emergency number NO. 16956 32 PAGES 150 FILS Education … · can side is really striving to...

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAITEstablished in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 / RABEE’ AL THANI 12, 1440 AH emergency number 112 NO. 16956 32 PAGES 150 FILS

cricket basketball

Page 31Page 29

Euro/KD 0.3453

Yen/KD 0.0027

British £/KD 0.3840

KSE -31.75 pts at closing Dec 18See Page 23

Dow +292.84 pts at 21:15 Dec 18See Page 25

Nasdaq +90.59 pts at 21:15 Dec 18

FTSE -71.65 pts at closing Dec 18

Nikkei -391.43 pts at closing Dec 18

Gold $1,239.10 per oz (London)

US$/KDUS$/KD 0.30375/85 0.30375/85

NYMEX crude $47.47 per barrel

Brent crude $57.38 per barrel

3-month $ LIBOR rate 2.80363%

▼

■

▲

▼

▲

▼

▲

▼

▼

▼

▼

▼

Newswatch

RABAT, Morocco: Moroccan au-thorities say one person has been ar-rested in connection with the deaths of two female Scandinavian tourists in the Atlas Mountains, a popular hiking destination.

The Interior Ministry says the two women, from Denmark and Nor-way, were discovered Monday “with evidence of violence on their necks.”

Moroccan security services said Tuesday that one person had been arrested in Marrakesh in connection with the deaths. An investigation is ongoing.

The two women’s bodies were found in a remote mountainous re-gion 10 kms (6.2 miles) from the village of Imlil, which is typically is the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

PARIS: Media freedom group Re-porters Without Borders says it has recorded an increase in the number of journalists killed and imprisoned worldwide this year.

The Paris-based group said Tues-day 63 journalists died in relation to their jobs from Jan 1 to Dec 1, 2018, compared to 55 in 2017, as well as four media workers. Another 13 peo-ple it described as “non-professional journalists” — people who didn’t have offi cial press cards but who still played a role in the production of news and information — also died, while 348 were held in detention around the world.

The deadliest country for reporters in 2018 was Afghanistan, where 15 died in violent attacks such as bomb-ings. But in Iraq, no media deaths were reported in 2018, for the fi rst time since 2003. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

RIYADH: His Highness Prince Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz bin Ayyaf,

Continued on Page 8

Opinion

US Senate’s ‘diktats’ willnot succeed with Riyadh

By Ahmed Al-JarallahEditor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not a banana republic. Its sover-eignty is not a public entity for the United States Congress to transfer its internal dispute or its disagree-ment with President Donald Trump to Riyadh in order to interfere with the latter’s affairs.

This is why the message con-tained in the Saudi advisory coun-cil’s response regarding the US Congress’ heretical politics is crys-tal clear and there is no ambiguity in its interpretation, especially be-tween allies; that is, if the Ameri-can side is really striving to protect its deep and solid alliance with the Kingdom.

Away from the case of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi which is now in Saudi courts where justice is taking its natural course, it is imperative to halt attempts to forcefully bend the Kingdom by portraying it as it if is violating in-ternational laws.

In reality, the entire episode is about the internal American game of interests. If this game compels America to put pressure on its al-lies to achieve the objectives of

some individuals through members of the Congress, this issue will not lead to any productive outcome pertaining to the relationship of the two countries.

This is due to the fact that the Kingdom, as per the positions it declares in both the Arab and Mus-lim worlds, condemns the US state-ment. The Kingdom is a red line in the Arab and Muslim worlds. It cannot be overlooked under any circumstance and irrespective of the depth of the relationship be-tween the alliance and any other country.

The Congress is supposed to re-alize that Saudi Arabia is not the US backyard where it moves as it pleases. The relationship between these two countries are based on agreements, which means the emp-ty threats in the US statement re-garding Saudi Arabia have no place in the language that both countries use when addressing one another.

Email: [email protected]

Follow me on:

[email protected]

Continued on Page 8

Flynn partnertied to TurkeyWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): An ex-business part-ner of former US national se-curity adviser Michael Flynn and a businessman with ties to Turkish government offi cials have been charged with undis-closed lobbying aimed at the extradition of a Muslim cleric living in the United States.

Flynn’s former partner, Bi-jan Rafi ekian, was indicted on two criminal counts, including conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, accord-ing to a grand jury indictment unsealed on Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish-Dutch businessman, was charged for allegedly plotting with Turkish offi cials to cause the extradition of Turkish Mus-lim cleric Fethullah Gulen and for lying to the FBI about his efforts, among six total counts.

A spokesperson for Alptekin said he denied the allegations.

The charges underscored the broadening impact of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s in-vestigation, which is focused on possible collusion between Russia and US President Don-ald Trump’s 2016 election campaign but which has led to at least four spinoff probes including the case against Alptekin and Rafi ekian.

Coming on the heels of guilty pleas by former Trump cam-paign chairman Paul Manafort and political operative Samuel Patten for similar crimes, the indictments also highlight a newfound interest at the Justice Department in enforcing a law

Continued on Page 8

Riot police offi cers secure the area during a visit by French Foreign Min-ister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Biarritz, southwestern France on Dec 18. Yellow vest protesters occupied dozens of traffi c roundabouts across France even as their movement for economic justice appeared to be los-

ing momentum on the fi fth straight weekend of protests. (AP)

GENEVA, Dec 18, (Agencies): The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey said on Tuesday that a new Syr-ian Constitutional Committee should convene early next year, kicking off a viable political peace process.

In a joint statement read out by Rus-sian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the trio met UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, they said that the work of the new body “should be gov-erned by a sense of compromise and constructive engagement”.

De Mistura stayed away from their press event and was to address report-ers separately.

The foreign ministers of the three nations, who support opposing sides in Syria’s nearly eight-year-old confl ict, began talks in Geneva to seal their joint proposal and seek the United Nations’ blessing for it, they added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, asked on arrival whether he expected to reach an agreement with counterparts Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey, told reporters: “I hope so.”

Staffan de Mistura, UN Special En-voy for Syria who steps down on Dec 31, has tried since January to clinch agreement on the identity of 150 mem-bers of a new constitutional committee to revitalise a stalled peace process.

President Bashar al-Assad’s govern-ment and the opposition fi ghting to top-ple him have each submitted a list of 50 names. But Russia, Iran and Turkey have haggled over the fi nal 50 members from civil society and “independent” backgrounds, diplomats say.

“The three countries are coming with a proposal for the third list, which has been the heart of the problem,” one diplomat following the negotiations closely told Reuters.

Turkey and other nations would con-sider working with Assad if he won a democratic election, Cavusoglu said on Sunday.

Turkey supports rebels who control part of northwest Syria. A year ago, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan de-scribed Assad as a terrorist and said

Continued on Page 8

Iraq’s Parliament confi rms3 ministers, 5 seats unfi lledBAGHDAD, Dec 18, (AP): Iraq’s Parliament confi rmed three min-isters to Prime Minister Adel Ab-dul-Mahdi’s government Tuesday but left other key posts, including ministers of Defense and Interior, vacant as an impasse over the ap-pointments threatened to stretch into its third month.

The confi rmations come two days after Abdul-Mahdi’s controversial nominee to head the Interior Min-istry returned to his former posts as the chairman of the Popular Mobili-zation militias and national security adviser to the prime minister.

Falih al-Fayadh retook his seat at a National Security Council meet-ing on Sunday after he was sacked from his positions by caretaker prime minister Haidar al-Abadi in August for political behavior.

Al-Fayadh has been at the center of the deadlock surrounding Abdul-Mahdi’s appointees. His nomina-tion to run the Interior Ministry has the backing of the largest Iranian-aligned bloc in Parliament, which includes representatives of the Pop-ular Mobilization Forces.

The PMF were formed in 2014 to stop the advance of Islamic State group militants through Iraq. They include several militias funded and trained by Iran.

The political bloc of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is opposing Al-Fayadh’s appointment at the In-terior Ministry, saying it wants to limit outside infl uence in politics. Sadr’s bloc, Sa’eroun, won the largest share of seats in parliamen-tary elections last May.

Continued on Page 8

Lebanon government in daysBEIRUT, Dec 18, (RTRS): Lebanon’s leaders are on track to agree a new na-tional government in the next few days, politicians said on Tuesday, raising hopes for an end to more than seven months of wrangling that has darkened the outlook for its struggling economy.

Efforts to form the new government, led by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, have been obstructed by con-fl icting demands for cabinet seats that must be parcelled out in line with a fi nely balanced, sectarian political sys-tem.

Heavily indebted and suffering from a stagnant economy, Lebanon is in dire need of an administration that can set about long-stalled reforms to put public debt on a sustainable footing.

Continued on Page 8

Education MPs invite salary discussionConfi dentiality on fraudulent degrees queried

By Ahmed Al-NaqeebArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Chairman of the parliamenta-ry Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee MP Ouda Al-Ruwaiee has disclosed that the committee will soon invite representatives of the educational sector

to its meeting in order to discuss the proposal of Edu-cation and Higher Education Minister Hamid Moham-mad Al-Azmi to increase the salaries of assistant teach-ers and other educational support staff.

In a press conference after the committee meeting Tuesday, Al-Ru-waiee said they had earlier discussed the possibility of providing pro-tection for teachers either through the amendment of the Penal Code or

drafting a new legislation which will be determined next week.

This is in response to a parliamentary concern over the alleged legislative gap regarding teachers and their rights. However, due to differences in opinion among members, the committee decided to meet with the con-cerned offi cials to determine the extent of this legisla-tive inadequacy.

The committee also tackled the confi dential manner of responding to parliamentary queries on the fraudu-lent credentials and degrees. The committee has agreed to coordinate with the National Assembly Offi ce to ad-dress the issue, considering the minister is adamant in following the aforementioned course of action.

In another development, MP Mohamed Al-Dallaal has forwarded questions to the minister of education

KUNA photoHH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received on Tuesday at the Bayan Palace the visiting Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar. Accompanying the visiting minister to the Bayan Palace was Deputy PM and

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. — See Page 2 Continued on Page 8

Security Council mulls action for Yemen dealUNITED NATIONS, Dec 18, (Agencies): The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution that asks UN chief Antonio Guterres to submit proposals by the end of the month on how to monitor a ceasefi re agreed by Yemen’s warring parties for the key port city of Hodeida, diplomats said on Monday.

The Iranian-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-backed government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed on Thursday after a week of UN-sponsored peace talks in Swe-den to cease fi ghting in the Red Sea city and withdraw forces.

The ceasefi re begins on Tuesday in Ho-deida.

Britain circulated the draft resolution to back the deal to the 15-member Security Council on Monday. It was not clear when it would be put to a vote. A resolution needs nine votes in fa-vor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, China or Russia to pass.

The draft, seen by Reuters, asks Guterres to submit proposals on “how the United Na-tions will support the Stockholm Agreement as requested by the parties, including, but not

Continued on Page 8

Early morning commuters on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River walk to work past the New York City skyline on Dec 18 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (AP)

Russia, Iran, Turkey call for talks

Agreement on Syria constitutional body

LOCALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

2

HH the Crown Prince meeting with HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad.

Audiences of His Highness the Crown PrinceHis Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace on Tuesday His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

He also hosted Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel.His Highness the Crown Prince also received at Bayan Palace on Tuesday Nicaraguan Ambassador to Kuwait,

Mohamed Lashtar, on the occasion of assuming the post as his country’s envoy.His Highness the Crown Prince also received Canadian Ambassador Louis Emond on the occasion of assuming

the post. Sheikh Mubarak Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, the head of protocol at the Crown Prince Diwan, attended the two meetings. (KUNA)

HH the Crown Prince meeting with the Governor of CBK Dr Mohammad Al-Hashel.

HH the Crown Prince during the reception of Ambassador of Nicaragua Mohamed Lashtar.

Kuwait, China hold talks onmeans of bolstering co-op

Italian president voices satisfaction at level of ties with Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Envoy of His Highness the Amir, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, has held talks with the Vice-Premier of the State Council of the Peo-ple’s Republic of China, Han Xiang, on means of bolstering cooperation and the strategic part-nership between the two countries.

The Kuwaiti Ambassador to China, Samih Johar Hayat, said in a statement to KUNA on Tuesday that the discus-sions, held at the presidential palace in the Chinese capital Beijing on Monday, were suc-cessful, pivotal and strategic.

The two sides demonstrated deep confi dence during the meeting, Ambassador Hayat said, noting that their views were identical on various issues. Moreover, he continued, saying that they dealt with the distinc-tive and strategic relations be-tween China and Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti-Chinese talks proceeded till late hours of last night. The Chinese side held a banquet in honor of Sheikh Nasser and his entourage, fol-lowed with a broad meeting with supreme leaders.

Envoy Hayat elaborated, say-ing that the talks touched on prospects of Chinese invest-ments in Kuwait.

China, which admires the piv-otal role and strategic outlook of His Highness the Amir, consid-ers his role as crucial for peace, security and stability in the Mid-dle East.

Meanwhile, Kuwait First Dep-uty Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Tuesday sent a cable of congratulations to Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah on National Day.

Sheikh Nasser praised the deep-rooted relations between the two countries, wishing pro-gress and prosperity for Qatar, said defense ministry in a state-ment. It added that Sheikh Nasser also sent a similar cable to Min-ister of State for Defense Affairs, Major General Hamad bin Ali Al-Attiyah.

❑ ❑ ❑

Italian President Sergio Mat-trella has lauded the signifi cant growth of the distinctive ties between his country and Kuwait and voiced satisfaction at the mutual cooperation for boosting dialogue and stability and peace worldwide.

The president made the re-marks during a meeting with the State of Kuwait Ambassador to Italy, Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, late on Monday. The envoy gathered with the presi-dent, along with heads of dip-lomatic missions in Italy, at the presidential palace, to express felicitations on Christmas and new year.

The Kuwaiti embassy said in a statement that Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled conveyed greetings from His Highness the Amir and con-gratulations on the eids.

For his part, the president asked the envoy to relay his sa-lutes to His Highness the Amir, affi rming depth of the bilateral relations and expressing desire to visit Kuwait as soon as pos-sible.

In his address to the chief dip-lomats, the president said that peace and prosperity could only be attainable through dialogue on the international arena.

KUNA photo Kuwait’s Ambassador to Lebanon Abdel Al-Qenaie speaks at the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sci-

ences (KFAS) press conference.

KUNA photos HH the Crown Prince during the meeting with Ambassador of Canada Louis

Emond.

Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf during the meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Nurlan Abdrakhmanov.

KUNA photosDr Nayef Al-Hajraf during the meeting with President of the Russian Chamber of

Commerce and Industry Vladimir Platonov.

Finance minister meets Kyrgyz Deputy FMKuwaiti Minister of Finance Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf discussed on Tuesday with visiting Deputy Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Nurlan Abdrakhmanov, means of boosting bilateral economic cooperation, especially in investment opportunities.

The Ministry of Finance said in a press statement today that the meet-ing tackled the results of the fi rst session of the Joint Kyrgyz-Kuwait Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Technical Cooperation held in Kuwait last April.

The meeting also discussed the suggestion of holding the upcoming joint committee meeting in Bishkek,

capital of Kyrgyzstan by the second half of 2019, it added.

Meanwhile, Al-Hajraf met with visit-ing President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Mihailovich Platonov ways of promot-ing economic ties between both na-tions, it said.

Both sides also talked about avail-able investment partnership opportu-nities, and enhancement of bilateral ties.

This meeting comes in the frame-work of holding the ordinary session of Kuwaiti-Russian Business Council that kicked off last Sunday, and lasts today, it added (KUNA)

Visit aims at enhancing cooperation

Mongolian FM arrives in KuwaitKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Mongolian Foreign Minister Dam-din Tsogtbaatar arrived in Kuwait on Monday for an offi cial visit.

The minister is expected to meet Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

In a statement, Kuwait Ambas-sador to Mongolia Mohammad Al-Mutairi said the visit aims at enhancing cooperation between the two countries and coordinate con-sultations on various issues, includ-ing boosting diplomatic ties and tackling issues of common concern.

Ambassador Al-Mutairi added that the visit also aims at achieve-

ment sustainable development goals, expressing his deep welcome to the minister on such important visit.

Al-Mutairi noted that ties be-tween Kuwait and Mongolia are ex-ceptional, pointing out to ongoing developmental projects fi nanced by Kuwait Fund for Economic Devel-opment (KFAED) in Mongolia.

The visit is the fi rst of such kind since Tsogtbaatar assumed offi ce in October of last year.

Kuwait also is the fi rst Arab coun-try to open an embassy in Mongo-lia, while Mongolia’s embassy in Kuwait is the only diplomatic mis-sion in the Arabian Gulf.

Speaker Al-Ghanim sends congratulations

HH the Amir congratulates Niger on National DayKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent Tuesday a cable of congratulation to the President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou on the advent of his country’s National Day.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to the presi-dent of the Republic of Niger.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim sent a cable Tuesday to the Nigerian Na-tional Assembly president Ousseini Tinni on the occasion of his country’s National Day.


3

deaths

Prayer TimingsFajr ......................................................... 05:12Sunrise .................................................... 06:37Zohr ......................................................... 11:45Asr ............................................................14:35Maghrib .................................................. 16:53Isha ......................................................... 18:16

Dec 18, 2018

WeatherExpected weather for the next 24 hours:

By Day: Sunny with light to moderate south easterly wind to variable wind, with speed of 10-32 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear.

By Night: Cool with light to moderate north westerly wind to light variable wind, with speed of 08-26 km/h with a chance for fog forming over some areas.Station Max Min Rec ExpKuwait City 24 17Kuwait Airport 22 15Abdaly 23 15Bubyan – –Jahra 24 16Failaka Island 22 18Salmiyah 20 18Ahmadi 21 18Nuwaisib 24 14Wafra 23 15Salmy 24 14

4 days forecast - WeatherWednesday, Dec 19

Expected weather: ........................ Mostly sunnyMax Temp....................................................21CMin Temp.....................................................12CWind Direction .....................................NW-VRBWind Speed ..................................... 08-30 km/h

Thursday, Dec 20Expected weather: .........................Partly cloudyMax Temp....................................................24CMin Temp.....................................................11CWind Direction ....................................... SE-NWWind Speed ..................................... 12-35 km/h

Friday, Dec 21Expected weather: ........................ Mostly sunnyMax Temp....................................................21CMin Temp.....................................................13CWind Direction ....................................... SE-NWWind Speed ..................................... 12-40 km/h

Saturday, Dec 22Expected weather: ...................................SunnyMax Temp....................................................19CMin Temp.....................................................10CWind Direction ............................................. NWWind Speed ..................................... 15-40 km/h

Marine ForecastStation Max Min Sea Today’s Rec Exp Surf Waves Ht DirnSouth Dolphin - - - 4ft SEUmm Mudayrah - - - 4ft SEBeacon M28 - - - 4ft SEBeacon N6 - - - 4ft SEQaruh Island 22 19 - 4ft SE

Umm Al-Maradem 22 19 - 4ft SESea Island Buoy - - - - -Salmiyah 20 18 - 4ft SE

4 days forecast - Marine

Wednesday, Dec 19Expected weather: ........................ Mostly sunnySea state ..............................Slight to moderateWave height...............................................1-4 ftMax Temp....................................................21CMin Temp.....................................................12CWind Direction .....................................NW-VRBWind Speed ..................................... 08-30 km/h

Thursday, Dec 20Expected weather: .........................Partly cloudySea state ..............................Slight to moderateWave height...............................................2-4 ftMax Temp....................................................24CMin Temp.....................................................11CWind Direction ....................................... SE-NWWind Speed ..................................... 12-35 km/h

Friday, Dec 21 Expected weather ......................... Mostly sunnySea state ..............................Slight to moderateWave height...............................................2-5 ftMax Temp....................................................21CMin Temp.....................................................13CWind Direction ....................................... SE-NWWind Speed ..................................... 12-40 km/h

Saturday, Dec 22Expected weather: ...................................Sunny Sea state ...... Slight to moderate rough at timesWave height...............................................2-6 ftMax Temp....................................................19CMin Temp.....................................................10CWind Direction ............................................. NWWind Speed ..................................... 15-40 km/h

Tide times at Shuwaikh Port1st high tide: ............................................. 07:392nd high tide: ............................................ 20:141st low tide:............................................... 13:442nd low tide: ............................................. 03:09Sunrise: .................................................... 06:36Sunset: ..................................................... 16:53

Recorded yesterday at Kuwait AirportMax temp .....................................................23CMin temp ......................................................10CMax Rh .......................................................96%Min Rh ........................................................46%Max Wind...........................................S 32 km/hTotal Rainfall in 24 hrs .............................. 0 mm

Recorded yesterday at South DolphinMin/Max/ Air Temp ...................................... -/-CMin/Max Rel Hum ........................................-/-%Wind Direction/Wind Speed..................N/- km/hPrev Wave Dir/Max Wave Ht ...................... N/-ftMin/Max Sea Surface Temp ....................... -/- CSea Current .......................................Downdraft

— Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Meteorological Department

Ayyad Mefdi Menawer Al-Dhefairi, 81 years old, buried. Condolences: Nasseem, Block 1, Street 39, House 16, Tel. 99887737. Iman Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Bader, 35 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Qadissiya, Block 8, Muhammad Ha-bib Al-Bader Street, House 24, (Women) Sediq, Block 3, Street 303, House 15, Tel. 97221055/99085449. Badriya Ibrahim Khalil Al-Qattan, 77 years old, buried. Condo-lences: (Men) Diwaniat Al-Qattan, Bayan, entrance of 5th Ring Road, (Women) Kaifan, Block 3, Al-Khalil Bin Ahmed Street, House 9, Tel. 97727224/99809660. Zakiya Ab-dulaziz Yusuf Al-Ne’ema, 62 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Al-Baharna Mosque, De’eiya, (Women) Hussaineat Bu Shehri, Sha’ab, Block 6, Street 69, House 8. Ibrahim Abdullatif Ibrahim Al-Nesf, 69 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Abdul-lah Al-Salem, Block 1, Sana’a Street, Diwan Al-Nesf, (Women) Surra, Block 4, Street 8, House 5, Tel. 22531555/25348829. Khalid Amash Farhan Al-Ghadouri, 46 years old, buried. Condolences: Jahra, Qassr, Block 1, Street 3, House 199, Tel. 65802255. Mari-am Khamis Hamad Al-Saba’a, 73 years old, widow of Muhammad Rashed Al-Seqaihi, buried. Condolences: (Men) Sa’ad Al-Abdullah, Block 11, Street 154, House 31, (Wom-en) Sabah Al-Salem, Block 12, Street 1, Avenue 1, House 70, Tel. 66613286/66020660Fatima Ali Murad, 82 years old, widow of Baqer Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Zankawi, buried. Con-dolences: (Men) Imam Husain Mosque, Bayan, (Women) Hussaineat Um Al-Baneen, Rumaithiya, Tel. 96963963/99995986. Deia’a Yahya Al-Khedr, 49 years old, wife of Khalid Abdulwahab Al-Hamad, to be buried on Wednesday at 9.00 am. Condolences: (Men) Khaldiya, Block 3, Street 38, House 3, Opposite to Kuwait University car parks, (Women) Andalus, Block 8, Street 3, House 93.

‘Kuwait keen on developingeconomic ties with Russia’

Kuwait stresses Jerusalem be intactKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Kuwait is keen on developing economic relations with Russia, said Ali Al-Ghanim, Presi-dent of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Tuesday.

Urging the promotion of coop-eration levels, chiefl y economic one, Al-Ghanim in a press release, called for furthering visits be-tween the two sides in order to be acquainted with investment oppor-tunities in both friendly countries. Al-Ghanim’s statement came on the sideline of receiving President of the Moscow Chamber of Com-merce and Industry Vladimir Pla-tonov, who was accompanied by Ambassador to Kuwait Nikolay Makarov.

On his part, Platonov lauded Kuwait’s progress in terms of infra-structure within its ongoing endeav-or of transforming into a regional and international commercial hub.

Russia is very interested in but-tressing economic ties with Kuwait, he said, shedding light on major industries Kuwaiti investors could engage in like the car-making indus-try, which according to Platonov made a USD-100-million profit this year. He pointed to manufacturing modern medical supplies and heavy machinery.

Some 26 percent of Moscow’s GDP is backed by medium and small enterprises and it is hoped for joint Kuwaiti-Russian ventures to contribute to it in the future, he said.

Echoing earlier stances, Kuwait underscored on Tuesday that it is categorically opposed to any action or bid that could undermine the legal status of the occupied Palestinian holy city of Jerusalem.

MeetingAddressing an emergency Arab

meeting to weigh response to the recent Israeli escalation in the West bank, Kuwait’s Deputy Permanent Delegate at the Arab League Falah Al-Mutairi called on more countries to recognize Palestine as a state with East Jerusalem being its capital.

“Kuwait condemns, in the stron-gest words, the aggressive campaign launched by the Israeli occupying army, extremists and settlers against Palestinian cities, villages and refu-gee camps, particularly Ramallah,” he said.

Al-Mutairi reiterated his country’s call on the international community, mainly the UN Security Council, to provide necessary protection to the defenseless Palestinian people pursu-ant to UNSC Resolutions 605 and 904 stipulating a halt of Israeli viola-tions against Palestinians.

He vowed that Kuwait would never leave no stone unturned in order to ensure the right of the Palestinian people by means of tabling relevant draft resolutions through its non-permanent UNSC membership.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti diplomat vehemently regretted a recent Australian decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, billing it as a resonant illegal step and unequivocal breach of relevant UNSC resolutions.

He even urged the new Brazilian president to rethink about his coun-try’s decision declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving its embassy to Tel Aviv.

Al-Mutairi concluded by echoing that his country would throw weight behind all moves to be taken by today’s Arab meeting with a view to fending off the aftershocks of the latest Israeli escalation against Palestinian people.

Above: some photos from the championship.

Kuwait’s basketball wheelchair team defeated the Bahraini team 56-31 in the opening game of the 9th Gulf Championship, which kicked off on Monday evening, also featuring Saudi Arabia and the UAE and continues for six days.

The game saw a distinctive appearance of the Kuwaiti team, which controlled most of the match to end it by 25 points margin, while the Bahraini team was affected by the absence of a number of key

players.The Head of the Organizing

Committee of the Championship, Shafi Al-Hajeri stressed the keen-ness of Kuwait’s disabled sports club to organize Gulf champion-ships for people with disabilities in various games to enhance rela-tions among GCC athletes.

Al-Hajeri told reporters after the opening ceremony that the great support enjoyed by Kuwaiti disa-bled sports from the state has al-ways contributed to its excellence.

He expressed appreciation of the support of honorary Club’s president Sheikha Shaikha Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah and Director General of the Public Authority for Sport.

He pointed out that Kuwait play-ers are well prepared for the cham-pionship and they are determined to win the title for the ninth time in a row, expressing the hope that the tournament will show a high level of technical refl ect the develop-ment of the sport in GCC. (KUNA)

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sa-bah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received on Tuesday at Bayan Pal-ace His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Amir’s meet-ing spree included encounters with Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and CEO of Kuwait’s Capital Market Au-thority Dr Ahmad Al-Melhem and Kuwait Bourse Chairman Saad Al-

Mutawa.Meanwhile, on S&P Dow Jones’

classifi cation of Kuwait bourse as an “emerging” market, His High-ness the Amir hailed it as an ac-complishment that puts the national stock exchange on par with interna-tional standards.

Among those to have met His Highness the Amir include the Director General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Author-ity (KDIPA) Sheikh Dr Mishal Al-

Ahmad Al-Sabah, who was ac-companied by KDIPA’s Board of Trustees.

The KDIPA staff presented to His Highness the Amir an annual World Bank report over improving the business environment in the coun-try, an initiative that aims to lure in-vestment into the Gulf state.

The string of meetings were at-tended by Kuwait’s Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

Kuwait defeats Bahrain in Wheelchair Basketball Championship

His Highness the Amir holds meetings

HH the Amir receives HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad.

KUNA photos HH the Amir receives the Minister of Commerce and Industry and members of the Board of Directors of the Capital

Market Authority and the offi cials of Kuwait Stock Exchange and Kuwait Clearing Company.

HH the Amir receives Minister of Commerce and Industry Khalid Al-Roudhan and the Director General of the Board of Direct Investment En-couragement Sheikh Dr Mishal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and the members of the Board of Directors and members of the Standing Committee.


4

Kuwait urges Belgrade, Pristinato overcome disputes for peace

Call for stability in Afghanistan

NEW YORK, Dec 18, (KUNA): Kuwait has affirmed importance of continuous international calls upon Belgrade and Pristina to overcome their disputes and reach an agreement for sake of regional peace.

This came during a speech by the Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations, Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, before the Security Council session on Kosovo, held late on Tuesday.

In his speech, Ambassador Al-Otaibi said Kuwait realizes the right of each state to form its national institutions in accordance with its constitution and national legislation,

referring to what he described “the sensitive step” taken by the Parliament in Kosovo on Serbia.

On Sunday, Kosovo announced the transforma-tion of its existing 4,000-strong security force into a regular army. The step provoked Serbian gov-ernment, which threatened “an armed intervention.”

Al-Otaibi explained that the State of Kuwait is aware of how Serbia is concerned over the latest decisions taken by the Parliament in Kosovo, expressing hope that these decisions will not have a negative impact on the bilateral relations between the two countries and the peace process in the region.

He clarified that Kosovo’s decision does not contradict with the UN Resolution 1244, express-ing his thanks to the President of the Republic of Kosovo for his assurances that this step would not pose a threat to minorities in Kosovo and the neigh-boring countries.

He called on two sides to exercise restraint, calm and address issues of concern through dialogue, and dem-onstrate the necessary polit-ical will to ensure full nor-malization of relations between the two sides.

IssuesAl-Otaibi said Kuwait

fully supports European Union’s efforts to settle outstanding issues between Belgrade and Pristina.

He renewed full support for Zahir Tanin, the Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, praising the UN’s vital role in helping the country.

Kuwait renewed its sup-port towards achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan, said a Kuwaiti diplomat late Monday.

Delivering Kuwait’s speech during a UNSC ses-sion on the situation in Afghanistan, Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, said diplomatic efforts accom-panied by great investments in the educational sector in Afghanistan would ensure that efforts for reform would be fruitful.

The UNSC meeting comes two months after the parliamentary election in Afghanistan, said Al-Otaibi who commended the Afghan people and govern-ment on the success of the democratic process.

He added that the hold-ing of the Geneva confer-ence for the support of pro-cess in Afghanistan was a clear indication of the glob-al community’s commit-ment towards bringing peace to the country.

Achieving the dreams of the people and bolstering national welfare should overcome all political affili-ations and selfish desires, said the Kuwaiti diplomat who hoped that the upcom-ing election, in April of 2019, would spark a new hope in the hearts of all Afghan people.

KUNA photoHH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah receives Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Nasser Al-Roudhan and Director General of the Direct Investment Promotion Authority Sheikh Dr Mishal

Al-Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Board Members.

HH PM audiences

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, alongside Kuwait’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan, received on Tuesday the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners and CEO of Kuwait’s Capital Market Authority Dr Ahmad Al-Melhem.

Against the backdrop of S&P Dow Jones’ clas-

sification of Kuwait’s stock exchange as an “emerging” market, His Highness the Prime Minister also met Kuwait Bourse Chairman Saad Al-Mutawa and the Chairman of Kuwait Clearing Company Khaled Al-Khaled, in addition to the Board of Commissioners and Kuwait Bourse’s Board of Trustees. (KUNA)

KUNA photoKuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with Hungarian

Ambassador to Kuwait Istvan Gyula Soos.

Kuwait-Hungary to boost ties

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah met on Tuesday Hungarian Ambassador to Kuwait Istvan Gyula Soos.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways of strengthening bilat-eral ties between the two countries and

the latest regional and international developments.

The meeting was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister for the Deputy Foreign Minister’s office Ambassador Ayham Al-Omar. (KUNA)

KFSD holds draw for selecting traineesKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: In the presence of Deputy Director General for Human Resources and Head of the interviewing committee Major General Eng Khalid Al-Tarkait and Deputy Director General for Training Affairs at Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Eng Osama Al-Du’aij, Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) con-ducted a public draw for selecting appli-cants for the new training courses recent-ly, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

The training courses included in the draw included one on fire engineering for which 30 trainees have been selected

from the total applicants.A total of 60 applicants have been

selected for a training course on marine firefighting for firefighters of rank “Sergeant”, 75 for the training course on operating fire engines for firefighters of rank “Sergeant”, 120 for the firefighting course for fire-fighters of rank “Lance Corporal”, 47 for the training course on operating fire-fighting airport trucks for firefighters of rank “Sergeant”, and 49 applicants for fire-fighting course for fire-fighters of rank “Sergeant”, as well as 48 for fire protection and inspection course for fire-fighters of rank “Sergeant”.

A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION

DIWANIYA‘Rich, poor gap widening’

‘Injustice door to wars, chaos’“THE recent demonstrations by the ‘Yellow Vests’ which erupted in Paris and many other French cities lead us to two conclusions,” columnist Suad Fahd Al-Moajel wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“The first is that the world became just a small village in which events move and shift through a kind of mechanism with high speed in terms of its movement and impact.

“In other words, the ‘Yellow Vests’ moved at a light-ning speed from the streets of Paris to the streets, quar-ters and lanes of Basra in Iraq because both the moves look similar, particularly in terms of protest demands, structure and shape.

“While the second conclusion shows the imbalance in the social justice and this imbalance is actually always the first factor behind any revolu-tion, rebellion, demonstration or move.

“In France, it looks like the heritage of the French Revolution which was seemingly resurrected by the ‘Youth Power’ throughout the world where the slogans demanded freedom and social justice. These slogans are the same that dominated the streets, quarters, the squares and the wor-ship places during the Arab Spring.

“We see these slogans returning during the winter in Europe which kicked off in the French capital, Paris, and stretched to more than one European capital.

“Today, in a world that is mostly ruled by fierce eco-nomic and financial firms ‘greed’ written all their faces, social justice seems to be absent … and the simple demands are branded ‘rebellion, anarchy and a danger against the coherence of the community and stability’ and this is what exactly happened during the Arab Spring revolutions when the demonstrators called for reform, end to powers of corruption and demanded complete social justice.

“But these revolutions, were cordoned, divided and buried by the counter powers and some of the latter started falsely adopting the slogan of social justice and introduce the concept of logic to counter the slo-gan.

“However, today containing or oppressing any move or revolution definitely isn’t an easy issue. In other words, as long as the revolutions of the Arab springs were launched via the Facebook platform and through other social media means, we have observed that the ‘Yellow Vests’ movement was been also launched through the social media to counter the fuel price rise.

“But in the wake of this we saw how the ceiling of demands was raised to include the absence of social equality, and the ever widening gap between the poor and the rich, the decrease in purchasing power and the increase in tax.

“Not only that, we saw how the ceiling further soared with more joining the Yellow Vests protests to bring down the government. As a matter of fact, the Yellow Vests protesters represent groups of demon-strators of different types and coming from various geographical with some of them students, others job-less and retirees, and some of them belong to the extremist rightist parties, others belong to the extrem-ist leftist parties.

“The Yellow Vests is neither led by a specific lead-ership nor have a specific media platform to launch their demands and protests, rather they are united in the absence of social justice and the widening gap between those who ‘have’ and those who ‘don’t have’.

“The gap which currently prevails throughout the world looks scary because many people continue to live in hunger, fear, and so on; those who are fully satisfied and have plenty are a minority in the world.

“However, in the past, those who were talking about the social justice were punished by most of the coun-tries throughout the world such as the ‘communists’, but today Russia is more capitalistic than America itself and this shall make us realize that social justice represents something innate that exists with every human being, hence, if this justice is absent, the wars, revolutions and protests will become the order of the day everywhere.”

Also:“France is living these days in a crisis of confidence

between the government and the street, this lack of con-fidence appeared in the form of protests by people wear-ing ‘Yellow Vests’,” columnist and attorney Riyadh Al-Sanea wrote for Annahar daily.

“These protests, were launched for the sake of demanding tax reforms because it constituted a burden on the shoulders of the French citizens, but it seems the protests are now threatening the entire French govern-ment and the French President Emmanuel Macron to such an extent it currently constitutes a threat that is likely to bring down the republic and establish a new one.

“France has passed through consecutive crises let alone the popular demands are no longer commensurate with such economic and financial projects adopted by the French government.

“But the question here is, from where such a non-partisan and non-unionist movement had come so as to affect the French street in such a manner?

“However, the Yellow Vests activists are in agree-ment that Priscilla Lodoski, has played a prominent role in the appearance of this movement. This woman man-ages a small commercial store in the village of Savini Lotompell near Paris.

“On May 29, 2018 she petitioned the French authori-ties via the Facebook highlighting the torment of the French people of limited income and owners of small establishments who felt suffocated by the rising fuel prices.

“Immediately or rather very swiftly, the echo of this petition resonated and was met with a positive reaction by the French through the social media and those who shared the sentiments of Lodoski exceeded one mil-lion.

“Meanwhile, we say in the context of her petition, Lodoski attached a series of a scientific proposals from those who can help the French government to adopt an initiative that shall take into account the social consid-erations and the situations of the people of limited income on one hand and the environmental consider-ations that may entail to reducing the dependence on the polluting energy resources on the other.

“But according to Arab Sky News, the petition in question rather fell on the deaf ears of the government and this was the spark that encouraged the ‘Yellow Vests’ to protest in such massive demonstrations in downtown Paris and other French cities.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“What we witnessed on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, in the heart of the French capital Paris in the form of demonstrations against the increase in fuel prices and opposition to the tax system which ended in clashes with police and securitymen that led to torching of cars and burning tyres, is only a ‘foreign’ plan to pun-ish the current French President Emmanuel Macron,

who has championed the call for a European army,” columnist Hisham Al-Diwan wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“The conversion of Macron’s proposal would elimi-nate the need for Europe to remain at the mercy of Washington on the one hand, and in the case of unwar-ranted hostility, confrontation or provocation with Russia and now China.

“After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States remained the individual power that leads the world and dictates its will on all. The supreme authority exercised by the United States to devote its hegemony in the world to serve its economy.

“This comes at a high price since the US imposes its protection on Europe, which includes a group of devel-oped gigantic industrial, scientific and technical compa-nies which remain vulnerable to detection, surveillance and espionage.

“The news leaked by WikiLeaks, is self-evident, will not be surprising to anyone, as the United States is in fact an arm of the commercial, financial and industrial system managed by the Jewish International Organization and the Zionist lobby that rules the world.

“What took place in Paris and in some major French cities – following demands to abolish taxes and freeze the fuel price, the French authorities decided to deploy nearly 90,000 securitymen to counter the unrest that it said was aimed at toppling the regime.

“It is a radical mess directed at specific targets and not a reaction to the internal government policy. Even the process of removing German Chancellor Angela Merkel is only a translation of the decisions of the American administration, which rejects the logic of European unity and will lead to the dismantling of Europe.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“Sometimes I have questions about why I focus on many articles I write about corruption and the need to fight this menace and why politicians to not respond to my queries, as if the country has deviated from other important issues that we must write about,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Annahar daily.

“The answer is that unequivocally I believe that political corruption and the resulting economic and social corruption are the main factors in the destruction of nations and the destruction of societies forever, and that the more cases of corruption, the higher the rates of social discontent.

“The rates of economic growth, especially with the decline in oil prices, which is our main and only source of income, we see the war of words raging between the superpowers after the rise of the extreme right in Europe and the victory of US President Donald Trump and the spread of his fascist policies.

“Corruption, which makes people disdain and lose the confidence of citizens in the state system in the presence of justice in the country, is more dangerous to nations and societies than foreign wars. We have been able, by God’s grace, to cross the darkest crisis in our history: the brutal Iraqi invasion of the coun-try.

“But corruption – which I fear has reached an insur-mountable stage in our days – has spread in Kuwait to the point where it ranks 85 out of 180 countries in the Global Transparency Index, the worst Kuwait has reached since 2003.

“Finally, what is happening in the world today, espe-cially in the old democratic countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands, in the form of protests by the ‘Yellow Vests’ against economic corruption and poor living conditions is an indication that not fighting corruption, even in the most ancient democracies may lead to the undesirable consequences.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The Council of Ministers took the right decision when it instructed the Economic Affairs Committee to summon officials in government agencies who did not implement the electronic services system to better serve the public as it will expedite the completion of transac-tions, overcome obstacles and hold accountable those proven to have committed violations,” columnist Mohammad Hazza al-Mutairi wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“This is the right decision although it came late, par-ticularly since some countries applied systems that sur-passed the electronic ones and became ‘smart’ while we continue to suffer from tedious routine and disturbing bureaucracy in many agencies of the State. This con-tributed to the spread of bribery and nepotism in a frightening manner.

“Yes, it is better late than never. We appeal to the government and encourage it to quickly solve the issue and to support the transformation that our country needs, especially as we come to a ‘new Kuwait’ which cannot be consistent with what is happening today in light of the manifestations of administrative corruption – delay in the automated linking of government agen-cies and electronic systems.

“The fight against corruption is not limited to the pursuit of the corrupt and thieves – whether in minis-tries, bodies, companies or work places. They are part of the circle of corruption and the State should be com-mended for declaring war against them.

“It is necessary to ensure the application of laws, enforcement of sanctions and follow up of the imple-mentation of decisions through the submission of peri-odic reports.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The public security sector is one of the main pillars of the Ministry of Interior. Perhaps the importance of this sector lies in its connection to the citizens and resi-dents through the police stations and security centers in the country,” columnist Mohammad Al-Jalamah wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“Everyone looks at this sector not only because of the efforts exerted by this sector to serve the country, but also because of the presence of securitymen to solve the problems of citizens and expatriates directly and their presence in residential areas around the clock to provide security.

“Those who were in charge of this sector, have already earned the praise and become popular in the eyes of everyone, people such Al-Muhanna, Abdul-Fattah Al-Ali and Ibrahim Al-Tarrah, who have worked hard and planted love in the hearts of the citizens and residents through their dedication to work.

“We believed a vacuum would dominate this sector with the departure of Abdul-Fattah Al Ali, but these fears quickly disappeared following the arrival of Major General Al-Tarrah who continues to address all the disturbing phenomena in the society with continued vigilance and efforts to serve the homeland – its secu-rity and safety.

“I wish you success for all efforts exerted by the securitymen in serving the nation. I also wish the Minister of the Interior will appoint Major General Al-Tarrah as a consultant to benefit from his consider-able security experience and his efficiency.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb

Suad F. Al-Moajel


5

‘Pets keeping businessesare fl ourishing in Kuwait’

Record hike in commercial activity associated with this trend

Photos from the event

Cubical Services, one-stop business incubator

GUST’s GFC welcomes industry experts todeliver pre-incubation module to studentsKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Gulf Uni-versity for Science and Technol-ogy’s (GUST) Gulf Financial Center (GFC) hosted industry experts to deliver a pre-incubation module to GUST 440 Practicum students. The module titled “Writing Busi-ness Plan-Financials” was scheduled every Monday and Wednesday from Oct 29 to Nov 7, 2018. The instruc-tors facilitating the sessions came from Cubical Services Business In-cubator, a Kuwaiti-based company founded in 2009 with experience in a range of fi elds including entre-preneurship and fi nance. Cubical Services has worked with close to 1,000 entrepreneurs and on over 600 projects with startups in numerous industries.

Being a social enterprise, Cubical Services is also Kuwait’s fi rst of-fi cially licensed, one-stop business incubator, and was also the fi rst to be qualifi ed by the National Fund. Cubical Services strives to actively encourage current and potential en-trepreneurs to successfully execute their business ambitions by offering all-inclusive services and support in every part of an entrepreneurs’ busi-ness cycle to create a healthy ecosys-tem where entrepreneurs can fulfi ll their business potential in order to enrich the Kuwaiti economy and el-evate its talents regionally and inter-nationally.

The instructors come from diverse backgrounds related to entrepreneur-ship such as investment, marketing, economics, and fi nance.The session began with an introduction by May-soon Al-Attar, the Vice President of

the Marketing & Sales Department with previous experience working for marketing agencies and interna-tional youth organizations locally and internationally. Al-Attar opened the sessions with engaging ice-breakers, and relevant information about defi ning a business incubator, what Cubical Services does and what it’s purpose is.

The session was then taken for-ward by the CEO and Founding Partner of Cubical Services, Abdul-rahman Al-Fawaz, who covered top-ics such as sources of start-up fund-ing locally and internationally, credit ratings, pricing, and cash-fl ow budg-ets. Al-Fawaz developed the concept of the company and has overseen its operations since inception.

FeasibilityAl-Fawaz comes from a private

equity and fi nance background and has served on board of numerous subsidiary & sister companies in the investment, logistics, real estate and industrial sectors. He has extensive experience in analyzing feasibility studies, business planning and op-erational control.

CEO and Founding Partner of Cubical Services, Abdulrahman Al-Fawaz, said: “The students were so appreciative of the practical learn-ing opportunity in entrepreneurship to support their theoretical knowl-edge, and this was evidence in itself of how ambitious they are, and how much potential they have. It was also great to have discussions with them at such early stages for what may come when they are out in the “real-

world” when they start their SME’s. We are looking forward to growing future collaborations with GUST and their students!”

The session closed off with Fay Al-Zouman, the Entrepreneurship Programs Divisions Business Devel-opment Offi cer, who introduced Cu-bical Services CSR Program, and the Fikra Program; a 6-month training program that takes on 15 business ideas, gives them all the appropriate tools, knowledge, mentoring, net-working opportunities and more, to ensure that they are ready to operate successfully.

The following sessions were hefty with content and interactive for stu-dents with hands on material and practice, delivered by Cubical Ser-vices SME Division Manager, Salem Al-Mutawa who covered topics such as preparing basic fi nancial state-ments; Identifying types of expenses for startups; and identify the break-even point for the business.

Director of the Gulf Financial Center and Associate Professor of Economics, Dr Fida Karam, said “The GFC is proud to have collabo-rated with such a highly regarded en-tity in the local market to support our students and provide them with the right tools and hands-on experience to establish their business.”

The GFC continuously works on collaborating with local and interna-tional experts to create mentorship and apprenticeship opportunities for GUST students, as well as provide them the opportunity to gain valu-able information from experienced individuals and industry leaders.

By Fay Al SaeedKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Acquiring pets by young people in Kuwait to raise and take them out in public has become a trend that has been spreading fast recently, thus con-tributing to a re-cord increase in the commercial activity associated with this trend.

Accordingly, the Min-istry of Commerce and Industry issued a decree that included new 60 licenses, one of them stipulating establishment a pets welfare house, in May 2018.

Meanwhile, animal trade in Kuwait has boomed, amid mush-rooming dog and cat ac-cessories stores, private hospitals, pet care cent-ers, even hotel services and coffee shops.

“The country witnessed a signifi cant increase in the number of dogs and cats imported from abroad during the past fi ve years,” said Waleed Al-Oud, Monitor of Epi-demic at the Department of Animal Health in the Public Authority for Ag-riculture Affairs and Fish resources.

Al-Oud told KUNA that the number of dogs imported from abroad rose from 478 in 2012 to 1,515 in the end of 2017, while the fi gure of cats in-creased from 475 to 574 during the same period.

He added that carrying out therapeutic services for these animals was as-signed to the private sec-tor only, as the Authority does not provide this kind of therapy, unless in cases of spreading epidemics and infectious diseases that threaten the commu-nity.

He stressed that the Au-thority has a clear plan to combat the “phenomenon of stray dogs,” especially that it receives daily more than 20 complaints, mak-ing this issue as one of the challenges facing it.

ExistenceThe Kuwaiti offi cial

pointed out to the exist-ence of a law on animal welfare, with its Ex-ecutive Regulations ap-proved in 2015, which criminalize the abuse of animals through the ap-plication of fi nancial fi ne, and could even reach a verdict to send people to prison, adding that the Environmental Police is working on implementing this law.

For his part, Vet Dr Obeid Al-Azmi told KUNA that the country has witnessed a signifi-cant increase in the num-ber of veterinary clinics specializing in dogs and cats during the past few years due to the increas-ing number of its own-ers.

He added that the dis-eases of these animals spread during periods of change of weather, spe-cifi cally in the months of March, April, September and October, pointing out that the most prevalent diseases at present time is the Parvo Virus, Ticks Vi-rus for dogs, and the calic Virus for cats.

Dr Al-Azmi provided many advices to the own-ers of pets, the most im-portant of which are to give them four vaccina-tions to immunize against a number of diseases and viruses such as Parvo Vi-rus and Distemper Virus for dogs and three vac-cinations for cats such as Herpes Virus and Calic Virus, in addition to con-ducting a periodic exami-nation against Fungi.

Petty activities have also spawned to the adoption of stray dogs and cats, where Nathalie Veys, a German National,

runs a dog shelter in Ku-wait, where she collects stray dogs after receiving at least 50 calls a day.

She said she was gath-ering dogs and initially sterilizes, vaccinates and trains them to be able to live with a family again after completing their assessment. The shelter (adopt a street princess) was opened in 2015.

Most of the adoptions are carried out with fami-lies outside the country. The dogs are sent after training and rehabilitation to Germany, indicating that the process of send-ing them abroad takes about four months.

In a special care cent-er, Samantha Portocar-rero, an expert in creative grooming for dogs and cats, said that the center provided a new service for the fi rst time in Ku-wait, in addition to other services such as nail care and creative grooming per the Asian style.

The expert from Nica-ragua in Latin America said her passion for pets has prompted her to work with experts groomers on dogs and cats over the past three years, includ-ing Costa Rican Nicole Rodin, Japan’s Keiko Sa-saki, Chinese Laili Ash-hadi, and Brazil’s Felippe Correa.

CommonThe most common

breeds of dogs treated by the center are the York-shire, the Pomeranian from the small dog cat-egories, as well as the Shepherd, the Labrador and the Golden Retriever from the big dog catego-ries.

Portocarrero provided a number of tips for dog and cat owners, the most important of which is that the center should be visited twice a month for long-haired dogs and once for the short hair, as well as brushing twice

a day to avoid the accu-mulation of fur masses to have satisfactory effects on them, while cats must be cleaned every 15 days.

The International Vet-erinary Hospital in Ku-wait, which opened in 2002, is specialized in dogs and cats. It provides veterinary services, retail services for their supplies, as well as a photography studio and a care center.

The hospital includes intensive care rooms, X-rays, four rooms dedi-cated to their laundry and care, as well as a compre-hensive medical labora-tory and seven special-ized doctors from around the world. The hotel services provided by the center include daily, weekly and monthly care services, 165 rooms for dogs and 65 other rooms for cats.

Pet supplies stores have also recently been opened, including Pet Zone, which opened in 2010 as a spe-

cialized store selling dog, cat, bird and fi sh supplies.

The increase in demand for these items has con-tributed to the expansion of the store since 2016, with several branches opening in the country, as well as outside Kuwait in the Gulf countries.

Coffee shops special-izing in dogs and cats are one of the most im-portant activities in this area. Luna & Beau, which opened in September 2018, is one of the best examples of a cafe, a bak-ery, a convenience store and a private dog park.

The coffee shop, with the name inspired by the owner’s dogs Luna and Beau, offers daycare ser-vices, consultations and training by specialists and experts.

With all that, it be-comes common in Kuwait to see many people walk-ing with their dogs on the Arabian Gulf Marina Walk.

KUNA photosCoffee shop specializing in dogs and cats

Pet Zone

Funds Recovery will be through court, not company

Over 400 Kuwaitis seeking rightsfrom bankrupt Turkish companyKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: The Rappor-teur of the Coordination Committee that was formed to claim the rights of own-ers in the Turkish residential project Al-Babaz Tower, Rakan Al-Subaie said the committee has exerted tremendous efforts to restore the rights of about 400 Kuwaitis and residents who were af-fected by a ruling issued by the Turkish judiciary declaring the company bank-rupt, reports Al-Anba daily.

During a meeting which was held Monday evening in the presence of Turkish lawyer Dr Mohammed Akef Jan said the committee coordinates with the Turkish authorities to prove the rights and shares of the citizens in the project through legal means, and called on those affected by the court ruling to be patient and cooperate with the com-mittee and the lawyer who is handling the issue currently under way in Turk-ish courts.

For his part, lawyer Akef stressed on the interest of Turkish authorities to en-sure the rights of those affected and its keenness to complete the project even if the loss exceeds 10 million lira.

He added, the bankruptcy of the com-pany has moved the project fi le to the custody of the judiciary and thus any legal action to ensure the rights of Ku-waitis and their recovery of their funds will be through the court, not the com-pany.

He pointed out, there are about 54 Kuwaitis who have assigned him to de-fend them.

He explained that the procedures of the case are represented by the court re-ceiving the requests of the affected per-sons within three months, which is the period that actually began a month ago.

Rakan Al-Subaie and Turkish lawyer Dr Mohammed Akef during the meeting.

‘Non-payment of bills on time’

Some cooperative societies witnessing scarcity of eggs KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Some co-operative societies have recently wit-nessed a scarcity of eggs, compared to earlier times for various reasons, which have contributed to a slight increase in prices in parallel markets, reports Al-Qabas daily.

By contrast, eggs were regularly available in other cooperatives with no change in the consumer’s consumption particularly those living in residential areas who also had access to parallel markets where eggs were available in abundance.

According to informed sources, the lack of supply of eggs in some coopera-tives, especially the branches, is caused by non-payment of bills on time to poultry companies.

It is said the bills have to be paid in time to the supply companies if supply is to be ensured regularly and on a daily basis.

The sources added the delay in pay-ment has led to pumping of additional quantities of eggs in the commercial markets, as well as exporting the eggs to neighboring countries because of the guarantee of immediate payment of

bills and without any delay.The sources pointed out the coopera-

tives pay a quarter of the monthly bill to eggs supplying company and this in-creases the volume of debt compared to the daily supply.

In a related context, the head of the Federation of Consumer Cooperative Societies Khaled Al-Hudaiban con-fi rmed the existence of periodic follow-up by the Union for all consumer items supplied to cooperatives and branches.

He added no complaints have been received from any party or sharehold-ers about lack of food products on the shelves of the cooperatives.

Al-Hudaiban told the daily if the fed-eration receives any complaints in this regard, action is taken by the competent committees.

However, he spoke of irregularities and price exaggeration by some compa-nies supplying the goods.

He pointed out the scarcity of any types of goods is due to different rea-sons, including non-payment of corpo-rate dues on time, as well as fi nancial diffi culties faced by some coopera-tives.

‘Arab media set for overhaul’KUWAIT CITY DEC 18: Kuwait’s Information Minister Mohammad Al-Jabri said on Tuesday that Arab media is on the cusp of a transformative pe-riod, against the backdrop of Saudi Ara-bia’s capital Riyadh being named as the “Capital of Arab Media 2018.”

Saudi Arabia possesses all of the at-tributes needed to turn any endeavor it

pursues into a success story, the Ku-waiti minister told KUNA after attend-ing celebrations marking the distinc-tion.

He went on to say that the camarade-rie between Kuwait and its larger neigh-bor epitomizes proper international re-lations, wishing the kingdom continued prosperity and success.


6

Public Works asks for additional budget: Acting Undersecretary of the Public Works Ministry Eng Khalid Al-Khazi has unveiled the ministry’s plan to ask its finance counterpart to allocate an additional budget for addressing the flying gravel issue; pointing out the minis-try will tackle the problem by developing streets and roads in coordination with the Central System for Examination, laboratories and other concerned authorities, reports Al-Anba daily.

Speaking to the daily, he affirmed the fact-finding com-mittee continues its investigation of authorities concerned with the consequences of heavy rains that the country witnessed earlier.

❑ ❑ ❑

KPC new board formation: The Cabinet intends to submit the draft Amiri decree on the formation of the new board of directors of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) provided Deputy Board Chairman Hashim Hashim assumes the chief executive officer (CEO) post, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

Observers pointed out that those who dealt with Hashim -- the former CEO of Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) -- consider him a distin-guished oil leader. They said he resigned from KIPIC he disagreed with the steps taken by the company as such steps do not match his viewpoints and oil sector policies.

Meanwhile, Al-Anba daily has quoted reliable oil sources as saying that Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) final-ized a contract worth KD5.7 million with Kuwait Drilling Company.

Sources disclosed KOC has been drilling and develop-ing oil wells since 1965; indicating the corporation has so far drilled more than 2,500 oil wells in the country in addi-tion to the joint operation zones between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in Khafji and Wafra.

❑ ❑ ❑

Shuail to release mini album: Famous artiste Nabeel Shuail, also known as Singer of the Gulf, has disclosed details about his mini album, “Farq Al-Sama,” which was released two days ago; stating the album consists of six carefully chosen songs, reports Alrai daily.

Speaking to the daily, Shuail disclosed he assiduously worked on the album for five months during which he had intense sessions with lyricists and composers.

News in Brief

Asbestos-containing beauty productsbanned from Kuwait and GCC: offi cial

Kuwait laws match int’l trade law

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Beauty prod-ucts containing cancer-causing asbestos are banned under offi cial Kuwaiti and Gulf Coopera-tion Council safety standards, a Kuwaiti Health Ministry offi cial underlined on Monday. Assistant Undersecretary for pharmaceutical and nutrition control Abdullah Al-Bader made the remarks in

response to social media claims that talcum pow-der products contain the dangerous substance.

The ministry’s department of pharmaceutical and agricul-tural registration and control ensures the safety of talc products on the market having conducted in an in-depth study into their contents, he said.

The department’s experts have also assessed laboratory analysis certifi cation from the manufacturing companies revealing that these products are free from the substance.

The offi cial mentioned a similar study by the US Food and Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) published on its offi cial website on products, including John-son and Johnson’s baby powder, which came to the same conclusion.

The ministry is in constant contact with global and regional bodies regarding the safety standards of pharmaceutical prod-ucts in their beauty or medicinal varieties, he went on to highlight.

The offi cial also urged accuracy through obtain-ing information from of-fi cial sources.

Meanwhile, Kuwait has worked out many laws and regulations that cope with model interna-tional trade law, Advisor at Kuwait’s Department of Fatwa and Legislation Rashed Al-Enezi said on Tuesday.

RemarkHe made the remark to

KUNA on the sidelines of participation in the 34th session of the Unit-ed Nations Commission on International Trade Law (Uncitral) Working Group VI, held in Vien-na, Austria.

The fi ve-day meet-ing discusses preparing a practical guide of the model international trade law, involving secured deals and contractual matters, he added.

Al-Enezi stressed the importance of such meetings in exchanging expertise with participat-ing countries, as well as their contributions to the development of econom-ic regulations in Kuwait, in accordance with the country’s developmental plan to turn Kuwait into an international fi nancial and trade center.

He expressed hope that Kuwait’s Unicitral mem-bership, which expires by the end of 2018, would be extended.

Uncitral includes 60 countries among them three Arab nations, name-ly: Kuwait, Algeria, and Jordan, and is considered the principal legal body of the United Nations system in the fi eld of in-ternational trade law.

Photos from the workshop

Gifted Care Program organizes workshopGifted Care Program, in coopera-tion with Contemporary Art Platform (CAP), organized a workshop on paint-ing and graphics under the patronage of Assistant Dean for Students Affairs at the College of Administrative Sci-ences Dr Naif Al-Shemmari and the

sponsorship of National Bank of Ku-wait.

Painter Omar Al-Farouq Abdulaziz from CAP conducted the workshop, which was aimed at teaching talented students the basics of drawing including the use of light and shadow.

KUNA photoSenior offi cials at the 14th meeting of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of

the Gulf Cooperation Council.

‘Hope talks yield positive results’

GCC Red Crescent Societies’ senioroffi cials assemble over core issuesKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18, (KUNA): Senior offi cials from Red Crescent societies across the Arab Gulf region came together on Tuesday for talks over core issues concern-ing the charities’ agendas.

The meeting, held this year at the head-quarters of Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), has proven instrumental in pushing forward a number of humanitarian endeav-ors over the years, said the Kuwaiti charity’s deputy chairman Anwar Al-Hasawi.

One of the meeting’s main objectives is to

make sure that Red Crescent Societies in the region work as a cohesive unit in addressing humanitarian disasters all over the world, he added.

He hoped that the talks would yield posi-tive results for the sake of humanity.

Attaching equal importance to the meet-ing, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) health director Mehsen Al-Dosari pointed out that Red Crescent societies in the region never failed to deliver much needed aid to the victims of humanitarian disasters.


7

Other Voices

Is conflict nearing end?By Yousef Awadh Al-Azmi

“War is a systematic barbarism despite efforts to mask it,” French statesman and military leader Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821).

❑ ❑ ❑

In a surprising step by all standards, the world received news about

President of the Republic of Sudan Omar Al-Bashir’s arrival in Damascus – the capital of Syria – w h e r e President of Syria Bashar Al-Assad wel-comed him at D a m a s c u s International Airport.

This is the first announced visit of an Arab leader since the start of crisis in Syria in 2011.

The importance of this visit lies in several factors, among them breaking the isolation ice which cocooned the Syrian regime throughout the crisis years, although the isolation started a year ago when we began witnessing Syrian national football teams participating in various Arab events, especially in the Gulf countries, in addition to reopening its embassies in different nations and the opening of its border with Jordan which broke a major part of the isolation.

Apparently, the conviction of coun-tries, especially the Arab countries, to isolate Syria has significantly changed. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that the conflict extended for a long time giving the regime a favorable status, let alone the support it receives in its war from Russia, Iran, China and other countries, and the reduced support given to resis-tant groups fighting against the regime.

Nonetheless, I believe the visit of the Sudanese President to Syria marks the start of visits by heads of states and officials to Damascus. This will restore activity at Damascus International Airport after getting used to receiving only the regime’s allies since the start

of the conflict.Without a doubt, this presidential

visit is a pragmatic decision taken by the Sudanese president, considering the voice which currently dominates in Syria is that of the regime due to the failure of the revolution whose partici-pants ended up fighting against each other. This gave the regime a chance to succeed in its efforts to gain control over all the land controlled by rebels and the emergence of organizations like ‘DAESH’ which prompted the international community to rethink its position on Syria and its leadership.

In fact, the international community does not deal with each other based on emotions. Instead, the one who gets attention is the one who is in charge of the situation and able to fulfill obliga-tions towards the global community. All these characteristics fit the Syrian regime, especially since it has managed to gain control over most Syrian territo-ries to become the dominant player in the conflict.

On the Syrian opposition, its ability to fulfill its commitments and obliga-tions shrunk, particularly after it was infiltrated and became divided up to the extent of becoming weak and a tool for known regional powers.

We should not be surprised if we see the rise of visits to Syria by heads of states or senior officials representing regional and even global major powers. Perhaps, the visit of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to Syria signals the near end of the conflict, as well as vari-ous conflicts which the region has been witnessing for the past few years. The Syrian regime would have indirectly benefited from these conflicts and enabled it to end this ‘Arab Spring,’ or rather, the ‘Arab autumn’.

In the Levant, there is a popular adage: “Tomorrow the snow will thaw and the meadow will appear.” This is happening in Syria, where everyone is waiting for the day when peace, secu-rity and stability will emerge, just like how the meadow emerged from the melting snow.

❑ ❑ ❑

Twitter@alzmi1969

Al-Azmi

A display of old Kuwait at Al-Shaheed Park compared with Kuwait city skyline. (Maysoon Al-Fares – KUNA)

Patrol cars seen moving zigzag ispart of security procedures: MoI

Kuwaitis duped by real estate cheats for KD 20 million

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Patrol cars seen moving in zigzag on roads is part of securi-ty procedures to allow patrolmen to reach the scene of broken-down vehicles in time in order to deal with inci-dents and prevent trag-edy, reports Al-Seyas-sah daily quoting General Department for Public Relations and Information Secur-ity at the Ministry of Interior.

In response to a recent video circulated on social media showing a patrol car moving in zigzag on an expressway, Public Relations and Information Security Department of the Interior Ministry affirmed that the action is meant for drawing the attention of road users during emergency situation and to make way for official convoys.

The department disclosed activating Articles 2/41- 4/41 of Traffic Law concerning the rec-onciliation order for minor acci-dents wherein the culprit pays KD 20 delivery fee to the insur-ance company for the victim to receive compensation without necessarily referring the issue to court, and if the two parties are unable to reach a compromise and decide to wait for the police, they must remove their vehicles to the right shoulder of the road or the nearest safest spot to avoid obstructing flow of traf-fic. Otherwise, violations will be issued against the two parties for disrupting the traffic.

❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwaitis duped: After inves-tigating the case, the Public Funds Prosecution has issued a decision to put two business-men behind bars for 21 days at the Central Prison until the case comes for hearing after accus-ing them of selling ‘fake’ real estate, reports Al-Qabas daily.

A source said the Prosecution considers the seriousness of this case because several Kuwaitis have been duped. The Prosecution said such fraud cannot be tolerated either inside

MoI photoThe imported Zubaidi fish lying in baskets.

560 kilos of ‘Zubaidi’ from B’desh destroyedThe Airport Imports Department of the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition has recently destroyed 560 kilos of Zubaidi which arrived from Bangladesh, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to sources the fish

was unfit for human consumption.Meanwhile, the Public Relations

Depart of the Kuwait Municipality said its emergency team orga-nized a campaign in Hawalli to target hawkers and confiscated and destroyed about five tons of

foodstuffs, reports Al-Rai daily.The team members also confis-

cated foodstuff from hawkers who were selling food in front of one of the embassies.

The vendors have been referred to competent authorities.

or outside Kuwait saying citizens have been cheated to the tune of more than 20 million dinars.

On the other hand, dozens of law-yers have filed complaints with the Public Prosecution against one of the famous social media personali-ties for insulting the Kuwaiti women in a video clip that is resented by many Kuwaitis.

❑ ❑ ❑

Call to arrest blogger: The Public Prosecution Department has ordered arrest of a famous social media blogger due to a comment he passed against women in a video clip, which was considered mali-cious and widely condemned by Kuwaitis.

Cyber-crime Department at the Ministry of Interior submitted a petition against the blogger to the Public Prosecution supported with a copy of the clip. This prompted the Public Prosecution to order his arrest with necessary legal action.

❑ ❑ ❑

Smuggling bid foiled: Customs inspectors at Kuwait airport foiled an attempt by a passenger coming from an unnamed Arab country to smuggle hashish and other narcotic

substances.Member of the customs media

committee Nawaf Al-Matar stated an inspector at the airport discov-ered the contraband (about 100 grams of hashish and 300 narcotic pills) carefully hidden in the sus-pect’s luggage, and he admitted they were for his personal use.

❑ ❑ ❑

Rape criminal caught: Farwaniya securitymen arrested a citizen in Khaitan as he was found to be want-ed by law for dodging the imprison-ment verdict on a rape case filed against him.

The citizen tried to flee but the securitymen chased him and referred him to the concerned secu-rity department.

❑ ❑ ❑

Drifter blocks ambulance: Soci-al media has been awash with com-ments over how a motorist used his “GT” car to drift in Ahmadi; there-by exposing his life and those of other road users to danger. The drifter refused to mellow down, possibly due to absence of security operatives within the vicinity at that particular time, even though he understood that he was blocking the

road to an ambulance transferring a patient to hospital.

Meanwhile, a motorist survived unscathed when his American made car caught fire in Jahra on Tuesday.

Firefighters responded quickly when the incident was reported to the Operations Unit the Ministry of Interior. They succeeded in contain-ing the fire before it spread to near-by structures.

❑ ❑ ❑

Luxury car stolen: Police are looking for an unidentified person for driving away with a luxury car and the wallet of the owner which was in the car, reports Al-Anba daily.

According to a complaint filed by the Kuwaiti owner of the car with the Farwaniya Police Station, the car was parked outside his house.

He added, when the theft occurred he was in his Diwaniya and the car keys and his wallet was next to him. He added, when he reached for his keys he could not find them or the wallet which contained KD 200 and when he stepped out of the gate of his house, he did not find the car.

Police checked the CCTV cam-eras of the neighboring houses, but yielded no results.

Liposuction victim: The Ministry of Health has opened an extensive investi-gation into the death of a Kuwaiti woman who underwent a liposuction sur-gery at a private medical center, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to sources, the victim who was in her 40s underwent the surgery a few days ago and allegedly suffered from serious complications during the opera-tion, and despite attempts by doctors to correct the situation she was taken to the Amiri Hospital where she breathed her last.

❑ ❑ ❑

Site manager killed: The project manager in charge of the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facil-ities in Zour, a project of Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC), died Saturday after falling from the ground floor to the base-ment, reports Al-Anba daily.

Acting Chief Executive Officer Mahmoud Abul announced that the proj-

ect manager fell from the ground floor to the basement, causing severe injuries. The manager was referred to Adan Hospital where he died.

Abul affirmed the company has stopped operations at the accident scene and informed the Ministry of Interior to conduct thorough investigation.

❑ ❑ ❑

Real estate cheats: The Public Prosecution Monday detained two real estate businessmen who were buying and selling property outside Kuwait, reports Al-Rai daily.

They are accused of money laundering and fraud for allegedly selling ‘imagi-nary’ property in Saudi Arabia to Kuwaitis worth 15 million dinars.

The two businessmen established several companies to invest in real estate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and took part in real estate exhibitions and rented several offices to attract citi-zens and others to promote their proj-ects.

News in Brief Three thieves arrested

Five illegal Egyptians deportedKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Five Egyptians, who were deported by the Kuwaiti authorities for violating residence and labor laws have arrived at the Cairo International Airport, reports Al-Rai daily.

The Egyptian security sources said the deportees were accompa-nied by a Kuwaiti security team and handed over to the Egyptian author-ities.

❑ ❑ ❑

Thieves arrested: Personnel from the Criminal Investigations Department have arrested three Bangladeshis for breaking into cars and stealing valuables, reports Al-Rai daily.

The suspects were caught in the act past midnight while breaking the

glass of one of the cars which was parked in an open area in Ahmadi.

The suspects have been referred to the concerned authorities.

❑ ❑ ❑

Drug trafficker held: Personnel from the General Department of Drugs Control, acting on a tip-off and armed with a search and arrest warrant obtained from the Public Prosecution, set a trap for the bedoun and caught him red-handed for trafficking in narcotic pills, reports Al-Anba daily.

The suspect was caught selling 1,000 Captagon pills to an under-cover police officer. The detectives then raided the man’s house and searched his car and seized 10,000 more narcotics pills.

Other Voices

Effects of supplications – ‘It may rain’By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

The US Protestant advocacy Templeton Baptist

Foundation spent more than $7 million on a medical research under the supervision of Dr Herbert Benson, a cardiologist at the Mind and Body Center in Boston, to demonstrate the impact of supplications on patients and their role in speed-ing up their recovery.

The experiment was conducted on 1,800 patients in six different hospitals separate from each other, and all those who had been tested had already undergone cor-onary heart surgery, which was serious at that time. The patients were placed in three groups.

The experimenters decided that the first group would pray in spe-cific churches for its members for their healing, but did not inform them. The second group decided not to pray for its members and

the third group, they were informed that the supplications will be said for them to speed up their recovery in various churches in the country.

The aim was to make a comparison and observe the effect of the supplica-tions, or their absence, in the first and s e c o n d groups, the third group was chosen only to observe the psychological effect of the supplications and to observe the psychological effect of prayers on the third group.

The experiment began with the reading of specific texts of sup-plications during ecclesial gather-ings in three American cities in

three different states.The famous American Heart

Journal published the result of the experiment which showed doctors found no health changes in both cases – in the case of those on whose behalf prayers were said and those not.

The second surprise was the third group because these people knew that prayers will be said on their behalf for their recovery, and because their health had deterio-rated and some of them even had complications because they felt that their health was not so good and therefore it was necessary to pray for them.

What applies to Western societ-ies does not necessarily mean its application is good to our societ-ies; we are no doubt better than them spiritually.

However, it is clear that many of us in Arab countries pray fre-quently, without true love and faith, as the Egyptian proverb

says, ‘familiarity breeds con-tempt’ so that most of the sup-plications become negative rhet-oric messages instead of taking the initiative, and precautionary measures or do what is useful and prevent what might be harm-ful.

For example, when we feel we fear the unexpected, we are satis-fied only with supplications and pray to God to protect us instead of taking precautionary measures. We might say: It will not rain, God willing, instead of taking a look at the meteorological bulle-tin.

It is a sad and funny thing that all the nations that we have prayed for their ruin over the past 50 years have become better than us, and the situation of the majority of us is at the same time worse than it was.

❑ ❑ ❑

email: [email protected]

Al-Sarraf


8

US Senate’sContinued from Page 1

Education MPsContinued from Page 1

Minister of National Guard and Chairman of the Su-preme Committee of the National Festival of Heritage and Culture — Janadria, announced the launch of the 33rd Edition of the festival on Thursday under the pa-tronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

This was announced during a press conference held Sunday in Riyadh in the presence of the Special Envoy of the Indonesian President for the Middle East, Dr Alwi Shihab, the Ambassador of the Republic of In-donesia in the Kingdom Agus Abi Jibril, the President of the Saudi Press Agency Abdullah Al Hussein and a crowd of representatives from the Saudi, Arab and international media.

Prince Khalid revealed that the coming edition will start with the annual camel race, the first nucleus of this national festival, while the literary and artistic cer-emony will be held on the evening of the same day, and it includes an opera performance “Tidalal Ya Watan.” A number of Saudi personalities will also be honored for their contribution, achievements and services to the nation in various fields. (Business Wire)

❑ ❑ ❑

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s official news agency says three people have been arrested for their alleged roles in a deadly train accident.

Three employees of Turkey’s railway authority were put under pre-trial arrest Monday on the charges of reckless manslaughter and injury, according to Anado-lu news agency. They worked as a dispatcher, switch-man and controller in Turkish State Railways.

A high-speed train on Thursday morning hit a rail-way engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in the Turkish capital Ankara, killing nine and injuring dozens of others. The train was travelling to central Konya province. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

BEIRUT: UN peacekeepers in Lebanon said on Mon-day two of four tunnels found close to the border with Israel crossed the frontier demarcation between the two countries, violating a UN resolution that ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said it had so far confirmed the existence of four tunnels which the Israeli army discovered in the vicinity of the border demarcation, known as the “Blue Line”, adding the finds were of “serious concern”. (RTRS)

Continued from Page 1

Newswatch

The Congress should have recon-sidered this position which manifests impudence and lack of understanding the concept of international alliances.

If anyone thinks that halting the weap-ons sale to Saudi Arabia will cripple its policies, they should know the weapons markets in the world are open for all and Riyadh is diversifying on this issue.

On the issue of Yemen, the Congress completely got it wrong as it used double standards. How can the US fi ght against Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of other countries when Washington con-siders Tehran a terrorism sponsor, yet the Congress wants the Kingdom to refrain from confronting this danger which is attempting to crawl into its borders; es-pecially since the US administration and all its institutions know very well that the hand moving the war tools in Yemen is Iran?

Undoubtedly, the American Con-gress read the Saudi response very well. Perhaps, it realized that the relationship between two countries is equal, and that diktats will not succeed with Riyadh which has many successful cards in its hand. This hand has the ability to use such cards to change the American po-litical balance. Therefore, depending on claims about a certain case exposes the fl imsiness of the US knowledge on re-gional affairs, particularly a country with the size of Saudi Arabia.

and higher education about violations related to computers and contracts for their maintenance. He said the State Audit Bureau notifi ed the Assembly that the Ministry of Education com-mitted several violations in fi scal 2017/2018. He wants to know the de-tails and measures being taken to cor-rect these violations.

Moreover, MP Kaleeh Al-Saleh sub-mitted queries to Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf on the smuggling of alcoholic drinks. He wants to know how a truck loaded with alcoholic drinks was able to leave Shuwaikh Port.

According to a police report, the se-curity offi cers assigned in Ahmadi Gov-ernorate recently impounded a truck full of alcoholic drinks; prompting the MP to ask if the truck was inspected and what was the method of inspection.

He inquired about the person in charge of inspection procedures and action taken in terms of accountability, considering it is easy to identify the truck’s contents through the simplest inspection method.

most of Syria with Russian and Ira-nian support apart from Idlib, a north-western province, has clung to power throughout the conflict and is widely seen as being loath to yield power after it ends.

The Damascus government has pre-viously brushed off UN-led efforts to set up a constitutional committee.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, in comments reported by state media on Monday, said it was “early to talk about” the constitutional committee starting work. He blamed attempts at “interference” by Western states for the hold-up in its formation, in addituon to “obstacles” laid by Tur-key.

Syrian authorities have only ever signalled a readiness for “amend-ments” to the existing constitution and also said these must be put to a refer-endum.

De Mistura said at the weekend that the constitutional committee could be a starting point for political progress.

“It does touch, for instance, on pres-idential powers, it could and should be touching on how elections are done, on division of power, in other words a big issue,” he said.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) is the key enemy in Syria and combat-ing this group is top of the agenda for France in that country, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

At a press briefing, Spokeswoman Ann Von der Muhll commented on recent statements from Turkey and the United States on the position of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, with both

countries appeared not to exclude from remaining in power after the hostili-ties.

The French official said that her country’s position on Bashar Al-Assad was clearly expressed as recently as earlier this month.

“As indicated several times by (For-eign Minister) Jean-Yves Le Drian, it is not realistic to envisage maintaining Bashar Al-Assad in power in a recon-ciled Syria,” she said.

But Al-Fayadh’s return as national security adviser and chairman of the PMF could soon break the deadlock over the remaining appointments, said Hussein Allawi, director of Baghdad-based Akkad Center for Strategic Af-fairs and Future Studies.

“This gives Abdul-Mahdi an oppor-tunity to name a new nominee to the Interior Ministry,” said Allawi.

Parliament is slated to meet again Thursday to discuss the remaining cabinet vacancies.

The Houthis control most towns and cities, including Hodeida and the capital Sanaa, from where they ousted Hadi’s government in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military coalition to inter-vene. The government is now based in the southern port of Aden.

Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Friday that a robust monitoring regime was urgently needed in Hodeida to oversee com-pliance. He said retired Dutch Major General Patrick Cammaert would lead the monitoring.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujar-ric told reporters on Monday that the monitoring operation led by Cam-maert would fall under the authority of Griffiths. He said the logistical and security details were still being worked out.

“It will be part of the existing man-date that Mr Griffiths has... This is not a peacekeeping mission, they will not be armed,” Dujarric said. “We look forward to very strong support from the Security Council.”

The conflict has pushed Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Penin-sula, to the verge of famine, and mil-lions of people rely on food aid. More than 80 percent of Yemen’s imports used to come through Hodeida port, but that has slowed to a trickle.

The draft resolution “calls on all parties to the conflict to take further steps to facilitate the unhindered flow of commercial and humanitarian sup-plies including food, fuel, medicine and other essential imports and hu-manitarian personnel into and across the country.”

Hodeida was calm Tuesday morn-ing, hours after a UN-mediated cease-fire went into effect between govern-ment-allied forces and the country’s rebels, Yemeni officials said.

Fighting subsided as the cease-fire took effect, with only the spo-radic sound of automatic weapons fire heard in the city, where the port handles about 70 percent of Ye-men’s imports.

Yemen’s four-year conflict pits the internationally recognized gov-ernment, backed by a Saudi-led co-alition, against Shiite rebels known as Houthis.

The government of President Man-sour Hadi called for its forces to “cease-fire in both Hodeida city and the province” also named Hodeida, according to a statement from Hadi’s Defense Ministry. The rebels also wel-comed the cease-fire in the key port city.

The agreement came during UN-sponsored talks in Sweden last week. A joint committee led by UN officers will oversee the cease-fire and the re-deployment of the warring parties’ forces out of Hodeida, which is cur-rently controlled by the Houthis. Lo-cal authorities and police will run the city and its three port facilities under UN supervision, and the two sides are barred from bringing in reinforce-ments.

UN envoy Martin Griffith has said the committee is expected to start its work swiftly “to translate the momen-tum built up in Sweden into achieve-ments on the ground.”

The cease-fire is the first step in a process the UN hopes will lead to a province-wide truce in Hodeida and the demilitarization of the Red Sea trade corridor, said Peter Salisbury, a consulting senior analyst on Yemen at the Brussels-based Crisis Group.

“But it’s important to note that the deal itself is quite specific in saying that this is not part of a wider peace process: It’s an agreement made for humanitarian rather than political rea-sons,” he said. “Both the prisoner swap agreement and the Hodeida agreement have clear language saying they should not be seen as political agreements or precedent for further deals.”

Delegations from the government and the rebels said earlier this month in Sweden that they have exchanged prisoner lists. The lists will be re-viewed over four weeks, ahead of a final swap to be facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, they said.

Barzani praises Kuwait’shumanitarian initiatives

Ex-Kurdistan leader meets consul general

ERBIL, Dec 18, (KUNA): Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s former president Masoud Barzani lauded on Tues-day Kuwait’s humanitar-ian initiatives towards the Iraqi people which reflect the big Humanitarian role of His Highness Sheikh Sa-bah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Barzani’s remark came while meeting with Kuwait’s Consul General in Erbil Omar Al-Kandari to discuss ways of mutual coopera-tion and bilateral ties between the two countries.

Al-Kandari said in a statement to KUNA, that the meeting discussed also the humanitarian role that Ku-wait played in the campaign themed “Kuwait is on Your Side”, which was based on the orders of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Al-Kandari presented Barzani with a photo booklet about the different programs and activities of the cam-paign since its launch in 2013.

According to Al-Kandari, Barzani commended the humanitarian role that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah played in hosting Kuwait International Con-ference for the Reconstruction of Iraq.

Barzani also lauded the role of the Kuwaiti Consulate in Erbil, and its role in supervising the campaign in Kurd-istan.

KUNA photoFormer Kurdistan Region’s leader Masaud Barzani during his meeting with Kuwait Consul General Dr Umar Al

Kandari.

Agreement onContinued from Page 1

it was impossible for Syrian peace-making efforts to continue with him.

Assad, whose forces have reclaimed

Flynn partnerContinued from Page 1

requiring disclosure of lobbying for foreign interests.

“I don’t think anyone took that law very seriously but perhaps these indict-ments will change that,” said criminal defense lawyer Page Pate.

Flynn, who is due to be sentenced on Tuesday for lying to the FBI related to his contacts with the then Russian ambassador to the United States, Ser-gei Kislyak, has also admitted to lying about his role in the Turkish lobbying effort and has been cooperating with prosecutors on the probe.

The indictment alleges that Rafiekian and Alptekin made false statements about the project in filings to the Department of Justice in order to mask the involvement of the Turkish government, which had been pushing for the extradition of Gu-len, identified only as a Turkish citizen in the indictment.

“The defendants sought to discredit and delegitimize the Turkish citizen in the eyes of politicians and the public, and ultimately to secure the Turkish citizen’s extradition,” attorneys for the Eastern District of Virginia wrote.

Rafiekian, a former director at the US Export-Import Bank and a co-founder of the Flynn Intel Group (FIG), the consul-tancy at the heart of the case, made his first appearance on Monday morning at a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Rafiekian’s lawyer, Robert Trout, declined to comment.

Alptekin, 41, maintained that he was Flynn’s client and not Turkey, a spokes-person said. Alptekin was not in the Unit-ed States and it was not clear if he would ever challenge the charges in court.

“Ekim remains adamant that he — and he alone — ultimately moved forward with hiring FIG, paying them, and directing their work,” Molly Toomey said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Gulen for stoking a failed coup against him in 2016 — and his foreign minister grabbed headlines on Sunday by saying that Trump told Er-dogan that Washington was working on extraditing the cleric.

A senior White official pushed back on that assertion on Monday, stressing that Trump did not commit during a meeting with Erdogan at the G20 sum-mit two weeks ago to extradite Gulen, who denies involvement in the coup attempt.

The Alliance for Shared Values, a non-profit organization affiliated with Gulen, said in a statement on Monday that the indictments illustrated “just how far the Erdogan government will go in breaking US law.”

Flynn’s work on the Turkey project came under scrutiny after he published a commentary on a political news web-site on the day of the 2016 presiden-tial election calling Gulen a “radical Islamist” who should be extradited to Turkey.

Iraq’s ParliamentContinued from Page 1

The Interior Ministry has been un-der the control of ministers close to Iran since 2010.

Abdul-Mahdi was sworn in to his post in October but has governed without a full cabinet after Parliament approved just 14 of 22 ministerial ap-pointments. On Tuesday, Parliament approved new ministers of culture, planning and higher education, leaving five posts unfilled.

Lebanon governmentContinued from Page 1

“We are in the last phase and it is probable that the government will be formed before the Christmas holiday,” Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told Reuters. “This will leave a posi-tive impact on the financial and eco-nomic situation and open the way for a start to dealing this file,” he added.

The May 6 national election, Leba-non’s first in nine years, produced a parliament tilted in favour of the heav-ily armed, Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah, which together with its political allies won more than 70 of the 128 seats.

Hariri, who enjoys Western back-ing, lost more than one third of his lawmakers, though he remained Leba-non’s biggest Sunni Muslim leader and as such was nominated again as prime minister.

Efforts to form the government have faced a series of obstacles, the last of which surrounded Sunni representa-tion, with Hezbollah demanding a cabinet seat for one of its Sunni allies to reflect their election gains.

Hariri has resisted the demand.But under a compromise that has

taken shape, the Hezbollah-linked Sunnis are expected to put forward names of ministerial candidates ac-ceptable to them for inclusion in the government rather than insisting that they themselves should get the seat.

In exchange, they say they want Hariri to acknowledge their political standing as a group of Sunnis inde-pendent of his Future Movement by meeting them. The Hariri family has dominated Lebanese Sunni politics for decades.

“Within two or three days — God willing — you will hear the news that the Lebanese masses were waiting for,” Abdel Rahim Mrad, one of the pro-Hezbollah Sunni MPs, said after a meeting with a top security official involved in mediation efforts.

“All the problems have been solved,” he said, standing alongside Major General Abbas Ibrahim, the se-curity official.

“Matters are moving quickly and if things stay like this without obstacles — and I don’t expect obstacles — the government will soon see the light,” Ibrahim said in a televised news con-ference.

A source close to Hariri told Reuters there was “reasonable cause for opti-mism”.

The Sunni minister is expected to be named among a group of ministers allotted to President Michel Aoun, representing a compromise on the part of his Free Patriotic Movement which had been trying to secure control of 11 ministerial portfolios — more than one third of the new cabinet.

Security CouncilContinued from Page 1

limited to, monitoring operations for the ceasefire and mutual redeployment of forces from the city of Hodeida and the ports of Hodeida, Salif and Ras Issa.”

It also wants to know how the Unit-ed Nations will play a leading role in supporting Yemen Red Sea Ports Cor-poration in the management of, and inspections at, the ports of Hodeida, Salif and Ras Issa and how the United Nations will strengthen its presence in those areas.

World News Roundup

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

9

Immigration

Judges challenge moves

‘Zero-tolerance’ policy hits snag in CaliforniaSAN DIEGO, Dec 18, (AP): One by one, US Magistrate Judge William Gallo called the names of 14 defendants who were charged with entering the country illegally. Defense attorneys told him the government had already deported them to Mexico, making it impossible for them to appear.

In a rebuke to the government, the judge immedi-ately dismissed all charges and ordered that their bond money be returned.

The scene played out every day for several weeks in San Diego - another example of judges challeng-ing President Donald Trump’s moves on immigra-tion in ways large and small. Last month, a different judge halted an administration policy to deny asylum to people who enter the country illegally.

Federal prosecutors intro-duced the mass hearings on immigration charges in California in July, adopting a model that has been in place for years elsewhere on the US-Mexico border. The hear-ings soon began running past 6 p.m. regularly.

Defense attorneys frequent-ly objected that they didn’t have enough time to consult with their clients, who appeared in the same clothes

they wore crossing the border a day or so earlier.Then, on Sept 17, Gallo announced that judges

would no longer accept guilty pleas at initial appear-ances, as they do in Arizona and Texas. Instead, they began setting second hearings for five days later. Immigrants who posted bail before their return dates were deported.

Deport“The government, in many respects, was duplici-

tous,” Gallo said on a recent Friday, referring to the decision to deport defendants before they could return to court for resolution of their cases.

On the same day, Gallo dismissed charges against the 14 defendants, many of them Mexican men who were caught hiding amid boulders and thick brush in rugged mountains east of San Diego.

The administration countered on Oct. 9, saying it would not deport people until their criminal cases were completed. That stopped cases from being dis-missed but introduced new problems: Keeping peo-ple in custody for longer periods strained detention space and imposed higher costs.

“They wanted it to be a one-day thing, like it is across the whole border, because it’s cheaper,” said Jami Ferrara, who represents defense attorneys on a panel with judges and prosecutors working on the changes. “It’s not a cheap system.”

It is unclear how many cases were dismissed in San Diego, but defense attorneys estimate it was hundreds.

While dismissing the cases did not free people in the US, it undermined the purpose of Trump’s “zero tolerance” illegal immigration policy: to notch crim-inal convictions. First-time offenders are punished by up to six months in prison and can be charged with a felony if caught again.

The legal skirmishes in San Diego court have not drawn a public reaction from Trump, and the Justice Department and Customs and Border Protection agency declined to comment.

It costs the Marshals Service an average of almost $90 a day to house a defendant. In San Diego, space is at a premium, with room for only 815 people at the main holding facility.

To address any space limitations, the Marshals Service has agreements with state and local govern-ments and the federal Bureau of Prisons, as well as contracts with private companies, spokesman Drew Wade said.

Defendants received a lift from The Bail Project, a nonprofit group launched in January that has estab-lished revolving bail funds in San Diego and six other cities across the US Robin Steinberg, its chief executive, said the group came to San Diego on Aug. 20 and provided bail to 700 immigrants in its first seven weeks.

BorderThe Bail Project has yet to expand to other border

courts that hold mass hearings for illegal entry.“Our current focus is to assist as many people as

we can in San Diego,” Steinberg said.For now, many defendants are unable to make

because some judges insist they be released to “a third-party custodian” in California, often a relative who is responsible for making sure they return to court. But some family members may be reluctant to come forward if they are in the country illegally, and many live far from San Diego.

Defense attorneys have objected to the require-ment.

“It is extremely unusual for courts to require a third-party custodian in misdemeanor cases,” said David Loy, legal director for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties. “These are basically federal petty offenses at the lowest level.”

Mass hearings on immigration charges were intro-duced in Del Rio, Texas, in 2005 and spread within a few years to other federal courts on the border- except California. Courtrooms in Tucson, Arizona, and McAllen, Texas, filled with about 70 people a day who pleaded guilty at their first appearance and were typically sentenced to time already served.

The administration said in May that it would pros-ecute every illegal entry under zero tolerance. But after a backlash over widespread separation of fami-lies, officials retreated in June by generally exempt-ing adults who come with their children. Days later, a federal judge ruled against separating families.

In San Diego, each defense attorney is assigned no more than four clients a day and, on most days there are only 10 attorneys, resulting in a cap of 40.

Fred Sheppard, an assistant US attorney, recently said in court that the Border Patrol arrests 90 to 140 people a day in San Diego, implying that many are not prosecuted. (The administration says there has been a “slight uptick” in families crossing illegally and turning themselves in since a large caravan of Central American migrants reached Tijuana, Mexico, last month.)

The prosecutor spoke as the government presented 43 people for prosecution, three over that day’s cap. Three men entered the jury box and were told by Gallo that their cases were being dismissed because they had not had a chance to speak with an attorney.

“The system is burgeoning,” the judge said.

Trump

The Capitol is seen at twilight in Washington on Dec 17. The fight over President Donald Trump’s $5 billion wall funds deepened Monday, threatening a partial government shutdown in a standoff that has become increasingly common in Washington. (AP)

‘Slowdown’ greatest threat to Trump’s re-election bid

Economy potential 2020 storm cloudWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (AP): Forget Robert Mueller.

The greatest threat to President Donald Trump’s re-election bid may not be the slew of investigations clos-ing in on his Oval Office but a possible economic slowdown. And the presi-dent knows it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell again Monday, the latest dip in the roller coaster markets amid the strain of Trump’s trade war, rising interest rates and worries about a slowing global economy.

Trump, who has tied his political fortunes to the stock market in an unprecedented fashion, has nervously watched Wall Street, keeping an eye on the cable television ticker and bark-ing at his aides for updates. And while he continues to talk up America’s financial might, he has repeatedly and publicly rebuked the chairman of the Federal Reserve for interest rate increases he feels could slow the econ-omy.

Trump made his feelings clear again Tuesday, a day before the Fed is expected to raise its key interest rate for the fourth time this year.

“I hope the people over at the Fed will read today’s Wall Street Journal Editorial before they make yet another mistake. Also, don’t let the market become any more illiquid than it already is. Stop with the 50 B’s. Feel the market, don’t just go by meaning-less numbers. Good luck!”

He said Monday on Twitter that “It is incredible that with a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering yet another interest rate hike. Take the Victory!”

Throughout Trump’s term, the economy has been strong. And while the president credits his aggressive tax-cut package and deregulation efforts, the gains in fact began under

President Barack Obama.Optimism about the economy has

cooled somewhat this fall as Trump’s trade fight with China rattled the mar-kets.

Fond of citing job statistics and market reports, Trump has appeared highly attuned to the shift. After unnerving much of the global financial system by imposing tariffs, Trump seemed eager to ease anxiety recently, striking a trade truce with China after a dinner meeting during an interna-tional summit in Argentina.

Confi denceAnd when that move only briefly

buoyed confidence, Trump set off on an erratic bout of tweeting that rocked the markets even more.

First Trump declared himself a “Tariff Man,” promising to inflict as much economic pain as possible - a move that horrified investors. A day later he sought to minimize the anxiet-ies, saying there were “very strong signals” that China was negotiating in good faith.

“Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting,” Trump tweeted.

Stocks fell again Monday as both the Dow and the S&P 500 are on pace for their worst December performance since 1931, when they were battered during the Great Depression. As inves-tors turned to an upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve, its chairman, Jerome Powell, has repeatedly been the target of Trump’s wrath, as the Fed has been raising interest rates to make sure that the lowest unemployment in nearly five decades does not start pushing inflation higher. Arguing that the rate hikes hamper economic growth, Trump has openly questioned Powell’s leadership.

“I think the Fed is making a mis-

take. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy,” the president said in October.

No longer tweeting much about the stock market, Trump has criticized Powell privately as well and has told confidants that he understands that a recession would be perilous for a pres-ident who once mused about the Dow hitting 30,000. (Its record was 26,828 in October.) Although Trump is not seriously considering making a change at the Fed, he has repeatedly insisted that his businessman background allows him to understand the economy more than Powell, according to four White House aides and outside advis-ers who were not authorized to discuss private conversations and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“He thinks his legacy is going to be the guy who rebuilt and revived the US economy. He’s totally focused on that,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser and visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “He understands that if the economy remains strong, he’ll be re-elected. He’s completely focused on the econ-omy. He does follow the stock market, he does follow the stock reports, he does follow the jobs report.”

Democrats considering challenging Trump in 2020 have begun putting forward their own economic plans. But a senior White House official said Trump remains confident in the econ-omy, citing low unemployment num-bers, GDP growth and growth in man-ufacturing jobs, among other indica-tors.

The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said Trump is watching the indicators closely and is regularly briefed by Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; and Kevin Hassett, chair-man of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Politics

In this Dec 2, 2018 file photo, taken from the Tijuana, Mexico, side of the border, Honduran migrants react as they surrender to the US Border Patrol after crossing the border wall in to the United States. Federal judges in California have challenged more of the Trump administration’s ‘zero-tol-erance’ policy on illegal immigration. Their decision in Sept 2018 to no longer accept pleas at initial appear-ances led to the dismissal of many cases because the government deported defendants before they could return to court. The judges’ stance is another example of how the judiciary, in ways large and small, has put the brakes on some of the admin-istration’s efforts to curb immigration.

(AP)

Flynn Emanuel

Flynn to be sentenced: A judge will decide on Tuesday whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn should be sent to prison for lying to the FBI in a case stemming from an investigation into possi-ble collusion between President Donald Trump’s election campaign team and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 vote.

Hours before US District Judge Emmet Sullivan was to sentence Flynn in Washington at a hearing at 11 am ET (1600 GMT), Trump appeared to offer sup-port for his former aide.

“Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference, has asked Sullivan not to imprison Flynn, a former general, because of his military service and his “substantial” cooperation with the probe. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

2 officers struck by train: Two Chicago police officers were fatally struck by a train as they investigated a report of gunshots on the city’s far South Side.

Eduardo Marmolejo, 37, and Conrad Gary, 31, were pursuing a person heading toward the train tracks when they were hit shortly after 6 pm Monday as the commut-er train passed through the area, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. Police said the officers were chasing the suspect on foot.

“There was no stop at that location so the train was probably going somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour,” Johnson said during a news conference.

Johnson said an individual was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered. He said the investigation was still in the early stages and that more details would be released later.

Marmolejo had been with the depart-

America

Former FBI Director James Comey, with his attorney, David Kelley (right), speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill Washington on Dec 17, after a second closed-door interview with two Republican-led committees investigating what they say was bias at the Justice Department before the 2016 presidential elec-

tion. (AP)

ment for 20-½ years and Gary for 18 months, Johnson said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who also spoke at the news conference, said the city had lost “two young men, both fathers with young families.”

“There are no words that can express the grief, the sense of loss. It just knocks you back on your heels,” he said.

Chicago police use ShotSpotter technol-ogy, or sensors that monitor for the sound of gunfire and alert police. Johnson said the two officers went to the scene Monday after a ShotSpotter alert went out. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Kremlin denies roiling US politics: The Kremlin has rejected as baseless reports about a Russian political disinfor-

mation campaign on US social media.Reports released by the Senate intelli-

gence committee Monday suggested that Moscow’s efforts to help Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign through social media were more far-reaching than originally thought, with troll farms work-ing to discourage black voters and “blur the lines between reality and fiction.”

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, rejected the claims, saying the reports sought to shift blame for social tensions in the US to Russia without offering proof.

Peskov reaffirmed a strong denial of any meddling in the US politics. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Who owns data ahead of 2020?: Democratic National Committee officials and a group of state party leaders are try-ing to resolve an increasingly ugly dispute over how the party manages and pays for the voter data used in campaigns.

The saga, which spilled into open view in recent weeks, eventually will determine how extensive and useful a voter informa-tion file will be to the Democratic presi-dential nominee in 2020. The fight also is testing DNC Chairman Tom Perez and his promises to rebuild trust across Democrats’ national headquarters, state parties and donors across the country following a 2016 campaign that left the party fractured.

DNC officials will meet Tuesday in Washington with certain state party chairs and executive directors as the party attempts to overhaul its data operation amid widespread agreement that Democrats have been lapped by Republicans on a pillar of campaign infra-structure. (AP)

World News Roundup


10

Defense

Moscow builds new barracks

Japan eyes defense boostto counter China & RussiaTOKYO, Dec 18, (RTRS): Japan will accelerate spending on advanced stealth fighters, long-range missiles and other equipment over the next five years to support US forces facing China’s military in the Western Pacific, two new government defence papers said.

The plans are the clearest indication yet of Japan’s ambition to become a regional power as a military build-up by China and a resurgent Russia puts pres-sure on its US ally.

“The United States remains the world’s most pow-erful nation, but national rivalries are surfacing and

we recognise the importance of the strategic competition with both China and Russia as they challenge the regional order,” said a 10-year defence pro-gramme outline approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government on Tuesday.

The United States, followed by China, North Korea and Russia, are the countries that most influenced Japan’s latest military thinking, the paper said.

China, the world’s second biggest economy, is deploying more ships and aircraft to patrol waters near Japan, while North Korea has yet to fulfil a pledge to dismantle its nuclear and missile pro-grammes.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Japan was “singing the same old tune” and making “thoughtless remarks” about China’s normal defence activities.

“What Japan is doing here is neither conducive to improving and developing China-Japan relations, nor to the broader picture of regional peace and stability,” Hua told a news briefing.

“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposi-tion at this and has already lodged stern representa-tions with Japan,” she added.

Russia, which continues to probe Japan’s air defences, said on Monday it built new barracks for its troops on islands seized from Japan at the end of World War Two.

Japan plans to buy 45 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealth fighters, worth about $4 billion, in addition to the 42 jets already on order, according to a separate five-year procurement plan approved on Tuesday.

The new planes will include 18 short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) B variants of the F-35 that planners want to deploy on Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea.

The islands are part of a chain stretching past Taiwan and down to the Philippines that has marked the limit of Chinese military dominance east of the disputed South China Sea.

“Japan’s decision to acquire more F-35s is a testa-ment to the aircraft’s transformational capability and its increasing role in promoting regional stability and enhancing the US-Japan security alliance,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement.

Also:MOSCOW: Russia said on Monday it had built new barracks for troops on a disputed chain of islands near Japan and would build more facilities for armoured vehicles, prompting a diplomatic protest from Tokyo.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it planned to shift troops next week into four housing complexes on two of the four disputed islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.

Japan’s defence ministry says 3,500 Russian troops are deployed on the two larger islands as part of an on-going military buildup.

The news came after the Kremlin said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might visit Russia on Jan 21 as the two countries step up efforts to defuse the territorial dispute that has prevented them from sign-ing a World War Two peace treaty.

In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a regu-lar news conference that Japan would lodge a protest. Japan said in July it had asked Russia to reduce its military activity on the islands, a plea Moscow dis-missed as unhelpful megaphone diplomacy at the time.

Abe

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes an address during a meeting in the Russian Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Moscow, Russia on Dec 18. Putin said that new Russian weapons have no foreign equivalents, helping ensure the nation’s security for decades to come. (AP)

Delayed vote to take place mid-Jan

‘No-deal’ preps step upLONDON, Dec 18, (RTRS): UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her ministers will on Tuesday step up preparations for a “no deal” Brexit, an outcome made more likely by a deadlock in parliament over the British leader’s divorce deal with the European Union.

With just over 100 days until Britain is due to leave the EU, May is yet to win the support of a deeply divided parliament for the deal she struck last month with Brussels to maintain close ties with the bloc.

She has said a delayed vote on her deal will take place in mid-January, prompting some lawmakers to accuse her of trying to force parliament into backing it by running close to the March 29 exit day.

May, who last week survived a confidence vote within her Conservative Party, has warned law-makers that the alternatives to her deal are leaving without an agree-ment or no Brexit.

“We’re going to be discussing ‘no deal’ planning today,” International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt told reporters. “It’s abso-lutely right that we step up ‘no deal’ planning now. Not only do we need to prepare the country, but it’s also the best way that we will ensure that we get a deal.”

This month, finance minister Philip Hammond said he had made more than 4.2 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) available for Brexit planning since the 2016 referendum and would be allocating a further 2 billion pounds to government departments.

May’s spokesman said that would be done “shortly”.

Britain’s economy has slowed since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU and there is no guaran-tee that businesses and consumers

will retain tariff-free access to European goods after Brexit.

The British Chambers of Commerce forecast on Tuesday that economic growth this year and in 2019 looks set to be the weakest since Britain emerged from recession in 2009, due to a freeze in business investment and weak consumer demand ahead of Brexit.

Parliament is at an impasse over Brexit, with factions pressing for dif-ferent options for future ties, leaving without a deal or remaining in the EU.

May is seeking assurances from the EU over the so-called Northern Irish “backstop” – an insurance poli-cy to prevent the return of a hard border between the British province and EU-member Ireland that its crit-ics fear will trap Britain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely.

With the EU unlikely to offer con-cessions that would win over law-makers and May repeatedly ruling out a second referendum, the risk of a no-deal has increased, a scenario that would mean an abrupt exit with no transition that some businesses fear would be catastrophic for the world’s fifth largest economy.

Housing Minister James Brokenshire told BBC Radio the government was making no-deal preparations “reluctantly.”

“It’s not what we want to do, it’s not what we still expect to do because we want to see the deal secured, the vote through parliament, but I think it is right and proper that we maintain our work on preparing for a no-deal,” he said.

“I’m not going to try and pretend otherwise that we’re not stepping up our preparations for no-deal ... There will clearly be consequences of a no-deal in the short term.”

Britain

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leaves after visiting the Royal Variety Charity’s residential nursing and care home Brinsworth House, in Twickenham, south west London on Dec 18. The Royal Variety Charity assists those who have worked pro-fessionally in the entertainment indus-try and are in need of help and assis-tance as a result of old age, ill-health,

or hard times. (AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron (right), and Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore attend a media conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on Dec 17. Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore is in Paris for bilat-

eral talks. (AP)

Suu Kyi Broad

UNSC mulls Myanmar action: The UN Security Council is considering action to push Myanmar to work with the United Nations to address the Rohingya refugee crisis, although China and Russia have so far boycotted talks on a British-drafted res-olution, diplomats said on Monday.

The draft resolution aims to put a time-line on Myanmar allowing the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refu-gees from neighboring Bangladesh and addressing accountability, said diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August last year, when attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents triggered a military crackdown that the United Nations, the United States, Britain and others described as ethnic cleansing.

The text would push Myanmar to imple-ment a memorandum of understanding with the UN development and refugee agencies that Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government signed in June, as well recommendations made by the Rakhine Advisory Commission that was led by former UN chief Kofi Annan (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Setback in Kim murder trial: An Indonesian woman due to begin her defense next month in her trial for the mur-der in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother suffered a set-back Tuesday when a judge rejected her bid to secure statements given to police by seven witnesses.

Siti Aisyah’s lawyer, Gooi Soon Seng, said he will appeal the High Court’s ruling that the statements were privileged. He said the statements were crucial because most of the witnesses were unreachable.

In August, a High Court judge found there was enough evidence to infer that Aisyah and her Vietnamese co-defendant,

Doan Thi Huong, along with four missing North Korean suspects, had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” to kill Kim Jong Nam. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Pope slams politicians: Pope Francis on Tuesday condemned nationalist leaders who blame migrants for their coun-tries’ problems and themselves fostered mistrust in society by pursuing dishonest gain and xenophobic and racist policies.

The 82-year-old pope, who has made defence of migrants a plank of his papacy, made the comments in his message for the Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace on Jan 1. It is sent to heads of state and gov-ernment and international organisations.

It comes at a time when immigration is one of the most contentious issues in coun-tries such as the United States, Italy, Germany and Hungary. Francis has sparred with US President Donald Trump and Italian right-wing league leader Matteo Salvini over the rights of migrants.

“Political addresses that tend to blame every evil on migrants and to deprive the poor of hope are unaccept-able,” said the pope, who did not mention any countries or lead-ers.

He said today’s times were “marked by a climate of mistrust rooted in the fear of others or of strangers, or anxiety about one’s personal security.”

Francis said it was sad that mistrust was “also seen at the political level, in attitudes of rejection or forms of nationalism that call into question the fraternity of which our globalised world has such great need.”

Last week, the pope praised the United Nation’s first Global Compact on Migration, which sets objectives for how the management of migration can be improved. A number of nations, including the United States, Italy, Hungary, and Poland did not attend the meeting in Morocco.

Francis denounced a list of “vices” by politicians who he said undermined authentic democracy and brought disgrace to public life through various forms of cor-ruption. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

French min, union reps to meet: France’s interior minister is to meet with representatives of police unions, following complaints about strained resources in the wake of five straight weekends of violent protests.

Christophe Castaner has said on Twitter that he is to meet union representatives Tuesday evening.

Two police unions complained Monday about working conditions and strained resources in light of the past few weeks of protests, which have seen officers sent in to clear road blockades and control demon-strations.

The Alliance union has urged the gov-ernment to invest in law enforcement while calling for a work slowdown Wednesday to protest planned cuts in the national police budget.

Another union, UNSA, said its members would only provide minimum services Tuesday and has asked to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

German authorities raid mosque: German authorities say police are search-ing a Berlin mosque as part of an investi-gation into its imam on suspicion he raised money to support an Islamic fighter in Syria.

Berlin prosecutors said Tuesday that 45-year-old Ahmad A., whose last name wasn’t given in line with privacy laws, was the target of the raid on the As-Sahaba mosque in the capital’s Wedding district.

They said in two tweets that A., who preaches under the name Abul Baraa, is suspected of financing terrorism for send-ing money to “a jihadi fighter in Syria for the purchase of military equipment.”

The prosecutor’s spokesman Martin Steltner told The Associated Press that no arrests were made and that the raids at the mosque and other locations were aimed at obtaining evidence for his office’s ongoing investigation. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Italy steps up holiday security: Italy’s interior minister says security is being beefed up at train stations and air-ports in the nation “after the terror attack in Strasbourg and in view of Christmas” holidays.

Matteo Salvini also tweeted that there’s “maximum alert for sensitive places like monuments and churches.” He said the strategy was adopted at a meeting he led Monday of the National Committee for Public Order and Safety.

Separately, Salvini described the level of security as “absolutely high on possible sensitive targets and Christmas markets.”

The attack near a Strasbourg, France, Christmas market last week left five people dead.

Police say security has been high in Italy for years now at places like basilicas, archaeological ruins and monuments that attract pilgrims and tourists. But police have stressed there are no specific threats. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Hunger strikers send messages: Four jailed Catalan separatist leaders cur-rently on hunger strike sent letters to more than 40 European heads on Monday to pro-test what they see as mistreatment by the Spanish courts.

The dispute between Catalonia’s inde-pendence-seeking regional government and Madrid has worsened in recent weeeks as negotiations have reached an impasse. Pro-independence protests are planned across Catalonia on Friday.

“We suffer from a judicial process that severely violates our fundamental rights, including the right to the presumption of innocence,” the Catalan leaders wrote in the letter, which was sent to more than 40 European heads of state and government.

Spain’s courts are unduly delaying their appeal demands to prevent the separatists appealing at the European level, the Catalan leaders said.

The four signatories went on hunger strike earlier this month to protest their treatment by the Spanish judiciary, though they have no intention of starving them-selves to death, one told Reuters last week. (RTRS)

Asia

Europe

Ex-minister to quit politics: An Australian government minister who resigned over allegations of improper behaviour with a younger woman will not stand for re-election – a new hit to a con-servative coalition reeling from a series of resignations ahead of a tough 2019 elec-tion.

Andrew Broad, who resigned on Monday, said on Tuesday that he would leave politics at the next poll due by May 18, 2019. Broad was assistant minister to the deputy prime minister.

Broad, who is married, resigned after an Australian media report he allegedly used a website to set up a dinner date with a younger woman while on a Hong Kong work trip.

Broad said in a statement that “after recent media stories about my private life” voters in his rural electorate in the state of Victoria would be better served by another National party politician. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Strong quake rocks Papua: A strong earthquake has struck Indonesia’s eastern-most province of Papua, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

According to the US Geological Survey, Sunday’s magnitude 6.1 quake had a depth of 61 kms (38 miles).

The epicenter was about 144 kms (89 miles) south-southwest of the province’s capital, Jayapura.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement that the quake caused residents in nearby districts to run out of their houses in panic. (AP)

Pope Francis


11

Mumbai fi re toll hits 8: The death toll from a fi re that swept through a Mumbai hospital has risen to eight, offi cials said Tuesday.

Dozens of fi refi ghters rushed to the Monday afternoon fi re at the government-run ESIC Kamgar Hospital, but smoke engulfed the entire fi ve-story building.

At least eight people died in the fi re, a police offi cial said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Among the dead was an infant just a few months old, Indian news reports said. More than 140 people were rescued, with the hospital’s patients transferred to a series of nearby hospitals.

Deadly fi res are common in India, where building inspections are often very lax.

“We still don’t know the cause yet, but an inquiry is going on,” Mumbai Mayor Vishwa-nath Mahadeshwar told reporters at the scene, vowing that any offi cials responsible for the fi re would be punished. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Bid to remove media curbs: Bangladesh’s main opposition group promised on Monday to remove curbs on free speech and the media and to rein in the police if it unseats Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from her decade-long rule in this month’s national election.

Presenting its manifesto in Dhaka, the Jaitya Oikya Front, or National Unity Front alliance, also pledged to bring in a series of checks and balances on central government power.

It would create an upper house of parlia-ment, introduce a rule that would bar a prime minister from running for offi ce for more than two consecutive terms, and give the central bank more autonomy.

The alliance also promised to raise the minimum wage of garment workers and freeze gas and electricity prices for the fi rst year that it is in power.

Hasina, who is Bangladesh’s longest-ruling leader and is seeking a third straight term in the election scheduled for Dec 30, has been accused by the opposition and human rights groups of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

While she is credited for improving the economy and has been lauded internationally for providing refuge to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fl eeing violence and persecu-tion in Myanmar, she has also cracked down on dissent, stifl ed the opposition and introduced a tough new media law.

With less than two weeks to go before the polls, the opposition alliance has complained of

harassment. “It is doubtful that the election will be free

and fair,” said Kamal Hossain, leader of the alli-ance that includes the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Indian opp’n leader jailed for life: An Indian court on Monday jailed for life a leader of the main opposition Congress party for his role in anti-Sikh riots that erupted after the 1984 mur-der of the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi,

and killed nearly 3,000 people. The ruling party hailed the conviction of the

former Congress member of parliament, Sajjan Kumar, as a confi rmation of justice, just months before a general election when it will face off against the Congress, now led by Gandhi’s grandson.

Anti-Sikh riots broke out in Delhi after the assassination of Prime Minster Gandhi, of the Congress party, by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

Most of those killed in one of India’s bloodi-est outbreaks of rioting since independence, were

Sikhs, who make up about 2 percent of Hindu-majority India’s 1.3 billion people.

At the time, Congress supporters were widely suspected of egging on the mobs.

The Delhi High Court said Kumar, at the time serving the fi rst of three terms in parliament, was convicted of criminal conspiracy and for deliver-ing “provocative speeches instigating violence against Sikhs”.

The court ordered him to surrender by Dec 31. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Sri Lankan leader reinstates PM: Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday launched a scathing verbal attack at his reappointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, accusing his leadership of being corrupt and anti-national, casting doubt on any immediate end to the country’s restive politics.

Maithripala Sirisena administered the oath to Wickremesinghe, nearly two months after fi ring him and setting off a long political stalemate in the South Asian island nation. But soon after the ceremony, he made a speech in which he said he doubted if the two leaders will be able to work together for long.

“With the issues we have I am not sure what guarantees we have that we could go on this journey together,” Sirisena told Wickremesinghe and a group of his lawmakers. He said he can’t fi nd people of honesty and integrity to help him take the country forward. (AP)

Mahadeshwar

A rescued person is rushed out after a fire broke out at the five-story government-run ESIC Kamgar Hospital in Andheri, Mumbai, India on Dec 17. Police say the fire is

believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit. (AP)

Subcontinent

World News Roundup


12

Climate

Hope for future grows

Funding undershoots real‘needs’ for poor countriesBARCELONA, Dec 18, (RTRS): UN climate talks in Poland over the past two weeks failed to deliver enough new funding for poor countries that are already suffering as the world warms, but did take some steps towards nar-rowing the shortfall in the future, experts said.

About 10 national and regional governments, main-ly in Europe, announced fresh contributions to key global climate funds.

Germany led the way in pledging an additional 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), as it moves to refi ll its coffers next year.

Norway also promised to double its contribution to the GCF, while the UN Adaptation Fund – which backs projects to help developing nations adjust to climate extremes and rising seas – received about $129 million in new donations, its best year since it was launched in 2007.

But fi nance experts and of-fi cials said the cash, while wel-come, fell far short of the amount needed for vulnerable states to

adopt clean energy and keep their people safe from wors-ening fl oods, droughts, storms and other threats.

The LDC group has said that developing countries overall would require more than $4 trillion to put into practice the plans they have submitted to the United Na-tions under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

Such plans, by all countries, are jointly intended to hold global temperature rise to “well below” 2ºC, and ideally under 1.5ºC, compared to pre-industrial times.

Joe Thwaites, a sustainable fi nance researcher with the World Resources Institute, said a decision in Po-land to assess developing-country needs in imple-menting those plans every four years, starting from 2020, was a “signifi cant breakthrough”.

That assessment, produced by an expert committee, could shape discussions on setting a new target for in-ternational funding for developing countries, above a fl oor of $100 billion a year for 2020-2025, he said.

The climate conference in the Polish city of Kato-wice agreed that the process to set a post-2025 goal would begin in late 2020 – something poorer nations had been pushing for.

A more measured approach should result in a new goal that better refl ects real needs, focuses on closing gaps in funding, particularly for adaptation, and is far more specifi c in terms of what can be counted towards it, he added.

The ambiguity of what wealthy governments can report as climate fi nance for vulnerable countries – in-cluding loans and export credit guarantees – has been controversial.

The “rule book” hammered out in Katowice as the basis for implementing the Paris Agreement failed to rectify that, said Brandon Wu, policy director at Ac-tionAid USA.

For example, the United States could offer a $10-million commercial loan to Uganda for a climate project that would have to be repaid with interest, but could still count it as fi nancial support, he said.

Wu

This image provided by the Carnegie Institution for Science shows an artist’s concept of a dwarf planet that astronomers say is the farthest known object in our solar system, which they have nicknamed ‘Farout’. The Interna-tional Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of the pink cosmic body on Dec 17. (AP)

SpaceX to launch US spy sat in 1st national security mission

Trump eyes US Space CommandWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (Agencies): US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order soon, possibly as early as Tuesday, creating a US Space Command that will better organize and advance the military’s vast operations in space, US offi cials say.

Vice-President Mike Pence will make the announcement Tuesday at the Ken-nedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, two US offi cials said.

Trump’s order is separate from his oft-stated goal of creating a “Space Force” as an independent armed ser-vice branch, but it’s considered a step in that direction. The move will launch a long and complicated process, re-quiring the Defense Department to pull together various space units and agen-cies from across the military services into a more coordinated, independent organization.

The US Air Force’s existing Space Command would be a key component of the new joint entity, raising space to the same status as US Cyber Com-mand.

The US offi cials said the order will be signed by the end of the year, but could happen as early as Tuesday.

They spoke on condition of anonym-ity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The move would actually recreate a US Space Command, which existed from 1985 to 2002. It was disbanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist at-tacks so US Northern Command could be established, focusing on defense of the homeland.

Although Space Command went away, its functions did not. They were absorbed by US Strategic Command, and the Air Force retained its lead role in space through Air Force Space Command.

The military has been trying for decades to reorganize and accelerate technological advances in space. Some blame the Air Force for under-invest-ing in space because it prefers spend-ing on warplanes.

The key goal is to fi nd more effec-tive ways to defend US interests in space, especially the constellations of satellites that US ground, sea and air forces rely on for navigation, commu-nications and surveillance. These roles make them increasingly tempting mili-tary targets as China and Russia work

on ways to disrupt, disable and even destroy American satellites.

The military’s role in space has been under scrutiny because the United States is increasingly reliant on orbiting satel-lites that are diffi cult to protect.

US intelligence agencies reported earlier this year that Russia and China were pursuing “nondestructive and destructive” anti-satellite weapons for use during a future war. And there are growing worries about cyber-attacks that could target satellite technology, potentially leaving troops in combat without electronic communications or navigation abilities.

Also:ORLANDO: Elon Musk’s SpaceX was poised on Tuesday to launch a new spy satellite for the US military, marking what the space transportation company said was its fi rst designated national security mission for the United States.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a roughly $500 million GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp, was sched-uled for lift off from Florida’s Cape Ca-naveral shortly after 9 am (1700 GMT) local time, the US Air Force said.

Space

In this Dec 3 fi le photo provided by the US Air Force, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Spacefl ight SSO-A: SmallSat Express, launches from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vanden-berg Air Force Base, Calif. US Presi-dent Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order soon, possibly as early as Dec 18, creating a US Space Command that will better organize and advance the military’s vast operations

in space, US offi cials say. (AP)

Jiang

Barrier not trapping plastic waste: A fl oating device sent to corral a swirling island of trash between California and Ha-waii has not swept up any plastic waste – but the young innovator behind the project said Monday that a fi x was in the works.

Boyan Slat, 24, who launched the Pa-cifi c Ocean cleanup project, said the speed of the solar-powered barrier isn’t allowing it to hold on to the plastic it catches.

“Sometimes the system actually moves slightly slower than the plastic, which of course you don’t want because then you have a chance of losing the plastic again,” Slat said in an interview with The Associated Press.

A crew of engineers will reach the U-shaped boom Tuesday and will work for the next few weeks to widen its span so that it catches more wind and waves to help it go faster, he said.

A ship towed the 2,000-foot-long (600-meter-long) barrier in September from San Francisco to the Great Pacifi c Garbage Patch – an island of trash twice the size of Texas. It has been in place since the end of October, Slat said.

The plastic barrier with a tapered 10-foot-deep (3-meter-deep) screen is intended to act like a coastline, trapping some of the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that scientists esti-

Discovery

In this Oct 16, 2018 fi le photo, a polar bear blows bubbles as he dives in the water at his enclosure during warm late summer weather at the zoo in Gelsen-

kirchen, Germany. (AP)

mate are swirling in the patch while allowing marine life to safely swim beneath it.

Slat said he is not deterred by the set-back because engineers expected to make tweaks to the system. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

Extinct reptiles boasted feathers: A microscopic examination of fossils from China has revealed that the fur-like body covering of pterosaurs, the remarkable fl ying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs, was actually made up of rudimentary feathers.

The surprising discovery described by scientists on Monday means that dinosaurs and their bird descendants were not the only creatures to boast feathers and that feathers likely appeared much longer ago than previously known. Pterosaurs were only distantly related to dinosaurs and birds.

Birds need feathers to fl y. That was not the case with pterosaurs. Short, hair-like feathers covered their bodies and wings but lacked the strong central shaft of avian fl ight feathers, the researchers said. They may have provided insulation and other benefi ts, as hair does for mammals.

“They were not fl ight feathers,” said paleontologist Baoyu Jiang of Nanjing University, who led the research published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. “They looked fuzzy, and they didn’t have complicated feathers.”

The researchers examined beautifully preserved Jurassic Period fossils roughly 160 to 165 million years old of two small pterosaurs called anurognathids from northeastern China. Apparently forest dwellers and insect eaters, they possessed 18-inch (45 cm) wingspans, short tails and superfi cially frog-like faces.

Pterosaurs were the fi rst vertebrates to master fl ight, followed much later by birds and bats. Scientists have known since the 19th century that pterosaurs had a fur-like body covering and there has been a long-running scientifi c debate about how to classify it. (RTRS)

Scientists spot solar system’s farthest known objectAstronomers have spotted the farthest known object in our solar system – and they’ve nicknamed the pink cosmic body “Farout”.

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center an-nounced the discovery Monday.

“Farout” is about 120 astro-

nomical units away – that’s 120 times the distance between Earth and the sun, or 11 billion miles. The previous record-hold-er was the dwarf planet Eris at 96 astronomical units. Pluto, by comparison, is 34 astronomical units away.

The Carnegie Institution’s Scott Sheppard said the object is so far away and moving so slowly it will take a few years to determine its orbit. At that distance, it could take more than 1,000 years to orbit the sun.

Sheppard and his team spied

the dwarf planet in November us-ing a telescope in Hawaii. Their fi nding was confi rmed by a tel-escope in Chile.

“I actually uttered “farout” when I fi rst found this object, because I immediately noticed from its slow movement that it must be far out

there,” Sheppard wrote in an email. “It is the slowest moving object I have ever seen and is re-ally out there.”

It is an estimated 310 miles (500 kilometers) across and be-lieved to be round. Its pink shade indicates an ice-rich object. Little

else is known.The discovery came about as

the astronomers were search-ing for the hypothetical Planet X, a massive planet believed by some to be orbiting the sun from vast distances, well beyond Pluto. (AP)

Slat

Featu

res

Featu

res

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Bumblebee in a scene from ‘Bumblebee’. (AP)

A charming tale of a girl and her adorable car-robot

‘Transformers’ gets a great savior in ‘Bumblebee’By Mark Kennedy

The “Transformers” movie universe has lately been leaky and rusted out. It’s become shorthand for bad blockbuster moviemaking –

male-driven, mindless spectaculars with sophomoric humor. How can it be saved? Just hand the keys over to some talented women.

“Bumblebee”, the sixth fi lm in the series, is a stand-alone origin story written with disarming skill by Christina Hodson and starring the gifted Hailee Steinfeld. It’s a charming tale of a girl and her ador-able car-robot, fl ipping the script on the tired, bloated franchise. While hard-core fan-boys may complain it’s too soft, this fi lm may turn out to be the perfect way to save “Transformers”. Could Bumblebee rescue Optimus Prime this time?

“Bumblebee” is set outside San Francisco in 1987, where the loyal B-127 Autobot has been sent to protect Earth and prepare the ground-work for the franchise (He’ll befriend Shia LaBeouf at the start of the fi rst fi lm.) Badly hurt while battling two evil tracking Decepticons, he loses his voice and memories. Then he disguises himself as a vintage Volkswagen Bug and waits for deliverance in a salvage yard (not un-like the entire “Transformers” universe).

He’s discovered by goth-y misfi t Charlie Watson (Steinfeld), who is fond of car repair, Motorhead T-shirts and listening to The Smiths. She is still mourning her dead dad and feels generally unheard. For her

18th birthday, Charlie drives off with the junked VW that has a whole bunch of secret options.

DiscoveringDespite discovering that the car is, in fact, an alien, she feels a kin-

ship to this mute metal giant with expressive eyes, calling him Bumble-bee. He, too, is unheard, but learns to communicate using word snip-pets he hears on the radio. She warns that bad guys are sure to come and take him away, but she will protect him. “People can be terrible about things they don’t understand,” she tells him.

Thus starts a sort of “E.T.” for 2018, in which Charlie and Bumble-bee outfox another pair of Decepticons, the entire US Army (led by a mechanical John Cena) and her distracted mom and stepdad. If the fi lm seems to have that kid-sized, wistful ‘80s Steven Spielberg feel, it might be because Spielberg serves as an executive producer. (Fran-chise helmer Michael Bay has been exiled from the director’s chair to the executive suite.)

Hodson is the fi rst woman to originate and write a fi lm in the $4.3-billion “Transformers” franchise and she proves extremely capa-ble of blending loud action with human pathos, not to mention tart with sweet, though she gets dangerously close to maudlin when it comes to Charlie’s dad. “I can’t lose you, too,” the young woman tells the yel-

low robot. Steinfeld nails teen alienation but also can turn on empathy beautifully and has a winning cockiness. Plus, she sings the movie’s signature song (Talk about a transformer).

Hodson and director Travis Knight (“Kubo and the Two Strings”) take full advantage of the fi lm’s late-1980s setting to give us visual and audio jokes. Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” plays during a montage as Charlie lovingly restores a muscle car, and Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” blares during a car chase. This is the 80s, so expect plenty of Walkman, Pop-Tarts, “Alf” and “Miami Vice” references. And look for a moment when it seems like the very internet itself gets created, a clever low-key touch.

Hits by Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, a-ha, Tears for Fears and Wang Chung are sprinkled throughout. (Bumblebee turns out to be quite a good music critic, too, hilariously rejecting some of Charlie’s options). Die-hard franchise fans also get to hear the power ballad “You Got the Touch” that appeared in the 1986’s animated “Transformers” fi lm. (Well played, fi lmmakers.) They’re also true to the universe – Bumble-bee will eventually change at the end to what he becomes when Bay was in charge, a Chevrolet Camaro.

After so many over-the-top battles in the metal-thumping series, it’s fun here to watch Bumblebee commit more small-scale mayhem, like egging someone’s car. (AP)

LOS ANGELES: Ansel Elgort has come aboard to star in the drama “The Great High School Imposter” for Participant Media and Conde Nast Entertainment.

The project is based on a Dan-iel Riley GQ Magazine article published this year about Artur Samarin, a young Ukranian man who posed as a teenager so he could be adopted by a childless couple in a small Pennsylvania town and became the top student in his high school. Saramin was fi ve years older than he claimed. His adopted parents turned him into the authorities.

Mike Makowsky is adapting the script. Jeremy Steckler of Conde Nast Entertainment is producing. Makowsky, Elgort, and Emily Gerson Saines will be executive producers. Robert Kessel and Jonathan King are overseeing for Participant.

Elgort starred in “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Baby Driver” and is attached to play the lead role of Tony in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake. Makowsky wrote “Bad Education”, starring Hugh Jack-man, Allison Janney, and Ray Romano. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: A number of Oscar hopefuls just got one step closer to a nomination with Monday’s reveal of nine Acad-emy Awards shortlists, including best foreign language fi lm where Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and Lee Chang-dong’s thriller “Burning” are among nine fi lms in consideration.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday announced shortlists for a number of below the line categories including hair and makeup, score, original song and best documentary, where crowd-pleasers like the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary “RBG” and the Fred Rogers fi lm “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” made the cut.

Shortlists, decided on by executive committees in the fi lm academy, help narrow the playing fi eld in many of the categories before they are whit-tled down further to fi ve fi nal nominations in late January.

Many believe Mexico’s “Roma” to be a front-runner

for a best picture nomination as well, while the acclaimed “Burning”, which is based on a Haruki Murakami story, could make history by becom-ing South Korea’s fi rst ever nominee. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actor Jeff Bridges will receive

a lifetime achievement award at January’s Golden Globes ceremony for his wide range of work, from Western “True Grit” to comedy “The Big Lebowski”, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association said on Monday.

Bridges will be honored by the HFPA with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, an annual accolade given to a person who has made a last-

ing impact on the world of fi lm.The 69-year-old actor has been

nominated for fi ve Golden Globes and won once for his role as a faded country music star in 2009 drama “Crazy Heart”. That per-formance also earned Bridges an Oscar. He also famously played the slacker known as “The Dude” in 1998’s “Big Lebowski”.

“Bridges’ brilliant body of

work across diverse genres has captured the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide for more than six decades,” HFPA President Meher Tatna said in a statement.

The DeMille Award is named after the infl uential Hollywood director who spanned both the silent and sound eras of fi lm. (RTRS)

Film

Variety

Film

Christian Bale nails the Dick Cheney persona

‘Vice’ an entertaining, deep biopicBy Owen Gleiberman

From Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, the leaders of right-wing Republican poli-

tics have tended to be fire-breathers (or, in the case of Reagan, a saber rattler who could make snake oil taste like honey). But Dick Cheney broke that mold. Speaking in soft terse corporate tones, with the preci-sion squint of someone running a marketing seminar, Cheney was the ultimate stealth power player – the mild-mannered functionary of burn-it-all-down con-servatism. No matter how extreme his views (more torture! more fossil fuels! more dismissal of the main-stream media! more war!), he always made it sound rea-sonable, as if he were discussing not attack-dog politics but facts. When he confronted an interviewer with that wry avuncular voice and slightly beady glare and spit a phrase like “enhanced interrogation techniques” out the side of his mouth, Cheney, in his everything-is-process staccato way, seemed to be telling it like it was. He was saying: Power is a fact. That’s why the truth is whatever I say it is.

In “Vice”, Adam McKay’s brashly entertaining but not, in the end, as rich or deep as you want it to be biop-ic of the 43rd president’s vice-president (a man of con-ventional wisdom, during George W. Bush’s bumbling reign, held to be the de facto control freak behind the throne), Christian Bale nails the Dick Cheney persona – dry, pointed, deceptively dull, invisibly passive-aggres-sive, a blank with a hint of a growl – and does it with a playful bravura that could hardly be more perfect.

It’s an impersonation, though one brought off on a virtuoso level of observation and exactitude. Bale, thanks to a stupendous job of prosthetic enhancement, disappears inside Cheney’s doughy armchair-warrior physique and deceptively innocuous balding head, but a puckish aura of Bale obsession shines through; he channels everything about Cheney that, in the Bush era, made him such a recessive and, in his way, magnetic fi gure of clandestine destruction. Bale’s Cheney, who has no problem stomping on the Constitution, behaves like an unhinged ruler, yet he does it with the offi cious calm of a civil servant. He’s a dictator giving orders, and a pencil pusher following orders, all in one body.

McKay, who wrote and directed the fi lm, sticks mostly to the facts, though he includes a sprinkling of satirical fantasy sequences, at one point presenting the Machiavellian pillow talk of Dick and his wife, Lynne (Amy Adams), as a Shakespearean dialogue (the absurd joke of it is how untheatrical the actual Dick Cheney is), or rolling a fake set of closing credits just before Cheney makes his lunge for the vice-presidency, giving the movie – and, by implication, America – the “happy ending” it might have had if Cheney had never assumed ultimate power.

StraightYet even when he’s playing it straight, which is

most of the time, McKay treats the movie as a slightly cracked burlesque. He turns history into a rollicking cir-cus for liberals, inviting us to revel in Dick Cheney’s Greatest Hits Of Infamy. “Vice” takes a lip-smacking vengeful glee in shining a light on all the dark things that Dick Cheney did behind the scenes, from reckless-ly grabbing command of the military decision-making process just moments after the fi rst attack on 9/11 (this included Cheney’s wild order to shoot down any planes deemed suspicious) to lining up favors for his cronies in the oil industry to fi nding arcane “legal” ways to justify the trashing of the Geneva Convention. None of this will come as news to anyone who regularly consumes the front page of The New York Times. Neverthe-less, the pop catharsis of “Vice”, to the extent that the movie provides one, is in actually seeing Dick Cheney throw his weight around, elbowing the wimpy, clueless George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) out of the way as he effectively assumes the role of president.

Along with all that ruthless power, there are the famil-iar Cheney nuggets and anecdotes: the hunting accident that he never apologized for (and that seemed to express his underlying violence); the Tao of his obsession with fl y-fi shing; the eager consumption of sweet rolls and other artery-clogging pleasures that Dick, with a wink, pretends are healthy; the serial heart attacks, which begin to arrive so regularly that they become the movie’s comic leitmo-tif, the punchline being that Dick takes them in stride, as if they were nothing more than muscle cramps, since you

can’t kill a heart that’s already dead. The ultimate Cheney peccadillo may be the one hint of tenderness that actually nudges his ideology: Since his younger daughter, Mary (Alison Pill), is gay, on the campaign trail he refuses to make any overt statement against gay marriage. (Lynne, on the other hand, will prove that she has no problem throwing Mary under the bus.)

Yet as outrageous, and entertainingly horrible, as much of this is to watch, like a feature-length “Satur-day Night Live” skit staged by the editors of Politico, none of it comes close to confronting the question that I went into a two-hour-and-12-minute movie about Dick Cheney in ardent hopes of getting an answer to. Namely: Who is Dick Cheney? How did he get to be the singular domineering bureaucrat-scoundrel he is? What is it that makes this scheming man, with the cold ticker that keeps on ticking, tick?

As you watch “Vice”, it’s not that the fi lm comes up with an answer that’s overly glib or unconvincing; it doesn’t come up with much of an answer at all. The Dick Cheney of “Vice” looks and talks and operates just like the Cheney we’re familiar with, but in terms of his underlying spirit he might as well be a kabuki fi g-ure. The audience, in trying to suss out his motivation, let alone (gulp!) his inner life, is forced to fall back on abstractions like “greed” and “power” and “a fl agrant contempt for democracy,” the sort of labels that add up to a liberal-left indictment but do little to explain, on a level of personal psychology, the crucial issue of how American right-wing patriotism got hijacked into something so corrupt. “Vice” is a preaching-to-the-choir movie, but its real limitation is that it refuses to grant its subject the full humanity that would deepen the argument against him into something more than a standard progressive fusillade.

What makes this fl aw more curiously glaring is that the fi lm opens with a portrait of the young Cheney as a total screw-up, a loser with no ambition. “Vice” starts in the early ‘60s, when Cheney is a boozing-and-fi ght-ing lout (not so different from the collegiate George W. Bush) who gets himself kicked out of Yale and winds up working as a phone lineman.

Continued on Page 14

Bridges Murakami

WE

DN

ESD

AY

, DE

CE

MB

ER

19,

201

8

People & Places

NEWS/FEATURESARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

14

Film

Sticks to facts

McKay shines light on‘dark side’ of Cheney

This does not exactly please his fi ancee, Lynne, played by Adams as a straight shooter who thought Dick would take care of her. She’s disgusted by the fact that she’s set to marry a drunk, and Dick, who loves her devotedly, will do anything to get back in her good graces.

Yet even as the movie cuts to 1968, when Cheney has won a coveted spot in a Congressional internship program in Washington, D.C., he doesn’t display any special qualities or ambition. He attaches himself to the conservative Illinois congressman Donald Rumsfeld, played with cartoon energy (though not a lot more) by Steve Carell. When the Cheneys and Rumsfelds go out to dinner, and Donald is charmed as hell by Lynne’s ras-cal humor, that’s as close as we get to an explanation of

Dick’s early rise.He’s a man who likes being

in the shadows; his fi rst offi ce is almost literally a closet, and he’s totally at home there. By the time Richard Nixon resigns from the presidency, Cheney and Rumsfeld are ready to ride the ascension of Gerald Ford into the center of a national power vacuum, but even after Rumsfeld is appointed Secre-tary of Defense, paving the way for Dick to become the youngest

White House Chief of Staff in history, it’s not clear that he’s anything but a hanger-on to power, a lackey who got lucky.

Power“Vice”, for a while, treats Dick as a kind of Zelig/

Candide fi gure, tripping through decades of Republican power games. He doesn’t become the ultimate cards-to-the-vest player until he’s confronted by the surreal prospect of George W. Bush, a third-rate myopic boob, running for president. The way he secures the role of vice-president is vintage Cheney. As the fi lm portrays it, when Dick initially turns down the offer, volunteer-ing instead to be the one-man search committee that will help W. fi nd his vice, it’s all a charade. He does it as a kind of soft-shoe, mostly to fool Lynne (who doesn’t want him to become vice-president), knowing that George will ultimately offer the job to him because of his need to please a father fi gure just like Dick. Rock-well does a spot-on impression of Bush’s pleasure-driven obliviousness (he’s more interested in barbecue than policy), and by the time Cheney gets in there, he’s already controlling everything.

Is that how it really happened? Maybe so, but the fi lm’s smirkiness doesn’t always translate to a tone of authority. Take the seismic event of Colin Powell, in the run-up to the Iraq War, agreeing to testify before the United Nations about WMDs. Anyone with a brain watching that crucial testimony knew not simply that Powell was lying, but that he was betraying every ves-tige of integrity he had (except for the military value of following orders). The question, of course, is: How did that all go down behind the scenes? McKay answers it by having Tyler Perry play Powell – a piece of stunt casting that never gels, since Perry doesn’t nail Pow-ell’s gravitas – and then staging a scene that fails, in any meaningful way, to show us what actually happened. Instead, he creates a glib riff on the abstract cliche in our heads.

MessageAs it turns out, the message of “Vice” isn’t about

what’s going on in Dick Cheney’s soul. It’s that Cheney, once he becomes vice president (the ultimate bureaucratic command post), does more than anyone before him to centralize – and, therefore, dictatorial-ize – American presidential power. And that connects him, maybe more than we thought, to the bullying, contempt-for-the-rule-of-law leadership, and the ex-istential crisis for democracy, that we’re right in the middle of now. Unlike Donald Trump, Cheney was an establishment fi gure, yet he helped to spearhead a new kind of American establishment that saw itself as renegade; it wielded the exercise of power to create its own reality. And in a sick way, as embodied by Cheney’s style of secretive authority, it was corpo-rate offi ce management pushed to a ruthless extreme. “Vice” shows you all this. But the movie, though it pretends to reveal how power works, is ultimately content to remain on the outside, sticking its fi nger in the eye of power.

Also:NEW YORK: A 1974 New York state ban on nunchucks that was put into place over fears that youth inspired by martial arts movies would create widespread mayhem is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, a fed-eral court has ruled.

Judge Pamela Chen issued her ruling Friday in a Brooklyn federal court on the martial arts weapon made famous by Bruce Lee.

The plaintiff, James Maloney, started his legal quest after being charged with possession of nunchucks in his home in 2000. He initially fi led a complaint in 2003, and appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court when the case went against him. The Supreme Court in 2010 re-manded the case back down to be reconsidered in light of a Second Amendment decision it had made in another case, and Maloney fi led an amended complaint later that year.

Maloney had been focused on getting the part of the law overturned that banned nunchucks, two rigid rods connected at one end by a chain or rope, even in private homes.

In her ruling, Chen said the court couldn’t simply take that part out, and ruled that the state’s law as it pertained to possessing nunchuks as well as to manufacturing, transporting or disposing of them was in violation of the Second Amendment.

The ruling went over the history of the ban, and said it “arose out of a concern that, as a result of the rising popularity of ‘Kung Fu’ movies and shows’, ‘various circles of the state’s youth’ – including ‘muggers and street gangs’ – were ‘widely’ using nunchuks to cause ‘many serious injuries’.”

In an email to The Associated Press, Maloney said “perhaps the most amazing thing” was getting more re-lief than he had asked for.

Maloney, a professor at the State University of New York’s Maritime College, said some of his motivation was outrage. “How could a state simply ban any and all possession of a weapon that had a long and proud his-tory as a martial-arts weapon, with recreational, thera-peutic and self-defense utility,” he said.

Maloney also wanted to teach a form of martial art using nunchucks that he created, which he calls “Shafan Ha Lavan” to his sons, the ruling said.

The suit names the Nassau County district attorney as a defendant. The county’s lawyer had no immediate comment. (Agencies)

Bale

In this Dec 13, 2016 fi le photo, Jeff Cook (left), Randy Owen (center), and Teddy Gentry of the group Alabama tapes a song for Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Rise Telethon in Nashville, Tenn. Country band Alabama will mark 50 years together with a new tour in 2019, more than a year after founding member Cook an-nounced that he has Parkinson’s disease. Cook will join band members Owen and Gentry on the tour as much as physically possible on the tour that begins Jan

10 in Detroit. (AP)

Dylan, T-Bone feature on Bear and a Banjo album

McCartney takes aim at bullyingLOS ANGELES, Dec 18, (RTRS): Paul McCartney and Emma Stone get sur-real for a good cause in the short fi lm inspired by McCartney’s new anti-bul-lying song “Who Cares”, which held its premiere Sunday night at Beverly Hills’ Fine Arts Theater.

In the short directed by Brantley Guitierrez (a longtime McCartney tour photographer) and choreographer Ryan Heffi ngton, the music legend and the A-lister romp around in a black-and-white dance number with mime-like dancers and harlequins on hand-drawn mini-malist sets. The fi lm is designed to kick off the anti-bullying social media cam-paign dubbed “#WhoCaresIDo” backed by numerous non-profi t orgs, including Creative Visions Foundation, Artemis Rising and Blue Chip Foundation.

“Who Cares” will drop Monday on Apple Music as an exclusive for 24 hours. After that the hope is that the video and its earnest message, wrapped up in bizarro imagery, will go viral on social media platforms. “Who Cares” preaches that people – no less a cultural giant than Sir Paul himself! – should speak out more about caring for their fellow humans.

“We need a shift in consciousness to make 2019 a year of caring,” said Kathy Eldon, CEO of Creative Visions, which spearheaded the project with LA-based production company Subtractive.

“We had a big idea and $5,” said Sub-tractive CEO Kyle Schember. At the post-screening Q&A there were heaps of praise for the top-fl ight production team assembled for a pic that runs un-der 10 minutes. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren worked with Stone on the movie that won her an Oscar, 2016’s

“La La Land”. Gutierrez said he origi-nally suggested making a fi lm based on a different tune from McCartney’s 2018 release “Egypt Station”, which became his buzziest album in years thanks to Sir Paul’s relentless promotion. But the song “Who Cares” fi t the mission of Creative Visions, et al. much better.

The video was shot over two days in early October on a stage in Brooklyn. Scheduling was a challenge. Gutierrez informed the crowd that McCartney stipulates his working hours outside of the concert stage are 12 to 6, “which is probably why he looks that good.”

Gutierrez also answered the One Big Question on the minds of everyone in the audience who turned out while Mc-Cartney himself was across the Pond playing London’s O2 Arena with spe-cial guests Ringo Starr and the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood.

“He’s exactly what you hope Paul McCartney is like,” Gutierrez said. “Cheeky and super-kind.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Jared Gutstadt, the co-founder of production music house Jingle Punks and a multi-instrumentalist who fa-vors guitar and drums, is extending beyond his fi eld with the release of his fi rst album of original material under the name Bear and a Banjo. In typical Punks style, Gutstadt – who performs under the name Jingle Jared – is taking a somewhat disruptive approach. The songs will form the basis of a narrative podcast series released through iHeart-Media’s new podcasting unit Stuff Me-dia.

Co-written and recorded with Gram-my-winning hitmaker Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd and produced by T Bone

Burnett, the group’s eight-song collec-tion of low-fi Americana is gritty and poetic. Infused with blues, rock and hip-hop, it has the whiskey-fueled charm of music recorded in an Airstream trailer (which it was, in Gutstadt’s Brentwood backyard).

The podcast, which Gutstadt plans to shop as a potential television series, will further amplify the offbeat vibe the songs hint at. “T Bone Burnett, who is truly the Alan Lomax of our time, is a musicologist and an interpreter of folk traditions as pop culture, as with his work with the Coen brothers, and Bob Dylan’s ‘Rolling Thunder Review’,” says Gutstadt, citing in addition to those inspirations the book “The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes”, by Greil Marcus, among his inspirations. Dylan himself contributed lyrics to one of the Bear and a Banjo songs, “Gone But Not For-gotten”, which can be heard here for the fi rst time, along with a second track, “Can You Hear Me Now”.

Former TBS and TNT director of digital innovation Jimmy Jellinek, now a producer and content creator at ITV, has been hired to script the pro-ject, which will feature a single narrator spinning yarns at the intersection of folk and noir. “I’m reading the book ‘Why Bob Dylan Matters,’ which talks about how poetry shouldn’t reveal everything, but have layers which can be peeled back so people can discover their own meaning. We have as a jumping off-point the songs, amplifying that some-what through narrative scripts, but at the service of the listener, and hopefully at some point the anthology viewer’s imagination,” Gutstadt says.

Music

Actress Hilarie Burton (left), son Au-gustus Morgan and husband actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan attend a special screening of Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins Returns’, hosted by The Cinema So-ciety, at the SVA Theatre on Dec 17

in New York. (AP)

Sheeran Driver

LOS ANGELES: Ed Sheeran topped Pollstar’s 2018 year-end global touring chart with a record $432 million gross on 4,860,482 tickets sold, the publication announced today, with Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” tour leading the US tours chart with $277.3 million and came in second globally with $345.1 million on 2,888,892 tickets sold.

Jay-Z and Beyonce’s “OTRII” tour of North America and Europe came in third globally, with $254.1 million on 2,169,050 tickets sold.

In the announcement, the longtime live-entertainment touring publication said its Top 100 World Wide tours totaled $5.6 bil-lion, with 59.8 million tickets sold, compiled from 3,691 event records. Its Top 100 North American tours totaled $3.7 billion US dol-lars with 40.0 million tickets sold compiled from 3,025 event records.

Among other highlights, it noted that Sheeran’s 2018 tour numbers, when com-bined with 2017, is already the third highest-grossing tour in Pollstar’s history ($554.6 million) behind U2’s “360” ($735 million) and the Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang” ($558 million) tours. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Screen Media has bought North American rights to Terry Gilliam’s troubled “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”, starring Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgard, Olga Kurylenko and Jordi Molla.

The fi lm had its world premiere as the closing night fi lm at Cannes 2018. Directed and written by Terry Gilliam, the fi lm is co-written by Tony Grisoni and produced by Mariela Besuievsky, Amy Gilliam, Gerardo Herrero, and Gregoire Melin.

Amazon had been set to handle US release of the fi lm, which was embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute over its owner-

Variety

Mexican fi lm director Alfonso Cuaron stands with Mexican actresses Mariana de Tavira (left), Yalitza Aparicio (second from right), and Nancy Garcia on the red carpet for their fi lm ‘Roma’ in Mexico City on Dec 17. The fi lm Roma is about a middle class family living in Mexico City in the 1970’s, inspired by the childhood

days of Cuaron, Roma’s director. (AP)

ship, but backed out earlier this year. Gilliam started shooting the picture in 1998 with Jean Rochefort as Quixote and Johnny Depp playing a marketing execu-tive who is sent back in time. But shooting stopped after Rochefort became ill and the fi lm was riddled with fi nancial diffi culties

and insurance problems. (RTRS)❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: In a New York Times article published Sunday, “Orange Is the New Black” actress Yael Stone alleged that Geoffrey Rush harassed her numerous times

while they both worked on a theater produc-tion in 2010. She said he exposed himself to her, sent her sexually suggestive text mes-sages, and used a mirror to spy on her while she showered.

Rush has issued a statement denying Stone’s allegations.

“From the outset I must make it clear that the allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by Yael Stone are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context,” the statement read. “How-ever, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work. I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most cer-tainly, has never been my intention.” (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: “America’s Got Talent” rocker Courtney Hadwin has signed a deal with Arista Record in partnership with Simon Cowell’s Syco Music, the label an-nounced today.

“It feels amazing to be joining Syco and I am super excited and feel so lucky,” said the native of Hartlepool in Northern England. “I’ve always wanted to work on original songs and to be able to do that with the support of Syco while staying true to myself and the music I like is a dream come true. I can’t thank them enough for giving me this chance.” The 14-year old vocalist, who fi nished sixth in the competition and is set to compete on “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” on NBC this January, is currently in the studio working on new music due to be released in 2019. (RTRS)


ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

15

h o r o s c o p eBy Jacqueline Bigar

Happy birthday for Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018: This year you might have more fun than you thought was possible. The unex-pected occurs, often suddenly; however, don’t lose your sense of direction. If you are single, you meet people with ease. Around the midpoint of your birthday year, someone quite intriguing could enter your life. If you are attached, you and your partner have many long-desired dreams that you want to realize. Work toward one of them this year. Taurus pushes you hard, which frequently annoys you.

The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Diffi cult

Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19)

***** Your creativity emerges through your choices and actions. You can go with the fl ow and not be so concerned about oth-

ers’ reactions. Give up the need to be politi-cally correct at this moment in time. Tonight: As a “free spirit” for a day, what would you choose to do?

Aquarius - (Jan 20 - Feb 18)

**** Stay centered. Choose to stay close to home because it feels good. You also will level out others’ hyper energy that way. At-tend to last-minute details, and make sure you have everything you need. Tonight: Enjoy the tree and nibble on a cookie while visiting with a loved one.

Pisces - (Feb 19 - Mar 20)

*** Know that it is important to choose the right words and say the right things at the right times. If you mess up, don’t get too uptight. Just allow it all to wash over you. Someone could stun you with his or her words. Maintain your sense of humor. To-night: Trust your intuition.

Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19)

**** You might wonder about a growing feeling of possessiveness. You easily could be off-kilter due to all of the activity and pres-sure around you. Your imagination might go haywire, as you are dealing with a certain ele-ment of unpredictability. Tonight: Do some holiday shopping.

Taurus - (Apr 20 - May 20)

*** Others could have information they don’t know what to do with. You know what works, so you will pitch in and help. You are looking at the possibility of realizing a long-term goal. Keep your focus. An unexpected development helps clarify your perspective. Tonight: Say “yes.”

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20)

*** Know what is going on behind the

scenes. Fatigue could affect your perspec-tive. What a perfect excuse to take a nap! Approach the remainder of the day more en-ergized. Still, you might choose to clear up a disagreement. Tonight: Take some much-needed personal time.

Cancer - (June 21 - July 22)

**** Enjoy the moment and all the people around you. You could have a lot of ground to cover. Prioritize, and you will fi nd the right direction in which to head. A child needs a lot of your time, so get him or her involved in your tasks. Tonight: Let go, and enjoy the moment.

Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22)

*** Pressure builds, and your mood re-fl ects your stress level. Find a few moments alone to ground yourself. You might have to step away in the next 24 hours, as you could fi nd yourself caught in the middle of a fam-

ily issue. Try not to make the situation worse than it is. Tonight: Help an older friend or relative.

Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22)

***** Keep reaching out to a friend at a distance. This person appreciates your thoughtfulness. You might be surprised at the unexpected news he or she drops on you. Ap-proach a diffi cult child in a novel way. The outcome will be worthwhile. Tonight: Near music.

Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22)

**** Deal with a partner directly. The concern that will arise between you stems from having two different perspectives. Es-tablish boundaries. Both of you will be smil-ing until later in the day, when the other party decides to change his or her mind. Tonight: Indulge a family member.

Scorpio - (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

**** Others might be contentious and could try to use their manipulative styles to get what they want. What gives you more lev-erage is that you understand the mechanisms at work here, whereas they might not. Vocal-ize your feelings and your message. Tonight: Accept an offer.

Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21)

**** Finishing what others left undone might not be glamorous, but it is necessary. Once you are clear, you can control how you spend your time. Make choices that put a smile on your face. A decision based on your instincts is right-on. Tonight: Treat this day like any other Sunday.

❑ ❑ ❑

Born today: Illusionist Criss Angel (1967), actress Alyssa Milano (1972), foot-ball player Jake Plummer (1974)

home decor indoor gardening beauty tips taste buds

jello in vase pisonia umbellifera get rid of flabby underarms chicken nuggetsSupplies: 1 large clear vase, 6 boxes jell-o gela-tin, 6 cups boiling water, 4 cups cold water, artifi-cial flowers, wooden skewer

Directions: Dissolve the gelatin into the water you boiled. After it’s completely dissolved, stir in the cold water. Pour into the clear vase and place in the fridge. Keep checking to see if the jell-0 is setting up. This can take a while, just keep check-ing by placing a flower down into the vase with a wooden skewer. If the flower didn’t float back up, then it’s setting up.

Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ (Map Plant) is a 12 foot tall shrub or small tree with beauti-ful variegation on the 9 to 16 inch long and up to 6 inch wide leaves. There is a mottling of light and dark green colors on the leaf with the creamy edges. Blooms, which appear in early summer, are open clusters of green flowers tinged with pink.

Site: As much light as possible. Shade from hot sun.

Temperature: Only hardy to 30°F but can freeze down to hard wood and re-sprout as it did in our gardens after 26°F.

Water: Regular watering.

Rotate arms: Stretch out your arms to your sides and rotate them 20 times in clockwise and an-other 20 times anti-clockwise.

Dumbbell presses: Dumbbell press mainly targets the upper body region. Lie down flat on your back on bench and take your dumbbells in hands. Bring it overhead just above your head keeping your elbows very straight and bring it back down at 90 degrees.

Push ups: Push ups are also another exercise that helps with flabby underarms.

Ingredients:1 pound chicken tenders, salt, ground pepper,

3 tbs cornmeal, 1 tbs extra-virgin olive oilMethod: Sprinkle chicken tenders with salt and

pepper. Place cornmeal in a medium bowl, add the chicken, and toss to coat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken, turning once or twice, until browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total (thinner nuggets will cook faster than thicker ones). Serve the chicken nuggets with the berry mustard.

Dear Abby

Mogaveers Association Kuwait (MAK) honored Pramod Madwaraj, former minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports in Government of Karnataka and Devdas Kapikad, Tulu film and theatre actor, director, writer, producer, lyricist and singer,

recently at Inn & Go Kuwait Plaza Hotel, Kuwait.

Tiruvenkatam group members of Kuwait welcomed the holy month of Margazhi re-cently by having Thiruppavai Satsangh at Sri PTNarayanan’s house in Mangaf, Ku-

wait. Above: A photo from the event.

what’s on todaywhat’s on today emergency number 112

Civil ID info: 1889988Site for checking travel ban www.kuwaitcourts.gov.kw/mojweb/NGeneral/Main.jsp

■ Bridge game: Bridge tournament is being held every Sunday and Wednesday at 20:00 hours, played at the Graduates Club, next to Kuwait Engineering Society. Interested Bridge pairs or individual play-ers please contact Mohammed Merchant, Tel: 24815622, 24841158, 99612287.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ Islamic classes in French: The Enlightenment into Islam is offering Islamic Classes in French for ladies. Timings 4:30 to 7 pm. Every Wednesday. Please register at the office (Women’s Section), 2nd floor. For more information please contact us. Telephone 25362684, 99789954, 99507076, 97743327. Fax 25342573 (attention — Enlightenment into Islam)

❑ ❑ ❑

■ KTCC activities: Worship service – every Wednesday 7:00-9:00 pm at North Tent, NECK.

Children’s Bible School – every Wednesday 7 to 9 pm at Activity Building, NECK.

Overnight prayer – every 1st Thursday

from 10 pm – 4:00 am at Diwaniya, NECK.

Communion Service – every 3rd Wednesday.

The Following meeting are held at our KTCC Prayer House:

1) Children Bible School Teacher’s Prayer – 1st Saturday 7 to 9 pm.

2) Children’s Prayer – 2nd Friday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

3) Bible Study – every 2nd and 4th Sunday at 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm.

4) ISOM – Batch 1 Class Tuesdays –

7 to 9 pm and Batch 2 Class Fridays – 4 to 6 pm.

5) Choir Practice – Mondays – 6 to 8 pm.

6) Men’s Fellowship – 4th Friday – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

7) Women’s Prayer – (Abbasiya) – 3rd Sunday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm and (Salmiya) 4th Tuesday – 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

8) Fasting Prayer – every 3rd Friday from 12:00 Noon – 3:30 pm.

9) Cottage Prayers – every 2nd and 4th Week.

10) Baptism Service – every 4th Friday.

Welcome to all Tamil known people to participate in our regular activities to worship the Lord in our own mother tongue and be blessed!

For details or for any prayer needs contact Tel No: 66920350 / 99432849.

Items for the What’s On page can be sent directly to the Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, 13023, Safat or faxed to 24818267 or e-mail to [email protected]. All items on this page are published as a courtesy to the public. These announcements can include birthday greetings, weddings, social functions or any other non-commercial events. Photographs of all events are wel-come.

Sparks fail to fl y for momdating her perfect match

By Abigail Van Buren

Dear Abby: I have a close friend who is in her mid-30s. She’s a wonderful, divorced, hardwork-ing Christian mother of four who has finally ven-tured back to the dating scene. She’s currently seeing a guy who in all respects is perfect for her, she says. Unfortunately, when it comes to romance, for some reason she can’t seem to get aroused.

She really likes him and would love for this to work and feels conflicted because she doesn’t know how to “light her fire” and find him inti-mately attractive. She’s afraid she’ll eventually push him away even though she wants the exact opposite. Any advice I can pass along?

– Needing a friend in the Southwest

Dear Needing: Your friend needs to understand why she’s having a problem “get-ting her fire lit.” Could it be related to her divorce? Her feelings about premarital in-timacy? Has she seen her doctor to rule out a physical cause? Or could it be that al-

though he looks good on paper, there’s simply no chemistry?

Because intimacy is an important part of marriage, she needs to be honest with herself about why she’s reacting the way she is. If this isn’t the only man this has happened with, and she can’t find the answers within herself, some sessions with a licensed mental health profes-sional may be in order.

❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby: My husband invited his good friend (an artist) to stay with us for two nights because he is coming to our city to give a speech. He accepted.

We tried to contact him two weeks ago, one week ago, three days ago, yesterday and this morn-ing to find out what time he’ll arrive so we can plan our schedule and prepare the food. He still hasn’t gotten back to us. I had planned to go to church and a concert afterward. My husband doesn’t want me to leave.

I am very frustrated about the man’s lack of consideration. My husband considers him a good friend, but after the way we are being treated, I’m not convinced.

– Still Waiting in CaliforniaDear Still Waiting: I don’t blame you for

being miffed. Good friends don’t treat each other so rudely. They answer their mes-sages and show up when they’re expected. Unless the man was in the hospital, solitary confinement or dead, there’s no excuse for his poor manners. Because your husband considers him a good friend, he should have stayed home to welcome “the artist” and let you off the hook.

❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby: My son and daughter-in-law are “horrified” that we refer to our 3-year-old grand-son’s private part using the correct terminology. Should we relent and refer to that part of his body as something else?

– Unsure in the SouthDear Unsure: Not in my opinion. Children

should be taught the correct terms for their body parts as soon as they are aware enough to identify – and pronounce – them. To do this will prevent confusion and possibly embar-rassment later.

❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Bu-ren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Con-tact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

(Source: Universal Uclick)

A fl yer of the events

Abigail

Drinking problem?: Friends of Bill W. are available to help. Totally confi dential. Email: [email protected]

❑ ❑ ❑

Narcotics Anonymous: NA can help with addiction problems. Totally confidential: 94087800 English/Arabic.

❑ ❑ ❑

Cancer online support group: If you are Cancer patient or family member fighting with this deadly disease, come join our online support group. Best way of dealing with this disease is providing support and share our experience with each other. There are lot of things which even doctors can’t tell so be member of this website and start sharing your experiences which may help others. October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM).

The primary purpose is to promote self examination and screening mammography as the most effective way to save lives by detecting breast cancer at early stage. For more information visit: http://fighting-withcancer.webs.com/

LatestDec 20

VIBE 2018: VIBE 2018 to hit Kuwait’s stage this Thursday, Dec 20 at American International School, Maidan Hawalli from 6:30 pm onwards.

Vibe 2018 will bring you an evening fi lled with foot-tapping music and magical dance moves by none other than the talented students of D-Illusions.

This unique show will showcase a mixture of Ethnic, Hip hop, Bollywood and thematic dances.

Famous actor, choreographer and mentor Dharmesh Yelande will be the guest of honor for the event.


click


16

HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is a great travel assistant buddy

Cool ‘lifehacks’ that can make travel day a lot less hectic!KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: No mat-ter how much you love going on holidays, the part that comes before it can be quite hectic. Packing, getting the family out of the house and into the cab, running around the airport not to miss your fl ight – stressful. While nothing can actually help you fi nd the coat you would like to pack or make the kids behave at the airport, the HUA-WEI Mate 20 Pro’s ultra practical features will take off a few things off your plate and make you feel less tense.

Get things done earlier with the world’s fastest connectivity

Start by making an online check-in from home or on your way to the airport to save yourself some time. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro

supports up to 1.4Gbps downstream speed and the world’s fastest Wi-Fi speeds, with a theoretical download speed of up to 1.732Gbps. In the blink of an eye you would have confi rmed your presence,download

and print out your boarding passes and picked your meal preferences on the plane or sent out last minute emails.You can also watch a movie or download a music album while waiting for your fl ight. With such speed, you can stream a 4K video without buffering, download a 2GB video in 10 seconds; or swiftly download a game update in a few seconds – so unwind while waiting for your fl ight or entertain the kids with a game!

A huge battery that won’t die on you

With one of the largest smart-phone batteries on the market – 4200mAh – the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro makes sure you never run out of charge. It can last you throughout an entire day of inten-

sive usage, so don’t refrain from over using your smartphone out of fear or running out. Browse, read your e-bookor catch up on the news while waiting for your flight and let the kids play their favorite game on the plane without wor-rying, there will still be enough reserve in the tank.

Don’t waste time with the Super-man of chargers

Since every minute counts on travel days, you can’t afford to leave your phone plugged in for long periods of time so you can fi nally leave to the airport. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro comes with a 40W Supercharge adapter that won’t waste your time. It can top up the battery to approximately 70% in only 30 minutes, so a half an

hour of charging before you head to the airport, or while waiting at the gate is more than good enough.Certifi ed by TÜV Rheinland – a German certifi cation organization with some of the world’s strictest safety standards – the fast and safe charging technology charges the smartphone while maintaining a low device temperature so there’s absolutely nothing to fear, you and your family are in very good hands. Just in case you are not a fan of cables, The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro also supports 15W HUAWEI wire-less fast charge, offering the fastest wireless charging in the industry.

Charge your travel mate’s smart-phone yourself

Whether your spouse’s phone or children’s tablets are running out

of charge, you can step in and save the day. As long as they support Qi, regardless of their brand, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro can wire-lessly charge them with the world’s fi rst Reverse Wireless Charging. All you need to do is run the feature and place the devices against one another, and it will begin to charge. There will be no need to stress out about their battery running low, you can charge on the go and save time!

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro might just change how you feel about travel day with its time-efficient and practical features and the ability to keep you enter-tained. It is a great travel assistant buddy that caters to your needs so well, you just won’t be able to go without it.

Mazin Al Nahedh with KFH team and offi cials from private and public sectors.

Bid to attract 1.5mn visitors

Celebrate festive season at Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait

Ras Al Khaimah unveils Emirate’snew Destination Strategy 2019-21

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Welcome the holidays with a cheerful mood. The most festive and memorable season awaits you at the Sheraton Kuwait and the Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait. A medley of dining offers and stay options are pre-pared to showcase the season’s best with holiday themed lunches, special dinners and New Year celebratory dining for children and adults of all ages. Soak in the lively atmosphere and look forward to an abundant spread of international and local favorites

Primed to bring a touch of warmth to the year-end celebrations, enjoy a variety of international holiday dishes specially prepared at the Al Hambra. Delight in the traditional English tea in a classic ambi-ance with original fl avors at the English Tea Lounge. The Riccardo Restaurant welcomes you to experience intimate fi ne dining of genuine Italian cuisine whilst listening to live music performed by our Italian duo during the holidays. Authen-tic Lebanese food at the Le Tarbouche, classic Indian cuisine at the Bukhara and Persian favorites at the Shahrayar restau-rant, Share the joy with festive goodies and merry feasts at our distinctive restau-rants.

Lavish Eve offers - 24 December from 7:30 pm until 1:00 am (make HH)

A grand buffet is prepared at the Al Hambra while opulent set menu are in store for you at the Riccardo Restaurant

Festive Lunch offers - 25 December

from 12:30 noon until 4 pm (make HH)Traditional holiday lunch buffet is pre-

pared at the Al Hambra and the Riccardo Restaurant invites you to celebrate this special day, the Italian way.

New Year’s Eve Dinner options - 31 December from 7:30 pm until 1:00 am (make HH)

Lavish buffet at the Al Hambra Res-taurant. Special Tea Break Menu at the English Tea Lounge, an enchanting din-ner set menu at the Riccardo Restaurant and our special multi course meals pre-pared by Le Tarbouche, Bukhara & Shah-rayar for this wonderful occasion.

For further information and for restau-rant reservations, please call 183 5555 extension 500 and 600

Special discount awaits all Marriott Rewards members at our restaurants lo-cated at the Avenues Mall where you can enjoy shopping and taste the best cuisines in a classy and superior atmosphere.

Exclusive hotel packages are offered on rooms and suites, available to create the perfect holiday. Pass by and see our majestic poinsettia tree adorning both ho-tel lobbies, perfect for memorable photos

Create precious moments at the Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait while visit-ing the La Mamma Pizzeria. Celebrate unique holidays where you can enjoy an assortment of appetizing antipasti, fresh-ly prepared pasta and pizza baked on the wood-fi red oven to meet your culinary desire.

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE, Dec 18: Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, today launched its new Destination Strategy 2019-2021, which will build on the successes of the previous strategy launched by RAKTDA in 2016. In light of the current robust visitor demand, solid regional and international partnerships in place, iconic asset and product launches executed over the past few years, Ras Al Khaimah is on a mission to further assert its position as the fastest growing tourism destination in the region, while showcasing its breadth of offer in regional and international target markets.

The new Destination Strategy 2019-2021 is set to implement best practices as per international standards to fuel a sus-tainable tourism-driven economic growth in Ras Al Khaimah. The strategic three-year programme will focus on diversifying the emirate’s tourism offer-ing to attract a wider segment of tourists and higher yield visitors looking for authentic experiences, accelerating for-eign and local investments within the tourism sector, nurturing home-grown small and medium enterprises to create further employment and business oppor-tunities for RAK nationals, and prioritiz-ing sustainable nature-based adventure and authentic cultural experiences.

Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “As our tourism offering evolves in Ras Al Khaimah, we must ensure our des-tination is attractive to travelers who wish to explore beyond the resorts and hotels. Our Tourism Strategy 2019-2021 is a com-prehensive three-year programme that takes Ras Al Khaimah to the next level. We’re delighted with the success our offer-ing has had in our target markets to date, but with the new Destination Strategy we aim to diversify and enhance visitors’

experiences through differentiated product development. Another area of focus for us will be positioning and promoting Ras Al Khaimah in targeted international markets to attract higher yield customers all year round”.

“Under the guidance and directives of His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, the new Destination Strategy will also look at expanding tourism driven employment. By 2021 we aim to employ 10,000 more people into the tourism and hospitality sector and nurturing invest-ment from small and medium businesses, which benefit the community. This will of course raise the overall competitive-ness of the industry attracting more inter-national and local investments therefore enabling an environment for sustainable growth” added Mattar.

One of Ras Al Khaimah’s key growth milestones in 2018 was the launch of Jebel Jais Flight- the world’s longest zipline on Jebel Jais, the highest mountain in the UAE. This put Ras Al Khaimah on the global map as it broke the world record and strength-ened the emirate’s credentials as the fastest growing adventure tourism destination in the region. Another key factor in the grow-ing popularity of the emirate was a calendar of world-class events, and the increase in international partnerships with travel trade through the opening of overseas offices and a series of trade roadshows throughout the year. The new Destination Strategy aims to build on this success and transform Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism industry into a sustain-able driver of the economy. Ras Al Khaimah has also identified supply of new hotel rooms as a major focus mov-ing forward in order to support the increasing popularity of the destination with international and domestic tourists.

Kuwaiti students with great achievements in the US

Program aims to tackle unhealthy habits among children

KFH participates in conference in Silicon Valley

Bahrain launches Ajyal Salima nutrition program

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Kuwait Fi-nance House (KFH) participated in the fi rst Excellence Conference for students with great achievements in the United States. The conference took place in presence of KFH Group CEO, Mazin Al Nahedh.

This comes as part of the Bank’s so-cial responsibility and leading role in supporting students and youth with their initiatives in various fi elds, especially that the youth are major pillar of KFH strategy.

The conference was launched on the sidelines of the Kuwait Investment Out-reach Roadshow held in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California, United States, themed “Discover the Opportunities in a Transformed Economy”, that was organ-ized by the “Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority “, Financial Times Live and FDI magazine.

The conference aims to take a closer look at the opportunities of creative econ-omy in the country through the students, and to improve the opportunities of com-munication amongst students from all parts of the United States, including the public and private sectors in Kuwait.

Additionally, the conference aims to

gain expert’s opinions on the world eco-nomic trends and the investment of the students in the United States. These stu-dents could be a communication bridge between the strongest economies of the world i.e. the USA, and Kuwait.

The conference included different discussion panels as the “Human Invest-ment” in youth, and “Youth of Today and Kuwait of tomorrow”. The conference had a large presence of students, people interested and offi cials from the public and private sectors.

SpeechDuring an opening speech from a

KFH representative, the spot light was put on the role of the Bank in launch-ing initiatives that were the fi rst of its kind for students and youth, Including the signing of the largest youth support agreement with the team “KFH Initia-tives” within the program “You are our Pride “. This program tends to support students with achievements, idea crea-tors, inventors and the distinct students in all fi elds. The launch of the program “Forsah” for young Kuwaiti graduates to develop their skills and equip them with the highest standards to prepare them for

entering the job market. The launch of the KFH Innovation award and the KFH award for startups to encourage innova-tion and creativity among young people and to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and unleash the projects that will reach the global scene raising with them the country’s name.

Relationships The role of KFH has also been ad-

dressed and that was by building strate-

gic relationships and partnerships with universities and educational institutions. The Bank organizes and sponsors several events that target students while support-ing their activities and scientifi c research and graduation projects. KFH participates in conferences of students’ unions and stu-dent clubs, and promotes coordination with universities and educational institutions in the fi elds of training, research, organiza-tion of activities and joint social programs. This includes workshops and lectures that develop the scientifi c and professional per-formance of students.

The participation of KFH in the Ku-wait Investment Outreach Roadshow, initiated from the interest in economy and investment, and the promotion of in-vestments of added value to the Kuwaiti economy. The conference was an appro-priate platform to highlight the promis-ing investment opportunities in the pub-lic and private sectors and to discuss the business developments as well as the environment and fi nancial areas. This emphasizes the role of the banking sector in supporting the development process that is in line with Kuwait’s Vision 2035, which aims to transform Kuwait into a global, fi nancial and trading hub.

DUBAI, UAE, Dec 18: His Excellency Dr Walid Bin Khalifa Al-Maneh, Min-istry of Health Undersecretary, has launched in Bahrain the “Ajyal Sali-ma” nutrition education program dur-ing a ceremony celebrating the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Nestlé Middle East, and the launch of program-related Train the Train-ers workshops. The event was also attended by Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Dr Mariam Al Hajry and other offi cials from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

Al-Maneh highlighted that the Min-istry of Health is undertaking the re-sponsibility of devising policies and programs aimed at tackling unhealthy habits among children and youth, in-cluding poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles. He stressed that interna-tional surveys show obesity rates to have reached 40% and sedentary life-style rates 23% among 13-15-year-old students in Bahrain, emphasizing that obesity is one of the most important risk factors for chronic diseases.

Al-Maneh said the implementation of the Ajyal Salima program is aimed at enhancing awareness of basic nu-trition and physicial activity require-ments among children, stressing that various versions of the program have been implemented in more than 84 countries around the world.

He said Ajyal Salima was fi rst launched in the region in Lebanon in 2010, in partnership with the Ameri-can University of Beirut, and has since spread to Dubai in 2012, Saudi Arabia in 2014, the Hashemite King-dom of Jordan in 2015, and Palestine in 2016, implemented in collaboration with Ministries of Health and Educa-tion and local health and education-fo-cused non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in those countries.

Al-Maneh added that Ajyal Salima is a comprehensive program based on partnerships, science, and impact

measurement through questionnaires to determine its refl ection on student behaviors, and ultimately on the long-term health of children in Bahrain. The program is also aligned with the Ministry of Health’s objective to offer high quality preventive health services through efforts integration, partner-ships, and inclusivity.

The Undersecretary added that Ajyal Salima is in line with the goals of the World Health Organization to address childhood obesity, and supports the eradication of malnutrition through sus-tainable development. The program fi ts with the Gulf region’s strategy for the prevention of non-communicable dis-eases, and includes Train the Trainers workshops developed and delivered by American University of Beirut experts to enable select teachers in the Kingdom to ensure its messages reach students in a clear and interesting manner.

“We look forward to working close-ly with the Ministry of Health and col-laborating with the Ministry of Educa-tion on ensuring that Ajyal Salima is as successful in Bahrain as it’s been in other parts of the region,” said Ne-hmatallah Younes, General Business

Manager, Nestlé Bahrain. “We aim to enable healthier and

happier lives through our Nestlé for Healthier Kids initiative, under which Ajyal Salima is being implemented and expanded in the region,” he added. “From leading research in children nutrition, to product innovation and introducing healthier foods, to educa-tion and innovative nutrition and life-style programs and services, our global ambition is to help 50 million children lead healthier lives by 2030.”

“Tackling the growing triple bur-den of malnutrition: under-nutrition, obesity and micronutrient defi ciencies can only happen through more partner-ships between academia, the private and public sectors on programs such as the science-based Ajyal Salima,” said Dr Carla Habib Mourad, Lecturer of Nutritional Sciences at the Ameri-can University of Beirut, and regional scientifi c coordinator for Ajyal Salima.

The launch ceremony concluded with Al-Maneh signing the Memoran-dum of Understanding with Nestlé and honoring participants in the program, before a commemorating photo was taken.

Ajyal Salima will reach around 2,000 students in Bahrain during its pilot run this school year.

The program’s implementation in Bahrain is starting with “Train the Trainers” workshops, designed and delivered by American University of Beirut experts to equip nearly 30 teachers and health educators to run it successfully in 4th and 5th grades un-der the supervision of the school health units at the Ministries of Education and Health.

A photo from the event.

Mazin Al Nahedh honoring stu-dents.

Group photo of Nestlé Ajyal Salima team with HE Dr Walid Al-Maneh.

HE Dr Walid Al-Maneh with Neh-matallah Younes

By Anick Jesdanun

Sometimes you can sense that tech products are striving to solve

problems that are manufactured by their manufacturers. Smartwatches, for instance, have long been a nifty idea – but they’ve offered few tangible benefi ts for anyone but health and fi t-ness enthusiasts.

That’s why it’s notable when a par-ticular gadget fi nally breaks through. The latest Apple Watch, for instance, has heart-monitoring features that will appeal to those who aren’t active. Likewise, an Amazon digital video recorder makes cable cord-cutting far more practical.

Others remain hanging in not-quite-there limbo. A miniature smartphone from the revived brand Palm has the germ of a good idea, though it can still leave you feeling perplexed.

If you’re still considering tech gifts in your last-minute holiday shopping, bear these items in mind. And when looking at other products, ask yourself if they’re really ready for prime time or destined to gather dust somewhere.

Apple’s Smartwatch The newest features in the Series 4

Apple Watch are actually anything but fl ashy. But they could save lives.

With a built-in EKG feature, you can share detailed heart readings with your doctor without visiting a clinic.

Doctors get a PDF fi le showing the peaks and valleys of your heart rhythm, just as they would with an EKG on paper.

Apple’s EKG sensors take measure-ments only on your wrist and fi nger, while EKG machines in clinics typi-cally measure 12 points. That means the watch can’t detect heart attacks and other conditions. But Apple says it can provide early detection of atrial fi brillation, an irregular heart rhythm that increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. The company tested the watch against standard EKGs to win US regulatory clearance.

The new watch can also tell if you take a hard fall – and it will call 911 if you can’t get up. If someone on your gift list is elderly, you might enjoy greater peace of mind.

The Series 4 watch starts at $399 and requires an iPhone. The EKG feature is for US customers only.

Amazon’s DVR DVRs have lost their allure in the

streaming age, when entire TV seasons drop at once on Netfl ix. Still, some broadcast shows aren’t available for streaming at all, or without a signifi -cant delay. If you’ve dropped cable TV service, you can still watch those shows for free with an old-fashioned TV antenna – but then you’re back to watching only when they air.

Enter Amazon’s Fire TV Recast DVR. It will record over-the-air programs and let you watch on your TV, Amazon’s Echo Show or an app on the go.

You need to buy an antenna, which could be the rabbit-ear kind or an indoor one you stick on your window. Thanks to Wi-Fi, the Recast can be near that window rather than your TV.

While the Recast can technically work with just a phone app or the Echo Show, you need a separate Fire TV streaming device ($40 and up) for full functionality. Among the limitations: You can’t delete shows through the app. The Recast itself is $230 for 75 hours of storage and two simultaneous recordings, $280 for double the storage and simultaneous recordings.

TiVo, the gold standard in DVRs, has easier ways to skip commercials and more fl exible options to record. But TiVo also gets expensive. A model aimed at cord-cutters, the Bolt OTA, costs $250 – but then you have to pay either a recurring fee of at least $70 a year or another $250 a single time to get the program guide. Recast doesn’t carry ongoing fees.

Amazon collects data on the shows you watch to personalize and improve its services. If you fi nd that creepy, Recast won’t be for you.

Palm’s Connected Companion

Before smartphones, there was Palm and its hand-held digital assistants, which offered emails, calendars, notepads and many of the functions seen in apps today. Under new owners, Palm is back with a mini smartphone designed, it says, to let you leave your bigger phone at home and enjoy the moment – without cutting yourself off completely.

The new phone, simply called Palm, is about the size of a credit card, but nearly as thick as a regular phone.

It’s meant as a stopgap for when your main iPhone or Android phone isn’t with you, so battery and speeds are just good enough. It’s great for the essentials, such as maps, Yelp lookups or texts to coordinate meetups with friends. The water-resistant phone fi ts in running shorts during workouts.

The Palm is premised on the idea that you can – or need to – leave your main phone behind. The company says you can rely on just the Palm as you attend a kid’s soccer game or meet

friends at a bar. You’re still connected, on your terms, to pay someone back with Venmo or request a ride on Lyft. Verizon, the exclusive seller of this phone in the US, syncs phone numbers, so calls and texts to your main phone automatically reaches this mini phone.

When people are out on the town, they aren’t necessarily worried about missing out on calls and texts, but rather missing the shot to post on social media. Photos from the Palm camera range from blurry and dark to adequate – nowhere near the quality of an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy device. Palm says the photos are good enough for online posts, but the quality isn’t there should you want to feature one on your next holiday card or family photo book.

And notifi cations don’t sync, unless you manually install the same app on both. The $350 phone is available only if you have another phone on Verizon, and Verizon charges another $10 a month for service. If you’re already paying as much as $1,100 for a top-end phone, you might not want to spend another $590 over two years just to leave it behind.

A better solution: Activate some of the screen-control features now found on iPhones and Android phones. Though that takes discipline, it’s free. (AP)


17

In this Sept 12, 2018 file photo the new Apple Watch 4 is on display at the Steve Jobs Theater during an event to announce new products in Cuper-

tino, Calif. (AP)

Tips when buying tech gifts this holiday season

FAIPS (DPS) hosts award ceremony

Photos from the event

Some tech gadgets that actually fi ll a real need

Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School celebrat-ed its Twenty-third Founder’s Day and Scholar Badge Function with gusto and pride on 29th November 2018. The occasion was graced by Mrs Anju Dheman, Princi-pal and the members of the staff.

It was indeed a proud moment when nearly 150 stu-dents were presented with scholar badges and a cer-tificate, acknowledging their meritorious academic per-formance. Some of the students were presented with

a Blue Tie or a Maroon Tie, a mark of veneration for consistent academic prowess for over five years. About 15 outgoing students, both from the CBSE and IGCSE curricula were awarded cash prizes as a recognition of their mettle.

The Principal took the opportunity to revere the men-tors as well, with cash awards for bringing forth out-standing results in Kuwait – both subject toppers and

gaining the highest subject average percentage. Not only is academics of prime importance in FAIPS, but also the co-scholastics, deserving pupils received Hon-ours in the field of sports and Fine Arts. The auditorium reverberated with the presence of proud parents as they were treated to a medley of dance, English Skit and music, showcasing the treasure trove of FAIPS. To commemorate Founder’s Day, the spectators were tak-en down memory lane where the school’s performance

and achievements was encapsulated in a virtual time capsule, of the era that was, the existing present and the promising future. The live demonstration of the lat-est Sand Art form was the icing on the cake which left the audience spellbound.

The morning celebrations concluded with encourag-ing and congratulatory words from the Principal, and as the curtain descended every parent surely felt special to be part of such an elite congregation.

FAIPS

Lifestyle

Ivory Coast painter gives new life to e-waste

African storytellers tap into rich traditionNAIROBI, Dec 18, (Agencies): Why don’t chickens fl y? When did the moon learn to be kind?

Those and other mysteries were un-ravelled by dozens of African storytell-ers in Nairobi on Saturday, helping keep alive oral traditions increasingly under threat in the internet and smartphone age.

“To have that storyteller in front of you with an audience being able to inter-act is something very precious that we are in danger of losing,” said Maimouna Jallow, who organised the one-day Re-Imagined Storytelling Festival in Ken-ya’s capital.

Although written history has existed for centuries in West Africa, elsewhere on the continent knowledge and morali-ty have mostly been transmitted through performance art, including the spoken word.

For her research, Jallow collected folk tales from East African villages. “Nearly everywhere I went people had no recollection of their own stories, and the generation who used to tell these stories are now in their 80s,” she told Reuters.

“For me it was really important to see how we preserve not only the stories but in particular the culture of telling (them).”

With nods to giants of African culture such as Thomas Sankara and Fela Kuti, those narrated in Nairobi addressed is-

sues common to African societies, rang-ing from war and materialism to humil-ity and respect for children, often with a contemporary twist.

For Alim Kamara, a rapper from Si-erra Leone who grew up in London, sto-rytelling has never been more relevant or topical.

“There’s a story about truth, and how truth knocked on people’s doors, and was always rejected and turned away,” he told Reuters.

“One day, parable took truth home, and fed truth and clothed truth in story. “Now truth... knocked on those people’s doors and this time was readily wel-comed.”

Accompanying some performances was Gambian kora (African harp) play-er Sanjally Jobarteh, whose family has kept alive oral histories for over seven centuries.

For Usifu Jalloh, from Sierra Leone, storytelling can help validate existence. “When Africans were enslaved, and when invaders came in, the fi rst thing they did was wipe out the identity of the people that they conquered and super-imposed theirs on top,” he said.

“When you know your story, you have a lot of power. When you forget your story you are just like a sheep.”

So why don’t chickens fl y? Because chicken squandered all the wealth given to him as king of the sky. When the other birds found out, he was banished

from the air and became man’s favourite food.

❑ ❑ ❑

Desire Koffi often walks through Koumassi, a popular district of Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan, to collect old mobile phones that he buys from people for 500 CFA francs ($0.8726) a pair.

Back home, the 24-year-old Ivorian artist dismantles the phones with a ham-mer to pull out the screens and key-boards. He uses them for his paintings. One can take him up to three or fi ve days of work. Koffi grew up in Koumassi and says he was drawn to recycling and in-corporating e-waste in his art, after see-ing how it affected his environment.

“My number one goal is to try, in my own small way, to reduce electronic waste that is found in the streets and in the bins,” he said.

“Here, we are in one of the city’s most popular neighbourhoods, where you usually fi nd old phones which can no longer be repaired.”

With a population of about 5.5 mil-lion, Abidjan generates up to 1,500 tons of e-waste per year, according to the European Union-funded E-waste Imple-mentation Toolkit. Koffi says a signifi -cant amount of this waste can be used to make money.

With several exhibitions abroad and at home under his belt, Koffi is quickly becoming one of Ivory Coast most im-

portant fi gures in contemporary art. “I think his work is great. He has

decided to go into recycling, and it re-ally suits him because his work stands out from all others,” fellow Ivorian artist Ezechiel Guibe said.

“Despite incorporating recycling ma-terial into his work, he manages to cap-ture all these forms, faces and emotions in his work, which really blew us away,” added art gallery director, Olivier Pepe.

Also:BOSTON: Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts has received what museum of-fi cials are calling a transformative gift of nearly 200 pieces of Chinese art that have been in the same family for six generations.

The gift from Wan-go H. C. Weng is the largest and most signifi cant gift of Chinese art in museum history.

The 130 paintings, 31 works of cal-ligraphy, 18 ink rubbings and four tex-tiles span 13 centuries and fi ve imperial dynasties.

Weng is one of the most respected connoisseurs of Chinese paintings in the world. His great-great-grandfather assembled the core of the collection dur-ing the 19th century.

The gift elevates the museum’s Chi-nese collection into one of the foremost in the world outside of China.

Pieces from the collection will go on display at the museum next fall.

Latest

D-Illusions, a popular dance company founded by a set of young and dynamic youngsters passionate to contribute their talent to the arts world, has grown with a considerable audience base and fan fol-lowing and they have gained immense fame through a variety of performances indifferent genres of dance, throughout Kuwait.

Same like previous events, this time also Vibe will rock the hearts of Kuwait with their unique style of dancing. The entry to the show is restricted and for further details and for reserving your seats, you may visit www.indiansinku-wait.com/vibe2018/

This event is brought to you by D-Illusions, one of the best dance schools in Kuwait in association with Indian-sinKuwait.com (IIK). For more informa-tion, contact Mob No: +965 60498633 / 22479741

Dec 21Toastmasters Open House: Divi-sion E Toastmasters is conducting a free Open House event on Friday, Dec 21, hosted by Bhavan’s Toastmasters Club. The event shall be followed by celebra-tion of Bhavan Club’s 6th Anniversary combined with Xmas celebration. The venue is at Smart Indian School, Jleeb Al Shuyoukh and from 3 to 6 pm.

Bhavan’s Toastmasters Club offers a positive and supportive environment for building public speaking and leadership skills through practical workshops and constructive evaluations.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofi t organization and a world leader in communication and leadership development. The organization has more than 357,000 memberships. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 16,600 clubs in 143 countries that make up a global network of meeting locations.

Latin translation, Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory be to God in the highest), are the words that began the carol singing heard by the shepherds on the night of the fi rst Christmas. It is time again to commemo-rate the message passed on to mankind centuries back and to sing Gloria to God in the highest. Preparations are being done under the leadership of Vicar Rev John Mathew, Secretary A.G. Cherian and the Choir Master Linu P. Manikunju for the Gloria night. We cordially invite all to sing carols with us.

❑ ❑ ❑

AICA presents Int’l Mushaira: All India Cultural Association (AICA) — Kuwait, is organizing an International Mushaira “Ba Yaad-e-Kaifi Aazmi” on Dec 21 in Kuwait. This year’s Mushaira is dedicated to one of the greatest Urdu poet “Kaifi Aazmi” who is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.

This signature event would be the fi fth Mushaira in succession and all the previous ones were highly success-ful events appreciated by the diaspora from the Indian Subcontinent. This year apart from the accomplished poets, two prominent Indian media person-alities will also be a part of the event namely Vinod Dua, an eminent media personality decorated with the Padma Shri and Anubhav Sinha, an outstand-ing professional from the entertain-ment industry known for his work in many fi lms. It was also notifi ed that the Mushaira will be attended by some of the contemporary eminent Shayars including the much-celebrated Rahat Indori and Ifthikhar Arif. The list also includes Manzar Bhopali, Haseeb Soz, Shaukat Fahmi, Iqbaal Ashhar, Liyaqat Jafri, Abrar Kashif, Usman Minai, Vijay Tiwari, Aleena Itrat and Nadeem Shaad.

The event will be held at the Jabriya Medical Association Auditorium from 5.30 pm.

All interested can contact the below numbers for entry passes: 50858786,98984635,99637021,67008279

❑ ❑ ❑

UP NRI Forum health camp: As a part of our responsibilities to the society,

For details contact: TM Anil Kumar G. Revankar, Tel: 99320125; TM Jiju Ramankulath, Tel: 99735245; TM Sunil Thomas, Tel: 66265702; TM Noble

Mathew, Tel: 99423597

❑ ❑ ❑

STECI Carol Service: St Thomas

Evangelical Church of India, Kuwait Parish presents “Gloria Night” on Friday, Dec 21 from 6:30 pm at North Tent of NECK. Parish choir will lead the

carol singing followed by a Christmas Pageant by the Sunday school children. The Christmas message will be deliv-ered by the Vicar Rev John Mathew.

click




18

11 Days (Emirati) – Arabic360° 20:15, 22:15, 01:00 (Daily Exc Thu) 20:15, 22:15, 00:20 (Thu)Al-Kout 22:30 (Daily Exc Fri, Sat) 22:35 (Sat)Avenues 11:50, 19:00, 01:15 (Daily Exc Fri, Sun) 19:00, 01:15 (Fri) 11:50, 19:00 (Sun)

2.0 – Tamil (Tamil Film)360° 15:20 (Daily)Ajial 15:40, 18:40, 21:40 (Thu)Al-Kout 14:30 (Fri)

Aquaman360° 18:15, 21:10, 00:05 (Daily) 11:45, 13:45, 12:45, 16:40, 17:40, 19:35, 20:35, 22:30, 23:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 12:45, 15:40, 18:35, 21:30, 00:25 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:45, 14:45, 16:40, 17:40, 19:35, 20:35, 22:30, 23:30 (Fri) 15:40, 18:35, 21:30, 00:25 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 18:15 (Daily) 12:45, 20:15, 21:15, 00:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 20:15, 21:15, 00:15 (Fri)Al-Fanar 12:30, 13:30, 15:30, 16:30, 18:30, 19:30, 21:30, 22:30, 00:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 15:30, 16:30, 18:30, 19:30, 21:30, 22:30, 00:30 (Fri)Al-Kout 14:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:30, 19:25, 22:20 (Daily) 18:00, 21:00, 00:05 (Daily) 11:30, 20:30, 23:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 12:30, 15:30, 18:30, 21:30, 00:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 15:30, 18:30, 21:30, 00:30 (Fri) 20:30, 23:30 (Fri)Al-Muhallab 11:45, 13:00, 14:45, 17:45, 18:45, 20:45, 21:35, 23:45, 00:25 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:45, 17:45, 18:45, 20:45, 21:35, 23:45, 00:25 (Fri)

Al-Sharqia 12:15, 15:15, 18:15, 20:00, 21:15, 00:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 15:15, 18:15, 20:00, 21:15, 00:15 (Fri)Avenues 15:30, 21:20, 00:15 (Daily) 16:20, 21:35, 00:25 (Daily) 18:25 (Daily) 11:45, 14:40, 17:35, 20:30, 23:25 (Daily Exc Fri) 12:25, 13:05, 13:40, 15:20, 16:35, 18:15, 19:30, 21:10, 22:20, 00:05 (Daily Exc Fri, Sun) 13:40, 15:20, 16:35, 18:15, 19:30, 21:10, 22:20, 00:05 (Fri) 14:40, 17:35, 20:30, 23:25 (Fri) 12:25, 13:05, 13:40, 15:20, 16:35, 18:15, 20:00, 21:10, 22:55, 00:05 (Sun)Laila 19:35, 22:25 (Daily)Marina 11:50, 14:50, 16:00, 17:50, 18:55, 20:50 23:50 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:50, 16:00, 17:50, 18:55, 20:50, 23:50 (Fri)

Christmas Break-In360° 11:55, 18:20 (Daily Exc Fri) 18:20 (Fri)Al-Fanar 11:30, 14:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:40, 14:45 (Fri)Al-Kout 12:00, 16:00, 18:00 (Daily Exc Fri, Sat) 00:00 (Sat)Avenues 12:55, 17:00 (Daily Exc Fri) 17:00 (Fri)

Creed II360° 12:15, 00:35 (Daily Exc Thu, Fri) 12:15, 21:45, 00:35 (Thu) 00:35 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 23:15 (Daily)Al-Fanar 19:15 (Daily)Al-Kout 13:30, 23:45 (Daily)Avenues 20:50 (Daily)Marina 00:20 (Daily)

Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer (Arabic Film)

360° 18:45 (Daily)Al-Kout 12:30, 17:30 (Daily Exc Fri, Sat) 12:05, 17:45 (Sat)Avenues 15:40 (Daily)

El Diesel (Egyptian) (Arabic Film)360° 13:50 (Daily)

Elliot the Littlest Reindeer360° 13:40, 17:50 (Daily Exc Sat) 11:45, 13:40, 17:50 (Sat)Avenues 11:50, 13:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:45 (Fri)

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

360° 14:50 (Daily)Avenues 12:35 (Daily Exc Fri)

Malevolent360° 15:45, 19:45, 21:50, 23:40 (Daily)Al-Fanar 19:00, 21:00, 01:00 (Daily)Al-Kout 11:35, 18:55, 20:50, 22:45, 00:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 18:55, 20:50, 22:45, 00:45 (Fri)Al-Muhallab 21:40, 23:35 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:45, 21:40, 23:35 (Fri)Al-Sharqia 21:45, 23:45 (Daily)Avenues 20:45, 22:45, 00:45 (Daily)Laila 15:30 (Daily)Marina 11:30, 22:10, 00:05 (Daily Exc Fri) 22:10, 00:05 (Fri)

Mortal Engines360° 14:00, 21:40, 00:15 (Daily)Al-Bairaq 13:30, 17:35 (Daily)Al-Fanar 12:00, 00:35 (Daily Exc Fri) 00:35 (Fri)Al-Kout 11:45, 14:25, 17:05 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:25, 17:05 (Fri)Al-Muhallab 15:55 (Daily)Al-Sharqia 12:45, 17:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 17:15 (Fri)Avenues 16:30, 23:35 (Daily Exc Thu) 15:25, 16:30, 22:00, 23:35 (Thu)Marina 13:30, 21:45 (Daily)

Ralph Breaks the Internet360° 11:40, 16:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:30 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 14:40 (Daily)Al-Kout 11:55, 14:10 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:10 (Fri)Avenues 14:10 (Daily)Marina 15:00 (Daily)

Robin Hood360° 12:25, 17:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 17:30 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 00:30 (Daily)Al-Kout 15:00, 00:15 (Daily Exc Fri, Sat) 00:15 (Fri) 00:20 (Sat)Avenues 11:50 (Daily Exc Fri)

Second Act360° 19:10, 00:05 (Daily Exc Thu, Sat) 13:10, 19:10, 00:05 (Thu, Sat)Al-Fanar 17:00, 22:50 (Daily)Al-Kout 19:45, 22:15 (Daily)Al-Sharqia 23:00, 01:05 (Daily Exc Thu) 22:55, 01:05 (Thu)Avenues 19:10, 21:25 (Daily)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – (Arabic Film)

360° 13:00, 15:30, 18:00, 20:25, 22:50 (Daily Exc Fri) 15:30, 18:00, 20:25, 22:50 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 17:00 (Daily)Al-Fanar 13:15, 18:15, 23:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 18:15, 23:15 (Fri)Al-Kout 11:30, 16:15, 21:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:15, 21:15 (Fri)Al-Sharqia 11:45, 16:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:45 (Fri)Avenues 12:15, 14:45, 17:15, 19:45, 22:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:45, 17:15, 19:45, 22:15 (Fri)

Spider-Man: Into Spider-Verse

360° 13:20, 15:50 (Daily Exc Fri) 12:00, 14:30, 17:00, 19:30, 22:00 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 15:50 (Fri) 14:30, 17:00, 19:30, 22:00 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 15:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 12:15, 19:30, 22:00 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 15:50 (Fri) 19:30, 22:00 (Fri)Al-Fanar 12:15, 15:45, 20:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 15:50, 20:45 (Fri)Al-Kout 13:50, 18:45, 20:00 (Daily) 17:45 (Daily) 12:45, 15:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 15:15 (Fri)Al-Muhallab 11:30, 14:15, 16:45, 19:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 14:15, 16:45, 19:15 (Fri)Al-Sharqia 14:15, 19:15 (Daily)Avenues 13:00 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:00, 18:30, 21:00, 23:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 11:30, 13:55, 19:10 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00, 23:30 (Fri) 13:55, 19:10 (Fri)Laila 17:15 (Daily)Marina 12:30, 17:15, 19:45 (Daily Exc Fri) 17:15, 19:45 (Fri)

The Bombing360° 20:00, 23:50, 01:15 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 20:00, 23:50, 01:15 (Fri)Al-Fanar 15:00 (Daily)Al-Kout 14:00, 00:20, 01:10 (Daily Exc, Fri, Sat) 00:20, 01:10 (Fri, Sat)Avenues 15:00, 01:15 (Daily Exc Thu) 15:00, 00:35 (Thu)

Weddy Atakalam (Kuwaiti) – (Arabic Film)360° 12:05, 22:05 (Daily Exc Fri) 22:05 (Fri)Al-Bairaq 11:45, 16:00 (Daily Exc Fri) 16:00 (Fri)Al-Fanar 17:15 (Daily)

Al-Kout 22:30, 00:30 (Daily)Al-Sharqia 15:30 (Daily Exc Fri) 13:30, 15:30 (Fri)Avenues 23:40 (Daily)

Widows360° 16:10, 21:15, 23:45 (Daily Exc Thu) 15:15, 16:10, 18:30, 21:15, 23:45 (Thu)Al-Fanar 22:00 (Daily)Al-Kout 19:50 (Daily Exc, Fri, Sat) 20:05 (Sat)Avenues 18:10, 00:40 (Daily Exc Thu) 18:10, 18:45, 00:40 (Thu)

Johnny – (Tamil Film)Ajial 16:00, 19:00 (Daily Exc Thu)

Joseph – (Malayalam Film)Ajial 15:35, 21:15 (Daily Exc Thu) 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 (Thu)Plaza 15:30, 18:30, 21:30 (Thu)

Kedarnath – (Hindi Film)Ajial 15:45, 18:15, 20:45 (Thu)

Odiyan – (Malayalam Film)360° 15:15, 18:30, 21:45 (Daily Exc Thu)Ajial 15:15, 15:30, 18:30, 21:45, 22:00 (Daily Exc Thu)Al-Kout 14:00, 17:30, 20:45 (Fri) 14:30 (Sat)Avenues 15:30, 18:45, 22:00 (Daily Exc Thu, Fri) 15:25, 18:45, 22:00 (Fri)Plaza 15:30, 18:45, 22:00 (Daily Exc Thu)

Odiyan – (Tamil Film)Ajial 18:45 (Daily Exc Thu)

Oru Kuprasidha Payyan – (Malayalam Film)Ajial 18:20 (Daily Exc Thu) 16:00, 19:00, 22:00 (Thu)

Thuppaki Munai – (Tamil Film)

Ajial 22:00 (Daily Exc Thu)

Pinky Memsaab – PakistaniAl-Kout 16:05 (Daily)

Cinema programme from Thursday 12/12/2018 to Wednesday 18/12/2018

Cinema

tv highlights

‘Elementary’ to end

McFarlane returns as Smith in ‘American Dad’ Season 16

Couch slouch

LOS ANGELES, Dec 18, (Agencies): “American Dad!” is returning for its sixteenth season Feb 11 at 10 pm ET/PT on TBS. This season, show creator Seth McFarlane will return as the show’s central character Stan Smith, a CIA agent and loyal husband to his wife Francine (Wendy Schaal). Also return-ing are Stan’s two children, Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane) and her geeky brother Steve (Scott Grimes), as well as the family’s resident alien Roger (also voiced by Seth MacFarlane). The series first appeared on Fox in 2005 before moving to TBS in 2014.

Meanwhile, Mackenzie Marsh is joining CW’s “Charmed” reboot in a guest starring role, Variety has learned exclusively. Appear-ing in episode 12, Marsh will play Knansie, an attractive necromancer who works at a supermarket in Ferndale. Marsh’s previous work includes a lead role in “Just Before I Go” directed by Courteney Cox and guest roles in “Will & Grace,” “Jane The Virgin” and “American Housewife.” Marsh is represented by Pakula King & Associates and Kerner Man-agement Associates.

Netflix released a new trailer for its upcom-ing docu-series “7 Days Out,” set to premiere Dec 21. Directed by Andrew Rossi, “7 Days Out” follows the seven days leading up to the most significant historical and cultural events in the worlds. Topics include Karl Lager-feld’s latest Chanel Haute Couture collection, NASA’s groundbreaking Cassini mission, the Westminster Dog Show, Eleven Madison Park, the Kentucky Derby, and League of Legends. Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard and Joe Zee are executive producing.

❑ ❑ ❑

Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” will air an episode next year from Puerto Rico including an exclusive performance with Lin-Manuel Miranda reprising his role in “Hamilton.”

NBC announced Monday evening that Miranda and the new touring cast will appear in the episode Jan 15. The telecast will focus on Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts to rebuild and raise awareness after Hurricane Maria massively struck the island in 2017.

The episode will delve into how the deadly hurricane devastated Puerto Rico through widespread damage, but also celebrate the “great spirit and culture” of the people.

Miranda will reprise his lead role in “Hamil-ton” at the University of Puerto Rico from Jan 8 to 27. The performances look to raise money for the Flamboyan Arts Fund to benefit the art, artists and arts institutions.

❑ ❑ ❑

“Elementary” is coming to an end on CBS, Variety has confirmed.

The procedural will wrap up following its upcoming seventh season on the broadcaster, which does not currently have a premiere date. All 13 episodes of Season 7 have been shot. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the network and producers came to the conclusion to end the show after it was renewed back in May.

“Elementary” has been a workhorse for CBS since its premiere in 2012. The drama stars Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in a modern-day spin on Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries, with Miller playing Holmes to Liu’s

Watson. “Elementary” is steered by show-runner Robert Doherty who exec produces with Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Bob Goodman, Jason Tracey, and Robert Hewitt Wolfe.

The series has been shuffled around to several different time slots during its run. It initially aired on Thursdays for its first three seasons before splitting its fourth season between Thursdays and Sundays. Season 5 aired on Sundays as well, with Season 6 air-ing on Mondays. Season 6 also saw the show move from the fall to summer. Season 6 was originally 13 episodes before CBS extended the order to 21.

❑ ❑ ❑

A chance meeting in a hotel lobby sparked an unlikely friendship between former NBA star Charles Barkley and a cat litter scientist in Iowa.

The story has been shared widely since it was told last week by the scientist’s daugh-ter on “Only A Game,” an NPR sports show produced by Boston-based WBUR.

Lin Wang, who immigrated from China, approached Barkley when they both happened to be staying at the same Sacramento, Califor-nia, hotel. The two began talking, got dinner and exchanged numbers.

Over the next couple of years, they would meet up to watch basketball games or hang out on the set of Barkley’s TV show “Inside the NBA,” Shirley Wang said. Her dad’s co-workers didn’t believe he was actually friends with the basketball legend and would tease him, she said.

When Barkley’s mother died in 2015, Lin Wang traveled to Leeds, Alabama, to be at the funeral. Barkley recounted to Shirley Wang on the WBUR show how her father stood out, and friends and family wondered who he was.

“I just started laughing. I said, ‘That’s my boy, Lin,’” Barkley said. “They’re, like, ‘How do you know him?’ I said, ‘It’s a long story.’”

Shortly afterward, Lin Wang was diagnosed with cancer. He died this year.

Shirley Wang says her family was shocked when Barkley showed up at his funeral in Iowa.

A video posted on YouTube shows Barkley telling those who gathered to remember Lin Wang that he was blessed to know him.

❑ ❑ ❑

CBS All Access has renewed “Tell Me a Story” for a second season.

The renewal comes ahead of the first season finale, which is slated to air in January. The series, which has aired seven episodes thus far, takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into a tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder.

The first season cast includes James Wolk, Billy Magnussen, Dania Ramirez, Dani-elle Campbell, Dorian Missick, Michael Raymond-James, Davi Santos, Sam Jaeger, Zabryna Guevara with Paul Wesley and Kim Catrall.

A flyer of the event

A flyer of the event

LatestContinued from Page 17

we the members of UP NRI Forum in associa-tion with Indian Doctors Forum (IDF) Kuwait are going to organize a free Mega Health Check-up Camp on Friday, Dec 21 from 07.00 am to 12.00 pm (noon) at Salmiya Indian Model School (SIMS), Salmiya, Kuwait.

The camp will consist of two sessions:1. Care & Awareness Session (07:00 am to

08:00 am)A renowned Cardiologist and speaker Dr

Hasan Ali Khan will conduct an awareness ses-sion about obesity and related complications, prevention and its treatment.

2. Health Check-up Session (08:00 am to 12:00 noon)

Around 40 Hindi/Urdu speaking qualifi ed and experienced doctor’s team from various specialties will be conducting health check-up and consultation sessions free of charges.

The Health Check-up Camp is open for all but pre-registration is mandatory. Please fi ll-up online registration form using the following link.

https://tinyurl.com/upnri-medical-camp-2018

Dec 24S. African Embassy closure: On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa will be closed from Monday, Dec 24 to Tuesday, Jan 1, 2019 and will reopen on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2019 with its official office hours from 08h00 to 16h00 & the Consular Section operation hours will be from 08h30 to 12h30. For Emergency calls please contact: 94924895

“On behalf of the South African Embassy, we wish you a happy Festive Season and a Prosperous New Year”.

Dec 31Indian Embassy notice: The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is going to be organ-ized at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from Jan 21-23, 2019. The PBD website was launched jointly by the Hon’ble External Affairs Min-ister of India and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on Sept 15, 2018. Registration process has already started and interested participants can visit the PBD website at: https://www.pbdindia.gov.in

The website contains all details relating to PBD 2019 – Registration, Programme etc.

PBD 2019 will have two new optional programme elements: Delegates will have options to participate in Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj (UP) on 24th January; AND/OR witness the Republic Day Parade on 26th January, 2019 at New Delhi. Therefore, interested participants will have to opt at the time of registration if they want to visit Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj and/or the Repub-lic Day Parade at New Delhi, and take note of the relevant provisions.

The last date of registration for PBD 2019 has been extended till 31st December, 2018. For more details on PBD 2019 please visit PBD website at https://www.pbdindia.gov.in.

Jan 4, 2019YMCA carol singing contest: YMCA Kuwait is conducting Christmas Carol Singing Completion and Christmas Celebrations on Friday Jan 4, 2019 from 06.00 pm onwards at Indian Community Senior School, Salmiya. For registration please contact Mathews Mam-men – 97861374, Mathew Eapen – 67701660 as early as possible.


click


19

Health

‘Taltz superior to Humira’

Acute kidney injury common during cancer chemo: studyNEW YORK, Dec 18, (RTRS): Nearly one in 10 cancer patients treated with chemotherapy or newer targeted drugs may be hospitalized for serious kidney injury, a Canadian study suggests.

The study involved roughly 163,000 patients who started chem-otherapy or targeted therapies for a new cancer diagnosis in Ontario from 2007 to 2014. Overall, 10,880 were hospitalized with serious kid-ney damage or for dialysis.

This translated into a cumulative acute kidney injury rate of 9.3 per-cent, the study found.

People with advanced tumors were 41 percent more likely to have acute kidney injuries than patients with early-stage cancer.

Compared to the group as a whole, individuals who already had chronic kidney disease were 80 percent more likely to be hospitalized for a kidney injury, and people with diabetes had a 43 percent greater chance.

Treatment “Patients should be aware that

kidney injury can result during can-cer treatment – both due to cancer itself and the drugs used to treat it,” said lead study author Dr Abhijat Kitchlu of the University of Toronto.

Many medicines that treat tumors are removed from the body by the kidneys and can damage certain cells within the kidneys, Kitchlu said by email.

“It may be possible to reduce the risk of acute kidney injury by main-taining good hydration and in some cases, avoiding other drugs that can increase risk to the kidneys,” Kitchlu added. Medications that can damage the kidneys include ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-infl amma-tory drugs (NSAIDs), certain blood pressure medicines, and diuretics. In fact, in the study, older patients tak-ing water pills or certain heart medi-cations were also at higher risk for serious kidney problems.

“Patients should seek early medi-cal attention when concerned about dehydration or infection, as the symptoms related to kidney injury (decreased urine output, swelling, nausea, fatigue or confusion) may only occur after the kidneys have been damaged,” Kitchlu advised.

In the current study, patients were more than twice as likely to develop acute kidney problems within the fi rst 90 days of starting cancer treat-ment than they were later on, re-searchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Patients who are already at high risk of kidney damage because of health problems like diabetes may be able to take cancer drugs that are less likely to damage the kidneys, said Leah Siskind, of the Univer-sity of Louisville Medical School in Kentucky.

“However, these less nephrotoxic chemotherapeutics are often less ef-fective at reducing tumor burden,” Siskind, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

Patients at high risk for kidney damage should discuss alternative drugs or doses with their physicians to see if they can treat tumors in a way that minimizes their chance of kidney injury, advised Dr Laura Cosmai of San Carlo Borromeo Hospital in Milan, Italy.

And all patients should be on the alert for potential warning signs of kidney problems like dehydration, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, Cos-mai, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

Vigilance is important because “cancer patients who develop acute kidney injury during treatment do have reduced survival odds,” Cos-mai said.

Also:NEW YORK: Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday its psoriatic arthritis drug, Taltz, was found to be more effec-tive than the world’s best-selling prescription medicine, AbbVie Inc’s Humira, in a late-stage trial.

The trial was the fi rst of its kind to test Taltz and the standard-of-care, Humira, head-to-head in patients with active psoriatic arthritis, a form of arthritis that affects some people who have psoriasis.

The study showed Taltz was as effective as Humira in improving the symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, as measured by achieving a reduc-tion in disease activity of at least 50 percent, compared with patients that showed such results on Humira after 24 weeks.

In this April 10, 2018 fi le photo, a high school principal displays vaping devices that were confi scated from students in such places as restrooms or hall-ways at the school in Massachusetts. (AP)

Unemployment, income affect life expectancy

US surgeon general warns of teen risks from e-cigsWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (AP): The government’s top doctor is taking aim at the best-selling electronic cigarette brand in the US, urging swift action to prevent Juul and similar vaping brands from ad-dicting millions of teenagers.

In an advisory Tuesday, Surgeon Gen-eral Jerome Adams said parents, teachers, health professionals and government offi -cials must take “aggressive steps” to keep children from using e-cigarettes. Federal law bars the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18.

For young people, “nicotine is danger-ous and it can have negative health ef-fects,” Adams said in an interview. “It can impact learning, attention and memory, and it can prime the youth brain for ad-diction.”

Federal offi cials are scrambling to re-verse a recent explosion in teen vaping that public health offi cials fear could un-dermine decades of declines in tobacco use. An estimated 3.6 million US teens are now using e-cigarettes, representing 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle schoolers, according to the latest

federal fi gures. Separate survey results released Monday showed twice as many high school students used e-cigarettes this year compared to last year.

E-cigarettes and other vaping devices have been sold in the US since 2007, growing into a $6.6 billion business. Most devices heat a fl avored nicotine solu-tion into an inhalable vapor. They have been pitched to adult smokers as a less-harmful alternative to cigarettes, though there’s been little research on the long-term health effects or on whether they help people quit. Even more worrisome, a growing body of research suggests that teens who vape are more likely to try reg-ular cigarettes.

Adams singled out Silicon Valley start-up Juul. The company leapfrogged over its larger competitors with online promo-tions portraying their small device as the latest high-tech gadget for hip, attractive young people. Analysts now estimate the company controls more than 75 percent of the US e-cigarette market.

The surgeon general’s advisory notes that each Juul cartridge, or pod, contains

as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. Additionally, Adams states that Juul’s liquid nicotine mixture is specially for-mulated to give a smoother, more potent nicotine buzz. That effect poses special risks for young people, Adams says.

“We do know that these newer prod-ucts, such as Juul, can promote depend-ence in just a few uses,” Adams said.

Juul said in a statement that it shares the surgeon general’s goal: “We are com-mitted to preventing youth access of Juul products.”

Also:NEW YORK: Even your lifespan can be local.

Researchers have long said that health disparities are heavily infl uenced by where you live. New data from the Na-tional Center for Health Statistics show just how much your neighborhood can impact the length of your life.

In recent years, the US has seen overall life expectancy decrease, from 78.7 years in 2015 to 78.6 years in 2017. Experts have pointed to opioid addiction and an increase in suicides as the main reasons.

Behind that national average are Amer-ican neighborhoods where recently born residents can expect to live much longer, or much shorter, lives.

The Associated Press analyzed life expectancy and demographic data for 65,662 census tracts, which are geo-graphic areas that encompass roughly 4,000 residents. The AP found that cer-tain demographic qualities – high rates of unemployment, low household income, a concentration of black or Native Ameri-can residents and low rates of high school education – affected life expectancy in most neighborhoods.

An increase of 10 percentage points in the unemployment rate in a neighborhood translated to a loss of roughly a year and a half of life expectancy, the AP found. A neighborhood where more adults failed to graduate high school had shorter pre-dicted longevity.

New York state had the largest range for life expectancy among its neighbor-hoods, spanning 34.5 years. The places with the highest and lowest estimates are both in New York City.


20

bridgebridgeBy Steve Becker

contract bridgebridge

Challenger

DIRECTIONS:Fill each square with a

number, one through nine.■ Horizontal squares

should add to totals on right.

■ Vertical squares should add to totals on bottom.

■ Diagonal squares through center should add to total in upper and lower

right.

THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

Today’s ChallengeTime 7 Minutes

16 SecondsYour Working

Time __ Minutes__ Seconds

Yesterday’s solution

Eugene Sheffer Crossword

GeneralIEI Kuwait membership: The Institution of Engineers (India), Kuwait Chapter invites all its members to update their membership information for the year 2018-19 and actively participate in the chapter activities. Indian en-gineers residing in Kuwait are welcome to join the pool of more than 750,000 engineers by becoming corporate or non-corporate members of The Institution of Engineers (India).

IEI, Kuwait Chapter conducts many techni-cal events for the benefi ts of its members. Please watch for further details in your regis-tered e-mail or announcement in media. The chapter has science club activities for mem-bers’ children, and ladies wing activities for the member’s family. IEI, Kuwait Chapter has facility to register student members for AMIE Examination for those interested in pursuing career enrichment.

For more information and on chapter mem-bership, kindly contact IEI, Kuwait Chapter on Mob: 90098667 or through email to [email protected]

❑ ❑ ❑

Call for Indian writers and poets: As you are aware, Writers’ Forum, Kuwait is a literary organization which provides an equal platform to the Poets and Writers of all the Indian languages without any prejudice of the gender, caste, creed and religious background. Writers’ Forum, Kuwait is registered with the Embassy of India under registration no. INDEMB/KWT/ASSN/140. Primarily the Writers’ Forum, Kuwait is an Indian, a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental, non-profi t literary organization in Kuwait.

Since its inception on Nov 3, 1995, Writ-ers’ Forum, Kuwait has organized several Multilingual Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira which included many renowned Poets from various Indian languages, Published Navratna in nine languages with English translations, felicitated writers and poets for their works etc. During this journey of the Writers’ Forum, Kuwait so far, many of the members have published their works / com-positions. Writers’ Forum, Kuwait conducts monthly meetings on the 3rd Friday of each month during which literary works com-posed by the members are discussed.

In order to reach out to the Indian literary person who are capable of writing poems, essays, articles, short stories on any topic / subject in any Indian language, we invite such individuals to contact following offi ce bearers for further details.

❑ ❑ ❑

Advisory for OCI card holders: All those having OCI Cards are required to carry both their OCI Card and passport to travel to India so that they do not face any diffi culty in im-migration clearance.

From October 2018, ICAO will accept only machine readable travel documents, hence, existing PIO Cards, which are handwritten will therefore, become invalid. Thus it will be necessary upon PIO Cardholders to obtain machine readable OCI Cards in lieu of existing hand written PIO Cards before October 2018 to avoid any inconvenience.

❑ ❑ ❑

Q8BBall Season 13: Q8BBall is beginning our 13th season with Boys U13 (ages 10-13) and U17 (ages 14-17). We train three times a week and play regular games throughout the year with schools and clubs. In June 2018, we plan to travel for camp and tournaments in the US. Contact Coach T 97128884 for informa-tion.

❑ ❑ ❑

Share your story with Amricani: Do you or any of your family members, acquaint-ances or friends happen to have a story with the American Missionary hospital in Kuwait (Mustashfa Lemraicani) during the years from 1914-1967, the offi cial period of offering medical services in Kuwait?

Please share with us your story or your memory during those old days by writing the event and sending it to the following email ad-dress: [email protected]

Notes: 1. Please send your story only to the above mentioned email. Story shared in Instagram, Facebook or Twitter will not be considered.

2. Please write your story or memory and sign it with your full name, and your contact number.

3. It will be great if you send us your per-sonal photos or those of the place related to the story (optional).

Your story will be part of a new book to be published by DAI.

I am confi dent that your contributions will be an essential part of the history of Amricani. Share with us!

click


Word by Word

Archery RimayaI taught him archery every day, and when he got good at it he threw an arrow at me..U’alimhu Al-rimaya kula yawmin falammaa ishtadda saa’eduhu ramaani.

Numbers

8045 Eight thousand and forty five

Thamania alf khamsah wa arba’uon

Conceptis SudokuThe grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3

box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive

Answer to yesterday’s puzzle

…

Saipem to sign deal for Russian LNG work UBS says Asia’s wealthy trade less, cut debt

Italian energy contractor Saipem plans to sign a deal this week with Novatek to build offshore platforms for the Russian fi rm’s liquefi ed natural gas project, Arc-tic LNG 2, two sources close to talks told Reuters.

Novatek aims to produce as much LNG as Qatar, one of the world’s top LNG suppliers that exported 6.2 million tonnes in November. Novatek has one plant in operation and Arctic LNG

2 on the Gydan Peninsula in the Kara Sea will be its second.

The fi rst plant, Yamal LNG, began running at its full capacity of 16.5 million tonnes of LNG a year this month. This week, No-vatek issued tenders to build an airport for Arctic LNG 2 and to recruit its personnel.

Two sources close to the talks said Saipem and Novatek planned to sign a fi rm deal in It-aly this week for the construction

of gravity-based structure (GBS) platforms that will stand on the seabed to support the LNG pro-cessing units.

One of the sources said Ital-ian export credit agency SACE planned to issue guarantees to support development of the Arc-tic LNG 2 project. The Saipem-Novatek deal had an estimated value of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion), the source said. (RTRS)

Wealthy Asian investors are trading less, worried that trade tensions are tilting the global bal-ance of power, Martin Blessing, co-head of wealth management at UBS, said.

“I think they would share the conclusion that it is not only about tariffs, it is more about po-litical balance. That might take longer to resolve. People who had taken leverage to invest into the market ... have retrenched a

bit,” he told Reuters. As geopolitical jitters and trade

tensions have put pressure on its main business, Switzerland’s biggest bank, which is also the world’s largest wealth manager, is turning to ultra-rich Americans for growth.

While US clients have begun to take more note of ongoing trade wars, their mood remains more positive, Blessing said.

UBS has seen a rise in their

investments. Democrats took control of the US congressional House of Representatives and made gains in state governor races in November.

“Their willingness to invest has gone up. Their outlook on the capital market has become even more positive,” he said.

Blessing expects profi tability in the wealth management busi-ness to remain good, despite margin pressure. (RTRS)

Market Movements 18-12-2018

Business Change Closing ptsINDIA - Sensex +77.01 36,347.08

Change Closing ptsAUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -71.10 5,661.80JAPAN - Nikkei -391.43 21,115.45S. KOREA - KRX 100 -19.13 4,261.94PAKISTAN - KSE 100 -193.36 38,115.81GERMANY - DAX -31.31 10,740.89FRANCE - CAC 40 -45.79 4,754.08EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -17.85 3,045.80PHILIPPINES - All Shares -39.88 4,470.22

Saudi spending to hit record-high in ’19Oil prices resume slide

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec 18, (AP): Saudi Ara-bia’s expenditures will hit a record-high in 2019 as the government plans to in-crease state spending by 7 percent to reach $295 billion despite plunging oil prices.

King Salman announced the fi gures on Tuesday, saying the government expects revenue to increase by more than 9 percent to hit $260 billion. That leaves a pro-jected defi cit of $35 billion.

“This budget is a continuation of the government’s policy of focusing on the fundamental citizen services and the development of government ser-vices,” the king said at a government meeting that included ministers and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia has been grappling with a defi cit since oil prices fi rst plunged in 2014. It needs oil at around $70 a barrel to balance its budget, but the price of oil continued to tumble af-ter hitting a 14-month low on Monday. Benchmark US crude dropped to a lit-tle more than $49 per barrel Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dipped to $58.70 per barrel.

As one of the world’s largest oil ex-porters, the Saudi government is work-ing to diversify its revenue. Non-oil rev-enue has increased in recent years, but the state continues to rely heavily on oil for its domestic and international spend-ing. The majority of working Saudis are employed in the public sector.

The annual Saudi budget is watched closely because it offers one of the clearest indicators of whether the kingdom is on track with its Vision 2030 plans- a blueprint put forth by the crown prince to wean the kingdom off its reliance on oil, particularly as

sustainable sources of energy become cheaper and more popular.

This year’s budget includes a year-long extension of monthly allowances for civil servants, pensioners and sol-diers aimed at buffering the impact of austerity measures.

In this fi le photo, a construction crane is perched on the site of Court Square City View Tower adjacent to the Court Square Number 7 subway station in Long Island City in the Queens borough of New York. US developers broke ground on more homes for November, but the increase occurred entirely in apartments. The construction of new

single-family houses fell. (AP)

Single-family segment still weak

US housing starts rise in NovWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): US homebuilding rebounded in November, driven by a surge in multi-family hous-ing projects, but construction of single-family homes fell to a 1-1/2-year low, pointing to deepening housing market weakness that could spill over to the broader economy.

The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed housing starts fell in October instead of rising as previously reported. Un-derscoring the housing market weak-ness, single-family home completions dropped for a third straight month in November to their lowest level in more than a year.

“The residential construction market hit the pause button in 2018,” said Aar-on Terrazas, senior economist at Zil-low. “Speculation has already begun as to whether the construction industry is a macroeconomic canary in the coalm-ine signaling a larger shift to come.”

Housing starts increased 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.256 million units last month. Data for October was revised down to show starts dropping to a rate of 1.217 mil-lion units instead of the previously re-ported pace of 1.228 million units.

November’s increase in homebuild-ing followed two straight monthly de-clines. Housing starts fell 3.6 percent on a year-on-year basis in November. While building permits shot up 5.0 per-cent to a rate of 1.328 million units last month, they were powered by a jump in the volatile multi-family housing seg-ment.

Permits for single-family home-building, which accounts for the larg-est share of the housing market, barely rose last month.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts slipping to a pace of 1.225 million units last month.

The housing market is being con-

strained by higher mortgage rates as well as land and labor shortages, which have led to tight inventories. Though house price infl ation has slowed sig-nifi cantly, it continues to outpace wage growth, sidelining some fi rst-time homebuyers.

Continued weakness in the sector, which is sensitive to interest rates, could be fl agging a slowdown in the overall economy. Economists, how-ever, do not expect the softening hous-ing market will discourage the Federal Reserve from hiking rates when policy-makers conclude a two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The US central bank has increased borrowing costs three times this year. The 30-year fi xed mortgage rate has risen more than 60 basis points in 2018 to about 4.63 percent, according to data from mortgage fi nance agency Freddie Mac.

Hikes“Mortgage rates have already priced

in a 3.0 percent Fed funds rate more or less, so a few more Fed rate hikes won’t sting the housing market any fur-ther,” said Chris Rupkey, chief econo-mist at MUFG in New York.

“It is important to stay on a gradual path of rate hikes or they risk telegraph-ing to the markets and investors that they are worried about the economic outlook.”

The PHLX housing index was trading higher, in line with a broadly stronger US stock market. The dol-lar slipped to a one-week low against a basket of currencies amid caution ahead of the Fed’s rate decision. Prices of US Treasuries rose.

Residential investment contracted in the fi rst three quarters of this year, the longest stretch since mid-2009.

Homebuilding investment is expect-ed to have declined again in the fourth

quarter and the soft patch is seen per-sisting through the fi rst half of 2019. Housing and trade are expected to cut into economic growth in the October-December period.

Last month, single-family home-building dropped 4.6 percent to a rate of 824,000 units, the lowest level since May 2017. It was the third straight monthly decline in single-family homebuilding.

A survey on Monday showed confi -dence among single-family homebuild-ers dropped to more than a 2-1/2-year low in December, with builders report-ing that “consumer demand exists, but customers are hesitating to make a pur-chase because of rising home costs.”

Single-family starts in the South, which accounts for the bulk of home-building, jumped 6.8 percent last month. They tumbled 9.5 percent in the Northeast and plunged 24.4 percent in the West, probably because of wildfi res in California.

Groundbreaking activity on single-family homes dropped 3.2 percent in the Midwest.

Permits to build single-family homes edged up 0.1 percent in November to a pace of 848,0000 units. These permits are now above the level of single-fam-ily starts, suggesting some pickup in homebuilding is likely.

Starts for the multi-family housing segment soared 22.4 percent to a rate of 432,000 units in November. Permits for the construction of multi-family homes rose 14.8 percent to a pace of 480,000 units. The multi-family hous-ing segment is being boosted by de-mand for rental apartments.

“Until the demand for owner-occu-pied homes rebounds, it is diffi cult to see why single-family starts will turn around,” said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio.

Move comes a week after contractual waiver on exports

Libya’s NOC declares force majeure on opsTRIPOLI, Dec 18, (RTRS): Libya’s state oil fi rm NOC has declared force majeure on operations at the country’s largest oilfi eld, El Sharara, a week af-ter it announced a contractual waiver on exports from the fi eld following its seizure by protesters.

The 315,000 barrels a day fi eld, lo-cated in the south of the North African OPEC member country, was taken over on Dec 8 by groups of tribesmen, armed protesters and state guards de-manding salary payments and develop-ment funds.

Offi cials have been unable to per-suade the groups, who have been camping on the fi eld, to leave the vast, partly unsecured site amid disagree-ments how best to proceed, workers on the fi eld said.

Some government offi cials favour offering quick cash to the occupiers to make them leave, but NOC offi cials have warned that would set a precedent and encourage more blockades, work-ers at the oilfi eld say.

NOC has described the occupiers as militia trying to get on the payroll of fi eld guards, a recurring theme in

Libya where many see seizing NOC facilities as an easy way to get heard by the weak state authorities.

Production will only restart after “alternative security arrangements are put in place”, NOC said in a statement late on Monday.

Operations at the smaller El Feel oilfi eld continued as normal, engineers said. “Production at Sharara was for-cibly shut down by an armed group – Battalion 30 and its civilian support company – that claimed to be provid-ing security at the fi eld, but which threatened violence against NOC em-ployees,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said in the statement.

His comments came after the chief of staff of the Tripoli-based govern-ment, Abdulrahman Attweel, criticized some of Sanalla’s previous comments about the protesters as “irresponsible”.

“These people (guards) were there to protect the fi eld without salaries and without any attention to them and their daily needs, not in terms of ac-commodation, supply, transportation and communication,” Attweel told al-Ahrar channel late on Monday.

Their demands were legitimate, he said, echoing comments by some southern lawmakers and mayors de-manding more jobs and development for the neglected region.

The blockade has been compli-cated by the presence of tribesmen, who have argued against quick cash payments saying they want funds to improve hospitals and other services, which might take time to deliver.

The shutdown of the El Sharara has not affected the El Feel oilfi eld, also located in the south. It continued to pump around 70,000 barrels a day, fi eld engineers said.

Its exports were being routed via the Melittah oil and gas port, which like El Feel belongs to a joint venture NOC has with Italian energy company Eni, another engineer said.

A spokesman for NOC did not re-spond to a request for comment.

El Sharara crude is normally trans-ported to the Zawiya port, also home to a refi nery. NOC runs the fi eld with Spain’s Repsol , France’s Total, Aus-tria’s OMV and Norway’s Equinor, formerly known as Statoil.

Fitch downgrades Oman’scredit rating to junk statusDUBAI, Dec 18, (RTRS): Fitch downgraded Oman’s credit rating to “junk” on Tuesday, citing fi scal challenges to the oil producer from volatile crude prices, leaving only Moody’s Investors Service to rate it as an investment grade credit.

Oman’s state coffers have been hit hard by a slump in oil prices in recent years, resulting in a wide budget defi cit that the country is only slowly managing to tame.

A recent surge in the country’s government bond yields has made it the weakest debt market link among Gulf oil exporters.

Fitch downgraded Oman to BB+ from BBB-(minus) with a stable outlook, saying the outlook for oil production, prices and oil revenues fi lling the government’s budget is “highly uncertain”.

Oman’s dollar-denominated gov-ernment bonds fell after Fitch’s de-cision. Its bonds due in 2023 fell 1.5 cents on the dollar, while its 2021 bonds dropped almost 1 cent.

The downgrade comes after a

renewed fall in energy prices – oil prices slumped on Tuesday with the North Sea Brent crude falling 4.0 percent to $57.20, a 14-month low.

Oman is the most sensitive coun-try in the region to oil prices, so even a small decrease in prices can mean “pretty signifi cant headwinds”, said Mohieddine Kronfol, chief invest-ment offi cer for global sukuk and MENA fi xed income at Franklin Templeton Investments.

S&P rates Oman BB. Although Moody’s maintains an investment-grade rating on the country, it is only one notch above junk status with a negative outlook – meaning that a downgrade is likely.

“Oman has some time to ad-dress fi scal challenges but odds are increasing that they’ll lose their in-vestment grade status probably in 2019-2020,” Kronfol said.

Oman raised $8 billion in interna-tional bond sales this year, covering the three billion rial ($7.79 billion) defi cit projected in its 2018 state budget.

BUSINESSARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

22

VW may have to step up electric car plans to meet CO2 targets

Volkswagen may have to step up its plans for mass produc-tion of electric vehicles in order to meet tougher-than-expected European targets to cut green-house emissions from cars, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

The remarks came after the European Union agreed on Monday to cut CO2 emissions from cars by 37.5 percent by 2030, and follow warnings from Germany, home to the bloc’s

biggest automotive industry, that tough targets could cost jobs and harm the sector.

This is more than the 30 percent Volkswagen (VW), still reeling from an emissions cheating scandal, expected and would translate into a share for electric vehicles of more than 40 percent of its expected total vehicle sales in 2030, CEO Herbert Diess said.

“This means that our planned

restructuring programme, which is needed to address this system-ic change, is not yet suffi cient.”

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the targets were at the limit of what was tech-nically and economically feasible. Around 436,000 industrial jobs in Germany are tied to building pet-rol and diesel engined vehicles.

“This is a tough stretch and is at the higher end of expectations - however, we are convinced

that this will help the industry to fi nally accept that combustion engines and platforms need to be standardized,” Evercore ISI analysts wrote.

VW, Europe’s largest car-maker, has earmarked about 30 billion euros ($ 34 billion) for the next fi ve years to make sure it can achieve CO2 cuts of 30 percent by retooling its pro-duction process to focus more on electric vehicles. (RTRS)

In this fi le photo Herbert Diess, CEO

of the Volkswagen stock company, ad-dresses the media

during a press con-ference in Wolfsburg,

Germany. (AP)

Co seeks to defuse fears that threaten its role in next-generation communications

Huawei calls on US, others to show proof of security riskDONGGUAN, China, Dec 18, (AP): The chairman of Huawei challenged the United States and other govern-ments to provide evidence for claims the Chinese tech giant is a security risk as the company launched a public re-lations effort Tuesday to defuse fears that threaten its role in next-generation communications.

Talking to reporters who were in-vited to Huawei Technologies Ltd’s headquarters, Ken Hu complained ac-cusations against the biggest global maker of network gear stem from “ide-ology and geopolitics.” He warned ex-cluding Huawei from fi fth-generation networks in Australia and other mar-kets would hurt consumers by raising prices and slowing innovation.

Australia and New Zealand have barred Huawei in 5G networks on se-curity grounds. They joined the United States and Taiwan, which have broader curbs on Huawei. Japan’s cybersecu-rity agency says suppliers including Huawei that are deemed high-risk will be excluded from government pur-chases.

The curbs have had little impact so far on Huawei, which says global sales are on track to top $100 billion this year. But the normally press-shy company’s decision to hold Tuesday’s event appeared to refl ect growing con-cern the accusations could hurt it in an emerging 5G market that industry ana-lysts say could be worth $20 billion a year by 2022.

Hu, who appears at industry events but rarely gives interviews, talked for two hours and 20 minutes with Ameri-can, European and Asian reporters.

“If you have proof or evidence, it should be made known,” said Hu. “Maybe not to Huawei and maybe not to the public, but to telecom opera-tors, because they are the ones that buy Huawei.”

Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former military engineer, rejects ac-cusations that it is controlled by the ruling Communist Party or designs equipment to facilitate eavesdrop-ping. But foreign officials cite a Chi-nese law that requires companies to cooperate with intelligence agencies and express concern telecom equip-ment suppliers might be required to modify products.

The emergence of 5G has height-ened those fears. The technology is meant to support a vast expansion of telecoms networks to connect self-driving cars, factory robots, medical devices and power plants. That has prompted governments increasingly to view telecoms networks as strategic national assets.

“There has never been any evidence that our equipment poses a security

threat,” said Hu. He added later, “We have never accepted requests from any government to damage the networks or business of any of our customers.”

Hu’s comments echoed previous denials by company spokespeople. But they marked the fi rst time such a senior fi gure has directly addressed foreign security complaints, underscoring the company’s sensitivity to them.

Hu noted a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Dec 10 that no law re-quires companies to modify equipment to permit secret access.

“We haven’t received any request to provide improper information,” he said. “In the future, we will also act in strict accordance with the law in deal-ing with similar situations.”

The lack of public evidence to sup-port accusations against Huawei has prompted industry analysts to suggest they are an excuse to shield U.S. or Eu-ropean competitors against the rise of a Chinese challenger.

Asked about that, Hu said reducing competition would hamper innovation and raise costs for consumers.

Hu cited what he said was a forecast by a research fi rm, Frontier Econom-ics, that the cost of installing 5G wire-less base stations in Australia would be 15 to 40 percent higher without competition from Huawei. He said the total cost could be several billion dol-lars higher.

“You can’t make yourself more ex-cellent by blocking competitors from the playing fi eld,” he said.

Despite “efforts to use politics to in-terfere with industry growth,” Huawei has signed contracts with 25 telecom carriers for commercial or test use of 5G, according to Hu. He said the com-pany has shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations.

“We are proud to say that our cus-tomers continue to trust us,” he said.

Huawei suffered another setback when its chief fi nancial offi cer was ar-rested Dec 1 in Canada in connection with US accusations the company vio-lated restrictions on sales of American technology to Iran.

Hu said he couldn’t discuss the Iran accusations because the executive, Meng Wanzhou, is in the midst of court proceedings in Vancouver. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, faces possible US charges of lying to a bank to conceal Huawei’s dealings with Iran.

However, Hu said Huawei is “very confi dent in our trade compliance man-agement.” Echoing earlier company statements, he expressed “confi dence in the fairness and independence” of courts involved in Meng’s case.

Asked whether Meng’s arrest made Huawei executives reluctant to leave

Co eyes revenue of over $100bn this year

Huawei to spend $2b in cybersecurity pushHONG KONG, Dec 18, (RTRS): Huawei Technologies on Tuesday said it would spend $2 billion over the next 5 years to focus on cyber-security by adding more people and upgrading lab facilities, as it battles global concerns about risks associ-ated with its network gear.

The typically secretive Chinese technology giant made the com-ments at one of its most indepth press conferences at its Dongguan offi ces, after welcoming about two dozen international journalists into its new campus in the southern Chi-nese city.

Huawei has been in the news these past weeks for the arrest of its chief fi nancial offi cer Meng Wan-zhou – also the daughter of its bil-lionaire founder Ren Zhengfei – in Canada at the request of the United States.

This has exacerbated the woes of the Chinese fi rm, which has al-ready been virtually locked out of the US market and has been pro-hibited by Australia and New Zea-

land from building 5G networks amid concerns its gear could facili-tate Chinese spying.

“Locking out competitors from a playing fi eld cannot make yourself better. We think any concerns or allegations on security at Huawei should be based on factual evi-dence,” its rotating chairman Ken Hu said. “Without factual evidence we don’t accept and we oppose those allegations.”

Huawei has been communicat-ing with governments worldwide regarding the independence of its operation, he said. He added that Japan and France had not for-mally banned its telecom equip-ment. Recent media reports have indicated moves by these gov-ernments to shun the company’s equipment.

Sources have told Reuters that Japan planned to ban government purchases of equipment.

Other media reported that the country’s three top operators planned not to use current equip-

ment and upcoming 5G gear from Huawei, and that France was con-sidering adding items to its “high-alert” list that tacitly targets Huawei.

Huawei has repeatedly said Bei-jing has no infl uence over it.

At the tour of Huawei’s Shen-zhen headquarters on Tuesday, journalists glimpsed some of Hua-wei’s most advanced R&D labs housed in a three-storey building with a white facade and four col-umns, referred to by insiders as the “White House”.

Wu said Huawei had secured more than 25 commercial contracts for 5G, slightly above the 22 the Chinese technology giant had an-nounced in November.

The company has shipped more than 10,000 base stations for the fi fth generation of mobile com-munications, he said, adding that Huawei expects revenue to exceed $100 billion this year – up 8.7 per-cent from last year.

Huawei is the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications

network equipment and second-biggest maker of smartphones and unlike other big Chinese technol-ogy fi rms, derives half its revenue from overseas.

Wu said on Tuesday Huawei was looking forward to “a just con-clusion” in the case of Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 after US offi cials alleged Huawei was trying to use banks to evade sanctions against Iran and move money out.

She is awaiting possible extradi-tion to the United States in a case that has roiled global markets amid concerns it would exacerbate ten-sions between the United States and China, which are already strained over trade matters.

Meng, the 46-year-old daughter of Ren, has said in a sworn affi davit she is innocent and will contest the allegations against her at trial if she is surrendered to the United States.

Wu said Meng’s arrest has had no impact on the travel of the com-pany’s senior executives.

China, Hu laughed and said, “There is no impact on our travel plans. At this time yesterday, I was on a plane” re-turning from Europe.

Another Chinese company, ZTE Corp, was nearly forced out of busi-ness this year after Washington blocked it from buying US compo-nents and technology over its exports to Iran and North Korea. President Donald Trump restored access after ZTE paid a $1 billion fi ne, replaced its executives and hired US-selected com-pliance managers.

Asked whether Huawei would be hurt if it faced similar curbs, Hu said he couldn’t talk about something that hadn’t happened. But he said the com-pany has a global network of 13,000 suppliers and a “diversifi ed supply strategy” that allowed it cope with Ja-pan’s 2011 tsunami and other disrup-tions.

Huawei is China’s fi rst global tech competitor, making it politically im-portant to a ruling Communist Party that wants to transform the country from a low-wage factory into a leader in fi elds from robotics to clean energy to biotech.

The company has a workforce of 180,000 and China’s biggest corporate research-and-development budget. It operates in 170 countries and domi-

nates developing markets in Asia, Af-rica and Latin America.

Analysts have warned Huawei’s political importance to Beijing would make any US attempt to impose ZTE-style controls an explosive issue. Relations already are strained over Trump’s tariff hikes on billions of dol-lars of Chinese imports in a fi ght over complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology.

Hu promised repeatedly to expand efforts to respond to “legitimate con-cerns” from regulators, telecom carri-ers or the public.

“We will step up our efforts in com-municating and collaborating with gov-

ernments around the world,” he said.Huawei has opened centers in Brit-

ain, Germany and Canada for gov-ernments to test its equipment and software. Its newest “security transpar-ency center” is due to open in Belgium in the fi rst quarter of 2019.

Huawei plans to invest $2 billion over the next fi ve years to improve its software development, according to Hu. That follows a report in July by the board that oversees the testing center in Britain that faulted Huawei for weak software engineering.

Tuesday’s event for reporters in-cluded tours of two research-and-development laboratories at Huawei’s

headquarters in Shenzhen, which abuts Hong Kong, and a cybersecurity test-ing center at a newly built campus in Dongguan, an hour’s drive to the west. The company said it was the fi rst time reporters had been allowed to see those facilities.

The cybersecurity lab’s director, Martin Wang, said it has facilities used by customers including Spain’s Tel-efonica to carry out their own tests on Huawei equipment and software.

“We are open to any discussion with customers about how we can improve cybersecurity,” said the company’s director of cybersecurity and privacy, Sean Yang.

Clouds grow over German economy

After stocks hit bear market

BERLIN, Dec 18, (AP): Worries are grow-ing about the strength of the German econ-omy, Europe’s largest, after a key indica-tor suggested fears about trade wars and Brexit are hitting business activity and after the country’s main stocks index slid into a bear market.

The Ifo Institute said Tuesday its business confi -dence index dropped to 101.0 points for December

from 102.0 points in November as managers’ view of both their current circumstances and their prospects for the next six months fell. That’s the fourth drop in a row and the lowest reading in 27 months.

Uncertainty over the economy is growing just as the Euro-pean Central Bank last week confi rmed it will end its 2.6 bil-lion-euro ($3 billion) stimulus program conducted through bond purchases. The ECB says the economy is strong enough to halt the stimulus, but is keeping other support measures such as record low interest rates in place. The ECB has in-dicated rates will not rise before fall 2019, and has indicated

it could delay any fi rst hikes in case of unexpected economic trouble.

Germany’s economy shrank 0.2 per-cent in the third quarter and there are increasing worries about the effect of multiple issues, like Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and new tariffs from the US administration of President Donald Trump. The third-quarter contraction was largely blamed on a one-time slump in car sales as Daimler and Volkswagen faced bot-tlenecks getting cars certifi ed for new, tougher emissions standards.

Economist Carsten Brzeski at ING Germany said that “the German econ-omy has entered a dangerous vicious circle of too many one-off factors, dwindling global growth and political risks fi nally leaving their mark.” That was despite continuing strong domes-tic demand from consumers, who are enjoying cheaper fuel prices and low unemployment.

He wrote in an email that “that the risk of the unimaginable – a techni-cal recession (two consecutive quar-ters with negative growth) – has in-creased.”

Andrew Kenningham, chief global economist at Capital Economics, said there was “every reason” to expect growth to rebound in the last three months of the year. “However, this survey adds to evidence that the slow-down in Germany, and the eurozone more widely, is more than just a soft patch.”

Kenningham said risks were mount-ing to the fi rm’s forecast that growth would rebound to 1.8 percent next year from 1.5 percent this year.

German’s DAX 30 stock index traded at 10,818 on Thursday, up 0.4 percent on the day. The index, which contains big corporate names such as Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, BASF, Adidas, ThyssenK-rupp and BMW, entered bear mar-ket territory on Monday, defined as a decline of 20 percent or more from its January peak.

WEF report shows

Economic parity between the sexes looks stagnantNEW YORK, Dec 18, (RTRS): Growth of economic equality between the sexes appears to be stalling globally as proportion-ately fewer women join the workforce than men, and artifi-cial intelligence and other emerging technologies are rife with gender gaps, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report released on Monday.

Women saw gains this year in some measures of economic par-ity, such as income, but declines in access to healthcare and edu-cation and political involvement, according to the report.

“The overall picture is that gender equality has stalled,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of social and economic agendas at the World Economic Forum. “The future of our labor market may not be as equal as the trajectory we thought we were on.”

Zahidi said participation of men in the workforce has increased more than women. This trend may be due to the impact of automation on jobs held by women and because women often are responsible for unpaid work including child-care, according to the report.

Women are under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)

skills and knowledge, the report finds.

The WEF highlights that women represent only 22 per-cent of the workforce for artifi-cial intelligence, a major driver of innovation focused on machine learning. As artificial intelligence grows, the divide between the sexes in the field may widen, according to the report.

The analysis, which also uses data from professional network-ing firm LinkedIn, shows that women working in artificial intelligence are less likely than men to be in high-profile posi-tions. They often work as data analysts or researchers, while men find employment as heads of engineering and information technology, according to the report.

“It’s going to be one of the roles growing in demand in the future,” Zahidi said. “It’s a gen-eral purpose technology used across multiple sectors. Who’s developing this technology mat-ters.”

The WEF calls for proactive measures to prevent the divide from growing in other industries that are applying artificial intel-ligence, including male-domi-nated fields such as manufactur-ing, hardware and networking.

A worker holds a sign promoting a sale for Huawei 5G in-ternet services at a mobile phones retail shop in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province on Dec 18, 2018. The chairman of Huawei challenged the United States and

other governments to provide evidence for claims the Chi-nese tech giant is a security risk as the company launched a public relations effort Tuesday to defuse fears that threat-en its role in next-generation communications. (AP)

Five-year US Treasury yields lowest since May

Eurozone yields fall after US stocks skidLONDON, Dec 18, (RTRS): German government bond yields fell to their lowest in almost a week on Tuesday after US stocks plunged overnight, driving fi ve-year US Treasury yields to their lowest since May.

Stocks dropped in the United States to their lowest levels in more than a year on Monday. European markets followed suit in early trade, prompt-ing a bid for safe-haven assets before a Federal Reserve meeting that’s widely expected to raise interest rates.

“Europe is catching up on the price action (in the US), and the technical picture is that further weakness could be forthcoming,” said ING rates strate-gist Martin van Vliet.

Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell to a one-week low of 0.232 percent, down 1.3 basis points on the day. Five-year US Treasury yields fell three ba-sis points to 2.664 percent , their low-

est since May. The Federal Reserve ends it two-

day meeting on Wednesday, and in-vestors expect it to raise interest rates. However, many now believe economic turbulence will prompt the Fed to sig-nal a slowdown in rate increases next year.

“Markets are starting to price out the expectation of rate hikes to come,” said Rainer Guntermann, rates strate-gist at Commerzbank. “Our base case is a rate hike this week, then we expect the Fed to pause after that.”

Other highly rated euro zone bond yields, including France, were around one basis point lower.

French bond yields have risen in re-cent weeks after President Emmanuel Macron was forced to appease protest-ers with extra spending plans, leading to concern that France’s budget defi cit would breach European Union rules.

However, European Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici re-iterated that France’s expected over-shooting of the EU’s defi cit ceiling – 3 percent of gross domestic product – would be tolerable if it was just a tem-porary measure.

France’s 10-year government bond yield dipped 2.8 basis points to 0.71 percent, putting it on track for its big-gest one-day fall in more than two weeks.

Italian government bond yields rose briefl y, then fell to trade close to Mon-day’s close, after a deal with the Eu-ropean Commission over its rejected 2019 budget did not materialise.

In addition, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Commis-sion had asked for a further cuts, seek-ing 2.5 billion to 3 billion euros ($2.84 billion to $3.40 billion) in savings, before approving Italy’s 2019 budget.

USD/KD down Kuwait oil price drops

US Dollar’s exchange rate went down against the national cur-rency to KD 0.303 but the Euro moved up to KD 0.344, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Tuesday.

In its daily bulletin, the CBK added that the British Pound Ster-ling and the Swiss Franc went up to KD 0.383 and KD 0.306, respectively. The Japanese Yen remained stable at KD 0.002. (KUNA)

Kuwait oil price dropped 69 cents to USD 58.41 per bar-rel in Monday’s trades against Friday’s rate of 59.10 pb, Ku-wait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said on Tuesday.

Crude prices, in interna-tional markets, were bear-ish due to US excessive supplies and ongoing jitters about grim outlook of the global economic growth and fuel demand.

Meanwhile, rate of the Brent blend crude fell 67 cents, settling at 67 USD 59.61 pb. Likewise, the Amer-ican crude oil lost USD 1.32, reaching USD 49.88 pb. The OPEC daily basket price went down by 83 cents to stand at USD 58.24 per barrel (pb) Monday as opposed to USD 59.07 pb Friday, said the in-ternational organization in its bulletin Tuesday. (KUNA)


23

Suspicious traffi c to a customer-support forum

Twitter dips on concerns about hackingDUBAI, Dec 18, (RTRS): Twitter Inc shares fell almost 7 percent on Monday after the company said it was investigating unusual traffi c that might be from state-sponsored hack-ers and, in what appeared to be an unrelated issue, a security fi rm said hackers used the platform to try to steal user data.

Twitter said in a blog that it dis-covered suspicious traffi c to a cus-tomer-support forum while investi-gating a security bug that exposed data, including users’ phone coun-try codes and details on locked ac-counts. It said the bug was fi xed Nov 16.

Twitter observed a large amount of traffi c to the customer support site coming from individual internet IP addresses in China and Saudi Ara-bia.

“While we cannot confi rm intent

or attribution for certain, it is possi-ble that some of these IP addresses may have ties to state-sponsored ac-tors,” the blog said.

“We continue to err on the side of full transparency in this area and have updated law enforcement on our fi ndings,” it said.

A company spokesman declined to elaborate as Twitter shares posted their biggest drop in more than two months.

The Chinese government con-sistently denies any involvement in hacking or other forms of internet attacks and says that it is dedicated to cracking down on such behavior.

Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes-woman Hua Chunying said China’s position on internet security and at-tacks was consistent.

China hopes all sides can deal

with this issue via talks and coopera-tion on the basis of mutual respect, she added.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter blamed the decline on concerns that news of a breach could hurt growth and user engagement.

“Clearly, a breach like this impairs user trust in the platform,” he said.

Separately, security software maker Trend Micro Inc said in a blog earlier on Monday that attackers sent out two tweets in October in a bid to steal data from previously infected machines.

The hackers hid instructions in tweeted memes that secretly ordered infected devices to send information, including user names, screen images and other content, Trend Micro said.

The Twitter spokesman declined to comment on the Trend Micro re-port.

Kuwait index retreats in ‘lacklustre’ session

KFH dips 9 fi ls, Ooredoo ticks upBy John MathewsArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: Kuwait stocks pulled low-er on Tuesday erasing the week’s earlier gains. The All Shares Index dropped 31.75 pts in lackluster trade to 5,130.83 points dragged by banks and most of the heavy weights even as the overall mood remained soggy.

The Prime Market skidded 44,.54 pts to 5,357.60 points and Main Market was down 8.19 pts to 4,718 points. The volume turnover meanwhile jumped past the 100 million mark for the second time during the week. Over 121 million shares changed hands – a 24 pct surge from the day before.

The sectors closed mostly in the red turf. Oil and gas outshone the rest with 0.77 pct gain whereas consumer goods shed 1.35 percent, the worst performer of day. Volume wise, banks notched the highest market share of 49.4 per-cent and real estate trailed with 21.3 pct contribution.

Among prominent shares, Kuwait Finance House dived 9 fi ls to 611 fi ls after trading over 10 million shares and Boubyan Bank followed suit to wind up at 576 fi ls. Mabanee Co skid-ded 8 fi ls to 618 fi ls and Mezzan Hold-ing shed 10 fi ls.

Zain slipped 7 fi ls to 464 fi ls af-ter trading over 5 million shares and Ooredoo dialed down 2 fi ls with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) fell 3 fi ls to 768 fi ls and Agility was down 10 fi ls at 800 fi ls .

The market opened fi rm and ticked up in early trade. The main index scaled the day’s highest level of 5,163 pts and retreated thereafter as selling kicked in. It drifted sideways past the mid-session and bottomed at 5,124 points before closing with moderate losses.

Top gainer of the day, Mashaer Holding rallied 16 pct to 55 fi ls and Tahssilat was down 7.8 pct at 20.5 fi ls. OSOS dived 11.8 percent to 97 fi ls and Ahli United Bank topped the vol-ume with 21.1 million shares.

Refl ecting the day’s downswing, the market spread was skewed to-wards the losers. 34 stocks advanced whereas 59 closed lower. Of the 114 counters active on Tuesday, 21 closed fl at. 5,776 deals worth KD 30.38 mil-lion were transacted – a 44.9 pct spike in value from the day before.

National Industries Group dropped 4 fi ls to 157 fi ls and Mezzan Holding shed 10 fi ls to close at 530 fi ls. Bouby-an Petrochemical Co tripped 1 fi l and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co was up 3 fi ls at 357 fi ls. BIIHC gave up 3 fi ls to end at 31 fi ls.

Jazeera Airways eased 1 fi l to 729 fi ls and ALAFCO added 3 fi ls to close at 356 fi ls with razor thin trade. Mashaer Holding climbed 7.6 fi ls to 55 fi ls on back of 7.5 million shares and OSOS shed 13 fi ls. Equipment Holding tripped 0.2 fi l.

Kuwait Cement Co fell 5 fi ls to 355 fi ls and Kuwait Portland Cement soared 43 fi ls. Heavy Engineering In-dustries and Shipbuilding Co slipped 7 fi ls to 393 fi ls and ACICO Industries was down 8 fi ls at 162 fi ls. NICBM paused at 190 fi ls and Al Rai Media Group edged 0.9 fi l into red.

Kuwait Foundry Co fell 2 fi ls to 178 fi ls and Gulf Cable gave up 4 fi ls to end at 361 fi ls. Automated Systems Co

stood pat at 110 fi ls and AAN ticked 0.2 fi l higher. KPPC dialed down 0.5 fi l and Al Rai Media Group tripped 0.9 fi l.

Humansoft Holding tumbled 70 fi ls to KD 3.360 and NAPESCO scaled 20 fi ls. Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co fell 0.8 fi l to 96 fi ls and KGL Lo-gistics edged 0.2 fi l higher to 40 fi ls. Combined Group Contracting Co rose 3 fi ls to 318 fi ls and Inovest gave up 4 fi ls.

In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait eased 1 fi l to 842 fi ls after trading 6.6 million shares and Kuwait International Bank clipped 2 fi ls. Ahli United Bank added 3 fi ls on back of a whopping 21.2 million shares.

Commercial Bank and Warba Bank held ground unchanged at 500 fi ls and 222 fi ls respectively whereas Al Muta-hed was down 6 fi ls at 296 fi ls. Al Ahli Bank was not traded during the session.

KIPCO fell 3 fi ls to 210 fi ls while GFH closed 3.4 fi ls lower at 88.1 fi ls. International Financial Advisers tripped 1.3 fi ls whereas National In-vestment Co and Kuwait Investment Co paused at 83.5 fi ls and 128 fi ls re-spectively. ALOLA and Coast Invest-ment Co trimmed 0.5 fi l each.

Bayan Investment Co took in 1 fi l and KMEFIC eased 0.2 fi l to 31.6 fi ls. Securities House Co and Al Salam trimmed 0.3 fi l each whereas Madar Finance and Investment clipped 1 fi l. Al Mal Investment inched 0.3 fi l into red.

Osoul Investment rose 1.7 fi ls to 57 fi ls and Unicap was fl at at 65 fi ls. Al Deera Holding clipped 2 fi ls and Ektit-tab Holding tripped 0.9 fi l before set-tling at 18 fi ls.

Noor Financial Investment ticked 0.1 fi l down and Sokouk Holding di-aled up 1 fi l. Al Imtiaz and Gulf In-surance Co were unchanged at 129 fi ls whereas Warba Insurance Co climbed 4 fi ls to 670 fi ls

Kuwait Real Estate took in 0.5 fi l on back of 3 million shares while Sal-hiya Real Estate and Marakez stood pat at 328 fi ls and 23 fi ls respectively. Mazaya Holding fell 2.6 fi ls to 73.1 fi ls and Mena Holding added 1 fi l.

The bourse has been mixed so far during the week shedding 18 pts in last three sessions and has added 22 points so far during the month. Boursa Kuwait, with 176 listed stocks, is the second largest market in the region.

Real estate dampens Dubai

Gulf falls on weak oil pricesDUBAI, Dec 18, (RTRS): The Dubai stock market fell sharply on Tuesday to post its biggest one-day loss since June as real estate stocks slid, while tumbling oil prices dragged down all major Gulf bourses.

Oil prices fell 4 percent after reports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record US and Russian output com-bined with a sharp sell-off in stock markets as the outlook for global growth deteriorated.

In Dubai, the index dropped 2.1 per-cent with the emirate’s largest lender, Emirates NBD, shedding 4.6 percent and its biggest listed developer, Emaar Properties , falling 2.3 percent.

DAMAC Properties plunged 6.3 percent to its lowest level since Febru-ary 2015. Dubai infl ation data released on Monday showed housing and utility costs falling 4.7 percent year-on-year, their biggest decline in years.

Nasdaq-Dubai listed DP World was down 0.8 percent. The fi rm ap-proached an Indian court to quash an antitrust investigation into its al-leged anti-competitive behaviour at the country’s largest container port in Mumbai, Reuters reported.

Dubai’s main index is the worst per-forming in the Middle East and North Africa this year, down more than 25 percent and close to its lowest levels since 2013.

Egypt’s blue-chip index fell 0.7 percent, mirroring a slide in emerging markets generally. Banks continued to decline with Egypt’s largest lender, Commercial International Bank, shed-ding 0.6 percent.

Arab Cotton Ginning lost 3.0 percent after its fi rst-quarter profi t dropped over 96 percent.

Global Telecom added 4.4 percent while Telecom Egypt climbed 3.3 per-cent, continuing to surge after saying on Monday it expects revenue growth in the mid-to high single digits in 2019. The fi rm also expects 2018 revenue to beat guidance.

The Abu Dhabi index slipped 0.8 percent with First Abu Dhabi Bank, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, falling 1.3 percent. Eight staff have been cut by FAB Securities, a

unit of First Abu Dhabi, Reuters re-ported, citing sources.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co slumped 9.1 percent to its lowest level since April 2018.

Dana Gas added 1.9 percent after saying it had received $20 million from the Egyptian government. The fi rm’s total receipts from Egypt reached $152 million for the year.

The Saudi Arabian index lost 0.3 percent with the largest lender, Na-tional Commercial Bank, dropping 2.1 percent and Yanbu National Petro-chemicals slipping 2.4 percent.

Telecommunications fi rm Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) was down 2.1 per-cent, continuing to drop after disclos-ing a new system of royalty payments to the government on Sunday.

However, Saudi Company for Hard-ware jumped 6.3 percent after share-holders approved a capital increase to 360 million riyals ($96 million) through a bonus share issue.

Bank Albilad gained 3.2 percent af-ter its board recommended an increase in the bank’s capital to 7.50 billion ri-yals from 6 billion riyals through bo-nus shares.

The Qatar stock exchange was closed for a public holiday.

Saudi Arabia ■ The index was down 0.3 percent at 7,943 points

Dubai■ The index lost 2.1 percent to 2,511 points

Abu Dhabi■ The index shed 0.8 percent to 4,829 points

Egypt■ The index fell 0.7 percent to 13,121 points

Kuwait ■ The index was down 0.8 percent at 5,358 points

Bahrain ■ The index fell 0.4 percent to 1,314 points

Oman ■ The index was down 0.7 percent at 4,379 points


24

Name: Kuwait Sharia

Compatible Indices

Providers: Al Madar Finance &

Investment Co.

Description: Index of Sharia

compatible companies traded on

the KSE

Website: www.almadar-fi.com

Bloomberg Today’s Today’s closing Prev closing % 1-week 3-month YTD 12-month 24-monthIndex name ticker value as of value value change change change change change change

Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Composite AMIC December 18, 2018 172.08 173.85 -1.02% -1.00% -0.01% 2.78% 3.00% 3.37%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Kuwait Only AMIC December 18, 2018 168.00 169.67 -0.98% -0.95% 0.37% 3.76% 4.02% 5.14%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Active AMIC December 18, 2018 72.43 72.69 -0.36% -0.56% 0.84% -2.59% -4.23% -6.57%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Banking Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 326.40 331.09 -1.42% -0.94% 3.54% 17.36% 16.82% 22.96%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Investment Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 51.61 51.66 -0.10% -0.91% 2.55% 7.93% 7.58% 12.87%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Insurance Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 14.86 14.86 0.00% -1.75% 6.95% -31.56% -26.72% -4.45%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Real Estate Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 46.48 46.69 -0.46% -0.68% 0.40% -2.01% -2.43% -4.93%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Industrial Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 161.05 161.07 -0.01% -0.23% -1.15% 10.56% 11.93% 33.00%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Services Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 203.45 205.55 -1.02% -1.27% -2.06% -7.09% -5.67% 2.78%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Food Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 122.38 121.80 0.47% 0.20% -12.16% -28.59% -30.16% -67.80%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Islamic Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 158.65 160.58 -1.21% -0.96% 8.62% 17.98% 17.73% 23.86%Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Non Kuwaiti Sector AMIC December 18, 2018 292.10 298.33 -2.09% -2.46% -10.14% -23.70% -23.99% -30.67%S&P 500 SPX December 17, 2018 2,545.94 2,599.95 -2.08% -3.48% -12.34% -5.27% -4.85% 12.75%DJ Islamic Index. DJIM December 17, 2018 3,368.40 3,424.13 -1.63% -2.46% -12.06% -7.38% -6.87% 15.44%

India holds off tariffs hike

India has held off until end-January 2019 raising tariffs on select goods from the United States, deferring for the fourth time retali-atory action against higher import tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminium, the government said on Monday.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from higher steel and aluminium tariffs, New Delhi said in June that it would raise import tax from Aug 4 on some US products, including almonds, walnuts and apples.

India further delayed imposing higher taxes thrice until Dec 17, and with negotiations still going on, decided to defer the date again. (RTRS)

Japan cuts GDP and CPI forecastsGovt cites disasters and trade war

TOKYO, Dec 18, (RTRS): Japan’s government revised down its forecasts for econom-ic growth and consumer prices for the current and next fi scal years as natural disasters and weakening export demand weighed on the economy, the Cabinet Offi ce said on Tues-day.

The forecast cuts follow disap-pointing data on quarterly gross domestic product and machinery orders, highlighting the growing downside risks posed by a trade war between the United States and China.

The government will use the fore-casts to fi nalise the state budget for the next fi scal year starting in April, which could present policymakers with a host of challenges as they prepare to raise the nationwide sales tax.

Japan’s economy will grow 0.9 percent in fi scal 2018, which ends in March, the Cabinet Offi ce said. That is down from its previous projection of 1.5 percent growth.

In fi scal 2019 the economy will ex-pand 1.3 percent, also down from the previous forecast of 1.5 percent growth.

Overseas demand will not contribute to growth either in the current or the fol-lowing fi scal year due to a slowdown in China’s economy and weak demand for electronic parts in Asia, a Cabinet Of-fi ce offi cial said.

Capital expenditure is expected to rise 3.6 percent in fi scal 2018 and then

slow to 2.7 percent growth in fi scal 2019, partly because companies are cautious due to global trade friction, the offi cial also said.

Overall consumer prices are expect-ed to rise 1.0 percent this fi scal year, down from a 1.1 percent increase ex-pected previously.

In fi scal 2019, overall prices will rise 1.1 percent, less than the previous fore-cast of a 1.5 percent increase.

Private consumption is expected to expand 0.7 percent this fi scal year and then accelerate to 1.2 percent growth in fi scal 2019, as consumers shake off the impact of a strong earthquake and heavy fl oods in September.

The government will raise the na-tionwide sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent in October next year to help offset rising welfare costs.

The government has already planned for tax breaks and stimulus spending to offset any negative impact on consumer spending. This stimulus, combined with an expected improvement in work-ers’ wages, should prevent consumer spending from weakening, according to the offi cial.

Japan’s economy posted its biggest contraction in four years in July-Sep-tember due to a fall in capital expendi-ture. The economy likely resumed ex-pansion in the current quarter, but a row between Washington and Beijing over tariffs and trade policy is a threat to Ja-pan’s export-focused economy.

The government usually issues eco-nomic projections for the coming fi scal year in December when compiling the annual budget, and revises them around mid-year.

SoftBank alumni ‘unveils’ companion robot in JapanTOKYO, Dec 18, (RTRS): Japanese startup Groove X, founded by an alumni of SoftBank Group Corp’s robotics unit, unveiled its first creation on Tuesday – a companion robot designed to make users happy.

The Lovot, an amalgam of “love” and “robot”, cannot help with the housework but it will “draw out your ability to love,” Groove X founder and CEO Kaname Hayashi told reporters at the launch in Tokyo.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with its surround-ings, the wheeled machine resem-bles a penguin with cartoonish human eyes, has interchangeable outfits and communicates in squeaks.

It is designed to mimic affec-tion for users who show it kind-ness by becoming warm to the

touch, going to “sleep” when it’s cuddled or following users when called.

Its practical uses are limited to simple tasks like baby monitoring or watching over the house via a camera that users can access through a mobile app while they are out.

While Japan is already a lead-ing manufacturer of industrial robots, Groove X is trying to expand the fledgling market for household robots. It has raised 8 billion yen ($71.1 million) from investors including a Toyota Motor Corp-backed fund, chat app operator Line Corp and the Japanese government.

The Lovot will compete with Sony Corp’s AI-powered robot dog Aibo, revived last year more than a decade after it ceased pro-duction.

No new measures unveiled in speech, amid trade war pressure

Renault-Nissan leaders to meet amid alliance crisis

China’s Xi pledges ‘unswerving’ reforms

TOKYO/PARIS, Dec 18, (RTRS): The head of Nis-san and acting CEO of Renault will hold talks during a two day meeting of their carmaking partnership start-ing on Tuesday, sources said, amid a crisis in relations sparked by the arrest of long-time alliance supremo Car-los Ghosn. The meeting between Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa and Renault deputy CEO Thierry Bollore is their fi rst since Ghosn’s Nov 19 detention over fi nancial misconduct allegations.

Renault, Nissan and alliance spokespeople all de-clined to comment on the gathering in Amsterdam, beyond confi rming that Saikawa would attend. No an-nouncements are planned.

The sit-down comes a day after Saikawa rebuffed Renault’s demand for an early shareholder meeting that

would have offered the French carmaker a chance to weigh in on Ghosn’s replacement as Nissan chairman and on other board appointments at its Japanese partner.

Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan, whose 15 per-cent stake in its French parent carries no voting rights. Nissan, in turn, controls Mitsubishi via a 34 percent holding.

Ghosn was charged in Japan last week alongside alleged accomplice Greg Kelly and Nissan itself over their failure to declare $43 million in deferred income that Ghosn had arranged to be paid while chairman and CEO of the Japanese fi rm.

Both men remain in custody and have had limited op-portunity to respond to the allegations or defend them-selves publicly. The scandal has shaken the Renault-

Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, with Saikawa calling for changes to weaken Renault’s control as he moved to oust Ghosn in the week of his arrest.

Saikawa planned to discuss changes in alliance man-agement with Bollore, sources familiar with the matter said - including a new leadership troika in which the three companies would be equal partners. Under current agreements, Renault ultimately controls the alliance board. A meeting last month failed to name an interim leader for the partnership.

The Amsterdam talks could also provide Saikawa with an opportunity to convince Renault executives of the gravity of Ghosn’s alleged misconduct, discovered during an in-house investigation by the Japanese au-tomaker.

BEIJING, Dec 18, (RTRS): Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the unswerving implementation of reforms on Beijing’s terms, saying no one could boss it around, but offered no new measures in a speech marking 40 years of market liberalisation.

In remarks lasting nearly an hour-and-a-half, Xi called for support for the state economy and development of the private sector, and said China would expand efforts at opening up and ensure the implementation of major reforms.

China’s substantial support of its sprawling state sector is a point of con-tention with the United States.

Xi was speaking amid mounting pressure to accelerate reforms and im-prove market access for foreign com-panies as a trade war with the United States weighs on the economy.

But he said China had to make its own decisions.

“There is no text book that can pro-vide a golden rule, and there is no in-structor who can boss around the Chi-nese people,” Xi said at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

Xi was speaking on the day China has marked as the 40th anniversary of the start of late leader Deng Xiaop-ing’s campaign of “reform and opening up”, which led to explosive industrial growth that made China’s economy the world’s second-largest.

“We must, unswervingly, reinforce the development of the state economy while, unswervingly, encouraging, sup-porting and guiding the development of the non-state economy,” he said.

Xi reaffi rmed the ruling Communist Party’s leadership in all aspects of so-ciety and said reforms should be in line with the overall goal of improving the socialist system with Chinese charac-teristics.

“Opening brings progress while clo-sure leads to backwardness,” Xi said.

“Every step of reform and opening up is not easy. In future, we will be inevitably faced with all sorts of risks and challenges, and even unimaginable

tempestuous storms,” said Xi, stressing the role of the Communist Party.

But his remarks failed to excite in-vestors. The Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.8 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index lost 1 percent, track-ing broadly lower Asian shares.

“Despite promises of the importance of the speech, very little new was an-nounced, particularly given its similar-ity to parts of Xi’s speech at the Politbu-ro meeting a few days prior,” said Jonas Short, head of the Beijing offi ce of bro-kerage Ever-bright Sun Hung Kai.

Short said attention would now focus on the Central Economic Work Confer-ence expected later this week for clues

on policy direction.The trade war with the United States

has spurred some entrepreneurs, gov-ernment advisers and think-tanks to call for faster reforms and the freeing up of a private sector stifl ed by state controls and struggling to gain access to credit.

Xi and US President Donald Trump agreed early this month to a 90-day truce in the trade dispute, which halted the threatened escalation of punitive tariffs while the two sides negotiate.

William Zarit, chairman of the Amer-ican Chamber of Commerce in China, said there would be plenty of other op-portunities for China to offer greater substance for a foreign audience.

“We know that China doesn’t want a trade war, so we are optimistic that real opening up can still take place before the 90-day window closes on March 1,” Zarit said in a statement.

In his speech, Xi enumerated the ac-complishments of China’s development since it moved away from a planned economy, when basic goods were ra-tioned and often scarce.

“Grain coupons, cloth coupons, meat coupons, fi sh coupons, oil cou-pons, tofu coupons, food ticket books, product coupons and other documents people once could not be without have now been consigned to the museum of history,” he said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, speaks during a conference to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China’s Reform and Opening Up policy at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Dec 18. (AP)

investment funds

NBK CAPITALMoney Market Funds Watani KD Money Market Fund II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Dec 4, 2018 KD 1.054 1.054 Nov 27, 2018 Watani USD Money Market Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Dec 4, 2018 USD 10.450 10.445 Nov 27, 2018 Watani KD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Dec 4, 2018 KD 1.053 1.052 Nov 27, 2018 Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Dec 4, 2018 USD 10.270 10.274 Nov 27, 2018 NBK Kuwait Equity Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Nov 29, 2018 KD 0.711 0.704 Nov 20, 2018 Gulf Equity Investment Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Nov 29, 2018 USD 12.320 12.143 Nov 20, 2018 Regional Bond and Sukuk Investment Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Nov 29, 2018 USD 9.852 9.862 Nov 20, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Bank Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly Nov 30, 2018 USD 7.110 7.186 Oct 31, 2018 Coast Fund Coast Investment & Dev. Co. Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.710 0.716 July 31, 2018 Markaz Real Estate Fund Bi-annual Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.358 1.360 Oct 31, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Ahli Bank Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Oct 31, 2018 KD 1.009 1.009 Sept 30, 2018 Al Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Oct 31, 2018 KD 0.842 0.844 Sept 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Burgan Bank Burgan Equity Fund Burgan Bank Monthly June 30, 2018 KD 1.866 1.859 April 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Boubyan Bank Boubyan KD Money Market Fund Boubyan Bank Weekly April 17, 2018 KD 1.074 1.074 April 3, 2018 Boubyan KD Money Market Fund II Boubyan Bank Weekly Nov 27, 2018 KD 1.036 1.034 Oct 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Boubyan Capital Investment Co. Boubyan USD Liquidity Fund Boubyan Capital Investment Co Nov 27, 2018 USD 10.439 10.422 Oct 30, 2018 Boubyan Multi-Asset Holding Fund Boubyan Bank Nov 30, 2018 USD 10.857 10.811 Nov 1, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Investment Co.Local Fund Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.065 1.064 Nov 15, 2018 Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.808 0.802 Oct 31, 2018 Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.733 0.733 Nov 19, 2018 Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.039 1.000 Oct 30, 2018International Global Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly March 21, 2018 USD 26.270 26.350 March 14, 2018 Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Oct 31, 2018 USD 19.260 20.940 Sept 28, 2018 European Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly May 31, 2018 Euro 21.520 21.080 April 30, 2018 Pacific Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly March 21, 2018 USD 33.440 33.210 March 14, 2018 North American Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly March 29, 2018 USD 19.300 19.540 Feb 28, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Investment Co. (NIC) Al-Wataniya Fund NIC Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.624 0.618 Oct 31, 2018 Al-Darij Fund NIC Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.375 0.374 Oct 31, 2018 Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.494 0.509 Oct 31, 2018 Zajil Fund NIC Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.752 0.751 Oct 31, 2018 Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Weekly Nov 30, 2018 USD 0.800 0.819 Oct 31, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Oct 25, 2018 KD 4.526 4.489 Oct 18, 2018 MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Oct 25, 2018 KD 3.465 3.440 Oct 18, 2018 Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Oct 25, 2018 KD 1.688 1.674 Oct 18, 2018 FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Oct 31, 2018 KD 1.071 1.085 Aug 31, 2018 Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Sept 30, 2018 KD 1.361 1.362 Aug 31, 2018 Markaz Fixed Income Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 26, 2018 USD 11.710 11.620 May 31, 2018 Mawazeen International Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly March 26, 2018 USD 9.050 9.140 March 19, 2017 Markaz MENA Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly April 12, 2018 USD 11.280 11.280 March 15, 2018

Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co. Al Rou’yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly Oct 31, 2018 KD 1.298 1.334 Sept 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Global Investment HouseIndex Funds GCC Large Cap Index Fund Global Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.411 1.388 Oct 31, 2018Equity Funds Al-Mamoun Fund A Global Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.732 0.734 Oct 31, 2018 Al-Mamoun Fund B Global Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.732 0.734 Oct 31, 2018 GCC Large Cap Fund Global Bi-weekly Nov 30, 2018 USD 164.740 164.956 Oct 31 2018 Global Saudi Equity Fund Global Bi-weekly Nov 30, 2018 SAR 254.030 241.205 Oct 31, 2018Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Weekly Nov 30, 2018 USD 106.067 107.025 Oct 31, 2018Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Weekly Nov 30, 2018 USD 107.864 106.647 Oct 31, 2018 Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.361 1.365 Oct 31π, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC) Al Wasm Fund KFIC Weekly Dec 6, 2018 KD 0.461 0.461 Nov 7, 2018 Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund KFIC Monthly Nov 30, 2018 USD 7.110 7.186 Oct 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

KAMCO KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly June 30, 2018 KD 1.253 1.144 April 30, 2018 KAMCO Real Estate Yield Fund KAMCO Oct 31, 2018 USD 9.020 9.070 Sept 30, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Wafra International Investment Co. Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2018 KD 0.981 0.988 Aug 31, 2018 Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2018 KD 1.036 1.033 Aug 31, 2018 Masaref Investment Fund ISKAN Weekly Sept 30, 2018 KD 1.084 1.056 Aug 31, 2018 Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2018 KD 0.773 0.777 Aug 31, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Aman Investmentº Al Aman Islamic Fund Al Aman Investment Weekly May 31, 2018 KD 0.329 0.326 Dec 30, 2017—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Tharwa Investment Co. Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Nov 30, 2018 KD 1.912 1.217 Nov 1, 2018 Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.676 0.691 Nov 1, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bank Al-Bilad Al Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Daily Nov 21, 2018 KD 0.439 0.436 Nov 4, 2018—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial International Bank CIB Money Market Fund (Osoul) CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 358.910 359.760 358.060 CIB II Equity (Isthethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 189.200 194.410 188.410 CIB and Faisal Islamic Al Aman CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 99.370 102.400 98.670 Hemaya CI Asset Management Weekly Nov 01, 2018 EGP 212.370 208.600 Oct 01, 2018 Thabat CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 229.560 230.130 228.960 Takamol CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 174.590 178.440 173.750 Misr El Mostakbel CI Asset Management Weekly Dec 18, 2018 EGP 22.640 23.680 23.880 —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

KFH Capital Muthanna Islamic Index Fund (MUDX) KFH Capital Investment Co Daily Oct 31, 2018 KD 0.406 0.412 July 31, 2018 Muthanna GCC Islamic Banks Fund KFH Capital Investment Co Daily Oct 31, 2018 KD 0.737 0.753 Aug 31, 2018 Baitak GCC Fund KFH Capital Investment Co Weekly June 29, 2017 KD 0.930 0.916 Feb 28, 2017—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Noor Financial Investment Co. Noor Islamic Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly Nov 30, 2016 KD 0.374 0.405 Sept 30, 2015—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

CapCorp Investment Co. CapCorp Local Fund CapCorp Investment Company Weekly Sept 28, 2017 KD 1.000 0.991 Aug 30, 2017

Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV)————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV)————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Huawei announces small increase in new 5G customer base

Huawei Technologies on Tuesday said it has secured more than 25 commercial contracts for 5G, slightly above the 22 the Chinese technology giant had announced https://www.huawei.com/en/press-events/news/2018/11/Huawei-22-Commercial-Contracts-5G in November.

Huawei has shipped more than 10,000 base stations for the fi fth generation of mo-bile communications, its rotating chairman Ken Hu told reporters at the company’s campus in Dongguan in southern China.

The company did not give any details on

customers. The press conference, which comes a couple of weeks after Huawei’s chief fi nancial offi cer Meng Wanzhou - also the daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei - was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. She is awaiting possible extradition to the United States in a case that has roiled global markets.

This has added to the woes of the Chi-nese fi rm, which has already been virtually locked out of the US market and has been prohibited by Australia and New Zealand from building 5G networks on concerns its

gear could facilitate Chinese spying.The company has repeatedly insisted

Beijing has no infl uence over it, a point it reiterated at the press briefi ng on Tuesday.

Huawei has been communicating with governments around the world regarding the independence of its operation, it said.

Reuters last week quoted sources as saying that Huawei planned to spend $2 billion to address British authorities’ se-curities concerns. Britain has been one of Huawei’s biggest international markets. (RTRS)


25

Petrobras says it is cooperating

Vitol, rival oil traders in spotlight of probeSAO PAULO/LONDON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Brazil’s epic “Car Wash” corruption investigation has taken down presidents and elite business-men, and led to the largest corpo-rate leniency deal ever signed.

But graft allegations lodged by prosecutors last week against four of the world’s largest oil trading compa-nies – Vitol SA, Trafi gura, Glencore PLC and Mercuria Energy Group – have opened an explosive new phase in the long-running probe.

Federal prosecutors allege the European multinationals and some smaller players collectively paid at least $31 million in bribes over a six-year period to employees at Brazil’s state-led oil company Petrobras to sell them oil at sweet-heart prices.

They said the fi rms’ top brass had “total and unequivocal” knowl-edge that they were fl eecing Petro-bras and that the illicit activity may still be ongoing.

More than 600 pages of legal documents reviewed by Reuters portray what prosecutors describe as a bustling criminal enterprise fueled by creativity, competition and greed. Authorities say the trad-ing companies often used freelance middlemen in an effort to cover their tracks, allowing these busi-nessmen to negotiate deals and pay off Petrobras collaborators using bank accounts in several countries.

Emails obtained by investigators show intermediaries hustling to profi t from their connections, au-thorities said. Some shared spread-sheets divvying up to the last cent their cut of the spoils from deals they allegedly sealed with crooked Petrobras employees.

FavorProsecutors said the messages

also show that rings of middlemen knew about one another and battled fi ercely for the favor of the big oil-trading fi rms. Some discussed their attempts to woo top executives with promises of delivering more shady trades and fatter profi ts than rivals.

One intermediary griped that Vi-tol was “not at all sentimental” and would choose whomever could se-cure them the biggest returns.

“Now you are the fl avor of the month, next month there is a new fl avor,” the middleman lamented in the email.

Brazilian authorities last week searched the Rio de Janeiro-area of-fi ces of Vitol, Trafi gura and Glen-core as well as other entities they allege participated in the scheme. Police said they could not locate a physical offi ce in Brazil for Mercu-ria. No charges have been fi led.

Mercuria has denied wrongdo-ing. Mercuria, Vitol and Glencore said they would cooperate with the Brazilian investigation, while Trafi gura said it was reviewing the allegations.

Trafi gura, Mercuria and Vi-tol said they have zero-tolerance

policies for bribery and corruption. Glencore said it takes ethics and compliance seriously.

Petrobras said it was cooperating with authorities and viewed itself as a victim of the alleged corruption.

Eleven people had arrest war-rants issued against them, including one current employee of Petrobras whom the oil fi rm has since fi red because of “strong evidence against them that they were involved in ir-regularities,” the company said in a written statement. Eight total peo-ple have been arrested, including four former Petrobras employees.

Interpol alerts have been issued for three other suspects who are outside Brazil. None have been ar-rested.

StrategicThe European fi rms – Vitol is

based in London, the three others in Switzerland – are powerhouses in commodities trading. They have investments in strategic energy and commodity infrastructure around the world, including in Brazil. To-gether they control about 10 per-cent of the world’s daily oil con-sumption and have revenues larger than Argentina’s gross domestic product.

Brazilian federal Judge Gabri-ela Hardt, as part of her legal order authorizing last week’s arrests and search warrants, wrote “there is proof” the companies and their af-fi liates “paid commissions to inter-mediaries for the buying and selling of combustibles from Petrobras, to the benefi t of the companies and to the detriment of the state-run com-pany.”

The stakes are high for the trad-ing fi rms. The probe could jeopard-ize their current and future business in Brazil, an increasingly important global oil producer.

Vitol-led consortium has a $1.5 billion deal pending to purchase Petrobras’ stake in prized Nigerian oilfi elds.

The new developments also signal that Brazil’s landmark Car Wash probe may be far from over. Launched in 2014 to investigate contracting graft at Petrobras, the law-enforcement juggernaut has already toppled scores of power-ful fi gures, including the former presidents of Brazil and Peru. Brazil’s Odebrecht SA, Latin America’s largest construction fi rm, in 2016 cut a deal with pros-ecutors to pay at least $3.5 billion for its role in a massive bribes-for-contracts ring.

Foreign fi rms are now in the crosshairs, said prosecutor Athayde Ribeiro Costa, who is heading the latest phase of the probe.

“All foreign companies that have done business with Petrobras in the past 15 years should carry out some rigorous internal investigations, to have confi dence that they are not exposed to Car Wash,” Costa told Reuters.

Equities edge up, dollar dips, ongrowth fears ahead of Fed meet

Oil prices sink amid rising inventoriesNEW YORK, Dec 18, (Agen-cies): World stock markets inched higher on Tuesday as in-vestors looked ahead to whether the US Federal Reserve will be able to raise interest rates much further amid turbulent markets and a weakening outlook for the global economy.

Steep declines in equity markets over the last two months have sapped investor confi dence, spurring fund managers to predict global growth to weaken over the next 12 months, the worst outlook in a decade, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s December investor survey showed.

MSCI’s world stock index rose 0.2 percent. The index has fallen 10 percent this year and is set for its worst year in a decade.

US stocks were boosted by upbeat earnings and tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 283.83 points, or 1.2 percent, to 23,876.81, the S&P 500 gained 22.54 points, or 0.89 percent, to 2,568.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 65.32 points, or 0.97 percent, to 6,819.05.

Still, the benchmark S&P 500 index began the trading session almost 8 percent lower for December.

“We’re facing the biggest December fall in US stocks since 1931 and this is striking and worrying at the same time,” said Chris Bailey, European strategist at international fi nancial services fi rm Ray-mond James. “We are at a regime shift moment and the debate is how big that regime shift will be.”

A speech by Chinese President Xi Jin-ping, which investors had hoped could lift morale, had little impact, with Chinese shares falling over 1 percent. Japan’s Nik-kei lost 1.8 percent.

In addition, the German Ifo economic institute’s business climate index fell for the fourth month in a row to its lowest level in more than two years and Japan’s government revised down its economic growth forecasts.

Emerging market shares fell for a third straight day on Tuesday after Wall Street slid to its lowest levels in more than a year following a run of weak data around the world.

Most developing world currencies held their ground against a fragile dollar which fell on speculation that the US Federal Reserve may soften its monetary policy stance amid risks of slowing economic growth.

“EM STOCKS are taking their cues from the big falls in the US last night and all of this seems to come on the back of growing concern for the health of the global economy,” said Jason Tuvey, a senior emerging market economist at Capital Economics.

MSCI’s index for emerging market shares fell more than half a percent with equities losing across the board.

STOCKS in China and Hong Kong fell as investors gauged the impact of a cooling economy. Chinese President Xi Jinping offered no new specifi c measures

in a closely watched speech marking 40 years of market liberalisation.

Investors will now be eyeing China’s annual Central Economic Working Con-ference, to be held in Beijing this week, where the government is expected to an-nounce stimulus measures.

Emerging market currencies were steady against the dollar before the Fed’s last monetary policy review meet for 2018, where rates are almost certain to rise. Markets will be more focussed on its stand on a possible rate-cycle pause in 2019.

Oil prices dropped 4 percent, weaken-ing for a third consecutive session as re-ports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record U.S. and Russian output.

The dollar extended its falls against major currencies ahead of the Fed meet-ing. The dollar index, tracking it against six major peers, fell 0.14 percent, with the euro up 0.21 percent to $1.137.

“This year has been quite remark-able in the sense that pretty much all asset classes have been down, which is even worse than 2008 because during the (global fi nancial crisis) we at least saw some safe havens – US government bonds, gold performing positively,” said Stefan Keller, asset allocation strategist at Candriam in Luxembourg.

“At least in real terms, that’s not the case today. This is indeed a huge chal-lenge. Clearly it’s in sharp contrast to last year’s optimistic outlook.”

USStocks moved higher in midday trad-

ing as the market regains some of the steep losses it suffered over the previous two days.

Technology companies helped drive stocks higher Tuesday. Facebook added 3 percent.

The price of oil continued to slide, a day after closing below $50 a barrel for the fi rst time in over a year.

Boeing, which has taken sharp losses recently, rose 3.9 percent after announc-ing a stock buyback and a dividend in-crease.

The S&P 500 rose 13 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,559.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 208 points, or 0.9 percent, to 23,803. It had lost just over 1,000 in the previous two trading days.

The Nasdaq rose 46 points, or 0.7 per-cent, to 6,800

Oracle rose 4.2 percent after the busi-ness software maker reported better earn-ings that analysts were expecting.

Boeing, which has taken sharp losses in recent weeks, rose 3.6 percent after an-nouncing a stock buyback and a dividend increase.

The S&P 500 rose 18 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,563.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 209 points, or 0.9 percent, to 23,812. It had lost just over 1,000 in the previous two trading days. The Nasdaq rose 44 points, or 0.7 percent, to 6,798.

AsiaAsian stocks fell on Tuesday, tracking

losses on Wall Street as traders braced for an interest rate hike by Federal Reserve.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was 1.8 per-cent lower at 21,115.45 and the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.5 percent to 2,061.48. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 1.3 percent to 25,749.59. The Shang-hai Composite index dipped 1 percent to 2,570.90. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was down 1.2 percent at 5,589.50. Shares were lower in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The dollar weakened to 112.60 yen from 112.83 yen in late trading Monday. The euro eased to $1.1342 from $1.1349.

OilOil prices tumbled on Tuesday after re-

ports of swelling inventories and forecasts of record U.S. and Russian output hitting a market that may see weaker demand if global growth deteriorates as many ex-pect.

U.S. crude oil fell $2.22, or 4.4 percent to trade at $47.64 a barrel by 10:57 am EST (1553 GMT), its weakest since Sep-tember 2017.

Global benchmark Brent lost $1.93, or 3 percent to trade at $57.68 a barrel after earlier dropping to $57.20, a 14-month low.

World stock markets inched higher on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to whether the US Federal Reserve will be able to raise interest rates much further. Equity markets have had steep declines over the last two months.

Investor confi dence is deteriorating, with more fund managers expecting global growth to weaken over the next 12 months, the worst outlook in a decade, Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s De-cember investor survey showed.

“There was a fl ood of supply slide news yesterday which, in combination with the demand destruction that the stock market slide implied, got us below $50 (a barrel for US crude), and that gave us a strong sell signal,” said Bob Yawger, director of futures with Mizuho in New York.

Britain’s largest oilfi eld restarted, in-creasing supply, the US government said output from shale would top 8 million barrels per day this year, and data sug-gested US crude inventories would rise this week.

Both oil benchmarks have shed more than 30 percent since early October due to swelling global inventories. Volumes were low on Tuesday heading into the holiday season, and ahead of expiry for the front-month US crude futures con-tract.

The Organization of the Petroleum Ex-porting Countries and other oil producers agreed this month to curb production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), equiva-lent to more than 1 percent of global de-mand, in an attempt to drain tanks and boost prices.

But the cuts will not happen until next month and production has been at or near record highs in the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Russian oil output hit a record 11.42 million bpd this month, an industry source told Reuters.

Oil production from seven major US shale basins is by the year-end expected to surpass 8 million bpd for the fi rst time, the US Energy Information Administra-tion said.

Inventories at the US storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for the oil futures contract, rose more than 1 million barrels from Dec. 11 to 14, traders said, citing data from market intelligence fi rm Genscape.

Britain’s largest oilfi eld, Buzzard, restarted after repairs on pipework, a spokesman for operator Nexen said on Monday. Buzzard produces about 150,000 barrels per day and is the largest contributor to the Forties pipeline which brings oil to shore from more than 50 fi elds.

CurrenciesThe dollar fell to a one-week low on

Tuesday as investors unwound long bets on the currency,anticipating the Federal Reserve could slow the pace of US in-terest rate hikes after this week’s policy making meeting. The greenback weak-ened for a second straight session. A rout on Wall Street on Monday, recent mixed US and global economic data, and per-sistent market volatility have bolstered a view that the Fed’s widely expected rate hike on Wednesday could mark the end of three years of steady rate increases. US President Donald Trump’s critical com-ments on the Fed did not help the dollar’s cause either. In a tweet overnight,Trump took another swipe at the Fed, saying it was “incredible”for the central bank to even consider tightening policy giventhe global economic and political uncertain-ties. “While (the Fed) remaining on hold would be a signifi cant surprise and a sig-nifi cant U.S. dollar-negative, there is lit-tle doubt that equity market volatility is creating some headaches for policymak-ers,” said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strat-egist, at Scotiabank in Toronto. Osborne noted that Fed rate hike expectations have slipped,with markets now pricing in a 70 percent chance of a rate increase, down from a 78 percent chance on Monday. “That is quite a signifi cant move right ahead of the policy decision,” he said. In-vestor confi dence has deteriorated, lead-ing to the gloomiest outlook for the world economy in a decade, a survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found. The dollar has replaced technology stocks as the most crowded trade for the fi rst time since January, it said. In mid-morning trading, the dollar index fell 0.1 percent lower at 96.975, after earlier sliding to its weakest since Dec10. Some analysts think dollar strength will return if the Fed remains confi dent about next year’s mon-etary policy tightening path. “Personally, I think the Fed will continue to normalize policy next year and I don’t think it will send the US economy into recession,” said ACLS analyst Marshall Gittler. Risk-off sentiment on Tuesday lifted the Japa-nese yenand Swiss franc. With the pros-pect of a “dovish rate hike” keeping the dollarin check, the euro on Tuesday rose 0.2 percent to$1.1368. It has recovered all of its losses from Monday when itwas hit by weak euro zone data. Still, the Euro-pean Central Bank’s assessment last week that the balance of risks was moving to the downside, combined with protests in France weighing on business, means euro appreciationis still a few months away, Goldman Sachs analysts said.

A worker holds a sign promoting

a sale for Huawei 5G internet ser-

vices at a mobile phones retail shop

in Shenzhen in south China’s

Guangdong prov-ince on Dec 18.

(AP)

US dollar

BEC

MuzainiDollarcoCommercial Bank

Gulf Bank

NBK

Burgan Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

BuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellSell

BEC

MuzainiDollarcoCommercial Bank

Gulf Bank

NBK

Burgan Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

BuySellSell SellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellSell

Cash.302300.304650.300700.304500.299000.305600

——————

.300750

.306850

.301540

.307070—

Draft.302300.304650.300700.303850.302500.306100.303250.305350.303250.305350.303100.305200.303250.305350.303250.305350

—

Danish krone

Cyprus pound

BEC

MuzainiDollarcoGulf Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

BECCommercial BankGulf BankAl-Ahli Bank

BECMuzaini Exchange

BuySellBuySell BuySellBuySellBuySellSell

US dollar.302400.303350.303350.303350

Gold 999 kg— —

Gold 999 10 tola——

Gold ounce——

Gold gm 22k——

Gold gm 21k——

Gold gm 18k——

100 gm 999——

10 gm 999——

Transfer.302300.304650.300700.303850.302500.306100.303250.305350.303250.305350.303100.305200.303250.305350.303250.305350

—

Cash.042179.047179

———————————————

Draft.042179.047179

——

.046165

.046714

.046134

.046728

.046010

.046510

.046319

.046661

.045830

.046390

.046022

.046774—

Transfer.042179.047179

——

.046165

.046714

.046134

.046728

.046010

.046510

.046319

.046661

.045830

.046390

.046022

.046774—

Cash———————————

Draft——— ————————

Transfer——— ————————

Sterling pound

Cash.376706.387706

—.403000.382000.389000

——————

.378160

.388870

.379367

.390747—

Draft.376706.387706.426390.402301.384160.388732.381603.389318.382640.386970.389316.392166.381070.388890.381064.388711

—

Indian rupee

Yemeni riyal

Transfer.376706.387706.426390.402301.384160.388732.381603.389318.382640.386970.389316.392166.381070.388890.381064.388711

—

Cash.004203.004283.004000.006500.004000.006500

———————————

Draft.004203.004283

—.004094

—.004355

—.004368.004232.004297.004208.004260.004242.004376.004236.004358

—

Transfer.004203.004283

—.004094

—.004355

—.004368.004232.004297.004208.004260.004242.004376.004236.004358

—

Cash.001165.001265

—————————

Draft.001165.001265.001208

————

.001199

.001202

.001231—

Transfer.001165.001265.001208

————

.001199

.001202

.001231—

Euro

Cash.339892.348892.371670.352145.343000.350000

————

.345609

.348156

.339730

.349700

.341313

.351964—

Draft.339892.348892.371670.352145.344729.348832.343482.350431.343890.347950.345609.348156.342280.349980.342794.350145

—

Pakistani rupee

Thai baht

Transfer.339892.348892.371670.352145.344729.348832.343482.350431.343890.347950.345609.348156.342280.349980.342794.350145

—

Cash.002159.002205

—.002850

—————————————

Draft.002159

.002205

.002602—

.002209—

.002229—

.002209

.002211

.002248.—

.002222

.002139

.002213

.002214

Transfer.002159

.002205

.002602—

.002209—

.002229—

.002209

.002211

.002248.—

.002222

.002139

.002213

.002214

Cash.008879.009294

—.009900

———————

Draft.008879.009294.096905.010235

———

.009121

.009120

.009471—

Transfer.008879.009294.096905.010235

———

.009121

.009120

.009471—

Japanese yen

Cash.002620.002800

—.290000

—————————————

Draft.002620.002800.002806.368500.002695.002727.002688.002729.002691.002723.002686.002706.002682.002730.002680.002737

—

Sri Lanka rupee

South African rand

Transfer.002620.002800.002806.368500.002695.002727.002688.002729.002691.002723.002686.002706.002682.002730.002680.002737

—

Cash .001652.001695

—.002250.002000.003500

———————————

Draft .001652.001695.001933.017760

—.001704

—.001719.001678.001705.001710.001726.001656.001716.001676.001703

—

Transfer.001652.001695.001933.017760

—.001704

—.001719.001678.001705.001710.001726.001656.001716.001676.001703

—

Cash——————————

Draft—————

.021645—————

Transfer—————

.021645—————

Swiss franc

Cash.301169.308169

—.310000.305000.312000

———————————

Draft.301169.308169.315860.303775.305309.308942.304238.310466.305080.308900.302978.305230.303820.310320.303371.310473

—

Bangladesh taka

Korean won

Transfer.301169.308169.315860.303775.305309.308942.304238.310466.305080.308900.302978.305230.303820.310320.303371.310473

—

Draft.003607.003632.003593.036300

—.003656

—.003685

——

.003601

.003652——

.003575

.003687—

Cash.003607.003632

— .003800

—————————————

Transfer.003607.003632.003593.036300

—.003656

—.003685

——

.003601

.003652——

.003575

.003687—

Cash.000259.000274

—————————

Draft.000269.000274

—————————

Transfer.000269.000274

—————————

Canadian dollar

Cash.219845.229845

—.236000.225000.233000

———————————

Draft.219845.229845.238080.235490.225746.228433.225001.229583.226020.228520.230118.231800.225260.229300.224863.229156

—

Philippine peso

Syrian pound

Transfer.219845.229845.238080.235490.225746.228433.225001.229583.226020.228520.230118.231800.225260.229300.224863.229156

—

Cash.005295.005764

—.006100.005000.007900

——————————

Draft.005295.005764

—.056220

—.005788

—.005826.005600.005790.005746.005818.005570.005810.005632.005836

—

Transfer.005295.005764

—.056220

—.005788

—.005826.005600.005790.005746.005818.005570.005810.005632.005836

—

Cash.000499.000719

—.000610.001000.002250

—————

Draft.000499.000719

—.159000

— ——————

Transfer.000499.000719

—.159000

— ——————

Swedish krona

Cash.029537.034537

———————————————

Draft.029537.034537

——

.033475

.033874

.033487

.033869

.033420

.033770

.033625

.033870

.033420

.033800

.033457

.033928—

Australian dollar

Iranian Riyal

Transfer.029537.034537

——

.033475

.033874

.033487

.033869

.033420

.033770

.033625

.033870

.033420

.033800

.033457

.033928—

Cash.208800.221600

——

.217000

.225000———————————

Draft.208800.221600

——

.217679

.220270

.217645

.220529

.217790

.220980

.221596

.223284

.216600

.221590

.215762

.222295—

Transfer.208800.221600

——

.217679

.220270

.217645

.220529

.217790

.220980

.221596

.223284

.216600

.221590

.215762

.222295—

Cash.000084.000086

—————————

Draft.000084.000086

—————————

Transfer.000084.000086

—————————

Saudi riyal

Cash.080653

.081293

—.078000.082000

————————

.080684

.081572

.081503

Draft.080653.081293.080240.081920.080671.081631.080709.081816.080790.081560.080680.081456.079880.081950.080684.081572

—

Hong Kong dollar

Lebanese pound

Transfer.080653.081293.080240.081920.080671.081631.080709.081816.080790.081560.080680.081456.079880.081950.080684.081572

—

Cash.036385.039485

———————————————

Draft.036385.039485.038311

—.038679.039139.038560.039334

—————————

Transfer.036385.039485.038311

—.038679.039139.038560.039334

—————————

Cash.000186.000206

—————————

Draft.000186.000206.002000

——

.000206—

.000205

.000197

.000206—

Transfer.000186.000206.002000

——

.000206—

.000205

.000197

.000206—

UAE dirham

Cash.081475.082971

—.083500.082312.083139

————————

.082383

.083308—

Draft.081475.082971.081946.083125.082389.083370.082378.083387.082510.083270.082407.083205.081870.083760.082383.083308

—

Singapore dollar

Malaysian ringgit

Transfer.081475.082971.081946.083125.082389.083370.082378.083387.082510.083270.082407.083205.081870.083760.082383.083308

—

Cash.217634

.223634

——————————————

Draft.217634.223634.230250.219070.220787.223414.220844.223295.220370.223360.220701.222359.219990.223640.219587.224407

—

Transfer.217634.223634.230250.219070.220787.223414.220844.223295.220370.223360.220701.222359.219990.223640.219587.224407

—

Cash.067758.074758

—.071600

———————

Draft.067758.074758.076905.074120

———

.072089

.071860

.073845—

Transfer.067758.074758.076905.074120

———

.072089

.071860

.073845—

Bahraini dinar

Cash.801019.809519

—.810000.801938.809998

————————

.803652

.815833—

Draft.801019.809519.798990.808025.803282.812842.800538.812446.803200.811240.793403.820375.794940.815920.803652.815833

—

Jordanian dinar

Indonesian rupiah

Transfer.801019.809519.798990.808025.803282.812842.800538.812446.803200.811240.793403.820375.794940.815920.803652.815833

—

Cash.423915.431415

—.432000.420000.440000

———————————

Draft.423915.431415.426910.429830

—.432620

—.433600.425320.433740.426571.430738.426470.434490.426212.431285

—

Transfer.423915.431415.426910.429830

—.432620

—.433600.425320.433740.426571.430738.426470.434490.426212.431285

—

Cash.000016.000022

—— ———————

Draft.000016.000022

—— ———————

Transfer.000016.000022

—— ———————

Omani riyal

Cash .779890.790890

——

.786168

.794069————————

.787192

.793612

Draft.779890.790890.781445

—.786000.795354.786289.797175.787150.794350.777219.803200.781590.799170.787192.793612

—

Egyptian pound

New Zealand dollar

Transfer.779890.790890.781445

—.786000.795354.786289.797175.787150.794350.777219.803200.781590.799170.787192.793612

—

Cash.016276.017123.000000.018500.012000.023000

——————————

Draft.016276.017123.016338.023076

—.017617

—.017291 .016480.017150.016010.017460.016000.017450.016791.017102

—

Transfer.016276.017123.016338.023076

—.017617

—.017291 .016480.017150.016010.017460.016000.017450.016791.017102

—

Cash.200357.211357

—— ———————

Draft.198673.209673

— —

.207192

.211409—————

Transfer.198673.209673

— —

.207192

.211409—————

All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency

travellers cheques local gold Sterling.376711.383905.381881.381380

exchange rates – Dec 18

Euro.340674.344818.343082.348400

SSE scraps UK retail tie-up with Innogy Europe must fight illiberal forces, Draghi warns

SSE Plc has walked away from a deal with Innogy SE to create the UK’s second biggest retail power provider after the companies failed to agree on revised terms, the British energy supplier said on Monday.

SSE said it would consider other options for its retail unit, SSE Energy Services, including a standalone demerger and list-ing, an outright sale or an alter-native transaction.

SSE, which had already warned that the deal with Inno-gy’s Npower would be delayed, said the companies could not agree on new commercial terms after Britain’s regulator proposed a cap on energy bills. The deal was not in the best interests of its customers, employees and shareholders, it added.

The planned merger, which would have shaken up the UK power market by cutting the

dominant big six fi rms to fi ve, was announced in November last year after the government increased scrutiny of Britain’s big energy suppliers, which it has accused of ripping off customers.

SSE said prospects for the deal had been hurt by a number of fac-tors, including the performance of the two businesses, clarity on the fi nal level of Britain’s default tariff cap and changing energy market conditions. (RTRS)

The spread of illiberal ideology is threatening the euro but it is an illusion that leaving it would offer an easier path, European Cen-tral Bank President Mario Draghi said on Saturday.

Warning that a half-finished monetary union could be at risk in the next crisis, Draghi made the case for sweeping changes in how the currency bloc operates and spreads around financial risk.

“The fascination with illiberal

prescriptions and regimes is spreading; we are seeing little steps back in history,” Draghi said in Pisa, Italy.

“Only by continuing to make progress, freeing up individual energies but also fostering so-cial equity, that we will save (the European Project) through our democracies, with a unity of pur-pose,” he added.

Anti-establishment and often populist parties have made po-

litical headway across the globe in recent years, challenging the prin-ciples of open trade, multilateral cooperation and even democracy.

Draghi, credited with saving the euro in the worst of Europe’s crisis, called for deeper private risk sharing, the completion of the banking and capital market unions and argued for euro-wide backstops that could help the bloc’s weaker members in case of market stress. (RTRS)

Business PlusPlus

It’s hard to convince the public to give you another chance if the

economy is not doingwell.

We must rectify the problem according to

what is required of us, otherwise the local peo-

ple will not trust our government officials

anymore.

‘

‘

’

’

Optimism about economy cools as trade fight with China rattled markets

For Trump, the economy is a potential 2020 storm cloudsaid in October.

No longer tweeting much about the stock market, Trump has criticized Powell privately as well and has told confidants that he un-derstands that a recession would be perilous for a president who once mused about the Dow hitting 30,000. (Its record was 26,828 in October.) Although Trump is not seriously considering making a change at the Fed, he has repeat-edly insisted that his business-man background allows him to understand the economy more than Powell, according to four White House aides and outside advisers who were not authorized to discuss private conversations and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“He thinks his legacy is going to be the guy who rebuilt and revived the US economy. He’s totally fo-cused on that,” said Stephen Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser and visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “He understands that if the economy remains strong, he’ll be re-elected. He’s completely focused on the economy. He does follow the stock market, he does follow the stock reports, he does follow the jobs report.”

Democrats considering chal-lenging Trump in 2020 have begun putting forward their own economic plans. But a senior White House of-fi cial said Trump remains confi dent in the economy, citing low unem-ployment numbers, GDP growth and growth in manufacturing jobs, among other indicators.

The offi cial, who wasn’t author-ized to speak publicly, said Trump is watching the indicators closely and is regularly briefed by Larry Kudlow, the director of the Na-tional Economic Council; Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary; and Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

“The American economy is booming,” Kudlow told The As-sociated Press. “While economies around the world are struggling, our economic fundamentals are incred-ibly strong.”

Trump is right to worry about how an economic slowdown could affect his presidency. Bill Clin-ton aide James Carville’s famous mantra during the 1992 presidential campaign was: “It’s the economy, stupid.” And the nation’s fi nancial health is often key to a president’s re-election chances.

The last two presidents who failed to be re-elected, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, were primar-ily done in by faltering economies, said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley.

“It’s hard to convince the public to give you another chance if the economy is not doing well,” said Brinkley, a professor at Rice University. He suggested that even voters who do not like Trump’s personal behavior “tolerate him because they think he is good for Wall Street and jobs. If there is an economic downturn, that is going to take a devastating effect on him.” (AP)

In this file photo, President Donald Trump speaks following a ceremony signing the ‘America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018’ into law in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. The greatest threat to President Donald Trump’s re-election bid may not be the slew of investigations closing in on his Oval Office but a possible economic slowdown. And the president knows it. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell again Dec 17, the latest dip in the roller coaster markets amid the strain of Trump’s trade war, rising interest rates and worries about a slowing global

economy. (AP)

Government cuts back on 79 projects, increases land sales

Chinese county pays price for vanity-project bingeRUCHENG COUNTY, China, Dec 18, (RTRS): In the heart of an impoverished village in southern China, a life-sized statue of Mao Zedong sits on a platform adorned with intricate stonework, fl anked by a diorama of Red Army soldiers and traditional brick-and-tile homes with curved roofs.

Offi cials have spent a small fortune on the project that has transformed the village of Shazhou, in Hunan province, into an open-air museum dedicated to the Chinese Communist Party. But few tourists have come to peer at the inscription at the foot of Mao’s statue, or take selfi es in front of the heroes of the revolution.

The “red tourism” project was the brainchild of the former Commu-nist Party chief of the local county, Rucheng, and cost 300 million yuan ($44 million). But it has yet to produce a profi t, just like the string of public gardens, town squares and offi ce buildings that the county has built in recent years.

Now the clock is ticking as Rucheng, among China’s poorest counties, and with a population of

just 420,400 people, is under pres-sure to resolve $1 billion in debt, following a decade of credit-fuelled vanity projects, three local offi -cials told Reuters. They requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

To raise funds and conserve cash, Rucheng – which doesn’t have a train station or an airport – has been slashing public investment in in-frastructure projects and increasing government land sales to generate revenue, the offi cials said.

Rucheng is not alone – hundreds of other indebted counties in China are in the same boat. In a recent fi nancial stability report, the central bank said that much of China’s hidden debt risk is held at lower-tier levels, meaning prefectures and counties like Rucheng.

As China prepares this month to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the economic reforms that transformed it into the world’s second-largest economy, fears over local govern-ment debt are growing.

China’s local governments had 18.4 trillion yuan of outstanding debt at the end of October, and were

estimated by S&P Global Ratings to have up to 40 trillion yuan in off-budget borrowing.

Of particular concern to the authori-ties as they tackle risks in the fi nancial system are those governments with tiny revenue streams relative to their debt. Their over-reliance on income from land sales is also driving asset bubbles in China.

Rucheng’s free-spending ways came onto Beijing’s radar this year when visiting anti-corruption inspectors were shocked by the contrast between the county’s newly built but deserted municipal district and cramped older areas where residents drink polluted water from aging pipes.

When the inspectors were in town, numerous anonymous com-plaints arrived in the mail.

Since 2008, Rucheng has spent billions on 10 offi ce buildings, 11 public gardens and squares and 26 urban roads, the anti-corruption inspectors found. But less than 6 percent of government spending went on investing in industry.

Vanity investments helped drive Rucheng’s debt ratio – or borrowing

relative to fi scal revenue – to 336 percent last year from 286 percent in 2016, and 274 percent in 2015.

“We must rectify the problem according to what is required of us, otherwise the local people will not trust our government offi cials any-more,” said one of the offi cials.

The head of Rucheng’s Commu-nist Party was sacked for profl igate spending and “ignoring the liveli-hood of the local people”.

Hunan province also placed Rucheng on a “top-level govern-ment debt warning list” of counties with debt ratios over 100 percent, the Rucheng offi cials said.

Local governments on the list face restrictions on taking on new debt, launching new projects, hiring employees and travelling overseas, they said.

Since the anti-corruption inspec-tion, Rucheng has suspended, can-celled and scaled back 79 govern-ment projects, cutting investment by 2.1 billion yuan, the offi cials said.

All Rucheng offi cials have been working seven days a week and meeting regularly with local resi-dents, the three offi cials said. One

offi cial died from overwork, they added.

More than 30 million yuan is also being spent on renovating old water pipes in the area.

To resolve the debt problem, Rucheng has to repay 400 million yuan a year in principle and interest to reduce its outstanding govern-ment debt, which was around 9 billion yuan at the end of 2017, an offi cial at Rucheng’s fi nance and debt department told Reuters.

Rucheng’s debt ratio has since dropped to about 60.6 percent, said the offi cial at its fi nance depart-ment. On Dec 5, the provincial government lowered Rucheng’s government debt warning level from “fi rst-level” to “second-level”, the offi cials said.

At the same time, Rucheng of-fi cials are under pressure to produce economic growth.

“The higher authorities require us to have zero additional debt but deliver high-quality economic growth,” said a Rucheng offi cial in charge of the economy.

But the legacy of the vanity spending remains.

By Jonathan Lemire and Cath-erine Lucey

Forget Robert Mueller.The greatest threat to Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s re-election bid may not be the slew of investiga-tions closing in on his Oval Offi ce but a possible economic slowdown. And the president knows it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Aver-age fell again Monday, the latest dip in the roller coaster markets amid the strain of Trump’s trade war, ris-ing interest rates and worries about a slowing global economy.

Trump, who has tied his politi-cal fortunes to the stock market in an unprecedented fashion, has nervously watched Wall Street, keeping an eye on the cable television ticker and barking at his aides for updates. And while he continues to talk up America’s

financial might, he has repeatedly and publicly rebuked the chairman of the Federal Reserve for interest rate increases he feels could slow down the economy.

Trump made his feelings clear again Monday, tweeting that “It is incredible that with a very strong dollar and virtually no infl ation, the outside world blowing up around us, Paris is burning and China way down, the Fed is even considering yet another interest rate hike. Take the Victory!”

Throughout Trump’s term, the economy has been strong. And while the president credits his aggressive tax-cut package and deregulation efforts, the gains in fact began under President Barack Obama.

Optimism about the economy has cooled somewhat this fall as Trump’s trade fi ght with China rat-

tled the markets.Fond of citing job statistics

and market reports, Trump has appeared highly attuned to the shift. After unnerving much of the global financial system by imposing tariffs, Trump seemed eager to ease anxiety recently, striking a trade truce with China after a dinner meeting during an international summit in Argentina. And when that move only briefly buoyed confidence, Trump set off on an erratic bout of tweeting that rocked the markets even more.

First Trump declared himself a “Tariff Man,” promising to infl ict as much economic pain as possible - a move that horrifi ed investors. A day later he sought to minimize the anxieties, saying there were “very strong signals” that China was negotiating in good faith.

“Not to sound naive or anything,

but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meet-ing,” Trump tweeted.

Stocks fell again Monday as both the Dow and the S&P 500 are on pace for their worst December performance since 1931, when they were battered during the Great Depression. As investors turned to an upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve, its chairman, Jerome Pow-ell, has repeatedly been the target of Trump’s wrath, as the Fed has been raising interest rates to make sure that the lowest unemployment in nearly fi ve decades does not start pushing infl ation higher. Arguing that the rate hikes hamper economic growth, Trump has openly ques-tioned Powell’s leadership.

“I think the Fed is making a mis-take. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy,” the president

SPORTSARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018

27

COZMO Team T.G.I.F. Team Lolo’s Bowlers Team

COZMO maintain lead as Swooping Eagles remain clinging in 6th position

UNIMONI Exchange surge high, Green Apple steady at 2nd postBy Rocky DG Delos Reyes

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: On its fourth game after two consecutive losses and a bye game, the UNIMONI Exchange was back to its usual form and stopped the winning spree of the Al Qwassem Team by a terrible outcome 2,951-2,504, while Green Apple Strikers despite its loss to top rank COZMO Lane Masters still managed to keep its second rank in the fourth week of the Philippine Bowling Association in Kuwait tenpin bowling tournament dubbed 2018 Elite Challenge Cup be-ing held at COZMO Recreation and Bowling Center in Kheifan. The teams

that registered victory were COZMO, SKARZ, TGIF and UNIMONI while Lolo’s Bowlers played bye.

UNIMONI Exchange mercilessly assaulted the surprised Al Qwassem Strikers from the beginning until the end of the siege 1,010-772, 966- 906 and 950- 826. With the win-lose vic-tory, The Exchange specialist surged high and now landed on the third from fi fth place while Al Qwassem remain glued at the seventh position. Rashid Ali (558) was the top henchman sup-ported by Aji Varghese (536), Neveen Wasel (501), Fadi Masri (495) and Rudy de Lima (395) while Al Qwas-

sem high scorer was Yousef Al Qas-sem (507) assisted by Hassan Al Qas-sem (484), Saleh Faraj (419), Seham Taqi Bebehani (341) and Mariam Fa-had Al Zaid (294).

Despite two-week successive lose Green Apple Strikers managed to keep holding the second post. In the fi rst two games the Strikers won the collision 941-851, 924- 860 and in the third game playing confi dently with 15 marks ad-vantage played under average and COZMO won the game 1,052-889, sur-prisingly won the series 2,788- 2,754. COZMO’s Noe Mahayag scored 527

followed by Ibrahin Dubayan (507), Bader Malalah (489), Ruben Cervantes (482) and Lito Michael (527) while GAS top scorer was Mohammad Oth-man (508), Imelda Calingasan (457), Jess Tolentino (444) Gener Calingasan (439) and Jhon Narvasa (403). COZ-MO remain the leader of the league for four consecutive weeks.

Marking its fi rst win in four out-ings, the SKARZ team astounded the Swooping Eagles 2,714-2,493. Both teams fi elded their underrated bowlers and handicap was almost even but the SKARZ proved superiority in the fi rst

two games 913-774, 958-840 but in the third game the Eagles retaliated and won the game 879-818. SKARZ high scorer was Melwin Isaac (517), sup-ported by Eden Danan (288), Amaldo Fernandes (278), Fatima Fernandes (251), Roshan D’Souza (246), Kathy Fernandes (204) and Lionel Mendes (160) and Stephen Sequiera (129) while Swooping Eagles 5-man team were Jessica Balagat (433), Darrell Sullivan (410), Mona Corpuz (403), Clinton Cathers (346) and May Sul-livan (324). Swooping Eagles remain clinging in the sixth position while

SKARZ still the tail-ender. Finally, TGIF marked its third suc-

cessive victory over Pin Pals (2,919- 2,659) but slide from third to fourth place. Moises Amahan scored the high-est (561) followed by Rene Marzan (327), Pilar Patula (326), Mar Evan-gelista (315), Eddie Pena (312), Sam Behbehani (295) and Joel Tizon (236) while Pin Pals top scorer was Diego Camilo (436), Avinash Mathew (429), Allan Fernandes (407), Agnello Fer-nandes (400), Raj Reddy (320) amd Neeta Fernandes (135). Lolo’s Bowlers played bye and the bowlers were Rocky

Castil (504), Bima Nitikusumo (344), Abel Nitikusumo (296), Imelda Daguio (268), Reygan Percy (223) Leila Cer-vantes (208) and Cris Carungay (148).

Individual High Game ClassClass Name Team ScoreMA Ronell Valencia COZMO 235 MB Lito Michael COZMO 232 MC Mohd Othman Green Apple 202 LA Sonia Mathews UNIMONI 190 LB Mona Corpuz Swooping Eagles 186

Individual High AverageClass Name Team ScoreMA Ronell Valencia COZMO 189.0MB Rashid Ali UNIMONI 182.7MC Mohd Othman Green Apple 173.6LA Sonia Mathews UNIMONI 173.3 LB Abel Nitikusumo Lolo’s Bowlers 148.2

Team Weekly High Series Week Team Score 1 COZMO Lane Specialists 2,8342 COZMO Lane Specialist s 2,784 3 UNIMONI 2,9124 UNIMONI 2,851

Team No. 1 Position For 7 WeeksCOZMO Lane Specialists – 4 WeeksFourth Round Standings:

1. COZMO Lane Masters 11,3592. Green Apple Strikers 11,1653. UNIMONI 11,1524. TGIF Team 11,1425. Lolo’s Bowlers 10,8356. Swooping Eagles 10,5917. Al Qwassem 10,5228. Pin Pals 10,3679. SKARZ 10,267

Swooping Eagles Team Al Qwassem Team

NEW YORK, Dec 18, (RTRS): Manny Machado plans to visit the New York Yankees and Phila-delphia Phillies this week with additional teams lining up for weekend appointments.

On Monday, Machado met with the Chi-cago White Sox and toured Guaranteed Rate Field. Machado’s agent said his client will next

be at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday and Citizens Bank Park with the Phillies on Thursday.

Machado, 26, reported-ly is seeking at least a 10-year, $300 million contract. He will be entering his eighth season in 2019 af-ter spending his fi rst 6-1/2 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and the second half of last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Last season, Machado totaled 37 home runs and 107 RBIs, but he was the target of criticism in the postseason for his apparent lack of hustle.

❑ ❑ ❑

The Houston Astros agreed to terms on a two-year, $32 million deal with outfi elder Michael Brantley on Monday evening, according to mul-tiple reports.

The deal was not yet offi cial but both sides agreed to the terms, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported. The contract reportedly runs through the 2020 season and does not include any club or player options.

❑ ❑ ❑

The Yankees offi cially re-signed left hander J.A. Happ to a two-year deal with a third-year vesting option, the team announced.

Terms were not announced, but according to multiple reports, the deal is worth $34 million through 2020, while a $17 million option for 2021 would become guaranteed if Happ starts 27-plus games or pitches 165-plus innings in 2020.

Happ, 36, did not arrive in the Bronx until late July via trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, but the 12-year veteran made a big impact for the Yankees.

❑ ❑ ❑ The Pittsburgh Pirates signed free agent right-

hander Jordan Lyles to a one-year contract, the team announced.

Lyles will receive $2.05 million, according to multiple reports. Pittsburgh is hoping the 28-year-old will be its fi fth starter as a rotation spot is open after the recent trade of right-hander Ivan Nova to the White Sox.

Lyles went 3-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 35 appear-ances (eight starts) last season while splitting the campaign between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers.

❑ ❑ ❑C.C. Sabathia gave up half a million dollars to

show he had his teammate’s back. Instead, the Yan-kees paid their veteran left-hander for his loyalty.

The 38-year-old pitcher was two innings from receiving a $500,000 for pitching 155 innings last season when he was ejected for throwing at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jesus Sucre in the sixth inning of Sabathia’s fi nal outing. Rather than pitch out of the bullpen to get his bonus, Sabathia stayed at 153 innings.

❑ ❑ ❑The Texas Rangers signed Matt Bush to a mi-

nor league contract while the right-hander contin-ues his recovery from September’s elbow surgery.

Bush, who turns 33 in February, partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow last season but didn’t have Tommy John surgery. He isn’t expected to be ready to pitch until July.

Machado

MLB Roundup

Yanks re-sign Happ

Machado startsfree-agent tour

Blue Jackets shutout KnightsChabot’s OT winner propels Senators past Predators 4-3

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec 18, (RTRS): Sergei Bobrovsky had 28 saves to register his fi rst shutout of the season and Nick Foligno celebrated his 800th NHL game with the only goal of the game to lead the Colum-bus Blue jackets to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.

It was the 25th career shutout for Bo-brovsky as Columbus won for just the third time in eight games. Foligno’s 177th career goal was also the 30th game-winner of his career.

Malcolm Subban, making his fi rst start since a 7-2 loss at Calgary on Nov 19, fi n-ished with 30 saves. It snapped a streak of 13 consecutive starts by Marc-Andre Fleury, who leads the NHL in wins with 19. Subban, who fell to 0-5-0 this season, hasn’t won a

game since April 3 at Vancouver when the Golden Knights scored a 5-4 shootout win over the Canucks.

Subban, who entered the contest with 4.02 goals against, matched two-time Vezina Award winner Bobrovsky over the fi rst two periods, coming up with 21 saves during a tight-checking game including a skate save on Anthony Duclair on a breakaway in the fi rst period. He also got some help from the left goal post on a Seth Jones shot from the bottom of the right circle.

Foligno then made it 1-0 just 40 seconds into the third period with his eighth goal of the season, spinning around in the slot in front of the crease and then whipping in a rebound of a Jones’ shot past Subban’s blocker side.

The Golden Knights pulled Subban with a minute remaining and Bobrovsky came up with saves on a Reilly Smith wrist shot and also a Colin Miller blast from the top of the slot to seal the win.

Bruins 4, Canadiens 0In Montreal, Jaroslav Halak’s 22 saves and

a team-wide defensive effort gave Boston a dominant win at Montreal. Halak recorded

his third shutout of the season. Colby Cave recorded the fi rst multi-point

effort of his 16-game NHL career, an effort that included his fi rst NHL goal. The Bruins also got goals from Joakim Nordstrom, Da-vid Krejci and Brad Marchand. Charlie McA-voy and David Pastrnak each had two assists.

Montreal’s lack of offensive spark in-cluded three failed power-play opportunities, making the team 0-for-25 with the extra at-tacker over its past eight games.

Senators 4, Predators 3, OTIn Ottawa, Ontario, Thomas Chabot scored

21 seconds into overtime, and Ottawa defeat-ed visiting Nashville. The Predators turned the puck over at their own blue line, Ryan Dzingel got the puck to Chabot, and the de-fenseman scored on a hard wrist shot to the top left corner.

Ottawa led 3-0 after the fi rst period, but

Nashville got one goal back in the second period and added two in the third to force overtime.

Maxime Lajoie, Brady Tkachuk and Dzin-gel also scored for the Senators. Mark Stone added two assists. Roman Josi scored twice and had an assist, and Craig Smith scored once for Nashville. Ryan Johansen was cred-ited with three assists.

Ducks 4, Penguins 2In Pittsburgh, Anaheim erased a two-goal

defi cit by scoring three times in the second period for a win at Pittsburgh.

Adam Henrique, Kiefer Sherwood and, with a goal that stood as the winner, Ondrej Kase scored in the second for Anaheim. The Ducks earned their sixth consecutive road win, their ninth victory in 10 games overall, and improved to 7-0-1 when leading after two periods.

Ryan Getzlaf scored an empty-net goal with 49 seconds remaining. He and Henrique also added an assist apiece. John Gibson, a native of Pittsburgh, made 28 saves for Ana-heim, which got goals from Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust.

Islanders 4, Avalanche 1In Denver, Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle

had a goal and an assist each, and New York beat Colorado in Denver.

Thomas Greiss stopped 30 shots, and Johnny Boychuk and Valtteri Filppula also scored for New York, which won the opener of its four-game road trip. The Islanders are 3-1-1 in their past fi ve games.

Gabe Landeskog had Colorado’s lone goal. Mikko Rantanen, the NHL’s leading scorer with 56 points, had his 14-game point streak ended as the Avalanche fell to 1-3-1 in their past fi ve games.

Vegas Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault (right), controls the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets’ Nick Foligno defends during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Dec 17 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP)

Ottawa Senators left wing Zack Smith (15) sends Nashville Predators right wing Ryan Hartman (38) for a tumble during third-period NHL hockey game action in Ottawa,

Ontario on Dec 17. (AP)

NHL Results/Standings

WASHINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Results and stnadings from the NHL games on Monday.

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Anaheim 4 Pittsburgh 2Columbus 1 Las Vegas 0Boston 4 Montreal 0

Ottawa 4 Nashville (OT) 3NY Islanders 4 Colorado 1

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L OTL GF GA PTSTampa Bay 25 7 2 138 97 52Buffalo 20 9 5 105 98 45Toronto 21 10 2 117 93 44Boston 18 12 4 94 88 40Montreal 17 12 5 108 111 39Ottawa 15 16 4 116 135 34Detroit 14 15 5 98 115 33Florida 12 13 6 101 113 30

Metropolitan Division W L OTL GF GA PTSWashington 20 9 3 122 100 43Columbus 18 12 3 108 105 39NY Islanders 16 12 4 93 92 36Pittsburgh 15 12 6 112 108 36Carolina 14 13 5 84 93 33NY Rangers 14 13 5 94 106 33New Jersey 11 13 7 94 111 29Philadelphia 12 15 4 93 116 28

Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PTSWinnipeg 22 9 2 121 94 46Nashville 22 10 2 107 86 46Colorado 18 10 6 122 106 42Minnesota 17 13 2 101 91 36Dallas 16 14 3 92 93 35St Louis 12 15 4 88 107 28Chicago 10 19 6 99 135 26

Pacifi c Division W L OTL GF GA PTSCalgary 22 10 2 122 93 46Anaheim 19 11 5 93 100 43San Jose 18 11 5 112 103 41Las Vegas 19 15 2 107 102 40Edmonton 18 13 3 98 101 39Vancouver 16 16 4 110 118 36Arizona 14 16 2 81 89 30Los Angeles 11 20 3 75 106 25

ICE HOCKEY

BOWLING

OAHU, Hawaii, Dec 18, (RTRS): Ga-briel Medina won the men’s World Surf League championship for the second time when he advanced to the fi nal of the Billabong Pipe Masters in Oahu, Ha-waii, then went on to clinch his fi rst win of the event on Monday.

The Brazilian, who was also world champion in 2014, ensured he would end the two-year reign of Hawaiian John John Florence by beating South African Jordy Smith in the semi-fi nals.

Medina, who had scored a rare 10 in his quarter-fi nal, made the most of per-fect conditions at Pipeline to secure 9.10

on his best ride to give him a two-wave total of 16.27.

Needing a 7.78 to get in front of the Brazilian, Smith waited anxiously for one more wave to arrive but never got his chance as time ran out leaving him on 15.83.

“This means a lot to me,” Medina said in a beachside interview after being mobbed by fans as he emerged from the surf.

“I put in a lot of work this year. It was an intense year, everything paid off. I can’t fi nd words at the moment.

“I’m so happy to win it again, go Brazil!”

Medina continued his fi ne form in the fi nal with a best ride of 9.57 on his way to a 18.34-16.70 victory over Austral-ian Julian Wilson to wrap up the season with a third victory – the fi rst of his ca-reer at the prestigious Hawaiian break.

“This is out of order,” Medina grinned after again being mobbed by fans and chaired off the beach at the spiritual home of the sport.

“All my big heroes have won this ti-tle. The Pipe Masters’ a little different, I really wanted that one.”

Wilson, who beat 11-time world champion Kelly Slater in the semifi nals,


28

SELVA DI VAL GARDENA, Italy, Dec 18, (AP): It was just about a year ago when Ilka Stuhec gave up on her dream of competing at the Pyeo-ngchang Olympics.

Coming off a career season that included a gold medal in the downhill at the world champi-onships and the season-long World Cup down-hill title, Stuhec rushed back on to snow two months after knee surgery.

“I said I really want to ski in 2017, so I went Dec 31,” Stuhec said. “Because there was still some part of me that believed I could make the Olympics. But I would just go there without confidence, without train-ing, not really trusting the knee. So I let that one go really soon.

“It hurt a lot,” Stuhec added of her New Year’s Eve

return to snow.The Slovenian skier quickly switched her focus to

this season and her patience paid off when she won a World Cup downhill on Tuesday for the first victory of her comeback.

Stuhec finished 0.14 seconds ahead of Nicol Dela-go, who grew up alongside the Saslong course in the Italian Dolomites. Ramona Siebenhofer of Austria came third, 0.51 behind.

“It’s really emotional because it’s been a very, very long time since I won,” Stuhec said. “And over the last year a lot of things were very different than I was planning.”

Stuhec missed all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a crash while training on the glacier in Pitztal, Austria.

She watched the Olympics in February from home – “I was the crazy fan waking up at three in the morn-ing” – and wasn’t quite satisfied with her initial re-sults this season, cracking the top 10 only once in her opening four races.

“I had very high goals when I started racing again,”

she said. “But that also meant that I put a lot of pres-sure on myself, which didn’t come out that well and I thought, ‘OK this not going to go so well.’ So I just need to focus on the moment, ski the way I know and have fun and not think about how fast it’s going to be.”

While Stuhec wasn’t perfect on Tuesday, she was unbeatable on the Saslong course, which is hosting women’s World Cup races for the first time – despite being a classic stop on the men’s circuit for a half-century.

The course was shortened for the women and many of the technical sections were left out, includ-ing the camel bump jumps – prompting some racers to complain that it wasn’t challenging enough.

“I liked it a lot from the first (training) run,” Stuhec said. “In the end it’s still downhill, which is never easy, even if it maybe looks like that sometimes.”

A super-G race is scheduled for Wednesday on the Saslong.

The races were originally scheduled for Val d’Isere over the weekend but were moved to Val Gardena because of a lack of snow in the French resort.

The switch perfectly suited Delago, who cracked the top 10 only twice in nearly 40 previous World Cup races.

“I live up there,” Delago said, gesturing up the hill. “It’s a course that has always been part of my life. I used to come here after school and go down these runs all the time.

Stuhec wins after giving up on Olympic ‘dream’ due to injury

Delago fi nishes 2nd, Siebenhofer in 3rd

Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec competes during a ski World Cup women’s downhill in Val Gardena, Italy on Dec 18. (AP)

WTA changes rules affecting players returning from pregnancyST PETERSBURG, Florida, Dec 18, (AP): The women’s tennis tour approved rule changes Mon-day that are meant to ensure players are not penal-ized after they return from pregnancy or an injury that causes a long absence.

The changes were prompted, in part, by the ex-periences of former No 1 players Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, both of whom returned to competition after giving birth.

The WTA announced that players returning to the tour may use a special ranking for up to three years after the birth of a child, and the exemption can be used for seedings at big events.

Williams, who owns an Open-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, was unseeded at this year’s French Open in her fi rst major since the birth of her daughter - despite having won the previous major she played, the 2017 Australian

Open. Williams was seeded 25th at Wimbledon and 17th at the US Open, and she reached the fi -nals and lost at both of those majors.

Players who return from an injury that keeps them out of competition for a year or longer may use a special ranking in 12 tournaments. No player will be bumped from her earned seeded position.

“These changes,” WTA CEO and chairman

Steve Simon said, “are designed to fully support players in their return to competition, while main-taining the highest standards of athletic competi-tion and fairness.”

The tour also said it will ensure women at WTA tournaments “are not penalized or prohib-ited from wearing leggings or compression shorts

without a skirt, dress or shorts over them.”Williams wore a black bodysuit at the French

Open, where she pulled out with an injury before the fourth round. Williams said she wore the com-pression suit because of a history of blood clots, including after childbirth.

This fall, the president of the French Tennis Federation said Williams could no longer wear the black bodysuit at the French Open.

Azarenka, a member of the WTA Players’ Council, said she wants to make sure the WTA is “the most progressive and inclusive association in sports.” “Our players should feel comfortable and confi dent to take time away from the courts to have a family or recover from injury,” Azarenka said.

SKIING

TENNIS

SURFING

In this May 29, 2018 fi le photo, Serena Williams returns a shot against Krystyna Pliskova during their fi rst-round match of the French Open tennis

tournament in Paris, France. (AP)

Smith runs out of time

Brazil’s Medina wins second world title and Pipe Masters

Skynet Miracles SC Ahmed of FC Sparx with Abdul Sa-meer

Jabir of UGC with Glen D’Souza Nizar of Goa Maroons with Zidik Goa Maroons

Jackson of Skynet with Michael

United Goan Centre

KIFF Federation Cup starts on December 21

Goa Maroons, United Goans qualify for semisKUWAIT CITY, Dec 18: KIFF League for JP D’Mello Rolling Tro-phy is the major competition for par-ticipating teams.

The League is divided into 2 groups playing in a round-robin league. Top 4 teams from each group qualify for a knockout phase.

The season will culminate with a grand finale later in the summer of 2019.

Participating clubs for the league include: All Kerala Football Club (AKFC), AVC Sports & Cultural As-sociation, Don Bosco Oratory, FC Sparx, Goa Maroons, Goa FC, Indian Strikers, Pen Friends United, Santos United, Skynet Miracles SC, Soccer Kerala and United Goans Centre.

KIFF League matches played on 14th Dec 2018, FC Sparx defeated Santos United 2-0. Anson and Nabeel were the scorers.

Ahmed of FC Sparx was awarded the man of the match presented by KIFF Registrar Abdul Sameer.

In the second match United Goan Centre qualified for semis by defeat-ing Pen Friends United 5-0. Jabir scored three while Irshad and Sira-judheen scored one each for UGC.

Jabir of UGC was awarded the man of the match presented by AVC Vice-President Glen D’Souza.In the third match Goa Maroons also quali-fied for the semis by defeating Shifa Jazeera Soccer Kerala 2-1. Nizar and Steven scored for Goa Maroons while Yassem reduced the deficit for Soccer Kerala.

Nizar of Goa Maroons was awarded the man of the match presented by KIFF Treasurer Zidik.

Skynet Miracles SC who already qualified from their group defeated Don Bosco Oratory 1-0 to top the group. Jackson scored the only goal and was awarded the man of the match presented by KIFF Sports Sec-retary Michael Pereira.

Kuwait Indian Football Federation League is sponsored by Gulf Cable & Electrical Industries Co.

KIFF Federation Cup starts next Friday Dec 21, 2018.

In all 16 teams are participating in the tournament which will be played over two Fridays on a league-cum-knock out basis.

SOCCER

Tops-Alexander scoops jackpotPRAGUE, Dec 18, (RTRS): Australian showjumper Edwina Tops-Alexander has become the fi rst winner of the lucrative Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix – beating a fi eld of men to take the prize.

Sixteen winners of the indi-vidual Grand Prix events staged throughout the season assem-bled in Prague’s O2 Arena to compete for the $13.7 million prize pot – the sport’s richest event.

Tops-Alexander, the only woman to make the fi nal show-down and who had her fi rst child 18 months ago, came out on top in a nail-biting battle with Ger-man veteran Ludger Beerbaum.

“I don’t feel any different as a woman but it does feel good to beat the boys,” the 44-year-old told Reuters. Riding her mare California she clocked the fast-est round with the lowest faults, under half a second faster than Beerbaum and almost four sec-onds ahead of Dutchman Frank Schuttert.

also fi nished second in the champion-ship ahead of Medina’s compatriots Fil-ipe Toledo and Italo Ferreira.

“Everyone is pushing the limits, the level was really high this year,” Medina added after clinching the title.

“All the boys are pushing me to train more, to surf more. That’s my motiva-tion. It’s been a long year, really in-tense.”

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Dec 18, (AP): Trent Forrest scored a career high 23 points and freshman Devin Vassell added 16 as No. 11 Florida State recov-ered from a sluggish fi rst half and beat Southeast Missouri 85-68 on Monday night.

Forrest shot 8 for 12 from the fl oor, and had a team-high eight rebounds and four assists to help the Seminoles (9-1) win their fourth straight.

Florida State secured its 30th straight non-conference home win. Nebraska is the last non-conference team to defeat the Seminoles, 70-65 on Dec 1, 2014.

Ledarrius Brewer scored 16 points and Skyler Hogan added 14 points for Southeast Missouri (5-7).

Vanderbilt 81, Arizona St 65In Nashville, Tennessee, Saben Lee

scored 14 points to lead fi ve players in double fi gures and sharp-shooting Vanderbilt snapped an eight-game los-ing streak against ranked opponents.

The Commodores’ skid dated to an overtime win over Florida in the 2017 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Vanderbilt (7-2) also beat Arizona State (8-2) for the fi rst time in fi ve tries on the Sun Devils’ fi rst visit to Memorial Gym.

The Commodores had a big night from beyond the arc, hitting 6 of 12 from deep in the fi rst half and 12 of 28 for the game.

Aaron Nesmith added 13 points off the bench for Vanderbilt. Yanni Wetzell had 12, and Matt Ryan and Joe Toye had 11 each. Arizona State, which moved up two spots in the AP Top 25 earlier in the day, has lost two of three.

Rob Edwards led the Sun Devils with 14 points.

WSU 94, Rider 80In Pullman, Washington, Robert

Franks had 25 points, 12 rebounds and fi ve assists as Washington State beat

Rider 94-80 on Monday night.Marvin Cannon added 23 points,

going 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, and C.J. Elleby had 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Washington State (6-3).

Jordan Allen scored 24 points, mak-ing 7 of 14 from 3-point range, for Rider (4-4).

After being down 22-15 with 10 min-utes left in the fi rst half, WSU went on a 23-2 run spanning 6:07 for a 38-24 lead with 3:50 left in the fi rst half. The run featured back-to-back 3s from Franks and Carter Skaggs, with an acrobatic score from Elleby on a fast break.

WSU was without veteran Viont’e Daniels due to a concussion and Arinze Chidom, who announced last week he’s transferring.

Coach Ernie Kent emphasized how much adversity WSU has had to over-come and how the team has dealt with it.

The Cougars jumped on the Broncs with an 11-0 run in the fi rst three min-utes of the second half for a 56-35 lead. During the run, Cannon drove the lane for a two-handed slam and Elleby also had a powerful dunk.

Rider would not go away with an 11-2 run, cutting the lead to 12, fea-turing 3’s from Allen and Dimencio Vaughn. Washington State scored the next six points, but the Cougars had fi ve turnovers in the next three minutes.

The Broncs were within seven points, 81-74, with 2:40 remaining, but the Cougars closed it out by making 11 free throws in the fi nal 1:19.

Oregon State 82, Pepperdine 67In Corvallis, Oregon, Oregon State’s

Kylor Kelley acknowledged he was a little surprised Pepperdine kept attack-

SYRACUSE, New York, Dec 18, (AP): Miranda Drummond scored 19 points and freshman Emily Engstler added a season-high 16, leading No. 15 Syracuse to a 94-45 romp over Niagara on Mon-day.

Syracuse (9-2) led for all but 10 seconds and had fi ve players scoring in double digits. Tiana Man-gakahia fi nished with eight points and 15 assists while Digna Strautmane had 12 points. Engstler also added nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks.

Niagara (3-7) shot just 26 percent and commit-ted 35 turnovers. Jai Moore and Adila Gathers led the Purple Eagles with eight points each.

The Orange had a program-record 31 assists and hit 15 3-pointers, led by Drummond with fi ve.

The game started at 11 a.m. as part of a school-day promotion and attracted a crowd of 6,093, third highest in program history.

DePaul 95, Tennessee St 73In Chicago, Kelly Campbell and Mart’E Grays

had 18 points apiece to help No. 20 DePaul beat Tennessee State 95-73 Monday night.

Campbell was 6-of-9 shooting and tied her ca-reer highs with fi ve 3-pointers and six steals. Dee

Bekelja made 6 of 6 from the fi eld, including three 3s, and also scored 18 – her career best – for De-Paul (8-3). The Blue Demons have won four in a row since a 99-63 loss to then-No 2 – now top-ranked – Connecticut, on Nov 28.

Ashton Millender’s 3-pointer gave DePaul a 13-0 lead and Tennessee State missed its fi rst nine shots. Campbell hit two 3s, and Bekelja added an-other, in a 63-second span and Lexi Held’s jumper gave DePaul a 24-4 lead with 2 ½ minutes left in the fi rst quarter before the Tigers made their fi rst

fi eld goal. Tia Wooten’s layup to open the second quarter pulled TSU (0-11) within nine, but Chante Stonewall answered with a 3 and DePaul led by double fi gures the rest of the way.

Taylor Roberts had 21 points and Wooten and Jazmine Young each scored 15 for the Tigers. TSU has lost 13 in a row dating to last season.

Marquette 93, Binghamton 40In Milwaukee, Isabelle Spingola scored all 24

of her points in the second half on eight 3-point-

ers, Allazia Blockton added 20 points and No. 19 Marquette beat Binghamton 93-40 on Monday night.

Marquette (9-2) led 24-11 after the fi rst quar-ter, with 12 points from Blockton, and opened the second on an 8-0 run for a 32-11 lead. Blockton scored 16 points in the half and Natisha Hiedeman added 10 as Marquette led 43-24. The Golden Ea-gles outscored Binghamton 28-9 in the third quar-ter and 22-7 in the fourth.

Spingola was 8 of 10 from distance to tie the school record for makes with Hiedeman and Mar-quette made 14 3-pointers to tie the program record set in 1993.

Blockton, Marquette’s all-time leading scorer, has 1,979 career points in 108 games, aiming to become the fi rst Golden Eagle, male or female, to reach 2,000 career points. The Golden Eagles play their fi nal non-league game of the season against No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday, followed by a Big East opener versus Providence on December 29.

Binghamton (5-7) lost at Notre Dame 103-53 last Sunday. Rebecca Carmody, Binghamton’s leading scorer, was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting against Marquette.

BASKETBALL


29

DETROIT, Dec 18, (AP): Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 12 re-bounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a 107-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night when Blake Griffi n missed a last-second 3-pointer.

Griffi n actually missed two 3s in the fi nal 14 seconds. The Detroit star already had a triple-double af-ter three quarters, but it was a quiet fourth for him. Griffi n fi nished with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, but he also had 10 turno-vers.

The Pistons rallied from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit and took an 89-86 lead in the fourth. Antetokounmpo put

Milwaukee up by three with a dunk, then added a three-point play and a driving layup to make it 107-100.

Rockets 102, Jazz 97In Houston, James Harden scored 47

points to help Houston hold off Utah for its fourth straight win.

It was the Rockets’ first victory over the Jazz this season after dropping the first two meetings. The team’s cur-rent winning streak comes following a three-game skid.

Houston led by double digits early in the fourth quarter, but poor shoot-ing left the Rockets tied with about two minutes left. A 3-pointer by Harden put Houston back on top and he added two free throws with about a minute remaining to make it 99-94.

Under heavy pressure, Harden stepped back and hit a 3 to make it 102-97 with 13.3 seconds left.

Donovan Mitchell had 23 points for the Jazz, who have lost four of five.

Harden, who made 15 of 16 free throws, had six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Warriors 110, Grizzlies 93In Oakland, California, Stephen

Curry had 20 points and seven re-bounds to lead Golden State past Memphis.

Curry became the fifth player in Warriors history to score 15,000 points during the regular season – joining Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin.

Kevin Durant had 23 points and passed Larry Bird (21,791) for 33rd place on the NBA’s career scoring list. Klay Thompson added 16 points.

Golden State led by 25 in the sec-ond quarter in quickly turning the game into a rout. That allowed coach Steve Kerr to rest many of his regu-lars as the Warriors began a busy stretch with eight games before the end of the year.

Marc Gasol had 15 points, six re-bounds and six assists for the Griz-zlies, who lost their third straight and fifth in six games. Omri Casspi scored a season-high 20 against his former team.

Trail Blazers 131, Clippers 127In Los Angeles, Damian Lillard

scored 22 of his 39 points in a domi-nant third quarter and Portland defeat-

ed Los Angeles.Lillard hit five of his six 3-point-

ers in the third when the Trail Blazers outscored the Clippers 42-28. Portland was 10 of 20 from 3-point range in the game.

C.J. McCollum added 27 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 20.

Tobias Harris matched Lillard with a career-high 39 points and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 for the Clippers, who have lost four in a row for the first time this season.

Spurs 123, 76ers 96In San Antonio, Rudy Gay had 21

points and LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan each added 20 as San Antonio defeated Philadelphia.

San Antonio bounced back after squandering a 21-point lead in a loss to Chicago on Saturday night. The Spurs held an opponent under 100 points for the fifth straight game.

J.J. Redick and Ben Simmons each scored 16 points to lead the 76ers. Joel Embiid was limited to 13 points on 6-for-17 shooting and finished with 11 rebounds.

Aldridge added 10 rebounds and DeRozan had seven assists for the Spurs, who completed a 5-1 homes-tand.

Thunder 121, Bulls 96In Oklahoma City, Paul George

scored 16 of his 24 points in the final five minutes of the first half and Okla-homa City rolled past Chicago.

George’s outburst came in the last 4:47 of the second quarter as the Thun-der outscored the Bulls 23-7 and built a 64-44 lead at the break. He scored just one point in the second half.

Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 11 steals for his 111th career triple-double. Steven Adams added 19 points and Dennis Schroder scored 18 for the Thunder.

Lauri Markkanen and Bobby Portis had 16 points apiece to lead the Bulls. Markkanen added 15 rebounds.

Timberwolves 132, Kings 105In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony

Towns had 14 points and 14 assists in just 21 minutes, Andrew Wiggins scored 17 and Minnesota got a big boost from its bench in beating road-weary Sacramento.

Derrick Rose added 13 points and a season-high 11 assists while starting for injured point guard Jeff Teague. Minnesota led by 36 in the first half against Sacramento, which was com-ing off a 120-113 victory at Dallas a night earlier.

The Timberwolves returned home following an 0-4 trip, including a 141-130 loss at Sacramento.

Buddy Hield scored 21 points for the Kings but didn’t play in the second half. Sacramento coach Dave Joerger didn’t play any of his starters after halftime.

Suns 128, Knicks 110In New York, Devin Booker tied his

season high with 38 points, T.J. War-ren scored 17 of his 26 during Phoe-nix’s 41-point third quarter and the Suns beat New York for their third straight victory.

Phoenix outscored New York 41-17 in the third and went on to win three consecutive games for the first time since March 2-5, 2017. The Suns won only four times in their first 28 games, but are 3 for 3 since.

Deandre Ayton finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns in an impressive start to a five-game road trip, their longest of the season. Jamal Crawford had a career-high 14 assists as last-place Phoenix improved to 2-13 away from home, toughening up in the second half after giving up 12 offen-sive rebounds in the first.

Emmanuel Mudiay had 32 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games. New York played without leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr because of a sore right heel.

Giannis, Bucks defeat Pistonsdespite Griffi n’s triple-double

Harden’s 47 points lead Rockets over Jazz 102-97

WASHINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Results and standings from the NBA games on Monday.Milwaukee 107 Detroit 104Phoenix 128 New York 110Houston 102 Utah 97Minnesota 132 Sacramento 105

Oklahoma City 121 Chicago 96San Antonio 123 Philadelphia 96Golden State 110 Memphis 93Portland 131 LA Clippers 127

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L PCT GBToronto 23 9 .719 -Philadelphia 20 12 .625 3Boston 18 11 .621 3-1/2Brooklyn 13 18 .419 9-1/2New York 9 23 .281 14

Central Division W L PCT GBMilwaukee 20 9 .690 -Indiana 20 10 .667 0-1/2Detroit 14 14 .500 5-1/2Cleveland 7 23 .233 13-1/2Chicago 7 24 .226 14

Southeast Division W L PCT GBCharlotte 14 15 .483 -Orlando 14 15 .483 -Miami 13 16 .448 1Washington 12 18 .400 2-1/2Atlanta 6 23 .207 8

Western ConferenceNorthwest Division

W L PCT GBDenver 20 9 .690 -Oklahoma City 19 10 .655 1Portland 17 13 .567 3-1/2Minnesota 14 16 .467 6-1/2Utah 14 17 .452 7

Pacifi c Division W L PCT GBGolden State 21 10 .677 -LA Lakers 18 12 .600 2-1/2LA Clippers 17 13 .567 3-1/2Sacramento 16 14 .533 4-1/2Phoenix 7 24 .226 14

Southwest Division W L PCT GBDallas 15 13 .536 -Memphis 16 14 .533 -Houston 15 14 .517 0-1/2San Antonio 16 15 .516 0-1/2New Orleans 15 16 .484 1-1/2

NBA Results/Standings

BASKETBALL

BASKETBALL

DePaul women hit 12 3s, rout Tennessee State 95-73

Syracuse rips Niagara behind Drummond’s 19

San Antonio Spurs’ DeMar DeRo-zan (10) drives around Philadel-phia 76ers’ Joel Embiid during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Dec 17, in San Antonio.

(AP)

Houston Rockets guard James Harden, (right), drives to the basket as Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, on Dec 17,

in Houston. (AP)

Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele drives to the basket in the second half of an NCAA college basket-ball game with Southeast Missouri on Dec17, in Tallahassee, Florida.

(AP)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) charges into Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Detroit on Dec 17. (AP)

Washington State hangs on late to beat Rider 94-80

Forrest leads No. 11 Florida State past Southeast Missouriing the rim, especially given the night he was having.

Kelley set a school record with nine blocks and added 10 points and nine rebounds as Oregon State beat Pepper-dine 82-67. Tres Tinkle had 21 points, seven assists and fi ve steals and Stephen Thompson Jr added 20 points for the Beavers (7-3), who broke a two-game skid.

Colbey Ross had 15 points and eight assists and Eric Cooper Jr also scored 15 for the Waves (6-6).

Oregon State’s marksmanship re-turned in a hurry after the team shot poorly in two losses away from Gill Coliseum. The Beavers shot 54 percent from the fl oor, including 8 of 19 on 3-pointers, compared to 37 percent for Pepperdine.

Oregon State also outrebounded the Waves 38-24.

Northwestern 88, Chicago St 46In Evanston, Ill, Coming off an ex-

tended break, Northwestern struggled through an uneven fi rst few minutes on Monday night. Freshman Miller Kopp helped make sure the issues didn’t last.

Kopp scored a career-high 17 points and Vic Law added another 17 as the Wildcats defeated Chicago State 88-46.

Northwestern (8-3) methodically built its lead and separated with a 13-4 run to end the fi rst half. The Wildcats knocked off their rust, as they hadn’t played since Dec 8 due to fi nal exams.

Chicago State (3-10) hung around early but couldn’t overcome 18 turno-vers, as it trailed 44-27 at the half. Northwestern took advantage with 24 points off turnovers and only gave the ball away eight times.

Travon Bell led Chicago State with 12 points, while Rob Shaw and An-thony Harris added 11 apiece. Only fi ve Cougars scored, however, as the visitors shot 31.3 percent from the fi eld.

Seattle 67, Portland 56In Portland, Oregon, Terrell Brown

and Myles Carter each had a double-double to help Seattle beat Portland 67-56.

Seattle (10-3) is off to its best start since the 1968-69 season, when it fi n-ished at 19-8 after losing 75-73 to We-ber State in the fi rst round of the NCAA Tournament. Brown fi nished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Carter add-ed 11 and 12. Morgan Means added 17 points and Matej Kavas scored 11 for the Redhawks.

Brown’s layup made it 15-0 less than fi ve minutes in and Kavas hit a jumper to give Seattle a 20-point lead with nine minutes left in the fi rst half. Josh Mc-Swiggan’s 3-pointer pulled the Pilots within 11 with fi ve minutes to play and he made another 3 that trimmed their defi cit to 59-52 with two minutes left. Brown answered with a layup and, after Portland missed a 3-point shot, Means hit two free throws to give Seattle an 11-point lead with less than a minute to go.

Montana 60, ND State 53In Missoula, Montana, Jamar Akoh

scored 17 points with eight rebounds and Bobby Moorehead scored 13 and Montana beat North Dakota State 60-53.

It was Akoh’s second game back after missing six games with a wrist injury.

The Bison led 23-19 at halftime be-fore the Grizzlies took control with a 13-4 run when Moorehead and Ah-maad Rorie made back-to-back 3-point-ers, Sayeed Pridgett added a layup and Moorhead another 3 for a 32-27 lead Montana (6-3) would never relinquish.

Earlier, Tyson Ward made a 3-point play, followed with 3-pointer and Deng Geu made a pair of foul shots and the Bison led 23-17 with 2:15 before inter-mission. Both teams made nine fi rst-half fi eld goals, but Montana didn’t make one trip to the foul line. North Dakota (4-8) only made three trips and made them all.

Ward led North Dakota State with 15 points, Vinnie Shahid scored 14 and Geu added 13 with six rebounds.

Gardner-Webb 79, Georgia Tech 69In Atlanta, Gardner-Webb went right

at Georgia Tech Monday night, and the Runnin’ Bulldogs may have come away from their 79-69 upset win over the Yel-low Jackets a little surprised after D.J. Laster scored 20 of his career high-tying 25 points before intermission.

When the Bulldogs closed the fi rst half on a 12-2 run, Laster scored fi ve layups as Gardner-Webb (8-5) attacked Tech (5-4) with no hesitation on the way to a sixth straight win.

Gardner-Webb got more out of their aggressive pick-and-roll offense they might have expected given that Tech entered the game ranked No. 12 nation-ally in scoring defense (58.8 points per game) and fi fth in fi eld goal defense (36.2 percent).


30

Emirates’ Al Ain’s Mohamed Ahmed (left), duels for the ball with Argentina’s River Plate’s Lucas Pratto during the Club World Cup semifi nal soccer match between Al Ain Club and River Plate at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates on Dec 18. (AP)

‘Financial gap growing’

UEFA urged to give a ‘bigger’share of cake to unlucky 600ZURICH, Dec 18, (RTRS): For the 80 teams who qualify for the group stages of European club football, the season starts with a glitzy party at the draw ceremony in Monaco and ends with millions of extra euros in the bank.

But while those clubs cash in on the riches produced by the Champions League and, to a lesser extent, the Eu-ropa League, more than 600 top-tier clubs who fail to qualify have to feed off leftovers.

Amid widespread concern that the fi nancial gap between Europe’s elite clubs and the rest is still growing, UEFA is being asked by the conti-nent’s domestic leagues to the alter the way it distributes the huge revenue from its competitions.

European Leagues, their umbrella organization, says in a report seen by Reuters that it wants the unlucky 600 to get a larger slice of the cake.

Fearing the system is becoming fi -nancially unsustainable, it has also asked UEFA end payments which are based on a club’s previous record in European competition – something it says creates a snowball effect.

UEFA’s club competitions are expected to rake in 3.25 billion eu-ros ($3.7 billion) this season but the manner in which that money is distributed has become increasingly contentious.

According to UEFA and European Leagues fi gures, the 32 Champions League teams will share 2.04 billion euros of that amount with Europa League participants receiving 510 mil-lion.

Only 7.3 percent of the total (237.5 million euros) will be distributed in so-called “solidarity payments” and split between the remaining 600 clubs.

The report, which has been sent to UEFA and the continent’s 55 national

associations, said this was down from 8.5 percent in the previous competition cycle from 2015-18.

“The fi nancial gap between par-ticipating clubs and non-participating clubs is increasing, creating a nega-tive effect on competitive balance,” it warned, pointing out that the percent-age was more relevant than absolute amounts.

The report proposed that the solidar-ity payments be increased to 20 percent in the next competition cycle which will cover the period 2021-24.

Based on an estimated revenue of 3.30 billion euros per season, it said this would provide 660 million euros for those who missed out on European competition.

Breaking down the fi gures further, it proposed that 3.5 percent of total rev-enue (116 million euros) be distributed among clubs eliminated in qualifying rounds and 10 percent (330 million euro) to clubs who did not qualify in the fi rst place.

FC Zurich’s Stephen Odey vies for the ball with Ludogorets’ Jacek Goralski during Europa League group A match between PFC Ludogorets Razgrad and FC Zurich at Ludogorets Arena in

Razgrad, Bulgaria on Dec 13. (AP)

Atalanta boost CL hopesBilbao remain in Liga drop zone

ROME, Dec 18, (AP): The VAR disallowed a stop-page-time equalizer by Lazio in a 1-0 loss at Atal-anta in Serie A, leaving the Roman club just outside the Champions League places and letting Atalanta into contention for the elite European competition.

Lazio remained one point be-hind fourth-placed AC Milan while Atalanta moved into sixth, one point further back.

The top four clubs qualify for the Champions League.

Francesco Acerbi met a cross from Luis Alberto with a leaping header that appeared to have drawn Lazio level but video reviews ap-peared to show Acerbi was slightly offside.

Duvan Zapata put Atalanta ahead one minute into the match from close range.

Athletic Bilbao remained in the relegation zone of the Spanish League after being held at Alaves to 0-0.

Bilbao are in 18th place of the 20-team league and level on points with Villarreal, which are the last team in safety.

Bilbao generated the few scor-ing chances of the regional Basque

Country derby, but goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco saved shots by Raul Garcia and Inigo Cordoba in each half.

“We wanted to win, of course, but these types of physical, hard-fought matches are good to boost the team’s morale,” Bilbao defend-er Inigo Martinez said. “We have to keep our heads up.” Bilbao won their previous two matches under new coach Gaizka Garitano, who replaced the fi red Eduardo Berizzo two weeks ago.

Bilbao, which only have players from the northern Basque Country or neighboring areas, have never been relegated to the second divi-sion.

Alaves stayed in sixth place and unbeaten through all eight home matches in the league.

Also:MUNICH: German soccer cham-pion Bayern Munich says former Volkswagen CEO Martin Win-terkorn has left its supervisory board, three years after he resigned from the automaker amid its diesel emissions scandal.

The club said the 71-year-old Winterkorn stood down on Mon-day after nearly 16 years as a member. It said Tuesday that Win-terkorn, as former CEO of Volk-swagen unit Audi, initiated Audi’s partnership with Bayern and its acquisition in 2010 of an 8.33 per-cent stake in the club.

Bayern president and supervi-sory board chairman Uli Hoeness said Winterkorn had “enormous importance for FC Bayern’s devel-opment in the last 16 years.”

Winterkorn resigned as VW CEO in 2015 after Volkswagen was caught using illegal software to cheat on US diesel emissions tests.

‘Isco most talented’: Real Madrid defender Marcelo labelled Isco the player with the most ability in the squad on Tuesday - despite coach Santiago Solari rarely selecting the midfi elder and local media reporting that he may leave the club.

Spanish playmaker Isco has not started a La Liga match since Solari took over from Julen Lopetegui in October and has been linked in local reports with a move away from the European champions.

Isco and his team-mates landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday to defend their Club World Cup title, although the midfi elder may have a bit-part role in the tournament.

“We all know his quality. For me it’s him who has the most ability and quality on the pitch,” Marcelo told a news conference there on Tuesday. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Tottenham fan banned: A Tottenham fan has been banned from soccer games for four years for throwing a banana skin at an Arsenal player who is black.

Averof Panteli was found guilty of a “targeted gesture” aimed at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a “racial element.”

Aubameyang was celebrating scoring a goal in front of visiting Tottenham fans at Emirates Stadium on Dec 2.

Panteli, who lives in Norwich, got a 4-year ban and was ordered to pay 635 pounds ($800) in fi nes and court costs. He pleaded guilty to throwing a missile but denied racist intent.

Tottenham imposed a lifetime ban on Panteli.

The incident renewed a debate about racism in English soccer. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

‘No fi fth-round replays’: Replays will be scrapped from the fi fth round of this season’s FA Cup, one season earlier than originally planned, the Football Association said on Tuesday.

In a statement the FA said the move would help ease fi xture congestion with six Premier League teams participating in the knockout stages of European competitions and a midweek round of Premier League fi xtures scheduled in late February and March.

“This season’s fi fth round will remain as originally scheduled on the weekend of Feb 16-17, moving to midweek in 2019-20 – with no replays,” the FA said in a state-ment.

“Therefore, from this season on-

wards, fi fth round ties will be played to a fi nish on the day, with extra time and penalties if necessary. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

FIFA bans Kinteh: FIFA has banned Seedy Kinteh, former president of the Gambia Football Federation, from all football activi-ties for four years after fi nding him guilty of bribery and corruption, world soccer’s governing body said on Tuesday.

Kinteh was also hit with a US$200,000 fi ne for violating FIFA’s code of ethics regarding bribery and corruption, and the offering and accepting of gifts and other benefi ts.

Kinteh was named in a 2014 investigation by FIFA’s ethics prosecutor at the time, Michael Garcia, as having received cash gifts from former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Ibra to remain with LA: Zlatan Ibrahimovic is staying with the LA Galaxy.

A person with knowledge of the deal confi rmed the 37-year-old striker will play next season for the Major League Soccer team. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Galaxy had not yet formally announced it.

Ibrahimovic made $1.5 million for the Galaxy last season, the fi rst year of a two-year contract. His new deal, according to the person with knowledge of the contract, includes a raise and makes him a designated player.

Ibrahimovic had 22 goals and 10 assists in 27 games last season, his fi rst with the Galaxy. He dropped a video on social media Monday morning with the words, “MLZ I’m not done with you yet.”(AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

UEFA probes chants: UEFA says it wants a deeper investiga-tion into alleged anti-Semitic chants by Chelsea fans that the club condemned after a Europa League game.

UEFA says a disciplinary inspec-tor will “conduct an investigation in relation to the alleged racist incident” by mid-January.

Some Chelsea fans were heard singing an anti-Semitic chant target-ing Tottenham minutes into a 2-2 draw at Hungarian club Vidi on Thursday.

In a statement that evening, Chel-sea questioned the “brainpower” of fans who did not understand the chant was “abhorrent.” (AP)

Best of the Rest

Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata (center), celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Lazio at the Atleti Azzurri d’Italia Stadium

in Bergamo, Italy on Dec 17. (AP)

LONDON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Fol-lowing are the reactions to the sack-ing of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, who was dismissed by the Premier League club on Tuesday:

❑ ❑ ❑

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp: “He’s a very competitive guy, very ambitious. He has all my respect, he has had unbelievable success. I can imagine the last few months were not a joy for anybody, especially him... It’s not nice if you face these questions every day.

“Nobody can take away all the things he won. I hope he has that in his mind when he leaves and not the few other things that hap-pened. He is an outstanding man-ager.

❑ ❑ ❑

Tottenham manager Mauricio Po-chettino: “I feel so sorry because you know very well I have a very good relationship with him, so it’s very sad news what happened today. It’s not my business what happened to-day and only I want to send my best wishes to Jose.

“There are a lot of rumours about my position as manager at Totten-ham. I cannot answer this type of question. The business you know very well, a lot of rumours happen. I’m so focused in trying to deliver my best in this football club.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Arsenal manager Unai Emery: “The only thing I can say to you is I was surprised – and it is not good news because, when one coach fi nishes his work like that, it’s not good for other coaches.

“It is not good news but I don’t know a lot as to why this decision happened. My focus is tomorrow on the derby (against Tottenham), the focus for me and for every player is just that.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Former United captain Gary Neville: “I’ve been fortunate to spend time at Tottenham’s training ground, and for me he (Mauricio Pochettino) feels like the ideal can-didate. United have tried manag-ers who have won European cups, they’ve tried managers who have won multiple leagues.

“My view is they need someone who meets the three key principles of the football club, and that is pro-motion of youth, entertaining foot-

ball, and to win football matches.”❑ ❑ ❑

Former United defender and foot-ball pundit Rio Ferdinand: “I was one of his biggest advocates two and a half years ago when he joined Man United and felt he stabilized our club when we needed it... You can’t ignore what Jose has achieved as a manager previously, but I feel the time has come for fresh ideas at MUFC.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Former England international, BBC Sports anchor Gary Lineker: “With United 19 points behind Liv-erpool after 17 games, with the vast majority of players playing way be-low their best... and dour football to boot.

“Given Mourinho was allowed to spend hundreds of millions on those players, the split seemed inevitable.

“Would imagine one of the main reasons for sacking Mourinho now would be to stop the attempted mass exodus of their best players next month.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Former United, Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen: “In-evitable is the word I’d use. Mour-

inho had to go in the end. Simply not getting anywhere near enough out of his players.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Former United winger Lee Sharpe: “He was a panic appoint-ment and they brought someone in to fi x things quickly.

“At the time United weren’t in

Europe, they were on a low and he was the manager who could bring in big name players and raise the standard in games... he had a win-ning mentality.

“He has done that in spells... but the way he plays football has never been the United way.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Rangers coach and former Liv-erpool midfi elder Steven Gerrard: “He’s a serial winner. He’s been sacked at United but he’s won them a couple of trophies.

“He’s done the best job since Alex Ferguson’s left. It seemed they sort of struggled before that but Jose came in and put a couple of trophies in the cabinet, so I don’t think you can criticize him too much.”

Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard, (right), celebrates with his team-mate Diogo Dalot after scoring his side’s opening goal during the Eng-lish Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manches-

ter United at Anfi eld in Liverpool, England on Dec 16. (AP)

SOCCER

SOCCER

SOCCER

Reactions to sacking of Man United manager Mourinho

MLS shortens season, goes to all-KO playoffsWASHINGTON, Dec 18, (AP): Ma-jor League Soccer is shortening its season by a month, going to single-elimination playoffs and scheduling the 2019 MLS Cup fi nal for Nov 10 in its earliest fi nish since 2002.

The league announced the change Monday and will have an all-knockout postseason in place of a two-leg format for the conference semifinals and finals. MLS had started using a two-leg, total-goals format in 2003.

After then-US coach Jurgen Klins-mann criticized the league’s season as being too short, MLS stretched its schedule into December each year starting in 2012. Klinsmann was fi red in November 2016.

“The big challenge is for MLS overall, how can they stretch that season into a format that is kind

of competitive with the rest of the world?” Klinsmann said in 2011. “Right now it’s not competitive. If you have a seven-, eight-month sea-son, that’s not competitive with the rest of the world.”

MLS says the new format will re-ward teams with top regular seasons with greater home-fi eld advantage.

The league expands to 24 teams with the addition of Cincinnati next year, and 14 teams will make the playoffs. Each of the two conference winners will get fi rst-round byes and be joined in the conference semifi -nals by the winners of the three fi rst-round series.

The league will fi nish before the November international break – and before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that Nov 21. The Oc-tober break will be between the end

of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.

Opening day will be March 2 next year, and the regular season will end Oct 6.

The league said the changes result-ed from discussions throughout the year with team owners, general man-agers, television partners and other offi cials. The changes were ratifi ed last week.

“The idea here is to continually work on making the regular season become more and more important, so winning in March is as important as winning in September or October,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said this month. “Our playoff format, the one that we’re evaluating, I think is really going to place a very, very high emphasis, strong emphasis, on the regular season.”


31

Tourists trail by 37 runs at stumps

Mathews proves saviour again as Sri Lanka defy NZWELLINGTON, New Zealand, Dec 18, (AP): Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews compiled centuries and bat-ted throughout the day Tuesday in a 246-run fourth-wicket partnership as Sri Lanka reduced the defi cit on Day 4 of the fi rst cricket Test against New Zealand.

Mendis fi nished the day 116 not out, Mathews was 117 and Sri Lanka were 259-3, having erased all but 37 runs of the 296-run defi cit they faced after a fi rst innings in which New Zea-land made 578 in reply to its 282.

The twin centuries contributed to Sri Lanka’s highest-ever fourth-wick-et partnership against New Zealand, beating the previous best of 192, and were a coming of age for one player, a redemption for the other.

Mendis batted 287 minutes and faced 215 balls for his sixth test centu-ry which included 12 fours; Mathews took 342 minutes and needed 248 balls to reach his 9th with 11 fours.

By stumps Tuesday, the fourth-wicket pair had shunted back the threat of defeat which had seemed imminent at the start of play when Sri Lanka was 20-3.

While the tourists still face a fi nal day on which a minimum of 90 overs have to be bowled, giving New Zea-land some hope yet of taking a 1-0 lead in the two-test series, the achieve-ments of Mendis and Mathews on the fourth day have left the match more closely in the balance.

The strong possibility of rain Wednesday may further play into Sri Lanka’s hands and frustrate the home side.

The 23-year-old Mendis has long been one of Sri Lanka’s brightest bat-ting prospects. He captained Sri Lan-ka at under-19 level and won full in-ternational selection after only 16 fi rst class matches in which he had scored a single century.

Mendis announced his arrival on the test stage loudly with a century on debut, a magnificent and match-changing 176 against Australia, and hinted that it would be long before he assumed a major role in the Sri Lanka middle order. But though he had five centuries and seven half centuries in 33 tests before this match, he had also gone through a lean patch of 24 innings without reaching 50.

His majestic innings on Tuesday not only terminated that lean patch but pointed to a new maturity. Mendis has always been an immense talent but he is also a player with a strong attacking instinct, alloyed to a fi nely-honed repetoire of shots.

His innings on Tuesday showed that he now also has the ability to re-strain that instinct in his team’s inter-est and to play innings of character and duration.

For Mathews, Tuesday’s innings was a redemption of sorts. Only two months ago he had been dropped from the Sri Lanka one day side by the now dismissed national selectors who had labeled him “unfi t.”

When he reached his century on Tuesday, Mathews dropped to the pitch and knocked out a few crisp push-ups as a clear riposte to those who had questioned his fi tness.

The two Sri Lanka batsmen defi ed the New Zealand bowlers for a full 90 overs on Tuesday, starting under im-mense pressure as Sri Lanka - still 276 behind - tried to resist the threat of a defeat which seemed likely to come before the end of the day.

They guided Sri Lanka to 122-3 by lunch, to 197-3 at tea and within 37 runs of New Zealand’s total by stumps.

The New Zealand bowlers could fi nd no way of disturbing their pro-gress. There was no seam movement, no swing even in humid conditions and no turn for the solitary spinner Ajaz Patel.

If captain Kane Williamson hoped the pitch at the Basin Reserve might offer uneven bounce with the old ball, he was disappointed. The second new ball, taken immediately after 80 overs produced nothing to trouble batsmen who were then well settled.

“The wicket probably hasn’t of-fered us as much as we’d like,” Patel said. “But I felt that everyone gave it a good effort and everyone kept try-ing things and everyone really put 100 percent out there.

“We can’t fault the effort but those boys batted well as well.

“I think the wicket is a touch on the slow side. With the seamers, there’s not a lot of movement in the air or off the wicket so that makes it diffi -cult. Batters are fi nding it easy once they get themselves in. And from a spin perspective, it’s just not offering enough turn.”

Australia level series against IndiaKohli defends decision not to play frontline spinner

PERTH, Dec 18, (RTRS): Australia cleaned up India’s lower order with a barrage of hostile bowling before lunch on the fifth day to secure a series-levelling, confidence-boosting 146-run victory in the second Test on Tuesday.

Having set India a daunting 287 runs to win on a menacing Perth Stadium pitch, Australia

dismissed the tourists for 140 midway through the first session to win an engrossing, low-scoring contest.

Australia’s wickets were shared around with Man of the Match Nathan Lyon (3-39), who is fast be-coming something of a national hero, and quick Mitchell Starc (3-46) the pick of the bowlers.

It was sweet revenge for Australia after a nail-biting 31-run defeat in the series-opener at Adelaide Oval and ensured captain Tim Paine his first win in five Tests as skipper.

“As a group we’re relieved, it’s been hard work,” Paine told reporters.

“The first two Tests in this series have been tough. It’s been a bruis-ing Test match. To get a win like that against the number one Test team is going to give us a huge boost of con-fidence.” India, looking for a first Test series win in Australia, had pinned their faint hopes on Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant when they resumed on 112-5 but they all but evaporated when the former fell for 28 in the sixth over of the morning.

When Pant miscued a slog off Lyon to be brilliant caught by a diving Peter Handscomb at mid-wicket for 30, India simply imploded, los-ing their last four wickets for just three runs.

It was Austra-lia’s first win since March 5 in Durban – before the damaging ball-tampering scandal in South Africa that rocked the nation.

Without suspended former captain and vice-captain, Steve Smith and Da-vid Warner, Australia’s shallow bat-ting depth has been laid bare.

This, though, was a much improved effort on a troublesome drop-in wicket and the 326 the hosts made in the first innings after Paine had won the toss and decided to bat first was instrumen-tal in the victory.

Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch and Travis Head each compiled half-cen-turies in the first innings and Usman Khawaja grabbed another as Australia tallied 243 in the second.

India, by contrast, looked reliant on their talismanic captain Virat Kohli, who contributed 123 of India’s 283 runs in the first innings with the only century of the match.

The tourists will regret their gamble at the selection table, playing without a specialist spinner in the absence of the injured Ravichandran Ashwin.

Speedster Umesh Yadav was pre-ferred over spinning all-rounder Ra-vindra Jadeja, but struggled with match figures of 2-139.

India’s lengthy tail was also ex-posed on the grassy wicket with the four tailenders mustering just 11 runs between them for the match.

Kohli defended the selection of Ya-dav, who claimed 10 wickets in his last Test against the West Indies in Octo-ber, even though off-spinner Lyon dominated for Australia with 8-106 through his targeting of the expansive rough patches.

“If you see the rough, it didn’t have much assistance. Just the pace on the ball that Lyon bowled with ... that’s how he got the wickets,” Kohli said.

“We thought a fast bowler was go-ing to be more productive and more helpful.” It was a tempestuous contest at times with both skippers at the cen-tre of the tension with several heated exchanges conjuring images of ill-feeling from previous series between the cricketing superpowers.

“Nothing compared to 2014,” said Kohli, who was part of a bitter feud with former quick Mitchell Johnson during the 2014-15 series.

“As long as there is no swearing and personal attacks then the line doesn’t get crossed. Australia played better cricket than us and deserved to win.” The Test was the first at the new 60,000-seat stadium located in Burswood after a 47-year run at the WACA but crowds were disappointing especially when fierce heat blighted the early part of the match.

The series shifts to the traditional Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground followed by the finale in Sydney.

Australia’s Nathan Lyon bowls during play in the second cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia on Dec 18. (AP)

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Scoreboard Australia vs India Scoreboard

WELLINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Scoreboard at stumps on the fourth day of 1st Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Monday.SRI LANKA 1st inningsD. Gunathilaka lbw Southee ............. 1D. Karunaratne c Watling b Wagner ..79D. de Silva c Watling b Southee ....... 1K. Mendis c Patel b Southee ............ 2A. Mathews c Watling b Southee.... 83D. Chandimal c Patel b Southee ...... 6N. Dickwella not out ........................ 80D. Perera c Watling b Grandhomme ..16S. Lakmal c Nicholls b Wagner......... 3K. Rajitha c Watling b Boult .............. 2L. Kumara c Grandhomme b Southee .0Extras: (7lb, 2nb) .............................. 9Total: (all out, 90 overs) ................ 282

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Gunathilaka), 2-7 (de Silva), 3-9 (Mendis), 4-142 (Karunaratne), 5-167 (Chandimal), 6-187 (Mathews), 7-223 (Perera), 8-240 (Lakmal), 9-275 (Rajitha), 10-282 (Kumara)

Bowling: Boult 27-6-83-1, Southee 27-7-68-6, Grandhomme 13-2-35-1, Wagner 20-2-75-2, Patel 3-0-14-0

NEW ZEALAND 1st inningsJ. Raval c Dickwella b Kumara ....... 43T. Latham not out ......................... 264K. Williamson c Rajitha b de Silva .. 91R. Taylor c Karunaratne b Kumara . 50H. Nicholls c Rajitha b Perera......... 50B.J. Watling c Dickwella b Kumara ... 0C. de Grandhomme c Rajitha b de Silva ................................................ 49

T. Southee run out Chandimal.......... 6N. Wagner c de Silva b Lakmal ........ 0A. Patel b Perera .............................. 6T. Boult c Dickwella b Kumara........ 11Extras: (5lb, 2nb, 1w)........................ 8Total: (all out, 157.3 overs) ........... 578

Fall of Wickets: 1-59 (Raval), 2-221 (Williamson), 3-312 (Taylor), 4-426 (Nicholls), 5-426 (Watling), 6-499 (Grandhomme), 7-520 (Southee), 8-520 (Wagner), 9-549 (Patel), 10-578 (Boult)

Bowling: Lakmal 31-6-88-1, Rajitha 34-5-144-0, Mathews 4-3-1-0, Perera 40-1-156-2, Kumara 31.3-2-127-4, de Silva 15-0-54-2, Gunathilaka 2-1-3-0

SRI LANKA 2nd inningsD. Gunathilaka lbw Boult .................. 3D. Karunaratne c Boult b Southee .. 10D. de Silva b Southee ....................... 0K. Mendis not out.......................... 116A. Mathews not out ....................... 117Extras: (2lb, 3nb, 8w)...................... 13Total: (3 wkts, 102 overs) ............. 259

Fall of Wickets: 1-5 (Gunathilaka), 2-10 (de Silva), 3-13 (Karunaratne)

Still to bat: Chandimal, Dickwella, Perera, Lakmal, Rajitha, Kumara

Bowling: Southee 20-6-36-2, Boult 21-3-50-1, Wagner 21-2-100-0, Grandhomme 13-4-24-0, Patel 26-8-46-0, Raval 1-0-1-0

Umpires: Michael Gough, Rodney Tucker

TV Umpire: Richard Illingworth Match Referee: Richard Richard-

son

PERTH, Dec 18, (RTRS): Scoreboard at close of play on the fifth day of 2nd Test between Australia and India on Tuesday.

AUSTRALIA 1st innings M. Harris c Rahane b Vihari ...........70A. Finch lbw Bumrah ......................50U. Khawaja c Pant b Yadav ..............5S. Marsh c Rahane b Vihari............45P. Handscomb c Kohli b Sharma......7T. Head c Shami b Sharma ............58T. Paine lbw Bumrah ......................38P. Cummins b Yadav ......................19M. Starc c Pant b Sharma ................6N. Lyon not out .................................9J. Hazlewood c Pant b Sharma ........0Extras: (4b, 7lb, 1nb, 7w)................19Total: (all out, 108.3 overs) ...........326

Fall of Wickets: 1-112 (Finch), 2-130 (Khawaja), 3-134 (Harris), 4-148 (Handscomb), 5-232 (Marsh), 6-251 (Head), 7-310 (Cummins), 8-310 (Paine), 9-326 (Starc), 10-326 (Hazlewood)

Bowling: Sharma 20.3-7-41-4, Bumrah 26-8-53-2, Yadav 23-3-78-2, Shami 24-3-80-0, Vihari 14-1-53-2, Vijay 1-0-10-0

INDIA 1st inningsK.L. Rahul b Hazlewood ...................2M. Vijay b Starc ................................0C. Pujara c Paine b Starc ...............24V. Kohli c Handscomb b Cummins 123A. Rahane c Paine b Lyon ..............51H. Vihari c Paine b Hazlewood .......20R. Pant c Starc b Lyon....................36M. Shami c Paine b Lyon..................0I. Sharma c&b Lyon ..........................1U. Yadav not out ...............................4J. Bumrah c Khawaja b Lyon ............4Extras: (4b, 7lb, 2nb, 5w)................18Total: (all out, 105.5 overs) ...........283

Fall of Wickets: 1-6 (Vijay), 2-8 (Rahul), 3-82 (Pujara), 4-173 (Ra-hane), 5-223 (Vihari), 6-251 (Kohli), 7-252 (Shami), 8-254 (Sharma), 9-279 (Pant), 10-283 (Bumrah)

Bowling: Starc 24-4-79-2, Hazle-wood 21-8-66-2, Cummins 26-4-60-1,

Lyon 34.5-7-67-5AUSTRALIA 2nd innings

M. Harris b Bumrah ........................20A. Finch c Pant b Shami .................25U. Khawaja c Pant b Shami ............72S. Marsh c Pant b Shami ..................5P. Handscomb lbw Sharma ............13T. Head c Sharma b Shami ............19T. Paine c Kohli b Shami ................37P. Cummins b Bumrah 1 M. Starc b Bumrah..........................14N. Lyon c Vihari b Shami ..................5J. Hazlewood not out ......................17Extras: (8b 3lb, 4w).........................15Total: (all out, 93.2 overs) .............243Fall of Wickets: 1-59 (Harris), 2-64 (Marsh), 3-85 (Handscomb), 4-120 (Head), 5-192 (Paine), 6-192 (Finch), 7-198 (Khawaja), 8-198 (Cummins), 9-207 (Lyon), 10-243 (Starc) Bowling: Sharma 16-1-45-1, Bumrah 25.2-10-39-3, Shami 24-8-56-6, Ya-dav 14-0-61-0, Vihari 14-4-31-0

INDIA 2nd inningsK.L. Rahul b Starc ............................0M. Vijay b Lyon ...............................20C. Pujara c Paine b Hazlewood ........4V. Kohli c Khawaja b Lyon ..............17A. Rahane c Head b Hazlewood ....30H. Vihari c Harris b Starc ................28R. Pant c Handscomb b Lyon .........30U. Yadav c&b Starc ..........................2I. Sharma c Paine b Cummins ..........0J. Bumrah c&b Cummins ..................0Extras: (6b, 3w) ................................9Total: (all out, 56 overs) ................140

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Rahul), 2-13 (Pujara), 3-48 (Kohli), 4-55 (Vijay), 5-98 (Rahane), 6-119 (Vihari), 7-137 (Pant), 8-139 (Yadav), 9-140 (Shar-ma), 10-140 (Bumrah)

Did not bat: ShamiBowling: Starc 17-3-46-3, Hazle-

wood 11-3-24-2, Cummins 9-0-25-2, Lyon 19-3-39-3

Umpires: Christopher Gaffaney, Handunnettige Dharmasena

TV Umpire: Nigel Llong Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle

Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis celebrates after scoring a century during play on day four of the first cricket Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in

Wellington, New Zealand on Dec 18. (AP)

Gore expected to miss the remainder of season

NEW YORK, Dec 18, (RTRS): Nick Foles will make another start for the Philadelphia Eagles after leading a 30-23 upset of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, coach Doug Pederson announced Monday.

Carson Wentz remains out with a back injury but will not yet be placed on injured reserve, Peder-son said of the Eagles’ approach to Week 16 against the Houston Tex-ans.

Wentz has a fractured vertebra that might require three months of rest to fully heal.

Foles fi nished 24 of 31 for 270 yards and an interception Sunday as the Eagles put up 30 points in a game for just the second time this season.

❑ ❑ ❑

The New York Giants were of-fi cially eliminated from postseason contention Sunday, but coach Pat Shurmur said Monday he would start quarterback Eli Manning again in Week 16 at the Indianapo-lis Colts.

Shurmur didn’t rule out the pos-sibility of fourth-round rookie Kyle Lauletta seeing more action, but he was clear the Giants won’t just be evaluating talent for the future. The coach also indicated the team isn’t in a hurry to move on from Man-

ning, whom Shurmur said he still believes has “years” left as an NFL starter.

Asked if he wants Manning back on the roster in 2019, Shurmur re-plied, “Yeah. I want all our play-ers to be back. I believe experience matters.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Miami Dolphins running back Frank Gore is expected to miss the

remainder of the season af-ter being cart-ed off the fi eld Sunday due to a sprained left foot.

Further tests revealed the extent of the sprain, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter re-

ported that the 35-year-old is not ex-pected to play again this season.

❑ ❑ ❑

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid confi rmed that cornerback Kendall Fuller had surgery to re-pair a wrist injury, but contrary to previous reports, Reid said Fuller may not miss any time at all.

On Friday, NFL Network re-ported that Fuller, 23, was to undergo surgery and likely miss

time with a fractured wrist, an in-jury he played with Thursday in a one-point loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

❑ ❑ ❑

Eddie Jackson appears to have escaped major injury, Bears coach Matt Nagy told reporters, after the safety went down late Sunday in Chicago’s win over the Green Bay Packers.

Nagy said Jackson, who sprained his right ankle, and outside line-backer Aaron Lynch, who hurt his elbow, were both having more tests done Monday on their injuries. Nagy added, “I don’t think either one of them is season-ending.”

❑ ❑ ❑

Things appear to be trending up for Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry and running back Melvin Gordon as they recover from knee injuries.

Henry, who has spent all year on the physically unable to per-form list after tearing his ACL on May 22, practiced Monday for the first time since the injury, open-ing a three-week window in which he can be activated to the 53-man roster.

Foles to start again for Eagles

Gore

FOOTBALL

CRICKET

CRICKET

Kohli

Nasukawa looks for real fightMATSUDO, Japan, Dec 18, (AP): To Floyd Mayweather, his three-round match on New Year’s Eve in Japan is for entertainment only.

To opponent Tenshin Nasukawa, the “exhibition” is as serious as a kick to the head.

Which is what he wishes he could do to Mayweather.

But the rules of their match pro-hibit the unheralded kickboxer from kicking. So he’s taken a crash course in boxing. Among his advisers was three-weight world champion Jorge Linares.

“I can change the world with my fi st,” Nasukawa said in his quiet voice on Tuesday after a demonstration workout at his family’s Teppen Gym in the Tokyo suburb of Matsudo.

Except, he really can’t change the world. There will be no judges and no offi cial result.

When 20-year-old Nasukawa’s peo-ple were last month touting a real bout, the 41-year-old Mayweather walked away. He hasn’t fought since beating Conor McGregor more than a year

ago for his 50th win from 50 fi ghts. He returned to this matchup only after getting the rules clarifi ed to make his fi rst bout in Japan more about “enter-tainment.”

CONMEBOL doublesCopa ‘prize money’ASUNCION, Dec 18, (RTRS): The prize pot for the Copa Libertadores will more than double next year, the South American Football Confedera-tion (CONMEBOL) said on Monday, but the continental championship will still trail a long way behind the Euro-pean Champions League.

Clubs competing in South Amer-ica’s premier club competition will share $161.9 million in 2019, up 56 percent from $103.85m this year, with the champions expected to bank at least $20.4 million, CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez said.

“Our administration is keeping its promise to generate more value for South American football and reinvest-ing it in development,” Dominguez said at the draw for the 2019 tourna-ment in Paraguay.

By comparison, UEFA will dis-tribute 1.94 billion Euros ($2.20 bil-lion) to the clubs that qualified for the Champions League group stage in 2018/19.

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Published by: Arab Times Publishing House

Editor-in-ChiefAHMED AL JARALLAH

Editorial Office:Airport Road, ShuwaikhP.O. Box 2270, 13023 Safat, Kuwait

Telephone: 24813566 & 24849144Fax: 24818267E-mail: [email protected]

Advertising: Tel: 55633481Fax: 24911307E-mail: [email protected]

Annual Subscriptions:Individuals KD 45/- Companies and Offi cialDepartments KD 75 Airmail charges extra for overseas

Tel: 24849144Fax: 24839487

Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com

ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018 32

PR

IME

TIM

E wednesday— (all times are kuwait local)

Sports10:05 swimming ............................. bein sports 10hd11:00 basketball .............................. bein sports 8hd11:10 cricket ................................... bein sports 13hd15:15 basketball .............................. bein sports 10hd17:00 equestrian ................................ bein sports hd 18:30 kashima vs real/soccer ............ bein sports 1hd22:45 chelsea vs bournemouth/soccer .... bein sports 1hd22:45 arsenal vs spurs/soccer ............ bein sports 2hd

Mexico’s Guadalajara’s Miguel Ponce and Tunisia’s ES Tunis’ Anice Badri fight for the ball during the Club World Cup soccer match for the fifth place between ES Tunis and Guadalajara at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain,

United Arab Emirates on Dec 18. (AP)

‘No player power involved’

United sack Mourinho after dire startLONDON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Jose Mourinho’s relationship with Man-chester United reached the point of ir-retrievable breakdown a long time ago but the club fi nally served the divorce papers on Tuesday as the world’s big-gest club sacked the game’s most fa-mous manager.

The decision came as United la-boured to their worst start for 28 years, playing dull, defensive football, with Mourinho cutting an ever-angrier fi g-ure after each setback, but Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by Liverpool was one hu-miliation too far.

After decades of being the biggest fi sh in the English soccer pond, United had just about come to terms with the fact that bottomless new funding had enabled Chelsea and then Manches-ter City to displace them in terms of spending power and trophy accumula-tion.

But when Liverpool, in whose shad-ow United laboured for so long before Alex Ferguson fi nally “knocked them off their perch”, brushed them aside on Sunday like the mediocre mid-table team they have become, it was the end of the line for the Portuguese coach.

“Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect,” the 20-times English title winners said in a brief statement.

That followed Sunday’s defeat that left them 19 points behind Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool side in sixth place and 11 points off the Champions League places. The 29 goals they have conceded is their worst at this stage of a season for 56 years.

For the current crop of United fans and offi cials who gorged on success during Alex Ferguson’s 26-year reign that is just not acceptable.

Mourinho will point to the fact that after replacing Dutchman Louis van Gaal in May 2016 he won the Europa League and the League Cup in his fi rst season, before guiding United to sec-ond place and a place in the FA Cup fi nal, where they were beaten by Chel-

sea, in his second.His 58.33% win record is consider-

ably better than that of David Moyes (52.94) and Van Gaal (52.43) and only marginally behind Ferguson’s 59.67.

But those fi gures mask the fact that he has been poor against the other top-six teams, while his tactical approach has alienated just about everyone at the club.

With every passing defeat he found new ways to blame the players while reminding his critics of his previous successes at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Mi-lan and Real Madrid.

If he had failed while trying to win with United’s customary panache he may have survived a little longer.

But while City, Liverpool and Tot-tenham Hotspur have been thrilling fans with their swashbuckling ap-proach, Mourinho has become the

arch-proponent of “parking the bus” – a phrase he introduced to English foot-ball’s lexicon when complaining about teams packing their defense to foil his exciting Chelsea team.

His fallout with 90 million pounds ($114.17 million) French midfi elder Paul Pogba summed up his failure.

Good enough to inspire France to win the World Cup this summer, Pogba has spent the last two weeks sit-ting on the bench, effectively punished for daring to suggest the team should be more attacking and play like the Wolverhampton Wanderers team who drew 1-1 at Old Trafford.

Instead Mourinho has opted for the sturdier qualities of the likes of Ne-manja Matic and Marouane Fellaini.

Mourinho, bucking the trend of “ul-timate responsibility” has been ever-more critical of his players, accusing them of lacking technical expertise, mental fortitude and physical resil-ience.

The smiling, charming Mourinho who arrived at Chelsea declaring him-self “a special one” 14 years ago, has long been replaced by a surly, hag-gered-looking operator, dismissive of any and all questioning of his personal responsibility.

However, a club insider close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday the no-tion that “player power” had played any part in his sacking was simply untrue.

“The decision had been entirely down to the way the club have been playing”, the source said, also claim-ing that Mourinho had been committed to the principle of fast, attacking, high-tempo football for which the club has long been famed.

Mourinho has repeatedly said he cannot compete with the spending power of City and Liverpool, ignoring the fact that he has signed 400 mil-lion pounds of talent over the last two years.

In this Aug 10, 2018 file photo Man-chester United’s manager Jose Mourinho reacts in frustration during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Leicester City at Old Trafford, in

Manchester, England. (AP)

Saints on the brink ofhome-field advantage

New Orleans D puts clamps on Newton

CHARLOTTE, NC, Dec 18, (AP): Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still have one of the league’s top-scoring offenses, but lately it’s the defense that’s been carrying the NFL’s most complete team.

On a night when Brees and the offense couldn’t get much going and made some uncharacteristic mistakes, New Orleans put the clamps on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in a 12-9 vic-tory on Monday night, moving the Saints into position to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

“I believe in us, game in and game out, first quarter to fourth quarter,” defen-sive end Cam Jordan said. “If it comes down to a crucial play, I believe in us.” The Saints (12-2) held an opponent to 17 points or fewer for a sixth straight game. They limited Newton to 131 yards pass-ing, sacked him four times and forced two turnovers. Carolina (6-8), which lost its sixth straight, had just 247 yards and 13 first downs. The Panthers’ only scores came on a trick play on fourth down and an interception return on a 2-point con-version attempt.

“So proud of the defense,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I thought they were outstanding. It’s tough to win a division game on the road and we were able to do that.” Alvin Kamara had 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, and Brees had 203 yards passing for the Saints, who took a one-game lead in the NFC over the Rams. The Saints close the season at home against Pittsburgh and Carolina; the Rams visit Arizona and host San Francisco.

Newton struggled throwing the ball more than 10 yards downfield because of a lingering sore right shoulder. He said after the game he’s unsure what the injury is, but he mentioned his la-brum and rotator cuff as possible is-sues. He has been limited in practice for weeks and doesn’t have the zip on the ball he normally has.

So much for his boast that the Pan-thers were bringing a cup to steal the “juice” from the Saints.

New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas (13) and Carolina Panthers’ James Bradberry (24) grab each other’s face masks in the second half of an NFL

football game in Charlotte, NC, on Dec 17. (AP)

NFL/Standings

WASHINGTON, Dec 18, (RTRS): Standings from the NFL on Monday.American Football Conference

AFC East W L T PF PA PCTNE Patriots 9 5 0 374 310 .643Miami 7 7 0 295 374 .500Buffalo 5 9 0 215 333 .357NY Jets 4 10 0 292 359 .286

AFC North W L T PF PA PCTPittsburgh 8 5 1 384 316 .607Baltimore 8 6 0 341 253 .571Cleveland 6 7 1 309 348 .464Cincinnati 6 8 0 337 413 .429

AFC South W L T PF PA PCTHouston 10 4 0 352 281 .714Indianapolis 8 6 0 372 300 .571Tennessee 8 6 0 268 254 .571Jacksonville 4 10 0 225 289 .286

AFC West W L T PF PA PCTKansas City 11 3 0 499 380 .786LA Chargers 11 3 0 395 298 .786Denver 6 8 0 306 299 .429Oakland 3 11 0 260 418 .214

National Football ConferenceNFC East

W L T PF PA PCTDallas 8 6 0 276 269 .571Philadelphia 7 7 0 311 318 .500Washington 7 7 0 265 310 .500NY Giants 5 9 0 307 348 .357

NFC North W L T PF PA PCTChicago 10 4 0 383 264 .714Minnesota 7 6 1 323 308 .536Green Bay 5 8 1 332 331 .393Detroit 5 9 0 284 333 .357

NFC South W L T PF PA PCTNew Orleans 12 2 0 459 292 .857Carolina 6 8 0 333 344 .429Atlanta 5 9 0 356 381 .357Tampa Bay 5 9 0 344 403 .357

NFC West W L T PF PA PCTLA Rams 11 3 0 448 343 .786Seattle 8 6 0 363 292 .571SF 49ers 4 10 0 301 373 .286Arizona 3 11 0 192 367 .214

“(Newton) said something along the lines of they brought their own cup, a juice box or something, I don’t know what it was,” Jordan said. “But I do know that he’s got to go back to the refrigera-tor and pull out a bigger cup.” The Saints swept three games from the Panthers last season and knocked them out of the playoffs, prompting Jordan to send New-ton a bottle of red wine in the offseason, while some other teammates gave him a broom. This loss likely ended Carolina’s playoff hopes again.

Newton said his shoulder simply isn’t getting better – or worse – and he refused to blame the injury, say-ing, “I have to be better.” “Our defense played a hell of a game and we have to reward them,” Newton said. “We had two turnovers in the red zone and that comes down to execution.” The Pan-thers struck first after offensive coor-dinator Norv Turner dug into his bag of tricks.

On a fourth-and-2 from midfield, Christian McCaffrey got a hand-off, took a step toward the line, then stepped back and lofted a perfect pass over the middle to tight end Chris Manhertz, who was 15 yards behind the defense. Manhertz trotted into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. It was McCaffrey’s first ca-reer pass attempt, although he threw two TD passes while at Stanford. He

became the first non-QB to throw a TD pass in Panthers history.

Eli Apple intercepted Newton in the end zone with 10 seconds left in the first half.

“I knew they were going to take a shot,” Apple said. “They ran a fade route. I just tried to get my head around and make a play on the ball.” The Panthers held the Saints in check for most of the third quarter, but the game changed when Panthers receiver D.J. Moore fumbled on an inside handoff.

Messi receives fifthGolden Shoe awardBARCELONA, Spain, Dec 18, (AP): Lionel Messi has received his record fi fth Golden Shoe award for leading all of Europe’s leagues in scoring last season.

Messi’s fi fth win breaks the tie he had with Cristiano Ron-aldo.

Messi scored 34 goals in the Spanish League last season to lead Barcelona to the trophy. Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was the second leading scorer of Europe’s domestic leagues with 32 goals in England.

Messi also won the award in 2009-10 (34 goals), 2011-12 (50), 2012-13 (46) and 2016-17 (37).

The 31-year-old Messi is Bar-celona’s all-time leading scorer. The club credits him with 572 goals in 655 games.

The Golden Shoe is awarded by European Sports Media, an association of European sports newspapers and magazines.

Barcelona say defender Thomas Vermaelen has injured a muscle in his right leg and will be sidelined for a month.

Vermaelen injured his leg during Barcelona’s 5-0 win at Levante on Sunday.

That leaves Barcelona with Gerard Pique and Clement Len-glet as their only center backs, with Samuel Umtiti also side-lined while recovering from a left-knee injury.

FOOTBALL

SOCCER

emergency number NO. 16956 32 PAGES 150 FILS Education … · can side is really striving to...

Documents

Transcript of emergency number NO. 16956 32 PAGES 150 FILS Education … · can side is really striving to...