WEDNESDAY Vol. XXXVI No. 9896

November 4, 2015Moharram 21, 1437 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals GULF TIMES

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32, 33

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1 – 12

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18 – 31

INDEX

QATAR | Response

Applications to invest in new logistics areasThe logistics committee at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has received 1,594 applications to invest in new logistics areas lying to the west of Al Wakrah, Berkat Al Awamer and Aba Al Salil. The committee has extended working hours during weekends, including on Friday, November 6, from 3pm to 6pm to give applicants more time to submit their documents at Manateq. The deadline for receiving applications is 2pm on November 9, while allocation cheques can be submitted until 2pm on November 12. The number of applications has exceeded the plots of land off ered for the project.

REGION | Weather

Rare cyclone batters Yemen A cyclone with hurricane-force winds made landfall on Yemen’s Arabian Sea coast yesterday, flooding the country’s fifth-largest city Mukalla and sending thousands of people fleeing for shelter. Off icials and meteorologists say the storm is the most intense in decades in the arid country. Page 16

ASIA | Diplomacy

Chinese and Taiwanleader set to meet Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday, Ma’s off ice said, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the two rivals since the end of a civil war in 1949. Page 21

In brief

SPORT | Page 9

QATAR | Page 10

Ashghal to launch major wastewater treatment projects

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meeting with the US first lady Michelle Obama at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. During the meeting, attended by the delegation accompanying Michelle Obama, they reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on a number of topics of mutual interest, particularly in the educational fields. Michelle Obama is in Doha to take part in the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), starting at Qatar National Convention Centre today. Page 3

Emir meets US fi rst lady

By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has achieved yet an-other milestone by success-

fully completing the fi rst stem cell transplants in Qatar.

The procedures benefi ted two ex-patriates who had an aggressive form of blood cancer called “myeloma”. Considered as a major development for Qatar in treating blood cancers, the entire procedure was done by a team of clinicians at HMC’s National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR).

The team had been trained exten-sively on bone marrow transplant and worked with top medical institutions in the world.

“We made a tremendous step for-ward and this will ensure in the future that treatment which is available only abroad is also off ered here to our Qa-tari and expatriate population,” Prof Alexander Knuth, medical director at NCCCR, told a press conference yes-terday.

The team followed the internation-al standards as outlined by the Joint Accreditation Committee of Inter-national Society for Cellular Thera-pies and the European Bone Marrow Transplant Organisation where Qatar is a member now.

“The aim is to establish a Trans-plant Centre of Excellence for the treatment of cancer in Qatar and the wider Gulf region,” Prof Knuth ex-plained.

NCCCR performs the autologous transplant which uses the patient’s own stem cell for transplant. It is also known as a highly eff ective therapy and the only hope for a cure for people with blood cancer similar to another type of procedure called allogeneic transplant.

For allogeneic, Prof Knuth ex-plained that stem cells come from a

diff erent individual (or donor) than from the patient.

“Initially when we were launching this programme we were also debat-ing whether we will start with alloge-neic versus autologous but we decided to take the latter because it was easier for it to establish at this time,” he said.

The entire procedure started by eliminating the cancer from the two patients and after complete remission of the disease, autologous transplant followed.

In Qatar, the NCCCR recorded about 500 people – an average of 160 cases per year – who have blood can-cers (Qataris and non-Qataris) in the past three years and are candidates for the treatment.

Around 30 cases can be treated with autologous transplant annually. Cur-rently, NCCCR’s list has 16 to 17 pa-tients but this keeps changing from time to time.

Prof Knuth said some patients were added while others had been removed from the list depending on their con-dition.

The disease is more prevalent among adults (90%) than children (10%), he stressed but cases would still depend on the type of disease since some blood cancers are pre-

dominantly among children, which are usually lymphatic.

While the percentage is regarded as a very small minority of children, NC-CCR plans to create a paediatric pro-gramme for its second phase.

“First we establish the adult pro-gramme and when all is running well and receives proper accreditation then we will move into the other com-ponents,” Prof Knuth said.

The stem cell transplant centre at NCCCR features state-of-the-art equipment and a specialised ward lauded by many visitors from abroad.

For the past few years, HMC had been working on the development of the stem cell transplant programme in Qatar.

Instead of travelling abroad to seek medical treatment, HMC manag-ing director Dr Hanan al-Kuwari said patients can stay in Qatar and benefi t from this type of advanced treatment. Recovery time, as well as the risk of infection, is less.

“Development of programmes like this is so important because it helps us deliver the safest, most eff ective care for our patients – we want to make sure they are given the best possible opportunity for a long and healthy life,” she noted. Page 34

HMC team performs Qatar’s fi rst stem cell transplants

HMC managing director Dr Hanan al-Kuwari exchanging pleasantries with one of the two patients who successfully underwent the first stem cell transplants in Qatar.

New budget to focus on effi ciency in spending The Emir stresses the government will continue with infrastructure and human development projects despite the decline in oil prices

Qatar will put together a state budget for 2016 that avoids a big defi cit despite the eff ect on

revenues from low oil and gas prices, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said yesterday.

“It will take the fall in oil prices into consideration, so as to avoid a big budget defi cit that may cause harm,” Sheikh Tamim said in a speech, inau-gurating the 44th ordinary session of the Advisory Council.

He noted that the coming budget would focus on effi ciency in govern-ment spending. It would also tend to promote growth and expansion in non-oil sectors to diversify the economy.

Sheikh Tamim said the government would continue to spend on building infrastructure, social welfare projects and diversifying the economy.

But he said Qatar would in future rely more on the private sector and give it more room to operate without compe-tition from state fi rms. A comprehen-sive review of all state-owned compa-nies has been carried out, he said.

“After submitting this review to the Supreme Council for Economic Aff airs and Investment, I have directed that subsidies for a number of these com-panies be ceased, and some to be pri-vatised,” Sheikh Tamim said without naming the fi rms.

Sheikh Tamim said the drop in en-ergy prices could help Qatar correct “negative phenomena” that had ac-companied the country’s astonishing accumulation of wealth over the past two decades.

He warned of “wasteful spending, overstaffi ng and a lack of accountabil-ity” in the country, and raised concerns about “dependency on the state to pro-vide for everything”.

This “reduces the motivation of in-dividuals to take initiatives and be pro-gressive,” he said.

The Emir said that legislative poli-cies in Qatar were primarily directed to achieve the goals specifi ed by the Per-manent Constitution, namely: to pro-ceed with establishing and developing the state of law and institutions, or-ganising the three powers of the state, maintaining and promoting the basic components of the family and soci-ety, and the creative balance between respect for the citizens’ rights and the public interest of the society and the homeland, and providing means of a decent life for the Qatari citizen now and future.

“In the past years we issued, with your valuable contributions and dili-

gent eff ort, many legislations in all these fi elds, especially regarding the organisation of the state apparatus, health and education, organising the economic activity, providing care for the family and the community, etc. We still have more to do because our de-termination to pursue progress for our country and the well-being of our peo-ple is limitless,” the Emir said.

Despite the instability in the Middle East, and the sharp drop in the oil and gas prices, the Emir said that Qatar’s economy had maintained its strength through 2014 with the growth rate of GDP at constant prices reaching about 6.1%.

“Its importance is noticeable when compared with the growth rates in the other oil-exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa, where the growth rate was 2.4%, and with an average growth rate standing at 3.6% of gross domestic product in the GCC countries, to which we belong,” the Emir noted.

What was more striking was that at the time of a drop of 1.5% in the contri-bution of the main component of GDP, which is the oil and gas sector, the non-oil sector contribution had increased by about 11%, the Emir pointed out.

The Emir said that this growth had been coupled with the continuation of a high level of confi dence in Qatar’s economy by global rating agencies. Qa-tar has achieved advanced positions in global competitiveness indexes.

“Also, a global credit rating insti-tution has upgraded Qatar Stock Ex-change to Emerging Markets Status (EMS) from Frontier Market (FM).”

However, the Emir cautioned that the steep decline in energy prices re-quired alertness.

“I stress that it requires caution and alertness but not fear. Diff erentiation here is important, alertness is realistic and useful in public policies, but fear is not realistic and harmful, and does not help in drawing up the right policies, as it spreads the sort of climate that nega-tively impacts the economy and invest-ment, and hence becomes like a false self-fulfi lling prophecy,” he underlined.

“Caution must prompt us to be frank with each other, to band together in the face of challenges, and to be vigilant in rejecting the two extreme trends: the unjustifi ed panic on the one hand and the self-delusion that is refl ected in embellishing reality for self-satisfac-tion, on the other hand.”

He noted that Qatar had passed through much more diffi cult stages than the current one when its economy was not at this level of confi guration and the energy industry in the country had not reached at such a high level of development. To Page 12

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani speaking at the inauguration of the 44th ordinary session of the Advisory Council.

Oil prices rally on talk of fi rmer market AFPNew York

Oil prices climbed yesterday on talk of a fi rmer market ahead of the US petroleum report, ex-

pected to show refi neries continued to

gear up to meet higher crude demand. The US benchmark West Texas Inter-

mediate contract surged nearly 4% as traders bet that the Department of En-ergy data will show refi nery utilisation rates rose for a third consecutive week last week, by 0.3 percentage point, ac-cording to a Bloomberg News survey.

The DoE’s weekly report also was forecast to show that crude oil stock-piles rose by the smallest amount in six weeks, 2.25mn barrels.

“The oil market continues to refl ect an enduring optimism that the reduc-tion in non-Opec investment of the past year will be suffi cient to rebalance

the market and support at least some degree of upward correction in prices,” said Tim Evans of Citi Futures.

US benchmark West Texas Interme-diate for delivery in December jumped $1.76 to $47.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest level in more than three weeks.

QATAR3Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser welcomed the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama to Qatar Foundation. They discussed ways to help more children in communities across the globe make the critical transition from primary to secondary education. PICTURE: A R Al-Baker/ HHOPL

Sheikha Moza holds talks with Michelle Obama at QF HH Sheikha Moza bint

Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation

for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), welcomed the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama to Qatar Foundation yesterday.

HH Sheikha Moza and the US fi rst lady discussed ways to help more children - par-ticularly adolescent girls - in communities across the globe make that critical transition from primary to secondary education. They also explored potential ar-

eas of collaboration between the Education Above All foundation, established by Sheikha Moza in 2012, and the fi rst lady’s initiative Let Girls Learn.

During the visit, Obama also met HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, QF Vice-Chairperson and En-gineer Saad Ebrahim al-Muhannadi, QF President. Michelle Obama was also given a tour of the QF Visi-tors Centre.

Today, Michelle Obama will deliver remarks at the 2015 World Innova-

tion Summit for Education (WISE), addressing an au-dience of education leaders from the region and around the world about global girls’ education and the Let Girls Learn initiative.

At the opening ceremony of WISE today, HH Sheikha Moza will speak on how edu-cation has come under at-tack, both regionally and glo-bally. She will also offi cially inaugurate the WISE Summit and announce the 2015 WISE Prize for Education Laureate.

Qatar Foundation Presi-dent Engineer Saad Ebrahim

al-Muhannadi said: “We are honoured to welcome the fi rst lady of the United States Michelle Obama to Qatar Foundation and to provide her with an over-view of our work.

“We are also pleased that the fi rst lady will be ad-dressing the international education conference being held by WISE and we look forward to Mrs Obama’s keynote speech and her contribution and input on the important subject of the need for further investment in education.”

QATAR

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20156

A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a GCC citizen to three years in jail for possessing illicit drugs meant for consumption and sale, local Arabic daily has Arrayah reported. The court has also imposed a fine of QR200,000 on him.Acting on a tip, the Drug Prevention Department at the Ministry of Interior and the police staged a sting operation and arrested the defendant. The drugs were found in his possession, following a thorough search.

HE the Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Major General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah met a delegation of the Nato parliamentary committee headed by Jan Arild Ellingsen in Doha yesterday. They discussed co-operation in the military field between the two sides

and ways of developing it, as well as the current situation in the region. The meeting was attended by HE Chief of Staff of the Qatari Armed Forces Major General Ghanim bin Shaheen al-Ghanim, and senior commanders of the armed forces. HE

the Minister of State for Defence Aff airs also met David Cvach, adviser to the French president for North Africa and the Middle East, and Lewis Fassi, Diplomatic Adviser to the French Minister of Defence. They discussed relations between Qatar and France.

GCC citizenjailed overillicit drugs

Defence Minister meets Nato delegation

Jail and fi nefor drunkendisturbance

A Doha Criminal Court has sentenced a Nepalese man to two

months in jail for causing disturbance in a drunken state to others, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported.

The court has also or-dered him to pay a fi ne of QR3,000. One night, the defendant went back to his accommodation after hav-ing some drinks. He started raising his voice and woke up his colleagues in the camp while being in an in-ebriated state.

The person in charge of the camp tried to calm him down, but the latter did not pay heed and began quarrel-ling with the others. Even-tually, the police were called to bring the situation under control.

A blood sample was taken from the man for analysis, which proved that he was in an inebriated condition. Accordingly, the court es-tablished his guilt and sen-tenced him.

HE the Minister of Foreign Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met the French president’s adviser for North Africa and the Middle East David Cvach in Doha yesterday. They discussed bilateral relations between Qatar and France and ways of enhancing them in addition to issues of common interest. The Foreign Minister also met Nato members of parliamentary sub-committee on energy and environmental security led by Jan Arild. Talks during the meeting focused on ways to enhance co-operation between Qatar and Nato as well as issues of common interest.

FM meets French president’s adviser

QATAR

Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 20158

QU in pact with SCH to improve maternal health Qatar University Biomedi-

cal Research Centre (QU-BRC) and the Supreme

Council of Health (SCH) recently signed a technical services test-ing agreement to implement a comprehensive screening pro-gramme against various patho-genic micro-organisms that may aff ect maternal and child health in Qatar.

The screening programme

places emphasis on viral dis-eases such as polyomaviruses, Epstein–Barr virus, Cytomega-lovirus, Hepatitis B virus, Hepa-titis C virus and parvoviruses. Screening will also be under-taken for some pathogenic bac-teria such as helicobacter py-lori, one of the leading causes of gastric ulcer and cancer.

The agreement was signed by QU-BRC director Dr Asmaa

al-Thani and SCH assistant secretary for policy affairs Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussein in the presence of officials from both institutions.

Under the terms of the agree-ment, BRC will conduct the programme in its laboratories and provide precision screen-ing and accurate diagnosis for the identified groups of patho-genic viral and bacterial dis-

eases. The centre’s researchers will also establish collabora-tive activities with QU colleges and research centres, as well as various health institutions in Qatar.

SCH will implement a cohort study to examine the impact of genetic and environmental factors, and transitional and non-transitional diseases on the health of the mother dur-

ing pregnancy, as well as on the foetus and newborn child. Commenting on the agree-ment, Dr al-Thani said: “For the council, Qatar’s national health authority, to have given us this project, shows the con-fidence it places in our compe-tence and capability to execute it efficiently and effectively, and at the same time train lo-cal researchers to conduct the

kind of research that is related to the Qatari community.” Dr Hussein noted: “The study will lead to the achievement of the national vision in the medical genetics field, and national and strategic health objectives. In the light of the output of this study, preventive strategies would be implemented to im-prove maternal and child health in the country.”

BRC will conduct the programme in its laboratories and provide precision screening and diagnosis.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has announced a free recall campaign for Renault Captur vehicles made in 2014, due to a defect in the installation of the front brake hoses. The campaign is being jointly conducted with Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company, the authorised distributor of Renault vehicles in Qatar.

The Public Works Authority, Ashghal has announced that traff ic on Bin Zaben Roundabout, known as Al Mukafaha Roundabout, will be diverted to a signal-controlled intersection, newly-built to allow for the construction of the Al Rayyan Street intersection with Bu Erayyen Street. The new intersection will ease traff ic congestion in the area throughout the construction period. Al Mukafaha Rounda-bout will be closed to traff ic and commuters will be able to use the new signal-controlled intersection and any alternative routes as of Friday morning. The new intersection will include three lanes instead of the existing two-lanes on the New Al Rayyan Road and Bu Erayyen Street, thus easing traff ic congestion in the area. The authority has requested road users to use internal and local roads surrounding the diversion area at the Bin Zaben Roundabout from 1am to 11am on Friday, until work is complete and traff ic is diverted to the new signal-controlled section.

Ministry recalls Renault Captur vehicles

Traff ic diversion at Al Mukafaha R/A

QATAR

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201510

Instagram winner fi nds photographystress relieving

Ashghal to launchmajor wastewater treatment projects By Peter AlagosBusiness Reporter

Qatar’s Public Works Author-ity (Ashghal) is planning to roll out big-ticket projects

on wastewater treatment aimed at increasing production of high-qual-ity treated water from 183mn cu m to 366mn cu m over the next fi ve years, an offi cial said.

Speaking at a workshop entitled “Successful Experiences in Waste-water Treatment and Reuse in the GCC” held at the Marsa Malaz Kem-pinski yesterday, Ashghal president Nasser bin Ali al-Mawlawi said the major projects include the Sewage Treatment Plant project in Al Tha-khira, the fi fth package of expansion works for the Doha West Sewage Treatment Plant project, the Doha North Sewage Treatment Plant project, and the second package of the expansion works for Indus-trial Area Sewage Treatment Plant project.

This is in addition to the major Sewage Treatment Plant project in Southern Doha, which will have an operational capacity of 500,000 cu

m per day, and will be constructed as part of the Inner Doha Re-sewerage Implementation Strategy (Idris).

Over the past 10 years, al-Maw-lawi said Ashghal increased its production of high-quality treated water from 55mn cu m in 2005 to 103mn cu m in 2010, while in 2014 the production of treated wastewa-ter reached 169mn cu m.

He said Ashghal has set design standards for treated water pro-duced from main treatment plants. The standards include multiple processing stages to reach advanced

tertiary treatment levels by means of microfi ltration membrane tech-nologies, which have higher effi -ciency than sand fi lters.

This has been implemented in various plants: the West Doha plant (Al Sailiya), South Doha plant, In-dustrial Area plant, and the Doha North new treatment plant, he said. He added that this technology is also being implemented at Al Thakira’s treatment plant to produce high-quality treated wastewater for use in non-restricted irrigation.

Al-Mawlawi noted that in 2004, Ashghal took over wastewater treat-ment operations “not only for envi-ronmental protection goals, but also to enhance the utilisation of water resources in the country.”

In addition to the use of treated wastewater in restricted and non-restricted irrigation and “green” spaces, al-Mawlawi said Qatar was moving to expand the use of treated wastewater for cooling and con-struction purposes.

Khaled Mohamed al-Emadi, manager of Quality and Safety De-partment at Ashghal, and head of the GCC’s Treated Wastewater Team, said the workshop under-

scores the increasing global need for the benefi cial reuse of treated wastewater and the role it plays in environment conservation, expand-ing green spaces, and food security.

Al-Emadi said several countries are increasing their reuse of treat-ed wastewater for sustainability and to preserve national and en-vironmental resources for future generations.

“The objective of the GCC’s treat-ed wastewater team is to exchange expertise in the fi eld of treated wastewater techniques, raise the community’s cultural awareness, apply sustainability according to international standards, adopt the most economic ways of treatment, and implement the use of alterna-tive energy in operating treatment plants,” al-Emadi explained.

During the workshop, Ashghal’s Quality and Safety Management Department was honoured for re-cently receiving the ISO9001 cer-tifi cate for Quality Management System, ISO14001 certifi cate for Environmental Management Sys-tem, and OHSAS18001 for Occupa-tional Health and Safety Manage-ment System. Page 15

The winner of the 10th edi-tion of Gulf Times Instagram contest is Sana Qureshi, a

23-year-old Indian expatriate, who works as Recruitment & HRD Exec-utive at Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall.

The winning picture that celebrates the essence of prayer and family taken on the premises of the State Mosque of Qatar during the holy month of Ra-madan is Sana’s fi rst-ever photo to be recognised.

For Sana, a postgraduate in HR, the hobby of photography works as a stress reliever too. And she enjoys capturing everything around, including selfi es, of course!

Contest 11The 11th instalment of the com-

petition starts today. Send your photos shot in Qatar to: tellus@gulf-times.com. Shortlisted pic-tures will be posted on the Gulf Times Instagram account, with the name of the photographer men-tioned.

The picture that gets the maximum number of likes and unique comments during a seven-day period will be de-clared the winner.

A like will get the picture one mark and a unique comment will fetch two marks.

The winning picture will be pub-lished in the Gulf Times print edition as well as on the web edition of Gulf Times, along with a short bio of the photographer. GT Instagram Contest 10 winning picture . Inset: Sana Qureshi

Ashghal president Nasser bin Ali al-Mawlawi. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

QA Al Darb takes part incareer and college fairs Qatar Airways’ Al Darb nationalisation programme participated in the Sixth Fu-ture Career Fair and the Qatar International College Fair in Doha recently, supporting students with career advice and information.Qatar Airways’ National Talent Management team which manages Al Darb programme was on hand at both fairs answering questions and providing students with information about the nine diff erent training programmes that the airline off ers.

Al Darb regularly supports lo-cal career fairs in Qatar as well as in the UK and the US.Nabeela Fakhri, Qatar Airways senior vice president, Human Resources said: “Such local career fairs are a wonderful opportunity for the airline to introduce the diff erent options it has to off er.” Currently Qatar Airways’ Al Darb nationalisa-tion programme supports more than 30 majors and pro-vides nine diff erent training programmes across a range of career choices within the award-winning airline.

Moderate temperatures expected

Moderate temperatures are ex-pected in Qatar today even as strong winds and high seas are

expected in offshore areas, the Met of-fice has said.

The wind speed is likely to reach 25kt in off shore areas, according to the forecast.

The country will experience moderate

temperatures during the day along with slightly dusty conditions. The minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be 23C and 33C, respectively, with the fore-cast for Doha being 27C and 33C.

Partly cloudy and slightly dusty condi-tions are likely in off shore areas, the weath-er offi ce has said.

QATAR11Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The 2015 Qatar International Boat Show (QIBS) will feature a range of attractions and activities that

will appeal to all members of the family, the organisers have said.

The event, where exhibitors will show off their latest and best boats to potential buyers, will be held at Mour-jan Marinas – Lusail City from Novem-ber 10 to 14.

Proceedings on the special VIP open-ing day, November 10, will begin at 4pm with HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani inaugurating the show for the second year running.

From 6.30pm, the Qatar Coast Guard will stage a parade of boats. They will also have a boat sailing simulator on display in the main exhibitor area.

On the fi rst day of QIBS 2015, there will be a parade of 10 boats by the Qatar Sailing and Marine Sports Federation.

The federation will provide a number of activities and displays such as kids’ sailing and jet skiing.

For water sports enthusiasts, there will be a wakeboarding demonstration by Khalid al-Awadhi, a member of the Kuwait wakeboard team.

Also present at QIBS 2015 will be a contingent from Blue Marine, an or-ganisation that off ers activities such as jet skiing and fl yboarding.

It will provide side activities such as canoeing, fl y boarding, jet ski racing, kitesurfi ng, scuba diving, and wake-boarding.

Blue Pearl Watersport Tourism will also be present at the event.

It specialises in sea-, wind- and hu-man-powered leisure water sports.

They are not just windsurfi ng, kite-surfi ng and kayaking afi cionados, but are engaged in stand-up paddle board-ing – known as SUP.

Something being shown for the fi rst time in Doha is the Gais Speargun.

It is produced by a Qatar start-up company, which makes these guns for fi shing and will highlight them at the Made in Qatar stand.

Returning to the show for the third year running is the Harley-Davidson parade. Last year saw over 50 Harleys at QIBS.

The organisers have stressed that QIBS will have a “family-friendly en-vironment”. There will be a “Pirates and Mermaids” kids’ zone, which will boast of a play area, as well as activities such as drawing, painting, storytelling relat-ed to boating, the sea, sailing, as well as a dedicated F&B area.

A variety of meals will be available at tents managed by fi ve-star hotels.

The cuisines on off er include Leba-nese, Japanese and Italian. Visitors will also be treated to a salad bar and high-end Italian coff ee.

The organisers have also lined up an exhibitors’ party where professionals can meet up or make new contacts with their peers.

Meanwhile, the Qatar Tourism Au-thority will rent a traditional dhow to host VIPs and clients.

The closing ceremony will be held at 9.30pm on November 14.

Family-friendlyattractions at 2015 boat show

The 2015 QIBS will be held from November 10 to 14.

12 Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 2015

QATAR

New budget to focus on effi ciency in spending

From Page 1 “But the key to passing

through this stage safely is that each of us should re-alise that as he benefi ted during the times of rapid growth and high oil prices, he should also bear with us the tasks, responsibilities and burdens of this phase.

“The participation by all, each according to his abil-ity in bearing the burden, is fair. The citizen has no problem in making a con-tribution when he feels that there is fairness in the mat-ter. ‘Allah does not assign burden to any soul except what is within its capacity,’ verily true are the words of Allah,” the Emir said.

He urged hardworking to keep the development process on the right track, despite the sharp decline in the oil prices, because the right development was the one that would protect the country from the negative eff ects of oil and gas price fl uctuations in the future and from the risks of chang-es in the global economy.

“Since 2008 we have tak-en precautions against that in Qatar National Vision 2030 and in the National Development Strategy of the State 2011-2016. On this occasion, I stress that de-spite the decline of prices in the energy market, we will continue to implement the infrastructure development and human development projects.”

The Emir said that Qatar National Vision 2030 aimed at transforming Qatar into an advanced country, capa-ble of achieving sustainable development and ensuring the continuation of a de-cent living standard for its people, for generations to come, by seeking to develop a diversifi ed economy, with diminishing dependence on hydrocarbons, and where investment is directed to-wards knowledge-based economy, and the private sector grows in importance.

He said that the 2011-2016 National Development

Strategy had crystallised the development priorities dur-ing this period, which in-clude sustaining economic prosperity, upgrading in-frastructure, raising natural resource management effi -ciency, diversifying the na-tional economy, activating the private sector role and promoting human develop-ment, especially in the fi elds of education, health and en-vironment protection.

Preparatory work, he said, had begun to draw up the National Development Strategy 2017-2022. “Here I would like to indicate through you to the ministers and all the staff involved in the National Development Strategy within and outside the state apparatus, that the items I have mentioned are objectives that could be ac-cessible through a clear-cut action plan with proper in-dicators and benchmarks to measure the implementa-tion success.”

The Emir emphasised the need to plug the gaps in the planning framework, im-prove co-ordination across the sector and among dif-ferent sectors and to focus on outputs and outcomes.

“It is true that interna-tional ratings published by newspapers from time to time about the ranking of Qatar in this or that fi eld are encouraging and optimistic, but what is most important is our own assessment of the results and how much are they real and tangible?”

Regarding the effi ciency and feasibility of govern-ment spending, the Emir said that the general budget for the fi scal year 2016 was being prepared to begin on January 1. It would take the fall in oil prices into consid-eration, so as to avoid a big budget defi cit that might cause harm that surpassed the balance of payments to the overall economy.

The Emir said that the high oil prices had brought immense benefi ts to this country and its people, but no one denied the accom-

panying negative phenom-ena, namely, the tendency towards wasteful spending, some overstaffi ng in insti-tutions and the lack of ac-countability for mistakes in many cases, because availa-bility of funds could be used to cover up failure in some institutions.

It might also lead to de-pendency on the state to provide for everything, which reduced the motiva-tion of individuals to take initiatives and be progres-sive.

“We must transform the mandatory spending con-trol at this stage into an opportunity to face those drawbacks and we should not miss this opportunity,” the Emir stressed.

He noted that the com-ing budget would focus on effi ciency in government spending. It would also tend to promote growth and ex-pansion in non-oil sectors to diversify the economy.

The Emir said that the in-fl ation rate for the current year was expected to be in the range of 2%, and despite the fact that this rate was low, the government should not hesitate at encourag-ing competition and at the same time controlling pric-es to achieve fi nancial and economic stability.

On strengthening the private sector and economic diversifi cation as well as limiting the state’s com-petition with the private sector, the Emir said that a comprehensive review of all state-owned companies had been carried out.

“After submitting this re-view to the Supreme Coun-cil for Economic Aff airs and Investment, I have directed that subsidies for a number of these companies be ceased, and some to be pri-vatised, and management of some be transferred to the private sector, and gov-ernment corporations and companies not to compete with the private sector, and opportunities for this sector to implement government

projects be enforced.” But the private sector in

Qatar must assume its re-sponsibilities and take the initiative too, and not to wait for the state to be a pa-tron. The patron state ca-ters forincapable citizens, children and the elderly. In addition to that, Qatar has been ranked fi rst in the world in spending to sub-sidise consumer products, but when it comes to busi-ness, it must not be a patron state of business. Because that is an area of private ini-tiative.

The Emir said that the state must strengthen the business sectors by arrang-ing investment conditions, eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks and preparing an incubating infrastruc-ture for the projects. But the rest depended on the busi-ness sector itself, he said.

In addition, this sector was supposed to be more than just an intermedi-ary between the state and foreign companies, he said “Surely, foreign companies are indispensable, but we want to see the domestic capital contribution, its ini-tiatives and willingness to take risks in developing the national economy in order to make profi t.”

HH the Emir said that the state undertook vigor-ous eff orts for developing economic zones, logistics, and storage facilities. Two industrial zones have been launched during 2014 and 2015.

The government contin-ued to put forward projects for tender to increase stor-age capacity and reduce op-erational costs for investors.

“This does not solve the whole problem as we must also address the unjusti-fi ed rise in real estate prices. Everyone knows that high operational costs in all areas would eventually reach the state and infl ate its budget. This is no longer possible.”

The Emir stressed that it was necessary to remove the bureaucratic obstacles

encountering investment, especially some procedures that had turned into mere stumbling blocks hindering work.

This also applied to some duplication among the min-istries, and frequent chang-es in the procedures, trans-actions, requested forms and licences, which tended to confuse citizens, as well as local and foreign inves-tors, he said.

Many would not venture to invest if the investor was requested every day to fi ll out a new form, a new li-cence; or if several condi-tions were changed many times during the submis-sion of the application, he said. It was necessary to standardise as much as possible the procedures at ministries, for the citizen and the investor by means of one-stop shop concept.

“This idea must fi nd its way through to be imple-mented in a comprehensive manner. Surely, there is no investment without condi-tions. However, the condi-tions and procedures in our

country must be clear, com-plex free and stable,” the Emir said.

“I have directed the gov-ernment to hammer out a strategy to increase the contribution of manufac-turing industry to GDP, particularly, those based on knowledge. It is necessary for Qatar to produce at least part of its food. I hope that these plans will fi nd their way into implementation,” the Emir said.

“I would like to take a short pause to address the Qatari youth, Qatar’s econ-omy cannot dispense with foreign expertise and la-bour, this is true, yet Qatar cannot be built without you. It cannot be built on a lim-ited number of professions and specialties that are pur-sued by all.

“There is a complete and vital sectors of the state such as the fi eld of security, army and police, and even planning, management, engineering, medicine and scientifi c research, where we need Qatari youth, and Qatari youth must turn to

all specialties and take their homeland into account when taking decisions.”

Citizenship, he said, was not a set of privileges, but fi rst and foremost was a sense of belonging to the homeland. This affi liation entailed a set of rights and duties towards the society and the state. Citizenship is also a responsibility, the Emir underlined.

“A citizen has the right to benefi t from the wealth of his country. But the citizen must ask himself from time to time, what did I give for my country and my com-munity? What are the best ways to be useful?

“And what can I do to contribute to the national wealth of my country so that future generations can also benefi t. This is what we mean when we say that the real wealth of nations is the human resource and the real source of its poverty is also the human resource. Thus, countries diff er from each other,” the Emir said.

“I also affi rm here be-fore you that if this is what expected from the citizen, then what is expected from anyone in a public position is much more than that. In this sense, we will not toler-ate fi nancial and adminis-trative corruption, or abuse of public positions for pri-vate purposes, or abandon-ing professional standards for a personal interest,” the Emir said.

“Our pursuit for eco-nomic diversifi cation and reducing the depend-ence on oil and gas does not mean that we will not pay adequate attention to maintain and develop this sector, because this sector has enabled us to achieve growth rates during a period of 15 years, which are among the highest growth rates in the world, and this growth is the one that helped to achieve qualitative leaps in all economic, human and social fi elds, and it will re-main for a long time a major component of the GDP and a source of wealth used to expand the production base for future generations.”

On foreign policy, the Emir said that Qatar continued its eff ective collective and bi-lateral work in various Gulf, Arab, Islamic and interna-tional frameworks.

“I emphasise here on continuing our eff orts with our brothers in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to strengthen our collabo-ration at all political, eco-nomic, social, and security levels and on developing the council’s action mech-anisms so as to be able to face the regional and glo-bal challenges and changes and to achieve the interests of our people. We are also most keen to strengthen the fraternal relations with all brotherly Arab countries which are desperately in need of unifying their ranks and positions and to deepen co-operation to cope with the risks and challenges they encounter.”

To the same extent, the Emir said that Qatar paid great attention to defend-ing Arab and Islamic caus-es, achieving international peace and security, adher-ing to international legiti-macy and building friendly relations that respect com-mon interests with the countries of the world and which are based on mutual respect and non-interfer-ence in internal aff airs.

“In these days in which we witness the uprising of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against the practices of the occupa-tion and protect the sancti-ties of the Arab and Islamic Umma as a whole, and the legendary steadfastness of the Syrian people in de-fending their right to a de-cent life in their homeland, I reiterate our commitment to these just causes and to our principles vis-a-vis all Arab issues,” the Emir said.

“Everyone has become aware that Qatar does not change its principles. We may conduct an introspec-tion and evaluate our ac-tions in order to correct errors if they occurred, because only God does not make an error, but we do not change our principles.”

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani addressing the 44th ordinary session of the Advisory Council yesterday.

QATAR13Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Emir’s policies have resulted in‘comprehensive development’ Qatar has seen a compre-

hensive development in various sectors, includ-

ing industry, education, health, infrastructure, and housing, un-der HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khu-laifi has said.

Addressing the inaugural ses-sion of the 44th ordinary ses-sion of the Advisory Council, the Speaker said these sectors have seen tremendous progress which have boosted the country’s de-velopment process.

He referred to the directives of the Emir to launch the construc-tion of 2,000 residential villas in the southern region of Doha for Qataris who come under the housing system.

Thanking the Emir for inaugu-rating the session and for his un-limited support to the Council, the Speaker expressed the Coun-cil’s gratitude for the continuous accomplishments achieved by the government under the wise directives of the Emir.

HE al-Khulaifi said that the Advisory Council denounces Is-rael’s recent violations, includ-ing the frequent incursions in Al Aqsa Mosque and the attacks on the Palestinians and urged the Arab and Islamic worlds to take urgent action against this bla-tant aggression at the holy sites.

He stressed that the Palestin-ian cause will remain the main issue for the Arabs and Muslims, praising in this regard the posi-tion of the Emir in support to the Palestinian people for the res-toration of their inalienable and

legitimate rights and establish their independent state with Je-rusalem as its capital.

The Speaker said that the Ad-visory Council is looking for-ward to achieving peace and stability in Syria, and expressed the Council’s support for Qatar’s policy in this regard. He pointed out that the Emir has recently sponsored the education of 100 Syrian students in Universite Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.

On Yemen, the Speaker praised the “Renewal of Hope” operation under the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to restore legitimacy, security and stability in the country, and to defend the safety and secu-rity of the Gulf Co-operation Council, stressing in this regard the importance of a political solution in accordance with the

Gulf initiative and the outputs of the comprehensive national dialogue and the Conference of Riyadh, and the application of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2216 of 2015.

On Libya, HE al-Khulaifi said that the Council hopes the Liby-an dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations will succeed.

He described terrorism as a threat that has no religion or homeland, and requires to be confronted in all its forms, but he cautioned that it should not be confused with legitimate resist-ance for freedom, stressing that the resistance is the result of oc-cupation or aggression against peoples.

The Speaker said that the Council hopes all success for the upcoming GCC summit, due to be held in Saudi Arabia.

QNADoha

Vodafone Qatar to upgrade network

Vodafone Qatar has announced a further modernisation of its

network at an investment of QR650mn.

The company has also said it is off ering all port-in customers and new post-paid users a money-back promise.

“We are committed to of-fer people in Qatar the best from one of the largest tel-ecommunications compa-nies in the world, Vodafone Group Plc. In the past year alone, we have invested more than QR650mn in our network infrastructure and are committed to continu-

ally investing in Qatar’s ICT sector, which will play a key role in realising this great nation’s ambitions,” said Kyle Whitehill, CEO, Voda-fone Qatar.

In January this year, Vo-dafone began upgrading all its network sites, the com-pany said in a statement.

“More than 200 new outdoor and indoor sites have been installed and customers are now en-joying 300% more data capacity, 300% more 4G coverage and 30% more 3G coverage. A special focus has been on increasing the capacity in the most popu-

lated areas in Qatar, with Wakrah and Sheehaniya the latest areas to benefi t from an additional 30% capacity boost,” the state-ment notes. “Moreover, just in time for the desert camping season, 21 sites have been activated in the most popular camping ar-eas, including Sealine and Fuwairit.”

Meanwhile, Vodafone is off ering all port-in custom-ers and new postpaid users a money-back promise. This means customers who are not completely satisfi ed in their fi rst 30 days of joining can have their money back.

“With Vodafone’s net-work modernisation, never before has browsing the In-ternet, social networking, watching videos and mak-ing downloads on your mo-bile been so fast, seamless and enjoyable wherever you may be,” said Ramy Boc-tor, chief technology offi cer, Vodafone Qatar. “Our mon-ey-back promise is a fi rst in Qatar and the region for a telecommunications op-erator to make such a bold promise, but it’s a promise we are confi dent of. We’re certain customers who try our all new network will love it.”

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani arriving at the Advisory Council to inaugurate the Council’s 44th ordinary session yesterday.Right: HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani attending the inaugural session of the Advisory Council.

Council holds fi rst meeting of 44th session

The Advisory Council yesterday held its first regular meeting of the 44th session under the chairmanship of the eldest member HE Hamed Ali al-Alhbabi. At the outset of the meeting, the Council’s Secretary-General Fahd bin Mubarak al-Khayareen read out the Decree No. 42 of 2015 calling upon the Advisory Council to convene its regular 44th session. The Decree stipulated that the Council shall convene on Tuesday, Muharram 20, 1437, corresponding to November 3, 2015. Then HE al-Ahbabi delivered a speech welcoming the council members wishing

them success in their duties and in serving the people of the State of Qatar under the wise leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. He called upon the council to elect a speaker to the council, according to the provisions of Article 9 of the council’s Rules of Procedure. The Council unanimously re-elected HE Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi as the Speaker. The Council also unanimously re-elected HE Issa bin Rabia al-Kuwari as Deputy Speaker and Dr Ahmed Mohamed Obeidan and Mohamed Abdullah al-Sulaiti as Rapporteurs.

Advisory Council chief hails Emir’s speech

HE the Secretary-General of the Advi-sory Council Fahad

bin Mubarak al-Khayareen hailed HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s speech at the inauguration of the 44th ordinary ses-sion of the Advisory Council, which included the country’s achievements as well as fu-ture policies and plans.

In a statement to report-ers, al-Khayareen con-gratulated the government and the Qatari people on the occasion, stressing that the Advisory Council enjoys special attention by HH the Emir, and HH the Father Emir, who consistently pro-vided support to the Coun-cil and highly appreciated its role.

The Secretary-General of the Advisory Council noted that Advisory Council seeks to achieve the desired ob-jectives, expressing hope that the 44th ordinary ses-sion of the Advisory Council will meet the legislative re-quirements of the state.

Al-Khayareen said that the speech of the Emir drew future plans to continue the economic and social pros-perity of the State, support its institutions and develop

them to fulifl the aspirations in the current economic cir-cumstances.

He pointed out that the achievements of the State of Qatar at the external level made it a hub for peace, uni-ty, dialogue and stability.

He asked God Almighty to preserve HH the Emir and the wise government to achieve prosperity, growth and stability in the State of Qatar to serve its citizens and achieve their aspira-tions.

The Secretary-General of the Advisory Council thanked HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council, his deputy and the members of the Council for their eff orts and co-operation with the Secretariat of the Council and its staff .

Meanhwile HE the Minis-ter of Public Health Abdul-lah bin Khalid al-Qahtani said that the Emir’s speech at the opening of the Advi-sory Council’s 44th regular session has clearly identi-fi ed the major goals of the nation to achieve compre-hensive and sustainable development based on solid foundations that take into account the diff erent chal-lenges and means to over-come them through clear programmes and action plans.

The Minister said the

speech of the Emir looks into the future with a con-scious vision that improves the utilisation of potential capabilities for the benefi t of this generation as well as the future generations.

The ultimate goal of the Emir’s leadership is to build a fi t, educated and capable citizens who can effi cient-ly lead the development march, the Minister said adding that all the ambi-tious strategies and plans revolve around this goal.

The Minister stressed the Qatari people’s keen-ness on the implementation of the vision of the Emir so that Qatar continues mak-ing great achievements and progress in various fi elds.

Separately, Advisory Council Controllers Mo-hamed Abdullah al-Sulaiti and Ahmed Mohamed Obaidan also praised the content of the Emir’s speech.

Speaking to QNA, al-Su-laiti said the Emir’s speech was comprehensive and fo-cused on development, eco-nomic and domestic issues, which stresses his keenness on the welfare of the State and its people and achieving the goals in the next phase.

Al-Sulaiti said the speech focused on economic issues such as the diversifi cation of income sources, the ex-

ecution of development projects, and strengthening the economy to establish Qatar as a major economic power and incubator in the region.

He also highlighted the speech’s content that touched on youth, invit-ing them to work in all fi elds, saying that they must shoulder responsibility and return the favour to the homeland.

He lauded the existing co-operation between the Cabinet and the Advisory Council, stressing that the council will carry out its legislative role in the new session as it had in previous sessions and will work to conclude all the legislations that will be referred by the Cabinet.

For his part, Obaidan highlighted the content of Emir’s speech focusing on the domestic and economic aff airs in particular, not-ing that the directives of the Emir are a roadmap to support the economy and would make Qatar one of the big economies.

As mentioned in the Emir’s speech, Obaidan said, the Qatari youth must stay away from dependency and actively engage in the diff erent fi elds of work and the national, economic and development construction.

QNADoha

HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani with other dignitaries at the inaugural session of the Advisory Council yesterday.

QATAR

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201514

Commercial Bank wins award in Kuala LumpurCommercial Bank has won

an award at the recent MasterCard Innovation

Forum held in Kuala Lumpur for its Manchester United Titanium MasterCard, the bank said in a statement.

The bank said the Manches-ter United Titanium Master-Card was awarded for being the most innovative affi nity product across the entire Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Commercial Bank is the ex-clusive fi nancial services part-ner in Qatar of Manchester United. The partnership off ers a range of Manchester United fi nancial products, including a current or savings account with a debit card and two types of Manchester United credit cards.

All Manchester United card-holders enjoy a 10% discount at Manchester United stores and online, plus holders of the Man-chester United Titanium Mas-terCard are automatically en-rolled into Commercial Bank’s market leading reward points programme.

With Commercial Bank re-wards, customers can book fl ights to any destination with any airline and with no blackout dates or can redeem their reward points for instant discounts at Qatar’s leading retailers: IKEA, 51 East, Sharaf DG, and Damas, among others.

Commercial Bank’s Manches-ter United Titanium MasterCard was awarded the most innovative affi nity product after industry leaders recognised that in de-veloping the product, Commer-cial Bank showed a strong un-

Commercial Bank off icials with the innovation award from MasterCard.

derstanding of consumer needs, which delivered a highly-impact-ful payment solution, ultimately driving strong business results through innovation.

Since the launch of the Man-chester United partnership with Commercial Bank, custom-ers were given the opportunity to access a world of benefi ts not available elsewhere in the marketplace.

This included Commercial Bank’s hosting of a fan event

with Manchester United legends in Doha to watch a live game, of-fering once-in-a-lifetime VIP trips to watch Manchester Unit-ed play at Old Traff ord with ac-cess to watch Manchester United fi rst team players train, off ering exclusively-signed Manchester United memorabilia, and places for their children to participate in a fi rst-of-its-kind, free, Man-chester United Soccer Camp held in Doha.

Dean Proctor, executive gen-

eral manager (consumer and private banking), said, “We are extremely delighted to win such a prestigious award from Mas-terCard, which is in recogni-tion of the innovative product that Commercial Bank brought to market with our Manchester United Titanium MasterCard. Our exclusive partnership with Manchester United was a fi rst in the Qatar marketplace, allow-ing Commercial Bank to provide customers an opportunity to

get up close and personal with one of the world’s most famous sporting brands.

“The Manchester United branded debit and credit card designs were also the fi rst-of-its-kind in Qatar and with the benefi ts that accompany our products, it truly demonstrates our spirit of innovation and our desire to make everything pos-sible for our customers. Our co-branded credit and debit cards with Manchester United have surpassed all our forecasts and more importantly has met with signifi cant positive customer feedback. We thank MasterCard Worldwide for their support in helping to ensure the products we launched were considered to be the best in class.”

Pankaj Kathuria of Master-Card Worldwide said, “We are proud to be associated with the team involved in the launch of the Manchester United Tita-nium MasterCard and our con-gratulations go to Commercial Bank on winning this award for innovation.”

Manchester United’s Group managing director, Richard Ar-nold, said: “Winning this award for the Manchester United Tita-nium MasterCard demonstrates exactly why the club is in part-nership with Commercial Bank. Its ability to create an award winning product not only off ers our fans an excellent fi nancial product, but also brings them closer to the club they support. On behalf of Manchester Unit-ed, I congratulate Commercial Bank on winning this prestigious award.”

French honour for HBKU director

Dr Antoine Hyafi l, direc-tor of programmes for executive education at

Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU), has been awarded the Knight of the National Order of Merit (Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite) by French President François Hollande for contributing to the quality of French-Qatari relations.

Dr Hyafi l received the medal from French ambassador Eric Chevallier at a ceremony held on November 2 at the HBKU Student Center which was attended by HBKU president Dr Ahmad Hasnah, as well as family, friends and colleagues.

“I feel very fortunate to have been able to play a part in using education to help with Qatar’s development,” Dr Hyafi l said.

“Participating in the early growth of HBKU and devel-oping a new concept for a multidisciplinary master’s degree that focuses on energy, after having established HEC Paris in Qatar, has been an ex-traordinary adventure, which probably could only have tak-en place here,” he added.

Dr Hyafi l is responsible for

devising and overseeing the in-novative Executive Master in En-ergy and Resources programme currently off ered by HBKU. He was previously the founding aca-demic dean of HEC Paris in Qa-tar. Prior to coming to Qatar, he was dean of the faculty at HEC Paris in his native France.

As the initial holder of the Deloitte-Société Générale Chair in Energy and Finance, he was instrumental in the creation of the HEC Paris “Energy in a Car-bon Concerned Economy” cer-tifi cate and the HEC Paris EMBA “Energy Major”. Dr Hyafi l holds a Doctorate in Financial Eco-nomics from HEC Paris and the University of Orléans.

In presenting the award, the French envoy highlighted the signifi cant contribution made by Dr Hyafi l in promoting aca-demic collaboration between Qatar and France.

“This award acknowledges his longstanding commitment to education and research. Professor Hyafi l is an out-standing fi gure of the French-Qatari friendship since he was Founding Dean of HEC in Qatar in 2012,” the envoy said.

Dr Antoine Hyafil shaking hands with French ambassador Eric Chevallier at a ceremony recently.

New 2016 Ford Explorer packs more features The new 2016 Ford Ex-

plorer, which off ers more technologies than previ-

ous models to enhance the driv-ing experience, has arrived in Qatar.

New technologies include front and rear cameras with washers, enhanced active park assist with perpendicular park assist, park-out assist and semi-automatic parallel park-ing, smart-charging USB ports, hands-free liftgate and air curtains.

“Explorer, which has sold well over 7mn units since its intro-duction in 1990, is the centre-piece of Ford’s global utility ve-hicle line-up because it delivers an ideal combination of form and function,” said Raj Nair, Ford Group vice president and chief technical offi cer, Global Product Development.

The front and rear cameras have wide-angle lenses and come equipped with a washer –

a class-exclusive, segment-fi rst feature. The enhanced active park assist system uses ultrason-ic sensors and electric power-assisted steering to help drivers with parallel parking and per-pendicular parking manoeuvres.

The park-out assist helps a driver pull out of parallel park-ing spots. The system controls the steering wheel, while the driver operates the accelerator and brake pedals, and shifts the vehicle into gear.

The smart-charging USB ports, located in the front and rear of the vehicle are able to charge smart devices up to two times faster than conventional ports. With the hands-free lift-gate, a traveller need only kick his or her leg below the centre of the rear bumper to open or close the liftgate.

Standard air curtains create a high-pressure region of air that impacts the outer surface of the wheels and tires. The result is

airfl ow held close to the vehicle body, minimising drag.

A number of features, while not new for Explorer, are also available on the 2016 model. They are adaptive cruise con-trol and collision warning with brake support, lane-keeping system, Blind Spot Information System, Cross-traffi c alert, auto high-beams, and infl atable rear safety belts.

The standard 3.5-litre V6 engine for base, XLT and Lim-ited models – with 294 PS at 6,500rpm and 346 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm – is paired with a six-speed SelectShift automat-ic transmission. The Explorer Sport churns out 470 Nm of torque at 3,500rpm.

For the exterior, signature lighting surrounds the LED headlamps, giving the vehicle a continuous glow. Other features include a standard dual-panel moonroof, premium silver-painted front and rear skid plate

The new 2016 Ford Explorer has arrived in Qatar.

elements, and an all-new 18 and 20-inch wheel line up.

Explorer’s intelligent four-wheel drive with Terrain Man-agement System reassesses conditions about 20 times faster than the blink of an eye – pro-viding precise handling and traction.

Intelligent four-wheel drive continuously monitors wheel

speed, throttle position and steering wheel angle to deter-mine vehicle conditions and driver intent. The system then determines the optimal amount of front and rear torque for the given conditions to prevent slip from even occurring, which helps keep the vehicle sure-footed on virtually any terrain. In sand, grass or gravel mode, the

antilock braking system changes its pulse rate, which allows ma-terial to build up in front of the wheels, acting as a doorstop of sorts to help slow momentum.

To help maintain effi ciency, in most steady-state cruis-ing conditions the new Ex-plorer equipped with in-telligent four-wheel drive seamlessly and quickly transfers torque

between the front and rear wheels.A newly refi ned, intelligent

four-wheel-drive gauge display shows power being distributed to front and rear wheels un-der all conditions – from heavy four-wheel-drive system us-age to when the system is not transmitting power at all.

Explorer Sport custom-ers looking for a more dynamic driving experience will benefi t from unique steering gear, front and rear springs, struts and rear dampers.

Exterior styling updates such as positioning the grille and LED headlamps even higher, add-ing a new closed-off lower roof rack with channels that cascade rainwater off the vehicle and a new rear spoiler, also improve aerodynamics.

The 2016 Explorer features more robust headlamps, with available LED signature lighting, standard LED low-beams and available LED fog lamps.

Number of participants in Civil Defence Exhibition upThe “fi fth Civil Defence Ex-

hibition and Conference” has witnessed a signifi cant

rise in the number of participants with 97 local and international companies taking part in the event, representing 1,250 interna-tional manufacturing agencies.

Arranged in a 15,000sqm area, the major exhibiting agencies include the General Directo-rate of Civil Defence, Lakhwi-ya, Qatar Rail, and Chubb Fire Company, among others.

Teyseer Industrial Supplies and Services, IGI Technologies, G4S Secure Solutions, Alfardan Group, Al Baraa Security & Safe-ty, Al Amana Security & Safety, Al Aman Security & Safety, Fa-had Trading & Contracting, Na-tional Fire Fighting Manufactur-ing, and Woqod were also some of other major companies that participated in the event.

The Civil Defence pavilion consisted of advanced equip-ment and vehicles of the agency. Offi cers from the General Di-rectorate of Civil Defence in-troduced its equipment and projects to visitors, which in-

Brigadier Abdullah bin Mohamed al-Suweidi, Organising Committee chairman of the Civil Defence Exhibition & Conference, joins other participants.

cluded a large number of stu-dents and delegates from other GCC countries.

Lakhwiya’s pavilion show-cased the equipment used for search and rescue operations and latest diving devices used for rescue operations in water. Res-cue cylinders used for breathing while surrounded by harmful chemical leaking and earthquake sensors were some of the devices

displayed in the pavilion. Aware-ness fi lms were also shown for education purposes.

Metro Project developments, on the other hand, were screened in the Qatar Rail pavilion. The project works in progress were in line with the guidelines and terms of security sectors, including civil defence. The Qatar Rail project gives great importance for safety measures. Safety workshops and

site visits and mock drills were conducted in order to raise the level of workers safety.

Chubb Fire is a leading com-pany working in the fi eld of safety and security devices. The company had participated in all the previous civil defence expos. Chubb Fire offi cials said the com-pany has hosted 17 international fi rms from Germany, the UK, Portugal, Canada, and Croatia.

MoI, university sign agreement

The Ministry of Interior (MoI), represented by the General Directorate of Civil Defence, has signed an agreement with the University of

Central Lancashire (UCLan), UK, in order to pro-vide a diploma in fi refi ghting management at Ras Laff an Emergency & Safety College (RLESC).

The agreement will come into eff ect in January next year.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani witnessed the signing on the sidelines of the open-ing of the Civil Defence Exhibition in Doha.

On behalf of the MoI, Civil Defence director-general Brigadier Abdullah Mohamed al-Suwaidi signed the agreement, while UCLan was represented by Dr Gary Bond, professor of materials chemistry and associate head of school, School of Forensic and Applied Sciences.

Brigadier al-Suwaidi said the agreement is the outcome of co-ordination between the MoI, Qa-tar Petroleum and the university and adds further academic value to RLESC.

HE Sheikh Abdullah witnessing the signing of the agreement between the Ministry of Interior and University of Central Lancashire.

The new diploma course will be provided for opera-tions offi cers and help raise their professional and aca-demic level. He added that the diploma, which requires two years of study, is the fi rst of its kind in the region.

Tissco is a major participant in civil defence expo Teyseer Industrial Supplies and Services Company (Tissco) is a prominent participant at the fifth Civil Defence Exhibition, which concludes today at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.An ISO 9001 certified company, Tissco is focused on supplies and services of electro mechanical industrial products in Qatar. Tissco is associated with international brands like Holmatro, a leader in rescue equipment; Mobiak, the

European firefighting and suppressing pioneers; Hughes, the leading manufacturers of safety showers; a wide range of safety shoes from multinational sources; intrinsically safe mobile phones, laptops, torches and other gadgets from E-Com and usable in oil fields; Brady scaf tags; Sperian gas detectors; personal protective equipment; Karam body harness; and Venus breathing apparatus among others.With showrooms in the Industrial

Area as well as Doha and the Barwa Village, Tissco has penetrated into the industrial as well as major project sectors for almost all their requirements, particularly their safety and security equipment requirements. At this year’s Civil Defence Exhibition, Tissco has focused on displaying and demonstrating two products – emergency rescue equipment from Holmatro, Netherlands; and other firefighting items from Mobiak, Greece.

QATAR15Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Ashghal urged to be prepared for wet season By Ayman AdlyStaff Reporter

Regular maintenance of the available infrastructure for rain drainage should be con-

ducted to ensure the readiness of the network when heavy rains come, the civic council stressed yesterday.

The Central Municipal Council (CMC) agreed with the view of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) that temporary solutions for the issue of rain water accumulation on the country’s roads should be adopted rather than constructing a permanent and costly drainage net-work.

Hamad Lahdan al-Muhannadi, CMC vice-chairman, said there are more pressing infrastructure pri-orities scheduled until 2022, and the issue of a comprehensive rain water drainage system is not as urgent.

CMC member Jassim al-Malki called for an eff ective and regular maintenance process to make sure that the system would work properly

in case of rain. He pointed out that the rainy season in the country is not long or regular and it is not also heavy or recurrent to the degree that necessitates the construction of an expensive comprehensive network for drainage.

CMC member Mohamed bin Zafi r al-Hajiri observed that the accu-mulation of rain water, resulting in stagnant water ponds, especially on the highways of Al Shamal, is mostly due to bad and improper designs of roads. He said that such roads should be designed to let the water drain to the desert.

Meanwhile, the council approved the recommendation of its serv-ices and public utilities committee in this regard. It mainly stressed that the municipalities concerned should provide an adequate number of suction trucks well equipped to meet the demand immediately in case of heavy rains.

Such vehicles could be stationed at the highways or the points of roads known for water-logging dur-ing rain. Also, municipalities should

maintain close co-ordination with Ashghal to provide instant and tem-porary solutions for each of these situations.

At its regular biweekly session yesterday, CMC discussed a sugges-tion to improve the safety and secu-rity of the various bus stops across the country.

CMC members asked that Mow-asalt should at least provide such stops with adequate shades during the summer season in particular to ease the diffi culty for waiting pas-sengers. Further, bus stops need to be re-distributed according to the changing population density in the country.

The council handled also a sug-gestion to establish a major public garden or park at Al Khor Munici-pality, as most of the public gardens at Al Khor and Al Thakhira are of small size and hence not adequate for families. Both suggestions were referred to the CMC services and public utilities committee for fur-ther study and consultation with entities concerned.

Destination branding in the spotlight at WTMBy Joseph VargheseStaff Reporter

Destination branding is a crucial element in how well a country’s tourism system can function co-

hesively, Dr Taleb al-Rifai, secretary general, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), said yesterday, speaking at the UNWTO Ministerial Summit, hosted at the ongoing 36th edition of the World Travel Market (WTM) in London under the title ‘Destination Branding – New Challenges in a Changing Market’.

Qatar has developed a brand, ‘Qatar Destination Brand’ to position the coun-try as a premium tourist destination that off ers authentic experiences rooted in the nation’s culture and heritage. It was unveiled at the WTM on Monday.

“It is more important to create a unique experience than a marketing ta-gline,” al- Rifai said.

“The brand has to be authentic, per-

sonal, and credible – otherwise you are exposing your destination to issues and crisis, which will damage a lot more than the good that you expect the brand to do.”

Al-Rifai stated that developing solid tourism products would in turn make tourists, as well as industry partners and citizens, the greatest brand ambas-sadors.

The secretary general stressed the growing importance of tourism as a central pillar of growth in today’s econ-omy. UNWTO’s latest data shows 4.3% growth for global tourism in the fi rst nine

months of 2015, which promises to make this the fi fth consecutive year of growth for the global industry.

“This industry is so vital to today’s world, not only in creating jobs and ad-dressing economic defi cits, but because we are the industry that deals with the defi cit of smiles and happiness,” he con-cluded.

Meanwhile the Qatari pavilion at the WTM is attracting a large number of vis-itors from around the world who are ea-ger to know about the tourism potential of the country.

Qatar branded taxis drive past Big Ben in London as part of the ‘Qatar Destination Brand’ promotional campaign.

Snapshots of Qatar on displayed at the country’s pavilion at the WTM in London.

QF surveys search response to R&D

Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) will be collate public opin-

ion through a series of surveys to provide a comprehensive view of the research and development land-scape in Qatar.

R&D activities are critical to the country’s transition into a knowl-edge-based economy, as envisioned by Qatar National Vision 2030 and outlined in national and sectoral strategic development plans.

QF R&D, one of the main pillars of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Develop-ment ( QF), has commissioned Qatar University Social & Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) to con-duct the surveys as part of the ‘Base-line Measurement Survey on General

Public Awareness, Appreciation and Support for Research’ project.

Due to commence this month, the R&D’s research project supports QF’s on-going mission to cultivate in Qatar a culture of active citizen-ship, life-long learning and interest in research.

A workshop was held between QF R&D and SESRI to formalise objec-tives, design and methods ahead of the launch of the surveys. Partici-pants discussed the need to identify a national representative measure of perceptions, knowledge, and sup-port for R&D in Qatar.

SESRI will begin reaching out to nationals and white-collar expatri-ates, seeking their opinion with re-gard to expectations and perceived benefi ts of R&D in Qatar. This brief

and confi dential survey will be con-ducted by telephone from SESRI’s calling centre, targeting a statistically drawn sample of the resident popu-lation. Additional electronic surveys will be conducted with members of academia, public and private sectors, in addition to the media.

The results of these surveys are expected to provide a comprehen-sive view of the R&D landscape in Qatar, which in turn, will assist in identifying avenues for increasing awareness and support among the diff erent target groups, and con-structing a context-specifi c model of engagement with research, sci-ence, and technology. The survey results will also serve as the baseline for monitoring public support over time.

Jumbo ‘Mega Promotion’ woos shoppers

Jumbo Electronics is holding its an-nual ‘mega promotion’ until No-vember 15. Launched recently, the

promotion is running across all 16 Jum-bo Electronics outlets in the country.

A range of LG products, including Super UHD TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, smartphones, Hi-fi systems, appliances, air-conditioners, projectors and more, are available at special prices as part of the promotion, according to a statement. Products of other brands, such as Lenovo and HiSense smart-phones and Apple iPhone 6s, are also available at special rates.

In addition, Harman Kardon, JBL, Brother, Indesit, Ariston and Oscar are also part of the “Mega Promotion”, which includes “gift vouchers, combo deals and attractive prices”, the state-ment notes.

Jumbo Electronics is also off ering 0% interest in 6/12 EMI schemes from leading banks such as Doha Bank, QNB, Commercial Bank, Mashreq and Ahl-ibank, subject to terms and conditions.

Other benefi ts include free extended warranties, double points on Jumbo digits and possibility to earn and re-deem Nojoom points.

Jumbo is also off ering a ‘Scratch & Win’ scheme. On every QR1,000 worth of purchases made on a single invoice, Jumbo is giving one scratch coupon that gives customers a guaranteed win.

“No lucky draws but everyone is a winner. There are over 5,000 gifts worth more than QR500,000 to be won,” ac-cording to the statement.

Jumbo Electronics has partnered with well-known restaurants in Qatar, such as Nando’s, Burger Gourmet, Tama-

rind Indian, Lifestyle and Biryani Hut, to provide gift vouchers, as well as with Q-Tickets to off er movie tickets to cus-tomers as part of the promotion.

Other gifts to be won include Timex watches, Adidas bags, headphones from Harman Kardon, JBL and AKG, JBL Go portable Bluetooth speakers, LG DVD players, LG Leon smartphone, LG bedding cleaners, LG microwaves, LG washing machine, LG 55” Ultra HD TV, LG 65” Ultra HD TV and others.

During the promotion, a selfi e contest is being conducted by Jumbo. Custom-ers need to visit Jumbo’s Facebook page - facebook.com/jumboqatar - to take part in the contest and win prizes on a weekly basis.

Video Home & Electronic Centre is the sole distributor of LG, Harman Kardon, JBL, Brother, Indesit and Ariston in Qatar. Gifts worth over QR500,000 are to be won as part of the promotion, besides various special off ers.

Ooredoo waives connection fee for new business messaging service customers

Ooredoo has launched a new off er for businesses looking to reach out to

customers and employees via SMS, with a special promotion on business messaging accounts.

The Ooredoo business messag-ing service is a mobile market-ing tool that provides companies with a “cost-eff ective and ef-fi cient way to send bulk SMS to large groups of people”, according to a statement.

Now, all new customers who activate a new business SMS ac-count during the promotion pe-riod will not have to pay a con-nection fee (saving QR1,500), and will be able to enjoy the fi rst three months’ rental for free, saving a further QR300 per month (up to the value of QR900).

The off er applies to companies that choose either the standard

business messaging service or the business messaging packs, which off er bundles of high-volume SMS and savings for customers.

Customers can choose from Pack 150,000, which includes 2.3mn text messages; Pack 300,000, which contains more than 5mn text messages; and Pack 450,000, which off ers 8.5mn text messages.

Businesses that use the stand-ard or business SMS packs also benefi t from free alphanumeric short codes and can rent addi-tional easy-to-remember short codes to support their campaigns.

Ooredoo has designed its busi-ness messaging service so that companies can eff ectively com-municate with their customers and employees.

The off er ends on February 1, 2016.

New ‘booking’ feature on the app

Ooredoo has launched another mobile innova-

tion this week – a new self-service feature that

enables customers to book appointments at

Ooredoo shops from their device. Using the new

feature, customers can choose the branch they

want to visit and the time they want to meet an

Ooredoo advisor, saving them time and ensuing

a fast and eff ective appointment.

The feature is available via the free Ooredoo app,

and – combined with a new approach to queue

management – will streamline services and reduce

waiting time. The app also allows customers to

locate the nearest branch, adding more accessibil-

ity. The mobile app is available for free download

on the iTunes Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).

Customers will receive a photo confirmation

on their mobile device when they book their

appointment via the app. They can scan this

when they arrive at their selected Ooredoo store

and will then receive an SMS when an adviser is

ready to meet them.

BAE helps budding engineers spread wings

Upcoming young aerospace engineers from BAE Systems recently hosted a series of

skill-building workshops and career-oriented presentations for students across Qatar.

Supported by Qatar University (QU), the weeklong visit was part of BAE Systems’ STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educa-tional outreach programme, which has been actively engaging with students and educators in Qatar since 2010.

Samantha Surmon and Adam Rule, both graduate engineers in BAE Sys-tems’ Air division in the UK, hosted workshops on the “Theory of Flight” and gave students the opportunity to explore the daily life of an engineer in a large international company. Be-tween October 25-29, presentations were held at QU College of Engineer-ing (CENG) while workshops were held at independent secondary schools for boys and girls.

Presentations at QU gave invalu-able insights into how STEM subjects

can help guide and propel careers for aspiring Qatari engineers while the workshops at secondary schools fo-cused on aerospace engineering with special emphasis on the history of fl ight, Newton’s Third Law, thrust, drag, lift and air resistance. After stu-dents were briefed on key concepts of fl ight, they were split into groups and

challenged to design and build paper aeroplanes – competing for the best design. These activities served to help the students understand the basic physics behind everyday engineering innovations such as aircraft.

Approximately 100 students at-tended the interactive STEM work-shop.

Students attending the BAE Systems-QU STEM workshop last month.

REGION/ARAB WORLD

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201516

Iran arrests three pro-reform journalists: reports AFPTehran

Iranian authorities have ar-rested three pro-reform journalists, one of whom has

been critical recently of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies reported yesterday.

State television said the elite Revolutionary Guards had ar-

rested “several members of an in-fi ltration network linked to hostile Western governments who were working in the country’s media and social networks”.

It did not give details, but said they would be published later.

The Ilna news agency, which is close to Iran’s reformists, had ear-lier reported the arrest of journal-ists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Ma-zandarani, but did not say when

they were detained or on what charges.

Saharkhiz was released in 2013 after serving three years in prison for insulting Khamenei and pub-lishing anti-regime propaganda.

He was head of media at the culture ministry under reformist president Mohamed Khatami, who was in offi ce from 1997 to 2005.

In recent months, he had criti-cised Khamenei and other senior

fi gures in interviews with foreign media.

Mazandarani runs the reformist daily Farhikhtegan. He was previ-ously arrested in 2009 for act-ing against national security and contact with foreigners, at a time of protests against the re-election of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Separately, the Mehr news agency, close to moderate con-

servatives, announced the arrest of Afarine Chitsaz, a journalist with government newspaper Iran.

Earlier yesterday, state televi-sion reported the arrest of a Leb-anese-American, Nezar Zaka, on suspicion of having links to the US intelligence community.

The television report did not give details of when or where the suspect had been arrested but identifi ed him as Nezar Zaka and

said he was suspected of “mul-tiple close ties to the US military and intelligence communities”.

The broadcaster aired photo-graphs of what it said was Zaka in military uniform on a US base.

Four Iranian-Americans are also being held in Iran. They in-clude Washington Post corre-spondent Jason Rezaian, who has been held since July last year on spy charges.

His employer says he has been found guilty in an “outrageous in-justice”. Iranian offi cials have not detailed the charges of which he has been convicted but have said that he can appeal.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Ja-vad Zarif has said Iran is trying to resolve Rezaian’s case “from a hu-manitarian point of view”.

Tehran does not recognise dual nationality for its citizens.

Cyclone wreakshavoc inYemen Images posted on social media show heavy floods hitting the streets of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramout

AFPAden

A rare tropical cyclone has slammed into Yemen, trig-gering heavy fl ooding and

causing “enormous” damage in a region of the war-racked country dominated by Al Qaeda, a senior offi cial said yesterday.

Packing winds of more than 100km per hour, Cyclone Chapala made landfall in the southeast-ern provinces of Hadramout and Shabwa, Minister of Fisheries Fahd Kafain said.

“The damage is enormous and we fear human losses,” said the minister, part of a commission set up to deal with the cyclone that brewed in the Arabian Sea.

The World Health Organisation said that it had delivered trauma kits for 1,000 patients in Mukalla and was providing fuel for hospi-tals and ambulances.

It said Hadramout and Shabwa had a combined population of about 1.8mn people including more than 100,000 internally displaced and 27,000 refugees and migrants.

The storm earlier wreaked hav-oc on the island of Socotra located 350km off the Yemeni mainland.

More than 200 people were in-jured and dozens of houses and hamlets were severely damaged or washed away, said Salem Za-her, mayor of the island’s main district Hadibo.

Images posted on social media showed heavy fl oods hitting the streets of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramout, bringing further misery to Yemenis already beset by poverty and rampant un-rest.

The Yemen Post newspaper described the city as being “un-der water”, saying on Twitter that Chapala “drowns city with 40 inches of water”.

Cars were half-submerged in muddy water while seafront roads were badly damaged by high waves.

“The rainfall from Chapala is far beyond anything ever wit-nessed in this arid area which is not used to cyclones,” the UN weather agency said on Monday.

The “very severe cyclonic storm” brought maximum sus-tained winds of 130km per hour with gusts of up to 145km per hour when it made landfall, it said in a joint update yesterday with India’s meteorological agency.

But Chapala has since rapidly lost strength, it said.

“Due to rugged terrain, dry air intrusion, increase in vertical wind shear and decrease in diver-gence, the system weakened rap-idly into a cyclonic storm and will further weaken into a depression during (the) next 12 hours,” it said in a statement.

Mukalla has been mostly con-trolled by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula since April.

The militants have taken ad-vantage of the chaos that has en-gulfed the country since Houthi Shia rebels overran the capi-tal Sanaa in September 2014 to tighten their grip on the sprawl-ing southeast.

Oman downgraded its state of alert, saying the cyclone had moved westwards and would not directly hit the sultanate.

However, the Omani meteoro-logical agency warned that waves as high as 3m were still expected to hit the shores of Dhofar and Al Wusta provinces.

Impoverished Yemen is al-ready facing a deep humanitarian crisis with a severe lack of food and medicine caused by the con-fl ict.

3 years’minimumjail termfor stonethrowers AFPJerusalem

Israel’s lawmakers have voted to impose a minimum three-year jail sentence on stone

throwers, the Knesset website said, weeks after the premier vowed “war” on those who pelt security forces with rocks.

The law was approved late Monday by 57 votes against 17 and comes as a surge of unrest in Israel and the occupied West Bank has entered its second month.

The new legislation was backed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who declared “war” in September on stone throw-ers.

Netanyahu pledged tougher penalties after a 65-year-old Israeli died when he lost con-trol of his car, with police saying the accident in East Jerusalem was caused by Palestinian stone throwing.

Since then Palestinian pro-testers have stepped up attacks with stones against Israeli se-curity forces and civilians in the West Bank and in East Jerusa-lem.

The law adopted by the Knes-set stipulates that judges would only be able to issue suspended sentences to stone throwers in exceptional circumstances.

It also adds rocks to the list of “harmful tools” in the country’s penal code.

Those convicted would have their social security benefi ts cut off while in jail, as would the par-ents of minors convicted.

Right-wing lawmaker Nissan Slomiansky who presented the law said the measures were nec-essary to dissuade stone throw-ing which he described as “at-tempted murder”.

“A minimum punishment is necessary to create a deter-rent and uproot the assumption that ‘it’s just a stone’,” said the MP who belongs to the religious Jewish Home party.

Jamal Zahalka, an opposition MP for the Joint List, a coali-tion of Arab-Israeli parties, de-nounced the law saying it would only add oil to the fi re.

“Fires cannot be put out with gas, and this law is throwing gas on a fi re,” he said.

Guards clash at Adenpresidential palace AFPAden

Guards at the presidential palace in Yemen’s second city Aden clashed yester-

day with militiamen providing security for the complex in a dis-pute over unpaid wages, a mili-tary source said.

At least two members of the presidential guard were wound-ed in the shootout, the source said.

The clash refl ects a state of chaos that prevails in Aden, the country’s main southern city which pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition air strikes recaptured from Shia rebels in July.

The presidential guard is led by a son of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who returned briefl y to Aden in September from exile in Riyadh, to where he has since gone back.

Soldiers from the force clashed with fi ghters from the Popular Resistance, a group of southern factions that fought alongside Hadi loyalists against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the mili-tary source said.

The fi ghters were protesting a delay in their wages, the source added.

“The fi ghting has subsid-ed, but tension remains at the Maashiq palace,” the source added.

The palace was severely dam-aged during the fi ghting between Hadi loyalists and the rebels, but was recently repaired by the United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia is taking a lead role in supporting Hadi.

Hadi declared Aden a tem-porary capital after he fl ed house arrest in Sanaa in Febru-ary, months after the insurgents overran the capital unopposed. He later left for Riyadh as the Houthis approached Aden.

Armed tribesmen from the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, fire from a tank in the area of Sirwah, west of Marib city, yesterday.

Iranian policeclose down‘KFC’ outlet Iranian police have swooped in to shutter a fried chicken shop using the brand name of US fast food giant KFC, local media said yesterday. “Police closed the ‘KFC’ restaurant as it didn’t have authorisation and had been operating under a false licence,” reported the news site of Iran’s Young Journalist Club, which is aff iliated with state television. The fast food joint, KFC Halal, had only been open for three days, the site said. “No American fast food chain has a restaurant in Iran,” Ali Fazeli, head of the Iranian chamber of commerce, was quoted as saying by the Ilna press agency. “Food products from Iranian KFC have nothing to do with KFC” in the United States, he said. “In accordance with orders from the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), we do not give any authorisation to Western brands” in the fast food sector, Fazeli added.

AFPHebron

The Israeli army yesterday raided and shut down a Palestinian radio station,

confi scating equipment and causing signifi cant damage, af-ter the military accused it of cel-ebrating attacks on Israelis.

Dozens of soldiers barged into the offi ces of the Al Hurria sta-tion in Hebron in the occupied West Bank in the early hours of the morning, the station’s ex-ecutive director said in a video posted online.

The army said the station was shut down and that its coverage “glorifi es attacks against Israe-lis”.

Ayman al-Qawasmi, Al Hur-ria’s director, said soldiers ap-proached the building around 2am.

“We thought it was related to the campaign of arrests but were surprised to see they were targeting the radio’s premises,” he said.

“Unfortunately they de-stroyed everything inside the building, there is nothing left... They confi scated broadcasting

equipment, microphones.” An AFP photographer at the

station said damage caused by the raid was considerable, with equipment and signs torn from walls and furniture upturned.

The Union of Palestinian Journalists said the station was informed it would be closed un-til April, calling the decision an “awful and heinous crime which refl ects the (Israelis’) barbaric, criminal, terrorist mentality to-wards Palestinian media”.

The Israeli army said media incitement was a key factor in the “aggravation, encouraging and celebration of the recent wave of terror”.

The station, the army said, “encourages stabbing attacks, violent riots and reports false and malicious claims of security forces executing and kidnap-ping Palestinians in order to provoke violence”.

In the past two weeks, around 20 young Palestinians have been shot by Israeli forces in and around Hebron. The army has accused them of trying to stab Israeli security forces or set-tlers.

Palestinians—including me-dia outlets such as Al Hurria—

have in some cases disputed the offi cial version of events, claim-ing some of the dead were either unarmed or did not represent a direct threat.

Al Hurria was formed in the Gaza Strip in 2002 by Fatah, the political party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli army said.

After the strip was taken over by Hamas, the station moved to Hebron in the West Bank, it said.

Israel has closed the station twice before, in 2002 and 2008.

Nine Israelis, 68 Palestin-ians—around half of them al-leged attackers—and an Arab Israeli have been killed in a wave of violence since the start of Oc-tober.

*Israel denounced yesterday a European Union proposal to label products from Jewish set-tlements, saying it would dam-age the peace process with the Palestinians.

An EU decision on whether to require labelling on all prod-ucts imported from Jewish set-tlements in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights is expected next week, media reported.

Speaking before a visit to Europe aimed at counter-ing the move, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said any such ruling would under-mine the chances of peace ne-gotiations.

The two sides have not talked peace for more than 18 months.

Hotovely told reporters dur-ing a visit to the Barkan indus-trial zone near the West Bank settlement of Ariel that she would visit Spain, France and Germany this week in a last-ditch bid to convince the EU to drop the proposals.

Hotovely, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, said she considered the settlements a part of Israel so there was “no diff erence” between labelling products from them and other areas.

“Labelling, it is very clear to say, is the pure boycotting of Is-rael,” she said.

“There are over 200 territo-rial disputes around the world. We don’t see Europe has the motivation to inform the con-sumer in Europe on the other 200 areas. Europe is singling out Israel,” she later told AFP.

Israeli army raids, shuts Palestinian radio station

A Palestinian journalist inspects the damage to the off ices of the Al Hurria radio station after an Israeli raid in Hebron yesterday.

ARAB WORLD17Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Experts examine black boxes of crashed airliner AFPCairo

Investigators yesterday began examining the two black box-es from the Russian airliner

that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Pe-ninsula, as President Abdel Fat-tah al-Sisi said the probe would take time.

Sisi described a claim by the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State militant group that it downed the Airbus A321 that crashed on Saturday killing all 224 people on board as “propaganda”.

The examination of the black boxes—one which recorded on-board conversations and the other fl ight data—started at around midday, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry offi cial said.

The probe could last several weeks or months if the recordings in the black boxes have been dam-aged, sources said. Russia’s gov-ernment commission overseeing the investigation was also due to meet yesterday.

The St Petersburg-bound plane operated by Russian airline Koga-lymavia crashed 23 minutes after

taking off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

Most of the passengers were Russian tourists.

Kogalymavia said the plane crashed due to “external action”,

and that there was no technical fault or human error. It insisted the aircraft was in an “excellent tech-nical condition”.

Within hours of the crash, the Egyptian affi liate of IS based in the

Sinai claimed it had downed the jet in retaliation for Russian air strikes targeting fellow militants in Syria.

“When there is propaganda that it crashed because of ISIS, this is one way to damage the stability

and security of Egypt and the im-age of Egypt,” Sisi told the BBC, using an alternative acronym for IS.

“The plane was at 35,000 feet altitude. Believe me, the situation in Sinai—especially in this limited area—is under our full control.”

Sisi warned the probe could take years as in the case of Pan-Am fl ight 103 from London to New York that was brought down by a bomb and crashed into the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988.

“It takes time to clarify the in-cidents. You had the Pan-Amer-ican that crashed over Europe. It took years before you reached the truth about the real reasons why it crashed,” Sisi said.

On Monday, US Director of Na-tional Intelligence James Clapper said it was “unlikely” that IS was involved in the Kogalymavia plane crash but did not rule out the pos-sibility.

Alexander Neradko, head of Russia’s aviation authority, criti-cised the airline’s comments ruling out technical fault or human error, saying they were “premature and not based on any real facts”.

Cairo, Moscow and Washington have downplayed the IS claim, al-though analysts have not ruled out that a bomb may have been plant-ed on board.

Experts say the fact that debris and bodies were strewn over a wide area points to a mid-air dis-integration of the aircraft.

IS militants in the Sinai are not thought to have missiles capable of shooting down a plane at the altitude at which the Airbus was fl ying.

That leaves two possibilities—a technical fault that caused the plane to disintegrate, or an explo-sion caused by a bomb smuggled on board, according to experts.

US offi cials told CNN and oth-er US television networks that a military satellite had detected a heat fl ash at the time of the crash, which could point to a catastroph-ic event during fl ight, possibly a bomb explosion although analysts were considering a range of poten-tial causes.

Among other possibilities cited by CNN were the explosion of a malfunctioning engine or a struc-tural problem with the plane.

Search operations have been ex-

tended to a radius of 40km. “Every centimetre of the crash

site should be inspected” to look for buried corpses and parts of the plane, Russian Emergency Min-ister Vladimir Puchkov said in a video conference with the Rus-sian teams at the site, adding that drones and satellites could also be used if necessary.

President Vladimir Putin has described the crash—Russia’s worst air disaster—as a “huge trag-edy”.

“Without any doubt everything must be done to create an objective picture of events so that we know what happened and can react ac-cordingly,” he said.

Relatives of the victims have be-gun the process of identifying the bodies after two planes delivered the remains of many of them to St Petersburg.

Family members had already been providing DNA samples at a crisis centre set up near St Peters-burg’s Pulkovo airport, now the site of an impromptu memorial where people have brought fl owers and cuddly toys to commemorate the victims, many of them chil-dren.

A handout picture taken on Monday and released yesterday by Russia’s emergency ministry shows Russian emergency services personnel working at the crash site in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Chalabi, key lobbyist for invasion of Iraq, dies AFPBaghdad

Ahmed Chalabi, a key lob-byist for the US-led in-vasion of Iraq who was

blamed for providing false intel-ligence on weapons of mass de-struction to justify it, died of a heart attack yesterday.

The 71-year-old head of par-liament’s fi nance committee “died this morning of a heart at-tack”, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement off ering

condolences for his death. He “dedicated his life to op-

posing the dictatorial regime and played a major role in building the political process and democracy in Iraq”, Abadi said.

Iraqi leaders including parlia-ment speaker Salim al-Juburi, For-eign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, a senior commander of Shia-majority vol-unteer forces, and various top of-fi cers came to Chalabi’s house to pay their respects.

In a statement on his death, the interior ministry described

Chalabi as having worked for the “salvation of the Iraqi people from dictatorship”.

Living in exile as head of the Ira-qi National Congress (INC), which opposed Saddam Hussain, Chalabi became a White House favourite for information he provided which supported the US justifi cation for attacking Iraq in 2003.

But he lost favour after the inva-sion when information regarding Saddam’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and links to Al Qaeda turned out to be false.

He was also accused of provid-ing information to Iran.

Iraqi police and US forces raided his home in May 2004 and seized documents and computers. The only formal charge laid was

putting forged banknotes into cir-culation after the raid turned up a small number in his home.

Chalabi was long dogged by al-legations of corruption and was convicted by a Jordanian court of embezzling funds from the col-lapsed Petra bank in 1992, a case he claims was politically moti-vated.

Born in October 1944 to a wealthy Baghdad family, Chalabi left the country in 1956 and spent most of his life in Britain and the United States, where he received a doctorate in mathematics.

He organised a Kurdish uprising in northern Iraq in the mid-1990s but hundreds of people were killed and he later fl ed, returning only when US-led invading forces took control.

Undaunted, he provided a steady stream of briefi ngs which were used to bolster the case for the 2003 war.

Key figures in US president George W Bush’s administra-tion hoped Chalabi and the INC might take over Iraq as an in-terim government after the fall of Saddam.

But because of its long years outside Iraq, his group was little known and little liked at home. Plans for a smooth and easy po-litical transition fell apart, and in-stead Iraq was plagued by years of bloodshed.

Following the invasion, Chal-abi, a secular Shia, was one of the main proponents of the “de-Baathifi cation” drive to remove alleged Saddam supporters from public life, which alienated Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority and fuelled the insurgency against US-led forces.

Chalabi: controversial figure

Russia stance suggests gapwith Iran onAssad future Comments by Russia’s foreign ministry appear to suggest a diff erence of approach compared with Iran on the question of keeping Assad in power

ReutersMoscow

Russia does not see keeping Bashar al-Assad in power as a matter of principle,

the foreign ministry in Moscow said yesterday in comments that suggested a divergence of opin-ion with Iran, the Syrian presi-dent’s other main international backer.

Fuelling speculation of Russian-Iranian diff erences over Assad, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps suggested on Monday that Tehran may be more committed to him than Moscow was.

However, one senior regional offi cial cautioned against reading too much into the public state-ments on Assad, saying there is no diff erence between Russia and Iran over him. They agree on his stay-ing in offi ce, and that it is up to the Syrian people to elect their presi-dent, the offi cial said.

Russia and Iran agreed on his staying in offi ce, and that it was up to the Syrian people to elect their president.

While Russia and Iran have been Assad’s foremost foreign support-ers during Syria’s four-year-old war, the United States, its Gulf al-lies and Turkey have insisted the president must step down as part of any eventual peace deal.

Talks in Vienna on Friday among the main foreign players involved in diplomatic eff orts on

Syria failed to reach agreement on Assad.

Asked by a reporter yesterday if saving Assad was a matter of prin-ciple for Moscow, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Za-kharova said: “Absolutely not, we never said that.”

“We are not saying that Assad should leave or stay,” RIA news agency quoted her as saying.

But another regime change in the Middle East could be a catas-trophe that “could simply turn the whole region into a large black hole”, she added.

Zakharova said Russia had not changed its policy on Assad and that his fate should be decided by the Syrian people.

But her remarks appeared to suggest a diff erence of approach compared with Iran, which has sent forces to fi ght alongside As-sad’s military and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which it backs, has also sent fi ghters.

The head of Iran’s Revolution-ary Guard Corps, Major General Mohamed Ali Jafari, acknowl-edged that Russia “may not care if Assad stays in power as we do”. The Tasnim news agency quoted him on Monday as saying: “We don’t know any better person to replace him.”

Nevertheless, the senior re-gional offi cial, who is familiar with diplomatic contacts on Syria, poured cold water on any sugges-tion of a split. “Forget it. There is no Russian-Iranian diff erence over the matter of Assad,” the offi cial told Reuters.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister rejected the idea of a transitional period sought by Western states that want Assad removed from power.

“We are talking about a national dialogue in Syria and an expanded government and a constitutional process. We are not at all talking about what is called a transitional period,” Faisal Mekdad said during a visit to Iran.

He said Assad had been elected president by a large majority and the Syrian people had confi rmed there was no alternative to him as leader.

Assad’s Syrian and foreign op-ponents, however, dismissed last year’s election as a sham.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet UN Syria envoy Staff an de Mistura in Moscow to-day to discuss attempts to start a dialogue between Damascus and the opposition, Moscow’s foreign ministry said.

At the talks in Vienna, where Russia was the leading player, Moscow said it wanted opposi-tion groups to participate in future discussions on the Syria crisis and exchanged a list of 38 names with Saudi Arabia.

The list included mostly former and current members of the Na-tional Coalition for Syrian Revo-lutionary and Opposition Forces (SNC), Syria’s Western-backed political opposition bloc, Kom-mersant newspaper reported yes-terday.

On the battlefi eld, a newly-formed US-backed Syrian rebel alliance advanced against Islamic State in the northeast province of Hasaka yesterday, the Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights moni-toring group said.

Syrian government forces and allied militia clashed in fi erce battles with IS fi ghters southeast of Aleppo city, the Observatory said.

Emergency personnel carry a body following an air strike yesterday in the rebel-held side of Aleppo city.

Moscow says ‘opposition’ guided planes to targets AFPMoscow

Russia said its jets bombed 24 targets in Syria yester-day using co-ordinates

supplied by “opposition repre-sentatives”—the fi rst time Mos-cow has claimed to work with opposition groups since it began its air off ensive.

“The co-ordinates of all of these targets were given to us by op-position representatives,” senior military offi cial Andrei Karta-polov said, without specifying the groups involved.

Russia announced contacts with the Syrian opposition as For-eign Minister Sergei Lavrov was due to meet the United Nations’ Syria envoy Staff an de Mistura in Moscow today.

Moscow said it had set up

“working co-ordination groups” aimed at bolstering the fi ght against the Islamic State, but said the identities of those involved were being kept secret.

“Such close co-operation will allow us to unite the eff orts of the government troops with other patriotic forces in Syria that used to be in the opposition and act as a united front against the com-mon enemy—international terror-ism,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov called the contact with the opposition groups “useful”, both for “fi ghting terrorism and promoting the political process”, while speaking to Interfax news agency.

The Russian defence ministry said the latest strikes hit targets close to Palmyra, Deir al-Zor, Ithriya and eastern Aleppo with

assistance from the opposition, destroying “terrorist” command posts, munition stores and anti-aircraft artillery.

The British-based Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said warplanes believed to be either Russian or those of the Syrian re-gime bombed the Islamic State group’s de facto capital Raqa yes-terday, killing at least 23 people including 13 militants.

Moscow has been bombing tar-gets in Syria since September 30, when it launched an off ensive in support of forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad against IS jihad-ists and other “terrorist” groups.

“Our aim both in Syria and any-where else is to fi ght terrorism fi rst of all,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Moscow yesterday.

But the US and its allies, who are involved in a separate air campaign against IS, have accused Moscow

of primarily hitting more moder-ate groups fi ghting Assad’s regime.

Russia’s defence ministry said its planes carried out joint train-ing yesterday with the US-led coalition force that is also con-ducting strikes in Syria on what to do if their planes got danger-ously close.

It said the simulation saw Rus-sian planes fl y at the minimum safe distance from the planes of the US-led coalition, establish ra-dio communications and inform each other of their fl ight plans in both English and Russian.

Moscow said that since the start of the operation it has hit 2,084 targets in 1,631 sorties, including 52 training camps and 287 com-mand posts.

It said it has managed to cause “signifi cant losses to the terror-ists” and to “undermine their mo-rale”.

AFRICA

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201518

Ouattara vows economic inclusion in second term By Loucoumane Coulibaly, Reuters Abidjan

Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara yesterday pledged to ensure that more of his compatriots reap

the benefi ts of the West African nation’s post-war economic revival as he was sworn in for a second fi ve-year term.

The head of the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest legal authority, meanwhile, said the body backed his plan to revise the constitu-tion to remove a controversial nation-ality clause at the root of a decade of political turmoil.

Ouattara won a landslide victory last month in the fi rst presidential election since a brief civil war killed over 3,000 people in the wake of the last presidential poll in 2010.

The peaceful October 25 vote was a boost for Ivory Coast’s democratic credentials and off ered crucial reas-surance of the country’s stability to investors who have fl ooded into the world’s top cocoa grower as its econ-omy has taken off .

“Only lasting peace, strong institu-

tions and Ivorians who place national interest above all else will allow our country to irreversibly join the ranks of the great democracies and devel-oped nations,” Ouattara said after tak-ing the oath of offi ce.

All six of his election rivals were present at a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in the com-mercial capital Abidjan that was also attended by Senegal’s President Macky Sall and President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin.

Ouattara’s re-election bid was bu-oyed by an economy that has grown by around 9% over the last four years, making Ivory Coast one of the top performers in Africa as other coun-tries have been hobbled by a global commodities crash.

However, while Ouattara’s leader-ship has been largely credited with the revival, many Ivorians claim they have been left behind.

“We must accelerate the distribu-tion of the fruits of growth, especially for our society’s most disadvantaged,” he said, adding that he would push for more processing of agricultural prod-ucts to create jobs for Ivorian youth.

Ouattara also promised to do more to foster reconciliation in a country still deeply divided along political and ethnic lines.

Many supporter of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo heeded a call by hard-liners from his Ivorian Popular Front party to boycott the vote last month.

Gbagbo, whose refusal to accept Ouattara’s fi rst win sparked the 2011 civil war, is awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court charged with crimes against humanity.

Before his 2010 victory, Ouattara’s political opponents, including Gbag-bo’s supporters, raised questions over his national origins as a pretext to bar him from running for the presidency.

His exclusion became a symbol for the perceived marginalisation of northerners who often have ethnic and family connections that straddle the borders with neighbouring Burki-na Faso, Mali and Guinea.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of his re-election, Ouattara vowed to change the constitution to scrap a na-tionality clause that states that presi-dential candidates’ parents must both be natural-born Ivorian citizens.

Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara gestures in front of the honour guard after he was sworn in at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan yesterday.

Pistorius lawyers battle to avoid murder chargeAFPPretoria

Oscar Pistorius’s lawyers yes-terday fought to keep him from returning to jail as state pros-

ecutors argued for a murder convic-tion in a combative appeal hearing a fortnight after he was released.

The Paralympic sprinter was found guilty last year of culpable homicide - a charge equivalent to manslaughter - after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

During sharp exchanges between his lawyer and the fi ve judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloem-fontein, the killing was again re-lived in front of a packed courthouse that included Steenkamp’s mother June.

At the crux of the appeal was how trial judge Thokozile Masipa inter-preted the principle of dolus eventua-lis - awareness of the likely outcome of an action - under which she acquitted Pistorius of murder.

“(Judge Thokozile Masipa’s) analy-sis of dolus eventualis seems to me to be wrong,” Judge Eric Leach said.

“When he fi red the bullets, did he know there was somebody behind the door?

“We’re talking about intent.” Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux fought

back, arguing that the original trial verdict could not be challenged on its factual fi ndings.

“(The judge) was saying... ‘my fac-tual fi nding is that when he fi red the shots thinking it was an intruder, he genuinely believed the deceased was in the bedroom’.

“He genuinely believed he was in danger and that’s why he fi red.”

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius should be convicted of murder as he intended to kill whoever was behind the toilet door through which he fi red four bullets.

“Firing through the door at torso level into a small cubicle... the fore-sight must be that someone would die,” Nel said.

The court reserved judgement on the case, and is expected to take some weeks before announcing its decision.

The National Prosecution Authority appeared confi dent of overturning the culpable homicide verdict.

“We fi rmly believe that the prosecu-tion team presented very persuasive and compelling arguments, and there-fore we have reasonable prospects of a successful appeal,” NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP.

Pistorius, 28, was released on Octo-ber 19 - just one year into his fi ve-year jail term - to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion in Pretoria.

If he was found guilty of murder, he would face a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Pistorius, who has not been seen in

public since his release, did not attend the hearing.

“I’m here to support Gerrie Nel and the team,” Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp told AFP.

“We are saying he must stay in jail,” said Khosi Mojapi, a 33-year-old member of the African National Con-gress Women’s League, outside the court building. “We say stop abusing women.”

A lone Pistorius supporter held a sign reading “Hands off Oscar Pisto-rius, Give Oscar Pistorius a break.”

Legal experts said it was diffi cult

to predict the outcome of the appeal given the unexpected - and sometimes unprecedented - legal twists and turns that have characterised the high-pro-fi le case.

The appeal judges could alter the original trial verdict and send the case back to the high court for a new sen-tence.

Pistorius may also make his own ap-peal to South Africa’s Constitutional Court - the country’s highest court.

But defence lawyers say Pistorius could not aff ord further legal battles, having already paid huge legal bills.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, at the peak of his fame, following his historic performance in 2012 when he became the fi rst double-amputee to race at Olympic level.

In the shooting’s aftermath, he lost his glittering sports career, lucrative contracts and status as a global role model for the disabled.

His release on house arrest after serving one-sixth of his sentence was in line with normal treatment of South African convicts, but was criticised by women’s rights groups and many oth-ers in the country.

South African ruling party African National Congress women’s league members sing and dance as they protest against Oscar Pistorius outside the appeal court in Bloemfontein yesterday.

Museveni, rival cleared to run in 2016 electionReutersKampala

Uganda’s electoral commission yesterday approved veteran leader Yoweri Museveni’s bid

to extend his three decades in offi ce, kicking off campaigning for the presi-dential election due in early 2016.

The commission also gave the green light to Museveni’s ally-turned-rival Amama Mbabazi, a former prime min-ister, to run in the election.

Museveni, 71, in power since 1986, is one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders. His critics accuse him of wanting to be president for life and of grooming his son, army brigadier Kainerugaba Muhoozi, to succeed him, charges he denies.

Opposition leaders had initially planned to challenge Museveni as a co-alition, but were unable to unite behind a single candidate.

“The reason I keep coming up is be-cause I am able to do the work,” Mu-seveni said yesterday, touting his role in leading Uganda to strong economic growth and a measure of political sta-bility after years of turmoil. “We’re now at a stage for take-off ,” he said.

Mbabazi, who was sacked as prime minister in 2014, had originally stood against Museveni as a candidate for the nomination of Uganda’s ruling Nation-al Resistance Movement (NRM) but will now run on an independent ticket.

Mbabazi said yesterday he aimed to help ensure “a peaceful transition... a change-over from one generation to the next.”

A third candidate, long-time op-position fi gure Kizza Besigye who has been nominated by Uganda’s largest opposition party, Forum for Democrat-ic Change (FDC), is expected to be reg-istered on Wednesday as a candidate in the presidential election.

Museveni has appeared keen to show his physical agility amid rumours of failing health. At a weekend NRM con-ference he was shown on television running from his seat to the podium.

The electoral commission said it would likely approve the candidacy of 10 presidential candidates, although the main contest is expected to be be-tween Museveni, Mbabazi and Besigye.

Mbabazi and Besigye have said they have not abandoned hopes of agree-ing on a single opposition candidate to challenge Museveni, but mutual suspi-cions remain strong.

Abducted aid workers freed in east Congo

Fourteen aid workers kidnapped two days ago by unidentifi ed assailants in the eastern Rutshuru region of

Democratic Republic of Congo have been released, the UN said yesterday.

Dozens of people have been kid-napped in Rutshuru this year by armed militias and criminal gangs. The area is still plagued by rebel groups following a 1998 to 2003 war that killed millions, mostly from hunger and disease.

The group of 14 kidnapped on Sun-day were employees of a Congolese non-governmental organisation.

“We are very happy to learn that the 14 aid workers kidnapped on Sun-day have been released,” the UN Offi ce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aff airs (OCHA) in Congo said on its Twitter feed.

Local government offi cials could not be reached for comment.

Zimbabwe arrests journalists over elephant poaching story

Zimbabwean police yesterday arrested

three journalists at a state newspaper

over a story implicating police and

parks off icers in the poisoning of some

60 elephants, saying their report was

false.

Authorities arrested Sunday Mail

editor Mabasa Sasa, the paper’s

investigations editor Brian Chitemba

and reporter Tinashe Farawo late on

Monday. They are being held at Harare

Central Police Station.

The trio are charged with “commu-

nicating false statements prejudicial

to the state,” police spokeswoman

Charity Charamba told reporters in the

capital.

The newspaper report alleged that a

police assistant commissioner, rangers

in the parks and wildlife department,

an Asian businessman and several

junior off icers were being investigated

for the recent poisoning of at least 60

elephants in separate incidents.

The police however said there

was no internal investigation being

conducted into their off icers who were

allegedly involved in elephant poach-

ing and that the story was untrue.

“The editor and reporters of The

Sunday Mail cannot be allowed to hide

behind the privilege of journalism to

peddle falsehoods,” said Charamba.

“We therefore appeal to all journal-

ists to verify all sensitive informa-

tion with a view of writing accurate

information.”

A media watchdog, the Voluntary

Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ)

condemned the journalists’ arrest.

“It’s barbaric in a democracy. It

infringes on the constitution which

provides for freedom of expression,”

said VMCZ director Loughty Dube.

“The police should simply have

asked for a retraction, issued a state-

ment with the correct position or regis-

tered their complaint through VMCZ.”

Charamba also announced that

police had in August arrested a man

at Harare international airport with 62

elephant tusks weighing 618kg worth

$154,000.

Last month, two other men were

arrested for illegally possessing ivory

and firearms.

In another separate case, two men

were also arrested last month for steal-

ing 100kg of cyanide at a factory ware-

house in the second city of Bulawayo.

Scores of elephants have died from

poisoning by suspected poachers

near Zimbabwe’s main game reserve

and near the border with Botswana in

recent months. Some of the carcasses

were found without tusks.

Off icers from the parks department

have been arrested in connection with

the incident.

Mozambique tries to rein in armed Renamo

Fresh clashes between Mozam-bican government forces and the main opposition Renamo

party resulted in several deaths, po-lice said yesterday, while denying reports that more than 200 had been killed.

The government has vowed to dis-arm Renamo, which has refused to accept the results of last year’s elec-tions that returned the long-ruling Frelimo party to power.

Renamo, which waged a 16-year civil war in the southern African na-tion until 1992, has threatened to take power by force in central and north-ern Mozambique, where there have been a number of recent skirmishes.

The latest clashes began last Wednesday in Morrumbala in the centre, where Renamo has recently installed a new military base.

Police spokesman Inacio Dina did not release a specifi c death toll, but

said the fi gure of more than 200 re-ported by some newspapers and on social media was false.

“There sure is human and mate-rial losses, but not of this size,” he told a news conference in the capital Maputo.

Home minister Basilio Monteiro declared Friday at Gorongosa in cen-tral Mozambique that government forces would continue their campaign to disarm Renamo until its last base was dismantled, state news agency AIM reported.

Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has accused the government of two recent attempts to assassinate him, including an attack on his convoy last month in which 24 people died.

“Our focus is to continue collecting weapons from the Renamo residual forces, and if they don’t do it volun-tarily, we will continue our operations to retrieve them” said Dina.

AMERICAS19Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Bill Cosby and his former lawyer were ordered on Monday to give sworn depositions in the defamation lawsuit brought by an ex-supermodel who says they falsely called her a liar after she publicly accused the comedian of sexually assaulting her three decades ago. Judge Debre Katz Weintraub refused Cosby’s request to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by Janice Dickinson, and said Cosby and his former lawyer Martin Singer must testify in the case before November 25. The judge stipulated nothing in her order would override attorney-client privilege. Cosby’s lawyers said they would appeal her decision. Dickinson is one of more than 50 women who have publicly accused Cosby of sexual assault.

A large ship found in deep water off the Bahamas is the lost freighter El Faro that sank with 33 crew members in a hurricane last month, US authorities said. The wreckage, in an upright position and intact on the ocean floor, was initially detected by a US Navy salvage team over the weekend at a depth of nearly 3 miles (5km). It was found in the vicinity of El Faro’s last known location off Crooked Island in the southeastern Bahamas, the US National Transportation Safety Board said. The Navy salvage tug Apache subsequently deployed a deep ocean remotely operated submersible, CURV-21, equipped with a camera to confirm the identity of the ship.

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department sergeant who was convicted of beating a visitor to a downtown jail and then falsifying reports about the incident was sentenced on Monday to eight years in prison. Eric Gonzalez, 46, and two deputies were found guilty earlier this year of violating the victim’s civil rights in a case stemming from a wide-ranging FBI investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses in the Los Angeles jail system. In all 15 current or former members of the Sheriff ’s Department have been convicted of federal charges in connection with that investigation. The two former sheriff ’s deputies who were convicted are scheduled for sentencing later this month.

Cult TV franchise Star Trek will boldly return to the small screen with a brand-new series in 2017, CBS said, sparking a frenzy among its millions of fans around the world. The series will air exclusively in the US from January 2017 but will be available largely behind the paywall on CBS’s subscription channel. The original “Star Trek” told the story of the flight crew aboard the USS Enterprise spaceship, which ventured around the galaxy exploring new worlds. The new series will “introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilisations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.”

Every dog has its day, and on Monday was Snoopy’s, as Charlie Brown’s cartoon sidekick joined the list of Hollywood legends with his own star on the city’s Walk of Fame. In a ceremony honouring the “world’s best-known and most accomplished beagle,” Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president Leron Gubler presented the Peanuts comic strip dog - represented by an actor in a human-sized Snoopy suit - with the 2,563rd named star embedded in the sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard. As the outsized alter ego and best friend to underdog hero Charlie Brown, Snoopy was “the original Joe Cool, a world-famous novelist, and a celebrated World War I Flying Ace,” Gubler said.

Judge orders depositionof Cosby by ex-model

Wreckage of US cargo ship El Faro found off Bahamas

Sheriff ’s sergeant sentto prison for jail beating

New ‘Star Trek’ serieswill air from 2017

Snoopy honouredon Walk of Fame

JUSTICE ACCIDENTCRIME TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT

Ryan says transport bill toget ‘lots of amendments’

Canada’s new leader tostep out on world stage

New US House Speaker Paul Ryan said yesterday that a long-term trans-

portation bill would undergo an open process in the House of Rep-resentatives this week, with “lots of amendments” receiving votes.

Ryan, in his fi rst news brief-ing after becoming speaker last week, said the bill would author-ise roads, bridges and rail transit projects for six years with three years of guaranteed funding.

If additional savings can be found elsewhere in the federal budget, he said, then the road work could be funded for a longer period. Republicans have refused to raise fuel taxes, unchanged since 1993.

After promising restive House Republicans last week that he would increase their voice in the legislative process if they elected him speaker, Ryan said the trans-portation bill “was a good place to start.”

“That’s why we’re going to have an open process on the fl oor with

lots of amendments considered by all members from both parties,” Ryan said.

Representative Steve Scalise, the third-ranking House Republi-can, said there would be well over 100 House amendments receiving votes.

Some 280 amendments have been off ered thus far on the House

bill that need to be vetted for con-sideration, added House Trans-portation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shus-ter. Republican lawmakers leaving a closed-door policy meeting said that among those amendments was a provision to renew the char-ter of the US Export-Import Bank.

Ryan, who opposes EXIM re-

newal, did not address that issue in his news briefi ng.

Asked whether he plans to push for controversial Republican pol-icy provisions in a spending bill needed to implement last week’s budget deal by Dec. 11, Ryan said Congress would exercise its con-stitutional rights over spending issues.

“The power of the purse rests within the legislative branch and we fully expect to exercise that power,” Ryan said.

Expanding on comments he made on Sunday about his reluc-tance to tackle comprehensive immigration reform while Presi-dent Barack Obama is still in of-fi ce, Ryan said the House may take action on border security and other immigration enforcement issues.

“On issues such as border en-forcement, interior enforcement, where I think we all have consen-sus, I think that would be fi ne if we could advance that,” Ryan said. “But I do believe that if we try to move in a comprehensive way, when the president has proven that he wants to go it alone, I don’t think that works.”

Justin Trudeau takes over as Canada’s prime minister to-day, striking out on the dip-

lomatic stage with a fortnight of back-to-back summits lead-ing up to the UN climate talks in Paris.

The Liberal leader swept to power last month with ambitious pledges to change tack on global warming and return to the multi-lateralism sometimes shunned by the outgoing conservatives.

But experts warn of an uphill road ahead for the 43-year-old son of Canada’s beloved late pre-mier Pierre Trudeau.

“There are clearly a lot of challenges (ahead) for the new government,” said University of Ottawa law professor Carissima Mathen.

Between mid-November and early December, Trudeau will

travel to the Group of 20 summit in Turkey, the Commonwealth meeting in Malta, the Asia-Pa-cifi c Economic Co-operation summit in the Philippines and the COP 21 climate conference in Paris.

The Liberal government-in-waiting has promised to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees before the end of the year, and to wind down Canada’s combat mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Foreign policy concerns also include beefi ng up oversight of Canada’s spy agency as it starts operating overseas for the fi rst time, and ratifying the Trans-Pa-cifi c Partnership agreement.

But tackling climate change will arguably be Trudeau’s big-gest challenge.

“It’s a tough issue for countries like Canada, which is a big energy user and exporter,” commented David Runnalls, a visiting climate policy expert at the University of Ottawa.

Labelled a “climate laggard” by the UN, Canada under Harper became the fi rst country to pull out of the landmark Kyoto Pro-tocol in 2011, infl icting lasting damage on relations with allies in Europe among others.

Trudeau promised strong measures to curb global warming but has so far off ered no fi rm tar-gets for reducing Canada’s car-bon emissions.

His challenge now is to reach a target, together with 10 provinces that have their own objectives and share responsibility for the environment with Ottawa.

What Alberta decides will be key to Canada meeting its tar-gets because greenhouse gases spewed from its oil sands are the biggest source of Canadian emis-

sions - and they are growing, Runnalls said.

Canada’s three biggest prov-inces - Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia - already have or will soon introduce carbon pricing schemes. Alberta is to an-nounce in the coming weeks how it plans to curb emissions without derailing the province’s oil sector and the nation’s economic en-gine, which laid off tens of thou-sands of workers this year amid a slump in oil prices.

At home, Trudeau begins this week by naming a cabinet, which he pledged would represent all regions of the vast country and be split equally between men and women. Trudeau’s priorities for year one of his mandate will be laid out before parliament in what is known as the speech from the throne, expected before the end of the year.

His government-in-waiting has said it would start by lowering taxes on middle income earners.

It is also expected to legalise marijuana, hold a public inquiry on missing and murdered aborig-inal women, and draft legislation permitting medically-assisted suicide.

An obstructive Senate, how-ever, may throw a wrench into its agenda. Historically the une-lected Upper Chamber has rarely blocked legislation but that has been changing in the last decade as the assembly has become in-creasingly partisan.

ReutersWashington

AFPOttawa

Trump’s newbook off ershis take oncountry’s ills Donald Trump published

a book about the ills of America to another media

frenzy yesterday, signing copies for fans, insulting his rivals on the campaign trail and telling Ameri-cans to elect him president.

Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, of-fers the everyday reader his take on the problems facing the country and why they should elect him to the White House to fi x them.

He invited the world media to Trump Tower to welcome its launch before signing cop-ies for excited fans who queued for hours and travelled from far and wide in the hope of meeting him, as he tops the polls, less than 100 days before the fi rst statewide nominating contests.

“I think I’m going to get the nomination and win the White House. I think beating Hil-lary Clinton is going to be easy because her record is so bad,” he announced, deftly fi elding questions, and dishing out jokes and insults at the expense of the other candidates.

Jeb Bush is a poor messen-ger who falls asleep at the po-dium, Marco Rubio is “over rated” with discredited person-al fi nances and a “disaster with credit cards” and Ben Carson lacks energy, he said.

The manifesto runs to a mod-est 169 pages, then fi nishes with three extra pages about his per-sonal fi nances and another 17-page section entitled “about the author.” It is on sale as a hard-back for $25.

Its release comes a week after

the former reality TV star was accused, with his closest rival retired neurosurgeon Carson, of peddling “fantasy” economic policies at the Republican de-bate.

The billionaire glowers on the cover, by his own admission a “terrible, horrible, nasty pic-ture” that was chosen to refl ect his “anger and unhappiness” about the current state of US aff airs.

Trump said he was donating all profi ts from the book - which he told reporters was “selling like hotcakes” - to a multitude of causes.

Several hundred fans queued to have their copies signed, many of them leafi ng through the book, others wearing his “Make America Great Again” campaign hat and one woman even clutching a Trump doll.

Lorie Shockley, a nurse from Ohio, said she drove eight hours with her boyfriend last night and will drive straight back home, just to get Trump to sign two copies of his book, one for her and one for her son.

“I think it’s like historic, it’s pretty unbelievable,” she said at the prospect of meeting him.

“I’m anti-establishment,” she said. Trump’s no nonsense message about what is wrong with career politicians appeals to her.

“Even if he doesn’t make it, I still think that he has changed the dynamics of politics and what’s going on right now in our country.”

Marcel, a German tourist on his fi rst trip to New York, was combining the Trump event with the Statue of Liberty and a basketball game.

“I think it’s easy to read,” he

said. “Maybe it will be getting more concrete when I read it further, but right at the mo-ment not in-depth analysis I would say.”

The tome fl eshes out Trump’s politics in 17 chapters, under headlines such as “Health Care Is Making Us All Sick” and “The Right To Bear Arms,” mixed with copious grandstanding about his business acumen.

There are pictures of his pho-togenic family, an angelic-look-ing Trump as a child, one from his fi rst communion and meet-ing the late president Ronald Reagan (a “great guy”), but half the illustrations are technicol-our pictures of his real-estate projects.

The businessman waxes lyrical on his tried and tested themes: an economy overtaken by China, simplifying the tax code, making a better, aff ord-able healthcare system and end-ing illegal immigration.

He stands by his controversial pledge to build a wall along the Mexico border - citing as inspi-ration Israel’s security barrier in the West Bank and saying Euro-peans also wanted walls to stop immigrants.

In a chapter on foreign poli-cy, he calls the world “a terrible mess” and calls for the defeat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State extremist group - with-out spelling out how - quip-ping that their forces “probably wouldn’t even fill the Yankee Stadium.”

The book is published by Threshold Editions, a con-servative imprint of Simon and Schuster, that has previously edited work by Republican hawk former US vice president Dick Cheney.

AFPNew York

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a news conference before a public signing for his new book Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, at the Trump Tower Atrium yesterday in New York City.

Paul Ryan holds his first news conference at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington yesterday.

Justin Trudeau: tackling climate change will arguably be the biggest challenge.

Grandpa leavesgirl, 5, in desertwith loaded gun

An Arizona grandfather has been arrested and accused of leaving his fi ve-year-old

granddaughter alone in the desert with a loaded and cocked .45-ca-liber handgun and the instruction to “shoot any bad guys,” authori-ties said on Monday.

Paul Armand Rater, 53, was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix on suspicion of two counts of felony child abuse and one count of fel-ony child endangerment stem-ming from incident on Sunday night.

Deputies said he and the child left their home in Buckeye, about 30 miles (48km) west of Phoenix, in a pickup truck early on Sunday afternoon and that the girl was reported missing four hours later.

She was eventually located in the desert by her mother and an off -duty fi refi ghter. The child was holding the powerful pistol.

“She was given the gun and told to shoot any bad guys,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told Re-uters by telephone. “I don’t know how a fi ve-year-old can tell a good guy from a bad guy, but that’s what she said she was told.”

Rater was later located at a store where he told deputies the vehi-cle had broken down and that he had left the girl under a tree in the desert because she was complain-ing she could not walk anymore, court records showed.

He admitted leaving the girl with his gun, “while he went for a few drinks and a cheeseburger,” the sheriff ’s offi ce said.

The child was returned to her mother and state child welfare au-thorities were alerted, the sheriff ’s offi ce said.

ReutersPhoenix

“There are clearly a lot of challenges (ahead) for the new government”

ASEAN

Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 201520

British journos get short jail terms in Indonesia

AFPBatam

Two British journalists given short jail terms in Indonesia yesterday for

working without correct visas said they were relieved to be going home but disappointed they were treated as criminals for doing their jobs.

Neil Bonner, 32, and Rebecca Prosser, 31, were sentenced yesterday to two-and-a-half months in prison, less than the five months sought by pros-ecutors who accused them of misusing their tourist visas to make a documentary about pi-racy near the western island of Batam.

Unless prosecutors appeal against the sentence, their law-yer said the pair, who have been detained since May, could walk

free after time spent in custody awaiting trial is taken into ac-count.

Prosser said it was a “big

relief” to be going home but condemned their sentence as a “criminalisation of journal-ists”. “I think this makes it a more dangerous landscape for other journalists in Indonesia,” she told reporters in Batam af-ter the sentence was passed.

Bonner thanked their sup-porters but expressed sadness because “this is journalism on trial, and we’ve been found guilty”.

“I don’t think journalism is a crime,” he said.

Presiding judge Wahyu Pra-setyo Wibowo said the defend-ants had violated their visas but admitted their wrongdoing and apologised.

The pair arrived in Indonesia to shoot a documentary about piracy for production house Wall to Wall with funding from National Geographic, accord-ing to their indictment.

It added they had hired sev-eral Indonesians to act out a scene of a tanker being boarded by a group of pirates off Batam.

The island is in the Malacca Strait, a major shipping lane.

Their lawyer Aristo Pangar-ibuan expressed regret that the prosecution was consider-ing filing an appeal, saying his clients were not bad people who had served their time and would pay the 25mn rupiah fine ($1,850) imposed on each.

“I told the judge I hope the prosecutors are on the same page, because if they file an ap-peal, whether we like it or not we have to deal with it,” he said.

Foreign journalists wanting to report in Indonesia must get a special visa. Those detained in the past for illegal report-ing have been deported imme-diately or given short prison terms.

Two French journalists were given jail terms of two and a half months last year after be-ing caught in Indonesia’s Pa-pua province trying to make a documentary about the sepa-ratist movement while on tour-ist visas.

Unless prosecutors appeal against the sentence, the pair, who have been detained since May, could walk free after time spent in custody awaiting trial is taken into account

Thein Sein warns of

violence in Myanmar

Arab Spring-styleAFPYangon

A video posted on the Fa-cebook page of Myan-mar’s president, raising

the spectre of bloodshed and chaos akin to the Arab Spring aftermath if it loses power in Sunday’s polls, has drawn an angry response on social me-dia.

The tightly edited four-minute feature was posted on the page of President Thein Sein, days before the country heads to the polls in landmark elections which are expected to see the opposition make major gains.

The video juxtaposes scenes of recent violence in the Mid-dle East with shots of seeming tranquility and development in Myanmar during its transition towards democracy, backed by a heavy metal soundtrack.

It ends with the words: “Only when peace prevails will democratisation be imple-mented.”

“It was about the trans-formation of Myanmar into a democratic country,” said Zaw Htay, director of the president’s office.

Thein Sein, a former gen-eral, and the ruling army-backed USDP party have po-sitioned themselves as the guarantors of Myanmar’s sta-ble progress as it shakes off decades of junta rule.

Unlike countries that suf-fered “blood streams, explo-sions, violent protests”, My-anmar has remained stable, Zaw Htay said, since the army handed power to a quasi-ci-vilian reformist government

in 2011. “Compared to those countries, we all know that our country developed step by step,” he added.

“We can’t become like America or Singapore right away, we have to wait.”

Religious violence has left hundreds dead in Myanmar since 2012, while several in-surgencies continue to burn in the borderlands.

Many local social media users accused the president’s office of hypocrisy.

For decades Myanmar’s military ruled the country with an iron fist, crushing dissent and fixing - or simply ignoring - elections. Thein Sein rose to the highest ech-elons of the junta before trad-ing in his uniform for civilian politics.

Human rights groups ac-cuse the military of regular abuses in their fi ght against ethnic minority rebels. Others, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have voiced fears the government is back-sliding on reforms.

“Taking students to prison while they were protesting in Letpadan for our people’s education system, was that a peaceful way of transforming to democracy?” wrote Thet Ko Ko under the Facebook video on the president’s page - a ref-erence to the recent arrest and trial of student protesters.

“The beautiful Kachin is now left with piles of waste soil... peaceful way huh?” wrote user Pharsi Myae, a reference to military-con-trolled mining operations in the northern state of Kachin, which has been blighted by decades of war.

Protesters hold marked images of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a protest ahead of his visit to Vietnam, on the street in Hanoi yesterday. A group of anti-China protesters gathered in front of the Opera House in Hanoi and marched through several central streets to show their displeasure against the Chinese leader’s visit, which is scheduled to take place on November 5 and 6.

Protest against Chinese president’s visit to Vietnam

Agitation leader faces criminal charges DPAKuala Lumpur

Prosecutors yesterday fi led charges against the leader of an anti-gov-

ernment protest that called for the resignation of Prime Min-ister Najib Razak, a lawyer for the accused said.

Maria Chin Abdullah, leader of the electoral reform group Bersih, pleaded not guilty to the charge of vio-lating the country’s Peaceful Assembly Act of 2012 for fail-ing to give the police a 10-day notice ahead of the protest in late August, lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan said.

The overnight protest on August 29 and 30 drew tens of thousands of people, in-cluding former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir

Mohamed, calling for Najib’s resignation. If found guilty, Maria could be fined up to 10,000 ringgit ($2,300), Am-biga added. Kuala Lumpur Session Court Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah set the bail at 5,000 ringgit, which the ac-cused immediately paid.

Najib has been under at-tack, even from within his ruling party, since a July re-port in the Wall Street Jour-nal suggested that $673mn in his bank accounts were mis-appropriated from the state development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The embattled leader de-nied the allegations and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said the money in Najib’s bank accounts did not come from 1MDB but from foreign donors in the Middle East.

British journalist Rebecca Prosser (left) speaks to journalists next to colleague Neil Bonner after their trial at a court in Batam yesterday.

Star Wars quest to pull Malaysian art form out of shadows AFPKuala Lumpur

Darth Vader’s distinctive helmet-headed silhou-ette swoops in to seize

control of a spaceship, but this is not the movies — instead his movements are being brought to life by a Malaysian shadow-puppet master behind a back-lit screen.

“Tell me, where are the plans that have been intercepted?,” the puppeteer intones in the Malay language, drawing cheers from hundreds of spectators as they recognise Vader’s baritone.

Traditional Indonesian and Malaysian shadow puppetry was once at the centre of Southeast Asian art and culture, but has steadily lost its appeal.

But three Malaysians hope to breathe new life into the art by updating it with Star Wars and other pop-culture themes.

Leading the eff ort is Chuo Yuan Ping, a designer and Star Wars buff who fi rst crafted shad-ow puppets based on the movie for an art exhibit a few years ago.

His research for the project

uncovered concerns about the state of the art, which is known as wayang kulit.

“At fi rst it was all about Stars Wars, but later I learnt how wayang kulit was a dying art form after speaking to many master puppeteers, and I felt sad,” said Chuo, 43.

“All of us felt a responsibility to do more for this part of Ma-laysian culture.”

Chuo, art director friend Teh Take Huat, and 63-year-old master puppeteer Mohamed Dain Othman have performed a section of the original 1977 Star Wars fi lm as a shadow-play about a dozen times the past two years.

Star Wars was chosen as the theme due to its near-universal appeal, as evidenced by the fren-zy surrounding the December release of the latest big-screen instalment, “Stars Wars: The Force Awakens.”

“Even my mom knows Darth Vader,” Chuo said.

Traditionally based on Hindu epics, shadow puppetry was in-troduced to the region in the 15th century and promoted by Java’s Hindu rulers.

It seeped throughout Indo-nesia, Malaysia and elsewhere as Muslim preachers used it as a way to spread Islam, the region’s dominant religion today.

Puppeteers use sticks to or-

chestrate the movements of elaborately decorated leather puppets on a back-lit cotton screen, and voice the characters, backed by a traditional gamelan percussion orchestra.

Wayang kulit is on Unesco’s list of “masterpiece” human art forms, but radio, TV, and now digital entertainment increas-ingly relegate the genre to tourist consumption or the odd cultural

show. Rising religious fervour also has led to restrictions on the art in conservative areas of Ma-laysia, due to its Hindu themes.

At a recent performance in a Kuala Lumpur square, a miked-up, sarong-wearing Mohamed Dain worked his puppets while sitting cross-legged behind the screen. Behind him, a young sound engineer used a laptop to make the puppeteer’s voice more Vader-like, to replicate R2-D2’s digital-beep mutterings, and to splash the screen with colourful lighting eff ects.

“We see the audience happy and their perceptions about wayang kulit are changing, that it has legs,” said Chuo, who adds that team has invested more than $10,000 of their own money.

Mohamed Sani Sukir, who brought his family to watch the show, raved afterward.

“By combining two things, one old and one new, into one package, this increases the at-traction of wayang kulit,” he said.

But it originally took some persuading to convince Mo-hamed Dain, who runs a wayang kulit art gallery in his hometown

in rural northern Malaysian state of Kelantan.

Chuo felt a puppet master was needed to ensure the art form’s integrity and aesthetics.

“After months of talking, convincing and using a bit of The Force, he agreed to join and do this,” Chuo says with a laugh.

“I had to pass him my Star Wars DVD and let him know who Han Solo was.”

Most of the puppets were made from tanned buffalo hide by skilled Kelantan craftsmen.

Government efforts to pro-mote appreciation of wayang kulit have gained little traction, but private groups are forging ahead, said Eddin Khoo, found-er of a cultural non-profit that stages performances of the art.

He called the Star Wars project “helpful” for wayang kulit. Chuo has expanded the idea by designing Superman, Batman and other superhero shadow puppets for exhibi-tions, and may incorporate them in future shows.

“It’s a little thing that I can do for Malaysian culture,” he said.

A Darth Vader’s distinctive helmet-headed silhouette projects on the screen as designer and the brain behind the “Star Wars-inspired Wayang Kulit” Chuo Yuan Ping addresses the audience prior to a show at the Independence square in Kuala Lumpur.

AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA21Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Rock group AC/DC Brian Johnson, Chris Slade, and Angus Young perform during a rehearsal at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, yesterday. The band begin their Australian tour today, with the first of nine concerts being held in Sydney, then in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.

Throw the switch

S China Sea shadow over defence forumReutersKuala Lumpur

The United States and Japan are pushing to get concerns about the South China Sea included in a state-

ment to be issued after regional defence talks in Malaysia despite Chinese objec-tions to any mention of the disputed wa-terway, offi cials said.

A senior US defence offi cial said Beijing had made clear as early as February that it didn’t want the South China Sea discussed at the meeting between Southeast Asian defence ministers and their counterparts from across the Asia-Pacifi c in Kuala Lumpur today.

“We’ve been very clear along with many other like minded countries that South China Sea language should be included but there are members who feel diff erently,” said the US defence offi cial, adding China was the main obstacle.

A draft of the concluding statement be-ing prepared by host Malaysia makes no mention of the South China Sea, said a separate source familiar with the discus-sions, focusing instead on terrorism and regional security cooperation.

Today’s gathering brings together the

10 defence ministers from the Associa-tion of South East Asian Nations (Asean) along with ministers from countries such as the United States, Japan, China, India and Australia.

The meeting, fi rst held in 2006, is a platform to promote regional peace and stability.

It is taking place a week after a US war-ship challenged territorial limits around one of Beijing’s man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago with a so-called free-dom-of-navigation patrol.

US defence secretary Ash Carter held a 40-minute meeting with his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan yesterday at which the two discussed cyber-security and the South China Sea, a senior US de-fence offi cial said.

Chang told Carter that China’s activi-ties in the body of water were primarily meant to help other countries.

“’But that said, we need to do things that help us defend our sovereign territory and I need to be very clear to you that there is a bottom line to this,’” the senior US defence offi cial said, recounting Chang’s comments.

The warship incident prompted China’s naval chief to warn his US counterpart in a video teleconference that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea if the United States did not stop its “pro-vocative acts”.

The source familiar with the talks in Kuala Lumpur said Japan had requested Malaysia “improve” the draft and make note of the South China Sea.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5tn in glo-bal trade passes every year. Vietnam, Ma-laysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

Asean meetings routinely become a venue for countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam to argue for a stronger stance against China’s territorial ambitions.

Countries like Cambodia are pro-China while Malaysia has sought to steer a more neutral path, even though it’s a claimant and only last month its armed forces chief called China’s island-building an “unwar-ranted provocation”.

In his opening remarks to a separate meeting of Asean defence ministers yes-terday, Malaysian defence minister His-hammuddin Hussein made no mention of the South China Sea.

The US Navy plans to conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands about twice a quarter to remind China and other countries about US rights under in-ternational law, a separate US defence of-fi cial said on Monday.

“That’s the right amount to make it regular but not a constant poke in the eye,” the offi cial said.

Speaking in Beijing, Fan Changlong,

vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission told the commander of US forces in the Pacifi c, Admiral Harry Har-ris, that US action in the South China Seas could easily cause “miscalculations” that could threaten regional peace and stabil-ity, China’s defence ministry said.

But Harris, speaking earlier at a Beijing university, said US freedom of naviga-tion operations should not be viewed as a threat.

“We’ve been conducting freedom of navigation operations all over the world for decades, so no one should be surprised by them,” Harris said, on a trip that is part of regular exchanges that are taking place between the two navies despite tension over the South China Sea.

Harris has been highly critical of Bei-jing’s island building in the Spratlys, saying this year that China was creating a “great wall of sand” in the South China Sea.

Carter yesterday told his Chinese coun-terpart Chang Wanquan that the Ameri-can military would continue to operate in the South China Sea, a senior US defence offi cial said.

“(Carter) once again reaffi rmed that the United States will continue to fl y, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” the offi cial said after the two de-fence chiefs met in Kuala Lumpur.

“And he clearly made the case that the South China Sea would not be an exception.”

Space revolution being hatched in a New Zealand paddock ReutersAuckland, New Zealand

The next revolution in space, making humdrum what was long the special

preserve of tax-funded giants like Nasa, will be launching next year from a paddock in New Zea-land’s remote South Island.

The rocket launch range is not just New Zealand’s fi rst of any kind, but also the world’s fi rst private launch range, and the rocket, designed by Rocket Lab, one of a growing number of busi-nesses aiming to slash the cost of getting into space, will be pow-ered by a 3D-printed rocket en-gine - another fi rst.

The 16m carbon-cased rocket being assembled in a small hang-ar near Auckland Airport will weigh just 1,190kg, and with fuel and payload will be only about a third the weight of SpaceX’s Falcon 1, the fi rst privately de-veloped launch vehicle to go into orbit back in 2008.

The remote launch site is no accident.

“One advantage of New Zea-land being this little island na-tion in the middle of nowhere is that’s the perfect place to launch a rocket,” said Rocket Lab’s CEO Peter Beck.

Ships and planes need re-routing every time a rocket is launched, which limits oppor-

tunities in crowded US skies, but New Zealand, a country of 4mn people in the South Pacifi c, has only Antarctica to its south.

Rocket Lab, part funded by Lockheed Martin Corp, is aim-ing for up to one launch a week from around 2018, costing just under $5mn each, a tenth of typi-cal launch prices now, and vastly increasing business access to space.

Even Nasa, struggling to shift its launch backlog, this month awarded Rocket Lab and rivals Firefl y Space Systems and Vir-gin Galactic contracts totalling $17.1mn to launch tiny satellites into orbit from 2017.

Rocket Lab recently signed a deal with Silicon Valley-based

Moon Express to send a rocket to the moon in 2017 in a bid to win Google’s $20mn Lunar X prize for the fi rst company to send a probe that broadcasts images from the moon.

Moon Express has already contracted for fi ve launches with Rocket Lab and plans to send robotic spacecraft continually to the moon for exploration and commercial development of nat-ural resources such as platinum.

Its CEO Bob Richards ac-cepts there will be glitches and a steep learning curve, but believes companies like Moon Express are making the future as the low-cost launch brings to businesses what used to require the resourc-es of a superpower.

“The emergence of commer-cial space today will have the same impact as the emergence of commercial aviation did in the early 1900s,” he said.

The bread and butter of new launch companies will be the burgeoning small satellite indus-try, as players such as Google, Virgin and Samsung plan satel-lite constellations to carry com-munications infrastructure and gather data from low-earth orbit.

“We’re not about building a rocket; we’re about enabling the small satellite revolution,” said Rocket Lab’s Beck.

Three separate Internet broadband ventures to provide low-cost Internet from the top of the Himalayas to the middle of the Sahara desert are being planned by One Web, Samsung and SpaceX, with support from Google. These alone will require 6,000 new satellites in the next four years, Rocket Lab predicts.

The Satellite Industry Associ-ation says just over 200 satellites were launched in 2014, nearly double the previous year.

Not everyone believes there will be enough demand to sup-port the growing number of launch companies.

“The market can’t sustain that many; there’s going to be a thin-ning out of the herd,” said Daniel Lim, vice president of disruptive innovations at space services provider TriSept Corporation.

Others say launch cost is still too high at around $5mn, when for $40,000 companies can ride-share on a larger rocket to launch a nano-satellite, if they can tol-erate long waiting lists and don’t need control over timing or tra-jectory.

But space startups have been proving popular with investors.

“Investor dollars are increas-ing their fl ow,” said Sean Ca-sey, head of Silicon Valley Space Center, a business accelerator for space startups. “Venture capital-ists are looking for a return on in-vestment and the possibilities of disruptive technologies.”

The largest 100 new space companies received more than $2bn investment in 2015, around four times more than in 2009, according to data from New Space Global.

That is still dwarfed by Nasa’s $17.6bn budget last year, but many say small companies off er options and a risk appetite that government agencies cannot.

Sandy Tirtey, a hypersonic en-gineer who leads the vehicle team at Rocket Lab, used to work for the European Space Agency, but lost patience with the red tape required to make small design changes.

“I had enough of all these processes,” he said. “We’re not spending all day feeding paper work, we’re spending all day solving problems,” he said.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck sits alongside a Rutherford rocket engine in Auckland.

The US and Japan are being very vocal about their concerns

Over 100 Australians‘funding terrorism’

AgenciesSydney

It’s been revealed Austral-ia’s fi nancial intelligence agency is monitoring over

100 Australians who are be-lieved to be funding terrorism according to au.news.yahoo.

The Australian reported that Austrac has recorded a 300% increase in suspicious activity linked to terrorism, prompted largely by Syria’s civil war.

It’s believed groups like Islamic State are turning to increasingly inventive ways to access money, including crowd-funding, with sup-porters able to donate funds before authorities can shut sites down.

A man who fell asleep in his car with $100,000 worth of illegal drugs got a nasty wake-up call from Victoria Police.

Offi cers noticed the man asleep in his car on the Cal-

der Freeway, Ravenswood at 9.30am and a search allegedly revealed 1kg of ecstasy, one litre of GBH and some meth-amphetamine and ampheta-mine with a combined value of about $100,000.

A 24-year-old Marybor-ough man has been charged with 11 off ences, including four counts of drug traffi ck-ing. He was remanded to ap-pear at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court today.

A thief wearing a balaclava has jimmied open the front doors on a Melbourne pet-rol station and stolen a large quantity of cigarettes.

The man, who was captured on CCTV, used a metal pole to force the front doors of the Blackburn North service sta-tion on October 18, police said yesterday.

Once inside, the man opened a locked cabinet and stole a large amount of ciga-rettes before leaving in a white ute.

Taiwan’s Ma to meet Chinese presidentAFPTaipei

Taiwan’s Pesident Ma Ying-jeou will meet Chinese President Xi

Jinping in Singapore on Sat-urday, Ma’s offi ce said, in what will be the fi rst meeting be-tween leaders from the two ri-vals since they split at the end of a civil war in 1949.

The two presidents will “exchange views on cross-strait issues” Ma’s spokesman Charles Chen said yester-day, adding that the intention of the visit was to “secure cross-strait peace” but that no agreement would be signed and no joint statement would be made.

Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang (KMT) forces fl ed to Taiwan to establish a separate govern-ment after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists.

While the two sides have been governed separately since then, Beijing still con-siders the island part of its ter-ritory awaiting reunifi cation.

Ties have warmed since Ma of the China-friendly KMT came to power in 2008, but public sentiment has turned against closer relations as fears over Beijing’s infl uence grow.

Ma will step down as presi-dent next year after a maxi-mum two terms and the main opposition China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to win the leadership at elections in Jan-uary.

Chen said Ma would leave for Singapore on Saturday where he will meet Xi.

“The purpose of president Ma’s visit is to secure cross-strait peace and maintain the status quo of the Taiwan Straits,” Chen said in a state-ment.

“No agreement will be signed, nor any joint state-ment be released,” he added.

The head of Taiwan’s top China policy decision-mak-ing body, the Mainland Af-fairs Council, will hold a press conference Wednesday where more details will be released as to the signifi cance of the meeting.

A senior DPP spokesman told local media the party would not comment until fur-ther details of the visit were released.

The KMT suff ered its heavi-est ever local election defeat last year, with its China-friendly strategy a major fac-tor.

While closer ties with Bei-jing have brought trade pacts and a tourism boom, many voters feel big business has benefi ted, rather than ordi-nary Taiwanese people.

There are also concerns over lack of transparency — last year saw the unprecedented occupation of parliament by student protesters angered by a trade agreement they said had been made in secret.

But Ma has repeatedly de-fended his China-friendly policies, saying they have brought stability to the region.

The KMT adheres to the “1992 consensus” — a tacit agreement between the party and Beijing which acknowl-edges there is “one China” but allows each side their own in-terpretation.

Ma has warned against the consequences of diverg-ing from the 1992 consensus, which the DPP does not rec-ognise.

DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that she will maintain the status quo if elected president in January, but is likely to face pressure from pro-independent voices within her own party.

She has also been criticised by the KMT who say that she has not fully explained how her policy will work.

The KMT replaced its pro-China presidential candidate last month as the deeply di-vided party struggles for pub-lic support.

Party chairman Eric Chu was endorsed as the KMT’s new contender after members voted against Hung Hsiu-chu representing them at the polls, following concern that her conservative views fl y in the face of public sentiment.

Hung had historically taken a pro-unifi cation stance and espoused a peace agreement with China.

China’s President Xi Jinping and Taiwan’s Ma Ying-jeou

22 Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 2015

BRITAIN/IRELAND

Irelandplans heroininjectioncentres AFPLondon

Ireland aims to become the latest European nation to introduce supervised heroin

injecting rooms in a radical over-haul of its approach to substance abuse, the country’s drugs min-ister said.

Aodhan O Riordain, the min-ister with responsibility for drugs strategy, said the government was planning for the legislation to allow such rooms to be enacted by the fi rst quarter of next year.

“It will eff ectively mean a dip-lomatic immunity to inject her-oin in a safe, secure, passionate environment,” he said.

“It will limit the dangers of contracting HIV and Hepatitis C and also takes away the street injecting phenomenon,” he said.

The fi rst centre is to be opened in Dublin next year, said the min-ister, who was taking part in a policy seminar at the London School of Economics.

If introduced as planned, Ire-land will follow similar mod-els already in place in Australia and parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands, Spain and Switzer-land in an eff ort to manage risk associated with intravenous drug users.

“Essentially people come, they bring in their own material but they are provided with a medi-cally supervised space,” O Ri-ordain said.

The minister also said he wanted a “cultural shift” and a “national conversation” in Ire-land on decriminalising small amounts of drugs for personal use, following the example set by Portugal.

As a former school principal in Dublin’s north inner city, where there is a severe heroin problem, O Riordain said he was acutely aware of the devastating conse-quences of drug abuse.

Portugal has considered drug use a public health issue rather than a criminal one since it de-criminalised the use of all drugs for personal use in 2001.

US writer Silbermanwins British book prize ReutersLondon

American writer Steve Silberman’s book Neu-rotribes, about the his-

tory of autism and how people and society deal with it, was named the winner of the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.

Silberman’s is the fi rst work of popular science to win the prestigious British award in its 17-year history and comes at a time of growing public aware-ness of the neurodevelopmental disorder that aff ects millions of people around the world, the prize committee said in a state-ment. “Neurotribes is a tour de force of archival, journalistic and scientifi c research, both scholarly and widely accessi-ble. We are delighted to award it the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize,” chair of judges Anne Apple-baum said in a statement.

Silberman became inter-ested in autism when he wrote a ground-breaking article for

Wired magazine in 2001 about the seemingly high incidence of the condition among the chil-dren of successful technology couples in Silicon Valley.

His book, the full title of which is Neurotribes: The Leg-acy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Diff erently, delves into the history of the diagnosis of autism simultaneously by Hans Asperger in Nazi-controlled Vi-enna and in the US by Leo Kan-ner. Asperger saw that the con-dition was not unusual and was manifested in a family of traits, including socially awkward be-haviour and precocious abilities, while Kanner described it as an uncommon condition that was triggered by cold behaviour by a child’s parents.

Silberman argues that Kan-ner’s picture of autism stigma-tised parents and the children suff ering from the condition, a situation that is only now being rectifi ed.

“We admired Silberman’s work because it is powered by a strongly argued set of beliefs:

That we should stop draw-ing sharp lines between what we assume to be ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’, and that we should remember how much the dif-ferently wired human brain has, can and will contribute to our world,” Applebaum said.

“He has injected a hopeful note into a conversation that’s normally dominated by de-spair.” The prize, which is open to books published in English by authors of any nationality, carries a £20,000 cash award. Last year’s winner was English writer Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, about her decision to train a goshawk as a way of deal-ing with the grief of losing her father.

The other titles on the short-list were Jonathan Bate’s Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life, Robert Macfarlane’s Landmarks, Laurence Scott’s The Four-Di-mensional Human, Emma Sky’s The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq and Samanth Subramanian’s This Divided Island: Stories From the Sri Lanka War.

May faces fi ght over web browsing access Guardian News and MediaLondon

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, should not seek to give the intelli-

gence agencies full access to an individual’s web browsing his-tory, Labour and the former dep-uty prime minister Nick Clegg are both likely to say when the government publishes its draft investigatory powers bill today.

Kier Starmer, the former di-rector of public prosecutions and now a shadow Home Offi ce min-ister, said Labour opposed giving intelligence agencies access to web browsing history since the measure was likely to give the agencies eff ective access to the content of an individual’s com-munications.

He said: “There has been an agreed clear distinction between data and content, with data treated as the ‘who communicat-ed with whom and at what point’, but not the content of that data.

“But by saying the agencies can collect information on pages visited, there is a sense that a diffi cult third category is being

created that is a merger between data and content. If your brows-ing history is automatically ac-cessible by the state, it is very close to granting full access to content and provides a picture of that individual’s life.

“The independent reviewer of terrorism David Anderson said the case for accessing browsing history has not yet been proven and we in the Labour party are very closely aligned to what An-derson has recommended in his report since he is the expert with the fullest access to what is re-quired. Theresa May will have to make a very compelling case for her proposals if they diff er from Anderson.”

Starmer has cleared his policy positions with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham.

Starmer’s warning will be a blow to the intelligence agencies before a parliamentary process that will scrutinise the plans to reach a new privacy settlement between the state and the citizen in the wake of controversy gen-erated by the revelations of the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Traffi cked workers ‘beingabused in Irishfi shing sector’ Guardian News and MediaDublin

African and Asian mi-grant workers are be-ing routinely but ille-

gally used as cheap labour on Irish fi shing trawlers working out of some of the country’s most popular tourist ports, the Guardian revealed.

A year-long investiga-tion into the Irish prawn and whitefi sh sector has uncovered undocumented Ghanaian, Fili-pino, Egyptian and Indian fi sh-ermen manning boats in ports from Cork to Galway. They have described a catalogue of abuses, including being confi ned to vessels unless given permission by their skippers to go on land, and being paid less than half the Irish minimum wage that would apply if they were legally em-ployed.

They have also spoken of ex-treme sleep deprivation, hav-ing to work for days or nights on end with only a few hours’ sleep, and with no proper rest days.

Some migrant workers claim to have been deceived and ap-pear to have been traffi cked on to trawlers for labour exploita-tion, an abuse that would be a form of modern slavery.

The Guardian evidence sug-gests that some boat owners and crewing agencies are smug-gling African and Filipino work-ers in to Ireland through entry points at London Heathrow and Belfast airports, and then ar-ranging for them to cross from Northern Ireland in to the Re-public by road, bypassing Irish immigration controls.

Agents and owners appear to be exploiting a loophole de-

signed for international mer-chant shipping, which allows non-EU seafarers to transit through the UK for up to 48 hours if they immediately move on to join vessels working in in-ternational waters.

These transit arrangements are not intended for fi shermen working in national waters or constantly coming in and out of Irish ports. It is believed that the loophole was fi rst exploited by agents to recruit migrant workers for the Scottish fi shing fl eet and the practice appears to have spread from there to the Irish fi shing industry.

Many workers describe sub-sequently living in fear of de-portation and being told to stay on their boats in port because the owners would be fi ned if they were spotted and stopped by the authorities.

Some workers said they were controlled by debt to the agen-cies that recruited them and which charged them substantial and illegal placement fees to ar-range visas, jobs and itineraries.

Abraham Okoh, a Ghanaian fi sherman (whose name we have changed), for example, told the Guardian he had been bonded by debt to an agent in Accra who had found him a job on an Irish trawler and promised to arrange all visas and travel. He entered via Heathrow and Belfast, and was told to catch the bus from Northern Ireland to the port in Ireland where his vessel was docked.

He said he had not under-stood when he was recruited that he would be working il-legally. He had to live on his trawler at all times and was told by the owner to hide and not talk to people in port. The crew would go fi shing for four to fi ve

days at a time and then be re-quired to mend nets and gear in harbour. “I worked continu-ously. We could be awake for two days with almost no sleep. It was horrible,” he said.

European Communities minimum hours of rest regula-tions, which apply to employ-ees, workers but not the self-employed, require no less than 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any seven-day period.

Abraham described being cheated of wages and being hungry when food ran out at sea. Eventually he jumped ship to escape.

He appears to be a victim of human traffi cking, a crimi-nal off ence - defi ned as a form of modern slavery in the UK and Ireland - that involves the movement of people for ex-ploitation. Whether the person consented to the journey is not relevant: key factors can include whether they were deceived, or their vulnerability or rights abused; how far they were con-trolled; and whether working and living conditions amount to exploitation. A person can only be defi nitively classifi ed as traffi cked once his or her expe-rience has been assessed and a competent authority - in Ire-land a senior police offi cer - has ruled.

Okoh’s story was echoed by others, including Antonio San-tos and Diego Cruz, two undoc-umented Filipino fi shermen, who described similar condi-tions of extreme sleep depri-vation, long hours and low pay on fi shing vessels around the Republic of Ireland. They said they too had been brought to the country illegally by agents and boat owners.

Prime Minister David Cameron poses with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan outside 10 Downing Street in London.

Kazakhstan president pays visit

Handbags owned by Margaret Thatcher, whose apocryphal use of the accessory as a tactical weapon gave rise to the term “handbagging”, are to be auctioned off after a museum rejected them. They are among 350 “historic and personal lots” - also including clothes, signed copies of speeches, her wedding dress and her red prime ministerial dispatch bag - that auctioneers Christie’s said would be off ered at its London showroom on December 15 and later online. The sale presented a unique opportunity to buy items from the estate of Britain’s longest-serving 20th century prime minister and the only woman so far to have held the off ice, Christie’s said.

The Scottish government has given the go-ahead to Britain’s floating off shore wind farm project, which could power 19,000 households, saying it would be the “world’s largest”. The Norwegian energy company Statoil wants to locate five turbines - with a capacity of six megawatts each - 25kms off Peterhead in northeast Scotland. The turbines will be placed on floating structures, allowing them to be located further off the coast in deeper water. Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney called the plan “hugely exciting”. Irene Rummelhoff of Statoil added that northeast Scotland off ered “optimal wind conditions”

Oscar-winning writer and actor Colin Welland, who won an Academy Award in 1982 for his screenplay for Chariots of Fire, has died after suff ering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years, his family said yesterday. Welland, 81, who also won a British Bafta award for his portrayal of the English teacher Mr. Farthing in director Ken Loach’s Kes in 1969, died on Monday, a family statement said. Welland was renowned in Britain for having warned American audiences, as he accepted his Oscar in 1982, “The British are coming!” He is survived by his wife Patricia, four children and six grandchildren.

A pensioner who dined at London’s top hotels then fled without paying has been spared prison. George Hammond, 70, and his friend Frederick Gross, 47, donned their best suits and walked into venues in Mayfair and Knightsbridge. They were caught when Hammond left his glasses at the Park Lane Hilton in April. Police obtained DNA from the glasses and CCTV footage. At Westminster magistrates’ court, Gross, of Bury St Edmunds, and Hammond, of Hampstead, admitted making off without paying. Yesterday judge John Price sentenced Hammond to three month’s jail suspended for two years. Gross was sentenced to 100 hours’ unpaid work for the hotel con.

An Israeli former basketball star who claimed to be a multi-millionaire has been jailed for two years for stealing designer handbags worth £32,000 from Harrods. Dov Herman, 46, and Meital Pardo, 31, posed as a wealthy couple to grab a £2,800 Christian Dior, a £17,000 Prada and a £11,890 Yves Saint Laurent bag from the Knightsbridge store. They were arrested in June when security staff spotted them walking out with the pink YSL handbag. Herman told an Old Bailey jury that he was too wealthy to steal handbags, but he was found guilty of three counts of theft. Pardo skipped bail despite being on an £8,000 surety and is believed to have fled to Israel to avoid the trial.

Margaret Thatcher’s iconichandbags go to auction

Scotland nod for ‘world’slargest’ floating wind farm

Chariots of Fire screenwriterColin Welland dies aged 81

Pensioners who connedtop hotels spared jail

‘Multi-millionaire’ Harrodsthief is jailed for two years

MEMORABILIA DECISIONOBITUARY LEGAL LEGAL

May: opposition to policy

BRITAIN23Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

PM denies scrappingSyria air strikes vote Prime Minister David Cam-

eron believes Britain should do more to tackle militants

in Syria and has not dropped plans to seek parliamentary ap-proval for air strikes there, his spokeswoman said yesterday.

She spoke after several news-papers said he had dropped the plans after failing to get enough backing. They also cited Rus-sia’s move to support President

Bashar al-Assad by bombing Is-lamic State militants in Syria as a complicating factor.

Keen to avoid a repeat of his 2013 defeat over air strikes against Assad, Cameron has been trying to build cross-party sup-port for extending British strikes to Syria from Iraq. He has a slim majority in parliament and, with some of his own Conservatives opposed to strikes, he needs to win support from the opposition Labour Party now led by anti-war campaigner Jeremy Corbyn.

Cameron’s spokeswoman

Helen Bower denied the vote had been shelved.

“He has always been clear that he thinks there is a case for do-ing more to tackle the threat from ISIL, and that we would only go back to the House (of Commons) on this issue if there was clear consensus and that remains the case,” she said.

“You can’t put a time scale on the vote.”

She said the government be-lieved the situation in Syria would ultimately be resolved by political means and, along with allies, it

was trying to “inject a bit more momentum into that”.

In France, President Francois Hollande said Paris would con-tinue its air strikes in Syria and would hold a defence council meeting to discuss the matter to-morrow.

“Every time we have informa-tion on training camps where there are terrorists, who could at some point threaten our country, we strike,” he told Europe 1 radio.

The reports about Cameron’s plans came as an infl uential com-mittee of lawmakers warned

Britain should not extend its air strikes into Syria until there is a coherent international strategy with a “realistic” chance of de-feating the militants.

“In the absence of such a strat-egy, taking action to meet the desire to do something is still in-coherent,” parliament’s Foreign Aff airs Committee said in a report published yesterday.

The committee, chaired by Conservative parliamentarian Crispin Blunt, said the govern-ment should not seek approval until it gives details of its plans.

DLR staff strikebrings travel chaos

Thousands of City commut-ers battled through the fi rst of three successive days of

disruption on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) as a 48-hour strike began yesterday.

Industrial action by the RMT union started at 4am and is not scheduled to end until 4am to-morrow, leaving DLR chiefs short of time to get a full morning peak service up and running.

KeolisAmey Docklands, which operates the DLR on behalf of Transport for London, said: “Normal services are expected to resume by late morning tomor-row.”

Union bosses ordered the walk-out, with the threat of more, in a long-running dispute over work-ing conditions.

One shuttle service between Canning Town and Prince Regent, serving fi ve stations, was running yesterday to give access to a ma-jor travel exhibition at ExCel. The DLR usually carries up to 300,000 people a day — the majority of whom were yesterday jammed onto packed Tube trains to get to

and from work. Many passengers complained they had not been warned about the strike.

Artur Smolenciuk, 22, heading to college in Greenwich, said: “It is just not good enough, they need to sort this out. There has been no information and I am going to be late.”

Shivani Barikh, 27, who works in advertising and was redirected to Stratford station, said: “This year has been ridiculous with strikes — it’s been one after another.”

But some were supportive. Ric Lancaster, 49, a recovery worker from Woolwich, said: “Yes, it’s very annoying but they have their reasons. Their employers continu-ally change their contracts and go back on their word. I support them in their strike.”

The Jubilee and District lines bore the brunt of the extra passen-gers. The Central and Hammer-smith & City lines in east London and London Overground between Highbury and Surrey Quays were all much busier than usual.

TfL said stations which in-terchange with the DLR — par-ticularly Canning Town, Bank, Stratford, Canary Wharf, Canada Water, West Ham and Shadwell — were “exceptionally busy”.

Many of topfootballershave rottenteeth: study

Nearly 40% of profes-sional football players in Britain have rotted teeth,

in some cases serious enough to aff ect performance on the pitch, according to a new study.

Footballers may make huge amounts of money, but little of it seems to go to dental care: on av-erage, their teeth and gums are in worse shape than their age peers, it said.

“We came across several play-ers with tooth decay so deep that it was into the nerve and creating an infection in the jaw,” lead author Ian Needleman of the UCL East-man Dental Institute said.

Many put off seeing a dentist despite tooth pain, he said, but whether this was due to a fear, bra-vado or a too-busy schedule was not clear. The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medi-cine, is the fi rst to assess just how widespread dental problems are among pro footballers in England, and to what extent they aff ect ath-letic prowess.

Needleman led dentists and doctors in examining 187 players at eight clubs in England and Wales.

Five of the teams were in the Premier League: Hull, Manchester United, Southampton, Swansea City and West Ham.

Two were in the second-tier Championship league, and an-other in League One. The average age of players was 24, ranging from 18 to 39.

At least 90% of players in each squad were examined and ques-tioned about their health.

Thirty-seven percent had ac-tive tooth decay, the researchers found, and more than half had teeth eroded by acid.

Eight in 10 players had gum dis-ease, with half the mouth aff ected in three out of four players.

For one in 20, damage to the gums was irreversible.

Nearly three quarters of the players said they had seen a den-tist in the preceding year, though physical examinations suggested many were less conscientious than claimed.

“I think they were aware (of the decay), but for various reasons were putting off treatment,” he said by phone.

About one in six reported pain in their mouth or teeth at the time of the interview, and one in four said their teeth were sensitive to hot or cold drinks.

Nearly half the footballers said diseased teeth and gums “both-ered” them, and a fi fth said it un-dermined their quality of life.

Seven percent said the poor state of their dental health ad-versely aff ected performance or training.

“We also found players with wisdom tooth infections, which can be extremely debilitating and painful,” Needleman said.

If left untreated, the worst cases “will stop someone from training completely, or take someone out of a game.”

Arsenal striker Robin van Per-sie and Chelsea winger Florent Malouda have been reported as saying that having their wisdom teeth pulled some years ago im-proved their health and football acumen. Surprising, very few clubs - despite the huge invest-ment they make in players - have staff dentists, the researchers ob-served.

“Teams are beginning to rec-ognise this as a priority,” Needle-man said. “Successful strategies to promote oral health within professional football are urgently needed.” The study noted that nearly two-thirds of the athletes in the study consumed sugary sports drinks three times or more per week, though no link has been proven with oral decay.

Sexism row overnew passport design

A new British passport fea-turing images of Shake-speare, the Globe Theatre

and sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor was unveiled yesterday in a fresh attempt to promote the coun-try’s creative skills.

There was a risk of controver-sy, however, as only two women, architect Elisabeth Scott and mathematician Ada Lovelace, feature among the “cultural icons” depicted. Scott, who died in 1972, designed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Strat-ford-upon Avon.

The Bard himself and Sir An-ish, 61, are among seven men featured. The others are compu-ter science pioneer Charles Bab-bage, architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, artist John Constable and John Harrison, the fi rst marine timekeeper.

Commenting on the presence of just two women on the new passport design Labour’s shad-ow employment secretary Emily

Thornberry said it was “exas-perating”.

The government, however, defended the decision.

Mark Thomson, director gen-eral of HM Passport Offi ce, faced questions over why only two women were included in the lat-est passport design. “It wasn’t something where we said ‘let’s set out to only have two wom-en’”, he said

Thomson said offi cials had set out to choose a “representative” selection of cultural fi gures and that the design had been ap-proved by ministers. Other pic-tures portray the London Eye, Battersea Power Station, the Houses of Parliament and an early London Underground map, as well as Sir Antony Gormley’s Angel Of The North.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the new de-sign, which will be issued to passport applicants from next month, would contain enhanced security features and was being introduced in a renewed attempt to prevent immigration fraud.

Security measures include

printing using ultraviolet and infrared light, inks and water-marks. The design will be used for fi ve years before a new ver-sion is produced.

Brokenshire, who unveiled the document at the Globe in Southwark yesterday, said the dozens of images, incorporated to thwart forgers, would also seek to promote the theme of the “Creative United Kingdom”.

Thomson added: “The new United Kingdom passport cel-ebrates the creativity of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the past 500 years to the present day. Not only are we constantly striving to stay one step ahead of those who seek to undermine the passport, but we have created a document that marks just some of the great-est creative achievements in the UK.”

Other London images include depictions of the Royal Observ-atory at Greenwich, Waterloo Tube station and the Tube sym-bol at Maida Vale. Maps of the capital and the City of London also feature.

A white wallaby enjoys the sunshine at Manor House Wildlife Park in Tenby, Wales. Wales has been enjoying record temperatures for the month of November.

Basking in the sunshine

London Evening StandardLondon

London Evening StandardLondon

AFPLondon

ReutersLondon

Police chief warns of drugs and terror threat to London

London faces a new threat from drug gangs and ter-rorism because of spending

cuts to policing outside the capi-tal, a senior offi cer warned yes-terday.

Jon Boutcher, chief constable of Bedfordshire, said gangs from Lu-ton could expand into London as

offi cers battle to contain serious and organised crime in the town. He also warned the capital may be at increased risk of terrorism, as his force struggled to deal with the threat of extremism.

In an alert about “postcode lottery” funding, Boutcher said his force no longer had the re-sources to combat serious crime eff ectively. A new Home Of-fi ce funding formula penalises Bedfordshire police because it

fails to recognise the complexi-ties of a small force working in towns such as Luton, he added. The formula provides forces neighbouring the county with an extra £33mn — but Bedford-shire risks losing out by around £100,000.

Boutcher — a former senior counter-terror offi cer at Scot-land Yard, who led the investiga-tion into the failed 21/7 London bombers — is the latest police

leader to speak out over cuts. Ear-lier this month Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe also warned that spending reductions forced on the Met would endanger the safety of Londoners.

Boutcher told the Standard: “It almost seems that the Met is be-ing punished again by Bedford-shire not receiving any support. The complexity and seriousness of crime in Luton has serious im-plications for London, certainly

the national security threat.“If we don’t get Luton right

it has repercussions for London both around gun and gang crime and terrorism.”

Despite its small size, Bedford-shire has the fourth-highest level of gun crime in the country per thousand in population. Boutcher added: “We are already a very thin blue line. Our offi cers are tired, they are working incredibly hard due to the fewer numbers of of-

fi cers the force has compared with others. The results the staff achieve are nothing short of re-markable.

“The cuts already mean we are a very reactive force and I have not got adequate numbers of offi cers in our communities, working in schools or local problem areas to prevent crime.”

He said he was concerned po-lice were merely recording off enc-es because they did not have time

to investigate them. He added: “If you don’t properly deal with crime challenges, then they get bigger and spread. I have not got the resources to deal properly with those crime challenges and we had expected the funding formula to address that.

“The consequences for Bed-fordshire and for London are that more serious crime will aff ect their residents and their commu-nities.”

London Evening StandardLondon

British adventurer Sarah Outen waves from her kayak on the River Thames in London yesterday as she celebrates completing her four-and-a-half year London2London: via the World expedition, which has seen her cycle, kayak and row 25,000 miles. Outen set out from Tower Bridge in London in April 2011 on her London2London: via the World expedition. Her goal was to row, cycle and kayak around the northern hemisphere, inspiring children and fundraising for charities. She arrived kayaking up the Thames yesterday to complete her journey.

Expedition ends

EUROPE

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201524

Vatican fi nancial investiga-tors suspect a department of the Holy See which

oversees real estate and invest-ments was used in the past for possible money laundering, in-sider trading and market ma-nipulation, according to a report seen by Reuters.

The information in the confi -dential document, which covers the period from 2000 to 2011, has been passed on to Italian and Swiss investigators for their checks because some activ-ity tied to the accounts allegedly took place in these countries, a senior Vatican source said.

While most of the media fo-cus of the Vatican’s murky fi -nances has for decades centred on its offi cial bank, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), a department called the Adminis-tration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), acted as its own fi nancial powerhouse.

APSA, a sort of general ac-counting offi ce, manages the Vatican’s real estate holdings in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, pays salaries of Vatican employees, and acts as a purchasing offi ce and human resources depart-ment.

One of its two divisions also manages the Vatican’s fi nancial and stock portfolio. The 33-page report suspects this division was used by an outsider for non-Vati-can business, with possible com-plicity of APSA staff , in violation of its own regulations.

The internal investigation is part of a drive by Pope Francis to give Vatican fi nancial authorities free rein to dig deep, over-ruling some cardinals who would prefer to forget the past now that the Vatican has enacted major re-forms and instituted controls to thwart irregular practices.

Under Francis, the Vatican has overhauled its scandal-plagued bank, given more power to its Financial Intelligence Authority, appointed its fi rst auditor-gen-eral and set up a new ministry to oversee economic activities of all departments, which previously ran their budgets with little or no control.

It is not clear whether this will be enough to bring full fi nancial transparency to the traditionally secretive Vatican.

The report by Vatican fi nan-cial investigators zeroes in on the activity of Giampietro Nat-tino, chairman of Banca Finnat Euroamerica S.p.A, a family-run private Italian bank.

Vatican investigators suspect that Nattino used the APSA ac-counts for personal trades on the Italian stock market, the report says, adding that the balance of more than €2mn was moved to Switzerland when the accounts were closed days before the Vati-can introduced stricter new laws against money laundering that put money transfers under more scrutiny.

From May 22, 2000 to March 29, 2011 Nattino, who has served on the board of many Italian fi rms and volunteered as an ush-er in the papal palace, was the owner of APSA “Portfolio 339”, which consisted of four separate accounts, the report says.

The report speaks of the “du-bious origin and dubious fi nal destination of the funds in the closing of portfolio 339” and asks why Nattino was allowed to have accounts at APSA in the fi rst place in apparent violation of de-partment regulations.

Those regulations, which are published on the Vatican’s web-site and mentioned in the inter-nal report, say the department can carry out fi nancial transac-tions for third parties only on an “exceptional basis” and only with prior permission of the car-

dinal in charge.Financial investigators gave

their fi ndings to the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice, or chief prosecutor, Gian Piero Milano, a senior Vatican source said, add-ing that Milano had opened his own investigation.

The investigators asked the prosecutor to look into possible money laundering, insider trad-ing and market manipulation related to Nattino’s accounts at the conclusion of their report, which includes some 30 charts and graphs detailing stock hold-ings and transactions and bank transfers.

Vatican investigators suspect that on one occasion when his bank handled a stock placement, the APSA accounts were used to buy shares before they were allo-cated to other investors, accord-ing to the document.

The investigators also asked the prosecutor to look into “po-tential co-responsibility” by APSA staff in execution of the activity in the accounts and if the procedures followed “rules and internal practices” at the depart-ment.

Nattino’s daughter Paola, who acts as company spokeswom-an, declined to comment about Portfolio 339 and suspicions of irregularities connected to the accounts, saying in an e-mail to Reuters that “it is our custom not to issue statements”.

Milano’s offi ce did not return phone calls about the case. It has said in the past that it does not comment on investigations.

The cardinal in charge of APSA

from 2002 to 2011, eight of the 11 years covered by the investiga-tion, was Italian Attilio Nicora, who is now retired.

The report does not specifi -cally mention Nicora but cites the APSA regulation that only its head can exceptionally author-ise fi nancial operations for third parties.

In a letter to Reuters, Nicora said only that APSA was not a bank “because it does not lend money”, but declined to com-ment on a list of questions sent by e-mail via his secretary.

In one apparent anomaly, a 2012 evaluation of the Vati-can by Moneyval, an arm of the Council of Europe that assesses compliance with international anti-money laundering stand-ards, says APSA offi cials had told it that in 2001 the department

decided to phase out individual account holders and that no new funds had been allowed to enter such accounts since then.

But the report on the internal investigation seen by Reuters says money was deposited into such APSA accounts from out-side sources or moved between them in APSA as late as 2009.

APSA made headlines in June 2013 with the arrest of Monsig-nor Nunzio Scarano, who worked there for 22 years as a senior ac-countant.

He is on trial in two cases. The fi rst is on charges of con-

spiracy to smuggle €20mn in cash into Italy from Switzerland to help friends avoid taxes and the other is on charges he used the Vatican bank for money laun-dering.

He denies all wrongdoing.

Key Vatican offi ce ‘used’ for money laundering: reportBy Philip Pullella, ReutersVatican City

Under Pope Francis (left), the Vatican has overhauled its scandal-plagued bank, given more power to its Financial Intelligence Authority, appointed its first auditor-general and set up a new ministry to oversee economic activities of all departments.

Scarano (right), a former senior accountant at APSA, is on trial in two cases.

Nattino (below), the chairman of Banca Finnat Euroamerica S.p.A., is seen in front of his private bank in Rome in this September 20, 2011 file picture.

The Pope’s private conver-sations allegedly wire-tapped by a racy social

climber and a Spanish prelate – the latest scandal to hit the Vatican has unearthed claims of theft, debauchery and betrayal within the Catholic Church.

Leaked documents set to be published in two books today purportedly reveal how charity money was allegedly spent on re-furbishing the houses of power-ful cardinals, while claiming the murky Vatican bank continues to shelter suspected criminals.

PR expert Francesca Chaou-qui and Monsignor Lucio An-gel Vallejo Balda, arrested at the weekend for allegedly stealing and leaking classifi ed docu-ments, risk up to eight years in prison if the case gets to court.

While Vallejo Balda languishes in jail, Chaouqui, 33, was re-leased after assuring investiga-tors of her co-operation in a case which has thrown light on Pope Francis’s struggles to clean up a centuries-old institution un-willing to give up its privileges.

“I am totally innocent and I’ll prove it,” La Stampa daily quoted the dark-haired woman dubbed a “sex bomb” by Italian media as saying, adding that Vallejo Balda “did everything, I tried to stop him”.

The recording and publication of the Pope’s private conversa-tions “is the most controversial aspect of all the dust blown up by the second ‘Vatileaks’”, the Repubblica daily said, comparing the scandal to a similar one three years ago.

Then, it was pope Benedict XVI’s butler who leaked docu-ments revealing infi ghting in the highest echelons of the church and allegations of serious fraud.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, before being pardoned by the pope but banished from the Vatican forever.

In wiretaps transcribed in Merchants in the Temple by jour-nalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, Francis can be heard asking: “If we don’t know how to look after money, which we can see, how can we look after the souls of the faith-ful, which we cannot?”

The Pope also tells people de-scribed as “collaborators” by Nuzzi that “the costs are out of control. There are ploys...”

Italian journalist Emiliano Fit-tipaldi, who is releasing Avarice: Documents Revealing Wealth, Scandals and Secrets of Fran-cis’ Church, is expected to reveal how church foundations for sick children act as bank accounts for cardinals.

A Vatican statement on Mon-day slammed the upcoming works as “fruit of a serious be-

trayal of the Pope’s trust” and said it was considering legal ac-tion.

Vatican watcher John Allen, of Crux Now website, said the Holy See’s furious reaction suggested “both (books) promise to reveal scores of previously secret Vati-can documents, few of which are likely to make the Vatican look especially good”.

Religious experts said the leaks may have been motivated by frustrated ambitions, with Valle-jo Balda, 54, publicly passed over for promotion and Chaouqui frustrated in attempts to climb the Vatican’s social ladders.

In a Facebook post yester-day Chaouqui denied leaking “even one piece of paper” and said “there is nothing I have ever loved more or defended more than the church and the Pope”.

The former Ernst & Young lobbyist was selected to be part of a special commission set up by Pope Francis to advise him on economic reform within the church – an appointment which raised eyebrows in 2013 after it emerged she had been highly critical of the Vatican on Twitter in 2012.

Tweets – which she claimed were written by a hacker – in-cluded one which said pope Ben-edict had leukaemia, one which said high-ranking Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was corrupt and one which accused an ex-Italian minister of being gay.

The Vatican’s embarrassment only increased when racy photos of Chaouqui went viral on the In-ternet.

There were immediately ques-tions as to whether Chaouqui, who has Moroccan origins, might be behind a rumour last month, denied by the Vatican, that Fran-cis has a benign brain tumour.

The trained lawyer, who is re-portedly pregnant, hit the head-lines again in 2014 when she was suspected of having organised a lavish party for the rich and fa-mous on a Vatican terrace at the Holy See’s expense.

Chaouqui’s rise within the Vatican came to an abrupt stop after she attempted to get a pri-vate audience with the Pope for Matteo Renzi’s parents before he became prime minister, a move that apparently angered Francis, the Repubblica reported.

‘Vatileaks’ reveal dirty dealings AFPVatican City

In this photo taken on January 15, 2014 at the Parioli theatre, Monsignor Vallejo Balda is seen with Chaouqui.

Both Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat

coalition partners back the idea of setting up centres to process asylum seekers, but can’t agree on where to put them or even what to call them.

In a country where the idea of holding people in large facilities evokes memories of the Nazi era, the debate over “transit zones” is straining the coalition as it struggles to reassure a sceptical public it has a grip on the migrant crisis.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavaria-based Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party – together known as The Union – agreed at the week-end to set up transit zones on the border with Austria, where mi-grants deemed to have no solid claim to asylum will be denied entry.

That plan was rejected by the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD), who have proposed “ar-rival centres” inside Germany, rather than on the border, to process asylum applications.

The SPD has until tomorrow

to decide whether it backs the CDU/CSU plan.

“Enough of this needless nam-ing argument!” mass-selling Bild daily wrote yesterday, pressing for a deal on the centres.

“We have a responsibility to reach a compromise,” said Peter Altmaier, Merkel’s chief of staff , who was last month appointed to oversee the government’s han-dling of the crisis.

“We could set up the transit zones in a way that makes them eff ective without conveying de-tention,” he told German radio, giving no details about what a compromise would look like.

Both the conservatives and SPD are eager to show voters that they are acting to stem the fl ow of new arrivals, who are expected to total up to 1mn this year.

All three parties have lost sup-port in opinion polls over their handling of the crisis.

Merkel’s CDU agreed to the transit zones plan after weeks of pressure from CSU leader Horst Seehofer, whose southern state of Bavaria has borne the brunt of the infl ux, as virtually all mi-grants arrive there from Austria.

Some 51% of respondents in a poll last month said they were scared about the rising number of asylum seekers.

CDU lawmaker Michael Grosse-Broemer urged SPD leaders to tone down their verbal attacks on the proposed transit zones, adding that comparing them to Guantanamo Bay was not helpful.

He said parties were caught up in a “logomachy” – a war of words.

“I think it’s relatively ab-surd that we are arguing about a problem that aff ects 2.4% of the refugees who are coming to Ger-many,” Gabriel said, referring to migrants from the West Balkans considered unlikely to be granted asylum because their countries are deemed safe.

He also seemed to suggest a compromise was possible.

“We may argue about 2.4% of the problem, that’s also okay, it won’t be the end of the world ... Sometimes not everything is as dramatic as it seems.”

Names matter as Germany grapples with migrant crisis ReutersBerlin

Gabriel: It’s relatively absurd that we are arguing about a problem that aff ects 2.4% of the refugees who are coming to Germany.

Austria’s cabinet, facing record numbers of asylum requests this year, pro-

posed a tough new bill yesterday to deter Afghans that the UN ref-ugee agency criticised as likely to increase the migrants’ suff ering.

Austria’s new law would force most Afghans to wait for three years, rather than one year under current rules, to be able to bring family members to Austria.

They would also have to have an independent source of in-

come, health insurance and a fl at.The small Alpine country is

the fi rst west European country that hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and beyond reach on their trek westwards, and a major conduit for those moving on towards Germany and northern Europe.

“This is a political decision. Making family reunifi cation rules stricter mainly aff ects Afghans,” Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told ORF radio to explain the bill. “It is important for us to create clear rules here and, of course, to decrease (Austria’s) attractiveness.”

The Vienna offi ce of the UN refugee agency UNHCR prompt-ly criticised the new rules for family reunifi cation, which it said would increase suff ering and hinder successful integration.

Many migrants are young adult men who hope to send for family members once they have found asylum in Europe.

The law, which is due to take force from mid-November even though parliament would not pass it until December, would apply to those granted “subsidi-ary protection” rather than those being granted full political asy-lum, such as most Syrians.

Austria drafts law to deter Afghans

ReutersVienna

15 saved from truck in France Fifteen migrants suff ering from hypothermia were found alive in the back of a refrigerated lorry in northern France after a blind search by emergency services triggered by a call from one of the trapped men.The authorities said they received a “strange call” around 0800 GMT from “a man speaking English in a barely audible voice, who seemed to be suff ocating, and did not know where he was”.They were unable to trace the call because the phone was using a foreign SIM card, but after lengthy exchanges they figured out the lorry was somewhere on the highway between Paris and Lille.The operator who took the call could also hear others in the background.Ambulances then travelled up and down the motorway until they spotted the lorry at a rest stop and went to investigate.“They tapped on the lorry and knew there were people inside,” said a emergency services source.With the help of roadside assistance, they were able to force the doors open and found 15 men aged between 25 and 45.Their nationalities were not given.“Inside, amid crates of oranges, they found 15 migrants who could barely breathe and were in various stages of hypothermia,” said the source.The driver, who was not in the lorry when it was found but returned soon after, said he did not know what he was carrying.He was detained by police.

Migrant influx ‘has raised terror threat’Finland said yesterday that a sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers had increased the threat of terrorism in the Nordic country, with the risk level raised to “low” from “very low”.The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (FSIS) said it was monitoring some 300 people for possible connections to Islamist militant groups, some of whom were among 25,000 asylum seekers to have arrived in Finland so far this year.Militant groups that seek to recruit people now have a presence in Finland, the FSIS added in a statement.The terrorism threat level has been raised from “very low” to “low”, FSIS director Antti Pelttari told national broadcaster YLE. “The sudden change in the refugee situation means a significant threat to Finland’s security.”About 700,000 refugees and migrants have poured into the European Union from war-torn and deprived areas of the Middle East, Africa and Asia in 2015, causing major financial strain on EU member countries, political disputes within them over to how to best handle the influx, and heightened security concerns.The FSIS said 15 people who recently left Finland to join militant groups in armed conflicts abroad, mainly in Syria, had been killed, while 20 had returned to the Nordic country.At the same time, the FSIS said, the rapid growth in the number of refugees had created an anti-immigrant atmosphere where the threat of violent hate crime had also increased.

EUROPE25Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Turkey cracked down on rivals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday

and launched air strikes against Kurdish rebels, clearly signalling a return to hardline tactics after an election that cemented his grip on power.

The West has voiced deep concerns about Sunday’s vote that delivered Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) a landslide victory, fearing the country will slide into increas-ingly authoritarian rule.

Hopes of a possible return to Kurdish peace talks after the vote were dashed after the mili-tary said its warplanes bombed bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in south-eastern Turkey and their north-ern Iraq stronghold on Monday.

“Shelters, caves and arms depots identifi ed as being used by terrorists from the separa-tist terrorist organisation were destroyed with air bombard-

ments,” it said in a statement.Three Kurdish rebels also died

yesterday after clashes erupted with security forces in two areas of the restive southeast, the fi rst reported deaths in PKK ranks since the election.

Analysts say anxiety over the resurgent Kurdish confl ict and a spate of bloody attacks by the Islamic State (IS) group were key reasons why voters fl ocked back to the AKP.

In a turnaround that con-founded pollsters, Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AKP reclaimed the majority it lost fi ve months ago, winning almost half the votes and returning the Muslim-majority state of 78mn to single-party rule.

And events in Turkey appear to bear out grim predictions that the “Sultan” who has dominated politics for more than a decade will brook no dissent as he seeks to expand his presidential pow-ers.

Yesterday prosecutors charged two journalists over a magazine cover critical of Erdogan, while police rounded up dozens of

supporters of a US-based cleric now regarded as the president’s nemesis.

The left-wing Nokta maga-zine said on Twitter that its ed-itor-in-chief Cevheri Guven and managing editor Murat Capan had been arrested and charged with “attempting to overthrow the government by force”.

Police had raided its Istan-bul offi ces on Monday after the election edition of the magazine hit the streets with a front cover declaring “The start of civil war in Turkey”.

Police also detained 44 sus-pects including high-ranking bureaucrats and police as part of a “terrorism” investigation into exiled lay preacher Fethul-lah Gulen.

Gulen is charged with running a “parallel state” which launched a widespread corruption probe into the president’s inner circle in 2013 that tarnished Erdogan and his party, whose initials AK mean “pure” in Turkish.

Three former provincial gov-ernors and a former deputy po-lice chief were among those held.

The action came only a day after the United States and two European observer missions ex-pressed concern about media intimidation during the election campaign.

Ankara denied there was any pressure on the media, despite a string of high-profi le arrests and raids on opposition television stations that raised alarm in the run-up to the vote.

“Nobody is forced to be silent in this country,” Deputy Premier Yalcin Akdogan said, but added: “Press morality goes hand in hand with press freedom.”

Despite constant concerns about human rights that have hampered Turkey’s EU aspira-

tions, analysts say that the bloc will have no choice but to deal with Erdogan.

EU President Donald Tusk even congratulated Prime Min-ister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday on his election win while urging Turkey to show its readiness to work with Brussels on issues such as the migrant crisis.

Brussels has voiced wor-ries over deteriorating security linked to the brutal war in Syria, which has seen 2mn refugees take shelter in Turkey.

Tusk also urged Ankara to re-start the peace process with the Kurds but Deputy Prime Min-ister Akdogan said conditions were not yet ripe.

“For us to say the peace proc-

ess has started, the factors poi-soning this process should be re-moved,” he told NTV television.

Ankara had unleashed a new air war against PKK rebels af-ter renewed militant violence in July, destroying a 2013 truce and hopes of fresh talks to end a confl ict that has claimed 45,000 lives since 1984.

Erdogan, who became prime minister in 2003 and then Tur-key’s fi rst directly-elected presi-dent in 2014, was initially hailed in the West for transforming Turkey into a model of Muslim democracy and turning around its basket-case economy.

But a brutal police crackdown on nationwide protests in 2013, a massive purge of the judiciary

following the corruption probe and constant concerns about human rights have cooled rela-tions with both Washington and Brussels.

“The AKP should take com-fort in its large majority and start to view minority views and even peaceful dissent more benignly, in a way that befi ts a country negotiating accession to the Eu-ropean Union,” said Sinan Ulgen of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (Edam).

“The lesson of the two elec-tions is clear: Turkey’s voters want a strong, stable govern-ment, but not one that runs roughshod over its opponents,” he said.

Turkey hits Kurd rebels, Gulen supporters hardAFPAnkara

Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu throws carnations yesterday to AKP supporters who had been waiting to receive him at Ataturk airport in Istanbul.

Gulen: charged with running a ‘parallel state’.

Former president Nico-las Sarkozy has accused French magistrates of vio-

lating legal principles by track-ing his phone usage in connec-tion with their investigation of a transatlantic drug smuggling operation.

The comments from Sarkozy, tipped to run again for president in 2017, added a bizarre political

dimension to a probe that has dominated headlines since two French airline pilots convicted of cocaine smuggling in the Do-minican Republic escaped to France in mysterious circum-stances last week.

In an interview in the news-paper Le Parisien, Sarkozy said that his lawyers were demand-ing to know why the judiciary had examined his phone records when the only link was that he had fl own with the airline at the centre of the probe.

“What I want to know is what could justify an investigating magistrate taking such measures solely because I used the same airline,” said Sarkozy.

“What do they think I did – fl y to Punta Cana with 700kg of co-caine?

“All this would be just laugh-able if it wasn’t about a violation of legal principles that all French people support.”

He said such phone tracking could not have been authorised without the knowledge of Presi-

dent Francois Hollande’s Social-ist government.

The two pilots, who turned up in France after what French me-dia described as a commando-style escape, had been arrested at Punta Cana airport in the Do-minican Republic in March 2013.

A trial found they had been involved in smuggling cocaine on small private jets between the Dominican Republic and the up-market French Riviera resort of Saint Tropez, and they were sen-tenced in August to 20 years’ jail.

Both had denied the off ences and were free to circulate pend-ing appeals.

France has denied any state involvement in the escape of the pilots, who were arrested before

dawn on Monday and taken for questioning.

Dominican authorities have said they intend to have an in-ternational arrest warrant issued for the men.

Sarkozy angered by link to cocaine smuggling probe ReutersParis

Sarkozy: What do they think I did – fly to Punta Cana with 700kg of cocaine?

Number of childrenseeking asylum in Europe doubles

ReutersLondon

The number of children seeking asylum in Eu-rope has nearly doubled

since last year, a symptom of the growing number of children fl eeing confl icts and persecu-tion, the UN children’s agency in the UK (Unicef UK) said yes-terday.

Some 190,000 children sought asylum in Europe be-tween January and September, up from 98,000 in the same pe-riod last year, according to Euro-stat data collated by Unicef UK.

The total number of people seeking asylum in Europe in the same period this year was 715,000, up from 378,000 in 2014.

In the fi rst nine months of this year, 10,000 unaccompanied or separated children arrived in Italy and Malta alone.

“Of all refugees and migrants, unaccompanied children are the most vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,” Unicef UK said in a report.

Many of the 190,000 children have fl ed Syria or neighbour-ing countries hosting Syrian refugees, where child labour and child marriage have increased since the start of the war.

In Syria, one in fi ve children are forced to cross confl ict lines to take exams, Unicef said.

The refugee fi gures for Europe are just the tip of the iceberg.

In 2014, children made up just over half of all refugees around the world – the highest propor-tion for more than a decade, Unicef said.

One in 10 children in the world are now growing up in a confl ict zone – some 230mn children.

“Children have been killed while studying in the classroom, recovering in hospital or sleep-ing in their beds. Many have been orphaned, forced to be-come soldiers, kidnapped, raped and traumatised,” said Unicef UK deputy executive director Lily Caprani.

“Protecting children from violence is life-saving, just as much as water, shelter and med-icine, yet it isn’t prioritised in the same way,” Caprani added. “This has to change.”

Children living in other types of emergency are also at greater risk of violence, exploitation and abuse this year.

The children’s agency re-ceived reports of children be-ing traffi cked in the wake of the Nepal earthquakes, and of a rise in sexual violence against girls during the Ebola epidemic.

During the Ebola crisis, some attempts to contain the epidem-ic made children more vulner-able to abuse, Unicef UK said.

Schools were closed, and chil-dren were sometimes quaran-tined with abusive family mem-bers.

Children in Sierra Leone re-ported that school closures led to increases in child labour and exposure to violence in the home and community, and early mar-riage.

More than 18,000 children lost one or both of their parents or primary caregivers.

“There are lessons we can learn for future health crises in how we manage child protection – especially as the likelihood is we’ll see more health crises,” Leah Kreitzman, director of public aff airs at Unicef UK, said in an interview.

Chants of “stop bomb-ing hospitals” rang out at a memorial yesterday

for the staff of Doctors With-out Borders killed in a US air-strike on an Afghan hospital last month.

Some 250 people gathered at a Geneva park for the ceremony, with the organisation’s presi-dent, Joanne Liu, warning that a full explanation of what led to the October 3 strike in Afghani-stan’s northern Kunduz city was the only way to stop similar future tragedies.

“For us, it is really important that we keep the spotlight on it, because otherwise it will fall into what I call forgotten causes ... meaning that targeting civil-ians will be a non-event,” said Liu, head of the charity known by its French acronym, MSF (Medicins Sans Frontieres).

“This was not a non-event,” she stressed.

Three separate investigations

– led by the US, Nato and Af-ghan offi cials – are looking into the strike that killed 30 people, but MSF wants an independent probe by an international fact-fi nding commission, based in Bern.

Some staff ers held up plac-ards reading #Independent Investigation #Kunduz while others wearing white scrubs held 13 orange stretchers, each with a target attached to the middle, in a memorial to the MSF employees who died in the raid in an area briefl y captured by Taliban insurgents.

Speaking to AFP after the ceremony, Liu said that an in-dependent investigation was essential not to punish those responsible, but simply to es-tablish the facts.

“We are not after a state or another state. What we are after is the safeguard of medical hu-manitarian space in the chaos of war,” she said. “What we want to know at this point is what happened and why did it hap-pen.”

“That is the only way we are

going to be able to prevent oc-currences like this again,” she added.

Liu has previously described the bombing as an “attack on the Geneva conventions” and the charity has condemned the bombing as a war crime.

She said MSF had so far re-ceived negligible backing for its desired independent probe and had been given no updates regarding the three ongoing in-vestigations.

The head of MSF Switzer-land, Thomas Nierle, told AFP that he had little hope the in-quiries would ultimately see any wrongdoers punished.

“I think it’s a complete illu-sion to think there will be some sort of justice,” he said.

The US airstrike forced the closure of the trauma centre in Kunduz, which had been a life-line in the war-battered region.

While US President Barack Obama has admitted that the strike was a mistake, the Penta-gon has off ered shifting expla-nations for what exactly went wrong.

MSF honours staff slain in US airstrikeAFPGeneva

The staff of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders), demonstrate in Geneva yesterday, one month after the US bombing of their charity-run hospital in Kunduz.

A court in Georgia has or-dered a change of owner at the former Soviet re-

public’s biggest independent TV station, Rustavi 2, in what the broadcaster called an attempt to silence its criticism of the gov-ernment.

Kibar Khalvashi, who was a co-owner in 2004-2006, got

back his controlling stake in the station, one of the most popular in the country.

He said he was coerced into selling Rustavi 2 by former gov-ernment offi cials, including ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.

The broadcaster’s lawyers said that the verdict would be ap-pealed.

“It’s a totally illegal decision ... This case is not just against Rustavi 2, it’s against freedom of speech in Georgia,” the com-

pany’s lawyer, Tamta Muradash-vili, said.

A court ordered the seizure of Rustavi 2’s property in August and later a seizure of shares in the company that owns Rustavi 2, which government offi cials have often accused of bias.

The station’s managers say Khalvashi’s lawsuit and the court’s decisions were politically motivated.

Opposition politicians and many independent experts say

the process is an attempt to si-lence an independent media in the country of 3.7mn.

The Organisation for Secu-rity and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) voiced concern over the ownership dispute last month.

Government offi cials deny any involvement in this case.

Hundreds of viewers and sup-porters of Rustavi 2 rallied out-side the Tbilisi court and the broadcaster’s studio building in a gesture of support.

Court orders change of owner at TV station ReutersTbilisi

Hunt for killers of two BJP leaders in Gujarat

Kochi meet to discuss power sector issues

Half of slum children in Delhi underweight

A Meghalaya government off icial was released unharmed yesterday by the militant Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) seven days after he was kidnapped, police said. Jude Rangku T Sangma, the block development off icer of Chokpot in south Garo Hills district “was released unharmed” at Allagre village, Inspector General of Police F D Sangma said. “The off icer has reached his home at Tura this morning. He is resting now and we will talk to him later in the day,” Sangma said. Jude’s “unconditional release” by the militants comes after public pressure from several quarters, including political parties. On October 27, the GNLA militants abducted the off icer from Diganggre area in south Garo Hills district.

The Central Bureau of Investigation yesterday moved the Calcutta High Court seeking cancellation of bail granted to Saradha scam accused and West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra. The minister was granted bail by a lower court on Saturday nearly 11 months after his arrest. A division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Ishan Chandra Das granted leave to the CBI to move the petition in the court and serve a copy to Mitra’s counsel. The move came on a day when Mitra, who was on Sunday discharged from the government-run SSKM Hospital where he spent most of his incarceration period, was admitted to a Kolkata hospital.

Kidnapped off icial released unharmed

CBI moves court against bail to Mitra

INSURGENCYSCAM

Police yesterday launched a manhunt for suspects who shot dead two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Gujarat’s Bharuch city on Monday, an off icial said. BJP’s former Bharuch district president Shirish Bengali and the party’s youth wing district general secretary Pragnesh Mistry in Bharuch were killed late Monday. Bengali was shot dead by two men who came on a motorcycle. He was in his off ice, from where he runs a local Gujarati daily, when the attackers barged in and shot him in the head, killing him instantly. Mistry, who was with Bengali in his off ice, was also shot at. He was rushed to a hospital but died on the way.

INVESTIGATION CONFERENCESTUDY

Issues related to the power sector, including the proposed electricity bill, will be discussed during a two-day conference of ministers starting on Friday in Kochi. It will be inaugurated by Power Minister Piyush Goyal, an off icial statement said. The November 6-7 meeting will draw ministers of power, renewable energy and mines from states and union territories. “The conference will discuss, apart from sector reforms, issues related to power generation, distribution and transmission, coal production and supply, promotion of renewable energy and energy conservation,” the statement said. The meeting comes ahead of the winter session of parliament where the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act will be taken up, it added.

Half of the children residing in slums in Delhi are underweight, a study by NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) showed yesterday. According to the survey on the status of health, nutrition and education of children below the age of six in slums, 25.6% of the 50.2% underweight children are severely underweight. Only 31% of the children under the age of three in the capital received at least one vaccination, while 45% were stunted, the survey said. It also highlighted the issue of gender imbalance as 25% girls received at least one dose of vaccination compared to 39% boys. The study was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 2015

INDIA26

There won’t be many Indi-ans who have not heard of Infosys. Or for that mat-

ter ICICI or HDFC. These are fl agbearers of Indian economy in their respective fi elds. On the stock exchange they are bell-wethers that impact positively - and sometimes negatively - the fortunes of millions of share-holders. For Mumbai, the city with the maximum number of investors/players in the stock market, these companies are as much part of the daily conversa-tion as ‘vada-pav’, the staple of the working class.

And yet, none of the three - In-fosys, ICICI and HDFC - are In-dian companies! It was Infosys’s co-founder and former chairman N R Narayana Murthy who said this during the course of a televi-sion debate last week. If it was a surprise - nay, shocking - revela-tion to the viewers, the co-panel-lists in the debate also seemed to react in similar fashion. And one of them was none other than Jay-ant Sinha, India’s junior fi nance minister.

In 2010, in its eagerness to control the infl ow of foreign cur-rency into the coff ers of NGOs whose activities had raised some concern, the Congress-led gov-ernment had amended the For-eign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) of 1976 and by a convo-luted calculation had listed many companies, including the three mentioned above as well as a

few other similarly home-grown ones, as “foreign” as they received money from abroad. Hence, ac-cording to Murthy, these com-panies have to obtain clearance from the Home Ministry before they utilise any such money, in-cluding for works as part of their corporate social responsibil-ity (CSR). Murthy charged that if the UPA had introduced the Act, the Narendra Modi-led NDA had conveniently turned a blind eye to its ill-eff ects, thereby providing a means to government offi cials to harass well-meaning fi rms like Infosys.

While Sinha promised to get to the bottom of it - one of the rare instances where governance was conducted on national televi-sion - the issue also raised seri-ous doubts about the Modi gov-ernment’s professed resolve to improve the overall ease of doing business in/with India. Talking of which, two important indica-tors in that direction last week brought out mixed reaction from corporates and politicians alike.

First, the World Bank said it found India moving towards a better business environment and, therefore, improved the coun-try’s overall standing to 130 from 142 a year ago. (Singapore topped the list of 189 countries). What is more, the bank’s chief econo-mist and senior vice-president Kaushik Basu held out the hope that India could well be in the top 100 in a year’s time if the current

pace of changes are maintained. Presently though, India is well be-low Russia (51), South Africa (73), China (84) and Brazil (116). These four nations plus India make up the emerging economies group somewhat suggestively named Brics.

There was much back-slapping in the corridors of power at the achievement and Finance Minis-ter Arun Jaitley even went to the extent of saying the “12-point movement does not refl ect the full pace of reforms that we have done,” meaning the ranking is bound to get better in the months ahead. Curiously, it was also re-vealed that the improved rank-ing was on the basis of surveys in just two cities - Mumbai and Delhi. Still more surprising was the fact that the 12-point jump was achieved by tweaking just two minor factors.

The World Bank, which had laid out ten parameters to judge the business environment, said the government decision to do away with the procedure of internal wiring inspection helped India move up by 29 places under the

section “Ease of getting electric-ity” for a new business. Like most other inspections, this too had become a ‘cash cow’ for unscru-pulous inspectors. Similarly, the amendment to the Companies Act in May did away with the re-quirement of a Rs100,000 secu-rity deposit for entrepreneurs to start a limited liability company. This enabled India to jump nine places to 155 in the ease of “Start-ing a business” category.

But these are low-hanging fruits. The fact that the UPA could not even pluck these was a refl ec-tion of the utter chaos that ruled within the Manmohan Singh government towards its fag end. But there are far higher moun-tains to climb for India to get to a position from where it can seek to become the manufacturing hub and investment destination of the world. Of the 10 World Bank considerations, the three that could create a major impact, and at the same time perhaps the most diffi cult to implement in the Indian context, are: “enforc-ing contracts”, “paying taxes” and “resolving insolvency”.

You will notice that in all three cases the judiciary may be called to play a major role. With a back-log of close to 30mn cases and an acute shortage of judges - their quality is a separate argument - any start-up seeking justice should be prepared for a long wait. It is no wonder then that India ranks 178, 157 and 136, respective-ly, in these categories. As for the segment “Dealing with construc-tion permits”, India is a poor 184, just fi ve places above the bottom end, as the paperwork and wait-ing period are outrageously long. To get to below 100, as Basu had held out, is indeed going to be a tough ask.

Be that as it may, any improve-ment in ranking must be wel-comed and a 12-point jump is something to be rightfully proud of. But what dampened the spir-its the very next day was a state-ment by Moody’s Analytics that India ran the risk of losing cred-ibility - and with it the hoped-for economic emancipation - unless Modi reined in the recent upsurge of religious bigotry.

All sorts of explanations are being dished out by government ministers and BJP spokespersons for the controversies that are dog-ging the government:

1. It is an opposition conspiracy. (This conspiracy theory even ex-tends to business and the exam-ple cited is the controversy over Maggi noodles.)

2. It could just be the fringe

players in the 110mn strong ruling party who are the mischief mon-gers talking of beef and even kill-ing in its name.

3. It is very much the state gov-ernments - many of which are under parties other than the BJP - that are responsible for law and order.

4. It is not the BJP but the Shiv Sena in Mumbai/Maharashtra and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab that are creating many of these issues.

5. The majority of protesting intelligentsia are Left-leaning and, therefore, anti-Modi even without a reason.

6. It is the media that is often making a mountain out of a mole hill by playing up incidents of pure law and order as communal fl are-ups.

But unfortunately all these will not wash for the simple reason that before everything it is the federal government that is prima-rily responsible for the state of the nation. If conspiracies are being hatched, it is for the government to ferret out the conspirators and bring them to book. If the fringe is fraying, the core can also get af-fected and, therefore, the fringe must be kept on a tighter leash.

State governments, whether BJP-ruled or otherwise, must be told in no uncertain terms that certain fi nancial programmes from the centre could henceforth be tied to the law and order situ-ation in the states. The states that

crack the whip on hooligans will get extra incentives as against those that fail to curb crime, es-pecially religious. If alliance part-ners (read Shiv Sena) try to act smart, they must be shown the door. It will only do you good in the long term. If the intelligentsia is protesting, it must be called in to fi nd out why and not just pooh-poohed as is being attempted now. And lastly, but most impor-tantly, the media can be full of sinners but any government that ignores it - and Modi is certainly ignoring it - would be doing so at its own peril.

Of late there has been a fl urry of interaction with the media by senior ministers like Jaitley, Ra-janth Singh and Venkaiah Naidu as well as party president Amit Shah. Much of it happened be-cause of the on-going elections in Bihar. They have tried to de-fend the government in quite ar-ticulate fashion. But the one man who should be speaking to the media simply would not budge. Modi has, instead, indulged in some very unnecessary political polemics in the course of his cam-paign in Bihar. Although coming from a political rival, in this case Nitish Kumar, Modi would do well to heed his words: “In his des-peration to win the losing battle of Bihar, I am afraid he (Modi) might lose India.”

Moody’s did not say it in as many words, but the message was quite similar.

Modi would do well to heed Moody’s message Delhi Diary

By A K B Krishnan

Gulf Times Correspondent

Uber driversentencedto life for rape in Delhi Victim’s parents express satisfaction over the verdict

AgenciesNew Delhi

A New Delhi court yesterday sentenced an Uber driver to life in prison for raping

a young woman passenger in the national capital, a case that in-fl amed fears over sexual violence in the capital.

The court last month convicted Shiv Kumar Yadav of abducting and raping the 25-year-old pas-senger as she returned home from dinner with friends in December.

Yadav, dressed in a white checked shirt, wiped tears from his cheeks as the judge read out the sentencing, the maximum possible jail term for rape.

“He will serve rigorous im-prisonment, which shall mean imprisonment till natural death,” Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja told the court.

Yadav, 32, was convicted last month of four charges - rape, ab-duction, intimidation and caus-ing harm - and the prosecution had been expected to argue for the maximum punishment of life in jail.

Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava said in the courtroom the sen-tencing should send “a message” to society “where a person cannot even think of committing such an off ence”.

“She is not the only victim, rather the whole society is the victim,” he said, alleging Yadav had a “criminal history” dating back to 2001.

California-based Uber was ac-cused of failing to conduct ad-equate background checks after it emerged that Yadav had been ac-cused of assaulting other women, although he had no previous con-victions.

“This man has changed,” de-fence lawyer Dharmender Kumar Mishra said of his client, adding he was the sole breadwinner for his poor family.

“On the day of his conviction, he cried... he had gone to the ex-tent of wanting to commit sui-cide,” Mishra said, adding that his client would appeal the sentence at a higher court.

He told the court that Yadav has old and ailing parents, a wife and three minor children who were dependent on him.

The court asked the Delhi Legal Service Authority to take care of his family.

Yadav’s wife broke down in the courtroom, howling inconsolably, as the pair’s crying daughters tried to console her.

“We are happy that justice has been delivered and that the proc-ess didn’t take that long,” said Madhur Verma, deputy commis-sioner with the Delhi police.

The victim’s parents, who were also present in court, expressed satisfaction.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal also hailed the court verdict and ap-pealed to the judiciary for fast trial in rape cases.

“Welcome Uber rape case ver-dict. Appeal to judiciary and gov-ernment to ensure all rape cases es-pecially child rape cases to be tried within 1 year,” Maliwal tweeted.

Uber was offi cially banned from Delhi in the aftermath of the attack, but the ban has not been strictly enforced and the com-pany’s cars continue to operate in the capital.

The former Uber driver was tried by one of the fast-track courts introduced in 2013 fol-lowing the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi, a crime that sparked nationwide protests about dangers to women.

The rape occurred days be-fore the second anniversary of that now notorious attack, which earned Delhi the title of India’s “rape capital”, and brought the issue of violence against women back into the spotlight.

Protestersdemandthe arrest of ‘real’culprits IANSChandigarh

Hundreds of Sikh activists lined up along highways and roads across Punjab

yesterday with black fl ags pro-testing against the recent inci-dents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.

However, unlike the road-blocks put up by Sikh activists during protests last month, no roads were blocked yesterday.

The activists organised pro-tests in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Moga and other districts. At most places, the protesters lined up along the highways and other roads with black fl ags and banners.

They demanded the arrest of the ‘real’ culprits behind the inci-dents of sacrilege of the Sikh holy book in Bargari village in Faridkot district and other similar inci-dents.

They also demanded action against police offi cials responsi-ble for fi ring at protesters in Beh-bal Kalan village in Moga district last month.

The protest call was given by various radical Sikh organisa-tions.

Two people were killed in po-lice fi ring in Behbal Kalan village last month and scores injured in violence across Punjab as pro-tests erupted over the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

The police on October 20 claimed that they had arrested the two main accused, Jas-winder Singh and his brother Rupinder Singh, in the Bargari sacrilege case along with fi ve others responsible for other in-cidents.

The police also claimed “for-eign hand” behind the incidents with “evidence of established links and funding” from Australia and Dubai. Sikhs protest against the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Amritsar yesterday.

Yadav: jailed for life

INDIA27Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Mumbai police waiting for Chhota Rajan’s return

Sovereign gold bond price fi xed at Rs2,684

BJP activistthreatens tobehead CM ifhe eats beef

High share of care work keeps Indian women out of economy: study

BJP calls Congress march ‘political stunt’

IANSMumbai

Police in Mumbai were yesterday gearing to take charge of mafi a don Ra-

jendra S Nikhalje, alias Chhota Rajan, who is likely to be brought here very soon, Police Commis-sioner Ahmed Javed said.

Rajan, 55, was arrested by the Indonesian police on a request from the Central Bureau of In-vestigation in Bali on October 26 following a tip-off by the Aus-tralian Federal Police.

Javed told reporters that the CBI, which is the nodal agency for Interpol in India, is fi nalising the arrangements to bring back the alleged crime boss who has been on the run for nearly two decades.

When asked about the possi-ble date of bringing him to face Indian laws, Chief Minister De-

vendra Fadnavis declined com-ment.

Presently, the Indian authori-ties are busy making the neces-sary arrangements in Indonesia to bring him back to the country.

Rajan made an embarrassing revelation on Monday in Indo-nesia that “certain Mumbai po-lice offi cials are in league” with his arch-rival, the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

Claiming that he was “tor-tured” by the Mumbai police in the past, Rajan demanded that he should be taken to New Delhi instead.

Javed dismissed the charges, terming them as “baseless” and asserted that no police offi cial is linked with Ibrahim.

However, the Mumbai police were making preparations for Rajan’s impending return, and according to tentative indica-

tions, he may be lodged in the famous ‘Anda Cell’ (oval cell) in-side the Arthur Road Central Jail.

The high-security, fortifi ed and solitary Anda Cell was specially created to lodge Pakistani terror-ist, Ajmal Kasab, who was caught after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and hanged in 2012 in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail.

Javed declined to comment on the issue, but said that Rajan “would be kept in a safe and se-cure place”.

The police were was waiting to lay their hands on Rajan to solve a variety of serious crimes for which he is wanted, including the killing of veteran Mumbai journalist Jyotirmoy Dey near his Powai home on June 11, 2011.

The police chief said the mafi a don was wanted for around 70-75 cases, but the CBI would de-cide when Rajan would be hand-ed over to the Mumbai police.

IANSShivamogga, Karnataka

A Bharatiya Janata Party activist was arrested here yesterday for al-

legedly threatening to behead Karnataka Chief Minister Sid-daramaiah if he ate beef, police said.

S N Channabasappa, 55, was arrested after a Congress worker fi led a complaint under relevant sections of the In-dian Penal Code dealing with promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, deterring a public servant from discharge of his duty, and criminal intimidation, Shi-vamogga Superintendent of Police Ravi D Channannavar said.

Shivamogga is 260km from Bengaluru in the state’s central Malnad region.

“We will produce him in a local court tomorrow for po-lice custody and interrogation and action after viewing and listening to a video in which his brief speech was recorded,” Channannavar said.

Addressing about 30 cadres at a protest meeting organised by the party’s state unit on Monday against Siddaramaiah who claimed that he would eat beef “anytime and anywhere” and nobody could stop him, Channabasappa said the chief minister would be “beheaded” if he ate beef at Gopi Circle, the city centre, in Shivamog-ga.

“Siddaramaiah is behaving like a dictator. He has stated he would eat beef if he chooses to do so and nobody could stop him. Let him eat beef at Gopi Circle in Shivamogga. If he does so, he will be beheaded. We won’t think twice about that,” Channabassappa said in Kannada in a brief speech.

The party’s other members also condemned the chief minister’s statement.

Accusing Siddaramaiah of behaving arrogantly, the city civic council’s former presi-

dent said that by making such an irresponsible statement, the chief minister hurt the sentiments of Hindus who have all grown up drinking cow’s milk.

The BJP’s state unit, how-ever, disowned Channabas-sappa’s threat and said it was not responsible for such state-ments made by an ordinary member.

“We do not endorse such irresponsible statements and will seek clarifi cation from him,” BJP spokesman S Pra-kash said in Bengaluru.

Also yesterday, fi lmmaker Aparna Sen lashed out against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi’s “Pakistani agent” comments on super-star Shah Rukh Khan, calling for legal action against the leader.

“Can’t believe Sadhvi’s re-action to SRK on tv! They’re ones who want to break the country apart! There should be legal action against her!,” tweeted the National Award winner.

Prachi yesterday attacked Khan over his “extreme intol-erance in India” comment and called him a “Pakistani agent”.

A host of well-known writes, fi lmmakers, scientists and his-torians have announced the return of awards and honours as a mark of protest against re-cent events like the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri of Uttar Pradesh over rumours that he ate beef, the murder of Kan-nada rationalist scholar M M Kalburgi, and the police “raid” in Delhi’s Kerala House.

However, Sen advocated drafting a joint letter of protest to President Pranab Mukher-jee instead of the “award wa-pasi”.

“Emotion behind return-ing awards laudable. But they were not all awarded by the present Govt. Any sense in Ray returning..@...award for Pather Panchali that he rcvd in 1956, for instance? We shd send a joint letter of protest to the President instead.

Thomson Reuters FoundationNew Delhi

Women in India do al-most 10 times as much unpaid work as men -

a much higher ratio than the glo-bal average - leaving them out of the formal workforce and unable to contribute to the economy, consultancy fi rm McKinsey said in a new report.

Women are responsible for 17% of India’s GDP, much less

than in many nations, the McK-insey Global Institute said. China’s women account for 41% of GDP, those in sub-Saharan Africa 39% and women in Latin America 33%.

“The below-potential con-tribution of women to India’s GDP today ... contrasts with their higher share of unpaid care work such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children and older members of the family,” said the report, re-leased on Monday.

“Globally, women spend roughly three times the amount of time spent by men on unpaid work. In India, the situation is more extreme - women perform 9.8 times the amount of unpaid care work than men.”

If that unpaid work were to be valued and compensated in the same way as paid work, it would contribute $300bn a year to In-dia’s economic output, it added.

Using a new index to meas-ure gender parity across India’s states, McKinsey found that

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand had inequality levels similar to impoverished Chad and war-torn Yemen.

Other Indian states such as Mizoram, Kerala, Meghalaya, Goa and Sikkim ranked higher on the index, putting their women on par with Argentina, China and Indonesia in gender parity, it said.

Overall, the Female Empower-ment Index, or Femdex - which is based on issues such as wom-

en’s autonomy, equality at work, legal protection, political voice and physical security - showed a broad range of gender equality in India.

“We find a wide variation in gender equality among In-dia’s 32 states, which indicates where efforts to bridge gender gaps need to be focused,” the report “The Power of Parity: Advancing women’s equality in India” said.

“Advancing gender equal-ity can deliver sizeable addi-

tional economic growth and broad-based prosperity to the world - nowhere more so than in India.”

McKinsey estimates India could boost GDP by $700bn in 2025 if women participated in paid work at a similar level to men.

Indian women represent only 24% of the paid labour force, similar to countries in the Mid-dle East and North Africa. Glo-bally, female workforce partici-pation is 40%.

To bring more women into the formal labour force, the re-port said India must get more girls into secondary and tertiary education, expand skills training and provide greater access to fi -nancial services.

India must also step up gen-der diversity in the private sec-tor, improve infrastructure and services to address the burden of domestic work and child care and focus on dispelling deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes, it said.

IANSChennai

The issue price for the fi rst tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond has been fi xed at

Rs2,684 per gram of gold, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said yesterday.

The central government on Oc-tober 30 announced it would issue sovereign gold bonds on Novem-ber 26 while applications for the bonds would be accepted from to-morrow until November 20.

The fi nance ministry said the bonds would be sold through banks and notifi ed post offi ces and would be issued by the RBI on behalf of the central govern-ment.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in the 2015-16 budget the launch of the sover-eign gold bond as an alternative to the precious metal, and the borrowing through issuance of

the bond will form part of mar-ket borrowing programme of the government.

The gold bonds will be de-nominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1g while the minimum invest-ment limit is 2g.

The maximum subscription is 500g per person per fi scal year (April-March) and for joint holders, the limit will be applied on the fi rst holder.

Under the scheme, the gold bonds will be sold only to resi-dent Indian entities including individuals, Hindu undivided families, trusts, universities and charitable institutions.

The bond tenure will be eight years with the exit option be-ginning from the fi fth year. The bonds will also be tradable in the bourses.

The rate of interest will be 2.75% per annum payable semi-annually on the initial value of investment.

The Congress is the epitome of intolerance, says Javadekar

IANSNew Delhi

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday dubbed the Congress march to the

Rashtrapati Bhavan against in-tolerance a “political stunt” and said it was meant to keep its “dy-nastic” leadership relevant.

Calling the Congress an “epit-ome of intolerance”, BJP spokes-man and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar denounced the march led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

“The Congress is the epitome of intolerance. They had turned the country into a jail during Emergency,” he said.

“During that period, intoler-

ance was rampant when thou-sands of poor Muslims were forcibly sterilised. This is the worst kind of intolerance,” said Javadekar.

“Sikhs were butchered and massacred (after then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assas-sination in 1984)... Three thou-sand Sikhs were butchered in Delhi by Congress goons. Then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi jus-tifi ed it.”

He said the killing of writer M M Kalburgi was a heinous crime, and it took place in Congress-ruled Karnataka.

“Narendra Dabholkar’s mur-der happened in Maharashtra when the Congress and NCP were in power. When Govind Pansare was murdered, it was the BJP government which with-in three months found out the culprit and arrested him. We are taking action.”

Referring to the lynching of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh on suspicion that he ate beef, he said it was “the most de-plorable incident”, but said it took place in a Samajwadi Par-ty-ruled state.

“The Congress should take out a procession against them and dismiss the Karnataka chief minister. They should apologise for not tracing the murderers of Dabholkar.”

Another BJP spokesman, M J Akbar, described the march as an attempt by a “failing dynasty” to maintain its relevance.

“This is a desperate attempt by a desperately failing dynas-ty... They are staging a fake dra-ma because of the truth that is coming out on their corruption.”

“The Congress is the enemy of social harmony and economic progress,” Akbar said.

Earlier, Parliamentary Aff airs

Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said: “They (Congress) have lost the people’s confi dence and are try-ing to stay relevant. How can a party that imposed Emergency talk about intolerance?”

Earlier in the day Congress leaders marched from Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in parliament to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to pro-test against what they said was rising intolerance in the country.

The party submitted a mem-orandum to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Gandhi accused Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi of “silence” against the forces of “prejudice, bigotry and intolerance” and urged the president to use the authority of his offi ce to tell him that “this is unacceptable”.

The Congress said in the memorandum that the president had spoken out strongly and un-equivocally against the forces of

prejudice, bigotry and intoler-ance, but that the prime minister “has not deemed it fi t to do so”.

“Worse, his council of min-isters continues to harbour individuals who are contribut-ing heavily to spreading hate and divisiveness. No action has been taken against them for their provocative statements and actions,” the memorandum said.

The party said India was be-ing set on the path of an illiberal democracy, “whose very spirit is sought to be snuff ed out, a de-mocracy, where civil discourse is being vitiated and where intel-lectual freedom is being stifl ed”.

“We would like to humbly request the honourable Rash-trapati ji to use the political and moral authority of his offi ce to impress upon the prime minis-ter that this is unacceptable,” the party said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi presents a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee as other party leaders look on in New Delhi yesterday.

US Ambassador Richard R Verma crouches next to a potable water collection point in a slum in Bengaluru on a visit to a drinking water project funded by USAID along with the local municipal authority, yesterday.

Water project

Animals starveas US freezeselite Hondurasfamily’s assets AFPSan Manuel

More than 10,000 croco-diles are starving to death on a farm in

Honduras after the wealthy fam-ily owning them had their assets frozen because of US accusations they laundered money for drug traffi ckers.

Journalists visiting the 70-acre property called Cocodrilos Con-tinental, in San Manuel near the city of San Pedro Sula, also saw seven scrawny lions kept in cages.

“The crocodiles and lions are dying of hunger, and we are too because we haven’t been paid the last two weeks,” said one worker at the entrance to the farm who asked to go by the pseudonym Jose.

“Forty animals have already died. They were taken away in boxes by trucks to be buried,” he said.

The farm is owned by the Rosenthal family, a powerful clan in Honduras with interests span-ning banking, media, property, tourism, livestock and agriculture.

On October 7, the US Treas-ury Department said it was tar-geting the family’s 79-year-old multi-millionaire patriarch, Jaime Rosenthal, his son Yani Rosenthal, and his nephew Yankel Rosenthal “for their money laundering and drug traffi cking activities”.

It imposed an asset freeze on them and barred US businesses from dealing with them, which notably aff ected their Banco Continental. The bank, head-quartered in San Pedro Sula, is being liquidated on orders of the Honduras’ Banking Commission. A newspaper owned by the family has also been shut.

Yankel Rosenthal was arrest-ed in Miami by US authorities the day before the Treasury an-nouncement.

The US accusations and sanc-

tions have rocked Honduras, which had long perceived its wealthiest families to be untouch-able. That held especially true for the Rosenthals: Jaime Rosenthal was vice-president of the country from 1986 to 1989; his son Yani was a minister in the government from 2006 to 2009.

Although the crocodile farm was not one of the seven Rosenthal businesses designated for US sanctions, it has found itself caught up in the freeze aff ecting other parts of the business empire.

An offi cial at Honduras’ state Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), Pablo Dubon, said the ex-ecutives running Cocodrilos Continental told authorities the freezing of the Rosenthals’ assets led to the accounts used to pay the workers and buy animal feed be-ing blocked.

Dubon said the municipal-ity and animal protection groups were working on an emergency plan to temporarily care for the animals while a permanent solu-tion was found. One option was to have the employees work for food while the legal status of the farm was assessed.

A week ago, the ICF delivered 1.5 tons (3,000 pounds) of chicken meat to the farm but workers re-fused to feed it to the animals un-til they were paid their monthly wages of $340 each.

“The 3,000 pounds doesn’t amount to much because a croc-odile eats the equivalent of half a horse in a day,” said Jose, the worker at the gate.

“But at least something is being done,” he added.

According to security guards at Cocodrilos Continental, there are 11,000 American crocodiles spread out over 135 pools hid-den by weeds and bushes turned green by recent rains. Some 60 newborn crocs are among them. An on-site clinic meant to look after around 70 ailing crocodiles has ceased to function.

Macri slams attack ads in Argentina poll race ReutersBuenos Aires

Argentine opposition can-didate Mauricio Macri accused the ruling party

of fear mongering after a week-end barrage of online attack ads warned he would throw people off welfare and reduce living standards by devaluing the cur-rency.

“Imagine yourself without a home. Imagine yourself hun-gry ... Imagine yourself if Macri wins,” says one ad, fl ashing im-ages from the 2002 economic crisis that threw millions of Argentines into poverty. It was

tweeted by ruling party loyalist Luis D’Elia.

Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires and an advocate of free markets, defi ed the opinion polls by easily getting enough votes in the October 25 election to push ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli into a November 22 run-off .

“The offi cial party is show-ing a dark strategy of trying to sow angst and fear with the sole goal of frightening people over the possibility of change,” Macri said on Facebook.

“But it’s not going to work,” said Macri, who promises to jumpstart investment and fi ght infl ation while keeping needed

social programmes in place. Scioli is from the same party

as outgoing president Cristina Fernandez. He said his campaign seeks not to sow fear but to re-mind voters of the risk of return-ing to the free-market policies of the 1990s, which preceded the 2002 crisis.

On state-owned TV, a sports commentator on Saturday sug-gested Macri could return the rights to air soccer games to pay-per-view channels, a fran-chise ended under Fernandez when she instituted her “Soccer for Everyone” programme.

“Are you going to have to go back to paying? Think about it,” commentator Javier Vicente

asked. Soccer is a national pas-sion.

Since Macri’s strong showing on October 25, Argentine shares have climbed 10%. Analysts say they are set to rise further if Macri wins on November 22. But Scioli is still very much in the race.

Adulated by supporters for widening the social safety net but detested by business leaders for placing heavy controls on the economy, Fernandez is consti-tutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

On Friday Scioli said Macri plans “a major currency devalu-ation, which would mean a loss of wages in real terms.” Macri says Argentina’s peso is over-

valued, but he has not laid out a time-table for devaluation.

Neither candidate backs the kind of sharp fi scal adjustment that Wall Street says is needed after years of free-spending populism under Fernandez, who reluctantly endorsed the more market-friendly Scioli earlier this year.

Although from the same Front for Victory party, Fernandez’s inner circle is far to the left of Scioli.

The local press has been full of accounts of rising tensions be-tween the Fernandez and Scioli camps since his lacklustre per-formance in the October 25 fi rst round election.

28 Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 2015

LATIN AMERICA

Chilean government off icials held an emergency meeting to discuss a crackdown on anti-competitive practices after regulators identified collusion in the market for toilet paper, tissues and other paper products. Chile’s competition regulator said last week Chilean forestry company CMPC had colluded with PISA, purchased by Swedish-owned SCA in 2012, for at least a decade to control nearly 90% of the nation’s toilet paper and tissue sales and kept prices higher. SCA was slapped with a $15.5mn fine, while CMPC escaped punishment because it admitted wrongdoing in March. The government has demanded the companies agree on a compensation plan for consumers.

A fugitive former member of the Colombian National Congress has been arrested after his conviction and sentence to 36 years in prison for the slaying of a journalist, according to media reports. Ferney Tapasco had been on the run for four months and was captured in Manizales, Colombia, the website El Espetador reported. He was convicted for the 2002 killing of newspaper journalist Orlando Sierra, who was killed with his daughter in a restaurant in Manizales. Sierra had reported corruption and human rights abuses and alleged links between Tapasco and right-wing paramilitaries.

Haiti’s provisional electoral council said that news on presidential vote results had been delayed. The announcement of preliminary results that was set for yesterday now has been pushed back to tomorrow amid reports of irregularities that have to be investigated, the council said in a statement. Haiti celebrated peaceful elections with high turnout on October 25 as the poorest country in the Americas seeks to shed chronic political instability and get back on its feet. The elections come nearly five years after President Michel Martelly came to power in a country that has failed to find democratic stability since the end of the 30-year Duvalier dictatorship in 1986.

A World Bank tribunal reduced to about $1bn the amount Ecuador must pay Occidental Petroleum Corporation in compensation for seizing the US-based company’s assets. In 2012, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes awarded Occidental $1.77bn. The award was cut by 40% to reflect the fact that Occidental in 2006 had sold the field to China’s Andes Petroleum for $400mn. Occidental said it confirmed the decision was for $1bn plus interest and declined further comment. Ecuador in 2006 seized the field known as Block 15 from Occidental, arguing that the sale to Andes Petroleum had been carried out without government consent.

Mexican authorities are investigating whether an obscure anarchist group was behind the simultaneous explosions of homemade bombs in four buses last weekend, prosecutors said. The explosive devices, made with liquid soap, fuel and a clock, detonated around 1.30am on Saturday inside the buses in Ecatepec, a suburb of Mexico City, said the chief prosecutor of the State of Mexico, Alejandro Gomez. Five other devices were found in other units but did not blow up. Only one driver was slightly hurt trying to put out a fire, Gomez told Radio Formula. Authorities suspect a small anarchist group named the Secta Pagana de la Montana was behind the attacks.

Chile mulls crackdown onanti-competitive practices

Fugitive ex-congressman held for journalist killing

Haiti delays presidentialresults announcement

Ecuador-Occidentalarbitration award cut

Anarchist group beingprobed over Mexico blasts

POLICY CRIMEDECISIONLEGALINQUIRY

Havana signs deal withSprint, eyes more trade ReutersHavana

Cuba has signed a roaming agreement with US tel-ecom Sprint Corporation

during its fi rst annual trade fair since rapprochement with the US and told 600 companies from 70 countries that it was eager for more business.

The Havana International Fair (FIHAV) promotes Cuba’s changing business climate and seeks badly needed foreign in-vestment. Last year’s event championed a new tax-cutting foreign investment law, while this year’s boasted of improved ties with the US.

In a historic breakthrough on December 17, the former Cold War foes vowed to normalise re-lations, although the US trade embargo on Cuba remains in place.

Cuba’s critics denounce the fair as hype, noting that all busi-ness deals must go through the communist government or one

of its tightly controlled state companies.

Cuba acknowledged the cen-tral role of the state but also plugged its growing private sec-tor, mostly farm co-operatives and small businesses so far.

“We are continuing to cre-ate the conditions for separating state and business functions and to improve the role that should be played by socialist state en-terprises..., guaranteeing more fl exible functioning,” Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malm-ierca told the opening ceremony.

Sprint, one of about 30 US companies attending, has taken advantage of the limited com-mercial opening aff orded by US President Barack Obama, who has chipped away at the embargo and created a telecommunica-tions exemption.

Among the companies hopeful of doing business here some day was PepsiCo, which had a stand in one of the exhibition halls.

Sprint signed an intercon-nection agreement with Cuba’s state telecoms monopoly Etecsa

on September 25 and added the roaming agreement on Mon-day. Sprint competitor Verizon has been off ering voice and data roaming in Cuba since Septem-ber through a third party.

“We signed this agreement in record time,” Sprint chief execu-tive Marcelo Claure told report-ers, saying he was “blown away” with how fast the Cuban govern-ment negotiated the deal.

“They were a pleasure to work with. Like with anybody else, there were tense moments. We would like to pay a lower rate. But it’s a start,” Claure said.

American companies will lag behind those from Cuba’s stra-tegic partners Venezuela, China and Russia. Spain also has en-joyed a long business relation-ship with Cuba and has the larg-est presence at the fair with 150 companies.

“We’re not afraid of compe-tition,” said Jose Manuel Soria, Spain’s minister of industry, en-ergy, and tourism. “We think that the more countries that come, the better.”

Chilean ‘miners’ suelawyers in rights row AFPSantiago

Nine Chilean miners trapped underground in 2010 in an ordeal that

captured world attention sued their lawyers, accusing them of cheating them out of the rights to their story.

The nine men, part of a group of 33 that spent 69 days trapped underground after a collapse at the San Jose mine in northern Chile, accused lawyers Remberto Rodrigo Valdes and Fernando Garcia of defrauding them with a dodgy deal to create a company to manage their rights.

“Today we’re being rescued for the second time,” said plain-tiff Luis Urzua, the foreman who acted as the leader of the trapped miners and was the last to return to the surface when they were saved.

“We’ve been fi ghting for four years to show that our rights were violated.”

The nine plaintiff s said Valdes and Garcia “misled the 33, making them believe they would manage their own company, only to harm

them and appropriate monies that rightfully belonged to them.”

The miners say the lawyers con-vinced all 33 men to set up a com-pany to manage the rights to their story, and that they agreed to give up their rights for about $5,700 each.

The lawsuit deepens a fi ssure that has emerged in the rescued group in recent years, accentuated last August by the release of The 33, a movie based on their misad-venture and starring Antonio Ban-deras as miner Mario Sepulveda.

The real-life Sepulveda, the most charismatic of the group, took issue with his comrades’ law-suit.

“It’s a shame they’re being so ignorant and letting themselves be led astray by people who haven’t read the contracts properly,” he said.

But one of the plaintiff s, Victor Zamora, insisted the dispute was not between the nine miners and the rest of the group.

“It’s not about fi ghting the (other) miners, because we’re a very united group,” he said.

“The division we have within the group is because of what the lawyers have done to us.”

Farc peace talks

Members of the Farc-EP leftist guerrilla delegation arrive at the Convention Palace in Havana yesterday for peace-talks with the Colombian government.

Hilda Arias Perez, central director of mobile services Etecsa, and US telecom Sprint Corporation chief executive Marcelo Claure-shake shake hands after signing a roaming agreement in Havana.

PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN29Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

10 injured as plane makes emergency landing in Lahore

At least 10 passengers were injured when the tyre of a plane burst during an

emergency landing at Pakistan’s Lahore airport yesterday.

The Karachi-Lahore fl ight NL-142 of Shaheen Airlines, carrying 276 passengers, made an emergency landing in Lahore, Dawn online quoted airport sources as saying.

The injured were provided with immediate medical treat-

ment. None of them was in criti-cal condition, the sources said.

The tyre of the aircraft burst due to a fault in the landing gear. The aircraft skidded off the run-way after the tyre burst.

Fear and panic gripped the passengers, who were evacuated through an emergency gate.

Pakistan’s airline industry has been tarnished by a string of tragic accidents in recent years.

In April, 2012, all 127 peo-ple aboard a Bhoja Air Boeing 737-200 plane were killed when the fl ight from Karachi airport crashed fi ve kms from Islamabad.

IANSIslamabad

Passernger and crew walking away from the stricken plane. One of the wheels of the aircraft broke off while crash landing.

China’s VP in rare Afghanistan visit

China’s vice-president pledged infrastructure and security support for

Afghanistan yesterday, signing several deals during a rare high-level Chinese visit to Kabul.

China says it does not seek to fi ll a void left by a drawdown of most foreign troops in Afghani-stan at the end of last year, but has promised to play a “huge” commercial role in helping re-build the country, where the Taliban seek to re-establish their Islamist regime.

Some experts, however, argue that the benefi ts of Chinese aid and investment in Afghanistan have yet to fully materialise amid the deteriorating security situa-tion there.

Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Beijing would provide 500mn yuan ($79mn) this year to help build housing in the capital Kabul.

“China is willing to help Afghanistan formulate infra-structure plans to strengthen interconnectedness and inter-communication with surround-ing countries,” Li said in a speech that was broadcast on Afghan state television.

Ghani said the funds will help build 10,000 residential apart-ments in Kabul, and that China

also pledged to provide “special security devices” to scan vehi-cles entering the capital.

“Unfortunately two countries which are committed to peace and stability are in danger from regional and international terror-ism,” Ghani said in comments that were also carried on television.

“Our discussions were based on how to bring under control and eliminate those ominoas phenomena which are obstacles to stability, prosperity and co-operation in the region,” Ghani said, calling China “a factor to bring peace in Afghanistan”.

It was unclear if the deals went beyond the billions of yuan in commitments China announced last fall when Ghani made his fi rst trip abroad as president to Beijing.

Li’s trip had not been publicly announced in advance, though it is not unusual for senior foreign offi cials not to give prior notice of their visits to Afghanistan for security reasons.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Kabul in 2014. Former Chinese domestic secu-rity chief Zhou Yongkang, who was felled in a domestic politi-

cal scandal, visited in 2012 and signed deals to help train and equip Afghan police.

China has become increas-ingly concerned about what it calls extremists and separatists in its western region of Xinjiang, where violence has killed hun-dreds in recent years, and sees security in Afghanistan as key to stability at home.

Rights groups, however, blame the unrest in Xinjiang on frustra-tion of the largely Muslim Uighur people from the region over Chi-na’s controls on their culture and religion, charges Beijing denies.

ReutersKabul

Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Beijing would provide $79mn this year to help build housing in the capital Kabul

Afghan president Asharaf Ghani talks with China’s Vice-President Li Yuanchao during the signing of documents at the Presidential Palace in Kabul yesterday. Li Yuanchao is on an off icial visit to Afghanistan.

Pakistan executes four more prisoners

Gunmen shoot dead newspaper reporter

Pakistan yesterday hanged four more men convicted of murder, offi cials said,

bringing the total number of people executed since a death penalty moratorium was lifted last December to at least 254.

The four men were hanged early in the morning in the Kasur and Gujrat districts of Punjab province.

“All the executed people were involved in murder cases which were over a decade old,” Chaudhry Arshad Saeed, an adviser to Punjab’s chief minis-ter for prison aff airs, said.

Another Punjabi prisons of-fi cial confi rmed the hangings.

Pakistan ended a six-year moratorium on the death pen-alty last year as part of a crack-down after Taliban militants gunned down more than 150 people, most of them children, at a school in the restive north-west.

Hangings were initially rein-stated only for those convicted of terrorism, but in March they were extended to all capital of-fences.

Offi cial fi gures on the number of people executed since are not available, but ac-cording to an AFP tally at least 254 have been killed.

At least 229 of those hang-

ings have been carried out since March 10, when the morato-rium was lifted completely — or at an average rate of nearly one a day.

The European Union, the United Nations and human rights campaigners have all urged Pakistan to reinstate the capital punishment ban, with activists saying that of the dozens hanged in the past ten months, the vast majority have not been convicted of terror charges.

Amnesty International es-timated in December that Pa-kistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, most of whom have exhausted their appeals.

A Pakistani journalist was shot dead by unknown attackers in the troubled

northwest Tuesday, police said, a region where reporters are frequently targeted by Islamist militants.

Zaman Mehsud, 40, was killed while riding his motorcy-cle to the remote Tank district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov-ince.

“Zaman Mehsud was riding his motorcycle when gunmen

awaiting along the road opened fi re,” Rasool Shah, a senior po-lice offi cial in Tank, said.

He was critically wounded and died of his injuries in hos-pital, Shah added.

He had been working for three Urdu-language news-papers covering the South Waziristan tribal district and surrounding areas.

Zafrul Islam, another senior government offi cial, confi rmed the incident and said Mehsud was hit by fi ve bullets including one in the head.

Police would not comment on the motive for the killing,

but journalists in the region work under constant threat from Islamist rebels, mainly the Taliban.

The powerful military also stands accused of using its intelligence agencies to regu-larly harass and sometimes kill journalists, including Saleem Shahzad whose tortured corpse was discovered near the capital in 2011.

A UN report issued on Mon-day said at least 71 Pakistani journalists and other media workers have lost their lives since 2001 while pursuing their duties.

AFPIslamabad

AFPIslamabad

Afghan woman stoned to death for ‘adultery’

A young Afghan woman was stoned to death after being accused of adul-

tery, offi cials said yesterday, a medieval punishment appar-ently recorded in a video that harks back to the dark days of Taliban rule.

The 30-second clip run in Afghan media shows a woman in a hole in the ground as tur-baned men gather around and hurl stones at her with chilling nonchalance.

The woman, named by of-fi cials as Rokhsahana and aged between 19 and 21, is heard re-peating the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith, her voice growing increasingly high-pitched as stones strike her

with sickening thuds. The killing took place about a

week ago in a Taliban-control-led area just outside Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor prov-ince, offi cials said, confi rming the video which went viral on social media.

“Yes, the footage shown in the media is related to Rokhsa-hana, who was stoned to death,” a spokesman for Ghor’s Gover-nor Seema Joyenda said.

Rokhsahana was stoned by a gathering of “Taliban, local re-ligious leaders and armed war-lords”, Joyenda said.

Joyenda, one of only two fe-male governors in Afghanistan, said Rokhsahana’s family had married her off against her will and that she was caught while eloping with another man her age — seen as tantamount to adultery.

The man was let off with a lashing, Joyenda’s spokesman said.

The brutal punishment met-ed out to Rokhsahana highlight-ed the endemic violence against women in Afghan society, de-spite reforms since the hardline Taliban regime fell in 2001.

In March a woman named Farkhunda was savagely beaten and set ablaze in central Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a Qur’an.

The mob killing triggered protests around the country and drew global attention to the treatment of Afghan women.

Joyenda condemned the stoning in Ghor, calling on Ka-bul to launch a military opera-tion to rid the area of insurgents and other armed groups.

“This is the fi rst incident in this area (this year) but will not

be the last,” she said. “Women in general have

problems all over the country, but in Ghor even more conserv-ative attitudes prevail.”

In September a video from Ghor appeared to show a wom-an — covered head to toe in a veil and huddled on the ground — receiving lashes from a tur-baned elder in front of a crowd of male spectators.

The fl ogging came after a lo-cal court found her guilty of having sex outside marriage with a man, who was similarly punished.

Shariah law decrees ston-ing as the punishment for men and women convicted of having sex outside marriage, but the penalty is very rarely applied in Muslim countries.

Public lashings and execu-tions were common under the

Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule, when a strict interpretation of Sha-riah law was enforced, but such incidents have been less com-mon in recent years.

The Taliban have so far not commented on the stoning in Ghor.

Long condemned as misogy-nistic zealots, the militants have recently sought to project a sof-tened stance on female rights.

But the insurgents’ recent three-day occupation of the northern provincial capital of Kunduz off ers an ominous blueprint of what could hap-pen should they ever return to power.

Harrowing testimonies have emerged of Taliban death squads methodically targeting a host of female rights workers and journalists just hours after the city fell on September 28.

AFPKabul

Bomb kills anti-Taliban tribal elder in Pakistan

A roadside bomb killed an anti-Taliban tribal elder in a lawless Pakistani

district bordering Afghanistan yesterday, offi cials said.

The bomb exploded when Malik Mohamed Younis, a prominent elder of the Salarzai

tribe, was travelling in a vehicle with his two sons in Gulloshah village near Khar, the main town in Bajaur district where Taliban militants have been active.

“Malik Mohamed Younis was killed and his two sons were wounded after a bomb planted on a roadside explod-ed as their vehicle passed,” tribal administration offi cial

Saaz Mohamed said. He said nobody immediately

claimed responsibility. Taliban militants have carried out sev-eral bomb attacks against trib-al elders who have raised and supported vigilantes against them.

Intelligence offi cials con-fi rmed the attack and death, and said Younis supported the government’s off ensive against

Taliban militants and had been active in organising tribes to combat the insurgents.

Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal districts along Pakistan’s mountain-ous western border which became a hotbed of Islamist militants following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Pakistan began a long-await-

ed push to clear insurgent bas-es from the North Waziristan tribal district in June last year after a bloody Taliban attack on Karachi airport sank faltering peace talks.

The army has intensifi ed its off ensive since the Taliban’s massacre of 153 people, 134 of them children, in a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar last December.

AFPIslamabad

Woman set ablaze by suitor dies in hospital

A young Pakistani woman died yesterday after a rejected suitor set her

ablaze for refusing his marriage proposal, a doctor said.

Sonia Bibi, 20, was admitted to hospital last month, where she told police that her former lover Latif Ahmed had doused her with petrol and set her alight after she turned down his pro-posal.

Medical staff had originally said she would recover, but a doctor in Multan’s Nishtar hos-pital told AFP that Bibi’s injuries had become infected and that she died yesterday morning.

About 45 to 50% of her body had been burned in the attack, doctor Naheed Chaudhry, the

head of the hospital’s burns de-partment said.

The incident took place in a remote village of Multan district in central Punjab province. Po-lice have arrested the 24-year-old suspect.

Bibi had told police that she had fallen out of love with Ahmed, and preliminary inves-tigations suggested he had set her on fi re “after she refused to marry him”.

Hundreds of women are mur-dered in Pakistan each year in cases of domestic violence or on the grounds of defending family “honour”.

The Aurat Foundation, a campaign group that works to improve the lives of women in Pakistan’s conservative and pa-triarchal society, says more than 3,000 women have been killed in such attacks since 2008.

AFPIslamabad

Deportations of Pakistanis reach record high With deportations of Pakistanis from diff erent countries reaching a record high, the government of Pakistan yesterday decided that no deportee will be accepted unless their nationality is verified. “We will not accept any deportee unless their nationality is verified and detailed reasons for their deportation are provided,” Interior Minister Chaudhry

Nisar Ali Khan told a high-level meeting yesterday. A committee comprising senior off icials of interior and foreign ministries were tasked to develop a new set of rules and procedures for deporting Pakistanis. Nisar further directed Pakistani missions abroad to link issuance of temporary travel documents for deportees to verification of their nationalities.

PHILIPPINES

Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 201530

Court may not rule on US deal before Obama visit

ReutersManila

The Philippine Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on a consti-tutional challenge to a new

US-Philippine security agreement before President Barack Obama visits Manila later this month, with a decision expected next year, a court source said.

The deal gives US troops wide access to Philippine military bases and approval to build facil-ities to store fuel and equipment for maritime security, but it was eff ectively frozen after left-wing politicians and other opponents challenged its constitutionality last year.

With tension growing over China’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea, Phil-ippine political experts had ex-pected the Supreme Court to issue a ruling before Obama at-tends the Asia-Pacifi c Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Manila on Nov 18-19.

The Enhanced Defence Co-

operation Agreement (Edca) was signed just days before Obama last visited Manila in April 2014. A court source, who declined to be identifi ed, said domestic po-litical issues were likely to take priority.

“I expect the court to decide on the military deal next year, before the elections in May,” the source said, referring to national elections scheduled for May 2016.

Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te said it was unclear when the court would issue a ruling.

Experts had already said any further delays to the agreement

might raise eyebrows in Wash-ington given Manila has been the most vocal critic of Bei-jing among the claimants to the South China Sea and has urged the US to push back against Chi-na’s territorial ambitions.

Last week a US warship chal-lenged the territorial limits around one of Beijing’s artifi -cial islands in the Spratly ar-chipelago, prompting China’s naval chief to warn that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea.

“It is painful to watch a case so vital to Philippine national security mired in judicial inde-cision,” said Patrick Cronin of

the Centre for a New American Security in Washington. To be sure, US-Philippine military ties are already robust.

Philippine military offi cials say there has been an increase in US exercises, training and ship and aircraft visits in the past year under Obama’s “rebalance” to Asia. But the EDCA would take the relationship a step further, partly by giving US forces broad access to the Philippines. “There is no doubt the US will be disap-pointed. But the process dem-onstrates judicial independence where due diligence is expected,” said Philippine security expert Rommel Banlaoi.

The deal gives US troops wide access to Philippine military bases and approval to build facilities to store fuel and equipment for maritime security

Kunal Rajkumar, an Indian navy commanding off icer, gestures during a briefing with the media onboard the Indian naval ship “INS Sahyadri” docked at north harbour in Manila yesterday. The “INS Sahyadri” is a Shivalik Class warship that was inducted into the Indian Navy on July 2012, with a multi-role stealth frigate and boasting an array of weaponry in its arsenal, according to the Indian navy. The ship is in Manila to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.

Port call

Call for suspension of Abaya, Honrado over extortion racket Manila TimesManila

An administrative com-plaint was fi led yester-day against transport

offi cials, led by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, in connection with an alleged extortion racket involving the slipping of bullets into the bags of passengers checking in for their fl ights.

The complaint, which was fi led with the Offi ce of the Om-budsman by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Dante Jimenez, president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), also sought the preven-tive suspension of the offi cials involved during pendency of the case.

Also named respondents to the complaint were Manila In-ternational Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado; retired commo-dore Roland Recomono, admin-istrator of the Offi ce of Trans-port Security (OTS) and Chief Supt. Pablo Francisco Balagtas, director of the Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup).

Meanwhile, at least four air-line passengers were apprehend-ed by airport security yesterday after screeners detected bullets in their bags, radio station dzBB reported last night.

The OTS has confi scated a to-tal of 84 rounds of ammunition from airline passengers from January to October 2015.

The MIAA and the OTS are attached agencies of the De-partment of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) which Abaya heads while the Avseg-roup is an operating unit of the Philippine National Police.

The OTS is the agency in charge of screening passengers and their belongings while the Avsegroup is primarily in charge of police matters within the air-port premises.

The Avsegroup is distinct from the Airport Police Depart-ment, which is under the MIAA.

Cayetano and the VACC’s pe-tition said the offi cials must be held administratively liable for gross neglect of duty under Ex-ecutive Order 226 (EO) or the “Doctrine of Command Respon-

sibility in All Government Of-fi ces and Agencies.”

“The heart of the cause of ac-tion of this complaint is the gross inaction of the respondents, even amidst knowledge of the crime or off ence of their subor-dinates or lapses within their ju-risdiction,” the complaint read.

“If our offi cials cannot solve these issues fast and ensure the safety and well-being of the people they are sworn to protect, then I see no point in making them remain in of-fi ce. They should be dismissed and removed from their post,” Cayetano said in a press state-ment.

The complaint cited that un-der EO 226 issued in 1995 by

then-President Fidel V Ra-

mos, “any government offi cial or supervisor, or offi cer of the PNP or any law enforcement agency shall be held accountable for Neglect of Duty under the doc-trine of ‘command responsibil-ity’ if they have knowledge of an off ence… committed by their subordinates… and despite such knowledge, did not take preven-tive or corrective action either before, during or immediately after its commission.”

The same EO was cited by former president Ramos in March when he said President Benigno Aquino and the PNP top brass could be held liable for the Mamasapano incident.

“This extortion scheme has been going on for years and the respondents named in this com-

plaint have not done anything to address this. Why is this be-ing investigated only now?” Cayetano told reporters.

“It’s very clear under EO 226 that if a crime is happening, in this case the ‘laglag-bala’ or ‘tanim-bala’ and if the supe-rior knew that such a thing was happening and he did not do anything, he has to answer for it. They’ve known this for long time,” he said.

Cayetano together with Sena-tors Grace Poe, Ralph Recto and Miriam Defensor-Santiago have fi led separate resolutions asking the Senate to hold a congres-sional inquiry into the alleged extortion scheme.Reacting to the fi ling of the complaint, Hon-rado said, “It’s their right.”

Malacanang again assured the public that the government is taking concrete steps in ad-dressing the alleged ‘tanim-bala’ racket.

Its spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the DOTC will make an an-nouncement probably this week of the measures that will be un-dertaken.

“The DOTC will show the entire picture. We hope the DOTC will be able to convince our countrymen, our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) that measures are being undertaken and it’s not true that we are not doing anything about it,” he added.

Lacierda said the DOTC is ad-dressing alleged ‘bullet-plant-ing’ incidents based on the data submitted by the MIAA and the

OTS.President Benigno Aquino earlier ordered the DOTC to conduct an investigation of the “laglag-bala” extortion scheme.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) wants the truth to come out on the racket.

“We want the truth to come out on whoever is involved in this… whether he is a member of the PNP more so that we will discipline him,” the PNP spokes-man, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, told reporters.

Mayor said they will get to the bottom of the issue even as he reiterated an earlier statement by the Avsegroup spokesman that it is impossible for the police to be involved in the racket as they have no participation in the se-curity inspection at the airport.

“It would be impossible for the police to put a bullet in a bag. They are outside the X-ray area,” he ex-plained. Airport security screen-ers said they are “demoralised” and are “humiliated” with the bashing they have received over the alleged extortion racket.

“We are demoralised, humili-ated and even threatened,” OTS team leader Ceferino de Ocampo said. “In the eyes of the public, we are so bad. Yet, no one wants to stand for us.”

De Ocampo added that the OTS frontliners have already been judged by the public.

He appealed to the public to wait for results of the investi-gation of their colleagues. “We cannot say the 40 employees are guilty, because they are still un-der investigation.”

Nanette Ramos, an OTS su-pervisor, tearfully told GMA News that they lose face each time they see bags tightly wrapped in plastic being checked into their X-ray machines.

She said she and her col-leagues are willing to undergo lie-detector tests and even life-style checks to once and for all determine who are into the ex-tortion racket.

To ease the allegations of bullet-planting, the OTS is im-plementing a “no touch policy” in four terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Labour Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the best way for travellers, particularly OFWs, to avoid getting victimised is for them to always watch their bags and not let anybody touch them.

“I urge airline passengers, OFWs particularly, to be alert, careful and vigilant with regard to their luggage,” she added.

“They should hold on to their luggage, or be very close, never away from them, while these are being checked, and re-port any suspicious activity or movement of airport personnel handling their luggage.

“Don’t leave your luggage. Don’t keep them away from your view. Better still, inven-tory the contents of your lug-gage before you leave for the airport and keep this inventory with you.

Show them to the authorities if necessary before they check or screen your luggage,” she added.

A traveller carrying a backpack wrapped in plastic enters the departure area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Religious group seeks abduction case dismissal By Jomar CanlasManila Times

The infl uential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC or Church of Christ) has asked

the Court of Appeals (CA) to dismiss a case fi led against its leaders, in connection with the alleged abduction of the church’s defrocked minister Lowell Menorca and his fam-ily.

The seventh division of the appellate court yesterday started hearing a petition for a writ of amparo and writ of ha-beas corpus fi led by Menorca’s family against the INC leaders led by its executive minister Eduardo Manalo.

The Supreme Court (SC) had designated the division to hear the petition fi led by An-thony Menorca and Lowell’s sister-in-law, Jungko Otsuka.

Aside from Manalo, others named as respondents to the case were Radel Cortez, Bien-venido Santiago and Rolando Esguerra.

The INC leaders were rep-resented by New Era College of Law Dean Serafi n Cuevas Jr and lawyers from the ACCRA Law Offi ce.

Defence lawyers asked the CA to dismiss the petition for lack of merit since the case is already considered moot and

academic as Menorca is no longer in the custody of the INC.“Pursuant to settled ju-risprudence, the events that transpired subsequent to the fi ling of the petition have ren-dered the writs of amparo and habeas corpus moot and aca-demic,” the petition read.

“Given the admissions of Menorca and petitioner’s counsel that Menorca et al are no longer in the custody of the INC, the petition as well as the writs of habeas corpus and amparo are now moot and academic,” it pointed out.

As such, the INC argued that “there is no basis to claim that there is an imminent or continuing restriction on the Menorca et al’s life, liberty and security.”

INC spokesman Edwil Za-bala said separation of church and state must be observed and considered sacred.

The religious group mani-fested before the CA that the “petition does not make any specifi c allegations as to the precise nature, manner and extent of involvement of each of the named respondents in the acts complained.”

The INC alleged that the instant petition is improper since “there was no illegal and involuntary restraint of liberty to justify the issuance of the writs.”

Foreigner, fi ve Filipinas get

life term for sex traffi cking

By Nelson S BadillaManila Times

A foreign national, his Filipina wife and four other women were sen-

tenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay the fi ne of P2mn each, after they were found guilty of sex traffi cking by the regional trial courts in Cebu and Marikina City.

The International Justice Mission (IJM) said Bogo City Regional Trial Court (in Cebu province) found Joseph Charles Leveque and his wife Hilda Leveque guilty for violating RA 9208 (Anti-Traffi cking in Persons Act of 2003), after six minors were rescued from a videoke bar they owned in 2010.

The rescued minor girls aged below 18 years old, allegedly

worked as entertainers in the couple’s Cheers Videoke bar. In related case, the Cebu City Regional Trial Court also con-victed Janeth Yosores Bughao, Genevieve Dawa Badiang, and Sheila Ohao Dedicatoria based on a complaint of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Central Visayas.

The case stemmed from an NBI entrapment operation in 2012 at Red Lips Bikini Bar on Mango Avenue in Cebu City, which resulted in the arrest of the three who were identifi ed as bar manager and pimps, and the rescue of 26 young women.

Finally, Marikina City Re-gional Trial Court slapped Evangeline B De Dios with life imprisonment after she was found guilty of recruiting and pimping young people under the Marikina Bridge.

SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL31

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Bangladesh writers stage rally despite fear of attack About 1,000 Bangladeshi

authors and teachers marched through the

streets of the capital yester-day, asserting their right to free speech days after a suspected Islamist group attacked writ-ers and publishers critical of religious militancy.

Bangladesh is in the throes of a violent struggle between hardline groups bent on turning the Muslim-majority nation into a Shariah-based theocracy on the one hand, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina deter-mined to root out extremism on the other.

On Saturday, a publisher was hacked to death in his offi ce in Dhaka by men wielding sharp weapons, hours after similar attacks on two writers and an-other publisher.

Despite the climate of fear caused by the attacks that fol-low the killings of four secular-ist bloggers this year, writers turned out in large numbers for the rally in Dhaka.

“No one is safe. First they killed bloggers. Now they are targeting publishers. Soon they will attack anyone who is pro-gressive-minded,” said Khale-dur Rahman, an author who is himself facing a death threat.

A branch of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks but police said they had not been able to verify that claim.

Police joint commissioner Monirul Islam said investiga-

tors were looking closely at a home-grown group called An-sarullah Bangla Team (ABT) as the latest attacks bore the hallmarks of earlier killings of bloggers for which it took responsibility.

The little-known Islamist group wants sharia rule in sec-ular Bangladesh and has vowed to kill critics of extreme Islam.

“They just tell these youth that the bloggers are the ene-mies of Islam. Nobody has read the blogs. They just blindly fol-low what the ABT says,” said a police investigator.

Tensions have risen in Bang-ladesh since Hasina ordered Islamist leaders suspected of atrocities during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan to be put on trial for war crimes.

Her rivals say Hasina is set-tling political scores by hunting down members of the Jamaat-e-Islami, an ally of the main op-position group head by former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

The latest conviction of former opposition minister Salauddin Quader Chowdhury for war crimes has reignited protests that the trials are politically motivated.

US senator Patrick Leahy in a letter to the Bangladesh em-bassy in Washington DC said Chowdhury was denied the op-portunity to present evidence to the war crimes tribunal that he was out of the country at the time of the alleged off ences.

UN urges probe: The Unit-ed Nations (UN) has urged the Bangladesh authorities to ‘fully investigate’ the recent kill-

ReutersDhaka

Protesters march during a six-hour-long general strike in Dhaka yesterday.

ing of a publisher and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“We clearly condemn the kill-ing of the publisher we saw in Bangladesh, and we would very much call on the government to fully investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice,” UN resident co-ordinator in Bang-

ladesh, Robert D Watkins, said quoting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Earlier, the UN offi ce in Bang-ladesh strongly condemned brutal killing of publisher Faisal Arefi n Dipan and the contin-ued violence against the online community.

The UN offi cial said the killing must be condemned at all levels of political and religious leader-ship in order to prevent further attacks.

“The perpetrators must also be brought to justice and the authorities need to provide im-mediate protection to citizens

thought to be at risk,” he said.This murder and the violent

assaults on Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, Tariq Rahim, and Ra-nadipan Basu are unacceptable attacks aimed to intimidate and restrict the right of individuals to express themselves freely, he said.

Six charged for murder of Tamil lawmaker in 2006 Colombo police yesterday filed charge-sheets against six people accused of murdering Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj in 2006. Police had arrested three former navy personnel, including two off icers, in connection with the lawmaker’s murder. The other suspect included two members of the LTTE and a police off icer. The parliamentarian was shot dead by gunmen riding a motorbike in Colombo on November 10, 2006. His bodyguard, constable Lakshman Lokuwella, was also killed in the shooting. Police have informed the court that five other suspects arrested in connection with the murder could be released and were awaiting for attorney general’s instructions.A pro-Tamil Tiger politician, Nadarajah Raviraj was shot by unidentified gunmen soon after he left his house in Colombo for work. A former mayor of Jaff na, Raviraj represented the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) coalition from northern Jaff na district in parliament.

Mayor suspended

Khulna City Corporation mayor has been suspend-ed after being charged

with criminal off ences.A senior offi cial of the lo-

cal government division said that they issued a circular on Moniruzzaman Moni’s suspen-sion as a court accepted his name in the charge-sheets of two criminal cases.

Moni has been suspended as per the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, the offi cial said.

The law states that any one of the panel mayors of the KCC could now be made acting mayor.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-backed Moni beat ruling Awami League-backed candi-date Talukdar Abdul Khaleque in the KCC polls held in June, 2013.

On June 11 this year, a local court accepted charge-sheets against 56 people, including Moni, in two criminal cases in connection with arson and at-tacks on law enforcers.

Earlier, Sylhet City Corpora-tion mayor Ariful Huq, Rajshahi City Corporation mayor Mosad-dek Hossain Bulbul and Gazipur City Corporation mayor MA Mannan were also suspended on the same ground. They were all BNP leaders who had defeated the Awami League nominees.

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

BNP leader denied bail, sent to jail

A Dhaka court yesterday sent Bangladesh Na-tionalist Party (BNP)

acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to jail after rejecting his bail plea in three cases of violence.

Fakhrul had surrendered earlier in the day before the trial court as per a Supreme Court order.

The BNP acting secretary general had gone abroad for treatment after securing a three-month interim bail from the highest court. His bail was extended after he returned home.

However, the apex court on Monday scrapped his plea seek-ing more time before surrender.

Metropolitan Magistrate Maruf Hossain denied bail pleas moved by the BNP leader saying he has ‘no jurisdiction’ as Fakhrul was denied bail by the Supreme Court.

The court, however, di-rected the prison authorities to consider his physical con-dition and provide him with proper treatment.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Fakhrul to sur-render before a lower court by Tuesday after hearing three separate petitions fi led by Fa-khrul seeking an extension of its order that granted him bail in the cases.

Fakhrul appeared before the court at around 3pm yester-day and moved three separate petitions over three arson and vandalism cases fi led with the Paltan police station.

Upset with the court’s order, pro-BNP lawyers took out a procession at court premises.

Following bail petitions fi led by Fakhrul, the High Court on June 21 granted ad interim bail to the BNP leader in the cases and also issued three separate rulings upon the government to explain as to why he should not be granted regular bail in

By Mizan RahmanDhaka

30 killed in central Nepal after bus plunges over cliff

A packed passenger bus plunged over a cliff and killed 30 people in central

Nepal yesterday, a senior local offi cial said.

Rescuers struggled to recover bodies and help the injured to safety after the bus fell 200m (656ft) off the mountainous road in Rasuwa district, home to

the popular Langtang trekking route.

“Of the 30 dead, 29 were re-covered from the accident site and one died while undergo-ing treatment,” district chief Shiva Ram Gelal said, adding that one of those killed was an infant.

“We have sent 35 other people who were wounded to nearby hospitals and we are continuing to search the area,” Gelal said.

Gelal said the cause of the

accident was not clear yet. But injured passengers said the ve-hicle was overcrowded, with people travelling on the roof, he added.

Shiva Acharya, one of the pas-sengers who escaped the inci-dent after jumping from the bus, said the incident took place after the front wheel of the bus got punctured.

Security personnel from the army, police and armed police force were pressed into service

for the rescue operation.Langtang was devastated in

the massive earthquake that hit the Himalayan country in April, killing nearly 9,000 people.

As well as destroying more than half a million homes, the quake caused severe damage to roads in the impoverished nation.

Deadly crashes are relatively common in Nepal because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

AFPKathmandu

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

the cases fi led with Paltan po-lice station in the capital on January 4 and 6.

On July 13, the Supreme Court granted a six-week bail to the BNP leader on medical grounds, clearing the way for his release from jail. The apex court also directed him to sur-render before a lower court af-ter the six weeks.

On August 31, the SC ex-tended the bail order for six weeks more. On October 6, it further extended till Monday its bail order for Fakhrul on medical grounds in the cases.

Fakhrul, who stands ac-cused in 89 cases, got bail from the High Court and lower courts in other similar cases.

HEARING DEFERRED: The Bangladesh Supreme Court has deferred till Novem-ber 17 the hearing of petitions fi led by two condemned war criminals seeking review of its judgments that upheld their death penalties for crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 liberation war.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mojaheed and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lead-er Salauddin on October 14 sought review of the court ver-dicts that upheld their capital punishment in June and July.

The International Crimes Tribunal issued execution warrants for both on October 1, a day after the court released the full verdicts.

Photo festival opens in shadow of quake

Nepal’s fi rst international photo festival opened yesterday on the streets

of the quake-devastated Kath-mandu Valley, with exhibits set up alongside damaged and spec-tacular temples and palaces.

The Photo Kathmandu fes-tival takes visitors on a tour of the historic city of Patan, past intricately-carved stat-ues and ancient water spouts, and chronicles Nepal’s chaotic transformation from a Hindu monarchy to a secular republic.

“When the earthquake hit, so many buildings came down in Patan ... (and) made us realise how important it was to display the photographs in this setting, as a reminder of why we need to preserve and rebuild it,” said festival co-director Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati.

The curated walks and exhi-bitions, featuring the work of Nepali and international pho-tographers, are all free, while proceeds from the sale of se-lected prints will go towards rebuilding Patan’s architectural heritage.

Kakshapati organised several aid drives after April’s massive

AFPKathmandu

quake that destroyed more than half a million homes and killed nearly 9,000 people. But she was forced to overcome a slew of hurdles to set up this event, ranging from a labyrinthine local bureaucracy to a nationwide fuel shortage that raised costs and created logistical challenges.

“The fact that the festival is going ahead refl ects a cer-tain resilience to push on de-spite dealing with so much

frustration,” Kakshapati said.“After the quake, I remember

thinking that when people are struggling to meet basic needs, what is the point of holding a photo festival?

“But a powerful image can do so much, you can tell a story, ask a question, touch someone ... I hope people will recognise themselves in these images and leave feeling a little inspired,” she said.

An exhibit is prepared ahead of the Photo Kathmandu Exhibition in Patan, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Maoist party on the verge of split again

The Unifi ed Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, which led a decade long

civil war until 2006, is on the verge of a split again - for the fourth time.

The party, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, is now being broken by its former sen-ior leader and former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai.

Bhattarai, who departed from the party in September voicing displeasure over the new constitution the party chose, is now preparing to form a new political party akin to the Aam Aadmi Party of India.

He said his new party will be socialist in nature and not a hardcore communist outfi t.

A total 45 Maoist cen-tral committee, standing committee and politburo members close to Bhattari yesterday furnished their resignations to join the pro-

posed party to be formed by Bhattarai.

A meeting of these lead-ers held at Bhattarai’s resi-dence decided to quit the Maoist party, said party leader Ram Rijan Yadav. “We have also given up the party membership.”

In 2009, a faction under Matrika Yadav split from UCPN-Maoist. In 2012, the party suff ered a split that was led by veteran communist leader, Mohan Bidhaya Kiran.

Later, the party again split in 2014. This time a long-time aide of Dahal, Netra Bikram Chand, formed a new communist party.

Now, Bhattarai, who com-pleted his PhD from New Del-hi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Univer-sity in regional development and planning, has walked out.

Party leaders say new party will be formed within one and a half month.

Dahal’s UPCN-Maoist is in the government led by the Communist Party of Nepal-Unifi ed Marxist Leninist.

IANSKathmandu

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with an astonishing victory, has ended a fi ve-month interlude to his 13-year rule, leaving the Justice and Development Party (AKP) he cofounded back in control of the parliament. The results have, for now, ended a deeply nagging political imbroglio that has ground the country’s growth to a halt.

The president should now be fi rmly in control of a host of issues ranging from the war in Syria and peace with Kurds to the restructuring of a slowing economy.

Even before the recent crises, Turkey’s economy has been slowing for some time. It grew an average of more than 6% a year during the fi rst half of the AKP’s 12 years in power, but slowed to about 3% in the second half. The government has failed to reach its growth target every year since 2012, and the International Monetary Fund predicts 2.9% growth next year and 3.5% by 2020. That would put Turkey’s ambition to be a $2tn economy by 2023 out of reach.

Investors have been edgy since the US Federal Reserve fi rst signalled in 2013 that it was moving to taper its bond buying programme. Foreigners went from being net buyers of Turkish government debt to net sellers as the Fed nears its fi rst interest rate increase in nine years.

Renewed violence between security forces and autonomy-seeking Kurds since June’s inconclusive

election is compounding the problem.

The election result could embolden Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister during 2003-14, who was elected president in August 2014, and the AKP, to extend policies

that have already divided the country, said Inan Demir, chief economist at Finansbank. Sunday’s snap poll was a gamble by Erdogan, critics say, to win back enough seats so the AKP could eventually change the constitution and give him greater presidential powers.

The party’s 49% vote share is expected to see it garner 316 seats in the legislature. But it should also mean the AKP is likely to fall short of the 330 required to call a referendum on the constitution.

Despite all the criticism against Erdogan’s “authoritarian ambitions and Islamist agenda”, many voters still admire him for building hospitals and schools in Turkey during his party’s rule, the longest period of stability since the nation adopted a multiparty system in 1946.

He remains popular among poorer Turks whose living standards have risen. Growth has averaged 5% during his reign, with foreign investors pouring about $50bn into Turkish stocks and bonds since 2006.

It’s all up to the president now to chart a new inclusive course for the country’s future with a pluralistic vision. He must be politically astute enough to realise that while polarisation may help win elections, it does not make it governance any easier.

Turks have given a strong message that they still would trust in the president and prefer a majority AKP government to a shaky coalition for stability and growth.

Erdogan now has a chance to live up to that trust by building a stronger and united Turkey, which is crucial to the stability and security of a region beset by confl icts.

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Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-AttiyahEditor-in-Chief : Darwish S AhmedProduction Editor: C P Ravindran

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 2015

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Erdogan remains popular among poorer Turks whose living standards have risen

Ensuring a fi nancial system’s stability is a multifaceted endeavour

By Simon JohnsonWashington

A major shift in American politics has taken place. All three of the remaining mainstream Democratic

presidential candidates now agree that the existing state of the fi nancial sector is not satisfactory and that more change is needed.

President Barack Obama has long regarded the 2010 Dodd-Frank fi nancial-reform legislation as bringing about suffi cient change. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and former governor Martin O’Malley want to do even more.

The three leading Democratic candidates disagree, however, on whether there should be legislation to re-erect a wall between the rather dull business of ordinary commercial banking and other kinds of fi nance (such as issuing and trading securities, commonly known as investment banking).

This issue is sometimes referred to as “reinstating Glass-Steagall”, a reference to the Depression-era legislation – the Banking Act of 1933 – that separated commercial and investment banking.

This is a slight misnomer: the most credible bipartisan proposal on the table takes a much-modernised approach to distinguishing and making more transparent diff erent kinds of fi nance activities. Sanders

and O’Malley are in favour of this general idea; Clinton is not (yet).

There are three main arguments against a modern version of Glass-Steagall. None is convincing.

First, some prominent former offi cials argue that not all of the fi nancial fi rms that got into trouble in 2008 were integrated commercial-investment banking operations.

For example, Lehman Brothers was a standalone investment bank and AIG was an insurance company.

This argument is, at best, irrelevant. What happened “last time” is

rarely a good guide to fi ghting wars or anticipating future fi nancial crises. The world moves on, in terms of technology and risks. We must adjust our thinking accordingly.

At worst, the argument is just plain wrong. Some of the greatest threats in 2008 were posed by banks – such as Citigroup – built on the premise that integrating commercial and investment banking would bring stability and better service.

Sandy Weill, the primary architect of the modern Citigroup, regrets that construction – and regrets lobbying for the repeal of Glass-Steagall. (As James Kwak and I argued in our book 13 Bankers, what really mattered was the decades-long bipartisan process of deregulation, for which the end of Glass-Steagall was a prominent symbol.)

Second, leading representatives of big banks argue that much has

changed since 2008 – and that big banks have become signifi cantly safer. Unfortunately, this is a great exaggeration.

Ensuring a fi nancial system’s stability is a multifaceted endeavour – complex enough to keep many diligent people fully employed. But it also comes down to this: how much loss-absorbing shareholder equity is on the balance sheets of the largest fi nancial fi rms?

In the run-up to the 2008 crisis, the largest US banks had around 4% equity relative to their assets. This was not enough to withstand the storm. (Here I’m using tangible equity relative to tangible assets, as recommended by Tom Hoenig, Vice Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, and a beacon of clarity on these issues.)

Now, under the most generous possible calculation, the surviving megabanks have on average about 5% equity relative to total assets – that is, they are 95% financed with debt. Is this the major and profound change that will prove sufficient as we head through the credit cycle? No, it is not.

Finally, some observers – although relatively few at this point – argue that the biggest banks have greatly improved their control and compliance systems, and that the mismanagement of risk on a systemically signifi cant scale is no longer possible.

This view is simply implausible. Consider all the instances of money laundering and sanctions busting (with evidence against Credit Agricole last week, Deutsche Bank this week, and almost every major international bank in the past few years).

This is the equivalent of near misses in aviation. If the US had the equivalent of the National Transportation Safety Board for fi nance, we would receive detailed public reports on what exactly is – still, after all these years – going wrong. Sadly, what we actually get is plea bargains in which all relevant details are kept secret.

The regulators and law-enforcement offi cials are letting us down – and jeopardising the safety of the fi nancial system – on a regular basis.

The best argument for a modern Glass-Steagall act is the simplest. We should want a lot more loss-absorbing shareholder equity.

And, to reinforce this, we should want to make the largest banks simpler and more transparent, with “strong structural firewalls” as Dennis Kelleher, of Better Markets, puts it.

Of course, in that context, we should ensure that various activities by “shadow banks” (structures that operate with bank-like features, as Lehman Brothers did) are properly regulated.

Building support for legislation to simplify the biggest banks would greatly strengthen the hand of those regulators who want to require more shareholder equity and better regulation for the shadows. These policies are complements, not substitutes. -Project Syndicate

Simon Johnson is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and the co-author of White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You.

Make largest banks simplerand more transparent

The quest for ‘authenticity’ By Doyle McManusLos Angeles Times/TNS

Joe Biden has it, and so does Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump and Ben Carson have it too - at least, they seem to. But Hillary

Rodham Clinton strains to achieve it. And Jeb Bush? He doesn’t seem to want to try.

The elusive quality is authenticity, and it’s become a preoccupation of the 2016 presidential campaign. Can candidates convince voters - amid all the noise and artifi ce of politics - that they are real people underneath, with character and convictions?

“Will you say anything to get elected?” CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Clinton at the fi rst Democratic debate. But voters surely have the same question about Bush and Marco Rubio and everyone else who counts as a traditional politician.

When voters say they want authenticity, they often mean honesty and trustworthiness, for starters. We also want “straight talk”, something Trump, Carson and Sanders all provide. We want candidates to open up and show some emotion, not just talking points written by campaign strategists.

What we want, in short, is a glimpse into a candidate’s soul. Because that’s not exactly easy to achieve - even in a campaign that lasts almost two years - we ask our candidates to jump through hoops. We demand a look at their families. We even expect them to appear on television and tell jokes, or sing or even (in the case of Sanders) dance with Ellen DeGeneres, to prove that they can be good sports amid indignity.

If a politician is willing to embarrass himself publicly, we seem to believe, he’s probably not a robot.

Here’s the thing: The variety show routine isn’t a reliable test of the qualities we’re looking for.

“Often, what people respond to is how comfortable (the candidates) seem to be,” Deborah Tannen, a

Georgetown University linguist, told me last week. “But that often has nothing to do with honesty. If someone sounds stiff, or pauses to choose the right words, we sometimes think they must be cooking up a line. But they might just be inarticulate, or introverted, or worried about saying something the wrong way.”

Put otherwise: Some candidates may be authentically robotic.

She cited an old joke from theatre and broadcasting: “The key to success is sincerity. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

Moreover, Tannen warned, the mania for authenticity may disadvantage women.

“Women are expected to talk in ways that are incompatible with the ways we think a leader sounds,” she said. “But if we think of displays of emotion as evidence of authenticity, they can easily be seen as too emotional. That’s a huge double bind.”

Most important, authenticity - that is, the appearance of authenticity, since we can rarely be sure that what looks authentic is real - probably isn’t the right trait to value above all others.

“What does this have to do with whether a person can make good decisions?” Tannen asked.

Take the two most successful presidents of the last half-century, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Both were accused by their opponents of being inauthentic. Critics loved to point out that Reagan was a professional actor; Clinton’s enemies called him “Slick Willie”.

George W Bush, on the other hand, won two elections partly because he excelled at authenticity. But that didn’t make his presidency a success.

Likewise, Trump, Carson and Sanders have won high marks from voters for being blunt and plain-spoken, but that’s not a reliable guide to whether they would be good at the job. It’s only a starting point.

It’s sensible to scrutinise the candidates’ honesty and credibility, from Clinton’s shifting statements about e-mails to Trump’s indignant denials of things he said only a few weeks ago.

But it’s time to stop chasing the elusive notion of authenticity. We don’t really know how to measure it. And even if we did, it’s the wrong measurement to use.

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Readers may send him e-mail at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com

Mandate for Erdogan to build a stronger and united Turkey

When voters say they want authenticity, they oft en mean honesty and trustworthiness, for starters

Some of the greatest threats in 2008 were posed by banks

Supporters wave signs as US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign town hall meeting at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. Sanders, Trump and Carson have won high marks from US voters for being blunt and plain-spoken, but that’s not a reliable guide to whether they would be good at the job. It’s only a starting point.

COMMENT

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 2015 33

Ruminant animals emit methane, a gas that is more than 20 times more effi cient than carbon dioxide in trapping the sun’s heat

By Emmanuelle MichelAFP/Paris

At her farm nestled in the green hills of northwestern France, Marie-Francoise Brizard is helping to curb

a planet-wide menace: farting and belching cows implicated in global warming.

So far this year, Brizard says she has cut methane emissions from her herd of 40 Normandy cows that are equivalent to 32 tonnes of climate-changing carbon dioxide.

That is equal to the carbon pollution spewed out in a 470,000km car journey, according to a computer tracker provided to Brizard by a French initiative that promotes lower methane output from farms.

She does it by feeding the cattle more grass but less maize and soy, cutting down on the cattle’s output of methane, which comes mostly from belching but also from fl atulence.

Ruminant animals emit methane, a gas that is more than 20 times more effi cient than carbon dioxide in trapping the sun’s heat.

Agriculture contributes an estimated 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which the world’s governments hope to curb in a climate pact to be negotiated in a November 30-January 11 conference in Paris.

Methane accounts for 40% of farming’s heat-trapping emissions.

As his wife leads the cattle to milking at the 100-hectare farm in Mayenne, a district of the Pays de Loire region, Luc Brizard sets out to sow seeds: alfalfa and other fodder

rich in proteins alternating with cereals.

Dried alfalfa allows the couple to feed the cattle in winter without recourse to industrial maize- and soy-based feed which makes up a fi fth of the diet of an average herd in France. The cattle also get a small supplement of linseed grown on site.

Legumes such as alfalfa and oilseeds such as linseed and some beans enrich the milk with Omega-3 fatty acids,

which are claimed to have health benefi ts for humans but which also suppress the bacteria that produce methane. The cows thus emit less of the gas.

Alfalfa crops, rich in nitrogen, help the couple to improve the quality of the soil while their fi elds lock away carbon.

“The story is almost too good. But it is based on a principle of stunning simplicity: cows are made to eat grass,”

said agronomist Pierre Weil, joint founder of the “Bleu-Blanc-Coeur” (Blue-White-Heart) initiative, which promotes food products with higher levels of the valued Omega 3 protein.

The scheme has been certifi ed as a bona fi de method of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by the French national institute for agricultural research and by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Under a “business as usual” scenario of greenhouse gas emissions, average global temperatures are predicted to rise by about 4 C (6.4 F) by the end of the century, leading to more droughts, deadly superstorms and higher seas, according the UN’s top science panel.

Methane emissions from cattle can be cut by as much as 65% depending on the feed, according to the French initiative, which aims for a more

modest reduction of 20% so as to achieve the best balance between economic constraints, milk quality and animal health.

Every month, milk produced on the Brizard couple’s farm is analysed to ensure it meets the Bleu Blanc Coeur standards. Savings in greenhouse gas emissions are tracked each month on their computer with an ‘Eco-Methane’ counter.

Not all the 600 French farmers in the Eco-Methane project go as far as the Brizards.

“A farmer who only uses maize can just add a bit of linseed. You don’t have to change everything,” Weil said.

Despite saving on feed purchases, however, the fi nancial benefi ts are meagre for the Brizard family.

Dairies in the area are not specialised in collecting Blue Blanc Coeur milk, which is available as a separate product in only a dozen dairies across France. So the dairies just pay the basic price and mix it with standard milk.

Despite the tonnes of greenhouse gas that are saved, the farm does not receive any carbon credits either because there is too little demand from businesses or co-operatives to off set their greenhouse gas emissions. Only a dozen farms in the Eco-Methane initiative get extra money this way, though Weil says such contracts may be signed soon with a group of local rural district authorities.

The couple and their four children, hard hit by a slide in milk prices, thus live on the sale of beef, which is also rich in Omega-3 proteins.

But they are not regretting their decision to feed their cattle and soil naturally.

Marie-Francoise’s father, who started out as a battery hen farmer, moved to organic farming in the 1970s.

“One day he told us: ‘I don’t want to sell to others what I would not give to my own children.’ I was 12, that shaped me,” she remembered.

How to stop cow burps warming Earth

Live issues

What’s so great about true grit?

Letters

By Oliver BurkemanNew York

Contrary to popular belief, and various supposedly motivational Facebook posts, Winston Churchill

never said the words: “Never, never, never give up!” The chubby war hero and amateur watercolourist had his faults, but he was no idiot.

Of course one should sometimes yield, he explained, “to convictions of honour and good sense”. So he’d probably have agreed with a recent study, in the Journal of Research in Personality, on the downsides of the currently much celebrated character trait known as grit.

According to grit’s advocates, persistence and resilience are far better predictors of success, especially at school, than talent or IQ. But researchers led by Gale Lucas at the University of Southern California found that grittier people were likelier to keep grappling with hard, or even unsolvable puzzles, even when it led to lower overall scores and chances of cash reward.

They lost the ability to distinguish between worthwhile struggles and the kind it’s wiser to avoid. To be happy and successful in life, you’ll need to stick with some unpleasant tasks, but

it doesn’t follow that every unpleasant task leads to happiness or success. The Charge of the Light Brigade showed plenty of grit, too.

None of this should come as a surprise, except that these days the “best personality trait to have” – and to teach our children – seems to change like fashions in clothing. One season, empathy’s the answer to everything; next it’s mindfulness; now it’s grit. Yet empathy, the cognitive scientist Paul Bloom has argued, is

an unreliable guide to doing good: it focuses the mind on individuals, and people close to us, at the expense of systemic change, or feeding hungry people faraway.

Meanwhile, mindlessness has proven benefi ts for mastering certain skills: you really don’t want to try getting too mindful about how you drive your car. Curiosity, taken too far, will make you a scatterbrained dilettante. And so on.

Besides, the insistence on one

trait as a cure-all is asking for other kinds of trouble. The unrestrained celebration of grit, critics point out, risks implying that poor kids just need to buck up and work their way out of disadvantage, when frankly what they really need is not to start out poor.

The fl ipside of all this is that “bad” traits and dispositions might not be uniformly bad, either. Depression is an intriguing case in point. You’d wish it on no one, and the revolution in how we view it – as brain chemistry, not moral failing – was long overdue.

But as the Jungian therapist James Hollis writes in his book Swamplands Of The Soul, that doesn’t mean some forms of depression aren’t best interpreted as signals that something’s wrong, that your life might need re-evaluating.

Psychological symptoms can be catalysts for change. While asking how to get rid of them, Hollis advises, don’t neglect to ask, “Why have they come?”

Anyway, how odd would it be if only one narrow characteristic were the answer to all-round success? Or if phenomena like depression never served any purpose at all?

When it comes to the quest to fi nd the one best kind of personality, perhaps it’s time to take Churchill’s advice, submit to good sense, and give up.- Guardian News and Media

Concern for pedestriansDear Sir,

Further to the letter, “Road safety strategies” by David Miller (Gulf Times, November 1), which came in response to the report “Traffi c Dept seeks more pedestrian tunnels, bridges” (Gulf Times, October 29), I would like to say that I share Miller’s views and concerns.

Also, there are some more dimensions to the “fencing” that has replaced those beautiful trees on many of Doha’s roads.

Many low-income workers, who commute on their bicycles in scorching heat during the summer, are now compelled to pedal more distance to go around the junctions, to reach the opposite side of the road.

But at the same time, some of those backpack walkers who take long strolls around the city roads on weekend mornings would not mind going a few

more metres to cross the street and burn some extra calories as well.

However, the city’s road network will need more pedestrian-friendly subways and foot overbridges once the metro starts operating.

The metro system is expected to connect every nook and corner of the city, reducing the present dependence on cars by the public. That means there will be more pedestrians on Doha’s roads.

In the absence of enough underground pathways connecting public utility places, parks, malls, stadiums, etc, rail commuters will fi nd it an ordeal to cross streets to reach their destinations after leaving their trains.

With the metro system sure to redefi ne the way people move around the city, pedestrians’ needs and expectations will be completely diff erent from what are in practice today.

As some of the international cities are moving towards subterranean bike lanes and walkways, I hope Qatar, a

nation that is always more than ready to adopt state-of-the-art technologies and opportunities, should think outside the box to engage and address the needs and safety of pedestrians.

Guruprasad Dasarathanguruzinbox@gmail.com

A modelpolitician

Dear Sir,

Former West Bengal Assembly speaker Hashim Abdul Halim, who died in Kolkata this week at the age of 80, was a man of exemplary character. The present-day Indian politicians have much to learn from him.

Halim had created a record of serving as the Assembly speaker for 29 long years from 1982 to 2011 during the Left Front rule.

He was elected to the West Bengal Assembly for the fi rst time in 1977.

No controversies touched him. He was a model politician. My tributes to him.

Masud Hasanmasud_hasan2004@yahoo.com

Farmer Marie-Francoise Brizard bringing her Normandy cows to a meadow in Courcite, northwestern France. At her farm nestled in the green hills of northwestern France, Brizard is helping to curb a planet-wide menace: farting and belching cows implicated in global warming.

Please send usyour letters

By e-mail editor@gulf-times.comFax 44350474Or Post Letters to the EditorGulf TimesP O Box 2888Doha, Qatar

All letters, which are subject to editing, should have the name of the writer, address and phone number. The writer’s name and address may be withheld by request.

Contrary to popular belief, Winston Churchill never said the words: “Never, never, never give up!”

Three-day forecast

TODAY

FRIDAY

High: 33 C

Low : 27 C

High: 32 C

Low : 24 C

Weather report

Around the region

Abu DhabiBaghdadDubaiKuwait CityManamaMuscatRiyadhTehran

Weather todayP CloudySunnySunnySunnySunnyP CloudySunnySunny

Around the world

Athens BeirutBangkok BerlinCairoCape Town ColomboDhakaHong KongIstanbulJakartaKarachiLondonManilaMoscowNew DelhiNew York ParisSao PauloSeoulSingaporeSydney Tokyo Clear

Max/min22/1226/1935/2608/0325/1831/1931/2430/2226/2117/1133/2533/2414/1133/2409/0631/2020/1416/1125/1819/0532/26 21/1720/11

Weather todaySunnyP CloudyP CloudyP CloudyS T StormsM SunnyS T StormsM SunnyP CloudySunnyP CloudySunnyShowersM SunnyCloudySunnySunnyCloudyT StormsSunnyS T StormsRain

Fishermen’s forecast

OFFSHORE DOHAWind: NW 15-25 KTWaves: 5-8 Feet

INSHORE DOHAWind: NW-NE 05-15/18 KTWaves: 1-3/4 Feet

High: 33 C

Low : 25 C

THURSDAY

Strong wind and high seas

Sunny

Sunny

Max/min33/2523/1432/2628/1931/2633/2531/1915/06

Weather tomorrowSunnyRainSunnySunnySunnySunnySunny M Sunny

Max/min34/2323/1532/2532/2131/2632/2431/20

Max/min23/1225/1835/2613/0725/1828/1529/2431/2226/2116/1132/2436/2216/1333/2408/0129/1920/1718/1323/1818/0633/2622/1822/10

Weather tomorrowSunnyS T StormsP CloudyP CloudyS ShowersP CloudyS T StormsM SunnyP CloudyM SunnyS T StormsSunnyShowersP CloudyM CloudySunnyS ShowersP CloudyRainP CloudyS T StormsRainClear

16/09

QATAR

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201534

NCCCR to build donor registry for stem cell in Qatar By Joey AguilarStaff Reporter

The National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR) will focus on

establishing a donor registry in Qatar amid plans to perform an-other type of stem cell procedure called allogeneic transplant in the middle of next year.

NCCCR medical director Prof. Alexander Knuth told Gulf Times that residents can donate stem cells without any health risks to them.

“We have a healthy donor reg-istry being built and anyone can donate,” Prof Knuth stressed. “No risk, we produce stem cells everyday by the billions.”

He was speaking at a press

conference yesterday announc-ing Hamad Medical Corpora-tion’s signifi cant development for Qatar in treating blood can-cers. He was joined by NCCCR’s bone marrow transplant pro-gramme director Dr Mohamed Bakr, corporate communications executive director Ali al-Khater, and Haematology acting head Dr Ibrahim al-Hijji.

HMC has achieved yet another milestone with the successful completion of the fi rst stem cell transplants in Qatar recently, benefi ting two expatriates who had an aggressive form of blood cancer called ‘myeloma.’

Prof Knuth noted that allogeneic is more effi cient but expensive and also a little bit more complicated than autologous transplant, now being performed by NCCCR.

He said accumulated expenses calculated from the patient’s daily treatment for autologous transplant abroad is between $20,000 and $80,000.

Cost for the other procedure maybe thrice more expensive due to some involvements such as the donor, donor registry, and the

treatment after the transplant.“It also depends how expen-

sive your service is when you calculate the amount to pay for this,” he explained.

Allogeneic has two capabili-ties: fi rst, it repopulates the pa-tient’s bone marrow – a process similar to autologous. However,

a special medication is applied to prevent stem cells (of the donor) from being rejected which “basi-cally the added complication to it.”

“Second component is that they also have immune control function against any residual cells in the marrow or wherever.

They recognise these cells as foreign and something to be de-stroyed.”

He pointed out that identical twins or close relatives would be ideal donors since they are more likely to have the same genes.

For the autologous procedure, healthy stem cells are collected from the patients’ blood using a special mobilisation process and equipment. This process is done at NCCCR and considered as the most convenient and safe meth-od for the patient.

Two expatriates had benefi ted from Qatar’s fi rst stem cell pro-gramme performed by a highly-trained team at NCCCR. They are now fully reconstituted but it will take about three months before everything comes back to normal.

The patients were given a moderate dose therapy to stimu-late the stem cell production. Then stem cells were collected, purify and freeze them (stored).

At the hospital, they get a high dose therapy and one day after when the eff ect of the chemo-therapy fades away and cannot damage the cells anymore, they get the cells back (their own frozen cells) and transplanted back into their system to enable healthy, disease-free bone mar-row to grow.

“We know from other trials that if we give high dose chemo-therapy with autologous stem cells support, the chance of long term survival is better and the chance of non recurrence of the disease is better,” Prof Knuth added.

Prof Alexander Knuth and other NCCCR off icials at the press conference yesterday.

Stakeholdersshowcasingeducationalinnovations By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

Some of the major stakehold-ers from diff erent areas and levels of education are show-

casing their innovations, projects and experiments at the Majlis of the Qatar National Convention Centre as part of the three-day World Innovation Summit for Ed-ucation (WISE) 2015.

The annual summit got under way yesterday with a few infor-mal sessions and deliberations. The main proceedings will kick off this morning with HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and US First Lady Michelle Obama attend-ing the opening ceremony. The $500,000 Wise Prize winner and winners of the other fi ve projects of 2015 Wise Prize for Education will be formally announced at the inaugural ceremony.

While leading journalists and other visitors, mainly those working at diff erent levels and areas of education to each of the fi ve dedicated zones at the Majlis yesterday, WISE team leader and head of operations Ali al-Meh-moud said children of diff erent schools will demonstrate their experiments, creations, innova-tions and practices at its ‘Qatar School Zone’. The children from

18 International, Independent, Community and other expatriate schools in the country have con-fi rmed their attendance.

Besides, trainees of such repu-table training facilities as the As-pire and similar institutions local are also expected, he said.

Qatar University, Injaz Qatar, Supreme Education Council, Qatar National Research Fund, and Education Development Institute are present at the Qa-tar School Zone with their own projects and presentations.

Al-Mehmoud said the ‘WISE Research Zone’ was showcas-ing the changing strategies and character of education at various levels across the world. Several top level institutions, including the University of Cambridge have their projects, academic papers and publications here.

The WISE team leader said there were more participants from China this year as the East Asian country has some lan-guages which are spoken much more widely and intensively than many other languages put to-gether. That researchers have no boundaries and no age would be evident from the participation of educators of diff erent age groups and nationalities from several parts of the world, he said.

One of the frontline partici-

pants in the deliberations to be held at the dedicated research zone is a Chinese educator who has more than 5mn followers on Twitter. The role of social media in the advancement of education is one of the topics expected to be extensively deliberated at the sessions to be held at the zone.

‘Learners Voice Cafe’ is an-other zone where 35 youth cho-sen from among more than 1,000 applications received from across the world would be available. The projects they have developed and their impact on the societies there will be showcased.

WISE team’s senior member Abdurahman al-Sayeed later in-troduced the visitors to the ‘Con-fl ict Zone’ where the miseries of the children of Syria, suff ering from the ongoing war are nar-rated through an audio-visual presentation.

The sprawling ‘Learners Lab’ is another zone where agencies, institutions and companies con-tributing to raise the educational awareness among children all over through the tools they developed are hogging the limelight.

One of the major attractions of the pavilion is the presence of globally acclaimed toy manufac-turer Lego who has demonstrat-ed some of their innovative tools and projects.

A classroom session at the School Zone in the Majlis.

WISE head of operations Ali al-Mehmoud explaining a point yesterday.

Abdurahamn al-Sayeed pointing to the ‘bullet marks’ in one of the walls in the ‘Conflict Zone’: PICTURES: Shaji Kayamkulam

Dr Barbosa (centre) and others at the EAA briefing yesterday: PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

EAA says confl icts keepingmany kids out of classroom Despite the relentless ef-

forts of the global com-munity, confl icts and

disasters are putting pressure on access to education for a large number of children in war-torn territories, Education Above All (EAA) Foundation CEO Marcio Barbosa said yesterday.

Speaking to journalists on the eve of the WISE 2015 Summit starting at the Qatar National Convention Centre, Barbosa said

one in 11 children is out of the classroom worldwide.

“This trend shows no signs of receding without more concerted action from all sectors,” said a former director general of Unesco.

The top EAA offi cial hoped their forum’s sessions at WISE will serve as a platform for mem-bers of the global community to engage in pragmatic solution-fi nding needed to address the growing crisis.

“We must identify new and innovative ways of providing ac-cess to education under all cir-cumstances, especially to those who are prevented from realising their right to education by war, poverty and other barriers’.

The EAA will lead three tech-nical sessions which will address key issues in education and de-velopment, poverty, quality, and confl ict. It was informed yes-terday that the EAA would bring

more than 20 speakers from in-ternational groups, organisations and government bodies at its ses-sions.

Speakers include Mozambique’s former education minister Graca Machel, Overseas Development Institute executive director Kevin Watkins (UK), UN Assistant Sec-retary General of Inter Agency Aff airs Thomas Gass and Geneva Call executive president Elizabeth Decrey Warner.

Lego ‘making learningan inspiring experience’ By Ramesh MathewStaff Reporter

Lego, the Denmark-based acclaimed manufactur-ers of toys and educational

tools are reaffi rming the 83-year-old company’s commitment to the children across the world through their active association with teachers and similar educa-tors at diff erent levels.

The company has a dedicated pavilion at the Learners Lab of the 2015 World Innovation Sum-mit for Education (WISE) where an array of utility education tools, mainly toys are showcased for the visitors.

While recalling their com-pany’s participation at the event in the last two years and the re-sponse it received from the event the company offi cial Steen V Lund said they considered the Middle East, in particular a place like Qatar, as one of their most vibrant markets these days. “Our education tools have remark-ably good appeal among the local children and we are certain that Lego products have been able

to contribute eff ectively to pro-viding user-friendly solutions and resources in the company’s classrooms,” said Lund while elaborating on the Lego projects and innovations.

The offi cial said Lego had been working closely with educational specialists across the world for more than three decades and the results are there for everyone to see from the reach the brand’s tools have received.

These days the classrooms could attract and appeal children only if they could provide lively

environs, fi lled with fun, enter-tainment and recreation, said Lund while adding how much the Denmark company has contrib-uted in creating such an atmos-phere through their products.

The company’s aids, he said, inspire interest in science, tech-nology, engineering, computer science, maths and the humani-ties. “Right educational sets, activity packs, teacher resources and programming tools can make learning an inspiring experience to meet one’s curriculum needs,” said Lund.

Lund feels provision of advanced educational tools at the right time would make classrooms more appealing to children.

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 2015

QATAR36

DoubleTree by Hilton hotel opening in Doha

Argentina band to perform at Katara

Leading global hospitality compa-ny Hilton Worldwide yesterday announced the opening of Dou-

bleTree by Hilton Doha - Old Town in the rapidly expanding business district of Qatar’s capital.

DoubleTree by Hilton Doha - Old Town is the seventh DoubleTree-branded hotel in the Middle East and the second Hilton Worldwide property in Qatar, joining Hilton Doha.

“As one of the world’s key commer-cial capitals, Doha is a critical market for our growing footprint in the Middle East, and we are thrilled to bring the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to Qatar,” said John Greenleaf, global head, Dou-bleTree by Hilton.

“The hotel features 187 guest rooms and suites - each of which boasts of floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic city views, and flexible meeting and events facili-ties, including a boardroom, ball-room and three meeting rooms, and inviting dining and lounge venues. Additionally, the hotel offers busi-ness and fitness centres, a sauna, steam room and a rooftop pool,” a statement noted.

The hotel has an open-air lounge, Pure, and guests can also enjoy an open-kitchen à la carte experience at the hotel’s “fresh and urban restau-rant”, Open, the statement adds.

Commenting on the opening of the hotel, Rudi Jagersbacher, president

(MEA) for Hilton Worldwide, said: “We are delighted to be opening this truly outstanding DoubleTree by Hilton ho-tel in Doha. We have a strong pipeline in Qatar and are optimistic about the growth of the market and expansion of our portfolio of world-class brands into the country.”

The hotel is located on Al Meena Street, Doha, in close proximity to key business and government admin-istration offices as well as the Cor-

niche and Museum of Islamic Art.Chris Muth, general manager, Dou-

bleTree by Hilton Doha - Old Town, noted: “The contemporary hotel off ers guests a warm welcome, modern com-forts and a superb location, ensuring it is the number one choice for travellers to Doha.”

DoubleTree by Hilton Doha - Old Town participates in the Hilton Honors loyalty programme, which is open to all guests and free to join.

The Argentinean Tango Nuevo band will perform at the Opera House of Katara - the Cultural

Village this evening.The event has been jointly organised

by Katara and the embassy of Argen-tina in Qatar.

The Tango Nuevo Project is a mix-ture of Milongas and Waltzes, Tango Nuevo and Tradicional; captivating

melodies from Buenos Aires and Paris intertwined with a bit of mystery from Damascus and Mumbai. They bring tango-inspired music from all over the world and use infl uences from diff erent cultures in their music, appealing to a wide audience.

The title of the show is Emoción, which is expected to take the audience on a unique and emotional experience

through the combination of music, po-etry and video images.

The focus is on the music, but video images are used to enhance the experi-ence and support the emotional ten-sion. With poetry and storytelling, the band will set the mood.

Those interested can book their tick-ets at www.q-tickets.com or www.ka-tara.net

Twin guest room - sea view.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015Moharram 21, 1437 AH

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

StanChart looks to cut 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn

‘7% growth possible over fi ve years’

TURNAROUND PLAN | Page 16CHINA TARGET | Page 5

‘Oil demand rose 9% a year since 1973 across GCC’Oil demand has risen across the Gulf Co-

operation Council by an average of 9% a year since 1973, growing faster than

GDP (gross domestic product), on average, ac-cording to The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Develop-ment.

The aggregate oil consumption in the six GCC States was less than 500,000 bpd in 1973 and more than 4mn bpd in 2014.

Although power demand has been problem-atic in all GCC countries outside Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait face highest pressure be-cause of their reliance on liquid fuels – crude oil, heavy fuel oil and diesel fuel – for most of their power generation feedstock.

Hence, while oil consumption in the remaining GCC states is weighted more heavily toward the transport sector – where oil is considered most valuable – burning of liquid fuels for power gener-ation is still dominant in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia consumed more than a quarter of its overall production in 2013. Direct burn of crude oil for power generation reached an aver-age of 0.7mn bpd from 2009 to 2013 during the months of June to September, with peak month power sector consumption rising as high as 900,000 bpd.

While Kuwait is gradually shifting toward natural gas via imported LNG (liquefi ed natural gas), Saudi crude burning looks set to top 1mn bpd by 2020.

Low domestic prices for crude oil – roughly $5 a barrel in Saudi Arabia – are a major factor encouraging crude oil demand, the Al Attiyah Foundation said in its inaugural industry report.

Intensifying domestic crude burning coupled with a 1.4mn bpd increase in crude shipments to Aramco refi neries inside and outside the king-dom signal that Saudi Arabia is moving beyond its long-held role as the world’s market-bal-ancing supplier of crude oil.

Recent data show slipping Saudi crude ex-ports, alongside fl at or rising production. As-suming that Saudi crude production remains constant at around 10mn bpd, the amount of

crude available for export could fall below 5mn bpd by 2020. The GCC also holds major reserves of natural gas, but, in contrast with oil, most production is consumed domestically. Only Qatar is a major exporter.

The UAE and Kuwait have been net gas im-porters since 2008. The region has no gas mar-ket pricing mechanism, such as an index based on trade at a hub. In similar fashion to the elec-tricity sector, low prices (of around $1 to $2 per MMBtu) are driving demand.

But underpricing is also stifl ing production from known reserves – some of which are com-prised of high-cost non-associated gas – which has encouraged imports.

Despite these diffi culties, the US Energy In-formation Administration (EIA) projects that gas consumption in the Middle East’s generat-ing sector will grow by nearly 150% by 2035.

In Oman, rising domestic demand and de-pleting conventional gas reserves have forced reductions in LNG exports. Unconventional re-serves are under development, but lifting costs are expected to run beyond the state-fi xed sell-ing price for bulk gas.

In Saudi Arabia, a $9bn gas investment cam-paign aims to slow the growth of crude oil and diesel in the power sector by substituting with gas. Saudi Aramco hopes to increase gas output by 50% above 2011 production of 280MMcm/day, but, like Oman, most of its non-associated reserves consist of diffi cult formations.

Slump in oil prices weighs on Saudi and UAE businesses as PMI drops BloombergRiyadh

The slump in oil prices is sap-ping growth momentum of private businesses in the two

biggest Arab economies, according to a key indicator released yesterday.

The Emirates NBD Purchasing Managers’ Index for Saudi Ara-bia dropped for a second month in a row to 55.7 in October, the low-est level since the survey began in 2009, driven by weaker expansion in new business. The same meas-ure for the UAE fell to 54 from 56 in September, the lowest since April 2013, the Dubai-based bank said. Readings above 50 still signal ex-pansion, while those below indicate contraction.

Oil prices have dropped more than 40% over the last year, prompting some governments in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to plan spending cuts and curb or eliminate fuel subsidies. Non-oil economic

growth in the region will slow to 3.8% this year from 5.5% in 2014, accord-ing to International Monetary Fund estimates.

In Egypt, business conditions also worsened at the quickest pace since February, PMI data showed, as a shortage in power supply and foreign currency continued to undermine output.

For Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, the slower growth in pri-vate industries last month is “un-surprising in the context of sharply lower oil revenues and tighter li-quidity conditions,” Khatija Haque, head of Middle East and North Afri-ca research at Emirates NBD, wrote. “However, the rate of expansion in the non-oil sector is still relatively robust.”

The Saudi government is already searching for budget savings and contemplating project delays and has sold bonds for the fi rst time since 2007. The country relies on oil for at least 80% of its revenue. While rates of growth in output, new orders and

employment all eased, “the sector re-mained fi rmly in expansion territory overall,” Emirates NBD said.

The drop in the UAE showed “slower, but still solid, improve-ment in business conditions,” with firms raising their output but cau-tious about purchasing, the report said.

In Egypt, the PMI gauge fell to 47.2 in October from 50.2 a month earlier. The shortfall in foreign cur-rencies and power supply highlights “the need to implement a more con-certed programme of structural re-forms to boost the economy’s short and long-term outlook,” said Jean-Paul Pigat, a senior economist at Emirates NBD.

Egyptian authorities have taken measures to conserve foreign cur-rency, including limiting access to dollars to importers of vital goods. A hard currency crunch, however, per-sists, as receipts from tourism and foreign investment linger at levels lower than those seen before the 2011 popular uprising. Page 2

GT EXCLUSIVE: Page 3

Islamic fi nance captures UK realty market

QCB halves T-bill sale The Qatar Central Bank halved the size of a planned Treasury bill sale yesterday, Reuters reported.The central bank said it auctioned a total of QR2bn ($550mn) of three-, six- and nine-month T-bills. Last week, the QCB had announced it planned to sell twice that volume at the monthly bill sale yesterday. Three-month bills were sold at a yield of 1.27% at the latest auction, up from 0.99% at the central bank’s last sale a month ago. Short-term interest rates have been rising around the Gulf as lower oil and gas

revenues leave banks less flush with cash. Qatar’s three-month interbank off ered rate hit 1.422% yesterday, up from around 1.20% at the end of September. The QCB also halved the size of last month’s T-bill sale, the first time since at least the start of this year that it did not sell a planned amount of bills. After that sale, QCB Governor HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Saud al-Thani said liquidity in the markets remained strong and that he saw no reason to imitate any US rate hike, despite the riyal’s peg to the US dollar.

Funding shortfall of $13bn seen for Mena SME Islamic financing

By Santhosh V PerumalBusiness Reporter Kuala Lumpur

More than one-third of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) are out of the purview of banking sector and there exists a funding gap of up to $13bn for SME Islamic financing in the region.Moreover sukuk, or Islamic bonds, have gained real momentum with many non-Muslim countries raising funds through these instruments, said Malaysian Premier Dato Sri Mohamad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak at the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), which got underway here yesterday and attended by more than 3,000 delegates from 98 countries.“35% of SMEs in the Mena are excluded from the formal banking sector. Indeed, there is a financing gap of up to $13bn for SME Islamic financing in this region,” Razak said, quoting a study by International Finance Corp (IFC).Finding that millions of SMEs are thriving in communities across the Islamic world, he said “moving forward, we need to provide them greater opportunities to expand and to be able to compete in wider markets. In this mission, these SMEs face the same challenge as all SMEs worldwide – lack of funding.”Islamic finance, with its equity-based partnership schemes, off ers a truly workable alternative to conventional banking, a partnership that also embeds the participating financial institution as a provider of advice and consultancy, he said.Highlighting that Islamic finance is currently gaining more and more visibility and is better-equipped to assist the SME industry, he said as of last year, Malaysia’s total SME financing exposure in Islamic finance grew by 40.5% year-on-year, to more than $10bn.Finding that currently, global Islamic financial assets are estimated at $2tn, Razak said the figure may be small compared to conventional financial assets, but it is still “very promising” when one considers that Islamic finance started to gain traction only in the last decade.

He said Islamic financial institutions are well-placed to withstand the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, and emerged from it more or less unscathed. That should not be surprising, given their prohibition of speculation, prohibition of uncertainty in contractual relations, prohibition of usury, and their greater usage of risk and profit sharing.Over-leveraging is believed to have been the root cause of the disaster, which is prohibited in Islamic finance, Razak said, adding as a result, Islamic banks remained strongly capitalised and resilient to financial market volatility, while continuing to contribute positively to equitable and sustainable growth.Sukuk, he said, have gained real momentum in recent years. In 2014 alone, several non-Muslim countries such as the UK, Hong Kong, South Africa and Luxembourg launched sovereign sukuk.Malaysia has consistently been the largest issuer of sukuk in the world. In 2014, the total global sukuk outstanding was just over $300bn with Malaysia accounting for $173bn, or 57.4%, of the total, while Saudi Arabia came second, accounting for $50.4bn or 16.7%. Page 3

Razak: Sukuk have gained real momentum.

Camels graze around power grid towers in the Kuwaiti desert yesterday. Although power demand has been problematic in all GCC countries outside Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait face highest pressure because of their reliance on liquid fuels – crude oil, heavy fuel oil and diesel fuel – for most of their power generation feedstock.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20152

Saudi shares drop after PMI points to slowdown ReutersDubai

Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell sharply yesterday after data pointed to an eco-nomic slowdown due to low oil prices.

Other major Middle Eastern markets fared better, with second-tier stocks fa-voured by speculators lifting Dubai.

The seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index, an indicator of growth in the non-oil pri-vate sector, fell last month to 55.7 - its low-est since the survey began in August 2009 - from 56.5 in September.

Meanwhile the cost of insuring Saudi Arabia’s sovereign debt against default edged up to its highest level since June 2009, following a Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the kingdom’s debt rating on Friday.

The Saudi stock index sank 1.6% yester-day to 6,955 points, near technical support at its August low of 6,921 points. Turnover rose as the market dropped in a negative technical sign.

Petrochemical blue chip Saudi Basic In-dustries slid 2.7% and industrial zone de-veloper Emaar Economic City dropped by the same amount.

Kingdom Holding fell 2.3% after saying it expected no fi nancial impact from its sale of a 29.9% stake in media fi rm Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), which climbed 9.9% after a 7.2% gain on Monday.

Saudi Printing and Packaging Co also surged, adding 9.9% after a 9.8% leap on Monday. It has been rising in heavy trade since shortly after it reported quarterly earnings on Oct 20.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Dubai’s index rose 0.8%, though activity focused on low-

priced speculative shares; HITS Telecom was the most active stock, climbing 2.4%.

Du, the UAE’s second biggest telecoms operator, closed 1.0% higher despite miss-ing estimates with a 12.3% fall in third-quarter net profi t to 489.8mn dirhams ($133.4mn). Two analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast 521.3mn dirhams.

Abu Dhabi gained 0.5% as Aldar Proper-ties surged 4.6%.

Qatar’s index fell 0.3% as Industries Qa-tar slipped 0.4%. In a sign of tightening banking liquidity in Qatar, the central bank halved the size of a planned Treasury bill

sale yesterday and yields rose sharply from last month’s auction.

Egypt’s index rose in early trade but closed 0.02% lower after a disappointing Purchasing Managers’ Index; the Egyptian PMI fell to an eight-month low of 47.2 in October from 50.2 in September, dropping below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait’s index edged up 0.2% to 5,794 points, Oman’s in-dex edged up 0.2% to 5,948 points, while Bahrain’s index edged down 0.1% to 1,260 points.

GDI wins ACSRN award for the energy sector Gulf Drilling International (GDI) has received the winner’s award in the ‘Energy Sector’ during the “Arabia Corporate Social Responsibility Network” (ACSRN) award ceremony. GDI is a subsidiary of Gulf International Services, which is the largest services group in Qatar.The award recognises GDI’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), its role in creating a positive societal impact and the company’s corporate best practices in sustainability. GDI won the award for the very first time it took part in the competition, which the company said was an “impressive feat”.The ACSR awards are region’s most prominent CSR and sustainability awards and are known for their stringent criteria, which are benchmarked

against the UN Global Compact Ten Principles, the GRI principles of sustainability reporting and the EFQM Excellence Model.GDI prides itself as the first ‘organisational stakeholder’ of GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) in Qatar. GDI has released its “Integrated report 2015,” one of the first integrated reports in the region, taking reference from the ‘International Integrated Reporting Framework’, released by the ‘International Integrated Reporting Council’ (IIRC) and “in accordance” with ‘GRI G4’ option core.Abdulwahab Khamees, from GDI’s Environmental Department, represented the company at the event and received the award from Dr Iyad Abu Moghli, director of the United Nations Environment Programme for Western Asia.

Khamees receives the award from Dr Moghli. The award recognises GDI’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), its role in creating a positive societal impact and the company’s corporate best practices in sustainability.

The shadows of investors are seen cast on a screen as they monitor stock prices at the FALCOM investment bank in Riyadh. The Saudi stock index sank 1.6% yesterday to 6,955 points, near technical support at its August low of 6,921 points.

3ISLAMIC FINANCEGULF TIMESWednesday, November 4, 2015

Islamic fi nance captures real estate market in UKBy Arno MaierbruggerGulf Times Correspondent Bangkok

With Islamic fi nance enter-ing London’s fi nancial market and billions of

dollars of investment in the UK and global real estate coming from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coun-tries and other Muslim jurisdictions, the UK government was one of the fi rst in the West that started propel-ling initiatives on Islamic fi nancing vehicles for property purchases as early as in 2013. Meanwhile, Islamic fi nancing facilities have become so popular for real estate transactions in the UK undertaken by Arab inves-tors that the next International Real Estate Finance (IREF) Summit, the premier real estate event in the UK scheduled to take place on December 1 and 2, 2015, in London, will entirely focus on the opportunities Shariah-compliant fi nance vehicles entail for property fi nancing.

Since the UK government’s ini-tiatives, a number of Islamic fi nance property deals have been closed in the country, with the culmination point so far having been the fi nanc-ing of the purchase of London’s iconic Battersea Power Station by a Malaysian consortium. The huge ur-ban redevelopment project secured a Shariah-compliant syndicated loan of £467mn, a step widely seen crucial towards developing the UK as an Is-lamic fi nance centre. The loan, one of the largest Islamic transactions ever conducted in the UK, was part of a £1.35bn fi nancing for the project.

Two dedicated Islamic banks in the UK, in fact, got the ball in the prop-erty fi nancing fi eld rolling. The then Islamic Bank of Britain, renamed Al Rayan Bank in 2014, completed its fi rst commercial Islamic fi nance property deal in December 2013 val-ued at £0.4mn for an Islamic edu-cational institution, Al Meezan, in Glasgow. Meanwhile, the bank has widened its range of Shariah-com-pliant Buy-to-Let Purchase Plans in response to growing demand for Shariah-compliant fi nance in the private housing market.

Another Islamic bank in the UK,

Kuwait-owned Gatehouse Bank, a wholesale Shariah-compliant in-vestment bank based in London, has set up a co-fi nanced £100mn joint-venture with Edinburgh-based property investor and developer Sigma Capital to fi nance the roll-out of an initial 927 new residential rental properties in Liverpool and Manchester, the next foray of Islamic fi nance in the UK’s profi table build-to-rent market and one of the largest projects in this sector.

Overall, Gatehouse Bank currently has a real estate portfolio worth in excess of £1bn across the UK and the US. It also issued two sukuk secured by existing real estate assets-under-management, arranged following a

refi nancing of a major headquarters building let to British Telecom until September 2020.

Several other large UK property deals using Islamic fi nance vehicles followed, among them Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s arrangement of a £20mn structured Islamic fi nanc-ing facility for a consortium of GCC investors. It was the bank’s debut deal in the UK real estate sector and was used to fi nance the development

of Westbourne House, a mixed-use property in Central London, with the aim of converting it into luxury resi-dential apartments.

Another big deal was the pur-chase of Crossley Retail Park in Worcestershire by Dubai-based wealth management firm Arzan Wealth which spent £41.5mn on the property on behalf of a consor-tium including major GCC inves-tors such as International Finance Company and other prominent in-stitutions, as well as and high-net worth investors. The transaction was financed through a Shariah-compliant debt facility.

Seeking to attract more Islamic fi nancial business, the UK issued in

June 2014 its fi rst sovereign sukuk worth £200mn. Earlier this year, the UK government was the fi rst Western country to do so through its export credit guarantee agency provided cover for a £617mn Islamic bond is-sued by Dubai’s Emirates airline to purchase aircraft including the giant Airbus A380.

The Bank of England has started a feasibility study to develop a Shari-ah-compliant liquidity management tool for Islamic banks to use and de-velop more Islamic fi nancing prod-ucts, including property fi nancing. More than 20 banks currently off er Islamic fi nancial products and serv-ices in the UK, more than any other Western country.

EDUCATION

Is it lawful to exchange notes having payments deferred for several years for foreign currency other than the one in which the original note was issued?It is not lawful to exchange notes with deferred payments for the cur-

rency in which they were originally issued or for any other currency, as an

exchange in the same currency will be like the sale of debt for debt that is

deferred, when it is essential that the mutual exchange of equal counter

values take place in the sale of currency for a similar currency.

What is the Shariah ruling in regard to deposits of foreign currency in joint investment accounts such that when withdrawals are made by the clients, they are made from these accounts in the same cur-rency and at the same rate as the one prevailing when they were deposited?It is permissible for clients to make deposits of foreign currency in joint

investment accounts in order to share in the resulting profits and to be

able to retrieve these deposits in the same currencies at the time of with-

drawal. The bank possesses the right to invest these deposits in overseas

projects or for the purpose of covering letters of credit etc. The bank

must calculate the earnings accrued to the amounts deposited, at the

purchase or the average price of the day the deposits were made.

Is it lawful for the issuer of a note to buy it back with payment in a currency other than the currency in which the note was originally issued while disregarding its maturity date at the same time?The issuer’s buying back the note and disregarding the maturity date is

the same as his agreeing to exchange the currency of the note for anoth-

er currency in which it is permissible for one of the counter values to be

in excess of the other. For a lawful mutual exchange there must not be a

maturity date, the currency of the original note will be considered to have

been paid in an account termed as an exchange on account where the

possession of the counter value brought about by the debt, is dropped. It

must be ensured however that the bank does not use this allowance as a

device to earn profit in return for dropping the maturity date.

Source: Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance via Bloomberg

Call for creating a mega global Islamic finance institution By Santhosh V PerumalBusiness ReporterKuala Lumpur

With Islamic finance gaining traction and largely remaining “unscathed” from the impact of the global economic crisis of 2007-08, the idea of establishing a mega Islamic multilateral institution appears to gather momentum.Although there are many “serious” challenges in creating such a large global Islamic bank, Malaysia yesterday sounded in favour of the proposal as it could better position as an alternative to conventional banking.“Eff orts will have to continue,” Malaysian Prime

Minister Dato Sri Mohamad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak replied to a question posed by Gulf Times in Kuala Lumpur.Recently, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa created $100bn New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the Brics Development Bank headquartered in Shanghai.The Malaysian premier said there had been talks in the past regarding the creation of a large global Islamic bank but no progress has been made till date.Shaikh Nedham Yacouby, a renowned Shariah scholar, had in 2007 highlighted the need for establishing a mega Islamic institution with the participation of all major players in the global market.

One of the delegates attending the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) said considering that the Islamic world put together can be far bigger than the developed economic blocs and that many new, bigger institutions have taken birth, the latest being Brics Bank, the idea would be well received in the Muslim economies.Quoting Razak, who said Islamic financial institutions are well-placed to withstand the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, and emerged from it more or less unscathed; the delegate, wishing anonymity, said an Islamic multilateral entity could not only put the world economy back on track but also could largely address the inconsistencies in the interpretation

of Shariah principles and support the Islamic finance sector in a big way.“It will be too naive to say that the inconsistencies in Shariah interpretation is addressed fully. A 60% to 70% will be a good estimate and eff orts are being made by the Islamic Financial Services Board and the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions to bring in more standardisation,” he said, adding that an Islamic multilateral institution can also help bring the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR) more to the fore.There have been apprehensions that International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp cannot singlehandedly deal with the IIBR or profit curve, given the relatively small size

of its own issuances. Islamic finance is centred mainly in Southeast Asia and the Gulf, but of late other economies such as the UK, Hong Kong, South Africa and Luxembourg had raised funds through sukuk.“Islamic finance has been an amazing success story. More people are recognising that Islamic finance is an important part of international trade and investment and that it is likely to become even more prominent,” according to Lord Ahmad, Britain’s Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Transport and Home Off ice.Razak said he is in favour of more and strengthened trade and investment relations among the Muslim countries.

Bumper Asia corporate sukuk stand out amid debt drought Bloomberg Kuala Lumpur

Asia looks destined for a bumper year for corporate dollar sukuk, taking up the slack as overall Is-

lamic debt issuance declines.Malaysian telecommunications com-

pany Axiata Group Bhd started market-ing its fi rst US currency Islamic bonds last week, three years after debuting a yuan sukuk that has since matured. Inaugural off erings by Kuala Lumpur-based SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and Indonesia’s national airline brought the region’s 2015 issuers to six, the most in at least a decade, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

There’s a shortage of Shariah-compli-ant securities worldwide this year amid a 29% slump in off erings to the lowest since 2011 as a drop in oil curbs fresh issuance from companies and govern-ments in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Federal Reserve’s hesitation in rais-ing interest rates is creating a window of opportunity for sales and a new Islamic dollar bond deal from Asia would be a positive signal for the local market, ac-cording to Frankfurt-based Union In-

vestment Privatfonds GmbH. “Sukuk out of Malaysia is very, very low, and a high-quality name” should be well-received by local and Gulf investors, said Sergey Dergachev, who helps oversee $13bn at Union Investment Privatfonds. He will make an investment decision depending on the fi nal pricing and what the “general mood in emerging markets” will be.

The mobile-phone operator is seeking to raise $500mn from fi ve-year Shariah-compliant bonds to fund the purchase of a telecommunications tower company in Myanmar, according to people familiar with the matter. The off ering is part of a $1.5bn multi-currency MEprogram rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, the second-lowest investment grade. The yuan issuance is the only one to come from that so far.

An Axiata spokesman didn’t immedi-ately respond to an e-mail seeking com-ment on Monday regarding the bond plan.

Worldwide sales of Shariah-compli-ant notes, both corporate and sovereign, have dropped to $29.1bn in 2015 from $40.7bn a year earlier, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Dergachev said a fair yield would be 3.2%, a premium of 30 to 40 basis points above Axiata’s existing 2020 non-Islamic dollar bonds. Those notes were last pay-ing 2.93%, 32 basis points lower than at the start of the year. “The sole issue I am worried about is the valuation, since at the moment Malaysia is unfortunately not really positively viewed by investors,” he said.

Global funds have pulled more than 41bn ringgit ($9.5bn) from Malaysian debt and equities this year as slow-ing growth in China, falling commodity prices and a political scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak spurred an 18% slide in the ringgit, Asia’s worst per-formance. A delay by the Fed in tighten-ing policy brought a reprieve in October, as emerging-market currencies rallied.

Axiata’s dollar sukuk should draw strong interest because it’s investment grade and a well-managed company with a strong competitive edge, accord-ing to Aberdeen Asset Management Sdn. The Kuala Lumpur-based fi rm has con-

trolling interests in mobile operators in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia, as well as signifi cant strategic stakes in India and Singapore. It will re-port net income of 2.4bn ringgit this year, compared with 2.35bn ringgit in 2014, the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg shows.

Garuda Indonesia and SapuraKen-cana Petroleum’s US currency Islamic bond sales were complemented this year by three off erings from Export Import Bank of Malaysia with maturities from 2019 to 2025, and one from state-owned oil Corp Petroliam Nasional Bhd. While dollar sukuk issues are somewhat of a rarity in Asia, previous sellers include Sime Darby Bhd and Nomura Holdings Inc of Japan.

“We like Axiata for its robust business operations, anchored by geographical diversifi cation across mature and high-growth markets,” said Hasif Murad, a research analyst at Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management, a unit of Aberdeen Asset Management overseeing $3.6bn. “We have had a long track record with the company as our equities team has held it for a considerable period, thus we are likely to consider the sukuk should it come at attractive valuations.”

IDB may support sukuk for renewables projects BloombergLondon

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) indicated that it may issue green su-kuk bonds compliant with religious

law and increase lending for climate-re-lated projects with an announcement at the UN global warming conference in Paris at the end of the year.

“Estimates for the 2030 agenda indi-cate that we need to move from billions to trillions of dollars of support annually for sustainable development,” Savas Alpay, chief economist of the IDB, said in a phone interview. “Traditional sources of devel-opment fi nance will not be enough. We must also look at non-traditional sources. We will be using Islamic fi nance to bring new resources to the table.”

The comments indicate the $80bn green bond market is expanding beyond Europe and the US, where the instruments were pioneered.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund, issued green sukuk last November after introduc-ing guidelines for socially responsible debt in August 2014. It was the second entity af-ter the London-based International Finan-cial Facility for Immunisation announce plans to sell ethical-based sukuk.

Based in Jeddah, the IDB has a $180mn pilot project to fund clean energy in its 56 member countries over the course of two years. About 25% of its energy investments are in renewables currently. It has invested about $2bn in clean energy to date.

Global Islamic fi nance assets are val-ued at $2tn according to Alpay, with a 17% growth rate between 2009 and 2014 most-ly in the Middle East and Asia.

The IDB may also issue so-called green sukuk, which are Islamic bonds specifi -cally for fi nancing climate action projects. The conventional green bond market was pioneered in 2008 by the World Bank and today is valued at over $80bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Green sukuk could help launch more projects and products in markets where Islamic fi nance is strong,” said Nour Mousa, chief executive offi cer of Desert Technologies, a Saudi-based renewables developer. “Two thirds of new renewables installations are expected to be in emerg-ing markets.”

Gulf TimesExclusive

FAQ/Currency and Precious Metals

There’s a shortage of Shariah compliant securities worldwide this year amid a 29% slump in off erings to the lowest since 2011 as a drop in oil curbs fresh issuance

London’s iconic Battersea Power Station, now key part of an urban redevelopment project. The purchase by a Malaysian consortium was partly financed by a Shariah-compliant syndicated loan of £467mn, the largest Islamic finance transaction in the UK so far.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20154

Eyes turn to Turkey central bank as core infl ation soars ReutersIstanbul

Core infl ation in Turkey hit a 2015 peak in October, putting pressure on the central bank to tighten policy two days after Presi-

dent Tayyip Erdogan – who has equated high in-terest rates with treason – strengthened his hold on power.

Annual core consumer prices rose 8.9% last month, data showed yesterday, driven in part by sharp falls in the lira.

The central bank has so far this year steered clear of trying to support the currency by hiking rates, raising persistent market concerns about the institution’s independence.

Erdogan’s steadfast opposition to higher rates, together with renewed violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast and his crackdown on opposi-tion media, are seen as major factors in this year’s 20% decline in the lira against the dollar .

Investors are now waiting to see whether Sun-day’s unexpected outright parliamentary elec-tion win by the AK Party that Erdogan founded changes the fraught relationship between him and the bank.

Raising rates would put a fl oor under the lira, and economists say the bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) cannot hold off doing so forever.

“It remains to be seen how much infl uence the new government will try to exert on monetary policy. But we continue to think that the MPC will raise interest rates over the next 3-6 months,” William Jackson of Capital Economics said in a note to clients.

Yesterday’s core infl ation numbers – which ex-clude volatile food prices – were likely driven by the lira’s declines as well as deeper problems such as rapid wage growth and limited spare capacity, Jackson said. The lira and Turkish stocks rallied sharply on Monday, refl ecting initial relief at the election result. Both succumbed to slight profi t-taking yesterday. The year-on-year jump in core prices was the biggest since November 2014, when they advanced by 9%, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed. Headline infl ation, which includes food prices, slowed to 7.58%. On a

monthly basis, the headline numbers quickened to 1.55%, exceeding an estimate of 1.35% in a Reuters poll.

In theory, Turkey’s return to single-party rule gives policymakers an opportunity to push ahead with long-neglected economic reforms, but suc-

cess will depend on the shape of its new cabinet and whether Erdogan tries to intervene.

Analysts have voiced concern the outcome may embolden Erdogan, who has made fuelling growth his overriding economic objective. “The govern-ment will be back at the helm with no opposition in

the way, which is good for decision-making but only if the decisions taken are the correct ones,” said Cris-tian Maggio, head of emerging markets strategy at TD Securities. “You will get political stability, but if you don’t have good policies, then government sta-bility is useless.” Viewpoint: Page 32

ReutersCairo

Egypt’s stock exchange was hit by this year’s rout in emerging markets, leading fi rms to postpone share off erings and liquidity to dry

up, but parliamentary elections should help re-store investor confi dence in 2016, chairman Mo-hamed Omran said.

Interviewed at the Reuters Middle East Invest-ment Summit, Omran said about a dozen compa-nies had registered a new listing on the Egyptian market in 2015, but only half of these had proceed-ed with an initial share issue.

The others received permission to delay their IPOs, which are usually expected to be launched within six months of listing. Most hope to off er

their shares in the fi rst-half of 2016, once liquidity and prices recover, Omran said.

Emerging market assets sold off over the sum-mer due to worries about a slowdown in China, weakening commodity prices, and the possibility of a US interest rate rise.

“The second-half of 2015 was a diffi cult period, not just for the bourse but for the economy as a whole,” Omran said. “I am cautiously optimistic because I think the Egyptian economy has what it takes to return to growth, to attract investment and to improve the investment climate.”

The stock index fell dramatically this year, from a high above 10,000 points in February to a low of 6,641 points in August. It last closed at 7,435 points. “All the delays in IPO plans are because they say the liquidity is not there,” Omran said.

Long-delayed parliamentary elections, due to

conclude this month, should give foreign investors confi dence that political stability is returning, he argued. “We have an opportunity ... to begin a new chapter, a new beginning in 2016,” he said.

This would enable Egypt to speed up steps to boost growth and improve the climate for inves-tors, he said.

Egypt has been without a parliament since June 2012, when a court dissolved the main chamber.

The last few years have been diffi cult for the Egyptian economy. The mass uprising that over-threw Hosni Mubarak in 2011 ushered in a period of political upheaval that saw economic growth plummet and shares tumble.

Investors began to return in 2014, with trading volumes in the main stock index rebounding above 2010 levels and some 13 new companies listing. The Egyptian economy also picked up, growing

by 4.1% in the last fi scal year to June. Egypt saw three large IPOs in the fi rst half of 2015 worth a total of about 6bn Egyptian pounds ($745mn). Among companies looking to list, with a view to launching IPOs next year, are cheese maker Domty and real estate company Misr Italia, Omran said. He declined to give details about the sizes of their potential IPOs, but predicted most IPOs next year would be “small to medium”.

Omran said the bourse turned enough profi t in 2014 to cover the three preceding years of losses and would make a surplus again this year, but he declined to give fi gures.

The central bank introduced capital controls in February to crush a once-thriving black market in dollars. The restrictions have raised concerns among some investors that they will not be able to import raw materials or repatriate profi ts.

Egypt bourse hit by emerging market storm sees new IPOs in 2016

UAE sees crude gaining in 2016 on robust demand, less shale

BloombergAbu Dhabi

Improving economies in Europe and elsewhere together

with a continued decline in output of shale oil point to a

recovery in demand for crude and an increase in prices

next year, according to United Arab Emirates Energy

Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei.

“I’m optimistic that we will see an upward correction

in 2016,” he said yesterday to reporters in Abu Dhabi.

“What’s the percentage of correction? I can’t say it’s going

to be a high percentage, but there will be an improvement

on 2015.” Al-Mazrouei didn’t specify countries showing

stronger growth, and he acknowledged that shale oil “is

needed and has a role to play.” The market will determine

how shale will contribute to future supply, he said.

The UAE, Opec’s third-largest producer, has raised out-

put this year amid a global glut, data compiled by Bloomb-

erg show. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting

Countries is competing for market share against high-cost

suppliers, including some US producers of shale oil. Brent

crude, a global benchmark, has dropped 42% in the last

12 months and was trading at $49.14 a barrel at 11:13 am on

the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co will continue to in-

vest in energy projects it has already awarded, even amid

cheaper crude, al-Mazrouei said. “We have a long-term

view of the market. We know that prices fluctuate and will

not stay as is.” Abu Dhabi is the UAE’s largest emirate and

holds most of the nation’s oil reserves.

EBRD sets $250mn plan to spur renewables without subsidy

BloombergCairo

The European Bank for Recon-

struction and Development has

set up a new $250mn pro-

gramme to develop subsidy-free

renewables projects in Morocco,

Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia.

The initiative will enable

clean energy generators to sell

directly to consumers such

as cement companies and

hotel groups through power

purchase agreements, making

the projects solvent without

government support. The

London-based development

bank’s board has approved a

plan to support the installa-

tion of 400 megawatts to 450

megawatts of clean power

within this framework over the

next four years.

“We want to push renewa-

bles to the next level,” Nandita

Parshad, director for power and

energy utilities at the EBRD,

said in a phone interview.

“Amongst all our countries of

operation, the southern and

eastern Mediterranean were the

ones with the highest potential

for renewable projects to get

close to grid parity.” Renewable

energy has cost governments

in early-adopter regions such

as western Europe billions of

dollars in subsidies for feed-in

tariff s and other support pro-

grammes. As costs of technolo-

gies such as solar panels and

wind turbines drop, electricity

generated from plants set in

ideal weather conditions draws

closer to being competitive with

power from conventional power

plants without state support.

The majority of projects

built under this framework

will be onshore wind and solar

photovoltaic with the remainder

a mix of small hydroelectric and

perhaps some biomass, Par-

shad said. “They’re all countries

with growing power demand,

good weather conditions for

renewables and higher power

prices,” said Jenny Chase, lead

solar analyst at Bloomberg New

Energy Finance.

“But more importantly, Mo-

rocco, Jordan and Egypt have

recently run tenders for renewa-

ble energy so there are projects

that are ready for investment.”

The Clean Technology Fund and

the Global Environment Facility,

two entities set up by the World

Bank Group, will be providing

concessional finance for the

EBRD initiative.

A trader (right) collects lira banknotes from a customer at a stall in the Yesilkoy street market in Istanbul. Annual core consumer prices in Turkey rose 8.9% last month, data showed yesterday, driven in part by sharp falls in the lira.

Al-Mazrouei: Optimistic.

BUSINESS5Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

ReutersBeijing

China can maintain annual econom-ic growth of around 7% over the next fi ve years but there are uncer-

tainties, including weak global trade and high domestic debt, Xinhua news agency quoted President Xi Jinping as saying yes-terday.

Annual average growth would be no less than 6.5% in the next fi ve years to realise the country’s goal of doubling 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita in-come by 2020, Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.

Chinese growth dipped to 6.9% in the third-quarter, the weakest since the global fi nancial crisis, hurt partly by cooling in-vestment and prompting the central bank to cut interest rates and bank reserve re-quirements again.

“It’s possible for China’s economy to maintain growth of around 7% (over the next fi ve years) but it also faces more un-certainties,” Xi said, saying that main do-mestic and foreign research institutions believe China’s potential growth could be between 6 and 7% in 2016-2020.

“Looking at the need to double GDP, the bottom line for annual average economic growth between 2016 and 2020 is more than 6.5%,” Xi said.

Global trade was expected to remain sluggish and growth in China’s consump-tion and investment could slow, and there may be risks from high debt levels, Xi said.

Development over the next fi ve years should not focus just on the pace of growth, but also on the quality, Xi was quoted as saying, explaining a proposal for the country’s 13th fi ve-year plan, a blue-print for economic and social development between 2016 and 2020.

Top leaders have fl agged a “new nor-

mal” of slower growth as it tries to shift the world’s second-largest economy to sus-tainable, consumption-led development. Premier Li Keqiang has said that China needs annual growth of at least 6.53% over the next fi ve years. He was quoted by state radio as saying yesterday that environ-mental protection measures had contrib-uted to the growth slowdown.

Investors are waiting for the announce-ment of an economic growth target for the next fi ve years. A communique issued af-ter a key party meeting that discussed the fi ve-year plan said China aims to keep the economy growing at “a medium-to-high rate” to achieve the goal of doubling GDP and per capita income.

Policymakers may face more challenges in deciding the long-term growth target given uncertainties in the global economy and signs of weakness in domestic de-mand, sources involved in policy discus-sions say.

The government may favour annual growth of between 6.5% and 7% for 2016-2020, some sources say. The growth target needs approval from parliament when it meets in March.

Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top planning agency, said China had the conditions to keep eco-nomic growth at a medium-to-high rate in the next fi ve years. Xu told a news confer-ence that the government would give more attention to employment, incomes and consumer prices than economic growth fi gures.

The government will exceed the 7% tar-get for the current 2011-15 fi ve-year plan with growth averaging around 7.8%, of-fi cial data shows. But growth has slowed markedly in that time, from 9.5% in 2011, to being on track for a quarter-century low of around 7% this year.

Annual growth of about 7% possible over next 5 yrs : Xi

ReutersBeijing/Shanghai

China’s second-largest e-commerce company JD.com said it has sent a

letter of complaint to a Chinese anti-trust regulator and for-mally requested an investigation into rival Alibaba Group Hold-ing.

The complaint concerns a State Administration for Indus-try and Commerce (SAIC) regu-lation which forbids e-com-merce platforms from limiting or barring their merchants from participating in promotions on other platforms. The regulation came into eff ect on October 1.

An Alibaba spokesman de-clined to comment on the com-plaint. No-one with the au-thority to speak was available for comment when Reuters tel-ephoned the SAIC after working hours.

Alibaba dominates Chinese e-commerce. If the SAIC does launch an investigation and fi nds the company has violated its position, it could be punished according to the country’s laws governing anti-trust and unfair competition.

JD.com said in its letter it has received information from mer-chants indicating that Alibaba is “forcing merchants” to choose to exclusively deal with one e-commerce site during promo-tional activities.

If merchants choose to par-ticipate in certain promotional activities on Alibaba’s Tmall website during the upcoming Singles’ Day online shopping event around November 11, they “are not permitted” to par-ticipate in other platforms ac-tivities, otherwise “Alibaba will carry out punishment or sanc-tions”, JD.com said it had been informed by sellers on its site.

According to JD.com, Ali-baba’s behaviour has “harmed merchants’ interests”, and “not only obstructed normal market competition, but also seriously harmed consumers’ interests”.

JD.com and Alibaba are bitter rivals in Chinese e-commerce, with little love lost between their founders, especially as the smaller upstart has gained trac-tion.

If the SAIC does investigate, it would not be Alibaba’s fi rst tus-sle with the regulator.

In January, the SAIC published a so-called “white paper” report on its website that criticised Alibaba for not doing enough to suppress widespread counter-feiting on its websites. The day after the report, the company’s shares fell more than 8%.

Two days after the report went up on the website the regu-lator retracted it, saying that it was not an offi cial “white paper” and that it did not carry any le-gal force. An Alibaba spokesman said at the time that the compa-ny felt vindicated.

China’s JD.comrequests anti-trust regulator to probeAlibaba

Jaitley happy with India interest rates, non-committal on Rajan BloombergNew Delhi

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley praised the Reserve Bank of India for slashing the benchmark interest rate, while being non-committal on whether governor Raghuram Rajan would get an extension when his term expires next year.“The RBI has the onerous responsibility of managing it – the interest rates – along with inflation, keeping growth targets in mind,” Jaitley said in an interview on Monday night at his New Delhi off ice. “And I would say I am quite happy with the way things have moved in the last one year. Therefore, we have to see how inflation figures move over the next few months.” Asked if that meant Rajan, 52, would be

given an extension beyond the end of his term in September 2016, Jaitley said: “Why do you ask questions which I am not competent to answer?” Rajan’s immediate predecessor was given a two-year extension, while some other governors have served longer than five years.Rajan has lowered the repurchase rate by 1.25 percentage points this year, including a greater-than-expected cut at the last meeting, in September. The former International Monetary Fund chief economist, put at the RBI’s helm by the previous government, has also captured attention by stepping outside the realm of monetary policy during his tenure. A Saturday speech about the importance of tolerance in multi-ethnic, multi-religion India sparked a political fight ahead of a key state election.

The speech, which didn’t reference any specific incidents, came at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is facing criticism for failing to quickly condemn the murder of a man over rumours that he killed a cow, an animal sacred in Hinduism.Jaitley said the government’s opponents were seizing on a few isolated incidents to thwart Modi’s economic agenda. While he declined to specifically address Rajan’s speech, he called the outcry among critics a “manufactured rebellion.”“If you have excessive propaganda to this eff ect, somebody is going to be misled by it,” Jaitley said. “The idea of this campaign is both to hurt this country and hurt its investment environment.” He also defended Modi for the timing of his

response. Modi condemned the incident more than a week after it occurred, triggering criticism from his opponents.“How can somebody argue that the timing and format of the prime minister’s statement must be decided by somebody else, particularly the critics,” Jaitley said. “The prime minister sets his own agenda.” Jaitley expressed confidence that Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would win a state election in Bihar, which would strengthen its ability to push through legislation in the opposition-controlled upper house. The results are due on November 8.He also said investors wouldn’t be deterred by the debate over freedom of speech in India.“Investors know the truth,” Jaitley said. “They are cleverer than you and me.”

Xi: To give more attention to employment, incomes and consumer prices than economic growth figures.

AFPSydney

Australia’s central bank yesterday held interest rates at a record low 2%, but kept the door open for

further easing as the economy slows on softening Chinese growth.

Economists had been split about whether the Reserve Bank of Australia would act this month, after a surpris-ingly weak third-quarter reading of consumer prices released last week gave the central bank room to slash rates further.

“The board judged that the pros-pects for an improvement in economic conditions had fi rmed a little over re-cent months and that leaving the cash rate unchanged was appropriate at this meeting,” governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement after the monthly meet.

“Members also observed that the outlook for infl ation may aff ord scope for further easing of policy, should that be appropriate to lend support to de-mand.”

The central bank has already cut the cash rate by 25 basis points in both Feb-ruary and May this year.

Like other resources-dependent economies, Australia has been hit by slowing growth in China, its largest trading partner and the world’s biggest commodities consumer.

The country is already enduring a rocky transition towards non-resourc-es-led growth after an unprecedented mining investment boom helped its

economy avoid a recession for 24 years. The jobless rate has fl uctuated be-

tween 6-6.4%, a decade high, over the past year, while spending by businesses outside the mining sector is yet to fi ll the gap left by falling resources invest-ment.

Despite this, there have been signs of a gradual improvement in forward-looking labour surveys, along with a recent boost in business and consumer confi dence following the appointment of multimillionaire former business-man Malcolm Turnbull as prime minis-ter following a Liberal Party coup.

The Australian dollar bounced be-tween 71.3 US cents and 72 US cents after the announcement before settling close to where it was before at 71.70 US cents.

“I think (the RBA) is more com-fortable with the growth outlook and business surveys are showing an im-provement but with infl ation so low, it gives them room for manoeuver if they need to down the track,” Barclays chief economist for Australia Kieran Davies told AFP.

The year-on-year Consumer Price In-dex (CPI) reading came in at 1.5% during the September quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said last week. Underlying infl ation – the preferred measure for the RBA – was at 2.15% year-on-year, at the lower end of the central bank’s target range of 2%-3%.

“But they seemed comfortable with staying on hold. I think the market will keep the risk of a cut priced in, given the RBA’s got the room to move if needed.”

Australia central bank holds rates at 2%

Pedestrians walk past Australia’s central bank in Sydney. The bank left irates unchanged yesterday for a sixth straight month.

Rajan: Capturing attention by stepping outside the realm of monetary policy.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20156

Sensex snaps losingstreak; rupee dropsBloombergMumbai

Most Indian stocks advanced, with the benchmark ending the long-est losing streak in almost six

months, as metal producers and energy companies climbed.

Vedanta, the biggest copper and zinc producer, rebounded after declining about 10% over the last two days. Hindalco In-dustries, an aluminium producer, rose the most in three weeks. NTPC, the larg-est power generator, climbed to a three-month high, while Oil & Natural Gas Corp increased for a second day. Tata Motors slid the most since October 30. Larsen & Tou-bro, the most valuable engineering fi rm, completed its longest stretch of losses on record.

About nine shares climbed for every sev-en that fell on the broader S&P BSE 100 In-dex, which rose 0.2%. The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.1% to 26,590.59 at the close, after changing direction at least eight times. The benchmark gauge lost 3.3% in six days through Monday as results of some of the biggest companies disappointed investors. While 68% of Sensex companies that post-ed results for the September quarter have matched or beaten estimates, versus 60% in June, the gauge’s earnings have risen just 2% over the previous quarter, data com-piled by Bloomberg show.

“This quarter will mark the bottom in terms of the degrowth we have seen in earnings,” Mahesh Patil, co-chief invest-ment offi cer at Birla Sunlife Asset Manage-ment Co, which has $19bn in assets, said in an interview to Bloomberg TV India. “Growth should look better because of the base eff ect” from the quarter ending in De-cember, he said. Patil said he’s bullish on companies linked to urban demand as they are likely to benefi t more than manufactur-ers focused on rural consumption from the higher income growth and a fall in borrow-ing costs.

Investors are also awaiting the results of the Bihar state elections, due on Sunday. The polls are important for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s eff orts to control the up-per house of parliament, where opposition parties have blocked key economic pro-posals including a nationwide sales tax. A win would give him momentum in about a dozen more state elections through 2017 that will determine control of the body.

“The market is looking forward to the Bihar election to see if the government is able to consolidate its position so that the pace of reforms accelerates,” Patil said.

Vedanta added 1.5%, paring this year’s loss to 54%. Hindalco increased 1.7% to

its highest level since October 30. NTPC rallied 2.3%, the best performer on the Sensex. Mahindra & Mahindra, a tractor maker, increased 2%.

GAIL India, the biggest gas sup-plier, posted a second-quarter profi t of Rs4.41bn, missing the Rs5.2bn estimate. The shares fell 1.1%. Earnings were an-nounced after trading ended.

Tata Motors lost 1.5%, the most since October 30. Larsen & Toubro slid 1.1% in an 11th day of drop, the most since at least 1991. The stock is trading at its lowest level since May 2014. Amtek Auto jumped 14%, paring this year’s loss to 75%. The com-pany is looking to sell 25% to 40% stakes

in its units overseas, John Flintham, senior managing director at Amtek, said in an in-terview with Bloomberg TV India. Global funds sold a net Rs68mn of local stocks on November 2, paring this year’s infl ow to $4.4bn.

The Sensex has fallen 3.3% this year and trades at 15.5 times projected 12-month earnings. The MSCI Emerging Markets In-dex is valued at a multiple of 11.3.

Meanwhile, the rupee weakened 0.1% to 65.6550 a dollar in Mumbai, prices from local banks compiled by Bloomberg show. The currency fell to 65.7125 earlier, the low-est since September 30. That’s after gain-ing as much as 0.3% intraday.

AFPTokyo

Asian stocks mostly rose yesterday after the US and some European

markets advanced overnight, though the hangover from Chi-na’s slowing growth still lin-gered.

A Reserve Bank of Australia decision to leave interest rates unchanged at a record low 2% gave the Aussie dollar a kick, and the S&P/ASX 200 index was also buoyed by more bull-ish sentiment.

US spending on building new homes, highways and other projects came in at an annual pace of $1.09tn in September, the highest level since March 2008.

But China, the world’s second largest economy, remains the spoiler after a closely watched measure of manufacturing ac-tivity showed contraction.

Sydney closed up 1.42% after yesterday’s central bank deci-sion to keep the cash rate at 2%, while Seoul advanced 0.65%.

Shanghai had slipped 0.25% at the close, while Hong Kong ended 0.89% higher.

Wellington rose 0.64% to a fresh record high.

The Tokyo market was shut for a public holiday.

China’s Purchasing Manag-ers’ Index came in at 48.3 in October, below the 50 point mark which separates expan-sion from contraction, an in-dependent survey issued by fi-nancial publisher Caixin Media showed on Monday.

Elsewhere, Asia-focused British bank Standard Char-tered said yesterday it would axe 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn in capital after posting a “dis-appointing” third-quarter

loss as it struggles to return to growth.

The job losses are part of a major restructuring that will cost around $3bn, the bank said.

Standard Chartered shares closed down 2.5% in Hong Kong.

Oil prices were mixed in Asia yesterday, hinting at caution before the release of US gov-ernment data that will gauge crude demand in the world’s biggest economy.

At around 0830 GMT yester-day, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in December was up six cents at $46.08.

Brent crude for December turned lower and was trad-ing 24 cents down at $48.55 a barrel.

In Singapore trade at around 0830 GMT, the US dollar was down against the Singapore dollar, Taiwan dollar, South Korean won, Philippine peso, Indonesian rupiah, Chinese yuan, Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht.

The dollar was trading at 120.70 Japanese yen, down from 120.77 in late US trade on Mon-day. The euro was at $1.1011 from $1.1014 and at 132.88 yen from 133.02 yen.

The Aussie was up 0.80% at $0.7204 against the US dol-lar after the Reserve Bank’s decision.

Asian stocks rise as global gains easeChina hangover

Lesson from Japan’s mega-IPOs: Don’t sell on the first day BloombergTokyo

As investors prepare for today’s debut

of Japan Post group, the nation’s biggest

initial public off ering this century at $12bn,

they would do well not to rush to sell on

the first day.

A look at the nation’s 10 biggest-ever

IPOs shows the benefits of a patient ap-

proach. The top IPOs rose an average 12%

on their first day of trading, driven by a

58% jump in a state-owned railway opera-

tor when it debuted in 1993, with only one

company posting a loss. The mega deals

kept surging after the first day to jump an

average 44% in their first year of trading,

with a state-backed wireless carrier tripling

in its first 12 months starting in October

1998, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Government support helped most of the

listings, as eight of the 10 biggest IPOs had

some form of state backing. After being

subjected to the rigours of the market,

managers of recently-privatised compa-

nies are under the spotlight and feel pres-

sure to make their companies healthier

and more profitable, said Yasuhide Yajima,

chief economist at NLI Research Institute

in Tokyo. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s

government is selling shares in Japan Post

Holdings and its banking and insurance

units, part of a privatisation push aimed

at reviving the economy from a 20-year

slump. All three off erings priced at the

top end of their marketed ranges, reflect-

ing strong demand from the individual

investors who were allocated most of

the stock.

“The government can’t let these deals

fail,” said Hiroaki Hiwada, a Tokyo-based

strategist at Toyo Securities Co. “Shares

of state-backed firms that are unleashed

by the government typically perform

well as time goes by, because the coun-

try wants to see their success.” Here are

Japan’s top 10 IPOs and how they fared:

1. NTT Docomo ($16bn): The state-

backed wireless carrier is the best exam-

ple of big returns over a longer period.

It rose 19% on its debut in 1998, then

proceeded to triple over the first year of

trading as investors bet on the growing

use of mobile Internet.

2. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp ($15.3bn): The nation’s largest

phone company went public in 1987,

making it the only deal among the top 10

that took place before the collapse of Ja-

pan’s stock-market bubble. NTT jumped

87% in its first year, surpassing its 34%

gain on the first day, as the benchmark

Nikkei stock index headed towards an

all-time high.

3. Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co ($11.1bn): Investor interest in this rare

IPO from Japan’s life insurance industry

helped Dai-Ichi shares rise 14% on their

2010 debut. Fierce competition, Japan’s

shrinking population and the March 2011

earthquake hurt the company’s pros-

pects in the following months, dragging

down the shares 13% in their first year.

4. Japan Airlines Co ($8.4bn): The

flag carrier, which was previously strug-

gling under ¥2.32tn ($19.2bn) of debt, rel-

isted in 2012 after a rescue from a state-

backed fund. Ticket discounts handed

out to individual investors buying into

the IPO didn’t do much to help the initial

performance, with Japan Airlines rising

just 1.1% on its debut. It eventually gained

56% in the first year as it increased flights

to Southeast Asia.

5. East Japan Railway Co ($7.2bn): The operator of commuter lines, which

serves 17mn people daily in the greater

Tokyo area, increased focus on property

development around its train stations

after its 1993 listing.

Shares shot up 58% on their first day

for the best performance among the 10

biggest IPOs, before ending their first

year up 27%.

6. Japan Tobacco Inc ($5.9bn): The maker of Camel cigarettes, which

sold more than 510bn sticks to smokers

worldwide in its latest financial year, was

the only IPO among the top 10 to fall on

its debut day in 1994.

Japan Tobacco initially fared poorly

due to concerns about its reliance on

domestic sales as Japan’s population

ages. It has since made acquisitions

including RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp’s

international unit and UK-based Gallaher

Group to boost overseas sales.

7. West Japan Railway Co ($5.5bn):

The company, which runs trains near Ja-

pan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, advanced

just 2% on its October 1996 trading

debut. It then rose 11% during the first

year, buoyed by the opening of a new

commuter line.

8. Central Japan Railway Co ($4.4bn): The operator of bullet trains

from the capital to Osaka gradually at-

tracted local institutional investors as it

expanded its retail business to reduce re-

liance on rail operations. Shares rose 56%

in a year after the 1997 debut, surpassing

the 7.2% gain on the first day.

9. Suntory Beverage & Food ($3.8bn): The seller of Orangina soda

rose just 1.5% on its July 2013 debut. It

then unveiled plans to spend billions

on acquisitions, driving its shares 27%

higher in the year after it went public.

As promised, it agreed that year to buy

GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade and Ribena

drinks for £1.35bn ($2.1bn).

10. Electric Power Development Co ($3.4bn): The company known as

J-Power stepped up cost cuts and ex-

panded sales to utilities to fend off new

competitors on the back of the domestic

electricity market’s deregulation. That

drove the power generator’s shares 31%

higher after a year, outstripping the 3%

gain on its first day in 2004.

A broker looks at his terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai. India’s main share index added 0.1% to 26,590.59 at the close yesterday, after changing direction at least eight times.

Sydney closes up 1.42% aft er yesterday’s central bank decision to keep the cash rate at 2%, Seoul advances 0.65%, Shanghai slips 0.25% at the close, while Hong Kong ends 0.89% higher and Wellington rises 0.64% to a fresh record high

As Modi triples spending, India infrastructure stocks cheer with 73% rally BloombergMumbai

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s

decision to triple spending on roads and

highways is cheering builders in India,

especially the smaller contractors, as he

steps up eff orts to upgrade the nation’s

creaky infrastructure.

A custom index of eight stocks has

gained 8.6% this year, compared with

the 3.3% drop in the benchmark S&P BSE

Sensex. The gauge has surged 73% since

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party swept

to power last May, as construction re-

bounded fourfold to about 13 kilometres

(8 miles) a day.

Spending jumped threefold to

Rs350bn ($5.3bn) in the April-August

period this year, sparking a rally that

more than quadrupled the market value

of Gayatri Projects in 2015.

“Infrastructure is a sector that has

high visibility,” said Arvind Gupta, chief

financial off icer at Mumbai-based J

Kumar Infraprojects, whose shares have

advanced 48%. “Any government needs

to follow the development mandate.

The voter sent a clear signal that she will

vote only for someone who will enable

development.” The outperformance of

road builders stands in contrast to the

nation’s power producers that are grap-

pling with erratic fuel supplies and losses

from selling below cost to state-owned

distributors. An index of 19 generators

has slid 8% this year, underscoring the

challenge to Modi’s goal of improving

public utilities. India is ranked 90 out of

144 by the World Economic Forum for

the quality of its infrastructure.

In his first year in off ice, Modi agreed

to fund up to 40% of public-private high-

way projects, fast-tracked forest permits

while ensuring that at least 80% of the

land is in government possession before

contracts are given as he tries to unclog

some $212bn of stalled infrastructure

projects.

The steps have reduced the risk of

projects getting stuck pending land

acquisition, a key roadblock in pushing

investment, said Vijay Kumar C, an ana-

lyst at India Ratings & Research, the local

unit of Fitch Ratings.

In August, Modi allowed develop-

ers to sell 100% stake in completed

road projects, a move that would help

companies raise money to repay debt or

invest in other projects. Besides Gayatri

Projects, KNR Constructions has surged

82% this year, while Madhucon Projects

has more than doubled. Sadbhav Engi-

neering is up 23%.

“Stocks of smaller road companies

with better balance sheets have risen

and they will continue to do well due to

government’s thrust on the sector,” said

Adhidev Chattopadhyay, an analyst at

Mumbai-based brokerage Elara Securi-

ties India Pvt.

“It’s an opportunity for investors as

it is comparatively easier to track this

sector in terms of bidders and the size

of orders.”

On the other hand, a solution to end

India’s notorious blackouts isn’t in sight

yet. Some areas of the nation, including

the most populous northern state of

Uttar Pradesh, continue to experience

hours of outages during summer when

the demand peaks and cash-starved

state utilities cut back on electricity

purchases.

While Modi’s government has man-

aged to boost fuel output at state-owned

Coal India, lowering the need for costly

imports, stressed assets at a 13-year high

at Indian banks have made lenders reluc-

tant to take on more risk, stalling other

infrastructure projects. Moreover, power

distributors are forced to sell below cost

to keep tariff s aff ordable, while delays

in government subsidy payments strain

their finances.

“Roads and power are both very im-

portant segments of infrastructure and

would require most of the capital,” said

Abhishek Tyagi, a Singapore-based ana-

lyst at Moody’s. “In power, distribution

companies aren’t able to buy more, lead-

ing to poor utilisation rates.” PTC India is

the worst performer this year on the S&P

BSE India Power Index, with a drop of

32%, followed by Adani Power, which has

slid 31%. Bharat Heavy Electricals, the

nation’s top power-equipment maker,

and GMR Infrastructure are among the

bottom five in the 19-member gauge.

Billionaire Gautam Adani-owned

Adani Power may report a record Rs13bn

loss in the year ending March 31, accord-

ing to analyst estimates compiled by

Bloomberg. GMR Infrastructure, which

gets 41% of its revenue from power, may

report a loss of Rs13.8bn. Earnings at

state-owned NTPC, the biggest genera-

tor, may drop to a six-year low in the 12

months ending in March. Modi: Focusing on improving public utilities.

LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES

7Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 2015

BUSINESS

Zad Holding CoWidam Food CoVodafone Qatar

United Development CoSalam International Investme

Qatar & Oman Investment CoQatar Navigation

Qatar National Cement CoQatar National Bank

Qatar Islamic InsuranceQatar Industrial Manufactur

Qatar International IslamicQatari Investors Group

Qatar Islamic BankQatar Gas Transport(Nakilat)Qatar General Insurance & ReQatar German Co For Medical

Qatar Fuel QscQatar Electricity & Water CoQatar Cinema & Film Distrib

Qatar Insurance CoOoredoo Qsc

National LeasingMazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev

Mesaieed Petrochemical HoldiAl Meera Consumer Goods Co

Medicare GroupMannai Corporation Qsc

Masraf Al RayanAl Khalij Commercial Bank

Industries QatarIslamic Holding Group

Gulf Warehousing CompanyGulf International Services

Ezdan Holding GroupDoha Insurance Co

Doha Bank QscDlala Holding

Commercial Bank QscBarwa Real Estate Co

Al Khaleej Takaful GroupAamal Co

91.00

52.60

14.10

24.29

12.60

13.88

98.20

107.20

182.50

73.00

42.50

74.20

45.30

119.90

24.98

55.50

15.75

162.00

216.80

38.00

94.00

76.70

16.80

16.21

20.51

233.90

159.80

98.00

42.40

21.45

120.50

103.00

62.40

61.50

19.14

23.01

50.00

21.22

53.00

44.80

33.25

13.90

0.44

0.96

-0.98

-0.25

0.08

-0.14

0.10

1.13

-0.27

-0.68

0.00

-0.40

-0.33

1.18

0.32

-0.54

-2.48

0.25

0.14

0.00

-0.63

-0.65

0.42

0.37

-0.10

-0.26

-0.13

-0.31

0.00

1.85

-0.41

3.00

0.00

-2.07

-0.83

0.00

0.30

-1.76

-0.38

-0.33

-0.15

0.14

1,000

91,169

282,676

154,360

244,310

11,998

4,978

1,429

44,383

15,681

26,857

22,973

29,829

135,122

2,880,089

11,173

69,626

85,331

16,860

-

46,686

97,838

49,606

520,520

77,153

3,831

4,803

5,682

864,768

8,455

271,843

2,494

32

250,524

445,284

-

247,754

106,199

68,738

167,970

3,060

54,124

QATAR

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

United Wire Factories CompanEtihad Etisalat Co

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate DevSaudi Hollandi Bank

Rabigh Refining And PetrocheBanque Saudi Fransi

Saudi Enaya Cooperative InsuMediterranean & Gulf Insuran

Saudi British BankMohammad Al Mojil Group Co

Red Sea Housing Services CoTakween Advanced Industries

Sabb TakafulSaudi Arabian Fertilizer Co

National GypsumSaudi Ceramic Co

National Gas & IndustrializaSaudi Pharmaceutical Industr

ThimarNational Industrialization C

Saudi Transport And InvestmeSaudi Electricity Co

Saudi Arabia Refineries CoArriyadh Development Company

Al-Baha Development & InvestSaudi Research And MarketingAldrees Petroleum And Transp

Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipe CoJarir Marketing Co

Arab National BankYanbu National Petrochemical

Arabian CementMiddle East Specialized Cabl

Al Khaleej Training And EducAl Sagr Co-Operative Insuran

Trade Union Cooperative InsuArabia Insurance Cooperative

Saudi Chemical CompanyFawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C

Bupa Arabia For CooperativeWafa Insurance

Jabal Omar Development CoSaudi Basic Industries Corp

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical CoEtihad Atheeb Telecommunicat

Co For Cooperative InsuranceNational Petrochemical Co

Gulf Union Cooperative InsurGulf General Cooperative Ins

Basic Chemical IndustriesSaudi Steel Pipe Co

Buruj Cooperative InsuranceMouwasat Medical Services Co

Southern Province Cement CoMaadaniyah

Yamama Cement CoJazan Development Co

Zamil Industrial InvestmentAlujain Corporation (Alco)

Tabuk Agricultural DevelopmeUnited Co-Operative Assuranc

Qassim Cement/TheSaudi Advanced Industries

Kingdom Holding CoSaudi Arabian Amiantit Co

Al Jouf Agriculture DevelopmSaudi Industrial Development

Bishah AgricultureRiyad Bank

The National Agriculture DevHalwani Bros Co

Arabian Pipes CoEastern Province Cement Co

Al Qassim Agricultural CoFiling & Packing Materials M

Saudi Cable CoTihama Advertising & Public

Saudi Investment Bank/TheAstra Industrial Group

Saudi Public Transport CoTaiba Holding Co

Saudi Industrial Export CoSaudi Real Estate Co

Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff CoNational Shipping Co Of/The

Methanol Chemicals CoAce Arabia Cooperative Insur

Mobile Telecommunications CoSaudi Arabian Coop Ins Co

Axa Cooperative InsuranceAlsorayai Group

Weqaya For Takaful InsuranceBank Albilad

Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker CoWataniya Insurance Co

Abdullah Al Othaim MarketsHail Cement

22.89

27.85

6.43

28.99

14.22

27.91

15.86

25.94

25.71

12.55

22.48

38.17

38.62

80.92

16.63

52.98

23.68

34.60

39.26

12.09

57.81

16.52

42.31

18.47

13.50

22.15

48.31

84.02

156.93

26.01

40.55

48.25

9.34

42.78

29.11

20.16

8.97

58.55

66.52

213.45

14.21

55.40

80.79

8.37

5.23

77.74

20.77

12.64

18.56

22.56

21.59

17.81

117.13

73.72

25.66

36.01

13.08

38.50

17.47

14.19

12.27

72.84

12.66

17.04

10.37

39.13

11.52

69.75

12.70

31.77

74.75

13.14

34.70

13.06

35.97

8.08

32.23

18.18

20.95

19.71

33.30

36.23

21.44

137.51

42.50

8.87

54.85

8.85

18.02

16.19

13.42

19.39

21.54

30.84

63.51

90.25

15.22

-0.65

-0.85

-1.23

1.36

-1.39

-1.38

0.76

-1.14

-1.12

0.00

-5.07

0.16

-5.32

-2.76

-1.77

-2.23

0.34

-1.14

-3.28

-0.58

-1.93

-1.43

-3.49

-5.38

0.00

9.93

-1.81

-1.34

-3.72

-1.10

-2.27

-1.93

-1.16

-0.60

-0.17

0.30

4.42

-0.85

-0.30

-4.18

1.21

-6.84

-2.45

-1.53

1.95

-2.68

-1.28

1.04

-0.32

-2.21

-0.83

0.17

1.85

0.63

-1.72

-2.70

-0.68

-1.33

-0.63

3.35

0.57

-0.56

-3.36

-1.39

-2.08

-1.44

-3.19

0.00

-0.47

-0.06

-1.46

-2.09

-0.89

-0.38

-2.55

-0.86

-1.07

0.00

-1.78

-1.89

-1.57

-2.35

-2.99

-0.17

-0.68

-0.34

-1.24

-1.01

-0.66

-0.55

-1.03

0.00

-3.02

-2.44

-2.80

-1.37

-1.55

771,252

2,186,144

21,871,942

573,995

1,079,535

61,631

814,240

1,528,278

193,892

-

1,044,371

279,457

3,403,892

196,856

421,018

460,629

46,108

147,685

479,307

1,121,897

526,281

1,737,081

715,842

2,950,869

-

39,862

262,272

16,473

160,061

69,723

410,065

282,322

1,081,595

19,907

827,683

567,872

4,890,863

85,231

95,305

124,644

2,517,086

1,202,240

7,239,765

3,464,652

8,233,586

98,333

204,668

422,234

316,270

320,449

212,221

485,703

125,045

50,879

508,089

244,876

601,329

316,763

205,736

2,893,405

409,546

59,517

769,398

372,954

1,251,717

38,777

3,709,687

-

1,681,857

173,870

10,843

590,344

64,433

1,733,952

552,084

1,767,481

2,472,606

43,772

310,708

2,224,827

75,603

396,263

480,430

18,399

1,994,033

772,976

69,121

6,549,128

520,279

738,902

185,948

-

840,729

252,970

87,624

93,905

151,147

SAUDI ARABIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Saudi Re For Cooperative ReiSolidarity Saudi Takaful Co

Amana Cooperative InsuranceAlabdullatif Industrial Inv

Saudi Printing & Packaging CSanad Cooperative Insurance

Saudi Paper Manufacturing CoAlinma Bank

Almarai CoFalcom Saudi Equity Etf

United International TranspoHsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf

Saudi International PetrocheFalcom Petrochemical Etf

Saudi United Cooperative InsBank Al-Jazira

Al Rajhi BankSamba Financial Group

United Electronics CoAllied Cooperative Insurance

Malath Cooperative & ReinsurAlinma Tokio Marine

Arabian Shield CooperativeSavola

Wafrah For Industry And DeveFitaihi Holding Group

Tourism Enterprise Co/ ShamsSahara Petrochemical Co

Herfy Food Services Co

7.56

8.39

9.15

29.99

22.80

15.23

16.79

14.58

73.75

25.00

49.09

30.10

17.05

23.50

11.26

17.36

49.99

22.35

46.80

17.77

21.15

16.49

29.88

51.06

24.26

16.58

34.85

11.85

101.01

1.20

4.74

9.58

-0.86

9.88

0.00

9.67

-1.82

0.63

-1.96

-2.42

0.00

-0.64

0.00

0.09

0.23

-1.88

-1.11

-0.83

-0.11

-1.12

-0.06

3.03

-1.26

-3.23

-1.78

-2.13

-1.41

0.62

3,925,603

6,852,100

1,340,423

34,602

6,488,305

-

2,914,552

62,235,857

260,292

185,162

129,735

-

708,836

-

816,675

2,133,029

3,868,986

472,473

74,879

1,271,084

1,641,114

488,169

395,190

237,185

537,359

313,301

263,921

1,981,989

49,775

SAUDI ARABIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Securities Group CoSultan Center Food Products

Kuwait Foundry Co SakKuwait Financial Centre Sak

Ajial Real Estate EntmtGulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc

Kuwait Finance & InvestmentNational Industries Co Ksc

Kuwait Real Estate Holding CSecurities House/The

Boubyan Petrochemicals CoAl Ahli Bank Of Kuwait

Ahli United Bank (Almutahed)National Bank Of Kuwait

Commercial Bank Of KuwaitKuwait International Bank

Gulf BankAl-Massaleh Real Estate Co

Al Arabiya Real Estate CoKuwait Remal Real Estate Co

Alkout Industrial Projects CA’ayan Real Estate Co Sak

Investors Holding Group Co.KAl-Mazaya Holding Co

Al-Madar Finance & Invt CoGulf Petroleum Investment

Mabanee Co SakcCity Group

Inovest Co BscKuwait Gypsum Manufacturing

Al-Deera Holding CoAlshamel International Hold

Mena Real Estate CoNational Slaughter House

Amar Finance & Leasing CoUnited Projects Group Kscc

National Consumer Holding CoAmwal International Investme

Jeeran HoldingsEquipment Holding Co K.S.C.C

Nafais HoldingSafwan Trading & Contracting

Arkan Al Kuwait Real EstateGfh Financial Group Bsc

Energy House Holding Co KscpKuwait Slaughter House Co

Kuwait Co For Process PlantAl Maidan Dental Clinic Co K

National Ranges CompanyAl-Themar Real International

Al Ahleia Insurance Co SakWethaq Takaful Insurance Co

Salbookh Trading Co KscpAqar Real Estate Investments

Hayat CommunicationsKuwait Packing Materials Mfg

Soor Fuel Marketing Co KscAlargan International RealBurgan Co For Well Drilling

Kuwait Resorts Co KsccOula Fuel Marketing Co

Palms Agro Production CoIkarus Petroleum Industries

Mubarrad Transport CoAl Mowasat Health Care Co

Shuaiba Industrial CoHits Telecom Holding

First Takaful Insurance CoKuwaiti Syrian Holding Co

National Cleaning CompanyEyas For High & Technical EdUnited Real Estate Company

AgilityKuwait & Middle East Fin Inv

Fujairah Cement IndustriesLivestock Transport & Tradng

International Resorts CoNational Industries Grp Hold

Marine Services CoWarba Insurance Co

Kuwait United Poultry CoFirst Dubai Real Estate Deve

Al Arabi Group Holding CoKuwait Hotels Sak

Mobile Telecommunications CoAl Safat Real Estate Co

Tamdeen Real Estate Co KscAl Mudon Intl Real Estate Co

Kuwait Cement Co KscSharjah Cement & Indus Devel

Kuwait Portland Cement CoEducational Holding Group

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceAsiya Capital Investments Co

Kuwait Investment CoBurgan Bank

Kuwait Projects Co HoldingsAl Madina For Finance And In

Kuwait Insurance CoAl Masaken Intl Real Estate

Intl Financial AdvisorsFirst Investment Co Kscc

Al Mal Investment CompanyBayan Investment Co Kscc

Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SaeCoast Investment Development

Privatization Holding CompanKuwait Medical Services Co

Injazzat Real State CompanyKuwait Cable Vision Sak

Sanam Real Estate Co KsccIthmaar Bank Bsc

Aviation Lease And Finance CArzan Financial Group For Fi

Ajwan Gulf Real Estate CoManafae Investment Co Ksc

Kuwait Business Town Real EsFuture Kid Entertainment And

Specialities Group Holding CAbyaar Real Eastate Developm

Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate CAl-Dar National Real Estate

Kgl Logistics Company KsccCombined Group Contracting

Zima Holding Co Ksc

120.00

73.00

238.00

108.00

182.00

490.00

48.50

210.00

27.00

51.00

550.00

375.00

540.00

820.00

520.00

232.00

270.00

48.50

36.00

42.00

0.00

81.00

29.50

104.00

0.00

57.00

880.00

410.00

58.00

0.00

38.00

0.00

26.50

62.00

0.00

700.00

0.00

0.00

66.00

71.00

162.00

330.00

110.00

42.00

48.00

0.00

206.00

0.00

26.00

90.00

385.00

40.00

86.00

80.00

48.00

390.00

114.00

170.00

97.00

100.00

116.00

0.00

102.00

83.00

0.00

415.00

31.50

65.00

28.00

46.00

0.00

98.00

510.00

33.50

75.00

138.00

34.00

144.00

104.00

112.00

176.00

55.00

84.00

0.00

365.00

0.00

495.00

38.50

370.00

88.00

1,160.00

216.00

0.00

39.00

110.00

400.00

580.00

52.00

300.00

51.00

35.50

66.00

34.50

39.00

190.00

35.00

54.00

20.00

76.00

30.50

42.00

46.50

224.00

43.00

29.50

59.00

42.50

0.00

87.00

33.00

0.00

30.50

71.00

780.00

91.00

7.14

0.00

0.00

1.89

0.00

-2.00

0.00

0.00

-1.82

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.82

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.41

1.20

0.00

1.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.50

0.00

0.00

2.70

0.00

-1.85

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.54

-1.39

6.58

0.00

0.00

-1.18

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.00

0.00

1.32

-4.76

-1.15

0.00

-1.03

0.00

3.64

0.00

4.30

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.22

0.00

0.00

3.28

0.00

0.00

3.37

0.00

-2.00

-3.77

1.52

0.00

0.00

-1.45

0.00

0.00

3.70

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.35

0.00

0.00

5.48

-1.33

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.30

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.96

0.00

-3.77

0.00

0.00

-1.43

-1.27

0.00

2.94

-1.82

-11.11

-2.56

1.67

0.00

0.00

0.90

3.61

-1.67

-7.81

1.19

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.67

7.58

0.00

3.41

50,000

60,114

41,145

60,000

1,005

1,700

1,000

96

20,000

12,263,173

4,728

129,712

52,886

205,339

250

823,549

28,251

55,000

1,593,361

3,110,600

-

1,722,997

5,097,919

870,100

-

11,662,955

1,025

2,501

70,000

-

25,837

-

625,263

35,000

-

571

-

-

44,550

3,405,000

232,450

9,750

30,000

875,281

4,000

-

50

-

5,297,303

6,750

6,000

2,550

949,050

40,000

271,488

20,554

121,482

1,334,371

12,472

250,000

18,416

-

190,000

413,875

-

2,005

5,648,966

8,010

663,400

4,395,141

-

200,000

3,864,705

135,600

165,365

90,188

289,000

222,023

995

70,203

787

1,116,801

20,000

-

1,021,104

-

63,750

13,376,608

4,548

400,000

5,150

10

-

20,650

170,282

10,864

363,973

5,507,807

20,000

30,000

1,146,000

261,000

1,844,500

643,250

100

926,821

760,500

45,200

1,118,684

5,100

5,133

1,469,900

700

393,268

1,676,069

25,000

2,935,494

-

10,100

6,070,219

-

24,803,004

6,140,932

81,000

3,511,920

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Voltamp Energy SaogUnited Power/Energy Co- Pref

United Power Co SaogUnited Finance Co

Ubar Hotels & ResortsTakaful Oman

Taageer FinanceSweets Of OmanSohar Power Co

Sohar PoultrySmn Power Holding Saog

Shell Oman Marketing - PrefShell Oman Marketing

Sharqiyah Desalination Co SaSembcorp Salalah Power & Wat

Salalah Port ServicesSalalah Mills Co

Salalah Beach Resort SaogSahara Hospitality

Renaissance Services SaogRaysut Cement Co

Port Service CorporationPhoenix Power Co Saoc

Packaging Co LtdOoredoo

OminvestOman United Insurance Co

Oman Textile Holding Co SaogOman Telecommunications Co

Oman Refreshment CoOman Packaging

Oman Orix Leasing Co.Oman Oil Marketing Company

Oman National Engineering AnOman Investment & Finance

Oman Intl MarketingOman Hotels & Tourism Co

Oman Foods International SoaOman Flour Mills

Oman Fisheries CoOman Fiber Optics

Oman Europe Foods IndustriesOman Education & Training In

Oman ChromiteOman Chlorine

Oman Ceramic ComOman Cement Co

Oman Cables IndustryOman Agricultural Dev

Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50%Natl Aluminium Products

National SecuritiesNational Real Estate Develop

National PharmaceuticalNational Mineral Water

National Hospitality InstituNational Gas Co

National Finance CoNational Detergent Co Saog

National Biscuit IndustriesNational Bank Of Oman Saog

Muscat Thread Mills CoMuscat National Holding

Muscat Gases Company SaogMuscat Finance

Majan Glass CompanyMajan College

Hsbc Bank OmanHotels Management Co Interna

Gulf StoneGulf Plastic Industries Co

Gulf Mushroom CompanyGulf Investments Services

Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-SharGulf International Chemicals

Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co LtdGlobal Fin Investment

Galfar Engineering&ContractGalfar Engineering -Prefer

Financial Services Co.Financial Corp/The

Dhofar UniversityDhofar Tourism

Dhofar PoultryDhofar Intl Development

Dhofar InsuranceDhofar Fisheries & Food Indu

Dhofar CattlefeedDhofar Beverages Co

Construction Materials IndComputer Stationery Inds

Bankmuscat SaogBank SoharBank Nizwa

Bank Dhofar Saog

0.44

1.00

2.77

0.13

0.13

0.11

0.13

1.34

0.38

0.21

0.76

1.05

2.00

4.59

2.70

0.65

1.49

1.38

2.50

0.17

1.13

0.16

0.15

0.48

0.77

0.51

0.25

0.37

1.64

2.48

0.28

0.14

2.00

0.26

0.19

0.52

0.24

0.48

0.47

0.06

5.26

1.00

0.18

3.64

0.53

0.45

0.45

1.94

1.45

0.11

0.23

0.17

5.00

0.10

0.06

2.05

0.32

0.15

0.70

3.75

0.32

0.13

1.86

0.83

0.14

0.22

0.52

0.12

1.25

0.11

0.39

0.39

0.10

0.12

0.29

10.50

0.10

0.09

0.39

0.17

0.11

1.47

0.49

0.18

0.40

0.21

1.28

0.21

0.26

0.04

0.26

0.54

0.18

0.08

0.24

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.79

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.73

-0.44

0.00

0.66

0.00

0.52

0.00

-0.78

2.78

0.62

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.57

0.00

0.00

19.05

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.91

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.86

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.00

0.00

0.35

0.00

0.00

1.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.57

0.00

0.00

-

-

-

315,200

-

-

32,550

-

-

-

-

-

6,700

-

1,605

-

-

-

-

665,497

26,000

-

421,899

-

708,601

-

88,000

110,359

82,084

-

-

-

-

-

508,868

-

-

-

-

30,000

-

-

6,010

-

-

-

25,000

54,295

-

100,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

9,115

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3,793,669

-

-

-

-

148,000

-

8,000

-

-

582,920

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,638,023

367,788

331,100

25,901

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Areej Vegetable OilsAloula Co

Al-Omaniya Financial ServiceAl-Hassan Engineering Co

Al-Fajar Al-Alamia CoAl-Anwar Ceramic Tiles Co

Al Suwadi PowerAl Shurooq Inv Ser

Al Sharqiya Invest HoldingAl Maha Petroleum Products M

Al Maha Ceramics Co SaocAl Madina Takaful Insurance

Al Madina Investment CoAl Kamil Power Co

Al Jazerah Services -PfdAl Jazeera Steel Products Co

Al Jazeera ServicesAl Izz Islamic Bank

Al Buraimi HotelAl Batinah PowerAl Batinah Hotels

Al Batinah Dev & InvAl Anwar Holdings Saog

Ahli BankAcwa Power Barka Saog

Abrasives Manufacturing Co SA’saff a Foods Saog

0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security#N/A Invalid Security

5.51

0.53

0.31

0.09

0.75

0.34

0.22

1.04

0.12

1.96

0.45

0.09

0.06

0.31

0.55

0.18

0.41

0.07

0.88

0.22

1.13

0.10

0.19

0.20

0.81

0.05

0.86

0.25

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.49

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

1.77

0.00

-1.75

1.19

0.00

0.00

0.00

-7.37

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.99

2.17

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-

-

-

6,000

-

-

-

-

343,781

9,770

25,457

52,000

487,456

-

-

37,500

-

325,000

-

-

-

24,000

2,129,331

542

-

-

50,000

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

OMAN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Waha Capital PjscUnited Insurance Company

United Arab Bank PjscUnion National Bank/Abu Dhab

Union Insurance CoUnion Cement Co

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement IndustSharjah Islamic Bank

Sharjah Insurance CompanySharjah Group

Sharjah Cement & Indus DevelRas Al-Khaimah National Insu

Ras Al Khaimah White CementRas Al Khaimah Ceramics

Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co PscRas Al Khaima Poultry

Rak PropertiesOoredoo Qsc

Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50%Nbad Oneshare Msci Uae Etf

National Takaful CompanyNational Marine Dredging Co

National Investor Co/TheNational Corp Tourism & Hote

National Bank Of Umm Al QaiwNational Bank Of Ras Al-Khai

National Bank Of FujairahNational Bank Of Abu Dhabi

Methaq Takaful InsuranceManazel Real Estate Pjsc

Invest BankIntl Fish Farming Co Pjsc

Insurance HouseGulf Pharmaceutical Industri

Gulf Medical ProjectsGulf Cement Co

Green Crescent Insurance CoFujairah Cement Industries

Fujairah Building IndustriesFoodco Holding

First Gulf BankFinance House

Eshraq Properties Co PjscEmirates Telecom Group Co

Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc)Emirates Driving Company

Dana GasCommercial Bank Internationa

Bank Of SharjahArkan Building Materials Co

Alkhaleej InvestmentAldar Properties Pjsc

Al Wathba National InsuranceAl Khazna Insurance Co

Al Fujairah National InsuranAl Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S.

Al Buhaira National InsurancAl Ain Ahlia Ins. Co.

Agthia Group PjscAbu Dhabi Ship Building Co

Abu Dhabi Natl Co For BuildiAbu Dhabi National Takaful C

Abu Dhabi National InsuranceAbu Dhabi National Hotels

Abu Dhabi National Energy CoAbu Dhabi Islamic Bank

2.18

2.00

5.52

5.50

1.20

1.14

1.08

1.63

3.85

1.35

1.01

4.10

1.30

3.55

0.91

1.60

0.57

74.00

1.38

6.26

1.08

4.50

0.72

4.50

3.10

6.80

3.07

8.65

0.84

0.62

2.25

6.95

0.81

2.51

2.50

0.98

0.73

1.35

1.90

4.00

12.25

2.22

0.63

15.35

6.72

5.00

0.47

1.55

1.65

0.85

2.45

2.48

4.50

0.30

300.00

4.80

2.50

60.00

7.90

2.85

0.51

4.73

3.15

2.75

0.49

4.19

0.46

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

3.16

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.90

3.41

0.00

1.79

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-2.54

-0.92

1.20

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

7.35

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.41

-9.76

3.28

0.66

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.43

1.19

0.00

4.64

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.60

2.89

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

2.08

-1.18

698,351

-

-

1,229,502

-

-

-

5,000

-

-

-

-

-

226,050

629,808

-

761,996

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

55,000

100,000

434,960

3,745,413

1,807,070

-

-

-

-

-

64,400

500

-

-

-

2,818,908

91,000

4,344,090

1,908,244

-

-

18,482,000

-

201,000

3,000

-

27,277,733

-

-

-

-

-

-

65,199

7,799

-

-

-

-

543,751

159,433

UAE

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zain Bahrain BsccUnited Paper Industries Bsc

United Gulf Investment CorpUnited Gulf BankTrafco Group Bsc

Takaful International CoTaib Bank -$Us

Seef PropertiesSecurities & Investment Co

National Hotels CoNational Bank Of Bahrain Bsc

Nass Corp BscKhaleeji Commercial Bank

Ithmaar Bank BscInvestcorp Bank -$Us

Inovest Co BscGulf Monetary Group

Gulf Hotel Group B.S.CGlobal Investment House Kpsc

Gfh Financial Group BscEsterad Investment Co B.S.C.

Delmon Poultry CoBmmi Bsc

Bmb Investment BankBbk Bsc

Bankmuscat SaogBanader Hotels Co

Bahrain Tourism CoBahrain Telecom Co

Bahrain Ship Repair & EnginBahrain National Holding

Bahrain Kuwait InsuranceBahrain Islamic Bank

Bahrain Flour Mills CoBahrain Family Leisure Co

Bahrain Duty Free ComplexBahrain Commercial Facilitie

Bahrain Cinema CoBahrain Car Park Co

Arab Insurance Group(Bsc)-$Arab Banking Corp Bsc-$Us

Aluminium Bahrain BscAlbaraka Banking Group

Al-Salam BankAl-Ahlia Insurance Co

0.18

0.00

0.00

0.39

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.20

0.00

0.00

0.72

0.15

0.06

0.15

640.00

0.17

0.00

0.83

0.00

0.17

0.21

0.00

0.86

0.00

0.43

0.00

`

0.00

0.32

0.00

0.42

0.59

0.10

0.00

0.00

0.85

0.70

1.40

0.00

0.42

0.50

0.44

0.62

0.11

0.30

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.38

0.00

-1.72

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-0.61

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.76

0.00

10,000

-

-

12,457,235

-

-

-

64,000

-

-

10,099

60,575

182,000

879,410

423

37,782

-

100,000

-

50,000

200,000

-

5,000

-

8,477

-

-

-

9,200

-

4,000

10,000

102,958

-

-

30,000

3,555

50,000

-

25,000

20,000

11,000

11,752

65,682

22,748

BAHRAIN

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Qurain Holding CoBoubyan Intl Industries Hold

Gulf Investment House KscBoubyan Bank K.S.C

Ahli United Bank B.S.COsos Holding Group Co

Al-Eid Food KscQurain Petrochemical Industr

Advanced Technology CoEkttitab Holding Co Sak

Kout Food Group KscReal Estate Trade Centers Co

Acico Industries Co KsccKipco Asset Management CoNational Petroleum ServicesAlimtiaz Investment Co Kscc

Ras Al Khaimah White CementKuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc

Kuwait & Gulf Link TransportHuman Soft Holding Co Ksc

Automated Systems Co KsccMetal & Recycling Co

Gulf Franchising Holding CoAl-Enma’a Real Estate Co

National Mobile TelecommuniAl Bareeq Holding Co Kscc

Housing Finance Co SakAl Salam Group Holding Co

United Foodstuff IndustriesAl Aman Investment Company

Mashaer Holdings Co KscManazel Holding

Mushrif Trading & ContractinTijara And Real Estate Inves

Kuwait Building MaterialsJazeera Airways Co Ksc

Commercial Real Estate CoFuture Communications Co

National International CoTaameer Real Estate Invest C

Gulf Cement CoHeavy Engineering And Ship B

Refrigeration Industries & SNational Real Estate Co

Al Safat Energy Holding CompKuwait National Cinema CoDanah Alsafat Foodstuff Co

Independent Petroleum GroupKuwait Real Estate Co Ksc

Salhia Real Estate Co KscGulf Cable & Electrical IndAl Nawadi Holding Co Ksc

Kuwait Finance HouseGulf North Africa Holding Co

Hilal Cement CoOsoul Investment Kscc

Gulf Insurance Group KscKuwait Food Co (Americana)

Umm Al Qaiwain Cement Indust

6.50

37.50

37.00

435.00

208.00

80.00

0.00

188.00

0.00

36.00

580.00

27.00

285.00

102.00

600.00

74.00

102.00

0.00

51.00

1,080.00

325.00

70.00

100.00

65.00

1,040.00

110.00

33.00

42.50

140.00

61.00

112.00

34.50

73.00

42.50

210.00

480.00

84.00

110.00

66.00

29.00

82.00

142.00

325.00

85.00

13.50

980.00

89.00

265.00

61.00

320.00

410.00

80.00

560.00

34.50

134.00

39.00

600.00

2,260.00

81.00

-13.33

-2.60

-1.33

0.00

-0.95

1.27

0.00

0.00

0.00

4.35

0.00

-3.57

-3.39

0.00

0.00

0.00

-3.77

0.00

5.15

1.89

0.00

7.69

0.00

-1.52

0.00

0.00

4.76

-1.16

0.00

-1.61

0.00

2.99

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

-1.18

-5.17

1.54

1.75

1.23

1.43

1.56

2.41

-3.57

3.16

1.14

0.00

-1.61

0.00

0.00

-3.61

0.00

1.47

0.00

-1.27

0.00

-1.74

0.00

13,100

4,198,780

4,883,642

107,955

116,100

1,778,045

-

67,406

-

3,400,897

4,800

142,500

7,119

117,835

1,111

170,100

500

-

2,314,727

3,296

5,000

10

48,000

683,739

23,696

2,651,000

6,979,729

3,152,899

30,000

3,246,485

40,080

3,945,416

9,616,654

58,491

10,000

1,950

607,144

10

185,010

499,700

80,000

58,735

19,750

240,500

703,623

2,200

680,534

8,679

1,487,000

17,500

23,758

94,476

214,588

1,873,278

14,020

6,150

49

250,200

2,740

KUWAIT

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

8 Gulf TimesWednesday, November 4, 2015

BUSINESS

Apple IncMicrosoft Corp

Exxon Mobil CorpGeneral Electric Co

Johnson & JohnsonJpmorgan Chase & Co

Pfizer IncProcter & Gamble Co/The

Walt Disney Co/TheVerizon Communications Inc

Wal-Mart Stores IncCoca-Cola Co/The

Visa Inc-Class A SharesChevron Corp

Intel CorpHome Depot IncMerck & Co. Inc.

Cisco Systems IncIntl Business Machines Corp

Unitedhealth Group IncNike Inc -Cl B

Mcdonald’s CorpBoeing Co/The

3M CoUnited Technologies CorpGoldman Sachs Group Inc

American Express CoDu Pont (E.I.) De Nemours

Caterpillar IncTravelers Cos Inc/The

122.47

53.56

86.92

29.62

101.92

65.74

34.83

76.58

115.60

46.32

58.19

41.98

77.65

97.53

34.14

124.88

55.21

28.56

141.75

117.26

130.94

111.71

147.58

159.72

98.96

190.90

73.91

64.56

74.77

113.76

1.06

0.60

1.92

0.75

-0.25

0.30

-0.67

-0.03

0.48

-0.98

1.01

-0.63

3.23

2.71

0.09

0.38

0.18

-0.73

0.98

-1.20

-0.19

-0.36

-0.55

-0.13

-0.43

0.64

-0.04

0.97

0.58

-0.10

13,996,327

7,891,981

6,596,350

31,941,478

1,687,743

3,144,432

8,083,752

2,398,510

1,953,739

3,616,117

3,836,798

3,185,488

7,566,290

5,979,933

3,890,183

871,924

2,590,461

6,048,178

899,452

930,399

623,365

1,193,257

715,135

612,599

634,277

628,718

1,182,731

1,662,182

1,778,945

367,132

DJIA

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Wpp PlcWolseley Plc

Wm Morrison SupermarketsWhitbread Plc

Vodafone Group PlcUnited Utilities Group Plc

Unilever PlcTui Ag-Di

Travis Perkins PlcTesco Plc

Taylor Wimpey PlcStandard Life Plc

Standard Chartered PlcSt James’s Place Plc

Sse PlcSports Direct International

Smiths Group PlcSmith & Nephew Plc

Sky PlcShire Plc

Severn Trent PlcSchroders Plc

Sainsbury (J) PlcSage Group Plc/The

Sabmiller PlcRsa Insurance Group Plc

Royal Mail PlcRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-B ShsRoyal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs

Royal Bank Of Scotland GroupRolls-Royce Holdings Plc

Rio Tinto PlcRelx Plc

Reckitt Benckiser Group PlcRandgold Resources Ltd

Prudential PlcPersimmon Plc

Pearson PlcOld Mutual Plc

Next PlcNational Grid Plc

Mondi PlcMerlin Entertainment

Meggitt PlcMarks & Spencer Group Plc

London Stock Exchange GroupLloyds Banking Group PlcLegal & General Group PlcLand Securities Group Plc

Kingfisher PlcJohnson Matthey Plc

Itv PlcIntu Properties Plc

Intl Consolidated Airline-DiIntertek Group Plc

Intercontinental Hotels GrouInmarsat Plc

Imperial Tobacco Group PlcHsbc Holdings Plc

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PlcHargreaves Lansdown Plc

Hammerson PlcGlencore Plc

Glaxosmithkline PlcGkn PlcG4s Plc

Fresnillo PlcExperian Plc

Easyjet PlcDixons Carphone Plc

Direct Line Insurance GroupDiageo Plc

Crh PlcCompass Group Plc

Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-DiCentrica PlcCarnival Plc

Capita PlcBurberry Group Plc

Bunzl PlcBt Group Plc

British Land Co PlcBritish American Tobacco Plc

Bp PlcBhp Billiton Plc

Bg Group PlcBerkeley Group Holdings

Barratt Developments PlcBarclays Plc

Bae Systems PlcBabcock Intl Group Plc

Aviva PlcAstrazeneca Plc

Associated British Foods PlcAshtead Group Plc

Arm Holdings PlcAntofagasta Plc

Anglo American PlcAdmiral Group Plc

Aberdeen Asset Mgmt Plc3I Group Plc

#N/A!

1,485.00

3,828.00

171.10

4,849.00

215.20

969.50

2,868.00

1,164.00

1,950.00

184.05

186.90

421.80

663.70

963.00

1,517.00

686.50

989.00

1,103.00

1,088.00

4,705.00

2,215.00

2,983.00

269.70

541.50

4,004.50

415.40

439.90

1,753.50

1,747.50

322.10

696.00

2,339.50

1,161.00

6,295.00

4,293.00

1,544.50

1,918.00

861.00

213.90

7,955.00

914.10

1,502.00

411.50

374.40

519.50

2,544.00

74.34

262.20

1,324.00

349.20

2,628.00

255.60

344.40

583.00

2,625.00

2,607.00

990.50

3,499.00

504.80

2,042.00

1,451.00

622.50

118.80

1,377.50

293.30

244.40

726.50

1,125.00

1,724.00

464.50

394.80

1,876.00

1,789.00

1,084.00

1,568.00

226.70

3,499.00

1,281.00

1,344.00

1,871.00

462.90

861.00

3,841.00

398.45

1,054.50

1,049.00

3,197.00

585.00

233.20

444.10

973.50

488.90

4,155.50

3,420.00

1,035.00

1,036.00

528.00

559.70

1,638.00

354.00

500.50

0.00

0.61

-0.34

0.47

-0.61

0.14

-1.42

-0.24

-2.02

-0.20

0.05

-5.70

0.21

-6.99

-0.10

-0.13

-1.08

1.64

-0.18

-0.64

-3.68

-1.07

0.03

0.97

-0.18

0.24

-1.05

-1.21

2.30

2.37

-0.31

0.65

0.78

0.26

0.11

-0.26

1.05

-2.54

-0.06

0.61

-0.19

-0.99

-0.46

0.17

4.84

-0.10

-0.55

-0.88

-0.15

-0.97

-1.77

0.92

0.39

-0.12

-0.77

0.34

0.58

-0.10

0.06

0.26

-0.49

0.35

-1.35

2.77

-1.40

0.34

-0.20

0.62

0.99

0.64

0.32

0.84

0.37

-1.11

0.09

0.77

-0.22

-2.67

-0.23

0.67

0.05

-0.15

-1.26

0.55

2.63

2.78

1.94

-3.27

-4.10

-1.21

0.05

0.78

0.68

-0.01

-0.41

1.27

0.39

1.15

2.83

1.80

2.46

-0.40

0.00

1,626,616

246,190

2,468,597

233,481

21,824,805

675,239

970,834

274,316

473,092

6,379,566

21,148,645

1,114,047

13,485,821

502,237

886,118

293,473

631,092

855,193

993,354

1,214,996

127,167

218,589

2,789,597

631,435

1,912,873

1,232,540

1,578,741

5,845,455

5,883,231

3,808,775

2,384,203

4,071,011

1,116,435

375,402

293,002

1,315,212

854,927

1,712,815

2,205,103

112,580

3,040,806

308,829

602,746

3,397,766

2,481,972

172,514

77,121,982

4,951,654

867,467

2,776,363

127,872

4,081,638

780,226

3,380,965

227,201

519,757

334,491

1,235,412

12,502,220

273,232

289,358

999,239

40,899,983

4,210,603

1,858,712

781,349

436,705

606,195

772,195

1,695,130

1,689,644

1,064,186

1,159,826

1,302,900

107,889

7,865,080

350,424

299,957

1,194,919

281,398

5,044,275

1,214,693

848,126

25,955,314

5,841,878

6,964,039

225,924

3,911,510

29,081,305

2,007,121

267,434

4,426,455

924,141

463,759

968,697

1,084,476

1,851,575

5,126,697

473,885

1,627,531

606,144

-

FTSE 100

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

East Japan Railway CoItochu Corp

Fujifilm Holdings CorpYamato Holdings Co Ltd

Chubu Electric Power Co IncMitsubishi Estate Co Ltd

Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesToshiba Corp

Shiseido Co LtdShionogi & Co Ltd

Tokyo Gas Co LtdTokyo Electron Ltd

Panasonic CorpFujitsu Ltd

Central Japan Railway CoT&D Holdings Inc

Toyota Motor CorpKddi Corp

Nitto Denko Corp

11,345.00

1,485.00

4,761.00

2,297.00

1,768.50

2,548.00

595.80

339.70

2,739.00

4,999.00

582.10

7,322.00

1,399.00

561.80

21,515.00

1,567.00

7,387.00

2,849.50

8,250.00

-1.94

-2.56

-1.88

-3.91

-5.40

-2.26

-2.98

-0.99

-5.26

0.16

-3.24

0.25

-2.51

-2.33

-3.09

-2.18

-1.10

-3.28

5.44

1,151,400

6,046,500

1,950,300

2,724,500

3,745,800

4,996,000

17,609,000

16,355,000

4,133,100

4,007,600

11,434,000

1,113,900

9,518,700

20,114,000

439,600

1,868,200

6,704,600

7,325,800

2,881,300

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Rakuten IncKyocera Corp

Nissan Motor Co LtdHitachi Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdJfe Holdings Inc

Ana Holdings IncMitsubishi Electric Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial GrHonda Motor Co Ltd

Fast Retailing Co LtdMs&Ad Insurance Group Holdin

Kubota CorpSeven & I Holdings Co Ltd

Inpex CorpResona Holdings Inc

Asahi Kasei CorpKirin Holdings Co Ltd

Marubeni CorpMitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro

Mitsubishi Chemical HoldingsFanuc Corp

Daito Trust Construct Co LtdOtsuka Holdings Co Ltd

Oriental Land Co LtdSekisui House Ltd

Secom Co LtdTokio Marine Holdings Inc

Aeon Co LtdMitsui & Co Ltd

Kao CorpDai-Ichi Life Insurance

Mazda Motor CorpKomatsu Ltd

West Japan Railway CoMurata Manufacturing Co Ltd

Kansai Electric Power Co IncDenso Corp

Sompo Japan Nipponkoa HoldinDaiwa House Industry Co Ltd

Jx Holdings IncNippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta

Suzuki Motor CorpNippon Telegraph & Telephone

Ajinomoto Co IncMitsui Fudosan Co Ltd

Ono Pharmaceutical Co LtdDaikin Industries Ltd

Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/TheToray Industries IncAstellas Pharma Inc

Bridgestone CorpSony CorpHoya Corp

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust HoldinJapan Tobacco Inc

Osaka Gas Co LtdSumitomo Electric Industries

Daiwa Securities Group IncSoftbank Group Corp

Mizuho Financial Group IncNomura Holdings Inc

Daiichi Sankyo Co LtdFuji Heavy Industries Ltd

Ntt Docomo IncSumitomo Realty & Developmen

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co LtdOrix Corp

Asahi Group Holdings LtdKeyence Corp

Nidec CorpIsuzu Motors Ltd

Unicharm CorpShin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd

Smc CorpMitsubishi CorpNintendo Co Ltd

Eisai Co LtdSumitomo Corp

Canon IncJapan Airlines Co Ltd

1,623.50

5,432.00

1,240.00

688.70

5,859.00

1,809.00

357.80

1,248.00

4,713.00

3,952.00

43,220.00

3,514.00

1,839.00

5,453.00

1,135.50

629.60

726.50

1,634.50

688.80

765.40

742.50

21,115.00

12,930.00

3,985.00

7,397.00

1,972.00

7,903.00

4,621.00

1,761.50

1,507.00

6,101.00

2,094.50

2,381.50

1,967.00

8,063.00

18,120.00

1,516.00

5,546.00

3,735.00

3,092.00

474.20

2,334.50

3,894.00

4,436.00

2,606.00

3,186.00

16,890.00

7,672.00

733.20

1,042.00

1,718.00

4,418.00

3,433.00

4,970.00

459.40

4,124.00

453.10

1,589.50

824.40

6,746.00

244.20

760.00

2,300.00

4,692.00

2,395.00

3,863.00

1,466.50

1,763.00

3,654.00

62,940.00

9,121.00

1,380.50

2,545.00

7,086.00

30,550.00

2,152.00

19,415.00

7,318.00

1,280.50

3,590.00

4,530.00

-3.79

-1.29

-2.09

-2.02

-1.20

-5.58

-1.24

-1.73

-3.02

-2.27

-2.61

-2.17

-2.75

-1.05

-1.73

-2.18

-2.68

-5.03

-1.94

-3.19

-2.35

-2.04

-1.60

-1.46

0.20

-2.59

-2.64

-1.51

-2.08

-2.17

-2.21

-0.97

-0.96

-1.75

-5.47

4.41

-2.70

-2.05

-2.43

-3.25

-0.38

-5.52

-2.41

-1.11

-3.73

-3.75

1.26

-2.14

-3.44

-1.93

-2.66

-1.30

-1.35

-1.17

-1.77

-2.07

-5.25

-4.51

-0.93

-0.75

-2.44

-0.73

-3.54

-0.76

1.59

-3.52

-2.91

-1.04

-2.48

-1.01

-0.57

-2.88

-1.93

-2.05

-2.52

-2.73

-0.33

-3.81

-3.76

-1.37

-1.09

8,278,300

1,553,000

12,020,600

21,428,000

1,817,200

5,867,300

14,712,000

6,430,000

7,697,000

2,974,800

442,500

1,302,600

3,171,000

2,386,200

4,009,900

7,642,300

19,647,000

4,539,700

9,675,600

67,691,900

4,015,000

1,020,600

461,800

1,444,500

1,964,200

2,820,300

781,600

1,480,000

3,721,300

6,839,900

1,573,300

4,435,200

5,214,200

3,690,400

1,504,600

2,249,500

2,417,700

2,623,500

1,045,200

1,978,000

10,739,700

6,523,500

1,237,900

3,499,800

1,970,000

4,634,000

674,300

941,500

2,861,000

4,726,000

7,785,500

1,920,300

6,537,000

1,875,300

18,236,000

3,166,500

14,511,000

4,499,400

7,253,000

4,621,200

145,444,200

18,053,900

3,336,300

3,589,700

7,437,500

3,452,000

2,648,000

7,866,200

1,637,700

217,300

1,541,600

2,892,100

3,510,900

1,057,800

160,800

5,118,200

1,909,400

1,447,400

8,246,600

4,184,100

2,738,600

TOKYO

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-HBank Of East Asia

Bank Of China Ltd-HBank Of Communications Co-H

Belle International HoldingsBoc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd

Cathay Pacific AirwaysCk Hutchison Holdings Ltd

China Coal Energy Co-HChina Construction Bank-H

China Life Insurance Co-HChina Merchants Hldgs Intl

China Mobile LtdChina Overseas Land & Invest

China Petroleum & Chemical-HChina Resources Beer Holdin

China Resources Land LtdChina Resources Power Holdin

China Shenhua Energy Co-HChina Unicom Hong Kong Ltd

Citic LtdClp Holdings Ltd

Cnooc LtdCosco Pacific Ltd

Esprit Holdings LtdFih Mobile Ltd

Hang Lung Properties LtdHang Seng Bank Ltd

Henderson Land Development

2.42

28.90

3.56

5.67

7.49

25.10

15.54

104.20

3.38

5.57

27.65

25.95

92.80

25.85

5.61

14.44

21.35

16.76

13.04

9.45

14.42

67.20

8.78

10.03

8.90

3.68

18.66

143.60

49.00

0.41

1.76

-0.28

0.35

0.54

2.24

2.78

0.48

0.30

0.36

1.65

2.17

0.43

0.00

1.45

-0.41

2.40

-0.95

0.46

0.53

0.84

0.52

1.97

0.00

0.91

0.27

0.43

1.70

1.14

12,989,855

1,664,095

388,072,352

26,271,094

11,253,481

7,659,589

2,532,020

3,722,651

9,376,799

215,226,675

35,906,329

2,710,726

10,976,376

19,150,425

55,001,740

7,363,937

12,824,652

9,445,547

11,320,836

28,934,061

15,711,107

2,335,739

44,932,121

-

6,486,717

7,156,044

3,867,875

1,191,175

3,624,861

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Hong Kong & China GasHong Kong Exchanges & Clear

Hsbc Holdings PlcHutchison Whampoa Ltd

Ind & Comm Bk Of China-HLi & Fung Ltd

Mtr CorpNew World Development

Petrochina Co Ltd-HPing An Insurance Group Co-H

Power Assets Holdings LtdSino Land Co

Sun Hung Kai PropertiesSwire Pacific Ltd - Cl ATencent Holdings Ltd

Wharf Holdings Ltd

15.74

199.80

60.50

0.00

4.85

6.31

35.55

8.19

6.00

42.95

76.30

11.78

99.75

89.25

150.50

46.95

1.29

0.50

0.33

0.00

0.21

0.96

1.57

0.61

0.17

-0.35

0.20

0.68

-0.84

0.73

2.03

2.07

7,492,903

3,143,537

12,154,269

-

203,895,224

18,196,964

2,891,888

12,071,380

73,440,643

26,622,688

2,129,221

4,899,247

4,918,884

1,851,142

22,482,139

2,825,357

HONG KONG

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

Zee Entertainment EnterpriseYes Bank Ltd

Wipro LtdVedanta Ltd

Ultratech Cement LtdTech Mahindra Ltd

Tata Steel LtdTata Power Co Ltd

Tata Motors LtdTata Consultancy Svcs Ltd

Sun Pharmaceutical IndusState Bank Of India

Reliance Industries LtdPunjab National Bank

Power Grid Corp Of India LtdOil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd

Ntpc LtdMaruti Suzuki India Ltd

Mahindra & Mahindra LtdLupin Ltd

Larsen & Toubro LtdKotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

Itc LtdInfosys Ltd

Indusind Bank LtdIdea Cellular Ltd

Icici Bank LtdHousing Development Finance

Hindustan Unilever LtdHindalco Industries Ltd

Hero Motocorp LtdHdfc Bank Limited

Hcl Technologies LtdGrasim Industries Ltd

Gail India LtdDr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Coal India LtdCipla Ltd

Cairn India LtdBosch Ltd

Bharti Airtel LtdBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

Bharat Heavy ElectricalsBank Of Baroda

Bajaj Auto LtdAxis Bank Ltd

Asian Paints LtdAmbuja Cements Ltd

Adani Ports And Special EconAcc Ltd

414.90

779.30

574.25

98.40

2,925.50

556.75

235.70

68.85

382.05

2,543.45

868.55

235.95

967.20

130.25

131.65

250.70

135.70

4,482.55

1,232.95

1,874.55

1,373.30

683.10

334.85

1,145.50

911.85

139.30

279.45

1,221.40

804.45

82.35

2,582.75

1,084.90

876.10

3,698.95

307.15

4,335.15

325.85

675.40

154.90

20,700.10

347.65

876.70

201.05

161.95

2,424.55

474.65

814.20

209.70

291.20

1,425.90

0.48

0.95

-0.16

1.50

-0.08

0.13

-1.34

0.15

-1.52

1.04

0.37

-0.40

0.77

0.62

2.09

1.33

2.26

-0.29

1.99

-1.32

-1.11

-0.50

-0.70

1.26

-0.20

-0.92

-0.04

0.03

0.21

1.73

1.45

0.17

-0.02

0.21

-1.09

0.90

0.26

-0.71

0.98

0.87

-0.71

0.56

0.42

0.06

-0.33

-0.75

-1.92

-0.14

-1.47

1.97

2,791,730

3,266,807

1,079,729

13,593,274

191,241

2,055,560

5,288,794

1,970,816

6,296,515

717,943

1,650,395

9,196,151

2,781,704

3,485,920

1,771,578

2,156,856

9,862,737

347,408

718,654

1,532,895

3,892,665

1,141,035

2,761,093

1,916,125

1,186,542

5,708,403

8,660,295

2,681,097

406,790

12,097,014

241,062

684,941

1,087,190

59,567

1,129,182

519,663

1,809,023

1,145,577

1,568,115

11,003

1,577,040

782,723

3,251,435

2,811,266

206,328

10,165,234

1,678,421

4,186,067

3,494,094

450,543

SENSEX

Company Name Lt Price % Chg Volume

WORLD INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

GCC INDICESIndices Lt Price Change

Dow Jones Indus. AvgS&P 500 Index

Nasdaq Composite IndexS&P/Tsx Composite Index

Mexico Bolsa IndexBrazil Bovespa Stock Idx

Ftse 100 IndexCac 40 Index

Dax IndexIbex 35 Tr

Nikkei 225Japan Topix

Hang Seng IndexAll Ordinaries Indx

Nzx All IndexBse Sensex 30 Index

Nse S&P Cnx Nifty IndexStraits Times Index

Karachi All Share IndexJakarta Composite Index

17,888.72

2,103.82

5,122.86

13,706.33

44,842.43

47,510.08

6,370.91

4,927.70

10,940.78

10,452.40

18,683.24

1,526.97

22,568.43

5,291.18

1,162.44

26,590.59

8,060.70

2,999.56

23,931.95

4,533.09

+59.96

-0.23

-4.28

+83.32

+299.67

+1,641.26

+9.11

+11.49

-9.89

+34.20

-399.86

-31.23

+198.39

+69.90

+6.47

+31.44

+9.90

+25.15

+70.76

+68.13

Doha Securities MarketSaudi Tadawul

Kuwait Stocks ExchangeBahrain Stock Exchage

Oman Stock MarketAbudhabi Stock MarketDubai Financial Market

11,516.59

6,955.11

5,794.25

1,259.98

5,948.37

4,322.16

3,521.90

-30.35

-111.13

+9.45

-0.71

+9.80

+23.05

+27.25

“Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an off er or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.”

CURRENCIESDOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI

DINARKUWAITI

DINAR

Emblems for the Porsche cars are placed in a box at the production line of the German car manufacturer’s plant in Stuttgart-Zuff enhausen (file). Volkswagen has faced new accusations in the ever-widening emissions cheating scandal, but the German auto giant adamantly denied the new charges.

European markets weather StanChart, Volkswagen storm AFPLondon

Disappointing results from Brit-ain’s emerging markets bank Standard Chartered and the

mushrooming scandal at Germany’s troubled automaker Volkswagen domi-nated trading in Europe yesterday.

StanChart said it sank into the red in the third quarter with an unexpected pre-tax third-quarter loss of $139mn, and outlined surprise plans to raise $5.1bn in fresh capital to bolster its fi -nances.

Volkswagen meanwhile faced new accusations in the ever-widening emissions cheating scandal, but the German auto giant adamantly denied the new charges.

“Sentiment (was) dominated by the return of the Volkswagen story and the surprise bringing forward of a rights issue by Standard Chartered Bank af-ter the bank slumped to a surprise Q3 loss,” said analyst Michael Hewson at traders CMC Markets.

By late afternoon European markets had recovered, with London’s FTSE gaining 0.34% to 6,383.61 points.

In the eurozone, Paris’s CAC 40 index closed with a gain of 0.41% at 4,936.18 points, while Frankfurt’s

DAX 30 ended the day fl at at 10,951.15 points.

StanChart shares slumped 6.67% to fi nish the day at 666 pence in London, after the bank also announced plans to axe 15,000 jobs worldwide.

The job losses are part of a major restructuring that will cost around $3.0bn, the bank said.

“With Standard Chartered an-nouncing a monster rights issue and slashing jobs, investors are heading for the exits in droves,” said Mike McCud-den, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor.

Across in Frankfurt, Volkswagen shifted into reverse after US regulators accused it late Monday of fi tting illegal “defeat devices” into its larger 3.0 litre diesel engines.

The German auto giant, which ada-mantly denied the new charges, saw its share price initially nosedive 5%, but pared the loss to close down 1.51% at €111.

In an aff air that has rocked the auto-mobile sector around the world since it broke in September, the carmaker has already admitted using the soft-ware, which skews the results of pol-lution tests, in smaller 2.0 litre diesels equipped in some 11mn cars world-wide.

But the US Environmental Protec-

tion Agency said late Monday it had discovered in its investigation that various six-cylinder 3.0 litre diesel VW Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Audis had also been rigged with the software.

Meanwhile, Europe’s banking sec-tor remained under pressure from the Standard Chartered news.

British peer Barclays fell 1.08% to 233.50 pence and Lloyds Banking Group dropped 0.71% to 74.47 pence.

In Paris, French pair BNP Paribas and Societe Generale saw their shares drop 0.07% and 0.50%, to stand at €55.31 and €42.51 respectively.

The “A” shares in Shell shot up 2.96% to 1,056.50 pence after the oil company said it had identifi ed another $1.0bn in savings from its BG Group takeover and unveiled a new overhaul to combat a “prolonged downturn” in oil prices.

US stocks pushed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.49% to 17,916.01 points in midday trading.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.09% to 2,105.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.15% to 5,134.96.

In foreign exchange activity, the Eu-ropean single currency slid to $1.0947 from $1.1014 late in New York on Mon-day.

BUSINESS

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201514

Russia central bank chief says capping rouble gainsfraught with risks ReutersMoscow

Russia’s central bank head, Elvira Nabiullina, warned about the dan-

gers of capping gains in the rouble and defended the coun-try’s fl oating exchange rate.

Some Russian offi cials have spoken of the need to prevent the rouble from strengthening too much in recent weeks in or-der to keep domestic fi rms com-petitive and to rekindle growth.

The rouble collapsed to all-time lows in December following Western sanctions over the Ukraine confl ict and a collapse in global oil prices. It rebounded in the fi rst few months of 2015.

“The exchange rate should remain fl oating,” Nabiullina told lawmakers in the low-er house of parliament. “If we fi x an upper limit for the strengthening of the exchange rate, that is fraught with nega-tive consequences.”

Russia fl oated the rouble a year ago but has been accused of continuing to manage the rate by intervening irregularly on the currency market.

Nabiullina reiterated that the central bank did not plan to in-

crease its foreign-currency re-serves over the next three years in its baseline scenario but said it could buy foreign currency should oil prices rise according to its optimistic scenario.

She also said monetary pol-icy had a limited infl uence on stimulating economic growth and that the central bank’s main priority was fi ghting infl ation.

“The decline of the Russian economy is currently predi-cated on a combination of so-called cyclical and structural factors, and the role of struc-tural factors will gradually in-crease,” she said.

“Therefore the possibilities for monetary policy to stimu-late economic growth are lim-ited.” Russian Finance Minis-ter Anton Siluanov separately told lawmakers yesterday that his ministry expected the Rus-sian economy’s contraction to “bottom out” in the fourth quarter of this year.

Russia’s economy is expect-ed to contract by around 4% in 2015, according to analysts polled by Reuters. Economists remain pessimistic about the prospects for any economic recovery, as the price of oil, Russia’s main export, stays depressed and the global economy is struggling.

Nabiullina: Defending floating exchange rate.

Statoil deepens cuts in North Sea investmentsBloombergOslo

The pressure is building on North Sea drillers starved of contracts as Statoil deepens cuts in investment

to cope with a collapse in crude prices.In less than 18 months, Norway’s big-

gest oil company has scrapped four years’ worth of drilling by cancelling or suspend-ing rig contracts, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Statoil statements. That includes Monday’s cancellation of a Songa Off shore rig four months early.

The cuts by Statoil, operator of more than 70% of Norway’s oil and gas produc-tion, are bad news for companies includ-ing Transocean, Seadrill’s North Atlantic Drilling unit and Fred Olsen Energy, which have fl oating rigs idling or completing off shore contracts in the country in the coming year, analysts said.

By the time the market turns, they may be forced to scrap as many as 20 units in Norway and the UK, said Janne Kvernland of Nordea Markets.

“We’ll have a graveyard out in the North Sea,” she said in a phone interview. “A lot of rigs are coming off contract, and if Sta-toil isn’t taking any of them, who will?”

The almost 60% slump in the price of North Sea Brent crude over the past 16 months to about $49 a barrel has taken a heavy toll on off shore drillers as producers slash investment budgets to shield their cash fl ow and maintain dividends. With charter rates down by more than half over the past two years, rig owners includ-ing Transocean, Seadrill and Ensco Plc have cut their own shareholder payouts, slashed costs and renegotiated contracts to weather a storm that most operators see lasting to at least 2017.

Dana Petroleum and Capricorn Ireland Ltd have also terminated contracts for drillers in the region over the past year and half.

In addition, sanctions have undone a $4.1bn deal between North Atlantic Drill-ing and Rosneft for fi ve units that were due to start drilling off shore Russia be-tween 2015 and 2017.

More than 40 fl oating rigs have been retired from a global fl eet of about 300, Pareto Securities AS said in an October 21 note to clients.

And there’s more to come: as many as 100 units will need to be scrapped to cre-ate balance in the market, according to Nordea, Rystad Energy, an Oslo-based consultant fi rm, and Andrew Cosgrove, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Between 10 and 20 of those could come in Norway and the UK as returning older idled rigs to the market may prove too ex-pensive, Kvernland said.

Investment by oil companies in Nor-way is expected to fall 11% this year and a

further 8% next year, according to the Fi-nance Ministry. Demand for off shore rigs in Norwegian waters will be about 18 to 20 units next year, with the equivalent of 27 rigs available, said Rystad analyst Joachim Bjoerni.

“There are few jobs waiting out there,” he said. “There will be decisions to be made on scrapping of even more units.”

Spokesmen for Transocean, Fred Olsen Energy and North Atlantic Drilling couldn’t immediately be reached for com-ment.

Statoil, which aims to reduce the time per off shore well by 25% by 2016 as part of a companywide effi ciency programme,

is already drilling about the same number of wells as during the past two years with fewer rigs, said spokesman Morten Eek. The company plans to complete 16 ex-ploration wells as an operator this year, he said. That’s down from 21 in 2014, accord-ing to fi gures from the Norwegian Petro-leum Directorate.

“Statoil’s responsibility is to secure long-term value creation on the Norwe-gian shelf,” Eek said in an e-mailed re-sponse to questions. “We don’t want to suspend or cancel rigs, but a part of that responsibility implies taking measures to reduce costs, so we can realise profi table projects.”

A Statoil gas station is seen near Saulkrasti, Latvia. The pressure is building on North Sea drillers starved of contracts as Statoil deepens cuts in investment to cope with a collapse in crude prices.

BUSINESS15Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Fourth China lender joins list of globally important banks ReutersLondon

China Construction Bank (CCB) has joined a list of lenders deemed important to the sta-

bility of the world’s fi nancial system, becoming the fourth from China in a global group of 30 required to hold ex-tra capital.

CCB was the only newcomer to an annual list issued yesterday by the Fi-nancial Stability Board (FSB), which was established after the 2007-09 glo-bal fi nancial crisis to protect the world from future such shocks.

Membership of the group can be costly: not only does holding extra capital depress profi tability, banks also come under more intense regulatory scrutiny.

CCB, China’s second biggest bank, has expanded its international opera-tions over the past two years, launching an exchange-traded money-market fund in London, acquiring a business in Brazil and gaining access to the Lon-don Metal Exchange by buying a British metal trading fi rm.

The global list is headed by HSBC and JPMorgan. They will have to hold 2.5 percentage points of extra capital beyond that required by global rules known as Basel III, a requirement un-

changed from last year due to the FSB’s view they remain the two most system-ically important banks.

The extra capital requirements come into eff ect at the start of 2016, with the full amount phased in over three years.

Four banks - Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank - need to hold 2 percentage points of extra capi-tal, also unchanged from last year.

Analysts at Citi said the publication of the list of what are known as G-SIBs was positive for Canada’s RBC, whose shares was up 1.1%, because its name was not on it.

“Royal Bank of Canada was expected by some to be designated as G-SIB in this year’s review. The fact that RBC avoided the designation should be pos-itive for sentiment and the shares,” said Citi analyst Stefan Nedialkov.

Offi cials at CCB did not respond to requests for comment on its addition to the list. Its shares closed down 1.5% following the announcement yester-day.

It is in the bottom “bucket” or cat-egory, determined by size, geographic spread, complexity and potential im-pact on the fi nancial system. This re-quires it to hold 1 percentage point of extra capital.

The banks on the list include 15 Eu-ropean and eight US banks, and three from Japan. CCB’s core tier 1 ratio, a key

measure of its fi nancial strength stood at 12.1% at the end of last year, higher than the average for global banks.

Although Chinese banks are seen as relatively well-capitalised compared with global rivals, mounting bad loans have resulted in them turning to in-vestors for fresh funds in 2015, despite raising a record amount last year.

Due to its size, CCB would not be expected to have diffi culty raising new funds if it required them, with domes-tic institutions likely to support such a move.

The FSB said Spain’s BBVA had been removed from the list, meaning it will no longer have to hold the extra capi-tal. A spokesman for Spain’s second-biggest bank said the decision refl ected the bank’s focus on retail banking rath-er than riskier investment activities.

Shares in BBVA were up 0.4%. The FSB reduced the capital sur-

charge imposed on Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland to 1 percentage point, from 1.5 percentage point last year. RBS was down 0.6% at 1500 GMT. The regula-tor did not make any other changes to the list.

It also published an updated list of nine global systemically important in-surers (G-SIIs), adding one new insur-er, Aegon and removing Generali.

The next list will be published in No-vember 2016.

A downtown Beijing branch of the China Construction Bank is situated on the ground floor of a residential apartment tower. The CCB has joined a list of lenders deemed important to the stability of the world’s financial system, becoming the fourth from China in a global group of 30 required to hold extra capital.

Auto industry in US on track for record sales: GM

ReutersDetroit

The US auto industry is on track for a record year of annual sales, General

Motors Co said yesterday, as the top US automaker and its rivals reported October sales that far exceeded expectations.

GM said the six-month roll-ing average for US auto sales is 17.8mn vehicles on an annualised basis, which means the industry is on its way to beating the 1999 annual sales record.

October sales will come in around 18.2mn vehicles on an annualized basis, their highest level since 2001, when automak-ers off ered 0% fi nancing in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the company said.

In 2009, at the depth of the Great Recession, US auto sales dipped to 10.4mn vehicles.

Analysts had forecasted Oc-tober sales to be 8 to 12% higher than last year. A poll of 45 econo-mists showed expectations of a seasonally adjusted annualised sales rate of 17.7mn vehicles for last month.

The booming October sales materialised despite concerns about a slowdown in consumer spending and stagnant wages. GM said its sales rose 16% to 262,993 vehicles last month, marking its best October since 2004.

BMW surprises with profit rise as Europe recovers

BMW reported a surprise rise in third-quarter

operating income as strong sales in higher-margin

core European markets outweighed weak demand

in China, keeping profitability within its target range

despite high investment in new models.

The company’s automotive operating profit margin

slipped to 9.1% from 9.4% a year earlier, behind rival

Mercedes-Benz’s 10.5% but beating Audi’s 8.0% in

the quarter.

The other two premium German carmakers are

challenging BMW’s global leadership in luxury car

sales, but BMW said it “firmly intends to remain the

world’s leading premium manufacturer of vehicles

in 2015” ahead of its centenary next year.

Some analysts have criticised the chasing of sales

volumes over profitability, which they say was sup-

ported last quarter by accounting for more of the

upfront development costs over a number of years,

flattering the margin.

“The latest emissions scandal at Volkswagen should

once again make it clear that size is no virtue in

itself,” NordLB analyst Frank Schwope said, refer-

ring to widening accusations of air pollution test

cheating against VW on Monday.

BMW said yesterday it still expected a profit margin

in the automotive division of 8-10% this year, com-

pared with 9.6% in 2014, as well as higher sales and

pretax profit.

But the Munich-based group cited a raft of head-

winds including heightening competition in the US,

upfront spending on new products and technol-

ogy as well as rising personnel costs and slowing

demand in China.

Itaú Unibanco

Itaú Unibanco Holding took advantage of stronger-

than-expected third-quarter profit to boost loan-

loss provisions, as Brazil’s No 1 bank by market

value wrestles with the impact of the country’s

deepest recession in a quarter century.

Last quarter, Itaú used gains in the value of

deferred tax assets to boost certain reserves while

setting aside more money to cover loan losses. In a

securities filing yesterday, Itaú said the decision had

to do with “a more challenging economic outlook”

in Brazil.

Chief Executive Off icer Roberto Setubal boosted

recurring provisions by 6.2%, the fastest pace in a

year, as consumer delinquencies soared. Those pro-

visions rose to 4.653bn reais, while non-recurring

excess and generic reserves were increased by

2.793bn reais. Shares gained 2.5%, the most in three

weeks, as profit beat estimates as trading-related

income surged, even as provisions climbed, taxes

jumped, expenses grew faster than expected and

loan repricing showed signs of stagnating. Still,

the numbers failed to allay fears over the eroding

quality of Itaú’s loan book and a declining capital

position.

Recurring net income, or profit before one-time

items, at São Paulo-based Itaú was 6.117bn reais

($1.57bn) last quarter, above a Reuters poll estimate

of 5.761bn reais. Recurring provisions came in at

4.653bn reais, above the poll’s estimate of 4.581bn

reais.

Still, Itaú’s Tier 1 ratio, a gauge of financial strength

that compares the core equity and the risk-weight-

ed assets of a bank, slipped to 12.1% last quarter

from 13.2% the prior quarter.

Trends in provisions remain the biggest issue for

Brazilian banks because of Brazil’s recession, which

could turn out to be the longest since the 1930s.

ADM

US agribusiness group Archer Daniels Midland Co

reported lower quarterly profit yesterday on weak

ethanol results and as a strong dollar and ample

global crop supplies limited North American grain

exports.

Chicago-based ADM, one of the world’s top produc-

ers of corn-based ethanol, said earnings in its corn

processing unit tumbled 62% due to thin margins

and high inventories of the biofuel.

Oilseeds processing profit fell 21% in the third quar-

ter while earnings at its agricultural services, ADM’s

largest segment in terms of revenue, dipped 3%.

The lower results came despite rising global

demand for food and amid ample global supplies of

corn, soybeans and other crops following massive

harvests in North and South America and other key

production areas around the globe.

The core businesses of ADM and its rivals Bunge

Ltd and Cargill buy, sell, transport, store and proc-

ess grains and oilseeds. Margins are typically thin,

but volumes are massive when crop supplies are

ample and prices are low, as they currently are.

ADM reported that net third-quarter profit tumbled

to $252mn, or 41 cents per share, from $747mn, or

$1.14 per share, a year earlier.

TDC

Telecoms operator TDC yesterday provided more

evidence of pricing pressures in its home market

Denmark, where third-quarter core profit fell 12%

and the group’s new CEO said it would take time for

the situation to improve.

Former state-controlled TDC and its rivals are in

the midst of a price war in mobile phone services

and have complained that prices in Denmark are

now some of the lowest in Europe and cannot go

any lower. The group’s new chief executive, Pernille

Erenbjerg, is trying to find a way out of the pricing

problems and is expected to present a new strategy

in the coming months.

“I can’t put a number on anything, but I can say

that our revenues will be under pressure next

year as well,” Erenbjerg told Reuters. “Many of the

trends we see in the Danish market won’t change

significantly in the short term ... We’ll be at the

end of 2016, maybe the start of 2017 before things

will start to look better.” But despite the revenue

pressure, and, in the absence of large acquisitions,

TDC will continue to pay dividends, Erenbjerg said,

allaying fears voiced by some analysts that payouts

to shareholders could dry up soon.

Emerson Electric

Factory automation equipment maker Emerson

Electric Co reported a lower-than-expected quar-

terly profit, hurt by a strong dollar and falling oil

prices that curtailed spending by customers in the

energy industry.

US industrial manufacturers are also grappling with

weakening growth in emerging economies.

Emerson’s revenue fell to $5.81bn in the fourth

quarter ended September 30 from $6.81bn a year

earlier.

Net earnings attributable to Emerson sharehold-

ers rose to $648mn, or 98 cents per share, from

$410mn, or 58 cents per share.

Excluding items, it earned 93 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 97

cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters

I/B/E/S. Emerson expects its full-year 2016 adjusted

earnings of $3.05 to $3.25 per share, while analysts

were expecting $3.23 per share. Up to Monday’s

close, Emerson’s stock had fallen 21.7% this year,

while the Dow Jones Global Industrials Index fell

1.9%.

AB Foods

Associated British Foods, owner of the Primark

fashion chain and AB Sugar, warned yesterday that

currency moves will dent earnings in its new finan-

cial year if current exchange rates persist.

The company, which also has major grocery,

agriculture and ingredients businesses, reported

a 2% fall in 2014/15 earnings and forecast that cur-

rency pressures would lead to a “modest decline”

in 2015/16.

The strengthening of sterling and the US dollar, and

a weakening of the euro and emerging market cur-

rencies, has a negative eff ect on the translation of

AB Foods’ overseas results but also on transactional

exposures, such as sourcing costs.

Primark, for example, buys clothes from Asia in

dollars before selling them increasingly in euros as

it expands in countries such as France, Germany

and Spain.

At current rates, AB Foods estimates a transla-

tion impact in 2015/16 similar to 2014/15’s £31mn

($47.8mn) but a greater transactional impact.

The price of shares in the group, majority owned by

the family of Chief Executive George Weston, has

risen by a quarter over the past year but fell by up

to 2.9% yesterday.

AB Foods made adjusted EPS of 102 pence in the

year to September 12, beating analysts’ average

forecast of 98.4 pence, according to Reuters data,

but below the previous year’s 104.1 pence.

Revenue fell 1% to 12.8bn pounds, while adjusted

pretax profit dipped 6% to 1.03bn pounds. The

dividend was increased 3% to 35 pence.

Vonovia

German property group Vonovia raised its earnings

guidance for this year after operating profit more

than doubled in the first nine months, potentially

strengthening its hand in a planned hostile bid for

peer Deutsche Wohnen.

Helped by the quick integration of a clutch of acqui-

sitions, Vonovia now expects funds from opera-

tions - its profit after interest and tax - of €590mn-

€600mn ($650-661mn) this year, compared with a

forecast of €560mn-€580mn given in August.

Chief Executive Rolf Buch said on a conference call

he would embark on a roadshow in coming days

to discuss Vonovia’s financial performance and its

planned hostile bid for Deutsche Wohnen.

The proposed off er, which Vonovia’s investors need

to approve at a November 30 shareholder meeting,

is attractive and will not be increased, Buch said.

Deutsche Wohnen’s CEO has called the approach

value-destroying.

Kloeckner

German steel distributor Kloeckner swung to a

net loss in the third quarter due to pressure from

cheap imports and slow demand in anticipation of

a further fall in prices as well as a collapse in prices

for scrap. Kloeckner, whose eff orts to restructure

and digitise its business have so far been outpaced

by price drops due to cheap Chinese exports and

weak demand, said it made a quarterly net loss of

€9mn ($9.9mn) compared with a profit of 16mn a

year earlier.

Kloeckner said yesterday it expected core earnings

before restructuring charges in the single-digit

millions of euros in the fourth quarter, where it fore-

cast pressure from falling prices and slow demand

to continue.

In the third quarter, earnings before interest, tax,

depreciation, amortisation (EBITDA) and restruc-

turing charges of halved to 30mn euros, as the

company had flagged in earlier this month.

Kloeckner said it expected full-year EBITDA before

restructuring expenses of up to €85mn, less than

half what it made last year.

Fitbit

Wearable fitness device maker Fitbit agreed to lift

lockup restrictions on over 2mn shares more than

a month earlier than scheduled and announced an

off ering of 21mn shares.

The news sent the company’s shares down 10% in

extended trading on Monday, overshadowing its

strong results and forecast.

Fitbit has been trying to attract more corporate cus-

tomers, who buy its wrist bands and smart watches

in bulk and pay the company subscription fees to

track employees’ health indicators such as heart

rate, calories and sleep patterns.

The device maker said last month that it had added

over 20 corporate customers in the past four

months, including Barclays and GoDaddy. Target

Corp has also said it plans to make Fitbit devices

available to employees.

Fitbit’s Chief Financial Off icer William Zerella said

retailers expected “very strong” holiday demand

for fitness trackers.

“We are seeing continued consumer adoption of

our product. Our penetration rates are still very low

even in the US There is still a lot of opportunity of

growth,” he said. The US accounts for two-thirds of

the company’s total revenue.

Fitbit’s revenue nearly tripled to $409.3mn in the

quarter ended September 30, beating the average

analyst estimate of $352mn, mainly due to strong

demand from markets outside the Americas.

AIG

American International Group’s quarterly operat-

ing profit plunged as income at all but one of its

underwriting businesses declined and tumultuous

markets hurt its investments.

AIG, the largest commercial insurer in the US

and Canada, also incurred a hefty $274mn pretax

restructuring charge that also hurt results in the

quarter.

The company said restructuring costs would total

$500mn through 2017 as it simplifies its business to

eventually save about $400-500mn a year.

AIG shares were down 1.9% after the bell.

The company also said it would pay a quarterly

dividend of 28 cents per share compared with 12.5

cents a year earlier.

UBS

UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, watered down

some of its financial targets yesterday due to a

tough economic backdrop and new Swiss capital

rules, overshadowing a forecast-beating rise in

third-quarter net profit.

Zurich-based UBS said diff icult macroeconomic

conditions, including slowing growth in China, as

well as uncertainty over interest rates and stricter

capital rules outlined last month, would hit per-

formance.

For the third quarter, UBS’s net profit rose to 2.1bn

francs ($2.1bn) from 762mn francs a year earlier

when figures were hit by the bank beefing up legal

reserves.

The result, the bank’s best quarterly performance

in more than five years, was ahead of a forecast for

1.76bn francs in a Reuters poll of four analysts.

Earnings were boosted by a net tax benefit of 1.3bn

francs, largely from an increased valuation of UBS’s

deferred tax assets which it had flagged in the

second quarter and is used to reduce the amount

of tax due.

It pushed back a targeted adjusted return on tangi-

ble equity - a key measure of profitability - of above

15% to 2018 from 2016 previously.

CORPORATE RESULTS

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

BUSINESSGULF TIMES

Draghi passes ECB halfway mark, still missing goal BloombergFrankfurt

Mario Draghi is halfway through his job and, by the strictest measure of his success, still

far from his goal.The European Central Bank presi-

dent spent the fi rst four years of his eight-year term battling to keep the euro area intact and winning over op-ponents to quantitative easing. In the second half of his tenure - if he’s lucky - he might actually meet his legal man-date of price stability.

The the 68- year-old may be tempt-ed to take credit for strengthening the currency bloc’s foundations and keep-ing Greece in the club. If he’s more modest, he might remind himself that slowing global growth and a slump in commodity prices threaten to deny him the successful infl ation record boasted by his predecessors.

“They were so focused on ‘whatever it takes’ and peripheral spreads that

they kind of missed the fact that there was a business cycle and they were missing the target on infl ation,” said Nick Kounis, head of macro research at ABN Amro Bank in Amsterdam. “If your main target is infl ation, and you’ve missed it for the last few years and you’ll miss it for the next few, then that will be a black mark for Draghi’s record.”

It is ironic that Draghi has found himself trying to stave off defl ation. The biggest concern, especially in Germany, was that putting an Italian at the top of the ECB would lead to prices escalating.

Infl ation has averaged 1.2% in the four years since Draghi succeeded Jean-Claude Trichet in November 2011, according to Bloomberg calcula-tions. The Frenchman can look back to 2.1% during his tenure, and Wim Duisenberg, the ECB’s fi rst president, managed 2%. The ECB’s goal is below but close to 2%.

In an interview with Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore over the weekend, Draghi said his years in offi ce so far have “cer-

tainly have been eventful and marked by profound changes to the structure of monetary policy.” He also called the euro area’s situation over that period “extraordinary.”

Draghi’s overriding concern so far has been to protect the 19-nation bloc from a Japan-style protracted period of stagnating or falling prices and de-

clining growth potential. Yet despite record-low interest rates, long-term loans to banks and a €1.1tn ($1.2tn) as-set-purchase plan, he hasn’t succeeded in returning infl ation to the goal. Now, faced with a fragile recovery at risk from weaker global trade, a euro that may be too strong for the economy and the risk of a slump in energy prices, he’s hold-ing out the prospect of another round of monetary easing in December.

That’s when new forecasts will show whether the infl ation goal is re-ceding still further. The ECB predicted in September that euro-area infl ation would accelerate to 1.7% in 2017. The rate was zero in October. “He should have been more outspoken about the defl ationary risk; he downplayed this possibility for too long,” said Guntram Wolff , director of the Brussels-based Bruegel research group. “Communi-cation is an important part of what a central banker has to do.”

Draghi proved to be a master of sig-nalling to fi nancial markets when bond yields spiralled during the sovereign-

debt crisis and threatened to rip the euro area apart.

His pledge in July 2012 to do “what-ever it takes” to keep the single cur-rency together will probably enter history books as “the three most suc-cessful words in central-banking history,” according to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

“When it’s an overt crisis and de-cisions need to be made quickly, and when the political situation is ex-tremely fraught, there are a only a few people who have the skills and the courage to navigate those waters,” said Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Econom-ics in Washington and a former Bank of England policy maker. “It’s a good thing and to his credit that the drama is reduced.”

One risk ahead is Greece. After the biggest debt restructuring in history in 2012 only provided short relief, the country won a third bailout package in August and is inching toward a lasting

future in the monetary union. Yet the crisis could fl are up again amid tight deadlines on spending cuts, pension and tax changes and negotiations on a long-term debt strategy.

“Draghi took offi ce a few hours after Greece had called a referendum, de fac-to, on the euro, in the context of capital fl ight,” said Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, who was member of the ECB’s Executive Board from 2004 to 2012 and is now executive director at Banco Bil-bao Vizcaya Argentaria. Draghi’s ac-tions “changed decisively the course of the sovereign debt crisis for the better.”

Winning German Chancellor An-gela Merkel’s support for his policies to protect the euro and stabilize the economy hasn’t shielded Draghi from scepticism and hostility toward his ac-tions in the region’s largest and most populous economy.

“Draghi and his work must be ques-tioned,” said Hans Michelbach, a Merkel ally from the Christian Social Union and a senior member of the Ger-man Parliament’s fi nance committee.

Draghi: Trying to stave off deflation.

StanChart to axe 15,000 jobs, raise $5.1bn capitalReutersHong Kong/London

Standard Chartered plans to axe 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn by selling new shares as its new

chief executive set out a plan to restore profi tability after three years of falling profi ts and strategic mistakes.

The bank, regarded as one of the 30 most important in the world, will cut 17% of its workforce to help save $2.9bn by 2018, and sell or restructure $100bn of loans, or a third of its total.

CEO Bill Winters, a former JPMor-gan investment bank boss who took the helm of Standard Chartered in June, described the move as an “aggressive and decisive set of actions” to shore up the bank, which makes two-thirds of its profi ts in Asia.

Winters is one of a handful of new European bank CEOs – including at Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Bar-clays – who must push through big restructuring plans to cut costs and improve profi tability in the face of a tougher regulatory landscape, which has made many banking activities un-profi table.

Standard Chartered’s problems were laid bare by news of a third-quarter op-erating loss of $139mn, weighed down by growing global regulatory costs and rising losses on loans in India. Revenue slumped 18% year-on-year.

It was the fi fth successive quarter of falling revenue for the bank. Before the results, analysts had expected it to re-port a $2.9bn profi t this year, compared to $7.5bn in 2012 - the year when many of its troubles began.

The bank was fi ned $667mn that year for breaking US sanctions related to Iran, and New York’s powerful bank-ing regulator called it a “rogue institu-tion”. More trouble followed related to strategy, execution and governance, and previous CEO Peter Sands was ousted and replaced by Winters.

Standard Chartered remains under investigation. Winters said Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has two open probes into the bank’s monitoring of sanctions and anti-money launder-ing compliance. US authorities are also still investigating transactions involv-ing Iranian clients, including whether

the bank still had Iran relationships when it signed its 2012 settlement.

Its London-listed shares were down 8.9% at 650.4 pence by 1141 GMT, the worst-performing stock on the Euro-pean bank index. They have slumped 32% this year, partly due to expecta-tions Winters would launch a rights issue and also on the Asian slowdown.

Major shareholders welcomed the moves to arrest the slide.

“Standard Chartered’s management

is taking the right steps to address the bank’s problems. The plan outlined seems sensible and it is clear where the bank now wishes to focus its business,” said Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia.

Aberdeen is the bank’s second big-gest shareholder with a near 9% stake, and Young said it would support the rights issue. Singapore investment company Temasek, the bank’s top shareholder, said it intends to take up

its full allocation of the issue, repre-senting 15.8% of shares.

The rights issue, StanChart’s fi rst capital-raising in fi ve years, will be launched on Tuesday at a price of 465 pence per share, a 35% discount to its last traded price in London. Two new shares will be issued for every seven existing shares.

“Post restructuring and recapitali-sation Standard Chartered will be a stronger and more focused group. But

the group will remain a complicated work-in-progress during the upcom-ing years,” said Ronit Ghose, analyst at Citi. Winters said he had no plans to add to that complexity by consid-ering moving headquarters away from London. Its rival HSBC is considering relocating.

“It’s absolutely not a priority for us right now. We have an enormous exe-cution agenda and we fi nd the UK to be a very pragmatic and predictable place to do business,” Winters told reporters on a conference call.

Standard Chartered said it would not pay a fi nal dividend for this year, saving the company $700mn.

The capital-raising and asset-re-structuring will together push the bank towards a new common equity tier-1 capital (CET1) ratio goal of 12-13%, ac-cording to the company.

The bank’s current CET1 ratio - a measure of fi nancial strength - dipped to 11.4% at the end of September and will rise to 13.1% after the rights issue.

Analysts had expected Winters would wait until after Bank of England stress test on Dec. 1 before announcing a rights issue. The bank said the regu-lator was aware of the bank’s plans and had not objected.

Standard Chartered has already cut 4,000 staff this year, and Winters said about 1,000 senior staff , or a quarter of the top ranks, had already been told they would go. He said he hoped most other cuts would be made in areas where there was a high natural attrition.

The sale or restructuring of $100bn of risk-weighted assets includes $20bn of big loans to individual borrow-ers that Winters said were outside the bank’s “risk tolerance” and would be liquidated.

He plans to further restructure the troubled business in Korea, reposition its activities in Indonesia and shed as-sets in commercial and investment banking.

The bank will also reduce its retail operations in second and third-tier cities where it currently has a presence.

The restructuring will cost $3bn and Winters said he also plans to invest more than $1bn over three years to improve its retail and private banking business, Africa, and to en-hance controls.

People leave the Standard Chartered bank building in the central district of Hong Kong yesterday. The Asia-focused British bank said it would axe 15,000 jobs and raise $5.1bn in capital after posting a ‘disappointing’ third-quarter loss as it struggles to return to growth.

VW prepares to fi ght EPA’s Porsche diesel cheat allegations BloombergWashington

Volkswagen rejected US Environmental Protection Agency allegations that its cheating on diesel- emissions tests included Porsche and other high-end vehicles, setting up a showdown with US regulators as it seeks to repair its battered image.Software in 3.0-liter diesel engines was not installed “in a forbidden manner,” and Volkswagen is co-operating with the EPA to “clarify” its questions, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said in a statement. VW’s shares fell the most in a month.The new investigation centres on the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg sport utility vehicles and as well as larger sedans and the Q5 SUV from Audi, according to the EPA. Volkswagen had previously admitted to installing a so-called defeat device in smaller autos

from the 2009 to 2015 model years.The conflict could have implications for Matthias Mueller, Volkswagen’s chief executive off icer, who led the Porsche brand until his appointment to the top job in the wake of the scandal. Mueller, whose four-decade Volkswagen career includes overseeing product planning at the Audi division, has professed no knowledge of the emissions cheating before it was uncovered by regulators.“Had they hired someone from outside the company to take over as CEO, and not someone from Porsche or Audi looking to avoid these kinds of revelations, they might have saved face and come clean over the course of the last six weeks,” Max Zanan, co-founder of consulting company Income Development Dealer Solutions Group, said in an e-mail.The expanded probe involves only about 10,000 cars now on US roads, as well as an undetermined number of 2016 models, but draws in the prestigious Porsche brand that had

been untouched by the scandal so far. The division was “surprised” by the EPA statement as, “until this notice, all of our information was that the Porsche Cayenne diesel is fully compliant,” its US unit said.Germany’s Transport Ministry said vehicles with larger Volkswagen diesel engines are part of follow-up investigations stemming from the scandal. The aff ected models are being examined on test beds as well as on the road. The verification hasn’t yet been finalised, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement.“Expansions of sales sanctions on aff ected models is now likely to be increased, and the possibility of leniency from the EPA is now reduced,” Alexander Haissl, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients. “This could impact the company’s credibility.”The EPA and the California Air Resources Board announced September 18 that they were

investigating Volkswagen after the carmaker admitted to rigging emissions systems of diesel vehicles so they would pass pollution tests. Software designed to give false results in laboratory checks is installed in 1.2-, 1.6- and 2-liter engines. The carmaker says almost 500,000 vehicles in the US, and 11mn worldwide, use the motors.Volkswagen plans to begin recalls in 2016, and has said software tweaks will be enough to make the 1.2- and 2-liter models compliant with emissions rules, while the 1.6-liter version will require other equipment. The carmaker has said repeatedly that no other engines have the defeat device installed, particularly those meeting EU6 emissions standards.The EPA said Monday that, after stepping up testing of diesel models on the road, regulators discovered software in VW, Audi and Porsche models with 3-liter diesel engines that turns pollution-control equipment on

only when the cars are in “temperature conditioning” mode that mirrors federal test conditions.The emissions systems were rigged to turn off “one second” after government testing was complete, improving performance but causing nitrogen oxide emissions up to nine times the legal limit, Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Off ice of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. The aff ected models are the 2014 Touareg, 2015 Cayenne and 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5.“VW has once again failed in its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” Giles said. Volkswagen “knew or should have known” that the vehicles had software installed that “bypasses, defeats or renders inoperative” emissions controls, the EPA said in a separate letter to the carmaker posted online.

Shell says can make BG deal work despiteweak oil price

ReutersLondon

Royal Dutch Shell sought to ease investor concerns over its planned $70bn

takeover of BG Group, announc-ing plans for further benefi ts and cost cuts aimed at making the deal work with an oil price in the mid-$60s a barrel.

The Anglo-Dutch group, which hopes to complete the deal early next year, said it now expected synergies to increase by $1bn to $3.5bn for the combination which will make Shell a leader in lique-fi ed natural gas (LNG) and off -shore oil production in Brazil.

Shell, which last week report-ed a huge third-quarter loss due to $8bn of write-off s in Alaska and Canada, said it would re-duce its costs by $11bn in 2015 as it tackles a prolonged period of lower oil prices, currently trad-ing below $50 per barrel.

“Although oil prices have fallen in 2015 the valuation case for the BG acquisition still looks compelling today for both sets of shareholders,” Shell Chief Ex-ecutive Ben van Beurden told re-porters on a conference call.

Investors have been con-cerned that the benefi ts from the deal would be at risk as a recov-ery in oil prices is now expected to take much longer than fore-seen in April, when the merger with BG was announced.

Back then, Shell indicated it expected oil prices to recover to $90 a barrel by 2020.

Brent crude traded at around $59 per barrel when the deal was announced and has since traded in a range between about $42 and $69 amid a growing consen-sus among analysts that prices are set to stay “lower for longer”.

BG shares trade at a discount of more than 10% to the valua-tion of the cash and shares deal, refl ecting investor concerns over its viability and remaining regu-latory hurdles. Shell awaits the approval of Australian and Chi-nese regulators before the deal can be put before shareholders.

“No real new surprises to-day. We expect more in terms of pre-tax synergies once the two groups combine,” said Brendan Warn, Managing Director of In-ternational oil & gas equity re-search at BMO Capital Markets.

“Shell’s commitment to oper-ate at a lower oil environment and maintain share buyback may re-duce some investors’ concerns.”

BMO rates Shell as “under-perform”. Shell previously an-nounced a sharp reduction to its 2015 capital spending pro-gramme to $30bn as well as 7,500 job cuts. The combined group’s capital spending is ex-pected to reach $35bn next year.

The company reiterated its plans to sell $50bn worth of assets between 2014 and 2018 in order to cover the cost of the acquisition and as Shell focuses its portfolio.

Shell said it would maintain its dividend payout in 2015 and 2016 at $1.88 per share, turn off scrip dividends in 2017 and un-dertake a share buyback of at least $25bn in the period 2017-2020. The $3.5bn synergies were expected to comprise of $2bn savings in operating costs, mainly in the corporate and IT and another $1.5bn in explora-tion spending in 2018.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015Moharram 21, 1437 AH

SPORTGULF TIMES

NBA

‘King’ Jamesyoungest to reach 25,000 pointsPage 6

Payne storms male bastion with shock Melbourne win

It’s premature to talk ofnew era,says Spieth

GOLF | Page 5 HORSE RACING HORSE RACING | Page 8

Raid on German FA offi ces for WCup-linked tax evasion

FOCUS

Prosecutors launch tax probe over suspicions of tax evasion in 6.7-million-euro payment to FIFA

AFPBerlin

Police raided the offi ces of the German Football Federation (DFB) and the homes of top offi -cials yesterday over tax evasion

allegations linked to Germany’s hosting of the 2006 World Cup.

Prosecutors said they were launching a tax probe but could not pursue accu-sations of direct corruption because the statute of limitations had expired.

About 50 offi cers swooped on “the DFB headquarters as well as at homes of three accused—the DFB president, former DFB president and former general secretary,” said a prosecution spokeswoman, without giving names.

The three are understood to be cur-rent DFB chief Wolfgang Niersbach, his predecessor Theo Zwanziger and ex-general secretary Horst Schmidt.

The raids came after the DFB was

roiled by allegations last month in news magazine Der Spiegel that a 6.7-mil-lion-euro ($7.4-million) payment to FIFA was used to buy votes to secure the hosting of the 2006 World Cup.

At the vote in July 2000, Germany saw off South Africa by 12 votes to 11 — Charles Dempsey of New Zealand ab-stained — to win the right to stage the tournament fi nals.

Nadja Niesen, senior state prosecu-tor, said yesterday’s raids were carried out “over suspicions of tax evasion in a particularly serious case”, and related to the 6.7-million-euro payment.

She stressed that only the three in-dividuals are being investigated, not the DFB itself, but said the trio could each face jail sentences of between six months and ten years if convicted.

The prosecutor noted that when ac-counting for the 6.7-million-euro pay-ment, the DFB organising committee had indicated that it was part of its con-tribution to a FIFA cultural programme.

However, it was “actually used for other purposes,” said Niesen.

The result was that the defendants are being investigated over “submit-ting inaccurate tax returns in their pre-vious responsibilities” and therefore “shortchanging... taxes due for 2006 by a signifi cant amount,” she said.

“The payment could therefore not be used as a deductible expense as re-ported,” she said, who added it will take “weeks” to examine all documents seized.

The DFB said it “fully supports” the investigation, adding that prosecutors had told the federation the probe was limited to tax evasion allegations. “The DFB itself is not an accused party in the proceedings,” it added in a statement.

The cash-for-votes allegations have sparked a bout of infi ghting among sen-ior football offi cials in Germany.

Niersbach has categorically denied the allegations, saying “there was no slush fund, there was no vote buying”.

He claimed instead that the sum was used to secure 170 million euros of funding from world football’s governing body.

But Zwanziger has accused Niersbach of lying, saying it was “clear that there was a slush fund in the German World Cup bidding process”.

Zwanziger was then DFB chief and also Franz Becken-bauer’s deputy on the 2006 World Cup’s organising com-mittee.

In an interview with Spiegel, Zwanziger claimed he was told by Schmidt—then the World Cup organising committee’s vice president—that the disgraced former FIFA vice president Mohamed bin Hammam was the recipi-ent of the sum.

Hammam was banned for life by FIFA from football ac-tivities in 2014 after he was found to have bought votes in an election against Blatter.

Beckenbauer meanwhile has admitted making a “mis-take” in the bidding process to host the 2006 World Cup but has denied votes were bought.

In a statement that appeared to back Niersbach’s account for the 6.7 million euros, Becken-bauer said: “In order to obtain a FIFA grant, we accepted a proposition coming from FIFA’s fi nance commission that the implicated parties should, in retrospect, have refused.”

“As president of the organ-ising committee at that time, I take responsibility for this mistake.”

FIFA has denied that any deal was made with the DFB over the questionable fund, and has launched its own probe into the awarding of the 2006 event.

The three off icials, who are understood to be probed for tax evasion allegations, include former DFB president Theo Zwanziger (left), current DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach (centre), and ex-general secretary Horst Schmidt. (AFP/Reuters)

To Advertise hereCall: 444 11 300, 444 66 621

FOOTBALL2 Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

I’m staying put, insists Chelsea coach Mourinho

SPOTLIGHT

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League game with Dinamo Kiev, Mourinho made it clear he expects to see out the four-year contract he signed in August

AFPLondon

Jose Mourinho insists he does not fear for his Chelsea future and be-lieves he will be at the club until his current contract runs out in 2019.

The manager is under growing pressure after a disastrous run of results and reports of unrest within his playing squad.

But speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Champi-ons League game with Dinamo Kiev, Mour-inho made it clear he expects to see out the four-year contract he signed in August.

The manager refused to comment on whether he had met club owner Roman Abramovich but when asked how long he thought he had left in the job, he said: “I have four years. In this case, three years and seven months, or something like that.”

Mourinho dimissed suggestions that the experience of handling the worst run of results in his career would make him a better manager, pointing out his con-tinuous run of success.

And he gave the example of a message received from a close friend who remind-ed him of his reaction to his fi rst Champi-ons League triumph in 2004 to illustrate how long he has been forced to wait be-fore encountering such a dip.

The manager said: “If I’d only become a better coach because of bad results, then I’d be a really bad coach because, in the last 15 years, I’d never have im-proved.

“But I try and improve every day, ana-lyse every detail of my work every day, preparing sessions, analysing matches, preparing matches. Every day.

“This is new for me. That’s why I’m a good one. I’ve not experienced this before.

RESISTED “Yesterday a friend sent me some quotes of my press conference after the Cham-pions League fi nal in May 2004. I’d com-pletely forgotten about it.

“In May 2004 I said that, one day in my career, bad results would come. I said that in 2004 after winning the Champi-

ons League fi nal with Porto. “One day the bad results will come and

I’ll face the bad results with all the same honesty and dignity that I’m facing now as a European champions. May 2004.

“So, 11 years later, I resisted well to the nature of my job and the nature of foot-ball. Eleven years waiting for this. It took time, but it’s come in a moment when I’m stable and strong to face it.”

Mourinho - who faces a stadium ban for this weekend’s visit to Stoke after be-ing sent to the stands during the defeat at West Ham - dismissed recent claims

suggesting a player rebellion, insisting the squad was fully behind him.

He said: “They are giving their best every minute of every training session. Giving solidarity in between all of us. Fantastic personal relationship. Very good professional relationship.

“They are training always in the limits of the quality and the eff ort. And always with the strong desire to win the next match, which is what we’re going to try and do tomorrow.”

He added: “I know (why results have been poor). No (I can’t tell you) because I’ll be here a long time. It’s a combina-tion of factors. Some of them I can’t, I don’t even want to touch them. And yes I know.”

Asked if they were football-related, he said: “Everything is football-related, right. We don’t want to blame social or political problems in some corner of the globe, you don’t want to blame these as-pects or bring these aspects to football problems. So everything is football-re-lated, of course.”

My dream is to be Chelsea manager: ZolaBOTTOMLINE

By Sports ReporterDoha

Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has said his dream is to coach his former club. The former Italian forward, currently

manager of Qatar Stars League (QSL) side Al Arabi, told www.sc.qa that his successful start in Qatar will help him enormously in working towards his ambition.

“My dream, let us say my ambition, is to be Chelsea manager some day in the future,” said Zola, who turns 50 next July and who scored 59 goals in 229 appearances for the West London side between 1996 and 2003.

“However, I realise that I need to improve as a manager if I want to get there. And I am working hard to achieve my goal. Qatar is helping me a lot in this regard.”

Zola, however, stuck by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, stressing that the defending Premier League champions will recover from a diffi-cult start to the season in which they are already 14 points adrift of leaders Manchester City and Arsenal at the

top of the table after just 11 matches.“The club has it in them to turn

around their fortunes,” said the former

West Ham manager. “A good result in the UEFA Champions League game against Kiev followed by a couple of

league wins will do the trick,” he said. “There is no one compelling reason for the poor start to the season. The poor form of key off ensive players Eden Hazard and Diego Costa has not helped. Defensively as well the team dropped the standards set last year. So the play-ers have lost confi dence as a group and this has led to poor results.”

Hazard, voted the best Premier League player of last season, is per-ceived by the Stamford Bridge support-ers as the most technically gifted player to don the club colours since the depar-ture of the charismatic Zola, who fea-tured in Serie A club Napoli’s 1989-90 title winning team alongside the legen-dary Diego Maradona.

Zola, who was appointed Al Arabi coach in July, has turned heads in the region by transforming the QSL outfi t to a team playing attractive attacking football in his own image. In the proc-ess he has brought the club’s fans back to the stadium in search of a fi rst league win since 1997.

“I try to make my side play football in the way I want to see the game played. I have made a small start with Al Arabi and I am confi dent the results will be seen in the near future.”

The 1994 World Cup fi nalist took the opportunity to compare two of the greatest off ensively skilful players in the sport’s history.

“I think it is unfair to compare Ma-radona and Messi because they are from diff erent eras. Both are extraor-dinary players and I learned my foot-ball watching Maradona play. He is my master and mentor and therefore I have an empathy towards him,” said Zola.

“Maradona had it tougher than Messi. There were two players always marking him and their only duty was to take him out of the game. Yes, modern defenders mark Messi but these days the game is more attacking in nature and defenders focus on playing their own game rather than focus on one player alone. I think Maradona would have scored much more goals if he were a modern player.”

If the 1986 World Cup in Mexico helped his mentor etch his name into the sport’s all-time pantheons, Zola is hopeful the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qa-tar™ will produce new icons and in-spire billions across the world. “There is genuine passion for the sport in the Middle East and I had not expected this when I came here,” he said. “The 2022

World Cup will bring in knowledge and help take football to a diff erent level in Qatar and in the region.”

Zola said he is excited to be living in a city that is rapidly making progress towards staging the greatest sporting event on earth.

He added: “Every day I see a lot of wonderful things happening in prepa-ration for the big event. Doha is already a great city and I think in four or fi ve years this is going to be an extraordi-nary place to be in. The World Cup will be massive.”

Zola signed off by saying football fans would have an outstanding time in his new home country during the tour-nament, when temperatures in Qatar average 26C/78F.

“I played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States and it was very tough out there with the heat and humidity. Keeping in mind the television audi-ences, most of the matches had an early afternoon kickoff and I was losing two and a half kilogrammes after every training session. I am sure the players will fi nd it much easier in Qatar in 2022. The tournament will be staged in No-vember and December and the weather at this time is perfect for football.”

AFPLondon

John Terry insists the players must shoulder the blame for Chelsea’s disastrous start to the

campaign and is adamant the dressing room is fully behind un-der-fi re manager Jose Mourinho.

The Chelsea captain believes the responsibility for ending the club’s dismal start to the season lies with the players.

And he dismissed claims some players were no longer willing to fi ght for Mourinho as ridicu-lous, including weekend reports one unnamed player had said he would rather lose a game than win for the manager.

Terry, who will lead the side into the Champions League group game with Dinamo Kiev, said: “We’ve not played well enough, and we take that on the shoulders. We know where we are in the league and the Cham-pions League group, and we know what we need to do to get out of it. That relies on us, as players, not the players.

“It’s going to take a dressing room that stays together, sticks together. What we’ve seen in the last two or three days, ridiculous stories about what’s happening within the club and the dressing room.

“I can assure you the players are 100 percent behind the man-ager. We are together. Anyone who has been at the last three or four games can see the way we’re playing is turning.

“We weren’t good enough at the beginning of the season, but things are on the turn. And we’ve been unlucky not to get one or two results. We will turn things around.

DISAPPOINTMENT “Together is the most important thing: that we stay together in that dressing room.”

Referring to the claim a player has said he would rather lose a game, the centre-back added: “Listen, in my whole football career I’ve never heard a player come out with those words.

“In my whole career. Whether it’s been going bad or really bad. It’s ridiculous I have to sit here and talk about it.

“I’ve seen players’ faces with the disappointment after results, the feeling we’ve let the club and the manager and the fans down.

“The player wouldn’t be let out of the dressing room, let’s be

honest. It wouldn’t go down too well, would it.”

Terry has seen a succession of managers leave during the Ro-man Abramovich-era at Stam-ford Bridge but insists Mourinho will not be leaving any time soon.

He said: “It’s not going to come to that. The club have shown faith in the best manager with the best history at this club.

“In all aspects, of all the man-agers I’ve worked with, he’s by far and a long, long way, the best I’ve worked with. We are going to turn it around. No ifs, no buts.

“I’m sure, and I’m adamant, that we’ll turn this around and he’ll be in charge for the rest of the season and long after I’ve fi n-ished playing for this club. He is the man to take this club forward to where we want to be.”

Terry made it clear Chelsea need Mourinho and Eden Hazard - linked with a move to Real Ma-drid following his dramatic loss of form this season - to remain at the club.

He said: “I’m not saying it’s diff erent (to when other manag-ers have been sacked) because results speak for themselves. The table doesn’t lie. We know where we are.”

Terry’s own form has been criticised but he made it clear that while he respected the views of some former players, he was unwilling to accept criticism from former Leicester and Wales midfi elder Robbie Savage.

He said:” I’ve come under criticism, individually, from certain players and individu-als, players I’ve looked up to and played alongside. I’ve taken that on the chin: Rio (Ferdinand), Carra (Jamie Carragher), (Gary) Neville, the very best I’ve come up against in the game. I take that on the chin.

“When others speak, maybe I don’t take it on the chin. When players have not had a career, played at a really bad level in their career... Robbie Savage be-ing one.

“He’s dug me out a couple of times. You take it as a footballer, as an individual. I’ll take it from the Rios, Carraghers and Neville. All day long. From others? Nah.”

Now to see what happens.

All behind Mourinho, says captain Terry

FOCUS

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho during the press conference on the eve of his team’s Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev.

Chelsea’s John Terry during the press conference.

Gianfranco Zola is currently the manager of Al Arabi club in Qatar and the club has experienced a good turn of results under him.

FixturesOlympiacos vs Dinamo ZagrebRoma vs BayerM. Tel-Aviv vs PortoGent vs ValenciaLyon vs ZenitChelsea vs Dynamo KyivBarcelona vs BATEBayern Munich vs Arsenal

“I can assure you the players are 100 percent behind the manager. We are together. Anyone who has been at the last three or four games can see the way we’re playing is turning”

FOOTBALL3Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Arsenal out to tame ‘angry’ Bayern Munich again

SPOTLIGHT

‘They will be angry. We are the first team who really challenged them and beat them. They will be on the ball and try to show that they are back and better than us’

ReutersBerlin

Confi dent Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich today hoping to tame the German champions for a second time in two weeks, and

are promising to attack despite a string of injuries.

The English club are on a high after a fi fth consecutive Premier League win at the weekend - a 3-0 victory at Swansea - and the timing of their visit to the Bavar-ian capital could hardly be better.

Bayern dropped their fi rst points in the Bundesliga on Friday with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

It followed 10 consecutive victories from the start of the season and, coupled with their 2-0 loss at the Emirates Sta-dium on Oct. 20 - their fi rst defeat in all competitions - Bayern have shed some of that invincible aura.

Arsenal’s victory over Bayern put Ar-sene Wenger’s side back in contention in Group F with three points. Bayern and Olympiakos have six.

“They (Bayern) will be angry,” said Ar-senal defender Per Mertesacker. “We are the fi rst team who really challenged them and beat them. They will be on the ball and try to show that they are back and better than us.”

The former Germany international added: “They are clever, the Germans. We showed that we can beat them. That is a good sign but it will be a diff erent game at their place.

“We improved our position in the last game against Munich but we need to get something out of this game.”

Arsenal are missing key players, in-cluding Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere.

But with Olivier Giroud having scored six goals in his past six games and play-maker Mesut Ozil delivering nine assists in 10 league games, they are not prepared to sit back and defend.

“I would sign today to take a point,” said coach Arsene Wenger. “But to sit off Bayern, with their off ensive qual-ity, would be diffi cult to maintain for 90 minutes. We have to relieve the pressure whenever we can and try to score goals.

“That is our structure of the team, to attack. If you get our players to defend then I do not think we will be so effi cient. We have to play every time we can.”

Bayern, who last season won all six home games in the competition en route to the semi-fi nals, are by no means in a slump, and their dominance and string of chances against defensive Eintracht was indicative of the team’s attacking instincts.

Proposed FIFA reforms, including term limits, face rejection

BOTTOMLINE

ReutersMiami

A leading member of FIFA’s reform com-mittee, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah,

says up to 40 per cent of the re-form proposals made by ethics and compliance chief Domenico Scala could be rejected, includ-ing plans for term limits for top executives.

Speaking to Reuters, Sheikh Ahmad, one of the key power brokers in international sport, defended the decision of the reform committee to turn down a proposal for term limits for members of world soccer’s scan-dal-plagued governing body.

Scala had originally been in charge of FIFA’s reform plans before the creation of a Reform Committee headed by Sheikh Ahmad’s ally, former Interna-tional Olympic Committee di-rector general Francois Carrard.

Scala presented an eight-point

plan for reform of FIFA on Sept. 1 but several items have already been rejected by FIFA’s reform committee, according to an in-terim report published on Oct. 20.

Asked about Scala’s reforms, Sheikh Ahmad said “60-70 per-cent” of the proposals were being

backed by the committee but said term-limits would be restricted to the FIFA president alone.

Scala proposed term limits of three, four-year terms also for members of the Executive Com-mittee, the Secretary General and members of FIFA’s other in-

dependent committees. But the Reform Committee

report, which went largely un-noticed after being released at the same time as a raft of news from FIFA’s Executive Commit-tee last month, had no mention of term-limits for other offi cials other than an age limit of 74.

“But this is normal for a lot of organisations,” said Sheikh Ahmad. “I think age-limit will achieve the same goals - you will have three or four terms maxi-mum, unless you are young. And if you are young, what is the per-centage that is so young to make the rules for them?” he said, talking at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Washington last week.

Under the Reform Commit-tee plans, a 40-year-old elected to FIFA’s executive committee would still be able to stay in the job for 34 years.

Scala declined to comment on the work of the Reform Com-mittee but said he stood by the

need for widespread term limits and change at national and re-gional level.

“I believe term limits for all executive committee members are critical and higher govern-ance standards at confedera-tion and association level are also critical as they are the main cause of the current issues,” he told Reuters.

Sheikh Ahmad is a member of the FIFA executive committee and is a leading player in the Ol-ympic movement. He joined the IOC in 1992, and has risen to the role of president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and pres-ident of the powerful ANOC.

Following the publication of his recommendations, Scala also suggested that FIFA could have a rotating presidency as part of the changes, but Sheikh Ahmad said that was going too far.

“I don’t believe in this. Just because we are in trouble we don’t have to kill everything. We have to solve the problems with-out an over-reaction,” he said.

AFPBasel

A 71-year-old man who spent 11 years living rough after getting lost following an In-

ter Milan v FC Basel Champions League game, has returned to his native Switzerland, reports said yesterday.

Rudolf Bantle was 60 years old when he travelled with friends to Milan in August 2004 to watch Basel take on Inter in a Champi-ons League qualifi er.

After Inter stretched their lead to 4-1 and with fi ve minutes re-maining, Bantle went to the toi-let—a decision that was to have drastic consequences and change his life forever.

Upon returning, he failed to fi nd his travelling companions. With only 20 euros in his pocket and no mobile phone, Bantle was left stranded in Milan, where he spent the next 11 years living on the streets and getting by thanks to the kindness of locals.

He was listed as a missing per-son by Swiss police in 2004 and with no information as to Ban-tle’s whereabouts, the case was shelved defi nitely in 2011.

According to Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, Bantle is now living in a pensioner’s home in his native Basel.

But for the locals who helped Bantle in Milan’s Baggio neigh-bourhood, the news has come as something of a surprise.

“Is it true? I didn’t hear any-thing about him, I really thought he had died,” said Sergio Maz-zarelli, a librarian who like many

locals got to know “the nice Swiss guy with the German ac-cent” over the years.

In true ‘tifoso’ (fan) style, after FC Basel’s defeat Bantle went on to support the Nerazzurri’s local rivals, AC Milan, whom he fol-lowed on the television at local betting shops.

The local students who came to know Bantle and helped him with spare change and clothes even gifted him a Milan shirt with the name of Rossoneri great Kaka on the back.

Mazzarelli added: “He was a legend in this area. The story about (him getting lost at) the San Siro was circulating but no one knew if it was true or not.

“He was never keen to speak about himself. But everyone liked him. People brought him food and fresh clothes and he helped people when he could.”

One student, Riccardo Foa, who has since become a doctor, told Gazzetta: “He didn’t even have a local doctor. We used to take care of him ourselves.”

Bantle told Schweiz am Son-ntag his consumption of beer “helped keep warm, then one guy gave me a sleeping bag and saved my life”.

Despite eventually being rec-ognised following appeals by the Swiss authorities, Bantle refused to return home—until a fall de-cided otherwise.

He broke his femur and while in hospital the Swiss consulate ordered his transfer to Basel.

Bantle now has a roof over his head, a monthly stipend of 300 euros and, he says, “every after-noon I can have a couple of cans of beer, they let me have that”.

Missing Basel fan returns home aft er 11 long years

FOCUS

File picture of Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker and Francis Coquelin warming up before the game against Swansea.

Saudi Arabia has decided not to play the disputed 2018 World Cup qualifier against Palestine in Ramallah, the Sau-di federation said yesterday. “The Saudi federation has sent an off icial letter in which it an-nounced withdrawing from the match against Palestine sched-uled for Thursday,” spokeman Adnan al-Moaibed said. The new match date had been set by FIFA on October 21. The teams played each other in Jeddah in June in the first of their two scheduled Asia zone World Cup qualifiers with the Saudis winning 3-2. That match was originally supposed to be played in Palestine, but Saudi Arabia had refused to travel to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, citing undefined “exceptional circumstances”. The return leg was then set for October 13, again in the West Bank, but Saudi Arabia on September 23 demanded that it be played on neutral ground. That demand was accepted by the World Cup organising committee, but the Palestinian Federation refused to accept the decision, saying it set a “dangerous precedent.”

The matter was then post-poned to allow further talks to take place between all the involved parties. “The Palestinian Football Association has given full security guarantees for the rescheduled match and FIFA has agreed to appoint a secu-rity off icer who will work hand in hand with the Palestine authorities to supervise the security plan and make sure that the match is played in very good conditions,” an earlier FIFA statement said. Many Arab national teams refuse to play in the West Bank, saying it “normalises” Israel’s occupation of Palestin-ian territory. Israel controls all access to the Palestinian territories, and Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Now to see what happens next.

Steven Gerrard (right) be-lieves he may have one more season with LA Galaxy before retiring from professional football. The former Liverpool and Eng-land midfielder, who joined the Major League Soccer club this year, wants to go out on a high after the disappointing end to their season. “It could be my last season as a footballer. I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m feeling right now come next year,” the 35-year-old told the club website (www.lagalaxy.com). “I’d love to go out on a high. It’s a long season, and I only came here for the last four months. But I’ll certainly be better for the experience next year.” Gerrard, who had spent his en-tire career at Liverpool, scored on his MLS debut but netted only once more in 14 matches for the club, whose defence of their title ended when they were knocked out in the play-off s by Seattle Sounders. The former England captain admitted it had taken time to adapt to playing in the United States, with its variety of loca-tions, conditions and time zones.

“Going on the road, playing on turf, playing at altitude, play-ing in humidity, those are the hurdles that I’ve had to face over the last three months that I wasn’t aware of. Every away game has a diff erent challenge,” he said. “At home, we’ve got no problems because we’re very strong and we play well. We’ll always win more than we lose. For us to move forward next year and finish in the top two spots we’ve got to be better defensively and stop conceding on set pieces and crosses.” Gerrard played more than 700 games for Liverpool, scoring 186 goals in all competitions.

Saudis pull out of Palestine match

Gerrard keen to end career on a high with LA Galaxy

That match was originally supposed to be played in Palestine, but Saudi Arabia had refused to travel to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, citing undefi ned “exceptional circumstances”

Bayern midfielder Javi Martinez expects goals to fly against Arsenal

Spain midfielder Javi Martinez expects the goals to fly in today’s crunch Champions League clash against Ar-senal with hosts Bayern Munich out to avenge their London defeat. The Gunners beat Bayern 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago thanks to goals from Oliver Giroud and Mesut Ozil as Pep Guadiola’s Bayern suff ered their only defeat of the season. Bayern remain top of Group F while the win moved Arsenal up to third place af-ter back-to-back defeats to Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb and they need to win in Munich to keep their knock-out phase hopes alive. “We’re looking forward to the game. Both teams want to play attractive football and it’ll be a good match for the fans to watch,” said Martinez. “I think they will put less emphasis on defence and they won’t simply stand

behind the ball, both teams will try to score and I think Arsenal will attack. “They’ll try to press and get the ball, because they need the three points.” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola expects Arsenal to play “long balls to Giroud, which we didn’t allow in the first leg”. “They will want to attack. This is one of the top teams in Europe,” added the Spaniard. Arsenal are unbeaten on their last two visits to Munich’s Allianz Arena, but Guardiola is backing his team to make home advantage count to cement their place at the top of the group and put one foot in the knock-out stages. “We lost in London, that can happen. Tomorrow is a new game—with our own fans,” said Guardiola. “I think we played well in London, but defeats can happen at this level.” Arsenal’s German defender Per Mertesacker has said he expects

Bayern to come out firing after they were “wounded” by the first leg defeat, something Munich captain Philipp Lahm has rejected and Thiago Alcantara echoed. “We’re not wounded and we have no reason to be,” said the Spain interna-tional. “We want to win the game, our stand-ard is to win everything and to keep the ball.” With veteran wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben having struggled for fitness of late, Thiago highlighted the importance of Brazil forward Douglas Costa fit and in form on Bayern’s flanks. “He is extremely important for our game. He is like a breath of fresh air, he’s fast and creates goals,” said Thiago after Costa set up 12 goals and scored three of his own since signing from Shakhtar Donetsk at the start of the season.

FOOTBALL4 Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Villa caught off Garde as Spurs stroll to victory

PREMIER LEAGUE

‘We came with a plan but that went out of the window after three minutes. The desire is there and the shift players put in shows there’s something for manager to work with’

AFPLondon

Aston Villa’s new manager Remi Garde discovered just how hard it will be to save his club from relegation as the Premier

League strugglers slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham on Monday.

Garde was confi rmed as Villa boss on a three-and-a-half-year contract ear-lier in the day, but Kevin MacDonald, in charge on a caretaker basis since Tim Sherwood’s sacking nine days ago, se-lected the team before the offi cial start of the Frenchman’s reign.

While Garde wasn’t involved, the former Lyon coach was watching from the White Hart Lane stands and it must have made for uncomfortable viewing as his side paid the price for a lacklustre start.

Villa, whose only league win this sea-son came on the opening weekend, fell behind after less than three minutes

when sloppy defending was punished by Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli doubled Tottenham’s advantage before half-time.

Jordan Ayew got one back for Villa late on, but Harry Kane netted in the fi nal seconds and when Garde arrives at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground on Tuesday, he will be in charge of a team rooted to the bottom of the table after a seventh successive league defeat con-demned them to the worst start in their history.

“The players need to keep the ball bet-ter and I’m sure Remi will be reiterat-ing that to them with his Arsenal back-ground,” MacDonald said.

“We came with a game plan but that went out of the window after three min-utes. The desire is there and the shift the players put in shows there’s something for the manager to work with.”

Tottenham are up to fi fth place on the back of an impressive 10-match un-beaten run in the league, while Garde’s forgettable fi rst day suggests he is in for a bumpy ride.

Villa misspelled Garde’s fi rst name in their announcement of his appointment on Twitter, then the 49-year-old’s fl ight from France was delayed by fog.

When Garde arrived in north London, there was more bad news as Villa defend-er Micah Richards was suspended just before kick-off after a tunnel altercation in a recent match.

NUMEROUS FLAWS Garde took his seat in the directors’ box with a pensive expression and if he was in any doubt about the size of the task fac-ing him, the former Arsenal midfi elder was given a glaring example of Villa’s nu-merous fl aws in the third minute.

Villa defender Ciaran Clark allowed himself to be pushed aside by Dembele, who continued to show greater desire than his marker as he surged down the left fl ank into the penalty area, where he fi red under goalkeeper Brad Guzan from close-range.

It was the third fastest goal in the Pre-mier League this season and Garde, try-

ing his best to look impassive, must have feared the worst as Tottenham pushed hard for a second goal.

There was no improvement in Villa’s fortunes as midfi elder Ashley Westwood was forced to come off after being caught by Dembele’s fl ailing arm.

And adding insult to injury, Tottenham increased their lead in fi rst half stop-page-time.

Rose’s cross was headed weakly away by Joleon Lescott and young England midfi elder Alli controlled adroitly on his thigh before fi ring past Guzan into the far corner.

Villa had been lacking confi dence and quality in all departments and, high in the stands, Garde shook his head in dis-gust.

But MacDonald sent on Rudy Gestede and Carles Gil in the second half and the pair gave Villa a more dynamic look.

Leandro Bacuna’s curling eff ort hit a post and, with Tottenham sitting too deep, Villa were able to reduce the defi cit in the 79th minute.

Klopp’s indomitable spirit veryimportant for Liverpool: Ibe

BOTTOMLINE

ReutersLiverpool

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has helped instil a never-say-die mentality among his players to be-

lieve a game can always be won regardless of the situation, winger Jordon Ibe has said.

The charismatic 48-year-old German took over from Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked after just eight Premier League games this season, last month and has set about adjusting his squad’s approach to adversity.

Klopp won his fi rst league game as Liverpool manager on Saturday against champions Chelsea, the Reds fi ghting back for a 3-1 victory after conceding within the fi rst four minutes.

Ibe, who has made 12 appear-ances for the club this season,

said the game against Chelsea was the perfect example of how

Klopp had already infl uenced the squad.

“It was one of the most im-portant things the new manager has said—we need to be a team who can be 2-0 down and know there is still time for us to get a goal,” Ibe told the club’s website (www.liverpoolfc.com).

“It could be in the last 10 min-utes, so it’s just about having a mentality that is like ‘it’s now up to us to go and get two goals and then a third one’.

“It was great for the team to come back from 1-0 down be-cause it is diffi cult to do that and beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

“With the new manager, eve-rything is fresh. I feel like a new player and it’s for me to keep improving and trying to stand out in training. I feel good—the whole team are feeling great and fresh,” the 19-year-old added.

Midfi elder Joe Allen also praised Klopp and is keen to im-

press the former Borussia Dort-mund manager.

“It’s almost like the reset but-ton has been pressed for every-one at the club and we’ve got a clean slate to re-focus and try to impress him so we can be part of his plans,” Allen said.

“Everyone has been im-pressed with the new manager’s ideas and approach. His passion is very obvious and that is some-thing we as players are going to feed off .

Allen also paid tribute to Rodg-ers, who was his manager at Swan-sea City before joining the Reds.

“He was a huge infl uence be-cause he was my manager for over fi ve seasons with two foot-ball clubs,” Allen said.

“We shared some massive highs but as everyone knows change is something that always happens in football and you have to accept it.” he said.

AFPAstana

Kazakh champions As-tana claimed just their second ever Champi-ons League point in an

uninspiring 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid yesterday.

The hosts had been thrashed 4-0 in the Spanish capital two weeks ago, but held out bravely for a surprise point despite rarely threatening to seal their fi rst ever Champions League win.

The draw sees Atletico move top of Group C on seven points from four games, but Benfi ca are only a point back and the Por-tuguese champions can move to the top of the group should they avoid defeat against Galatasaray later in the day.

Atletico were faced with freez-ing conditions on a plastic pitch after making the near 6,000 kilometre trip from Madrid and it was the hosts who had the fi rst eff ort on goal when Jan Oblak saved from Dmitri Shomko.

The 2013/14 fi nalists took control of the game as the half developed and only some brave defending denied Tiago and Guilherme Siqueira as they had

goalbound eff orts blocked. Fernando Torres’s long wait

for his 100th Atletico goal con-tinued as he wasted the best chance of the game when Evgeny Postnikov’s dallying allowed the former Liverpool and Chelsea striker to turn Juanfran’s cross towards goal but wide of the far post.

Koke also saw a free-kick clip the top of the crossbar as Atletico ended the half on top.

However, the visitors failed to carry on that momentum in the second period and it was only when Yannick Ferreira Carrasco was introduced from the bench in the fi nal 20 minutes that they started to create chances to snatch all three points.

Antoine Griezmann was kept quiet throughout, but Atletico’s top scorer found a yard of space to fl ash a shot across goal before a Carrasco cross came back off the crossbar with Astana keeper Nenad Eric fl apping.

Jose Maria Gimenez’s header forced the ‘keeper into a com-fortable save moments later, but Eric produced his best stop of the game deep into stoppage time when he got down to save Car-rasco’s eff ort with the last kick of the match.

Astana hold Atletico in dull stalemate

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

New Aston Villa manager Remi Garde in the stands before the match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in London.

Atletico Madrid’s Argentinian coach Diego Simeone reacts during the UEFA Champions League Group C match against FC Astana.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp celebrates with Mamadou Sakho at the end of the match against Chelsea.

The Qatar Football Associa-tion Appeals Committee has decided to reduce the sanc-tion imposed on Lekhwiya Sports Club midfielder Kareem Boudiaf to a four-match ban and a fine of QR50,000. The initial suspension imposed on Boudiaf by the Disciplinary Committee was for six months and a fine of QR300,000 for his behav-iour during his recent team’s recent clash with Al Arabi in Round 5 of Qatar Stars League.The QFA Appeals Committee considered Boudiaf’s appeal and accepted to reduce his punishment.Boudiaf will now return to QSL action in Round 9 against Al Khor.Lekhwiya Sports Club’s Gen-eral Secretary Adnan Al Ali expressed his thanks and ap-preciation to the QFA Appeals Committee for reducing the sanctions imposed on player.Al Ali said in a statement on

the club’s website, “Thank God for the decision of the appeal committee to reduce the harsh punishment, we are happy as the punishment was very tough for our club and also the national team.” Karim Boudiaf expressed his happiness after the appeal committee’s decision saw his punishment reduced to just four matches.Boudiaf said in a statement to the club, “Thank God for the end of this crisis which has meant I could not represent the team in some important matches and I thank the club management for standing beside me in this diff icult situation.” Boudiaf concluded by saying, “I thank the appeal commit-tee for understanding what happened and I repeat my apology for what I did in this match. I will now begin pre-paring with my teammates for the diff icult matches that now await us.”

Jorge Fossati has claimed his second QSL Coach of the Month award this season after overseeing yet another great month with the Lions.The team also has some of the highest physical stats and solid defensive stats which so far this season, make them the team to beat.Rayyan scored 14 goals in October and conceded just 5; they have 12 points and as yet haven’t lost a single game.The team created an impres-sive 16.5 chances on average and on average their op-ponents could only must 10.5 chances against them. In addition Al Rayyan had the highest performance ranking of any other club in the QSL for the month of October. They averaged 359 passes per game in October, had 16 crosses per game, 36 penalty area entries per game, 7 shots on target and covered 107.2kms.All this shows an aggressive approach to games which allows them to dominate their opponents and create many chances.Rodrigo Tabata was yesterday

awarded the QSL’s October Player of the Month Award at Al Rayyan’s training pitches. Tabata’s average perform-ance rating was 93.6 – the highest in the league for the month of October. Tabata also showed good performances in September as he has consist-ently been one of their best performers. Coincidently the Brazilian was given the award for best Player of the Month last October also, consistency personified!The attacking midfielder picked up the award after four impressive displays last month in Rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7 where he scored three goals and gave three important assists.Tabata scored one goal against Al Khor in Round 5, he struck early in just the second minute, then in the big derby versus Al Arabi he bagged two penalties on either side of the break as the Lions produced an emphatic 5-2.He also gave three vital assists meaning that all in all Tabata was involved in six of his team’s goals in the month of October.

Boudiaf six month sanction reduced to four-match suspension

October awards: Fossati bags Best Coach and Tabata wins Best Player

QATAR STARS LEAGUE

It’s ‘premature’ to talk of new era , says SpiethAFPShanghai

Double major-winner Jordan Spieth yes-terday said it was too early to talk of a new

era in the game despite a year when he led the charge of the young guns.

The 22-year-old won the season’s fi rst two majors, the US Masters and the US Open, and had a series of titanic bat-tles against 28-year-old Jason Day of Australia, who fi nally turned the tables on Spieth to lift the US PGA Championship in August.

Spieth went on to win the FedEx Cup and another young American Rickie Fowler, 26, had a breakthrough season in which he won three times includ-ing the prestigious $10 million Players’ Championship at Saw-grass and rose into the world’s top fi ve.

“It’s a bit premature to say that it’s our era,” Spieth told AFP after he had indulged in some Chinese drumming along-side Fowler, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson to launch this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.

“But I believe that we made a step in the right direction and if we can ride with that it’ll be signifi cant,” the young Texan added.

Three-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who is only 26 himself, had a season interrupt-ed by a football-related injury but still heads the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings and completes a youthful top three in the rankings with Day and Spieth.

Spieth said McIlroy was still the one they were chasing, and if it was anyone’s era now it was the Northern Irishman’s.

McIlroy tummy bug “For Rory it’s diff erent be-

cause he’s been consistent for quite a few years now. Jason and I have played solid golf, but to create an era you need to do it for a decade,” said Spieth.

“We have the potential to do it. But this was the fi rst year of it. Unless we keep our heads down and work, and it drives us, and we get the luck... there’s lot of factors in order to create it.”

McIlroy skipped the launch event on the roof of Shanghai’s Peninsula hotel overlooking the Huangpu river after suff ering from a stomach bug after prac-tice Tuesday.

“Rory just needs a rest and he’ll be back for the pro-am tomorrow,” McIlroy’s manager Sean O’Flaherty told AFP.

“He’s picked up a tummy bug

but it’s nothing to worry about. “He’s gunning to win this

week,” added O’Flaherty. While McIlroy took to his

sick bed as a precaution, there were almost two other casual-ties among the world’s top 10 when Fowler and Stenson were almost speared by a drumstick that snapped and barrelled towards them as the Chinese

drummers went through their paces.

The broken piece thumped into the sponsor’s board just beside Stenson’s head, but the Swede took it in good humour.

“I’ve got my full team of lawyers working on it. Expect HSBC to be closed down to-morrow,” the world number seven joked afterwards.

“I just saw it out of the corner of my eye, Rickie fl inched and then it hit the board and landed beside me,” he explained. “It was sharp, like when you split a broomstick. So it could have been a very exciting start to the week.”

The WGC-HSBC Champions begins tomorrow at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai.

FOCUS

‘But I believe that we made a step in the right direction and if we can ride with that it’ll be significant’

Qatar International Golf Club unveiled in ShanghaiSPOTLIGHT

By Sports ReporterShanghai

Visionary plans for a new world-class golfi ng destination in the heart of Qatar’s Education

City, Doha, have been unveiled yesterday in Shanghai at the Golf Business Forum, world’s premier golf business event.

The unrivalled combination of a premium golfi ng, leisure and sports education facility in one location, Qatar International Golf Club, a member of Qatar Foundation, is truly unique to the region and the world.

Off ering a revolutionary and holistic approach to golf. The cutting edge facility has been de-signed to guide every member of society regardless of age or abil-ity - from complete beginners to the world’s leading professionals - on an exciting golfi ng journey that maximises enjoyment and supports progress with every single step. It will provide golfi ng enthusiasts and those new to the sport alike with an entirely new way to learn, enjoy and share the game in beautiful surroundings. Qatar International Golf Club will be the fi rst of its kind any-where in the world.

The project comprises an 18-hole championship golf course, an innovative 6-hole champi-onship course, a 9-hole par-3 course all designed by two-time major winner Jose Maria Olaza-bal as well as high-tech driving range and practice facilities, a centre of excellence and a public park featuring a host of indoor and outdoor activities for all the family. Created with respect for the local culture and traditions, Qatar International Golf Club also features female-centric practice facilities in an eff ort to

open up the game to more Mus-lim women.

Developed to off er a welcom-ing and friendly atmosphere the facility ensures the whole fam-ily can enjoy a day at Qatar In-ternational Golf Club. As well as the world-leading golfi ng facilities, a stunning clubhouse with hotel rooms, spa, extensive banqueting facilities and dining experiences make for the perfect setting for family and friends to relax and enjoy quality time to-gether, as well as an attractive destination for international travellers.

The project proudly embod-ies the Qatar 2030 vision for hu-man, social, environmental and economic development by pro-viding a framework to grow the game of golf in Qatar with a fo-cus on making the sport fun and accessible for all. With demand for additional golf facilities in Doha soaring, the destination is also expected to make a valuable economic contribution to Qa-tar’s luxury leisure and hospital-ity industry as a major draw for residents as well as inbound golf travel, and will off er an exciting addition to Qatar’s blossoming tourist attractions.

The operation of the project is being overseen by AMLAK and will become one of the most technologically advanced, in-novative and sustainable golf courses in the world.

Speaking about the project, Ed Edwards, Qatar International Golf Club General Manager said: “Qatar International Golf Club is a landmark project for Qatar and the world of golf. The facility has the opportunity to revolu-tionise the way golf is taught and enjoyed, we hope to encourage greater participation in the sport amongst the local community and our hope is that this sys-

tem will provide a blue-print for growing levels of golf participa-tion globally.

“The course itself is based on solid foundations of science and research and will see it become truly world-leading in terms of both social and environmental sustainability. I’ve no doubt Qa-tar International Golf Club will be at the forefront of develop-ing every aspect of the sport and inspire future generations, espe-cially in Qatar.

“Our vision is simple ‘to cre-ate a place where everyone can be a ‘golfer’. We believe that can be achieved by off ering new for-mats of the game which are fun and exciting regardless of abil-ity. We’ve carefully studied the game, listened to the experts in the industry and development relationships with like-minded partners to ensure this facility

responds to the challenges golf faces and grasps the opportu-nities that exist now and in the future. With golf returning to the Olympics in 2016, grow-ing interest in Qatar and other emerging markets the game has so much to look forward to espe-cially with this project. It really will be a game changer.”

As well as developing new fun and shorter formats and inte-grating technology in every as-pect, Qatar International Golf Club is committed to becoming one of the most sustainable golf courses in the world from both an environmental and social perspective. Since inception the facility has been working with guidance from the Golf Environ-ment Organization, GEO, the international non-profi t organi-sation dedicated entirely to pro-viding a credible and accessible

system of sustainability stand-ards for the golf industry.

The process for becoming GEO certifi ed begins at the de-sign and construction phase right through to the golf club’s ongoing operation, and strin-gent criteria consider everything from how water and landscapes are managed, to the social and economic benefi ts of the facility.

Speaking on his fi rst golf course project in the Middle East region, Jose Maria Olazabal said:

“I believe long term growth in golf can only happen if we make the game easily accessible and fun for the kids and that lies at the heart of Qatar International Golf Club. The location of the club will impress even the most sophisticated golf traveller, being set within Education City, Doha’s spectacular university and sci-ence community. In the design

we wanted to pay respect to this unique Centre of Excellence and therefore we give prominence to teaching and training right in the centre of the golf club.

“The 18-hole championship course is designed to embrace the natural landscape and stra-tegically blends in a dry riverbed (wadi) and ancient rock walls to off er a unique Qatari experience.

“The layout of the 6-hole championship course was de-signed to reach out to people, especially the young, to try the game ‘proper’ after they are ready to progress from the range and the par-3 course but per-haps aren’t quite yet prepared to graduate to the championship course. And we hope it will en-courage inactive golfers to start playing regularly again. All six holes are of tournament stand-ard and they can be played in less

than 90 minutes. So they off er time-pressed golfers a tremen-dous alternative to the 18-hole course. Families in particular will be delighted as we included not just one but two kids’ tees on these holes, giving a total of seven diff erent tee boxes.

Edwards added: “If anyone visited Qatar International Golf Club today you would see our vi-sion is already becoming a reali-ty. Already a number of holes are grassed and our desire to grow the golf is also being seen with a schools programme about to be launched in local schools. We want to build interest within the community and strong ‘grass-roots’ for golf side by side as the facility builds over time.

“Launching the project glo-bally at the Golf Business Forum in Shanghai really is the perfect platform for such a revolution-ary facility especially when we’ve listened to and are work-ing with so many industry lead-ers present today.

“Talking through our unique golfi ng journey to an audience that understands and includes everyone from Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson to PGA TOUR Commissioner, Tim Finchem; European Tour Chief Executive, Keith Pelley; LPGA Commis-sioner, Mike Whan; new Chief Executive of the R&A, Martin Slumbers and Dr Arab Hobal-lah from the United Nations is a signal of our global intent for the project.”

In the months ahead further exciting details and project up-dates will be releases regarding Qatar International Golf Club across all of aspects of construc-tion, guest facilities, member-ships, partnerships, as well as advances in golf education, sus-tainability, innovation, research and development.

GOLF5Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

(L-R) Golfers Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson during a photo call for the WGC-HSBC Champions golf tournament near the Bund in Shanghai, yesterday. (Reuters)

Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr yesterday said he has allayed players’ fears that they could lose out in a merger with the European Tour, adding that the move was aimed at nur-turing “elite golfers” to drive the sport in the region. Kerr said the proposed crea-tion of a mega-tour straddling Europe and Asia would go ahead and had been broadly welcomed by players, despite fears from some Asian profes-sionals that it could limit their playing opportunities. He added that it would create a “pathway” to the world’s most prestigious events for players from Asia, and in the process create more elite players from the world’s most populous continent. “What I can say very confi-dently is that no Asian profes-sional is going to lose any opportunity,” Kerr told AFP on the sidelines of the HSBC Golf Business Forum in Shanghai. “We are going through a process of education with the players,” Kerr added. “The European players have embraced this almost 100 percent. For the Asian players I think it’s a much bigger change for them. There have been a lot of questions and a lot of concern, as you would imagine. “Change in any industry, in life, is not something that is easily embraced. We have addressed their fears in the way we have structured the partnership.” Kerr said he could not disclose details of the merger and they were still being negotiated. “Yes it’s all confidential,” Kerr said. “But we are going to part-ner together. We are merging the membership. We are merging the businesses. “Asian players will continue to be able to ply their trade in Asia if they wish. “But for those who want to progress, those that want to create a real career out of pro-fessional golf, what we have done is create a very clear pathway to get into some of the more established events in the world and then through to the majors, the WGCs and the cream of the elite tourna-ments. “From an Asian Tour perspec-tive we want to create elite golfers in Asia to drive golf and unlock the potential of the game in Asia.”

Asian players ‘won’t miss out’ in tour merger

SPORT

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20156

‘King’ James youngest to reach 25,000 points in NBA

BASKETBALL

‘For me, winning basketball games and then reaching milestones individually is a pretty cool thing, but obviously the team aspect comes first. But anytime along that line you’re able to reach a milestone, it’s very humbling’

ReutersLondon

Touchdowns will replace tries at the home of English rugby after the National Football League (NFL) agreed a three-

year deal to play regular season games at Twickenham from next October, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) an-nounced yesterday.

The NFL garners huge interest in Britain and the three games per season currently played at Wembley Stadium

as part of the International Series have been a rousing success since they be-gan in 2007.

Last season’s games drew sellout crowds of more than 80,000 for a re-ported total of more than $32 million in ticket revenue.

“We are delighted to welcome the NFL to Twickenham—a stadium that has played such an integral role in what has been the biggest Rugby World Cup ever,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, the RFU’s chief commercial & mar-keting offi cer. “The NFL has a strong and growing fan base in the UK, and

this, combined with the investments we’ve made in our stadium will give fans more opportunities to experience the action fi rst-hand at a world-class venue,” she added.

The NFL teams selected for the fi rst game at Twickenham will be an-nounced later this year and the deal gives the United States-based league an option of staging two additional games at the stadium over the same period.

The agreement with Twickenham, where New Zealand beat Australia to lift the Rugby World Cup on Saturday,

comes in the wake of the NFL and Tot-tenham Hotspur reaching a 10-year deal in July for shared use of a new multi-sport stadium in London.

“We are committed to continuing to grow our sport in the UK and believe that adding Twickenham Stadium to our roster of host venues in London is further evidence of that commitment,” NFL executive vice president Mark Waller said.

The NFL recently disclosed that it had extended its existing partner-ship with Wembley in a deal that will see the national stadium stage at least

two regular-season games a year until 2020.

The San Francisco 49ers will bench starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick in favour of Blaine Gabbert, according to multiple reports on Monday.

The team’s QB change will take place when the 49ers face the Atlanta Falcons this coming weekend and the move would represent a major fall from grace for Kaepernick, who was once one of the NFL’s brightest young stars.

The 49ers suff ered a 27-6 loss to the St Louis Rams on Sunday as they went

a second consecutive game without producing a touchdown.

San Francisco (2-6) responded to their abysmal start to the campaign by trading away veteran tight end Vernon Davis to the Denver Broncos earlier on Monday. Now Kaepernick, once the face of the franchise, will also be a vic-tim of team changes.

The 49ers signed Kaepernick to a lucrative six-year contract last year but he has yet to cash in on the promise he showed when he helped San Fran-cisco reach the Super Bowl in the 2012 campaign.

Touchdowns to replace tries at Twickenham

AFPMiami

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James soared to another NBA milestone late Monday, jam-ming home a dunk against the 76ers in Phil-adelphia to become the youngest player to

score 25,000 points. The 30-year-old James came into the contest need-ing 21 points to reach 25,000. He got there in style, taking his tally for the night to 22 with an alley-oop dunk that he stuff ed through the hoop with 8:06 to play in the Cavaliers’ 107-100 win over the 76ers. James scored 22 points—that’s 25,001 for his ca-reer—with 11 assists and nine rebounds and received a standing ovation from the Philly crowd when his achievement was acknowledged during an ensuing timeout. “Obviously, they’re Sixer fans to death, but they know and they respect the game of basketball,” James said. “To get a standing ovation reaching that milestone, it was very special.” Cavaliers coach David Blatt called it an “extremely important, extremely impressive” mark. “To be the youngest player in the history of the game to score 25,000 points—particularly when you’re every bit the passer that you are the scorer—is just a testament to his greatness,” Blatt said. James became the 20th player in NBA history to record 25,000 career points. Kobe Bryant was the prior fastest player to the pla-teau, reaching it in 2010 at the age of 31. Among active players, the Mavericks’ German star Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnet and Paul Pierce are the only others to have reached the plateau. “For me, winning basketball games and then reach-ing milestones individually is a pretty cool thing, but obviously the team aspect comes first,” James said before the game. “But anytime along that line you’re able to reach a milestone, it’s very humbling.” Cleveland’s Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova lobbed the pass that produced the milestone, and James departed the game soon after. Guard Mo Williams added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who won their third straight game to improve to 3-1 for the young season. Forward Kevin Love had 15 points and eight re-bounds for Cleveland, who trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half but outscored Philadelphia

25-4 in a one stretch bridging the second and third quarters. Dellavedova had 12 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Cavs, and guard/forward James Jones chipped in 12 points. Rookie center Jahlil Okafor scored 24 points to lead Philadelphia, who despite his exploits fell to 0-3. The 76ers led by as many as 15 in the second quarter, when Okafor scored eight of his 14 first-half points with an electric display that included posting up to score over Love and dribbling past Timofey Mozgov to nail a jump shot. James scored three points and assisted on two more buckets in a 10-2 Cavs run that cut the Sixers’ lead to 54-49. The Cavaliers scored the first nine points of the second half to take the lead for good. “We got jumped by a great team in the third period,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. San Antonio’s ageless center Tim Duncan notched yet another milestone, scoring 16 points and grab-bing 10 rebounds in the Spurs’ 94-84 victory over the New York Knicks that gave Duncan 954 career wins—the most for any player with one NBA team. Duncan notched the 831st double-double of his career. He’s fifth on the all-time list in that category behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded 885 career double-doubles. As Duncan was adding yet another double-double to his resume at Madison Square Garden, Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia notched the first of his career with 13 points and 14 rebounds before exiting with an apparent neck injury minutes from the end. Porzingis was diving for a loose ball when leaping teammate Carmelo Anthony came down on his head. Porzingis, obviously in pain, remained on the floor for several minutes before walking gingerly to the locker room. James Harden rediscovered his shooting stroke, scoring 37 points to lead the Houston Rockets to their first victory of the season -- 110-105 over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ty Lawson had his best game since joining the Rock-ets, adding 14 points with 11 assists and four steals to help last season’s Western Conference finalists rally from a 15-point deficit for the victory after three straight defeats to open the season. Rockets center Dwight Howard scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds, draining two free throws to seal the victory over a Thunder team that got 29 points from Kevin Durant and 25 from Russell Westbrook.

DEVELOPMENT

SPORT7Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Punchless Flyers lose to Canucks, drop their fourth

NHL

NHL

It was the fourth straight loss for the Flyers, who have scored just six goals in those defeats

By Sam CarchiciThe Philadelphia Inquirer

Call out a search party. The Phila-delphia Flyers’ off ense is miss-ing.

Despite outhitting the Ca-nucks, getting lots of quality scoring chances, and showing much more energy than in recent games, the Flyers fell to Vancouver, 4-1, on Monday night at the Rogers Center.

It was the fourth straight loss for the Flyers, who have scored just six goals in those defeats.

They are averaging less than two goals a game; only Anaheim is averaging fewer goals in the 30-team NHL.

Goalie Ryan Miller was outstanding for Vancouver, which took a 3-1 lead when rookie Jake Virtanen got past Brandon Manning in the neutral zone en route to scoring from the slot on a two-on-one with 11 minutes, 32 seconds left. It was the fi rst career goal for the 19-year-old Virtanen, and Vancouver later added an empty-net score.

Jake Voracek, the NHL’s all-star right winger last season, had a strong per-formance but went goal-less for the

11th straight game, equaling his longest streak to start a season in his career.

With the teams playing four-on-four and the score knotted at 1-1, Vancouver center Bo Horvat had defenseman Mark Streit in pursuit as he skated behind the Flyers net, and circled out front. Hor-vat moved through the left circle before beating Steve Mason to the far side with a well-placed shot from the slot with 9:50 left in the second period. Defense-man Nick Schultz appeared to screen the goalie.

With 2:25 to go in the second, a Bran-don Sutter shot defl ected off Mason and trickled toward the net, but hustling Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde got his stick on the puck and cleared it just be-fore it reached the goal line, keeping the Flyers down by just 2-1.

Earlier in the period, Claude Giroux had tied the score with a spectacular goal.

Taking an outlet pass from Jake Vora-cek, Giroux had defenseman Matt Bar-tkowski draped on him from behind and still made a series of eye-opening moves before putting a backhander past Ryan Miller, tying the game at 1-1 with 17:06 left in the period.

Giroux’s linemate, Michael Raffl was

robbed several times in the game by Mill-er, including two stops from the door-step.

After being outshot by an 8-1 margin early in the game, the Flyers took play away from the Canucks, outhitting and outshooting them in the last half of the fi rst period and the fi rst half of the sec-ond period. They were dominating play before Horvat’s goal.

It was the second of a fi ve-game road trip that continues today, where the Flyers get their fi rst look at 18-year-old Oilers sensation Connor McDavid in Ed-monton.

McDavid, the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft, was named the league’s rookie of the month after collecting fi ve goals and seven assists in 12 October games.

It took the Canucks all of 1:08 to strike, taking a 1-0 lead when Jannik Hansen got behind Schultz and fi nished off a two on one. The Canucks seemed to have an odd-man rush and a point-blank shot almost every time down the ice in the

game’s fi rst 6:22, outshooting the Flyers, 8-1, in that span.

The Flyers regrouped, dominated in the faceoff circle, and started to get scor-ing opportunities, especially in the last 10 minutes of the period. But Miller, who had shutouts in his two previous starts against the Flyers, denied Brayden Schenn and Vinny Lecavalier on golden chances with about fi ve minutes left in the fi rst. Lecavalier slammed his arm against the glass in disgust after his slot shot was turned aside.

Miller was only forced to make one save during an unproductive Flyers pow-er play that briefl y extended into the sec-ond period. That made the Flyers 0 for their last 11 on the power play, a funk that started fi ve games ago.

Vancouver was without injured de-fenseman Luca Sbisa, a former Flyer, who was in a walking boot. But the Canucks got a boost when defenseman Dan Ham-huis returned to the lineup after missing three games with an unspecifi ed injury.

Now the Flyers head to McDavid Country and face a player who tore up the Ontario League during the previous three seasons, collecting a ridiculous 97 goals and 285 points in 166 games for the Erie Otters.

Ice-cold Bryant frustrated amid LA Lakers’ lacklustre start AFPLos Angeles

Kobe Bryant’s 20th NBA season isn’t starting out the way the fi ve-time champion had hoped. “I

freaking suck,” was the 37-year-old’s assessment after his Los Angeles Lakers fell 103-93 to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night—the Lakers’ third defeat in three games of the fl edgling sea-son.

Bryant connected on just three of 15 attempts from the fl oor and judged himself “the 200th-best

player in the league right now.” Bryant isn’t about to lean on

the cumulative impact of the in-juries he’s endured over the years, or on the troublesome calf bruise he suff ered in training camp to excuse his 31.4 percent shooting average. From three-point range he’s made just six of 29 attempts—a 20.7 percent average.

“Guys are getting me the ball, they’re making great passes. It’s their job to facilitate and it’s my job to fi nish,” Bryant said. “I’ve just got to do the responsible thing and make ‘em.” “I know he’s not happy with it,” Scott said. “He’s playing hard.”

ReutersIndianapolis

Carolina kicker Gra-ham Gano atoned for a missed extra point by kicking a game-winning

52-yard fi eld goal in overtime as the Panthers stayed unbeaten by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 29-26 on Monday.

After the teams traded over-time fi eld goals, Carolina line-backer Luke Kuechly’s intercep-tion of Andrew Luck gave the Panthers the ball at the Colts’ 39 in the sudden-death portion of the extra session and Gano did the rest.

The Colts had earlier wiped out a 17-point defi cit in the last 7:04 of regulation as Luck suddenly got untracked before Adam Vinatieri’s 50-yard fi eld goal on the opening possession of overtime put the visitors in position for an unlikely win.

The Panthers matched it when Gano connected on a 42-yard fi eld goal at a rainy Bank of America Stadium.

The Carolina possession in-cluded a dropped pass by wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr that would have, at the very least, taken the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Quarterback Cam Newton clicked on a couple of second-half drives, putting Carolina

23-6 up before the Colts came storming back.

Newton threw two touch-down passes in less than a fi ve-minute span as the Panthers continued their best start in franchise history by improving to 7-0.

Still trailing 23-20, the Colts regained possession at their own 40 with 2:02 remaining and out of timeouts. Luck’s next three passes were incomplete before a fourth-down conversion. After that, the Colts moved methodi-cally to the six-yard line.

Vinatieri’s 24-yard fi eld goal tied the game on the last play of regulation, completing a 16-play possession.

Gano’s missed extra point proved costly following Caro-lina’s last touchdown.

Carolina has won a franchise-record 11 consecutive regular-season games dating to last sea-son. The Panthers have matched last year’s regular-season vic-tory total when they went 7-8-1, which was good enough to win the NFC South.

Newton fi nished 16-of-35 for 248 yards. He was picked off once.

Luck completed 23-of-47 passes for 232 yards for the Colts (3-5), who lost their third game in a row. Through three quarters, he had only 40 passing yards and was intercepted twice.

Panthers claim wild overtime victory

NFL

Lockette’s neck surgery ‘successful’, Seahawks say

ON THE MEND

AFPSeattle

Seattle wide receiver Ricardo Lockette has had “successful” surgery to stabilize his neck after

he was hurt in a scary hit in the Seahawks’ NFL game in Dallas on Sunday.

“Doctors at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas performed suc-cessful neck surgery on Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette Mon-day,” the team said in a statement posted on its website. “He is ex-pected to remain in the hospital for a few days, but will be up and moving as soon as Tuesday, and his neurological signs are all posi-tive.” Cowboys safety Jeff Heath’s hard hit on a punt play shortly before halftime on Sunday left Lockette crumpled on the fi eld, lying motionless for several min-utes as he was attended by medi-cal personnel. Heath was penal-ized for a blind-side block on the play. Lockette spoke to those tending him, and raised his arm in salute as he was stretchered off , and the Seahawks said Sunday

night he had motion in his limbs but had suff ered a concussion.

He did, however, suff er liga-ment damage in his neck, neces-sitating the surgery.

“When I saw that he was in-jured like that, and he wasn’t moving, I hated it,” Heath told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“My intention is never to hurt anyone. I was playing hard, and he was doing the same thing. I heard he was all right, and I was really happy that he was able to move after when they were taking him off .” Speaking to the media in Seattle on Monday while Lock-ette was still in surgery, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the team had been told everything was “going fi ne.” Family members, Seahawks medial and public rela-tions staff and teammates Mar-shawn Lynch and Russell Okung all stayed in Dallas with Lockette when the team returned home.

“We are really grateful that our medical staff and the emergency staff at the stadium, the medi-cal staff of the Cowboys and also Baylor Hospital were able to really jump at the cause and take great care of him,” Carroll said.

Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman (24) breaks up the pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) during the fourth quarter of their NFL game on Monday. Carolina defeated Indianapolis 29-26 in overtime. PICTURE: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Results

TORONTO 4 Dallas 1

CHICAGO 4 Los Angeles 2

VANCOUVER 4 Philadelphia 1

BOTTOMLINE

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis (2) reaches for the puck against Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds (17) during the third period of their game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The Vancouver Canucks won 4-1. PICTURE: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

SPORT

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 20158

Payne storms male bastion with shock Melbourne win

Nadal considered skipping World Tour fi nals

HORSE RACING

BOTTOMLINE

AFPMelbourne

Michelle Payne made history yesterday as the fi rst female jockey to win Australia’s 154-year-old Melbourne Cup when she rode 100-1 outsider Prince of Penzance to a shock win.

In a tight fi nish, Prince of Penzance powered home to hold off Ireland’s Max Dynamite (12-1) by half-a-length with Cri-terion (18-1) close behind at the head of a strong international fi eld.

The well-supported Japanese race favourite Fame Game (4-1) was always well back and fi nished 13th as Payne and her brother and strapper Stevie, who has Down’s Syndrome, started their celebrations.

“Unbelievable, it’s like a dream come true. This horse is awesome,” Payne said moments after winning the world’s richest two-mile (3,200m) handicap race, which has an Aus$6.2 million ($4.4 million) purse.

Payne and the locally-trained Prince of Penzance upstaged an 11-strong international contingent prepared by some of the greatest trainers in world racing.

Prince of Penzance became only the fourth 100-1 shot to win the Melbourne Cup, dubbed “the race that stops a na-tion”, and the fi rst in 75 years.

It was a fairytale victory for Payne, 30, who has fought back from life-threatening race injuries and also battled prejudice in what she called “such a chauvinistic sport”.

“It’s a very male-dominated sport and people think we (women) are not strong enough and all of the rest of it, but you know what, it’s not all about strength,” she said at the winner’s presentation.

“There is so much more involved, getting the horse into a rhythm, getting the horse to try for you, it’s being patient. And I’m so glad to win the Melbourne Cup and hopefully, it will help female jockeys from now on to get more of a go.

“I believe that we don’t get enough of a go and hopefully this will help.”

Talking to Australia’s Channel Seven, she praised trainer Darren Weir and owner John Richards for their support and added: “I want to say to everyone else, get stuff ed, because women can do anything and we can beat the world.”

Prince of Penzance, a six-year-old gelding, came into Australia’s biggest race with little fanfare despite winning one of the lead-up races, the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, over a week ago.

But Payne said she knew her unheralded mount was going to challenge as they headed towards the home turn.

“From the 1,000 (metres) everything just opened up,” she said. “I got on to the back of Trip To Paris, he took me into the race.

“I was actually clipping his heels, I was going that good, but I didn’t want to check him and then he just got into the straight and burst clear and it was unreal.”

Payne, the youngest of 10 children, was just six months old when her mother Mary was killed in a car crash. She comes from a family steeped in racing pedigree, with only two other siblings not becoming jockeys.

At 18 Payne fractured her skull and suff ered bruising on the brain when she fell head-fi rst in a Melbourne race. She suf-fered further injuries, breaking a wrist and smashing an ankle in other race falls.

Trip To Paris came in fourth but Newmarket trainer Ed Dunlop’s other runner, three-time race runner-up and 10-year-old gelding Red Cadeaux, failed to fi nish.

“Diagnostics undertaken on Red Cadeaux this afternoon show the horse has sustained a fracture to his medial sesam-oid in his left fore fetlock,” a Racing Victoria statement read.

“The horse is comfortable with his leg in a splint and the fracture is stable.

“Dr Chris Whitton from the University of Melbourne ad-vised that the injury is not currently life-threatening, how-ever the horse will not race again.”

There was more heartbreak for Dubai ruler Sheikh Mo-hamed’s Godolphin stable, which again missed out at the 18th attempt at winning the race when Sky Hunter (30-1) beat only two other runners home.

‘There is so much more involved, getting the horse into a rhythm, getting the horse to try for you, it’s being patient. And I’m so glad to win the Melbourne Cup and hopefully, it will help female jockeys from now on to get more of a go’

ReutersParis

For all his renowned mental strength it was psychologi-cal exhaustion that made Rafa Nadal consider skipping the

season-ending ATP World Tour fi -nals this year, the 14-times grand slam champion said yesterday.

Nadal struggled for form all year and failed to win a major for the fi rst time since his maiden French Open title in 2005, dropping out of the top fi ve in the ATP rankings for the fi rst time in 10 years.

But his participation in the World Tour fi nals in London this month was never in doubt ranking-wise.

“I thought I would qualify. I always believed that I was going to be in the top eight at the end of the season, but always with the respect (for other play-ers),” Nadal told a news conference ahead of this week’s Paris Masters.

“I am humble enough to say, Okay, if I keep playing bad, I’m probably gonna be in trouble. But I had the feeling in

some moments I would be playing bet-ter.

“I believe my level is to be there in the top eight even if I had tough moments this year.”

Nadal was knocked out in the Aus-tralian Open quarter-fi nals before suf-fering only his second defeat at Roland Garros when he lost to Novak DJokovic in the last eight of the French Open.

It was followed by a second-round exit at Wimbledon and a third-round defeat at the U.S. Open.

Asked if he considered not going to London for the World Tour fi nals be-cause of physical or mental problems, Nadal replied: “Not physical, no. Men-tal.

“I was not enjoying myself on court and not feeling competitive, so then in the most diffi cult tournament of the year, in the toughest surface for me of the year, it probably would not have made sense to play.”

The Spaniard is sixth in the ATP rankings and lies fi fth in the Race to London, having secured his qualifi ca-tion for the Nov. 15-22 event.

He will start his Paris Masters cam-

paign today with a second-round match against Czech qualifi er Lukas Rosol or fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka started his Paris Masters challenge with a 6-3 7-6(6) win over Australian Bernard Tomic after surviving a blip in the tie-break to reach the third round on Tues-day.

The world number four from Swit-zerland trailed 5-2 in the tiebreak but raised his game to close out the match in straight sets at a renovated Bercy Hall.

“I was not in a good position, that’s for sure,” Wawrinka, who is bidding to become the fi rst player to win the French Open and the Paris Masters in the same year since Andre Agassi in 1999, told a news conference.

“I played one good point, aggressive, then he missed an easy forehand, and you’re back.”

Wawrinka next faces either Spanish 15th seed Feliciano Lopez or Serbian Viktor Troicki.

Spanish eighth seed David Ferrer also advanced to the third round when

he swept aside Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-2 6-2.

The Paris Masters is the last tourna-ment before the season-ending ATP World Tour fi nals, which will be played between the eight best players of the season from Nov. 15-22 at the O2 in London.

Djokovic, Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Andy Mur-ray, Tomas Berdych and Ferrer have all qualifi ed.

Williams edges Keys in Zhuhai opener

Top seed Venus Williams opened the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy in south-ern China with a tight three-sets win over fellow American Madison Keys on Tuesday.

The seven-time Grand Slam-winner came from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 as she seeks to end her season with a 48th career title.

The Elite Trophy, which follows last week’s WTA Finals for the top eight women, is a new event featuring the players ranked nine-20 and held at a purpose-built facility in Zhuhai, which borders gambling haven Macau.

Jockey Michelle Payne of Australia crosses the line on Prince of Penzance to become the first female jockey to win a Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne yesterday. At right, she celebrates with her brother and strapper Steve.

Recent Melbourne Cup winners

2015 - Prince of Penzance (ridden by Michelle Payne) 2014 - Protectionist (Ryan Moore) 2013 - Fiorente (Damien Oliver) 2012 - Green Moon (Brett Prebble) 2011 - Dunaden (Christoph Lemaire) 2010 - Americain (Gerald Mosse) 2009 - Shocking (Corey Brown) 2008 - Viewed (Blake Shinn) 2007 - Eff icient (Michael Rodd) 2006 - Delta Blues (Yasunari Iwata) 2005 - Makybe Diva (Glen Boss) 2004 - Makybe Diva (Glen

Boss) 2003 - Makybe Diva (Glen Boss) 2002 - Media Puzzle (Damien Oliver) 2001 - Ethereal (Scott Seamer) 2000 - Brew (Kerrin McEvoy) 1999 - Rogan Josh (John Marshall) 1998 - Jezabeel (Chris Munce) 1997 - Might And Power (Jim Cassidy) 1996 - Saintly (Darren Bead-man) 1995 - Doriemus (Damien Oliver) 1994 - Jeune (Wayne Harris) 1993 - Vintage Crop (Michael Kinane)

Rafael Nadal (R) and India’s Leander Paes arrive on court for their doubles match against Britain’s Dominic Inglot and Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 indoor tennis tournament in Paris yesterday.

Hafeez leads Pak fi ghtback in SharjahAFPSharjah

Opener Mohammad Ha-feez notched a brilliant 97 under pressure to help Pakistan stage a

comeback in the third and fi nal Test against England in Sharjah yesterday.

The 35-year-old was just three runs away from his ninth Test hundred as he took Pakistan to 146-3 at the close on the third day at Sharjah stadium, leading by 74 runs with seven wickets intact.

Nightwatchman Rahat Ali was the other not out batsman on nought as Pakistan lost the key wicket of Younis Khan for 14, trapped leg-before by fast bowler Stuart Broad with just two overs to go in the day.

But Hafeez held the innings together well, smashing nine boundaries and three sixes dur-ing his aggressive 155-ball knock as Pakistan seek to avoid squan-dering a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Pakistan won the second Test in Dubai while the fi rst Test end-ed in a draw in Abu Dhabi.

Earlier, off -spinner Shoaib Malik took a career best 4-33 as England were bowled out for 306 in their fi rst innings, taking a 72-run lead over Pakistan’s total of 234. James Taylor top-scored with 76.

Pakistan were lucky not to lose Hafeez after Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford gave him caught behind off paceman James An-derson in the fi fth over of the in-nings with the score on four.

But Hafeez, then on two, chal-lenged the decision and got away on referral as television replays showed there was a gap between ball and bat, much to the relief of the Pakistan camp.

Hafeez said he was happy to lead the fi ghtback.

Invaluable “We needed a good start and

I am happy that Ali and I gave that,” said Hafeez. “We need to bat like this tomorrow as well to post a challenging target for England and I am hopeful that we will do that.”

Pakistan were off to a confi -dent start of 101 -- only their second 50-plus opening stand in Sharjah—with Hafeez earning the lead by hitting spinner Samit Patel for a four and then taking three runs.

He completed his 13th Test half-century with another boundary off Patel and then hoisted James Anderson for a six and four to post the 100-mark.

Azhar Ali was unfortunate to be run out for 34, as he drove spinner Adil Rashid to extra cov-er and saw Hafeez scampering for a single. Ali reacted late and was run out at the non-striker’s end.

Malik, who scored a brilliant 245 in the fi rst Test, was caught napping by a sharp inswinger from Anderson which struck him right in front of the wicket, con-

tinuing his slide in form. Earlier, it was Malik’s off -

breaks which derailed England who lost their last six wickets on either side of lunch.

Rashid helped Patel add an invaluable 40 for the seventh wicket before England lost their last four wickets for 21.

Patel, playing his fi rst Test in

three years, hit six well-timed fours to frustrate Pakistan before he was bowled by leg-spinner Yasir Shah who fi nished with 3-99.

Malik then had the wickets of Anderson (seven) and Ben Stokes (nought) to improve on his previous best of 4-42 he took against South Africa in Lahore in 2003.

Stokes, who suff ered a shoul-der injury on Sunday, batted at number 11 in an attempt to in-crease England’s lead.

When England resumed, on their overnight score of 222-4, their hopes of a big lead rest-ed on the shoulders of Taylor and Bairstow but Rahat broke through in the fi fth over of the day, forcing an edge off Taylor to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Taylor’s 226-minute vigil had six fours and he added 89 for the fi fth wicket with Bairstow who also didn’t last long.

Left-arm spinner Zulfi qar Babar claimed Bairstow with a sharp delivery which came with the arm as the batsman failed to connect a cut and was bowled.

STELLAR SHOW

‘We need to bat like this tomorrow as well to post a challenging target for England’

Warner vows ‘in your face’ cricket against Kiwis Feisty Australia opener David Warner spiced up proceedings ahead of this week’s opening Test by labelling the New Zea-land team “Mr. Nice Guys” and vowing to stick to “in-your-face” cricket yesterday. Warner didn’t hold back as he responded to comments from paceman Trent Boult that the Kiwis expected more aggression from Australia after a series of verbal send-off s during the World Cup final in March. Australia, who thrashed New Zealand by seven wickets in the one-day final in Melbourne, host the Black Caps for a three-Test series starting in Brisbane tomorrow. “Is that what they said? Interesting,” said Warner, when told of Boult’s comment. “I don’t think we sledge them at all. They are the Mr. Nice Guys. We saw in England that they invited the England team in for a (dressing room) beer which is some-thing not common—you do it after a Test series. “But that’s how they play their cricket. For us it is about being aggressive in the field. We play in-your-face cricket, the guys before us played it like that. “That’s probably why we domi-nate in Australia. That’s something we are not going to stop.” Warner also took aim at Black Caps skipper Brendon McCul-lum for what he considered “poor and immature” criticism of Steve Smith during the Australia’s one-day series in England this year. In his newspaper column McCullum said the Austral-ian captain had shown “immaturity” by not withdrawing an obstructing-the-field appeal against England’s Ben Stokes in an ODI. Warner criticised what he called McCullum’s hypocrisy by having his team play as the “Mr. Nice Guys” of world cricket on the field, yet criticise Australia’s captain off it. “You’re not playing for the spirit of cricket award are you? You’re playing for a series,” he said. “Our goal is to be number one in all formats and we’re always going to fight for that. “We try not to cross that line. A couple of times, we’ve head-butted it; a couple of times, we might have crossed it but we’ve got to try and win every game.” Paceman Mitchell Starc said Australia would be seeking to rattle the Kiwis in similar fashion to this year’s World Cup final.

AFPSharjah

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik announced his retirement from Test cricket after he failed in the second innings of the third Test against Eng-

land in Sharjah on Tuesday. The 33-year-old only made a comeback

in the longer format of the game after fi ve years in the fi rst Test against England in Abu Dhabi, smashing a career-best 245.

But since then he has made nought, two, sev-en, 38 and nought in the remaining fi ve innings of the series, prompting him to call it a day.

“I am retiring from Test cricket after this match,” Malik told reorters. “The reason of my leaving Tests is not because of slump in form but it’s because I want to give more time to my family and concentrate on the 2019 World Cup.”

Malik was married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza in 2010, a wedding widely pub-licised across Pakistan and India.

“I realised today that this is the right time to leave the place for youngsters and Pakistan have many talented players who can fill in,” said Malik, who made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Multan in 2001.

In all, he played 35 Tests, scoring 1,898 runs with three centuries and eight half-centuries.

He has so far taken 29 wickets, with his best fi gures of 4-33 coming on Tuesday against England in Sharjah, a fi gure to which he can possibly add a few in England’s second innings.

Malik said he was thinking of the retire-ment even before he scored the double hun-dred.

“I could have played more but this is the right time and I think our Test team is es-

tablished and there are a few youngsters like Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood and Mohammad Rizwan who are very tal-ented and can fi ll in.

“Even when I scored the double hundred and before that I had thought about leaving Tests. It’s with satisfaction that I am leaving Test cricket,” said Malik.

“I will continue to play one-day and Twenty20 and would like to give good per-formances. I want to preserve my energy for the World Cup because I have played only in one,” said Malik, who played the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Malik also briefl y led Pakistan in Tests, losing two and drawing the other in 2007.

Malik said not playing in Tests from 2010 to 2015 was a disappointment.

“I didn’t play Test cricket for fi ve years and those were the years when I wanted to play Tests and that is the only disappointment,” said Malik.

Malik retires from TestsSPOTLIGHT

ReutersMelbourne

New captain Steven Smith faces a bap-tism of fi re tomorrow as he leads a rebuild-

ing Australia into the fi rst test of a home summer against New Zealand opponents sens-ing an upset.

Australia have not lost a test at their Gabba fortress in 27 years but have rarely ap-peared more vulnerable with the string of retirements that followed the Ashes defeat in England.

As a stand-in skipper, Smith led Australia to a series win over India in the last home summer but the 26-year-old has since lost a wealth of ex-perience, with predecessor Michael Clarke, paceman Ryan Harris and opening batsman Chris Rogers among the de-parted.

A batting order that per-formed woefully for large parts of the 3-2 Ashes loss now in-cludes only Smith and his deputy David Warner as play-ers with 10 tests to their name.

Much will be asked of two-test Queenslander Joe Burns who replaces the dependable Rogers for at least the fi rst two tests of the series.

With Warner, Rogers formed one of cricket’s most eff ective opening partnerships in recent years, so Burns will be under pressure to hold up his end in front of fans in his home state.

Also under heavy scrutiny, Queensland captain Usman Khawaja has been thrown in the deep end to bat third in the order for his fi rst test in over two years.

He replaces Smith who has demoted himself to fourth but fl ourished at number three for most of the past two years.

The move seems curiously defensive and likely to give Brendon McCullum’s bowlers added conviction that their opponents are ripe for the picking.

“If there’s a run of wickets hopefully I can stop it,” Smith said in comments published on Tuesday by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“I think a lot of the players that are coming through at the moment are top-order players.

“It’s just the way I see it at the moment. Breaking it up between Davey and myself and hopefully the guys at the top and No.3 do well and then I can just come in and get some runs on the board as well.”

McCullum’s side is far more settled and relishing a rare chance to face off with a quality opponent in a three-test series that travels to Perth and Ad-elaide. The Gabba has proved a graveyard for most visiting teams and New Zealand’s sole win at the ground was 30 years ago when a marauding Richard Hadlee destroyed Allan Bor-der’s team with 15 wickets, in-cluding an astonishing 9-52 in the fi rst innings.

That set the tone for New Zealand’s last series win in Australia, so McCullum will hope for a Hadlee-esque per-formance from either Trent Boult or fellow seamer Tim Southee to knock over the hosts on their favourite home wicket.

With the Gabba pitch tipped to be dependably quick and bouncy, and both sides boast-ing dynamic fast bowlers, the match may well be decided by which side’s batsmen can bet-ter weather the storm.

With the tourists boasting the more settled batting or-der, McCullum’s men may feel themselves well positioned for a raid on the Gabba fortress.

Smith on defensive as series opens at the Gabba

PREVIEW

CRICKET9Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

SCOREBOARDPAKISTAN 1st innings 234 ENGLAND 1st innings (overnight 222-4) A.Cook c Ali b Shah .......................................................... 49 Moeen Ali c Younis b Malik ........................................... 14 I. Bell st Ahmed b Shah ...................................................40 J. Root c Ahmed b Rahat .................................................. 4 J. Taylor c Ahmed b Rahat .............................................76 J. Bairstow b Babar ............................................................43 S. Patel b Shah ......................................................................42 Adil Rashid c Ali b Malik .................................................... 8 S. Broad not out.....................................................................13 J. Anderson b Malik ............................................................. 7 B. Stokes b Malik ....................................................................0 Extras: (lb6, nb4) ...................................................10 Total: (all out, 126.5 overs) ...............................306 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Ali), 2-90 (Cook), 3-97 (Root), 4-139 (Bell), 5-228 (Taylor), 6-245 (Bairstow), 7-285

(Rashid), 8-287 (Patel), 9-296 (Anderson) Bowling: Rahat 22-12-48-2 (1nb), Shah 36-3-99-3, Riaz 20-5-33-0 (3nb), Babar 37-6-80-1, Malik 9.5-3-33-4, Ali 2-0-7-0.

PAKISTAN 2nd innings Mohamed Hafeez not out...............................................97 Azhar Ali run out ............................................................... 34 Shoaib Malik lbw b Anderson ....................................... 0 Younis Khan lbw b Broad .............................................. 14 Rahat Ali not out ................................................................. 0 Extras: (lb1) ................................................................ 1 Total: (for three wkts; 53 overs) .................... 146 Fall of wickets: 1-101 (Ali), 2-105 (Malik), 3-146 (Younis) Bowling: Anderson 14-5-36-1, Broad 12-4-19-1, Patel 11-0-40-0, Ali 6-1-25-0, Rashid 10-2-25-0.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez hits a six off the bowling of England’s James Anderson (not pictured) yesterday. (AFP)

Pakistan’s Sohaib Malik (C) walks off the pitch after losing his wicket during the third day of the third Test against England at Sharjah yesterday. (AFP)

India prepare ‘surface tension’ for South Africa

ReutersNew Delhi

For a visiting cricketer, an India tour conjures up the image of a batsman surrounded by a shoal of fi elders and facing relentless spin from both ends and South Africa should not expect anything dif-

ferent in the four-Test series starting tomorrow. Since taking over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat

Kohli has proved he is anything but a shrinking violet and it is only natural that India would roll out turning tracks, if not outright dustbowls, in his fi rst home series as Test captain.

On Monday, Faf du Plessis had a look at the surface in Mohali to be used for the series-opener and the South African batsman got a fair idea of what to expect over the next four weeks.

“It looks dry than a pitch normally looks. That’s all I can say,” he said. “We are expecting big spin on day one, and if we come to day one and it does that, it’s not a mat-ter of, ‘Oh it’s spinning, what do we do now?’”

Having lost the Twenty20 and the one-day series to the Proteas, India will try and exploit every bit of their home advantage by rolling out slow, dry tracks that not only suit their spinners but can also take the sting out of South Africa’s redoubtable pace attack.

Team director Ravi Shastri had a spat with the curator at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium over the pitch on which South Africa plastered India in the fi nal one-dayer and the former India captain is unlikely to get another chance to complain about the surface.

The series will be a battle of wits between two captains

with contrasting approach to leadership. If Kohli wears his heart on his sleeve, South Africa

captain Hashim Amla belongs to the school that believes in suppressing emotions, if one has any.

Two completely diff erent personalities, they, however, exhibit identical silken touch with the bat and remain the batting mainstays of their respective teams.

DE VILLIERS V ASHWIN Amla has not been in the best of form since he em-

barked on the Proteas’ longest ever tour of India but he enjoys a staggering 100-plus average in tests in the Asian country.

AB de Villiers has already proved how much he loves Indian conditions in the limited-overs matches and his duel with off -spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who missed most of the ODI series after suff ering a side strain during the fi rst match in Kanpur, will be an interesting sub-plot to the series.

Speedster Dale Steyn will be out to overcome the con-ditions and burnish his reputation as the premier fast bowler of his generation.

A personal milestone beckons the right-arm pace-man, who needs 10 scalps to become the fi rst overseas fast bowler to take 100 test wickets in Asia, quite a feat in a continent notoriously cold to the quicks.

Statistics also heavily favour the Proteas, currently the top ranked team, who have not lost an overseas test series since 2007.

The hosts’ chances of defying the odds would hinge on their batting but the Indian top order does not sport a stable look yet.

Murali Vijay, having recovered from a hamstring in-

jury, is likely to partner Shikhar Dhawan at the top, while Cheteshwar Pujara’s usually compact defence and per-fect temperament could be an asset against the fi repower of Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.

As has traditionally been the case, pace bowling re-mains India’s weakest point. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav remain erratic while Bhuvneshwar Kumar is searching for the swing that made him a tricky bowler despite his modest pace.

Almost inevitably, India fall back on their spinners and the likes of Ashwin and Amit Mishra would welcome ex-tra purchase from the track if India are to take 20 wickets in a Test.

FIRST TEST

‘It looks dry than a pitch normally looks. That’s all I can say’

ReutersCape Town

South Africa have an-nounced a busy pro-gramme of incoming tours for the 2016-17 in-

ternational season that includes series against Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

The Proteas will start their home test season early in a two-match series against New Zea-land in August 2016 to be played in Durban and Pretoria.

It will be the fi rst time test matches will be staged in South Africa in August, still offi cially winter, and follows the suc-cessful hosting of New Zealand for one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches in the same month this year.

The tests will be followed by a fi ve-match ODI series against Australia from Sept. 30-Oct. 12, before Sri Lanka arrive for the longest tour of the summer in December that includes three tests, fi ve ODIs and three Twen-ty20 internationals.

The fi rst fi ve-day match (Dec. 15-19) will be played in Johan-nesburg, with Port Elizabeth be-ing awarded the Boxing Day test (Dec. 26-30) ahead of Durban and Cape Town keeping its tra-ditional New Year’s encounter (Jan. 2-6, 2017).

Ireland will also make a brief appearance on the calendar when they play a single ODI

against South Africa and Aus-tralia each between Sept. 25-27.

In between the visits by Aus-tralia and Sri Lanka, the Proteas will tour Australia for a test se-ries and also visit New Zealand in February and March, 2017.

The specifi cs of those two tours are yet to be announced.

THE PROGRAMMENew Zealand Tour 2016: Aug. 19-23: 1st Test, Durban Aug. 27-31, 2nd Test, Pretoria Ireland Tour 2016: Sept. 25: ODI v South Africa, Benoni Sept. 27: ODI v Australia, Benoni Australia Tour 2016: Sept. 30: 1st ODI, Pretoria Oct. 2: 2nd ODI, Johannesburg Oct. 5: 3rd ODI, Durban Oct. 9: 4th ODI, Port Elizabeth Oct. 12: 5th ODI, Cape Town Sri Lanka Tour 2016-17: Dec. 15-19: 1st Test, Johannes-burg Dec. 26-30: 2nd Test, Port Elizabeth Jan. 2-6: 3rd Test, Cape Town Jan. 10: 1st Twenty20, Cape Town Jan. 13: 2nd Twenty20, Pretoria Jan. 15: 3rd Twenty20, Johan-nesburg Jan. 20: 1st ODI, Durban Jan. 22: 2nd ODI, Port Elizabeth Jan. 27: 3rd ODI, Cape Town Jan. 29: 4th ODI, Johannesburg Feb. 3: 5th ODI, Pretoria

SPORT

Gulf Times Wednesday, November 4, 201510

Zimbabwe have shrugged off security fears in Bangladesh that have forced other cricket teams to cancel their tours and were focused on winning, the captain and coach said yesterday. The Zimbabweans arrived in the Bangladesh capital on Monday to play three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches against the hosts. Zimbabwe agreed to bring for-ward the series from January 2016 after Australia cancelled their tour in late September over off icial warnings that militants might attack Western interests. “We will play cricket and those who are qualified to look at these things (security issues) will do their job. They have given us the go-ahead to play here,” captain Elton Chigum-bura told reporters. Zimbabwe is the first inter-national team to arrive in Bangladesh since South Africa in August. Bangladesh is desperate to avoid the fate of Pakistan which has had to host nearly all of its home matches at neutral venues since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus during a 2009 Test match in Lahore. Tension rose in Bangladesh after an Italian aid worker and a Japanese farmer were murdered last month in attacks claimed by the Islamic State. The government says the jihadist group has no presence in the country. Apart from the Australian men, the South African women also

cancelled their trip, just a day before they were due to arrive on Tuesday. Zimbabwe coach Dav What-more, who coached the Bang-ladesh team from 2004-07, said his players have no issue with security. “They (Zimbabwe Cricket) will never put us in a situation where we are compromised,” Whatmore said. Whatmore praised his former charges, saying the series will be challenging for fellow min-nows Zimbabwe. “Bangladesh had a good World Cup, making it to the quarter-final. They have followed it up with some memorable wins here,” said Whatmore. “We know who we are up against. They are a good side.”

Zimbabwe shrug off Bangladesh security concerns

By Sports ReporterDoha

Qatar shooters began their campaign on an impressive note as Hamad al-Marri won

the double trap bronze medal at the Asian Shooting Champion-ship in Kuwait City yesterday.

Al-Marri also teamed up with Rashid al-Athba and Ma-soud al-Adba to win the team bronze medal.

After an impressive show in the qualifi cation rounds, al-Marri scored 55 in the fi nal to fi nish third. Kuwait’s Fehaid al-Deehani (57) won the gold ahead of China’s Binyuan Hu (56).

Al-Marri, a member of the Qatar team that won the Asian Games double trap gold in Incheon last year, said: “I was

aiming at the gold, but I am happy with my bronze as it has come in one of the most impor-tant tournament in Asia.”

In the team event, the Qatari trio amassed 412 points for a bronze medal, behind Kuwait (414 points) and China (413).

Mohamed Asab, Ankur Mit-tal and Ronjon Sodhi of India fi nished 7th, 8th and 11th, re-spectively and could not qualify for the fi nal rounds of the dou-ble trap.

Hamad al-Marri claims double trap bronze ASIAN SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP

India’s captain Virat Kohli (R) talks with team director Ravi Shashtri in the nets during a training session on the eve of the fi rst Test against South Africa at The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali yesterday. (AFP)

S Africa announce 2016-17 home season

SPOTLIGHT

Elton Chigumbura.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin excercises during a training session in Mohali yesterday. (AFP)

In this September 26, 2014, picture, Qatar’s Rashid al-Athba (left), Masoud al-Adba (centre)and Hamad al-Marri are welcomed at the Hamad International Airport in Doha after their gold medal-winning eff ort in the team double trap event at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

SPORT11Gulf Times

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Hesham powers past Mosaad into quarters

Positive impressions on day two of FIA programme for women

SQUASH / QATAR CLASSIC

BOTTOMLINE

By Satya RathDoha

It’s quarter-fi nal time at the Qa-tar Classic. The best eight men and women have forced their way through a storm of upsets, close

shaves, and stronger and much higher-ranked opponents, and stand three steps away from glory.

While the shocks and awe seem to have spared the women’s draw after the ini-tial turbulence, it continues to sway the men’s section, with two Egyptian young-sters, having come this far after felling some big names, keeping the trend going by tearing apart the formbook and rank-ings to shreds in yesterday’s second-round matches.

Mazen Hesham set the tone in the fi rst match of the evening session when he produced perhaps the performance of his career to down his world No. 6 compa-triot Omar Mosaad after 51 entertaining minutes of power squash.

The fi rst game epitomised what was to follow as the duo dragged each other around the court with some intense volley and blistering exchanges, neither ready to concede an inch to the other, to move into a tie-break which Hesham won. It was the same tale again in the next game. Another tie-break, another unplayable cross-court nick, and up went Hesham 2-0. A clearly jolted Mosaad, who lost his mother and sister to a tragic car accident three months back in Egypt, had no en-ergy left to put up a fi ght in the third as Hesham sealed the battle 3-0.

“I think I surprised even myself today. I really didn’t expect to play that well against someone as good as Omar. I was under no pressure and had nothing to lose. I had a slight niggle in my shoulder and perhaps that made me even more re-laxed. I just wanted to give my best today without thinking about the outcome and that’s what I did. Thankfully, everything fell in place. I have been coming to Qatar for fi ve years but never won a match here. Now I’m in the quarters of a World Series tournament! I couldn’t have asked for more,” the 21-year-old said after his 12-10, 13-11, 11-7 win.

But Hesham may have to match his second-round showing or even better it if he hopes to get into the semi-fi nals, as standing beside him inside the glass court today evening will be Ali Farag.

The 23-year-old qualifi er looked equally emphatic and ruthless in his 3-0 decima-tion of English shot-maker Daryl Selby.

Farag, who recently graduated from Harvard University, is in his maiden ap-pearance in the last-eight round of a World Series tournament, having already accounted for another Englishman, Peter Barker, in the opening round.

“This is the fi rst time I have reached the quarters of a World Series tourna-ment and that feels amazing. I always believed in my abilities but somehow it never clicked. Every time I go to a tourna-ment I book my fl ight home after the fi nal date. I hope I won’t have to alter my tick-ets this time,” said Farag, who is engaged to fellow Egyptian, women’s world No. 5 Nour El Tayeb.

Later, French qualifi er Gregoire Marche almost triggered another upset before go-ing down all guns blazing in a 81-minute shootout with the talented Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt.

Gawad, who won 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8, will meet 2011 Qatar Classic

champion and No. 2 seed Gregory Gault-ier of France, who beat rising 21-year-old Fares Dessouki of Egypt 11/4, 12/10, 11/9.

Earlier, defending champion Nicol David breezed past England’s Victoria Lust in what was the fi nal match of the afternoon session to complete the quar-ter-fi nal line-up in the ladies’ section.

The Malaysian lifted the trophy when the women’s event was last staged here in 2011. Four years on, and in between losing her nine-year reign atop the world rank-ings to Egypt’s Raneem El Welily, David showed she’s lost none of the hunger and power that made her rule the world for close to a decade as she won in 32 min-utes, though the 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-5) scoreline gives a slightly deceptive pic-ture as regards the match is concerned.

The Englishwoman held her own in the early part of each game, putting the eight-time world champion under enough pressure to force a few uncharacteristic mid-game mistakes. But David steadied, and pulled away from 6-5 in the fi rst, 5-4 in the second and 6-5 in the third to set up a quarter-fi nal clash against Annie Au of Hong Kong.

“It was a bit of an up and down match but I am happy to get through in three,” said David. “In the middle of each game she was doing her own things so I had to reassess and make sure that I worked

to impose my own game. You just have to adapt, and turn it to your advantage, taking the shot when you have the op-portunity, and try your best to prevent your opponent to attack, cause that’s the game, isn’t it?”

Hong Kong girl Au downed an out-of-sorts and error-prone Jenny Dun-calf in three topsy-turvy games to sail through. The 11th-seeded English-woman raced to an early lead in all three games, only to lose her mind, and sub-sequently the momentum, to surrender the advantage.

“I don’t like it, I was never in front, and it’s not easy to keep coming back. I think I was a bit nervous, I was not focused enough. I need to sit down and calm my-self for the quarter-fi nals,” said Au.

Elsewhere, Egyptian Nour El Sherbini came out on top in a hard-hitting bat-tle with Rachael Grinham of Australia to set up a last eight battle with French-woman Camille Serme, who prevailed in a 57-minute battle of wills against Ameri-can number one Amanda Sobhy.

“Amanda beat me the last two times we played, so mentally, I really wanted my revenge today,” said Serme.

“She began really well, her length was so good... I thought I was on the way to defeat once again but I didn’t panic. She had nothing to lose and went for every-

thing but I tried out some variations and luckily it worked.”

RESULTSWomen’s Round 2: 3-Camille Serme (Fra) bt 14-Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-2 (4/11, 13/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/9); 6-Nour El Sherbini (Egy) bt 9-Rachael Grinham (Aus) 3-0 (13/11, 11/7, 11/6); 7-Annie Au (Hkg) bt 11-Jenny Duncalf (Eng) 3-0 (14/12, 12/10, 11/9); 2-Nicol David (Mas) bt 16-Victoria Lust (Eng) 3-0 (11/5, 11/5, 11/5)Men’s Round 2: Mazen Hesham (Egy) bt 4-Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-0 (12-10, 13-11, 11-7); Q-Ali Farag (EGY) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-0 (11/7, 11/8, 11/2); Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Q-Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-1 (11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8); 2-Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt Fares Dessouki (Egy) 3-0 (11/4, 12/10, 11/9)

Women’s QF Line-up (12 noon onwards)Joshana Chinappa (IND) vs 5-Omneya Ab-del Kawy (EGY); 8-Nouran Gohar (EGY) vs 4-Laura Massaro (ENG); 3-Camille Serme (FRA) vs 6-Nour El Sherbini (EGY); 7-Annie Au (HKG) vs 2-Nicol David (MAS)Men’s QF Line-up (2 pm onwards)1-Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) vs Max Lee (HKG); Q-Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) vs 3-Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL); Mazen Hesham (EGY) vs Q-Ali Farag (EGY); Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) vs 2-Gregory Gaultier (FRA)

Nicol David breezes past England’s Victoria Lust to reach last eight

Yamaha hit back at Honda’s ‘kick’ claims

MOTOGP

AFPMilan

Yamaha yesterday hit back at rivals Honda for claiming Italian star Valentino Rossi kicked

Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

MotoGP championship leader Rossi has been sanctioned for the incident that saw Spain’s Marquez crash in Sepang and the Italian will start from the back of the grid in Sunday’s fi nal race of the season in Valencia.

Rossi has appealed the deci-sion and a hearing will be held 48 hours before Sunday’s race, which could see Rossi’s seven-point lead over Spanish rival Jorge Lorenzo come under threat.

Honda on Monday claimed technical data from Marquez’s bike proved that Rossi kicked him as they jockeyed for position on a bend in Sepang.

But Yamaha issued a statement yesterday which refuted the claims, underlining the fact they were not proven by race offi cials in Malaysia: “Yamaha would like to express its disagreement with the words that have been used to report on the incident between riders Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez,” said the statament.

“Both press releases included words that accuse Valentino Rossi of kicking Marc Marquez’s bike... that is something not proven by the investigation of the Race Direction.

“We therefore reject the word-ing used in the said published statements that do not corre-spond with the fi ndings of the Race Direction.”

The Italian MotoGP legend’s actions have caused widespread outrage in the Spanish media. But Rossi has denied kicking defending champion Marquez, claiming he is the victim of a Spanish plot.

He accuses Marquez of pursu-

ing a “dirty game” with the ex-press intention of helping com-patriot Lorenzo win the title, claiming Marquez conspired to help Lorenzo win points in Aus-tralia.

Japanese constructor Honda on Monday claimed their techni-cal data proves Rossi kicked Mar-quez’s machine.

UNFORTUNATE “It is clear that Valentino inten-tionally pushed Marc towards the outside of the track, which is out of the rules, therefore Marc had no other option other than to run wide,” said Honda’s vice-president Shuhei Nakamoto.

“The data from Marc’s bike shows that even though he was picking up the bike trying to avoid contact with Valentino, his front brake lever suddenly re-ceived an impact that locked the front tyre, which is the reason for his crash.

“We believe that this pressure was a result of Rossi’s kick.”

Spain’s secretary of state for sport, Miguel Cardenal, told Spanish media that he hoped “fair play” would rule at the Mo-toGP season fi nale on Sunday.

Rossi, seeking a record-equal-ling eighth premier class title, heads to Valencia on 312 points with Lorenzo on 305.

Yamaha said the best way to draw a line under the “unfor-tunate aff air” was to try to win what they hope will be a “memo-rable fi nal race” in Valencia.

“Yamaha has no wish to enter into further discussion regard-ing this unfortunate aff air and our desire is to conclude the 2015 MotoGP season in the best pos-sible way,” the statement added.

“We go to Valencia with the clear intention of trying our best to win what we hope will be a memorable fi nal race with all riders and teams competing in an exemplary sportsmanlike man-ner befi tting the top category of motorcycle racing.”

By Sports ReporterDoha

The second day of the FIA Women Cross Country Se-lection took place at Sealine yesterday, and included the-

oretical instructions and practical training for 18 participants.

In the morning, the participants were divided into driver and co-driv-er groups, for the purpose of train-ing. In the afternoon, they made fi rst contact with the terrain followed by in-garage practical training, includ-ing changing a tyre.

“I think it was a big day for the girls today. The exercise this morning with the practical training and then in the afternoon the real life started and I think that they realise how hard it is,” said Jutta Kleinschmidt, one of two instructors of the fi ve-day pro-gramme which started on Monday.

“It took much longer than what I expected, but I think it was a fantas-tic experience and we will continue tomorrow very early.”

Fabrizia Pons, the other instructor,

added: “Sending the participants to the dunes, something they had never seen in their lives before, it was very good experience for them and a nice feeling for us. The desert can be very diffi cult. You either love it or hate it. But there are lots of things to learn.”

Emma Gilmour, a driver from New Zealand participating in the pro-gramme, said, “Doing some basic skills on the sand with Jutta was just a lot of fun. But going out this after-noon and actually doing the stage; I now understand how disorienting it can be when you are out in the desert. Navigation is very important for the co-driver, diffi cult task.”

Zambian co-driver Jasmeen Singh Bhandhair refl ected on her learn-ings of the day. She said, “I learned a lot. It is my fi rst time using a GPS in the desert and in a 4x4 rally car. Using the GPS, I was getting lostbecause I am not used to the coordi-nates and didn’t have too much time to go through the road book. When we got stuck, I didn’t know how to dig out the car but I think that if I practice more with the GPS and follow the road book, it will be much easier for me.”

Many participants appreciated be-ing put through a new environment.

Swedish driver Jonna Lisa Eson Bradhe said, “It is an all new experi-ence for me. It was a lot of fun and I hope to learn more tomorrow; how to get over the sand and the dunes. I found it harder than I expected. As a driver you have to keep checking with the co-driver and work togeth-er in a way you might not do in the rally. It is quite a diff erent experi-ence.”

Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president and FIA vice president Mena Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah said, “The fi rst day is always the hardest one. The girls were a bit worried but made a strong start with navigation, GPS and road book in-formation. It was not easy for the navigators and the terrain made it diffi cult for the drivers too. Some of them got lost in the beginning but they became increasingly relaxed and more focussed as the time passed. I think tomorrow will be tougher with another programme but for sure they have learned something new, which is great.”

Marquez hoping to avoidspotlight in Valencia

Madrid: Defending MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez (pictured) has said he hopes his spat with championship leader Valentino Rossi doesn’t spoil a tense title decider in the Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday. Rossi leads Yahama teammate Jorge Lorenzo by seven points heading into the fi-nal race of the season as he seeks an eighth premier category world championship. However, the Italian may have to start from the back of the grid after kicking Marquez off his bike as a long-running war of words spilled over at the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend. Rossi is appealing the stewards’ decision to sanction him by starting at the back of the grid to the Court of Arbitration for Sport with a final decision not expected until Friday. Marquez was then also involved in a clash with two Italian journal-ists at his Catalan home in Cervera last week. “It’s been a diff icult week after what happened in Sepang, but I’ve tried my best to put it behind me and concentrate on my training and looking forward to the final race of the season,” the Spaniard said in statement by his Honda team. “We want to finish on a high note so we will work hard from Friday to get the bike set up well and give ourselves the best chance for the race. “I’ve had mixed results here in the past but I enjoy racing here in front of the home fans. I hope the events of the past week can be put behind us and we can focus on the race.”

Participants change tyres on rally cars during an in-garage practical session at Sealine yesterday.

Egypt’s Mazen Hesham (left) and compatriot Omar Mosaad in action during their Qatar Classic match at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

GULF TIMES SPORT

Australians Larkin andSeebohm shine on last day

FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP

South African sensation Chad Le Clos finishes with four gold medals, the highest of the meet

Lone ranger Joshna battles for her spot in a sport she loves SQUASH

By Satya RathDoha

Can I sit and talk? Sorry, but my legs are paining,” Joshna Chi-nappa earnestly asked when this writer approached her on

the courtside, soon after her straight games win over Egyptian 19-year-old Yathreb Adel on Monday that put the Chennai-based Indian in the quarter-fi nals of the Qatar Classic.

A simple request it was, but still, one couldn’t miss the irony of it all. At the other end of the glass court sat a de-jected Adel, the girl who had packed off 12th-seeded Indian Dipika Pallikal in the fi rst round, attended by her coach-ing staff , getting her tired limbs mas-saged, with one of her family members trying to cheer her up.

Joshna sat alone. She’s on her own on the Tour, and it’s been like that since “I don’t remember when”. She’s her own coach, her own physio, her own masseur. “I can’t aff ord one. I play this game because I love it,” the 29-year-old says.

In every tournament she travels to across the world, it’s the same story. She is her own support, while most of her opponents have their support sys-tem. “I don’t have a coach. It’s mostly my dad, and sometimes I take the help of David Palmer. But on the Tour, I am alone. Squash is not that fi nancially rewarding like other sports, you can’t make a living out of it,” she adds.

Joshna, who stunned world No 1

Raneem El Welily on the opening day to spring the biggest upset of the Qa-tar Classic, has been one of two fl ag-bearers for India (the other is Dipika) on squash’s world stage for more than a decade now, but while the accolades have kept multiplying, the woes stay the same.

Against Adel in the second round, and also during her stunning upset of El Welily on the opening day, she at times looked in some discomfort while sit-ting alone during the break between the games, but there was no one she could turn to for advice or to soothe her ach-ing limbs.

During Monday’s match, one girl sit-ting in the stands was seen going to her during the breaks to give some quick tips.

“She’s Amanda Sobhy (from the US, ranked 11 in the world), she’s my room-mate here and a dear friend. She just kept telling me during the breaks that I was playing fi ne, and that I should just keep it simple and not get hassled, that I should just stick to the basics and not experiment too much. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it to the quarter-

fi nals here. She lost very a close match today (to France’s Camille Serme in the second round),” said Joshna.

Squash is a strenuous sport, and one of the most injury-inducing ones too. But it’s not a rich sport, like tennis, so not many can aff ord the add-ons like a travelling coach or physio.

“I am what I am today because of my family’s support. The government gives some grant and our association chips in too but it’s hardly suffi cient to meet the expenses. I have a couple of personal sponsors too. But I have no complaints against anyone. I chose to play squash, no one forced me. I am happy with I have achieved,” she states.

There’s one thing that rankles her though. “Yes, it feels frustrating some-times that squash has not been includ-ed in the Olympic discipline. They are talking of adding a sport like moun-tain-climbing to the Olympics, why not squash? It’s really sad.”

Joshna, currently ranked 17 in the world, will meet world No 6 Omneya Abdel Kawy in the Qatar Classic quar-ter-fi nals today. She lost to the Egyp-tian in their most recent meeting, at last month’s US Open in Philadelphia.

“She will be tough. She’s one of the best in the world, and I lost to her in straight games last month. But I am un-der no pressure. I have consciously de-cided to take a relaxed approach to the game. I just want to enjoy my squash, work hard, stick to the basics and I am confi dent the results will come. It has been working for me. I hope the mo-mentum continues,” she signs off .

By Sahan BidappaDoha

It was a tale of two Australians last night at the Hamad Aquatic Cen-tre as Mitchell Larkin and Emily Seebohm stole the limelight at the

Doha leg of the FINA World Cup.South African sensation Chad Le

Clos fi nished with four gold medals, the highest of the meet, to continue his love aff air with Doha. But it was Larkin and Seebohm’s impressive swims that caught the eye as both the Aussies fi n-ished with three gold medals each.

Larkin is world swimming’s back-stroke specialist, and had won the 100m backstroke event on the fi rst day and he added two more, one albeit tied with USA’s David Plummer in 50m, be-fore pocketing the 200m too.

The 50m backstroke was a sensa-tional race, with Larkin and Plummer swimming their way to a time of 24.70 seconds for a tied fi rst-place fi nish. Thirty-year-old Liam Tancock of Great Britain took bronze in a time of 25.65.

Not satisfi ed with sharing a top spot, Larkin came roaring back in the 200m backstroke. There was simply no stop-ping the world champion as he regis-tered his third fastest 200m backstroke time of 2015 to take gold. It was also the Australian and Commonwealth records as he timed 1:53.80. Such was Larkin’s domination that the second-placed Ja-pan’s Masaki Kanek was far behind – 4 seconds – as he clocked a 1:57.83 for silver, with Britain’s European Games superstar Luke Greenbank another sec-ond behind for bronze. Le Clos fi nished 4th in 1:59.39.

The 22-year-old gold medallist was delighted with the Doha outing. “It was a good race tonight, that’s for sure. I tried to focus on my turns and skills in the heat in the morning, and let it all loose in the fi nal. And it worked. I had gunned for three gold, so I am pretty satisfi ed,” he said.

One of the most anticipated races of the evening was the women’s 100m backstroke with Katinka Hosszu look-ing to avenge her previous night’s loss to Seebohm in the 50m and 200m events. But Seebohm, like her fellow Aussie Larkin, made sure she swept the backstroke events in Doha.

Seebohm’s times in the event were incredible, as the Australian mastered last night’s edition of the race in a time of 58.34, the second-fastest mark of 2015 only behind her gold in Kazan World Championship.

Hosszu was a full second behind for her second silver on the night and third of the meet in a time of 59.35. The bronze medal went to American Natalie Coughlin, who logged 59.72.

“I was defi nitely chasing a third gold here in Doha. That’s all the motivation I needed. The fi nal was spectacular. I’m

quite happy with my time in the heats and was pleased that I could go even faster in the fi nal,” Seebohm said.

“It’s testament that I’m doing the right training and I keep improving. To be up against someone like Katinka is a massive challenge. She is such a fantastic competitor and really hard to beat. She obviously does a lot of events but I still think that it’s not easy to beat her, and I’m pleased to do just that,” the 23-year-old double world champion added.

Hosszu by her standards had a dis-

appointing meet. The prolifi c Hungar-ian was out of pace most night, but she still took the 400m individual medley to keep her World Cup winning streak alive in the event.

Hosszu won in a time of 4:36.39 as the World Cup points leader fi nished with a medal tally of seven in just Doha alone. The 26-year-old had won two gold, one silver and bronze on the fi rst night.

Silver in the race went to Japan’s Sakiko Shimizu in 4:37.95, while USA’s Caitlin Leverenz earned bronze in 4:39.74.

In what could have been a monstrous battle, the men’s 100 butterfl y was simply owned by Le Clos, who touched in at 51.44 to tie the 10th-fastest time in the world and beat America’s Tom Shields by over half a second.

Shields fi nished in a very respectable 52.10 for silver. Bronze went to Austral-ian Chris Wright, who fi nished in 52.50.

South Africa’s Cameron Van der Burgh remained unbeaten in the 2015 World Cup Series across both the 50m and the 100m breaststroke events, as the Olympian claimed gold yet again in a time of 59.68. Van der Burgh was the only fi nalist to dip beneath the one minute threshold, as runner-up Daniel Gyurta from Hungary settled for silver in 1:00.60, followed by Great Britain’s Ross Murdoch who fi nished in 1:00.84 for bronze.

The Doha meet was the penultimate leg of the World Cup series, with the last event scheduled to be held in Dubai this weekend.

Speaking on the fi nal night of the competition, Qatar Swimming Asso-ciation president and Local Organising Committee chairman Khaleel al-Jabir said: “Over the last two days, we have seen almost 350 of the world’s best athletes competing here in Doha, as we continue our commitment to support and develop the sport of swimming. These athletes have once again treated the people of Qatar, and the world, to some stunning performances, and we wish them luck for the fi nal World Cup

meet of the season and beyond. I would also like to thank FINA for their con-tinued partnership in supporting us in staging what has been another amazing two days of action.”

RESULTSWomen’s 100m freestyle1. Melanie Wright (Australia) 53:862. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 54:403. Felicia Lee (USA) 55:22Men’s 200m freestyle1. George Guy (Great Britain) 1:47:062. Velimir Stjepanovic (Serbia) 1:47:563. Maxime Rooney (USA) 1:48:15Women’s 50m breaststroke1. Alia Atkinson (Jamaica) 30:552. Molly Hannis (USA) 31:123. Leiston Pickett (Australia) 31:13Men’s 100m breaststroke1. Cameron Van Der Burgh (South Africa) 59:682. Daniel Gyurta (Hungary) 1:00:603. Ross Murdoch (Great Britain) 1:00:84Men’s 100m butterfly1. Chad Le Clos (South Africa) 51:442. Tom Shields (USA) 52:103. Geoff rey Wright (Australia) 52:50Women’s 100m backstroke1. Emily Seebohm (Australia) 58:342. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 59:353. Natalie Coughlin (USA) 59:72Men’s 50m backstroke1. David Plummer (USA) 24:701. Mitchell Larkin (Australia) 24:702. Liam Tancock (Great Britain) 25:653. Wen Zheng Quah (Singapore) 25:66Women’s 200m butterfly

1. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (Hungary) 2:08:472. Martina Van Berkel (Switzerland) 2:09:593. Cassidy Bayer (USA) 2:09:98Men’s 200m individual medley 1. Keita Sunama (Japan) 2:00:482. Julian Michael (South Africa) 2:01:633. Zoltan David (Hungary) 2:01:90Women’s 400m freestyle1. Lauren Boyle (New Zealand) 4:06:582. Jaz Carlin (Great Britain) 4:07:423. Coralie Balmy (France) 4:07:56Men’s 50m freestyle1. Bruno Fratus (Brazil) 22:282. Anthony Ervin (USA) 22:473. Douglas Erasmus (South Africa) 22:50Women’s 200m breaststroke1. Rie Kaneto (Japan) 2:23:452. Runa Imai (Japan) 2:24:243. Moller Rikkie (Denmark) 2:24:47Men’s 200m backstroke1. Mitchell Larkin (Australia) 1:53:802. Masaki Kaneko (Japan) 1:57:833. Luke Greenbank (Great Britain) 1:58:83Women’s 50m butterfly1. Sasha Touretski (Switzerland) 28:812. Felicia Lee (USA) 26:853. Svenja Stoff el (Switzerland) 26:96Men’s 1,500m freestyle1. Mykhailo Romanchuk (Ukraine) 15:07:062. Damien Joly (France) 15:07:973. Alistair Milne (Great Britain) 15:12:13Women’s 400m individual medley1. Katinka Hosszu (Hungary) 4:36:392. Sakiko Shimizu (Japan) 4:37:953. Caitlin Leverenz (USA) 4:39:74

“Yes, it feels frustratingsometimes that squash has not been included in the Olympic discipline. They are talking of adding a sport like mountain-climbing to the Olympics, why not squash? It’s really sad,” said Joshna, currently ranked 17 in the world

United States’ David Plummer (centre) and Australia’s Mitchell Larkin (left) were tied for first place in the men’s 50m backstroke event in the FINA Swimming World Cup at Hamad Aquatic Centre in Doha yesterday. Great Britain’s Liam Tancock finished third. PICTURES: Anas Khalid

South Africa’s Chad le Clos (centre) won the men’s 100m butterfly ahead of Tom Shields (left) of the United States and Geoff rey Wright of Australia.

QOC secretary general Dr Thani al-Kuwari (right) at the event yesterday.

India’s Joshna Chinappa