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Ramadan TImings

10 killed, 12 injured in Kuwait deadly fire 10 killed, 12 injured in Kuwait deadly fire

See Page 9

KUWAIT: Paramedicsassist an injured man

after a deadly fire killed10 Asian residents in

Farwaniya yesterday. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayaat

Even after 20 years growing up in thiscountry, you still never get use to it. Ithits you the second you step out of your

door. It lies in wait, savoring the moment youleave the safe confines of your air-condi-tioned abode. When you’re out in the open,there is no escaping it, nothing you can dobut embrace the searing pain as your skinquite literally begins to ignite and your scalpbegs you for reprieve. No matter how longyou stay in this country, there is little anyonecan do to escape Kuwait’s 50-plus-degreeCelsius summers.

Today, as I was walking towards the busstop, I passed a group of men removing theirbeat-up looking box A/C from their shabbylooking residence towards a pick-up truck withseveral other similar AC’s on its back. Therewere two men at the doorway fanning them-selves with looks on their faces that can onlybe described as ‘hopeless dread’. You didn’thave to be a mind-reader to know that thesetwo men, along with the rest of the bachelorsliving in their small room were concerned howthey would get by without an A/C in theirhouse.

For many reading this, you might have theluxury of your own personal vehicles. But forseveral others in this country, including myself,we are required to embark to work using pub-lic transport. At bus-stops and in buses them-selves, the heat is something everyone suffersuniversally. Some unlucky few have to wait fortheir bus for more than 30 minutes and the

midday sun gives only slender slivers of shade.Having Ramadan in the midst of the summerhas done little to help both the fasting andnon-fasting alike.

Passing through Kuwait City anytime dur-ing 1-3 pm becomes a slow moving crawl asevery major office has decided to make theircheck-out timing of their employees the exactsame. No matter where you end up gettingstuck in traffic, try to remember that there arebuses packed over acceptable limits with peo-ple clamoring not only for space to stand butA/C vents as well. My 30 minutes on averagework commute has turned to an hour and 15minutes and I’m confident that it is the samefor many others either going or coming backfrom work.

The commute is akin to a kind of torture tomany of us on the bus. The sweat, stress andever increasing discomforts are pains that arementally and physically felt among everyoneforced to endure the hellish afternoon sun. It ispossible to compare these shared seasonalfeelings to the experience of monsoon in thesub-continent, where all of us, regardless ofincome, are forced to deal with the unrelent-ing rains in their own personal way. The onlydifference however is that there are many whowelcome the rain and the change of weather itbrings. In Kuwait though, no sane person iseager for the summer season to begin.

Tomorrow, much like every other day, I willdread stepping out of the house to face theheat. It is like hopelessly facing your greatestdemons. But it helps me to remember thosebachelors taking out their mal-functioning A/Cfrom their house. I think ‘at least I have an A/Chouse to go out from and an office with A/C toreach.’ So like every demon you face in life, allit takes to beat the heat is a little self-aware-ness to overcome it. Also a nice pair of shadesalways helps.

Iam against the idea of taking a holiday dur-ing the month of Ramadan, as I considerwork as worship, but I have a different

opinion this year. Many people see it as amonth of eating and sleeping, with no consid-eration for the sacredness and meaning of thismonth. If you have work to complete duringRamadan in the daytime, you will get boredand frustrated by the frequent disruptions,and only if you are lucky you finish all yourwork as expected.

Why do people not work as usual duringRamadan? It is a very confusing questionbecause everyone is eager to eat instead ofworking. I had to visit some governmentoffices and I noticed that the working hoursduring Ramadan are only two hours. The actu-al working hours are from 10 am to 2 pm in

most places, but the truth is that by 1 pm,many don’t want to work.

Productivity is not associated with fasting.It is a chance to prove that fasting is part offaith, strength and stability at work, as we allsay work is worship, and fasting is worshiptoo. But the way many people behave duringthis month affects their daytime activities.Clearly, many people are focused on food, sothat it has become part of the customs andtraditions of Arab and Muslim countries.

I am also surprised with the overcrowdingat restaurants to the point that it’s difficult togo to any place without prior reservation. Sothe image set here is that Ramadan is onlyassociated with food. These ideas should notbe the only projection Muslims send to theworld. Unfortunately, the truth is that we notonly need to consider the problem of wastageof food, but also need to increase awarenesson this subject. It requires a lot of effort fromeveryone.

The Civil Service Commission hasannounced that Eid Al-Fitr holidays will be forfive days starting from July 5. Sunday, July 10will be the day to resume work.

Happy Eid!

L o c a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

By Muna Al-Fuzai

muna@kuwaittimes.net

Local Spotlight

Ramadan diary

Photo o f t h e d a y

KUWAIT: Photo shows the Liwan (front hall) of a traditional Arab house. — KUNA

in my view

By Aakash Bakaya

Local@kuwaittimes.net

Hellfire awaits: FacingKuwait’s remorseless summer

01 FRIDAY

JULY 2016

L o c a l

26. How old was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he got married to Khadijah (Radi allahu Anha)?25 years

By Ben Garcia

Sales of secondhand or lightly used items are booming inmany parts of Kuwait. One would wonder why such ademand exists in a rich country like Kuwait, but there are

many compelling reasons for this. The expat population istransient, while wealthy locals frequently replace old items fornew ones. Home goods such as furniture and decorativeitems, books, carpets, clothes and shoes are easily accumulat-ed as time goes by. These items usually end up at online mar-kets, garage or car boot sales as well as the Friday Market orSouq Al-Jumaa, Kuwait City’s Souq Al-Mukhaseen inMubarakiya or in some lanes near mosques.

Secondhand items are a big help for low income laborersin the country, but they are also useful for business-mindedpeople. In fact, some are already making a profit out of it.They buy and resell goods here and outside the country.Garry, from the Philippines, buys secondhand clothes andanything useful like shoes and carpets from the Friday Market,then sends them to the Philippines by forwarding services.

“I am here to select the best clothes that can be sold in thePhilippines,” said Garry, selecting from the assorted clothes inone of the many stalls at the Friday Market. “I buy them andsend them by cargo,” said Garry, a restaurant worker andentrepreneur. “My family receives the clothes and they sell itfor a very low price in the market. We are earning a bit fromthis smalltime business. Maybe after three years, I will be ableto start a new clothes shop back home due to this venture,”he said.

Sales of secondhand items booming in Kuwait

01 FRIDAY

JULY 2016

L o c a l

The Friday Market sells almost everything under the sun -used and new clothing, electronic appliances, home decorand furniture. The market is also home to sellers of old andnew Iranian carpets, office tables and chairs, paintings, cabi-nets, bicycles even fishing rods, books and stationery. Sportsshoes sell like hot cakes. “I buy used original Adidas and Nikeshoes from Kuwaiti houses and I sell them here,” said Juman, aBangladeshi stall owner said. “Filipinos love these shoes,” headded. “The prices of secondhand ‘branded’ shoes range fromKD 6 to 16, far lower than the original price of KD 45 to KD100,” said Juman.

The Friday Market opens for business from Wednesday toSaturday evening. All unsold items displayed at the venuehave to be removed by Saturday evening or they get dumpedin the garbage after the market closes. Adjacent to the FridayMarket is a permanent shopping complex known as RaiCenter, which also sells old and lightly used goods. Some ofthe items being sold have been repaired, which make theproducts cost higher compared to the Friday Market. They aredisplayed in a smaller area unlike the Friday Market. RaiCenter is open throughout the week.

“Our prices are higher because our shops are permanent,”said a shop owner at the center. “Our products are purchaseddirectly from the owners of houses and villas in Kuwait whowant to replace their old furniture,” he said. Items are alsoobtained from expatriates who are leaving the country forgood. “People are moving all the time, so whatever they valueless is sold or given away. Things that were accumulated areleft behind, and that’s how we have many old and lightly useditems sold at the Friday Market,” the owner said.

Some people buy and sell used goods by other means.Noora has transformed her villa basement to hold garagesales every Friday in Egaila. She collects items like bags, shoesand home decor stuff and sells them at her garage sale.Proceeds of the garage sales are given to charities in thePhilippines. “I visit the garage sale every Friday. The owner ofthe garage is a Kuwaiti who is very low profile and doesn’twant any publicity,” said Bong, a shopper.

Renz posted his old Canon camera to sell on Facebook. Heposted it on a Friday and found a buyer by Sunday. There areother online shops where you can sell your old but reusablehome items. “I needed cash immediately so I tried the FBaccount. A buyer from my work, who wanted it at a lowerprice, suggested to post it online, and that’s how I got a buyerfor the price I wanted,” Renz said.

Photos show some of the secondhand or lightly used items usually sold at the online markets, garage or car boot, FridayMarket or Souq Al-Jumaa.

01L o c a l

FRIDAY

JULY 2016

Feeling at home in a foreign landKUWAIT: Some of the dancers showcase their talents during an event called ‘A night on Almo’ez Street’.

By Faten Omar

Homesickness can be a real problem for those who trav-el away from home for a long time. Most expats inKuwait have felt homesick at some point in their lives.

You might miss your family, friends, pets, house or neighbor-hood. In Ramadan, many people feel nostalgic about thegatherings and traditions of their countries. But once the newsurroundings and people become more familiar, this feelingof nostalgia goes away.

Ahmed Ghazi is a 27-year-old Egyptian who organized anEgyptian night from futour to suhoor called ‘A night onAlmo’ez Street’, which is the best place to experience authen-tic Ramadan culture in Cairo. Kuwait Times spoke to Ghazi toknow more about the event that gathered hundreds ofstrangers via Facebook to make them feel at home.

Ahmad Ghazi

01 FRIDAY

JULY 2016

L o c a l

KT: Tell us more about yourself.Ghazi: I was born in Riyadh. I now live inKuwait with my family and friends. I work asan accountant, and also do a lot of art andgraphic designing. I would someday pursue itmore than a hobby. I’m generous, odd andkind of weird. I’m fairly clever too. I see art inthings that aren’t necessarily artistic.

KT: How did you come up with this idea?Ghazi: I was with one of my colleaguesAhmed Sadek, and we were planning a biggathering for our families, friends and rela-tives since Ramadan was approaching. Wewere missing home and the vibes ofRamadan in Egypt. That’s when we thoughtof making it a big Egyptian family gatheringlike what takes place on Almo’ez Street.

KT: Tell us more about Almo’ez Street?Ghazi: Almo’ez Street is one of the oldeststreets in Cairo with the greatest architecturaltreasures in the Islamic world. This street hasbeen turned into an open-air museum. Fromthe north of Almo’ez Street to the south,there are lots of mosques and museums youcan visit to discover real Islamic arts.

KT: Why did you choose to call the event ‘Anight on Almo’ez Street’? Ghazi: Actually, we had a couple of names inmind, but we decided to choose ‘A night onAlmo’ez Street’ to connect with people asthey are away from home. Almo’ez Streetitself contains many historic buildings rang-ing from the era of Amr Ibn al Aas to theTulunid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk andOttoman eras to the Mohammad Ali era. AUnited Nations study found it to have thegreatest concentration of medieval architec-tural treasures in the Islamic world.

KT: How did you organize the event?Ghazi: My friend Ahmed and I, with some ofour friends, organized the event. Everyonewas excited about the event. We are reallythankful to our families, friends and especiallyto the people who attended the event. Theymade this day beyond fabulous and unforget-table.

KT: Are you going to do more cultural andcommunity events?Ghazi: Yes, if I get the chance and the sup-port.KT: Why do you think people were excitedabout it?Ghazi: We organized many things related toEgyptian culture, from folklore dancing andfood to the designs and the programs. Weeven had the mesaharati, the man who walksthe streets just before dawn in Ramadan witha drum, chanting traditional songs to drawpeople out of their slumber for suhour, thefinal meal before the fast of the day begins.We tried our best to replicate the Almo’ezStreet culture here and show people howRamadan in Egypt looks likes.

KT: How was the event?Ghazi: Honestly, it was beyond words. Weare very pleased by the feedback. Many askedus to do this again in Ramadan or on the sec-ond day of Eid.

KT: Did you satisfy the people? Or therewas something missing you wanted toadd?Ghazi: We can never satisfy everyone. But wetried our best to make them live the Ramadanvibes as they should be. There were somethings missing and we will add them nexttime.

KT: How many people turned up? Ghazi: Around 100 to 130 people - we alsohad people from other nationalities likeLebanese and Syrians who attended theevent.

KT: Do you often use social media to meetpeople from your country or to share activ-ities?Ghazi: Yes, online communication is impor-tant for everyone. Also, positive interactionwith the people that have the same mutualideas can really lead to great contributions.Social media allows us to interact freely andquickly.

8L o c a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

KUWAIT: The Dates, Al-Safat, Al-Manakh, andAl-Ferrdah markets were vital business hubswhich steered Kuwait’s economic growth inthe past. Set for different purposes, thesemarkets played an important role in import-ing and exporting goods to and from Kuwaitas well as providing local products to cus-tomers in the old days. Speaking about thehistorical significance of the markets,researcher Mohammad Abdulhadi Jamal saidthat despite being a small nation, Kuwait still

is considered as a strong economic force inthe region.

One of the major old markets in Kuwaitwas Al-Ferrdah, said Jamal, adding that themarket, named after a seaport, was one of thebusiest locations for trade due the fact thatgoods and cargo were directly loaded andunloaded straight from ships into the market.The market sold a variety of products rangingfrom foodstuff to consumer goods, said theresearcher. Meanwhile, Jamal spoke about the

proceedings Al-Manakh market, saying thatthe name came from the fact that the areawas the resting spot for caravans headingfrom and to markets in Al-Sham, Iraq, Najed,and other regions back in the day. Al-Manakhwas considered as a parallel market for goodswere stocks played a major role in bring richesto those involved.

One of the most significant events in Al-Manakh’s history was the crash of 1982, saidJamal, adding that deals were conducted on

the basis of trust among merchants; however,something happened which made things go“haywire”. And it namesake might suggest,the Dates market also played an importantpart in the economy of Kuwait in the past,noted the historical researcher. The marketwas exclusively establish for the dates indus-try and only that, affirmed Jamal, noting thatthe location of market varied due to the pas-sage of time, but the business still remain assubstantial till this day. — KUNA

Dates, Al-Safat, Al-Manakh -traditional Kuwaiti markets

KUWAIT: Minister of Information andMinister of State for Youth Affairs SheikhSalman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabahhas vowed support to the Public Authority forApplied Education and Training (PAAET) forhosting the 8th GCC Sports Championship foruniversities and higher education Institutions.The PAAET will be offered full logistic andmedia backing to guarantee success for the

tournament that authority hosts inNovember, Sheikh Salman told a PAAET dele-gation, the Ministry of Information said in astatement on Wednesday. The ministerstressed the significance of the event for theGCC youth. The delegation, led by DirectorGeneral Dr Ahmad Al-Athari, expressed grati-tude to Sheikh Salman for his unlimited sup-port to the Kuwaiti people, especially youth,

in sports, social and cultural activities toenhance the constructive and effectivenational thinking. The meeting alsoaddressed the programs the PAAET can offerfor training and qualifying Kuwaitis within thedevelopment program backed by theMinistry of Information and the State Ministryfor Youth Affairs.

Meanwhile, the statement said that

Minister Sheikh Salman had also received thenew board of the Ministry of Informationworkers’ syndicate. Congratulating the boardmembers, the minister underlined the impor-tance of holding the values of national unityand interests above all other considerations.The syndicate board thanked Sheikh Salmanfor his unrelenting efforts to promote theKuwaiti media. — KUNA

Ministry supports PAAET ahead of GCC sports Championship

9L o c a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: Ten Asian workers were killed and 12 others injuredin a fire yesterday at an old building used to house expatlaborers in Farwaniya, the Health Ministry said. The ministry,quoted by state news agency KUNA, said all the victims wereIndians and Pakistanis. At least five of the injured were in criti-cal condition. The cause of the fire was not immediatelyknown. A medical emergency preliminary report said 10deaths were reported, while 12 were rushed to hospital. Threeof the victims died of cardiac arrest. Health Ministry AssistantUndersecretary for Allied Health Services Dr Jamal Al-Harbysaid that six people died inside the building, all charred, whilethree died while on their way to the hospital.

In a statement to KUNA, Acting Director of KFSD Maj GenKhalid Al-Mekrad said that four fire departments were mobi-lized immediately to battle the blaze, adding that among theinjured were firefighters as well. Al-Mekrad noted that the pre-fabricated buildings lack basic security and safety precautionsand have some major violations. Last week, a blaze at the Gulfstate’s central jail killed one inmate and wounded 56 otherpeople, including a fireman. Expatriate workers, mostly fromthe Indian subcontinent, make up around 70 percent of oil-rich Kuwait’s 4.3-million population.

KUWAIT: Firemen seen at the scene of the fire that broke out at a house in Farwaniya.—KUNA

10 Indians, Pakistanis perish in deadly fire

14NA leaders urgeagainst Trump’sisolationism12

Islamic Statemakes inroads intoKenya12

IS ripped apart by air strikes InFallujah

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

ISTANBUL: Family members, colleagues and friends of the victims of Tuesday blasts gather for a memorial ceremony at the Ataturk Airport yesterday. — AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkey yesterday detained 13suspected Islamic State jihadists over thedeadly Istanbul airport attack, as chillingdetails emerged of how suicide bomberslaunched their assault. The death toll fromTuesday’s gun and suicide bomb spree atAtaturk airport has risen to 43, the interiorminister said, with 19 foreigners among thedead and more than 200 people injured.Authorities have identified the bombers as aRussian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national.

Turkey has been plunged into mourningover the carnage at Ataturk airport, the dead-liest of several attacks to strike Turkey’sbiggest city this year. Police carried out morethan a dozen raids across Istanbul earlyThursday, arresting 13 people including fourforeigners, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said.Turkey has suffered a string of deadly attacksin the past year blamed on either IS orKurdish rebels, and the airport attack comesjust at the start of the crucial summer touristseason.

Ala told reporters late Wednesday therewas an ongoing “serious and comprehensiveinvestigation” into who was behind the

attack. Using another name for IS, he said:“First signs point to Daesh, but it’s not certainyet.” CIA director John Brennan said theattack, which has sparked international con-demnation, bore the “hallmark” of thejihadist group.

‘Rifles in suitcases’ Details are emerging of how the attackers

arrived at Turkey’s busiest airport by taxibefore indiscriminately firing at passengerswith automatic rifles and detonating suicidebombs. “The terrorists failed to pass throughthe regular security system, scanners andpolice control,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirimtold reporters late Wednesday. “Theyreturned and came back with long-rangerifles they took out from their suitcases, andpassed the security control by opening firerandomly at people,” he said.

“One of them blew himself up outside andthe other two took advantage of the panicduring the opening of the fire, entered insideand blew themselves up.” A senior sourceclose to the presidency gave a slightly differ-ent version of events, saying two attackers

blew themselves up on separate floors of theairport before the third followed suit outside.CCTV footage widely-circulated on socialmedia showed a huge ball of flame eruptingat the entrance, scattering terrified passen-gers. Another video showed a black-cladattacker running inside the building beforecollapsing to the ground-apparently felled bya police bullet-and blowing himself up. Thevictims include several Saudis, a Chinesenational, a Tunisian and a Ukrainian. Of theinjured, 92 are still in hospital, the Istanbulgovernor’s office said.

Security lapse? Authorities are under pressure to convince

visitors that Turkey is still safe, as the vitaltourism industry has taken a heavy hit from astring of deadly attacks in the past year. EgeSeckin, an analyst at IHS Country risk, said theattack was “most likely conducted by theIslamic State to undermine the Turkish econ-omy by attacking the airport ahead of thesummer months, when tourism peaks”.Yildirim said Turkey would “increase the pres-ence of specially-trained staff” at the nation’s

airports. He moved swiftly after the bomb-ings to deny there had been any lapse insecurity, but many Turks have been angeredby the perceived failure to stop the bomb-ings. “It was an airport,” one man could beheard shouting outside an Istanbul morgueon Wednesday, as devastated families wentto collect the bodies of loved ones. “It’s notlike this happened in the street.” The opposi-tion Cumhuriyet newspaper also expressedanger at what it said was a failure by thenation’s leaders to take political responsibilityfor the attack. “Is there anyone to resign?” itasked, pointing out that after the IS bombingsat Brussels airport and a metro station inMarch, three Belgian ministers offered theirresignation. Turkey has suffered at least fiveattacks blamed on IS jihadists, including ablast in Ankara in October that left over 100dead, the worst in the country’s modern his-tory. In January, a bombing in the heart ofIstanbul’s tourist district, also blamed on IS,killed a dozen German visitors. Two monthslater, three Israelis and an Iranian were killedin another attack attributed to the jihadists onthe city’s main Istiklal shopping street. — AFP

13 detained over Istanbul airport attackChilling details emerge of suicide bombers assault

I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

CAIRO: Egypt yesterday celebrated thearmy’s 2013 overthrow of an Islamist pres-ident with a new national holiday, markedby warplanes flying over the capital ofCairo and a brief address to the nation byPresident Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi. Supportersof El-Sissi, who as defense minister led theouster of Mohammed Morsi, planned tohold rallies later in the day to mark theoccasion. But the holiday mood was rup-tured by reports from Egypt’s restive SinaiPeninsula, where suspected Islamic mili-tants yesterday gunned down a Christianpriest and two members of the country’ssecurity forces in separate attacks, accord-ing to security and medical officials.

Back in 2013, millions of Egyptians tookto the streets on June 30, to call for Morsito step down, just a year after he tookoffice as Egypt’s first freely elected presi-

dent. El-Sissi announced his ouster on July3, 2013, and authorities later detainedthousands of Morsi supporters andbanned his Muslim Brotherhood as a ter-rorist group. Morsi, who has since been incustody, has been sentenced to death inone trial and long prison terms in severalothers. Convicted on a range of charges,including a prison break, leaking secretdocuments and conspiring with foreignterror groups against Egypt, he is appeal-ing his convictions.

‘June 30 Revolution’ The holiday, which the government

refers to as the “June 30 Revolution” andwhich it announced earlier this week, willbe also marked with musical performanc-es and free entry to museums. In theancient southern city of Luxor, hot-air bal-

loons carrying Egyptian flags flew overpharaonic temples and authorities plan aparade along the River Nile.

“On this glorious day, I would like toassure you that we are working hard torealize the hopes of the Egyptian peoplefor the better future they deserve,” El-Sissi,elected to office two years ago, said in apre-recorded address to the nation broad-cast yesterday. “The June 30 revolutionreasserts the impossibility of imposing astatus quo on the Egyptian people.Anyone who imagines that he can success-fully do that is deluding himself,” he said,alluding to Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhoodsupporters.

On Wednesday, he appealed to securi-ty forces and agencies to stop anyonefrom “spoiling” the occasion. He did notelaborate, but he appeared to be referring

to possible protests by Morsi supporters orattacks by Islamic militants. Egyptian secu-rity forces have been battling militants foryears in Sinai, but attacks have growndeadlier and more frequent after Morsi’souster. In yesterday’s attacks, the priestwas gunned down while walking in thecity of el-Arish. Outside the city’s mainhospital, a bomb blast killed one police-man and wounded two.

And in a Sinai village near the bordertown of Rafah, a bomb blast badly wound-ed a soldier. The soldier was woundedagain when an ambulance taking him toel-Arish, escorted by an armored vehicle,was ambushed by militants. That ambushkilled another soldier, the security officialssaid, speaking on condition of anonymitybecause they were not authorized to talkto reporters. — AP

Egypt marks overthrow of president with new holiday

Palestinian kills teen in West Bank home

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian attacker fatally stabbed a 13-year-oldgirl in her home in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterdaybefore being shot dead by security guards, the Israeli army said. Thearmy said the Palestinian killed the girl in her bed after breaking intoher home in the Kiryat Arba settlement outside the city of Hebron.

Security personnel rushed to the house and fired on the attack-er, who wounded a guard before being shot dead, the army said.The girl was taken to hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition anddied of her wounds. The Palestinian health ministry identified theattacker as Mohammed Nasser Tarayra, 19, from the village of BaniNaim, just outside the city. Israeli media, which identified the girlas Hallel Yaffa Ariel, reported that she was attacked in her sleep.The Israeli military released a photograph of her blood-spatteredbedroom. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talkswith Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman after the attack and thehome village of the assailant was sealed off.

Israeli work permits for members of Tarayra’s extended familywere also to be revoked and authorities began procedures aimedat demolishing his home, a measure often taken against attack-ers. “The horrifying murder of a young girl in her bed underscoresthe bloodlust and inhumanity of the incitement-driven terroriststhat we are facing,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “The entirenation deeply identifies with the family’s pain and declares to themurderers: ‘You will not break us’.”

Flashpoint city Hebron in the occupied West Bank has been a flashpoint in a

spate of deadly unrest that has rocked Israel and the Palestinianterritories since October last year. Several hundred Jewish settlerslive in a tightly guarded enclave in the heart of the city of morethan 200,000 Palestinians, a persistent source of tensions. KiryatArba, where yesterday’s attack occurred, is on the outskirts of thecity and has a population of more than 7,000.

The violence since October has killed at least 211 Palestinians,33 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese. Most ofthe Palestinians were carrying out knife, gun or car-rammingattacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were killed inclashes with security forces or by Israeli air strikes on the GazaStrip. The number of attacks has declined but the deadliest yethit Tel Aviv earlier this month when Palestinian gunmen killedfour people at a popular nightspot. The two attackers-cousinsfrom the Hebron area-were arrested. Analysts say Palestinianfrustration with Israeli occupation and settlement-building in theWest Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts andtheir own fractured leadership have fed the unrest.

Israel says incitement by Palestinian leaders and media is aleading cause of the violence. On a visit to Israel and thePalestinian territories this week, UN chief Ban Ki-moon con-demned the recent wave of attacks as “terrorism”. But he urgedIsrael to address the “key underlying causes of violence” includ-ing “growing Palestinian anger, the paralysis of the peaceprocess, the nearly a half-century of occupation.”

Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians have beenat a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.France is planning to hold an international conference before theend of the year in a bid to restart the peace process. Israel oppos-es the French initiative, calling instead for bilateral negotiations,while Palestinian leaders have expressed support for it. — AFP

LONDON: The race to become Britain’snext prime minister took a dramatic, unex-pected turn yesterday as former LondonMayor Boris Johnson - popular with thepublic and widely considered to be afront-runner - ruled himself out of con-tention after the defection of a key ally. Ina morning of political machinations andhigh-stakes treachery that had commenta-tors reaching for Shakespearean parallels,Justice Secretary Michael Gove abruptlywithdrew his support for Johnson andannounced he would run for theConservative Party leadership himself.

Johnson, a prominent campaigner forBritain’s withdrawal from the 28-nationEuropean Union, then told a news confer-ence that the next Conservative leaderwould need to unite the party and ensureBritain’s standing in the world. “Havingconsulted colleagues and in view of thecircumstances in Parliament, I have con-cluded that person cannot be me,” he saidto the astonishment of journalists andsupporters. The decision by Johnson, 52, is

an unexpected twist in a political careerthat saw him serve as journalist, lawmakerand mayor, building a public profile onLatin quips, cycling and rumpled eccen-tricity, while nurturing a poorly concealedambition to lead his country.

Johnson’s decision to break with long-time ally Prime Minister David Cameronand back the “leave” side in Britain’s EUreferendum seemed to have paid off lastweek, when Cameron resigned after vot-ers decided 52 to 48 percent to exit thebloc. Cameron’s resignation triggered aConservative leadership race. By Thursdayafternoon, the nominating period hadended, leaving five candidates: HomeSecretary Theresa May, Work and PensionsSecretary Stephen Crabb, Energy MinisterAndrea Leadsom and former DefenseSecretary Liam Fox, in addition to Gove.

Conservative lawmakers will choosetwo finalists and then more than 100,000party members select the winner by apostal ballot, to be announced on Sept 9The winner will become Britain’s prime

minister and play a vital role shaping thenature of its relationship with the EU afterlast week’s Brexit vote ended the career ofCameron, whose bid to keep Britain in thecontinental bloc failed. The bookies’ earlyfavorite is the 59-year-old May, who isseen by many in the party as a safe pair ofhands as the country struggles to disen-tangle itself from the EU. Her six years asBritain’s interior minister, considered oneof the toughest jobs in politics, gives hercredibility to deal with the EU on the issueof immigration, sure to be one of thethorniest topics in the exit talks.

“My pitch is very simple,” she said at acampaign launch event. “I’m Theresa Mayand I think I’m the best person to be primeminister of this country. “If ever there wasa time for a prime minister who is readyand able to do the job from day one, this isit.” Although May had offered a tepidendorsement of Britain’s place in the EUduring the referendum campaign, she wasclear that the results of the vote would berespected. — AP

UK in shock as Johnson avoids leadership bid

Popular front-runner rules himself out

LONDON: Brexit campaigner and former London mayor Boris Johnson addresses a press conference in central Londonyesterday. — AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2015

Islamic State makesinroads into KenyaNAIROBI: Recent arrests show the Islamic State’s growingpresence in East Africa, where they are recruiting youngKenyans for jihad abroad and raising fears some of them willreturn to threaten the country. Kenyan intelligence agenciesestimate that around 100 men and women may have gone tojoin the IS in Libya and Syria, triggering concern that somemay come back to stage attacks on Kenyan and foreign tar-gets in a country already victim to regular, deadly terrorism.

“There is now a real threat that Kenya faces from IS and thedanger will continue to increase,” said Rashid Abdi, senioranalyst at the International Crisis Group think tank in Nairobi.The problem of eager but often untrained extremists gainingterrorist skills with IS and coming home to launch attacks isone European nations are already grappling with, and maysoon be Kenya’s problem too. “It’s a time bomb,” said GeorgeMusamali, a Kenyan security consultant and former paramili-tary police officer. “People going to Libya or Syria isn’t a prob-lem for Kenya, it’s what they do when they come back.” Thefirst Al-Qaeda attack in Kenya was the 1998 US embassybombing and the most recent large one a university massacrein Garissa last year, but the IS threat is new and as yet illdefined. In March four men appeared in court accused ofseeking to travel to Libya to join IS. Then in early May, Kenyanpolice announced the arrest of a medical student, his wife andher friend accused of recruiting for IS and plotting an anthraxattack. Two other medical students were said to be on the run.

‘IS terror network’ Police chief Joseph Boinnet described a countrywide “ter-

ror network” linked to IS and led by Mohamed Abdi Ali, amedical intern at a regional hospital, “planning large scaleattacks” including one to “unleash a biological attack... usinganthrax”. Three weeks later Kenyan police announced (usinganother IS acronym) the arrest of two more members of “theISIS network that is seeking to establish itself in Kenya in orderto conduct terror attacks against innocent Kenyans.”

Police said they had found “materials terrorists typicallyuse in the making of IEDs”-homemade bombs-as well as“bows and poisoned arrows”. Some experts dismissed thesuggestion of an imminent large-scale attack in Kenya, butsaid the threat of IS radicalization, recruitment and return isgenuine. “We can’t see either the intent to carry out such anattack nor any real planning for it,” said one foreign lawenforcement official who has examined the anthrax allega-tion. “But there is something in it: there is IS here, mainlyinvolved in recruitment and facilitation.”

Martine Zeuthen, a Kenya-based expert on violent extrem-ism at Britain’s Royal United Services Institute, said the recentarrests “indicate that radicalization continues to be a serioussecurity concern”. She said that while recruitment into theSomalia-based Al-Qaeda group Shabaab remains the primarydanger, “there are also credible reports of recruitment fromKenya to violent groups outside the region, such as thosefighting in Libya.” “Like those who went to fight in Somaliaand returned to Kenya, this new category of recruit may alsoreturn and pose a security risk to Kenya,” said Zeuthen.

Kenyan authorities already struggle to manage the returnof their nationals from Somalia, where hundreds of Kenyansmake up the bulk of Shabaab’s foreign fighters. In the futurethey will likely also have to deal with returning IS extremists aswell as self-radicalized “lone wolf” attackers inspired by thegroup’s ideology and online propaganda. — AFP

BAGHDAD: Iraqi commanders said yes-terday that Islamic State group fightersfleeing their once emblematic bastion ofFallujah had taken a heavy toll fromstrikes by both Iraqi and US-led coalitionaircraft. They said at least 260 vehicleswere destroyed and 150 militants killedin strikes that began late Tuesday asrouted jihadists attempted to leave theirlast positions west of the city in hugeconvoys.

“Our heroes in the military aviationdestroyed more than 200 vehicles,”Yahya Rasool, the spokesman of theJoint Operations Command coordinat-ing the fight against IS, said. The min-istry of defense released aerial footageshowing dozens of vehicles being takenout. Rasool said commandos had alsoseized large quantities of weapons andammunition. He said at least 150 IS mili-tants were killed in the strikes, althoughit was not clear how the dead werecounted and identified.

Massive convoy Rasool was referring to a first series of

strikes on a massive convoy of severalhundred vehicles heading south ofFallujah toward the desert, apparentlyto areas IS still controls near the borderwith Syria. At least another 60 IS vehicleswere destroyed later by air strikes con-ducted by Iraqi and US-led coalition air-craft on a convoy heading northwest ofFallujah, Anbar Operations Commandchief Ismail Mahalawi told AFP. He couldnot provide an estimate for the numberof IS fighters killed in those strikes.

“This is a desperate attempt on thepart of the terrorists to flee to their areasin Al-Qaim near the Syrian border andTharthar,” Mahalawi said. Tharthar is alake north of the Euphrates surroundedby desert through which IS fighter stillhave lines to reach Mosul, the country’ssecond city and their last remainingmajor Iraqi hub. Iraqi forces have retak-en full control of Fallujah, a longtimejihadist bastion just 50 kilometers westof Baghdad, after a vast operation thatwas launched in May.

After tough battles to breach ISdefenses in south Fallujah, elite Iraqiforces conquered the rest of the citywith relative ease. They took full con-trol of the city on Sunday after IS fight-ers abandoned the Jolan neighbor-hood without firing a shot in angerand retreated to rural areas to thewest. The account of the air strikes pro-vided by the JOC suggests IS fightershad no other choice but to attempt asuicidal convoy, which they knewwould leave them exposed to airstrikes. According to Rasool and othermilitary sources, the first strikes brokeup a massive init ial convoy thatstretched several kilometers.

Foreign fighters Some left their vehicles and hid in a

spot which was subsequently struck byIraqi aircraft, resulting in a very highdeath toll, he said. Fragments of theconvoy were able to move on and somemore vehicles were destroyed in subse-quent strikes. “We achieved a great vic-

tory by killing dozens of militants andthe leaders of this organization whotried to flee after their defeat,” Rasoolsaid. The JOC said that the majority ofthe strikes were carried out by Iraqi air-craft and that US-led coalition warplanesjoined the operation later. Speakingfrom the scene in a video released bythe defence ministry, the head of Iraq’sarmy aviation said many of the militantskilled were foreigners.

“Most of them were foreign fighterswho refused to surrender to our forces”during the Fallujah operation,Lieutenant General Hamed Al-Malikisaid. “They left corpses in the desert andtook some of the wounded with them,”he said. It was not immediately clearwhether some IS militants were able tosurvive the aerial onslaught and reachtheir strongholds near Syria. The strikesappear to spell the end of fixed IS posi-tions in eastern Anbar province, furthershrinking the “caliphate” the group pro-claimed over large parts of Iraq andSyria two years ago.

After losing the provincial capitalRamadi, as well as the towns of Hit andRutba, defeat in Fallujah means thejihadist footprint in their traditionalstronghold of Anbar is limited to areasnear the Syrian border.

Iraqi forces are now training theirsights of Mosul and pressing simultane-ous operations from the south and theeast of Qayyarah, a town in the Tigris val-ley they want to use as a launchpad for afully-fledged offensive on IS’s de factoIraqi capital. — AFP

Iraq: IS ripped apart by air strikes as it fled Fallujah260 vehicles were destroyed, 150 militants killed

FALLUJAH: A member of the Iraqi government forces stands near a body lying on the road next to a charred vehiclesouthwest of Fallujah on June 29, 2016 after Iraqi forces airstrikes destroyed 260 vehicles carrying militants from theIslamic State group trying to flee after their defeat in Fallujah. — AFP

GARISSA: This file photo taken on April 2, 2015 showsparamedics helping a student who was injured during anattack by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab gunmen onthe Moi University campus. — AFP

13I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

BELGRADE: When Britain voted to leave theEuropean Union, pro-Russians in Serbia werequick to proclaim the bloc’s death: they litcandles and laid flowers in front of the EUheadquarters in Belgrade and declared thecountry’s efforts to join the 28-nation clubnull and void. Although the mock death cer-tificate published by a Kremlin-backed groupmay be a bit premature, Serbia and otherBalkan nations which suffered through warsand violent breakups of their states in the1990s will certainly now face more hurdlesand delays to their membership bids as theEU itself is falling apart.

It was the promise of Eastern expansion,championed by Britain, that helped halt thebrutal 1990s wars among former Yugoslavrepublic. With the EU membership prospectnow diminishing and the EU splitting up, thevolatile Balkan region bordering the EU couldnow fall prey to power players such as Russia.Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia,Kosovo and Albania, all at different stages injoining the EU, have declared that the Britishexit in a referendum last week will not diminishtheir membership efforts. But their leadershave acknowledged that the weakened EUmay not be as appealing as it used to be.

“This is the biggest political earthquakesince the fall of the Berlin wall,” Serbian PrimeMinister Aleksandar Vucic said. “There is nodoubt that this will leave significant conse-quences not only in short but in long terms.What will the EU enlargement policy be I can-not tell you at this moment.”Serbia, strategical-ly important for Russia as it remains its only realally in the region, has faced relentless propa-ganda and political pressure from the Kremlinto ditch its pro-Western alliances. Russian offi-

cials have demanded that referendums be heldin Serbia on its EU and possibly NATO bids,counting on strong historic ties between thetwo Slavic nations.

“The Brexit is not good news for the coun-tries in the region, especially Serbia which hasthe closest ties to Russia,” said Jelica Minic fromthe European movement for Serbia, addingthat the latest polls show that Serbs are largelyEuro-skeptics and increasingly turning towardRussia. “Serbia is dangerously sliding towardRussia,” she said. Moscow has also been veryactive in Bosnia, working through the BosnianSerb mini-state there whose officials have beenblocking the country’s Muslims and Croatsfrom their efforts to join the EU and NATO.

Yugoslav tragedyFor years membership in the EU was seen

by many in Bosnia as a goal that would bringsome stability in people’s lives, but the rupturein the EU brings back bad memories of theYugoslav tragedy.”This is not going to endwell. I see nothing good in the future,” saidSarajevan Zuhra Coric, referring to the Britishexit. Bosnian political analyst Ivana Maricbelieves what is happening now in the EUcould have a positive effect as Britain has neverbeen completely integrated and the Unionmay come out of this more “connected.”

“What happened to the pound will discour-age other forces in Europe who consideredsimilar referendums,” she said, referring to thedrop of the British currency on the exchangemarkets immediately after the referendum.“However, the enlargement process may bedelayed.” Macedonia has been an EU candi-date member since 2005, but its bid has beenblocked by Greece over the name dispute.

Macedonian president Gjorge Ivanovexpressed “great concern” with Brexit and saidhe fears that the EU may now split up withmore of its member states leaving.

“We, who are older generation, experiencedthe tragedy of the former Yugoslavia, wherethere was also a system of collective decision-making. Where is that state now? We are wor-

ried by the possibility that the European Unionmay follow the same road,” Ivanov said. In theSerbian capital, the pro-Russians were gloating.They stuck a death notice to the entrance ofthe EU office, with a note: “We are informingthe citizens of Serbia that after a long and seri-ous illness, the European Union died at the ageof 59.”— AP

Brexit shakes hopes of Balkan EU biddersMore hurdles, delays to their membership bids

BELGRADE: A seamstress sews an EU flag in a workshop. —AP

14I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

MONESSEN: In this June 28, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a cam-paign stop at Alumisource, a metals recycling facility. — AP

OTTAWA, Ontario: President BarackObama and the leaders of Mexico andCanada pushed back forcefully onWednesday against the isolationist andanti-immigrant sentiments that haveroiled Britain and been championed byGOP presidential candidate DonaldTrump. The leaders warned against easysolutions peddled by “demagogues” whofeed on economic anxiety.

With tensions growing over terrorismand fallout from Britain’s exit from theEuropean Union, Obama acknowledgedthat Americans and others have reason tobe concerned about their own future in arapidly globalizing economy. He said con-cerns about immigrants had been exploit-ed by politicians in the past, but he insistedhe wasn’t worried Americans will followthat path. “We should take some of thisseriously and answer it boldly and clearly,”Obama said, without naming theRepublican presidential candidate. “Butyou shouldn’t think that is representative ofhow the American people think.”

‘Genuine longer-term concerns’ Gathering in the Canadian capital, the

leaders defended their calls for freer tradewithin the continent and beyond. Theyargued that instead of withdrawing fromthe world, advanced countries shouldfocus on higher standards, wages andlegal protections that would ensure thebenefits of globalization are widelyfelt.”The integration of national economiesinto a global economy, that’s here. That’sdone,” Obama said. Obama’s comments ata news conference with Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau and MexicanPresident Enrique Pena Nieto came as theleaders sought to show unity amid grow-ing nationalist movements in Europe andelsewhere, epitomized by Britain’s move toleave the 28-member EU.

Though Britain’s decision has rattled theglobal financial system, Obama said hebelieved the markets were starting to settledown. Still, he acknowledged there wouldbe “genuine longer-term concerns” aboutglobal economic growth “if, in fact, Brexitgoes through.” “This doesn’t help,” he said.

Obama said his message to British PrimeMinister David Cameron and to GermanChancellor Angela Merkel, who is largelyspearheading Europe’s response, was that“everybody should catch their breath.”Though Merkel and other European leadershave urged Britain to start its withdrawalquickly, Obama called for a thought-outprocess that would be transparent andclearly understandable.

“I think that will be a difficult, challeng-ing process, but it does not need to be apanicky process,” the president said. TheCanadian and Mexican leaders largelyechoed Obama’s calls for staying focusedon closer economic ties. Pena Nieto saidMexico sees opportunity for growth andinvestment by broadening its relationshipwith the rest of the continent. “We arecompetitors, yes, but we have comple-mentary economies, and that will givemore development to our society,” theMexican leader said.

‘No more NAFTA’ And Trudeau said the three leaders’

strategy for combating protectionist viewswas to “highlight how much trade and pos-itive agreement among our nations aregood not only for the economy of theworld and the economy of our countries,but it’s also good for our citizens.” Yet itwas Trump and his insistence thatAmericans are better served by reassertingindependence that shadowed the leaders’meetings at the annual North AmericanLeaders’ Summit. Even as the three tookthe podium in Ottawa, Trump was threat-ening to pull the US out of the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement, chantingat a rally, “No more NAFTA.”

When a reporter asked the leaders toweigh in on Trump, Obama intervened,suggesting his counterparts should becareful what they say in case Trump endsup winning. “I’m not saying they shouldn’tanswer. I’m just - I’m helping them out a lit-tle bit,” Obama joked. He appeared person-ally insulted by Trump’s claims to representthe public’s best interests, accusing thepresumptive Republican nominee ofwrongly purporting to be a populist. He

said people like Vermont Sen. BernieSanders rightly deserve label of “populist”but that Trump is merely resorting to“nativism,” “xenophobia” and “cynicism.”

“We have to call this mentality what it is:a threat to the values that we profess, thevalues we seek to defend,” Obama said lat-er during a speech to Canadian Parliament,where a packed audience of about 1,000interrupted him repeatedly with standingovations. They chanted “four more years”as Obama wrapped up his address. Aheadof the summit, Canada announced it will liftvisa requirements for Mexican visitors as ofDecember 2016, while Pena Nieto agreedto open Mexican markets to Canadian beef.All three leaders pledged to generate halfof their electricity from renewable sourcesby 2025, and Mexico also committed tojoining the US and Canada in tacklingmethane emissions.

Briton indicted on weapons chargesIn other news, a British man arrested at

a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas after try-ing to grab a police officer’s gun was indict-ed on Wednesday on weapons charges, theauthorities said. Prosecutors chargedMichael Sandford, 20, with two felonycounts of being an illegal alien in posses-sion of a firearm and one count of imped-ing and disrupting the orderly conduct ofgovernment business, the US Attorney’sOffice in Las Vegas said in a statement.

Sandford, who was in the United Statesunlawfully, tried to grab a police officer’sgun while attending a rally for the pre-sumptive Republican presidential nomineeon June 18 before he was quickly overpow-ered and removed from the event, thecharge sheet said.

Although an initial complaint filed afterhis arrest stated that he told a SecretService agent that he had intended to killTrump, the indictment does not chargehim with plotting to kill the billionaire busi-nessman. Sandford went to a gun range inVegas on the eve of the rally to take shoot-ing lessons using a Glock 9 millimeterhandgun, the same type of weapon usedby the officer he allegedly tried to disarm,the indictment said. — Agencies

North America leaders urge

against Trump’s isolationism

Connecticut police more

likely to use stun guns

on minorities

HARTFORD, Connecticut: Hispanics shot with stun guns by policein Connecticut in 2015 were more likely to be fired upon multipletimes than other racial groups, according to an analysis releasedyesterday of the first statewide data of police stun gun use in theUnited States. In cases where police pull stun guns, the report saysofficers also were more likely to fire them in confrontations involv-ing minorities, as The Associated Press first reported in January afterobtaining preliminary data collected from police departmentsaround the state.

Officers fired the weapons, as opposed to merely brandishingthem, 60 percent of the time in confrontations involving whites, 81percent of the time in those involving blacks and 66 percent of thetime in those involving Hispanics. The report, written by CentralConnecticut State University analysts who reviewed the data, said itwas difficult to draw conclusions from the information because itwas the first data to be collected and many police departmentsappeared to underreport their stun gun use.

The report calls for improved data collection but does not makeany conclusions about whether police are engaged in racial profil-ing in their stun gun use. “With this basic information you can startasking more questions and figure out whether policies governingTasers need to be modified,” said Michael Lawlor, Connecticutundersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning. “I’m sureover time it will have a big impact. You can expect the use of Taserswill change simply because law enforcement is aware this data isbeing collected and reported publicly.”

A 2014 law made Connecticut the first state to require all policedepartments to report every instance in which an officer fires orthreatens to use a stun gun. Across the state, 610 people wereinvolved in police stun gun incidents last year and 419 of themreceived an electrical shock. Nearly 300 people were injured afterbeing shot with a stun gun and two died. In stun gun incidentsinvolving Hispanics, 27 percent were shocked twice, compared with18 percent of whites and 15 percent of blacks. Hispanics also weremore likely to be shocked more than twice.

Among the report’s other findings, about 53 percent of the peo-ple shot with stun guns appeared to be under the influence ofdrugs or alcohol, despite guidance to avoid using them in such cas-es. In 2013, Taser International Inc, a leading maker of stun guns,advised law enforcement officials to try to avoid using stun guns onpeople who are impaired from alcohol, drugs or certain medica-tions, because of the risk of injury or death posed by electric shocksto their bodies.

Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran, a vice president of theConnecticut Police Chiefs Association, said it isn’t clear whyConnecticut officers are firing their stun guns at so many impairedpeople. He said it often isn’t immediately clear to officers whethersomeone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and using astun gun is preferable to using deadly force with a firearm.

“If you’ve got an immediate threat that’s coming at you, youneed to protect yourself or that innocent third person,” he said.“There are certain times when policy doesn’t save your life. ... TasersI can honestly say have saved officers from injury. They’ve savedsome suspects from injuries. Probably a lot of suspects.”

The report also found that one-third of people involved in policestun gun incidents were described as “emotionally disturbed” and13 percent were labeled as “suicidal.” Data analysts noted that sev-eral federal courts have questioned the constitutionality of usingstun guns on people to secure their own safety or to transport themto hospitals, which some Connecticut officers did in dealing withemotionally disturbed people. — AP

CONNECTICUT: In this file photo, a Taser X26 sits on atable in Knightstown, Ind In Connecticut. A new reportsuggests police are more likely to use stun guns onminorities. — AP

15I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

BIRMINGHAM: Born in the ashes of thesmoldering South after the Civil War, theKu Klux Klan died and was reborn beforelosing the fight against civil rights in the1960s. Membership dwindled, a unifiedgroup fractured, and one-time memberswent to prison for a string of murderousattacks against blacks. Many assumedthe group was dead, a white-robedghost of hate and violence.

Yet today, the KKK is still alive anddreams of restoring itself to what it oncewas: an invisible white supremacistempire spreading its tentacles through-out society. As it marks 150 years of exis-tence, the Klan is trying to reshape itselffor a new era. Klan members still gatherby the dozens under starry Southernskies to set fire to crosses in the dead ofnight, and KKK leaflets have shown up insuburban neighborhoods from theDeep South to the Northeast in recentmonths. Perhaps most unwelcome toopponents, some independent Klanorganizations say they are merging withlarger groups to build strength.

‘Klan’s trademark’ In a series of interviews with The

Associated Press, Klan leaders said theyfeel that US politics are going their way,as a nationalist, us-against-them mental-ity deepens across the nation. Stoppingor limiting immigration - a desire of theKlan dating back to the 1920s - is moreof a cause than ever. And leaders saymembership has gone up at the twilightof President Barack Obama’s secondterm in office. Joining the Klan is as easyas filling out an online form - providedyou’re white and Christian. Memberscan visit an online store to buy one ofthe Klan’s trademark white cotton robesfor $145, though many splurge on the$165 satin version.

While the Klan has terrorized minori-

ties during much of the last century, itsleaders now present a public front thatis more virulent than violent. Leadersfrom several different Klan groups allsaid they have rules against violenceaside from self-defense, and even oppo-nents agree the KKK has toned itselfdown after a string of members went toprison years after the fact for deadlyarson attacks, beatings, bombings andshootings. “While today’s Klan has stillbeen involved in atrocities, there is noway it is as violent as the Klan of the‘60s,” said Mark Potok of the SouthernPoverty Law Center, an advocacy groupthat tracks activity by groups it consid-ers extremist. “That does not mean it issome benign group that does notengage in political violence,” he added.Klan leaders told the AP that most oftoday’s groups remain small and oper-ate independently, kept apart by dis-agreements over such issues as whetherto associate with neo-Nazis, hold publicrallies or wear the KKK’s trademark robesin colors other than white.

‘3,800 members’ It ’s impossible to say how many

members the Klan counts today sincegroups don’t reveal that information,but leaders claim adherents in the thou-sands among scores of local groupscalled Klaverns. “Most Klan groups I talkto could hold a meeting in the bath-room in McDonald’s,” said Chris Barker,imperial wizard of the Loyal WhiteKnights of the Ku Klux Klan in Eden,North Carolina. As for his Klavern, hesaid, “Right now, I’m close to 3,800members in my group alone.”

The Anti-Defamation League, theJewish protection group that monitorsKlan activity, describes Barker’s LoyalWhite Knights as the most active grouptoday, but estimates it has no more than

200 members. The ADL puts total Klanmembership nationwide at around3,000. The Alabama-based SPLC esti-mates the Klan has about 190 chaptersnationally with no more than 6,000members total, which would be a mereshadow of its estimated 2 million to 5million members in the 1920s.

‘Not blocking minority rights’“The idea of unifying the Klan like it was in

the ‘20s is a persistent dream of the Klan, butit’s not happening,” Potok said. Formed justmonths after the end of the Civil War by sixformer Confederate officers, the Klan origi-nally seemed more like a college fraternitywith ceremonial robes and odd titles for itsofficers. But soon, freed blacks were beingterrorized, and the Klan was blamed.Hundreds of people were assaulted or killedas whites tried to regain control of the defeat-ed Confederacy. Congress effectively out-lawed the Klan in 1871, and the group died.

The Klan seemed relegated to historyuntil World War I, but it was resurrectedas waves of immigrants arrived fromEurope and elsewhere, and grew moreas the NAACP challenged the South’sJim Crow laws in the 1920s. Millionsjoined, including community leaders likebankers and lawyers. That momentumdeclined, and best estimates placemembership at about 40,000 by themid-’60s, the height of the civil rightsmovement. Klan members were con-victed of using murder as a weaponagainst equality in states includingMississippi and Alabama, where oneKlansman remains imprisoned for plant-ing the bomb that killed four black girlsin a Birmingham church in 1963. KKKleader Brent Waller, imperial wizard ofthe United Dixie White Knights inMississippi, said stopping immigration -not blocking minority rights - is theKlan’s No. 1 issue today. — AP

Obama vows tosign Puerto

Rico bill quicklyWASHINGTON: As Puerto Rico faces a major debt payment,President Barack Obama is vowing to move quickly to sign alast-minute rescue package for the financially-strapped USterritory and its 3.5 million Americans. In a rare election-yearfeat, the White House-backed legislation passed with strongbipartisan support in Congress. The Senate voted 68-30 forthe legislation on Wednesday, three weeks after the Houseapproved the measure.

“This bill is not perfect, but it is a critical first step towardeconomic recovery and restored hope for millions ofAmericans who call Puerto Rico home,” Obama said in astatement. Puerto Rico is in a decade-long recession and has$70 billion in debt, and leaders of both parties warned thatfailure to pass the bill could send the island into financialchaos. Signs are already pointing to a humanitarian crisis asthousands have fled the island and businesses there haveclosed, schools have struggled with limited electricity andhospitals have asked for cash payment in advance for somemedication. A $2 billion debt payment to creditors is dueFriday, and the territory’s governor has said that there isn’tmoney to pay it. The legislation would create a controlboard to oversee the U.S. territory’s finances and supervisesome debt restructuring. It would not provide any directfinancial aid to the territory, but leaders warned that abailout could eventually become necessary if Congressdoesn’t take this step. The control board would be similar toone that oversaw the District of Columbia in the late 1990s.Its seven members would oversee negotiations with credi-tors and the courts over reducing some debt.

In addition to creating the board, the bill would requirethe territory to create a fiscal plan and fund public pensions,which the Puerto Rico government has shorted by morethan $40 billion. Gov Alejandro Garcia Padilla has warnedthe US territory would face multiple lawsuits if the bill is notapproved, especially following Friday’s anticipated defaulton $1 billion in general obligation bonds. The legislationwould temporarily block creditor lawsuits from being fileduntil February 2017.

The general obligation bonds are backed by the island’sconstitution, but Garcia has said the government has nomoney to honor that debt despite the implementation ofnew taxes and recent increases in utility rates. Garcia hasn’tsaid if the island will default on the other $1 billion that isdue.”Puerto Rico cannot endure any more austerity,” Garciasaid in an editorial published Wednesday.

Negotiations on the bill got a boost in December whenHouse Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis, promised to find a reason-able solution to help the island. Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, theRepublican chairman of the House Natural ResourcesCommittee, spent the next several months writing the billunder intense pressure from bondholders worried theirinvestments would be lost, as well as Democrats and Obamaadministration officials who pushed to make sure thatPuerto Ricans’ underfunded pensions were also a priority.

Ryan helped negotiate the compromise bill and theHouse voted overwhelmingly to pass it, 297-127. TreasurySecretary Jacob Lew visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday in a bidto persuade some reluctant Democrats concerned that theboard would be too powerful. Democrats have alsoopposed a provision that would allow the island’s govern-ment to lower the minimum wage for some younger work-ers. Lew urged senators to vote for the bill even though itisn’t perfect, saying that if the island defaults, the govern-ment may be forced to shut public transit, close a hospital orsend police officers home.

Still, some staunchly opposed it, including Sens. BobMenendez, D-NJ, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt “In my view weneed austerity not for the people of Puerto Rico, but for thebillionaire Wall Street hedge fund managers who have exac-erbated the crisis on the island,” Sanders said on the floor.Inthe days before the vote, some bondholder groups workedto turn senators against the bill, arguing it doesn’t sufficientlyprotect creditors and is tantamount to a bailout for the terri-tory. Several labor unions also lobbied against the measure,arguing that a lower minimum wage could take money outof the Puerto Rican economy. The legislation is neededbecause Puerto Rico cannot declare bankruptcy under feder-al law. Mainland municipalities and their utilities can, whilemunicipalities and utilities in Puerto Rico cannot. —AP

CEDAR TOWN: In this Saturday, April 23, 2016 photo, members of the Ku Klux Klan participate in cross burnings after a“white pride” rally in rural Paulding County. — AP

Ku Klux Klan dreams of rising again 150 years after foundingMerging with larger groups to build strength

16I n t e r n a t i o n a l

5 held for planning attacks HYDERABAD, India: India’s federal investigative agency has arrest-ed five people for allegedly collecting weapons and explosive mate-rials to attack religious sites and sensitive government buildings invarious parts of the country. The suspects appeared in court yester-day, which sent them to jail for 14 days while the agency completesits investigation of the case. During questioning late Wednesday,the suspects revealed that they were being guided by an onlinehandler suspected to be based in Iraq or Syria, the NationalInvestigation Agency said in a statement, adding that it is lookinginto possible links with the Islamic State group. It said two semi-automatic pistols, chemicals for making deadly explosives and 1.5million rupees ($22,000) in cash were recovered from the suspects inthe southern city of Hyderabad.

AQIS on ‘terror’ listWASHINGTON: The United States added Al-Qaeda in the IndianSubcontinent, a regional branch of the global extremist network,to its terror blacklist yesterday. The State Department designat-ed AQIS a “foreign terrorist organization” and its leader, Indian-born Asim Umar, a “specially designated global terrorist.” Al-Qaeda, the jihadist movement founded by the late Osama binLaden, has long been a banned group, but Thursday’s order sin-gles out a relatively new offshoot. Bin Laden’s successor,Egyptian ideologue Ayman Al-Zawahiri, announced the forma-tion of AQIS in September 2014 to carry the group’s fight toIndia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Since then, the group hasclaimed responsibility for a number of deadly and sometimesspectacular attacks, which may explain the US decision to list itseparately. Under the new designation, if investigators tie anyassets or property under US jurisdiction to the group or itsleader, they will be frozen. In addition, US citizens are forbiddenfrom having any dealings with the group on pain of prosecution.In a statement announcing the order, the State Department saidAQIS had claimed responsibility for the September 6, 2014 attackon a Pakistani naval dockyard.

Newsi n b r i e f

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

DHAKA: Early in June, a man walked intothe Dhaka premises of the RamakrishnaMission, a Hindu centre for spiritualityand learning in the Bangladesh capital,and delivered a handwritten note warn-ing of an attack by Islamic State. Days lat-er, armed policemen were sitting insidethe mission’s compound among orange-robed monks, the gates outside wereclosed and fewer people than normalshowed up at a medical clinic it runs forthe neighborhood.

“We are monks, we will live and diehere, but people with families are wor-ried,” Swami Shivananda, a priest manag-ing the administration of the mission,said of the country’s Hindu community,which accounts for 10 percent of thepopulation. Islamic State and Al-Qaedahave claimed responsibility for thekillings of more than 30 people since ear-ly last year, in an escalation of militantviolence targeting liberals, atheists, for-eigners, gays and religious minorities.

They have shocked the largely moder-ate Muslim country of 160 million peopleand heightened fears that Bangladesh,once hailed as the next Asian tiger econo-my with its huge garment industry, couldlose out to more stable competitors inthe region. Unlike some security experts,Bangladesh authorities say the two inter-national jihadi movements are not direct-ly involved in the murders, many of whichwere carried out with machetes. But, asthe police at the Hindu mission attest, thedanger is real, and counter-terrorism offi-cials warn it could get worse with onelocal militant group adopting al Qaeda’smethods and calling on the expertise of aformer army major implicated in a failed2011 coup.

Deadly rivalrySecurity officials say two local militant

groups, Ansar-al-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, are behind the killings. Of

the two, Ansar, which pledges allegianceto Al-Qaeda, has emerged as the mostorganized and dangerous, they say,while Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is seen as alooser organization that claims it repre-sents Islamic State but has no provenlinks to it. “By now we have a clear ideaof the organizational structure, com-mand and control and methods of oper-ations of Ansar-al-Islam,” Monirul Islam,chief of Bangladesh’s counter-terrorismpolice said.

“They follow the ideology of Al-Qaeda,their operational leaders are mostly edu-cated men, (from a) middle class back-ground. They declare their allegiance toAl-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent(AQIS) and, through it, to Ayman Al-Zawahri,” he said, referring to Al-Qaeda’sglobal leader. According to ThomasJoscelyn, senior editor at The Long WarJournal that tracks jihadi groups world-wide, there was evidence of more directlinks between Bangladesh and Al-Qaeda,and he warned the Islamist militant threathad been underestimated.

“We now have competition betweenAl-Qaeda and the Islamic State inBangladesh, which means that thejihadist pool is deep enough for bothorganizations to operate in the country.”In May, 2015, AQIS leader Asim Umarclaimed responsibility for the murder ofAvijit Roy, a US citizen and bloggerhacked to death in Bangladesh thatFebruary. US officials said at the time theywere unable to confirm the claim. Initially,Ansar struck bloggers and publishers crit-ical of radical Islam, then university teach-ers, including one who asked a womanstudent to remove her veil in class. InApril, it said it murdered two gay rightsactivists, saying they were promotinganti-Islamic activities, police said.

Mysterious ex-officerAlso worrying for authorities is the

apparent rise within Ansar’s ranks of for-mer army major Syed Mohammad ZiaulHaque, who went into hiding after themilitary accused him of involvement in aplot to overthrow the government in2011. “We have a suspicion that the ex-major is one of their leaders,” said count-er-terrorism chief Islam. “He is in hiding.We know his capability. If he is involved,it is a strength for Ansar-al-Islam.” Zia, asintelligence agencies call him, was fromthe engineer corps and trained in specialoperations. His would be the first knowncase of a Bangladesh military officerswitching sides to join a militant group,although it has happened elsewhere.

A military spokesman said Zia hadbeen dismissed from service five yearsago, but added that he was not in a posi-tion to speak about Zia’s activities sincethen. Zia’s involvement with Ansar wasfirst mentioned by the head of its prede-cessor group following his capture in2013, two police officials said. Zia washelping in the training of the fighters,motivating them to carry out j ihadagainst “anti-Islam” forces and alsotaught bomb-making skills, one officialbriefed on the interrogation report said.

Reuters could not independentlyverify the police claims. At the sametime, Is lamic State has said i t wasbehind the killings of Hindus, Buddhistsand members of minority Muslim sects,which have accelerated in recentweeks. Security off ic ials t ie thosedeaths to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, ahome grown group inspired by IslamicState’s vision of a caliphate. Police offi-cial Islam said authorities had foundcomputer evidence that Bangladesh-origin foreign fighters, some in Syria,were claiming attacks on behalf ofIslamic State as soon as they occurred.But he said there was no evidence ofoperational ties with the Middle East-based movement. — Reuters

Home-grown militants and former major behind Bangladesh attacksBloggers, foreigners, religious minorities targeted

Pharmacy fire kills 8 MUMBAI: Eight people were killed when a fire gutted a pharmacyin India’s financial capital Mumbai yesterday, police said. One otherperson was seriously injured in the blaze, which broke out early yes-terday morning, Mumbai police spokesman Ashok Dudhe said.“The primary reason for the fire seems to be a short circuit. But offi-cials will have to establish the exact cause once investigations arecomplete,” he said. It was the latest deadly fire to hit Mumbai inrecent years. In June last year, a fire in a high-rise apartment blockkilled seven people after they became trapped in a lift on the upperfloors. A month earlier, four firefighters were killed in a blaze atanother building.

NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old Indian boywho was kidnapped from New Delhiand taken to neighboring Bangladeshsix years ago finally returned homeyesterday to be reunited with his par-ents. Sonu, who goes by one name,landed at Delhi airport escorted bysecurity guards and officials and grip-ping his father’s hand as his motherclutched him from behind. “I havefound my son and I am very happynow. Would like to thank (foreign min-ister) Sushma Swaraj,” his fatherMehboob told reporters. Officials havenot revealed details of his abductionordeal but local media reported Sonuwas kidnapped by a tenant living in hisparent’s Delhi house in 2010 beforebeing trafficked across the border.

A Bangladesh mechanic alertedIndian officials after speaking withSonu whom he reportedly foundbeing exploited and forced to dohousehold chores by his trafficker insouthwestern Jessore. “She used tomake me work and beat me,” Sonu

was quoted as saying by Bangladeshionline news portal bdnews24.com ear-lier this week. The boy was later trans-ferred to a children’s home asBangladesh and India worked to havehim repatriated. Foreign affairs minis-ter Swaraj said on Tuesday that DNAsamples taken from the boy matchedthose of his mother.

Images showed Swaraj hugging asmiling Sonu at her New Delhi officeas he and his mother touched theminister’s feet in a gesture of respectand gratitude. In a similar case lastyear, a mute and deaf Indian womanwho strayed into Pakistan more thana decade ago finally returned to herhome country. She was hopeful ofbeing reunited with her long-lostfamily after identifying them in pho-tographs delivered by Indian officialsin Pakistan. But in a tragic twist justhours after she had arrived in Delhi,the woman, Geeta, said she couldnot recognize the family she thoughtwas hers. — AFP

Kidnapped Indian boy returns from Bangladesh after 6 years

NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj (left) meets 12year-old boy, Sonu (second left) and his parents at the Ministry of ExternalAffairs in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP

I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

DENPASAR: An Australian went on trialyesterday accused of molesting dozens ofIndonesian children on the popular resortisland of Bali. Prosecutors have accusedMelbourne-born Robert Andrew FiddesEllis of molesting 24 children since 2014.The 69-year-old allegedly lured children tohis house by offering them gifts and mon-

ey, before touching them inappropriatelywhile bathing them. Bali police arrestedEllis in January after a tip-off from a localchild protection agency about a suspiciousforeigner who frequently invited youngchildren to his home.

Ellis could face 15 years in prison iffound guilty. His lawyer, Soti Sapurah,

denied Ellis had molested the children,claiming his client only bathed them andnever forced them to engage in inappro-priate acts. “Robert did not intend tomolest the children, he only wanted tomake them happy,” Sapurah told AFP out-side Denpasar District Court. Ellis willreturn to court in July. Bali is a popular holi-

day destination for global tourists, particu-larly Australians, who flock to the island forits surf, resorts and night life. But somehave wound up in prison on child sexoffences. In 2009, 61-year-old AustralianPhilippe Robert Grandfield was sentencedto eight years prison for paying underageboys for sexual favours. — AFP

Australian faces court in Bali on child sex offences

KABUL: Afghan policemen look on as the wreckage of a bus is removed from the site of a suicide bomb attack that targeteda convoy of buses transporting police cadets on the outskirts of Kabul yesterday. — AFP photos

KABUL: The Taleban claimed responsi-bility yesterday for a twin suicide attacktargeting a convoy of buses transport-ing Afghan police cadets in Kabul, whichAfghanistan’s interior ministry said killed30 and wounded 58. The bloodshed,which was condemned as a “crimeagainst humanity” by President AshrafGhani, comes little over a week after 14Nepali security guards who were head-ing to work at the Canadian embassywere killed in a massive blast that lefttheir minibus spattered with blood.

“The convoy of buses transportingnewly graduated police was targeted bytwo suicide attackers in the limits ofKabul province. As a result 30 policewere martyred and 58 more injured,” astatement issued by the interior ministrysaid. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for theministry, said the cadets were returningfrom a training centre in neighboringWardak province and were heading tothe capital when targeted on Kabul’soutskirts. One attacker was on foot, andthe other was in an explosive-packedcar, he said. The Taleban quickly claimedresponsibility for the attack, the group’sspokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said ina statement. An AFP reporter said thearea had been cordoned off but it

appeared that five green police cadetbuses had sustained damage, as well asa military Humvee vehicle assigned toescort them. Twisted metal and glassshards littered the scene as security per-sonnel gathered around the wreckage.President Ghani said the attack demon-strated the Taleban’s weakness on thebattlefield, a statement from his officesaid. “This cruel and complete disregardfor human life during the holy month ofRamazan is abhorrent,” the US embassyin Kabul added.

Resurgent TalebanThe resurgent Taleban have been

fighting against the Western-backedKabul government since they were oust-ed from power by a US-led invasion inlate 2001. They have been gainingground across the country but theIslamic State group are also makinginroads into Afghanistan, particularly inthe east, where they are challenging theTaleban on their own turf. On June 20,14 Nepali security guards were killed inan attack on their bus that promptedKathmandu to ban its nationals fromworking in the war-ravaged country.

Eleven others were killed in a string ofbombings across Afghanistan on the

same day. The US and NATO combatmission in Afghanistan ended inDecember 2014. US forces have been inan advisory role since then, while carry-ing out counterterrorism missionsagainst IS and remnants of Al-Qaeda. USforces had only been authorized to hitTaleban targets for defensive reasons, orto protect Afghan soldiers. But therecent changes mean US troops can nowwork more closely with local fighters instriking the Taleban, who have demand-ed the departure of all foreign forces.

The Taleban regularly attack police aspart of their campaign, and a recent AFPinvestigation found that the insurgentsare exploiting child sex slaves employedby security forces to deploy deadlyinsider attacks. President Ghani onTuesday ordered an investigation intothe institutionalized abuse.

Efforts to bring the war to a close viapeace talks meanwhile appear indefi-nitely stalled after the US killing of for-mer Taleban chief Mullah AkhtarMansour in a drone attack insidePakistan last month. It is not yet clearwhether his successor HaibatullahAkhundzada will emulate his formerboss in shunning dialogue with theAfghan government. — AFP

Taleban bombers hit police cadets in Kabul, killing 30Bloodshed condemned as ‘crime against humanity’

Indonesian policemanto be honored

for refusing bribesJAKARTA: A member of Indonesia’s notoriously corruptpolice is to be honored for refusing to accept bribes duringhis 40-year career, instead scavenging garbage to supple-ment his meagre salary, an official said yesterday. Whilemany countries give awards for police bravery, Indonesianauthorities have decided to honor policeman Seladi, 57,after he became a media sensation when the story of hisdetermination not to accept kickbacks emerged. Thepolice in Indonesia are considered one of the country’smost graft-ridden institutions. They are accused of regular-ly extorting bribes from the public, being involved in thedrugs trade, and have been embroiled in numerous high-profile corruption cases.

But father-of-three Seladi-who like many Indonesiansgoes by only one name-insists he always refused bribesdespite only earning the equivalent of about $400 a monthand facing much temptation, as he worked in the depart-ment that issued driving licences in the city of Malang, onJava island. “In the driving licence department, there is alot of temptation,” he said.

“Many people want to give me money or gifts so theycan pass their driving test. But I always refused-my parentstaught me not to take bribes.” He was unable to afford hisown house, meaning he had to live with his wife and chil-dren at the home of his parents-in-law.

In 2004, Seladi began scavenging from garbage dumpsto top up his state income, earning on average an extra $5a day, mostly by selling on recyclable items. East Javaprovince police spokesman Argo Yuwono said Seladiwould be honored at a ceremony on Indonesia’s nationalpolice day on Friday for not accepting bribes, and for hisdedication in supporting his family by doing extra work.

The spokesman did not say what exactly Seladi wouldreceive. Indonesia was ranked 88th out of 168 countriesand territories in NGO Transparency International’sCorruption Perceptions Index last year. A number oneranking represents the least corrupt. — AFP

MALANG: Indonesian policeman Seladi carries bags ofgarbage in Malang, East Java. Seladi, a member ofIndonesia’s notoriously corrupt police is to be honored forrefusing to accept bribes during his 40-year career,instead scavenging garbage to supplement his meagersalary. — AFP

MANILA: Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in asthe Philippines’ 16th president yesterday,capping the unlikely journey of a provincialcity mayor whose brash man-of-the-peoplestyle and pledges to crush crime swampedestablishment rivals in last month’s elec-tion. After making his pledge at the presi-dential palace in Manila, with one hand onthe Bible, Duterte delivered a speech inwhich he promised a “relentless” and “sus-tained” fight against corruption, criminalityand illegal drugs. However, he said theseills were only symptoms of a disease cut-ting into the moral fibre of society.

“I see the erosion of the people’s trust inour country’s leaders, the erosion of faith inour judicial system, the erosion of confi-dence in the capacity of our public servantsto make the people’s lives better, safer andhealthier,” he said. Duterte tapped into vot-ers’ disgust with the Philippines’ politicalelite and the failure of successive govern-ments to tackle poverty and inequality,drawing comparisons with Donald Trumpand the rise of assertive populists acrossthe globe.

But his defiance of convention hasraised concern that economic growth inthe Philippines, the fastest of SoutheastAsia’s five main economies under his pred-ecessor, could be at risk on his watch. Thepolitical shake-up also adds to uncertaintyabout Manila’s position in a sometimes-bit-ter dispute with China over sovereignty inthe South China Sea, a key global traderoute. China’s official Xinhua news agencysaid President Xi Jinping sent a congratula-tory message to Duterte, saying he was“willing to work with Duterte to push forimprovement of relations between the twocountries”.

Duterte’s new defense minister toldReuters this week that crushing Islamistmilitants in the south of the country wouldtake precedence over South China Sea dis-

putes. Duterte’s election campaign focusedalmost entirely on the scourges of crime,drug abuse and corruption, and voterswere not deterred by repeated warningsfrom “the Punisher”, in profanity-pepperedspeeches, to have offenders killed.

In his maiden speech, the presidentconceded that many believe his methods“are unorthodox and verge on the illegal”.However, the 71-year-old former prosecu-tor said he knew right from wrong andwould abide by the rule of law. Duterte wasmayor for 22 years of the southern city ofDavao, where, according to human rightsgroups, death squads have killed at least1,400 people since 1998, most of themdrug-pushers, addicts, petty criminals andstreet children. He denies any involvementin vigilante killings.

No banquet, champagneIn keeping with his unsophisticated

manner, the presidential inauguration cere-mony was far less elaborate than is custom-ary. There was a traditional 21-gun salute atMalacanang Palace, a graceful white man-sion originally built by Spanish colonialistsin the 18th century. But aides said therewas no sumptuous banquet or champagne,just a meal for 627 guests showcasing thecountry’s culinary heritage, includingcoconut pith spring rolls, a cheese madefrom carabao milk and durian tartlets.Duterte is not known for his sartorial ele-gance: he usually sports a short-sleevedcasual shirt, never wears socks and toldReuters on the hustings that he wouldn’tbe seen in a tie. On Thursday, he wore a for-mal ‘barong’ shirt but TV presenters com-mented that he appeared to be wearingslip-on loafers.

Indeed, there is little about Duterte thatis conventionally presidential. Aides say hewants to travel in a pick-up truck instead ofthe president’s bullet-proof Mercedes. And

it is still not clear if he will keep a promise tospurn the luxury of the palace and com-mute daily from Davao, which is two hoursfrom Manila by air. Few media organiza-tions were invited to the inauguration, theupshot of a furore Duterte unleashedrecently when he suggested that corruptjournalists were legitimate targets forassassination.

His incendiary rhetoric and advocacy ofextrajudicial killings to stamp out crimehave alarmed many who hear echoes of anauthoritarian past under the dictatorFerdinand Marcos. In the weeks sinceDuterte’s election victory there has been ajump in the number of suspected drugdealers shot dead by police and anony-mous vigilantes, a sign, critics say, that aspiral of violence has already begun. Butthis appears to have only augmented hispopularity. Thousands of people belongingto a left-wing activist groupmarched to anarea near the palace, not to protest as theyusually do, but to cheer for Duterte.

“Change is indeed coming,” said SevillaSayco, a 61-year-old rice farmer from aprovince north of the capital. “We are hap-py because the previous administrationpaid us no attention. But Duterte is pro-poor,” she said while shopping for shirtswith Duterte’s image on them, among pilesof other Duterte merchandise from nailclippers to pens and keychains. Duterte lat-er invited the leftists into the palace andspoke to them about ideas he had to dis-tribute millions of hectares of public land tofarmers and release political prisoners.

He has promised to spread wealthmore evenly in a country where over aquarter of the 100 million people are poor.He gave few details on Thursday of hiseconomic policies but has said he will pur-sue his predecessor’s infrastructure andfiscal efficiency drives to lift growth to atleast 7 percent. — Reuters

MANILA: In this photo provided by the News and Information Bureau, Malacanang Palace, new PhilippinePresident Rodrigo Duterte, second from right, takes his oath before Philippine Supreme Court AssociateJustice Bienvenido Reyes during inauguration ceremony in Malacanang Palace yesterday. — AP

18I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

New Philippine president

faces daunting challenges

MANILA: Rodrigo Duterte, who was sworn in as thePhilippines’ 16th president yesterday, has given himself acolossal campaign promise to fulfill: Eradicating crime -especially drug trafficking, smuggling, rapes and murder -in three to six months. That won him a lot of votes, but italso spurred alarm and doubts, including from police offi-cials, who said it was an impossible feat. Famous for hisblunt speech, Duterte also made a number of potentiallydivisive declarations or decisions that will likely compli-cate his first few months in office. Here are some of them:

Zero crimeDuterte has repeatedly vowed to wipe out crime and

corruption in three to six months, warning lawbreakersthey would be shot to death if they try to resist. Police offi-cials doubt this can be achieved, and human rights advo-cates fear that people’s rights and the rule of law will beignored.

Confronting ChinaDuterte has adopted a gamut of options in dealing

with China over contested territories in the South ChinaSea. He said he will prod China to abide by the upcomingdecision of an arbitration court that’s handling aPhilippine lawsuit against Beijing. If China doesn’t budge,he says he’ll be open to one-on-one talks with Beijing.Another time, he said he leaned toward multilateral nego-tiations that would involve the United States and Japanand rival claimant governments to resolve the escalatingconflicts. At a televised debate, he revealed his most out-landish idea: Traveling to the disputed waters by Jet Skiand planting a Philippine flag on one of the new Chineseman-made islands, saying it’s up to the Chinese to shoothim and turn him into a national hero.

Dictator’s burialDuterte has said he will allow the late dictator

Ferdinand Marcos - whose body is displayed in a glass cof-fin his northern home province - to be buried at a nationalheroes’ cemetery. This may spark a political storm. Theprevious president and left-wing activists have opposedsuch a burial, citing the plunder and massive human-rights violations that happened under the dictator, whowas ousted in a 1986 revolt. Duterte argued that thoseburied at the cemetery were not all heroes, and said hewould leave it up to the military whether to bestow fullfuneral honors. Such a burial, he said, “can be arrangedimmediately.”

Reimposing the death penaltyDuterte plans to re-impose the death penalty. Hanging

is his preferred mode of execution. He said capital punish-ment will not only deter crimes but is also retribution forcrimes committed. It’s a plan opposed by the Catholicchurch and human rights advocates and may derail assis-tance by allies like the European Union.

Arroyo’s releaseDuterte said he supports the release of ex-President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from detention on corruptioncharges - a move also likely to be met with protests. Hesaid Arroyo refused his offer of pardon because she saidthat would require that she admit wrongdoing and shewasn’t guilty of any crime. Duterte said he told her that hewould support her if she applied for bail, and that her longdetention, partly caused by trial delays, was grounds fordismissal of her case. The 69-year-old Arroyo, who is suf-fering from a neck ailment, finished her tumultuous termin 2010. Since then, she has been charged with vote fraudand corruption and was detained at a government-runhospital.

Release of communist guerrillas:Duterte said he plans to release detained communist

guerrillas, including Communist Party of the Philippinesleaders Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma, to fosterpeace talks to settle the decades-long Marxist insurgency.The Tiamzons, who were captured by government forcesin March 2014, face several charges, including murder.Their release may anger some in the military and policewho have battled with communist guerrillas and lost col-leagues in the fighting. — AP

Duterte, ‘the punisher’, sworn

in as Philippines’ presidentPolitical shake-up raises doubt about economic, China policies

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Page 23An Afghan boy cools himself off under a waterfall duringthe Islamic month of Ramadan, on the outskirts of Kabul,Afghanistan, yesterday. Muslims across the world areobserving the holy fasting month of Ramadan, whenthey refrain from eating, drinking and smoking fromdawn to dusk.— AP

L i f e s t y l eFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Ihave a love-hate relationship with cheese. I love it so muchI could survive on it alone. Nothing can ever make me hap-pier than a wheel (yes, a whole wheel) of aged Gouda; or a

wedge of raspberry Bellavitano; or some warm Brie toppedwith fig compost. BUT - if you’re trying to drop kilos, or evenmaintain a healthy lifestyle, then you probably should goahead and ask cheese for some space (which is really, reallyhard).

If you enjoy cheese, don’t completely eliminate it fromyour diet. It is a nutrient-rich food that can have high levels ofprotein, leaving you feeling full and satisfied. No matter whattype of cheese you prefer, you will get at least 6 grams ofquality protein in a 1-ounce serving. Beyond making a signifi-cant contribution to your daily protein requirement, the pro-tein in cheese supports weight loss. It slows the movement offood out of your stomach so you feel full longer, and it keepsblood sugar balanced. Protein also stimulates satiety byaffecting hormones that regulate your appetite.

However, cheese is incredibly high in calories and fat, soyou will need to limit the amount you eat. Cheese is high insaturated fat, so it is important to choose low-fat or fat-freebrands to avoid the unhealthy fat. Instead, limit portions to 1ounce and buy low-fat or fat-free brands to keep the caloriesand fat within your daily goals. Most types of full-fat cheesehave 72-125 calories in a 1-ounce serving. 1 ounce is generally1-2 cubes; this is an incredibly small serving for someone likeme who goes through cheese groups as if they’re a bag ofM&Ms. Fat-free brands, although not as delicious, contain nofat, which subsequently reduces the calories by at least halfand sometimes more than that, depending on the type ofcheese. Semi-soft cheeses, such as brie, have fewer caloriesthan hard cheese. Cheese can also be quite high in sodium,ranging from 16 milligrams to more than 500 milligrams.

Use full-fat cheese strategically and when you can actuallyexperience the flavor it. Skip cheese on sandwiches and tacos,where the taste may not be as noticeable because of otheroverpowering ingredients. Hard cheeses, such as Parmesan,Romano and Asiago, have a strong, salty flavor - so you onlyneed a small amount to boost flavor of otherwise boring, low-calorie food. You can use grated Parmesan to flavor low-calo-rie vegetables or air-pooped popcorn with just 22 calories pertablespoon. Switch to low-fat cheese when recipes call forricotta, mozzarella or cottage cheese. Opt for low-fat creamcheese for baking and to top on your bagels or crackers. Lookfor triangles (laughing cow) of low-fat, flavored cream cheesecontaining just 35 calories each. There are always healthieroptions and alternatives - choose wisely and intentionally!

The love-haterelationship with cheese

Shooting star Latvian conductorAndris Nelsons has withdrawnfrom this year’s Bayreuth Festival,

just a month before he was to open thelegendary month-long summer operafestival, organizers said yesterday. The37-year-old podium star, currently chiefconductor of the Boston SymphonyOrchestra and soon to take up the batonat Germany’s Leipzig GewandhausOrchestra, had been scheduled to con-duct the premiere of a new productionof Richard Wagner’s final opera “Parsifal”this year. “With utmost respect to theBayreuth Festival’s management andstaff, director and his team, assistant

conductors, cast, orchestra and chorus,Andris Nelsons has asked the festival’smanagement for rescission of his con-tract for this summer’s production of‘Parsifal’,” festival spokesman PeterEmmerich said in an emailed statement.

“Owing to a differing approach invarious matters, the atmosphere at thisyear’s Bayreuth Festival did not developin a mutually comfortable way for allparties. With regret, the BayreuthFestival agreed to Andris Nelsons’request,” Emmerich said. The BayreuthFestival, the world’s oldest summermusic festival, was set up by the com-poser himself and is dedicated exclu-

sively to the performance of his works. Itis currently run by the composer’s greatgranddaughter, Katharina Wagner. Thenew production of “Parsifal” is beingstaged by German director Uwe EricLaufenberg and is scheduled to openthe festival on July 25 in a gala perform-ance attended by Germany’s politicaland social elite. Chancellor AngelaMerkel is a regular visitor, but will not beat the opening night owing to schedul-ing commitments.—AFP

Star conductor Nelsons quitslegendary Wagner festival

Six months after announcing intentions to double thenumber of female and minority members in its ranks by2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

has invited 683 new members to join the organization. Theacademy says its invitees are 46 percent female, 41 percentminority and represent 59 countries. Should all of the inviteesaccept, the new class would make the academy’s overallmembership 27 percent female and 11 percent non-white, upfrom 25 percent and 8 percent respectively. Idris Elba,Chadwick Boseman, Eva Mendes, America Ferrera and AnikaNoni Rose are among the actors invited to membership. Otherpotential new members helping to increase the academy’sdiversity include Chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei, Japaneseproduction designer Yohei Taneda, Mexican director PatriciaRiggen and musicians such as Fitzgerald Diggs, who’s betterknown RZA from Wu Tang Clan.

The 2016 group of invitees is the academy’s largest everand more than doubles last year’s class, said President CherylBoone Isaacs. She said the academy has worked for severalyears to diversify its largely white, male membership. Lastyear’s #OscarsSoWhite movement amplified that conversa-tion. The academy announced sweeping changes to itsrecruitment and voting practices in January after a secondstraight year of all-white acting nominees for the AcademyAwards. In March, the organization added three new membersto its board of governors and appointed six minority membersto other leadership positions.

“I think because the conversation has truly exploded thatwe were able to have the size and the diversity of talentincrease even more for 2016,” Boone Isaacs said in an inter-view Wednesday. “We have recognized diverse talentthroughout our history,” she said. “What is of-the-now is howexpansive and diverse our industry has become.” She saidacademy members have been energized by the mandate to

bring emerging or overlooked talents into their ranks. “It’sbeen like a charge of electricity,” she said. Two-time Oscarnominee Laura Dern has felt that energy in the actors branch.

“It is the membership saying we want to support fellowartists,” Dern said Wednesday. “And we want to really feel thatthe academy is a true representation of art at this time on thisplanet.” Just as moviegoers and Oscar watchers are demand-ing more diversity on screen, Dern says the academy is seek-ing to be more inclusive and expansive in its search for excel-lence. “As history continues to prove to us, we always seem tobenefit when you question,” she said. “It’s an artist’s job toquestion, to consider and to figure out how to expand andgrow. So we have to take that to heart and ask ourselves andeach other how we can continue to grow and represent art inthe best possible way.”—AP

Film academy invites 683 new members to join

In this March 2, 2014 file photo, an Oscar statue is displayedat the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.—AP

Indian Bollywoodactors Ejaz Khan,(left), Suha Gezen(center) and HitenTejwani attend thepress conference ofupcoming Hindi film‘Shorgul’ - based onthe 2013Muzaffarnagar riots -directed bySwatantra Singh, inMumbai yester-day.—AFP

L i f e s t y l eFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

By Nawara Fattahova

The Kuwait Times is publishing dailyrecaps of two of the Kuwaiti soap operasairing on Al Rai TV and MBC Drama. Here

are the recaps of the 24th episode:

‘Saq Al Bamboo’ (Bamboo Stalk)Nooriya tells her son Eisa if he gets

engaged to Khawla then her mother can’ttake her away. Noor tells Khawla that sheloves Eisa. Hind calls Nooriya to inform aboutRashid’s dead. She also tells Noor and Khawlathat they found his remains in a collectivegrave in Iraq and that he is dead since 1991.

She says that the results are accurate due tothe DNA tests and also they found his key-chain. Noor then informs Eisa, who start cry-ing. The sisters decide that Khawla will informtheir mother Ghanima about Rashid’s death.She also tells about their decision. Afterbreaking the news to Ghanima, she goes tothe morgue to send off Rashid. Eisa andGhasan go to the cemetery and after buryingRashid’s remains, Eisa puts a letter he wrote tohis father in the grave and they both cry.

Eisa calls his mother to tell her about thegrief and she tells him to give condolence ashe is Rashid’s son. Then Khawla tells him notto get out of the room to avoid problems.

After the mourning, Eisa complains to Khawlathat he wanted to be with the people whocame to give condolences rather than sittingalone in his room.

Been Galbin (Between Two Hearts)Bashar is still angry so Aryam proposes to

invite his family for lunch at her house but hethinks it’s a bad idea but she convinces him tothink about it.

When Dana goes for dinner with Fareeda,Masoud comes and tells Dana he loves herand wants to marry her. But she refuses to talkabout this matter, so he apologizes.

Dana’s father calls Fareeda asking her to

meet. On meeting he asks her not to meetDana. Fareeda tells him that he is sick with hismemories and needs treatment and that shewill keep seeing Dana.

Noora, Mihsenand along with their familygo for lunch to Aryam’s house. While leavingAryam’s son Rashid comes along to play withthe kids. When Marzouq knows about Rashidhe calls Aryam threatening her if she didn’tbring him to his house within an hour he willnot let her see Rashid again. Bashar then takesRashid with the maid to Marzouq’s house.

‘Saq Al Bamboo’ and ‘Been Galbin’

Netflix plans to expand its Asian offerings to subscribersaround the world by tapping more creators in theregion, including “Snowpiercer” director Bong Joon-ho,

its chief said yesterday. CEO Reed Hastings said the US stream-ing service company is looking at many projects throughoutAsia, including original series by Asian creators, following itsinvestment in the South Korean filmmaker’s new movie“Okja.” Hastings did not elaborate. He said more details will beannounced later this year. “Okja” is Netflix’s first investment ina Korean film project. The latest work by Bong currently beingfilmed at a remote village in eastern Korea is slated for launchnext year on Netflix.

Bong is one of the best known South Korean directors. Hisworks “Snowpiercer,” “Mother” and “The Host” gave him criti-cal acclaim and commercial success. Local media reportedthat Netflix invested $50 million, among the largest amountsin the South Korean movie industry. Netflix’s growing focus onAsian content comes after its business in the region sufferedsome setbacks this year. In January, it launched its service in130 more countries as part of its efforts to boost international

subscribers to offset slowing growth in the US. In the samemonth, Indonesian state telecommunications company PTTelekomunikasi Indonesia blocked the internet video servicebecause it lacked a permit to operate in the Southeast Asiancountry.

In South Korea, Netflix struggled to add subscribers amidcompetition from existing streaming services and its dearth oflocal shows. Netflix officials said some original shows forKorean audiences are in the pipeline, and that it had spent thefirst few months learning the preferences of local viewers.

The service is available in 190 countries to 81.5 million sub-scribers but not in China, the biggest market for South KoreanTV series and films. Netflix is aware that its absence in Chinamay be a letdown for local creators. “China is part of a veryimportant business model for K-drama, sometimes realizingeven more revenues for the K-drama in China than realizing inKorea today,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer,said, referring Korean drama series. “We continue to look atChina as an opportunity, but it’s a very complicated one.”—AP

Reed Hastings, left, CEO of Netflix, poses with Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer of Netflix, during a press conferencein Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.—AP

Netflix to boost original series, films in and from Asia

The story of Jesus Christ is coming to virtual reality for thefirst time. Autumn Productions and VRWerx announcedplans Wednesday to release the live-action film “Jesus

VR - The Story of Christ” on all major VR platforms thisChristmas. The 90-minute movie will depict such events asJesus’ birth, baptism, crucifixion and resurrection in 360degrees. “Jesus VR” was filmed in 4K resolution on location inMatera, Italy.

The movie will be available for rent or purchase for VR sys-tems such as Samsung Gear, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR andHTC ViveThe film is directed by David Hansen and stars TimFellingham as Jesus. “The Passion of the Christ” executive pro-ducer Enzo Sisti is among the producers. VRWerx previouslycreated a VR game based on the “Paranormal Activity” filmfranchise.—AP

Jesus Christ film comingto virtual reality

This undated photo provided by Autumn VR Inc and VRW-ERX, LLC, shows a production still from “Jesus VR - TheStory of Christ.”—AP

L i f e s t y l eFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Patients, therapists and volunteers dance during the tango workshop at the Borda psychiatrichospital in Buenos Aires. — AFP photos

Volunteer Marta Gabelli (left) dances with anambulatory patient during the tango work-shop.

Volunteer Marta Gabelli (right) dances withan ambulatory patient during the tangoworkshop at the Borda psychiatric hospital inBuenos Aires.

The shadows of barred windows make theBuenos Aires psychiatric hospital seemespecially soulless, but then the syncopat-

ed beats of tango music fill the air. For a handfulof residents at the Borda hospital, the daily shuf-fle in line for medication has given way to thesensual steps of Argentina’s classic dance. Thetwice-monthly class is called “We are all crazyabout tango.” “People with mental illnessestend to be passive receptors, but in tango theyare transmitters,” dance teacher Laura Segadesaid.

“We try to make the man feel like a man andsee himself as one. He comes to the class as apatient and leaves as a pupil, with a smile on hisface.” Borda is Argentina’s biggest public men’spsychiatric hospital. The female dance partnersare tango enthusiasts from outside. Hospitalpsychiatrist Guillermo Honig says tango exercis-es patients’ creativity and body awareness. “Ifelt l ike I danced better today. I am morerelaxed,” says one patient, who identified him-self as Maximiliano. He is an outpatient andattends the classes with a dozen others who arehospitalized. “I like the lyrics of tango-the nos-talgia, the melancholy.”

Tango breakout The organizer of the tango workshop, psy-

chologist Silvana Perl, patrols the corridors ofthe hospital rounding up participants. Mostpatients resist. “I haven’t got time,” says one,waiting in line for his medication. “The work-shop is an opportunity to break the hospitalroutine,” Perl said. “The idea is to break into thelistless lives of the schizophrenic patients.Artistic commotion can awaken them and makethem connect.” She returns to the canteen-dance floor with half a dozen participants wholaugh and pair off with the volunteers as themusic begins.

“It is like any regular tango class. Everyonedoes their best to complete the moves. Theydon’t just do as they’re told, they try to learn todo it for themselves,” said dance instructorRoque Silles, 53. “They give it their all to dosomething that a few minutes earlier seemedimpossible.” To end the class, all the dancersjoin in singing tango songs. “The world is a messand always will be,” they sing in the lines of oneclassic, “Cambalache.” One patient, Raul, did notjoin in the dancing but now asks to sing. “I said Iwas a worthless tramp to her,” he sings. “And Ilaughed about it.”— AFP

“The Legend of Tarzan” is sequel, originstory, and racially sensitive revisionisthistory lesson all in one. What it isn’t is

much fun for anyone who’s seen Edgar RiceBurroughs’ ape man in any of his previous incar-nations. While name recognition alone shouldsnare a fair number of those who prefer their pulpheroes endowed with superpowers, between thisand last year’s “Pan,” evidence suggests WarnerBros. ought to leave the live-action reboots toDisney.

For a film the scale of Yates’ “The Legend ofTarzan,” the visual effects are astonishingly sub-par, obliging the creative team to distract us withsuch impressive topographical sights as theAfrican savannah and Alexander Skarsgard’s abs.The latter selling point doesn’t appear until nearlymidway through the movie, until which pointAdam Cozad and Craig Brewer’s script is con-cerned primarily with getting Tarzan back toAfrica-a prospect his beloved Jane (a semi-empowered Margot Robbie) far prefers to daysspent “hybridizing coconuts and playing pingpong.” While choppy, action-oriented flashbacksretrace the feral child’s formative years in the wild,it seems the one-time vine-swinger has grown upand re-gentrified in rainy old England, where hehas traded his loincloth for a dapper pair of pantsand assumed his identity as John Clayton III, fifthearl of Greystoke and member of the House ofLords.

Secret identityCovering his protagonist in scars (a superficial

gesture toward realism), Yates has attempted togive us a more psychologically complex Tarzan-which is to say, he serves up a version of the char-acter that shamelessly emulates the “why so seri-ous” tone of Christopher Nolan’s broodingBatman movies. Skarsgard plays Clayton as apampered rich kid haunted by his parents’ deathswho feels compelled to protect others. The maindifference is the fact that everybody knows hissecret identity, which makes it rather easy for thefilm’s villain, Capt Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz, inyet another of his suave sociopath roles, just a fewdegrees removed from the well-mannered Naziofficer he played in “Inglourious Basterds”) toinvent a pretext that will lure Tarzan to the Congo,where Rom plans to deliver him to vengeful tribalchief Mbonga (Djimon Hounsou) in exchange forthe sought-after diamonds of Opar.

Inadvertently helping to pull off Rom’s plan isanother Tarantino regular, Samuel L Jackson, whomay as well be riffing on his score-settling “The

Hateful Eight” character. Jackson plays GeorgeWashington Williams, a veteran of the AmericanCivil War (and a real historical figure) who sus-pects that Belgian king Leopold II may be enslav-ing-or at least condoning the enslavement of-thenatives of his colony in the Congo. Having foughtto help end slavery in the United States, Williamshas now set out to stanch the practice at itssource, enlisting Tarzan (who, frankly, seems moreinterested in the fate of the gorilla family thatraised him) to restore some sense of balance tothe region.

Williams makes an intriguing addition to theformula, as does the decision to peg this particu-lar Tarzan adventure to the Congo, which isn’tnecessarily the backdrop Burroughs had in mind.(Situating it there does allow the film to make amore impactful commentary on Europe’s contro-versial relationship with the Dark Continent.) Tothe extent that white men have exploited Africafor more than two centuries, Tarzan comes to rep-resent the extension-a hero who identifies withthe natives and stands up to the corrupt whitemen who refuse to respect their lives, liberty, orpotential claim to their own natural resources.

African nativesThe film establishes Rom’s villainy early on via

a scene of disturbingly cold-blooded genocide, asthe Belgian officer gives the go-ahead for hisForce Publique soldiers to gun down locals armedonly with spears (although, like Tarzan, Yatesseems more interested in the fate of the gorillafamily later in the film). The historical figure onwhom Rom is based was notoriously cruel toAfrican natives-it was he who inspired the charac-ter of Col. Kurtz in “Heart of Darkness.” Dressed inwhite linen and armed with only a deadly rosarymade from Madagascar spider silk, Rom gets thefate Hollywood feels he deserves, which includesa homophobic barb from Jane that flies right overthe character’s head (“Sounds like you and yourpriest were really close”).

The role of Tarzan is unique among Westernheroes in that he requires virtually no acting abili-ty (as bodybuilder Miles O’Keeffe and Calvin Kleinmodel Travis Fimmel both demonstrated). Andyet, with each subsequent screen appearance, thebar is raised on how perfect audiences expect thecharacter’s wildly unnatural physique to be. Inthat respect, Skarsgard makes a fine choice for therole, looking more than ever like someone’s fanta-sy PhotoShop rendering of father Stellan’s headgrafted onto an impossibly shredded torso-whichisn’t so far removed from the process the visualeffects team used to meld his face onto an all-CGbody during scenes when Tarzan swings throughthe trees at top speed.

To the extent that modern audiences acceptthe character as a sort of proto-superhero,Tarzan’s “powers” rank way down there withthose of Aquaman: He’s super-strong, agile, andcan speak to animals, having mastered the matingcalls of nearly every African species. WheneverTarzan shares the screen with animals, however,the critters look appallingly digital-with humanactors not even bothering to look in the rightdirection much of the time (consider the scenewhen Mbonga’s men are surrounded by gorillas,reacting as if to invisible ghosts). It’s a glaringproblem, given all the attention Yates poured intocrafting a believable context for what amounts toa glorified B movie. As a brand, Burroughs’ herohas always been schlocky, and no amount of psy-chological depth or physical perfection can ren-der him otherwise-especially if the filmmakerscan’t swing a convincing interaction betweenTarzan and his animal allies. That dynamic-alongwith his full-throated yodel-has always beenTarzan’s trademark, but in this relatively lifelessincarnation, it simply doesn’t register. — Reuters

‘The Legend of Tarzan’Film Review

This image released by Warner Bros.Entertainment shows Alexander Skarsgardfrom ‘The Legend of Tarzan.’ — AP

Tango therapy lifts spirits ofArgentine mental patients

L i f e s t y l eFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Who can lay claim to Rumi, the Sufi mystic who is one of theworld’s most beloved poets? A bid by Iran and Turkey todo so has exasperated Afghanistan, country of his birth

eight centuries ago. Tehran and Ankara asked to list the work ofJalal ud-Din Muhammad Rumi as their joint heritage on the UN’s“Memory of the World” register in May. The register, falling underthe UN’s cultural organization UNESCO, was formed in 1997 to pro-tect the world’s documentary heritage-archives, correspondenceand writing-especially in troubled or conflict-ridden areas.

But the Afghan government has denounced the bid, whichmainly concerns the 25,600 verses of “Masnavi-i-Ma’navi”, one ofthe most influential works in Persian literature. He is one of thebest-selling poets in the US, and his works have been translatedinto more than 23 languages. Hollywood is planning a Rumi biopic-also mired in controversy after rumored plans for LeonardoDiCaprio to play him were met with accusations of “whitewashing”.The poet and philosopher “was born in Balkh in Afghanistan andmade us proud,” the Ministry of Information and Culture insisted.

UNESCO “never asked us” about the proposal, Harron Haklimi,the ministry’s spokesman, said, acknowledging that Kabul hadbeen beaten to the punch but hoping they can yet convince theorganization that Afghanistan has the better claim to the poet.

Son of Balkh For Afghans, who learn his poems in primary school, Rumi is

“Maulana Jalaludin Balkh”, or “Maulana” (literally “our master”), orsimply “Balkhi”. Most researchers agree he was born in Balkh,Afghanistan in 1207 — though this too has been the subject ofdebate: a few argue he was born just across the border, in what ismodern day Tajikistan, in a region also known as Balkh. Today, theAfghan town of Balkh is a small provincial settlement, but backthen it was an ancient religious capital and center for Buddhist andPersian literature. It was sacked by Genghis Khan and his Mongalhordes in 1221. The young Rumi and his family fled to Turkey,where he spent most of his life-he died in the city of Konya in 1273.It was there that his son founded the Order of the WhirlingDervishes to perpetuate his father’s teachings. But for Afghans, heremains a child of their country and it is still possible to visit thehouse in which they believe he was born. The powerful governor ofBalkh province, former warlord General Ata Mohammad Noorcalled on Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations toprotest.

“By limiting Maulana to only two countries, we do not do justiceto a global personality who is truly cherished and admired acrossthe world,” he said. “He is considered an important part of the cul-ture and identity of Afghanistan,” writer and poet Sadiq Usyan, pro-fessor at the Balkh university in nearby provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif, told AFP. Separating the two is considered an “insult” andeven a “threat” to Afghanistan, he said.

A UNESCO representative in Kabul argued there had been some“confusion”. “Any country, delegation or even individual can sub-mit a request to be considered under this program,” saidspokesman Ricardo Grassi. He noted the backlash, adding: “But thisrequest has still to be considered.” To accede to it without mention-ing Afghanistan would be unacceptable, said the director of Balkh’s

provincial cultural department, Salih Mohammad Khaleeq.“Maulana belongs to Afghanistan.”

#RumiWasntWhite Khaleeq has big plans for Balkh-especially since Oscar-winning

star DiCaprio was tipped to play Rumi in the new Hollywood film.The unconfirmed rumor spread rapidly on social media with accu-sations of film industry “whitewashing”, with the hashtag#RumiWasntWhite swiftly trending. “So easy for Hollywood to findMuslims to play terrorists, but they can’t cast a Muslim as Rumi?”read one typical tweet. Another said: “remember when idris elbawasn’t ‘english enough’ to play james bond, but it’s chill if leodicaprio plays rumi.” For Khaleeq, however, the film is an opportu-nity. “We want this place to become a tourist site where tourists cancome and visit,” he said. A large portrait of Rumi already greets visi-tors arriving in Balkh. However, his childhood home has been rav-aged by time, badly weathered with its ochre-coloured mud wallscollapsed, the interior open to the wind. The controversy haswarmed spirits in the region, with an online petition collectingnearly 6,000 signatures. President Ashraf Ghani, who in mid-Junehosted Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, has been care-fully diplomatic, with a statement saying Rumi is “a shared pride ofthe two countries”.

It added he was ready to register Rumi’s works “as a shared her-itage of Turkey and Afghanistan”. He made no mention of Iran.

Clues to what Rumi himself might have made of the disputemay lay in his writings. In 2007, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey cametogether with UNESCO to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.Then, the cultural organization issued a medal in his honor whileciting one of his famous couplets: “I do not distinguish between therelative and the stranger”. — AFP

The ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi in the Khowaja Gholak district of northernBalkh province. — AFP photos

The ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

Afghan street vendors sitting under a sign bearing the imageof Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi.

The ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi in the Khowaja Gholak district of northern Balkh province.

Rumi wasn’t yours: Afghan fury as Iran, Turkey claim Sufi poet

The ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi.

01 FRIDAY

JULY 2016

Tamriya (A traditional Kuwaiti date dessert)

Recipes from Holistic Cure

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter4 cups deseeded dates1 tbsp ground cardamom1 tbsp saffron threads1 cup flour1/2 cup whole milk1 tbsp rosewater

Preparation

• Cook the flour on a dry pan until golden in color.• Set aside.• Melt the butter in the pan and add your dates.• In medium heat, mash the dates with the butter and add the cardamom and saffron.• Add the roasted flour and mash well.• Add the milk and mix in.• Add the rosewater and mix the whole thing together until combined.• Serve warm.• Can be store up to a month in the fridge and heated before serving.

By Aisha Al Zabin

01 FRIDAY

JULY 2016

Ingredients 9 cups water1 1/2 cups powdered milk1/2 cup raw sugar1 tbsp ground cardamom1/2 tsp mistika or mastic or Arabic gum1 1/2 cups corn starch dissolved in 1 cup cold water1/4 cup blossom water

Preparation • Combine the 9 cups water, powdered milk, sugar, mistika and cardamom in

a deep pot.• Bring to a boil.• Add the corn starch dissolved in water and stir the mixture constantly on

high heat until thick.• Remove from the heat after 4 minutes of stirring and add the blossom

water.• Strain the mixture to get rid of any clumps.• Pour into cups or bowls and cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

By Sarah R Gibson

Why play sports? Youmight say “to get exer-cise” and you’d be right.

To have fun? That’s true, too. Butthere’s more. In fact, there are atleast 5 more reasons. Accordingto the Women’s SportsFoundation, girls who play sportsget a lot more than just fit.

* Girls who play sports do betterin school. You might think thatathletics will take up all yourstudy time. But research showsthat girls who play sports dobetter in school than thosewho don’t. Exercise improveslearning, memory, and con-centration, which can giveactive girls an advantage inthe classroom.

* Girls who play sports learnteamwork and goal-settingskills. Sports teaches valuablelife skills. When you workingwith coaches, trainers, andteammates to win games andachieve goals, you’re learninghow to be successful. Thoseskills will serve you well atwork and in family life.

* Sports are good for a girl ’shealth. In addition to being fitand maintaining a healthyweight, girls who play sportsare also less likely to smoke.And later in life, girls who exer-cise are less likely to get breastcancer or osteoporosis.

* Playing sports boosts self-confi-dence. Girls who play sportsfeel better about themselves.Why? It builds confidencewhen you know you can prac-tice, improve, and achieveyour goals. Sports are also afeel-good activity becausethey help girls get in shape,maintain a healthy weight, andmake new friends.

* Exercise cuts the pressure.Playing sports can lessen stressand help you feel a little happi-er. How? The brain chemicalsreleased during exerciseimprove a person’s mood.Friends are another mood-lifter. And being on a team cre-ates tight bonds betweenfriends. It’s good to know yourteammates will support you -both on and off the field!

SUDOKU

* Snow forms when water vapor inthe atmosphere freezes into icecrystals.

* Snowflakes form in a variety of dif-ferent shapes.

* Snow is a form of precipitation,other forms of precipitation arerain, hail and sleet.

* Light and fluffy snow is oftencalled ‘powder’.

* Heavy snowfalls are often called

‘snowstorms’.* Snowstorms with high winds are

often called ‘blizzards’.* Snow reflects a high level of ultra-

violet radiation and can causesnow blindness. Sunglasses,goggles and other eye protec-tion help absorb the ultravioletrays.

* A number of winter sports rely onsnow, including skiing andsnowboarding.

* Recreational activities such assnowball fights, tobogganingand making snowmen are alsopopular in the snow.

* Skis, sleds and snowmobiles areuseful transport options throughsnow.

* Snow can lower visibility, makingdriving conditions dangerous.

* The highest snowfall ever record-ed in a one year period was 31.1meters in Mount Rainier,Washington State, United States,between February 19, 1971 andFebruary 18, 1972.

DID YOU KNOW?

SOLU

TIO

N

Color me!

JOK

ESJO

KES

What you need:* 11/4 pounds butternut squash, cubed* 11/2 tablespoons red bell pepper, chopped* 13/4 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped* 21/2 tablespoons yellow onion, diced* 5 tablespoons applesauce* 5 tablespoons black beans, drained* 31/2 teaspoons fresh oregano* 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt* 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil* 2 tablespoons red quinoa (to be prepared according to package directions)* 1/2 cup low-fat granola What to do:1. Line two pans with foil.2. Preheat oven to 350∞F.3. Combine cubed squash, chopped red pepper, and chopped jalapeno pep-per in a mixing bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil.4. Place squash mixture on a lined pan and roast in oven for 20 minutes.5. In a separate bowl, toss chopped onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil.6. Spread onions on second lined pan and roast in oven for 10 minutes.7. While vegetables are roasting, prepare 2 tablespoons quinoa according topackage directions. Set aside.8. In large bowl, combine quinoa, applesauce, black beans, oregano, and salt.9. When cool, add squash mixture and onions to the bowl. Toss lightly.10. Place into the baking dish.11. Top with granola.12. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until granola is slightly browned.

KIDS RECIPES

WORD SEARCH

Origami windmillWhat you need:

* 1 x two-sided square of origami paper (approx23cm x 23cm)* 1 x wooden chopstick (disposable takeawayones are ideal)* 1 x drawing pin/tack

Activity:1. Fold the square diagonally one way. Open itout and then fold it diagonally the other way.2. Open it out again.3. Using the fold marks as a guide, fold the low-er left-hand corner to the centre mark and dothe same with the upper right hand corner.4. Turn the paper over. Sit it on the table at a 45degree angle. Fold the left flap to the centre.Fold the right flap to the centre. (see video)5. There will now be a tab at the bottom andone at the top. Fold both tabs behind.

6. You should now have a square shape with analternate colored square pattern. Turn it over.7. Pull out the paper from the middle: squashfold each corner (see video) to make the wind-mill’s wings.8. Push the pin through the centre of the wind-mill and attach it to the chopstick.9. Blow gently to make the windmill spin.

Central Valley Harvest Bake

Q: Knock, knock——Who’s there?——Hawaii——Hawaii who? A: I’m fine, Hawaii you? Q: Knock, knock——Who’s there?——Orange——Orange who? A: Orange you even going to open the door! Q: Knock-knock——Who’s there?——GrayZ——Gray Z who? A: Gray Z mixed up kid.

Q: Knock, knock——Who’s There?——Who——Who Who? A: Is there an owl in there? Q: Knock, knock——Who’s There?——Anita——Anita who? A: Anita to borrow a pencil. Q: Knock, knock——Who’s There?——Woo——Woo who? A: Don’t get so excited, it’s just a joke.

Travel01 FRIDAY

JULY, 2016

Top reasons to visit

Basque Country

01 FRIDAYJULY, 2016

Capital of CultureYou shouldn’t need extra motivation to visit San Sebasti·n - the impossibly

lovely seaside metropolis is widely considered one of the best places to eat inthe world - but this year, the city was awarded the coveted title of EuropeanCapital of Culture (along with Wroclaw, Poland). This designation brings with ita packed calendar of events and activities set to enliven the city throughoutthe year, from concerts and film festivals to art exhibitions, live performancesof opera and theatre, creative workshops and courses, and children’s program-ming. Explore the city and its cultural offerings on two wheels: the bicycle isthe festival’s official mode of transportation.

Superb diningFood & Wine magazine reported a fascinating statistic: Basque people

spend more than twice as much of their disposable income on food as peopledo in the United States. Step into any bar and look at the lavish spread of pintx-os and you’ll understand why. The region’s cuisine, built around authentic andlocal products like grilled lamb, cured meats, salt cod, sheep’s and goat’scheese, piquillo peppers, artichokes, and fresh anchovies, to name just a few, isrightfully world-famous. You can swing high or low: Basque Country is home tonearly thirty Michelin-starred restaurants, but you’ll be just as happy samplingthe finger food and sipping Basque cider or txakoli, a sparkling white wine typi-cally served as an aperitif, at a bustling corner bar that’s been run by the samefamily for generations.

Guggenheim BilbaoGleaming and otherworldly, the Guggenheim Bilbao is more than an art

museum: it’s a modern architectural landmark, a stylized ode to the city’s ship-building past and an unmistakable emblem of Bilbao itself. When FrankGehry’s masterpiece opened in 1997 - on the banks of the Rio NerviÛn, in aderelict and highly polluted area that was previously an industrial wasteland -it was a symbol of revitalization and the dawn of a new era for the city. Strollalong the riverfront promenade for spectacular views of the museum’s sculp-tural exterior before heading inside to view exhibits like the current headliner,Andy Warhol. Shadows (warhol.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en).

A classic road trip To experience the enchantment of the Basque coastline, you’ll want to rent

a car and explore the dramatic clifftop landscape at your own pace. Take thescenic route from Bilbao to San Sebasti·n; this unforgettable road trip leads youthrough a string of traditional fishing villages with names you’ll struggle topronounce, from tiny Elantxobe to drop-dead gorgeous Lekeitio to Getaria,hometown of the fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga (there’s a great muse-um dedicated to his oeuvre.) All of the towns along this stretch feature greatpintxo bars and quiet medieval streets that invite a leisurely wander.

Basque Country, in case you haven’t heard, isn’t like the rest of Spain. Proudly perched on the northern Atlantic coast, near the border of France, the fabled region - locally known as Euskadior PaÌs Vasco - has its own language, its own culinary traditions, and a distinctive geographic and cultural landscape. From fairy tale-like villages and modern architectural landmarks toworld-class food and wine, here are ten reasons you should add Euskadi to your travel to-do list.

01 FRIDAYJULY, 2016

Unique identityIf you follow the news, you know that Basque nationalism is

a point of controversy in Spain. But that regional pride couldbe read as an expression of cultural independence: thoughmystery surrounds the topic, confounding anthropologistsand archeologists, Basque people are believed to be descen-dants of the original human inhabitants of the European conti-nent. Their culture is characterized by thoroughly unique tra-ditions, including Euskara, the Basque language. It predatesthe Romans and, even more intriguingly, it bears no relation tolanguages spoken elsewhere in Europe. Travelers will hearEuskara spoken throughout Basque country, and see the lan-guage - with its own alphabet and dedicated typeface - print-ed everywhere from the train station schedule to newspapersand cafÈ menus. Luckily, most words are also printed in a lan-guage that’s much easier to decipher: Spanish.

Stairway to heavenIt’s a small journey, getting to the ninth-century religious

site of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe - a zigzag walk down a steep

hill, passage across the Bay of Biscay via a picturesque stonefootbridge, and a hike up 241 steps, to be exact. But the viewsfrom the top of the island make the effort worthwhile.Gaztelugatxe derives from the Basque gaztelu (castle) and aitz(rock or crag). Even though the original hilltop church, dedi-cated to Saint John the Baptist, was demolished and rebuilt,‘castle rock’ remains an apt description of this quintessentiallyBasque landmark. Take in sweeping views of the dramaticcoastline and the crashing waves below, and keep your eyeout for Basque fishermen making the pilgrimage along withthe tourists: it’s a local tradition to hike to the church and askfor the saint’s blessing for a bountiful season ahead.

Vitoria-GasteizThe Basque capital doesn’t see as many international visi-

tors as Bilbao or San Sebasti·n - all the more reason to spend afew days exploring the cobblestone streets and pintxo bars ofpretty Vitoria-Gasteiz. Highlights include the postcard-perfecthistoric centre, considered the best preserved medieval centrein Basque Country, and the 13th-century Cathedral SantaMarÌa, a Gothic landmark perched at the summit of the oldtown.

Gernika Even if your knowledge of art is limited, you’ve likely seen

Guernica, Pablo Picasso’s powerful mural depicting the vio-lence and chaos of war. It’s widely thought to be a response tothe 1937 bombing of Gernika, a Basque village, during theSpanish Civil War. Today, you can visit the site yourself, stop-ping into the excellent Museo de la Paz de Gernika for anoverview of wartime events and the town’s significance in thegreater context of Basque culture.

Surfing at MundakaSurf’s up: the wave at Mundaka, on Basque Country’s cen-

tral coast, has long been regarded as the best wave in all ofEurope. The natural geography here - a sandbar formed by anestuary - forms fast, hollow waves that some surfers havecalled the finest in the world. If you’re not up to the challenge,watch the spectacle from the town’s harbour walls.

—www.lonelyplanet.com

L e i s u r eFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

ACROSS1. A bachelor's degree in naval science.4. Give to, in marriage.12. Any of various units of capacity.15. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.16. A rattling sound as of hard things striking together.17. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium andNorma.18. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducingpollution and protecting the environment.19. Goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology.20. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradi-ated material.21. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for chil-dren.23. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.24. A clue that something has been present.26. Light informal conversation for social occasions.28. A boy or man.29. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.32. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.34. Division of a group into opposing factions.39. A festival featuring African-American culture.43. A board game in which players try to move their pieces into their oppo-nent's bases.44. Not reflecting light.45. Used of idealized country life.47. A Turkish unit of weight equal to about 2.75 pounds.48. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).49. A public promotion of some product or service.50. Inquire about.51. United States tennis player (born in Czechoslovakia) who won severalsingles championships.56. An associate degree in nursing.62. (Old Testament) The minister of the Persian emperor who hated the Jewsand was hanged for plotting to massacre them.66. Capital and largest city of Iraq.69. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.70. Large European marine food fish.73. Relatively nontoxic South African herb smoked like tobacco.74. The smallest multiple that is exactly divisible by every member of a set ofnumbers.75. Be iridescent.77. The molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams.78. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.79. The property of excessive fatness.80. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

CROSSWORD 1301DOWN

1. (pathology) An elevation of the skin filled with serous fluid.2. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery.3. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.4. The capital and largest city of Ghana with a deep-water port.5. (British informal) Not to be deceived or hoodwinked n 1.6. An event (or course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future.7. A college town in central New York on Lake Cayuga.8. Goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment.9. Emperor of Rome who introduced a degree of freedom after the repres-sive reign of Domitian.10. A disease of cattle and sheep attributed to a dietary deficiency.11. An unfledged or nestling hawk.12. Capital city of the Apulia region on the Adriatic coast.13. (informal) Exceptionally good.14. Remove with or as if with a ladle.22. An active and efficient cause.25. A landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa.27. The cry made by sheep.30. Cause to become awake or conscious.31. A switch made from the stems of the rattan palms.33. A small cake leavened with yeast.35. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people orlanguage.36. (anatomy) Of or relating to the ilium.37. A vigorous blow.38. (British) Inferior and worthless.40. A feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause).41. Relating to the deepest parts of the ocean (below 6000 meters).42. A colorless and odorless inert gas.46. City in southwestern Colombia in a rich agricultural area.52. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.53. Botfly larva.54. Symptom consisting of a localized collection of pus surrounded byinflamed tissue.55. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan River.57. French film maker influenced by surrealism.58. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.59. British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa.60. Small terrestrial lizard of warm regions of the Old World.61. (folklore) A corpse that rises at night to drink the blood of the living.63. Molten rock in the earth's crust.64. A colorless and odorless inert gas.65. City in Sudan.67. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.68. Chocolate cookie with white cream filling.71. Being one more than two.72. Measure of the US economy adopted in 1991.76. Being one more than one hundred.

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06:00 Boyster06:10 Super Matrak06:35 Super Matrak07:00 Star vs The Forces Of Evil07:25 K.C. Undercover07:50 Supa Strikas08:15 Annedroids08:40 Lab Rats09:10 Kirby Buckets09:35 Pokemon Series Xy: KalosQuest10:00 Rocket Monkeys10:25 Ultimate Spider-Man10:50 Boyster11:20 Boyster11:45 Pair Of Kings12:10 Pair Of Kings12:35 Lab Rats13:00 Lab Rats13:30 Phineas And Ferb13:55 Phineas And Ferb14:20 Kickinʼ It14:45 Kickinʼ It15:10 Disney Mickey Mouse15:15 Supa Strikas15:40 Supa Strikas16:05 Star vs The Forces Of Evil16:30 Kirby Buckets16:55 Gamerʼs Guide To Pretty MuchEverything17:25 K.C. Undercover17:50 Supa Strikas18:15 Lab Rats18:40 K.C. Undercover19:05 Disney Mickey Mouse19:10 Annedroids19:35 Star vs The Forces Of Evil20:00 Kirby Buckets20:25 Gamerʼs Guide To Pretty MuchEverything20:55 K.C. Undercover21:20 Pickle And Peanut21:45 Lab Rats22:10 Mighty Med22:40 Disney Mickey Mouse23:00 Programmes Start At 6:00amKSA

03:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives03:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives04:00 Man Fire Food04:30 Man Fire Food05:00 Chopped

T V l i s t i n g sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

THE TRANSPORTER: REFUELED ON OSN MOVIES HD

03:00 Untamed & Uncut03:50 Ultimate Survival04:40 How Itʼs Made05:05 How Itʼs Made05:30 Through The Wormhole WithMorgan Freeman06:20 Mythbusters07:00 Dick ʻnʼ Dom Go Wild07:25 Kids vs Film07:50 Too Cute!08:40 You Have Been Warned09:30 How Itʼs Made09:55 How Itʼs Made10:20 Mythbusters11:10 Bondi Vet12:00 Too Cute!12:50 How Itʼs Made13:15 How Itʼs Made13:40 Ultimate Survival14:30 Dirty Jobs15:20 Mythbusters16:10 Dick ʻnʼ Dom Go Wild16:35 Kids vs Film17:00 Dynamo: Magician Impossible17:50 How To Build A Bionic Man18:40 You Have Been Warned19:30 Mythbusters20:20 How Itʼs Made20:45 How Itʼs Made21:10 Dynamo: Magician Impossible

03:00 Electra Glide In Blue04:55 Fuzz06:25 Big Screen06:40 Crimes And Misdemeanors08:25 Funny ThingHappened...Forum10:05 Adventures Of Hercules11:35 Big Screen11:50 Alexander The Great14:05 Puckoon15:30 The Real Howard Spitz17:15 Peggy Sue Got Married19:00 The Kentuckian20:45 Big Screen21:00 Sfw22:35 Restoration00:30 Blown Away

03:00 Murder Among Friends03:48 Redrum04:36 Deadly Affairs05:24 The Perfect Murder06:12 Nightmare Next Door07:00 Deadly Affairs07:50 I Almost Got Away With It08:40 The Perfect Murder09:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn10:20 Nightmare Next Door11:10 Southern Fried Homicide12:00 Deadly Affairs12:50 I Almost Got Away With It13:40 The Perfect Murder14:30 On The Case With Paula Zahn15:20 Nightmare Next Door16:10 Murder Comes To Town17:00 Deadly Affairs17:50 On The Case With Paula Zahn18:40 The Perfect Murder19:30 I Almost Got Away With It20:20 Nightmare Next Door21:10 Deadly Devotion22:00 Obsession: Dark Desires22:50 Forbidden: Dying For Love23:40 Steven Avery: Innocent OrGuilty?00:30 Redrum01:20 Obsession: Dark Desires02:10 Forbidden: Dying For Love

03:25 Into The Pride04:15 Gator Boys05:02 Treehouse Masters05:49 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner06:12 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner06:36 Treetop Cat Rescue07:00 Treetop Cat Rescue07:25 Cats 10108:15 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner08:40 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner09:10 Treehouse Masters10:05 Tanked11:00 An Original Duckumentary11:55 Bondi Vet12:50 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner13:15 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner13:45 Gator Boys14:40 Treehouse Masters15:35 Tanked16:30 Into The Pride17:25 River Monsters18:20 River Monsters19:15 Tanked20:10 Lion Man: One World AfricanSafari20:40 Lion Man: One World AfricanSafari21:05 Running Wild22:00 River Monsters22:55 Gator Boys23:50 River Monsters00:45 Iʼm Alive01:40 River Monsters02:35 Running Wild

03:40 Dirty Money04:05 Storage Wars Canada04:30 Storage Hunters UK05:00 How Do They Do It?05:30 How Itʼs Made: Dream Cars06:00 You Have Been Warned06:50 The Carbonaro Effect07:15 The Carbonaro Effect07:40 What Happened Next?08:05 What Happened Next?08:30 Running Wild With Bear Grylls09:20 Deadliest Job Interview10:10 Dive Wars Australia11:00 What On Earth?11:50 Marooned With Ed Stafford12:40 Manhunt With Joel Lambert13:30 Driving Wild14:20 Diesel Brothers15:10 Street Outlaws: New Orleans16:00 Outback Truckers16:50 Outback Truckers17:40 Outback Truckers18:30 Outback Truckers19:20 Outback Truckers20:10 Outback Truckers21:00 Driving Wild21:50 Fat Nʼ Furious: Rolling Thunder22:40 Street Outlaws: New Orleans23:30 Fire In The Hole00:20 Inside The Gangstersʼ Code01:10 Driving Wild02:00 Fat Nʼ Furious: Rolling Thunder02:50 Street Outlaws: New Orleans

03:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles03:24 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles03:48 Henry Danger04:12 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn04:36 The Haunted Hathaways05:00 Max & Shred05:24 Henry Danger05:48 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn06:12 SpongeBob SquarePants06:36 SpongeBob SquarePants07:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles07:24 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles07:48 Winx Club08:12 The Loud House08:36 SpongeBob SquarePants09:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles09:24 Harvey Beaks09:48 Henry Danger10:12 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn10:36 The Haunted Hathaways11:00 Winx Club11:24 SpongeBob SquarePants

08:05 Catch A Contractor14:45 Hungry Investors19:03 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah20:13 Frankenfood20:37 Frankenfood21:00 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah21:30 Hungry Investors22:30 Catch A Contractor23:30 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah00:00 Lip Sync Battle00:25 Lip Sync Battle00:50 Hungry Investors01:40 The Daily Show With TrevorNoah02:05 Catch A Contractor

22:00 How To Build A Bionic Man22:50 Untamed & Uncut23:40 Through The Wormhole WithMorgan Freeman00:30 Mythbusters01:20 Dynamo: Magician Impossible02:10 How To Build A Bionic Man

03:00 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol03:50 Disorderly Conduct: Video OnPatrol

11:48 SpongeBob SquarePants12:12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles12:36 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles13:00 Harvey Beaks13:24 The Loud House13:48 Get Blake14:12 Rabbids Invasion14:36 100 Things To Do Before HighSchool15:00 Game Shakers15:24 The Loud House18:12 Henry Danger18:36 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn19:00 100 Things To Do Before HighSchool21:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles21:24 Breadwinners21:48 Breadwinners22:12 Sanjay And Craig22:36 Sanjay And Craig23:00 SpongeBob SquarePants23:24 SpongeBob SquarePants23:48 Henry Danger00:12 Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn00:36 Max & Shred01:00 The Haunted Hathaways01:24 Sanjay And Craig01:48 Sanjay And Craig02:12 SpongeBob SquarePants

03:00 Building The Biggest03:48 Stephen Hawkingʼs Universe05:24 Uncovering Aliens06:12 What Could Possibly GoWrong?07:00 Mythbusters07:50 Stephen Hawkingʼs Universe09:30 Through The Wormhole10:20 Uncovering Aliens11:10 How The Universe Works12:00 Building The Biggest12:50 Mythbusters13:40 Stephen Hawkingʼs Universe15:20 Uncovering Aliens16:10 Building The Biggest17:00 What Could Possibly GoWrong?17:50 Scanning The Skies18:40 Mythbusters19:30 How Itʼs Made19:55 How Itʼs Made20:20 Through The Wormhole21:10 Man v The Universe22:00 Cosmic Collisions22:50 How Itʼs Made23:15 How Itʼs Made23:40 Food Factory USA00:05 Man v The Universe00:55 Cosmic Collisions01:45 How Do They Do It?02:10 How Itʼs Made02:35 How Itʼs Made

03:10 Henry Hugglemonster03:20 Calimero03:35 Zou03:45 Loopdidoo04:00 Art Attack04:25 Henry Hugglemonster04:35 Calimero04:50 Zou05:00 Loopdidoo05:15 Art Attack05:35 Henry Hugglemonster05:50 Calimero06:00 Zou06:20 Loopdidoo06:35 Art Attack07:00 The Hive07:10 Zou07:25 Loopdidoo07:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse08:05 Sofia The First08:30 Miles From Tomorrow08:45 PJ Masks09:10 The Lion Guard09:35 Doc McStuffins10:00 Sofia The First10:25 Unbungalievable

10:30 Goldie & Bear11:00 Jake And The Never LandPirates11:25 The Lion Guard11:50 Doc McStuffins12:15 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse12:45 The Hive12:55 Unbungalievable13:00 Sofia The First13:25 Doc McStuffins13:50 Miles From Tomorrow14:15 The Lion Guard14:40 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse15:10 Doc McStuffins15:35 Jake And The Never LandPirates16:00 Sofia The First16:25 Jungle Cubs16:50 Aladdin17:15 The Lion Guard17:40 Goldie & Bear18:05 Doc McStuffins18:30 Sofia The First19:00 PJ Masks19:25 Unbungalievable19:30 The Lion Guard20:00 Goldie & Bear20:30 Sofia The First21:00 Jake And The Never LandPirates21:25 PJ Masks21:50 Jungle Cubs22:20 Aladdin22:45 Minnieʼs Bow-Toons22:50 Zou23:05 Henry Hugglemonster23:20 Calimero23:35 Zou23:50 Loopdidoo00:05 Art Attack00:30 Henry Hugglemonster00:45 Calimero01:00 Zou01:15 Loopdidoo01:30 Art Attack02:05 Calimero02:20 Zou02:30 Loopdidoo02:45 Art Attack

03:40 Serial Killer Earth04:30 The Universe05:20 Ancient Aliens06:10 Ancient Discoveries07:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In TheEast08:00 Ancient Discoveries09:00 America: The Story Of TheU.S.10:00 Serial Killer Earth11:00 The Universe

12:00 Ancient Aliens13:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In TheEast14:00 Ancient Discoveries15:00 America: The Story Of TheU.S.16:00 Serial Killer Earth17:00 The Universe18:00 Ancient Aliens

04:00 Good Will Hunting06:15 Biutiful

T V l i s t i n g sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

A BEAUTIFUL MIND ON OSN MOVIES HD FAMILY

04:00 Sweet Home Alabama06:00 Nitro Circus: The Movie08:00 Charlie And The ChocolateFactory10:00 Sweet Home Alabama12:00 Nitro Circus: The Movie14:00 Three Men And A Baby16:00 Charlie And The ChocolateFactory18:00 Pitch Perfect20:00 Bringing Down The House22:00 Trust Me00:00 Charlie And The ChocolateFactory02:00 Pitch Perfect

03:15 McFarland, USA05:30 Step Up Revolution07:15 Some Girls09:00 McFarland, USA11:15 Alexander And The Terrible...Very Bad Day13:00 Big Hero 614:45 The Duff16:45 Annie18:45 The Theory Of Everything21:00 The Walk23:15 The Transporter: Refueled01:00 The Gift

03:25 Donʼt Tell The Bride04:20 Pick Me!05:15 Pick Me!06:10 The Doctor Blake Mysteries07:05 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh08:00 Donʼt Tell The Bride08:55 Seven Days With‚Ķ09:50 Seven Days With‚Ķ10:40 Pick Me!11:35 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh12:30 The Doctor Blake Mysteries13:25 Emmerdale13:50 Emmerdale14:20 Coronation Street14:45 Seven Days With‚Ķ15:35 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh16:30 Donʼt Tell The Bride17:25 The Great Fire18:20 Emmerdale18:45 Emmerdale19:10 Coronation Street19:35 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh20:30 Donʼt Tell The Bride21:25 The Great Fire22:20 Coronation Street22:50 Emmerdale23:15 Emmerdale

03:00 Private Practice04:00 Da Vinciʼs Demons05:00 How I Met Your Mother05:30 How I Met Your Mother06:00 The Simpsons06:30 The Simpsons07:00 Low Winter Sun08:00 American Idol09:00 American Idol10:00 Private Practice11:00 Private Practice12:00 Da Vinciʼs Demons13:00 How I Met Your Mother13:30 How I Met Your Mother14:00 The Simpsons14:30 The Simpsons15:00 Low Winter Sun16:00 American Idol17:00 Cougar Town17:30 Cougar Town18:00 Desperate Housewives19:00 Desperate Housewives20:00 Fit For Fashion21:00 American Idol22:00 American Idol23:00 American Idol00:00 Private Practice01:00 Da Vinciʼs Demons02:00 Desperate Housewives

03:45 Africaʼs Wild Kingdom Reborn04:40 1000 Days For The Planet05:35 Ultimate Predators GPU

06:30 Africaʼs Deadliest07:25 Africaʼs Wild Kingdom Reborn08:20 1000 Days For The Planet09:15 Ultimate Animal Countdown10:10 Cubaʼs Secret Reef11:05 Hyena Queen12:00 Shark Men12:55 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia13:50 Africaʼs Deadliest14:45 Africaʼs Wild Kingdom Reborn15:40 1000 Days For The Planet16:35 Ultimate Animal Countdown17:30 Hunting The Hammerhead18:25 Worldʼs Deadliest Snakes19:20 Africaʼs Wild Kingdom Reborn20:10 1000 Days For The Planet21:00 Ultimate Animal Countdown21:50 Hunting The Hammerhead22:40 Worldʼs Deadliest Snakes23:30 Shark Men00:20 72 Dangerous AnimalsAustralia01:10 Africaʼs Deadliest02:00 Dangerous Encounters02:50 Natural Born MonstersNational Geo HD03:20 Route Awakening03:50 Nazi Megastructures04:45 X: The Generation ThatChanged The World05:40 The Numbers Game06:35 Secrets Of The Tang TreasureShip07:30 Brain Games07:55 Brain Games08:25 Wicked Tuna09:20 X: The Generation ThatChanged The World10:15 Locked Up Abroad11:10 Outsiders: Living Off The Edge12:05 Megastructures13:00 Wicked Tuna14:00 Brain Games14:30 Brain Games15:00 Taiwan Medical Miracle16:00 Locked Up Abroad17:00 Outsiders: Living Off The Edge18:00 The Great Human Race19:00 Taiwan Medical Miracle20:00 Locked Up Abroad20:50 Outsiders: Living Off The Edge21:40 The Great Human Race22:30 Taiwan Medical Miracle23:20 The Numbers Game00:10 Locked Up Abroad01:00 Outsiders: Living Off The Edge02:00 The Great Human Race02:55 Nazi Megastructures

03:00 Odyssey04:00 Good Morning America06:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show07:00 Chicago Fire08:00 Prison Break

23:40 Masterpiece With AlanTitchmarsh02:30 Emmerdale02:50 Emmerdale

03:05 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet03:30 Places We Go03:55 One Man & His Campervan04:45 David Roccoʼs Dolce India05:10 Worldʼs Best Chefs05:35 Worldʼs Best Chefs06:00 A Model Adventure06:50 Cesar To The Rescue07:40 Chefs Run Wild08:05 John Torodeʼs MalaysianAdventure08:30 John Torodeʼs MalaysianAdventure08:55 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet09:20 Places We Go09:45 One Man & His Campervan10:10 One Man & His Campervan10:35 David Roccoʼs Dolce India11:00 Worldʼs Best Chefs11:25 Worldʼs Best Chefs11:50 A Model Adventure12:40 Cesar To The Rescue13:35 Chefs Run Wild14:00 Jose Andres: Dinner In Haiti14:55 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet15:25 Places We Go15:50 One Man & His Campervan16:20 Andy And Ben Eat The World16:45 David Roccoʼs Dolce India17:15 Worldʼs Best Chefs17:40 Worldʼs Best Chefs18:10 A Model Adventure19:05 Food Loverʼs Guide To ThePlanet19:30 Places We Go20:00 One Man & His Campervan20:25 Andy And Ben Eat The World20:50 David Roccoʼs Dolce India21:15 Worldʼs Best Chefs21:40 Worldʼs Best Chefs22:05 A Model Adventure22:55 Cesar To The Rescue23:45 Chefs Run Wild00:10 Jose Andres: Dinner In Haiti01:00 Glamour Puds01:25 Home Strange Home02:15 Meat v Veg02:40 American Food Battle

03:40 American Restoration04:05 American Restoration04:30 Pawn Stars05:00 Grave Trade06:00 The Curse Of Oak Island06:50 Pirate Treasure Of The KnightsTemplar07:40 Battle 36008:30 American Restoration08:55 Mountain Men09:45 Ax Men10:35 Swamp People11:25 American Restoration12:15 Counting Cars: Best Of12:40 Counting Cars13:05 American Pickers13:55 Grave Trade14:45 Pirate Treasure Of The KnightsTemplar15:35 Battle 36016:25 Counting Cars: Best Of16:50 American Restoration17:40 Down East Dickering18:30 Duck Dynasty19:20 Ax Men20:10 Swamp People21:00 Storage Wars Miami21:25 Storage Wars21:50 Criss Angel: Mindfreak22:15 Barryʼd Treasure22:40 Battle 36023:30 Inside Alcatraz: Legends OfThe Rock00:20 Grave Trade01:10 Counting Cars: Best Of01:35 Counting Cars02:00 American Pickers02:50 Down East Dickering

03:00 Snow Dogs05:00 The Princess And The Frog07:00 Dr. Seussʼ The Lorax09:00 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid11:00 Wreck-It Ralph13:00 Mulan15:00 Bedtime Stories17:00 Toy Story 319:00 Camp Nowhere21:00 Pirates Of The Caribbean: OnStranger Tides23:15 Bedtime Stories01:15 Camp Nowhere

03:30 Jersey Boys06:00 Powder08:00 A Beautiful Mind10:15 Beaches12:30 A Civil Action14:30 Upside Down16:30 A Beautiful Mind

04:15 Blue Elephant 206:00 Egon And Donci08:00 Ploddy Police Car On TheCase09:45 Jock The Hero Dog11:15 Columbus In The Last Journey12:45 Space Warriors14:30 The Heart Of The Oak16:00 Yellowbird18:00 Jock The Hero Dog20:00 The Dragon Pearl22:00 The Heart Of The Oak23:30 Yellowbird01:15 Ploddy Police Car On TheCase02:45 The Dragon Pearl

03:06 Jon & Kate Plus 803:30 Craft Wars04:20 Little People, Big World04:45 Little People, Big World05:10 Cake Boss05:35 Something Borrowed,Something New06:00 Six Little Mcghees06:49 Cake Boss07:12 Cake Boss07:35 Cake Boss07:57 Cake Boss08:22 Food Hospital09:10 Food Hospital09:57 Ugly House To Lovely House10:45 Single Dad Seeking...11:35 Say Yes To The Dress12:00 Say Yes To The Dress12:25 Say Yes To The Dress12:47 Say Yes To The Dress13:12 Say Yes To The Dress13:35 Oprah Prime14:25 Oprah: Where Are They Now?15:15 Little People, Big World:Welcome To...16:05 Little People, Big World16:30 Little People, Big World16:54 Little People, Big World17:18 Love At First Swipe17:42 Love At First Swipe18:05 Ugly House To Lovely House18:55 Cake Boss19:20 Six Little Mcghees20:10 Sister Wives21:00 Six Little Mcghees21:25 Six Little Mcghees21:50 Sister Wives22:40 7 Little Johnstons

06:00 Guyʼs Grocery Games07:00 Man Fire Food07:30 Man Fire Food08:00 Chopped09:00 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics09:30 Barefoot Contessa: Back ToBasics10:00 The Kitchen11:00 The Pioneer Woman11:30 The Pioneer Woman12:00 Chopped13:00 Grandmaʼs Secret Cookbook13:30 Grandmaʼs Secret Cookbook14:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives14:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives15:00 Man Fire Food15:30 Man Fire Food16:00 Chopped17:00 The Kitchen18:00 The Pioneer Woman18:30 The Pioneer Woman19:00 Chopped20:00 Iron Chef America21:00 Cutthroat Kitchen22:00 Chopped South Africa23:00 Kitchen Casino00:00 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives01:00 Cutthroat Kitchen02:00 Chopped South Africa

09:00 Supergirl10:00 Odyssey11:00 Chicago Fire12:00 Prison Break13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show14:00 Live Good Morning America16:00 The Night Shift17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show18:00 Prison Break19:00 Supergirl20:00 Shark Tank21:00 The Night Shift22:00 Downton Abbey23:00 Sleepy Hollow00:00 Chicago Fire01:00 The Night Shift02:00 Downton Abbey

19:00 Decoding Annie Parker21:00 Breathe In23:00 Get On Up01:15 A Beautiful Mind

04:00 Next Goal Wins06:00 Born To Race: Fast Track08:00 Veronica Mars10:15 Batman: Assault On Arkham11:45 Trigger Point13:45 One Chance15:45 The Grand Seduction17:45 The Hunger Games:Mockingjay Part I20:00 Mortdecai22:00 The Lovers00:00 One Chance02:00 The Hunger Games:Mockingjay Part I

08:30 I Am Number Four10:30 Father Of The Bride Part II12:30 Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit14:30 Goal II: Living The Dream16:30 My Bollywood Bride18:15 Dawn Of The Dead20:00 Thor 2: The Dark World22:00 Mission To Mars00:00 The Duchess02:00 Annapolis

03:00 The Leftovers04:00 Carnivale05:00 Longford07:00 My House In Umbria09:00 Earthly Possessions11:00 Into The Storm13:00 A Bright Shining Lie15:00 Temple Grandin17:00 Into The Storm19:00 Secrets And Lies20:00 The Sopranos21:00 True Blood22:00 Game Of Thrones23:00 After The Thrones23:30 Curb Your Enthusiasm00:00 Secrets And Lies

S t a r sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Afghanistan 0093Albania 00355Algeria 00213Andorra 00376Angola 00244Anguilla 001264Antiga 001268Argentina 0054Armenia 00374Australia 0061Austria 0043Bahamas 001242Bahrain 00973Bangladesh 00880Barbados 001246Belarus 00375Belgium 0032Belize 00501Benin 00229Bermuda 001441Bhutan 00975Bolivia 00591Bosnia 00387Botswana 00267Brazil 0055Brunei 00673Bulgaria 00359Burkina 00226Burundi 00257Cambodia 00855Cameroon 00237Canada 001Cape Verde 00238Cayman Islands 001345Central African Republic 00236Chad 00235Chile 0056China 0086Colombia 0057Comoros 00269Congo 00242Cook Islands 00682Costa Rica 00506Croatia 00385Cuba 0053Cyprus 00357Cyprus (Northern) 0090392Czech Republic 00420Denmark 0045Diego Garcia 00246Djibouti 00253Dominica 001767Dominican Republic 001809Ecuador 00593Egypt 0020El Salvador 00503England (UK) 0044Equatorial Guinea 00240Eritrea 00291Estonia 00372Ethiopia 00251Falkland Islands 00500Faroe Islands 00298Fiji 00679Finland 00358France 0033French Guiana 00594French Polynesia 00689Gabon 00241Gambia 00220Georgia 00995Germany 0049Ghana 00233Gibraltar 00350Greece 0030Greenland 00299Grenada 001473Guadeloupe 00590Guam 001671Guatemala 00502Guinea 00224Guyana 00592Haiti 00509Holland (Netherlands)0031Honduras 00504Hong Kong 00852Hungary 0036Ibiza (Spain) 0034Iceland 00354India 0091Indian Ocean 00873Indonesia 0062Iran 0098Iraq 00964Ireland 00353Italy 0039Ivory Coast 00225Jamaica 001876Japan 0081Jordan 00962Kazakhstan 007Kenya 00254Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965Kyrgyzstan 00996Laos 00856Latvia 00371Lebanon 00961Liberia 00231Libya 00218Lithuania 00370Luxembourg 00352Macau 00853Macedonia 00389Madagascar 00261Majorca 0034Malawi 00265Malaysia 0060Maldives 00960Mali 00223Malta 00356Marshall Islands 00692Martinique 00596Mauritania 00222Mauritius 00230Mayotte 00269Mexico 0052Micronesia 00691Moldova 00373Monaco 00377Mongolia 00976Montserrat 001664Morocco 00212Mozambique 00258Myanmar (Burma) 0095Namibia 00264Nepal 00977Netherlands (Holland)0031Netherlands Antilles 00599New Caledonia 00687New Zealand 0064Nicaragua 00505Nigar 00227Nigeria 00234Niue 00683Norfolk Island 00672Northern Ireland (UK)0044North Korea 00850Norway 0047Oman 00968Pakistan 0092Palau 00680Panama 00507Papua New Guinea 00675Paraguay 00595Peru 0051Philippines 0063Poland 0048Portugal 00351Puerto Rico 001787Qatar 00974Romania 0040Russian Federation 007Rwanda 00250Saint Helena 00290Saint Kitts 001869Saint Lucia 001758Saint Pierre 00508Saint Vincent 001784Samoa US 00684Samoa West 00685San Marino 00378Sao Tone 00239Saudi Arabia 00966Scotland (UK) 0044Senegal 00221Seychelles 00284Sierra Leone 00232Singapore 0065Slovakia 00421Slovenia 00386Solomon Islands 00677Somalia 00252South Africa 0027South Korea 0082Spain 0034Sri Lanka 0094Sudan 00249Suriname 00597Swaziland 00268Sweden 0046Switzerland 0041Syria 00963Taiwan 00886Tanzania 00255Thailand 0066Toga 00228Tonga 00676Tokelau 00690Trinidad 001868Tunisia 00216Turkey 0090Tuvalu 00688Uganda 00256Ukraine 00380United Arab Emirates00976

You seem most creative with your ideas and ways of com-municating. Unique and unconventional approaches to study or researchare forthcoming. You value change and transformation and have analmost reckless faith in the life process. You may find yourself in an excel-lent job or at least with a defined path and plan. You appreciate goals andefforts at the global level and try to find ways in which you can implementthem into your own life. Your energy level is high but the nervous tensionlevel may also be high. Take the full time allotted to you at each break–particularly the noon break–and find peaceful ways to relax. A new animalor family member demands your attention this evening. It looks like play-time! Enjoy!

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Your sense of direction and guidance are the key to under-standing you at any in-depth level. You seem to naturally find a solution–always managing to come up with the correct approach. There is a greatcapacity to negotiate with the law and authorities, plus an ability to findyour way when it comes to inner and spiritual matters. Others sense thisgift and accept guidance and counsel from you often–including today.Matters of law, religion and philosophy of the most definite kind hold yourinterest. You could find that houses and other real property take ongreater significance. A move is in the forecast and now is the time to thinkabout exactly what that means to you; the world is yours! Gain powerthrough dependable information.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Your timing is much better today. Others seem to have aneed to listen to what you have to say. Although you may not have all theanswers you feel you need, the combination of your ideas with other peo-ple’s ideas is productive and has good results. It is possible that you willbe able to move out of your apartment soon and into your first home.There may soon be a greater focus on family life: parents, children, rela-tives, the domestic scene. Nurturing is where you concentrate yourefforts in your personal life now: making things grow and taking care ofthem, planting seeds that will develop and survive far into the future–that’s what it’s all about now. Patience should be practiced, especially justnow. Take things slowly.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

This is a lucky day for you when it comes to career decisions.You will work hard to make your dreams a reality. Flashes of insight withtremendous originality and independence are typical. You may find your-self teaching others about some new technical skill. You have a naturalsense of invention and a love of all things electrical and of communicationin general. A born traveler, not afraid to be alone, you will find opportuni-ties to travel–perhaps through lecturing. You are unconventional today,when it comes to self-expression. You will find new and different ways toget this expression over to others–possibly through sports, or entertain-ment, the creative arts, etc. Always independent when it comes to emo-tions, you do not mind feeling a little different.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Past restrictions are gone. You will be able to move forwardand get much accomplished. Your ideas and thoughts will be clear andthe unusually difficult tasks will not slow you down. You become organ-ized as soon as you know your schedule. It will feel exhilarating to knowyou are on the right road to success and your self-confidence should behigh enough that nothing can stop you. There are highlights of leadershipand opportunities for advancement. You will feel powerful and thosearound you will see that you have the ability to make good decisions,accomplish goals and network with authorities. There should be somecompliments coming your way this afternoon. A love story or poem isshared tonight.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Your artistic side jumps to attention as some new chal-lenges that are similar to a business advertisement tease your imagina-tion. You can create a presentation that results in some innovative ideas.There is a sense of testing the limits, but there is also some fun of accom-plishment involved in today’s work. Being more in touch with your emo-tional roots is a keynote of the cycle that now takes hold in your life. Thishas to do with feelings, but it’s more than that; it is about making thethings you feel and care about a reality. At some levels, this may meancreating a greater balance when it comes to career and family. Credityourself with the will to get things done and realize that now is a goodtime to plan an important party.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

You seem to possess a ceaseless need to be analyticaltoday. You spend a great deal of time analyzing or studying certain situa-tions and can undermine your own progress. If you are not moving for-ward with your work, you might consider a little extra help or a bit of over-time with your work. Thinking things through and accounting for all thedetails and making careful measurements, keeps the mind active andinvolved. An interest in health and work may come to your attention.There may be new ways of communication, technical probably, that willtake much of your spare time this afternoon. Very little is accomplished athome since you may learn about someone in the neighborhood that you

would like to know better.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Co-workers enjoy being around you, particularly today. Youare in a happy mood and you plan to stay that way for a long time. Yourthought is that nobody could sway you from this good feeling. Your work-load is good and it is starting to look as if you have a good grasp on theway your work is moving along. If you have a team, you will find that all ofyou work very well together. You and your family have been consideringreal estate lately and this just may be a good time to discover what youwant in a home. Taxes, investments and other financial ties or obligationsgrab your attention. You may even be looking to upgrade or downgradeinto a different home. There may be less of a need to have lots of space; itwill all need care.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

A renewed emphasis on reading, writing, studying and allforms of information exchange is highly motivating. New ideas and cre-ative solutions are at the ready. You are not usually the talkative one inyour work area but today there are many things to talk about–new discov-eries. You might enjoy being a salesperson or working in the advertisingbusiness; success is certain. Your imagination and sense of what connectsall of life are felt in your speech and in the way you communicate. You lovea good story and a sense of the mystical pervades every one you tell. Youremember times of your youth and you may shop for some kind of icecream maker for the next family gathering. You are looking forward to afun family gathering soon.

You may be helping a young co-worker with that person’sduties or in understanding the work this morning. Everyone wants a pieceof you and this can result in your needing more space, a chance to bealone–escape! It is because of your being in demand that brings about agreat deal of satisfaction in your work. Your ambitions are usually support-ed by the will to get things done. Achievement, ambition and authorityare the things that take on greater importance. A marriage or other part-nership can raise high hopes. There are good feelings from all around youand there is a sense of support and harmony and enjoyment of this happytime. Do research on the family crest. Find some time to read some amus-ing story and then relate it to others. Most of all, laugh.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

This is a time to take risks and dare to be a little unconven-tional. New insights bring bright ideas for new inventions. Your careercould open up by taking the road less traveled and by daring to be theoddball with new approaches. An understanding attitude on your partcould have far-reaching effects on your own life-path and career duringthis time. A little restraint for now could be beneficial; keep notes so thatyou can stay focused. Careful with the budget today, you may be morethan a little eager to acquire things or indulge too much. Be alert for theknowledge that will help you to fine-tune your work program. A friend willinvite you to do some fun activities that could be a bit out of the ordinarythis afternoon.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

There is a focus on worldwide events and the need tokeep in touch with others. This could be a group energy type of thingbut it looks as if you joined the competition to fulfill a special need. It istime to be involved in the big picture. The media are instrumental inthis social awareness and you may be a part of the media. You are cer-tainly seen obtaining information from as many different sources aspossible this month. Expect, then, to be involved with newspapers,magazines, tv, internet and discussions on computer networks and incoffee houses. Others will want to know the latest–you must keep onthe right path and avoid being misleading. Celebrating the eveningwith people, music and good feelings is certainly enjoyable.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

COUNTRY CODES

H E A L T HFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

NEW YORK: It could take years to learnhow long men infected with Zika arecapable of sexually transmitting thevirus, which can cause crippling birthdefects and other serious neurologicaldisorders. In the meantime, health offi-cials have warned couples to refrain fromunprotected sex for six months after amale partner is infected. The extraordi-nary recommendation, based on a singlereport of Zika surviving 62 days in semen,could affect millions. The grave risksassociated with Zika, along with itspotential reach, are driving US healthauthorities to pursue research eventhough funding is mired inCongressional gridlock. A study of sexualtransmission risk is one example of sci-ence that health officials said can’t waitfor politics.

Borrowing money earmarked for otherprograms, the US National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases has start-ed enrolling men infected with Zika inBrazi l and Colombia in the study todetermine how long the virus remainstransmittable in semen. The study couldtake years to complete, but interimresults could help public health officialsfine-tune their recommendations on sex.“We are going out on a limb, but we haveto,” Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the USinstitute, said in an interview. “We can’tsay we’re going to wait until we get all

the money.”Public health officials are alarmed by

Zika’s transmission versatility, which hasthe potential to expand its reach. It is pri-marily spread by Aedes aegypti mosqui-toes, as are the dengue and chikungunyaviruses. But at least 10 countries, includ-ing the United States and France, havereported Zika infections in people whohad not traveled to an outbreak area butwhose sexual partners had. This ability tospread through sex could help Zika gaina further foothold outside the warmhabitats of its most effective agent, themosquito.

Caution in lieu of answersTo protect women who are pregnant

or trying to conceive, the US Centers forDisease Control and Prevention recom-mended couples refrain from unprotect-ed sex for six months - triple the 62 daysthe virus survived in the semen in oneBritish case study. The World HealthOrganization recently issued similar guid-ance. But such strict advice is not ideal,Dr Anne Schuchat, a CDC deputy direc-tor, said in an interview. “To tell peoplenot to have sex until we get back to youis not a very satisfying recommendation,”she said. “We would like to have somemore understanding of the sexual risk.”

In the US territory of Puerto Rico,where more than 2,100 cases of infection

have been reported since the start of theyear, health officials are passing out Zikaprotection kits that include bug sprayand condoms, along with the recommen-dation. But the warning against unpro-tected sex isn’t going over very well, saidDr. Chris Prue, a CDC behavioral scientistwho has studied the response. “Condomsare not popular in a lot places,” she said.“There’s religious and personal prefer-ences and lots of personal factors inthat.”

US lawmakers deadlocked over fund-ing to fight the Zika virus on Tuesday, asSenate Democrats blocked a Republicanproposal they said fell short of the chal-lenge posed by the virus and hurt otherhealth priorities. It was unclear whenCongress would revisit the request byPresident Barack Obama for $1.9 billion.

Funding prioritiesIn the meantime, the White House has

diverted more than $500 million ear-marked for other projects for urgent Zikainitiatives, including those where scien-tific opportunities will be lost if not actedupon immediately. One such study willfollow children born to women infectedwith Zika to identify the development ofany disabilities not detected at birth.Other projects on the priority list includevaccine development and mosquitoeradication. One study underway will

assess whether the risk of transmission isgreater from men who experience Zikainfection symptoms, such as fever andrash, than from those who don’t. Thisinformation is considered vital sincemost people experience no symptoms.

The study of infected men in Braziland Colombia will test semen from thou-sands of men over time to determinehow long Zika poses a risk to sexual part-ners. As long the virus can be grown in alaboratory from semen cell samples,infectious disease experts believe it ispotentially contagious. Zika typicallyclears the bloodstream about a weekafter infection, but it has been detectedin urine for at least twice as long. Its per-sistence in semen in the British casestudy has caused some researchers todraw comparisons to other viruses.

HIV can last in blood and semen indef-initely, and the mosquito-borne WestNile virus can reside in the kidneys andurine for years, researchers said. Onepatient who survived the deadly Ebolaoutbreak had evidence of that virus in hissemen for 18 months. “We got very sur-prised by Ebola that it was hangingaround for so long,” said Dr Peter Hotez,dean of the National School of TropicalMedicine at Baylor College of Medicine.“One of the big questions we have to askis does Zika also cause a similar type oflatency?”—Reuters

Zika sex research begins despiteUS Congress funding impasse

I n f o r m a t i o nFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

OphthalmologistsDr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223

Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT)Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426

General PractitionersDr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501

UrologistsDr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700

Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60

Family Doctor

Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists

Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians

DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272

Dr. Salem soso 22618787

General Surgeons

Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart

Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939

Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3

Paediatricians

Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282

Dermatology

Dr. Mohammed Salam Bern University 23845955

Dentists

Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111

Neurologists

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875

Gastrologists

Dr. Sami Aman 22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135

Endocrinologist

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888

Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924

Physiotherapists & VD

Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288

Rheumatologists:

Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart

DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital 25339667

Consultant Cardiologist

Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 MD, PH.D, FACC

Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

Soor CenterTel: 2290-1677Fax: 2290 1688

info@soorcenter.comwww.soorcenter.com

Psychologists/Psychotherapists

PRIVATE CLINICS

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Kaizen center25716707

Noor Clinic23845955

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LONDON: European and Asian stocks pushedhigher while the pound held most of itsground yesterday as markets shrugged offtheir Brexit shock. After wiping out onWednesday all of its losses following the sur-prise vote by Britain the leave the EU, London’sFTSE 100 index yesterday pushed another 0.6percent higher around 1000 GMT.

Meanwhile, Paris climbed also 0.6 percentand Frankfurt added 0.4 percent. MichaelHewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets,noted that the equities rebound appears tohave left banking stocks behind. “It is herethat the soft underbelly of the Europeaneconomy remains, with financials under pres-sure again after the US subsidiaries ofDeutsche Bank and Santander failed the latestFederal Reserve stress tests for the secondyear in succession,” he said.

In London Barclays was down 0.8 percent,Llyods 1.6 percent and RBS by 3.0 percent.Deutsche Bank shares slid 1.5 percent and

Santander by 1.2 percent. Meanwhile Asianstock markets also climbed, tracking reboundsin Europe and New York on Wednesday asmarkets recovered from last week’s hammer-ing.Speculation that authorities will announcemonetary easing measures to offset any nega-tive impact have also provided strong support.Stephen Innes, a senior trader at Oanda AsiaPacific said in a note: “The global centralbankers are in the background and the mar-kets realise that the central bankers are goingto stand in front of any capitulation.”

Trading floors are rife with talk of fresh stim-ulus measures from key central banks. After a$17 billion boost by South Korea, Japan is infocus after the country’s prime minister,finance minister and central bank boss heldtalks Wednesday. Tokyo rose 0.1 percent,although it ended well off its earlier highsowing to profit taking having risen about fourpercent since Friday’s close. Hong Kong added1.8 percent and Seoul closed up 0.7 percent.

Singapore and Taipei each put on more thanone percent, while Manila surged two percent.But Shanghai closed 0.1 percent down. Sydneyclimbed 1.7 percent ahead of a neck-and-neckgeneral election in Australia at the weekend.

Pound stable The pound also held on to most of its gains

versus the dollar as other higher-yielding, riski-er, currencies benefited from hope that thefallout from Friday’s referendum will not be asbad as feared. “The initial shock over the UKvoting out of the EU is easing across theworld,” Mitsushige Akino, a Tokyo-based exec-utive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset ManagementCo., told Bloomberg News. “We’ve survivedthe event-related risk, and investors are begin-ning to see that the impact on the actualeconomy is limited. There’s hope for policymeasures globally, not just in Japan, so that’ssupporting markets.”

The pound slid slightly from its New York

close to $1.3445, but was considerably up fromthe 31-year-low of $1.3121 it touched Monday.Analysts at Moneycorp said the slide in thepound from the shock of the Brexit resultappears to have stopped. “It does not matterthat there might in time be new shocks thatwill send it lower: this one seems to have runits course. All the known bad news has beenpriced into sterling,” said Moneycorp analystsHowever, there remains plenty of caution asBritain and its EU partners struggle to reach adivorce agreement.

With Prime Minister David Cameron hand-ing over responsibility in the autumn to an as-yet-unknown successor, European leaders areadamant that London will not win any conces-sions to gain access to the vast single market.Highlighting the concerns about the impact ofthe Brexit vote, Singapore’s United OverseasBank said it had suspended loans to anyonewanting to buy property in London, citing“uncertainties”. — AFP

BusinessFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Fading fishermen: Historic industry faces climate change

Page 40

Singapore bank suspend London property loans PAGE 38

Global stocks rally as Brexit shock easesEU, Asia push higher; pound holds ground

NEW YORK: Jonathan Niles, center, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. — AP

B u s i n e s sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

SINGAPORE: A top Singapore bank said yes-terday it has suspended loans to anyonewanting to buy property in London, citinguncertainty from Britain’s vote to quit the EUand dealing a blow to investors looking tomake the most of the weak pound. UnitedOverseas Bank (UOB), one of the city-state’sthree homegrown lenders, said it was moni-toring the market closely to determine whenthe loans would resume.

“We will temporarily stop receiving foreignproperty loan applications for London prop-erties,” it said in a statement. “As the after-math of the UK referendum is still unfoldingand given the uncertainties, we need toensure our customers are cautious with theirLondon property investments,” it added. “Weare monitoring the market environmentclosely and will assess regularly to determinewhen we will re-instate our London propertyloan offering.”

UOB has the biggest share of loans for theLondon property market among Singapore’sthree banks, an industry source said. Financialmarkets were plunged into turmoil followinglast week’s Brexit vote and while they haveenjoyed a recovery over the past few days,analysts warn there could be repercussions

well beyond Britain and Europe. Market-watchers said property prices in Britain areexpected to plummet as the pound takes abeating, and foreign investors, especiallythose from Asia, are already poised for a buy-ing spree.

But Donald Han, managing director ofChesterton Singapore, a consultancy special-izing in UK property, said banks are just exer-cising caution given the uncertainties.“London property prices are some of the mostresilient in the world because even during theglobal financial crisis it only dipped by 10 to15 percent,” he told AFP. “What’s differentthis time is that Brexit is unprecedented. It’sonly the UK that’s affected, not the rest of theworld as was seen during the previous finan-cial crisis so understandably the banks arebeing cautious.”

Forex risksThe pound tumbled more than 10 percent

against the US dollar Friday to a 31-year low,and while it has recovered slightly it is stillunder pressure. Singapore’s biggest bank DBSsaid it would continue to provide financingfor property purchases in London but gavecustomers the option of borrowing in

Singapore dollars or pounds.“For customers interested in buying prop-

erties in London, we would advise them toassess the situation carefully before commit-ting to their purchases as there could bepotential foreign exchange and sovereignrisks,” said Tok Geok Peng, executive directorof secured lending at DBS. “With foreignexchange risks, even if the value of the over-seas property rises, any gains will be eroded ifthe country’s currency depreciates againstthe (Singapore dollar). This is in addition tothe risks associated with any government pol-icy changes,” Tok added.

Asian investors have long sought outboth commercial and residential UK proper-ty off the back of potential for capitalgrowth and a resilient economy. Londonhouse prices are some of the most expen-sive in the world and have been on the riseover the past six years. But internationalconsultancy KPMG has forecast house pricescould fall five percent nationwide-and evenmore in the capital-following Friday’s sur-prise decision to separate from the EU afterfour decades. Another consultancy, JonesLang LaSalle, said prices could fall 10 per-cent over the next two years. — AFP

MOSCOW: Russian President VladimirPutin yesterday warned that the falloutfrom Britain’s vote to leave theEuropean Union would last a long time.“Brexit-that is the choice of the subjectsof Great Britain and we have not in anyway interfered in this and are not inter-fering,” Putin told Russian diplomats inMoscow. The Kremlin strongman said

Moscow “will closely follow how far thenegotiations between London andBrussels go and what the consequenceswill be for all of Europe and for us.” “It isclear that the traumatic effect from theresults of the referendum will be felt forquite a long time,” Putin said. “We willsee how their principles of democracyget realized in practice.”

A slim majority of voters in Britaincast their ballots to leave the EU in a ref-erendum on June 23 that has sent eco-nomic and political shockwaves acrossthe globe. Putin has played his cardsclose to his chest over the Brexit votebut many in the West suspect him of rel-ishing the prospect of turmoil in the EU.Putin had earlier slammed the British

leadership’s approach to the referen-dum as “nothing more than overconfi-dence and a superficial approach tosolving fateful decisions for one’s coun-try”. Ties between Russia and the Westare at their lowest point since the ColdWar over the Ukraine crisis, with the EUslapping damaging sanctions onMoscow. — AFP

Putin says ‘traumatic effect’ of Brexit vote to last long

Singapore bank suspendsLondon property loans

Citing uncertainty from Britain’s vote to quit EU

Top bankerwarns Brexit

may causeeconomic crisis

LONDON: Britain’s shock EU withdrawalcould cause an economic crisis, a topbanker warned yesterday, adding it was“far from certain” London would secureits exit demands in Brussels. “This is apolitical crisis that has the potential tocreate an economic one,” said JohnMcFarlane, chairman of Barclays bankand head of finance lobbyists TheCityUK.“Unlike the previous crisis, in thisinstance, the City does not bear theaccountability,” he added in reference tothe 2008-2009 global banking crisis. “Wehave experienced an exogenous shock,and have acquitted ourselves admirably.”

McFarlane said the financial sectorwanted the British government to securesingle market access in the exit talks,while it also wanted the ability to employtalented workers from Europe and therest of the world. Some restrictions onthe free movement of people were likely,he added. “While it is perfectly under-standable that it will take time for thecountry to find its feet, we do urgentlyneed stable, effective and inspirationalpolitical leadership to steer the way for-ward,” noted McFarlane in a speech toTheCityUK’s annual gathering in London.

“Unfortunately it is far from certainwhat we might be able to secure in ourdiscussions with the EU. “It is neverthelessimportant for us to understand whatoptions exist and to plan prudently for allcontingencies.” EU leaders had mean-while agreed Wednesday that Britain can-not have “a la carte” single market accessafter leaving the union-without acceptingthe bloc’s rules on free movement.

City bankers are anxious that they willlose their so-called “passporting” rightsthat currently allow London-based finan-cial services firms to operate across thebloc. On June 23, Britons voted 52 per-cent to 48 percent in favor of leaving theEU after four decades as a member. Theshock result-which confounded opinionpolls that had indicated a Remain win-sparked turmoil in global financial mar-kets and sent the pound collapsing to a31-year low against the dollar.

“We went to bed yesterday beingassured by the markets that by the morn-ing it would be business as usual, butwoke to find that the UK suddenly saw itsfuture outside of Europe,” addedMcFarlane. “Make no bones about it, thishas been a serious geopolitical and eco-nomic shock that requires a coordinatedresponse. “We now must build a newinternational model for the UK, naturallylooking globally, but nevertheless retain-ing a strategic, but possibly different,partnership with the EU.” — AFP

HONG KONG: A man wipes the rain water off his face as a screen displays the Hang Seng Index at a bank. — AP

Claims for USunemployment aid

rise but remains low WASHINGTON: More Americans applied for unemploy-ment benefits last week, but the level of jobless claimsremains low enough to suggest that most workersenjoy job security. The Labor Department said yester-day that weekly US applications rose by 10,000 to a sea-sonally adjusted 268,000. The 4-week average, which isless volatile, was unchanged at 267,000.

Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. Theyhave remained below 300,000 for 69 straight weeks,longest such streak since 1973. Hiring has slowed thisspring. Employers added just 38,000 jobs last month,the fewest in more than five years. But even if they arenot adding many workers, employers are still reluctantto reduce their staffs. The unemployment rate fell inMay to 4.7 percent, lowest in more than eight years.

The US economy got off to a slow start this year,growing at a weak annual pace of just 1.1 percent fromJanuary through March. Economists expect growth topick this quarter, driven by healthy consumer spend-ing. Still, the Federal Reserve has been reluctant todeclare the economy completely healthy, deciding atall four meetings this year that conditions were not yetstrong enough to justify higher interest rates. Britain’sJune 23 decision to leave the European Union has rat-tled markets and created uncertainty about the globaleconomic outlook. — AP

39B u s i n e s sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

Germany’sunemployed remains

at record lowFRANKFURT: Unemployment in Germany in Juneremained at its lowest level since unification, as Europe’stop economy remains robust, data showed yesterday. Theunemployment rate-which measures the jobless totalagainst the working population as a whole-stood at 6.1percent in June, unchanged from May, the federal laboroffice said in a statement. In numerical terms, the numberof people registered as unemployed in Germany declinedby 6,000 to 2.69 milion.

Unemployment now stands at the lowest level sinceWest and East Germany reunited in 1990 after the fall ofthe Berlin Wall the previous year. In raw, or unadjusted,terms, the jobless total also decreased, falling by 50,000 to2.614 million. The unemployment rate slipped to 5.9 per-cent in June from 6.0 percent in May, the office said.“Despite the difficult environment, the German economyremains robust,” the labor office said. German grossdomestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.7 percent in thefirst quarter. “Moderate growth can be expected during therest of the year,” the office said. “The labor market datawere positive,” said BayernLB economist Christiane vonBerg. The jobless numbers could increase in the comingmonths as refugees sign on the dole, the expert said.

More than one mil l ion asylum seeks arr ived inGermany last year, fleeing war and persecution in theirhome countries such as Syria. While the new arrivals arewaiting for their asylum applications to be processed andthey are attending integration courses, they are notcounted as being available for work and not included inthe official jobless data.

Regarding the British vote to quit the European Union,“it remains to be seen to what extent the uncertaintysparked by the Brexit vote will affect the hiring plans ofGerman companies,” von Berg said. But IHS Global Insightanalyst Timo Klein felt that the British referendum had“thrown a significant spanner into the works.” He estimat-ed that German growth forecasts would have to be low-ered both this year and next year in the wake of the vote.Klein said he now expected unemployment in annual aver-age terms “to start rising from a trough of 6.1 percent atpresent to at least 6.5 percent in 2017 and close to 7.0 per-cent in 2018. “The growing impact from refugees who havebeen granted asylum status and are subsequently lookingfor work is also behind this increase,” he said. — AFP

ULAN BATOR: A man rides his horse next to a ger near Zuunmod south of Ulan Bator on June 29, 2016. — AFP

ULAN BATOR: A landslide electionvictory by Mongolia’s opposition is ast inging rejection of the govern-ment’s failed economic policies, ana-lysts and voters said yesterday, as thecountry struggles to turn its vast natu-ral resources into national wealth. TheMongolian People’s Party (MPP) won65 out of 76 seats in the State GreatHural parliament, leaving the rulingDemocratic Party (DP) in single fig-ures with a mere nine spots, the elec-tion commission announced earlyyesterday.

Among the casualties was outgoingPrime Minister Chimediin Saikhanbileg,who lost his own Bayanzurkh seat inUlan Bator to a virtual unknown. “I vot-ed for the MPP because the DP usedtheir power only for their own good,”said Magsarjaviin Bold, 46, a construc-tion worker in the capital. “They aremostly businessmen and did thingsthat only profited them.” Billions of dol-lars’ worth of natural resources lieburied beneath Mongolia’s sprawlingsteppes, drawing the attention ofmultinational mining giants such asAnglo-Australian Rio Tinto, which has amulti-billion-dollar copper and goldproject at Oyu Tolgoi.

But development has been delayedfor years by disputes over the role offoreign investment, while slowinggrowth in Mongolia’s biggest customerChina has done nothing to help, andthe ruling party paid the price for ananaemic economy. In 2011, the year

before the DP came to power,Mongolia’s GDP rose a world-leading17.3 percent. By last year expansionhad slumped to 2.3 percent. MarissaSmith, a Mongolia expert at De AnzaCollege in San Francisco, told AFP:“There has been a shift since the lastelection away from blaming foreignerstowards blaming Mongolian politiciansand other elites for the failure of OyuTolgoi and (coal project) Tavan Tolgoito have met expectations.”

‘Wrong direction’ Turnout was 72 percent and 13

women were elected, up from 11 lasttime, despite a cut to a quota forfemale candidates. Pre-election pollingby the International RepublicanInstitute (IRI) showed that over 60 per-cent of Mongolians felt their countrywas “headed in the wrong direction”, asentiment driven by concern over cor-ruption and the government’s inabilityto transform resources into new jobs.

“Voters were very clear with theirballots... they wanted change,” said IRI’scountry director Ashleigh Whelan,adding that the victory will give theMPP an overwhelming majority in thelegislature: “Any initiative that theywant to pass... they’ll pass it.” After thescale of the MPP’s victory emerged,party chairman Miyegombiin Enkhboldvowed to put the country back ontrack, saying it would “do our best to fixthe economic and social downturns.”But while the MPP was the ruling party

during Mongolia’s Communist era andthe DP guided it to its democratic pres-ent, many Mongolians see little differ-ence between the two parties and howmuch will change remains unclear.

Both ran virtually identical cam-paigns, focused on the importance ofjob creation through resource develop-ment, but short on practicalities. “Ourpolitical parties don’t really have apolitical ideology that unites them,”said Mogi Badral Bontoi, CEO of marketintelligence firm Cover Mongolia.“Politicians join their parties notbecause of their political ideology...but which party gives them the bestchance to gain power, gain influence.”

The election result was “tentativelypositive” for foreign miners, whichalso include Chinese state-owned coalgiant Shenhua, said Greg Kwan of theEconomist Intel l igence Unit in aresearch note, as the new governmentwas unlikely to reverse “a recent shiftto a more fr iendly stance”. Mogihoped the next government would be“much more focused on the economythan China”, he said, “less populist,less nationalist, less protectionist”. Notall MPP supporters agree. “I don’twant the new government to sellMongolian natural riches for lowerprices to foreigners,” said ZagdiinSesemjav, a 62-year old pensionerwho backed the party. “That is givingthem away,” she said. “Most incomemust come to Mongolia, not foreigncompanies.” — AFP

Political landslide stings mineral-rich Mongolia

Country struggling to turn resources into wealth

40B u s i n e s sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

SEABROOK: The cod isn’t just a fish to DavidGoethel. It’s his identity, his ticket to middle-class life, his link to a historic industry. “I paid formy education, my wife’s education, my house,my kids’ education; my slice of America was paidfor on cod,” said Goethel, a 30-year veteran ofthese waters that once teemed with NewEngland’s signature fish.

But on this chilly, windy Saturday in April,after 12 hours out in the Gulf of Maine, he hascaught exactly two cod, and he feels farremoved from the 1990s, when he could catch2,000 pounds in a day. His boat, the Ellen Diane,a 44-foot fishing trawler named for his wife, isthe only vessel pulling into the YankeeFishermen’s Co-op in Seabrook. Fifteen yearsago, there might have been a half-dozen. He iscarrying crates of silver hake, skates and floun-der - all worth less than cod.

One of America’s oldest commercial indus-tries, fishing along the coast of the Northeaststill employs hundreds. But every month thatgoes by, those numbers fall. After centuries ofweathering overfishing, pollution, foreign com-petition and increasing government regulation,the latest challenge is the one that’s doing themin: climate change.

Though no waters are immune to the rav-ages of climate change, the Gulf of Maine, adent in the coastline from Cape Cod to NovaScotia, best illustrates the problem. The gulf,where fishermen have for centuries sought lob-ster, cod and other species that thrived in itscold waters, is now warming faster than 99 per-cent of the world’s oceans, scientists have said.The warming waters, in the gulf and elsewhere,have caused other valuable species, such asclams, to migrate to deeper or more northernwaters. Others, such as lobsters, have largelyabandoned the once-lucrative waters off thesouthern New England states of Connecticutand Rhode Island, having become more suscep-tible to disease or predators. Lobster catches inMaine are booming as the species creeps north-ward, but as the warming continues, that’s agood thing bound to end. A federal report from2009 said that half of 36 fish stocks studied inthe northwest Atlantic Ocean have been shiftingnorthward over the past 40 years, and that thetrend is likely to continue.

Fish aren’t the only ones moving on, and notjust in the Northeast. The US fishing fleet hasdwindled from more than 120,000 vessels in

1996 to about 75,000 today, the Coast Guardsays. For the fishermen of the northeastern US -not all of whom accept the scientific consensuson climate change, and many of whom bristle atgovernment regulations stemming from it -whether to stick with fishing, adapt to thechanging ocean or leave the business is a con-stant worry.

Waving the white flagRobert Bradfield was one of the East Coast’s

most endangered species, a Rhode Island lob-sterman, until he pulled his traps out of thewater for the last time about a decade ago.Bradfield, of Newport, started in the fishery inthe mid-1970s and stayed in it for some 30years, sometimes catching 2,000 pounds of lob-ster a day. During his final years, he was lucky ifhe caught 100 pounds, not even enough to payfor bait, fuel and deckhands. He now works on apilot boat, guiding larger ships in and out of theharbor. He is glad he’s still on the water, but hemisses lobstering and the community of fisher-men he used to see in Newport. “There’s proba-bly 95 percent attrition out of that fishery in thisarea,” Bradfield said. “Of all the guys I fishedwith, I was a lobsterman for 30 years, and there’smaybe three left.”

The number of adult lobsters in New Englandsouth of Cape Cod slid to about 10 million in2013, according to a report issued last year byan interstate regulatory board. It was about 50million in the late 1990s. The lobster catch in theregion sank to about 3.3 million pounds in 2013,from a peak of about 22 million in 1997.Bradfield’s take on the role of warming oceans isnuanced and reflects the many years he spenton the water. Shell disease, he said, has taken atoll on southern New England’s lobster stock,something scientists say is a result of rising tem-peratures.

Bradfield also agrees with scientists who saythe increase in predatory fish, such as black seabass, is bad for the lobster population. Warmingoceans are responsible for the increase in thosefish species off New England, scientists say. ButBradfield, a father to three grown children, alsosaid his decision to leave the fishery was moreabout economics than science. He thinks somepublished studies are inconsistent. And helaments that Newport’s docks, once home todozens of lobster boats, are now down to a few.“It tore me up to do something else,” he said.

Others in the lobster business dispute the sci-ence that lays the blame on climate change.Nicholas Crismale, a former lobsterman andpresident of the Connecticut CommercialLobstermen’s Association, is one of many lob-stermen in his state who believes pesticiderunoff is to blame. Connecticut researchersfound no pesticides in lobsters collected in LongIsland Sound in late 2014. But Crismale, out ofthe business for four years and helping to runhis wife’s restaurant, Lobster Shack in Branford,sticks to the hypothesis, even in the face of sci-ence. “The warming stuff is a lot of baloney,” hesaid. “It’s just another scientist looking for agrant.” Crismale said it’s a shame that lobstering,often a multigenerational enterprise in NewEngland, is reaching its end in Connecticut. Heused to bring his daughters out fishing withhim, but they’ve grown up to be a lawyer and ateacher, and another generation isn’t takingtheir place. “I’m never going to be able to take agrandchild out on my boat,” Crismale said. “Andsome of the other fishermen were second andthird-generation fishermen. And they lost allthat.” Connecticut’s lobster fishery, based onLong Island Sound, has been hit especially hardby warming water and has been reduced tonearly nothing.

A power plant on the sound recorded morethan 75 days with an average water temperatureabove 68 degrees Fahrenheit in each of theyears 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to a regu-latory board’s report. Between 1976 and 2010,that happened only twice. Lobsters prefer tem-peratures in the high 50s and low 60s. Therewere nearly 300 lobstermen in Connecticut in1999, and now there are maybe a dozen full-timers left. Some in the Rhode Island lobsterfishery said it’s still possible to make a living inthe business. Greg Mataronas, the president ofthe Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association,who fishes out of Little Compton, said regula-tions and territoriality prevent members of thestate’s fleet from moving to more ferti legrounds. But the few remaining lobstermen inRhode Island are still able to pull lobsters fromthe state’s waters, he said. “There’s a real dis-connect between what the guys are seeing onthe water and what the scientists are saying,”he said. Bradfield isn’t buying it. He is glad heleft the business, as painful as it was to leave apiece of his identity behind. “There’s a saying:Behind every successful fisherman is a wife with

a good job,” he said. “You go down to the StatePier in Rhode Island now, guys hate whatthey’re doing right now.”

Hanging on, getting byDavid Goethel has spent most of his life fish-

ing for New England cod, and he doesn’t wantto stop now. “I could catch the entire quota forthe Gulf of Maine in eight days,” Goethel said ina bit of bravado he swears is not an exaggera-tion. “I wouldn’t break a sweat doing it.” Fishingis in Goethel’s blood. He paid his way throughBoston University by taking thrill-seekers out on“party boat” fishing trips in Boston Harbor andsegued into commercial cod fishing in 1982.

Today, he operates a trawler that leavesfrom New Hampshire, its nets scouring the Gulfof Maine for fish. But the catch these days is dif-ferent - with the cod in jeopardy and quotasthat limit his ability to catch them at all-timelows, cod fishermen like Goethel try to eke out aliving by supplementing cod with just aboutanything else they can catch. Goethel is makingmuch less money. In the 1980s and ‘90s, hecould bring in $120,000 in a year, but is nowmaking about $60,000, without subtracting ahealth insurance bill over $27,000. He and hiswife, who is up every day at 4 a.m. for a far-flung teaching job, haven’t taken a vacation inthree years.

Retirement isn’t in the cards for the 62-year-old Goethel - at least, not soon. “My wife isworking far more than she used to,” he said. “Ihave to work more to make less.” The chal-lenges climate change have brought to com-mercial fishing are perhaps most noticeable inNew England’s cod fishery, which has dwindledfrom more than 1,200 boats in the 1980s to onlya few dozen today. In that time, the catch ofcod has also plummeted, from more than 117million pounds in 1980 to just over 5 million in2014. Most consumers haven’t noticed the col-lapse, with cod still readily available at restau-rants and markets because of foreign sourceslike Iceland and Norway. Scientists said late lastyear that the impact of climate change onAtlantic cod might be worse than previouslythought. Fishermen pursue the fish in the Gulfof Maine and, farther off New England, the shal-lows of Georges Bank, both of which have expe-rienced dramatic temperature rise. Around2004, the gulf began warming about 10 timesfaster than previously. — AP

The fading fishermen: Historic industry faces climate changeCenturies of overfishing, pollution and foreign competition

In this April 23, 2016, photo, David Goethel flips a cod while sorting ground fish caughtoff the coast of New Hampshire.

In this April 23, 2016, photo, Elijah Voge-Meyers carries cod caught in the nets of atrawler.

TOKYO: Japanese salarymen are strug-gling to get by on the monthlyal lowance they receive from theirwives, which has fallen to its lowest lev-el in decades, a survey showed. Despitefrequently being the sole breadwinner,many Japanese husbands hand overtheir entire wage to the woman of thehouse, who often manages the family’sbills and balances the books.

The nation’s army of male officeworkers, known for their punishing workhours, now have just 37,873 yen ($370)to play with a month, according to a sur-vey by Tokyo-based Shinsei Bank. That isthe third lowest in the lender’s annualsurvey, published Wednesday. It is alsoway down from the heady days of thelate 1980s and the early

Tepid pay rises 1990s when the economy was boom-

ing and husbands enjoyed the high lifewith 77,725 yen a month, said the bank,which has surveyed men’s allowancessince 1979. A weak economy and tepidpay rises are forcing many householdsto target discretionary spending, includ-ing husbands’ pocket money. To keep alid on expenses, the average man budg-ets 587 yen for lunch every day, datafrom some 1,000 men aged betweentheir 20s and their 50s showed.

Monthly costs for after-work drinks-often almost compulsory bonding ses-sions with their colleagues-come in

around 11,765 yen, up 50 yen from lastyear. Japan has suffered years of defla-tion that have seen prices stagnate orfall. This means that the same amountof money buys more today than it didin the early 1990s. Falling prices maysound good for shoppers but it tends

to hurt the economy as consumers putoff spending to get goods cheaperdown the road. Japan’s prime ministerShinzo Abe swept to power in late 2012on a pledge to beat the deflationaryspiral but the plan, dubbed Abenomics,has faltered. — AFP

41B u s i n e s sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

LA PAZ: Clashes between police andfactory workers in Bolivia onWednesday resulted in dozens ofinjuries and arrests during protestsagainst policies under President EvoMorales, various sources reported. Theincidents took place in the city ofCochabamba, 400 kilometers east of LaPaz, where police used tear gas to cleara major road demonstrators hadblocked.

Four policemen were injured whenprotesters threw stones at them,Interior Minister Carlos Romero told anews conference. Union leader AngelCamacho told reporters separately thatmore than 60 demonstrators werearrested and several wounded by“these cowardly policemen”. Elsewhere

on Wednesday, protesters organizedstreet marches and roadblocks in six ofthe country’s nine regions during thebeginning of a three-day strike led bythe Provincial Workers Central (COB)union, the country’s largest.

Previously allied to Morales, the COBwas protesting the closure of a statetextile factory along with laws chang-ing standards for public enterprises,pensions and officials’ rights. The work-ers in Cochabamba began theirprotests last week with marches androadblocks. Several of the COB’s chap-ters are demanding the annulment of apolitical agreement the union signedwith Morales’s government in 2013,arguing that their appeals are notbeing heard. — AFP

Arrests in Bolivia

workers’ protests

Japan’s salarymen see

pocket money collapseStruggling to get by on monthly allowance

TOKYO: This December 15, 2010 file picture shows Japanese businessmen walking on a Tokyo street. — AFP

Kenya’s flower sector is

not all roses for Maasai

NAIVASHA: The shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s RiftValley are dotted with bustling shanty towns but it has notalways been like this. The local economy has grown dramat-ically since the late 1980s when the first commercial flowerfarms were established in the area, around 90 km northwest of Nairobi.

Today, the Lake Naivasha region is the country’s biggesthub for floriculture, earning billions of Kenya shillings for farmowners, creating unprecedented job opportunities and draw-ing thousands of migrants from other parts of the country.According to the Kenyan Horticultural Crop Directorate (HCD),Kenyan growers exported 122,825 tons of cut flowers worth62.9 billion Kenya shillings ($620 million) in 2015. An estimat-ed 500,000 people are employed by the industry, which gen-erates 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

For Naivasha Maasai pastoralists, however, the push by bigfarming companies has not sparked opportunity but panicthat their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle could be at risk. Inmany parts of East Africa, governments are pushing for pas-toralist communities to switch to settled farming with sup-porters saying such a move will create better food security,curb conflict between herders and farmers, and free up land.

Critics, however, say switching from pastoralism to set-tled farming could make communities less resilient to cli-mate change. The growth of cut flower farms has intensifiedcompetition for dwindling grazing land and vanishing watersupplies for the herdsmen whose traditional grazinggrounds between Lake Naivasha and Mount Longonot haveshrunk as the industry has expanded. There are fears that fur-ther land acquisition in the area, which already accounts foraround 70 percent of total floriculture production in Kenya,will erode their livelihoods.

Not all rosesThe cut flower companies say they have acquired land

from communities and the government through a legitimateand transparent process. But the Naivasha Maasai communi-ty say some big farms neither consulted them nor paid com-pensation for land. “Land grabbing by elite individuals andencroachment of the lake by floriculture farms has dispos-sessed us of our ancestral territories thus denying us accessto the lake by blockading access route to the only watersource,” Jackson Shaa, a community leader, told theThomson Reuters Foundation.

Community leaders say the privatization and subdivision oftheir ancestral lands threatens ancient pastoralist practices,endangering livestock production and ecological sustainabili-ty and eroding communal rights to land and natural resources.While they accept that floriculture and linked investmentsmight stimulate economic growth in the region, they fear thatreduced access to land will widen social inequalities and puttheir livelihoods at risk. “We have had talks with the LakeNaivasha growers’ group on how to promote sustainable agri-cultural and pastoralist practices but we are yet to see mean-ingful results,” Shaa said.

Losing their grazing land has also forced some Maasai toabandon their traditional livelihood to sustain their families.“We have a few of our members employed at these flowerfarms, but their wages are low compared with those of out-siders since they lack formal education,” he said. “The commu-nity’s cultural attachment to the lake’s resources has not beenconsidered in the establishment of these private investments.”

Law and custom Formal land rights were strengthened in the new

Constitution that was promulgated in 2010. These created athree tier system of land classification and ownership: private,public and community lands. However according to theNaivasha Maasai, their land rights remain insecure. “We wantto see more reforms in land governance that would protectour land from further acquisition by these investors. We hopethe Community Land bill 2015 which is yet to be passed bylegislators could be expedited,” says Shaa.

Proving community land claims is difficult under Kenyan law,he said, and this is how their tenure has been held traditionally.Jane Ngige, chief executive officer of the Kenya Flower Council,told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the flower industryhas always consulted with local communities. “We continue toengage with these communities through various groups such asthe Lake Naivasha Growers Group (LNGG) and Lake NaivashaRiparian Association (LNRA) where the interest and concerns ofthese communities are taken care of,” she said. — Reuters

42S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

ATLANTA: Tyler Naquin #30 of the Cleveland Indians dives back to first base against Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves during the third inning at Turner Field on Wednesday inAtlanta, Georgia. — AFP

ATLANTA: The Cleveland Indians are one winaway from tying their all-time record for con-secutive victories. Danny Salazar won hissixth consecutive start and Lonnie Chisenhallhit his third homer in five games as theIndians made it 12 in a row with a 3-0 victoryover the Atlanta Braves. The Indians’ recordwinning streak is 13 games, first set in 1942and matched in 1951. Salazar (10-3) allowedfive hits, walked none and struck out eightover seven innings while lowering his ERA to2.22 — second in the American League.

CUBS 9, REDS 2Anthony Rizzo belted his first career

inside-the-park home run in the first inningand Kyle Hendricks allowed two runs over sixframes as the Chicago Cubs completed thesweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 9-2 victo-ry. Rizzo hit a liner to left-center field that car-omed off the glove of left fielder AdamDuvall and rolled to the warning track. Rizzoraced around the bases to stake the Cubs toan early 3-0 lead. Reds center fielder BillyHamilton, who nearly collided with Duvall onthe play, was struck on the left side of his faceby the ball and had to leave the game.

TIGERS 10, MARLINS 3Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in

three runs and Daniel Norris struck out acareer-high eight batters as Detroit cruisedpast Miami. Cabrera and Jarrod Saltamacchia,who also homered, had three hits apiece forthe Tigers. Steven Moya added a solo shot,Victor Martinez had two hits and two RBIsand Ian Kinsler contributed two hits andthree runs scored. Norris (1-0), making hissecond start of the season, gave up two runson eight hits in five innings.

BLUE JAYS 5, ROCKIES 3Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez gave nearly

all the Blue Jays’ relievers the afternoon off ashe dazzled the Colorado Rockies. Sanchezworked a season-high-tying eight innings asthe Blue Jays beat the Rockies 5-3. Sanchez(8-1) got 14 outs on ground balls, including

two double plays. The Rockies managed justsix singles off Sanchez, who issued two walksand recorded three strikeouts during his 106-pitch outing.

Orioles 12, Padres 6Yovani Gallardo’s solid pitching enabled

the Baltimore Orioles to record their seventhstraight win with a 12-6 victory over the hostSan Diego Padres. Gallardo (3-1) allowedthree runs on as many hits and struck out sixin six innings to pick up the victory. MarkTrumbo paced the Orioles with four RBIs andManny Machado added three in the Orioles’12-hit attack.

RAYS 4, RED SOX 0Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore took a no-

hitter into the sixth inning and pitched sevenshutout innings, outdueling former teammateDavid Price. Price (8-5) has just one win in hislast seven starts, and he is now 0-3 as a visitorsince being dealt from the Rays two years ago.

ASTROS 10, ANGELS 4Jose Altuve was a homer short of the

cycle, and the Houston Astros completed athree-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angelswith a 10-4 win. Altuve, who has an 11-gamehitting streak, singled in the first inning,tripled in the third and doubled in the fifth.With a chance for the cycle in the sixth, helined out to left. Then in the ninth, he singledto left for his fourth hit. George Springer andLuis Valbuena homered for Houston, whichgot a serviceable performance on the moundfrom starter Dallas Keuchel (5-9), who gaveup three runs (two earned) on six hits andthree walks to get the win.

PHILLIES 9, DIAMONDBACKS 8 (10 INNINGS)

Philadelphia pinch-hitter Tyler Goeddel hita tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the 10th inningas the Phillies completed a 9-8 victory overthe Arizona Diamondbacks. Peter Bourjosbeat out an infield single to shortstop withone out off right-hander Silvino Bracho (0-2),

and Cody Asche singled Bourjos to third baseto bring up Goeddel. Left-hander BrettOberholtzer, the Phillies’ seventh pitcher,worked around a one-out bunt single byMichael Bourn in the bottom of the 10thinning for his first career save.

YANKEES 9, RANGERS 7Brian McCann homered in consecutive at-

bats and Didi Gregorius hit a two-run homerun with one outs in the bottom of the ninthas New York rallied from a five-run deficit todefeat Texas. After Alex Rodriguez lined out,McCann drove a 1-0 pitch from Sam Dysoninto the right-field seats. Starlin Castro fol-lowed with a walk and Gregorius ended it bylining the first pitch from Dyson into the right-center field into the right-field seats. It wasGregorius’ first career walk-off home run andtouched off a wild celebration at the plate.

NATIONALS 4, METS 2Max Scherzer allowed just two hits and no

runs with 10 strikeouts in 7-1/3 innings andDan Murphy hit two homers as the Nationalsbeat the Mets 4-2, sweeping the three-gameseries against the defending National Leaguechampions. Murphy hit a solo shot in the sec-ond and a two-run homer in the eighth to lifthis average to .352 as he tied a career-highwith 14 homers this year.

BREWERS 7, DODGERS 0Home runs from Ryan Braun and Kirk

Nieuwenhuis and a career-high eight shutoutinnings from right-hander Junior Guerra ledthe Milwaukee Brewers to a 7-0 victory overthe Los Angeles Dodgers. Guerra (5-1) earnedhis second consecutive victory by holdingthe Dodgers to just two hits and two walkswhile striking out seven. Braun’s home runwas his 13th of the season and extended hishitting streak to 10 games whileNieuwenhuis’ hit his fifth.

WHITE SOX 9, TWINS 6Brett Lawrie, Tyler Saladino and Todd

Frazier all homered and James Shields picked

up his first win for the Chicago White Sox in a9-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.Saladino homered in the fifth inning beforeFrazier followed up with his solo shot in thesixth to give Shields some room to work with.Shields (3-9) notched his first victory for theWhite Sox after he surrendered a leadoffhome run to Eduardo Nunez, but then settledin to work 6-2/3 innings when he scatteredeight hits, struck out five and walked one.

ROYALS 3, CARDINALS 2 (12 INNINGS)Alcides Escobar’s one-out RBI double in

the top of the 12th inning lifted the KansasCity Royals to a 3-2 win over the St. LouisCardinals. Whit Merrifield started the rallywith a double off Seth Maness (0-2), St. Louis’eighth pitcher of the game, and advanced tothird on a wild pitch. Escobar lined a 3-1 pitchdown the right field line just in front of a div-ing Stephen Piscotty as Merrifield scored.Wang Chien-Ming (5-0) pitched the last twoinnings for the win as Kansas City (41-36)won despite stranding 19 runners.

ATHLETICS 7, GIANTS 1Jed Lowrie and Yonder Alonso hit two-

run homers, and rookie left-hander SeanManaea pitched 5-2/3 scoreless innings,leading Oakland to a 7-1 victory against theSan Francisco Giants. Manaea (3-4) had beenon the disabled list since June 14 with astrained left forearm before being activatedon Wednesday to make his 10th career start.He gave up six hits, struck out four andwalked one.

PIRATES 8, MARINERS 1The Pittsburgh Pirates rolled out to a big

early lead and rode rookie starter JamesonTail lon to an 8-1 win over the SeattleMariners. The 24-year-old Tail lon (2-1)allowed just one run off six hits over sixinnings in his fifth major league start. Piratesright fielder Sean Rodriguez had two dou-bles, four RBIs and scored twice as Pittsburgh(38-41) jumped out to an 8-0 lead throughthe top of the fifth inning. —Reuters

Indians beat Braves for 12th straight win

43S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

NEW YORK: Kanak Jha is having quite a year.He spent nine months playing professionaltable tennis in Europe, threw out the firstpitch at a New York Mets game on his birth-day and qualified for the Rio Olympics.

And get this: He’s only 16.“I’m happy that I’m the youngest, but I

don’t think about it so much,” said Jha, who inApril , when he was stil l 15, became theyoungest male to qualify for table tennis inOlympic history. “In the end, it’s just men.”

If he sounds mature for his age, he comesacross that way. Jha’s competitive during amatch, but easygoing away from the table. Herecently trained at the Lily Yip Table TennisCenter in the New York area with his fiveOlympic teammates and signed autographsfor fans. “He has a good fighting spirit,” saidUS Olympic coach Massimo Costantini.“Sometimes at that age, they get upset andare not mature. We’re working on the mentalside to make him stronger. A simple mistakecan compromise the entire match.

“You need a strong mental balance,”Costantini said. “It’s not just managing suc-cess, but failure.” Yip, who competed for theUS in table tennis at the 1992 Barcelona and1996 Atlanta Games, is one of the nationalteam coaches. She hosted the currentOlympic team, which wrapped up three daysof practice with an exhibition and fundraiserat her club in Dunellen, New Jersey.

During the exhibition match, Jha startedhis serve by holding the ball and paddle a fewinches from his nose, then tossing the ball 4feet into the air before making contact. Afterthe point, he wiped the table with his hand, acommon players’ habit before serving.

Although he lost the match to an older andhigher-rated Chinese player, Jha drew warmapplause from the mostly Asian audience.

RARE YOUNG FINDGordon Kaye, CEO of the USA Table Tennis,

says it’s rare to find a young player “of his cal-iber that is so aware and comfortable withinhis surroundings.” It’s certainly not your base-ment pingpong, with quick best-of-7 singlesmatches played to 11 points. There are differ-ent styles - defensive “choppers” or offensive“loopers,” who play a more aggressive game.

The Chinese men and women are the bestin the world, winning Olympic gold with regu-larity. Since the 1988 Olympics, China haswon 47 medals, followed by South Korea (18)and Germany (5). The US has never medaledin the sport, which offers singles and teamcompetition. Gold-medalist Jike Zhang willreturn to defend his title in Rio, where compe-

tition begins Aug. 6. So why are the Chineseso good, aside from their devotion to thesport and its prominence in the culture?“They’re very strong, especially in the firstthree shots of the rally - serve, receive andthird-ball attack,” Jha said. “They really domi-nate the rally.” Yue “Jennifer” Wu, like Yip, wasborn in China before becoming an Americancitizen. She moved from Beijing to New Yorkeight years ago and improved her English bycoaching at the club run by Wang Chen, a USOlympian in the 2008 Games.

The 26-year-old gives lessons in New Yorkat Spin, a table tennis club and restaurant co-owned by Susan Sarandon. Wu recently wenthome to Beijing and Japan to train and playedtournaments in Croatia and Slovenia.

“Table tennis in China is like the NBA here,everybody plays,” Wu said. “My mom playsthree times a week and people love to watch.”

BIG DREAMShe ate no meat for a month while in

Beijing, saying her concerns about bannedsteroids given to cattle trump those of theZika virus in Rio. Wise decision, because drugtesters arrived at 6:40 a.m. when she returnedhome in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Wu said it was a “big dream” to make theOlympics since she was 8 years old. She wasquiet on the bus after qualifying for the RioOlympics at the Pan Am Games last yearbecause it’s “hard to make Olympics, youwork so very hard.” Jha, who took up thesport at 5 at a recreation center near San Jose,California, lived in Sweden with his 19-year-old sister Prachi, who played on the nationalteam but didn’t qualify for Rio. He took onlinecourses during his sophomore year in highschool. “There’s a consistent training system,”Constantini said of the European circuit. “Acoach, trainer, physiotherapist. It’s somethingyou can’t find in the US.”

Jha’s parents are from India, and he wasborn in the US. His father Arun came toAmerica to study business and works atOracle. His mother Karuna worked at SunMicrosystems before starting her own hyp-notherapy and reiki business.

“She feels my energy,” Kanak said of thereiki treatments. Kanak uses positive imageryand self-talk before and during matches.

“It’s kind of a ritual,” he said. “I just keepreviewing strategy and say some motivationalthings to myself. I talk (silently) to myself a lot.More than other athletes.” The personal peptalks and affirmations seem to be working.Even so, his mom says she was “so nervouswatching” the Olympic qualifying event in

April in Markham, Ontario. Jha says he’s look-ing forward to the athletes’ village and min-gling with players from all over the world. “It’s

a great opportunity at this young age to seehow the Olympics works,” Constantini said.“He will be ready by 2020.” —AP

DUNELLEN: In this June 18, 2016 photo, Kanak Jha, right, talks with a friend from schoolbefore playing in an exhibition table tennis match in Dunellen, NJ. Gordon Kaye, CEO ofthe USA Table Tennis, says it’s rare to find a young player “of his caliber that is so awareand comfortable within his surroundings.” — AP

MILPITAS: Members of the US Olympic table tennis team applaud as Kanak Jha, ofMilpitas, Calif., holds a baseball before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch on his 16thbirthday prior to the start of a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and the NewYork Mets, Sunday, June 19, 2016, in New York. —AP

Californian youngest table tennis player in Rio

NEW DELHI: Sprint king Usain Bolt haspraised efforts by athletics chiefs to clampdown on doping in the build-up toAugust’s Olympic Games, saying that“most athletes are clean”. In an interviewin today’s Times of India, the Jamaican wasconfident of adding to his bulging medalcollection in Rio and shrugged off the vowby one of his main rivals, the AmericanJustin Gatlin, to win gold. Gatlin is beingallowed to compete in Rio despite havingserved two doping bans while Bolt couldalso find himself up against former worldchampion Tyson Gay who was suspendedfor doping in 2013.

The decision to bar Russian athletesfrom the Rio games for their country’sstate-sponsored doping has underlinedthe scale of the problem facing the sportbut Bolt said he believed the battle againstthe cheats was being won. “I believe the

majority of athletes are clean and athleticsis doing a good job at catching the oneswho aren’t,” Bolt told the newspaper. “Thesport has to continue to fight the cheats.”Bolt has himself been caught up in a dop-ing controversy recently after teammateNesta Carter reportedly tested positive fora banned stimulant during their gold-win-ning relay run at the 2008 games in Beijing.The 29-year-old Bolt is eyeing history at Riowhere he will attempt to become the firstman ever to win gold in the 100, 200 and4x100m events in three straight Olympics.

“I have my goals and will try to achievethose goals in Rio. My main aim is winningthree more Olympic gold medals. I can stillrun very fast,” said Bolt.

“I never listen to what people say beforea race. I focus on myself and know that if Iam fit and healthy in Rio, I will be hard foranyone to beat.” — AFP

Majority of athletes are clean - Bolt

DUNELLEN: photo, Kanak Jha serves the ball during an exhibition match in Dunellen, NJ.The 16-year-old qualified for the Olympic games in Rio as the youngest male table tennisplayer in Olympic history. — AP

SEOUL: South Korea’s Olympic com-mittee said yesterday it would fullycooperate with the Court of Arbitrationfor Sport (CAS) after swim star ParkTae-Hwan appealed against his Rio banover doping.

But a spokesman declined to saywhether the committee would abide byany CAS ruling on Park’s case.

The multiple Olympic medallist hassought “an urgent ruling” from theLausanne-based CAS by July 8 — thedeadline for South Korea to select theirRio swimming team.

Park completed an 18-month suspen-

sion in April after testing positive for ananabolic steroid in out-of-competitioncontrols before the 2014 Asian Games.But he remains barred from competing inRio under a Korean Olympic Committee(KOC) rule which prohibits athletes fromrepresenting South Korea for three yearsafter the expiration of any doping ban.

“Once the CAS begins its review, rep-resentatives for Park Tae-Hwan and theKOC will have to appear,” a KOCspokesman told AFP. “When we receive amessage about that, we will cooperatefully and accordingly,” he said.

Should Park’s appeal be upheld, the

spokesman was non-committal on whataction the KOC would take. “We will firsthave to see the final ruling by the CASand then decide on the necessary steps,”he stressed.

The CAS does not have the power toforce national sports bodies to followits decisions, although court officialsreport compliance with about 90 per-cent of rulings.

Park’s legal team argues that the KOCregulation is unfairly punitive and haspre-emptively sought an injunction froma district court in Seoul to make any CASruling binding on the national commit-

tee. Park has repeatedly begged for achance to compete in what would be histhird, and probably last, Olympics-at onepoint getting down on his hands andknees during a press conference.

The 26-year-old was the poster boyof South Korean swimming-courted byadvertisers and idolised by fans-beforehis positive test was revealed in Januarylast year.

He won 400m freestyle gold and200m freestyle silver at the 2008 BeijingOlympics, and two silver medals at the2012 London Olympics, as well as 400mworld titles in 2007 and 2011. — AFP

S Korea to cooperate with Park appeal against Rio ban

S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

OMAHA: Kacey Oberlander is missing herdogs back home, and she’s more than a lit-tle stressed competing in the high-pres-sure environment at the US Olympic swim-ming trials.

That’s where Holly comes in. Theadorable, 4-year-old Havanese is availablefor petting and furry hugs. “It just calmsme down a lot,” said Oberlander, whoswims for York YMCA in Pennsylvania andwill be attending the University ofAlabama in the fall. “It’s nice to see thehappy puppy dogs running around wheneverything is so intense and everyone’s soserious. The dogs are very happy all thetime. It makes me calm.”

Yep, these Olympic trials have gone tothe dogs - and the athletes are loving it.USA Swimming, in an effort to ease some ofthe anxiety accompanying such a majormeet, has partnered with Domesti-PUPS - anonprofit organization based in Lincoln,Nebraska, that is providing four-leggedcompanions for the athletes lounge atCenturyLink Center.

In a section of the arena that is generallyoff-limits to everyone except the swimmers,dogs such as Holly and Larry, aGoldendoodle who will readily pose for apicture or pause for a pat on the head, havebeen welcomed with open arms.

If anyone doubts their purpose, eachpooch wears a collar that says, “Please askto pet me. I’m friendly.” “There’s a lot ofpressure,” said Leah Braswell, a teammate ofOberlander’s. “Having the dogs here is agreat distraction, a way to take a break fromall of that. They’re happy all the time. It justmakes you happier. You can forget aboutwhatever race you just had.”

Given their gentle, soothing nature,“therapy dogs” have become more andmore familiar around hospitals, retirementhomes, hospice centers and disaster areas.They’ve provided comfort to veterans andthose suffering from autism. They’ve evendone time in prisons, nudging inmatesalong the road to rehabilitation.

There’s no judgment from these ani-mals. Fido merely wants to love and be

loved. For someone in pain or anguish, theycan be an invaluable companion.

At the Olympic trials, their role is a bitdifferent. But it’s really in keeping with theextensive training that Domesti-PUPS putsits animals through before sending themout into the world.

“Anywhere there’s an elevated level ofstress, we can take our dogs and try to de-stress them,” said Sandy Ludwig, who workswith the organization. “These dogs are justlying there, waiting to have their belliesrubbed or their ears scratched.”

That’s what Morgan Weinberg had inmind for the trials, an all-or-nothing meetthat not only determines the powerfulAmerican team for the Rio Games, but alsoserves as a chance for many up-and-coming athletes to get their taste of a big-league atmosphere.

There are more than 1,700 swimmers inOmaha, most of whom have no chance ofqualifying for the Olympics. Yet the burdenof competing weighs on all of them tosome degree. — AP

OMAHA: Larry, a goldendoodle, waits for athletes to arrive while working as a therapy dog at the US Olympic swimmingtrials in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday. — AP

US swimmers using therapy

dogs to relax before races

For Phelps, 5th

Olympics may mean

the most yet

OMAHA: Michael Phelps surged to the wall, and then whippedaround to spot his time.

That number wasn’t really important.The only thing that mattered was No. 5.Phelps became the first male swimmer to qualify for five

Olympics with a victory in the 200-meter butterfly at the US swim-ming trials Wednesday night, another huge milestone in thewater but even more significant given what’s happened awayfrom the pool.

A second drunken-driving arrest. A re-evaluation of his life. Animpending marriage. And his first child. With 7-week-old Boomerin the arms of his mother at the CenturyLink Center, Phelpscruised to a victory that meant as much personally as all those tri-umphs that came before. The most decorated athlete in Olympichistory is Rio bound.

“With everything that’s happened and being able to come back,that was probably harder than any swim I’ve had in my life,” Phelpssaid. “Just being able to finish how I want to is so important to me.Getting on this team is what I wanted to do.” He wasn’t the onlyone feeling a bit of redemption.

Missy Franklin turned in one of the gutsiest performances of hercareer to earn a spot for Rio in the 200 freestyle. One night after shestruggled to seventh in the 100 backstroke - an event she won fouryears ago in London - there was plenty of speculation that she’d behard-pressed to qualify for any individual events at these games.

Franklin herself sounded as though she’d be happy just gettingon the team as a relay swimmer.

STIFF CHALLENGETurns out, she’ll be busier than that in Brazil. While Katie

Ledecky romped to victory in the 200 free, earning a second indi-vidual event at the Olympics, Franklin rallied over the second half ofthe race to claim the runner-up spot. Franklin’s coach, ToddSchmitz, pumped his fists and charged down the steps of the arenato congratulate his bubblyswimmer, one of the biggeststars of the London Games.

She finally had reason tosmile. “Last night was reallytough and coming back fromthat, I was telling myself, ‘I’m notdone fighting. I’m not done withbelieving in myself,’” Franklinsaid. “That’s probably the mostproud race I’ve ever swam in myentire career, coming back fromsuch a loss last night and tellingmyself that I still have it in me todo whatever I believe I can do.”

Phelps held off a stiff chal-lenge from Tom Shields to winthe 200 fly - the first eventPhelps ever swam at theOlympics, 16 years ago in Sydney.

One day before his 31st birthday, Phelps came full circle in therace he’s always considered his baby.

Phelps touched in 1:54.84 - far off the world record of 1:51.51 heset at the 2009 world championships while wearing one of thehigh-tech suits that have since been banned. — AP

Michael Phelps

45S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

MUMBAI: Denied another stint as India’shead coach, Ravi Shastri has been embroiledin an ugly spat with former captain SouravGanguly, who was part of the panel whichawarded the job to Anil Kumble last week.

The coach’s post was vacant since Shastri’s18-month tenure as the team director endedwith India’s semi-final exit at the WorldTwenty20 tournament on home soil earlierthis year.

For the post, the Indian cricket board(BCCI) received 57 applications which weremade available to an advisory panel thatincluded ex-captains Sachin Tendulkar andGanguly and former batsman VVS Laxman.

The panel met the final contenders, includ-

ing Shastri who spoke via skype, beforeKumble, a contemporary of the ex-cricketerson the panel, landed the job despite his lackof coaching experience.

Shastri told the Indian media thatGanguly’s absence during his interview wasdisrespectful and he advised the former cap-tain to be present at important meetings inthe future. Ganguly, one of the most success-ful Indian captains, said he had taken theBCCI’s approval to attend a meeting of hisstate cricket association, of which he is thepresident. “I just feel that the comments arevery personal and if Ravi Shastri feels that I amresponsible for him not being the coach ofIndia, he’s living in a fool’s world,” Ganguly

told television reporters in Kolkata.“It’s a committee and there are people in

the committee who are of more repute than Iam and there are other people involved alsowho were consulted and spoken about. Sothat’s disappointing.” Ganguly said the panelhad agreed his request to resume the inter-view after completing the association’s meet-ing. “Once I came here to this meeting, I got amessage from (BCCI secretary) Mr (Ajay)Shirke that the other two members arerequesting if they could continue with Ravi,which I was fine with.

“I said ‘fine, I know I have been stuck withthis and you please go ahead and do it’. Thathappens everywhere in the world and that’s

the exact story.” Ganguly said Shastri shouldalso have made the effort to be present inperson during his interview.

“Since he’s spoken about disrespect, andhonestly I say this with anger, that he gave mea suggestion that in the future that I should beavailable for such meetings,” Ganguly said. “Ihave an advice for him also. When the coachof India is selected, and it’s one of the mostimportant jobs in cricket, he should be in frontof the committee giving his presentation andnot sit in Bangkok on holiday and make a pres-entation on camera, especially when some-one, who is one of the greatest cricketers ofIndia all time (Anil Kumble), spoke for twohours nearly.”— Reuters

Shastri in spat with Ganguly after India coaching snub

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah

Mohammad Al-Ghareeb (left)

ITF to honour K uwait’sMohammad Al-Ghareeb

KUWAIT: The International Tennis Federation will honorKuwaiti Tennis player Mohammad Al-Ghareeb during Kuwait- Malaysia Davis Cup matches on July 15-17, said the Presidentof Kuwait and Arab Tennis Federations Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah. He said this honoring by ITF of Al-Ghareeb is an appreciation of his representing his country inDavis Cup for the past 20 years, adding that he will be the firstKuwait, Gulf, and Arab player who receives such an honorfrom ITF.

Sheikh Ahmad wished Kuwait National team all the bestduring their matches with their Malaysian counterparts in themiddle of the month.

Sheikh Ahmad thanked the Public Authority for Sports forits full patronage of all KTF activities in Kuwait and abroad.

LONDON: Jason Roy fell five runsshort of setting a new batting recordbut his superb 162 stil l helpedEngland win the fourth ODI against SriLanka and take an unassailable 2-0series lead on Wednesday.

Surrey’s South African-born openertook centre stage on his home countyground and hammered the secondhighest individual one-day score byan England batsman.

His fireworks lit up the gloomy,rain-filled South London skies toensure England captured the series atThe Oval. His second hundred in threeODI games, 162 runs off 118 including13 fours and three sixes, helpedEngland clinch a six wicket win withovers to spare as they chased downtheir revised victory target of 308 withease. And they clinched the series 2-0with just one game left in Cardiff onSaturday.

It was England’s second highestsuccessful one-day run chase - andthey did it in 42 overs.

Sadly for Roy he fell just five runsshort of overtaking the highest scoreby an England batsman with anotherRobin Smith’s 167 not out againstAustralia at Edgbaston in 1993 stillholding firm.

He was bowled by Nuwan Pradeepwith England in sight of the finishingline. Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttlersaw them home with 11 balls remain-ing. At Edgbaston, Roy was accompa-nied by fellow opener Alex Hales whoalso made an unbeaten ton in thatmatch.

But this time he was helped mainlyby Joe Root, whose 65 showed areturn to form for the Yorkshiremanwho had struggled recently and hadgone six games with just one scoreover 11.

But if Root had his mojo back, Roymerely continued in the kind of vainwhich has made him one of theworld’s most destructive and stylishone-day performers. A back injury toAlex Hales during Sri Lanka’s inningsof 305-5 off a reduced number ofovers due to the rain meant Moeen Alihad to open with Roy instead.

PARTNERSHIP ENDSBut Roy shrugged off the early loss

of Ali, for just two, and the batsmancut and carved the Sri Lankan attackapart. England raced out the blocksneeding more than seven an over,and Roy ensured they were always upwith the required rate the skies stilldark and threatening to rain oncemore.

Root departed, a lazy top edgedsweep saw him caught by NuwanPradeep off Danushka Gunathilaka,and his 149-run second wicket part-nership with Roy came to a sad end.

Morgan looked well set until hewas superbly caught by the divingGunathilaka for 22 off Suranga Lakmalwith England on 221. Roy was joinedby Jonny Bairstow and reached 150but was kicking himself when he wasbowled by Pradeep with England soclose to the finishing line. Earlier, SriLanka had produced their best battingdisplay of the series so far with fourmen hitting half centuries.

The tourists recovered from losingopener Kusal Perera in the second

over, run out by Jonny Bairstow forjust a single, to give England’s attackthe run around.

Morgan chose to field first and hemay have been regretting it for awhile as Gunathilake and KusalMendis put on 128 for the secondwicket off just 111 balls. Mendis wasstruck 13 boundaries in his 77 whileGunathilaka was also aggressive withseven fours in his 62.

The persistent rain finally camedown hard enough to force the play-ers from the field for a two and a halfhour delay with Sri Lanka on 127-1from 18.1 overs at the time.

England fought back with AdilRashid claiming the wickets of Mendis(77) and Gunathilaka (62) but Englandstill had to deal with the in-formChandimal (63) and his captainAngelo Matthews (67 not out) whopicked up the gauntlet.and helped SriLanka amass 305-5 from 42 overs.

England’s target was revised up byjust three runs but with Roy buildingup a full head of steam they cruisedhome comfortably. — AFP

Roy’s stunning knock powers England to win

Sri Lanka

K. Perera run out (Bairstow) 1

D. Gunathilaka c Ali b Rashid6 2

K. Mendis c Plunkett b Rashid 77

D Chandimal b Willey 63

A Matthews not out 67

S Prasanna b Willey 9

D Shanaka not out 19

Extras (2lb, 5w) 7

Total (5 wkts, 42overs) 305

Did not bat: U. Tharanga, N Pradeep, F

Maharoof, R Lakmal.

Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Perera), 2-136 (Mendis), 3-

158 (Gunathilaka), 4-245 (Chandimal), 5-259

(Prasanna),

Bowling: Willey 8-0-58-2; Woakes 9-65-0;

Plunkett 8-0-65-0; Rashid

9-0-57-2; Ali 8-0-58-0.

*England revised victory target 308 (D/L)

England

J. Roy b Pradeep 162

M Ali c Chandimal b Pradeep 2

J Root c Pradeep b Gunathilaka 65

E Morgan c Gunathilaka b Lakmal 22

J Bairstow not out 29

J Buttler not out 17

Extras (5lb, 7w) 12

Total:(4 wkts, 40.1 overs) 309

Did not bat: A. Hales, A Rashid, C Woakes, D

Willey, L Plunket.

Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Ali) 2-167 (Root) 3-221

(Morgan) 4-281 (Roy)

Bowling: Pradeep (9-0-78-2), Lakmal (7-0-48-

1), Gunathilaka (5-0-30-1), Matthews (3-0-17-

0), Maharoof (8-0-58-0), Shanaka (1-0-12-0),

Prasanna (7.1-0-61-0). —AFP

SCOREBOARD

LONDON: Completed scoreboard in the fourth ODI between England and Sri Lanka at The Ovalon Wednesday:

S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

LONDON: Gilles Simon threatened to sue,Eugenie Bouchard bopped along toBeyonce while John Isner steadily becamevery bored playing mini-golf.

When it rains at Wimbledon, which ithas been doing for large parts of the firstweek at a soggy All England Club, playersare driven to distraction. VolatileFrenchman Simon was in combativemood when light drizzle fell during hissecond round match against GrigorDimitrov on Court One yesterday.

He even briefly refused to play on. “Iwon’t play when it rains. I know you havecommitments to TV but if I get injured I

will sue you and I will win,” Simon told theumpire before the brief shower passed on.

Play was halted at 4:00pm (1500 GMT)on Tuesday while just 90 minutes ofaction had been possible on courts awayfrom the covered Centre Court onWednesday. That meant only 18 of thescheduled 62 singles matches were com-pleted leaving the first round to drag onuntil yesterday.

Organisers had to pay out refunds ofbetween 50 percent and 100 percent onWednesday’s open court tickets. At1:00pm (1200 GMT) yesterday, BarboraStrycova saw off Anett Kontaveit and the

opening round, usually wrapped up onTuesday, finally came to an end.

Isner started his first round matchagainst Marcos Baghdatis on Tuesday andcompleted a 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 almost48 hours later. It was one of six men’sopening round ties that only finishedThursday.

Four first round women’s ties startedyesterday morning. “The long days in thelocker room the last two days were justbrutal. You can only play so muchputt?putt in the locker room with yourfriends,” said Isner.

The big American, like many other

players, has become accustomed to theEuropean rain this summer.

At the French Open, his first round wasscheduled for the opening Sunday but hedidn’t get finished until Tuesday.

BOUCHARD ON THE COUCH Bouchard, the 2014 runner-up, needed

to play on Tuesday and Wednesday todefeat Magdalena Rybarikova in the firstround. Her match was completed in thelate evening of Wednesday under the roofof Centre Court and the Canadian was dueback on the same arena on Thursday toface Britain’s Jo Konta. — AFP

Sleep, sue, sing-Wimbledon when it rains

Venus keeps her witsabout her to down

Greek qualifier LONDON: A time violation warning, a few spots of rain and thethunderous groundstrokes of her rival could not throw VenusWilliams off her long-limbed stride as she reached the Wimbledonthird round with a 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Greek qualifier MariaSakkari yesterday.

Playing an opponent who was not even aged three when shewon the first of her seven grand slam titles at Wimbledon in 2000,Williams proved that it would take more than mere determinationto topple the American eighth seed.

Barring a loss to an unranked Kim Clijsters at the 2009 USOpen, Williams had not lost to a player ranked outside the world’stop 100 at a grand slam this century.

World number 115 Sakkari’s hopes of ending that run gath-ered momentum when she broke the 36-year-old three times inthe second set.

But Williams, who dropped her serve in the seventh game ofthe first set after incurring a time violation warning for switchingrackets, was back into her groove in the third set and set up ameeting with Russian Daria Kasatkina.

Meanwhile, a clinical Simona Halep wasted no time in reach-ing the third round at Wimbledon yesterday, cruising past Italianveteran Francesca Schiavone 6-1 6-1 in just over an hour.

Showing glimpses of the form that took her to an All EnglandClub semi-final in 2014 and to world number two last year, thefifth-seeded Romanian had too much power and court craft forher 111th-ranked opponent.

Halep controlled much of the play with pinpoint ground-strokes, dominating the baseline rallies and often finding winningpassing shots when her 36-year-old opponent varied her game bycoming to the net.

Troubled in recent months by an Achilles injury that forced herwithdrawal from the Birmingham event in mid-June, Halep wasplaying only her second grasscourt match of the season.

Her record at Wimbledon remains mixed. With the exceptionof 2014, she has previously got no further than the second roundin four attempts. Halep next faces 26th-ranked Kiki Bertens, whothis month became the first Dutchwoman in almost half a centuryto reach the French Open semi-finals. — Reuters

WIMBLEDON: Britain’s Daniel Evans celebrates beating Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in their men’s sin-gles second round match on the fourth day of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships at The All England LawnTennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, yesterday. — AFP

LONDON: Daniel Evans insists he doesn’twant to be reduced to a figure of fun whenhe follows in Marcus Willis’s footstepsagainst Wimbledon legend Roger Federer.

After world number 772 Willis becamean overnight sensation with his runthrough qualifying to a memorable secondround defeat against Federer this week, it’sEvans’ turn to take on the Swiss star follow-ing a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-1 victory againstUkrainian 30th seed Alexandr Dolgopolovyesterday. Evans, until now known mostlyfor landing himself in trouble with his off-court antics, will be playing in the AllEngland Club third round for the first timewhen he faces seven-time Wimbledonchampion Federer. But unlike the perma-nently grinning Willis, who performedgamely but at times resembled a fan whohad somehow found his way onto CentreCourt, Evans is treating his opportunitywith the utmost seriousness. “It’s not a dayout for me. It’s a good opportunity. It’s nota Lord Mayor’s show, whatever. I’m takingit seriously,” Evans said. “He’s not a normalguy obviously. It would be stupid to say it’s

not a special occasion to play him.“I just have to prepare myself best and

try and put that to the back of my head. “It’sgoing to be a great experience. Hopefullyan even better one than most peoplethink.” Evans had beaten Jan-Lennard Struffon Monday to continue a fine year in whichhe has risen more than 650 places to num-ber 91 in the world rankings.

RENAISSANCE It was Evans’ first win in four attempts at

Wimbledon after claiming seven years agohe would be stacking supermarket shelvesif he had not cracked it by 25.

That depressing career path appearedto be looming large when, ranked outsidethe top 700, he was reduced to enteringpre-qualifying in an unsuccessful bid tomake the Wimbledon main draw last year.But, now 25, Evans is finally showing signsof maturing enough to fulfil his potential.

“When I was a bit younger, I don’t think Iwas ready to play professional tennis. Iwould say I wasn’t ready for that commit-ment of day in, day out,” he said.

“I let a lot of people down. It was diffi-cult to keep letting those guys down,seeing them disappointed in what I’dbeen doing. “Gradually sort of got themessage through. But it took a fewknocks at the door. It’s a grind at times.Now I’m enjoying it.”

Key to Evans’ renaissance is BritishDavis Cup captain Leon Smith, who oncejoked he would have to electronically tagEvans to ensure he didn’t disappear forwild nights out.

“I owe a lot to Leon. He’s always showngood strength of character to back mewhen a lot of people would have thrownme away,” Evans said. Asked if he will seekadvice from Willis on how to face Federerfor the first time, Evans took the opportuni-ty for a friendly jibe at his close friend. “Areyou kidding me? I don’t get a word out ofhim. He’s a celebrity now,” he laughed.

“I still can’t believe he actually qualifiedand won a round. “I’d be hard pushed tofind someone that resents him right now.Everyone is so happy for him. He should bedining out on it for a while.” — AFP

Daniel Evans next British underdog to face Federer

LONDON: Simona Halep of Romania returns to FrancescaSciavone of Italy during their women’s singles match onday four of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships inLondon, yesterday. — AP

S p o r t sFRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

BUENOS AIRES: Soccer great DiegoMaradona is urging fellow Argentines toleave Lionel Messi alone over the currentstar’s decision to retire from Argentina’snational team following its loss to Chile inthe Copa America championship match.

In an interview on La Red radio,Maradona also ridiculed people who havecriticized Messi for missing his shot as Chilewon a penalty shootout to take the title,questioning those who find fault with asoccer star’s play “without ever havingtouched a ball.”

Despite Argentina’s loss, “I considerMessi a winner,” said Maradona, who led

Argentina to victory in the 1986 WorldCup. Although he earlier joined in the cho-rus of Argentines calling on Messi to staywith the national squad, Maradona tonedthat down Wednesday.

“Let’s let Messi have his holidays,” hesaid. “From now on we have to build aunified idea and if Messi says ‘I don’t wantmore,’ we will have to present anotherteam.” Maradona criticized the ArgentineFootball Association, whose nationalteam hasn’t won a major title since theCopa America tournament in 1993. “Wemust have done something wrongbecause the AFA is the way it is.

Argentine soccer is how it is, and we willbe paying for it,” he said.

Illustrating his dim view of the currentnational team, Maradona confirmed theauthenticity of a leaked WhatsApp audioin which he implies to his 1986 teammatesthat their 1986 World Cup-winning squadwas better than Messi’s. “We didn’t go toplay against Chile. We went and beatGermany,” he says. “You know what Imean about the difference between oneteam and the other?”

Messi touched off an uproar inArgentina with his abrupt resignation fromthe national team after Sunday’s game

with Chile. He is the national team’s careerleading scorer with 55 goals in 113 interna-tional appearances, but he has never ledArgentina to a major title, losing champi-onship matches to Brazil in

the 2007 Copa America, Germany inthe 2014 World Cup and Chile in the 2015and 2016 Copa America. “That’s it, I’vealready tried enough,” Messi told theArgentine network TyC Sports after the lat-est loss to Chile. “It pains me more thananyone not being able to be a championwith Argentina, but that’s the way it is. Itwasn’t meant to be, and unfortunately Ileave without having achieved it.” — AP

Maradona urges Argentines to leave Messi alone

Wake up France!

Iceland next: Evra

PARIS: France, who have earned a reputation for leaving it late atthis European Championship, would be well-advised to wake upearly when they face Iceland for a place in the semi-finals, veterandefender Patrice Evra warned yesterday.

The hosts have survived some scares with sluggish starts andlast-gasp wins on their way to the last eight but now is the time tomake an impact from the start, the 35-year-old left back, regardedas Les Bleus’ wise old man, told a news conference.

“We keep scaring ourselves, we’re crazy,” Evra said. “If we keepdoing that, we might not go through. We need to stop reactingand start acting.”

Evra, who has won plenty of silverware at club level but hasnever gone beyond the quarter-finals of a major event withFrance, nodded when asked whether Sunday’s tie at the Stade deFrance might be the most important game in his career.

“Yes, that’s true,” said the Juventus player, in line to win his78th cap against Iceland. “I can’t stop there, we can’t stop there.We all know what we’re here for.”

“Uncle” Evra, as his team mates affectionately call him, urgedthe France players not to underestimate Iceland, who advancedwith a shock 2-1 win over England.

“Before England played them, English journalists were askingme what it would be like (for France) to face England and I toldthem ‘wait a minute, guys, you’re not there yet’”, he said.

“People go on about long throws and all that but Iceland arenot just that,” he added. “They’re a good team who can play goodfootball and they did not get to that stage by accident. We haveall due respect for Iceland, which does not mean we don’t believewe can’t beat them.”

Evra, whose own performances in the tournament have beencriticised but whose leadership qualities are vital to France,looked happy to chat with journalists at France’s training campoutside Paris.

It was not always the case. His relationship with the outsideworld suffered from his role in the 2010 World Cup scandal, whenhe captained the team who refused to train in South Africa in sup-port of striker Nicolas Anelka, ejected from the squad for insultingthen-coach Raymond Domenech.

“This team is great, we enjoy being together and we’re havinga lot of fun,” Evra said. “Before, things were was a bit more compli-cated.” — Reuters

LILLE: Wales’ Gareth Bale, left , jokes with Joe Ledley during a training session in Dinard, western France,yesterday. Wales will face Belgium in a Euro 2016 quarterfinal soccer match in Lille today. — AP

LILLE: History awaits the victors as Walestalisman Gareth Bale and rejuvenatedBelgium star Eden Hazard lead their respec-tive golden generations into battle intoday’s Euro 2016 quarter-final in Lille.

Belgium, second in the FIFA ranking, aredesperate to make good on their squad’svast potential and reach a first major semi-final since the 1986 World Cup. Wales areriding high in their first major tournamentin 58 years and having outlasted Britishrivals England and Northern Ireland, theirconfidence is at an all-time high.

“I think it is fair to say it could be thebiggest ever game for Wales,” said Bale, thetournament’s joint-top scorer with threegoals. “We know about the quarter-final in1958 (at the World Cup), but since then it’sdefinitely the biggest game in Welsh foot-ball. “It is one we’re looking forward to. Wejust want to enjoy the occasion, take it all inand hopefully we can get into the semis.”After hitting the heights in a 3-0 win overRussia in their final Group B game, ChrisColeman’s Wales had to dig deep to see offNorthern Ireland in the last 16.

An attritional match was settled in the

75th minute when Bale’s cross was turnedin by Gareth McAuley for an own goal, buttoday’s game could be a more openencounter.

Beaten 2-0 by Italy in their first match,Marc Wilmots’s Belgium have since grownin stature, beating the Republic of Irelandand Sweden before crushing Hungary 4-0.

The victory over Hungary was builtaround a man-of-the-match display fromHazard, who scored one goal and madeanother in one of his finest internationalperformances. After a bleak season withChelsea, the 25-year-old embodiesBelgium’s hopes of improving on theirquarter-final showing at the 2014 WorldCup in Brazil.

PRESSURE ON WILMOTS Hazard sustained a minor thigh prob-

lem against Hungary that kept him out oftraining for two days, but he will return totraining on Thursday and is expected tostart against Wales.

Like Hazard, Bale is the symbol of histeam’s rise. He has already enjoyed successagainst Belgium, scoring the only goal of

the teams’ qualifying encounter in Cardiff ayear ago. It was a result that confirmedWales’s arrival as a force, but Belgiumdefender Toby Alderweireld is confidenthis side will not meet the same fate again.

“We have the players to stop Bale,” saidthe Tottenham Hotspur centre-back.

“We can’t have silly concentration laps-es when we have the ball. “Since the start,our objective has been to win the tourna-ment. But it’s important to go into eachmatch in the right way.” Alderweireld willplay in a reconfigured defence at StadePierre-Mauroy, with 21-year-oldManchester City centre-back JasonDenayer set to replace the suspendedThomas Vermaelen.

Atletico Madrid winger Yannick FerreiraCarrasco could also come into the team inplace of Dries Mertens after a goal-scoringcameo against Hungary. Wales captainAshley Williams was pictured with his leftarm in a sling after the win over NorthernIreland, following a collision with team-mate Jonathan Williams, but the SwanseaCity centre-back took a full part in trainingon Wednesday. — AFP

Wales, Belgium vie for

Euro 2016 golden ticket

ANNECY: Iceland’s midfielder Aron Gunnarsson takes partin a training session in Annecy yesterday, prior to theirquarter-finals match against France on July 3. — AFP

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Venus keeps her wits about her to down Greek qualifier

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WIMBLEDON: Greece’sMaria Sakkari returns

against US player VenusWilliams during their

women’s singles secondround match on the fourth

day of the 2016 WimbledonChampionships at The All

England Lawn Tennis Clubin Wimbledon, southwest

London, yesterday. — AFP

www.kuwaittimes.net

Venus keeps her wits about her to down Greek qualifier