use them to harm our family, friends and loved ones is not a political issue; it is a matter of ensuring that more people can come home safely at the end of the day. Agencies India s Hindu population drops, Muslim... Continued from Page 1 Authorities in western Gujarat state said the army had been deployed to try to restore peace after a mass rally turned violent, with protesters torching cars, buses and police stations. The violence appears to have been triggered by the detention late Tuesday of the 22-year-old leader of a mass movement by the Patidar or Patel caste demanding preferential treatment for jobs and university places. Director general of police P P Pande told AFP three people had been killed in the main city of Ahmedabad, where an estimated half a million people gathered for a rally on Tuesday. The violence later spread to other parts of the state and another two people were killed when police opened fire on rioters early yesterday in Banaskantha district. A sixth protester died in Mehsana district later yesterday, also in police firing, the district superintendent J R Mothalia told AFP by phone. The police late yesterday said that the seventh victim was a police constable, who was beaten by a mob and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Two others injured in the rioting, including a 30-year-old man detained by the police, succumbed to injuries late yesterday, Ahmedabad police inspector P D Parmar told AFP. I appeal to all brothers and sisters of Gujarat that they should not resort to violence, Modi said in a statement. Violence has never done good for anyone. All issues can be resolved peacefully through talks, said Modi, who served as the state s chief minister for more than a decade, in a television address delivered in his native Gujarati. Media reports said it was the first time the army had to be deployed in Gujarat since religious violence in 2002 that left more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. The streets of Ahmedabad were deserted yesterday with schools, shops and businesses closed. But some protests continued in Surat, the centre of India s lucrative Thirsty Mideast faces water stress Continued from Page 1 One measure likely to become more common in the Middle East and elsewhere is water reuse systems that recycle waste water. It doesn t make a lot of sense to treat water to a potable standard, allow it to be used by households and then essentially throw it away, Otto said. Some Middle Eastern countries already rely on desalination, a technique to remove salt from sea and ground water. These and other highly water-stressed nations may also need to move away from producing their own food because agriculture gobbles water, Otto noted. Saudi Arabia, for example, has said its people will depend entirely on grain imports by 2016, the WRI researchers said. While political turmoil may be the top concern in the Middle East today, drought and water shortages in Syria likely contributed to the social unrest that stoked its civil war, the WRI experts said, as some 1.5 million people - mainly farmers and herders - moved to urban areas unable to provide enough jobs and services. Water has also played a significant role in the decades-old conflict between the Palestinian Territories and Israel, they noted. It s unlikely that water becomes the cause of the conflict, but it can become an accelerator or multiplier of those Saudi suspect in Khobar Towers attack... Continued from Page 1 The US later moved its Air Force contingent to the Prince Sultan Air Base, a vast compound in a remote stretch of desert south of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The Saudi Hezbollah extremist group was founded by members of the desert kingdom s Shiite minority who fled into exile in the 1980s to escape what they said was persecution by the kingdom s Sunni majority. The 2001 indictment placed heavy blame on Iran for nurturing the attack but stopped short of mentioning any Iranians by name or linking them directly to Khobar. However, in 2006, US District Judge Royce C Lamberth ruled the Iranian government financed the bombing, ordering it to pay $254 million to the attack s victims. Iran repeatedly has denied being involved. Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the U.S Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, declined comment. Shiites in the kingdom have long coplained that Saudi Arabia s leadership treats Shiite grievances as a security problem rather than an issue to be resolved politically. diamond trade, where local media said police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators. Political leaders appeared to have been taken by surprise by the scale of the protest movement, which began earlier this year but has rapidly gathered pace in recent weeks. The Patidars or Patels are one of the state s most affluent communities, but they say they are struggling to compete with less privileged castes for jobs. India sets aside a proportion of government jobs and university places for Dalits, known as untouchables, and for socalled other backward castes under measures intended to bring victims of the worst discrimination into the mainstream. Gujarat has a long history of communal violence going back decades, but this phenomenon is something entirely new, said Sandeep Bamzai, a veteran political analyst and journalist. Every observer is mystified by this 22-year-old boy who is leading the agitation and has acquired a cult status in so little time. It remains unclear how Hardik Patel, the 22-year-old self-styled leader of the movement, managed to mobilize such huge numbers. State authorities have already ruled out granting the Patidars request. But their firebrand leader, who was briefly detained on Tuesday but has since been released, has vowed to keep up the pressure. This is a fight for our rights... we will continue with our campaign on the roads and the streets, he said in a television interview yesterday. At least a dozen officers were injured in Tuesday s violence, prompting the first curfew in the state since There was heavy stone pelting of police vehicles and torching of police stations in Unjha and Kalol towns, said Gujarat s most senior police officer P C Thakur. As many as 100 buses were torched and property damaged in the violence in the cities of Ahmedabad, Surat and Mehsana and the towns of Unjha and Visnagar, senior local officers said. Agencies conflicts, Otto said. The analysis singled out four countries whose level of water stress is due to rise particularly sharply between 2010 and Chile, Estonia, Namibia and Botswana - putting new pressure on their businesses, farms and communities. It also warned that national-level rankings mask large differences within countries. The United States, for example, is ranked 49 for 2010 and 47 for 2040, but California is currently grappling with a crippling drought. That smoothing effect could help explain why some West African and Central American countries that regularly suffer drought-related food crises in rural areas have a low water-stress ranking. Otto said some of those countries may also see their future water supply from precipitation increase due to climate change, and that agriculture may be rain-fed rather than relying on irrigation, avoiding direct demand on surface waters. In southern Africa and other parts of the world where water supply is projected to fall as demand grows, policy makers should act to prevent water stress worsening, Otto said. We need to understand the relationship between available supply and demand for that water, and we need to take steps to use the water we have more efficiently and more effectively, she said. Reuters Four prominent Shiite activists met with the late King Fahd in 1993 for reconciliation talks after years of violence that included attacks by the Saudi Shiite Hezbollah group, which the kingdom has branded a terrorist organization. The meeting - the culmination of many discussions between Saudi officials and Shiite activists in exile - resulted in the return of some 350 activists to the kingdom, the release of political prisoners and a more relaxed policy that allowed the building of more Shiite mosques. After the 1996 attack, members of the Saudi Hezbollah group were either arrested or fled into exile. While the group no longer exists in the open and was dismantled after the Khobar attacks, it continues to be popular among some radical pockets of Shiites in Saudi Arabia s oil-rich Eastern Province. The group was created in 1987 in eastern Saudi Arabia as a pro-iranian organization modeled after the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. It also is believed to have operated in Kuwait and Bahrain. The FBI s Most Wanted Terrorists list identifies Mughassil as having been born in the eastern Saudi city of Qatif in AP

14 ANALYSIS THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961 Founder and Publisher YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : ADVERTISING : /7 FAX : /1 CIRCULATION : Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : COMMERCIAL : P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait. E MAIL :info@kuwaittimes.net Website: Issues Donors extend shelf life of 2016 hopefuls By Michael Mathes Chris Christie and Rick Perry may have stalled in the US presidential race but they could struggle on on to the first primary votes, thanks to the mega-donors keeping their campaigns afloat. Polling trends suggest neither is likely to make the 10-candidate cut for the next televised Republican presidential debate on Sept 16. But in American politics a few generous donors can keep a sputtering campaign alive, even when the political winds fail to fill a candidate s sails. This is the bring-your-own-billionaire election, Chris Gates, president of the Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan, pro-transparency group that is tracking 2016 campaign finance, told AFP on Monday. It does allow them to hang on, he said of the largesse. It extends the shelf life of candidates who may not be creating any buzz or fire in the electorate. Individuals are limited to contributing $2,700 directly to any candidate in federal elections. But with campaign finance laws loosened in recent years, Americans are unbridled when it comes to contributing to super PACs, independent political action committees that can raise unlimited funds but cannot coordinate with a candidate s campaign. New Jersey Governor Christie and former Texas governor Perry are but two of many in the 17-deep Republican field seemingly propped up by backers with deep pockets. The pair currently average a combined 4.6 percent support in the polls. But they have seen a whopping $24 million already poured into super PACs backing their bids. Perry s official campaign raised just $1.1 million in its first month, filings with the Federal Election Commission show, far less than better-placed rivals like Jeb Bush or Ted Cruz. Perry can reportedly no longer pay many staffers, but he insists on soldiering on, saying it s not a sprint but a marathon. It s my understanding the super PAC has an extraordinary amount of dollars, Perry maintained last week, according to the Texas Tribune. They re going to be out telling our story, so we ll make this. FEC filings show that two pro-perry super PACs have raised more than $13 million, including two monster donations from a pair of Texas billionaires. One of them, Kelcy Warren, chief executive of pipeline giant Energy Transfer Partners which has Perry on its board, ponied up $6 million to the Opportunity and Freedom PACs. A million-dollar donation to America Leads, which backs Christie, came from Paul Fireman, who wants to build a $4 billion casino resort in Christie s state. Wild West Finance Four years ago it was former House speaker Newt Gingrich and conservative ex-senator Rick Santorum who kept going beyond what some thought of as their natural campaign lives thanks to wealthy benefactors, said Viveca Novak of the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit group that tracks money in politics. What s different this time is that many of these super PACs are undertaking activities previously thought of as campaign activities, including voter outreach and door-knocking, Novak said. The lines have begun to blur, and with the FEC in perpetual deadlock and offering zero enforcement, according to Sunlight s Gates, it s pretty much the wild West out there. Among top donors aiming to shape the election are Charles and David Koch, billionaire industrialists who, with a network of hundreds of donors they have cultivated over decades, plan to spend nearly $900 million through 2016, much of it on the presidential campaign. The concept of candidates beating a path to the Koch door, particularly when the brothers host private retreats where the likes of Bush, Cruz, Senator Marco Rubio and former Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina can woo hundreds of wealthy donors directly, has become known as the Koch primary. Locking up such support could spell the difference between a campaign s longevity or an early exit. What we re seeing is the ultra-wealthy picking the field, or expanding the field, Novak said. In the case of Donald Trump, the ultra-wealthy is leading the field. The bombastic real estate mogul says he is beholden to no super PACs or special interests, and that he could stay in the race for the long haul, even if his star fades once voting begins in February. AFP All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via to: opinion@kuwaittimes.net or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary. Germany s China exports turn into a risk By Paul Carrel Germany s export exposure to China, for years a source of economic strength, is fast turning into a risk that raises questions about the health of other sources of growth in Europe s largest economy. Germany has the greatest trade exposure to China of the 28 European Union nations, largely thanks to demand for its cars and the strength of its engineering industry. For years, its EU peers tried - and failed - to match Germany s export prowess in China, where German companies profited from the infrastructure and consumer spending that have helped make the Chinese economy the world s second largest. But now a slowdown in China means corporate Germany s ventures there risk turning profit streams into cost burdens. Worries about China sent global stocks tumbling on Monday before they rebounded on Tuesday when Beijing cut interest rates. The weaknesses of Germany s special relationship with China are becoming increasingly apparent, said Hans Kundnani at the German Marshall Fund. I think there is a growing perception among German business people that they are too exposed to China. Germany s economic ties to China dwarf those of its European counterparts. Led by the big carmakers, German firms moved into China faster and more aggressively than many of their rivals, and China has been a major source of growth for German exporters. In 2007, the Chinese market accounted for just 3.1 percent of German exports but that figure rose to 6.6 percent last year, Federal Statistics Office data shows. By contrast, the share of exports going to France slipped slightly over the same period. Growth in China made it Germany s fourth biggest export market in 2014, after France, accounting for 9.0 percent of total exports, the United States (8.5 percent) and Britain (7.4 percent). However, this year the Chinese market is fading fast for Germany. In the first half of 2015, export growth to China was just 0.8 percent - the same as to crisis-burdened Greece, figures from the DIHK chambers of commerce show. By Kelly Olsen China s latest interest rate cut - the fifth since November - is not enough to reverse slowing growth in the world s second-largest economy, analysts say, urging authorities to embrace lower taxes and other more aggressive measures. Increasing anxiety about weakness in China s economy, which is undergoing a difficult transition, has sent domestic and global financial markets into a tailspin and raised questions about the grip its Communist Party rulers have on policy. China accounts for more than 13 percent of worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) and is the planet s biggest trader in goods, making the health of its economy key to global growth. After the benchmark Shanghai stock index slid 22 percent over four days the People s Bank of China on Tuesday cut lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points each, and banks minimum reserve levels by 0.50 percentage points. That took its lending rate to a record low 4.60 percent, which should make it easier for individuals, companies and local governments to borrow - essential as China tries to wean its economy off exports and investment and move towards a consumer-driven model. But four previous cuts since November have failed to add any sparkle and analysts said the impact of the latest adjustments would be limited without structural changes to accompany them. China s state-controlled banks - the vast majority of the official banking system - prefer to lend to state-owned companies, denying access to funds for private firms, which are a more effective driver of growth. The central bank needs to make sure the money can go to the real economy, ANZ economist Liu Li-Gang told AFP. ANZ said reforms to the bond market were also needed to ensure firms and authorities can issue debt more easily, giving Engineers Hit German engineers exports to China shrank by 4.9 percent in the first half. Their machine products lag only cars as Germany s largest sector of export goods to China. For companies like German industrial group ThyssenKrupp, the Chinese market is important. China accounts for 16 percent of ThyssenKrupp Elevator s sales, or about 1 billion ($1.14 billion) last year. Already some leading German brands are feeling the impact of the slowdown, which saw activity in China s factory sector shrink at its fastest pace in almost 6-1/2 years in August as domestic and export demand dwindled. Carmaker Volkswagen last month lowered its global sales forecast and said it was braced for stagnant volumes in China, after years of double-digit growth in its biggest market. The German government has been at pains to describe the impact of China s slowdown for Germany as limited, and Berlin is sticking to its 1.8-percent growth forecast for this year. That throws the spotlight onto more mature markets like the United States and the EU, which Berlin says are holding up well. The United States actually overtook France in the first half of this year to become Germany s top export market for the first time since 1961, the DIHK said. But with European economies struggling to pick up economic momentum, the United States would be a rather singular market for German exporters to depend on. them an alternative source of borrowing. Economists at China International Capital Corporation said reducing taxes, especially for the corporate sector, could be a more efficient way to boost the economy and profitability by freeing up funds for productive investment. Chinese infrastructure spending has primarily benefited state-owned companies where some of it has been squandered. Down the Drain The ruling Communist Party needs to ensure continued growth to create a steady flow of jobs and raise living standards in the world s most populous nation, a key element of its claim to legitimacy. But GDP grew 7.4 percent last year, its worst for nearly a quarter of a century, and slowed further to 7.0 percent in both the first two quarters this year. Official concerns about economic weakness go back to 2013, with authorities deploying what economists dubbed a mini stimulus including tax breaks for small companies, targeted infrastructure outlays and selected cuts to banks minimum reserve levels. But from November the pace picked up with more reserve reductions and interest rate cuts-also designed to reduce high consumer saving rates and free up funds to replace investment as the country s economic driver. Another target for reform is China s stock market, which has plummeted more than 40 percent since a spectacular debt-fuelled rally peaked in mid-june, with broad government interventions failing to halt the decline. Analysts point out that its rise - fuelled by enthusiastic but ill-informed mom and pop investors - was not driven by fundamentals, and that the fall is similarly disconnected. The stock market is sliding, but the economy is not, the Global Times tabloid, which has close ties to the communist party, stressed in an editorial, while Leaner Pickings? Even if Chinese demand does hold up - Beijing still has an official 7- percent target for China is morphing from a market for German firms to a source of competition for them. Chinese companies are moving up the value chain and are increasingly competing with German companies, said Kundnani. The long-term danger for German companies is to get pushed out of the mass market into luxury niches. This is already having an effect on Germany s carmakers, which last year accounted for nearly a third of Germany s 75 billion in exports to China. VW said last month profits from its two Chinese joint ventures could even drop this year below 2014 levels amid a shift to lowerpriced cars, as demand in is increasingly driven by rural, less wealthy Chinese regions. Klaus Wohlrabe, economist at Germany s Ifo economic institute, said the China factor will grow in importance for businesses in Germany, which drove economic euro zone growth in the second quarter as France stagnated and Italy lost momentum. China s slowdown also risks hurting other German emerging export markets. A senior government official in Brazil said on Tuesday an economic recovery which had been expected later this year could be delayed due to China. That could pose a problem to German firms that have poured over 19 billion euros into the struggling Brazilian economy. Exports remain crucial to Germany s economic health. In the April-June period, they grew by 2.2 percent on the quarter, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2011 and helped drive economic growth of 0.4 percent on the quarter, Federal Statistics Office data show. But against the uncertain global economic backdrop, Germany could try to refocus its economy away from foreign trade. Germany still has room for manoeuvre and it would be a good thing to focus more on investment and less on exports, said Sandra Heep, economic policy expert at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. With the slowdown in China, this will become more urgent. A breakdown of Germany s economic performance in the second quarter highlighted its persistent weakness in investment. Gross capital investment fell in the three-month period and shaved 0.1 percentage points off economic output. Low investment is the Achilles heel of the German economy, said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the DIW economic institute in Berlin. Weaknesses in Germany s transport and digital infrastructure, skilled labour shortages and uncertainty around energy policy meant that companies were holding off investments in Germany, he said. German productivity already lags that in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States, figures from the Organisation for Economic Cooperations and Development show. By focusing so intently on export markets like China, corporate Germany risks further undermining the prospect of the domestic growth engine building steam. Reuters China rate cuts welcome, but not enough An investor gestures as he checks share prices at a securities firm in Shanghai yesterday. AFP acknowledging that the falls had made many people lose heart. Despite the white-knuckle ride from the popping of the China bubble, which triggered huge losses on global markets, some hope the government s failure to prop up overvalued shares will teach authorities a valuable lesson. ANZ s Liu described the two trillion yuan ($312 billion) they are estimated to have spent in efforts to support the market as down the drain. If they had used it to support the real economy, China s economy would be much better now, so would the stock market, he told AFP. What it Had to Do In theory, China still has ample room to reduce borrowing costs, unlike the major economies of the US, Japan and the eurozone, where rates are at or near zero. But interest rate cuts put more downward pressure on China s yuan currency, which was devalued in a shock move earlier this month and which authorities have since promised will remain stable. While that makes Chinese exports cheaper abroad, a potential economic boost, it also makes imports more expensive - and raises competition worries for other countries exporters. US officials, for example, have long argued that the yuan is undervalued. Yao Wei, Paris-based economist at Societe Generale, said in a note that the central bank did what it had to do, but that the impact of the interest rate and bank reserve cuts would depend on whether authorities continue spending foreign reserves to defend the unit. China may have used more of its reserves to prop up the currency since the Aug 11 devaluation than the almost 700 billion yuan of added liquidity expected from the bank reserve cut - neutralising the impact. The People s Bank of China should either defend the currency to the hilt or let it float freely, she said. The PBoC has to decide its currency strategy first. AFP

15 Air Force clause for Balotelli MILAN: Maverick striker Mario Balotelli will have a good behaviour clause inserted into his contract with AC Milan, banning extravagant haircuts and clothing and committing him to a healthy lifestyle. Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport said on Wednesday that the club s chief executive Adriano Galliani had based the clause on regulations which are applied to people who serve in the Italian air force. The 25-year-old, repeatedly criticised for his poor work rate, is set to return to Milan a year after leaving for Liverpool, where he had a dismal season. He underwent a medical in Milan on Tuesday ahead of an unexpected loan move, although the deal has not yet been officially confirmed. Yesterday the controversial Italian said a fond farewell to Liverpool on his Facebook page. I m grateful to Liverpool FC and Liverpool fans for the time and opportunities you gave me, he wrote. It s not a goodbye but rather a farewell. I ll be supporting you guys all the way in every competition... unless you face AC Milan. According to Gazzetta, Balotelli must not damage the image of the club and his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts will be closely monitored. He will be banned from extravagant haircuts and clothing, from smoking and from visiting night clubs and must turn up on time for training. His drinking will also be limited. Reuters SPORTS Digne seals Roma move MILAN: Serie A side Roma continued to shore up their defence yesterday with Paris Saint Germain French international left-back Lucas Digne completing his loan move to the capital club. After completing a medical, Digne, 22, signed with the Giallorossi in a one-year deal that will see Roma pay PSG 2.5m euros and could end up with the 22-year-old making the move permanent. Key to the transfer was Roma coach Rudi Garcia, who while in charge of PSG s Ligue 1 rivals Lille handed Digne his first-team debut for the club in Digne, who was a member of the France Under-20 side crowned world champions in 2013, told Roma TV: I chose Roma because it s a legendary club with a great history. I know that in this city and at this club there s everything you need to succeed. It was at Lille that Digne, despite still being a teenager, first impressed and in his second season with the northern French club he made seven appearances in the Champions League. Digne signed a five-year deal with PSG two seasons ago and in his short time with the capital club won two league titles and the French Cup. Garcia-who has guided Roma to two successive runners-up finishes behind Juventus in Serie A admitted two weeks ago strengthening his defence was a priority after the club sold Greek international Jose Holebas to newly-promoted English Premier League side Watford and French defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa joined Lyon. Since then they have signed Slovakian Norbert Gyomber from Catania on a season-long loan deal, which includes an option to make the transfer permanent. VfB Stuttgart defender Antonio Ruediger was also signed on a similar deal last week. AFP Bid to plug leaky defence LONDON: Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat says he needs more reinforcements to fix the Black Cats leaky defence which has conceded 11 goals in four games this campaign. Sunderland, who added three defenders this summer, let in three goals against League Two side Exeter City in the League cup on Tuesday before Jermain Defoe s hat-trick secured their 6-3 win. I m happy with the six goals, but totally unhappy with the way we gave three goals away. That has to improve and the players know that, the 67-year-old Dutchman was quoted as saying by the Sunderland Echo. I am wondering if it is to do with concentration, sharpness it cost us three goals, and that s a worry. And it s not the first time, the former Netherlands manager added. The Black Cats have been heavily linked with Man City s Belgian international defender Jason Denayer, but Advocaat played down the move. There has been talk about the young guy from Manchester City, but he is going to another club, said Advocaat. We are still looking, but when (Younes) Kaboul is fit, he s a very good player. Reuters Astros demolish Yankees, Jays win NEW YORK: Carlos Gomez and Evan Gattis both homered and drove in four runs, sending Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros to a 15-1 blowout of the New York Yankees that briefly got testy Tuesday night. Keuchel (15-6) held New York scoreless for the second time this season and became the first 15-game winner in the American League. Gomez busted out of a hitting slump along with several teammates and rankled the Yankees with his flashy style. The center fielder jawed with players in New York s dugout after flipping his bat aside when he flied out in the sixth inning, then stood nose to nose with young catcher John Ryan Murphy before they were separated. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but the teams quickly went their respective ways without any pushing or shoving. His next time up, Gomez launched a three-run homer into the Yankees bullpen in right-center to cap a six-run seventh. BLUE JAYS 6, RANGERS 5 Troy Tulowitzki had a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning before Adrian Beltre s throwing error allowed another Toronto run to score as the AL East-leading Blue Jays rallied for a victory over the Rangers. Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson walked two of the first three batters he faced. After pinch-hitter Justin Smoak flied out, Tulowitzki looped a single to left to tie the game 5-5. Josh Donaldson then hit a high chopper to Beltre, the four-time Gold Glove third baseman who fielded the ball before a wide throw to first base. It was only the second blown save this season for Tolleson (5-3), who has 25 saves and had converted his last 12 chances. LaTroy Hawkins (3-1) gave up three singles in a scoreless eighth before Roberto Osuna worked the ninth for his 15th save in 16 chances. ANGELS 8, TIGERS 7 Albert Pujols homered and the Angels scored three times on wild pitches in a victory over the Tigers. Both teams came into the game with four-game losing streaks, dropping the Angels 1 1/2 games behind Texas for the second American League wild card spot and the Tigers to sixth, 5 1/2 games back. Jered Weaver (6-9) picked up the win, despite allowing six runs on seven hits in innings. Weaver struck out one batter and didn t issue a walk. Huston Street got the final four outs for his 30th save. Alfredo Simon (11-8) struggled badly, giving up eight runs on nine hits, four walks and three wild pitches. He struck out two. INDIANS 11, BREWERS 6 Josh Tomlin shook off three home runs and lasted six innings to win his season debut at home and Michael Brantley homered twice, leading the Indians to a win over the Brewers. Tomlin (2-1) allowed solo homers in the first and second innings before retiring 12 straight until the sixth, when Ryan Braun hit a two-run shot. The right-hander was making his third start since being activated from the disabled list following shoulder surgery in March. He had been 0-5 in eight starts since his last win at Progressive Field. Brantley hit a pair of two-run shots for the Indians, who chased Wily Peralta (4-8) in the third inning. Jason Kipnis, who came in tied for the AL batting lead, had three hits and rookie Francisco Lindor had three RBIs for Cleveland. Jonathan Lucroy homered twice and Domingo Santana connected for Milwaukee. TWINS 11, RAYS 7 Brian Dozier, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario all homered as Minnesota beat the Rays for the Twins fifth straight win. Dozier gave Minnesota a 7-5 advantage on a two-run drive off reliever Matt Andriese (3-4) in the fourth. It was his third homer in 11 at-bats against Tampa Bay this season. Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run double during a threerun fifth that extended the Twins lead to Tampa Bay catcher Curt Casali made it 10-7 on his ninth homer since the All-Star break and 10th overall later in the fifth, but appeared to take an awkward step near first base and had to leave the game after slowly going around the bases. Sano opened the scoring on a towering three-run drive to center off Nathan Karns in the first. JR Graham (1-1) allowed one run over two-thirds of an inning for his first major league win. METS 6, PHILLIES 5 Michael Cuddyer hit a go-ahead two-run, pinch hit single in the sixth inning and Noah Syndergaard finally won on the road as the Mets beat the Phillies for their fifth straight victory. Yoenis Cespedes homered for the Mets, who have won 17 of their last 23 to remain 51/2 games up on the Nationals in the NL East. Ryan Howard and Freddy Galvis homered for Philadelphia, which has lost seven straight to the Mets. Syndergaard (8-6) did just enough to earn his first road victory of the season in his 10th try. He entered 0-5 with a 5.05 ERA away from Citi Field while 8-1 with a 1.82 at home. In five innings, Syndergaard allowed four runs, two earned, and four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. Jerome Williams (4-10) took the loss. NATIONALS 8, PADRES 3 Stephen Strasburg allowed two hits over six innings, Ryan Zimmerman hit a grand slam and the Nationals beat the Padres. Wilson Ramos also homered for the Nationals, who are chasing the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. Strasburg (8-6) struck out seven and walked one. The right-hander retired the final 15 batters he faced. Strasburg is 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA in his last seven starts and 5-1 in his career against the Padres. Zimmerman connected in the sixth off Bud Norris for an 8-2 lead. It was his fifth career slam, the first since Jedd Gyorko homered twice but San Diego lost its second straight after five consecutive wins. James Shields (9-6) DETROIT: Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols throws from his knee after fielding a Detroit Tigers James McCann ground ball during the seventh inning of a baseball game. AP NEW YORK: Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa (1) keeps his foot on the bag as he reaches for a wide throw to put out New York Yankees Brett Gardner during the ninth inning. AP gave up four runs, eight hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings. San Diego has lost 12 of his 15 starts since June 9. ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 1 Chad Bettis pitched five solid innings in his return from the disabled list and the Rockies scored four unearned runs, taking advantage of three errors by Atlanta third baseman Adonis Garcia in a victory over the Braves. Bettis (6-4) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out four in his first big league start since July 18. He was coming back from right elbow inflammation. The Rockies scored two runs in the first after Garcia misplayed a grounder to his left that could have been an inning-ending double play. Garcia let Nick Hundley s grounder get right through him to start the fourth, allowing the Rockies to tack on two more runs when DJ LeMahieu came through with a two-out, bases-loaded single. Garcia made another error in the fifth. Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz (4-6) went five innings and took the loss. DODGERS 5, REDS 1 Alex Wood took a shutout into the sixth inning, and Justin Turner and Jimmy Rollins each hit two-run home runs as the Dodgers snapped their five-game losing streak with a win over the Reds. Rollins also doubled and scored while the NL West-leading Dodgers matched their run total from their previous four games combined. The Reds have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Cincinnati got its leadoff batter on base in four of the first five innings, but never pushed anybody past second with Wood (9-8) on the mound. He left after Brandon Phillips singled with two outs in the sixth, and reliever Chris Hatcher then gave up Todd Frazier s RBI double. John Lamb (0-2) allowed three runs in five innings. MARLINS 5, PIRATES 2 Major-league batting leader Dee Gordon tied a career high with four stolen bases, had two infield hits and scored twice, helping the Marlins beat the Pirates. Miami s Brad Hand (4-3) pitched into the ninth inning. He came into the game 7-20 as a starter, worst among all active pitchers, according to STATS, but has won three of his past four starts. AJ Ramos came on with two on and no outs in the ninth and earned his 22nd save in 27 chances. Gordon scored the Marlins first run and reached on a bunt single to begin their three-run sixth against Charlie Morton (8-5). Gordon turned two double plays at second base, including a nifty one started by third baseman Martin Prado. Gordon hiked his average to.333, and he leads the majors with 156 hits. ROYALS 3, ORIOLES 2 Kendrys Morales hit a solo homer, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer also drove in runs and the Royals leaned on their bullpen to beat the Orioles.Danny Duffy (7-6) dodged trouble for most of innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks. The left-hander struck out five in a start that began in crisp efficiency and ended with the Orioles threatening to pull ahead in the sixth inning. Luke Hochevar calmed things down with an inning of relief, though. Kelvin Herrera had no trouble with the rest of the seventh and eighth, and Wade Davis pitched a perfect ninth in place of closer Greg Holland to earn his 12th save. Miguel Gonzalez (9-10) allowed all three runs on six hits and three walks in innings. WHITE SOX 5, RED SOX 4 Rookie Trayce Thompson drove in three runs, including a go-ahead, two-run double, and the White Sox beat the Red Sox. Thompson, who was called up Aug. 3, finished 3 for 4 and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. His two-out double sparked a three-run seventh inning, when the White Sox erased a 4-2 deficit. Melky Cabrera added an RBI single in the seventh for Chicago, which had 15 hits. The Chicago bullpen protected the one-run lead for the final two innings. Jake Petricka (4-3) picked up the win in relief and combined with Zach Duke and David Robertson to close it out. Robertson pitched the ninth to earn his 26th save in 32 opportunities. Wade Miley (10-10) allowed five runs and 13 hits in innings. CARDINALS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Tommy Pham had his second career three-hit game, Jaime Garcia pitched six strong innings and St. Louis cruised past Arizona. Three days after his first three-hit game, Pham singled twice and got his second career triple. He scored three times. Six players had RBIs for the Cardinals, two apiece for Jhonny Peralta, Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina. The Cardinals Peter Bourjos got his first career pinch-hit home run. Garcia (6-4) allowed a run and four hits, striking out six and walking one. The Cardinals, 35 games above.500, earned their MLB-best 80th victory and lengthened their lead to five games over second-place Pittsburgh in the NL Central. Robbie Ray (3-10) lasted three innings plus two batters. He allowed six runs and five hits. Ray walked five, hit a batter and struck out one. MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 5 Austin Jackson s bases-loaded, two-run single in the fifth inning capped Seattle s rally from a five-run deficit and led the Mariners past Oakland. Down 5-0 entering the fourth inning, Nelson Cruz sparked Seattle s comeback with his major league-leading 38th home run, a solo shot off Jesse Chavez. He extended his streak of reaching base safely to 35 straight games. Logan Morrison, on his 28th birthday, finished the fourth-inning rally with a two-run shot, his 13th, off the foul pole in right. The Mariners added three runs in the fifth, finishing with Jackson s two out, goahead single that chased Chavez (7-13). CUBS 8, GIANTS 5 Kyle Schwarber, Miguel Montero and Starlin Castro all hit home runs in support of another solid outing from Jake Arrieta, and Chicago won its sixth straight. Schwarber s towering, three-run homer in the third set the tone for the Cubs, who have won 21 of 25 games to pull 7 1/2 games ahead of the Giants for the second wildcard spot. Arrieta (16-6) had his 13th consecutive quality start, the longest streak by a Cubs pitcher in 23 years. He allowed an unearned run on four hits in six-plus innings. Arrieta, who took over the major-league lead for wins, walked one and struck out eight, lowering his ERA to 2.22, second in the NL behind Los Angeles Dodgers Zack Greinke s Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his 24th save Matt Cain (2-4) lasted five innings, giving up six runs and eight hits. AP MLB results/standings Houston 15, NY Yankees 1; Washington 8, San Diego 3; NY Mets 6, Philadelphia 5; LA Angels 8, Detroit 7; Colorado 5, Atlanta 1; LA Dodgers 5, Cincinnati 1; Minnesota 11, Tampa Bay 7; Cleveland 11, Milwaukee 6; Miami 5, Pittsburgh 2; Toronto 6, Texas 5; Chicago White Sox 5, Boston 4; Kansas City 3, Baltimore 2; St. Louis 9, Arizona 1; Seattle 6, Oakland 5; Chicago Cubs 8, San Francisco 5. American League Eastern Division W L PCT GB Toronto NY Yankees Baltimore Tampa Bay Boston Central Division Kansas City Minnesota Chicago White Sox Cleveland Detroit Western Division Houston Texas LA Angels Seattle Oakland National League Eastern Division NY Mets Washington Atlanta Miami Philadelphia Central Division St. Louis Pittsburgh Chicago Cubs Milwaukee Cincinnati Western Division LA Dodgers San Francisco Arizona San Diego Colorado

16 SPORTS D-Day looms for England squad hopefuls LONDON: A handful of players vying for the last available slots in England s rugby World Cup squad will have their last chance to state their case in a full-scale practice match yesterday before Stuart Lancaster unveils the 31-man group today. The most intriguing dilemma is in midfield, something of a weak area for England for years, where Lancaster has to find the right blend of power and panache, experience and potential. Certain of his place in the squad and the starting team is Jonathan Joseph, whose electric performances over the last year have softened the blow of losing the banned Manu Tuilagi. Also in is Brad Barritt, the defensive enforcer who Lancaster holds in very high esteem. Until this month it was assumed that Luther Burrell, Joseph s regular partner in the Six Nations, was another certainty but it seems he might be still in the TBC department after a late run by Henry Slade and Sam Burgess, both of whom made impressive test debuts in the home warm-up win over France earlier this month. Slade, who also covers the flyhalf position, is a classy performer with an eye for a gap and is reportedly pencilled in for a slot, whereas rugby league convert Burgess is still grasping the rudiments of the game but brings with him huge physicality and proven big-match temperament. That was something sorely missing for much of England s dire display in Paris last week but an impressive performance off the bench by Nick Easter may have been enough to earn the 37-oldold a berth. Ben Morgan made his first appearance in eight months against France at Twickenham following a broken leg and though he was a key part of the set-up last year, his lack of match fitness might open the door for Easter to back up Billy Vunipola. Easter s case is helped by the fact he can play at blindside flanker and even lock. Versatility is not always the advantage it seems, however, as flyhalf/fulback Danny Cipriani seems likely to discover. Despite showing plenty of invention off the bench in Paris it would appear there is no room at the inn for the reformed bad boy of English rugby, with George Ford and Owen Farrell filling two flyhalf spots and Mike Browne and Alex Goode probably in as specialist fullbacks. There is a tight call in the second row between the more athletic George Kruis and oak-hewn Dave Attwood while Jamie George looks set to claim the third hooker berth ahead of Luke Cowan-Dickie. Lancaster is due to announce his squad at GMT today and he is likely to play his first-choice team in the final warm-up match against Ireland on Sept. 5. Reuters FINA clears Sun over altercation SPAIN: Australian cyclist Caleb Ewan (right) celebrates ahead of German cyclist John Degenkolb (center) and Slovenian cyclist Peter Sagan, winning the fifth stage of the 2015 Vuelta Espana cycling tour. AP Ewan clinches Vuelta stage win SPAIN: Caleb Ewan celebrated the biggest win of his career yesterday, the 21-year-old Australian claiming the fifth stage of Spain s Vuelta with Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin the new overall leader. Ewan, tackling his debut Vuelta, prevailed in a dash for the line after a kilometre ride from Rota to Alcala de Guadaira. His teammate, Johan Esteban Chaves, started the day in possession of the leader s red jersey but by the end of the stage he d been relegated to second in the general classification, albeit by only one second to Team Giant-Alpecin s Dumoulin. Dumoulin came in 15th with Chaves in 20th in the stage. In third, 16sec back, was Team Sky s Irish rider Nicolas Roche. Ewan s win was made all the sweeter as he crossed the line with specialist sprinters John Degenkolb of Germany - whose big race wins include the Milan-SanRemo and Paris- Roubaix - and Slovakia s Peter Sagan - a four time winner of the Tour de France points classification - in his wake. Ewan was set up for his breakthrough success in perfect style by other members of his team in the final 50 metres. This is by far the best day of my career, he smiled. To beat some of the top sprinters in the world, especially riders like Degenkolb or Sagan, on a climbing finish like that, that means a lot to me. Ewan, for whom this is a first shot at one of the Grand Tours, added: It s an honour to compete against riders like that. Sagan was well placed in second but he was put in his place by the promising Aussie who came round the German to take the honors. Today s sixth stage is a 200.3km ride from Cordoba and Sieera de Cazorla with a finish on a third category summit. AFP SINGAPORE: Swimming s world governing body has cleared Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang of any wrongdoing following complaints over his behavior at this month s world championships in Russia. FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told Reuters the altercation that led to a complaint against Sun was the result of overcongestion in the warmup pool in Kazan and did not warrant further action. There was a misunderstanding in the pool, Marculescu said. In Kazan, we have over 1,000 swimmers, so the preparation pool became very crowded. The Brazilian Aquatic Sports Federation said it made a formal complaint to FINA about Sun following a confrontation with a Brazilian female competitor during a warm-up session on the last day of the championships. A Brazilian coach said Sun had tried to kick and elbow Larissa Oliveira after they collided with each other in the warmup pool. Sun later withdrew from the final of the 1500 metres freestyle, an event he won at the previous world championships and at the London Olympics - and in which he holds the world record - citing a heart problem. Sun apologised for pulling out of the race but neither he nor the Chinese Swimming Federation commented on the warmup pool incident. He was later named as the best male swimmer in Kazan after winning the 400 metres and 800 metres. NOTHING SPECIAL This is not, for me, anything special, Marculescu said. (In the future) we need two preparation pools because one is not enough. Sun s shock withdrawal from the 1500 metres caught most people by surprise, including FINA officials, who spoke to Sun before the race was due to start. We discussed it with the (Chinese) delegation and the federation and finally with him and he said it was some health problem, Marculescu said. His coach was also debating with him, a little bit stronger, to make him swim but he said he can t. He s a great star, he s a great swimmer. But with the young people, you never know. Sun became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming gold medal when he took the 400 metres and 1,500 metres freestyle double in London, but has courted controversy several times since. Sun Yang in action in this file photo. HOT WATER In 2013 he found himself in hot water with Chinese swimming officials for missing training sessions and was suspended from engaging in any commercial activities, which had flooded in following his Olympic success. He then fell foul of the law and spent a week in jail for crashing a car that he had driven without a licence. In 2014, it emerged that Sun had secretly served a three-month ban after testing positive for a banned stimulant. China could have imposed a longer suspension but opted for a lenient punishment because Sun had been given medication, which had only just been added to the banned list, to treat a heart issue. Marculescu, in Singapore for the world junior championships, also said no action would be taken against Mexico for entering the wrong times for some of their swimmers in Kazan. Marculescu said there were no rules to punish countries who falsified entry times and he did not consider the matter serious because none of the nation s swimmers made it past the heats. No entry time or entry time, it s not a big issue, he said. There s no rules to tell I have to punish him. He swims but he (doesn t) qualify (for finals). He s welcome to swim at the championships. It s not so strict as the Olympics. Reuters Brilliant Bonhomme wins Ascot stop with third victory of the season ASCOT: Britain s Paul Bonhomme was crowned the winner of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship stop at the famous Ascot Racecourse, flying brilliantly under pressure in the world s fastest motorsport series. The victory was Bonhomme s third this season and second straight win at Ascot to the delight of more than 40,000 spectators. Bonhomme s final run was flawless and he stopped the clock in seconds. Australia s Matt Hall took second place in , while Yoshihide Muroya got his first podium of the season with third place. With the hard-fought victory in the Final Four, Bonhomme picked up 12 points to widen his lead at the top of the Red Bull Air Race Championship to eight points (46 points) ahead of Hall (38 points) in second going into the final three races. Reigning Red Bull Air Race World Champion Nigel Lamb of Britain, who last year finished second at the race over the historic Ascot Racecourse, finished back in 5th place, a result that eliminated his chances of defending his title. It was a hard day at the office but today was great fun - I enjoyed that, said Bonhomme after hitting speeds of near 370 km/h on a challenging course made up of 12 air gates standing 25 metres high on the infield of the track. All I can say is this was due to teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. I m only the pilot. I just point the plane in the right direction. It was the second time the Red Bull Air Race was staged in Ascot, just west of London, that has quickly become one of the most attractive air race locations in the world and a favourite of the pilots, who relish taking off and landing on the grassy strip in front of the big crowd. Austria s Hannes Arch, who struggled in the training session and was last in Saturday s Qualifications, finished a disappointing eighth after winning the last two races in Budapest and Rovinj, Croatia. Arch had a great run in the Round of 12, just beating Bonhomme. However, Arch was unable to get his engine started before the Round of 8 and was forced to retire. It s frustrating if you can t race but that s life, said Arch, who slipped to third overall with 30 points. In the Red Bull Air Race, which is the official world championship of the FÈdÈration AÈronautique Internationale (FAI), the world s top pilots hit speeds of 370 km/h while enduring forces of up to 10G as they navigate as precisely as possible through a low-level slalom track marked by 25- metre high air-filled pylons. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship moves to its next stop to Spielberg, Austria on September 5-6.

17 SPORTS Irish look to take shine off Aussie World Cup win BELFAST: Australia play their first oneday international as world champions in Belfast today with a new captain and three uncapped players in the 14-man squad which meets Ireland in a one-off game at Stormont. Although their World Cup victory was just five months ago, it will be Steve Smith leading Australia, not Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade keeping wicket instead of Brad Haddin who has retired from one-day cricket. The newcomers are Joe Burns, who is in line to replace Aaron Finch at the top of the order, while the World Cup opener recovers from a fractured foot, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who come in for the suspended James Faulkner, and the sole specialist spinner in the squad is Ashton Agar, returning to an Australia side for the first time since the 2013 Ashes tour. Five of the World Cup winning team - and eight of the squad - are still around despite Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood being sent home to prepare for the domestic season, leaving the world No 1 ODI bowler Mitchell Starc to lead the attack. Three years ago, on their last visit to Belfast, rain washed out the game after just 10.4 overs but not before Pat Cummins was clocked at 94mph, and with Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson both returning to the squad for the first time this year, Cummins (22), who took five wickets in his two World Cup games, will likely share the new ball with Starc. Shane Watson may have lost his Test place but he is still a key member of the one-day squad, along with Glenn Maxwell who is the only Australia batsman in the world s ODI top 10, just ahead of former captain George Bailey with Smith down in 13th place. The bowling is even starker with Maxwell, at No 70, rated the second best Australia bowler in this squad so they have much to prove. The game against Ireland, the leading Associate nation which defeated West Indies and Zimbabwe at this year s World Cup, may be seen as a warm-up for the five-match series against England which starts next week but the world champions will have to be fully focused against an experienced team which revels in the underdogs tag. Captain William Porterfield is one of six playing regular county cricket while Andrew Balbirnie, who scored 97 in the Zimbabwe win and slow left armer George Dockrell are with Middlesex and Somerset respectively. All 13 were in the World Cup squad as new coach John Bracewell, the former New Zealand off spinner who took over from Phil Simmons, eases himself into the job. Australia is one of the teams Ireland have yet to beat, but five years ago, in Dublin, Porterfield and Paul Stirling put on 80 for the first wicket, in reply to Australia s 231 for nine, to empty the hospitality tents. The introduction of James Hopes sparked a collapse which saw all 10 wickets fall for 112 but if Ireland get into the same position again, they will be confident of finishing the job this time. Squads: Ireland: W Porterfield (capt), A Balbirnie, G Dockrell, E Joyce, J Mooney, T Murtagh, A McBrine, K O Brien, N O Brien, P Stirling, S Thompson, G Wilson, C Young. Australia: S Smith (capt), A Agar, G Bailey, J Burns, N Coulter-Nile, P Cummins, G Maxwell, M Marsh, J Pattinson, M Starc, M Stoinis, M Wade, S Watson, D Warner. AFP Smith ready for new era LONDON: Newly-appointed Australia captain Steven Smith said he was ready for a new era as he prepared to lead them for the first time since Michael Clarke s retirement. Australia face Ireland in Belfast today in what will be the first one-day international since beating New Zealand in the World Cup final in Melbourne in March. It will also be Australia s first match since Clarke retired from all international cricket after the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval last week. Australia won by an innings and 46 runs but victory in south London came too late to save the Ashes, with England winning the five-match series 3-2. The 26-year-old Smith, who had deputised as skipper in both Test and oneday cricket when Clarke was injured, was long seen as Australia s captain in waiting and is looking forward to taking up the role full time. I m very excited, Smith told travelling Australian media in Belfast yesterday. Obviously, I ve known for a little while now that I was going to be taking over the oneday squad, so I ve been working pretty hard and preparing (for) everything coming up, He added: The last time this group was together, we won a World Cup, so I don t think we have to change a whole heap. We re currently No.1 in the world. I think for us now, it s just about raising that bar and continuing to get better each day. Although Australia s squad contains several World Cup-winners in Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc, it also includes the likes of uncapped players such as Joe Burns and Marcus Stoinis. I guess it s a new era in a way for Australian cricket, said Smith. But they re really excited and I m really excited to see them do well on this tour. And Smith added the presence of the newcomers could help ease the pain of an Ashes defeat. It s been a tough tour for us. It s disappointing to have lost the Ashes, Smith said. (But we have a) new group now with some younger, newer guys who hopefully can bring some exuberance and energy to help lift the spirits a bit and help get back on track (and) hopefully start my career in captaincy on this one-day tour on a winning note. Ireland, however, have a deserved reputation as one-day giant-killers, although they ve yet to beat Australia. The non-test nation only missed out on a place in the World Cup quarter-finals on net run-rate, being pipped to a last eight place by a West Indies team they beat in pool play. I think they re an improving side, Smith said. They ve got some good players that can take a game away from you a little bit. We re going to continue to try and emulate what we did in the World Cup. With Aaron Finch currently sidelined with a broken foot, Burns is set to make his ODI debut on Thursday, having made his Test bow against India in Melbourne in December. Impressing at one-day level could help bolster Burns s chances of filling the spot at the top of the Test order left vacant by the retirement of Chris Rogers. You ve seen (chief selector) Rod Marsh say it before-if you re scoring runs at the one-day international level, you can put your hand up for other formats of the game as well, said Smith. The Ireland fixture precedes Australia s lone Twenty20 international against England in Cardiff on August 31. Smith s men then face their Ashes conquerors in a five-match one-day series starting in Southampton on September 3. AFP Virat Kohli India, Sri Lanka set for thrilling finale Steven Smith Warburton desperate to go one step further LONDON: Wales captain Sam Warburton is eager to improve on the country s World Cup performance four years ago as he tries to lead them out of the socalled group of death at next month s edition in England. The Welsh reached the semi-finals in New Zealand in 2011 only to lose 9-8 to France-a match where they lost scrum anchor Adam Jones early in the first half before Warburton was sent off before half-time. Now they find themselves in a pool featuring World Cup hosts England and two-time champions Australia-a team that have won their last 10 Tests against Wales. At least one of the three major nations will miss out on a quarter-final spot, with Fiji-who knocked Wales out of the 2007 World Cup-also in the same group. Only the top two teams from each of the four pools will qualify for the last eight. We definitely want to go one step further, back-row forward Warburton said yesterday. All the players get asked questions about the last World Cup, and it s always the what if question. No one really knows what would have happened. It s impossible to say. With Adam Jones going off pretty early-he was arguably the number one tighthead in the world at that time, and the scrum is so important against France-that was probably as much a killer blow as my red card, really, Warburton added. It is impossible to answer what would have happened, but the spine of the team this time is pretty similar, with everyone probably 30 or 40 caps better off. The leadership group we ve got in the squad as a whole is so much better than it was four years ago, which makes my job a lot easier as well. In a World Cup, you have got to string six or seven games together to be able to make sure you can win it. It s about that consistency of performance week in, week out. Meanwhile the 26-year-old paid tribute to Wales coach Warren Gatland for giving him an early introduction to Test rugby in 2009, which in turn led to the Cardiff Blues flanker captaiing both Wales and the British and Irish Lions. I doubt I would be in the position I would be in if it wasn t for Warren, said Warburton of the New Zealander. Another coach probably wouldn t have put his faith in a 22-year-old kid who only had 14 or 15 caps when he picked me as captain (in 2011). He stuck by me. I do feel that I am a slightly different player when I am playing under Warren for Wales. He gives me a heck of a lot of confidence, and I think that brings out some of my better rugby. Some of the best games I ve played have been under Warren s guidance. A lot of the things I have achieved in my career, a massive part of that is due to Warren. AFP COLOMBO: Virat Kohli s buoyant India will chase their first series win in Sri Lanka in 22 years when the third and decisive final Test starts in Colombo tomorrow. The tourists thrashed the hosts by 278 runs in the second Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Monday to level the series after Sri Lanka had won the opening match in Galle by 63 runs. But before they step on the field at the Sinhalese sports club, both camps will attempt to sort out injury and personnel issues to find the right combination for the decider. India, who have not won a Test series on the island since 1993, will be without the injured trio of regular openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, plus wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. Sri Lanka will begin a new era following the retirement of batting great Kumar Sangakkara from international cricket after the second Test looking to fill a major void in the top order. With Mahela Jayawardene quitting Test cricket last year, Sri Lanka find themselves short of experience. Veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has played 62 Tests and skipper Angelo Mathews 51, but no others in the squad have more than 22 Test caps. LAHORE: Pakistan cricket authorities yesterday set out a path for spot-fixing convicts Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif to return to the international game, but effectively ruled out any chance of them playing in next month s national event. Butt and Asif attended a lecture from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officer on vigilence and corruption as the first step in a rehabilitation process towards playing at domestic level. The two players were invited to a lecture on anti-corruption as part of their rehabilitation, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told AFP. Under the process they will have to attend lectures, accept guilt at various forums, show remorse and give lectures to future players, he said. In a statement issued later in the day, the PCB said the players will not be able to use the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and will be barred from practising with players from the national team. In 2011, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Butt, Asif and Mohammad Amir for five years over a spot-fixing case happened during Pakistan s tour to Sangakkara s decision not to play all three Tests in a series as he wound down his career had already cost Sri Lanka two months ago. He elected to miss the decider against Pakistan in Pallekele in June, a game the hosts lost by seven wickets. Mathews said he regretted not giving Sangakkara a winning farewell, but vowed to fight back and win the series for him. It really pains me that we could not give him a good farewell, but I promised him that we will play the next game well and try to win the series for him, the Sri Lankan captain said. Sri Lanka are expected to replace the 134-Test veteran with another left-hander, Upul Tharanga, who has scored 1,113 runs in 20 Tests at an average of India, meanwhile, are likely to play top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, for the first time in the series, as opening partner for Lokesh Rahul in the absence of Dhawan and Vijay. Uncapped 32-year-old Naman Ojha, a wicketkeeper-batsman who reinforced the injury-hit touring squad on Monday along with young batsman Karun Nair, could come in for Saha. Pujara is pretty solid with the new ball, said Kohli. He has done the job in the past and we are England a year earlier. The three players-along with their agent Mazhar Majeed-were charged and later jailed for arranging deliberate no-balls in return for money during the Lord s Test against England. The ICC lifted sanctions on Butt and Asif last week, making them eligible for domestic and international cricket from 2 September this year. Amir s sanctions were lifted in January after the ICC amended its code of conduct, a reward for the young paceman who pleaded guilty during the criminal proceedings in UK in November Khan said PCB will monitor Butt and Asif s progress at a lower level, just as it did for Amir. Both Butt and Asif were included in the Lahore and Sialkot teams for the National Twenty20 event starting in Rawalpindi from 1 September this year. Asif said he has agreed to complete the rehabilitation course the PCB has set out for him. Of course, its a detailed process but I will try to complete it as soon as possible and agree to it. I will play at lower level and then in first-class cricket, he told reporters. AFP very confident he will do the job in the next game as well. India will once again bank on their spin twins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra, who shared 14 of the 20 wickets in the second Test to fashion the team s emphatic win. Mathews conceded Sri Lankan batsmen needed to find a way to tackle off-spinner Ashwin, who followed his 10-wicket haul in the first Test with seven scalps at the P. Sara Oval. We have a lot of left-handers in our line-up and it makes it easier for Ashwin to be aggressive against them, Mathews said of Ashwin, who dismissed Sangakkara in all four innings in the series. We need to find a way to counter-attack him. We can t just hang around. He will bowl the odd good ball anyway in an over, so we need to score runs. The last time Sri Lanka played a Test at the SSC a year ago, they swamped Pakistan by 105 runs to break a sequence of four successive draws on a traditionally high-scoring pitch. India have lost two and drawn three of their last five matches at the venue. Their lone success at the SSC was the series-clinching 235-run victory in AFP PCB halts early return for Butt and Asif LAHORE: Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif arrives at Pakistan Cricket Board s headquarters in Lahore. AP

18 SPORTS Serena makes case for all-time women s legends NEW YORK: Serena Williams enters the US Open making a case for herself not only as the greatest women s tennis player in history, but possibly the greatest woman in sports history. The 33-year-old star has sustained a level of excellence few can rival, from winning her first Grand Slam singles title as a teen prodigy at the 1999 US Open to collecting her 21st last month at Wimbledon, completing her second career Serena Slam of holding all four major trophies at once. Winning a record-tying fourth consecutive US Open women s title, a feat last achieved by Chris Evert in 1978, would give Williams something she has never achieved before-a calendar year Grand Slam-and link her with only a handful of the game s greatest legends, men or women. But it s not something world number one Williams wants to contemplate just yet. It s like pondering a good book before the last chapter is written, especially as Williams is penning an epic tale that doesn t appear set to end anytime soon. I just want to play tennis, Williams said. I don t necessarily want to hear about this history and that history, because I just want to be able to do the best that I can. I want to be able to win and I don t want any distractions. That s how I m going to handle it. When the year s final Grand Slam event starts Monday in New York, Williams will be a huge favorite. She has won Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open six times each and collected three French Open crowns. I compete a lot against my standards, Williams said. I have such high standards for myself and I expect the best from me and nothing less. Matching her Serena Slam run from the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open required Williams to endure numerous three-set fights on London grass, but she emerged triumphant. To have all four at the same time, two times in one career, that totally means a lot, Williams said. It was really important for me to do that. Williams is only one shy of Steffi Graf s Open Era career record of 22 titles and the retired German legend tweeted that Williams feat was incredible and an amazing accomplishment. I see her post things about me and that s pretty awesome, Williams said. I really am still like a kid when I see her or I see posts. I get super excited. I m still living the dream. At 33, Williams is the oldest women s world number one-no man so old has won a Grand Slam title since 1972 and her best might be yet to come. I ve definitely gotten a little better, Williams said. I really don t feel my age. It s gratifying at whatever age you achieve it. Williams is three Slam singles titles shy of matching Australian Margaret Court s all-time record and would join a rare calendar-year Slam list that includes Graf, Court, Maureen Connolly, Don Budge and Rod Laver by winning at Flushing Meadows. I feel OK about my game, Williams said. I m always looking to improve. I m never comfortable. That s when I think you are susceptible to losing. She became a US Open champion at age 17, only the second African- American woman after Althea Gibson to claim a Grand Slam title. Williams, coached by her father Richard, was toughened on the streets of Los Angeles and by practices with older sister Venus, a seven-time major champion. Maturity brought a fashion design business and a foot in the entertainment realm as an actress, but her domination when focused on tennis has made Williams the likely target for a new generation of record chasers yet to come. I think it will be great, Williams said of such days. I think it s amazing. I think I would be really supportive, like Steffi is of me. It s such a great feeling. I always want to see people do well and be successful. I think it will be really cool. AFP Amir Khan vows to help Pakistan produce boxers KARACHI: British boxer Amir Khan yesterday vowed to help Pakistan produce champion pugilists with a network of academies in his family s country of origin. The former two-time world champion is currently touring the South Asian giant of 200 million people better known for its prowess in cricket, and plans to set up boxing schools in the western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, eastern Punjab, and the southern city of Karachi. I think we have the talent to produce boxing champions, the 28-year-old told media during a visit to Karachi s troubled Lyari area, which is frequently hit by gang violence but also known for producing talented footballers and boxers. I have made a promise to the nation that I will pay back what I have achieved in boxing, added the highly-rated fighter from Bolton, England who has a record of 31 wins including 19 knockouts, and three losses. Khan was accompanied by a heavy security contingent to the neighbourhood, which has long been a hub of political, ethnic and criminal violence. I am here to meet potential champions and I am not afraid of anything, we will... beat terror and produce boxers of top quality, he said. Pakistan s sole Olympic boxing medallist is Hussain Shah, who won a middleweight bronze in the Seoul Games in The country has also produced an Asian Games gold-medallist in Mehrullah Lassi, who won the featherweight division at Busan, South Korea in Khan, who became Britain s youngest Olympic boxing medallist when he won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, said he was keen to train Pakistani boxers. I will pass my tricks to them and will do my best to help them qualify for the Olympics, if not the 2016 in Brazil then the next one in Japan in 2020, he said. Known for his speed and aggressive style, Khan won the last of his fights against US boxer Chris Algieri in New York in May before once again challenging the welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather. But Mayweather announced earlier this month he would aim to match the 49-0 career record of the legendary Rocky Marciano in his final bout against fellow American Andre Berto on September 12, effectively ruling out a highly anticipated clash with Khan. Five-division world champion Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines in May of this year in what was described as the fight of the century. AFP Rafael Nadal celebrates in this file photo. Federer and Nadal at US Open crossroads Amir Khan Wilson tributes flow among calls for safety PENNSYLVANIA: Tributes continued to pour in on Tuesday following the death of British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson the previous day, along with renewed calls throughout the motor racing world for a review of driver safety in the sport. Wilson, a former Formula One driver and seven-time winner in IndyCar racing, died at the age of 37 after suffering a severe head injury during a wreck in the closing laps of an IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania on Sunday. Can t describe the sadness I feel for the loss of such a wonderful person, Wilson s Andretti Autosport team mate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went on to win Sunday s race, wrote on his Twitter account. Justin was inspiring in so many ways & still is. Graham Rahal, son of 1986 Indy 500 winner and former Jaguar Formula One manager Bobby Rahal, said in a statement: Some things in life just don t make sense. I know there s always a plan, but this one doesn t make any sense to me. Justin was the epitome of a great guy, an incredible teammate, great father and a wonderful friend. The death of Wilson, who never regained consciousness after he was struck in the helmet by debris from a car he was following before he slammed into a wall, has sparked widespread calls for the introduction of closed cockpits, or canopies. Its not only safer, it is more aero efficient, therefore, the future, former Formula One driver Lucas di Grassi of Brazil said on Twitter. Canopies will be used in every single formula (open-wheel) series in the future. Not only for safety, but for aerodynamic improvement. Hunter-Reay, who won the Indy 500 last year, felt that his sport was continually working harder on safety issues but that more could still be done. These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed, said the 34-year-old Texan. Maybe in the future we can work toward something that resembles a canopy... something that can give us a little protection and still keep the tradition of the sport. Since 1966, there have been 18 deaths in IndyCar (which includes the series previous incarnations as Champ Car, CART and Indy Racing League). Eight alone have come at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and all but two on ovals. FIERY CRASH Wilson was the first IndyCar driver to die following a race accident since fellow Briton, Dan Wheldon, was killed in a fiery crash in Las Vegas in October Wheldon s death also triggered calls for safety reviews in a sport that involves tightly-bunched cars competing on highspeed, high risk ovals unique to American open wheel racing. Safer Walls, collapsible barriers designed to cushion impact, are now standard at ovals like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the mobile hospitals and state-of-the-art trauma centres pioneered by IndyCar are fixtures at every race. The HANS (Head and Neck Support) device was developed in the United States and is now mandatory in most levels of motor racing from Formula One to Monster Trucks. The high speed ovals certainly represent the greatest risk because of the speed, because of the concrete wall and lately because of the closeness of the racing, which is far closer than it is in Formula One, Bobby Rahal told Reuters last year. The cars are very safe today but there is still that ultimate risk regardless and that will always exist. When you are side-byside or three abreast it doesn t take much. A little movement on a road course wouldn t mean very much but a little movement on an oval might take out four cars. Reuters NEW YORK: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with 31 major titles between them, head for the US Open with their Grand Slam careers at the crossroads. Despite turning 34, Federer was an impressive winner of a seventh Cincinnati Masters title last weekend, seeing off world number one-and US Open favourite-novak Djokovic in the final. It was the Swiss star s 87th tour title and revenge for losing a second successive Wimbledon final to the Serb last month. But Federer has stumbled badly in New York in recent years. A five-time champion from , he was runner-up to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 but hasn t been back to the final since.his record at the Grand Slams in 2015 has also been mixed. The seven-time Wimbledon champion may have at least reached the final at the All England Club, but that run was preceded by a shock third round exit to Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open, his earliest in Melbourne in 14 years. He then endured a quarter-final loss at Roland Garros to compatriot Stan Wawrinka. Federer s last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012 and if he wins the US Open this year, he would be the oldest champion since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall back in I haven t been in a final (in New York) since So I got my work cut out, said Federer, who was beaten by eventual champion Marin Cilic in the semi-finals last year. In contrast to the Swiss player s staying power is Nadal s swift, brutal decline. The 29-year-old Double delight for Japan at judo worlds ASTANA: Japan won both gold on offer in Astana yesterday on the third day of the world judo championships to take control of the medals table. Shohei Ono of Japan won the title in the men s 73kg category, defeating countryman Riki Nakaya in the final. The win means that Ono takes the one slot allocated to Japan for next year s Olympics in Rio with Nakaya, the defending champion in Astana and Olympic silver medallist missing out. The bronze medals went to South Korea s An Chang- Rim and Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal of Mongolia. Olympic champion Kaori Matsumoto of Japan won the women s 57kg category golf, defeating Romania s Corina Caprioriu in the final. The bronze medals went to Automne Pavia of France and Mongolia s Sumiya Dorjsuren. Both Ono and Matsumoto won world championship gold medals for the second time in their career. Japan have now won three of the six gold medals accounted for with Argentina and South Korea taking one apiece and hosts Kazakhstan the other. AFP Spaniard, the 2010 and 2013 champion in New York, has endured a tough year, the knee joints and wrists looking stiffer and weaker. After being deposed as French Open champion-his quarter-final loss to Djokovic was only his second ever defeat in Paris-Nadal slumped to 10 in the world, his lowest ranking for a decade. He has recovered to eight, but he is no longer the player that once struck terror into rivals. Nadal has lost 14 times already this year compared to 11 in the whole of 2014, seven in 2013 and just six in He sat out the 2012 and 2014 US Opens because of injury. At Wimbledon, he was knocked out in the second round by Germany s Dustin Brown while his North American hardcourt season ended in a quarter-final loss to Kei Nishikori in Montreal and a third round exit against Feliciano Lopez in Cincinnati. I never consider myself a big, big star. So I appreciate when all the good things are happening to me, said Nadal. I am having a tough year, yes. Not a terrible year. I cannot make a drama about these kind of things. This is not the moment to cry. Djokovic already has the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles under his belt in 2015, taking his majors total to nine. The US Open champion in 2011, Djokovic was runner-up in 2012 and 2013 before suffering a shock semi-final loss to Nishikori 12 months ago. The 28-year-old boasts a 56-5 record this year but two of those defeats have come this monthto Andy Murray in the Montreal Masters final and then against Federer in Cincinnati. He has also been troubled by an elbow injury. I played a couple good matches and couple notso-good matches, said Djokovic, whose rolleroaster career at the majors has also seen him lose eight finals. The conditions in New York suit me a little bit better, so I look forward to it. Murray, the world number three, won in New York in 2012, ending Britain s 76-year wait for a Grand Slam men s singles champion. He has made at least the quarter-finals in New York in the last four years. The 28-year-old could set a record for the largest payout in tennis history at the US Open $4.3 million. That would be $3.3 million for winning the tournament and a $1 million bonus for winning the US Open Series title for performances in the hardcourt warm-up events. Outside of the Big Four, Stan Wawrinka, the French Open champion, has made the semi-finals in New York on just one occasion in 10 visits. Defending champion Cilic faces the task of proving he s not a one Slam wonder. The 26-yearold world number nine only started his season in March after suffering a shoulder injury and has yet to make a final this year. World number four Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final in New York last year. But despite winning in Washington and making the semi-finals in Montreal, the 25-year-old Japanese was forced to skip Cincinnati with a left hip injury. AFP ASTANA: Japan s Shohei Ono (bottom) competes against Japan s Riki Nakaya in the men s 73 kg final at the World Judo Championships. AP

19 SPORTS Watford fail difficult balancing act LONDON: Since Manchester United caused outrage by throwing a bunch of youngsters into a League Cup game at Port Vale 21 years ago, English football has slowly grown used to the idea of rotation. As it turned out, the Port Vale fans who demanded their money back that night were watching a team including newcomers like David Beckham, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who would become known as the Class of 1992 and go on to dominate the decade. The League Cup in particular has become a vehicle for managers to give some playing time to reserves and squad players. But for some it is a difficult balancing act between resting firstteam regulars and progressing in a competition that ends at Wembley with a Europa League place for the winners. As 11 Premier League clubs entered the Capital One Cup this week, all except Watford got away with an average of eight changes each by progressing to the third round. Watford swapped their whole starting XI and lost 1-0 at Preston. Claudio Ranieri, known as The Tinkerman in his first spell in England with Chelsea, lived up to the name with 11 changes for Leicester s tie at (third tier) Bury but came through 4-1 with England Under- 19 international Joe Dodoo scoring a hat-trick on his debut. It was tougher for Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion, who only won on penalties against lower-division opposition, while Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, also much changed, both required extra-time. The one exception to the general trend were Sunderland, whose manager Dick Advocaat wanted to give his firstteam more time together and the confidence of a win after their poor start to the season. That plan almost back-fired when they were being held 3-3 at half-time at home by fourth-tier Exeter City after more bad defending. But former England striker Jermain Defoe rescued them with a hat-trick in a 6-3 win. Managers must now decide on their strategy for the next round, when all the eight teams involved in European football this season enter a draw that has thrown up a number of local derbies that players and supporters will be desperate to win. Arsenal, whose manager Arsene Wenger has invariably fielded weaker teams in the competition, faces a visit to big north London rivals Tottenham. Villa must face traditional enemies Birmingham City, and Palace are at home to neighbours Charlton Athletic. Reuters Scramble for Europa League group berths PARIS: Athletic Bilbao need to turn around a first leg home loss in Thursday s Europa League play-off second leg action to book their spot in the group stage with Borussia Dortmund, Southampton and Ajax also looking to advance. AFP Sports picks six things to look out for among the 22 ties in the final round before the group stage: In Bilbao, Athletic will be bidding to turn around a 3-2 loss at Slovak side MSK Zilina where the beaten 2012 finalists threw away a two-goal lead. Athletic were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to goals by Sabin Merino and Kike Sola. But Jakub Paur pulled a goal back for Zilina before Brazilian forward William, on as a substitute, equalised in the 77th minute and then netted the winning goal four minutes into stoppage time. Ernesto Valverde s side will be looking for a boost following a loss in their opening match of La Liga, falling 1-0 at home to Barcelona last weekend although goalie Gorka Iraizoz saved a first-half spot-kick from Lionel Messi. * In Germany, Borussia Dortmund look to continue their dream start to the season under new coach Thomas Tuchel and build on their remarkable 4-3 comeback win from three goals down after 22 minutes away to Norwegian side Odd. Dortmund s strong start to the season continued Sunday as their 4-0 win at newboys Ingolstadt saw them leapfrog Bayern Munich to top the Bundesliga table on goal difference. It was Dortmund s sixth win in all competitions under Tuchel as defender Matthias Ginter, Marco Reus, Shinji Kagawa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored second-half goals. l At Herning, Southampton have work to do if they want to join Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool and make it three English clubs in the group stage after being held 1-1 by Danish champions Midtjylland at St Mary s last week. Jay Rodriguez s penalty gave Ronald Koeman s men a lifeline and they will need to score in Denmark. Koeman is hopeful Sadio Mane will be fit after the Senegalese striker was forced off with a hip injury as Southampton went a third game without victory in a 0-0 draw at promoted Watford in the Premier League on Sunday. Southampton have not won away from home in the league since February, but they did at least record a first clean sheet in nine league outings. l In Istanbul, Turkish league runners-up Fenerbahce will be looking to build on their away-goal advantage after Robin van Persie scored his first goal for the club since joining the Turkish club from Manchester United for 4.7 million euros ( 3.4m, $5.2m) last month. The 32-year-old Dutch international striker replaced Moussa Sow 10 minutes from the end of Fenerbahce s match away to Greek side Atromitos in Athens and netted a 90th-minute winner. The 1-0 victory leaves the 2013 semi-finalists primed to clinch a place in the group stage in the return leg. Dutch giants Ajax travel to Czech minnows Jablonec with all still to play for. Frank de Boer s side failed to build on a penalty scored nine minutes into the second half when Arkadiusz Milik converted after VÌt Benes s foul on Davy Klaassen in the box but Jaroslav Silhavy s side threatened in the later stages. Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest have an uphill battle at Swedish club Rosenborg who look set to advance after three late goals from Tobias Mikkelsen, Pal AndrÈ Helland and captain Mike Jensen in a 3-0 victory which leaves the Trondheim side with one foot in the group stage ahead of their home fixture. French clubs Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne bid to join Marseille in the group stage but with all still to play for. Bordeaux face the longest journey in the competition as they carry a 1-0 advantage to Kazakh side Kairat Almaty thanks to a first half goal from Tunisian striker Wahbi Khazri in western France. 10-man St-Etienne earned a valuable away goal in a 1-1 draw at Milsami Orhei amd welcome the Moldovans. AFP Michel Platini Platini wants football at forefront of presidency ZURICH: FIFA presidential candidate Michael Platini will publish his manifesto in the next six to eight weeks and wants to bring football back into the spotlight during the campaign, a source close to the Frenchman said yesterday. Although Platini, the UEFA president, agrees that reform of scandal-plagued FIFA has to be the priority in the run-up to the election on Feb. 26, he also believes it should not completely overshadow the sport itself, the source told Reuters. Platini, who announced his intention to stand on July 29 and will hold his first media conference since then in Monaco on Friday, has spent the last few weeks meeting people outside soccer s European ruling body UEFA to test the water. He believes the future of the World Cup, the international calendar, changes to the laws of the game and the role of the lawmaking body IFAB (International Football Association Board) should be part of the debate, the source said. Platini, a former France captain, who was one of the most gifted midfield players of his generation, also wants to discuss the reform of the transfer system and the role of agents. One of Platini s biggest gripes as UEFA president has been the so-called triple punishment in which a player who gives away a penalty is sent off and receives an automatic one-match ban. Earlier this year, UEFA sent a proposal to IFAB for the end of the triple punishment system. However, the rule-making body agreed only to consider an end to the automatic suspension. Platini is against the use of goal-line technology, which FIFA employs in its tournaments, and prefers the use of so-called additional assistant referees, one on each goal-line, to spot penalty-area infringements. FIFA has not adopted the system and Platini has mockingly said that was because it was not FIFA chief Sepp Blatter s idea. MORE COUNTRIES Platini s proposals on the World Cup could include expansion of the finals from the current 32 teams, the source said. As UEFA president, he has already overseen an increase in the number of countries at the European championship finals from 16 to 24, starting from next year s tournament in France. The move has been criticised for diluting the strength of competition, especially after a successful Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine where 16 seemed to be the ideal number. Platini is seen as the front-runner in the bid to replace Blatter who will relinquish his mandate at the Feb 26. election. The source said the Frenchman wants to take his time over his manifesto and added he would travel widely from October. Soccer s world governing body has been plagued by allegations of corruption for years. It was thrown into further turmoil in May when US prosecutors indicted nine soccer officials and five marketing and broadcasting company executives over alleged offences, including fraud, moneylaundering and racketeering. Reuters SWEDEN: Celtic s Kris Commons controls the ball during the Champions League play-off second leg soccer match between Malmo FF and Celtic at Malmo New Stadium. AP Celtic and Monaco stumble PARIS: A header by Markus Rosenberg and an own goal from Dedryck Boyata condemned Scottish champions Celtic to a second successive season without the riches to be accrued from the Champions League group stage as Malmo beat them 2-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate in their play-off on Tuesday. They were not the only high profile casualties as last season s quarter-finalists Monaco exited despite coming from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 at home-they have lost just once in their last 12 European club games at Stade Louis II-but lost 4-3 on aggregate. Another side who reached the knockout stages last season also failed to get over the play-off hurdle this time round as Basel, who progressed at the expense of Liverpool in last season s competition, exited after a 1-1 draw in Israel against Maccabi Tel-Avi saw the hosts progress on the away goals rule, the tie finishing 3-3 on aggregate. Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk did make it through-they have appeared in the group stage on every occasions since the 2009/10 campaign-but were made to work hard for it drawing 2-2 at home to Rapid Vienna to qualify 3-2 on aggregate. The cost to Celtic may be felt immediately as it could prompt talented defender Virgil van Dijk to jump at the chance of a prestigious move to English Premier League side Southampton. Celtic manager Ronny Deila, though, is loathe to part with him. We don t have to sell Virgil van Dijk, but you never know in football, said the Norwegian. The hype about the Champions League is a big thing. Everybody wants it so badly. You have to deal with it but we looked very stressed. We didn t look like we wanted to go out and play football. We have a lot of young players coming through but this was a hard lesson for us. Valencia had all but wrapped up business after four minutes, Alvaro Negredo chipping Subasic brilliantly with the ball going into the far corner. The hosts, needing three goals to even take it to extra-time, replied almost immediately, Italian defender Andrea Raggi firing the ball past Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from the edge of the area. Monaco gave themselves a LONDON: Tottenham will face north London enemies Arsenal and Aston Villa will take on bitter rivals Birmingham in a pair of League Cup third round derby showdowns. Mauricio Pochettino s Tottenham were paired against Arsene Wenger s Gunners in Tuesday s draw. Tottenham, who were beaten in last year s final by Chelsea, will host the tie of the round at White Hart Lane in September. It will be the first north London derby of the season. There will be more derby intrigue when Villa clash with Championship side Birmingham for the first time since January glimmer of hope with 15 minutes remaining as Nigerian defender Elderson knocked the ball into the net after Ryan had saved from Thomas Lemar. It hurts, but Monaco put up a great performance tonight, said Raggi. It was the game in Valencia that did for us but our target now is to compete strongly for the league title, added the 31-year-old. Shakhtar Donetsk too looked to have all but sealed their place in the group stage when impressive Brazilian Marlos curled a beauty of a shot past the Rapid Vienna goalkeeper in the 10th minute. However, the visitors drew level three minutes later 20-year-old Louis Schaub refusing to be denied as he rifled home his second attempt for his third goal of the competition. Their joy knew no bounds just five minutes later as 34-year-old skipper Steffen Hofmann curled a superb freekick past the flailing arm of goalkeeper Ukrainian international Andriy Pyatov for the two-time Austrian league player of the year s 22nd goal in 64 European matches. A thrilling match-in contrast to the dour opening leg which saw eight players bookedtook another twist when a day after his 28th birthday Olexander Gladkiy nipped in to score for the hosts and put the match on the night all square at 2-2 and with the hosts noses just in front. The second-half was less of a ripper and the visitors frustrations ended with Mario Sonnleitner being red-carded four minutes from time for a second bookable offence-he hurled the captains armband that he had assumed after Hofmann went off to the ground in fury. Even so there was still time for Pyatov to pull off a remarkable point blank block to Philipp Prosenik s close range shot with the game five minutes into time-added on and ensured the Austrian side s absence from the group stage was extended to 10 years. AFP UKRAINE: Rapid s Mario Sonnleitner (left), Mario Pavelic (right) and Shakhtar s Alex Teixeira challenge for the ball during the Champions League play-off second leg soccer match. AP Spurs face Arsenal in League Cup thriller Birmingham are unbeaten in the last three meetings with Villa, including a League Cup tie in Holders Chelsea travel to third tier Walsall, while Liverpool host fourth tier Carlisle. Manchester United face Championship side Ipswich at Old Trafford and Manchester City travel to Sunderland. English League Cup draw made on Tuesday: 3rd rd Middlesbrough v Wolves Norwich v West Brom Hull v Swansea Leicester v West Ham Aston Villa v Birmingham Tottenham v Arsenal Manchester United v Ipswich Liverpool v Carlisle Crystal Palace v Charlton Fulham v Stoke Sunderland v Manchester City Newcastle v Sheffield Wednesday Reading v Barnsley or Everton Preston v Bournemouth Walsall v Chelsea Milton Keynes Dons v Southampton Ties to be played in the week commencing September 21. AFP

20 FINA clears Sun over altercation 16 Federer and Nadal at US Open crossroads 18 Wilson tributes flow among calls for safety Page 18 BEIJING: (Left to right) USA s LaShawn Merritt, Dominican Republic s Luguelin Santos, South Africa s Wayde Van Niekerk, Grenada s Kirani James, Botswana s Isaac Makwala and Britain s Rabah Yusuf compete in the final of the men s 400 metres athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. AFP Van Niekerk lights up Bird s Nest BEIJING: Wayde van Niekerk lit up the Bird s Nest with a stunning 400 metres run to win a first sprint gold for South Africa and cap a night of exceptional performances at the world championships yesterday. Two of those came in the men s javelin and women s 3,000 metres steeplechase where Kenyans Julius Yego and Hyvin Jepkemoi added another two gold medals to the East African powerhouse s already considerable haul. The scourge of doping returned to haunt the sport, however, when two of their compatriots were provisionally banned for failing drug tests on the eve of the championships. Part two of the sprint showdown between Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, which for many has encapsulated the doping crisis that has tarnished the sport over the last month, also moved a step closer. The fact that Bolt has never failed a dope test while Gatlin has served two drug bans provided the backdrop for their first meeting in Sunday s 100 metres final, from which the Jamaican emerged triumphant. Gatlin s run of seconds to win his 200m semi-final yesterday was the second fastest ever at that stage of a world championships, however, and will give him confidence he can end Bolt s six-year grip on the title in today s final. I think that I have a lot left in the tank, the 33-year-old American said. I just have to control the race... and I think we ll be able to bring it home. Bolt also looked in fine form, though, and took time to chat to a fellow competitor as he approached the line to win his heat with his first sub-20 second time of the year (19.95). I can t complain, he said. I m happy with my form. I just did what I had to do. For once, though, the 29-year-old was not the most impressive performer on the track with that honour going to Van Niekerk. Racing against a field containing a record five sprinters who had run under 44 seconds, the 23-year-old dominated the contest from start to finish and crossed the line in seconds. The effort of running a time that only American world record holder Michael Johnson and his compatriots Butch Reynolds and Jeremy Wariner have bettered took its toll, however. Van Niekerk collapsed on the track at the end of the race and was taken to hospital with his vital signs unstable, the IAAF s medical delegate said, leaving runner-up LaShawn Merritt to hail the quality of the race. It s crazy. We re warriors. We re animals, said the American 2013 world champion, whose personal best was good enough only for silver ahead of Olympic champion Kirani James (43.78). Van Niekerk was discharged just before midnight local time (1600 GMT). While Van Niekerk s time was the best since 2007, you would have to go back as far as 2001 to witness a javelin flying as far as the metres Yego managed to give Kenya its first world title in a field event. To the diminutive Yego, who learned the javelin from watching videos on the internet after being rejected as a runner, fell the duty of reacting to the positive dope tests of his team mates Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary. It s a shame, he said. I always believe we can win clean so it s a shame to them. Jepkemoi produced a performance more typical of her nation to win the steeplechase, outsprinting favourite Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia and German Gesa Krause down the home straight to win Kenya s sixth gold in nine minutes, seconds. Zuzana Hejnova already knew her race was won when she went over the final obstacle in the 400 metres hurdles and the Czech, who ran the year s best time of seconds, became the first woman to successfully defend the world title in the event. A thrilling women s pole vault contest featuring Cuba s Yarisley Silva, Brazil s Fabiana Murer and Greece s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou kept the crowd engrossed all evening in the gaps between the other events. Silva took the title when she cleared 4.90 metres at the third attempt, leaving Murer, one of her country s best hopes of gold in athletics at next year s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with silver and Kyriakopoulou claiming the bronze. Reuters Silva soars to clinch world pole vault title BEIJING: Cuba s Yarisley Silva needed a jump of 4.90 metres to win a thrilling women s pole vault contest and claim her first major global title at the world championships yesterday. Pushed all the way by Brazil s Fabiana Murer and Greece s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, the London Olympic silver medallist won gold with her third attempt at the winning height before failing three times at 5.01m. This was one of the hardest competitions of my career. It was a very close competition with Fabiana and Nikoleta, said the 28-year-old. Fabiana is getting better and better and always pushes me.it is always emotional to compete with her. Silva needed all three goes to get over at 4.70 and join an unprecedented seven women going for Murer and Silva cleared 4.85 at the first attempt to ultimately leave Kyriakopoulou with bronze. With the noisy crowd roaring her on, Silva slid over the bar at 4.90 to win the title. This is the result of a lot of sacrifices, hard work and dedication, Silva added. Now I want to do everything to get the Olympic gold in Rio. That will also clearly be the plan for silver medallist Murer, one of her country s best hopes of a gold medal in athletics at next year s Olympics. Her clearance at 4.85 matched the South American record and personal best she jumped to win gold in Deagu four years ago. The Olympics will be in Rio in less than a year, she said. I have to stay healthy and am looking forward to my home crowd then. Kyriakopoulou was happy with bronze and thought competing with her fellow medallists would drive them all to improve. I am not afraid, she said. I want to stay at the top and get higher and higher because I expected an even better performance here. I hope I will get more support from sponsors after this medal because it is not easy for an athlete nowadays in Greece. Reuters BEIJING: Cuba s Yarisley Silva clears the bar to win the final of the women s pole vault athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. AFP Kenyans fail drugs tests BEIJING: Two Kenyans have failed precompetition drugs tests at the world championships in Beijing and have been provisionally suspended, the IAAF announced yesterday. Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary have accepted provisional suspensions following positive samples provided in Beijing on the 20th and 21st of August respectively, the IAAF said in a statement. Track and field s world governing body said the Kenyan pair had been tested at the athletes hotel before their competition started as part of targeted tests. Zakary clocked a national record of seconds in Monday s first round of the women s 400m at the Bird s Nest, but did not start the semi-final on Tuesday for which she had qualified. African silver medallist Manunga, however, failed to make it out of her first round of the 400m hurdles on Sunday, timing 58.96sec to finish 35th out of 37 athletes competing. It s a shame for them, said Kenyan teammate Julius Yego, who won gold in the men s javelin with a monster third round effort of metres, the longest in 14 years. In sport you win clean so it s a shame for them. I can t make any more comment on that. Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi, who pipped hot Tunisian favourite Habiba Ghribi for the women s 3000m steeplechase title shortly after Yego s heroics, expressed her disappointment at the doping tests. I think that s an individual thing, it s not everybody, Jepkemoi said. I m totally shocked. I know I m clean but I m not happy about it. Athletics Kenya, the nation s governing body, confirmed that it had been informed by the IAAF of the positive tests returned by two of its athletes, Koki Manunga and Joyce Zakary. Athletics Kenya has already met with the IAAF and the athletes involved, and has begun investigating the situation which led to these results and appropriate follow-up action will be taken in Kenya, track and field s governing body in the east African running powerhouse added in a statement. In the meantime, Athletics Kenya will provide full support and cooperation to the IAAF during the results management process. Kenya was rocked this year when marathon star Rita Jeptoo was banned for two years after being caught doping with the banned blood-boosting hormone EPO. Jeptoo is the biggest name in Kenyan sports ever to have been caught, and the bust has been a major trauma for a country that idolises its medal-winning and recordbreaking runners. Top Kenyan athletes earlier this month called for the national governing body, the IAAF and the world s anti-doping body WADA to take action over reports of widespread doping. Leaked results cited by German broadcaster ARD and the Sunday Times claimed that more than 800 athletes, including 18 Kenyans, had suspicious blood test results between 2001 and ARD alleged doping was ongoing in Kenya, and claimed there was massive corruption within the Kenyan set-up and a desire to cover-up doping... to the summit of the Kenyan athletics federation. Athletics Kenya said it had watched with grave concern the German TV ARD documentary, calling the broadcast, which coincided with the national trials for the world championships in Beijing, extremely suspect and ill motivated. AFP

21 Business Gulf pulls back as global markets stay fragile Page 22 Improving US economy shares blame for worst traffic ever Page 23 Turbulent time for Swiss watchmakers in China Page 25 China, Japan battle to build Indonesia s first bullet train Page 25 NEW YORK: Trader Michael Milano, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, yesterday. US stocks are opening sharply higher Wednesday after slumping for six straight days amid concern that growth in China was slowing more quickly than previously thought. AP Strong US spending plans boost outlook Durable goods orders rise 2% in July WASHINGTON: A gauge of US business investment plans recorded its largest increase in just over a year in July, suggesting the United States was in good shape to withstand growing strains in the global economy. The Commerce Department said yesterday nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 2.2 percent last month, the biggest rise since June last year. The economy had a tailwind heading into the recent market rout. That tailwind will help to carry us through the turbulent waters that lie ahead, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. July s increase in the so-called core capital goods orders was on top of an upwardly revised 1.4 percent increase in June and marked two straight months of hefty gains. Economists had forecast only a 0.4 percent rise in July after a previously reported 0.9 percent increase in June. The report added to employment, industrial production, retail sales, housing and consumer spending data in highlighting the US economy s resilience. The string of upbeat reports suggests the Federal Reserve could still raise interest rates this year despite a global markets sell-off, triggered by worries over China s slowing economy, and policymakers concerns about low inflation. New York Fed President William Dudley said yesterday prospects of a September rate hike seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago. Stocks on Wall Street rallied, with all major indices trading more than 1 percent higher. Prices for US government debt fell, while the dollar rose against a basket of currencies. DOLLAR, OIL PRICE DRAG A strong dollar and deep spending cuts in the energy sector have undercut business investment. Schlumberger Ltd, the world s No. 1 oilfield services provider and rival Halliburton have slashed their capital expenditure budgets for this year following a more than 60 percent plunge in crude oil since June last year. While yesterday s report and recent data on oil drilling suggest the spending cuts in the energy sector were ebbing, renewed weakness in oil prices suggest a turnaround in business investment will only be gradual. In addition, the dollar s 16.8 percent gain versus the currencies of the United States main trading partners since June 2014 remains a challenge for multinational corporations such as Whirlpool Corp and Procter & Gamble Co. Still, the surge in core capital goods orders in July bodes well for economic growth prospects in the third quarter. It points to a sharp acceleration in the pace of business capital investment activity in the third quarter and provides some upside risks to our expectation for growth, said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate equipment spending in the government s gross domestic product measurement, rose 0.6 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.9 percent increase in June. Core capital goods shipments were previously reported to have risen 0.3 percent in June and the upward revision suggests second-quarter GDP could be bumped up when the government publishes it second estimate today. June data on business inventories and construction spending have already suggested secondquarter growth could be revised to as high as a 3.4 percent annualized pace from the 2.3 percent rate reported last month. Third-quarter growth estimates are around a 2.8 percent rate. A 4.7 percent increase in transportation equipment buoyed overall orders for durable goods - items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more - which rose 2.0 percent in July. Transportation was lifted by a 4.0 percent rise in orders for automobiles and parts, as automakers kept most assembly lines running during the summer instead of shutting them down for retooling. That increase offset a 6.0 percent decline in aircraft orders. Unfilled orders for durable goods rose 0.2 percent in July, the largest gain since November, while inventories were unchanged. Reuters Dubai property slowdown due to tighter rules DUBAI: Dubai s tighter property rules aimed at preventing a housing bubble are the main cause of a slowdown in the emirate s real estate sector rather than a sustained drop in oil prices, industry experts said. Dubai has a low reliance on oil despite hydrocarbons providing three-quarters of the United Arab Emirates consolidated revenue in 2014, according to credit agency Moody s. Abu Dhabi is home to the bulk of the UAE s energy reserves. Dubai residential property sales have declined over the past three quarters, but the drop in oil prices is coincidental and the slowdown is more due to big price increases in the market is adjusting to return to affordable levels, said Nicholas Maclean, managing director of consultants CBRE Middle East. This is a positive trend and will help prevent a bigger correction in the future. While housing prices are expected to drift lower this year, some experts said well-balanced supply and demand for properties should keep prices stable. Rival consultancy Cluttons estimates house prices in Dubai rose 51 percent during 2013 before growth slowed to 3.4 percent in This rebound followed a near-50 percent drop in prices from 2008 as the global financial crisis and Dubai s debt troubles sparked a real estate crash. Last year, Dubai doubled property registration fees and the UAE federal government raised the minimum mortgage deposits, dampening demand. The government was right to act to curb speculation. It s just that these measures have now coincided with a weakening global economy, said Faisal Durrani, head of research at property consultants Cluttons. The impact of the new rules on house sales has been acute, said Durrani, predicting further declines in prices in the second half of Cluttons forecasts about 20,000 new residential units will be completed and handed over from now until 2017, while Dubai s population is expected to increase by 400,000 over the same period from 2.4 million at present. About 41,000 units have been announced this year. Unit delivery and population expansion seem well matched, which indicates the residential market should be pretty stable, added Durrani. Yet prolonged low oil prices could lead to a UAE construction slowdown, with the government the main real estate facilitator through infrastructure spending and statelinked developers that dominate the market. Oil is likely at unsustainably low prices - we should see a rebound, which will substantially increase government revenues in the medium term, but the question is when will that rebound happen? CBRE s Maclean said. Reuters HUAIBEI: A bank clerk counts renminbi banknotes in a bank branch in Huaibei in central China s Anhui province yesterday. Asian stocks rose Wednesday after a rocky start following Beijing s decision to cut a key interest rate to help stabilize gyrating financial markets and free up more funding to counter short liquidity. AP

22 BUSINESS Turkey s 4G tender outstrips predictions with bids of 4bn euros ANKARA: Turkey s auction of 4G mobile phone frequencies lured a higher than expected 3.96 billion euros ($4.5 billion) worth of bids, the agency running the process said yesterday, showing the appeal of Turkey s youthful and growing market. The bids from Britain s Vodafone and Turkish duo Avea and Turkcell, the only three operators in Turkey, will be subject to an approval process before a final decision on allocations is made. Turkey s mobile phone industry is a growth sector servicing a young and data-hungry population, noted Jonathan Friedman at global risk consultancy Stroz Friedberg. Beyond recent political instability, Turkey is a large market with nearly 80 million consumers, and investors want to be a part of that, Friedman said. The tender had been postponed in May, weeks after President Tayyip Erdogan urged Turkey not to waste time with 4G and move straight to 5G, for which technical standards do not yet exist. 4G and 5G refer to the latest technology standards for mobile devices. Fourth-generation technology, which went mainstream worldwide around 2010, enables users to watch videos and download big documents on their phones. In an apparent bid to placate Erdogan, Turkish officials had dubbed the technology being auctioned as 4.5G, but subsequently dropped the term. Wednesday s tender was a sale of mobile spectrum used all over Europe for 4G, which allows for up to 10 times faster mobile broadband than 3G technology. Generally, lower bandwidths offer faster data speeds but over a shorter distance and are useful for densely populated areas; larger bandwidths offer greater coverage but less speed for rural areas. The fifth-generation technology Erdogan craves remains years away from formal definition and is not expected to be ready for widespread commercial rollouts until Turkey had divided the bandwidths to be used for its 4G network into packages, to be shared broadly equally between the operators. For the 800Mhz bandwidth for instance Vodafone offered the highest bid of 390 million euros for the package dubbed A1, Avea the highest with 380 million euros for the A2 package and Turkcell s offer of million euros was the largest for the A3 package, commission chairman Deniz Yanik said yesterday. The three operators also each posted the highest bids in subsequent tenders for higher bandwidths, Yanik said, with the total value of the auction 1.5 times higher than predicted. Reuters RIYADH: A picture shows the construction site of the Saudi capital Riyadh s $22.5 billion metro system, yesterday. The system, which will have six lines covering 176 kilometres (109 miles), supported by a bus network of 1,150 kilometres, is due to be completed by the end of Three foreign consortiums are building the metro, with France s Alstom, Canada s Bombardier and Germany s Siemens among the major participants. AFP Gulf pulls back as global markets stay fragile SABIC, Alinma Bank fall back sharply DUBAI: Most Gulf stock markets fell back yesterday as the region consolidated after a strong rebound on Tuesday, while foreign investors bargain-hunting in blue chips lifted Egypt. The Gulf s bounce on Tuesday, after several days of sharp falls, created a sense that markets in the region have found at least short-term floors. Some institutional investors came back into the markets to buy selected stocks with valuations that they now saw as reasonable. But with global oil prices and equities still unstable and the economic outlook for China unclear, fund managers do not have any confidence that Gulf bourses have bottomed for the longer term. So the Saudi stock index, which had surged 7.4 percent on Tuesday, fell back 2.1 percent on Wednesday. Trading volume, which had jumped on Tuesday to its highest level since May 2014, shrank by more than a third. Petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries, which had jumped its 10 percent daily limit on Tuesday, pulled back 4.1 percent. Alinma Bank, which had also gained 10 percent, slipped 3.7 percent. Selling was not indiscriminate, however, and there was continued bargain-hunting in some second- or third-tier stocks, such as healthcare provider Bupa Arabia, up 2.8 percent. Dubai s stock index, which had jumped 4.6 percent on Tuesday, fell back 1.4 percent. Real estate shares that had surged on Tuesday saw selling, with Emaar Properties down 1.7 percent and DAMAC Properties off 4.4 percent. Abu Dhabi edged down 0.1 percent as Aldar Properties, which had added 7.0 percent on Tuesday, pulled back 5.3 percent. However, telecommunications blue chip Etisalat gained 0.8 percent. Qatar s market bucked the trend and continued to rise, gaining 0.5 percent. Telecommunications firm Ooredoo, widely seen as a defensive stock with an attactive dividend yield, was a major reason for the index s rise, gaining 3.3 percent. Egypt s index.egx30, which had risen 2.8 percent on Tuesday, climbed a further 0.5 percent as Qalaa Holdings, one of the country s largest investment firms, rose 4.7 percent. Real estate blue chip Palm Hills Development added 2.1 percent. Exchange data showed non-egyptian Arab investors were net buyers by a large margin and other foreign investors were also buyers. WEDNESDAY S HIGHLIGHTS SAUDI ARABIA The index fell 2.1 percent to 7,384 points. DUBAI The index slid 1.4 percent to 3,507 points. ABU DHABI The index edged down 0.1 percent to 4,330 points. QATAR The index rose 0.5 percent to 10,958 points. EGYPT The index climbed 0.5 percent to 6,873 points. KUWAIT The index fell 0.4 percent to 5,814 points. OMAN The index edged up 0.4 percent to 5,782 points. BAHRAIN The index edged down 0.1 percent to 1,303 points. Reuters Global gas demand mounts: OAPEC chief KUWAIT: The world is witnessing mounting demand for natural gas largely because it is a clean source of energy and relatively friendly to the environment, according to OAPEC s chief. Abbas Al-Naqi, Secretary General of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Organization (OAPEC), said in an interview with KUNA that the globe is witnessing mounting demand for gas because it is clean energy resource, cheap and friendly to the nature. Gas trade has proven largely feasible; its production cost is low and can easily be transported via networks of pipelines, however in some regions, establishment of such networks face snags such as rugged terrain or existence of waterways. Natural gas can be liquefied and transported aboard tankers to reach remote markets and consumption destinations; however this transportation means is costly as compared to the pipes-that are of various capacities ranging between six and 36 inches. Domestic networks are established to transfer the gas from the fields or processing plants to the consumers, namely individuals or industrial installations or houses. Some gasrich nations pump gas to nearby countries according to accords. The gas networks in the Arab world, built in the 80s, comprise seven main lines with a total capacity of 114 billion cubic meters per year. The Arab network had been built to secure natural gas to Europe. Morocco, for instance, benefits from the pipeline that crosses its territories from Algeria to Spain-that is in the form of some extracted gas amounts. This line, operated in 2011, has a capacity of eight billion cubic meters per year. Libya for its part exports natural gas to Italy via the green stream line, operated in 2004, part of a mega venture to develop gas fields in the country s west. Tripoli transports gas products and condensates from Al-Wafa Gas field which is linked to the Arab gas line that stretches from Al-Arish, Egypt, to Keles in northernmost Syria, via Jordan. Its capacity is Abbas Al-Naqi in the range of 10 billion cubic meters. However, Naqi explained to Kuwait News Agency in the exclusive interview that the Arab gas network has stopped operating since 2013 due to supplies stoppage from Egypt. It had been designed to reach Turkey however it had to be shut due to the events in Syria. Egypt has another line, the naval one that ends up in Palestine. Its capacity is estimated at seven billion cubic meters per year. Qatar exports the natural gas to Abu Dhabi and Oman through Dolphin Pipeline, operated in 2007, with an operational capacity of 21 billion cubic meter per annum. Its capacity was recently raised to 33 billion cubic meter per year. A feasible distance for gas transportation via on land networks of pipes is in the range of 4,680 kilometers (some 3,000 miles) for 42-inch radius pipes. As to those at sea, the reasonable distance is in the range of 1,560 km (1,000 mile), with a pipe radius of 20 inch. Naqi explains that there are many gas distribution networks across the globe-many located in Asia and Eurasia. Trade in natural gas constitutes two thirds of global trade. KUNA BEIJING: A man walks past signs for various banks in Beijing yesterday. China s latest interest rate cut - the fifth since November - has placated markets but is not enough to reverse slowing growth in the world s second-largest economy, analysts say, urging authorities to embrace lower taxes and other more aggressive measures. AFP EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. ASIAN COUNTRIES Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht GCC COUNTRIES Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for Syrian Lira Morocco Dirham EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer Euro Sterling Pound Canadian dollar Turkish lira Swiss Franc Australian dollar US Dollar Buying GOLD 20 gram gram gram UAE Exchange Centre WLL CURRENCIES TELEX TRANSFER PER 1000 Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen 2.56 Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer Selling Rate US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi Thai Bhat Turkish Lira Bahrain Exchange Company CURRENCY BUY SELL Europe Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira Australasia Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar America Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint Asia Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian upee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht Arab Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal

23 BUSINESS Despite stock fall, financial health of many is still solid WASHINGTON: Many Americans have just absorbed a financial beating - at least as measured by their stock holdings. It s the kind of blow that can feed a sense of helplessness about retirement, college savings and higherthan-expected bills. But take a look at other gauges of Americans financial health and a more nuanced picture emerges: Hiring and home values are up. Gas prices and mortgage rates are down. Inflation is low. The pace of layoffs has dwindled. Add it up, and the evidence suggests that many Americans - though certainly not all - are doing comparatively well. Even the stock-market swoon can be put in perspective: Yes, the Standard & Poor s 500 stock index has tumbled 10.7 percent over the past five days of trading. Since the end of 2008, though, the S&P index remains up about 120 percent. For some, the stock sell-off has been an occasion to take a breath, recall previous down markets that eventually recovered and summon the patience to wait for their investments to rebound. Hell, yes, I am worried, said Shannon Miller, a 27-year old digital content manager in St. Louis. But what goes down... will probably go back up. Here s a look at key measures of Americans financial well-being JOBS This is a clear bright spot. Employers have added a total of 11.5 million jobs over the past 58 months. All that hiring has helped cut the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent from a peak of 10 percent in And just about everyone who has a job is getting to keep it: Applications for unemployment aid, which reflect the pace of layoffs, has hit a 15-year low. It s true that the solid hiring has yet to provide meaningful pay raises for most people. Average hourly earnings are up a subpar 2.1 percent over the past 12 months. But there s evidence that the job market is being retooled for occupations and college graduates who command higher pay. Nearly 44 percent of the jobs added during the recovery paid a median income of more than $53,000, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. The economy includes a greater proportion of these jobs now than in 2008, after having shed middlewage jobs - those that paid $32,000 to $53,000. The surge in hiring is not concentrated in dead-end McJobs, the report concluded. INVESTMENTS No doubt the latest stock market plunge has dealt a setback to many retirement accounts. But plenty of people have diversified their portfolios, as they should, so that stocks don t represent an outsized portion of their holdings. And many individuals have richly profited from the most recent bull market. A thousand dollars invested in an S&P 500 index fund at the end of 2008 would now be worth roughly $2,200. The investment company Vanguard reported in June that clients with retirement accounts at the end of 2009 had enjoyed a median gain of 137 percent over five years, reflecting both market returns and additional contributions. Consider: An Associated Press analysis last week found that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump would have multiplied his fortune more by investing in a generic stock index than in heavily-branded luxury real estate. GAS PRICES Prices at the pump haven t been this low at this time of year since 2004, according to the American Automobile Association. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.58 a gallon, down from $3.44 at this point in Analysts expect prices to fall further after summer. The price decline has slowed economic growth because energy companies have slashed their drilling activity and equipment orders to manufacturers. Yet for individual Americans, falling gas prices are a windfall: Families have more cushioning in their household budgets and can direct some of their gas savings to pare debt, invest or spend. HOME VALUES The housing market has solidly recovered from the depths of the recession, when defaults on subprime mortgages caused a crushing wave of foreclosures and depressed prices. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index is up 5 percent from a year earlier. And the National Association of Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes in July reached an annual rate of 5.59 million, the strongest pace since Homeowners are also behaving more prudently: Mortgage debt remains about $1.3 trillion below the 2008 peak, according to the Federal Reserve. While the stock market can fluctuate wildly, real estate is slow and steady and has returned to very healthy conditions, said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. MORTGAGE RATES The Fed s low-rate policies have kept mortgage rates near historic lows for much of the recovery. And even as stocks have tumbled, it s become cheaper for homebuyers to borrow. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 3.93 percent last week from 4.09 percent in mid-july, according to mortgage firm Freddie Mac. The low rates have benefited many homeowners who have adjustable-rate mortgages from before the recession. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasurys. The declining stock market has held those yields low - welcome news for homeowners such as Conal Crawley, a 49 -year-old sales rep from Boston. It ll keep my interest rate down as long as the economy doesn t get overheated, he said. AP Gold falls as nervous investors monitor China Palladium, silver at multi-year lows ISTANBUL: Workers stand in front of a new tunnel construction area in Istanbul yesterday. The 13.6-kilometre (8.5 miles) will link Kazlicesme on Istanbul s European side to Goztepe on the Asian side to reduce the city s notorious traffic and will includes the world s deepest immersed tube below the seabed at 60 metres (nearly 200 feet) government said. AFP Gulf Keystone plans to double Kurdish field output LONDON: Iraqi Kurdistan oil producer Gulf Keystone Petroleum could double output at its Shaikan field within 18 months but the lack of government payments for exports makes investing there impossible, its new chief executive said. GKP, one of a handful of foreign oil producers in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Iraq, is owed $260 million by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in payments for exported oil as well as its share of investments in its fields. The debt and lack of consistency in payments from the government has squeezed GKP s pockets to a point where it has just enough cash flow to keep its operations going. It s really frustrating not to be able to invest right now, Jon Ferrier, a former Maersk Oil executive appointed as GKP chief executive two months ago, told Reuters in an interview. Our costs are exactly in line with what we re being paid so we re down to the bone. GKP s Shaikan oil field, a discovery of billion barrels in place made in 2009, has the potential to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day, but the lack of money to invest means it is currently stuttering away at 45,000 barrels per day. The KRG, embroiled in a dispute with Iraq s central government over oil riches ownership, promised earlier this month it would start making regular payments to producers from September. Hopefully transparency of these payments will be very helpful, said Ferrier. Once the KRG makes its remaining payments, GKP can start thinking about investing in Shaikan, he added. Production at the field could reach 100,000 barrels a day within 18 to 24 months, he said. GKP, which will report first-half results on Thursday, is still in the process of finding a buyer for some of its assets in a bid to raise capital. I ve never known an M&A environment like this. There s such a gulf between buyer and seller expectations on oil price, Ferrier said. GKP is in talks with four potential buyers and a start of regular KRG payments would move the process forward more quickly, he said. If payments turn out to be a fact in September, that could be a catalyst for change in the region. Reuters LONDON: Gold slipped yesterday, tracking losses in other markets as concerns remained about China s economic slowdown even after it eased monetary policy. Global stocks have lost more than $5 trillion since China unexpectedly devalued its currency on Aug. 11, but a short-lived recovery on Tuesday, following the cut in interest rates and bank reserve requirements, had pushed gold down 1.2 percent. Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1, an ounce by 1003 GMT, on track for a third day of losses. The metal s fall on Tuesday was its steepest since July 20. US gold for December delivery dropped 0.4 percent to $1, an ounce. Nothing looks particularly attractive at the moment, the volatility in equity markets, the very low level of bond yields, Capital Economics chief global economist Julian Jessop said. KUWAIT: Kuwait Financial Centre Markaz stated that during 1H15, GCC corporates posted a negative 7.2% growth over H1 of Total earnings inh1 of 2015 came in at USD 34Bn. 1H15 earnings were driven by strong performance from banks and real estate. Aggregate net profits for banks came in at USD 16.7bn in 1H15, a rise of 9% over H1 of Earnings from real estate came in at USD 3.7Bn recording a growth of 44.5% (YoY). Robust growth in the earnings of banking sector, which accounts for 49% of earnings, could not prevent overall corporate earnings from declining by 7.2% (YoY) in 1H15. Telecom sector continued its negative run from 2014, with overall profits declining by 35%. Currencies on the other hand seem to be more driven by perceptions of what the Fed might do on interests, while there haven t really been major and obvious big moves in safe havens. The dollar cut earlier gains against a basket of leading currencies, while European stocks fell as worries lingered on whether China s actions would be enough to stabilise its cooling economy or halt a collapse in its stock markets. Drip-feed of stimulus might not be sufficient to arrest aggressive bears, or significantly lift the economy in a demand-constrained world, Miluho Bank said in a note on China s policy action. That could put the focus back on a potential US interest rate increase this year, dampening gold s appeal. The key factor that underpins the bearish view for gold is very much the Fed rate hike expectation and that possibility is not off the table, said Qatar had the highest earnings growth in 1H15 at 13%, with the rest of the GCC countries recording a decline. Fall in oil prices, strengthening US dollar and company specific issues were responsible for the poor earnings in the first half of Earnings in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia contracted by 19% and 16%, respectively, (1H15, YoY basis), while UAE, Bahrain and Oman also registered negative earnings growth of 2%, 5% and 7%, respectively. H1 of 2015 earnings Real Estate and Banking sectors have been the star performers in the region for 1H15 registering growth of 44.5% and 9%, respectively. Despite signs of slowing down towards the end of last year, the real estate sector had a great run in the first half of The commodities sector, which is the second largest sector in Barnabas Gan, analyst at OCBC Bank in Singapore. US data on Tuesday showed consumer confidence hit a seven-month high in August, while new single-family home sales rebounded in July, suggesting underlying strength in the economy that could still allow the Federal Reserve to hike rates this year. OCBC s Gan said gold, which touched a near seven-week high of $1, last week, could only rally towards $1,200 if there is confirmation that a US rate hike will not happen this year. Palladium fell 0.6 percent to $ an ounce after tumbling more than 6 percent overnight, its steepest fall since April The metal, mainly used in emissions control systems for cars, trucks and other vehicles, hit a five-year trough of $ on Tuesday and has lost around 9 percent so far this week. Platinum rose 0.6 percent to $981 an ounce and silver dipped 0.9 percent to $ Reuters GCC corporate earnings1 fall by 7.2% in H1 of 2015 MARKAZ ECONOMIC REPORT terms of net earnings, was impacted by lower oil prices. Telecom sector, the 4th largest in terms of net earnings was affected by the reduction in ARPUs (Average Revenue per User), as well as company specific losses. Real estate boom in major markets such as UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi), Qatar and introduction of mortgage lending reforms in Saudi Arabia have led to significant earnings growth of the sector. Telecommunications sector s earnings were affected by strengthening of the US dollar (Ooredoo), the earnings restatement of Mobily and its continued dispute with Zain Saudi. Falling ARPU across the region was also a reason behind the fall in telecom earnings. GCC corporate earnings are expected to contract by 0.3% in 2015 over FY14 and reach USD 69.7Bn by the end of the year. UAE, Qatar and Bahrain earnings growth are expected to be robust at 8.0%, 6.2% and 6%, respectively, for the full year of 2015 as against Corporate earnings in other GCC countries are also expected to decline, during the same period, with earnings in Saudi declining the most at 7.9%. Corporate earnings in Kuwait and Oman are expected to fall moderately by 1.6% and 0.4% respectively. Improving US economy shares blame for worst traffic ever WASHINGTON: More jobs and cheaper gasoline come with a big, honking downside: US roads are more clogged than ever now that the recession is in the rearview mirror. Commuters in Washington, D.C., suffer the most, losing an average of 82 hours a year to rush hour slowdowns, a new study finds. Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York come next on the list of urban areas with the longest delays. But the pain reaches across the nation. Overall, American motorists are stuck in traffic about 5 percent more than they were in 2007, the pre-recession peak, says the report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and INRIX Inc., which analyzes traffic data. Four out of five cities have now surpassed their 2007 congestion. Rounding out the Top 10 worst commuting cities are San Jose, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Houston and Riverside-San Bernardino. Cities with fast-growing economies and the most job growth are the most plagued by traffic. Other factors: Urban populations are increasing and lower fuel prices are making driving less expensive, so more people are taking to city roads. Congestion increased in 61 of the nation s 101 largest cities from 2012 to 2013, the data showed. The following year, nearly all cities - 95 out of experienced greater congestion. The findings are based on federal data about how many cars are on the roads and on traffic speed data collected by INRIX on 1.3 million miles of urban streets and highways. The growth is outpacing the nation s ability to build the roads, bridges, trains and other infrastructure to handle all these people on the move. Congress has kept federal transportation programs teetering on the edge of insolvency for nearly eight years because lawmakers have been unwilling to raise the federal gas tax and haven t found a politically palatable alternative to pay for needed improvements. Higher fuel taxes Frustrated by Washington s inaction, nearly a third of states have approved measures this year that could collectively raise billions of dollars for transportation through higher fuel taxes, vehicle fees and bonds. But that s just a down payment on decades of delayed maintenance, repairs and replacements. Our growing traffic problem is too massive for any one entity to handle - state and local agencies can t do it alone, said Tim Lomax, a co-author of the report. The report recommends a mix of solutions, including making existing road and transit systems more efficient, encouraging more flexible work schedules, adding capacity to high-growth travel corridors, and creating more high-density neighborhoods where homes, offices, stores and other development can be reached through walking, biking or public transit. Transportation analyst Alan Pisarski said the nation missed a tremendous opportunity to catch up on building additional transportation capacity during the recession, when construction costs plummeted. We didn t take advantage of it and now we re back in the soup again, he said. The national average time that commuters wasted stuck in traffic last year was 42 hours, about the same as in 2007 and more than twice the delay in 1982, when the transportation institute first began assessing urban mobility. But because there are so many more commuters today and far more congestion in off-peak hours, total delay across the country has increased over Overall, Americans experienced 6.9 billion hours of traffic delays in 2014 compared to 6.6 billion in 2007 and 1.8 billion in The problem has become so bad in major urban areas that drivers have to plan for more than twice as much travel time as they would normally need to account for the possibility of congestion delays caused by bad weather, collisions, construction zones and other impediments, the report said. Congestion Trucks account for about 18 percent of urban congestion, although they represent just 7 percent of urban travel. The cost of congestion to the average auto commuter was $960 in lost time and fuel in 2014, compared to an inflation-adjusted $400 in About 40 percent of delays occur in midday and overnight hours, making it more difficult to avoid delays by avoiding commuter rush hours. Severe or extreme congestion levels affected one of every four trips in 2014, up from one in nine trips in The report comes on the heels of other evidence that Americans are embracing driving more than ever. The Department of Transportation said Americans drove more than 3 trillion miles in the last 12 months, surpassing the previous record set in And the National Safety Council said preliminary data for the first six months of this year shows traffic deaths are up 14 percent, a turnaround after years of fewer fatalities. If the economy remains strong, congestion will continue to worsen, the report projects. In the next five years, the annual delay per commuter would grow from 42 to 47 hours, the total delay nationwide would grow from 6.9 billion hours to 8.3 billion hours, and the total cost of congestion would jump from $160 billion to $192 billion, researchers estimated. AP NEWCASTLE: This photo taken on April 25, 2015 shows coal stockpiled at the coal port of Newcastle in Australia s New South Wales state. Australia s city of Newcastle, which claims the world s biggest coal export port, said yesterday it will pull money out of fossil fuel industries as it shifts into more sustainable enterprises. AFP

24 BUSINESS Indonesia s plunging cement shares signify new economic reality JAKARTA: Investors in Indonesia s cementmaking giants have much to grieve about - blue chips like PT Semen Indonesia Tbk and PT Indocement Tunggal Prakasa Tbk have fallen victim to massive overcapacity, and things are not expected to get better soon. Shares of the country s largest cement maker Semen Indonesia have plunged 51 percent so far this year, surpassing the 20 percent decline in the main stock index. Domestic rivals Indocement and PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk have slumped 33 percent and 57 percent, respectively. Some people in the industry say the domestic sales growth outlook this year could be the worst in a decade. Indonesian cement makers in the last four years have enlarged their production capacity in anticipation of higher demand from infrastructure projects and a property boom. Even Thailand s Siam Cement Pcl has opened its own cement plant in Indonesia, as well as acquiring a local ready-mix concrete maker, to access the market. China s Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd has built a cement plant in Kalimantan and is setting up another in Papua. Indocement itself is majority-owned by Heidelbergcement AG, while Holcim Indonesia is a unit of LafargeHolcim Ltd. Cement production capacity in Indonesia is expected to rise to 75.5 million tonnes a year by 2016, up about 67 percent from Yet demand is far from catching up, with infrastructure spending on roads, bridges and ports delayed by bureaucratic red tape and the economy growing at its slowest pace in six years. In January-to-June, cement consumption fell 4.3 percent to 27.7 million tonnes, its worst firsthalf since 2009, according to industry association data. Heightened competition from new players has not helped. Costs related to transportation in Southeast Asia s biggest economy have also remained high. The negative outlook for cement makers has decoupled their shares from property stocks. Both segments of the stock market usually move in tandem, but the plunge in cement counters this year has far exceeded the 18 percent drop in the sub-index for property and construction. Property stocks will have more support since price valuation can be justified by more stable valuation of land banks and recurring assets. On the other hand, cement stock valuations are based on cement demand - a less stable variable in the slowing economy and increasing competition, said Jeffrosenberg Tan, a director with Sinarmas Asset Management who helps manage about 6 trillion rupiah ($ million) in funds. Reuters Pakistan s economy facing revenue generation crisis ISLAMABAD: Despite recent optimism surrounding Pakistan s economy, the country is facing an existential crisis stemming from its woeful tax collection rates and inability to finance itself, a report said yesterday. Pakistan s economy grew at 4.24 percent during the fiscal year with per capita income rising a significant 9.25 percent, markers that come as investor confidence in the long-underperfoming South Asian giant have also increased. But according to the report by nonprofit organisation Raftar, funded by Britain s Department for International Development (DFID), Pakistan s economy continues to rely heavily on commercial loans, concessionar y donor loans and aid. The country s tax-to-gdp ratio of 9.4 percent is among the lowest in the world, leading to a public debt of 17 trillion rupees ($163 billion). This an almost three-fold increase since 2008 for the $232 billion economy, with 44 percent of tax revenue going toward interest payments. The report blamed the lack of a tax culture on non-revenue sources of funds the country has historically enjoyed in the form of foreign aid and loans. It said 68 percent of tax revenue was being generated through indirect taxes on fuel, food and electricity, which unfairly penalises the poor. The lack of revenue collection also negatively affects infrastructure development including power generation, with the country facing a massive shortfall of up to 4000 MW in the summer that shaves about $15 billion off the country s GDP. Pakistan is currently in a $6.6 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund, which was granted on condition that Islamabad carried out extensive economic reforms, particularly in the energy and taxation sectors. AFP

25 KUWAIT: Credit growth in June was strong, but annual growth eased slightly to 5.2% y/y on basis effects. Lending was up by KD 453 million during the month. While much of the gain came from lending for securities purchases and household borrowing, other sectors also saw notable growth. Meanwhile, real estate saw a third month of decline in outstanding credit. Private deposits were flat on the month, while money supply growth continued to ease on basis effects. Meanwhile, interbank and deposit rates held steady. Household borrowing remained robust adding KD 115 million, with growth accelerating to 12.3% y/y. While growth in June was largely from installment loans, consumer loans also rose for the first time in five months. Of the KD 1 billion credit added in the first six months of 2015, half was accounted for by household borrowing. Credit to non-bank financial companies continued to decline, losing KD 6 million. While still in deleveraging mode, the net monthly declines in this sector s credit have been diminishing over the last year. This sector s credit has declined by 7.4% y/y. All remaining credit rose by a solid KD 343 million, though growth eased to 2.9% y/y on basis effects. The bulk of the gains were in lending for the purchase of securities, which rose by KD 206 million, though the segment remained down by 2.5% y/y. Trade, oil & gas, other sectors, and construction were other areas of growth, with the sectors contributing for most of this year s business sector credit gains. Real estate saw the largest decline of KD 20 million, which was also its third consecutive monthly decrease. There has been a marked pickup in the growth momentum of business credit over the last few months. The annualized 3-month growth rate of credit excluding personal facilities and lending to nonbanks and the real estate sector has accelerated gradually over the last six months from a low reached in December. In June, 3-month growth accelerated to an annualized 17%. BUSINESS Private deposits were flat in June largely on a drop in foreign currency deposits;as a result, Money supply (M2) growth eased to 4.1% y/y. Private deposits saw a small KD 14 million decline, with a KD 64 million increase in KD deposits more than offset by a KD 77 million decline in foreign currency deposits. There was also a move to KD sight deposits in June at the expense of KD time deposits. Narrower money supply (M1) actually declined by 0.9% y/y due to a basis effect; it was a year ago that the CBK introduced the new currency which temporarily increased the amount of currency in circulation. Average customer deposit rates on dinar time deposits, and interbank rates were steady in June.Average rates onthe1-month,3- month, and 6-month time deposits were steady at 0.61%, 0.77%,and 0.97%, while 12-month rates added 5 bpsafter a drop last month. KD interbank rates held steady at1.00%, up 21 basis points year-to-date. Kuwait: Strong credit gains in June, growth at 5.2% Turbulent time for Swiss watchmakers ZURICH: Swiss watchmakers are facing turbulent times in one of their top markets, as the already shrinking luxury sales in China are compounded by the recent devaluation of the yuan. Global financial markets are still reeling from the Chinese central bank s sudden devaluation of the yuan earlier this month, which allowed the currency to plunge nearly five percent against the dollar in a matter of days. In Switzerland, the move rattled the Alpine country s luxury watchmakers, who have already seen their once booming sales in China take a hit as Beijing began to crack down on corruption in the country by banning extravagant gifts like prestigious watches to public officials. Even before the yuan move, Swiss watch exports to China had contracted nearly 40 percent in July. When the yuan devaluation was announced on August 11, investors were clearly bracing for the worst, recalling the impact on watch sales when Switzerland s central bank in January let the Swiss franc float and sent it soaring. Shares of Swiss luxury goods giant Richemont, which owns brands like Cartier, Piaget and IWC, immediately shed more than 4.0 percent of their value after the Chinese currency cut. The world s biggest watch group Swatch, which carries brands like Tissot, Longines and Omega, saw its stock price plunge 3.9 percent. Positive view But so far there is no indication the yuan devaluation will cause the same level of havoc for the watch industry as the move by the Swiss central bank did earlier this year, industry insiders say. When it suddenly stopped artificially holding down the value of the Swiss franc, allowing the currency to soar 20 percent against the euro in a matter of hours, the impact on watch sales was felt immediately, Jean- Claude Biver, luxury giant LVMH s watch guru, told AFP. But today, we are not feeling the same effects from China s devaluation, he said, explaining that the Swiss watch industry would be able to absorb any rising costs linked to the Chinese central bank s move. And both analysts and the watchmakers themselves have warned against overreacting, insisting the yuan devaluation will not have a big impact on sales and could even improve them. Swatch for instance said it viewed the move as positive since it would likely stimulate consumption, and insisted there were no plans to hike the brand s prices in China. While the yuan devaluation makes it more expensive to import luxury goods into China, it also pushes down costs onsite. For a company like Swatch, which employs around 2,600 people in China, mainly in its marketing, sales and client services divisions, that could mean big savings. Grey market Still, the impact of China s devaluation is difficult to quantify, analysts say. If the devaluation of the yuan is limited and takes place on a controlled basis, it would be a positive for the Swiss watch industry, Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox told AFP in an . It narrows the differential between Europe and China prices, meaning more watches would be bought in China and there would be less of a grey market, he added. Stark currency differences since the Swiss franc took flight in January had pushed Chinese consumers to purchase more of the luxury watches they covet when travelling abroad. But they have also boosted a grey market, where watches are bought in one market and quickly sold in another at more advantageous rates. In response, some brands had opted to lower their prices in China before the yuan devaluation in a bid to rein in such parallel markets. This can prove painful now, since they do not want to be seen raising their prices again so soon to compensate for the dwindling value of the yuan, said Luca Solca, an analyst with Exane BNP Paribas. To protect their reputations, these watchmakers will opt to stick to low yuan prices, allowing their high Swiss franc costs to eat into profits, and they will suffer, he told AFP in an , suggesting though that those who had not already lowered their prices would fare better. In a note, he also maintained that the yuan devaluation would only have a moderate impact on the bottom line of luxury goods makers. It would take a devaluation of 20 percent or more to shrink profits in the sector by percent, he said. AFP HONG KONG: Bets are growing of a possible scrapping of a historic peg of the Hong Kong dollar against the greenback, after China s surprise devaluation of the yuan this month sent financial markets into a tailspin and stoked fears of a global currency war. One month implied volatility on the Hong Kong dollar an indicator of expected price swings - jumped to 2.23 on Monday, the highest level in a decade. It was much higher than 1 on Aug. 11 when the People s Bank of China weakened the yuan by 2 percent. The Hong Kong dollar is seeing a classic flight to safety bid. Investors are de-risking their portfolios and moving funds into Hong Kong dollar bonds and cash, said Hayden Briscoe, Asia Pacific fixed income director at AllianceBernstein, who is part of a team that manages $250 billion globally in fixed income. The flight-to-safety bid has made the Hong Kong dollar expensive versus rivals. Given currency slides across Asia, the Hong Kong dollar now looks significantly overvalued, said Kevin Lai, an analyst at Daiwa, adding that the peg would come under tremendous pressure in case of severe credit stress in China and capital outflows following the U.S. Federal Reserve s policy normalisation. Many emerging market currencies, including the Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and Brazil s real, have slumped to their weakest levels against the dollar in over 10 years as capital fled their slowing economies. The latest country to join the currency war, Kazakhstan, devalued its tenge by more than a quarter last Thursday. The Hong Kong dollar rose close to its strong end of trading on Wednesday and traded at per dollar, up from on Aug. 11. The local currency has been pegged at 7.8 to the US dollar since 1983, but can trade between 7.75 and Hong Kong is caught in a pincer movement between a prospective US monetary policy NBK ECONOMIC REPORT JAKARTA: This photo taken on August 13, 2015 shows Indonesian models with scale models of Chinese-made bullet trains on exhibition at a shopping mall in Jakarta. China and Japan are locked in an increasingly heated contest to build Indonesia s first high-speed railway, with the Asian giants sweetening deals and turning up the charm as time runs out to woo Jakarta. AFP China, Japan battle to build Indonesia s first bullet train Widodo to announce successful bidder on Aug 31 JAKARTA: China and Japan are locked in an increasingly heated contest to build Indonesia s first highspeed railway, with the Asian giants sweetening deals and turning up the charm as time runs out to woo Jakarta. The rivalry over this major project is just the latest to flare up as China challenges Japan s long-standing dominance in Southeast Asia as a key source of infrastructure funding. Japan, a top-three investor in Indonesia with huge stakes in the automotive and mining sectors, seemed destined to build the high-speed railway until China muscled in with a counter offer earlier this year. President Joko Widodo stoked the competitive spirit of the two Asian powerhouses as he toured China and Japan in April trying to drum up much-needed investment for a multi-billion dollar overhaul of Indonesia s ageing infrastructure. In both Beijing and Tokyo, he boarded bullet trains and declared his vision for high-speed rail in Indonesia: a line connecting the sprawling capital Jakarta with Bandung, a mountainfringed city famed for its universities and IT expertise about 160 kilometres (100 miles) away. If it was a stunt to grab the attention of his hosts, it certainly worked. A steady stream of diplomats and envoys from Tokyo and Beijing have been pouring in since April to pitch the Widodo administration, and Jakarta is enjoying the limelight. Let them race to invest in Indonesia. It s good for us, Luhut Panjaitan, chief political minister and a close aide to Widodo, told AFP. It s like a girl wanted by Bets grow HK may scrap peg after China s yuan devaluation tightening and the continued slowdown and travails of the mainland economy with whom Hong Kong s economic cycle is increasingly more correlated, said Mole Hau, Asia Economist at BNP Paribas. The so-called currency board arrangements means the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is unable to use independent interest rate policy to influence the domestic economy and may have its work cut out if the Fed s eventual tightening triggers big capital outflows. In the last round of mass capital outflows in 1998, Hong Kong s economy contracted 6 percent and endured deflation for years after the Asian finiancial crisis, but the dollar peg survived. Government officials have reassured that the peg will be retained. I don t think the Hong Kong dollar has come to a stage that the peg has to be changed with no choice like what happened to the Swiss franc, said Raymond Yeung, an analyst at ANZ. Reuters many guys, the girl then can pick whoever she likes. The line, if completed, will not only slash travel time between Jakarta and Bandung but pave the way for an expanded network linking the capital with Indonesia s second-largest city Surabaya in East Java. Upping the ante The schmoozing has been ratcheting up ahead of August 31, when Widodo is expected to announce the successful bidder. China is not seeking any funding guarantees from the Indonesian government and has promised construction would begin this year, with the network up and running no later than Beijing recently showcased its high-speed rail prowess in an exhibition at a plush Jakarta mall, where China s ambassador to Indonesia likened the project to a child reared by Jakarta and Beijing. Our number one priority is to ensure the baby s health and growth, rather than to rush him to make money to support the family, Xie Feng said, playing down suggestions China s main motive in this project was profit. Japan s proposal is slightly more expensive than its rival, and it is only promising trains will hit the tracks in On the plus side, it has offered a lower interest rate of 0.1 percent, a fraction of the 2.0 percent China has put forward. Japan also has history on its side. The country is famous for its legendary shinkansen, its impressive high-speed network that for decades has whizzed commuters between cities at great speed without a single fatal accident on the rails. China has countered this by arguing it has built 17,000 kilometres of high-speed railway-or 55 percent of the world total-in the 12 years since it began constructing bullet trains. However, a 2011 crash that killed at least 40 people and injured 200 more highlighted what critics say is a tendency to overlook safety in the rush to lay track. Japan s glowing record Indonesian officials are aware of Japan s glowing record in this space, and are wary of elements of Beijing s pitch. A government source tasked with assessing the two proposals told AFP China s slowing economy had fostered doubt about whether Beijing could deliver on its ambitious promises. China s economy expanded 7.4 percent last year, the weakest pace since 1990, and slowed further to 7.0 percent in the first two quarters of this year. Indonesia had also learned the lessons of dealing with China, the source said, with past investment pledges failing to materialise and newly-constructed power plants lacking the capacity promised on paper. Indonesia has hired the Boston Consulting Group as a third party to assess the bids but in the end the decision falls to Widodo. A senior official described the matter as sensitive, acknowledging the importance of both China and Japan to Indonesia, while other voices are also urging the president to tread carefully. AFP HONG KONG: A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, yesterday. Shares fell yesterday in Europe and Asian markets were mixed as an initial burst of euphoria over an interest rate cut by China the day before succumbed to lingering worries over longer-term problems with its economy. AP

26 BUSINESS Fadel Sayed Ali wins KD 125,000 in NBK s Al Jawhara monthly draw KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announces the winner for August s KD 125,000 Al Jawhara monthly prize, Fadel Sayed Ali. The draw was held under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The winner s name was announced live on Marina FM. NBK has re-launched Al Jawhara account recently by doubling chances to win in the weekly, monthly and quarterly draws if customers do not withdraw or transfer from their accounts. NBK customers have chances to win KD 5,000 weekly, KD 125,000 monthly and a grand prize of KD 250,000 quarterly. Each KD 50 in a customer s account entitles them one entry into the draw, thus more money in an account means more chances into each draw. This new added feature enables al Jawhara Account holders to double their chances through maintaining their balance. Cityscape Global sees 30% growth in exhibition space Demand for housing continues to grow DUBAI: The continued confidence in Dubai s maturing real estate market has been underlined by a 15% increase in exhibitors at the Middle East s largest property showcase, Cityscape Global. While the 14th edition of the event prepares to host more than 300 exhibitors in a significantly expanded exhibition arena, global property experts, JLL s Q residential market overview has reported the delivery of approximately 730 residential units across Dubai. An additional 22,000 residential units are expected to enter the market by the end of 2015, another 13,000 units in 2016 and 10,000 units in 2017, reinforcing the sentiment that the UAE s real estate sector is continuing to grow at a sustainable rate as the demand for housing rises. According to JLL, a combination of governmental regulatory changes implemented in the last year across the region has ensured market conditions in the residential sector remain stable. Further highlighting the positive nature of the market, organisers of Cityscape Global, which takes place from 8-10 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, confirmed today that the event has been extended by two additional exhibition halls - four more halls since the 2013 event - covering more than 40,000sqm of exhibition space. Headline exhibitors returning for 2015 include Emaar, Dubai Properties, Dubai World Central, Meydan, Meraas and Nakheel while first-time exhibitors include Kleindienst Group, DMCC and Al Barari. Majid Al Futtaim Properties, another newcomer to the event, will showcase its major community projects, displaying three amenity-rich neighbourhoods that can accommodate people s modern lifestyles where they can live, work and play, and even learn in the same place. These community developments are Al Zahia in Sharjah, UAE, Waterfront City in Beirut, Lebanon, and The Wave Muscat, Oman. Simon Azzam, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Properties Communities Business Unit, said: Today s modern families want to live in sustainable living environments designed for life-long value, where owners, residents and tenants will feel the added value. He further added: At Majid Al Futtaim, we not only create great moments for everyone, every day, but we also meet the region s growing demand for real DUBAI: Cityscape Global prepares to host more than 300 exhibitors as three day show returns with double digit growth for the fourth consecutive year. living environments. According to Azzam, the past 10 years have witnessed a huge demand by homebuyers across the regional real estate market for gated mixed use residential communities, with the aim to develop and deliver premier development opportunities in the region. Majid Al Futtaim will provide commercial returns through delivering superior quality retail, hospitality, leisure, business and community offerings within an attractive, contemporary and diverse destination. Cityscape Global is the annual meeting point for key real estate investors, developers, investment promotion authorities, architects, designers and other real estate professionals to drive growth in real estate investment and development across emerging markets globally. Wouter Molman, Director of Cityscape Group said: The demand for exhibition space has been remarkable and as such, we have increased the floor area and adjusted the lay out to ensure visitors can conveniently navigate their way around the venue. The need to add two additional halls this year has stemmed from both new exhibitors as well as previous exhibitors requesting larger stands to accommodate their existing and new projects which will be showcased to thousands of visitors in September. In 2014 we welcomed more than 47,000 participants; a 42% year-on-year increase. With Cityscape Global set to be the largest it has been for six years, we expect a very strong turnout of visitors from all over the world, as they look to maximise their investment potential in this lucrative market. Also new to Cityscape Global is a complete overhaul of the colocated conferences, now taking place the day before the exhibition, the dedicated convention will bring together more than 800 senior real estate professionals who will explore opportunities and find solutions to key challenges affecting the industry today. The Facilities Management conference, jointly organised with Middle East Facilities Management Association (MEFMA), and the Real Estate Brokers will run alongside the Dubai Market Overview on September 7 at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai. Also running in tandem with the exhibition is the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets. The awards programme attracts hundreds of entries from developers and architects behind real estate developments across emerging markets globally. Winners will be announced at an elaborate ceremony taking place at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai on 8 September. Cityscape Global 2015 returns with support from Foundation Partners; Emaar Properties, Dubai Properties and Nakheel; Gold Sponsor; Arma Properties; Project Marketing Sponsor; Aqua Properties and Property Registration Trustee Partner; Tamleek Property Transfer. Al Jawhara is the most popular prizegiving account in Kuwait. Al Jawhara account entitles account holders to enter the weekly, monthly and quarterly Al Jawhara draws. All prizes are automatically credited to the winners accounts the day after the draw. Al Jawhara account is available for KUWAIT: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) was recently presented the STP Excellence Award for the year 2014 from Standard Chartered Bank - New York, for its exemplary execution of electronic payments. Fawzy Al Thunayan, General Manager of Board Affairs at ABK received the award saying: We are delighted to see ABK s commitment to international quality standards being recognized by Standard Chartered Bank. ABK s partnership with correspondent banks such as Standard Chartered underlines our dedication to evolve as an institution that constantly provides our both Kuwaitis and expats and can be opened at any of NBK s numerous branches around Kuwait, or safely and easily through NBK s website for existing customers. For more information please contact NBK Call Center at or visit NBK official website ABK receives STP excellence award from Standard Chartered Bank KUWAIT: VIVA, Kuwait s fastest-growing and most developed telecom operator, announced that it has enhanced its postpaid data packages presenting its customers with an expanded array of revamped and new data plans at the most competitive prices. VIVA launched the revamped and new range of Internet packages so customers can enjoy more internet data for less subscription fees. The new monthly packages include: Monthly KD 13 presenting customers with 300GB monthly internet capacity, and monthly KD 18 presenting customers with 500GB monthly internet capacity. In addition, customers subscribing to the KD 18 package will be eligible to have a PlayStation 4 or Xbox customers with international standards of service. In its role as an international financial institution, ABK utilizes the latest internationally approved systems and methods to facilitate transactions on a global scale such as Straight-through-Processing (STP). STP automates financial transactions and involves the capturing and processing of transactions in a single cost-effective system, effectively simplifying them. ABK was recently also recognized by its EUR correspondent, Commerzbank for Excellence in STP for VIVA launches new data packages for postpaid customers Enjoy using more mobile internet for less! One for free. The new data packages are a convenient and affordable way for postpaid customers to enjoy surfing the internet while on the go. Through the launch of the revamped and new data packages, VIVA reiterates its commitment to provide the most competitive offers designed to exceed the customers expectations. VIVA continuously presents its customers with exciting packages that offer excellence in quality of service with added value for money. To find out more about VIVA s new postpaid packages, visit one of the 69 VIVA branches, or the VIVA website at or call VIVA s 24 hour call center on 102. UAE Debt Settlement Fund in cooperation with Al Hilal Bank awards Nasaeh Maleya winners DUBAI: As part of its broad Corporate Social Responsibility agenda, Al Hilal Bank in cooperation with the UAE Debt Settlement Fund on Monday, August 24, 2015 awarded a total of AED 600,000 courtesy of the Fund to 120 winners from the Nasaeh Maleya financial literacy program held live on television during Ramadan. The first awarding ceremony, held under the theme of Financial Knowledge always pays off, was conducted at Al Hilal Bank s Headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the presence of members of the bank s management team as well as representatives from the UAE Debt Settlement Fund and Mernah Production Company, the producer of the Nasaeh Maleya (Financial Advices) TV program. Al Hilal was the sole Official Sponsor of the UAE Debt Settlement Fund s rewards initiative undertaken in cooperation with Nasaeh Maleya, a socially- and economically - themed, 5-7 minute TV program that provides advice to the public to raise awareness on the various financial issues they face on a daily basis. The tips and suggestions given aim to help viewers achieve financial stability by highlighting best practices and investments for a stable life away from debt and its associated burdens. Questions about the day s topic were asked per episode during the program s daily airings on Abu Dhabi Al Emarat TV and Al Noor TV throughout the Holy Month. Four lucky viewers with the right response won AED 5,000 each per telecast courtesy of the UAE Debt Settlement Fund. Sari Arar, Acting CEO of Al Hilal Bank, said: Ramadan is a period of reflection, so it is an ideal moment to direct the attention of the public towards issues of prime individual and societal importance such as financial literacy and responsibility. Al Hilal Bank found the UAE Debt Settlement Fund s initiative of raising awareness on financial management through Nasaeh Maleya a perfect platform for advancing our own advocacy of a financially-aware society. We shall continue to support such activities that emphasize the importance of being financially conscious and prepared in order to secure a bright future. Al Hilal Bank s support for Nasaeh Maleya forms part if its initiatives to help mold a more financially responsible and prosperous future for the UAE and its citizens. It also reflects the bank s support for the UAE Debt Settlement Fund s vision of a debt-free society. Al Hilal s two previous Ramadan campaigns were Heart to Heart, a initiative that drew medical and moral support for children with congenital heart diseases, and A Safe Ramadan 4 a campaign that helped enhance safety before Maghrib prayer timings by distributing Iftar meals to drivers. Malabar Gold & Diamonds launch showroom in Shivamogga, Karnataka SHIVAMOGGA: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one among the world s leading jewellery retailers and flagship company of Malabar Group has expanded its network in Karnataka with the inauguration of new world class showroom in Shivamogga. This is the 14th showroom in Karnataka. The spacious and artistically done showroom was inaugurated by popular South Indian actor PuneethRajkumar in the presence of Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Managing Director, O. Asher on Saturday, 22nd August, The showroom is located opposite to State Bank of Mysore, B.H. Road, Shivamogga. Apart from displaying jewellery specific to the culture and celebrations of Karnataka, the store displays the exclusive range of sub brands from Malabar Gold & Diamonds: Mine - Diamond jewellery, Era - Uncut Diamond Jewellery, Precia - Precious Gem Jewellery, Divine - Indian Heritage Jewellery, Ethnix - Handcrafted designer Jewellery Starlet - Kids Jewellery and Hicasual jewellery. The showroom also has an impressive stock of platinum jewellery apart from gold and diamond and silver jewellery. According to O. Asher, Managing Director, Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Apart from showcasing latest collections in traditional as well as contemporary designs, understanding the cultural ethos and ornamental preferences of a region has played a pivotal role in making the retail jeweller popular among the masses, cutting across cultures and geographical boundaries. Having 134 showrooms in nine countries, expansion plans in India include new showrooms in Nellore (Andhra), Vadodara (Gujarat) Nagercoil (Tamil Nadu) and on the international front more showrooms in Middle East, South Asia, US and UK. Apart from being a successful business entity, Malabar Group has always been in the forefront of social responsibility initiatives, earmarking five percent of its annual profit for CSR initiatives in the field of health, education, housing, environmental conservation and women s empowerment.

27 technology Love them or loathe them, s are here to stay NEW YORK: If seeing an inbox full of hundreds of s fills you with dread, get used to it, because they are here to stay and will remain a constant in the workplace, according to a survey released yesterday. Despite the popularity of instant messaging, texting and social media, the poll showed that is the top communications tool at work and will grow in importance over the next five years. In the online survey, comprising 400 U.S. white-collar, adult workers, nearly half of the respondents said they think their use of s for work will increase in coming years. Nineteen percent said it will go up substantially. More than 90 percent of the workers admitted they checked personal s at work and 87 percent looked at business s outside of working hours. is and will remain a cornerstone of the workplace culture, said Kristin Naragon, of computer software company Adobe Systems Inc, which commissioned the poll. Certainly, lots of companies are trying to break into that space with productivity tools, but is not going anywhere, she added in an interview. The workers questioned in the poll estimated they spend 6.3 hours a day checking s, with 3.2 hours devoted to work s and 3.1 hours to personal messages. Naragon said Americans are so concerned about keeping in touch they monitor s around the clock, in socially unacceptable settings and during potentially dangerous times. Nearly 80 percent said they look at s before going into the office and 30 percent said they checked their inbox while still in bed in the morning. Half of the respondents also monitored s during their vacations. The numbers were even higher for year olds, with 45 percent opening s upon waking up. More than a quarter of millennials also admitted checking s while driving. Millennials are so addicted to s that half can t even use the bathroom without checking their , said Naragon. But she added that people are aware of their addiction and have tried to regain a better life balance. Forty percent said they had tried a selfimposed detox, of which 87 percent lasted an average of five days. When asked about the most annoying thing about s, 28 percent said it was scrolling down too far to read the entire message. Nearly 40 percent of workers also said they would prefer to get fewer s. Reuters Uber to work with UofA on mapping, self-driving cars TUCSON: Uber is partnering with the University of Arizona to develop mapping technology as the ride-hailing company expands its research of driverless car technology. The partnership announced Tuesday between the San Francisco-based company and the university includes a $25,000 grant to UofA s College of Optical Sciences. We ll work with some of the leading experts in lens design here at the university to improve the imagery of what we capture and use to build out mapping and our safety features, said Brian McClendon, vice president of advanced technology for Uber. Uber will test mapping vehicles on Tucson roads. McClendon wouldn t elaborate on how many Uber employees would be working with university researchers but said he considers this a long-term collaboration. I think the College of Optical Sciences is one of the leading in the world, and we are looking for improving the technologies that mapping and driverless vehicles are dependent on, and this is a great place to start, McClendon said. Gov. Doug Ducey hailed the new partnership during a news conference at the university Tuesday. It s in Arizona s best interest to embrace new technology, Ducey said. This is about economic growth. It means new jobs, new research opportunities here at the UofA. BEIJING/HONG KONG: Long before she became the first woman to figure in the top-10 on Forbes Midas List of leading venture capital investors this year, GGV Capital s Jenny Lee cut her teeth as an engineer on Singapore s fighter jets. She went on to make millions of dollars betting on China s software and Internet boom - including buying into Xiaomi five years ago when the company had only a prototype of the smartphones that have since catapulted it up the global rankings and turned it into a $45 billion enterprise. Now, Lee, 43, is going back to her hardware roots, predicting a renaissance for start-ups as China boosts technology and skills at factories, potentially triggering a wave of new inventions - from drones and robots to smart cars and beyond. Finally, after 15 years of investment in China, we re starting to see the real makers come to play, Singapore-born Lee, who moved to China in 2005 to set up GGV s Shanghai office, said in one of several interviews with Reuters. GGV, founded in 2000 as Granite Global Ventures, has nearly $2.7 billion across six funds, with early investments in e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi and Tujia, a Chinese vacation rental firm similar to Airbnb Inc. The venture capital firm invested in Alibaba when Jack Ma s group was valued at just $200 million. It s now worth $171 billion. Lee also invested in UCWeb, which Alibaba bought for $4 billion last year in China s biggest Internet sector deal. REINVENTION China s cabinet this year unveiled the Internet Plus and Made in China 2025 plans to boost output through new investments and innovation as breakneck growth slows in the world s second-largest economy and labour costs rise. Lee sees a particularly attractive opportunity in China with these sweeping plans to digitize and automate the economy. China reinvents itself every 10 years, and you can see this in their policies - from the migration from low-cost labour to software-based IT personnel in , to now precision manufacturing and automation, said Lee, who Ducey has been a big proponent of Uber since taking office in January. The Republican governor stopped state regulators from enforcing regulations that required Uber drivers to have commercial insurance and licenses, saying the policy wasn t working and was hampering job creation. Then he backed a bill overhauling rules for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft. The new law, which Ducey signed in April, removed regulatory roadblocks to the growing services. In June, Ducey praised Uber at the formal opening of a new customer service center in Phoenix that is expected to eventually employ several hundred people. Ducey said at the time that Uber creates jobs and helps grow the economy, and the state should be helping it, not hindering it. Uber has made other efforts to boost its research into driverless cars. The company partnered with Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh in February on a driverless car research lab. In March, Uber also bought digital mapping specialist decarta, which provides maps for many consumer products, including General Motors OnStar system. This story has been corrected to show that Uber plans to use mapping vehicles, not self-driving vehicles or map-testing vehicles, on Tucson streets. AP SAN FRANCISCO: In this Dec. 16, 2014, file photo a man leaves the headquarters of Uber in San Francisco. AP After riding Internet wave, top China investor bets on hardware worked briefly as a banker at Morgan Stanley. Lee, a junior college doubles kayaking champion, recently invested in Chinese smart notebook start-up Xiaoniu and EHang, a drone maker that specialises in flight control software and is looking to expand into agricultural and industrial applications. She has also looked into electric cars and autonomous driving and flight technologies, as an extension of the investments in EHang and electric scooter NIU. Together with Hans Tung, another managing partner at GGV, Lee has focused on hardware start-ups with a presence or founders in both China and the United States - firms better able to marry Chinese supply chain know-how with Western product design skills, Tung told Reuters. SIMPLE METRICS Lee, a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of venture capital, says the industry is gender agnostic, though she quips that she s as much at home with the guys on the golf course - I drive 250 yards - as she is having dinner with entrepreneurs at home with their family and kids. Beyond crunching numbers on start-up businesses, Lee says she works to simple metrics. Have you invested? Have you helped companies? Have you made money for investors? Start-ups aren t an object. They re successful because of the people behind them. It s about understanding the motivation behind the person. When we talked to (Xiaomi founder) Lei Jun, it s not saying oh, are you making a phone? What s in it? He has this passion, he has to win. That s very important. Executives who have worked with Lee say she has strong analytical skills and a steely, decisive edge. Tiak Koon Loh, CEO of Chinese tech consultancy Pactera and a longtime business partner, recalled when Lee fired a group of executives at a portfolio business in the early 2000s, something relatively unheard of at the time in the region. For her, business is business, he said. For Lee, though, there s more to it than that. I m a very gut feel type of investor and my background is pretty unique. I m a hard core engineer. I have a real love for the industry. I just love pulling up products and seeing things come to life. Reuters MARYLAND: This photo shows a Yuneec Typhoon drone and controller. AP Europe faces flight safety threat posed by drones BERLIN/FRANKFURT: No-drone zones, software to block flights into sensitive areas and registration rules are among proposals from European regulators and aviation experts to ensure growing numbers of drones don t case dangerous run-ins with passenger aircraft. The use of civil drones, whether for commercial purposes such as crop surveillance, monitoring of natural disasters, photography or just as a fun leisure activity, is rising. That popularity has led to increasing reports of near-misses with commercial aircraft, such as when a Lufthansa plane was approaching Warsaw airport last month. The UK s CAA issued a warning last month after seven incidents where drones had flown near planes at different British airports in less than a year. Recognising the threat, the NEW YORK: Years of horror movies have taught us the proper response to an invitation to spend a weekend at a cabin in the woods: No thanks. If anyone followed that advice, we wouldn t have Friday the 13th, The Evil Dead or, well, The Cabin in the Woods. But the kids in Until Dawn (Sony, for the PlayStation 4, $59.95) have even more reason to stay home: The last time they went, two of their friends vanished. A year later, eight teenagers decide to return to the site to try and get some closure on the tragedy. Of course, in this genre, closure means running around half-naked while an axe-wielding maniac chases you. Until Dawn steers right into the clich s, so you know that as soon as two of the teens start making out, at least one of them will end up on the wrong end of something pointy. And yet, the story (co-written by horror vet Larry Fessenden) introduces some clever twists on those hoary genre tropes, then throws in a bunch more to keep you off balance. There s a creepy psychiatrist. There s an ancient Native American curse. There s an abandoned sanitarium, and a 50-year-old tragedy that may explain all the mayhem. Don t get too comfortable once you think you ve pegged the psycho killer, because there are still many hours to go before sun-up. Until Dawn benefits from a game, appealing young cast, led by Hayden Panettiere of Nashville and Rami Malek of Mr. Robot. Peter Stormare - from Fargo and European Commission conceded this year that drone accidents will happen and has charged its aviation safety agency arm with developing common rules for operating drones in Europe. Aviation concerns focus on smaller drones, operated like model planes and flown for recreation, because their users are often not familiar with the rules of the air. The problem is that encounters with drones usually take place during the most critical phases of a flight, such as during take-off or landing when a drone strike could have potentially devastating consequences, Philip von Schoeppenthau, Secretary General of the European Cockpit Association, said. Schoeppenthau told Reuters drones had the potential to be more dangerous to an aircraft than a bird strike. While aircraft engines have been tested too many other movies to list - also shows up to deliver his special brand of sublime creepiness. The motion-captured performances and animation are solid throughout, and the lighting and sound designers at the British studio Supermassive Games have done a terrific job capturing the ambience of classic teen horror movies. The gameplay is more reminiscent of Choose Your Own Adventure than action-heavy horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. At times, the game presents a decision - say, between firing off a flare gun or saving it for later - that may seem innocuous but could have fatal consequences hours later. There s much chatter about the butterfly effect, and there are so many decision points that you ll want to replay some scenarios to see how things might have turned out differently. There are also occasional sequences where, in order to survive, you need to press buttons in synch with onscreen prompts. There s no room for error: Mess up and you re dead, and the perspective shifts to one of the other teenagers. Suffice to say that not everyone here gets out alive. More trigger-happy gamers will find fault with the limited control you have over the characters, and there are scenes where all you can do is yell at the screen while the kids do something dumb. But isn t that the same way you felt watching Friday the 13th? Three stars out of four. AP against bird strikes, there is no data yet on engine resistance, for example, against a 4 or 5 kilo drone being sucked into an engine, Schoeppenthau said. TAKING OFF Recreational drones, relatively easy to fly thanks to their four rotors, cost as little as $25 for micro-versions and up to thousands of dollars for more advanced versions fitted with HD video cameras. Pilots associations and others have called for drones to be fitted with geo-fencing technology, which uses GPS software to stop them straying into certain areas, along with height and distance limits. They also call for registration of drones. We need a requirement for registration. That would allow us to identify those abusing the rules and stop them from flying, Klaus- Dieter Scheurle, head of the DFS German air traffic authority, told Reuters in an interview. Many cities have no-fly areas for drones already, but that has not stopped people from sending them up. Just this year, police have investigated drones over restricted areas in France, and, across the Atlantic, over the White House. In much of Berlin, for example, operators need a licence to fly higher than 30 metres. Scheurle said the DFS awarded 125 permits for people seeking to fly drones on the city s disused Tempelhof airfield on one sunny day, but estimates around eight times as many were actually flying. The problem is not going to go away. Scheurle expects drones will proliferate as the technology gets cheaper. It s fun to fly them, he said. Reuters Until Dawn adds clever twists to teen horror genre NEW YORK: This video game cover image released by Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC shows Until Dawn. (Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC ). AP

28 HEALTH & SCIENCE Thailand destroys more than 2 tons of illegal ivory BANGKOK: Thai authorities destroyed more than 2 tons of seized and smuggled ivory yesterday, in the latest move by the government to avoid possible economic sanctions over a perceived failure to tackle the illicit trade. Tusks from more than 200 dead African elephants and other items made from ivory, such as jewelry and statues, were spread across viewing tables before being crushed by a machine into small pieces that were to be incinerated later in the day. This event shows the international community that Thailand intends to tackle the illegal ivory trade, said Nipol Chotiban, head of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. To emphasize the point, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha presided over the event, loading the first tusk into the crushing machine. Thailand s record on ivory is poor. The United Nations body that tries to tackle the illegal ivory trade, known as CITES, lists Thailand as the world s secondbiggest end-user market, behind China. The Southeast Asian country is a major transit hub and destination for smuggled tusks, which are often carved into tourist trinkets and ornaments. Part of the problem has been a Thai law that allows ivory from its own domesticated elephants to be worked into ornaments and sold. The law has created a loophole through which ivory from African animals can be laundered. In 2013 CITES put Thailand on notice to sort out the situation or face economic sanctions. Since then Thailand has passed new laws and made major seizures at ports and airports. But the pressure remains. In less than a week, Thailand must submit an update of its progress to CITES. Several wildlife and conservation groups audited the stockpile before it was destroyed and welcomed the event while noting that there is still much to do, including continuous law enforcement and the tackling of the gangs behind the trade. This is not over yet, said Tom Milliken, one of the world experts on the illicit trade in ivory. This is just one event that will definitely signal to the world that the Thai government is committed but the impact on the market is really the critical element. More than 14 tons of ivory remains in Thai stockpiles, kept as part of court cases against smugglers. AP Tanorexia: When getting a tan becomes an addiction Australia has world s highest rate of melanoma MADRID: On a warm August evening in Madrid a steady stream of tanned customers parade out of a tanning saloneven in sunny Spain, the need to catch some rays can turn into an addiction. The Spanish capital receives an average of 2,749 hours of sunshine per year, according to the Spanish weather agency, double the amount received by London. That does not stop Macarena Garcia, a university student, from seeking out UV rays. My family does not like it, they tell me it is not healthy... but they live near the beach! I work here and I also want to tan, she said as she left the Solmania tanning salon in the centre of Madrid. She is not alone. Jose Manuel Rodriguez, a handsome 36-year-old dancer, said he comes to the salon up to three times a week in order not to lose (his) natural tan. Jose Carlos Moreno of Spain s academy of dermatology, (AEDV), does not hesitate to call this need to be tanned an addiction. They are people who never feel that they are tanned enough, he said before comparing them to anorexics who always feel like they are too fat. Their profile: mainly women and people under the age of 40 based on study participants-who tan more than two times a week to the point of obtaining an excessively orange or chocolatey skin tone. MADRID: A tanning bed or sunbed is pictured at a salon in Madrid yesterday. On a warm August evening in Madrid a steady stream of tanned customers parade out of a tanning salon even in sunny Spain the need to catch some rays can turn into an addiction with some people continuing to use tanning beds even though they have skin cancer. AFP Steal money to tan Tanning salons emerged in the 1980s in the United States, and researchers in the United States have been talking about tanning addictions-dubbed tanorexia -since the 2000s. The symptoms are similar to those of heroin addiction, according to Joel Hillhouse, a professor of public health at East Tennessee State University in the United States who has studied the psychology of tanning. They include a desire to tan on waking, a needed for increasingly bigger doses, feelings of anxiety when not tanning and annoyance when friends and family comment on their excessive tanning, he said. Some people continue to using tanning beds even though they have skin cancer, Hillhouse said. We even had a few that were willing to admit to us that they had done things like steal money in order to do indoor tanning. They would actually take their roommate s or their parents money, he said. Researchers say that exposure to ultraviolet rays itself can be addictive. One of the reasons why the tanners tan is not only how they look, but how it makes them feel, said Steve Feldman, a professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University in South Carolina. Sunlight stimulates the release of endorphins, hormones that result in feelings of relaxation or euphoria very similar to that generated by morphine, Feldman said. Banned in Brazil, Australia The World Health Organization has since 2012 classified UV-emitting tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans. Brazil became the first country in the world to ban indoor tanning bed in 2009, followed by Australia in Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world with 11,000 cases per year. Melanoma is the deadliest kind of skin cancer, and is highly linked to sun exposure. According to Vanessa Rock, the chair of the National Skin Cancer Committee in Australia, studies have shown that sunbeds increase melanoma risk by 20 percent, regardless of age at first use. AFP With many Ebola survivors ailing, doctors evaluate situation DAKAR: Lingering health problems afflicting many of the roughly 13,000 Ebola survivors have galvanized global and local health officials to find out how widespread the ailments are, and how to remedy them. The World Health Organization calls it an emergency within an emergency. Many of the survivors have vision and hearing issues. Some others experience physical and emotional pains, fatigue and other problems. The medical community is negotiating uncharted waters as it tries to measure the scale of this problem that comes on the tail end of the biggest Ebola outbreak in history. If we can find out this kind of information, hopefully we can help other Ebola survivors in the future, Dr. Zan Yeong, an eye specialist involved in a study of health problems in survivors in Liberia, told The Associated Press. About 7,500 people will enroll - 1,500 Ebola survivors and 6,000 of their close contacts - and will be monitored over a five-year period in the study launched by Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines in Liberia, or PREVAIL. Only about 40 percent of those infected have survived Ebola, according to WHO estimates. But while the survivors beat the odds, preliminary research shows that many are still suffering. Around half those who received post-recovery check-ups have joint pain, said Dr. Daniel Bausch, an Ebola expert and consultant for WHO. We don t have the capacity yet - we wish we did - to follow every survivor, he said. Consequently, the percentage of survivors who have complications isn t known, he said. He described the joint pain as very debilitating and a very serious problem that can prevent people from going back to work and providing for their family. Some degree of changes in vision has been reported by roughly 25 percent of the survivors who have been seen by medics, he said, including severe inflammation of the eye that if untreated can result in blindness, he said. The Ebola virus has been found, in at least a few cases, to linger in the eyes, though experts say it is not transmitted through tears. Blurred vision Morris Kallon, 34, a health worker who survived Ebola in a village in Liberia s Grand Cape Mount County, said he had fevers, headaches, lower abdominal pain and red eyes after he returned home. I have been experiencing whole lot of problems within my body system, he said. I still feel pains in my back. It is very difficult for me to swing my arms.... My vision is always blurred, like dew on my face. Lab technician Mohamed SK Sesay was working at a hospital in Kenema, a town in eastern Sierra Leone, testing blood samples for Ebola when he fell sick with the virus. About eight members of his team got infected and he was among the few survivors, WHO said. After he recovered, he was discharged from an Ebola treatment unit in September. He was still weak, and says he was shunned by his community. Then his health deteriorated. Sleepless nights. Joint pain. Muscle pain, he said. I started experiencing loss of weight... Loss of sight was the worst one that set me off. I used to cry. I couldn t see my computer. He was attended to by one of Sierra Leone s few eye doctors and his health improved overall, but he still has bad days. My HONOLULU: Scott Muranka, of the Hawaii Department of Health, takes a water quality sample at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, Tuesday. Stretches of Waikiki s white sands and blue waters were deserted Tuesday after officials warned that heavy rains triggered a half-million-gallon sewage spill near Hawaii s world-famous tourist district. AP biggest challenge is now my health, he said. He loses vision from time to time. Sometimes if people call out to him on the street he can t hear them. Eye problems were noted in some survivors of Ebola outbreaks in Congo in 1995, in Uganda s Gulu district in 2000 and in Uganda s Bundibugyo district in But with such small numbers, past outbreaks haven t provided sufficient opportunities for extensive study, Bausch said. Now, with thousands of survivors, doctors want to learn why people are experiencing these ailments, how they affect the body, what percentage of survivors has issues and how to treat them. Experts also want to learn whether the physical problems are directly caused by the virus, whether they existed before, are side-effects or perhaps autoimmune reactions, Bausch said. Better care plans It s too early... to know what the direct effect or link is to Ebola, if at all, Bausch said. In early August, WHO gathered experts in Sierra Leone who concluded that more needs to be done to provide better care plans for survivors, and more research and specialist help is needed. Post-recovery problems haven t been confined to West African survivors, whose health might not have been strong to begin with considering the poor state of health care in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - the three impoverished countries most affected by Ebola - even before the epidemic. Dr. Ian Crozier, an American who became infected while working in Sierra Leone for WHO, developed an inflammation and high pressure in one eye months after being released from treatment. His iris temporarily changed color from blue to green; doctors found his eye contained the Ebola virus. He is still recovering, but his vision has improved, according to Emory University Hospital which has been treating him. Nancy Writebol, who last year became the second American infected with Ebola, said she suffers joint pain, mostly in her knees. She said she had problems with her vision, but they seem to have gone away. She assists a weekly survivor clinic in Liberia at ELWA hospital run by Serving In Mission, a North Carolina-based Christian organization. AP NYIRAGONGO: Steam and spurts of molten rock are pictured in the lava lake of Mount Nyiragongo, an active volcano in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 3, Nyiragongo, a 3470 metre (11,384 feet) peak and a steep and stiff five-hour hike from lush rain forests, is part of a chain of volcanoes in one of the world s most active regions. The last major eruption in 2002 saw fast flowing lava devastate the nearby city of Goma, covering the city of a million inhabitants in a river of molten rock flowing as fast as 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour. AFP Gorillas not guerrillas: Tourism hope in Congo NYIRAGONGO: Tourists perch perilously on a volcano s edge as swirling smoke belches from the fiery cauldron of lava below, the latest unlikely visitors holidaying in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Below, sounding like a roaring sea, spurts of molten rock fly high into the air, as one of the world s largest lava lakes and most active volcanos puts on its mesmerising show. Eastern DR Congo has been mired for decades in rebel battles, but such sights are helping bring tourists back to Virunga National Park, which reopened last year after the battle lines shifted in its favour. Surrounding misty forests in green hills of the vast park-stretching for 7,800 square kilometres (3,010 square miles) are home to a quarter of the world s critically endangered mountain gorillas. The tourists are vital: the income they bring funds the park s survival. The frontlines, they were down there, one porter says, peering down from the volcano through the jungles towards the lights of the lakeside city of Goma, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwards, referring to a rebel force who briefly took control in late Nyiragongo, a 3470 metre (11,384 feet) peak and a steep and stiff five-hour hike from lush rain forests, is part of a chain of volcanoes in one of the world s most active regions. Tourism vital to Virunga s future Holiday on Mount Doom, said Fabian, a teenage Belgian tourist visiting with his mother, referring to the volcano in the fantasy world of British author J.R.R. Tolkien s The Lord of the Rings epic. Some things can only be believed by seeing, he added quietly, peering down from the cliff s edge in hushed awe at the raging fire below, the night sky turned red from the glowing lava. The tourist industry in the region-needed to keep the UNESCO world heritage site running and its animal inhabitants safe-collapsed in Militia forces remain active, and Virunga s chief warden Emmanuel de Merode was himself wounded by gunmen by But the well-trained and armed guides say it is now safe, and visitors are coming back. For tourists, an hour with a gorilla family costs $400, while a night on the volcano costs $250. Tourism revenue is vital to the future of Virunga, helping to benefit some four million people in and around the vast park, as well as peace and prosperity in general, Merode told AFP. It gives people an alternative income than cutting down the forests for charcoal, and a motivation to protect the park. Every tourist that visits Virunga is contributing, Merode said. In 2011, over 3,000 visitors came to Virunga, but violence forced the park shut the next year, and only fully reopening in late But tourist numbers have bounced back, with almost 3,000 visiting already so far this year, bringing in much needed revenues to pay rangers. A total of 16 tourists can hike up the mountain a day - on a recent trip in torrential rain and hail storms up the peak made by AFP, a dozen tourists took part, with nationalities including Americans, Belgians, British and Israelis. The last major eruption in 2002 saw fast flowing lava devastate the Goma, covering the city of around a million in a river of molten rock flowing as fast as 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour. Oscar-nominated 2014 documentary Virunga -which showed the efforts to protect Africa s oldest national park from war, poachers and oil companies-has also brought back tourists. I saw how the Earth was born We saw the film, and said, we have to see that, said Jacques, a Belgian businessman working in Congo, after trekking into the steamy jungles to see the gorillas, the symbol of the park. Rangers communicate with the gorillas, exchanging heavy grunts to reassure the groups, including the massive male silverback weighing an estimated 160 kilos (350 pounds). With each person coming to visit Virunga, there is a little bit more hope that things will get better, said MÈlanie Gouby, a French investigative journalist, whose work to expose oil company expansion into the park is a key part of the film. It s wonderful that so many tourists have come back in such a short time after the end of the conflict - to hear that the documentary is part of the reason why they are coming to Virunga is both incredibly exciting and humbling, Gouby added. As night falls and temperatures drop below freezing, the warmth from the molten lava warms the hands of the tourists, dangling their legs over the sheer drop into the crater, watching plate tectonics in action. I saw how the Earth was born, one entry from an American couple read in the park s visitor s book. How often can you climb a mountain and come back with an understanding of how we are all here? AFP MANAGUA: An elderly woman has her mouth and nose covered with a piece of cloth as Health Ministry workers fumigate against the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the spread of dengue fever and chikungunya in Managua, yesterday. The Nicaraguan government issued a health alert as a dengue fever and chikungunya epidemic have killed 9 people and infected nearly 200,000 between January and August this year in Central America. Alerts have been declared in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. AFP

29 Size matters for science paper writers, study finds PARIS: Under attack from hordes of ravenous starfish, Pacific coral is getting help from an unexpected source-seaweed, an arch enemy, researchers said yesterday. Seaweed is no friend of the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs, pumping out harmful chemicals, blocking out life-giving sunlight and rubbing up against and damaging the threatened marine invertebrates. But it turns out the plants also fend off coral-munching crown-of-thorns starfish, which pose an even bigger threat, according to a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. So being covered in seaweed represents the lesser of two evils for coral: better than being eaten, said study coauthor Cody Clements, a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States. Corals surrounded by seaweeds were virtually immune to attack by the sea stars, essentially converting seaweeds from enemies to friends, said co-author Mark Hay, a professor at the university. The research could be helpful in managing coral reefs, which are under increasing threat from climate change, chemical run-off from farming, and the crown-of-thorns starfish. Sea stars have a unique feeding mechanism by which a sack-like stomach emerges from their mouth to envelop and externally digest the corals living tissue, killing them. All they leave behind are the coral skeletons, said Clements. PARIS: Short really is sweet when it comes to scientific paper titles, according to researchers looking for the secret to academic stardom. A succinct title made a study more likely to be cited by fellow academics the gold standard for measuring its reach, the British team wrote in a study published Wednesday by the Royal Society Open Science journal. These results are consistent with the intriguing hypothesis that papers with shorter titles may be easier to understand, and thus more eye-catching, according to researchers from the data science lab at Britain s Warwick Business School. The study itself was entitled: The advantage of short paper titles -a terse offering in the verbose world of scientific publishing. More common are such tonguetwisters such as: Compartmentalization of membrane trafficking, glucose transport, glycolysis, actin, tubulin and the proteasome in the Hermes Body of epididymal sperm b, the title of another paper carried by the same publishing group. To illustrate the short is sweet phenomenon, researcher Adrian Letchford offered a tale of two studies published in 2010 in the prestigious journal Science. The role of particle morphology in interfacial energy transfer in CDSE/CDS heterostructure nanocrystals, was cited 68 times, and A draft sequence of the neandertal genome 700 times. The researchers waded through some 140,000 papers, focusing on those most-cited between 2007 and 2013, with titles ranging from one to 55 words. They found a strong correlation between the length of a paper s title and the number of times it was quoted by fellow scientists. In 2011, each character added onto a paper s title had a tendency to reduce the number of citations by approximately 1.78 percent, said Letchford. But he argued there was also a risk in excessive economy of words. My colleagues and I could have called it Paper Titles, or if we were really bold, Titles, Letchford said of the team s own study. But this really doesn t help anyone to understand what the paper is about, he added. A paper might be better off with a title that is short as well as informative. Letchford stressed that ultimately, a piece of research s quality and intrinsic significance should have the most impact on its success. But previous studies have shown that an author s reputation, the prestige of the journal, the field of study and the use of a colon in the title can also play a role in whether it succeeds or fails. AFP Coral gets bailed out by an enemy: Study Crown-of-thorns sea stars are a major problem in the Pacific, which is home to the world s biggest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef. Its coral has declined by more than 50 percent over the past 25 years with sea stars getting much of the blame, the researchers said in a statement. Stopped cold by seaweed In a two-year study in a protected marine area off the coast of the Fiji islands, Clements examined what sea stars and seaweed did to coral. He used portable coral samples to test their reaction to different sizes of seaweed growth. In the absence of seaweed, coral mass more than doubled in about four months. But coral which shared its habitat with multiple seaweed fronds grew a mere 40 percent over the same period. Researchers then moved on to studying sea star attacks and found they targeted exposed parts and not those protected by plant growth. The frequency of attacks was 50 percent lower on coral surrounded by two seaweed fronds. The scientists placed two coral colonies in separate cages with a sea star one containing seaweed, the other without. The sea stars were deterred, said Hay. They wouldn t eat the coral surrounded by the seaweeds. The reason the plants work as a deterrent was not known, but the team speculated the seaweed may present a physical barrier, hiding the coral or making it harder to get to. AFP HEALTH & SCIENCE Tardy tax filers risk loss of health care subsidies Thousands risk of losing financial aid WASHINGTON: Sign-up season for President Barack Obama s health care law doesn t start for another couple of months, but the next few days are crucial for hundreds of thousands of customers at risk of losing financial aid when they renew coverage for Call them tardy tax filers: An estimated 1.8 million households that got subsidies for their premiums last year but failed to file a 2014 tax return as required by the law, or left out key IRS paperwork. Because of coordination issues between the IRS and marketplaces like HealthCare.gov, consumers who keep procrastinating into the fall are taking chances with their financial aid, according to insurers and the tax agency. That means, for example, that someone who s been paying a monthly premium of $90 could suddenly get hit with a bill for $360. Government officials say they have a backstop planned that should help many procrastinators. Nonetheless, insurers and advocacy groups say they ve been told the best way returning customers can avoid hassles is to file their taxes correctly by Aug. 31. You don t want to get to December and realize that your subsidy amount isn t there, said Clare Krusing, spokeswoman for the industry group America s Health Insurance Plans. Sign-up season starts Nov. 1, and insurers typically send bills for January in mid-december. The last thing insurers want is consumers blaming them. They re particularly concerned that satisfied customers just waiting for their coverage to automatically renew might get a nasty surprise. Hoping to stave off problems that could get amplified in an election year, the IRS started notifying tardy filers in mid-july. The form letters spell out in bold type that filing an electronic tax return within 30 days will greatly reduce the risk of an interruption in health care subsidies. Obama s health care law created tax credits to help people afford private insurance. Nationally that aid averages $272 a month, covering roughly three-fourths of the premium. By funneling dollars through the income tax system, Democrats were able to call the overhaul the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history. But in doing so, they also spliced together two really complicated areas: Health insurance and taxes. That s led to confusion for many consumers. For example, lowincome people who weren t previously required to file tax returns must do so now if they received health care tax credits, which means dealing with complex new forms. Although 2015 is the second year of the program s coverage expansion, is the first year for tax implications. The program is also complicated to administer for its two lead government agencies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs HealthCare.gov, and the IRS. Federal law imposes strict privacy safeguards for tax returns, and there are limits to information the IRS can provide to other agencies. Tax returns take time to process, and HealthCare.gov can t get realtime updates. So even if a procrastinator realizes his mistake and files a tax return in October, HealthCare.gov might not reflect that information until much later. The administration says it has a backstop for consumers who get tripped up by the time lag. They will be able to attest that they filed their tax returns and continue to receive their subsidies in We want to make sure they don t have a gap in affordable coverage, said Lori Lodes, communications director for HealthCare.gov. HealthCare.gov will also recheck IRS data in late December. But the backstop only works if the customer actually filed. If they did not, the system will catch up to them eventually. Those who lie about having filed a tax return would violate perjury laws. Republican critics say the administration bends the rules to keep enrollment numbers up and are sure to find fault with the backstop. As of the start of the summer, the IRS estimated that up to 1.8 million households were at risk of losing subsidies. Although some of those probably followed through, it s still the latest official number. It breaks down as follows: About 760,000 households that got tax credits and filed their tax returns, but omitted a new form that is the key to accounting for the subsidies. Called Form 8962, it was new for this year s tax filing season. About 710,000 households that did not file a 2014 return by the tax-filing deadline, although they were legally required to account for health insurance tax credits. Some 360,000 households that got tax credits and requested an extension to file their returns. Under tax law, they have until Oct. 15 to file and that would still be considered timely. But to avoid problems with their health insurance subsidies, they really need to act much sooner. This August 24, 2015 image released by NASA shows the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kounotori 5 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-5) during final approach towards the International Space Station. The HTV-5 is delivered more than 8,000 pounds of equipment, supplies and experiments in a pressurized cargo compartment. The unpressurized compartment will deliver the 1,400-pound CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) investigation, an astrophysics mission that will search for signatures of dark matter and provide the highest energy direct measurements of the cosmic ray electron spectrum. AFP

30 WHAT S ON The Sultan Center opens at the Promenade Mall The Sultan Center held an opening ceremony on Monday, August 24th to celebrate the opening of its thirtythird store in Kuwait and it sixty-fifth in the region at The Promenade Mall located in Hawally on Tunis Street opposite Third Ring Road. The opening was held under the attendance of TSC management, suppliers, customers and media representatives. With over 35 years of experience and expertise in the retail industry, TSC continues to pave the way for customers to enjoy a unique shopping experience. The new TSC store features the largest variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from around the world, a full- service meat and seafood counter featuring an abundant variety of meat cuts with the freshest seafood and a deli featuring local favorites, specialty cheeses, meats, salads and a variety of ready- to- serve entrees to serve at home or enjoy in the stores cozy dining section. In addition, the store features an in-store bakery where customers can select from a range of freshly baked artisan breads, croissants, cakes and pasties there is also a coffee bar where customers can sit back relax and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Shoppers will also find everyday supermarket and home center items they are accustomed to buying. Commenting on the new opening, Ayman Sultan, Vice Chairman and Group Managing Director said, The opening of The Sultan Center at The Promenade elevates our services to new heights in order to exceed our customers expectations. We look forward to offering the neighborhood community an inspiring new shopping destination and we are committed to providing quality, variety, value and service that are customers expect from TSC. The store has highly trained staff ready to assist, ample parking and carry-out service is available. The store is opened daily from 7:00 am to 12:00 am. Farwaniya Governor Sheikh Faisal Al-Humoud Al-Malek Al-Sabah attended the closing ceremony of a summer training program for people with special needs, which was organized by the Kuwaiti Society for Guardians of the Disabled. Sheikha Sheikha Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, the honorary chairperson of the Kuwait Disabled Sport Club attended the ceremony. Director General of the General Department of Civil Defense welcomed a students delegation from the summer club of Sabah Al-Salem s Social Development Center. The students were taken in a tour around the department to learn about the process of work there.

31 WHAT S ON Bayt Lothan hosts Mexican artist s Alebrijes workshop By Athoob Al-Shuaibi Mexican Artist Polina Porras organized during her visit to Kuwait an Alebrijes workshop on puppets, masks and sculptures at Bayt Lothan on Tuesday. The workshop began by presenting historical information about puppets and sculptures making in Mexico. Then, Porras explained how vivid colors and patterns are connected to her country s culture. Following her instructions, participants from all ages started to create their own sculptures accompanied with Mexican music. The sculptures created by using paper maiche techniques that are based on recycled papers, colored tissue papers and glue. The workshop was fully booked and both the artist and her sister were assisting the participants to come up with more creative ideas. Artist Polina Porras is visiting Kuwait as part of her world tour. I did not ache from a jet lag because I came to Kuwait from Germany, she said. Porras has received large commissions from a leading institution in Latin American art in the United States and grants by the Department of Cultural Affairs of New York. Her artwork is determined by her Mexican and Russian origins which she is always exploring. Sheraton, Four Points welcome LoYAC Trainees The Sheraton Kuwait and Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait welcomed Lothan Youth Achievement Center (LoYAC) trainees for this year which is part of the hotels responsibility toward the society that has accompanied and supported their activities since its inception. The LoYAC summer program continues for a period of six weeks where the hotel provides the trainees with the opportunity to explore different departments and involve them in practical training, different activities and supportive workshops to help the young generation grasp the spirit of working as a team, achieve the highest standard of excellent hospitality which adds valuable work experience to their knowledge. Sheraton Kuwait and Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait believe that these students are the key that will lead this country towards prosperity in the future. On this occasion, Fahed Abushaar, Area Director and General Manager of Sheraton Kuwait and Mounir Amer, General Manager of Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait praised the importance of the great relation and support that binds the hotels with Lothan Youth Achievements Center (LoYAC), because it aims to provide the youth of today with a way to use their time more productively to benefit themselves and the society in advance. Fahed Abushaar addressed the LoYAC students saying: The future generation is you, soar high! Qatar Airways hosts trip to Kidzania Kuwait Carrier supports Qatar s children s charities to reward students Twenty children from the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs and the Qatar Orphans Foundation Dhreima recently spent a day at Kidzania, Kuwait, sponsored by Qatar Airways. Kidzania is a child-sized replica city featuring miniature buildings, transport and shops, which provides them the opportunity to practice working as an adult and earning money. Fadi Gdayyan Hijazin, Qatar Airways Country Manager Kuwait, said: Qatar Airways office in Kuwait was delighted to welcome the children from Shafallah and Dhreima to enjoy some well-deserved time at Kidzania. We hope that this initiative was a memorable one for them, and Qatar Airways is proud to be able to provide such wonderful activities in our local community. The children were invited to attend two days of fun festivities in Kuwait City, in collaboration with the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel, where they enjoyed an exclusive event on the afternoon of Wednesday 19thAugust, followed by a special dinner complete with FC Barcelona and Qatar Airways gifts. Kidzania Kuwait, which opened in 2013, was built on the concept of edutainment, providing education and entertainment that embraces the educational potential in having fun. Qatar Airways sponsors the aviation activities provided by Kidzania Kuwait, where children can explore the inside of an aircraft, learn about the cockpit and control panels as pilots, and safety procedures and hospitality services as cabin crew. The non-profit organization, Shafallah Center was founded by Shaikha Moza bint Nasser to provide comprehensive services to children with limited capabilities from birth to adulthood. The first facility of its kind in the world, it offers state-of-the-art technologies including an on-site genetic research centre, cutting-edge therapies and expert learning support services and counselors. Dhreima, the Qatar Orphan Foundation, was founded in 2003 as an independent organization dedicated to provide an integrated Islamic system of care and shelter to orphans in the state of Qatar, where it offers residential and non-residential services. The foundation also helps families to find solutions to domestic crises, and provides support for social, psychological, legal, educational and health conditions for foster children. As one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, Qatar Airways has experienced rapid growth in just 18 years of operation. Today it flies a modern fleet of 164 aircraft to 151 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. AOU announces registration, drop/add dates The Arab Open University (AOU) announced that registration for current students for the first semester starts on Sunday, September 6, 2015 for business management section, and Monday, September 7, 2015 for the information technology and English literature sections. Meanwhile, the drop/add period will take place from October 3, 2015 to October 8, 2015, head of the registration department at AOU Nahid Al-Sheikh said.

32 TV PROGRAMS 00:45 Tanked 01:40 Bull Shark: World s Deadliest Shark... 02:35 Into The Lion s Den 03:25 Into The Lion s Den 04:15 Gator Boys 05:02 Treehouse Masters 05:49 Bull Shark: World s Deadliest Shark... 06:36 My Pet s Gone Viral 07:00 My Pet s Gone Viral 07:25 Groomer Has It 08:15 Bull Shark: World s Deadliest Shark... 09:10 Treehouse Masters 10:05 Tanked 11:00 Groomer Has It 11:55 Treehouse Masters 12:50 Turtleman s Kentucky 13:45 North America 14:40 Gator Boys 15:35 Tanked 16:30 Turtleman s Kentucky 17:25 Bull Shark: World s Deadliest Shark... 18:20 Big Fish Man 19:15 Gator Boys 20:10 Tanked 21:05 Shark Girl 22:00 Big Fish Man 22:55 I Was Bitten 23:50 Gator Boys 00:05 Masterchef: The Professionals 01:00 Tareq Taylor s Nordic Cookery 01:30 Bargain Hunt 02:15 Marbella Mansions 03:00 DIY SOS: The Big Build 03:55 Come Dine With Me 04:20 Bargain Hunt 05:05 Homes Under The Hammer 06:00 Masterchef: The Professionals 07:00 Homes Under The Hammer 07:50 Kirstie s Fill Your House For Free 08:40 Michela s Classic Italian 09:05 Bargain Hunt 09:50 Tareq Taylor s Nordic Cookery 10:15 Masterchef: The Professionals 11:10 Come Dine With Me 11:35 Homes Under The Hammer 12:25 Kirstie s Fill Your House For Free 13:15 Michela s Classic Italian 13:40 Bargain Hunt 14:25 Come Dine With Me 14:50 Tareq Taylor s Nordic Cookery 15:15 Masterchef: The Professionals 16:10 Come Dine With Me 16:35 Homes Under The Hammer 17:25 Masterchef: The Professionals 18:20 Kirstie s Fill Your House For Free 19:10 Michela s Classic Italian 19:35 Homes Under The Hammer 20:30 Bargain Hunt 21:15 Kirstie s Fill Your House For Free 22:05 Michela s Classic Italian 00:20 Fast N Loud 01:10 Mythbusters 02:00 The Carbonaro Effect 02:25 Magic Of Science 02:50 Return Of The Great White Serial Killer 03:40 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop Edition 04:05 Auction Hunters 04:30 Savage Family Diggers 05:00 What Happened Next? 05:30 How Do They Do It? 06:00 Gold Rush 06:50 Fat N Furious: Rolling Thunder 07:40 Fast N Loud 08:30 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop Edition 08:55 Auction Hunters 09:20 Savage Family Diggers 09:45 What Happened Next? 10:10 How Do They Do It? 10:35 Mythbusters 11:25 The Carbonaro Effect 11:50 Magic Of Science 12:15 The Island With Bear Grylls 13:05 Auction Hunters: Pawn Shop Edition 13:30 Auction Hunters 13:55 Savage Family Diggers 14:20 Gold Rush 15:10 Fat N Furious: Rolling Thunder 16:00 Fast N Loud 16:50 What Happened Next? 17:15 How Do They Do It? 17:40 Deadliest Catch 18:30 Treehouse Masters 19:20 Flip Men 19:45 Property Wars 20:10 Auction Hunters 20:35 Savage Family Diggers 21:00 Big Giant Swords 21:50 Fast N Loud: Demolition Theater 22:40 Cuban Shark 23:30 Hellriders 00:00 Violetta 00:45 The Hive 00:50 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 01:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 01:40 Wolfblood 02:30 Violetta 03:15 The Hive 03:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 04:10 Wolfblood 05:00 Violetta 05:45 The Hive 05:50 Mouk 06:00 Lolirock 06:25 Hank Zipzer 06:50 Girl Meets World 07:15 H2O: Just Add Water 07:40 Jessie 08:05 Wizards Of Waverly Place 08:55 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 09:20 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 09:45 Austin & Ally 10:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:25 Jessie 12:15 Sabrina: Secrets Of A Teenage Witch 13:05 Good Luck Charlie 13:55 Dog With A Blog 14:25 H2O: Just Add Water 14:55 Lolirock 15:25 Austin & Ally 16:00 Jessie 17:00 The Next Step 17:25 Austin & Ally 17:50 Gravity Falls 18:15 Girl Meets World 18:40 Liv And Maddie 19:05 The Next Step 19:30 Lolirock 19:55 Hank Zipzer 20:20 Binny And The Ghost 20:45 H2O: Just Add Water 21:10 Good Luck Charlie 21:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 00:55 Extreme Close-Up 01:25 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 02:20 E! News 03:15 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 04:10 E!ES 05:05 The E! True Hollywood Story 06:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 06:55 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 07:50 Style Star 08:20 E! News 09:15 Giuliana & Bill 10:15 Giuliana & Bill 11:10 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 11:35 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 12:05 E! News 13:05 Wags 14:05 Extreme Close-Up 14:30 Style Star 15:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 16:00 Keeping Up With The Kardashians 17:00 Fashion Bloggers 17:30 Fashion Bloggers 18:00 E! News 19:00 House Of DVF 20:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 21:00 Stewarts And Hamiltons 22:00 E! News 23:00 The Soup 23:30 Sex With Brody 00:00 Chopped 01:00 Chopped South Africa 02:00 Kitchen Inferno 03:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 03:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 04:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 04:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 05:00 Chopped 06:00 Iron Chef America 07:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 07:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 08:00 Chopped 09:00 Guy s Grocery Games 10:00 The Kitchen 11:00 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 11:30 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 12:00 Chopped 13:00 Guy s Big Bite 13:30 Guy s Big Bite 14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 15:00 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 15:30 Roadtrip With G. Garvin 16:00 Chopped 17:00 The Kitchen 18:00 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 18:30 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 19:00 Chopped 20:00 Iron Chef America 21:00 The Freshman Class 21:30 The Freshman Class 22:00 Australian Food Adventures With Matt Moran 23:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 00:40 More Tales From Northumberland With Robson Green 01:05 Who s Doing The Dishes? 02:00 Emmerdale 02:25 Emmerdale 02:55 Coronation Street 03:25 Agatha Christie s Poirot 05:15 Murdoch Mysteries 06:10 Who s Doing The Dishes? 07:05 Coronation Street 07:30 Agatha Christie s Poirot 09:20 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 10:15 Come Dine With Me Ireland 10:40 The Chase 11:35 Who s Doing The Dishes? 12:30 Murdoch Mysteries 13:25 Emmerdale 13:50 Come Dine With Me Ireland 14:15 Coronation Street 14:40 The Chase 15:35 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 16:30 Autopsy:the Last Hour Of 17:25 Come Date With Me Australia 17:45 Come Date With Me Australia 18:20 Murdoch Mysteries 19:10 Coronation Street 19:35 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 20:30 Autopsy:the Last Hour Of 21:25 Come Date With Me Australia 00:10 Cesar To The Rescue 02:00 Hacking The System 02:55 Innovation Nation 03:20 Innovation Nation 03:50 Wicked Tuna 04:45 Battleground Brothers 05:40 Killer Shots 06:35 Megastructures 07:30 The Known Universe 08:25 My Brilliant Brain 09:20 D-Day Sacrifice 10:15 Mega Factories 11:10 Innovation Nation 11:35 Innovation Nation 12:05 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey 13:00 And Man Created Dog 14:00 The Known Universe 15:00 Megastructures 16:00 Mega Factories 17:00 Innovation Nation 17:30 Innovation Nation 18:00 Mission Pluto 19:00 Traveler s Guide To The Planets 20:00 Mega Factories 20:50 Innovation Nation 21:15 Innovation Nation 21:40 Mission Pluto 22:30 Traveler s Guide To The Planets 23:20 Killer Shots 01:00 The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore 01:30 Jonah From Tonga 02:00 The League 02:30 It s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 05:30 Til Death 06:30 Cristela 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 08:30 Til Death 10:30 Cristela 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 13:00 Til Death 16:00 The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 18:30 Last Man Standing 19:00 Modern Family 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 21:30 The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore 22:00 Big Time In Hollywood, Fl 22:30 The League 23:00 It s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 00:00 Grimm 01:00 The Flash GANGS OF NEW YORK ON STAR MOVIES 02:00 Backstrom 03:00 Salem 05:00 Parenthood 12:00 Emmerdale 12:30 Coronation Street 16:00 Emmerdale 16:30 Coronation Street 19:00 Parenthood 20:00 Covert Affairs 21:00 The Flash 22:00 Empire 23:00 Mistresses 01:00 Good Morning America 03:00 The Strain 04:00 Outlander 05:00 Good Morning America 07:00 Emmerdale 07:30 Coronation Street 09:00 Chicago Fire 10:00 Emmerdale 10:30 Coronation Street 12: :00 Revenge 14:00 Live Good Morning America 16:00 Chicago Fire 17: :00 Revenge 19:00 Chicago Fire 20: :00 Revenge 22:00 The Strain 23:00 Outlander 00:00 Plunkett & Macleane-PG15 02:00 Beast Of The Bering Sea 04:00 Android Cop-PG15 06:00 The Legend Of Hercules 08:00 Mercenaries-PG15 10:00 Born To Race: Fast Track 12:00 Android Cop-PG15 14:00 The Legend Of Hercules 16:00 A Stranger In Paradise-PG15 18:00 Desperate Measures-PG15 20:00 Red Sky-PG15 22:00 Maximum Risk-18 00:00 The Right Kind Of Wrong 02:00 So Undercover 04:00 Cuban Fury 06:00 Admission 08:00 Zoolander 10:00 So Undercover 12:00 Admission 14:00 The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle 16:00 Zoolander 18:00 The Love Punch 20:00 Svengali 22:00 The First Time 01:15 InSight-PG15 03:00 Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World-PG15 05:00 Upside Down-PG15 07:00 Peace, Love & Misunderstanding-PG15 09:00 A Promise-PG15 11:00 Upside Down-PG15 13:00 Little Red-PG15 15:00 Step Up Revolution-PG15 17:00 A Promise-PG15 19:00 Parkland-PG15 21:00 Trespass-PG15 23:00 Killer Joe-18 00:30 He Got Game 03: :00 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind 07:00 The French Minister 09:00 Atlas Shrugged Part 2: The Strike 11:00 The French Minister 13:00 Jack And The Cuckoo Clock Heart 15:00 Yellow Rock 17:00 Atlas Shrugged Part 2: The Strike 19:00 August: Osage County 21:00 Knife Fight 23:00 The Wolf Of Wall Street 01:00 The Double-PG15 03:00 Lucy-PG15 05:00 Seven Days In Utopia-PG15 07:00 How To Train Your Dragon 2-09:00 Divergent-PG15 11:30 Diana-PG15 13:30 Great Expectations-PG15 16:30 Divergent-PG15 19:00 Hercules-PG15 21:00 John Wick-18 23:00 Deliver Us From Evil-18 01:15 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 02:45 Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals! 04:15 Cinderella 06:00 Tom And Jerry: The Lost Dragon 07:45 Miffy The Movie 09:45 Ghatothkach - Master Of Magic 11:30 Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare 13:00 Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals! 14:30 Patoruzito: The Great Adventure 16:00 Home Alone 3 18:00 Ghatothkach - Master Of Magic 20:00 Daddy I m A Zombie 22:00 Patoruzito: The Great Adventure 23:45 Marvel s Next Avengers: Heroes Of Tomorrow 00:00 Babylon A.D-PG15 01:45 Guardians Of The Galaxy 04:00 Breakout-PG15 06:00 10 Years-PG15 08:00 Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters-PG 10:00 Planet 51-PG 11:45 Guardians Of The Galaxy 14:00 The Wolverine-PG15 16:15 Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters-PG 18:00 The Monuments Men-PG15 20:00 Endless Love-PG15 22:00 Without Men-18 07:00 Golfing World 12:00 Live PGA European Tour 15:30 European Tour Weekly 16:00 Live PGA European Tour 20:00 European Tour Weekly RED SKY ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD 09:00 Golfing World 11:00 AFL Premiership Highlights 12:00 NRL Full Time 12:45 Live NRL Premiership 18:00 ITU World Triathlon Highlights 19:00 WWE NXT 20:00 WWE SmackDown 22:00 Golfing World 23:00 NRL Premiership 00:30 ICC Cricket 360, Episode 33 18:30 ICC Cricket 360, Episode 33 19:00 Women s Ashes: ENG v AUS, 1st T20I H/Ls 20:00 CPL T20 H/L: 1st Semi Final 21:00 CPL T20 H/L: 2nd Semi Final 22:00 CPL T20 H/L: Final 01:00 Nuclear Family 02:45 John Rabe: Part 1 04:15 John Rabe: Part 2 05:45 Out Of Reach 07:15 The Foreigner 09:00 The Station Agent 10:30 Frankenweenie 12:00 Inside Out 13:30 Death At A Funeral 15:00 Barricade 16:30 Beyond A Reasonable Doubt 18:15 The Foreigner 20:00 The King s Speech 22:00 Gangs Of New York 00:00 American Idol 01:00 MasterChef Australia 02:00 The Bridge 03:00 Desperate Housewives 04:00 Desperate Housewives 05:00 Melissa & Joey 05:30 Melissa & Joey 06:00 The Simpsons 06:30 The Simpsons 07:00 Lost 08:00 American Idol 09:00 MasterChef Australia 10:00 The Bridge 11:00 Desperate Housewives 12:00 Desperate Housewives 13:00 Melissa & Joey 13:30 Melissa & Joey 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 The Simpsons 15:00 Lost 16:00 American Idol 17:00 MasterChef Australia 18:00 The Listener 19:00 The Listener 20:00 Castle 21:00 Happy Endings 21:30 Happy Endings 22:00 The Simpsons 22:30 The Simpsons 23:00 Lost 00:15 Adventures Of Don Juan 02: : A Space Odyssey 04:20 Adventures Of Don Juan 07:00 The Outriders-FAM 08:35 Son Of A Gunfighter-FAM 10:05 The Prisoner Of Zenda-FAM 11:45 Raintree County-PG 14:30 The Naked Spur-PG 16:00 Where The Spies Are-PG 17:50 Anchors Aweigh-FAM 20:05 Les Girls-PG 22:00 Skyjacked-PG 23:40 An American In Paris-FAM 03:20 Total Drama World Tour 03:42 Total Drama World Tour 04:05 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 04:28 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 04:50 Teen Titans Go! 05:00 Teen Titans Go! 05:10 Grojband 05:35 Grojband 06:00 Regular Show 06:11 Regular Show 06:20 New Regular Show 06:31 Regular Show 06:40 Uncle Grandpa 06:50 Uncle Grandpa 07:00 Adventure Time 07:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:36 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:47 The Amazing World Of Gumball 07:58 The Amazing World Of Gumball 08:10 Ben 10 08:55 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 09:15 New Regular Show 09:26 Regular Show 09:40 The Amazing World Of Gumball 10:00 Uncle Grandpa 10:12 Uncle Grandpa 10:25 Steven Universe 10:36 Steven Universe 10:45 Total Drama: All Stars 11:10 Adventure Time 11:20 Adventure Time 11:30 Johnny Test 12:25 Teen Titans Go! 12:40 New Regular Show 12:51 Regular Show 13:00 Regular Show 13:11 Regular Show 13:25 Adventure Time 13:35 Adventure Time 13:45 Uncle Grandpa 14:10 Steven Universe 14:21 Steven Universe 14:30 Total Drama World Tour 14:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 15:15 Ben 10: Omniverse 15:40 Ninjago: Masters Of Spinjitzu 16:00 Matt Hatter Chronicles 16:25 Teen Titans Go! New 16:35 Teen Titans Go! 16:45 Teen Titans Go! 17:10 Uncle Grandpa 17:21 Uncle Grandpa 17:30 New Regular Show 17:41 Regular Show 17:55 Regular Show 18:06 Regular Show 18:15 Adventure Time 18:40 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:51 The Amazing World Of Gumball 19:02 The Amazing World Of Gumball 19:13 The Amazing World Of Gumball 19:25 Clarence 19:45 Uncle Grandpa 19:57 Uncle Grandpa 20:20 Teen Titans Go! 20:30 Teen Titans Go! 20:41 Teen Titans Go! 20:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 21:17 Ben 10: Omniverse 21:40 Adventure Time 21:51 Adventure Time 22:02 Adventure Time 22:13 Adventure Time 22:25 Johnny Test 23:10 Regular Show 23:55 Total Drama World Tour 00:20 Total Drama World Tour 00:40 Grojband 01:05 Grojband 01:25 Teen Titans Go! 01:50 Regular Show 02:35 Johnny Test 03:10 Henry Hugglemonster 03:20 Calimero 03:35 Zou 03:45 Loopdidoo 04:00 Art Attack 04:25 Henry Hugglemonster 04:35 Calimero 04:50 Zou 05:00 Loopdidoo 05:15 Art Attack 05:35 Henry Hugglemonster 05:50 Calimero 06:00 Zou 06:15 Loopdidoo 06:25 Limon And Oli 06:35 Art Attack 07:00 Calimero 07:10 Zou 07:25 Minnie s Bow-Toons 07:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 07:55 Sofia The First 08:20 Doc McStuffins 08:45 Loopdidoo 09:00 Limon And Oli 09:10 Sheriff Callie s Wild West 09:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 10:00 Sofia The First 10:30 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 10:55 Miles From Tomorrow 11:20 Doc McStuffins 11:45 Henry Hugglemonster 12:00 Henry Hugglemonster 12:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:35 Sheriff Callie s Wild West 13:00 Sofia The First 13:30 Loopdidoo 13:40 Limon And Oli 13:50 Cars Toons 13:55 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 14:20 Miles From Tomorrow 14:45 Messages From Miles 14:50 Doc McStuffins 15:15 Sofia The First 15:40 Art Attack 16:05 Nina Needs To Go 16:10 Lilo & Stitch 16:35 Adventures Of The Gummi Bears 17:00 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers 17:25 Ducktales 17:50 Jake And The Neverland Pirates 18:00 Miles From Tomorrow 18:25 Messages From Miles 18:30 Sofia The First 18:55 Doc McStuffins 19:15 Jake And The Never Land Pirates 19:35 Sheriff Callie s Wild West 20:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 20:35 Sofia The First 21:00 Adventures Of The Gummi Bears 21:25 Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers 21:50 Ducktales 22:15 Lilo & Stitch 22:40 Zou 22:55 Limon And Oli 23:05 Henry Hugglemonster 23:20 Calimero 23:35 Zou 23:50 Loopdidoo 00:05 Art Attack 00:30 Henry Hugglemonster 00:45 Calimero 01:00 Zou 01:15 Loopdidoo 01:30 Art Attack 01:55 Henry Hugglemonster 02:05 Calimero

33 Classifieds Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (27/08/2015 TO 02/09/2015) SHARQIA-1 ANTBOY: REVENGE OF THE RED FURY SHAD AGZAA SHARQIA-2 SHARQIA-3 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN -Hindi MUHALAB-1 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION MUHALAB-2 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE SHAD AGZAA MUHALAB-3 FANAR-1 SHAD AGZAA FANAR-2 NO ESCAPE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION ANTBOY: REVENGE OF THE RED FURY NO ESCAPE THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E NO ESCAPE 12:45 PM 3:15 PM 5:45 PM 7:45 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 11:30 AM 1:45 PM 4:00 PM 6:15 PM 8:30 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 6:00 PM 9:00 PM 11:30 PM 11:45 AM 2:15 PM 5:00 PM 7:45 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 11:30 AM 2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 6:15 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM FANAR-3 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN -Hindi BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN -Hindi MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION MARINA-1 SHAD AGZAA MARINA-2 MARINA-3 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE ANTBOY: REVENGE OF THE RED FURY AVENUES-1 NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE OPERATOR NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE AVENUES-2 SHAD AGZAA INSIDE OUT SHAD AGZAA SHAD AGZAA SHAD AGZAA SHAD AGZAA AVENUES-3-3D -3D 360º- 1 11:30 AM 2:00 PM 4:15 PM 6:30 PM 9:30 PM 12:30 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:15 PM 10:45 PM 1:00 AM 12:15 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM 12:45 PM 3:15 PM 5:30 PM 7:30 PM 10:00 PM 12:30 AM 1:15 PM 3:30 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM 12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 1:00 AM 12:30 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM 8:00 PM 10:30 PM 360º- 2 NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE STUNG NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE 360º- 3 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE STUNG STUNG AL-KOUT.1 AL-KOUT.2 FANTASTIC FOUR AL-KOUT.3 THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E AL-KOUT.4 NO ESCAPE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATION WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE SHAD AGZAA NO ESCAPE NO ESCAPE BAIRAQ-1 BAIRAQ-2 WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE 1:00 AM 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 4:45 PM 7:00 PM 9:15 PM 11:30 PM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:05 AM 11:30 AM 1:30 PM 3:45 PM 6:00 PM 8:15 PM 10:30 PM 12:45 AM 11:45 AM 1:45 PM 4:15 PM 6:45 PM 9:15 PM 11:45 PM 12:00 PM 2:30 PM 5:00 PM 7:30 PM 9:45 PM 12:15 AM 12:45 PM 3:00 PM 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 10:15 PM 12:30 AM 12:30 PM 2:45 PM 5:00 PM 7:15 PM 9:30 PM 11:45 PM 12:15 PM 2:30 PM 5:15 PM ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation immediately available for vegetarian Indian small family or working women near Al-Rashid hospital, Salmiya, from 23rd August onwards. Contact: / (C 5026) MATRIMONIAL Inviting marriage proposals for CSI Christian girl 24 years/155cm/bds from central Travancore, staying with parents in Kuwait. If interested please contact with full details proposal.mrj@gmail.com THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is Fajr: 03:59 Shorook 05:22 Duhr: 11:50 Asr: 15:25 Maghrib: 18:17 Isha: 19:47 Prayer timings CHANGE OF NAME I, Rashida, holder of Indian Passport No K hereby change my name to Rashida Inayat Hussain Laljiwala. Address: Pune, Nibm road, Mayfair Eleganza Phase 2. Kondhwa , Maharashtra, India. (C 5028) Pushkar Dass Vairagi S/O Jagdish Indian national Passport No G new name Raju Das Bairagi S/O Jagdish Das Village Bhuwasiy Dist Pratpgarh Rajasthan. ( 5027) Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page ( Arrival Flights on Thursday 27/8/2015 Airlines Flt Route Time KAC 564 Amman 00:05 THY 772 Istanbul 00:15 JZR 239 Amman 00:20 JZR 267 Beirut 00:30 DLH 637 Dammam 00:35 MSR 1614 Cairo 00:40 FDB 069 Dubai 00:55 JAI 574 Mumbai 01:30 JZR 539 Cairo 01:30 SAI 441 Lahore 01:35 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:40 RJA 642 Amman 01:45 MEA 408 Beirut 01:50 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:50 OMA 643 Muscat 02:05 KKK 716 Istanbul 04:30 THY 770 Istanbul 04:40 QTR 8301 Doha 04:50 SAW 703 Damascus 05:00 THY 5580 TZX 05:05 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10 AGY 690 Alexandria 05:15 MSC 411 Asyut 05:55 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15 BAW 157 London 06:35 JZR 1541 Cairo 06:40 JZR 563 Sohag 06:45 OMA 641 Muscat 06:50 JZR 503 Luxor 07:20 IRA 673 Ahwaz 07:30 KAC 382 Delhi 07:30 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:45 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 SVA 512 Riyadh 07:50 KAC 204 Lahore 07:50 QTR 1086 Doha 07:55 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55 KAC 154 Istanbul 08:10 KAC 352 Kochi 08:15 UAE 855 Dubai 08:25 KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:30 KAC 362 Colombo 08:30 IRA 667 Esfahan 09:00 KAC 284 Dhaka 09:00 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:05 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:10 QTR 1070 Doha 09:25 IZG 4161 Mashhad 09:30 RJA 648 Amman 09:30 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 KAC 350 Kochi 09:40 SYR 341 Damascus 10:05 KNE 470 Jeddah 10:30 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 UAE 873 Dubai 10:40 MEA 404 Beirut 10:55 MSC 405 Sohag 11:20 JZR 561 Sohag 11:25 RBG 553 Alexandria 11:30 AGY 680 Alexandria 11:40 JZR 165 Dubai 11:50 FDB 075 Dubai 12:25 NIA 151 Cairo 12:35 BBC 043 Dhaka 12:35 JZR 241 Amman 12:40 UAE 871 Dubai 12:45 MSC 409 Asyut 12:55 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 THY 766 Istanbul 13:10 KKK 712 Istanbul 13:30 JZR 779 Jeddah 13:50 AXB 393 Kozhikode 13:55 KAC 672 Dubai 13:55 QTR 1078 Doha 14:05 KNE 460 Riyadh 14:10 GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20 FDB 057 Dubai 14:20 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 KAC 538 Sohag 14:55 JZR 257 Beirut 14:55 RJD 135 Abu Dhabi 15:00 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00 OMA 645 Muscat 15:05 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35 KAC 1802 Cairo 15:35 UAE 857 Dubai 15:45 NIA 251 Alexandria 15:50 RJA 640 Amman 15:55 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:00 JZR 535 Cairo 16:05 FDB 051 Dubai 16:10 QTR 1072 Doha 16:20 JZR 125 Bahrain 16:25 KAC 118 New York 16:30 KNE 476 Jeddah 16:40 KAC 178 Vienna 16:55 KAC 562 Amman 17:00 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 UAL 982 IAD 17:25 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 177 Dubai 17:45 KAC 742 Dammam 17:45 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50 KAC 678 Muscat/Abu Dhabi 17:55 KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 18:20 JZR 483 Istanbul 18:20 KAC 502 Beirut 18:35 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:35 QTR 1080 Doha 18:55 KAC 542 Cairo 18:55 KAC 618 Doha 18:55 KAC 104 London 19:00 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05 UAE 875 Dubai 19:05 FDB 063 Dubai 19:10 KAC 614 Bahrain 19:10 ABY 123 Sharjah 19:20 JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:40 FDB 061 Dubai 19:50 AGY 684 Sohag 19:50 OMA 647 Muscat 20:00 KAC 674 Dubai 20:00 KNE 480 Taif 20:10 MEA 402 Beirut 20:15 ABY 121 Sharjah 20:20 DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:20 JZR 189 Dubai 20:25 MSR 618 Alexandria 20:40 KAC 174 Munich 20:55 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:15 UAE 859 Dubai 21:15 KLM 417 Amsterdam 21:25 FDB 073 Dubai 21:30 QTR 1074 Doha 21:30 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 THY 764 Istanbul 22:10 ETD 309 Abu Dhabi 22:10 AIC 981 Chennai/Ahmedabad 22:25 UAL 981 Bahrain 22:40 FDB 059 Dubai 22:50 JZR 157 Dubai 22:55 JAI 526 Chennai/Abu Dhabi 23:00 JZR 185 Dubai 23:00 MSR 614 Cairo 23:30 JZR 513 Sharm el-sheikh 23:30 FDB 071 Dubai 23:35 LZB 7779 Burgas 23:45 Departure Flights on Thursday 27/8/2015 Airlines Flt Route Time AIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05 RBG 556 Alexandria 00:05 BBC 044 Dhaka 00:10 JZR 562 Sohag 00:20 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:25 MSR 615 Cairo 00:30 FDB 072 Dubai 00:30 KLM 411 Amsterdam 00:55 JZR 502 Luxor 01:10 KAC 177 Vienna 01:20 MSR 1615 Cairo 01:25 DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35 THY 773 Istanbul 02:05 SAI 442 Lahore 02:35 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:50 MEA 409 Beirut 02:50 JAI 525 Abu Dhabi/Chennai 02:55 PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55 KKK 6508 Istanbul 03:10 MSC 404 Sohag 03:30 OMA 644 Muscat 03:35 THY 769 Istanbul 03:40 UAE 854 Dubai 03:45 RJA 645 Amman 03:55 FDB 068 Dubai 04:00 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:05 MSR 613 Cairo 04:15 PGT 861 Istanbul 04:45 THY 765 Istanbul 04:55 JZR 560 Sohag 05:00 MSC 406 Sohag 05:00 QTR 1077 Doha 05:05 KKK 717 Istanbul 05:30 THY 1465 Istanbul 05:55 SAW 704 Damascus 06:00 AGY 691 Alexandria 06:15 QTR 8302 Doha 06:20 RJA 643 Amman 06:35 GFA 212 Bahrain 06:50 THY 771 Istanbul 06:50 MSC 412 Asyut 06:55 JZR 240 Amman 07:05 FDB 070 Dubai 07:05 JZR 164 Dubai 07:15 JZR 256 Beirut 07:30 KAC 173 Munich 07:45 OMA 642 Muscat 07:50 KAC 537 Sohag 08:20 JZR 778 Jeddah 08:30 BAW 156 London 08:30 IRA 672 Ahwaz 08:30 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 SVA 513 Riyadh 08:50 QTR 1087 Doha 08:55 KAC 1801 Cairo 09:00 JZR 534 Cairo 09:15 KAC 671 Dubai 09:25 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:30 JZR 482 Istanbul 09:45 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:45 UAE 856 Dubai 09:50 KAC 101 London/New York 10:00 IRA 668 Mashhad 10:00 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:00 RJA 649 Amman 10:15 IZG 4162 Mashhad 10:30 QTR 1071 Doha 10:40 FDB 056 Dubai 10:40 KAC 677 Abu Dhabi/Muscat 10:50 KAC 501 Beirut 11:00 SYR 342 Damascus 11:05 KNE 471 Jeddah 11:20 KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:25 KAC 561 Amman 11:25 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35 MEA 405 Beirut 11:55 KAC 541 Cairo 12:05 UAE 874 Dubai 12:10 RBG 554 Alexandria 12:10 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15 MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20 AGY 685 Sohag 12:40 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 JZR 176 Dubai 13:10 FDB 076 Dubai 13:10 JZR 124 Bahrain 13:30 NIA 152 Cairo 13:35 BBC 044 Dhaka 13:50 MSC 410 Asyut 13:55 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 THY 767 Istanbul 14:10 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 KKK 713 Istanbul 14:30 KAC 741 Dammam 14:40 AXB 394 Kozhikode 14:55 QTR 1079 Doha 15:05 FDB 058 Dubai 15:05 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05 KNE 481 Taif 15:10 KAC 617 Doha 15:15 KAC 673 Dubai 15:20 JZR 188 Dubai 15:50 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:55 SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00 KAC 613 Bahrain 16:00 OMA 646 Muscat 16:05 RJD 136 Abu Dhabi 16:10 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 16:45 NIA 252 Alexandria 16:50 RJA 641 Amman 16:55 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 FDB 052 Dubai 17:10 JZR 512 Sharm el-sheikh 17:15 QTR 1073 Doha 17:25 KNE 477 Jeddah 17:30 UAE 858 Dubai 17:40 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 JZR 184 Dubai 18:20 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 KAC 563 Amman 18:30 KAC 287 Dhaka 18:35 JZR 156 Dubai 18:35 JZR 538 Cairo 18:40 UAL 982 Bahrain 18:40 JZR 238 Amman 19:15 GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50 FDB 064 Dubai 19:50 QTR 1081 Doha 19:55 KAC 361 Colombo 20:00 ABY 124 Sharjah 20:00 UAE 876 Dubai 20:35 JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35 FDB 062 Dubai 20:35 KAC 351 Kochi 20:45 KAC 333 Trivandrum 20:45 AGY 681 Alexandria 20:50 KAC 343 Chennai 20:55 KAC 1543 Cairo 20:55 OMA 648 Muscat 21:00 ABY 122 Sharjah 21:00 KNE 461 Riyadh 21:10 JZR 554 Alexandria 21:15 MEA 403 Beirut 21:15 MSR 619 Alexandria 21:40 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:05 FDB 074 Dubai 22:10 ALK 230 Colombo 22:20 KAC 381 Delhi 22:20

34 34 stars CROSSWORD 1004 STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) Libra (September 23-October 22) Today, clever Mercury enters Libra, your seventh house of one-onone relationships, putting you in cooperative, sweet-talking spirits. In both your professional and personal lives, your fiercely independent sign can sometimes forget that there s, um, another party involved. This diplomatic mood, which lasts until November 1, is especially helpful for smoothing over rough edges. Schedule thoughtful dates and make meaningful sacrifices, e.g. turning your smartphone off during important conversations. Put agreements in writing now, since Mercury rules contracts now is the time to hold people (and yourself) accountable to what they say. Grab the talking stick, Libra, and don t let go. With clever Mercury entering your sign today, you have plenty of reason to share. Until November 1, think carefully about your personal agenda and how you can move it forward. It s okay to be a little competitive. Usually, you put others first, but now the cosmos give you the green light to be "selfish." After all, if you don t express your most cherished goals and passions, how will they ever manifest? Make yourself top priority at least once a day, even if that means declining a coffee date with the coworker who just wants to gossip. You have bigger fish to fry. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Analyze this! Your thoughts may be in overdrive as communicative Mercury enters Libra, your sixth house of evaluation, from now until November 1. Anything that requires well-considered opinions and attention to detail especially in writing will go well now. This is a great time for devising practical solutions: whether that means reorganizing your home or streamlining your work process. Overall, you re in a fix-it phase and that extends to your health, too. Find ways to get to the gym and sweat out stress. With all this cerebral action, you need to get out of your head and connect with your body. Time to set sail on the emotion ocean, Scorpio. Today, communicator Mercury enters Libra, your sensitive and soulful twelfth house. Until November 1, you may need more downtime and solitude. It s not that you don t want to be social; your psyche needs some space. Carve out time to journal or meditate. Listening to dreamy music can put you in a compassionate space, too. If an old hurt is eating you up inside, it s seriously time to let it go. Have patience with the process; you don t always get to dictate the timeline for your healing. Set your internal compass toward forgiveness and watch as your deepest pain is transformed. Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) ACROSS 1. Relating to a recently developed fashion or style. 4. Agile long-tailed nocturnal African lemur with dense woolly fur and large eyes and ears. 12. Time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis. 15. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment. 16. A person who is interned. 17. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice. 18. Relieve from military service. 20. The local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England. 21. Congenital absence of the heart (as in the development of some monsters). 23. Toward the mouth or oral region. 24. A communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia. 25. Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger. 26. Of or relating to the heart. 29. Voluntary contributions to aid the poor. 31. Productive work (especially physical work done for wages). 33. Veloute or brown sauce with sauteed chopped onion and dry white wine and sour cream. 37. Forming viscous or glutinous threads. 40. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. 41. The part of the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum. 42. The second larges of the four main islands of Japan. 43. Young of domestic cattle. 47. Outer bark of the cork oak. 49. Hardy breed of cattle resulting from crossing domestic cattle with the American buffalo. 51. A bivalent and trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group. 52. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing. 53. A soft silvery metallic element. 54. A card game in which each player is dealt 6 cards and discards one or two to make up the crib. 57. The state prevailing during the absence of war. 59. Alsatian artist and poet who was cofounder of Dadaism in Zurich. 60. Relating to the deepest parts of the ocean (below 6000 meters). 63. A Powhatan Indian woman (the daughter of Powhatan) who befriended the English at Jamestown and is said to have saved Captain John Smith's life ( ). 67. Tropical starchy tuberous root. 70. In bed. 71. In the Roman calendar. 72. Of or relating to the lips of the mouth. 76. (informal) Of very poor quality. 77. Tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode when mature shedding large quantities of down. 80. (British) Your grandmother. 81. The compass point that is one point south of due east. 82. A town in southeastern New Mexico on the Pecos River near the Mexican border. 83. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth. DOWN 1. Red Bordeaux wine from the Medoc district of southwestern France. 2. A drama set to music. 3. Any of various hard resins from trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae and of the genus Agathis. 4. Top part of an apron. 5. An organization of independent states to promote international peace and security. 6. A plaster now made mostly from Portland cement and sand and lime. 7. The 8th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 8. A nonmetallic largely pentavalent heavy volatile corrosive dark brown liquid element belonging to the halogens. 9. A genus of tropical American plants have sword-shaped leaves and a fleshy compound fruits composed of the fruits of several flowers (such as pineapples). 10. Make steady. 11. An affirmative. 12. An informal term for a father. 13. A nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine. 14. Not only so, but. 19. In a manner differing from the usual or expected. 22. A seaport on the Don River near the Sea of Azov in the European part of Russia. 27. A state in midwestern United States. 28. The jurisdiction or office of an abbot. 30. Typically having large ears and feeding primarily on insects. 32. A flat float (usually made of logs or planks) that can be used for transport or as a platform for swimmers. 34. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism. 35. A constitutional monarchy in northern Europe on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula. 36. Give qualities or abilities to. 38. A colorless gas (O3) soluble in alkalis and cold water. 39. An aperture or hole opening into a bodily cavity species. 45. Living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household. 46. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942). 48. A member of a Caddo people formerly living in north central Texas. 50. A crystalline metallic element not found in nature. 55. Cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill). 56. The great hall in ancient Persian palaces. 58. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. 61. Indigo bush. 62. United States tennis player (born in Czechoslovakia) who won several singles championships. 64. Any of several tall tropical palms native to southeastern Asia having egg-shaped nuts. 65. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 66. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga). 68. Material used to daub walls. 69. A software system that facilitates the creation and maintenance and use of an electronic database. 73. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field. 74. A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow). 75. Having leadership guidance. 78. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group. 79. A chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers. Stand proud, Gemini. Your self-confidence soars today, as clever Mercury enters Libra, your expressive fifth house, until November 1. There s nothing wrong with plainly stating your desires, especially in love. Don t play small or, worse, do the "humblebrag" routine (false modesty is such a turnoff). If you don t love yourself royally, you can't expect anyone else to do that job. While there could be some fireworks during this theatrical transit, you ll also enjoy some passionate and flirtatious exchanges. Your emotions are colorful and dramatic now, so remind yourself not to take things quite so personally. Channel your intensity into a creative outlet instead. Cancer (June 21-July 22) From now until November 1, you re extra nostalgic, thanks to thoughtful Mercury s spin through Libra, your fourth house of home, family and roots. Pore over old photos, research your family tree online and add some comfy new touches to your decor. If you haven t been nurturing your most cherished ties, you can change that now. Women are especially important now, so call up your mother or another female relative, just because. Don t forget to apply that TLC to yourself, too, by fine-tuning your self-care routine. Leo (July 23-August 22) Good luck holding back your thoughts, Leo. With communicative Mercury entering Libra and your chatty third house until November 1, it s hard to make your brain (or your running commentary) stop. Take full advantage of this talkative boon by scheduling important pitch and brainstorming meetings. If you need to negotiate, diplomacy and grace will surely be on your side. Find an outlet for all this mental stimulation, perhaps in a journal, blog post or even a book. Since the third house rules local action, you may also ensconce yourself in a community project. Virgo (August 23-September 22) Buckle down, Virgo. Today, clever Mercury enters Libra, your second house of security, putting your attention on the basics: work, money and stability. Until November 1, you have added motivation to break any barriers around selfsufficiency. Repair a work relationship if it s on shaky ground. Revamp your budget so that you can really conquer any money woes and not end up in a tight spot again. Align your self-esteem with your paycheck: if you earn a living doing something that boosts your confidence, you re moving in the right direction. WORD SEARCH PUZZLE Today, clever Mercury shifts into Libra, your eleventh house of group activity, activating your social life (both online and IRL) until November 1. Focus on group projects, which could pick up steam. Instead of going it alone, tap into the power of the collective. The eleventh house rules humanitarian efforts: What can you do to make this world a better place? Let others grand visions educate and enliven you, and team up in the name of change. You could even plan this year s birthday party to be a benefit, raising funds for an important cause. This is an excellent time for networking and online ventures, so work the social media circuit to spread your unique message. Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Put your attention on those #goals, Capricorn. Today, communicator Mercury enters Libra, your tenth house of status and success, giving you a one-track mind: achievement or bust. Until November 1, this diligent attitude will carry the day, and your greatest inspiration may even come from staying glued to your desk for an extra hour or two. Call up a mentor and put some quality time on the schedule. The influence of someone who s been there-done that could really help you get ahead or clarify your path. A leadership opportunity could also land in your lap. th80_capricorn Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Spit it out, Aquarius! A #nofilter cycle begins today as expressive Mercury enters Libra, your ninth house of full-throttle honesty. Until November 1, you're not holding back. Careful: you could be a bit TOO blunt or tactless at times, offending people with that truth-telling. Channel your energy into living YOUR truth which may require you to broaden your horizons, especially if you ve been playing small. A life-changing trip or a daring risk could open your mind in important new ways. Keep asking: what else is possible? Pisces (February 19-March 20) It's getting hot in here, Pisces. Today, communicator Mercury burns into Libra, your eighth house of soul-merging and sex, where it will stay until November 1. While your fantasy-fueled sign can really get taken with romantic notions of love, this attitude can be a hindrance to finding lasting love. In truth, everyone has issues and Mercury in this psychological zone of your chart helps you accept that. During this period, seek out ways to be more vulnerable and to heal from old wounds. You might benefit from therapy, as Mercury here will help you rapidly process any past pain. Yesterday s Solution Yesterday s Solution Daily SuDoku Yesterday s Solution

35 For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 information INTERNATIONAL CALLS Sabah Hospital Amiri Hospital Maternity Hospital Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital Chest Hospital Farwaniya Hospital Adan Hospital Ibn Sina Hospital Al-Razi Hospital Physiotherapy Hospital /9 Kaizen center Rawda Adaliya Khaldiya Kaifan Shamiya Shuwaikh Abdullah Salem Nuzha Industrial Shuwaikh Qadsiya Dasmah Bneid Al-Gar Shaab Qibla Ayoun Al-Qibla Mirqab Sharq Salmiya Jabriya Maidan Hawally Bayan Mishref W Hawally Sabah Jahra New Jahra West Jahra South Jahra North Jahra North Jleeb Ardhiya Firdous Omariya N Khaitan Fintas Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem Dr. Kathem Maarafi Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) Dr. Leons Joseph Psychologists /Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: Fax: GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot Madina Munawara Jahra-Block Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Hana Salmiya-Amman St Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop Salwa Coop PRIVATE CLINICS Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah /60 Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar / Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan /0 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe / Dr. Verginia s.marin ext 8321 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani /3 info@soorcenter.com Paediatricians Dr. Khaled Hamadi Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed Dr. Zahra Qabazard Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew Dermatology Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University Dentists Dr Anil Thomas / Dr. Shamah Al-Matar /2 Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan Dr. Bader Al-Ansari Neurologists Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali Kaizen center Noor Clinic Endocrinologist Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: Fax: William Schuilenberg, RPC Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc Afghanistan 0093 Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina 0054 Armenia Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium 0032 Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil 0055 Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada 001 Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Chad Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba 0053 Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt 0020 El Salvador England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France 0033 French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany 0049 Ghana Gibraltar Greece 0030 Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras Hong Kong Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland India 0091 Indian Ocean Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq Ireland Italy 0039 Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan 0081 Jordan Kazakhstan 007 Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Majorca 0034 Malawi Malaysia 0060 Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico 0052 Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia Nepal Netherlands 0031 Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua Nigar Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island N. Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea Norway 0047 Oman Pakistan 0092 Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Pierre Saint Vincent Samoa US Samoa West San Marino Sao Tone Saudi Arabia Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore 0065 Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa 0027 South Korea 0082 Spain 0034 Sri Lanka 0094 Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden 0046 Switzerland 0041 Syria Serbia Taiwan Tanzania Thailand 0066 Toga Tonga Tokelau Trinidad Tunisia Turkey 0090 Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom 0044 Uruguay USA 001 Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam 0084 Virgin Islands UK Virgin Islands US Wales (UK) 0044 Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe 00263

36 lifestyle F e a t u r e s In this Sept 14, 1984 file photo, Madonna poses at the MTV Video Music Awards where she was nominated Best New Artist in video, at Radio City Music Hall, in New York. This Sept 14, 1984 file photo shows, Dan Aykroyd, left, and Bette Midler, hosts of the MTV Video Music Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. In this Sept 13, 2009 file photo, singer Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepts the Best Female Video award during the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. AP photos Method to madness of MTV Video Music Awards In this Aug 29, 2002 file photo, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band perform The Rising off his new album of the same name at the MTV Video Music Awards at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York. MTV announces 2015 Video Music Awards performers MTV has announced that Pharrell, Demi Lovato, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Tori Kelly, A$AP Rocky and Twenty One Pilots will perform live at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday. The Weeknd will also perform his blockbuster single Can t Feel My Face, as previously announced. Additional performers and presenters will be announced closer to the ceremony. MTV also announced earlier yesterday that Kanye West will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award during the presentation. Past recipients of the award include Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Jackson himself. Whether West will perform at the ceremony has yet to be confirmed. Miley Cyrus will host the proceedings. Jeremy Scott, one of Cyrus favorite designers, has given the VMAs Moonman statue a bit of a makeover, including splashes of colored metals, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers s TV test pattern bars on the MTV logo flag, Scott s signature winged sneakers and a peace sign necklace. This year s nominees include Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Mark Ronson, who will duke it out for the evening s highest honor, Video of the Year. Additional nominees include Nicki Minaj, Nick Jonas, the Weeknd and Maroon 5. The VMAs will air Aug 30 at 9 pm. Reuters Less high-profile but more durable than some of their Britpop rivals, Stereophonics are back with their ninth studio album which harks back to their roots in a small Welsh mining village. In the small brick house in west London where the band have their studio, the classic Beach Boys album Pet Sounds drifted out of the stereo as singer and guitarist Kelly Jones reflected on his band s past and future. In the grand scheme of rock n roll, we are pretty young, the boyish 41-year-old joked in an interview with AFP. We re still, like, into it. We re still playing really well live and we re still making better records than the rest of them. Known for hits such as There really is a method to the madness that is the MTV Video Music Awards. I like to say, Let s put the crazy in the room, and we throw the match in the middle of the audience and artists, and we see what happens, said Van Toffler, who has been associated with the show for most of its three decades. Toffler, a 55-year-old New Yorker, left his post as MTV Networks President this spring to start his own production company, but is acting as executive producer for the VMAs one last time. In a recent interview, Toffler reflected on the most memorable moments and legacy of the show, which airs live Sunday from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. In the beginning Before there was Miley, there was Madonna. She d like to say she put the M in MTV, Toffler said with a sly smile. He said she set the standard for wild behavior in the inaugural awards in 1984, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler: Her rolling around in the wedding dress was quite memorable. Madonna and producers agreed she would perform a new song, Like a Virgin, as she emerged from a wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress, bustier and a belt buckle sporting the words BOY TOY. One of Madonna s white stilettos slipped off as she descended from the cake, and thinking quickly, she dove to the floor and rolled around. While reaching for the shoe, the dress went up, putting her undies on full display, and the VMAs were on the map. Madonna makes out Some 20 years later, there was Madonna again - this time making out with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. It wasn t necessarily Madonna, Britney and Christina, Toffler recalled. J. Lo was in the mix for a little while, but then dropped out, and I thought the whole thing was going to disappear. Toffler was on vacation when he got a call from the show s director. And she said, Van, you re not going to believe this. They re rehearsing now. They re all together. And Madonna actually kissed Britney on the lips. And I said, Please do me a favor. Don t tell any other human on the planet that this is happening. Salif Keita says Africa albino attacks unacceptable African music legend Salif Keita has called for people with albinism to be protected, as Tanzania begins campaigning for general elections with fears growing over a rise in witchcraft attacks. It is completely unacceptable for humans to sacrifice other human beings, it comes from ignorance, the Malian musician, himself an albino, told AFP in an interview during a visit to East Africa. Malian afro-pop singer-songwriter Salif Keita speaks during a press conference in Nairobi, ahead of the Safaricom Jazz festival AFP Albinos are born, they grow up just like everyone else. It is unacceptable to attack them. Rights groups have warned of the risk of a rise in attacks against albinos in Tanzania, which has just begun campaigning for general and presidential elections on October 25. Some politicians have been accused of buying albino body parts for witchcraft and lucky charms. At least 76 albinos in Tanzania have been murdered since 2000, with their dismembered body parts selling for around $600 (528 euros) and entire bodies fetching $75,000, according to United Nations experts. In this Sept 13, 2009 file photo, Beyonce, left, holds her Video of the Year award while Taylor Swift addresses the crowd Kanye the crasher In the 2009 show, as Taylor Swift accepted the award for best female video, Kanye West walked onstage, grabbed Swift s micro- at the MTV Music Video Awards, in New York. phone and ranted about how Beyonce was more deserving. So, we have an artist who was disrupted from her speech. We had Beyonce, who looked like a deer in the headlights. And we had Kanye, who was a little bit opinionated and let s say a little bit lit, Toffler said. Worse yet, a tearful Swift was slated to perform live just three minutes later, following a commercial break. Producers dealt with West, who left the venue. They convinced Beyonce to stick around and later escorted Swift back out onstage to conclude her speech. And Toffler helped Swift pull herself together and get through her performance. I think being a nurturing father, not just to my own children, comes in handy, he said. Toffler credits Beyonce s father and Swift s mother for helping put out the fire, but said Beyonce was the night s MVP: She was the best influence at the time. Miley s moment Perhaps the biggest backlash to a VMAs moment came after Miley Cyrus, host of this year s show, gyrated around Robin Thicke Dozens more have survived having parts of their bodies hacked off. Keita said he hoped that by speaking out, and by playing his world-acclaimed music, he could send a message to stop the attacks, which often target children. When people hear me on the microphone and see me on the camera, that has an impact, because I show that I am a complete human being, just like everyone else, Keita said. Just like every human, albinos need to be loved, and seen as normal people. Black people with white skin Keita was speaking in the Kenyan capital where he is to play a concert to raise money for a music foundation for a Nairobi slum, as part of Kenya s Safaricom Jazz Festival. His Afro-pop music, nominated for several world music awards, fuses both African and Western styles. I am proud to be an albino and I am proud to be who I am, added Keita, who runs a campaign to support people with albinism. I work to promote acceptance and understanding of people with albinism. Outgoing Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said in March that attacks against people with albinism were disgusting and a big embarrassment for the nation. But the problem is not confined to Tanzania alone. Kenyan lawmaker Isaac Mwaura, who also has albinism, said Tanzanian gangs have carried out abductions in Kenya, and he looks after two children he rescued from attempted kidnappers. Africa has had a long history of racial discrimination, but we work to stop that, said the MP as he met Keita. Albinos are black people with white skin. Albinism is a hereditary genetic condition which causes a total absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. As well as discrimination, associated risks include skin cancer-expensive sun creams are often difficult to obtain-as well as eyesight problems. AFP Stereophonics stay true to their roots with new album Maybe Tomorrow and The Bartender And The Thief, Stereophonics broke through as Britpop bands such as Oasis were at their peak. While they never achieved the global stardom of some of their peers, regular gigs and a steady output of an album every two years on average have allowed them to sell millions of records. They are one of the select group of bands to have five consecutive British number one albums, starting with Performance And Cocktails in 1999 and ending with Pull The Pin in With their new album, Keep The Village Alive, the band are going back to their origins in the former coal mining village of Cwmaman in south Wales. We scavenged in the gravel to find this title, Jones said. It was a phrase I heard when I was a kid which kind of means, you know, keep the spirit up, work hard, play hard. Jones originally formed the band with his neighbor Stuart Cable on drums and bass player Richard Jones. Cable left the band in 2003 and died in 2010 at the age of 40 after choking to death on his own vomit after a heavy drinking session. As well as the two Joneses, Stereophonics now also includes Jamie Morrison on drums and Adam Zindani on guitar. AFP Apowder-keg plot setup triggers an underwhelming display of dramatic fireworks in Z for Zachariah, a post-apocalyptic survival tale propelled by male-female emotional dynamics. Set in a remote valley spared from radioactive contamination after a presumed global catastrophe, the film from director Craig Zobel effectively sets all its surface parts in motion but, crucially, doesn t sufficiently develop the turbulent undercurrent of tension and intrigue that are called for in the hothouse circumstances. This, despite the solid efforts of the only actors in the piece, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie and Chris Pine. Based on the 1974 novel of the same title by Robert C. O Brien, the film does possess something of that last-days-of-man-on-earth feeling of numerous sci-fi ventures of that period. The film begins with a young woman and her dog emerging from a contamination-proof suit on high ground above what is otherwise apparently an unlivable world. Mutual alarm For her part, Ann (Robbie) has self-sufficiently persevered. She lives in the spacious rural house where she grew up, is surrounded by thousands of books and LP records, and industriously tends to her crops. She even has a cow that gives milk and finds solace in religion, playing the organ in the small chapel nearby that her preacher father built. She s also quite a beauty, not that it matters. Not at the moment, anyway. All this changes with the startling arrival of a man who also emerges from a protective suit, but in hysterics and desperately afraid of contamination. This is John (Ejiofor), who, after the initial moments of mutual alarm have passed, accepts Ann s hospitality and takes to a bed to recover. A research scientist who claims to have designed the resistant suit, he soon applies his expertise to getting her freezer and tractor as he performed Blurred Lines on the 2013 telecast. Cyrus danced provocatively, but everybody knew her as Hannah Montana, Toffler said. She chose that moment to say, I m an adult. Look at me. I believe the next day on the Today show, one of the hosts called for me to be fired... And I m like, Really? he recalled. For Miley dancing with Robin Thicke that way? Let s get serious For all of the fun and frivolity, the VMAs have no problem getting serious - providing Toffler with what he said were some of his proudest moments as producer. In 2000, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich skewered file-sharing site Napster in a skit. The show has included moving tributes to Michael Jackson, Princess Diana and Aaliyah. And who could forget Bruce Springsteen opening the 2002 show by performing his Sept 11-inspired The Rising outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City - punctuated by a mist of rain. AP This photo provided by Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate shows, Chris Pine, from left, as Caleb, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Loomis, and Margot Robbie as Ann Burden, in the film, Z for Zachariah. AP Review: Zachariah a drama about last 3 people on Earth working again and eventually works out a plan to build a waterwheel to generate power. What are a man and woman going to do together to pass the time if they believe they re the last two people on Earth? Despite the obvious answer, this pair proceeds slowly. Having achieved a certain intimacy while Ann nursed John back to health, they eventually share a romantic dinner at which she gets tipsy and pushes things to the brink of sex. Surprisingly, John puts her off, insisting that going further would change everything and that they should take their time. No sooner does this cooling take place than a third wheel turns up to change the dynamics entirely. Caleb (Pine) is a scruffy young guy with traces of radiation on him, but the other two agree to let him stay for a bit. The men sniff each other out about their mutual intentions, of course, but the situation seems defused when Caleb agrees to help John finish the big project of building the waterwheel. Mutual suspicions However, even if the men decide that they can co-habit, Ann is eventually going to have something to say about it, leading one to suspect that one-third of the world s known human population won t be around that much longer. The effectiveness of the piece, especially in its final half, is almost entirely dependent upon subtext, mutual suspicions, underlying tensions, sexual tipping points, self-control and all manner of other human impulses that lie just beneath the surface. Unfortunately, screenwriter Nissar Modi and director Zobel don t manage to draw these out in a palpable way so that the drama really flattens out during the climactic stretch on its way to a very ho-hum conclusion. AP

37 lifestyle F e a t u r e s Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani, whose nickname is Aliwaxima, drives his racyred motorized stiletto on a street in the capital Tehran. AFP photos Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani works next to his racy-red motorized stiletto. Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani talks with people as he sits in his racy-red motorized stiletto. Aliwaxima, Tehran s shoe-shine man in a red stiletto Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani works next to his racy-red motorized stiletto. Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani works next to his racy-red motorized stiletto. Agiant, racy-red motorized stiletto is not what you expect to see cruising down the avenues of Iran s capital but it certainly attracts attention, and business, for intrepid shoe-shine man Aliwaxima. In conservative Tehran where veils for women are mandatory and Islamic morality police still mount patrols, 42-year-old Aliwaxima proudly plies his trade unhindered, in his coquettish scooter. I am the only shoe shine man in the country who works from his vehicle, says Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani, his real name, who could pass for a bespoke tailor on Savile Row with his immaculate shirt, sober tie and-of course spick-and-span loafers. He even has fans in this city of near 13 million residents little used to public flights of fancy like his motorized high-heel. Be they on foot, car or motorcycle, people stop in awe and clamor for selfies both in and outside the threewheeled fibreglass stiletto. Eight years ago, I decided to create a vehicle from which to propose my services as a shoe shiner, he explained, in language as elegant as his dress. His business moniker merges his name and the English word wax tweaked into an Iranian superlative to give Aliwaxima, the man who gives the best shine. In sync with digital times, Ali has customer service 2.0 down pat. He carries a mobile phone, of course, for client calls but also has an Internet site, an Instagram account and a Mohammad Ali Hassan Khani talks with people, including journalists, sitting in his racy-red motorized stiletto. Facebook page-with scores and scores of friends-featuring his red high heel as the cover photo. Daringly, he has displayed these addresses on his vehicle, notably the one for Facebook, a site officially blocked in Iran-though residents bypass the ban by downloading VPNs, networks that can transfer information via secure servers in other countries. And on the driver s side is the understated slogan, The first shoe shape car in Iran. It s wonderful, raved an onlooker spotting Aliwaxima for the first time while another asked if it was an ad for a brand of shoes. After working the streets of central Tehran for 18 years, Ali is, however, known to many. Women clients now At first, I had a simple, three-wheel motorized scooter. Then I gave it the form of a man s loafer. Three months ago I decided to change this to a red high heel, he says. And I have a lot more clients since. More than 1,500 people follow me on Instagram. Before, I had mainly men clients but now I also have women clients encouraging me. The idea came from abroad after Ali saw pictures of giant shoes used to advertise shoeshine stands. But they were not motorized, he notes with a mischievous glance behind his dark glasses. It took him two-and-a-half months to build the red stiletto shape and people adore my vehicle. They love to sit in it and take photos. It also turned into a wise-and lucrative-business move. I have all sorts of new requests. I ve already been asked to five marriages. The newlyweds have their pictures taken in my car. For weddings, I get paid five million rials, a handy sum at $140 (120 euros) compared to what Ali says is his usual take of 700,000 rials ($20 ) a day still more than the usual worker s average daily pay of $15. When asked if police have ever bothered him or tried to prevent him from working, Ali lets out a big laugh. The police, they re the first ones to want to have their picture taken in my car! he says. And his next plan? Though he doesn t speak a word of French, his big dream is to work in France, to drive his red stiletto down the Champs-Elysees in Paris where-even in the city of no holds barred-he would likely attract attention also. AFP Organic options to fix raccoon eyes We all try to survive through our crazy schedules; sometimes 24 hours a day are just not enough to get everything you want done. Exhausting days and nights will gradually start showing on your face. You ll start to realize how your skin feels and looks tired, and most of us start having darker circles under our eyes. Darker circles can be a result of many things, not only exhaustion, but it can also be hereditary, from having dry skin as well as lack of sleep. Men and women can both experience darker circles, and we can always drive to any store and get products that ll vanish these darker circles or cover them with make up. It takes a while for you to start noticing the darker circles fading away, as it took just as long for you to notice them. They take a while to react to better sleep and a more relaxed body and mind. However, there are a few extra things you can do at home to help vanishing these circles faster. Ice One thing I can swear by and I literally do this every morning is depuffing - which basically is icing your face and the area around your eyes. Don t apply ice directly to your face, but put it in a plastic bag and onto a small towel then depuff! The cold from the ice will allow any swelling to do down, and temporarily tighten your skin leaving you looking all tight and fresh. Almond oil Almond oil has many benefits that you can literally add it to anything and it ll be good for it! You can add a few drops of almond oil under your eyes every night to help moisturize that area which will gradually lighten the darker circles until they disappear. Raw potatoes Raw potatoes is another suggestion for your raccoon eyes, you can cut thick slices of potato and apply them on your eyes. This helps because potatoes have natural bleaching agents which will make your darker circles disappear. You can also grate potatoes and use the potato juice on a cotton ball to apply it on your eyes for minutes. Rose water You can also use rose water as it has a soothing effect on tired eyes, and it can also be used as a skin toner which will also help the darker circles. Soak a cotton ball into pure rose water and place it on your eyes, you can do this twice a day for a few weeks. Lemon juice A tricky method to try is with lemon juice. Apply lemon juice around your eyes with a cotton ball and leave it for 15 minutes. This will allow the vitamin C in the lemon juice to lighten up any darker circles or spots on your face. Cucumber We ve all heard and probably tried out cucumber. Many spas and treatments include cucumber as a relaxing element. Place cucumber slices on your eyes for 15 minutes. For a stronger skin-lightening effect you can add lemon juice and make a paste out of it to apply on your eyes. Water These simple and organic options can definitely help a lot with refreshening your skin and toning your skin tone. You also need to make sure you drinks loads of water and have enough sleep to have glowing and healthy skin, not only for dark circles. Stressing over work or issues you have in your personal life will eventually start showing on you, and at the end of the day you need to take care of yourself in order to do the best you can in whatever you do, whether it was being a mother, running your business, or even finishing your studies. We should always avoid stress and the harmful illnesses stress can cause. Trying out these homemade recipes will be fun and you can get to see the difference it makes in a few weeks, not days. As I mentioned earlier it will take just as long to remove the dark circles. If this issues was hereditary then maybe make up will help you with covering them up before going out, as well as these recipes!

38 lifestyle Claudia Schiffer keeps her old clothes Claudia Schiffer never gets rid of her old clothes. The 45- year-old supermodel - who became a household name in the 90s - has confessed she s held on to most of the garments she s acquired throughout her career as a lot of the pieces come back into style or can be worn at any time. She said: I have kept all my clothes from over the years, so I have a great archive to go in and out for each season. For example, I found an amazing red Chanel bag from 20 years ago, which is timeless, and then I update with a new pair of shoes or dress. Trends always come around again, so a pair of great Stella McCartney jeans from four years ago can be worn again this summer. When I design a collection I always think about longevity - will I still be wearing this in five or 10 years time? The blonde beauty has teamed up with the luxury cashmere label Tse to create her own collection and has revealed she felt like it was time to try her hand at designing after years of modeling. She told Vogue magazine: I have always been a model and after more than 25 years in the fashion and beauty industry, it felt natural to dip my toes into design. I am hoping my message is getting across: timeless, effortless clothes for every day casual chic living, inspired by influences from my life in England. Bang Showbiz Claudia Schiffer F a s h i o n Jenner s denim staple Kendall Jenner s fashion staple is a pair of jeans. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star thinks every girl should own a pair, whilst sister Kylie Jenner s essential garment is a leather jacket. Of her go-to gear, the 19-year-old model said: A pair of mid- or high-rise jeans that look good on the butt, with straight or skinny legs. Whilst Kylie added: A good leather jacket. Everyone needs a good leather jacket. And Kendall has admitted she likes to keep her day wear simple compared to Kylie who prefers a more glamorous look. She shared: I like to keep it simple and classy. I m not like [Kylie]. She can wear a full-blown gown to lunch. I like a whole Saint Laurent look. I d call it cool. And despite being known for their fashion-forward looks, it hasn t stopped either of the pair having a fashion faux pas in the past. Of what pattern she d never wear again, Kylie said: Zebra. Growing up, I was obsessed with zebra. In middle school, I had zebra carpet, pillows, and clothing - everything you could imagine. So I am zebra d out. I don t care what company it is or who it is, I m over zebra. However, Kendall is much more open to different styles as fashion evolves. She added to Harper s Bazaar magazine: I never say never. Fashion is always evolving. And you just never know. Bang Showbiz Kendall Jenner Lakme Fashion Week Indian models showcase creations by designer ilk at Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Winter/Festive 2015 in Mumbai yesterday. AFP photos Indian models showcase creations by designer Huemn.

39 lifestyle F a s h i o n Indian models showcase creations by Sahil Kochhar. Indian models showcase creations during the Gen Next show. Kristen Stewart Stewart to play Coco Chanel Kristen Stewart will play Coco Chanel in an upcoming short film. The movie will feature the actress as the label s founder and will be directed by Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director for Chanel. It tells the story of a fictional, behind-the-scenes look at preparations for a biopic about Gabrielle Coco Chanel. Karl s short movie will be shown at the French fashion house s next Metiers d Arts show, which will take place in Rome on December 2. Speaking to WWD, Karl said about Kristen: She played it really, really mean. You only see her in tests and she s complaining about everything. She s mean with the director; mean with the producer. When asked why he decided to make a movie about Chanel, he said: They make so many movies about Chanel, why can t I make one? Kristen recently revealed there are many perks to being Lagerfeld s inspiration, including being allowed to chop up designer gowns. She told the September issue of Nylon magazine: He lets me chop dresses, he lets me steal a belt from that dress and wrap it around another... I m really into the performance aspect of it, but I still have to make it my own. I don t want to feel like I m wearing a costume. Bang Showbiz Hayek drinks bone broth for youthful skin Salma Hayek credits bone broth for her youthful appearance. The 48-year-old actress, who previously admitted she isn t a fan of cosmetic surgery and Botox, regularly drinks the concoction because she believes it helps her to maintain her good looks. She said: It s sort of disgusting. You take a bunch of bones from a cow and slow-cook them for many hours. It s full of gelatin and fat, and I think it s very good to keep yourself young. Although she relies on strange techniques to remain youthful, the Everly star never uses the gym and prefers doing more relaxing forms of exercise. She explained: I don t do cardio, I mean, I didn t do it when I was young. I m not going to start jumping now. But I do like yoga. The brunette beauty added she has a positive mental outlook about her life as well as her appearance and feels very grateful for everything in her life. She told People magazine: I count my blessings every day. My father taught me to treat everyone the same and to stay close to your family. My mom taught me only stupid people get bored. Bang Showbiz Salma Hayek

40 Aliwaxima, Tehran s shoe-shine man in a red stiletto 37 A Malaysian Muslim woman walks past a mural of an owl at an alley in Shah Alam, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur yesterday. AFP Annual tomato battle paints streets of Spanish town red Thousands of half-naked revelers pelted each other with tomatoes yesterday in the town of Bunol in eastern Spain, bathing the streets with red goo in the annual Tomatina battle. A string of trucks laden with 170 tones of tomatoes rolled through the town s narrow streets, as teams on board distributed their load to surrounding crowds for people to throw at each other during the hour-long festivities. The iconic fiesta-which celebrates its 70th anniversary and is billed at the world s biggest food fight -has become a major draw for foreigners, in particular from Britain, Japan and the United States. The bang of fireworks set off the bedlam at 11 am. Revelers jammed shoulder-toshoulder, many wearing just bathing suits, bent down to pick up tomatoes from the ground to throw while others lay in the pulp. I am going to go three months without eating tomatoes, I m disgusted but it doesn t matter, a Spanish woman in her 20s, who wore a red T-shirt and whose hair was covered in scarlet mush, told reporters. One young man could be seen using a plastic pail to scoop up red pulp from the streets and pour it over the heads of others. Bunol city hall estimates that only one-fifth of the roughly 22,000 participants this year are from Spain. Mayor Rafael Perez said the event had become so successful by allowing anyone participating to let off steam. There are countries where maybe people have a harder time expressing their feelings, he told Spanish radio. The Japanese for example are very reserved, solemn, and transform themselves when they come here, he added. Bunol officials estimate that ten percent of the participants come from Japan. Organizers recommend revelers squish the tomatoes before throwing them the hit will be less painful -wear old clothes and use goggles to protect their eyes from the fruit s acid. Wear tight fitting bra This was the third year non-resident participants were charged 10 euros ($11.50) to take part. The town of around 10,000 people hired a private company to sell tickets in 2013 to help pay off debts and control the growing crowds who were flocking to the event. A total of 17,000 tickets were sold to foreigners with the rest given away free to locals. Before ticket sales were introduced the food fight drew over 45,000 revelers to the town. Young tourists flocked to the town for the festival on specially charted buses from Benidorm and other seaside resorts along Spain s coast, as well as from Madrid and Barcelona. One travel agency that organized a trip to the fiesta, PPtravel, recommended that girls wear (a) tight fitting sports bra and/or singlet and shorts. All passengers take a change of clothes to Bunol and plan on throwing out everything you wear to the tomato fight, it added on its website. After the tomato throwing ended, fire trucks hosed down the streets while revelers headed to public showers or jump in a local river to get cleaned up. The Tomatina started in 1945 when locals brawling in the street at a folk festival seized tomatoes from a greengrocer s stall and let loose. Officials tried to ban the event in the following years during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco-even going as far as arresting participants-but eventually came to embrace it. Spain s tourism secretary named the Tomatina a festivity of international tourist interest in 2002 because of its popularity. The Tomatina has inspired similar celebrations in Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and the United States. AFP Revelers throw tomato pulp at each other during the annual tomatina festivities in the village of Bunol, near Valencia yesterday. Some 22,000 revelers hurled 150 tones of squashed tomatoes at each other drenching the streets in red in a gigantic Spanish food fight marking the 70th annual Tomatina battle. AFP photos

The Refugee Crisis in Syria

The Refugee Crisis in Syria The Refugee Crisis in Syria Syria has become the most dangerous crisis for global peace and security since the Second World War. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres The ongoing

More information

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY MOBILE SECURITY DEPLOYMENTS

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY MOBILE SECURITY DEPLOYMENTS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY MOBILE SECURITY DEPLOYMENTS 1 DIPLOMATIC SECURITY MOBILE SECURITY DEPLOYMENTS Introduction U.S. State Department officials

More information

Sheikh Mohammed also serves as the prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Mohammed also serves as the prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai, Aug 4: Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is mourning the firefighter who died responding to the crash-landing of an Emirates airliner. Sheikh Mohammed names the firefighter as

More information

Option 1: Use the U.S. Military in Syria

Option 1: Use the U.S. Military in Syria 1 Option 1: Use the U.S. Military in Syria The Syrian Civil War has been raging for five years. Nearly four hundred thousand people have died and more than one million have been injured. More than half

More information

Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS): Pursuing excellence in security science education and research

Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS): Pursuing excellence in security science education and research Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine 2014; Volume 1 Issue (0), 5-11 5 Naif Arab University for Security Sciences Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine www.nauss.edu.sa

More information

Pocahontas, : An Important Player in Early Jamestown

Pocahontas, : An Important Player in Early Jamestown 21 January 2012 MP3 at voaspecialenglish.com Pocahontas, 1595-1617: An Important Player in Early Jamestown A painting portrays the story of Pocahontas saving the life of Captain John Smith SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

More information

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher. In 1955, he lived in Montgomery, Alabama. That year, Rosa Parks did not give up her bus seat. She was put in jail. So, King told African

More information

SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY "THE POLICY OF PRINCIPLES"

SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY THE POLICY OF PRINCIPLES SAUDI FOREIGN POLICY "THE POLICY OF PRINCIPLES" The Kingdom s Profile Located in the South West of the Asian Continent, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stretches more than two million Square Kilometers which

More information

Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr / Reda Abdel Salam Ibrahim Al Sharkia Governor

Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr / Reda Abdel Salam Ibrahim Al Sharkia Governor Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr / Reda Abdel Salam Ibrahim Al Sharkia Governor Department of Economics and Finance - Faculty of Law Qualifications Bachelor of Law with very good grade in 1992 General Diploma

More information

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY PROTECTS

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY PROTECTS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY DIPLOMATIC SECURITY PROTECTS 1 DIPLOMATIC SECURITY PROTECTS The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the security and law enforcement arm of

More information

A Very Big Branch STEP BY STEP. one worksheet to each student. the answers to the worksheet if you wish.

A Very Big Branch STEP BY STEP. one worksheet to each student. the answers to the worksheet if you wish. Teacher s Guide Time Needed: One class period Materials Needed: Student worksheets Projector / Transparencies Copy Instructions: Reading (2 pages; class set) Worksheet (2 pages; class set) A Very Big Branch

More information

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS Getting the story straight in 2015

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS Getting the story straight in 2015 REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS Getting the story straight in 2015 Photo: Anthony Upton The British Red Cross has a long tradition of supporting vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, after they flee trauma

More information

Fry Instant Words High Frequency Words

Fry Instant Words High Frequency Words Fry Instant Words High Frequency Words The Fry list of 600 words are the most frequently used words for reading and writing. The words are listed in rank order. First Hundred Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group

More information

Theme: The Growing Role of Private Security Companies in Protecting the Homeland.

Theme: The Growing Role of Private Security Companies in Protecting the Homeland. Theme: The Growing Role of Private Security Companies in Protecting the Homeland. Background on terrorist organizations: A global threat, every object is a target, infinite number of targets. Terrorist

More information

International Human Rights Day and Issues of Palestine & Kashmir

International Human Rights Day and Issues of Palestine & Kashmir PO Box: 562, F-7, Islamabad, Pakistan Phone: +92 51 2514555 Email: info@muslim-institute.org www.muslim-institute.org Round Table Discussion on International Human Rights Day and Issues of Palestine &

More information

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL UNITED HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL The United Nations Human Rights Council was created in March, 2006 and is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which was often criticized for the

More information

U.S. Coast Guard. America s Maritime Guardian

U.S. Coast Guard. America s Maritime Guardian U.S. Coast Guard America s Maritime Guardian Nov. 2009 A few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws. Alexander

More information

Female refugees face physical assault, exploitation and sexual harassment on their journey through Europe

Female refugees face physical assault, exploitation and sexual harassment on their journey through Europe ARTICLE EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA REFUGEES Female refugees face physical assault, exploitation and sexual harassment on their journey through Europe 18 January 2016, 16:41 UTC Governments and aid agencies

More information

United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Member-State Kingdom of Thailand. A. Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Thailand Overview

United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Member-State Kingdom of Thailand. A. Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Thailand Overview United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Member-State Kingdom of Thailand A. Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Thailand Overview 1. Thailand is a country of temporary refuge to approximately

More information

Fry Instant Word List

Fry Instant Word List First 100 Instant Words the had out than of by many first and words then water a but them been to not these called in what so who is all some oil you were her sit that we would now it when make find he

More information

JOINT DECLARATION: THE ROAD MAP FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION

JOINT DECLARATION: THE ROAD MAP FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION JOINT DECLARATION: THE ROAD MAP FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION During his official visit to Italy from 25 to 27 January 2016, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, and the President

More information

Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry Into the Russian Federation

Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry Into the Russian Federation Unofficial translation. Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry Into the Russian Federation Adopted on 15 August 1996 Came into force on 22

More information

Home Security: Russia s Challenges

Home Security: Russia s Challenges Home Security: Russia s Challenges A Russian Perspective Andrei Fedorov * Home security: Russia s challenges Home security and the struggle against terrorism is one of the most crucial issues for the Russian

More information

USA - A Divided Union? - African American Civil Rights

USA - A Divided Union? - African American Civil Rights USA - A Divided Union? - African American Civil Rights In 1865 slaves the Southern states of America were freed - however African Americans across America continued to face discrimination, especially in

More information

Iran - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 5 August 2011

Iran - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 5 August 2011 Iran - Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 5 August 2011 Information on internet freedom, in particular social media websites. A report issued in May 2011 by Freedom

More information

ABRIDGED SUMMARY OF CATEGORICAL USE OF FORCE INCIDENT AND FINDINGS BY THE LOS ANGELES BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING

ABRIDGED SUMMARY OF CATEGORICAL USE OF FORCE INCIDENT AND FINDINGS BY THE LOS ANGELES BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING ABRIDGED SUMMARY OF CATEGORICAL USE OF FORCE INCIDENT AND FINDINGS BY THE LOS ANGELES BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING 026-11 Division Date Duty-On (X) Off () Uniform-Yes (X) No

More information

Chapter 9: The Policies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson

Chapter 9: The Policies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson Chapter 9: The Policies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General : 5 government departments established

More information

TODAY S MIDDLE EAST Pressures & Challenges

TODAY S MIDDLE EAST Pressures & Challenges research services, llc TODAY S MIDDLE EAST Pressures & Challenges Prepared for the Sir Bani Yas Forum November 2014 Zogby Research Services, LLC Dr. James Zogby Elizabeth Zogby Sarah Hope Zogby 2014 Contents

More information

ROLE AND IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA

ROLE AND IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA 3 ROLE AND IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA As the largest democracy, India is considered a role model for a large number of developing countries. We have state and central governments elected by the people. We have

More information

No Taxation Without Representation!! Actions that led to the Revolutionary War

No Taxation Without Representation!! Actions that led to the Revolutionary War No Taxation Without Representation!! Actions that led to the Revolutionary War Raising Taxes The French and Indian War had caused the British to be in a great deal of debt. They decided to keep a standing

More information

Arrest of Hamas Activists who have Undergone Training (1995-1998) in a Military College in Iran, Designated to Serve as Future Military Commanders

Arrest of Hamas Activists who have Undergone Training (1995-1998) in a Military College in Iran, Designated to Serve as Future Military Commanders Arrest of Hamas Activists who have Undergone Training (1995-1998) in a Military College in Iran, Designated to Serve as Future Military Commanders Background Ismail Jaabari and Mohammad Halef, two Gaza-Strip

More information

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITION: FACT SHEETS

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITION: FACT SHEETS AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITION: FACT SHEETS Prepared by John Thurlow www.johnthurlow.com See two lists below The Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) 1 Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and

More information

The Rashaida:! Gypsies! of the Red Sea

The Rashaida:! Gypsies! of the Red Sea The Rashaida:! Gypsies! of the Red Sea On the border between Sudan and Eritrea, where the land meets the Red Sea. The Rashaida are nomadic, moving from place to place in search of grass for their camels.

More information

Human Trafficking and the Russian Mob

Human Trafficking and the Russian Mob Moderator: Our first presenters are Samantha Hewitt and Taylor Weber and as Dr. [inaudible] has said these were students who were in my Women in Contemporary Societies class last semester where people

More information

The Gettysburg Address. Politics and Slavery, part 7

The Gettysburg Address. Politics and Slavery, part 7 The Gettysburg Address Politics and Slavery, part 7 Abraham Lincoln gives a speech on November 19, 1863 that is shocking and surprising. The speech is called the Gettysburg Address. It happens four months

More information

Ch. 3 Section 5: Conflict in the Colonies

Ch. 3 Section 5: Conflict in the Colonies Ch. 3 Section 5: Conflict in the Colonies Great Britain Raises Taxes Great Britain had won the French and Indian War, but Parliament still had to pay for it. The British continued to keep a standing, or

More information

The Arab Society for Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine (ASFSFM): Bringing together regional and international expertise

The Arab Society for Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine (ASFSFM): Bringing together regional and international expertise Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine 2014; Volume 1 Issue (0), 17-21 17 Naif Arab University for Security Sciences Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine www.nauss.edu.sa

More information

Know Your Rights. 3 W. 29 th St. #803 3 W. 29 th St. #1030 NY, NY NY, NY 10001

Know Your Rights. 3 W. 29 th St. #803 3 W. 29 th St. #1030 NY, NY NY, NY 10001 Know Your Rights Immigrant Defense Project Families for Freedom 3 W. 29 th St. #803 3 W. 29 th St. #1030 NY, NY 10001 NY, NY 10001 Who We Are Families for Freedom (FFF) is a nonprofit network of immigrant

More information

State of the Gaza Strip s border crossings 01 30 November 2013

State of the Gaza Strip s border crossings 01 30 November 2013 State of the Gaza Strip s border crossings 01 30 November 2013 This report documents the impact of the ongoing Israel-imposed siege on Palestinian civilians, which affects their economic and social conditions.

More information

STATE, GOVERNMENT, & LEGISLATIVE INSTITUTIONS

STATE, GOVERNMENT, & LEGISLATIVE INSTITUTIONS USEFUL CONTACTS NUMBERS GENERAL INFORMATION ON KUWAIT Kuwait Information Office 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 404, Washington DC, 20037, USA Tel: (+1) (202) 338 0211 Fax: (+1) (202) 338 0957 Eml: questions@kuwait-info.org

More information

RE: No US certification of Egypt government on human rights

RE: No US certification of Egypt government on human rights 14 March 2012 RE: No US certification of Egypt government on human rights The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Dear Secretary Clinton, Amnesty International

More information

1. What is the purpose for starting another colony in North America after the

1. What is the purpose for starting another colony in North America after the Jamestowne Colony Sixteen years after the mysterious disappearance of the colonists from Roanoke Island, King James 1 of England gave a charter to the Virginia Company. The goal was to try to begin another

More information

Past tenses practice. Past tenses While, during, for Passive Prepositions in, at, on for time Adverbs.

Past tenses practice. Past tenses While, during, for Passive Prepositions in, at, on for time Adverbs. Past tenses practice Past tenses While, during, for Passive Prepositions in, at, on for time Adverbs Past Simple or Past Continuous? Choose the correct form of the verb. She read/ was reading quietly in

More information

Firearms Qualification Standards By: Detective James M. Adamcheck

Firearms Qualification Standards By: Detective James M. Adamcheck Firearms Qualification Standards By: Detective James M. Adamcheck Original Publication: The Firearms Instructor Issue #40 Ihave been debating for some time whether or not to write this article. I, as well

More information

Iranian Parliament. Topic C: Syrian Conflict Response

Iranian Parliament. Topic C: Syrian Conflict Response Iranian Parliament Topic C: Syrian Conflict Response Chair: Andrew Abtahi Moderator: Siddarth Daftary Vice Chairs: Nida Bajwa and Daniel Toubman Crisis Staffers: Coretta Lemaitre, Thomas Key April 10 13,

More information

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC 124 CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC Vladimíra Trnkócyová 56 General background Historical overview and future vision of investigation in the Slovak Republic The 2001 Accession Partnership

More information

I. Measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the security and safety of

I. Measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the security and safety of Translated from Arabic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs I. Measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and diplomatic

More information

BECOMING A WORLD POWER

BECOMING A WORLD POWER BECOMING A WORLD POWER OUR MANIFEST DESTINY 1. The United States became a leading industrial producer because of the industrial development of the late 19th century. This contributed to the nation s rise

More information

STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE EIGTHEENTH MINISTERIAL COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE) DELIVERED BY

STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE EIGTHEENTH MINISTERIAL COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE) DELIVERED BY MC.DEL/8/11 6 December 2011 ENGLISH only STATEMENT OF THE HOLY SEE AT THE EIGTHEENTH MINISTERIAL COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE) DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY ARCHBISHOP

More information

History Of the Middle East

History Of the Middle East History Of the Middle East Mesopotamia 3500 BC Mesopotamia- Between the rivers Region along the Tigris and Euphrates River where a very successful civilization lived. Center of farming and trade Developed

More information

epp european people s party

epp european people s party Protecting refugees - securing the EU s external borders - sting up action against irregular migration Adopted by the EPP Summit 23 September 2015 01 Protecting refugees - securing the EU s external borders

More information

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION PACKET

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION PACKET INTERNATIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION PACKET Table of Contents: WELCOME TO COLUMBIA Congratulations... 2 New International Student Welcome... 2 Health Insurance... 2 Housing... 3 SEVIS I20 AND F- 1 STUDENT

More information

Our action is coordinated by a team led by the Prime Minister s Office - Department for Equal Opportunities. It consists of the Ministries of Justice

Our action is coordinated by a team led by the Prime Minister s Office - Department for Equal Opportunities. It consists of the Ministries of Justice Madame Chair, First of all, let me thank the IOM and ILO for organizing this side event together with the Permanent Mission of Italy. We agreed enthusiastically to be co-host of this event, knowing that

More information

THE HIDDEN COST OF OIL

THE HIDDEN COST OF OIL THE HIDDEN COST OF OIL U.S. oil imports: $309.4 billion in 2006, over three times the 2001 level. Cost of oil-related defense expenditures: $137 billion in 2006. Loss of current economic activity outflow:

More information

How did European involvement in Southwest Asia impact the region after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire?

How did European involvement in Southwest Asia impact the region after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire? How did European involvement in Southwest Asia impact the region after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire? A. Many Europeans emigrated to Southwest Asia B. Countries in Southwest Asia modeled their governments

More information

EU COOPERATION. The Madrid bombings have provided additional impetus for action. In an 18-page declaration on counter terrorism on

EU COOPERATION. The Madrid bombings have provided additional impetus for action. In an 18-page declaration on counter terrorism on TESTIMONY BY AMBASSADOR J. COFER BLACK COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM DEPARTMENT OF STATE BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE MARCH 31, 2004 Thank you Mr. Chairman and members

More information

The Asian Event Dedicated to Homeland and Civil Security

The Asian Event Dedicated to Homeland and Civil Security The Asian Event Dedicated to Homeland and Civil Security In a market with strong needs in security matters, Asia Pacific Homeland Security responds to the expectations of governments, urban local administrations,

More information

My story, by Gabriel (chosen name)

My story, by Gabriel (chosen name) My story, by Gabriel (chosen name) I am a child from a small west African country called the Gambia. Both my parents are from the same tribe. I am from a small town where fishing is the main industry.

More information

Visa Challenges of International Students & Scholars in the US: Implications for Public Policy and Advocacy

Visa Challenges of International Students & Scholars in the US: Implications for Public Policy and Advocacy Session Number GS- 024 Presenter s/author s Name Presenter s Institution or City, State, Country Shideh Hanassab UCLA Visa Challenges of International Students & Scholars in the US: Implications for Public

More information

Chairman's Summary of the Outcomes of the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting. (Moscow, 15-16 June 2006)

Chairman's Summary of the Outcomes of the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting. (Moscow, 15-16 June 2006) Chairman's Summary of the Outcomes of the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting (Moscow, 15-16 June 2006) At their meeting in Moscow on 15-16 June 2006 the G8 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers

More information

WAITING FOR AN UNKNOWN TIME

WAITING FOR AN UNKNOWN TIME WAITING FOR AN UNKNOWN TIME Away from their home countries and from their families, the Asylum Seekers hope to be accepted by the Promised Land that they always dreamed of BY ROMINA VINCI 2 3 Kidane has

More information

The European Commission is today proposing to

The European Commission is today proposing to Turkey s progress on the visa liberalisation roadmap 4 May 2016 The European Commission is today proposing to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to lift the visa requirements

More information

Performance = Ratio of Knowledge

Performance = Ratio of Knowledge Performance = Ratio of Knowledge Introduction SG Petroleum is a company based in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has over 200 years of collective experience. The company is situated

More information

Study Abroad Scholarships

Study Abroad Scholarships Study Abroad Scholarships Contents Foreword The History of Study Abroad Scholarships in the Kingdom Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Scholarship Program for Study Abroad 5

More information

WHO PACKAGE OF SIX EVIDENCE-BASED TOBACCO CONTROL MEASURES THAT ARE PROVEN TO REDUCE TOBACCO USE AND SAVE LIVES

WHO PACKAGE OF SIX EVIDENCE-BASED TOBACCO CONTROL MEASURES THAT ARE PROVEN TO REDUCE TOBACCO USE AND SAVE LIVES About 1.2 billion smokers are currently in the world. Tobacco consumption has led to a 100 million deaths in the last century, and statistics indicate estimated to rise to 1,000 million deaths by the end

More information

Dear Billy, Dear mother,

Dear Billy, Dear mother, Dear Billy, I am writing to let you know how much I am missing you. I have some good news. I am going to be an auntie. I am so excited about finding out what my sister is having. I am very proud of you,

More information

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY IN TRINIDAD A SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS OF A SURVEY. Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY IN TRINIDAD A SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS OF A SURVEY. Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal PUBLIC OPINION ON THE MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY IN TRINIDAD A SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS OF A SURVEY Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal A Report for the Death Penalty Project and the Rights Advocacy Project

More information

A Guide to the Human Rights Act

A Guide to the Human Rights Act A Guide to the Human Rights Act A booklet for People with Learning Disabilities Human Rights Human Rights Illustrations by CHANGE Picture Bank What s inside This booklet,..................................1

More information

LETTER TO A YOUNG PUBLIC INTEREST ATTORNEY

LETTER TO A YOUNG PUBLIC INTEREST ATTORNEY LETTER TO A YOUNG PUBLIC INTEREST ATTORNEY Niels Frenzen Where to begin? I think some of my experiences as a student and a young lawyer might be of some interest and relevance to someone starting out today.

More information

U.S. Involvement In the Iran-Iraq War

U.S. Involvement In the Iran-Iraq War U.S. Involvement In the Iran-Iraq War War Background Hoping to take advantage of the chaos of the Iranian Revolution Iraq invaded Iran in Sept. 1980 under their leader Saddam Hussein Iraq was worried

More information

Submarines in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

Submarines in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 Submarines in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 There were four U.S. submarines in Pearl Harbor during the attack: USS Narwhal (SS-167) - Moored starboard side to pier No. 4, Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor,

More information

Global Arms Trade Treaty s first Conference of States Parties

Global Arms Trade Treaty s first Conference of States Parties AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS August 2015 Global Arms Trade Treaty s first Conference of States Parties After 20 years of determined lobbying and campaigning by Amnesty International and

More information

Superstars Building Fry List Fluency

Superstars Building Fry List Fluency Sight Word Superstars Building Fry List Fluency By Jennifer Bates http://finallyinfirst.blogspot.com/ How I use this program I developed this program because I noticed many of my students were still trying

More information

The American- Chinese- Saudi- Love Triangle

The American- Chinese- Saudi- Love Triangle POLICY BRIEF: The American- Chinese- Saudi- Love Triangle معهد شؤون الخليج Institute for Gulf Affairs BY: DANIEL MORILLO, SECURITY AND MILITARY POLICY ANALYST August 214 The World s Most Influential Love

More information

Grief Is Like Your Shadow

Grief Is Like Your Shadow Grief Is Like Your Shadow Back in June of 1995 is when grief and I locked horns. I remember it well. It came on me suddenly, with little warning and then draped over me like a black cloak on a man I no

More information

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) November 18, 2008 Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) Al-Quds, Hamas s second satellite TV channel, went on air on November 11,

More information

Option 1: Use the Might of the U.S. Military to End the Assad Regime

Option 1: Use the Might of the U.S. Military to End the Assad Regime 1 Option 1: Use the Might of the U.S. Military to End the Assad Regime The Syrian dictatorship s use of chemical weapons against its own people was terrible. But we must not let it overshadow the larger

More information

THE OIL MARKET, OPEC AND THE MIDDLE EAST: ECONOMICS AND POLITICS Manouchehr Takin*

THE OIL MARKET, OPEC AND THE MIDDLE EAST: ECONOMICS AND POLITICS Manouchehr Takin* Oil, Middle East, and the Global Economy USC April 2016 THE OIL MARKET, OPEC AND THE MIDDLE EAST: ECONOMICS AND POLITICS Manouchehr Takin* * International Oil & Energy Consultant E-mail: manouchehr.takin@gmail.com.

More information

Copyright 2012 Artaaj Events, Dubai, UAE, All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 Artaaj Events, Dubai, UAE, All Rights Reserved. BIG BOYS TOYS Under the Patronage of HH SHEIKH MANSOOR BIN MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM Big Boys Toys: The Ultimate Playground Drive Lifestyle Marine Digital Aviation Wellness Adventure Offroad Fashion

More information

-10- A View from the Ground: Human Security Threats to Irregular Migrants across the Mediterranean

-10- A View from the Ground: Human Security Threats to Irregular Migrants across the Mediterranean -10- A View from the Ground: Human Security Threats to Irregular Migrants across the Mediterranean Derek Lutterbeck While migrants travelling from sub-saharan Africa to Europe are often lured by a somewhat

More information

Survey Report on the Multiple-Entry Visa Policy Implementation for Iranian Students and Scholars

Survey Report on the Multiple-Entry Visa Policy Implementation for Iranian Students and Scholars Survey Report on the Multiple-Entry Visa Policy Implementation for Iranian Students and Scholars Conducted by ISGA Iranian Students and Graduates Association in the United States http://www.isga-us.org/

More information

Issue Brief Oil and Gas Resources and Transit Issues in the South China Sea. Alexander Metelitsa Economist, U.S. Energy Information Administration

Issue Brief Oil and Gas Resources and Transit Issues in the South China Sea. Alexander Metelitsa Economist, U.S. Energy Information Administration Issue Brief Oil and Gas Resources and Transit Issues in the South China Sea Alexander Metelitsa Economist, U.S. Energy Information Administration Jeffrey Kupfer 2014 Bernard Schwartz Fellow, Asia Society

More information

Statement by IDB Governor for Arab Republic of Egypt

Statement by IDB Governor for Arab Republic of Egypt Statement by IDB Governor for Arab Republic of Egypt The 39 th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors Jeddah Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 26-28 Sha baan 1435H (24-26 June 2014) Original Text Arabic Your

More information

Great Britain Raises Taxes

Great Britain Raises Taxes BUILDING BACKGROUND As the British colonies grew and became prosperous, the colonists got used to running their own lives. Britain began to seem very far away. At the same time, officials in Britain still

More information

Erbil Declaration. Regional Women s Security Forum on Resolution UNSCR 1325

Erbil Declaration. Regional Women s Security Forum on Resolution UNSCR 1325 Erbil Declaration Regional Women s Security Forum on Resolution UNSCR 1325 The Women s Security Forum on Resolution No 1325 for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region concluded its work in Erbil

More information

Assessment of the Terror Threat to Denmark

Assessment of the Terror Threat to Denmark 19 March 2015 Assessment of the Terror Threat to Denmark Summary The terrorist attacks in Copenhagen on 14 and 15 February 2015 confirm that the terror threat to Denmark is significant. There are individuals

More information

AN INTERVIEW WITH A MUSLIM CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY. Christian Freedom International JUNE 2015 JUNE 2015

AN INTERVIEW WITH A MUSLIM CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY. Christian Freedom International JUNE 2015 JUNE 2015 JUNE 2015 Remember the Persecuted... ««««Hebrews 13:3 AN INTERVIEW WITH A MUSLIM CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY These are children who are part of our child sponsorship program in Bangladesh. Our co-workers in

More information

For each OJEN criminal mock trial, there are three packages:

For each OJEN criminal mock trial, there are three packages: Criminal Law Mock Trial: R. v. Jones Scenario: R. v. Jones PAGE Scenario 1 List of participants 2 What happened? 3 The Information (charge) 4 Agreed Facts 5 Background information for witnesses 6-13 Information

More information

FINNISH IMMIGRATION SERVICE

FINNISH IMMIGRATION SERVICE FINNISH IMMIGRATION SERVICE From immigration to citizenship a leading expert, partner and service specialist www.migri.fi Organisation Director General Leading immigration expert Other authorities handling

More information

Interim Survey Results on the Profile of Persons from Syria arriving at the Greek borders

Interim Survey Results on the Profile of Persons from Syria arriving at the Greek borders Interim Survey Results on the Profile of Persons from Syria arriving at the Greek borders UNHCR Greece, June 2015 Contents A. Introduction... 2 B. Methodology... 2 C. Findings... 3 Sex and age breakdown...

More information

11.) France and the U.S. had a special. A.) independence B.) freedom C.) relationship D.) gift

11.) France and the U.S. had a special. A.) independence B.) freedom C.) relationship D.) gift 8 th Form Olympiad 2013 Round I Listening Comprehension Section 1 Directions: Listen to the story, The Statue of Liberty, and mark True (+) or False (-) next to the number. 1.) Twelve people can stand

More information

TOMPKINS COUNTY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN

TOMPKINS COUNTY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN http://www.tompkinscountyny.gov TOMPKINS COUNTY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN This plan and set of procedures define how Tompkins County will respond to threats and incidents in the workplace and

More information

The alleged crimes subsequently identified by the Prosecutor were aggression, crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.

The alleged crimes subsequently identified by the Prosecutor were aggression, crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. COMMUNICATIONS TO THE ICC REGARDING THE SITUATION IN IRAQ The question as to whether United States and United Kingdom officials or soldiers would be prosecuted for some of their actions in the Iraq war

More information

The Plight of Christians in the Middle East. Supporting Religious Freedom, Pluralism, and Tolerance During a Time of Turmoil

The Plight of Christians in the Middle East. Supporting Religious Freedom, Pluralism, and Tolerance During a Time of Turmoil AP PHOTO/HUSSEIN MALLA The Plight of Christians in the Middle East Supporting Religious Freedom, Pluralism, and Tolerance During a Time of Turmoil By Brian Katulis, Rudy deleon, and John Craig March 2015

More information

Active Shooters Time to Plan, Practice and Prepare

Active Shooters Time to Plan, Practice and Prepare Active Shooters Time to Plan, Practice and Prepare Introduction On the morning of 7 January 2015, two masked gunmen forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris

More information

The Making of a Nation: James Madison, Part 3

The Making of a Nation: James Madison, Part 3 The Making of a Nation: James Madison, Part 3 Today, we tell the story of how a British attack on Fort McHenry in the port of Baltimore led to "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's national anthem. In

More information

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland N.B. Unofficial translation. Legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish. No. 584/2015.

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland N.B. Unofficial translation. Legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish. No. 584/2015. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland N.B. Unofficial translation. Legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish No. 584/2015 Act on Ships' Medical Stores Section 1 Purpose of the Act The purpose

More information

Fees and Bank Guarantee

Fees and Bank Guarantee Fees and Bank Guarantee Ministerial Resolution No. (444) for 2006 A.D. Dated 25/6/2006 A.D. Regarding the Rules and Procedures for Fees Exemption Minister of Labour : *After reviewing Federal Law No. (1)

More information

a threat made in school

a threat made in school a threat made in school ADAM S BACKGROUND LEADING UP TO THE CRIME Adam, 15, is the youngest of four children. His parents are divorced. He lives with his mother, has regular contact with his father, and

More information