SPORT | Page 1 BUSINESS | Page 11 INDEX QATAR 2 – 10, 30 – 32 COMMENT REGION 11 BUSINESS ARAB WORLD 12 CLASSIFIED INTERNATIONAL 13 – 27 SPORTS 28, 29 1 – 7, 11 – 16 8 – 10 1 – 12 Don’t miss a four-page supplement on leading fashion brands in Qatar on Mid-Season Sale with today’s Gulf Times. in Supplement +0.23 +0.31% d UN chief Ban Ki-moon yesterday cautioned against tackling violent extremism through military means alone and urged governments to avoid counter-terrorism responses that could lead to rights abuses. Ban told a special Security Council meeting on counter-terrorism that the United Nations was looking at ways to address violent extremism by working with communities “at the grassroots level”. +91.64 +0.66% THURSDAY HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani receiving Croatian Speaker Josip Leko yesterday. The Speaker handed over to the Emir a written message from Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, related to bilateral relations and ways to advance them in different fields. The meeting was attended by Advisory Council Speaker HE Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi. Egypt sees ‘new era’ in Arab ties E gypt yesterday hailed a “new era” in Arab solidarity after Gulf states agreed to end an internal dispute and to strengthen unity among them. Cairo said it offered its full support to the reconciliation move, which it described as a “huge step towards Arab solidarity”. “We look forward to a new era that would end past disputes and spread hope and optimism to our peoples,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah alSisi’s office said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed on Sunday to return their ambassadors to Doha after resolving their differences with Qatar. They had announced the withdrawal of their envoys from Qatar in March. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, earlier yesterday urged “Egypt, the people and leadership, to seek with us the success of this (reconciliation) move as part of Arab solidarity,” according to the official SPA news agency. He said the kingdom looked forward “to the start of a new phase of consensus” among Arab nations and voiced hope for “security and stabil- Vol. XXXV No. 9547 November 20, 2014 Moharram 27, 1436 AH www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Qatar has improved in the area of labour rights and laws, says a senior official AFP/QNA Cairo, Abu Dhabi he is A R 8 7 AT 19 Q since Helicopter sightseeing tours Ban urges action to tackle extremism 74.84 -6.83 -0.04% bl QATAR | Tourism WORLD | Conflict NYMEX 13,901.08 Qatar in safe World Cup pledge In brief Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is preparing the launch of a helicopter project named Samana (Our Skies) which provides tours and sightseeing in and around Qatar. The event will take place in the next few days. QTA has worked in collaboration with Gulf Helicopters on the project . The project has been supported by the Ministry of Transport and Qatar Armed Forces. QTA is working with industry and local stakeholders to expand tourism products and services. QE 17,680.99 Latest Figures GULF TIMES Message from Croatian president DOW JONES pu Luck puts Qatar into semi-finals Boeing sees surge in Middle East demand for new planes ity for our people amid these circumstances and challenges” facing the region. The agreement offers “a general framework for unity, consensus, and an end to differences” among Arab states, the king said. Both the UAE and Bahrain also welcomed the statement made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah. The UAE praised the statement which called for turning a new page to push the process of joint GCC and Arab action, the Emirates news agency Wam reported. Bahrain affirmed total support for the “significant stances” announced by the Saudi monarch. Agencies Berlin/Doha Q atar will provide a safe football World Cup in 2022 and has made big strides in the area of labour rights, a leading official has said. “We are taking security very seriously for everyone at the World Cup. We have no doubts that security in 2022 will be impeccable,” Nasser alKhater, executive director of Communications and Marketing for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, told Germany’s Sport Bild weekly. Al-Khater said that Qatar had improved in the area of labour rights and laws in the wake of suggestions and calls from human rights organisations and the ruling football body FIFA. He said that laws were in line with international standards with “clear rules to protect workers” and that “living conditions have been improved”. In general terms, al-Khater pledged that Qatar would “stage a spectacular tournament that will exceed all expectations”. He said: “It will be a historically compact World Cup which will allow fans, the media and officials to attend more than one game per day and to spend the entire World Cup in one accommodation.” Qatar authorities have accused foreign media of running a malicious campaign against the first Gulf nation to host a FIFA World Cup. Qatar also says none of the workers employed for World Cup projects have been exploited. The country’s World Cup organising committee said criticism was a normal part of major sporting events. “We extend a hand to all of our critics to come to Qatar and see for themselves the progress we are making in a number of fields, from stadium delivery to cooling technology, workers welfare to creating a sporting industry in the region,” it told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an e-mail recently. Senior officials in the government have promised to work towards radically overhauling the current system, giving workers the rights they deserve. In May, Qatar unveiled plans for labour reforms, including a new system based on employment contracts, after a review of its labour legislation by DLA Piper, a British-based law firm. The Labour Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that a new law to replace the “kafala” system would be announced next year, it added. 2 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR Emir meets sovereign wealth funds forum delegation In brief Condolence cables sent HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad alThani and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani have sent cables of condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on the demise of Princess Muna bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. NHRC chief meets top US official HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meeting Bader al-Sa’ad, chairman of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), and board members of the forum, in Doha yesterday. The IFSWF delegation is in Qatar to participate in the forum’s sixth annual meeting. Cabinet hails outcome of GCC leaders’ meeting QNA Doha T he weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, has welcomed the outcome of the recent meeting of GCC leaders in Riyadh. Praising the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in calling the meeting, the Cabinet invited the GCC leaders to attend the summit in Doha on December 9-10. The Cabinet also commended the efforts of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah in strengthening the bonds of brotherhood among GCC leaders and praised “all efforts made to preserve GCC’s unity”. The Cabinet formed a ministerial committee to follow up on the implementation of HH the Emir’s directives in his speech during the opening of the 43rd ordinary session of the Advisory Council on November 11. The Prime Minister asked the ministers to put the Emir’s directives into effect, including the setting of plans and realistic timeframes for solving the issues in the economy sector, promoting economic and commercial sectors, activating the financial and stock market, starting the first agricultural complex project, drawing a tourism strategy. The council then discussed the subjects on the agenda. It approved amending certain provisions of criminal law No. 11 of 2004. It agreed to refer the amendments to the Advisory Council. The law punishes anyone who disrespects the State’s flag or the flag of a GCC or friendly country. The Cabinet also agreed to approve an agreement with the government of Algeria on the application of the customs law. It also approved an agreement of co-operation between Qatar News Agency and Algeria Press Service and an executive media agreement between the government of Qatar and Algeria. Additionally, the Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Qatar and Sri Lanka in the tourism sector. The government of Qatar also signed an agreement in the sports field with the government of Seychelles. The Cabinet then reviewed a number of outstanding sub- jects such as the report of HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs on the report of the permanent committee for legislative affairs to grant workers in customs powers of judicial execution. The Cabinet also looked into two reports from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology on the works of a committee dedicated to e-government, from April-September 2014. The report included details of the main strategic plan for the national e-government 2020, and the progress made towards achieving the goal. HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman Dr Ali bin Samikh al-Marri met Linda Dixon, representative of the US Department of Defence in Doha yesterday. They reviewed aspects of cooperation on issues of mutual concern and means of activating mechanisms of communication between the two countries in fields related to human rights. Qatar-Croatia ties reviewed HE the Advisory Council Speaker Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi met Croatian parliament Speaker Josip Leko and the delegation accompanying him, in Doha yesterday. They reviewed existing parliamentary ties between Qatar and Croatia and means of developing them. HE the Advisory Council Deputy Speaker Issa bin Rabea al-Kuwari attended the meeting along with the Council’s controllers Dr Ahmed Mohamed Obaidan and Mohamed Abdullah al-Sulaiti, and HE the Advisory Council Secretary General Fahad bin Mubarak al-Khayareen. 6 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR Metrash2 simplifies e-services T he Airport Passports Department of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has urged companies and establishments to apply for business visas through Metrash2 and the website providing the ministry’s eservices in order to simplify the service procedures and save time and effort. Mohamed Rashid alMazroui, director of the Airport Passports Department, said the introduction of business visa issuance through Metrash2 reflected the MoI’s eagerness to provide quality electronic services easily and conveniently for the public. This service complemented the technological developments witnessed in service departments of the MoI to make transactions paperless. He explained that visa submission can now be made anytime, on all days and from anywhere, unlike earlier, when it was possible only during working hours on five working days a week. Accordingly, the department can issue more than 2,500 business visas daily. Business 1,133 cancer cases in Qatar There are 1,133 people suffering from cancer in the country, reports local Arabic daily Arrayah quoting an official from the National Centre for Cancer Care & Research (NCCCR). Dr Osama al-Homsi, consultant and chief of the Section of Blood and Tumours Diseases at the NCCCR, explained that 205 are affected with breast cancer while the majority of the other cases are of colon cancer. He said that the rate of cure from breast cancer is 90% if detected early. He stressed that this makes it mandatory for women to undergo periodical screening for early detection of the disease. work visa submission can be made online only and cannot be done manually from now. Further, he pointed out that the ministry is working to build an integrated electronic system for all services provided to citizens and resi- dents. Official and tourist visa services will be launched on Metrash2 shortly, contributing to the upgrade of services in order to ensure customer satisfaction. These services are currently provided for companies only. Mohamed Rashid al-Mazroui 8 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR New book looks at food security in Arab region Silatech workshops discuss interns’ role in businesses D Suzi Mirgani Zahra Babar oha-based social initiative Silatech has hosted several youth-focused workshops during this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), which concludes on Saturday. Founded in 2008 by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Silatech, which means ‘your connection,’ finds innovative solutions to challenging problems, working with a wide spectrum of NGOs, governments and the private sector to foster sustainable, positive change for Arab youth. Silatech was the official Country Host for GEW-Qatar, which got off to a start on Sunday. On Monday, Silatech associate director of Em- in the world for obvious reasons, such as water scarcity, but also for some less obvious reasons, such as land reform that impacts sufficiency,” said Zahra Babar, book editor and contributing author. “In the GCC in particular, huge migration patterns have outpaced food sufficiency and will likely continue to do so, so this is an issue that is far more complex than some might imagine.” CIRS director Dr Mehran Kamrava also contributed to the newly published volume. “We hope this book sets a base of understanding for the full breadth of food security issues to benefit the work of scholars, researchers, practitioners and policymakers,” Kamrava said. Suzi Mirgani, manager and editor for publications at CIRS and co-editor of the book, said: “Current food security issues are shifting from a largely economics-dominated model to one where sociopolitical factors are becoming increasingly active in how food is conceived, valued and distributed as a human right, rather than a market force. This book is an attempt to engage with this new paradigmatic shift.” “This book is a fresh look at the challenges and opportunities associated with food security faced by the Middle East,” said Dr Julian A Lampietti of the World Bank. The chapters in this volume, published by Oxford University Press and C Hurst & Co, grew out of two working group meetings held under the auspices of CIRS, and include contributions from 25 leading experts in food security issues from top universities around the world. Qatar’s Ambassador to Belgium and Nato Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani participated in the first meeting for the consultative group of Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI), which was held in the Turkish city on the sidelines of celebrating the tenth anniversary of launching the initiative. Thrasyvoulos Terry Stamatopoulos, Nato’s assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy, attended the meeting along with Ahmet Muhtar Gun, deputy undersecretary for bilateral and political affairs at the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim spoke of the future co-operation of the group, points of view on co-operation between ICI member states and Nato, in addition to the recent achievements. G eorgetown University’s Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) in Education City recently launched a brand-new publication offering the “most comprehensive study available to date” on issues of food security and food sovereignty in the Arab region. Titled Food Security in the Middle East, the book provides empirical case studies of Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, the Gulf states and Iran, with special attention to how these countries have been affected by the events of the Arab uprisings and rising food prices following the global economic crisis of 2007-2008. Some of the major themes examined include the ascent and decline of various food regimes, urban agriculture, overseas agricultural land purchases, national food self-sufficiency strategies, distribution networks and food consumption patterns, and nutrition transitions and healthcare. Collectively, the chapters represent highly original contributions to the disciplines of political science, economics, agricultural studies and healthcare policy, and reflect the increasing urgency of policy and public debate in this subject. “Unlike certain parts of the developing world, the Middle East is not known as a region that is facing critical famine or starvation. However, it is one of the least self-sufficient regions One of the sessions during the Silatech-led workshops. Envoy attends Istanbul meeting ployability Dr Rachel Awad led a session entitled “How interns can help you grow your business.” “From the employer’s perspective,” Awad stressed, “a well-designed internship programme can bring new expertise and energy into an organisation, as well as fresh perspectives and brand advocates.” She added: “And from a student’s perspective, an internship provides valuable work experience and on-the-job training. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.” Silatech works with employers to design tailored internship programmes to fit the needs of each organisation. On Tuesday, Silatech con- vened the third workshop of an informal entrepreneurship policy working group. Discussions focused on how to best support an enabling policy environment for both aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in Qatar, as well as the potential for improved impact from stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Silatech’s Raghda el-Meligy presented “Eight qualities you can take away from the entrepreneurs who couldn’t be here,” which delved about the qualities and habits maintained by successful micro-entrepreneurs throughout the region. Silatech was the largest provider of microenterprise support services in the Arab world. This year, GEW-Qatar features more than 40 workshops, discussions, lectures and interactive sessions taking place over the seven-day event. Other organisations participating in GEW-Qatar included the Bedaya Centre, Enterprise Qatar, Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, Qatar Chamber, Qatar University, Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Science and Technology Park, Qatar Shell, 7ayak Hub, Qatar Business Incubation Centre, How Women Work, Uber, The Edge, I Love Qatar, and Evently. More information about GEW-Qatar could be had from www.gew-qatar.com Fifty One East opens new section at Lagoona Fifty One East, the premium luxury retail chain in Qatar, opened its exclusive lingerie section in Lagoona Mall. The new section offers a wide selection from the latest designs and trends from international brands including Oscar de la Renta, L’Agent by Agent Provocateur, Emporio Armani, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Wolford, SPANX by Sara Blakely, Wacoal, K-Lynn Lingerie, and Betsey Johnson intimates. Qatar Airways to start new daily service to Istanbul Sabiha airport from Mar 29 Q atar Airways will expand its flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport from March 29 next year as it increases its frequency to a doubledaily service. With the launch of the new daily service to Sabiha Gökçen Airport, passengers from the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Africa can now take advantage of an additional morning connection to Istanbul via Doha. The new daily flight, operated by a two-class, Airbus A320 aircraft, will depart Doha at 9.45am, arriving in Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 2pm, and return from Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 3pm, arriving back in Doha at 6.55pm. Qatar Airways recently celebrated its 10 years of successful operations to Turkey. The airline began services to Istanbul Atat- urk International Airport in 2004 marking Qatar Airways’ first destination in Turkey, and due to popular passenger demand has been steadily increasing its number of flights to the country. Qatar Airways currently operates to three destinations in Turkey - Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (daily flights), Istanbul Ataturk Airport (10-flights-a-week) and Ankara (four-weekly-flights). The non-stop four-flights-aweek service from Doha to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport was launched on May 22 this year, Audi dealer launches ‘save the best for last’ campaign Q-Auto, the official dealer of Audi in Qatar, has announced the launch of the “Save the best for last” campaign. A limited edition Audi Q7 S-line model is being offered at an exclusive starting price of QR219,995. The luxurious seven-seater incorporates an S-line exterior body kit, 21” alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof and body coloured wheel arch extensions. The multipurpose SUV also sports a large boot space, spacious cabin, quattro all-wheel drive and a 3.0 TFSI (272hp) engine. Integrated features optimising the car’s high tech dynamics include an electronic access and authorisation key system as well as front/rear view cameras. Additional added value benefits include a five-year/75,000km service and maintenance package as well as a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. “Launching the ‘Save the best for last’ campaign is an example of Audi’s efforts to fulfil customer demands with an added appeal,” said Audi Qatar marketing manager Anthony Kwan. “The offer incorporates a premium SUV sport package with value-added benefits at an excellent price.” The dealership also gives customers a number of bank options with a rate as low as 1.99%. Buyers can now find the best deal possible to finance their purchase with banks recommended by Audi Qatar, including QNB, Doha Bank and QIB. marking Qatar Airways’ addition of its third route to Turkey. Due to an increase in demand, Qatar Airways added three additional flights from October 26 to Sabiha Gökçen Airport, marking the launch of daily flights to the airport. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said: “The start of a double daily service from March next year will further strengthen our support for leisure and business travel to Istanbul and we are certain that our passengers will welcome this initiative.” Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 9 QATAR Kenyan envoy meets Q-Post chief Kenyan ambassador Ghalma Mogy Boro met Q-Post chairman Abdulrahman Ali al-Aqaily at the Q-Post headquarters on Tuesday and discussed the possibility of improving postal services between the two countries. Sidra to attend healthcare career events to promote local talent S idra Medical and Research Centre (Sidra) has announced that it will be participating in three student career events in November. Sidra’s participation is aimed at updating the student community about its prestigious scholarship programme, training opportunities and to encourage students to consider careers in the healthcare sector. Sidra has invited students to visit its booths at the following events. The events are “Medicine Unlimited” event organised by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (Nov 22); Open Day at Qatar University (Nov 27) and University of Calgary Qatar Open Day event (Nov 29). The three events will offer students a unique opportunity to learn about careers in medicine. Participants will be invited to apply for the Sidra scholarship programme where the outreach team will be on hand to help address questions and share information. The Open Day at Qatar University will also feature a presentation for pharmacy and biomedical students by Sidra’s acting chief medical officer Dr Ziyad Hijazi, who will be discussing his personal journey on discovering his passion for medicine. Similarly, Sidra’s presence at the WCMCQ’s “Medicine Unlimited” and University of Calgary Qatar events aims to introduce students to exciting and diverse career paths, to those interested in joining the organisation. Sidra’s simulation team will also be on hand at the “Medicine Unlimited” event where students will get a unique opportunity to try some of its world-class simulation equipment for themselves. Qatar’s UN crime congress team holds talks with US officials Q atar’s UN delegation to the UN Crime Congress held a two-day meeting with senior US officials in the departments of State and Justice in Washington. The meetings were held on Monday and Tuesday. The Qatari delegation was headed by HE Major General Dr Abdullah Yousuf alMaal, adviser to HE the Interior Minister and head of Preparatory Committee for 13th UN Crime Congress. The meeting was attended by Qatar’s ambassador to the US, Mohamed Jaham alKuwari. Preparations made by Qatar to host the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Doha Qatari officials during their meeting with their US counterparts in Washington. next year, were explained at the meeting. Both sides discussed their stand on the issues tabled in the Crime Congress agenda and agreed on co-operation between the delegations. The participants also held informal consultations on the Doha Draft Declaration. “Sidra’s National Career Development division takes pride in participating in such initiatives that will help support the advancement of medical knowledge and services in Qatar. We are committed to actively engaging with the local student community at events hosted by schools and universities alike,” said Dr Eiman al- Ansari, director of National Development at Sidra Medical and Research Centre. 10 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR Qatar, Gambia look to expand economic ties QNA Doha A trade delegation from Qatar Chamber met with a Gambian delegation here yesterday to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties and trade exchange between the two sides. Minister for Presidential Affairs and Secretary-General at the Office of Gambia’s President Kalilou Bayo said that his country has many investment opportunities, especially in the tourism sector, calling Qatari businessmen to explore those opportunities. He said that this meeting represents a good opportunity to know these investment opportunities and economic possibilities in his country to discuss the possibility of co-operation on them as well as to identify the business community in the Gambia, stressing that his country enjoys security and social peace. Gambian Minister of Trade Abdou Jobe reviewed investment opportunities in his country, saying that there are many sectors, such as services, tourism and agriculture as well as real estate and lands development, where Qatar could invest. Meanwhile, Gambian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Kebba Touray stressed his country’s commitment to support the private sector and provide an attractive investment environment for investment, adding that the signing of an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between Qatar and Gambia is indicative of this commitment. He pointed out that the two countries have in the past signed a number of agreements that will support investment and trade exchange. Gambian Minister of Trade Abdou Jobe reviewed investment opportunities in his country, saying that there are many sectors, such as services, tourism and agriculture as sell as real estate and lands developemnt , where Qatar could invest Meanwhile, Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) Mohamed bin Ahmed Tawar al-Kuwari, who led the Qatari delegation, said that the private sector in Qatar seeks to take advantage of the nature of the good relations between Qatar and Gambia, where Qatari businessmen wish to explore investment opportunities in Gambia in all fields, noting that such a visit is an appropriate chance to discuss ways of co-operation between the private sectors in both countries. He also stressed that the Qa- tar Chamber urges businessmen from both sides to find genuine partnerships and collaboration. Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) Abdulrahman al-Ansari, who was among the members of the Qatari delegation, called on Gambian businessmen to provide economic studies for projects and investment opportunities available with them so that it can be studied on the ground. He also stressed that the most important concern for businessmen and companies that want to invest abroad is the efficiency of a country’s financial and banking system, which should allow easy transfer of funds. While Fahad Hamad alMohannadi, General Manager of Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), said that the company is interested in investing in the African continent, noting in this regard to the company’s efforts to win a project for the production of wind energy in Morocco. He added that it also had talks with Senegal and Sudan to discuss the possibility of establishing projects to generate electricity there. He also noted that QEWC entered into an agreement with French and Moroccan energy companies to produce wind energy in Morocco. The project includes establishing plants with a total capacity of approximately 850 MW. Al Furjan shop distribution mechanism criticised T he mechanism for distribution of shops in Al Furjan (neighborhood) Markets has been criticised by some citizens, local daily Al Arab has reported. They feel the conditions stipulated by the committee concerned with real estate investment for government markets exclude large categories of the community, who will not benefit from the project, such as the youth, elderly, retired persons, widowers and widows, the daily notes. They point out that only those who are wealthy and owners of establishments and companies will benefit from this project, the report adds. Citizens have told the daily that the shop distribution mechanism will not fulfil the social objectives of setting up these markets as the focus is only on profitability. They have also expressed concern over the rent (QR6,000) for the shops, which have an area of only 30sqm. This may lead to an increase in rent in other areas, which can contribute to a rise in the prices of goods and services, they add. Talks held with Gambian FM Emir to join rain prayers today QNA Doha H HE the Foreign Minister’s Assistant for International Co-operation Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani holding talks with Gambian Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa in Doha yesterday. They discussed means to promote bilateral relations and other topics of mutual interest. Minister hails Emir’s support for sports QNA Doha W inning the right to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships will boost Qatar’s international reputation in the field of sport and will enable Doha to become the world capital of sports, HE the Minister of Youth and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali has said. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) in Monte Carlo elected Doha on Tuesday to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Congratulating HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Minister HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali of Interior Sheikh Abdullah Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani on Qatar winning the right to host the championships, Minister Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali said, by hosting the athletics meet Qatar will enjoy the confidence of the international community. Hailing the Emir’s “unlimited support to sport”, the Minister added that the Sports Ministry is determined to take advantage of such tournaments and events to invest in human resources and the realisation of Qatar Vision 2030 Qatar. He praised the efforts made by the members of the Qatar bidding Committee, headed by the Chairman of the Committee, HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Secretary General of the Olympic Committee, and Dahlan al-Hamad, president of Qatar Athletics Federation, who is also vicepresident of the International Association of Athletics, and all the departments, including public and private institutions, that supported the bidding Committee. H the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al -Thani will join worshippers to perform Istisqaa Prayer (Prayer for rain) at AlWajba prayer ground today morning. The rain prayer comes in pursuit of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when there is a delay in the rainfall. Qatar attends Arab justice ministers’ meet QNA Jeddah Q atar participated in the 30th session of the Arab Ministers of Justice Council and its 55th executive bureau meeting, which were held in the Saudi city of Jeddah. HE the Minister of Justice Dr Hassan Lahdan Saqr al-Mohannadi headed Qatar’s delegation to the meeting. The meeting approved the technical secretariat report on the steps taken to implement the decisions of the Council’s 29th session, and intensifying cooperation between judicial authorities in Arab countries. The session also called Arab countries to refrain from providing any form of active or passive support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts and addressing those acts. Exhibition of Al Asmakh’s Pavilion project concludes A l Asmakh Real Estate Development’s exhibition to promote one of its new projects, the Pavilion Lusail City, concluded successfully yesterday. Pavilion, which is situated within the beautiful surroundings of Fox Hills, Lusail City, consists of 170 one and two-bedroom apartments and features all the amenities a future resident would seek, including around-the-clock security, children’s play area, fitness gym, in addition to convenient basement parking. Residents will enjoy the diversity of lifestyles that Lusail City offers and will be within a short distance from major attractions. “We see Pavilion as a beacon of a new era for us in our quest to achieve greater excellence in the property development sector,” said Fadi Barakeh, general manager of Al Asmakh Real Estate Development. Lusail City, 15km away Murder convict gets seven years’ jail sentence The Court of First Instance has sentenced a citizen convicted in a murder case to seven years’ imprisonment, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported. The court also directed him to pay QR400,000 as blood money to the kin of the victim and ordered that he get 40 lashes for consuming alcohol, the daily adds. According to the rationale of the judgment, the murder was premeditated and the accused had brought a drink so that the victim would consume it and become unconscious. He executed this plan and, when the victim passed out, the accused hit him on the head several times with a heavy tool before suffocating him to death, according to the report. The convicted citizen has filed an appeal to reduce the punishment. from the centre of Doha, will be connected to the capital via the Qatar Rail project. The city is expected to accommodate up to 260,000 people and is a key attraction as part of Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup. “Lusail City will play a significant part in forming the country’s future, and we are privileged to be part of it,” he stated. The launch of Pavilion also coincides with the complete rebranding of the company, which reflects the Al Asmakh Real Estate’s future ambitions and its business approach towards offering luxury, high-end property and facility management services. According to Barakeh, the real estate market in Qatar is quite stable whether regarding the rental rates or the prospects for investors, as the demand is ever growing due to the economic boom in the country. “We strongly believe Fadi Barakeh in the potentials of Qatar economy and that is why we are undertaking such great projects. Further, the turnout at the pavilion was considerably high as we used to receive some 500 visitors a day with almost 50% of the units of the project has been reserved by both Qataris and expatriates,” said Brakeh. Barakeh was of the view that unauthorised brokers in the real estate market could harm the interests of both the owners and tenants as they manipulate the prices to get the maximum profit for themselves. He also felt that the partition of villas to accommodate more tenants should not be an option as it involves hazards and unplanned burden on the public services. “There are more options for tenants, they can now go to real estate companies and get a proper apartment that suits their budget. May be there is a need for more apartment buildings in the country but the options are plenty for tenants,” he said. Al Asmakh offers integrated services such as Al Asmakh’s comprehensive international escrow services that are aimed at further enhancing the process of real estate registration in Qatar, as well as provide transactions in a safe and secure manner. Additionally, the company’s property management services cover a wide spectrum of areas that cover the needs of landlords, residents and owners for dayto-day dealings. “As for Al Asmakh’s Facilities Management segment, it provides solutions for residential, commercial and industrial properties, covering all aspects of professional property management services including operations, maintenance and management procedures and systems,” Barakeh added. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 11 REGION Religious leaders condemn violence by militants Agencies Vienna S enior Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders condemned violence by militants such as Islamic State (IS) at a Saudi-backed conference yesterday in a rare display of inter- faith unity aimed at promoting tolerance and diversity. “Together we repudiate all exploitation of religion in political conflict and the usurpation of religious symbols by extremists used as a means for segregation and a cause for injustice and oppression,” the leaders said in a joint declaration. “We explicitly and completely condemn the serious violation of human rights in Iraq and Syria,” said the clerics. “Some organisations that are affiliated with Islam are perpetrating some actions in the name of jihad. This is not Islam at all,” said Abdullah bin Abdulmuhsen al-Turki, secretary general of the Muslim World League. “This is why we wish to deplore and strongly condemn this behaviour, which we see as against Islam,” he told an audience including the grand muftis of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, top representatives of several churches, Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee, and diplomats. Nizar bin Obaid Madani, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, decried the emergence of factions in the Middle East “that use terrorism and violence in the name of religion. They are wreaking havoc. They are killing and destroying everything”. “Those who have embraced terrorism unfortunately attribute everything they do, every oppression they practise, to Islam. Islam has nothing to do with them,” he said. The conference called for countering the messages of militants on social media used to lure recruits, and for leader- ship courses in schools, houses of worship and the broader community to spread the principles of diversity and tolerance. The conference was organised by the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia. Rohani has lot at stake in push to reach deal AFP Tehran T he Iranians conducting nuclear talks with world powers seem loath to use the word “compromise”, but with much to lose President Hassan Rohani may yet be pushing for a last-minute deal. Negotiations to reach a final agreement on Iran’s disputed atomic programme—culminating this week in Vienna ahead of a November 24 deadline—have divided the Islamic Republic. On one side stand hardline conservatives opposed to giving almost any ground to hated Western governments. On the other is Rohani, who put his credibility on the line and raised hopes of an end to isolation—and the possibility of conflict—by officially restarting the nuclear talks in 2013. Standing in the middle is Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will have the final word on any agreement, and whom Rohani must convince of the merits of doing a deal. Of all the powerbrokers in Tehran—politicians, clerics, generals, business leaders and academics all have influence— Rohani has the most at stake if Khamenei does not ultimately back him. “If these talks turn out to be a failure, or are seen as such, Mr Rohani will be in a very difficult position,” said Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, a Tehran-based analyst and veteran watcher of Iran’s political scene. “The die-hard groups who threaten the atmosphere of cooperation will say Mr Rohani failed to do anything and it will be hard for him to tell the public that he has kept his promises,” he added. Away from the nuclear negotiating table, Rohani’s plans to introduce more moderate domestic policies are under attack, as are his ministers—one has already been impeached and dismissed by parliament. On Tuesday, lawmakers for the second time refused to approve a replacement. So it is especially important Saudi beheads killer who wore women’s clothes Saudi Arabia executed yesterday a man who donned women’s clothing in a bid to escape after shooting dead a soldier and police officer, state media said. Salih bin Yateem bin Salih al-Qarni was beheaded in the southwestern city of Abha, the official Saudi Press Agency said. Qarni was initially arrested on other charges and was transported in an official vehicle by the soldier and a member of the Muttawa religious police. “He shot them with a gun that he was carrying,” SPA said, without explaining how he obtained the weapon. After stealing the keys from the security officer driving the vehicle, Qarni chewed some narcotic qat “and disguised himself in women’s clothing” in an attempt to flee, but was recaptured, it said. The report did not say when the escape bid occurred. for Rohani to win a nod from Khamenei for a deal, or even just on a framework for an extension. The leader’s towering influence would silence those critical of Rohani and Iran’s negotiators, led by Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif. Without such an endorsement, both Rohani and Zarif could begin to look like lame ducks, said Siavush RandjbarDaemi, a lecturer on Iran and the Middle East at Britain’s Manchester University. “A breakdown in the talks will weaken Rohani and possibly cause the end of Zarif’s tenure as foreign minister,” RandjbarDaemi said. The big question is whether Rohani can balance his desire for a deal with Iran’s need to save face and preserve its nuclear programme. Talks between Iran and the P5+1 powers (UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany) have been taking place in a better atmosphere than in the past but momentum has stalled lately. And Tehran’s price for reaching an agreement has been steadily ticking up. On July 7 - just 13 days before an original deadline for a final deal - Khamenei laid down new conditions, stating Iran would eventually require a uranium enrichment capacity almost 20 times greater than at present. The West had wanted a reduction and that deadline was missed. In the past month Iran again raised the stakes, demanding a total immediate lifting of sanctions imposed by the United States, the UN Security Council and the European Union—a condition seen as inflated and impractical. While this may be a negotiating ploy, Zarif’s team could lose out if there is no compromise, said Randjbar-Daemi. “I believe this is the message the Iranians will deliver privately and discreetly in Vienna—that of a possibly very different team showing up, if and when talks resume after the current round breaks down,” he said. A cyclist passes Coburg Palace, the venue of talks on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme in Vienna yesterday. Britain ‘not optimistic’ on Iran nuclear talks British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says he is not optimistic that world powers and Iran will clinch a full nuclear deal by November 24 AFP Riga B ritain expressed doubts yesterday that a nuclear deal could be reached with Iran by a looming deadline, as Tehran and six world powers haggled in a final round of talks in Vienna. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, speaking in Latvia, indicated the most to be hoped for was enough progress to justify putting yet more time on the clock beyond Monday’s cut-off point to get a deal. “I am not optimistic that we can get everything done by Monday,” he said. “But I think if we make some significant movement, we may be able to find a way of extending the deadline to allow us to get to the final deal, if we are making good progress in the right direction.” He added: “There will need to be some considerable further flexibility shown by the Iranian negotiators over the next four or five days if we are going to get to that deal.” Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany been negotiating since February to turn an interim accord with Iran reached a year ago into a lasting agreement before November 24. Such a deal is aimed at easing fears that Tehran might develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities—an ambition it denies. It could resolve a 12-year stand- off, silence talk of war, help normalise Iran’s relations with the West and mark a rare foreign policy success for US President Barack Obama. Some areas appear provisionally settled, such as the future of the Arak nuclear reactor and tighter UN inspections to better detect any attempt to build a bomb. But two key issues remain: uranium enrichment—rendering uranium suitable for peaceful uses but also, at high purities, for a weapon—and the pace at which sanctions on Iran would be lifted under a deal. Iran wants to massively ramp up the number of enrichment centrifuges—in order, it says, to make fuel for a fleet of future reactors—while the West wants them dramatically reduced, reportedly by half. The six powers say Iran has no such need in the foreseeable Swordplay future. Russia is contracted until 2021 to fuel Iran’s only power reactor at Bushehr and last week signed a deal to build—and fuel— several others. In exchange for any reduction in its activities, Iran wants sanctions lifted. Bur the powers want to stagger any suspension to be sure that Iran won’t renege on its commitments. “They want everything all at once and this is not realistic,” one Western diplomat involved in the talks said, calling Tehran’s demands “unrealistic”. US Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers from the six powers were expected to fly into Vienna later in the week. But Kerry was still in London yesterday and was not expected in the Austrian capital until this afternoon at the earliest following a trip to Paris to meet the French and Saudi foreign ministers. Bahrain court releases activist awaiting trial Reuters Manama B Britain’s Prince Harry performs with a sword and shield during a visit to the historic city of Nizwa, west of Muscat yesterday. And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country is a crucial player in the talks, will only attend if there is sufficient progress, Moscow’s lead negotiator Sergei Ryabkov told Russian media. “Right now a lot depends on Kerry’s visit. Reaching a deal depends on the willingness and ability of the United States to lift sanctions” on Iran, RIA Novosti quoted a Russian source as saying. Upping the ante, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif, who has been in Vienna since Tuesday, said a deal was “possible” but only if the six powers did not ask for too much. That view was echoed yesterday by President Hassan Rohani. “If the other side shows the political will to reach an accord and doesn’t make excessive demands, a deal could be done,” he said on his website. ahraini authorities released pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja from detention yesterday, her lawyer and sister said, as she awaits trial over a charge of insulting Bahrain’s king by tearing up his picture. Zainab, daughter of jailed activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, fell foul of the judge last month during an appeal hearing into two cases involving her that date back to 2012, her lawyer Mohamed alWasati said at the time. On his Twitter account yesterday, Wasati said that Zainab had been released based on a decision by the court. Zainab’s sister, Maryam, also said on her Twitter account that her sister was freed. Zainab still has to face trial next month. Bahraini officials were not im- mediately available for comment. Zainab, who is pregnant and lives in Bahrain, was an activist during 2011 pro-democracy protests, where she became known for publishing news of the uprising on social media. Earlier this year, the king approved a law imposing a jail sentence of up to seven years and a fine of up to 10,000 dinars for anyone who publicly insulted him. Zainab’s younger sister, Maryam, who is acting head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was briefly detained earlier this year upon returning from Europe. She has been freed on bail pending trial on charges of entering the country illegally, assaulting a policewoman at the airport and insulting King Hamad. Bahrain has been in turmoil since the 2011 Arab uprisings, when mass protests led by Shias erupted in Manama. 12 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 ARAB WORLD A woman looks at pigeons for sale at a poultry market in Cairo yesterday. HEALTH UNREST CONFLICT DIPLOMACY Egypt reports second bird flu death in 2 days 10 civilians killed in Sinai fighting UN announces 12-hour ceasefire in Benghazi Erdogan in Algeria to boost trade ties A woman has died of bird flu in southern Egypt, a health official said yesterday, the country’s second death from the H5N1 strain of the virus in two days. H5NI is one of several deadly or potentially deadly strains of bird flu that are closely monitored by the World Health Organisation. The woman died late on Tuesday after she was admitted to hospital in the southern province of Minya in a critical condition, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghafar told AFP. Another woman died of bird flu in nearby Assiut province on Sunday. So far this year, Egypt has reported a total of seven cases of H5N1 infection, three of which have been fatal. Ten civilians were killed overnight during fighting between the army and Islamist militants near Egypt’s border with Gaza, where the military has launched a crackdown in recent weeks, security and medical sources said yesterday. At least three of the casualties were children and three were women, the medical sources said. The victims were killed in their home by two mortar shells fired by militants during a night-time curfew, security sources said. Egypt is creating a 1km-deep buffer strip along the border with Gaza by clearing houses and trees and destroying subterranean tunnels it says are used to smuggle arms from the Palestinian enclave to militants in Sinai. The United Nations said pro-government forces and Islamist militias fighting for control of Libya’s second city Benghazi agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian truce yesterday. The UN-brokered ceasefire was the first in Benghazi since the launch of a government-backed offensive to recapture the eastern city from Islamists a month ago. But there were signs that the truce was not being fully respected, according to an AFP reporter who heard heavy weapons fire in the city, although its origin was unknown. The move was aimed at enabling the evacuation of civilians, the retrieval of bodies, the removal of sewage and the restocking of food and medical supplies, the UN mission in Libya said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a delegation of cabinet ministers and business people arrived in Algeria yesterday for a visit aimed at improving commercial ties, Algiers said. The trip is part of Ankara’s efforts to shift its international focus to the Arab and Islamic world in light of the delay in its bid to join the European Union, the Algerian trade ministry said. During the two-day visit a forum of business people will take place. Algeria is Turkey’s principal trading partner in Africa, and the two countries signed a friendship and co-operation treaty in 2006. They also have a contract under which Algeria sells gas to Turkey as its fourth-largest supplier. Second man from France in IS slaying video named AFP Paris F rance yesterday identified a second national who appeared unmasked in a grisly Islamic State execution video, after French jets in Iraq pummelled trenches used by the fighters in a fresh round of air strikes. French Defence Minister JeanYves Le Drian announced that six Mirage fighter jets would be sent to Jordan in December to boost air forces in their campaign against the militants. Currently France is using nine Rafale jets based in the United Arab Emirates as part of a US-led international campaign to provide air support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group. The regional governor of the Kurdish capital Arbil, Nozad Hadi, blamed IS militants for a suicide car bombing which left four dead yesterday. On Tuesday night French jets targeted IS trenches around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, Le Drian said. While France planned to step up its campaign abroad, at home it reeled from the news that two of its nationals appeared in an IS video featuring the execution of 18 Syrian prisoners and US aid worker Peter Kassig. IS has carried out widespread atrocities since seizing control of large parts of Iraq and Syria, executing five Western hostages and hundreds of locals. Several of the militants appeared unmasked in the latest execution video and one foreigner, 22-year-old Maxime Hauchard from Normandy in northern France, was quickly identified by French prosecutors. He is one of several young French nationals from a middleclass, atheist or Catholic background to have converted to radical Islam and gone to fight in Syria, making a profile of potential militants nearly impossible to pin down, experts say. French prosecutors yesterday said there was “precise and consistent evidence” that a second national in the video was 22-yearold Mickael Dos Santos from an eastern Paris suburb, who goes by the name Abu Othman. Dos Santos, of Portuguese origin but born in the French riverside town of Champigny-surMarne, is believed to have left for Syria in the autumn of 2013. French intelligence was made aware of him after he published an online video in October calling for “all brothers living in France” to “kill any civilian” in retaliation for air strikes carried out by Paris against IS in Iraq. “The man concerned is known for his terrorist involvement in Syria and his violent behaviour shown on social networks,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, without confirming his identity. French authorities estimate around 1,000 nationals have taken part in the conflict, with 375 currently in the country. Valls said “close to 50” French people had been killed in Iraq and Syria. “So we know the dangers and, sadly, we are not surprised to learn that French citizens or residents of France are found at the heart of these cells and taking part in this barbarity,” he added. Thousands of foreign fighters have flocked to join IS in Iraq and Syria, and experts say they are often among the most violent and brutal of the militants. A British-accented militant nicknamed “Jihadi John” has been at the centre of previous IS beheading videos and appeared again in Sunday’s recording. Other known foreign fighters are believed to have appeared in the video, including an Australian and a Dane. A Belgian newspaper reported that one of the men featured in the video looked like Abdelmajid Gharmaoui, who is currently on trial in his absence in Belgium for membership of a militant group. French President Francois Hollande, on a visit to Australia, said the issue of foreign fighters and how they were being “brainwashed” was a major concern. Nibras, sister of Abdelrahman Shaludi, a Palestinian who killed two Israelis with his car last month, displays his portrait inside his family home in East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood after it was razed by Israeli authorities yesterday. East Jerusalem home is razed in crackdown The demolition comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a harsh response to a deadly attack on a Jerusalem synagogue AFP Jerusalem I srael yesterday demolished the home of a Palestinian behind a deadly car attack in Jerusalem, pushing ahead with a promised crackdown following a bloody assault on a synagogue. Four rabbis and a policeman were killed on Tuesday after two Palestinians wielding meat cleavers and a pistol launched a rare assault on a place of worship. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a harsh response to the synagogue assault, which was the bloodiest attack in Jerusalem in years. “I have ordered the destruction of the homes of the Palestinians who carried out this massacre and to speed up the demolitions of those who carried out previous attacks,” Netanyahu said late Tuesday. Hours later Israeli forces razed the East Jerusalem apartment of the family of Abdelrahman Shaludi, who rammed his car into a crowd of pedestrians on October 22, killing a young woman and a baby. Shaludi was shot by police as he fled the scene and later died of his wounds. Israel is struggling to contain a wave of unrest in annexed Arab East Jerusalem that has seen a growing number of deadly attacks by Palestinians. Israel has used punitive house demolitions for years in the West Bank but the policy was halted in 2005 after the army said it had no proven deterrent effect and was likely to encourage violence. Until now, razing homes has never been adopted as a matter of policy in East Jerusalem. The family home in the densely populated neighbourhood of Silwan was little more than a shell after the demolition, its inner and outer walls blown out and piles of rubble covering the floor. The family had moved out ahead of the demolition and were staying with relatives. “Where can we go now? We have nowhere to live, no home,” said Shaludi’s sister Nibras, a young teenager in a bright pink flowered headscarf. Israel’s decision to resume demolitions was taken on November 6 after a second car attack by a Palestinian that killed two Israelis. An official said the aim was “to restore calm in Jerusalem” following a wave of attacks. Human rights groups have denounced the practice as collective punishment targeting not the perpetrators but their families. And the US State Department warned last week that demolishing homes would be “counterproductive” and would “exacerbate an already tense situation” in Jerusalem. Israeli commentators too acknowledged a dispute over the effectiveness of the measure. “The Shin Bet (internal security service) contends that it deters, the army contends that it does not and that it could even have the opposite effect—it sows the seeds for the next terror attack,” wrote Nahum Barnea in Yediot Aharonot newspaper. “But all that is irrelevant, because the government... feels that it must show the public that it is punishing the other side.” Aside from the homes of the two Palestinians behind the synagogue attack, three more East Jerusalem apartments are earmarked for demolition in connection with a spate of attacks in the past three months. The latest wave of violence comes amid heightened tensions in the Holy City, fanned by Palestinian anger over right-wing Jews pressing to overturn a long-standing ban on their praying at the compound that houses the Al Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock. Israel approves 78 new settler homes Israel yesterday approved the construction of 78 new homes in two settlements on West Bank land annexed to Jerusalem, likely to aggravate Palestinian anger at a time when violence has flared. Jerusalem’s municipal planning committee authorised 50 new housing units in Har Homa and 28 in Ramot, a municipal spokeswoman said. Israel describes those two urban settlements as Jerusalem neighbourhoods. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said of the announcement: “These decisions are a continuation of the Israeli government’s policy to cause more tension, push towards further escalation and waste any chance to create an atmosphere for calm.” A taste of home for war-weary Syrians in Beirut AFP Beirut N ot long ago chef Abu Wassim saw himself as king of the shawarma in Damascus with students, businessmen and even actors queueing outside his stand for a bite of his succulent wraps. Today, he is a refugee in Beirut trying to make ends meet and bringing a taste of home to fellow Syrians who sought safety in Lebanon. “In Damascus, I used to sell 3,000 beef or chicken shawarma sandwiches a day,” the 48-yearold said wistfully while serving customers at his small restaurant in Beirut’s bustling Hamra district. “Here, I barely sell 250 but at least I am eking out a living,” he said. While in Syria he made a 50% profit on each sandwich, in Beirut he scrapes 15%. “Every day, I give away 40 wraps to the poor,” he added. “When a poor Syrian woman with three kids comes begging for help I can’t turn away.” His story is by no means unique in Lebanon where a number of Syrian restaurants and eateries have sprung up. On the menu are Aleppo’s famed cherry kebab, hindi kebab with tomato sauce and pomegranate molasses or a spicy red pepper dip known as mohammara—all aimed at winning over Lebanese taste buds or offering home comforts to Syrian exiles. With more than 1.1mn Syrian refugees, Lebanon has the most refugees per capita in the world, and the influx has created some resentment in a country of 4mn already facing economic and political challenges. Mindful of the strain on his host country, Abu Wassim said he buys all his ingredients in Lebanon and several of his employees are Lebanese. “I buy everything locally: the chicken, the meat, the spices,” he said. In the same district of Hamra, A Syrian musician plays the oud as clients eat Aleppan food at a Syrian restaurant in Beirut. another restaurant offers famed delicacies from Aleppo. Beit Halab, or Aleppo House, has become a sort of haven for those forced to flee Syria’s second city who come here to soak up the scents and aromas of home. “It reminds me of Aleppo. I even meet people from Aleppo here whom I had not seen for a very long time,” said Aisha, a blue-eyed 20-year-old wearing a white headscarf who fled to Beirut from Syria’s former economic hub. Beit Halab manager Mosaab Hadiri, who fled Aleppo seven months ago, can barely hold back the tears while looking at the pictures of his city that hang on the restaurant walls. “In Aleppo, restaurants would stay open until 4am. It breaks my heart to watch the news,” he said. But the mere sight of the dishes served at Beit Halab makes Hadiri’s eyes light up. Mouth-watering kebabs are on display here, including the Aleppo variant, served with salt and black pepper, as well as cherries. There is also the kheshkhash kebab served with red pepper and pine nuts as well as several types of kibbeh, a traditional meat and spice dumpling made with bulgur. One variant is cooked in yogurt, another is stuffed with quince. Here too, chefs have gone out of their way to adapt. “In order to penetrate the Leba- nese market, you have to offer something special, and the cuisine of Aleppo is definitely unique,” said Hadiri. “But we have also adapted to local tastes, and we use less fat here,” he chuckled. Like fellow restaurateurs, he has had to juggle with a steep increase in labour cost. In Syria he paid employees $10 a day, while in Lebanon it is $30. In east Beirut, the upscale Bab Sharqi restaurant attracts Lebanese clients on the lookout for new flavours. The popularity of cuisine from Aleppo and Damascus means that even Lebanese restaurants are hiring Syrian chefs, while local butchers have started to offer specialities from the war-torn country. But in spite of the success, Hadiri has only one wish—to return to Aleppo. “We cannot forget our roots,” he said. “The secret to our cuisine lies in the flavour, the mix of spices. “And nothing can replace the taste of home.” Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 13 AFRICA WILDLIFE MUTINY ELECTIONS INQUIRY INSURGENCY 12 children dead after hippo attack on boat Soldiers return to barracks after protests over pay Ruling party ‘playing politics with Boko Haram’ ‘Military plane was aircraft above stricken building’ More than 1.5mn flee Nigeria violence: UN Twelve children and a villager have been confirmed dead after a hippopotamus attacked a boat near the Niger capital Niamey earlier this week, officials said yesterday. The students, aged 12 to 13, died when their boat transporting them across the Niger River was flipped by a hippo on Monday. A number of students in the West African nation take such boats to attend school on the other side of the river. “Ultimately it was 12 students, including seven girls and five boys, who died after the attack,” Aichatou Oumani, minister of secondary education, told state television. A villager on the same boat was also killed, according to an official. Ivory Coast soldiers returned to their barracks yesterday after protests over a pay dispute in several cities that saw them storm a TV station and set up barricades, soldiers and residents said. The west African nation’s defence and interior ministers promised measures aimed at meeting the soldiers’ demands, and talks were set for later between government officials and military representatives. Tuesday’s protests sparked deep concern in the world’s largest cocoa exporter three years after the end of a long crisis that for a period split the country in two. “Calm has returned in the barracks and throughout the country,” a military officer said. Nigeria’s main opposition party yesterday accused the government of playing politics with Boko Haram, as it held its first major election rally. “The PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) is sacrificing our brothers, of our sisters, of our children for very selfish political ends,” said the All Progressives Congress national chairman, John Oyegun. Oyegun questioned why the military—West Africa’s largest—had failed to stop the Islamist insurgency and claimed it was because the three worst-affected states were all APC strongholds. “They (the PDP) have allowed the insurgents to take over substantially controlled APC states,” he told the rally. A mysterious aircraft that a popular Nigerian preacher linked to the collapse of a guesthouse at his Lagos megachurch was an air force plane, a coroner’s inquest was told yesterday. TB Joshua and officials at his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) have suggested the plane, which they claimed was “hovering” above the building, may have caused the tragedy. A total of 116 people were killed in the September 12 collapse, 81 of them South Africans. Police investigator Superintendent Olusola Agoi said enquiries, had shown that the aircraft was a military plane. “We have found out that the aircraft belongs to the NAF (Nigerian Air Force).” Growing violence by Islamist extremists has forced more than 1.5mn Nigerians to flee their homes and is deepening an already dire humanitarian situation in Nigeria, the UN warned yesterday. “Nigeria is without question of enormous concern,” said Robert Piper, who coordinates the UN’s humanitarian work in the Sahel region. He said the violence wreaked by the Islamist militants of Boko Haram was “generating more and more suffering, it is generating more and more displacement”. Nigeria has in the past six months alone seen the number of people displaced inside the country soar from 600,000 to around 1.5mn, he said, Close aide of former dictator is Burkina PM Young learners Reuters Ouagadougou B Schoolchildren hold black boards at a primary school in Bouake, central Ivory Coast. Weapons recovered in Kenya mosque raids The raids on mosques are extremely unpopular AFP Nairobi K enyan security forces yesterday carried out fresh raids on mosques in the port city of Mombasa searching for weapons and supporters of Somalia’s Shebaab militants, police said. Grenades, ammunition and petrol bombs were seized in raids on the Swafaa and Minaa mosques, taking the total to four mosques searched since Monday in the tense city, officers said. Local police chief Richard Ngatia said 110 people were arrested, adding to more than 250 arrested on Monday. “There was obviously a lot more than just prayers and sermons taking place,” he said. Security forces cordoned off streets around the mosque and soldiers patrolled the Kisuani district of the city, east Africa’s main port, an AFP reporter said. The action comes just two days after police raided and closed the Musa and Sakina mosques in the same city in a search for weapons and radical supporters of the Al Qaeda affiliated Shebaab. One person was shot dead as they tried to throw a grenade at police on Monday. Police seized hand grenades and a pistol, and arrested more than 250 people. Black Islamist flags, such as those flown by the Shebaab, were also found. Four people were stabbed to death in apparent revenge attacks on Monday, with gangs taking to the streets beating some and knifing others. “I want to make it clear that houses of worship cannot and shall not be taken over by criminals or used for criminal activities, including terrorism,” interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement late Tuesday. The raids have raised tensions in a city already hit by a string of bombings and shootings. Thirteen of those arrested on Monday have been charged with possession of explosive materials and pleaded not guilty. Others held in the mass arrests were still being questioned. “I want to assure Kenyans that this process will separate those with criminal intent from the innocent Kenyans who will be released immediately,” Lenku added. Hussein Khalid, from the Mombasabased civil society group HAKI Africa, warned yesterday that “forceful and violent strategies only act to heighten tension in what already is a volatile situation”. While accepting that grenades had been found, he also said police had a “reputation” among some Kenyans of planting evidence - claims the security forces have repeatedly denied. Police refusal to take off their shoes while entering mosques had angered many, he added. “It is very disturbing to note that the police are making it their modus operandi to raid places of worship and violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of worshippers,” he said. Western nations have warned their nationals to avoid all but essential travel to Mombasa, a key transport hub as well as an important tourist centre for the country’s Indian Ocean coastline. Kenya has suffered a series of attacks since invading Somalia in 2011 to attack the Shebaab, later joining an African Union force battling the Islamists. The Shebaab carried out the September 2013 attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall, killing at least 67 people as a warning to Kenya to pull its troops out of southern Somalia. Several Islamic preachers have been shot dead in Mombasa in recent years in alleged extra-judicial killings by security forces and power struggles between rival Muslim factions. Churches have also been attacked. “These operations have started and will go on until all places of worship especially mosques in Mombasa are set free from terrorist and criminal elements,” Robert Kitur, Mombasa county police commander, said. “We have been gathering intelligence for a long period, and it was time to act.” Police have arrested 376 people so far during the raids, which started on Sunday, but 91 were subsequently released for lack of evidence. Prosecutors said 158 would be charged with being members of Al Shebaab. Police said they were still considering what to do with the other detainees. urkina Faso’s transitional government named Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida as prime minister yesterday, four days after he restored the country’s constitution under pressure from the African Union and the West. Zida declared himself head of state on November 1 after mass protests toppled president Blaise Compaore who then fled the West African country. The African Union gave Zida two weeks to restore civilian rule or face economic sanctions. As prime minister, Zida, a large, bespectacled man with a trademark red beret, will help Burkina Faso’s newly appointed interim president, Michel Kafando, to appoint a 25-member government that will steer the country to new elections in 2015. Neither Kafando, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations, nor Zida will be allowed to take part in next year’s presidential election. Compaore triggered the protests against his rule last month when he tried to change the constitution and extend his 27-year grip on power. Compaore was a regional power broker and a key Western ally against Islamist militants. France has a special forces unit based in Burkina Faso as part of a regional counter-terrorism operation. The country has long been one of Africa’s cotton producers and is now also mining gold. Isaac Zida is a career soldier who emerged from the shadows following Blaise Compaore’s ouster. “We’re not here to steal ... power,” Lieutenant Colonel Zida said three weeks ago as he pledged a quick civilian transition after the military power grab that followed an uprising against Compaore. On Tuesday the former second-in-command of the presidential guard held his word, when former diplomat turned farmer Michel Kafando was sworn in as Burkina Faso’s interim president. But barely 24 hours later, Zida’s appointment as Kafando’s head of government—agreed between politicians and army leaders, according to a senior officer—ensured the army keeps its hand firmly on the wheels of power in the months ahead. The last three weeks tend to point to Zida as a man determined to shape the future of the poor landlocked nation of 17mn. He notably suspended local and regional councils and sacked two heads of state utilities for alleged sabotage. Neither Kafando nor Zida will be allowed to take part in elections A well-built 49-year-old Protestant with a moustache and frameless glasses, Zida up until now was a career soldier who had remained in the shadows. But after Compaore fled, the popular officer won the backing of the military to beat army chief Nabere Honore Traore to the top job, with his former boss considered too close to the deposed leader. “He’s a bon vivant who wouldn’t hesitate to swap his fatigues for a suit to go around the discos of Ouagadougou,” a source close to him said. Others describe him as steady, serious and reliable. He was one of the few presidential guards spared by mutineers who launched a failed coup in 2011 against Compaore, a military source and a rights activist told AFP. But some view him with suspicion over his ties with general Gilbert Diendere, who was Compaore’s chief of staff. “He is part of the same network as Diendere. Some don’t trust him,” one security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Zida hails from Yako, in the centre-north province of Passore, and was trained at the Commando Training Centre of Po—in the south of the west African country, according to one of his aides. He also received further military training in Morocco and Cameroon and has a masters in international management from Jean Moulin university in Lyon, France. Zida served as a UN peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a year from 2008, a member of his team told AFP, before travelling to the US to undergo anti-terrorist training in Florida. South Africa’s latest power struggle: unpaid bills Reuters Soweto, South Africa Z odwa Madiba has not paid an electricity bill in 14 years and is resolute she never will, holding the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to vague promises made in the dying days of apartheid to provide free electricity to all South Africans. Such defiance is widespread in the sprawling township of Soweto, crucible of the anti-apartheid struggle and home to 1.5mn people who, between them, owe state power utility Eskom 3.6bn rand ($327mn) in unpaid bills. Although the sum is dwarfed by the 225bn rand revenue shortfall Eskom says it faces over the next 4-5 years, it is important symbolically as the utility battles to raise money for new power stations needed to keep the lights on in Africa’s most advanced economy. Eskom generates almost all the electricity in South Africa, and nearly half that produced in the whole the sub-Saharan region. Prices are set by the energy regulator, but Eskom says it costs more to produce than what South Africans pay for it. Given Soweto’s history since the 1960s of militant activism—such as burning barricades, school boycotts and a systemic refusal to pay utility bills—locals are unlikely ever to pay up, setting a disturbing example for the rest of the country. Soweto owes more for electricity than the rest of the country put togeth- er, where arrears total just 2.6bn rand. “If you remember, when this government entered they said ‘Free electricity for all’. Tell me: what does that mean?” asks Madiba, a 57-year-old community activist and member of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee (SECC). Founded to counter the government’s refusal to deliver free or affordable electricity, the group says Sowetans continue to suffer from poverty and joblessness that linger 20 years after white rule ended. “At that time people were fighting apartheid, so they didn’t pay. Now, they just don’t have money. Young, old and middle aged, there are no jobs. People are depending on grants from their granny,” Madiba says. Under the ANC, millions of South Africans have escaped poverty through social welfare but the grants are weighing on government finances, especially as the economy stalls and one in four people remain without work. “At that time people were fighting apartheid, so they didn’t pay. Now, they just don’t have money. Young, old and middle aged, there are no jobs. People are depending on grants from their granny” Eskom is in something of a vicious cycle: without economic growth, powered by electricity, there will not be enough tax money for sustained social spending and to invest in infrastructure, including power generation. With Eskom in financial trouble, the government says all South Africans should do their bit, a message widely rejected in Soweto, where the SECC regularly reconnects—illegally—those whose power has been cut off. The utility says it has a plan to improve debt collection and get customers paying but declined to comment on Soweto’s history of institutionalised delinquency. Ten years ago it was forced to write off 1.4bn rand in debts owed by Sowetans, creating the impression for residents that they can get away with it. “That’s the bed Eskom made and they are starting to sleep in it. I don’t know what else you can actually do,” said economist Chris Hart at Johannesburg consultancy Investment Solutions. “People need to be paying for those services. It’s really as simple as that.” Eskom’s bad debts rose to 1.1% of revenue in 2013/14 from 0.82% the previous year, suggesting its billing plans have some way to go and emphasising the need for alternative funding. The government is injecting an extra 20bn rand into the utility, and may convert a 60bn rand loan into equity, but other funding options are narrowing fast. Moody’s cut Eskom’s credit rating to junk two weeks ago. “Eskom is not in a comfortable space because the credit rating agencies are looking at this and seeing there are multiple challenges at all levels,” Hart said. 14 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 AMERICAS Podcast murder mystery ‘Serial’ hooks fans on Net AFP Washington F or 15 years, nobody outside Maryland cared much about the murder of a South Korean-born high school teen, supposedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, the son of Pakistani immigrants. Now, it seems, everyone does. The perplexing tale of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed is at the heart of “Serial,” an hour-long weekly podcast that’s become an unlikely global Internet phenomenon. Fans speak of being “addicted” and “obsessed” with the pro- gramme. Those who caught the bug early can’t wait for Thursdays, when fresh instalments drop. Latecomers binge on past episodes. It’s been downloaded more than 5mn times from Apple’s iTunes store, where it’s a Top 10 hit in the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, India, South Africa and Germany. It can also be heard on the show’s www.serialpodcast.org website. Between episodes, online chatter rages on social media. Reddit hosts an exhaustive “Serial” discussion board. Bloggers speculate who’s telling the truth - and who might not be. “Serial” is a spin-off from “This American Life,” a longrunning and hip US public radio series that’s famous for quirky topics and laid-back story-telling style. Its runaway success - as a podcast, no less - has taken its creators by surprise. “We kind of expected to be in the sleepier realms of the podcast world,” senior producer Julie Snyder told AFP on Tuesday in a telephone interview from New York. “We were hoping for good numbers. But we were not at all expecting so many people listening and writing about the show and having a lot of interest about the show,” she said. “And it’s international. We didn’t plan for that at all.” “Serial” comes across as part investigative journalism, part police procedural, part soap opera, with a nod to the 19th century serialised novels of Charles Dickens and Emile Zola. Hae and Adnan - everyone in “Serial” is called by their first name by narrator and journalist Sarah Koenig - are high school sweethearts who keep their love a secret from their conservative immigrant families. In the opening episodes, both come across as bright all-American teenagers - popular, getting good grades, holding down part-time jobs, looking forward to prom night. But when romance turns to break-up, Adnan, overcome by anger, strangles Hae and, with a pal, buries her in a shallow grave, where a passerby finds her three weeks later. At least, that’s the version that prosecutors gave jurors at a sixweek trial that ended with Adnan getting a life sentence in a Maryland penitentiary, where he remains at the age of 32. Koenig revisits the case in forensic detail - interviewing witnesses who sometimes contradict themselves, pursuing neglected leads, chatting regularly by phone with the imprisoned Adnan, who maintains he is innocent. One “Serial” fan is Emily Best, an indie film crowdfunding consultant, who binged-listened to the first seven episodes while driving non-stop across the entire state of Kansas. When Thursday came around with episode eight, she told AFP by e-mail, “we were up early in the morning like junkies looking for a fix.” In California, teacher Michael Godsey revealed this week that he is using “Serial” in lieu of Shakespeare in his high school English class this semester. “In fact, it’s been more fun, more engaging, and more condu- cive to learning ... than anything written by Shakespeare, Joyce, or anybody else,” he wrote on his blog. “By far.” Unclear is whether “Serial” might turn up fresh material that would compel judicial authorities to reopen the case - and Snyder said that’s not the point of the show, either. “We’ve said from the beginning that we don’t know where it’s going to end,” she added, ahead of today’s release of episode nine. “Serial” is likely to run for about 12 episodes overall, but the producer cautioned: “We don’t know for sure, because we are still doing the reporting.” At least eight dead after massive US snowstorm The deadly storm may see as much as another 3ft of snowfall today, which could prompt a federal disaster declaration AFP New York A massive snowstorm stranded motorists, cancelled flights and left at least eight people dead in the northeastern US, officials said yesterday. Areas east and southeast of Buffalo, in northern New York state, could receive a year’s accumulation of snow or even more in just two days, Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters. The deadly storm may see as much as another 3ft (90cm) of snowfall today, which could prompt a federal disaster declaration, Poloncarz said. US media reported two other deaths in the states of New Hampshire and Michigan. Temperatures will remain below normal from the Midwest to the East Coast until the weekend, with all 50 states recording below freezing temperatures on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. A state of emergency and travel bans are in effect across Buffalo’s Erie County and authorities ordered people to stay at home to allow crews to clear roads, repair power lines and provide emergency assistance to the most vulnerable. The National Guard was called in to assist military Humvee vehicles after New York’s transportation department worked through the night to rescue stranded motorists and take people to shelters. “Still trapped yo! Haven’t really moved in 30 hours and we’ve been on the bus for nearly 40 hours. Nutso. Never seen anything like it” “Many communities are still in a very difficult, sometimes paralysed situation,” Poloncarz said. Three of those who died suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow and another person died while using a snowplough. “We’ve had six deaths in the area, five of which have been preventable,” said Erie county health commissioner Gale Burstein, urging residents to stay at home. County spokesman Peter Anderson said runways at Buf- falo Niagara International Airport were open, but that “a lot of flights” were being cancelled because people cannot get to the airport. Dave Zaff, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, said areas east and southeast of Buffalo city received upwards of 5ft (1.5m) of snow. “That is somewhat of an extreme event,” he said. “From a forecast standpoint, it will be historic. “The impact alone when you have hundreds of thousands of people stranded, roads closed everywhere, you start to get fatalities,” he said. “It becomes a very memorable event that people will never forget.” A women’s university basketball team was eventually rescued after spending more than 24 hours trapped in a bus on a highway. And New York-based rock band Interpol was among those trapped in the snowstorm outside Buffalo overnight, forcing them to cancel a concert across the Canadian border in Toronto. “Still trapped yo! Haven’t really moved in 30 hours and we’ve been on the bus for nearly 40 hours. Nutso. Never seen anything like it,” the band said on Twitter. A home and pick-up truck are covered in snow in a neighbourhood just south of Buffalo, following an overnight winter storm that dumped a reported 5ft (1.5m) of lake-effect snow on the area yesterday. A man shovels his way through nearly 5ft of snow in the Lakeview neighbourhood of Buffalo, New York yesterday. Man charged over NY subway death AFP New York A 34-year-old man has been arrested and charged with second degree murder for allegedly pushing a man to his death under a New York subway train, police said yesterday. The incident took place in the Bronx, where the victim, Wai Kuen Kwok, was waiting for the D train, at the 167th street stop, with his wife. The couple were headed to Chinatown, in lower Manhattan. Every year, dozens of people are killed by the subway in New York through accident or suicide Police had released a video of a suspect pushing the 61-year-old man from the platform on Sunday just as a train arrived in the station, shortly as his horrified wife watched helplessly. The victim and his attacker did not appear to know each other and had not argued, witnesses said. US media reported that the homeless suspect, Kevin Darden, has been arrested on more than 30 occasions. He was due to appear before a judge yesterday, said a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney. Darden was arrested on Tuesday outside his mother’s home in the Bronx. Police said he is also suspected of assaulting a 51-year-old man on a Manhattan subway platform on November 6. Darden was also arrested on November 9 for allegedly stealing a tourist’s wallet in Times Square, The New York Post reported. But he was released after the witness left the US. Every year, dozens of people are killed by the subway in New York through accident or suicide. However, this is first known incident of a person being pushed to his or her death on the tracks since December 2012, when two were killed in separate attacks. Times Square lit up by huge digital billboard AFP New York N ew York’s Times Square was illuminated by the world’s highest resolution video display screen of its size as the monitor - nearly as big as a football field - was switched on Tuesday evening. The first images broadcast from the enormous screen included a digital film featuring images of mountains, a bird, skyscrapers and bursts of colour accompanying a musical soundtrack. “We experienced tremendous pre-sale interest, and the display is sold out to one advertiser through January 2015” People look up at a giant new billboard that hangs below the Marriott Marquis when it is illuminated for the first time in Times Square in New York City on Tuesday. The new screen stands eight storeys tall and is nearly as long as a football field, spanning the entire block from 45th Street to 46th Street on Broadway. The panel, located on the side of a hotel, is intended for advertisements similar to those on dozens of other screens lining the bustling New York crossroads. The new screen stands eight storeys tall and is nearly as long as a football field, spanning the entire block from 45th Street to 46th Street on Broadway. Hundreds of tourists braved the frigid temperatures to see the screen come to life, snapping photos of the digital billboard that spans the length of a city block. But as “the highest resolution LED video display in the world of this size,” it will produce “deep, rich black levels and unsurpassed vertical viewing angles,” said Clear Channel Spectacolor, which sells advertising for the space. The 24mn-pixel display measuring more than 25,000 sq ft (2,320 sq m) - will feature digital art by Universal Everything studio until Google takes over with ads on Monday until the new year. “We experienced tremendous pre-sale interest, and the display is sold out to one advertiser through January 2015,” said Harry Coghlan, president of Clear Channel Outdoor New York. The giant screen is also connected to high-definition crowd cameras to film spectators and possibly broadcast them live. The company did not disclose the price of leasing the screen, but the New York Times placed the figure at more than $2.5mn for four weeks. Hundreds of thousands of people - New Yorkers and tourists alike - walk through Times Square each day. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 15 AMERICAS St. Louis area on edge ahead of grand jury report Reuters Ferguson, Missouri A St. Louis suburb that faced weeks of sometimes violent protests following August’s fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman remained on edge yesterday as it waited to learn if the officer would face charges. A grand jury has been meeting for nearly three months, considering whether to indict Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, an incident that laid bare long-simmering racial tensions in the mostly black city. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Tuesday named a panel of 16 commissioners to develop solutions to the deep-seated socioeconomic disparities in and around Ferguson. “This commission is not focused so much on changing hearts as on changing behaviors and we plan to do this by push- ing through very aggressively legislation to change the way law enforcement acts,” said Reverend Traci Blackmon, one of the newly named members of the Ferguson Commission. Nixon has declared a state of emergency ahead of the grand jury’s report, which officials said would likely come this month and that many expect to provoke another wave of protests. Nixon has defended the emergency declaration, which some called heavy-handed, particu- larly given that protests in recent days had been peaceful. The state of emergency allows the National Guard to deploy to the St. Louis area. Officials said Guard members will not play a front-line role in interacting with protesters. “For him to put Missouri into a state of emergency, to me it’s a declaration of war on the protesters,” a local activist and rapper who goes by the name T-Dubb-O said on a media conference call organised by activists. “We’ll be treated as third-class citizens again when this decision is released and they don’t like what we are doing.” St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay asked for 400 National Guard troops to be deployed to his city, to work in alternating 12-hour shifts at 45 locations around the city, St. Louis Public Radio reported. “We will not try to disrupt, minimise, or in any way impede our constituents’ constitutionally protected right to assemble and speak freely,” Slay wrote in a letter to the city’s Board of Alderman, a copy of which the broadcaster posted online. “Our primary missions are to keep people safe, protect property and safeguard constitutional rights.” Troops have not been visible on the streets of Ferguson since Nixon declared a state of emergency. St. Louis officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials said local police had been through conflict de-escala- tion training since August, after being criticised for using tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters who at times threw rocks and gasoline bombs. Activist leaders have also been training potential protesters in nonviolent civil disobedience techniques. There are conflicting accounts of what preceded the Aug. 9 shooting of Brown, with some witnesses contending he had raised his hands in surrender and others describing a struggled between the teen and Wilson. Obama set to announce immigration plan today Reuters Washington P resident Barack Obama is set today to outline a controversial plan to relax US immigration policy and grant relief from deportation to as many as 5mn undocumented immigrants in a go-it-alone move that will deepen a partisan divide with Republicans. Sources close to the administration said the rollout would include a televised speech by Obama tonight laying out the plan followed by a trip to Las Vegas tomorrow to build support. Nevada is home to the highest proportion of undocumented immigrants in the country. The White House declined to comment on the specific timing of the announcement but officials have made clear Obama was planning to take executive action soon. Some conservative Republicans have threatened to try to thwart the immigration move by imposing funding restrictions in a must-pass spending bill, which could conceivably raise the possibility of a government shutdown. Frustrated by years of congressional inaction on what most in Washington agree is a broken immigration system, Obama is planning to issue a reprieve from deportation that will cover some parents of US citizens and legal permanent residents. That initiative would expand on a 2012 executive order by the president that gave relief from deportation and work permits to undocumented children brought to the US by their parents. There is also expected to be a border security element and Obama will act to help companies hire and retain high-skilled workers from abroad, the sources said. “We’ve identified a number of ways that we will (fix the system) which the president will speak to in the coming days,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said at a National Press Club event yesterday. Obama’s move, coming little more than two weeks after elections in which Republicans seized the Senate, is certain to provoke a backlash and House of Representatives Republicans are weighing a range of responses. Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement: “If ‘Emperor Obama’ ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for congressional action on this issue and many others.” Visas expansion for foreign graduates in technology industry Bloomberg Washington P resident Barack Obama will let more foreign graduates of US colleges with scientific and engineering backgrounds temporarily work in the country, partially addressing technology industry leaders’ desire for more skilled employees. Obama will expand a programme that now allows foreign graduates in science, technology, engineering and maths fields to work in the US for up to 29 months, said a person familiar with the White House plan. The expansion is among executive actions Obama plans to take as soon as today. Technology executives have focused their lobbying on raising the number of longer-term visas for skilled workers, a provision that is included in immigration legislation stalled in the House. “Speak to anyone in Silicon Valley, and they will tell you there’s a talent shortage,” said Vivek Wadhwa, a fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University in California. “Silicon Valley is starved for talent.” Between 100,000 and 200,000 people are working in the US under the temporary Optional Training Programme that Obama plans to expand, according to Wadhwa. That compares to about 750,000 on the long-term H-1B visa programme that the legislation stalled in Congress would increase. The person familiar with Obama’s plans declined to provide details on the scale or terms of the visa expansion in the president latest plans. Enlarging the temporary programme “is not a solution, it’s just another Band-Aid,” Wadhwa said. “We’re creating more of a mess with all of these people who are in this limbo state.” Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild, an activist group that opposes laws that allow tech companies to employ cheaper foreign workers, said the expansion would hurt job prospects of native-born students receiving technical degrees. Even new graduates from the best schools have a tough time finding jobs, since there are only so many entry-level positions, Berry said. Unlike the H-1B visa programme, companies aren’t required to pay prevailing industry wages to foreign workers employed through the temporary training programme. Democratic Congressman from Illinois Luis Gutierrez delivers remarks during a press conference in front of the White House in Washington, DC, yesterday. Keystone XL pipeline bill dies in US Senate The US Senate has rejected by a single vote a bill that would have approved construction of the Keystone XL pipeline Reuters Washington A bill to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline failed in the US Senate on Tuesday, sparing President Barack Obama from an expected veto of legislation that several fellow Democrats supported. The measure fell just short of the 60 votes needed for passage, despite frantic lastminute lobbying by supporters, especially Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who faces a runoff election on Dec. 6. She has staked her hopes of winning a fourth Senate term on the Keystone gambit. The tally was 59 to 41 on TransCanada Corp’s $8bn project, with all 45 Republicans supporting the bill. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who will become Senate Majority Leader in January after his party made big gains in this month’s midterm elections, said after the vote that consideration of a Key- stone bill would be “very early up” in the next congress. Obama opposed the Keystone bill and wants the State Department to finish its review of the pipeline. He has said he would not approve the pipeline if it significantly raised greenhouse gas emissions. If the bill had passed, Obama was widely expected to veto it, a power he has used only three times during his six years in office. Obama raised new questions about the project during a trip to Asia late last week, saying it would not lower gas prices for US drivers but would allow Canada to “pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else.” Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, who co-sponsored the Keystone bill with Landrieu, has pledged to keep trying to force approval of the project that the administration has kept under review for more than six years. Hoeven may introduce a new bill in January or February, or he could attach a Keystone measure to a broader bill that Obama would find difficult to veto. The Senate will have 63 “yes” votes for Keystone next year and is “starting to coast” to the 67 that would be needed US Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) speaks after the vote on the Keystone XL pipeline failed to pass the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. to overturn an Obama veto, Hoeven predicted. “Getting to that magic number is a possibility,” he said. Despite the loss, Landrieu was upbeat. “There’s no blame, there’s only joy in the fight,” she told reporters. Construction workers, unions and energy companies say the pipeline, which would transport more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to Nebraska en route to the Gulf of Mexico, would create thousands of jobs. But the project has galvanised environmentalists who say developing Canada’s oil sands would spike carbon emissions linked to climate change and that much of the oil would be sold abroad. Tom Steyer, thebnaire ex hedge-fund manager who raised millions of dollars to support environmentallyminded candidates in the midterm elections, said the Senate “decided to stand on the right side of history.” The State Department has delayed a final decision on Keystone pending a legal decision in Nebraska over the pipeline’s route that is expected in coming weeks. The department has said in previous reviews that Keystone would not significantly boost greenhouse gas emissions. Tuesday vote was taken hard in Canada where development of the oil sands is important to Alberta’s budget. “We are disappointed that US politics continue to delay a decision on Keystone XL,” a spokesman for Canada’s Natural Resources Minister said via e-mail. Russ Girling, the chief executive of TransCanada, said his company will not give up: “We will continue to push for reason over gridlock, common sense over symbolism and solid science over rhetoric to approve Keystone XL and unlock its benefits.” TransCanada, which has already built a pipeline from the Gulf Coast that would connect with Keystone XL in Nebraska, says the new link would take two years to complete once approved. As oil prices have fallen more than 25% since the summer, the pipeline could be an increasingly important piece of the puzzle for development of the oil sands. TransCanada shares closed down 57 Canadian cents at C$56 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Netflix postpones Cosby special amid scandal AFP Los Angeles A planned Bill Cosby special on Netflix has been postponed, the video streaming service said late Tuesday amid mounting claims the respected US entertainer assaulted a string of women over the years. “At this time we are postponing the launch of the new stand- up comedy special Bill Cosby 77,” Netflix said in a statement. People magazine said the Netflix special was supposed to be a birthday celebration for Cosby, in which he would share stories from his childhood, first romantic relationships and parenthood. But allegations of rape and sexual abuse made against him by several women in recent weeks are tarnishing the public image of the urbane actor, famous for his long TV career, especially his role in the selftitled Cosby Show in the 1980s and 1990s. Cosby’s silent shake of the head on Saturday when asked if he wanted to address the allegations during an interview on US National Public Radio only intensified the attention focused on him. In one of the most recent charges to be made public, a woman claimed in an editorial on Sunday that she was drugged and raped by him in 1969. In a statement on the veteran comedian’s website, lawyer John Schmitt said Cosby would make no comment on the wave of claims against him. Cosby has been at the center of a storm since comedian Hannibal Buress branded him a “rapist” during a stand-up show in Philadelphia last month. A scheduled appearance by Cosby on the Late Show with David Letterman was cancelled as the entertainer faced a barrage of accusations. The Washington Post newspaper last week published a detailed account by actress Barbara Bowman of alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of Cosby when she was a starryeyed teenager in 1985. A total of 13 women who made similar accusations against Cosby have also offered to testify against him, according to US reports. 16 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 ASEAN Rebels say 22 recruits dead in army attack AFP Yangon E thnic minority Kachin rebels in the far north of Myanmar said 22 of their troops were killed in an army heavy artillery attack yesterday, amid foundering efforts to reach a nationwide peace deal. The barrage also injured 15 when it hit fighters at a training camp near the rebel stronghold town of Laiza, a spokesman for group said, in the largest attack in recent months in a conflict that has uprooted tens of thousands of people and tempered optimism over political reforms. “It’s the biggest loss for us in a single attack, compared with the fighting in recent years,” said La Nan, of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government has said negotiating a historic nationwide ceasefire is a central pillar of reforms that have seen the country open to the world since the end of outright military rule in 2011. But talks to end the country’s multiple conflicts in ethnic minority border areas have so far ended in frustration. The government has inked ceasefires with 14 of the 16 major armed ethnic groups, but deals with the KIA and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in eastern Shan state have proved elusive. The last round of meetings in late September ended without resolution, with fighting ongoing in Kachin and clashes flaring in a number of eastern border regions. According to the UN, some 100,000 people have been displaced in remote, resourcerich Kachin since a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the rebels broke down in June 2011. Peace negotiator Hla Maung Shwe, at the Yangon-based Myanmar Peace Centre, said he had been informed of the attack and the group had sent information to the government. “We are trying to reduce this kind of fighting,” he said. 200 Malaysians held over illegal fishing Reuters Jakarta I ndonesia yesterday detained 200 Malaysians found fishing illegally in its waters, as it moves to stem billions of dollars in economic losses, a senior government official told Reuters. A crackdown on illegal fishing, which costs the vast archipelagic nation around $25bn a year, kicked off this week, Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto told Reuters in a rare interview. The drive is likely to spark tension with countries in the region, as new President Joko Widodo adopts a more assertive stance on the maritime sector of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. “The president has said our maritime sector is in a state of emergency...so we need a new, bold approach and that’s why he’s declared a war on illegal fishing,” said Widjajanto, an expert on defence and foreign affairs. “We are trying to send a clear message to our neighbours like Malaysia and China, which operate illegal ships in our territory, that this is not a normal situation for us.” Widjajanto said he expected at least 300 more illegal fishermen to be detained in the next few days. The comments follow strong rhetoric from Widodo, who called this week for foreign ships to be sunk if they were discovered sailing without permission in Indonesian waters. Striking a pose Miss Universe Malaysia 2015 candidates pose during their official announcement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Seventeen women will be competing to win a spot to represent Malaysia at the Miss Universe pageant to be held in 2015. Five Thai students detained for Hunger Games salute AFP Bangkok F ive Thai students were detained yesterday after flashing the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games films during a speech by the premier, officials said, in the latest crackdown on opposition to May’s coup. The students brandished the gesture, an unofficial symbol of resistance against the military regime, as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha delivered a speech on his first official visit to the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, a stronghold of the opposition “Red Shirt” street movement. Officials removed the students from the venue after they whipped off sweaters to reveal T-shirts displaying Thai letters spelling out “No Coup” and flashed the three-fingered salute, according to public broadcaster Thai PBS. “We handed over the five students to army officials,” said Jitjaroon Srivanit, commander of Khon Kaen provincial police. A military official, who did not want to be named, confirmed that the students had been detained. “They have been taken to a military camp,” he said. Political assemblies of more than five people were banned under martial law declared by then-army chief Prayut two days before he ousted the kingdom’s caretaker government on May 22. Prayut, who is head of the ruling junta and prime minister, retired as army chief in September. Since seizing power the military has suspended democracy and curtailed freedom of expression in the kingdom, responding aggressively to any form of protest. In June, police arrested a lone student reading George Orwell’s anti-authoritarian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and eating a sandwich, while others have previously been detained for displaying the three-fingered salute. Deputy government spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said Prayut was “unaffected” by the incident “because they are youth”. “People can think differently but should not quarrel with each other,” Sunsern said. Sasinan Thamnithinan, a human rights lawyer, said that in return for their release the students had been asked to sign undertakings not to engage in political activity — on threat of expulsion from the law faculty at Khon Kaen University, where they study. It was not immediately clear if the five were later released. The military claims it was forced to seize power in Thailand after nearly seven months of political street protests which left nearly 30 people dead and hundreds of others wounded. But critics accuse the junta of using the unrest as a pretext to curb the political dominance of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his allies, who have won every election in more than a decade. Thailand’s long-running political conflict broadly pits a Bangkok-based middle class and royalist elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against rural and workingclass voters — many of whom are part of the Red Shirt movement — loyal to Thaksin. Khon Kaen is in the Red Shirt heartland of northern Thailand where Thaksin is broadly admired for his pro-poor policies. Suu Kyi party admits cannot Indonesian capital gets Christian leader win fight to change constitution AFP Yangon AFP Jakarta A A Christian was inaugurated yesterday as governor of the Indonesian capital for the first time in 50 years, despite weeks of protests from hardliners in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also the first person from the country’s tiny ethnic Chinese minority to become leader of Jakarta, was sworn in at a ceremony by President Joko Widodo. He replaces Widodo, who took office as head of state last month, and like the president was a political outsider without deep roots in the era of dictator Suharto. The emergence of leaders such as Widodo and Purnama has been praised as a sign that democratic reforms introduced after the end of authoritarian rule in 1998 have taken root. Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, was Widodo’s deputy and has been acting governor for several months. However his appointment has not been smooth, with hardline groups staging regular protests against an “infidel” taking over as governor and political op- Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (left) is greeted by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo after his swearing-in at the Presidential palace. ponents in the city council attempting to block his inauguration. But the hot-headed, straighttalking governor has shrugged off the challenges to his leadership. “You can’t make everybody happy,” he said after his inauguration. The tall, bespectacled politician promises a starkly different style to his predecessor. While Widodo, known by his nickname Jokowi, took a gentle, persuasive approach, Purnama is famed for his angry outbursts at bumbling officials. Despite the opposition from groups, many Jakarta residents support the governor. They believe it takes a strong leader to fix the problems of the capital, which include a threadbare public transport system, inadequate flood defences and an inefficient bureaucracy. Scores of people headed to city hall to show their support for the new governor yesterday, with a banner that read: “Congratulations on the inauguration of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama”. Having an ethnic Chinese city governor also represents progress in Indonesia, as the minority suffered severe discrimination in the Suharto years. ung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party admitted yesterday it cannot win its fight to change a constitutional provision barring her from Myanmar’s presidency, as the powerful military signalled strong opposition to such amendments. In a fresh blow to democracy campaigners after authorities in the former junta-run nation ruled out major constitutional change before crucial 2015 elections, the party said it did not have the power to push through reforms in the face of an effective army veto. Parliament has been gripped by a series of fierce debates over the constitution that have highlighted the glaring divide between reformers from civilian parties and their counterparts in army uniform, who hold a quarter of all seats. “Calculate the ratio mathematically. We cannot win (the fight to change key sections of the constitution),” opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win said, listing both the clause that bars Suu Kyi and one that gives the military the final say on amendments. Spokesman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Nyan Win talks during an interview at the party headquarters in Yangon yesterday. Parliamentary representatives of the military have spoken out in unprecedented numbers in recent days, voicing staunch opposition to any change that would threaten their position in the legislature. “So why are we working for it? Because we believe in democracy,” added Nyan Win, in some of the party’s most downbeat remarks on a charter which many believe was specifically designed to thwart Suu Kyi’s political rise. Legislators will choose a new president after the general election in November 2015, which is seen as a key test of the country’s emergence from outright military rule. Suu Kyi’s NLD is expected to win if polls are free and fair. But the veteran democracy campaigner cannot stand for the top post because a clause in the constitution, 59f, bans those with a foreign spouse or children. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband. US President Barack Obama last week raised concerns about the clause, saying “the amendment process needs to reflect inclusion rather than exclusion.” Parliament speaker Shwe Mann said Tuesday a referendum would be held next May on major charter amendments approved by parliament after the current debates. But he said it would be impossible to implement changes until after the election. The NLD earlier this year gained 5mn signatures on a petition to remove the army’s veto on constitutional change. Nyan Win said the party would keep campaigning for change and had a back-up plan, although he declined to elaborate on it. Activists at the NLD’s Yangon headquarters appeared unfazed earlier yesterday, selling Suu Kyi T-shirts and trinkets as normal. But Myanmar media sounded the alarm. “Is Suu Kyi admitting defeat?” asked the news website Democratic Voice of Burma. The political prisonerturned-politician yesterday told reporters on the sidelines of the parliamentary debate in the capital Naypyidaw that she accepted Shwe Mann’s amendment timetable as “normal procedure”. “We just want the military to be more in line with democratic standards,” she added. Myanmar’s parliament is dominated by the military and the army-backed ruling party. Soldiers owe their place in the legislature to the controversial 2008 constitution, which was drawn up by the then-junta as it kept critics and opposition activists locked up. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 17 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA TRAGEDY DISHONOURED RARE FIND EARLY ELECTIONS SCARY FIND 11 kids die in ‘overloaded’ minivan crash in China Aboriginal remains to be brought back home South Korean meteorites as old as the solar system Japan defends poll over ‘waste of money’ criticism Great white shark found dead at Sydney beach Eleven Chinese children were killed when an “overloaded” minivan taking them to nursery collided with a lorry. Online images showed young children’s bodies packed into a vehicle, engulfed by sand and with its roof crushed by the large tipper truck that had shed its load over it. The female driver also died in the collision in the eastern province of Shandong, the local television station said, adding that three other children were injured. “This model of vehicle should only take five passengers,” the Beijing News said, while Xinhua cited police saying it was designed for eight passengers “but was overloaded at the time of the accident”. France and Australia agreed yesterday to work together to help repatriate the remains of Aboriginal people held in French public collections. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and French President Francois Hollande said their nations would open a consultation on how to return the human remains. The process would “respect the sensitivities and values of the two countries and consider the requests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as well as the specific framework of the French legal system,” they said in a joint statement. Aboriginal leaders regard the removal of the remains as an insult to their culture and have campaigned for years to have them returned. South Korean scientists said yesterday that four meteorites discovered in the southern part of the country earlier this year are estimated to be as old as the solar system. In early March, residents in Jinju, a city some 434km south of Seoul, found the space rocks that weighed 34kg, a rare discovery in the country. Announcing the results of its months-long analysis, the Korea Basic Science Institute said the rocks appear to be between 4.48bn to 4.59bn years old, or about the age of our solar system at 4.56bn years. It suggests that the rocks are most definitely from space, marking the first meteorites owned by South Koreans. Japan’s government yesterday hit back against charges of profligacy over the $500mn cost of a general election Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called, more than two years ahead of schedule. Critics jumped on the wastefulness of a nationwide vote less than two years into a four-year term, with many pointing to Japan’s mountainous national debt and its still-ruined coastline, more than three years after a massive tsunami hit. The government “should launch economic policies... rather than spending 60bn yen ($512mn) on the election,” said Keiichiro Asao, head of the minor opposition Your Party. Swimmers at Australia’s most famous beach, Bondi, were given a scare yesterday when a great white shark was pulled from the nets that are designed to keep them safe. Fisheries officials said the 2.5m long shark was dead when they hauled it onto a boat during thrice-weekly inspections. “The shark was found during routine inspections by specialist contractors who carry out operations as part of the New South Wales shark meshing programme,” the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries said. The great white would be examined “as is practice for some sharks as part of national and international research projects”, it added. HK protesters try to break into parliament AFP Hong Kong A protester falls to the ground after being chased by riot police outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong yesterday. legislative building in the downtown Admiralty district, after a court granted an order to remove obstructions. The break-in was the clearest sign yet that a small faction of protesters wants to ramp up rather than scale down action after the court-backed bailiffs’ action at Admiralty. The execution of a second injunction ordering the clearance of a protest site in the Mongkok district on Hong Kong’s Kowloon peninsula is expected within days. Although that area is smaller, it has been the focal point of violence between police, protesters and opponents of the demonstrators in the last few weeks. “I think we should all move to occupy inside government headquarters,” a 23-year-old protester who gave his surname as Wong told AFP in Mongkok. “In Taiwan, activists occupied the parliament on the first day. Now we have been sleeping out here for 50-odd days before we actually do it,” he added, referring to a sit-in by Taiwanese students opposed to a trade pact with China. “Nothing has been achieved at Admiralty,” said 18-year-old Saki Australia dumps thousands of refugees in Indonesia Reuters Sydney/Jakarta A AFP Tokyo A H ong Kong police clashed yesterday with pro-democracy demonstrators after a small group tried to break into the city’s legislature, as splits emerged within the movement before the expected clearance of protest camps. The clashes were sparked when around a dozen masked protesters smashed their way through a side entrance of the Legislative Council (LegCo) building in the early hours, using metal barricades as battering rams. Around 100 police then moved to disperse the front lines of hundreds of protesters in helmets and waving umbrellas, a symbol of their movement. Officers used pepper spray and batons in an angry confrontation. Police said three officers were injured during the scuffles and six arrests made. The government of the semi-autonomous Chinese city said “severe damage” was caused, and joined police in condemning the violence. The incident was widely reported on the Chinese mainland. At least one demonstrator managed to get into the building, according to the Apple Daily newspaper. A regular session yesterday of the chamber was cancelled and visitor tours were suspended. Demonstrators have been camped on three major Hong Kong thoroughfares for more than seven weeks, demanding free elections for the city’s next leader. But public support has ebbed as the weeks pass with little progress. Beijing insists that candidates for the 2017 vote for the city’s top post must be vetted by a loyalist committee - an arrangement the protesters say will ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge. Authorities moved on Tuesday to take down some barricades at the main protest camp, near the ‘Black widow’ with seven dead partners arrested by Japan police ustralia’s conservative government yesterday defended its decision to stop asylum seekers passing through Indonesia from settling in Australia, a move that could leave Indonesia with thousands of refugees from the Middle East. The government announced late on Tuesday that asylum seekers who registered with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Indonesia after July 1 would no longer be eligible for resettlement in Australia. Australia will continue to resettle some refugees who registered earlier, but it has cut the number of allocations, making for a much longer waiting period in Indonesia before being resettled. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the new rules were designed to stop the flow of asylum seekers from Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan into Indonesia. “We’re taking the sugar off the table,” Morrison told ABC Radio. “People smugglers are smuggling people into Indonesia for the purpose of trying to get resettlement in Australia.” Indonesia’s foreign ministry said the only way to halt people smuggling was through a “comprehensive approach” that included the origin, transit and destination countries. “What’s clear is that this is Austral- ia’s policy and it will be implemented by them alone,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene told reporters in Jakarta. Indonesia would take “necessary measures” if Australia’s move sparked a rise in asylum-seekers staying in Indonesia, he added, but declined to outline the measures. Australia and Indonesia resumed intelligence and military cooperation just three months ago after a months-long rift over Australian spying on former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and other top Indonesian officials. The number of asylum seekers reaching Australia pales in comparison with other countries but it is a polarising political issue, on which Prime Minister Tony Abbott campaigned heavily before last year’s election win. The UNHCR had recorded 10,623 asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia, awaiting resettlement as of April, when about 100 people were registering at its Jakarta office each week. Morrison declined to say whether Abbott and Indonesian President Joko Widodo discussed the change at the weekend G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane, but said Indonesia was “fully appraised” of the decision before it was made public. “We are happy to work with Indonesia in any way we can to reduce the number of people in Indonesia, but not through the process of encouraging more people to come to Indonesia because they think they will get a visa to Australia,” he said. Tin, who said she supported the group who attempted the break-in. “Sitting here is not a solution”. The protests have largely been peaceful but have been punctuated by clashes, and police used tear gas on large crowds on the first day, September 28. Student protest leaders said after the latest confrontation that their movement was committed to non-violence, while a pro-democrat legislator said he believed the group was not representative of the majority. “It’s not something we like to see... We call on occupiers to stick firm to peaceful and non-violent principles and be a responsible participant of the umbrella movement,” said 21-year-old Lester Shum of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. Occupy Central, a separate prodemocracy group, said it “strongly condemns” the use of violence. Lawmaker Fernando Cheung, who witnessed the clashes, told AFP: “I am truly angry about what happened last night... I believe those people who are involved smashing the (entrance) were not the mainstay of the movement. I don’t know them myself.” 67-year-old millionaire was arrested yesterday on suspicion of poisoning her husband with cyanide as it emerged six former partners had already died, in Japan’s latest apparent “black widow” case. Chisako Kakehi has been the beneficiary of a combined 800mn yen ($6.8mn) over the last two decades, Jiji Press said - insurance money and other assets she received after the seven men’s deaths. Husband number four Isao Kakehi fell sick suddenly at home and was confirmed dead at a hospital in December last year, less than two months after the couple married. An autopsy found highly toxic cyanide compounds in his blood. That came after the September death of a 75-year-old boyfriend, who fell suddenly ill after the couple ate together at a restaurant, Jiji said. Kakehi’s dalliance with death began in 1994 when her first husband passed away at the age of 54. In 2006, her second husband, whom she had met through a dating agency, died of a stroke aged 69, while the third marriage ended in 2008 with the death of her 75-yearold partner, Jiji said. A boyfriend, believed to have been suffering from some form of cancer, died a year later, and in 2012 her then-fiance met his fate after collapsing while riding a motorbike. Traces of cyanide were detected in his body, media reports said. Kakehi was arrested by police in Kyoto on suspicion of murdering her latest husband. She has denied any involvement in his death. “We suspect she did it for money,” a police investigator on the latest death said without giving details of the amount involved. Police are now working on the theory that she could have been behind the deaths of at least some of the other six. “We can’t say how many now... Given their advanced age, we have to proceed carefully to judge whether their deaths were actually the result of foul play or not,” the investigator told AFP by phone. Questioned by reporters earlier this year, former bank worker Kakehi protested her innocence. “If people suspect murder, I’d find it easier to bite my tongue off and die,” she told reporters in March. Jiji Press quoted her as saying in an earlier interview that she was “doomed by fate” to suffer a series of deaths among those close to her, and protesting that she had no access to poison. If she is found to have been involved in the deaths of numerous partners, Kakehi will become the latest example in Japan of a “black widow”, named for the female spider that devours its mate after coupling. In 2012, Kanae Kijima was sentenced to hang for the murders of three men, aged 41, 53 and 80, whom she met through Internet dating sites. Kijima, who was at one time a paid-for mistress, poisoned her victims with carbon monoxide by burning charcoal briquettes after drugging them with sleeping tablets. She is in jail awaiting the outcome of an appeal to the supreme court. UN pushes N Korea ‘crimes against humanity’ probe AFP United Nations T he UN on Tuesday adopted a landmark resolution condemning North Korean rights abuses and laying the groundwork for putting the Pyongyang regime in the dock for crimes against humanity. A resolution asking the Security Council to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court passed by a resounding vote of 111 to 19 with 55 abstentions in a General Assembly human rights committee. North Korea reacted angrily to the vote and announced that it was breaking off talks on improving human rights with the European Union, which drafted the resolution with Japan. The non-binding measure will go to the full General Assembly for a vote next month. But it remains an open question whether the Security Council will follow up on the resolution and seek to refer North Korea to the ICC, with China - Pyongyang’s main ally - and Russia widely expected to oppose such a move. Both China and Russia voted against the resolution on Tuesday along with Cuba, Iran, Syria, Belarus, Venezuela, Uzbekistan and Sudan, who complained that the measure unfairly targeted North Korea. However, an amendment presented by Cuba to scrap the key provisions on asking the Security Council to consider referring North Korea to the Hague-based ICC, was defeated. Co-sponsored by more than 60 countries, the resolution drew heavily on the work of a UN inquiry which concluded in a 400-page report released in February that North Korea was committing human rights abuses “without parallel in the contemporary world.” Russian President Vladimir Putin and new North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyun-joon attend a ceremony to hand over credentials at the Kremlin in Moscow yesterday. The year-long inquiry heard testimony from North Korean exiles and documented a vast network of harsh prison camps holding up to 120,000 people along with cases of torture, summary executions and rape. Responsibility for these violations lies at the highest level of the secretive state, according to the inquiry led by Australian judge Michael Kirby, who concluded that the atrocities amounted to crimes against humanity. North Korea’s representative warned of farreaching consequences over the vote, and in particular declared that it was now compelled “not to refrain any further from conducting nuclear tests.” “The sponsors and supporters of the draft resolution should be held responsible for all the consequences as they are the ones who have destroyed the opportunity and conditions for human rights cooperation,” said Sin So Ho. North Korea had launched a diplomatic offensive in recent months to prevent the resolution from moving forward, meeting for the first time with the UN rights rapporteur and extending an invitation for him to visit. In the final days of intense diplomacy over the text, the European Union introduced a minor amendment welcoming Pyongyang’s offer to allow the fact-finding mission and talks with the UN rights office. In an apparent move to prevent the measure from going any further, North Korea dispatched a senior official, Choe Ryong-Hae, to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, whose country holds veto power in the Security Council. Human rights groups welcomed the outcome of the vote. Many said it put pressure on the 15-member council to follow up with action on accountability from the North Korean regime. “Today’s General Assembly resolution affirms the need for a tribunal to address the North Korean government’s unspeakable crimes,” said Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth. “The Security Council should follow up by referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court to investigate the long list of crimes against humanity.” “Finally, the UN has sent the message today that North Korean rulers who starve and enslave their own people must be held accountable,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based organization. “This is a powerful boost to millions of victims suffering in what is arguably the worst situation of human rights abuse on the planet,” he said. UN Watch quoted North Korean defector Ahn Myeong Cheol who said the resolution will have an impact in his country “as the people there will learn that their leader is a criminal.” The resolution makes no mention of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-Un, but notes the UN inquiry finding that the “highest level of the state” holds responsibility for the rights abuses. 18 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BRITAIN OFFBEAT LITERATURE ENTERTAINMENT TELECOMMUNICATION CRITICISM Hotel under fire for negative review charge Political fiction high on Costa awards shortlist Paddington film grading shocks author More airwaves for mobile broadband soon ‘Inadequate’ Rotherham child care attacked Blackpool’s Broadway Hotel was the talk of hospitality industry yesterday after charging a couple for posting a negative review on Internet ratings site TripAdvisor. Tony Jenkinson and wife Jan found their credit card had been docked £100 after describing their accommodation in the seaside resort as a “rotten stinking hovel.” The couple are trying to get their money back through a trading watchdog, arguing that the charge is illegal. They were warned in advance about penalties for bad reviews. The Broadway, which was not returning phone calls, warns prospective guests of a charge “for every bad review left on any website.” Two politically charged novels are among four that have made the shortlist for best novel in this year’s Costa Book Awards, the organisers announced, adding that a record 182 novels had been considered for the award. Monique Roffey’s House of Ashes, Kolkata-born Neel Mukherjee’s The Lives of Others, Irish author Colm Toibin’s Nora Webster and Scottish-born Ali Smith’s How to be Both are on the shortlist. The prize, formerly known as the Whitbread award, is open only to authors resident in Britain and Ireland, and will be announced on January 5. The awards are given in five categories - novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children’s book for works published within the past year. The film classification board said it has removed a warning that the new “Paddington” movie contains “mild sex references” after the creator of the muchloved children’s character expressed shock at the advice. Michael Bond, the 88-year-old author of the books charting the adventures of the marmaladeloving bear, said he was “totally amazed” at any suggestion of sexual content in the film. The British Board of Film Classification has given the film, which opens next week, a “PG” or “Parental Guidance” rating, meaning it may not be suitable for very young children. The “mild sex references” include a comic sequence where a man flirts with another man disguised as a woman. Telecoms regulator Ofcom said it would make more airwaves available to meet the burgeoning needs for mobile data by reallocating frequencies used for digital TV services like Freeview. The frequencies in the 700 MHz bandwidth, which range over long distances and can penetrate buildings, will be reallocated by the beginning of 2022, and possibly up to two years earlier, Ofcom said yesterday. The changes are needed to meet a demand for mobile data on smartphones and tablets that could be 45 times higher by 2030 than it is today, Ofcom said. Last month, Ofcom invited bidders to comment on the proposed auction of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands. Children’s services in Rotherham — which has been rocked by widespread child sexual exploitation — are inadequate, according to Ofsted. The watchdog’s report says: “There are widespread or serious failures that result in children being harmed or at risk of harm.” Ofsted inspected services in the south Yorkshire town a month after the publication of the Jay Report, which found in August that more than 1,400 children had been subjected to sexual exploitation there 1997 and 2013. Ofsted said: “The judgment is that children’s services are inadequate. In the delivery of services for looked-after children these failures result in the welfare of these children not being safeguarded and promoted.” Ukip defends Reckless remarks on repatriation Longer sentences for knife crime sought London Evening Standard London T he parents of an A-level pupil stabbed to death in a row over a bicycle worth just £90 yesterday called for tougher sentences after hitting out at the “lenient” jail term for their son’s killer. Danny Drake, 16, was yesterday jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years for murdering 17-year-old Alim Uddin. He stabbed the talented business and maths pupil, who wanted to be a policeman, seven times in a “lethal and vicious” attack on May 4 after luring him to the Roupell Park estate in Brixton under the guise of returning the cash Alim had given him for a bike he never received. Drake fled the scene to his home in Tooting, leaving Alim, the eldest of five children, to bleed to death. After the killing Drake returned home to Mackie Road, Brixton, and ordered a taxi to take him to a relative’s house in Tooting. He tried to get his clothes washed but the laundry was shut so he soaked his hooded top and a jeans in the bath. He was arrested in Tooting in the early hours of the morning. He had a bag holding the murder weapon, which was wrapped in a glove. He denied the murder until the second day of his trial in October when he changed his plea to guilty. After Drake was sentenced on Tuesday, Alim’s mother Parool and father Hakim, who live in Brixton, said they did not believe the jail term handed to him for the murder of their “wonderful” son would serve as a deterrent. Restaurant owner Uddin, who is planning to set up a charitable foundation in his son’s memory to help fight knife crime, said: “The level of knife crime in London is frightening. The judges need to send a strong message to people knife crime is a serious offence. “I don’t think 13 years does that. The 16-year-old that killed the teacher (Ann Maguire) was given 20 years. Why such a difference in the sentences? They were both pre-meditated murder”. Agencies London U Ukip supporter Graham Harper walks his dog Roque as he canvasses for votes in Rochester yesterday. Anti-abortion activist guilty of harassment Guardian News and Media London O ne of Ireland’s most prominent anti-abortion activists has been found guilty of harassing the head of Belfast’s Marie Stopes clinic. A judge at the city’s magistrates court warned the Precious Life director Bernadette Smyth that she could face jail for her protests against the former Progressive Unionist party leader Dawn Purvis and the clinic. The deputy district judge Chris Holmes said the campaign of harassment had been carried out “in a vicious and malicious fashion”. Smyth was told she would have to pay compensation and would be barred from the area around the clinic on Belfast’s Great Victoria Street. The Marie Stopes clinic in the city has been picketed frequently by Precious Life and other anti- abortion groups since it opened two years ago. The 51-year-old anti-abortion campaigner had denied she was involved in ongoing harassment towards Purvis. In a scathing ruling, the judge said: “I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not feel it is appropriate for anyone to be stopped outside this clinic in any form, shape or fashion and questioned either as to their identity or why they are going in there and being forced to involve themselves in conversation at times when they are almost certainly going to be stressed and very possibly distressed.” Turning to how the defence was run, he said: “Throughout this case there has been a concerted attack on anyone seen as getting in the way of Smyth.” Giving evidence in the case Purvis said she was left frightened for her safety following two incidents. During an exchange with protesters on January 9 this year, the clinic director said she had put her hand up and asked them to stop harassing her. Smyth was said to have replied in an exaggerated drawl: “You ain’t seen harassment yet, darling.” Smyth originally denied to police having used the word harassment, but on viewing CCTV footage of the incident she accepted it had been said as a joke. The second alleged incident occurred on February 13 after Purvis’s son called at her office with a female friend. Purvis said that as she walked them out of the centre one of the protesters followed the girl up the street. According to her account Smyth, of Suffolk Street in Ballymena, then started to cackle menacingly. But the defendant claimed she was set up, having just been served with a police notice warning of potential action for harassment. She alleged that Purvis “growled” at her through the clinic front door in a bid to provoke a reaction. K Independence Party (Ukip) was yesterday desperately trying to defuse a row over sending home EU migrants — just 24 hours before the Rochester and Strood by-election. The party’s candidate Mark Reckless, who defected from the Tories, was accused of suggesting Polish and other EU citizens could be repatriated even if they have lived in Britain for years. Tory MPs seized on his remarks to launch a last-ditch bid to damage Reckless’ campaign as polls showed that he is set to sweep to victory in the by-election today. But Nigel Farage’s party denied its policy was to force out EU citizens here, stressing that legal migrants would be allowed to stay in the UK under its plans. “No repatriation of people here legally,” said a senior Ukip spokeswoman. Party sources suggested Reckless was “confused” during the pressure of a televised hustings when responding to a question with a “false premise”. He was asked what would happen to a Polish plumber living in Rochester who no longer had the right to work in Britain. He said: “I think in the near term we’d have to have a transitional period and I think we should probably allow people currently here to have a work permit at least for a fixed period.” He was pressed by the presenter: “If there is a Polish plumber who has a house, family, kids at the local school, are Regiment visit you going to deport him and his family?” Facing audience shouts, Reckless added: “People who’ve been here a long time and integrated in that way, I think we’d want to look sympathetically at.” Ukip sources said his comments about a “transitional period” referred to illegal immigrants in the UK. Asked later on BBC Radio Kent if he was suggesting they should be deported, Reckless said: “No I was not suggesting that.” Reckless said EU citizens in the UK legally at the time the country left the EU would be able to stay in the country and accused Conservative critics of “twisting” his words. “People who’ve been here a long time and integrated in that way, I think we’d want to look sympathetically at” Ukip leader Nigel Farage insisted the party respected the “rule of law and British justice”. And he downplayed the comments as a “minor cause for confusion”. Farage insisted the byelection, in which his party is seeking to get its second Westminster MP elected, was being fought on Ukip’s terms and the issue of immigration would “dominate” next year’s general election campaign. Farage told the BBC his colleague had been referring to the negotiations that would take place during a “transitional period” between a hypothetical vote to leave the EU and the actual moment of withdrawal. Public get chance to leave mark on moon Reuters London A Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visits the tank regiment of the Queen’s Royal Hussars in Paderborn, Germany, yesterday. The prince awarded soldiers who just returned back from south Afghanistan for their service. “When we invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which sets us off on a negotiation to leave the EU, part of that renegotiations is what happens to retired people from Britain living on the Costa del Sol and what happens to people from Warsaw living in London,” Farage said. “Let me make this clear, during our divorce negotiations, even if the EU was to behave badly and say (British) people living in Spain were to be threatened with not being there, we would maintain the line that we believe in the rule of law, we believe in British justice and we believe that anyone who has come to Britain legally has the right to remain.” Asked if Reckless did not know Ukip policy, Farage said the campaign had been “long and hectic” and candidates in that situation often “got into a mode” of answering “on the topic and not the specific wording of the question”. However, Conservative MP Damian Green said Reckless had come “dangerously close” to advocating a repatriation policy while Labour’s Yvette Cooper said Reckless had “let the mask slip”. She said using the “language of repatriation” was “a policy that comes straight out of the last BNP manifesto and does not reflect British values”. In a separate row on the last day of campaigning in the constituency, Reckless accused the Conservative candidate Kelly Tolhurst of issuing a leaflet he described as “BNP-light” in its comments on immigration. Tolhurst told the BBC that Reckless’s claim was a “lie”, and said she was disappointed at the misrepresentation of her views. British space venture is giving ordinary citizens the chance to leave their mark on the moon in a decade’s time while helping scientists scout a possible location for a permanent base there. Lunar Mission One launched a crowdfunding drive yesterday to cover its start-up costs. By mid-morning organisers had raised around £74,000, according to the Kickstarter website, towards an initial target of £600,000 they aim to reach within a month. More than 750 people signed up within hours, with funders asked to pledge at least £60 for a digital memory box in which their messages, pictures, videos and - via a strand of hair DNA will be carried into space and then buried in a capsule on earth’s nearest neighbour. Organisers will need several orders of magnitude more to recoup the total estimated project costs of £500mn, the bulk of which they hope to raise by the same method. “Governments are finding it increasingly difficult to fund space exploration that is solely for the advancement of human knowledge and understanding as opposed to commercial return,” said mission founder David Iron, a former Royal Navy officer who advises on space and technology projects. “... Anyone from around the world can get involved for as little as a few pounds.” Established by engineers and scientists with backing from University College London and science broadcaster Brian Cox, the mission aims to send its unmanned module to the moon’s unexplored South Pole within 10 years to see if it might be suitable for a base. Should it go ahead, the project will drill deeper into the moon’s surface than ever before. Last year a Chinese unmanned spacecraft touched down on the moon in the first such “softlanding” since 1976. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 19 BRITAIN/IRELAND DECISION TRAGEDY PEOPLE OPINION REVEALED Dating guru Blanc barred from entering Britain Zookeeper seriously injured by rhino Sturgeon voted in as First Minister of Scotland PM ‘failing to meet cancer target’ Sewers full of false teeth and fat The government yesterday barred a self-styled US dating coach from entering the country to conduct seminars on how to attract women after heavy criticism from campaigners who said his methods amounted to physical and emotional abuse. Julien Blanc had been due to hold events in Britain as part of a global tour promoting a “bootcamp” on how to pick up women, but nearly 160,000 people signed an online petition calling for him to be denied a visa. “Do not associate the UK with a man who chokes women around the world as part of his pick-up game,” the petition said, referring to one of the techniques Blanc appears to promote in YouTube videos and via his website. A zookeeper has been taken to hospital in a serious condition after an incident involving a rhino. The man, who is in his 50s, suffered chest, abdomen and pelvis injuries at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire yesterday. He was immersed in water during the incident and was taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in a serious but stable condition. A Whipsnade Zoo spokeswoman said: “At approximately 8.15am yesterday one of our keepers was injured at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. Emergency services were immediately called and the keeper involved was treated by paramedics at the scene and has now been taken to hospital.” Nicola Sturgeon has been voted in as the first female First Minister of Scotland. The 44-yearold replaces Alex Salmond, who resigned from the role on Tuesday with a final statement to the Scottish Parliament. Sturgeon took the helm as leader of the SNP at the party’s conference in Perth at the weekend, with her selection as the head of government completed after MSPs voted yesterday. Sturgeon will now be officially sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh tomorrow. Salmond announced his intention to quit as SNP leader and First Minister within hours of defeat in the independence referendum in September. NHS England has missed one of its cancer care targets for the third quarter in a row, leaving thousands of patients waiting two months or more for their treatment to begin. Labour’s shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said the latest figures showed that cancer care was “getting worse” under the Tories. Between July and September, 83.5% of patients who were given an urgent referral from their GP for suspected cancer were offered their first treatment within the 62 day time limit - 1.5% below its target, NHS England said. Burnham said: “These figures confirm that cancer care is getting worse under Cameron. This is a direct consequence of the government policies.” Prosthetic limbs, a moped and false teeth were among the stranger items fished out of sewers over the last year. The Consumer Council for Water has urged people to think about what they pour and flush away as they revealed the grim contents of sewer pipes across England and Wales. Other items that contributed to the £70mn job of cleaning more than 300,000 blockages included slippers and tennis balls. But in other bizarre finds Northumbrian Water found a dead cow and Southern Water found a dead snake and a severed finger. But the biggest cause of obstructions was from fats, oils and greases being poured down the sink. Hackers to probe banks’ cybercrime defences Reuters London I n the next few months hackers will try to penetrate the cyber defences of Britain’s major banks and steal information about millions of customers. But for once they’ll be welcome. Banks are on red alert after cyber criminals obtained details of 83mn clients from JPMorgan Chase this year and Britain’s leading lenders have signed up for tests that let teams of certified hackers attack at will. The cyber war games will mark a major escalation in how banks test defences in a high-stakes battle with criminals. “It’s the first time that banks are having their systems tested for security threats in a live environment as opposed to a simulated or isolated one,” said Stephen Bonner, a partner in the cyber security team at KPMG. Cybercrime costs the global economy $445bn a year and the bill is rising, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which said it damages trade, competitiveness and innovation across industries. Banks are particularly vulnerable, despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on cyber defences. Increasingly sophisticated criminals are trying to steal money or client data, cause havoc in financial markets or score political points. “A defender has to block every possible route of entry and the attacker only has to find one. That’s the position the banks are still in, the world is so connected now they have to look in every direction to protect themselves,” said Paul Docherty, technical director at Portcullis Computer Security, a consultancy which has been accredited to run the tests. The Bank of England is behind the initiative. In June, it outlined a new framework called CBEST for handling the growing cyber threat. It includes sharing intelligence from government agencies such as Britain’s GCHQ with companies, and encouraging more intense testing of financial institutions. In the first such move by a leading central bank, the Bank of England will set the guidelines but leave banks to agree with the firms carrying out the tests how far their “attack teams” can infiltrate bank systems. An “attack team” would typically be four to six people, including a project manager and an attack specialist at the sharp end trying to breach systems. Only a few bank employees will be aware an attack is coming. “It’s taking examples of what we see out in the wilds in the threat landscape and applying those to realistic attack scenarios on financial firms,” said Adrian Nish, head of cyber threat intelligence at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence. CREST, which is responsible for accrediting firms to do cyber security testing in Britain, has approved four firms to run these so-called Simulated Targeted Attack and Response (STAR) services, and more are expected to be accredited soon, industry sources said. Besides Portcullis, BT Group, Context Information Security and Nettitude are the other three. Britain’s biggest banks are among more than 30 financial firms lining up to go through the STAR test. Pilot tests have begun and the vast majority of institutions are expected to have completed the process by the end of 2015, one of the sources said. The tests will also involve insurance companies, financial exchanges and payments systems operators. Scuffles at students’ protest A police officer clashes with protesters outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after a march against student university fees in central London yesterday. The demonstration organised by the Student Assembly Against Austerity, alongside the Young Greens and National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts demands free education and an end to tuition fees, education cuts and student debt. Son was killed by VIP paedophile ring: father London Evening Standard London P oliticians yesterday demanded a full police investigation into chilling claims that an eight-year-old London schoolboy may have been snatched and murdered by a VIP paedophile ring that included MPs and ministers. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told LBC radio it was time for “a kind of reckoning with our past” after yet more allegations that a network of Westminster child abusers was covered up for decades. He added: “You cannot think Belfast lottery couple to help community Mary and Alexander Hamilton are quitting their jobs at a furniture suppliers, but plan on looking after its workers and customers Guardian News and Media London A Northern Ireland couple who have become the latest EuroMillions winners pledged to spread their fortune across Belfast’s sectarian divide. Mary and Alexander Hamilton said they want to help Catholic and Protestant customers they have worked with in a furniture business for nearly a decade. The pair won nearly £13mn in the EuroMillions draw two Fridays ago. Speaking at a press conference in the Culloden Hotel overlooking Belfast Lough, the Hamiltons said that while they are now quitting their jobs with local furniture suppliers Bannons, they plan to look after customers and workers they have come across in the business. “We started working with Bannons about seven or eight years ago and they’ve been the happiest years of our working lives,” Mary Hamilton said. The 65-yearold said: “The owners and management have treated us very well, and we’ve also “I’d like to help both sides of the community, and also do my bit to help the local economy which has had it tough lately” made a load of friends from customers on both sides of the community on our daily runs across Falls Road, the Shankill, New Lodge, North Queen Street, Rathcoole, Ballyduff, Monkstown and Newtownabbey. “In fact, I always said to our customers that if I ever won the lottery, I would see them right. And I intend to keep my word and do just that. You could call it a thank you for keeping us in a job. I’d like to help both sides of the community, and also do my bit to help the local economy which has had it tough lately.” Mary Hamilton revealed that last Friday she recently broke a habit of 20 years playing the lottery and opted for Lucky Dips rather her usual preferred numbers. She said she checked her numbers last Friday evening for the previous week’s EuroMillions lottery at a local filling station on Belfast’s Shore Road. It was only then she discovered she was a multi-millionaire. She said she had to call her 67-year-old husband from the filling station to come down and collect her. “My legs were so weak that I couldn’t walk. Sandy came to the store, we hugged and then he drove us home,” Mary Hamilton said. The couple’s EuroMillions numbers were 13, 25, 32, 38 and 46 with lucky stars 01 and 10. of a more serious and grotesque allegation than that. Clearly it needs to be looked into.” The latest testimony comes from a retired magistrate whose son was abducted and killed three decades ago in mysterious circumstances. Vishambar Mehrotra, 69, was phoned by a male prostitute who said his son may have been snatched by the alleged ring and taken to the notorious Elm Guest House in Barnes. The father passed a tape recording of the conversation to the police but says they declined to investigate claims that involved “judges and politicians”. Mehotra now believes there was a “huge cover-up”. Labour MP Tom Watson, who first raised allegations of a Westminster abuse ring in the Commons, said: “The police “The police must urgently find out if this tape recording and any other records of this allegation still exist in their archives” must urgently find out if this tape recording and any other records of this allegation still exist in their archives. “After detailed searches the Met have already discovered intelligence from previous inquir- Academy launch ies that have proved useful to their investigations. This could be a similar case.” Simon Danczuk, the MP whose book exposed former MP Cyril Smith as a serial abuser of boys, said he may raise the issue in the Commons today. “We need to find out whether this tape recording still exists,” he said. “The episode raises questions about the role and conduct of the Metropolitan Police.” Mehrotra said he believed Scotland Yard may have “sheltered” a paedophile ring of top politicians who killed his son Vishal, who was abducted from the street as he walked home Mansion tax threat ‘putting buyers off ’ Guardian News and Media London T Queen Elizabeth II and Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, remove the first brick in a new extension, during a visit to launch The Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs at Chatham House in London. Chatham House houses the non-profit and non-governmental organisation ‘Royal Institute of International Affairs’. to Putney after watching the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981. Mehrotra said: “I gave a copy of the recording of the conversation I had with a young man on the phone who claimed my son had been abducted by politicians and judges. As far as I know they ignored it and classed it as a crank call. “From what we know about Jimmy Savile’s abuse and the climate at the time it is quite possible the police were sheltering a group of very powerful people.” The Met refused to comment on the latest claims yesterday. he threat of a mansion tax after next May’s general election has put off potential buyers of £2mn-plus homes in London, Savills has said. The uncertainty surrounding the May 7 vote will continue to hold back the very top end of the capital’s luxury property market in the next few months, the upmarket estate agent added. Would-be buyers are sitting on their hands, because Labour has pledged to introduce a new levy on owners of homes worth more than £2mn to raise £1.2bn for the NHS if it wins the election. Savills said: “The general election and the potential implementation of a ‘mansion tax’ thereafter has had the expected subduing effect on buyers, albeit that we have seen registered buyers per listed property rise since the low point around the Scottish independence vote in the summer.” Experts reckon at least 80% of homes that would be subject to the tax are in London and the south-east. The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, has said there would be four levels of mansion tax, with the lowest band for homes worth between £2mn and £5mn. At the top end, billionaires splashing out £100mn or more for a huge mansion will pay the most. The middle part of the London market - homes worth between £1mn and £2mn - remains robust, Savills said. Across the rest of the UK, sales are rising, particularly of homes worth less than £2mn. The bottom end of the capital’s housing market - homes worth £500,000 or less - has been hit by tighter mortgage rules. Savills does not operate in this area but its rival Foxtons, which does, said last month that 2014 profits would fall because of a sharp slowdown in the capital’s property market. Savills is still confident it can meet its forecasts for this year. Sales in Hong Kong and Singapore have also been hit by levies on expensive homes, but other Asian markets such as Japan and Australia are performing well and its recent US acquisition Studly has beaten expectations. Analysts at Numis said: “Savills’ update shows that whilst some of its core markets remain challenging, it is on target for a strong year with 20% profit growth forecast.” 20 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 EUROPE NEW LAW JOINT ACTION WEATHER WOES DEFIANT LEADER IMMUNE NO MORE French MPs get power to impeach president Italy unions move general strike to December 12 Torrential rains hit Albania; three dead in flooding Prosecutors to sue Catalan president over referendum Romania’s president-elect begins anti-graft drive French lawmakers now have the power to launch a US-style impeachment of their president under a new law passed yesterday. The law approved yesterday sets out a procedure for removing the president from office in cases where there has been a “breach of their duties that is clearly incompatible with the exercise of their mandate”. The impeachment process first requires 10% of upper house senators and 10% of lower house deputies to sign a resolution. A two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament must then vote to convene a special session of select lawmakers known as the High Court. The court would have a month to decide the issue, with another two-thirds majority required. Two leading Italian trade unions agreed yesterday that they would hold a joint general strike against the budget and labour policies of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government on December 12. The protest was going to be led by CGIL and UIL, Italy’s first and third-largest trade unions, with just under 8mn members between them. The second-biggest union, CISL, refused to take part in the protest. CGIL had previously said it would hold a general strike on December 5, but moved the date after agreeing on a joint action with UIL. They are angry at plans by the Renzi government to deregulate the labour market, by making it easier to hire and fire people. Three people were killed overnight in northern Albania in severe flooding caused by torrential rains, police said yesterday. A 63-year-old man and his 23-year-old daughter died after their car was carried away by flood waters while they were driving on a mountain road. Their bodies were found yesterday in a canal, some 2km from the site of the accident, a police statement said. The third victim was a 23-year-old man who died on Tuesday evening in the same area, some 45km north of capital Tirana, when a bridge that he was crossing on motorcycle collapsed. Several houses in the northern Albanian region were still flooded yesterday. Spanish prosecutors said yesterday they will sue Catalan president Artur Mas after he went ahead with a symbolic independence referendum in defiance of a court injunction. “The public prosecutor’s office will take the appropriate legal actions in the High Court of Justice of Catalonia,” the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The Catalan government says 2.3mn took part in the vote on November 9 which Mas held following a legal block by the central government against his plans to hold an official, non-binding referendum on the issue that day. Of the 5.4mn voters aged over 16 who were authorised to vote, 1.86mn favoured independence, it said. Romanian president-elect Klaus Iohannis yesterday began making good on his promise to fight corruption when the immunity of two high-profile senators suspected of graft was lifted. Iohannis urged the parliament to repeal a draft law that was to increase the immunity of politicians from prosecution. Iohannis called on parliament to go even further and lift the immunity of legislators, senators and representatives. With their immunity lifted, former education minister Ecaterina Andronescu and a fellow senator now face trial for allegedly taking a bribe from Microsoft in a sale of software to the government and schools. Kiev rejects direct talks with rebels President challenged to a duel! Reuters Kiev/Moscow R ussia yesterday urged Ukraine’s leaders to talk directly to separatists to end the conflict in the east, but Kiev rejected the call and told Moscow to stop “playing games” aimed at legitimising “terrorists”. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of destabilising Ukraine by providing the rebels with money, arms and reinforcements. The West has imposed sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in which more than 4,000 people have been killed since mid-April. Russia backs the separatists but denies it is directly involved in the conflict in the Donbass region. “We are calling for the establishment of stable contacts between Kiev and Donbass representatives with the aim of reaching mutually acceptable agreements,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a policy address to the lower house of parliament in Moscow. But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk hit back, accusing Moscow of trying to push Ukraine into recognising the pro-Russian rebels who are fighting government troops to split parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions from Kiev. Speaking at a government meeting, he declared Kiev would not speak directly to the separatists and repeated the phrase slowly in Russian for emphasis, saying: “We will not hold direct talks with your mercenaries.” A ceasefire was agreed on September 5 in the Belarussian capital of Minsk as part of a wider deal between Moscow, Kiev and the rebels under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - with a former president representing Kiev to avoid formal recognition of the rebels. But the truce is under constant pressure, with deaths of government troops and civilians reported daily. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of sending tanks and troops to back the rebels but Moscow denies the charges. Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with German Foreign Minister FrankWalter Steinmeier in Moscow on Tuesday but failed to overcome deep rifts over Ukraine. A rebel leader in east Ukraine yesterday challenged President Petro Poroshenko to a duel, claiming it could bring peace to the war-torn region. Igor Plotnitsky, the 50-year-old leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, wrote an open letter to Poroshenko suggesting the whole nation could even watch the duel on live TV. “Each party has the right to ten witnesses and ten media representatives. I would not be against the duel being shown live on TV. I will let you choose the place and the weapons,” Plotnitsky wrote. “What is the point of hatred, killing people, destroying the economy and towns?... It would be better to resolve it with an honest duel and save, at the cost of one’s life, the lives of millions of people.” Yevhen Perebyinis, a spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, wrote on Twitter in response that Plotnitksy was “worthy of only one duel: with Ukrainian justice”. Plotnitsky was elected leader of the Lugansk People’s Republic earlier this month in Russianbacked elections which were described by Kiev as a “power grab” and condemned by the West. He is accused by the Ukrainian government of having overseen the transfer to Russia of Ukrainian military helicopter pilot Nadia Savchenko earlier this year. Kiev says Savchenko was abducted from Ukrainian territory and taken to Russia, while Moscow insists she was arrested after crossing the border illegally. T urkish authorities have signalled they intend to go ahead with the redevelopment of Istanbul’s Gezi Park, the project that sparked deadly antigovernment protests last year, reports said yesterday. The controversial plans to raze the park and rebuild an Ottoman-era army barracks on the site, which is adjacent to the main Taksim Square, have been included in the Istanbul municipality’s strategic agenda for 2015-2016. The total budget for the project, named ‘The Urban Reconstruction of Taksim Square and the Taksim Barracks’, is set at 12mn lira ($5.4mn), private Dogan news agency said. It includes the construction of a replica of the barracks - known as the Topcu Kislasi in Turkish - which was built in the early 19th century during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Selim III but demolished in 1940. An initially small-scale campaign to save Gezi Park in May 2013 eventually drew an estimated 3mn protesters in a nationwide outpouring of anger at the perceived authoritarian tendencies of the Islamic-rooted government. Eight people died and thousands were injured in the ensuing violence as police launched a brutal crackdown, frequently employing tear gas and water cannon. A child tries to reach a giant soap bubble blown by a street artist in front of the Paris Town Hall. Mafia judge killers sentenced AFP Palermo F Yatseniuk called on Moscow to “stop playing games aimed at legitimising bandits and terrorists.” “If you (Russia) want peace - fulfil the Minsk agreement,” he said. Lavrov said in Moscow that the “party of war” - supporters of Kiev’s military campaign against the rebels - had tried to exclude the separatists from peace moves and to “force the West to seek the consent of Russia to act as a side in the conflict.” “This is a completely counter-productive and provocative line that has no chance of succeeding,” Lavrov said. New govt plans for Istanbul’s controversial protest park AFP Istanbul Bubble attraction! In a bid to end the protests, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was then prime minister, agreed to halt the park’s redevelopment and offered to hold a referendum. A court later overturned a judgement allowing the redevelopment of the park because of a lack of public consultation. However it was not clear whether the municipality’s plans mean work will resume at the park, which is shut down at the slightest whiff of public dissent. Erdogan’s government is frequently criticised for its ambitious construction plans that include a third airport in Istanbul and a third bridge across the Bosphorus. He has also come under fire over a new 1,000-room presidential palace in Ankara that is costing Turkey more than $600mn. Activists however have already vowed to take to the streets should the plans for Taksim Square go forward. “It is an insult to millions of people living in this city,” said Ali Cerkezoglu, a doctor who is among the 26 alleged leaders of Taksim Solidarity, the main activist group behind the protests, who are currently on trial for their roles. “It is disgraceful and totally anti-people,” he said, quoted by the Cumhuriyet daily. “The combative people of this land will not bow to these fait accomplis. There will be a retaliation in kind.” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last month labelled Taksim “the ugliest square in the world”, indicating the government was still hoping to redevelop it. our members of the Sicilian Mafia were sentenced yesterday to between 12 years and life in prison for their role in the notorious 1992 assassination of anti-mob judge Giovanni Falcone. Convicted murderer Gaspare Spatuzza received the reduced 12-year term after he helped police secure the other convictions related to the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate’s blowing up of Falcone’s car in an attack which used more than 500kg of explosives. The huge blast on a motorway near Palermo in Sicily also killed the judge’s wife and three police escorts and sparked outrage around the world. Giuseppe Barranca and Cristo- foro Cannella were sentenced to life in prison for their role. Cosimo D’Amato received 30 years in jail. Spatuzza provided crucial evidence about how the mobsters plotted to take their revenge on Falcone over his attempts to break up their syndicate. He told a Milan court earlier this year that he had been responsible for around 40 deaths during his time in Cosa Nostra. He is currently serving life in prison for his role in six bomb attacks in 1992 and 1993 but may well end up being released under Italy’s system of reducing incarceration terms once individuals are no longer deemed a threat to society. Two months after Falcone was murdered, another judge, Paolo Borsellino was killed by a car bomb. The two men have posthumously become national heroes, martyrs to the country’s largely unsuccessful attempts to rid itself of the scourge of organised crime. Both killings were ordered by Toto Riina, the Cosa Nostra “boss of bosses” who was captured the year after the slaying of the judges. Now 84, the gangster known as “the beast”, is currently serving multiple life sentences in a maximum security prison. In another echo of Italy’s bleak recent history, a couple convicted for involvement in the 1980 bombing of Bologna railway station, which left 85 people dead, were ordered yesterday to pay damages of just over 2bn euros to the state. Valerio Fioravanti and Francesca Mambro received multiple life sentences in 1988 that were confirmed by Italy’s highest court in 1995. Despite the heavy sentences, National Day parade Members of the Prince’s Company of Carabiniers take part in the official National Day ceremonies in Monaco the couple, who married in prison, have been free for most of the last decade thanks to Italy’s generous parole system. They have expressed regret for their involvement in other terrorist acts but have always denied any involvement in the Bologna attack during their time in far-right group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (Armed Revolutionary Nuclei). The judge who ruled the couple have to pay damages called the Bologna bombing “an act whose gravity is without precedent in Italian history.” Paolo Bolognesi of the victims group Vittime 2 Agosto added: “It is wonderful news. It means the massacre will remain a permanent and indelible stain on them for ever.” Lawyers for the couple said they would be appealing the damages award. Muslim, Christian, Jewish leaders unite to condemn jihadi violence Senior Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders yesterday condemned violence by jihadi militants such as Islamic State (IS) at a Saudi-backed conference in a rare display of inter-faith unity aimed at promoting tolerance and diversity. Islamic State has caused international alarm by capturing large expanses of Iraq and Syria, declaring a Sunni “caliphate” straddling their borders and massacring those they deem apostates and infidel, like Shia Muslims and Christians. “Some organisations that are affiliated with Islam are perpetrating some actions in the name of jihad. This is not Islam at all,” said Abdullah bin Abdulmuhsen al-Turki, secretary-general of the Muslim World League. “This is why we wish to deplore and strongly condemn this behaviour, which we see as against Islam,” he told an audience including the Muslim grand muftis of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan; top representatives of several churches, Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee, and diplomats. Nizar bin Obaid Madani, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, decried the emergence of factions in the Middle East “that use terrorism and violence in the name of religion. They are wreaking havoc. They are killing and destroying everything. “Those who have embraced terrorism unfortunately attribute everything they do, every oppression they practice, to Islam. Islam has nothing to do with them,” he said. The conference called for countering the messages of jihadi militants on social media used to lure recruits, and for leadership courses in schools, houses of worship and the broader community to spread the principles of diversity and tolerance. The conference was organised by the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabia. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 21 EUROPE PAPAL PLOY ELECTION DAY IMPOUNDED IDENTIFIED LITTLE SUPPORT Pope to raffle gifts given to him to raise money for poor Croatia to elect next president on Dec 28 Greenpeace ship defied Spanish navy ‘orders’ Turkey recovers bodies of trapped coal miners Majority of Swiss oppose strict immigration limits Want a white Panama hat owned by the Pope? Now is your chance. Pope Francis is raffling off the Homero Ortega brand hat, a new four-wheel-drive Fiat Panda, bicycles, an espresso coffee machine, watches and other objects he has received as gifts in order to raise money for the poor. A poster recently went up around the Vatican announcing the raffle of 13 objects as well as more than 30 unspecified “consolation prizes”. In the past, most gifts given to Popes have either been quietly given away to missions, church institutions, or have gathered dust in a Vatican warehouse. Tickets for the raffle cost 10 euros ($12.50) and the winners will be announced on January 8. Croatia has called presidential elections for December 28, the government said yesterday. Six candidates have already announced they will run, including incumbent centrist Ivo Josipovic whose popularity with the country’s some 4.3mn residents appears to be fading. So far polls have named Josipovic’s main rival as Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic from the leading opposition conservatives. Grabar-Kitarovic, 46, is a former foreign and European affairs minister and a former Nato assistant secretary general who represents moderates within her HDZ party. A run-off would be held on January 11 if one candidate fails to secure more than 50% of the vote. Spain said yesterday it impounded a Greenpeace ship because the crew defied orders to leave a restricted zone where they were protesting against oil exploration off the Canary Islands. In a protest near the Canaries on Saturday “the Arctic Sunrise violated the exclusion zone and ignored instructions by the (Spanish) navy boat Relampago to abandon the zone,” Spain’s Defence Minister Pedro Morenes told parliament. Spain’s public works ministry said authorities impounded the boat on Tuesday at the port of Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote and would hold it until a bond was paid. Greenpeace said the captain, a US national, was being refused release until the 50,000-euro ($63,000) bond was paid. Turkish rescue workers have recovered 10 bodies of miners trapped by a flooding accident last month, with search efforts continuing for eight still missing. A total of 18 miners were trapped in the disaster in the Ermenek coal mine in the Karaman region of southern Turkey which raised new fears about the country’s dire mine safety record. None of the trapped men were rescued alive and rescuers found the first two bodies on November 6. Eight more corpses were recovered over the past two days, the official Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Eight miners recovered over the last two days have already been identified by DNA testing. Most Swiss voters oppose proposals to place strict limits on immigration but support is rising before this month’s national vote on the issue, a closelywatched survey showed yesterday. The initiative, launched by environmentalist group Ecopop and opposed by the government, seeks to cap the number of new immigrants at just 0.2% of the resident population, equivalent to about 16,000 people per year. It would also earmark 10% of Switzerland’s overseas development aid budget for family planning. About 56% of Swiss voters plan to oppose the initiative on November 30, according to Berne-based research institute gfs.bern, down two percentage points from its October 24 poll. European urbanites breathing polluted air: report AFP Brussels A The head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Jose Graziano da Silva (left) and the director general of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan launch the international conference on nutrition at the Food and Agriculture Organisation headquarters in Rome. UN urges quick action to fix ‘broken’ world food system AFP Rome T he UN yesterday urged political leaders from around the world to up their game in the fight to wipe out malnutrition, a global scourge which afflicts poor and rich alike. “Part of our out-of-balance world still starves to death. Another part stuffs itself into a level of obesity,” Margaret Chan, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), told delegates at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (CIN2) in Rome. Representatives from 190 countries gathered 22 years after the first malnutrition meeting for a three-day conference organised by the UN food agency (FAO) and WHO, and boasting appearances from leaders including Pope Francis. “The world food system is broken, with its reliance of the industrialised production of ever cheaper highly processed and unhealthy food,” Chan said, adding that for some parts of Africa and Asia it was cheaper to import food than produce it locally. She called on countries across the world to “have the creativity to work with civil society, academics and the private sector to find the right solutions for good health”. A lot of progress has been made already, ‘Phase out net CO2 emissions by 2070 to slow climate change’ Governments are far off track in combating global warming and should phase out net carbon dioxide emissions by 2070, well within the expected lifetime of people born today, a UN study said yesterday. Greenhouse gas emissions have leapt 45% since 1990, making it ever harder to reach a UN goal of limiting average temperature rises to two degrees Celsius above levels before the Industrial Revolution, it said. “Taking more action now reduces the need for more extreme action later to stay within safe emission limits,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which issued the report in Oslo. It said “carbon neutrality will need to be achieved sometime between 2055 and with the number of undernourished people in the world dropping by over half in the past two decades, from onebn people in 1992 when the first conference (CIN1) was held, to 805mn in 2014. But malnutrition is not just about hunger: 2bn people suffer from deficiencies in nutrients such as vitamin A, iron and zinc - a condition known as “hidden hunger” by experts - while 42mn children and 500mn adults are overweight or obese. 2070” to give a likely chance of staying below 2 degrees, based on findings by a UN panel of climate scientists. Carbon neutrality means that any carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels would be offset, for instance by planting forests that suck carbon from the air as they grow. Average world life expectancy at birth stands today at about 69 years. The carbon goals are far tougher than those set by most nations in the run-up to a UN summit in Paris in 2015 that hopes to clinch a deal to limit floods, heatwaves, more powerful storms and rising sea levels. Top emitters China, the US and the European Union have all set new goals beyond 2020 in recent weeks. China, for instance, set a first cap on its rising “Our planet, ladies and gentlemen, is losing its capacity to sustain human life in good health. No one is predicting that population growth will outpace the productivity of the world’s food systems. But this food must be health promoting,” Chan said. At the opening ceremony, the delegates adopted a “Rome Declaration on Nutrition” and “Framework for Action”, which the FAO said were based on a consensus reached by over 200 national govern- Suspected of rampant graft, Zagreb mayor gets out on bail AFP Zagreb P owerful Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, targeted by a major graft probe touching on the management of the capital, was released from custody yesterday on bail of 2mn euros ($2.5mn), the highest ever in Croatia. Bandic was released from a month behind bars in a Zagreb prison after paying bail and pledging not to influence witnesses or act as mayor, state-run HRT television reported. Considered one of the most powerful politicians in the former Yugoslav republic, Bandic has run Zagreb almost continuously since 2000. He was arrested on October 19 along with 15 other people, among them his closest aides. As of yesterday, only one suspect remained in custody. Among the suspects are the head of the holding firm managing the city’s companies, Slobodan Ljubicic, as well as heads of the Zagreb public transport firm ZET, and the city gas services. Bandic is the prime suspect in a probe on “abuse of power, tax and customs fees evasion and trading in influence,” the anti-graft prosecutors said. The inquiry covers 20062014, with losses to both the state and city budgets estimated at some 3mn euros. Among allegations are the contracting of waste management services without a public procurement procedure, illegal financing of Bandic’s presidential campaign, and handing city jobs to unqualified people close to the mayor. Bandic, 59, won his last mandate in 2013 elections. A former top official of the ruling Social Democrats, he was booted out of the party after deciding to run for president as an independent in 2009, a contest he lost. emissions - by around 2030 - but did not specify the level. “Unfortunately, the world is not currently headed in the right direction,” said Andrew Steer, head of the World Resources Institute think-tank. This year is on track so far to be among the warmest on record. In stark contrast, the US suffered its coldest November morning since 1976 on Tuesday, with temperatures below freezing in all 50 states. To get on track for 2C, global emissions should be no higher than 44bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2020, a gap of 8 to 10bn below projected emissions on current trends, UNEP said. The report also highlighted ways to cut emissions, such as better insulation of buildings or cuts in global fossil fuel subsidies of $600bn a year. ments after consultations with civil society organisations and the private sector. The declaration focuses not only on access to healthy food but also the growing problem of inactive over-eaters, finding that “dietary risk factors, together with inadequate physical activity, account for almost 10% of the global burden of disease and disability”. But FAO director general Jose Graziano da Silva told participants that “we’re not at the finishing line yet. “Our responsibility is to transform these commitments into concrete results. I hope that during this conference, you ministers will announce targets that even go beyond what we have already agreed,” he said. He said poor diet habits and access to food had “overwhelming human, social, environment and economic costs”. Star guests at the conference include Queen Letizia of Spain, King of Lesotho Letsie III, philanthropist Melinda Gates and economist Jeffrey Sachs, as well as Pope Francis, a fervent campaigner against hunger who is expected to give a speech today. The action framework which accompanies the Rome Declaration presents 60 recommendations, including developing and implementing national plans and policies to better nutrition, as well as boosting related investments. It stresses the need for universal health coverage and urges governments to ensure universal access to safe drinking water and protect children from infections, such as diarrhoea, malaria and intestinal worms. The framework aims to meet WHO targets of reducing deaths from NCDs - diet-related non-communicable diseases - by 25% by 2025, as well as reducing salt intake by 30% and halting the increase in obesity prevalence in adolescents and adults. Time machine! A golden Marchand and Sandoz perpetual calendar pocket watch from 1900 being displayed at the Auktionshaus Ineichen AG auctioneers in Zurich. The watch will be auctioned on November 22. s many as nine in 10 European city dwellers breathe air high in pollutants, blamed for 400,000 premature deaths every year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said yesterday. Air pollution remains the top environmental cause of premature death in urban Europe, according to an analysis of data from almost 400 cities. “European citizens often breathe air that does not meet European standards,” said the agency’s annual report. “Almost all city dwellers are exposed to pollutants at levels deemed unsafe by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” added a statement - more than 95% are exposed to unsafe levels of some types. Heart disease and stroke are the most common causes (80%) of death due to air pollution, followed by lung diseases and cancer. “The effect of air pollution on health has considerable economic impacts, cutting lives short, increasing medical costs and reducing productivity through working days lost across the economy,” said the report. It cited WHO and European Commission statistics attributing more than 400,000 premature deaths to ambient air pollution every year. Based on 2011 concentrations and population data, this translated to an estimated 458,000 deaths in 40 countries in Europe, or 430,000 in the 28 EU member states. Last year, the EC estimated the damage costs of air pollution’s health impacts in 2010 at 330-940bn euros ($413bn to $1.2tn), it added. “Direct economic damage includes 15bn euros from workdays lost, and 4bn euros in healthcare costs. The most dangerous pollutant was fine particulate matter (PM) - microscopic specks of dust and soot caused mainly by burning fossil fuels. PM10, particulate matter measuring less than 10 microns can lodge in the airways, causing respiratory problems. More perilous still are smaller PM2.5 particles which can enter the lungs and even the bloodstream. The report said 10-14% of city dwellers in the EU were exposed to PM2.5 levels above the EU target. This increases to 91-93% if stricter, but non-binding, WHO guidelines are used. The report said particulate matter and ozone had declined slightly over the last decade, though levels of nitrogen dioxide, mainly from car emissions, did not fall as fast as expected. A hydrocarbon called benzo(a) pyrene (BaP) was the fastest growing pollutant - increasing by more than a fifth between 2003 and 2012 as use of woodstoves and biomass heating in cities increased. “In 2012, almost nine out of ten city dwellers were exposed to BaP above WHO reference levels,” said the EEA. Last year, the WHO said outdoor air pollution was a leading cause of cancer. Globally, it causes some 1.3mn deaths in cities every year. Nearly a quarter of a million of these deaths are caused by lung cancer. According to the WHO, Iran, India, Indonesia and China are among the countries hardest hit by air pollution. In one alert in Beijing last year, PM2.5 levels reached as high as 40 times WHO recommended limits. 22 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 INDIA WEATHER CONVOCATION EDUCATION CONTROVERSY CRIME Freezing cold, dense fog affects life in Srinagar Pranab to visit Assam, Arunachal Pradesh US students attend lectures at Presidency Court to hear pleas against Shahi Imam Woman attempts suicide after gang-rape in Agra Life was affected in Srinagar as night temperatures dropped to half a degree below the freezing point yesterday. Dense morning fog also forced locals to stay indoors. “The night temperature dropped to minus 0.5 in Srinagar. This is the lowest recorded here so far this season,” Sonam Lotus, director of the local weather office, said. Motorists and commuters yesterday morning experienced difficulty due to dense fog in and around Srinagar, where visibility dropped to less than 2m, forcing locals to start the day late. The mercury is likely to drop further in the coming days as the weather is expected to remain dry. “Pahalgam recorded minus 3.2 degrees Celsius while the night temperature showed improvement in Gulmarg at 0.5 degrees.” President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Assam and Arunachal Pradesh today and tomorrow, it was announced yesterday. Today, the president will attend the 12th convocation of Tezpur University at Tezpur. In the evening, he will witness a cultural programme and receive a copy of the book, Agnikanya Chandraprabha Saikiani, at the Tezpur University auditorium, an official statement said. The president will present the (President) Standard (Award) to 26 Squadron and 115 Helicopter Unit of the Indian Air Force at the air force station at Tezpur tomorrow. He will deliver the convocation address at the National Institute of Technology at Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh. One of India’s prestigious educational establishments, the Presidency University in Kolkata, is hosting a batch of students and faculty from a top-ranked US university as part of a student exchange programme, a statement said. Nine undergraduate and graduate students and two faculty members from Atlanta’s Georgia State University (GSU) are attending lectures at Presidency University’s Department of Political Science under a deal inked in October 2013. “After a year of signing the memorandum, the first batch of students from the university has now arrived in Kolkata and has started attending class lectures at the Department of Political Science,” the statement said. The Delhi High Court will today hear hear pleas against the Delhi Shahi Imam’s move to anoint his son as the Naib Imam (deputy Imam), the court said. Three public interest litigations filed in the court said Jama Masjid is a property of the Delhi Wakf Board and Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari (Shahi Imam) as its employee cannot appoint his son as Naib Imam. The court said it would hear in detail all the three pleas today as the anointment ceremony is scheduled for November 22. Bukhari recently sparked a controversy by announcing that he has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the ceremony but did not feel the need to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A 20-year-old woman tried to commit suicide after she was allegedly raped by three men in Agra, police said yesterday. The victim, a resident of Dahtora village in Jagdishpura area, had gone to meet a friend, Akash, who phoned her to come to a desolate apartment late Tuesday, the police said. Police said Akash left her and three of his friends came there and sexually abused her. She then jumped off the flat which was on the third floor of a building. Villagers found her in a pool of blood and rushed her to a hospital. Senior officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police Shalabh Mathur, met her in the hospital. Kerala CM calls meet over dam Tributes to Indira Modi visits Fiji to boost ties with the Pacific region By Ashraf Padanna Thiruvananthapuram K erala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has convened an all-party meeting next week as the water-level in the disputed Mullaperiyar dam touches an alarming 142ft. Tamil Nadu, which controls the British-built dam in Kerala’s border district of Idukki, last week rejected the state’s appeal for drawing more water to limit its level at a “safer” 136ft. The level touched 41.6ft yesterday morning. Kerala says the rising level puts the lives of 3mn people in four downstream districts at risk if the 118-year-old dam breaks as it has no capacity to hold more water, an argument the Supreme Court rejected in May. Last week, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam rejected Chandy’s request to reduce the height saying he would go by the court verdict to protect the interests of tens of thousands of farmers in his state. Kerala has set up nearly 100 camps asking people from the banks of River Periyar to move in, but the response was lukewarm. Besides a detailed discussion in his cabinet, Chandy also held a meeting of MPs from the state and urged them to raise it during the winter session of parliament beginning next week. “Kerala’s stand has always been the same, water for Tamil Nadu and safety for Kerala,” Chandy told the MPs. K C Joseph, Kerala’s information and parliamentary affairs minister, said the government would draw the attention of the parliament to the fears of the people, the unsafe condition of the dam and threat to the ecology of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The government had asked the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) to submit a report on the impact of rising water level in the dam on the forestland within two days. Meanwhile, the Idukki district administration has taken precautionary measures to face any emergency situation as the water level touched a record height in 22 years. Modi is only the second Indian prime minister to visit Fiji after Indira Gandhi in 1981 Agencies Suva I President Pranab Mukherjee paying floral tributes at the memorial of former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 97th birth anniversary in New Delhi yesterday. Mukherjee was joined by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too paid tributes to Gandhi. Modi tweeted from his official account from Fiji: “I join my fellow countrymen and women in remembering our former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her birth anniversary. My tributes.” Gandhi, born on November 19, 1917, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. ndia sought to “renew an old relationship” with Fiji and forge closer ties with small South Pacific island nations as Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday announced steps to boost closer ties with the geostrategically important region. Modi became the second Indian prime minister in 33 years - after Indira Gandhi - to visit the Fijian capital Suva. He later departed for home, ending a 10day tour that earlier took him to Myanmar and Australia. The Fiji visit underlined the growing geo-strategic importance of the 14 South Pacific islands that lie at the centre of a key maritime route rich in resources. The islands dot the ocean east of Australia, over 11,500km away from India. The Fiji government accorded Modi a ceremonial welcome. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama received him at the airport. “After this ceremony I don’t feel like a visitor, I feel that I belong here,” Modi said following a traditional welcoming service performed by chanting Melanesian warriors in grass skirts. Modi’s visit comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day trip to Fiji from tomorrow. China has been busy forging close relations with the island nations and has set up diplomatic missions in almost all the islands. The 14 islands, although small, have a vote each in international forums. They hold strategic weight for New Delhi as it seeks to increasingly play a larger international role. Modi held talks with Prime Minister Bainimarama, presided over the signing of three agreements, addressed the Fijian parliament, becoming the first foreign leader to do so, attended the first India-South Pacific Island nation meeting and later spoke at the Fiji National University. Modi admitted that IndoFiji relations had “at times been adrift, and that our co-operation should be much stronger than it is” and added that he saw his visit as an opportunity to renew an old relationship - and lay the foundation for a strong future partnership. The three memorandums of understanding were for the exchange of land for a new chancery building in New Delhi, on diplomatic exchanges to allow Fijian diplomats to train in India, and on project financing for an electricity co-generation plant funded through the Exim Bank of India. Prime Minister Bainimarama said some 15 more agreements were in the works - on agriculture, trade, health, water and sports. “We are pleased that our relationship with India is growing and we are proud to have India as a partner in Fiji’s future,” he said. In his address to parliament boycotted by the opposition, Modi said Fiji could serve as a hub for stronger Indian engagement with the Pacific islands and become the centre for India’s regional co-operation in space. He announced visa on arrival for Fijians and two lines of credit totalling $75mn for the sugar industry and a grant of $5mn to strengthen and modernise Fiji’s village, small and medium industries. Modi offered India’s help to build a Digital Fiji and thanked Fiji for hosting Indian scientists to track the Mars Mission, Mangalyaan. Remembering the people of Indian origin who comprise 40% of Fiji’s nearly 900,000 population, Modi said: “Fiji will always have a special place (for us). “Fiji is a leader in the region and a strong voice in the developing world.” Addressing the first Pacific Island Leaders Meeting, Modi proposed a slew of steps for closer co-operation, including visa on arrival for all and an e-network to connect the islands to provide tele-medicine and tele-education. He announced a Special Adaptation Fund of $1mn to provide technical assistance and training for capacity building to the Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Niue, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. He announced a hike in Grant-in-Aid from $125,000 to $200,000 annually to each island for community projects selected by them and a trade office of the Pacific Island nations in New Delhi. Modi proposed the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Co-operation (FIPIC) be held on a regular basis and that the next meeting could be held in 2015 in a coastal location in India. Metro project threatens Pink City AFP Jaipur A s she expertly leads tourists past honking cars and rickshaws to a majestic dusty-pink palace, Sunita Sharma voices fears for the Rajasthan city’s historic landmarks as a new transport link looms large. Authorities are building an underground metro near the Hawa Mahal or the “Palace of the Winds” in Jaipur’s old city, a bustling place that blends historic charm with the allure of ancient royalty and draws millions of domestic and foreign visitors. But archaeologists as well as tourist guides like Sharma fear the multi-million dollar project will disturb the foundations of the monuments, built in the 1700s by the all-powerful Maharaja rulers. “Jaipur is known worldwide by these monuments, and if any loss occurs, the grandeur and architectural heritage can never be revived,” Sharma said. Tour operator Sanjay Kaushik agreed, adding he feared visitor numbers would also drop because of the years of looming construction work and resulting traffic chaos. “Tourist season is beginning next month and we fear a decline in the footfall,” Kaushik said from his office in the old city. Tunnelling in the old city is also expected to start next month for the project, which authorities hail as a much-needed upgrade of infrastructure in the “Pink City”, capital of the desert state of Rajasthan. The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC), which is spearheading the multi-year project with a loan from the Asian Development Bank and state government funding, denies the monuments are under threat from tunnelling or from eventual vibrations from the trains. “An environmental impact assessment report was prepared a year ago which said that the vibrations created during the boring and operation of the metro would not be of a level which can harm any structure,” JMRC chairman and managing director N C Goel said. “The vibrations will be low hence the monuments will be safe,” he said, adding that prepa- rations for the tunnelling were at an advanced stage. But some are not convinced, arguing it is almost impossible to guarantee centuries-old buildings will not be weakened by modern-day construction underneath. “Today’s engineers can guarantee strong foundations of a building they are constructing today, but not those of a structure which was built 200 years back,” archaeologist Rima Hooja said. “The government should reconsider whether they want to create a facility at the cost of heritage,” Hooja, a member of the National Monument Authority, said. “Who will be responsible if a loss to these sites occurs?” One of the metro stations is set to be built at a market that lies just 100m from the palace. The tunnel will pass near the neighbouring Unesco heritagelisted Jantar Mantar site, with its giant astronomical instruments carved from sandstone. Even slight damage to the 20odd instruments, designed to observe astronomical positions with the naked eye, would be “a great loss,” said Hooja. Known as India’s first planned city, Jaipur was built in 1727 on a grid system with a fort, palace and other impressive buildings. Construction was overseen by the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who had a keen interest in architecture and astronomy. Its thick perimeter walls and imposing entrance gates drew merchants from around the country who settled in the new city to ply their trade in relative safety. Designed in the form of the crown of lord Krishna, the fivestorey palace has more than 900 small windows. Decorated with intricate latticework, they were designed to allow ladies of the royal court to sit and observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. Another archaeologist, Akshya Jagdhari, said he was concerned that damage to some of the monuments may not be immediately noticed, but could have terrible consequences if left unattended. Jagdhari also pointed to the recent discovery at one of the proposed railway stations of a buried structure that he believes may date back to when the city was built. A member of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) presents a Tabua (Whale’s Tooth) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official welcoming ceremony at Albert Park in Suva yesterday. Vigilance probe clears Mani in bar scam Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, who is under a cloud over charges of corruption on the bar licence issue, yesterday got relief after a preliminary probe by the vigilance did not find any evidence against him. Advocate General K P Dandapani submitted a report to the Kerala High Court. The probe team took statements from 19 people. Biju Ramesh, who owns a string of bars, has alleged that Mani was given Rs10mn to ensure that the state’s 418 bars are allowed to reopen. Since then, Mani came under heavy attack from the opposition who demanded that the 81-yearold legislator who has won every election he contested since 1965 quit. To cool down tempers, the state government asked the vigilance department to conduct a quick verification on the allegation. The high court, acting on a petition filed by Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator V S Sunil Kumar, has directed the probe team to keep the court posted on the progress of the investigation. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 23 INDIA Controversial sect leader held as police find 6 bodies Rampal has repeatedly refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court Agencies Chandigarh/Barwala P olice yesterday arrested controversial sect leader Rampal Maharaj from his ashram in Haryana, officials said. He was whisked away in an ambulance which was followed by a number of police vehicles. Earlier, police discovered five bodies after storming the ashram where thousands of followers have been holed up for days, as a sixth supporter died in hospital. Authorities made the discovery after they used tear gas and batons to force their way into the heavily-guarded ashram of selfstyled “godman,” who is wanted on a series of charges including conspiracy to murder. They found the bodies of four women and an 18-month-old child at the sprawling compound 175km northeast of New Delhi, said Haryana Director General of Police S N Vashisht. The child appeared to have died of natural causes but it was unclear how or when the four women lost their lives, he said, adding that another woman died after being taken to hospital apparently suffering from a heart condition. “All dead bodies have been sent to the hospital where they will undergo a postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of their deaths,” he said. Rampal’s key aides, including his brother Purshottam Dass, and spokesman Raj Kapoor were earlier taken into custody, police said. At least 425 supporters, including private commandos, were arrested yesterday. Thousands of people have poured out of the ashram since Tuesday when police stormed in, but authorities say 5,000 followers are still holding out inside the 12-acre compound. Authorities are sending 500 paramilitaries to the town of Barwala, where the ashram is located, to try to quell the unrest, a home ministry source said. Followers armed with stones, petrol bombs and other weapons had guarded the ashram for days after the Haryana High Court ordered the arrest of their guru, before police went in with water cannon and tear gas. Police were seeking Rampal’s arrest after he repeatedly refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court. “We have already saved around 10,000 lives and around another 5,000 people are inside. We will save their lives and arrest the wanted man,” said Vashisht. Several supporters said they had to fight their way out of the ashram, while police claimed they had been used as human shields to protect the guru. “What started as a trickle hasn’t yet stopped and we have dropped off around 10,000 people at nearby bus and train stations,” assistant police superintendent Jashandeep Singh said of the followers. “The people who left the ashram mostly said that they were being held against their will, as a shield for the guru against any police action,” Singh said from outside the ashram. Police earlier said they were checking those leaving the ashram in case Rampal, a former engineer who considers himself Followers leave the ashram of self-styled ‘godman’ Rampal Maharaj yesterday. an incarnation of the 15th-century mystic poet Kabir, was hiding in the crowd. They accuse him of ordering his disciples to fire on villagers during clashes in 2006 in which one person was killed and scores injured - charges Rampal’s website says are “false.” Rampal claims his hundreds of thousands of followers across India have had chronic illnesses cured and “ruined families have again become prosperous” by devoting themselves to his teachings. Disciples must give up alcohol, smoking, meat, eggs, adultery and gambling, while singing and dancing is banned along with worship of “any other god or goddess.” Born in a village in Haryana to a family of farmers, Rampal obtained a diploma in engineering and later worked at the state’s government’s irrigation department. Rampal went door to door proselytising on behalf of a seer called Ramdevanand and, with an ever growing flock of disciples, opened his ashram in 1999. Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who has otherwise avoided much comment on Rampal issue, yesterday tweeted: “Serious charges of sedition against Rampal & several followers by Haryana Police. Operations to continue till he is arrested from Ashram.” “Govt. & Police are committed to ensure strict compliance of High Court orders, priority is to uphold the law without loss of innocent lives,” he wrote in another tweet. India has been rocked by several scandals involving immensely popular “godmen,” mostly Hindu ascetics who claim to possess mystical powers. Last year one was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl. For many Indians, gurus play an integral role in daily life. They say they offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often give donations to ashrams, temples and charity projects. Gunman attacks executive with AK-47 Lanka pardons Indian fishermen Agencies Colombo F ive Indian fishermen condemned to death for smuggling drugs into Sri Lanka will walk free after President Mahinda Rajapakse pardoned them yesterday, his office said. The Colombo High Court convicted the men last month after they were arrested off the northwest coast in 2011 and charged with possessing nearly 1kg of heroin. “They were given a presidential pardon and transferred to the custody of immigration authorities to be sent back home,” presidential spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said. The move followed diplomatic pressure to free the men and allegations in India that they were framed because they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The Indian high commission in Colombo said the gesture would further boost bilateral ties. The mission said the fishermen would be sent home and won’t have to serve their sentence in India. “We are deeply grateful to Mahinda Rajapakse for this humanitarian gesture which will further strengthen the strong and multifaceted relations between India and Sri Lanka,” the mission said. Drug convictions carry a mandatory death sentence, which is almost always commuted to life in prison. Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976. Emerson, P Augustus, R Wil- son, K Prasath and J Langlet had withdrawn their appeal last week, clearing the way for a presidential pardon. Fishermen from the two countries often stray into each others’ waters, creating a thorny issue for Colombo and Delhi. Authorities in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly accused Sri Lanka’s navy of harassing their fishermen and urged Delhi to take firm action against Colombo. Sri Lanka denies the charges, and says Indian fishermen regularly stray into Sri Lankan waters and deprive local fishermen of their livelihood. In Chennai, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the release came about due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ex- ternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. BJP’s Tamil Nadu leader Tamilisai Soundararajan also said that there would soon be a permanent solution to the problem of attacks by the Sri Lankan navy on Indian fishermen in the sea. The two countries are separated by a narrow strip of sea known as the Palk Strait, which is also a rich fishing ground. During the height of Sri Lanka’s separatist war in the island’s northeast, close to southern India, fishing provided a cover for lucrative smuggling of arms and fuel to the rebels. Sri Lankan authorities say smugglers are now bringing narcotics into the island for shipping to other destinations. Court rejects plea to drop Chavan from Adarsh case IANS Mumbai T he Bombay High Court yesterday rejected a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation to remove the name of former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from the list of accused in the Adarsh Society scam case. Justice M L Tahiliyani gave the ruling on a revision application of the CBI after the agency’s earlier plea was rejected by a court in January, Ashish Mehta, a lawyer who had earlier represented the petitioner in the case, said. The ruling could prove to be a major setback to Chavan as he will have to face trial as an accused, and there are indications that he is likely to appeal against it in the Supreme Court, Mehta added. Earlier, former Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan refused sanction to prosecute Chavan for want of evidence against him. The CBI told the court that since the governor refused to grant sanction, and as it had no material to prosecute, the agency should be allowed to discharge Chavan from the case. Chavan was charged with providing additional FSI (floor space index) to the Adarsh Society allegedly in return for flats for his relatives in the posh building in south Mumbai. The CBI said that during his tenure as the state revenue minister, Chavan granted approval for permitting 40% of the total flats to civilians though the Adarsh Society was meant to house Kargil widows, war heroes and defence personnel. Chavan resigned as chief minister after the scam was exposed in 2010 and was replaced by Prithviraj Chavan. The 31-storeyed Adarsh Society building stands on a prime piece of land in Colaba, south Mumbai. Top politicians and bureaucrats were accused of bypassing rules to corner the posh flats at cheap rates. In a sensational incident, an unidentified person opened fire from an AK-47 on a top executive of a pharma company in the highsecurity KBR Park here yesterday morning. Aurobindo Pharma director and vicechairman K Nityananda Reddy escaped unhurt, police said. The attacker fled, leaving behind his gun and a bag. Reddy also opened fire from his pistol. The incident took place around 7am when Reddy returned to his Audi car after a morning walk in the park. The gunman, who was sitting in the car, apparently tried to kidnap him. Reddy told reporters he held the attacker’s gun and in the scuffle he fired four rounds. He shouted for help and meanwhile his brother Shivananda also reached there. They tried to catch hold of the assailant, who fired a few more rounds, damaging the windows of the car. Faced with stiff resistance, the assailant fled, leaving behind his weapon and a bag. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy said the rifle was missing since January this year from a commando of Greyhounds, the elite anti-Maoist force. The police are probing the incident from all angles including the possibility of the involvement of a Maoist or a former Maoist. The motive of the attacker is also still not clear. Investigating officials were gathering information from Nityananda Reddy and his brother and also analysing the footage from CCTV cameras installed at the nearby traffic signal and at the office of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to identify the attacker. The incident sent panic among VIPs who throng the famous park for their daily morning walk. Politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, film actors and other celebrities frequent the park. 24 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 LATIN AMERICA OFFBEAT Student Cristobal Cabello locks a functional prototype of the so-called ‘unstealable bike’, in Santiago, Chile. The bike can be locked with its own parts, thus making it ‘unstealable’, according to the project leaders. Massive search for kidnapped general in Colombia CRIME OPINION COMMENT FRAUD 11-year-old girl used as drug mule in Colombia Pena Nieto sees anti-govt motive in protests Venezuela’s international reserves ‘to rise $4bn’ Brazil tycoon on trial for insider trading Police say they have caught Colombia’s youngest drug mule after an 11-year-old girl underwent surgery to have more than 100 capsules removed from her stomach. The unnamed child is in hospital under guard in Cali, western Colombia, after the failed attempt to smuggle the drugs - hidden in the capsules - to Europe. “She is out of surgery after 104 capsules were removed,” Cali police commander Hoover Penilla said. The girl’s parents are separated. Her mother said the girl was with her father for a weekend and came back feeling queasy at night, and when she still felt unwell in the morning was taken to the hospital, Penilla said. Authorities were hunting for the father, he added. Grappling with outrage over violence and impunity after the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto accused unspecified groups of seeking to destabilise his government. Protest marches over the crime, which the government has blamed on corrupt police in league with a drug gang and city officials, have overshadowed Pena Nieto’s efforts to boost years of sub-par economic growth via a raft of economic reforms. “We have seen violent movements which hide behind the grief to stage protests, the aim of which at times is unclear,” the president said. “They seem to obey interests to generate instability, to foment social unrest.” Venezuela’s international reserves will rise by $4bn this week, Finance Minister Rodolfo Marco said, following an extended decline that has worried foreign investors. “We should increase the reserves by $4bn this week, and thus strengthen the reserves,” Marco said without elaborating on where the funds were coming from. Following his comments, the central bank’s website showed reserves had risen $2bn to $21.5bn. Reserves have dropped from $29.8bn at the start of last year, and last week reached their lowest since 2003. Once the full $4bn is deposited, they would climb to their highest since August 2013. Flamboyant multimillionaire Eike Batista, once Brazil’s richest man and one of the wealthiest in the world, went on trial in Rio to answer allegations of insider trading. The 58-year-old businessman, who made his fortune from mining and oil and married a model wife as he piled up a fortune of some $30bn, is accused of stock-market manipulation by using privileged information last year to sell off company stock. Once the world’s eighth-richest person, Batista is now said to be worth less than $100mn. Batista, who faces up to five years in jail, is accused of deceiving investors by shelving a plan to invest $1bn in his oil company OGX, whose production targets proved wildly over optimistic. Squatters evicted Bodies of beauty queen, sister found in Honduras AFP Bogota T he Colombian army has mounted a massive search for a general captured by Farc guerrillas, a kidnapping that has derailed peace talks just as they marked their two-year anniversary yesterday. Some 1,500 troops, 10 helicopters and planes, as well as boats and land vehicles have been deployed in the junglecovered region of Choco to search for General Ruben Alzate, the highest-ranking military officer to be captured by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in five decades of conflict. Alzate, 55, went missing on Sunday with Corporal Jorge Rodriguez and army adviser Gloria Urrego as they travelled by boat to visit a civilian energy project in Choco, where the general heads a task force responsible for fighting the rebels and drug gangs rife in the region. The kidnapping caused President Juan Manuel Santos to suspend peace talks with the Farc in Havana, the most promising effort yet to end Colombia’s 50-year-old conflict. Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon has cancelled a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York to travel to Quibdo, the capital of Choco department, to personally coordinate the search for the three hostages. “Operations in Choco will continue for as long as necessary,” Pinzon said after a flyover of the remote, densely forested zone on Tuesday evening. Santos, who has staked his presidency on the peace talks, has said they will not resume until the captives are released. The local government and Catholic Church in Quibdo have set up three empty chairs in the city centre in tribute to the three hostages. AFP Tegucigalpa P Squatters carry their belongings as they leave the newly built apartments of the “Minha Casa, Minha Vida” (My House, My Life) housing programme in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Authorities have ordered the eviction of about 200 families from nearby slums, who moved into the apartments on November 9, according to local media. The apartments of the housing programme, meant for the poor, have already been allocated to families by raffle. Mexico first lady to sell controversial mansion AFP Mexico City M exico’s first lady has announced she was putting her multimillion-dollar private mansion on sale to end a controversy over her purchase of the property from a government contractor. Pushing back at suggestions of a conflict of interest, Angelica Rivera issued a video on her website to say she had bought the house with her earnings from her days as a popular soap opera star. Criticism of the mansion in a posh Mexico City neighbourhood has been an extra headache for President Enrique Pena Nieto, already struggling with protests over the government’s handling of the presumed massacre of 43 college students. “In the face of accusations that have put my honour in doubt, I want to make it clear before all Mexicans that I have nothing to hide, that I have worked all my life and that thanks to that I am an inde- pendent woman,” Rivera said. “I have always acted with integrity,” she said, adding that she had declared nearly $10mn in revenue in 2010, for which she paid almost $3mn in taxes. Rivera signed the real estate deal in January 2012, six months before Pena Nieto was elected president. Her explanation came hours after a visibly irate Pena Nieto said his wife would publicly clear up the “falsehoods” in the report by prominent journalist Carmen Aristegui. “I will not allow this issue and finger-pointing to put in doubt the trust that the majority of Mexicans have put in me,” Pena Nieto said in a speech in his native central State of Mexico. Rivera said she was selling the house - which she said was bought for $4mn - “because I don’t want this to continue being a pretext to insult and defame my family.” But Rivera’s explanation did not appear to refute the main facts in the report, including that the house was built by and was still in the name of a government contractor’s subsidiary. Revelations about the “White House” were made last week on Aristegui’s website, which said the house was built by a subsidiary of Grupo Higa, a company headed by Mexican mogul Juan Armando Hinojosa. Rivera acknowledged that the house was built by Hinojosa’s real estate company after she told him she was looking for a new property. Grupo Higa had won lucrative public works contracts when Pena Nieto was governor of the State of Mexico. Earlier this month, it was part of a Chinese-Mexican consortium that won a $3.7bn bullet train contract. But three days before the Aristegui report came out, Pena Nieto abruptly cancelled the train deal, putting him in an awkward position as he travelled to summits in China. The government said it wanted to avoid any questions about transparency after the opposition raised questions about why only one group, the one led by China Railway Construction Corporation, had bid for the contract. olice found the bodies of the reigning Miss Honduras and her sister dumped beside a river yesterday, and said they are holding the sister’s boyfriend on suspicion of killing them. Maria Jose Alvarado, who had planned to fly to London yesterday to compete in the Miss World contest, disappeared with her sister Sofia Trinidad in northwestern Honduras last Thursday after a party, sparking an exhaustive search. Chief detective Leandro Osorio said the bodies of the 19-year-old beauty queen and her sister had been found partially buried along the banks of the Aguagual River in the town of Arada. “We are 100% sure that it’s them,” he said. Police have detained Trinidad’s boyfriend, arrested Tuesday in connection with the sisters’ kidnapping, on suspicion of killing them, Osorio said. “We are holding the author of this horrific act, Plutarco Ruiz. We have found the murder weapon and the vehicle used to transport them,” he said. Police are investigating additional suspects who they believe played a role in trying to cover up the crime, Osorio added. Organisers of the Miss World pageant issued a statement yesterday expressing their condolences, and announcing a tribute this weekend in honour of the slain sisters. “We are devastated by this Lopez supporters terrible loss of two young women, who were so full of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Maria Jose Alvarado and Sofia Trinidad at this time of grief,” the London-based organisers said. “We are receiving messages of condolences and support from our Miss World family across the world, who all share our sadness at such a tragedy,” the statement added. “We will be holding a special service with all of the Miss World contestants on Sunday” “We will be holding a special service with all of the Miss World contestants on Sunday, where we will be honouring the lives of Maria Jose Alvarado and Sofia Trinidad, and say prayers for them and their family.” The pageant organisers said they also planned donate money to a children’s home in Honduras in the two women’s memory. Alvarado and Trinidad disappeared outside the northwestern city of Santa Barbara after attending a birthday party for Ruiz at a local resort. Osorio said forensics investigators had not yet examined the bodies, but that evidence indicated the women were killed the same night. Police arrested Ruiz on Tuesday, seizing a Colt-45 pistol and two vehicles. “Investigators have US urged to end embargo on Cuba AFP Washington T A group of people demonstrate in support of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez next to the Palace of Justice in Caracas, Venezuela. Lopez, who has been held in preventive prison nine months, appeared before a tribunal for the alleged violent acts during protests against the government in early 2014. been working tirelessly to get to the bottom of these atrocious acts, which have caused mourning in Santa Barbara and across Honduras,” Osorio said. The sisters were last seen leaving the party in a champagne-coloured car. Their mother, Teresa Munoz, says the same vehicle arrived at her home earlier that day to pick up Maria Jose, who had just arrived from the capital Tegucigalpa, about 200kms away. Sofia was supposedly inside the car at the time, but Munoz said she did not see her. “It seemed strange to me that Sofia didn’t get out of the car. I asked Maria Jose why and she said they were in a hurry, and left,” she said. Alvarado had been set to fly to London yesterday to compete in Miss World, which begins Saturday and wraps up on December 14. She was also known in Honduras for her work as a model on a popular TV game show called “X-0.” Her family had made a tearful plea for the sisters’ safe return after their disappearance. Residents of Santa Barbara held a demonstration demanding their release on Tuesday, when hope still lingered that they were alive. Honduras, a poor Central American country of 8mn people, has the world’s highest homicide rate: 90.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. The United Nations’ special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, warned in July that violence against women was on the rise in Honduras, with a 263.4% increase in the number of women killed violently between 2005 and 2013. he grandson of Ernest Hemingway has called for the normalisation of diplomatic ties between the US and Cuba, home to the American literary giant for several years during the 1940s and 1950s. “I think it is important that the diplomatic relations are re-established,” John Hemingway told a press conference in Washington calling for USCuba ties to be normalised to help marine conservation. “I believe these two countries need to finally recognise each other and do things in a normal fashion,” Hemingway added. Ernest Hemingway maintained a home in Cuba for years before committing suicide in Idaho in 1961. The writer set one of his most famous novels - The Old Man and the Sea - on the island, telling the story of a Cuban fisherman and his unsuccessful pursuit of a large marlin. The 1952 novel earned Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize and contributed to him being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature two years later. To mark the 60th anniversary of their grandfather’s Nobel prize, John Hemingway and his brother Patrick recently travelled to Cuba to push for closer environmental co-operation between the United States and Cuba. The United States has maintained a decades-long embargo against Communistruled Cuba since 1960. However Hemingway said it was time for Washington to call a halt to sanctions on Havana. “Cuba has been ignored by the US, which is amazing, because it is the biggest island in the Caribbean, with 11mn people, and we aren’t doing anything, pretending that it is not there,” Hemingway said. Environmentalists want an end to the US embargo in order to allow scientists and nongovernmental organisations on both sides of the Florida Straits to work together to improve marine conservation. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 25 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN ‘India, Pakistan were very near to agreement on Kashmir’ IANS New Delhi I ndia and Pakistan were very near to a framework agreement on the Kashmir issue through back-channel talks during the previous Congress-led regime and it can be put to use by the new regimes in the two countries, former Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said yesterday. Interacting with a select group of media persons here about his forthcoming book titled Neither hawk, nor dove, Kasuri said the new governments in India and Pakistan can take forward the framework by giving it a new name-tag. “Try hard as they may, they can’t change it. Both states know each other’s bottomline,” he said. Kasuri said the book has a chapter on the four-point Kashmir framework. “We were very near (to agreement).” Kasuri, who was Pakistan’s foreign minister 2002-07 and is a senior leader of cricketerturned politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, said he had seen the negotiations on the framework from close quarters and witnessed the exchange of drafts. “It went on for three years,” he said. Kasuri said the framework was such that the leadership on both sides thought they could convince the majority of their people as also vast sections of people in Kashmir. Kasuri said former US sec- retary of state Henry Kissinger had used the term “balanced dissatisfaction” in terms of the Ukraine crisis, but India and Pakistan’s back channel talks were trying to achieve more. “We were trying to achieve more than balanced dissatisfaction,” he said. Kasuri said only top military and foreign office authorities from Pakistan apart from then president Pervez Musharraf were in the know of the framework. “Manmohan Singh was equally secretive. No one wanted a negative spin,” he said. He said the book narrates “what we agreed on, what led to it, what pressures were there on us, what were we facing, what were we being told”. Kasuri said he had dealt with three Indian foreign ministers - Four sentenced to death for ‘honour killing’ Four relatives of a pregnant woman who bludgeoned her to death outside one of Pakistan’s top courts were sentenced to death yesterday for the crime AFP Islamabad A Pakistan court yesterday sentenced four men to death for murdering a pregnant woman bludgeoned to death in the centre of the country’s second-largest city for marrying against her family’s wishes. A mob of more than two dozen attackers, among them numerous relatives including the victim’s father and brother, battered Farzana Parveen to death with bricks outside the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore in May. So-called “honour” killings are commonplace in Pakistan but the brutal and brazen nature of the attack on 25-year-old Parveen meant the case made headlines around the world. “The court today awarded death sentences to four accused — the father, brother, cousin and ex-husband of the victim — for murder and terrorism,” prosecutor Rai Asif Mehmood said. Mehmood said the sentences were handed down for three counts—murder, terrorism and the killing of an unborn baby— and the court had also fined each defendant Rs100,000 ($1,000). The fifth accused in the case, a cousin of Parveen, was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment, Mehmood said. Though Pakistan has the death penalty for several crimes, there has been a de facto moratorium on civilian executions since 2008. Defence lawyer Mansoor Rehman Afridi said his clients would appeal. “The court today awarded death sentences to four accused — the father, brother, cousin and ex-husband of the victim — for murder and terrorism” “My clients will appeal against their sentences as we believe that the case had been politicised and the media coverage mounted pressure on us,” Afridi said. The killing sparked outrage, with the United States branding the incident “heinous” and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanding action to catch the killers. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the grounds of defending family “honour”. The Aurat Foundation, a campaign group that works to improve the lives of women in Pakistan’s conservative and patriarchal society, says more than 3,000 have been killed in such attacks since 2008. But Pakistan’s blood-money laws allow a victim’s family to forgive the murderer on receipt of a payment, which makes prosecuting so-called “honour” cases difficult because the killer is usually a relative. Parveen’s killing, in broad daylight in a supposedly relatively liberal city, caused particular outrage as police were present at the scene but apparently did nothing to stop the attack. Senior officers defended their men, saying the mob was too large to be stopped and trying to play down the killing as a “routine murder”. In a grisly twist to the case, a few days after Parveen’s death her husband Mohamed Iqbal admitted he had strangled his first wife out of love for Parveen. He was spared jail for his first wife’s murder because his sons persuaded her family to pardon him under the blood-money laws. On the day she was attacked Parveen had gone to court to testify in Iqbal’s defence after he was accused by her relatives of kidnapping her and forcing her into marriage. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri Yashwant Sinha, Natwar Singh and Pranab Mukherjee - and had a continuous view. He said only a few people can draw a complete picture of the Kashmir framework, including Musharraf, Manmohan Singh and Satinder Lambah, India’s special envoy who was part of the back channel talks. Kasuri said he wished Manmohan Singh had visited Pakistan in 2006 to sign an agreement on Sir Creek as it would have also paved the way for the agreement on Kashmir. Speaking of the Kashmir framework, he said Indians wanted reciprocity on everything and their bottom line was that there would be no change in geographic frontiers. He said Kashmiris did not want their state to be split. According to a published account of the framework agreement, the first step was to make the Line of Control (LoC) just ‘a line on a map’. The second step was to strengthen local self-governments on both sides of the LoC. The third step entailed creation of joint or co-operative institutions under the charge of Kashmiri leaders to co-ordinate policies on matters of common interest. The fourth and final element was ‘agreed withdrawal’ of troops on both sides. Kasuri said he had suggested his book’s title as “Interrupted symphony” but his publishers came up with a new title which was acceptable to him. He said the book also talks about things that have gone wrong in Pakistan. He said there were some distortions in history and Pakistan was the inheritor of the Indus Valley civilisation and should take ownership of it. “I have tried to give a hard message. I am a politician. I am a realist,” he said. He said India had great potential but it can be achieved only if there was peace. “Meeting of hearts (is needed). Meeting of arms will achieve nothing.” Kasuri said politicians from either side should refrain from display of one-upmanship. “India bashing or Pakistan bashing, no politician should play to win votes,” he said. He also favoured greater people-to-people interaction and opening both sides to each other’s films and TV serials. Kasuri is in Delhi to take part in a track-II dialogue that also involves Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. Tribal families flee fighting Pakistani tribal families flee from neighbouring Khyber tribal region due to the fighting between security forces and militants groups, wait for registration at an office on the outskirts of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan. Court orders probe into prison polio claim AFP Islamabad P akistan’s Supreme Court has ordered an investigation after a female prisoner serving a sentence for murder claimed her daughter had contracted polio in the jail, officials said yesterday. Convict Naseeban Katoon says her daughter, who lives with her in Karachi central prison, was not given polio vaccination drops and caught the crippling virus, Assistant Advocate General of Sindh province Qasim Mir said. The Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry into the case and instructed all the country’s provinces to disclose whether polio drops were being administered in their prisons, Mir said. Pakistan is one of only three countries around the world where polio remains endemic, but years of attempts to stamp it out have been badly hit by opposition from militants and attacks on immunisation teams. Cases have soared to a 14year high in Pakistan this year, with 235 confirmed infections as of this month — more than double the total for the whole of 2013. Katoon first raised the issue in 2009 when she applied for permission to take her daughter out of the prison for treatment, but the Supreme Court has only now heard the case. Shafi Mohammad Chandio, Additional Advocate General (senior legal officer) for the province, said the court sought a reply from officials in Sindh within 15 days. “The Sindh police chief has told us in writing that he has already started an investigation into whether the prison doctor had administered polio drops to the girl,” he said. A senior Sindh official said on condition of anonymity that there were very few children in prison, and vaccination teams did not visit them since they lacked data about child inmates. Won’t allow proxy India-Pakistan war: Karzai PIA cleared for EU cargo flights F P AFP New Delhi ormer president Hamid Karzai insisted yesterday that Afghanistan would not allow itself to become the battleground in a proxy war between India and Pakistan after the imminent departure of USled troops. Speaking in New Delhi, Karzai angrily rejected warnings by his one-time counterpart in Islamabad Pervez Musharraf that India and Pakistan could co-opt allies among Afghanistan’s main ethnic groups to effectively wage war against each other, saying such claims were “hurtful”. “Of course Afghanistan will not allow a proxy war between Pakistan and India,” Karzai said in an address to a thinktank, saying he was “sure” India wouldn’t allow such a scenario either. In an AFP interview earlier this week, Musharraf warned that Pakistan would look to use ethnic Pashtuns to counter if India tries to achieve its goal of creating an “anti-Pakistan Afghanistan”. Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have long ac- cused each other of using proxy forces to try to gain influence in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has a history of 5,000 years. Saying that Pashtuns will be used as a tool is insulting to Pashtuns, insulting to the people of Afghanistan” “If Indians are using some elements of the ethnic entities in Afghanistan, then Pakistan will use its own support for ethnic elements, and our ethnic elements are certainly Pashtuns,” the former general said ahead of the pullout later this year of Nato combat troops after 13 years. But Karzai, who has long accused Islamabad of trying to destabilise the Kabul government, said any suggestion that Pashtuns would do Pakistan’s bidding was “hurtful” and an insult to Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group. “That was a very unfortunate remark,” said Karzai, who is himself a Pashtun. “Afghanistan has a history of 5,000 years. Saying that Pashtuns will be used as a tool is insulting to Pashtuns, insulting to the people of Afghanistan.” Pakistan was one of only three countries that recognised the mainly Pashtun Taliban regime that ruled in Kabul before being toppled in late 2001 after a USled invasion in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The Taliban’s downfall led to Karzai’s installation as Afghan leader and he remained in power until standing down as president earlier this year. Musharraf, who was a key ally of the US during the invasion, is currently confined to his home in Karachi as he battles a series of criminal cases dating back to his near decade-long rule that ended in 2008. PPP draws flak over wave of child deaths AFP Islamabad N early 300 children have died this year in desert communities in southern Pakistan, officials said yesterday, as poor monsoon rains and livestock diseases have combined to worsen malnutrition. The Thar desert, straddling the Indian border and one of Pakistan’s poorest areas, has seen an alarming number of children suffering pneumonia or diarrhoea due to a dangerous mix of drought, poverty and poor health infrastructure. The deaths have prompted criticism for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which governs in the southern prov- ince of Sindh where part of the desert is located. A total of 496 people, 296 of them children, have died in Thar this year, Taj Haider, a senior PPP official with responsibility for the Thar situation, said. Since the start of October 48 children have died in Thar, according to doctor Abdul Jalil, district health officer for Tharparkar district. This week around 40 children, some in critical condition, are undergoing treatment in a hospital in Mithi, the nearest town to the affected area, according to humanitarian sources. “The current situation is due to a combination of factors. Low rainfall and sheep pox exacerbated malnutrition and (there was) a lack of healthcare facili- ties,” a UN official said. Life in the desert is closely tied to rain-dependent crops and animals, with farmers relying on beans, wheat and sesame seeds for survival. They barter any surplus for livestock. There are few healthcare facilities in the area, and families must travel substantial distances to seek treatment. AFP Karachi akistan International Airlines (PIA) has secured approval for cargo services to the European Union after being suspended over security fears, officials said yesterday, a rare boost for the beleaguered flag-carrier. The EU tightened security controls on air freight in the wake of a plot to smuggle a bomb hidden in printer toner cartridges on a plane from Yemen in 2010. New regulations came into force in July this year and in September the EU suspended PIA’s right to fly cargo into the bloc over non-compliance. PIA got clearance from the EU after installing dual view X-ray machines and explosive trace detectors to thoroughly scan goods and parcels booked on its flights. “It is a very big achievement for us now that EU experts have audited our security installations and validated our safety and security standards,” Captain Salman Azhar, PIA’s director for safety and quality insurance, said. PIA acquired the validation of safety and security standards for Lahore airport in September and now Karachi and Islamabad airports have also been granted the EU clearance. Once a jewel among Asian airlines, state-owned PIA has suffered terrible problems in recent years, with financial losses running to hundreds of millions of dollars and constant flight cancellations. Last year one of its pilots was jailed in the UK for showing up drunk to fly a plane with 156 people on board, and Pakistani airports suffered two major security incidents this year. In June heavily armed militants stormed Karachi international airport in a commando-style raid that left 38 people dead, including the 10 attackers. Two weeks later, gunmen opened fire on a PIA flight from Saudi Arabia as it landed at Peshawar airport in the country’s restive northwest. 26 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 PHILIPPINES Ace comedian hails hardworking overseas Filipino workers Manila Times Manila “ Sometimes, it is good to be lazy!” was ace comedian Vic Sotto’s teasing reminder to hardworking overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last Thursday when he officially announced his latest endorsement for CitiGlobal properties. The company’s developments, according to their new influential brand ambassador, hopes to empower the country’s modern day heroes — who have bolstered the economy with their dollar remittances — to make use of their hard-earned money wisely and enjoy it leisurely. “Through Eat Bulaga (the country’s longest running noontime show), I’ve met so many hardworking Pinoys who are separated from their families so they could give them better lives. And while they do that, they’ve also managed to save a good amount of money, which I personally believe they should invest for the future. And for me, the best and safe investment is real estate,” Bossing Vic, as he is known to all, explained. “Besides being affordable, CitiGlobal properties are developed in leisure locations such as Tagaytay, which provide OFWs a place for vacation, and while they’re away, a place to rent out.” With the company’s head honchos, Beth and Gary To beside him, Vic reiterated his support for OFWs, whom he said are “close to his heart.” “Last April, we were at Toronto and we saw how homesick Filipinos were. Most of them are saving money to go on vacation, that’s why they are working hard for them to later relax and enjoy.” He said they deserved it and something like this venture could make it happen for them. Connecting with community He further noted that owning a property provides OFWs a sense of accomplishment in that they have not only bettered their families’ lives, but have also saved enough to afford some of life’s luxuries. “What I appreciate about CitiGlobal is that their schemes are very realistic for our OFWs, that is why I am truly proud to be their ambassador,” he said. Former Comelec official reveals fraud in 2013 polls By Robertzon F Ramirez Manila Times A Counter staff pose with Philippine President Benigno Aquino after he dined at Filipino fast food restaurant Jollibee at Lucky Plaza in Singapore yesterday. Aquino was in Singapore on a two-day visit. Would-be witness in massacre murdered AFP Manila A potential witness in the trial over the Philippines’ worst political massacre has been killed, police said yesterday as the government struggled to secure justice for the 2009 murder of 58 people. Tuesday’s attack brings to four the number of would-be witnesses in the ongoing trial to be killed, with no one yet convicted nearly five years on. Dennis Sakal died while another potential witness Sukarno Saudagal was wounded in the attack by unknown gunmen in the southern province of Maguindanao, where the massacre took place on November 23, 2009, said provincial police chief Rodelio Jocson. “I was officially informed that the two were to take the stand,” Senior Superintendent Jocson said by telephone. He said he was unaware of what they planned to say. Apart from the three other potential witnesses murdered earlier, three relatives of persons Relatives of victims of the Maguindanao Massacre arrive at the National Police Commission headquarters, to ask for the dismissal of police involved in the massacre, in Manila yesterday. who had planned to testify at the trial in Manila have also been killed, prosecutors say. The 2009 massacre was allegedly orchestrated by the Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao on Mindanao island in a bid to stop a local rival from challenging one of its members for the post of governor. The clan’s candidate, Andal Ampatuan junior, allegedly led his family’s private army in stopping a convoy carrying his Rizal Park makeover begins ahead of Pope Francis visit By Robertzon F Ramirez Manila Times A makeover of Rizal Park (Luneta) in Manila is in full swing as the government prepares for the visit of Pope Francis in January next year. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) yesterday said the renovation work at the park where the Pope will say Mass is about 30% to 40% finished. DPWH-National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila) Director Reynaldo Tagundando said rehabilitation work is being done 24/7. The government allotted P20mn to beautify the 40-hectare park. Tagundando said aside from the physical renovation of the park, part of the budget will be used for repair of liturgical requirements and wiring and cable systems as well as installation of portable toilets and platforms, among other purposes. He added that the altar where the pontiff will say the Mass at the Luneta Grandstand on Jan- uary 18, 2015 was designed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Earlier reports quoted government and church authorities as saying the expected crowd attendance at the event could top 6mn, thus raising security and mobility concerns. Tagundando said the crowd could spill to Anda Circle and Taft Avenue. He, however, gave assurances that those far from the grandstand would still see and hear the Pope because LED screens will be installed in and around the park. Vic Sotto: praise for OFWs foe’s wife, relatives, lawyers and a group of more than 30 journalists, and then gunning them down. A total of 111 out of 195 suspects are on trial, including the principal suspects Andal junior, brother Zaldy Ampatuan and their father and clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan senior. However, court officials said the other suspects remain at large and prosecutors do not expect the court to hand down verdicts until next year at the earliest. Abigail Valte, a spokeswoman for President Benigno Aquino, and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines both condemned the latest ambush. “The government has to step up and secure people involved in this trial, which has taken too long already,” union director Jose Jaime Espina said. “It does not help the morale of the other witnesses,” Valte acknowledged. The Ampatuans, who deny the murder charges, had ruled Maguindanao for about a decade under the patronage of thenpresident Gloria Arroyo, who had used the clan’s militias as a buffer against separatist rebels. Despite the detention of top clan leaders, wives and other relatives of the key defendants were elected to major local posts across Maguindanao last year, attesting to the clan’s enduring influence. former official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday claimed that the poll body attempted to cover up widespread electronic manipulation of vote results in the 2013 mid-term elections. Lawyer Melchor Magdamo, executive assistant to thenComelec Chairman Jose Melo, said the electronic “dagdagbawas” (vote padding and shaving) was discovered during a random manual audit conducted by experts from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). He added that Sen. Aquilino Pimentel and evangelist Eddie Villanueva were among the “victims” of the “electronic dagdag-bawas” in the 2013 senatorial polls, where Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines acquired from Smartmatic were used. Pimentel was among the 12 winners proclaimed, having landed in eighth place. Villanueva secured the 19th spot. The senatorial race last year was topped by Grace Poe, who got 20,337,327 votes. “They (Comelec) tried to cover up the results,” Magdamo said. He noted that Pimentel and Villanueva no longer filed a protest because of the late discovery of the anomaly. The former poll official said current Comelec Chairperson Sixto Brillantes Jr questioned the authority of DOST of- ficials when the technical report on the manual audit was presented to the senate in December 2013, over reports of discrepancies in the PCOS and manual count of votes. Magdamo added that the results of the senatorial elections may have been preprogrammed in the PCOS machines as indicated in the report of the Technical Evaluation Committee composed of IT experts from DOST. The evaluation found lines in the digital images of the counted ballots produced by almost all counting machines that compromised the vote count for senators, he said. “It was discovered to be widespread in ballots all over the country, there are mysterious digital lines that affected the vote count,” the co-convener of election watchdog group Citizens for Clean and Credible Election (C3E), said. C3E is among the groups pressing for the disqualification of Smartmatic from participating in the bidding for 23,000 additional voting machines to be used in 2016. The Comelec has started the bidding process for the P2bn supply contract and the refurbishment of the existing 83,000 PCOS machines. Magdamo said the presence of digital lines had the effect of an “electronic dagdag bawas” in that they added or subtracted votes for a particular candidate. Blank ovals were counted as votes for particular candidates once the vertical lines on the electronic image of the ballot were detected. China urged to match assurance with actions DPA Manila T he Philippines yesterday urged China to match with actions President Xi Jinping’s commitment not to use force in resolving territorial disputes in the region. Xi made the assurance in a speech before the Australian parliament after the G20 summit. “This expression of commitment by the Chinese president, when coupled with concrete actions on the ground, will undoubtedly lead to an improved situation in the South China Sea,” said Charles Jose, spokesman for the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs. “We welcome the statement, but it should be matched with the action,” he added. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which straddles key shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in oil and minerals. Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam also have overlapping claims over the area. The Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of alleged incursions, harassment of fishermen, reclamation work and disruption of oil and gas exploration projects in territories that are within their exclusive economic zones. Campaign to promote sanitation Filipino residents hold water containers as they participate in an event to mark World Toilet Day at a poor community in Manila yesterday. The UN General Assembly has designated November 19 as World Toilet Day, urging changes in both behaviour and policy, on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open-air defecation. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 27 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Rajapakse cleared to seek snap elections AFP Colombo S ri Lanka’s president cleared a final hurdle to seeking reelection yesterday when he completed the mandatory four years of his second term, opening the way for snap polls expected in January. Mahinda Rajapakse is widely expected to seek re-election after Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court last week rejected an opposition challenge to the removal of a two-term limit on the presidency. “After completing four years in his current (second) term, the president now has the constitutional authority to seek a fresh mandate from the people,” his spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said. Samaranayake did not say when Rajapakse would issue a proclamation seeking re-election — the next step towards polls — but official sources said it could happen within 24 hours. Although no elections have yet been called, large posters featuring a smiling Rajapakse already appear on lamp posts around the country, as was the case in previous election campaigns. Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella recently said elections could be held around January 7 or 8, and yesterday the state-run Daily News brought out a special 92-page supplement on the president’s administration. However, celebrations for Rajapakse’s 69th birthday were marred on Tuesday when a key coalition partner, the JHU or the National Heritage Party of Buddhist monks, quit his government in protest at his failure to loosen his grip on power. Official sources said Rajapakse was keen to secure another mandate before his party’s popularity falls further. Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance vote share plummeted at local elections in September, suffering its worst performance since he first came to power nine years ago. Rajapakse won the presidency in 2005 promising to return the country to a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. But he secured a second term in 2010 and rewrote the constitution, removing the two-term limit on the top job and giving IANS Kathmandu N epal’s parties in parliament have rejected a joint proposal tabled by the ruling Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), which they believe could further affect a fragile constitution drafting process, party leaders said yesterday. After a meeting of 20 parties led by the main opposition United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), they said the proposal of the ruling parties was aimed at destabilising the constitution drafting process and pushing the country toward further uncertainty, according to Xinhua. Two weeks ago, the ruling parties came up with a joint By Mizan Rahman Dhaka Reuters Dhaka B I Sheikh Hasina: “The development is possible by that political force which has liberated the country.” an intensive negative propaganda at international level against the government after 10th parliamentary election. “But the base of Bangladesh’s friendly relations and mutual co-operation with outside world is gradually gaining a firm footing,” she said, adding that Bangladesh’s continued success in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, democratic advancement and stride to uphold human rights are the cornerstone of the country’s image abroad. Hasina said Bangladesh since formation of the government by Awami League government in 2009, has been making tremendous economic success. “About 50mn people lifted their position to medium income level from extreme poverty, lessening overall poverty by 24.47%.” The prime minister said Bangladesh is now a global brand for its success in agriculture. With around 160mn people, she said, the country is now self-sufficient in food production. Hasina said the country is playing an active role in all multilateral forums. Bangladesh has also been elected as member and chair in many global forums including different bodies of the UN with a high margin. She said the country is now installed in a very dignified position in the global arena. “Bangladesh is recognised as a progressive, democratic, secular and effective country aspiring for development, peace and prosperity.” She laid importance on sustaining the country’s progress in all fields particularly in the areas of good governance, upholding human rights and economic development. proposal on key issues, such as federalism and formation of government, which is making the statute drafting more complicated and dividing the parties. After the opposition rejected the proposal, there was growing tussles among the parties before the January 22 deadline of promulgation of a new constitution as committed during last year’s election campaign. “We urge all concerned to be serious on constitution-drafting process as per past agreements,” the parties said in a joint statement. “The federalism with identity and proportional and inclusive constitution is our bottom-line.” The constitution drafting has been stalled indefinitely in Nepal. But the ruling parties are committed to forwarding their proposal in parliament or the constituent assembly. A man walking past a billboard bearing portraits of President Mahinda Rajapakse in Colombo yesterday. himself more powers over the entire administration. The JHU supported Rajapakse’s election in 2005 and backed his moves to end a dec- ades-long separatist war by crushing Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. With just three seats in the 225-member parliament the JHU lacks the power to destabilise the government, but the monks are considered influential among the country’s majority Buddhist community. Govt enjoys Indian sleuths hand full trust of dossier to Bangladesh people: PM on terror plots angladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government remains in power with full support of the people and their confidence to carry out country’s development. “We have complete support and confidence of the people. That’s why the people are not responding to the repeated calls of some political parties for movement,” she said. Hasina was replying to a question from Treasury bench member M Ali Ashraf of Comilla-7 constituency during Prime Minister’s question answer session in parliament. The Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina said people know very well that this government can only take forward Bangladesh towards development, progress and prosperity. “The development is possible by that political force which has liberated the country.” She urged the members of parliament for taking steps for a proper execution of the projects and programmes taken for development of their area. “The government doesn’t have the aim of creating any moneyed man in the country, but fulfill basic needs of every people and ensure overall development.” Hasina, however, did not explain unopposed election of 153 lawmakers out of total 300 well ahead of January 5 and voters’ turnout ranging from ten to 20% in the polls amid unprecedented violence, according to poll monitors. The prime minister said Bangladesh’s victory in two global parliamentary forums like Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Inter-Parliamentary Union is a rare achievement and manifestation of Bangladesh’s growing relations with the international community as well. She said Bangladesh is now considered as a role model in the world in establishing democracy and good governance. “With the success of Bangladesh in the two parliamentary forums it has been proved again,” she said. The prime minister said some quarters have launched Nepal parties turn down joint proposal on drafting charter ndia has handed Bangladesh a list of 11 men suspected of plotting attacks including one targeting its prime minister, officials said yesterday, as the two countries tighten security cooperation against Islamist militants. Indian security officials uncovered the plot against Sheikh Hasina last month after two members of a banned Bangladesh group were killed in an explosion while building bombs in India’s West Bengal state just over the border from Bangladesh. The men were believed to be members of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh who were using India as a safe haven to plan the attacks. The plot deepened concern in India that jihadist groups were setting up bases in the east of the country while security forces have been focused on the threat from Pakistan-based militants on the more heavily guarded western flank. A team headed by the chief of India’s National Investigations Agency, the main counterterrorism arm, held talks with Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka and handed over the list of suspects thought to be hiding there, Mufti Mahmud Khan, an official of the Rapid Action Battalion said. Under Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been working closely with India to tackle militant groups including handing over people that India suspects of stirring trouble in the remote northeast region. Khan said Bangladesh had given the Indian team its own list of wanted men - 51 in all, most of them suspected of criminal acts who had slipped across the porous border into India. The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen was thought to have been lying low since authorities cracked down on it after it detonated nearly 500 bombs almost simultaneously on one day in 2005 across Bangladesh, including in the capital, Dhaka. Its militants later carried out suicide attacks on several courthouses, killing 25 people and wounding hundreds. Three airline officials among five arrested for gold smuggling By Mizan Rahman Dhaka A Dhaka court yesterday remanded five people, including three officials of state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines, in police custody after they were arrested for their alleged involvement in gold smuggling. The three Biman officials include deputy general manager Emdad Hossain, manager (flight civil service) Tozammel Hossain Khan and captain and chief of planning and scheduling Abu Md Aslam Shaheed. The two others are Harunur-Rashid, owner of a money exchange, and Mahmud Hossain Polash, a contractor for the airline. Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Md Erfanullah passed the order rejecting their bail petitions when the police produced them before the court seeking a 10-day re- Rumble in the Jungle race A foreign participant pushing his bike through a river during the Rumble In The Jungle mountain biking race in Kudaoya, in the southeastern Sri Lankan district of Moneragala, yesterday. Some 40 participants from 17 countries are taking part in the event, including riders from Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Britain, USA, Germany, Switzerland and Sri Lanka. mand for each of them. In the remand petition, it was mentioned that a Biman cabin crew member, Majharul Afsar, was arrested along with smuggled gold on November 12. In his confessional statement, he named the three Biman officials and two other for their involvement in the smuggling. The police arrested the five on Monday night. Briefing reporters yesterday, Joint Commissioner of Police Monirul Islam said the police during the investigation came to know that Shafiul Azam Talukdar Minto, an expatriate living Dubai, sent the gold bars, which were recovered from Afsar. A number of international smuggling syndicates have been using international flights to bring gold consignments into Bangladesh only to be smuggled to India, the world’s highest gold consuming country, sources said. Human traffickers charged with illegal entry Two days after a boat carrying nearly 600 migrants was seized in the Bay of Bengal near Bangladesh’s southeastern border with Myanmar, two separate cases have been lodged against the human traffickers, police said yesterday. A police official told Xinhua from the southeastern Chittagong port city that a total of 80 Myanmar nationals were charged with illegal entry into Bangladesh while 16 people from both countries were accused in another case of human trafficking. All the rescued Bangladeshis have been released. A total of 592 people, including dozens of women and children from Bangladesh and Myanmar, were rescued on Monday from the boat some 50 nautical miles southeast of Saint Martin’s Island, in Teknaf under Bangladesh’s southeastern Cox’s Bazaar district. Bangladesh Coast Guards officials say people being trafficked expect their boats or ships to sail to Malaysia, but they are often kidnapped and taken to jungle hideouts in Thailand where they are held for ransom. The victims are usually held until relatives pay money as ransom to secure their release. If a ransom is not paid, the traffickers kill them or sell them as slaves. 28 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 COMMENT Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Production Editor: C P Ravindran P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar editor@gulf-times.com Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474 GULF TIMES Obama risking constitutional showdown US President Barack Obama has only two years left in office but he is not ready to slow down. Instead, he plans to charge into two of the most sensitive issues in US politics: immigration and climate change. Now faced with implacable Republican opponents in both houses of Congress, Obama will force the pace of reform using the executive power of the White House, risking a constitutional showdown. Just back from an Asian tour during which he announced a deal with China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Obama now plans to issue a decree protecting millions of immigrants from deportation. On both topics he is moving faster than America’s Republican-led Congress would stomach, and his apparent determination to test the limits of his authority has infuriated his opponents. Obama believes his promises to Beijing - a reduction in US carbon emissions by 26 to 28% from their 2005 levels by 2025 - can be met without legislation. On immigration, The Republicans having seen many reform efforts stall on have expressed Capitol Hill, Obama thinks the time has fury at this come to act alone. attempt to get Without a coalition around them in Congress, Obama will not be able to reach a broad reform defining a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented living and working in the US. But, some argue, an executive order could protect certain young people who grew up in the US, were educated there or served in the US military from expulsion pending new legislation. The extent of Obama’s action has yet to be revealed, but the White House has said the order will be issued by the end of the year. The Republicans, whose victory in this month’s mid-term elections gave them a comfortable margin of control in the legislature, have expressed fury at this attempt to get around them. Some Republicans are working with Obama’s Democrat supporters on immigration reform legislation, and his opponents have warned that executive action could poison this debate. Another risk that Obama runs, as he himself admits, if he takes the solo route is that whatever he decrees with a single swish of his pen can just as easily be repealed by that of his successor in 2017. Today’s Obama also has another opponent of note: yesterday’s Obama. When the president still had hope of negotiating a compromise on immigration reform, he opposed using executive decrees. In February 2013, when a young activist begged him to intervene to stop families being separated by the expulsion of undocumented travellers, Obama said he was powerless to act. “The problem is, is that I’m the president of the US. I’m not the emperor of the US. My job is to execute laws that are passed,” he then declared. To Advertise advr@gulf-times.com Display Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 Classified Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 Subscription circulation@gulf-times.com 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved The right mix of creativity, corporatism and crowds Ultimately, we need economic institutions that somehow promote the concerted creative actions of a wide swath of the world’s people By Robert J Shiller New Haven E conomic growth, as we learned long ago from the works of economists like MIT’s Robert M. Solow, is largely driven by learning and innovation, not just saving and the accumulation of capital. Ultimately, economic progress depends on creativity. That is why fear of “secular stagnation” in today’s advanced economies has many wondering how creativity can be spurred. One prominent argument lately has been that what is needed most is Keynesian economic stimulus – for example, deficit spending. After all, people are most creative when they are active, not when they are unemployed. Others see no connection between stimulus and renewed economic dynamism. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently put it, Europe needs “political courage and creativity rather than billions of euros”. In fact, we need both. If we are to encourage dynamism, we need Keynesian stimulus and other policies that encourage creativity – particularly policies that promote solid financial institutions and social innovation. In his 2013 book Mass Flourishing, Edmund Phelps argues that we need to promote “a culture protecting and inspiring individuality, imagination, understanding and self-expression that drives a nation’s indigenous innovation.” He believes that creativity has been stifled by a public philosophy described as corporatism, and that only through thorough reform of our private institutions, financial and others, can individuality and dynamism be restored. Phelps stresses that corporatist thinking has had a long and enduring history. As a public-policy credo, corporatism has come to mean that the government must support all members of society, whether individuals or organisations, giving support to failing businesses and protecting existing jobs alike. According to Phelps, Pope Leo XIII advocated a corporatist view in his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, and Pope Pius XI amplified these ideas in his 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno. But, in reading these works, I do not find a clear or persuasive statement of any economic doctrine, except for basic notions of fairness and charity. In fact, an Ngrams search of books shows that the term corporatism began to become popular only after the mid-1930s, and achieved broad currency by the 1970s and 1980s. The term seems to have been used most often by critics, often to denounce the defunct Fascist philosophy, or by those extolling elements of a “new” corporatism. Surely, elements of corporatist think- ing persist today. People who might not stress that the government should protect failing businesses or redundant workers still have sympathies that might often lead to such outcomes. Historically, an important spur toward corporatist thinking was Gustave Le Bon’s 1895 book The Crowd, which coined the terms “crowd psychology” and “collective mind”. For Le Bon, “An individual in a crowd” – not only angry mobs on the street, but also other psychologically interconnected groups of people – “is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.” Le Bon believed that crowds need strong leaders, to distance them from their natural madness and transform them into civilisations of splendour, vigour, and brilliance. Mussolini and Hitler both took inspiration from his book, and incorporated his ideas into Fascist and Nazi ideology; and those ideas did not die with those regimes. Still, the word “crowd” has taken on an entirely different meaning – and political valence – in our century. Crowdsourcing and crowd-funding have created new kinds of crowds, of the sort that Le Bon never could have imagined. As Le Bon emphasised, people cannot easily do great things as individuals. They need to operate together within organisations that redirect crowd psychology, facilitate creativity, and are led by people of integrity. Any such organisational technology, however, is subject to error and requires experimentation. When the crowd-sourced Wikipedia was started in 2001, its success was not obvious. Even one of its founders, Jimmy Wales, found it a little hard to believe: “It’s kind of surprising that you could just open up a site and let people work.” When the US’ Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which facilitated true crowd-funding of enterprises, was signed by President Barack Obama in 2012, it was an experiment, too. Many critics said that it would result in the exploitation of naive investors. We still do not know whether that is true, or how well the experiment will work. But if the JOBS Act does not succeed, we should not abandon the idea, but try to modify it. Ultimately, we need economic institutions that somehow promote the concerted creative actions of a wide swath of the world’s people. They should not be corporatist institutions, dominated by central leaders, but should derive their power from the fluid actions of modern crowds. Some of those actions will have to be disruptive, because the momentum of organisations can carry them beyond their usefulness. But there must also be enough continuity that people can trust their careers and futures to such organisations. Acknowledging the need to experiment and design new forms of economic organisation must not mean abandoning fairness and compassion.- Project Syndicate zRobert J. Shiller, a 2013 Nobel laureate in economics and Professor of Economics at Yale University, is co-author, with George Akerlof, of Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Investing in happy endings By Lucy P Marcus London P ublic and private investment in the real economy has been under attack since the 2008 financial crisis. In difficult economic times, it may seem logical to cut investments that yield results only in the long term, and thereby conserve money and resources to address short-term problems. In fact, cutting investment in our future – be it in people, the planet, political institutions, or business – is deeply irrational. It is only through investment in visionary ideas, blue-skies thinking, research and development, and innovation that we can ensure that the future will be better – freer, more peaceful, and more prosperous – than the past. Early-childhood education, preventive medicine, libraries, physical infrastructure, and basic scientific research, for example, all cost money – and studies show that they are worthwhile. But when policymakers need to cut spending, investment in these public goods is often the first thing to go, because voters do not feel the effects in the short term. Most of the pain is deferred, which is precisely why such cuts are politically attractive. But this is low-hanging fruit that societies cannot afford to pick. We must start investing in people at the earliest possible moment – right from birth. Universal access to high-quality nutrition and preventive health care, as well as early-childhood learning programmes, are necessary to provide strong foundations upon which countries around the world can ensure their future social advancement and economic growth. Likewise, for children and adults alike, there is real value in, say, public libraries – secular and free gathering spaces that offer universal access to learning and, increasingly, provide a gateway to digital services. The same is true of cultural programs and institutions that stimulate growth in the arts and sciences; they, too, are necessary to ensure that citizens can contribute productively to their societies and economies. The temptation to cut long-term investment in economic hard times stalks the private sphere as well. And companies around the world, big and small, have been succumbing to it since the beginning of the global economic downturn. As companies are forced to look to their bottom line and become leaner, they cut investment in research and development, employee development and training, infrastructure, and more. Making matters worse, these budget lines are the last to be restored when economic prospects brighten. For example, in the face of investor pressure, pharmaceutical companies have cut their research activities dramatically, relying instead on acquisition strategies. The aim is to “de-risk” by buying up firms that have already carried out all of the costly blue skies research and have developed proven drugs. Obviously, such strategies will not work in the long term if no one is willing to invest in the earliest stages of research in critical areas like biotechnology, digital technology, renewable energy sources, and the like. Failure to invest in the future will affect that future for everyone With early-stage investors scarce, governments turning away from bluesky science, and funders of universitybased research increasingly demanding that grantees’ show the “impact” of their work, who will fund risk-taking? If no one does, the well will run dry, and there will be nothing to acquire. Likewise, instead of investing in new infrastructure, companies patch up the old. But patching broken things can work for only so long. By not committing resources to invest in new, cost-efficient, environmentally-friendly operations, or in developing the skills and knowledge of employees, or in innovation, companies will find that their short-term savings come at the expense of their long-term success. The choices that companies are making not only affect their own operations, but also have profound consequences for their customers, suppliers, and the societies in which they are embedded. Failure to invest in the future will affect that future for everyone. Not everything that is worthwhile has an immediate positive effect on financial bottom lines, or can be put neatly in a box. If public and private investment decisions are driven only by the easily measured and easily defined, we will miss out on the breakthrough moments that characterise so much of human achievement and advancement. In both the public and private sectors, we need to commit ourselves to long-term investment, whether in children and education, science and technology, and health and medicine, or in building strong institutions that can serve as the sustainable foundations of peaceful, democratic, and prosperous societies. An investment in our future is never wasted. Investing in beginnings is the only way we will live to see happy endings. - Project Syndicate z Lucy P Marcus is CEO of Marcus Venture Consulting. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 29 COMMENT Why we don’t need better forecasts No one has consistently and successfully predicted bond yields, stock market valuations or oil prices with a track record that cannot be explained simply by random chance By John Kemp London/Reuters O ne of my first assignments as a newly-minted graduate in the late 1990s was to produce a 30-year forecast for the Bangladesh taka against the US dollar on behalf of a client contemplating a multibillion dollar investment. Even then, I realised this was not a sensible question. I wasn’t even sure how much of Bangladesh would still be above sea level in 30 years, let alone the exchange rate. If the economics of the project depended on an exchange rate forecast in three decades time, it was not a very good project. But the client is always right, so we produced a forecast, and everyone was happy. The client got an independent third-party forecast to use in their financial calculations and we got paid. If the forecast turned out wrong, the clients could blame their independent forecaster, and we could blame an unforeseen change in circumstances. Like many other analysts, I have spent most of my working life producing forecasts of one sort or another - ranging from interest rates and exchange rates to metal prices, oil prices and politics. For an analyst, the solution to any problem is always more information, more data and more sophisticated models, so decisions can be based on more accurate predictions about the future. But the truth is that we are not very good at it. In some areas, our forecasting has become amazingly accurate. We understand the laws of physics well enough to land a spacecraft on a comet just 4km across and hurtling through space at 38km per second after a journey of more than 10 years. Employing enormous supercomputers, we can make shortterm weather forecasts that are far more accurate than 30 years ago. Britain’s four-day weather forecast is now as accurate as the one-day forecast was in 1980, according to the Meteorological Office. But once we move beyond physical systems to systems involving human agents who adapt and learn from their surroundings, or push the forecasting horizon further into the future, forecasting accuracy breaks down quickly. With hundreds of PhDs and lots of fancy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models about how the economy works, the world’s top central banks cannot reliably predict unemployment, inflation and growth even six months ahead let alone spot looming recessions and financial crises. Large-scale weather and climate models quickly break down once the forecasting horizon is pushed further into the future. For much of the first part of this year, the major models have been predicting an El Nino in the Pacific which has still not occurred. None of the world’s intelligence agencies and international relations specialists successfully predicted the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the Arab Spring. And no one has consistently and successfully predicted bond yields, stock market valuations or oil prices with a track record that cannot be explained simply by random chance. These are all examples of complex adaptive systems (CAS) in which all the components are tightly linked to one another, can adapt to past outcomes, and are sometimes very sensitive to even a small change in conditions deep within the system, which occasionally produces an enormous change in outcomes through cascading effects and reinforcing feedback. When it comes to complex and adaptive systems, our forecasting abilities have not improved much since classical times. The common response is to redouble our efforts, collect more information and build more sophisticated models. But perhaps it makes more sense to focus on managing uncertainty about the Dear Sir, In reference to the report “Official laments roads not being pedestrianfriendly” (Gulf Times, November 18), I would like to appreciate the Traffic Department’s concern while thanking it for taking an initiative in educating expatriates in Qatar on road safety measures. However, my observation on this issue is a bit different from that of the report. It’s not just the pedestrians walking on the roadside or crossing the roads who are solely responsible for accidents; there are a few other factors which need to be taken into account. Among them are: z Non-standard footpaths: In most places in Qatar, the footpaths are very narrow and it’s difficult to walk on them. Footpaths should be wide enough to walk. Also, they should ideally have railings to prevent pedestrians straying into roadside. z Pedestrian crossings: Most roads lack proper and safe crossings. True, some major roads do have them but it is not the general case. For example, the stretch from the Ramada signal to the Ooredoo one (through the Jaidah flyover), there is no designated Employment, Interest and Money” (1936) and Frank Knight’s theory about the role of the entrepreneur in “Risk, Uncertainty and Profit” (1921). It is central to the idea of defence in depth employed by the designers of nuclear power plants. It has been taught for decades in business schools as real options theory. It is essential to the strategy of successful traders: no investor should ever put on a large position without knowing how they would get out of it and preferably having several options for doing so. Traders and executives look for real options and natural hedges to protect them against an uncertain future. Flexibility, adaptability and options are central to success. Systems, organisations and individuals that adapt and evolve survive. Those which cannot or do not die. None of this is meant to disparage the work that forecasters do or suggest it is not valuable. Forecasts can tell us a lot about simple systems in the short term. Even for longer time horizons and complex systems, building forecasts can enforce intellectual discipline and consistency, sharpen our thinking about causal relationships, and help us focus on risks and opportunities. But it is a powerful reason to be humble about our predictive abilities and realise the best way to face an uncertain future is to focus on creating flexible, adaptive and innovative systems, avoiding rigidity, rather than simply throwing money and effort at ever more complex forecasting systems. I can’t remember what 30-year currency forecast we provided back in the late 1990s. At the time, the taka was trading around 42 to the US dollar. Almost 20 years later it is trading at nearly 80. I still have no idea where it will be in 10 years time. And I’ve learned not to worry about it. Weather report Letters Road safety for pedestrians future rather than trying to predict it out of existence. In a powerful paper on “Dealing with femtorisks in international relations,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international group of researchers argue the best way to deal with low probability/high consequence risks which occur in complex adaptive systems is to create “new ways of coping with uncertainties that do not depend on precise forecasts of the probability and consequences of future events”. Rather than employing the forecasting approach central to elementary physics and relying on “improvements in the quality of predictions about increasingly smallscale actors, low probability events and the cross-scale implications of rapidly evolving technologies” they suggest employing an approach borrowed from biology. In evolutionary biology, the most robust and resilient systems are those which exhibit diversity, flexibility, redundancy and adaptability to cope with unknown threats. “Rather than seek to design robust institutions and strategies that may fare well only against specified futures, risk measurement and management professionals would benefit from imitating how evolution has dealt with unknowable challenges”, the researchers urged. “This approach shifts ... policy options away from optimal, often brittle solutions that require accurate predictions in favour of resilient solutions that can be adapted in response to new information and experiences.” There is nothing new in the idea that the best strategies are the ones which maximise flexibility and adaptability. The concept is central to John Maynard Keynes’ theory about investment in the “General Theory of Three-day forecast pedestrian crossing at all. So, in case people want to cross the road in this stretch, how could they do it safely? Factors like rush-hour traffic, low visibility, speeding, inattentive drivers, indiscriminate use of mobile phones while driving, rude behaviour of motorists and overtaking with speed are also to be blamed for the high accident rate on Qatar’s roads. The factors mentioned above form part of individual behaviour which is difficult to control. But two things can be implemented by authorities quite easily: safe footpaths and proper crossings at certain distances on all roads. All developed countries follow the “pedestrians first” rule. At the same time, I would also like to request all pedestrians to follow all safety rules strictly while walking on roads or crossing them. Bhushan Kubde bhushan.kubde@gmail.com Failure of system Dear Sir, The deaths of 13 women after undergoing sterilisation surgery in India recently have come as a huge shock. I agree that “all human values and medical ethics are compromised in a mad race to complete certain targets and receive incentives”, as pointed out by Ramesh G Jethwani (“Sterilisation camp tragedy”,Gulf Times, November 16). I believe a system failure was behind this tragedy. Many things about the case look suspicious. A proper investigation should reveal the truth. The tragedy must spur the Indian society to introspect over its health policies. The cause of deaths, to me, was medical negligence with vicarious liability of the doctor who was conducting the sterilisation camp. But it is convenient to blame the doctor solely in cases like these. The real culprits are hardly touched. My father, who is a retired doctor, has done many family planning operations in India without any problems. He never received any “privileges” or incentives for conducting the surgeries. The 13 Indian women were allegedly given tainted antibiotics after undergoing sterilisation surgery. Normally, antibiotics are not given after this surgery at the best centres. Then why were they given to them? Investigations and time will tell. Incidentally, we, who now work in Qatar, must also recognise and be TODAY thankful that we are in a place with top-class medical facilities compared to any other developing country. High: 28 C Low: 22 C Strong wind and high seas Rajeeth Shetty Badur Doha (e-mail address supplied) FRIDAY High: 28 C Low : 21 C P Cloudy SATURDAY Please send us your letters High: 28 C Low : 23 C Clear By e-mail editor@gulf-times.com Fax 44350474 Or Post Letters to the Editor Gulf Times P O Box 2888 Doha, Qatar All letters, which are subject to editing, should have the name of the writer, address and phone number. The writer’s name and address may be withheld by request. Fishermen’s forecast OFFSHORE DOHA Wind: NW 12-22 KT Waves: 5-7 Feet INSHORE DOHA Wind: NW 05-15/18 KT Waves: 2-3/4 Feet Around the region Abu Dhabi Baghdad Dubai Kuwait City Manama Muscat Riyadh Tehran Weather today Clear M Cloudy Clear Clear Clear Clear P Cloudy P Cloudy Max/min 28/22 23/12 28/19 25/16 26/21 32/23 24/18 12/03 Weather tomorrow Clear Clear Clear P Cloudy Clear Clear P Cloudy Clear Max/min 28/22 25/13 29/18 23/17 26/21 30/22 27/18 13/04 Weather tomorrow Clear Rain Clear P Cloudy P Cloudy P Cloudy T Storms P Cloudy P Cloudy C Showers C Storms Clear C Rain M Cloudy Clear P Cloudy P Cloudy P Cloudy C Showers P Cloudy T Storms Clear Cloudy Max/min 16/10 21/16 34/23 06/03 23/15 23/15 30/24 29/17 24/19 12/09 34/26 32/18 11/11 31/24 -2/-7 26/11 03/-3 13/08 31/21 16/07 31/26 33/18 17/11 Live issues Should we be worried about drinking milk? By Luisa Dillner London A ngelina Jolie, David Beckham and Elton John have all sported milk moustaches to persuade us to drink enough to keep our bones strong. Milk contains a range of nutrients, including calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and vitamin B12. Government guidelines say adults need 700mg of calcium a day (a 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk contains 247mg). The Dairy Council lists the benefits of milk as reducing the risks of osteoporosis, breast cancer and heart disease. Milk, it continues, is the only drink other than water that dentists recommend between meals. However, recent research threatens milk’s goody two shoes image. A Swedish study reported in the British Medical Journal followed more than 61,000 women and 45,000 men for between 13 and 22 years. The researchers found that drinking more than one glass of milk a day was associated with an increase in deaths and fractures in women and a borderline rise in the risk for men of dying from heart disease. Women who drank two glasses compared with one were 21% more likely to die during the study period, and this rose to 93% for three or more glasses. (Over the 22 years of the study, a quarter of the women died in total.) They were 16% more likely to have a fracture if they drank two or more glasses a day. There was no extra risk for men. So is it a myth that milk makes bones stronger? And can a few glasses of milk a day do more harm than good? This study doesn’t provide proof of causation. The authors propose a mechanism for milk’s harmful effects – its high content of D-galactose (galactose is a sugar), which is shown to cause oxidative stress, inflammation and ageing in animal studies. An intake of fermented dairy products didn’t seem to have any downside, and women (but not men) who ate lots of yoghurt and cheese (which contain less D-galactose than milk) actu- ally reduced their risk of fractures or dying. It is advisable to treat this study with caution for many reasons. The study was conducted in Sweden, where the environment is different from that in the UK, and vitamin A is added to milk there. The study also relied on people self-reporting how much they were drinking, which isn’t always reliable – especially as milk is also consumed in cereals and cooking. It can also be hard for researchers to take into account all the other factors that increase someone’s risk of dying or breaking their bones. Nutritional guidelines are unlikely to change in the short term until there is more direct evidence on the long-term effects of liberal milk drinking. The phrase “more research is needed” was invented for questions such as this. - Guardian News and Media zDr Luisa Dillner heads BMJ Group Research and Development. Around the world Athens Beirut Bangkok Berlin Cairo Cape Town Colombo Dhaka Hong Kong Istanbul Jakarta Karachi London Manila Moscow New Delhi New York Paris Sao Paulo Seoul Singapore Sydney Tokyo Weather today Clear Clear P Cloudy Cloudy P Cloudy P Cloudy T Storms P Cloudy Clear Rain T Storms Clear Cloudy M Cloudy Clear P Cloudy P Cloudy Cloudy C Storms P Cloudy T Storms P Cloudy Clear Max/min 18/11 25/18 33/22 06/04 25/15 21/14 30/24 29/18 23/20 14/09 34/26 32/20 10/08 30/24 -2/-7 27/12 06/-4 11/07 29/19 12/05 31/25 31/20 14/08 30 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR Scientists taking part in a panel discussion yesterday. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam Qatar ‘can become pioneer in personalised medicine’ By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter Q atar has a great opportunity to be the pioneer in the field of personalised medicine as the country has initiated several steps in this regard, noted scientists suggested yesterday at the Annual Research Conference 2014 (ARC ’14). Organised by the Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) and held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson, Qatar Foundation, ARC ‘14 supports QF R&D’s mission to build Qatar’s innovation and technology capacity while addressing immediate social needs in the community. At the health debate, “Personalised and Precision Medicine in the next 10 years: Hype, hope or clinical reality?’ speakers highlighted the possibilities of realising the vision of personalised medicine. Moderated by Dr Hilal Lashuel, of Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, the participants at the discussion included Peter Goodhand, of Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, Canada; Dr Hiroaki Kitano, of Systems Biology Institute, Japan; Dr Kathryn A Phillips, of University of California, San Francisco, US; Dr Hsinchun Chen, of National Science Foundation, US; Dr Hadi Abderrahim, of Qatar Biobank for Medical Research; and Dr Abdul-Badi Abou-Samra, of Hamad Medical Corporation. Dr Phillips said Qatar has started several initiatives such as genomic medicine project, state-of-the-art research facilities and centres as well as setting up electronic records of patients among others. “These will give the country a great advantage as the population of the country is very small compared with other countries.” Echoing Dr Phillips’s views, Dr Chen said Qatar can become the centre of personalised medicine. “A forward looking country like Qatar has taken the right step by embarking on genomic medicine. This can be the basis of personalised medicine. It can create the right momentum as personalised medicine is thinking about future.” Dr Phillips also highlighted the examples of Steve Jobs and Angelina Jolie who were treated on a level of personalised medicine. “While Steve Jobs’ life could not be saved as his genome mapping was not successful, Angelina Jolie could take precaution against breast cancer using a sort of personalised medicine approach.” The panelists also pointed out that the most difficult task in personalised medicine will be to collect data and analyse them. “Enormous amounts of data will have to be collected. It is going to be a tsunami of data. This makes the process so tedious and can even be complicated. Everyone has to be extremely careful in the collection of data and the analysis of the same,” said Goodhand. Experts also highlighted that genome medicine will be the basis of personalised and precision medicine. Genome mapping will enable the physicians to identify several features of the individuals and develop medicines and treatments accordingly. Another point of discussion was the cost related to personalised medicine and whether it will result in healthcare disparity. Dr Philips observed that in a sense, it is not going to be very expensive as thought by many but neither is it going to be cheap. “We have the technology and we have to make use of it. However personalised medicine has to keep pace with the drug companies and the regulatory issues of each country.” A panel of experts during the Social Science Debate. ARC ’14 presents opportunity to develop research networks Q atar Foundation’s Annual Research Conference 2014 (ARC ’14) that concluded yesterday, offered thousands of delegates, the opportunity to listen to and engage with leading scientists and research experts from Qatar and around the world. ARC’14 is held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and supports Qatar Foundation Research and Development’s (QF R&D) mission to build Qatar’s innovation and technology capacity while addressing immediate social needs in the community. The keynote lecture presentations held at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) during the second day’s plenary session were aligned to ARC’14’s theme ‘Towards World-Class Research and Innovation,’ and examined research priorities closely aligned to the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS), including Water Security, Energy Security, Cyber Security and Integrated Healthcare. Experts presented their conclusions including Dr Steven Chu, former US Secretary of Energy, addressing ‘Solar Energy and Water Security: Issues and Opportunities’; Dr Deborah Frincke, research director, National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS), USA, on ‘Global Challenges For Unclassified Cyber Security Research’ and Dr Hsinchun Chen, lead programme director, National Science Foun- dation (NSF) Smart and Connected Health Programme, USA, on ‘Smart and Connected Health Programme of NSF/NIH: Health IT R&D in the USA.’ Faisal Alsuwaidi, president of QF R&D, said: “The opening plenary session offered a unique opportunity to listen to international leaders in solar energy, and water and cyber security. We have seen extraordinary multidisciplinary knowledge sharing and collaboration at this year’s conference. It is a huge opportunity to develop research net- A section of the audience at ARC ’14. Faisal Alsuwaidi, president of Qatar Foundation Research and Development and Dr Nabeel al- Salem, executive director, Outreach and Communications Qatar Foundation Research and Development with Dr Steven Chu during a session. works with local and international partners where new ideas are developed and Qatar’s research and development sector can prosper.” Day two of ARC ’14 witnessed parallel debates on health and social sciences with expert contributors exploring the latest themes. The debate on social sciences focused on one of the main economic pillars underpinning the Qatar National Vision 2030: ‘Developing a knowledge-based economy: Which indicators matter? How to design effective incentives?’ Building on the success of Tues- day’s opening plenary discussion, ARC’14 offered delegates thoughtprovoking panel discussions, technical presentations, and highpowered debates where leading experts shared constructive experiences and innovative approaches to research and science. 32 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 QATAR Dhow festival gathers momentum By Joey Aguilar Staff Reporter T raditional sailing and rowing competitions, as well as various cultural activities in the Katara – the Cultural Village beach area, were among the highlights of the second day of the Fourth Traditional Dhow Festival yesterday. Members of the Omani team sang and danced in jubilation after winning the first four awards of the rowing competition, defeating two teams from the UAE and one each from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The teams in the first four places received cash prizes of QR100,000, QR70,000, QR50,000 and QR30,000, respectively. The rest of the teams received QR10,000 each. At least 40 contestants on board eight boats joined the competition, which attracted a large number of spectators. Dhow crews cheered and performed traditional songs and dances as the contestants paddled their way into the sea and back to the shore. Nine boats also joined the dhow sailing event while 14 persons qualified for the pearl diving competition. In a press statement, Katara said some 600 students from different schools in the country and more than 40,000 people have visited the event so far. “A nice atmosphere and a good display of boats,” said Dino Palazzi from Argentina, who was engrossed in taking photographs of the festival. Since its launch four years ago, he stressed that the event was evolving and getting nicer and bigger, with hundreds of dhows participating each year. Some 300 contestants are taking part in this year’s five-day festival, described as a “recordbreaking participation from Qatar and other GCC countries”. For Palazzi, the traditions and cultures of different Gulf states have remained the most interesting part of the festival. “The dress and the people with different knowledge of the same stuff, like pearling.” Many visitors, both tourists and residents, had similar observations, citing the event’s uniqueness and the hosting of numerous exhibitions and workshops. “It is the culture and the tradition that I think it’s getting lost in the highrise buildings,” said Tess from the UK. “It is nice to see tradition and where it all started.” This was Tess’s second visit to Doha for a holiday but it was her first time to watch the festival. She was fascinated by the designs of the dhows and the “musical enchantment” on the shore performed by different Arab groups. Some dhows offer food and drinks such as coffee and tea while cruising. “Everybody should come and see it. It is spectacular and really good,” said Tess, hoping to experience a cruise like Mercy Costenaro from Kenya and her Italian parents- The rowing competition was one of the highlights of the second day of the Traditional Dhow Festival. One of the Omani teams celebrates after winning the rowing competition yesterday. PICTURES: Nasar TK Eight teams joined the rowing competition, with the top four awards won by Omani teams. Participants prepare a sailing boat at the Katara beach yesterday. in-law. Costenaro lauded Qataris for respecting and preserving their culture well. Pearl diver Naji Salem alHammadi from Bahrain shared the same remark about the celebration, saying he likes to be in Doha every year. Al-Hammadi told Gulf Times that his boat had won twice but failed to make it last year. He said he would be lucky if he won again in this year’s contest. However, he is planning to sell his dhow for QR200,000 as he wants to design and build a new one. The Bahraini said he hoped to be back next year for the next edition of the Traditional Dhow Festival at Katara. Naji Salem al-Hammadi from Bahrain, who has won twice in the festival, hopes to win again in the boat contest. PICTURE: Joey Aguilar Qatar Charity allocates QR7mn for applied research in Gaza Q atar Charity (QC) has launched its flagship “Search” project, funded by the GCC countries’ programme for the reconstruction of Gaza and in collaboration with Islamic Development Bank. The funds will be used to support 70 distinct research projects at a total cost of QR7.3mn. QC’s “Search” project aims to provide financial and technical support for the implementation of scientific research and applied projects for researchers, academics and undergraduate and graduate students, via grants of between $3,000 and $50,000 depending on the project’s quality and relevance. The projects will be environment-friendly, creative and unique, using materials, equipment and capabilities available in the Gaza Strip or are easily supplied to the area. The projects must be viable and contribute to enhancing the quality of products or services, or contributing to solving social and economic problems in the local or regional community, who will work on the Officials at an event pertaining to the ‘Search’ project. project, thereby also helping create new jobs. The research will take the form of applied research projects and all researchers, whether they are students, academics or researchers in universities, the government or the private sector, may apply for the grants. Mohamed Abu Halloub, deputy director of QC’s Gaza Strip office, said the project provides direct support for scientific research in an effort to support desired development in this field, with a focus on areas that aim to serve global and local communities, in an attempt to link the results with the market needs and create new opportunities for sources of income for creators of the research in the fields of computer and information technology and engineering sciences. The project will also help meet the needs of the besieged Gaza Strip by finding scientific solutions in the areas that have suffered most in the private sector, health, water, environment and agriculture. QC began taking applications from those wishing to participate in the project (researchers, academics, professionals and others) on November 12 and will continue until January 12, 2015. All submissions must fall within the national priorities for science and participants must agree to discuss their policy orientations with QC. The initiative contributes to the “Search” project by investing in the development of Palestinian research and scientific capabilities, including improving the quality of life of the community and contributing to overcoming the problems and obstacles faced by the Palestinian people. A group of consultants from different scientific disciplines and expertise will be assigned to review and evaluate the initial applications and final projects for researchers. For more information, visit www.ibhath.ps A winter sunset A view of the sunset from Doha’s West Bay area yesterday. With the onset of winter, Doha is seeing cloud-filled blue skies during the day and colourful sunsets. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil 8% GROWTH | Page 12 FUNDS RATE | Page 15 India urged to speed up reforms Yellen inherits Greenspan’s conundrum Thursday, November 20, 2014 Moharram 27, 1436 AH GULF TIMES BLAME IT ON UNIONS: Page 16 BUSINESS Qatar Airways chief takes swipe at European carriers Qatar Oct bank lending, deposits drop B anks in Qatar have seen a drop in both their lending and deposit portfolios month-on-month (MoM) in October, data provided by QNB Financial Services shows. While the loan book decreased by 2% MoM, deposits declined by 0.3% MoM in October, QNBFS said. Public sector (down 5.7% MoM in October) was the primary driver of the overall decline in the loan book, QNBFS said. The loan book, however, was up 7.9% year-to-date (YTD) while deposits were up 8% YTD in October. Thus, the loans-to-deposit ratio (LDR) declined to 105% compared with 107% in September. “Going forward, we expect increased activity in the sector. We continue to expect improvement in the public sector, in addition to large corporate loan growth followed by the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and consumer lending to be the primary drivers of the overall loan book in 2014 and 2015. Our view is based on the expected uptick in project mobilisation in the coming months,” QNBFS said. Public sector deposits decreased by 3.3% MoM (+6.3% YTD 2014) in October. Delving into segment details, the government institutions’ segment (representing about 57% of public sector deposits) improved by 0.5% MoM (+11.4% YTD 2014). Moreover, the semi-government institutions segment posted a growth of 10.1% MoM (up 0.1% YTD 2014). However, the government segment decreased by 15.4% MoM (+0.3% YTD). On the other hand, private sector deposits increased by 1% MoM (+9.1% YTD 2014). On the private sector front, the companies and institutions segment increased by 1% MoM (+8.1% YTD 2014), while the consumer segment posted a growth of 1.1% MoM (up 10.1% YTD). The overall loan book declined by 2% MoM compared with a 4% growth MoM in September 2014. Total domestic public sector loans decreased by 5.7% MoM (down 5.7% YTD). The government segment’s loan book dipped 16.8% MoM (up 1.6% YTD 2014). The government institutions segment (representing about 59% of public sector loans) declined by 1.5% MoM and is down 11.8% YTD. The semi-government institutions segment declined by 0.5% MoM (+11.4% YTD). Hence, all the three public sector segments pulled the overall loan book down for October 2014. Private sector loans gained by 0.3% MoM and are up 13.8% YTD. Consumption and others (contributing about 30% to private sector loans) increased by 0.9% MoM (+16.9% YTD). The real estate segment (contributing 27% to private sector loans) grew by 2.1% MoM (+5.7% YTD). However, the services segment posted a decline of 7.2% MoM, but is still up 11.8% in the first ten months of 2014. Overall, the segments representing general trade (+27.1% YTD) and contractors (+23.0% YTD) are the best performing segments in the private sector YTD. On the other hand, the Industry segment is flat YTD. 2 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS QIB to sponsor Euromoney Qatar Conference 2014 Q atar Islamic Bank (QIB) will be co-sponsoring the Euromoney Qatar Conference 2014 to be held on November 24 and 25 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Doha. The conference is being held under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani and will be attended by HE the Minister of Finance Ali Shareef al-Emadi and HE the Governor of the Qatar central bank Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani. The 2014 Conference, entitled “Global Finance Relaunched,” will bring together some of the world’s leading players and thinkers in finance with a cross section of Qatar’s financiers and policymakers. The event will look at some of the critical issues facing the global economy and the key steps that banks will need to take to stay competitive. To give a global viewpoint, special sessions will be held featuring Rodrigo de Rato, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund; Senator Philip Ozouf, assistant chief minister, State of Jersey; Denis Beau, director general of operations, Banque de France; and Sarkis Yoghourtdjian, assistant director of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System. QIB Group CEO Bassel Gamal said the bank is sponsoring the conference as part of its vision to contribute to the rising status of Qatar as a financial hub. “The first two editions of the conference have already reinforced Doha’s status as a stable, sustainable, and responsible global financial city and we have no doubt that this third edition will provide yet more stimulating thoughts and innovative development strategies that will benefit not just Qatar but the entire region as a whole,” he said. QIB chief financial officer Gourang Hemani will be participating in one of the panel sessions entitled “Financial Sector Realignment and Response,” which will be looking at the balance between public investment and private financing, debt capital markets, whether banks have the capital, skills and risk management structures necessary for their intended role, and whether Qatar can build and implement Basel III. QIB’s net profit reached QR1.13bn for nine months ending September 30, 2014 representing a 16% growth compared to the same period last year. Total assets now stand at QR93.3bn having increased 29% compared to September 2013 .Financing activities, which remain the key growth driver have reached QR59bn having grown 35% compared to September 2013. Customer deposits have moved up to QR64bn registering a 41% growth compared to September 2013. Total shareholders’ equity of the bank reached QR12bn, an increase of 4% compared to September 2013. QIB Group CEO Bassel Gamal said the bank is sponsoring the conference as part of its vision to contribute to the rising status of Qatar as a financial hub. Mannai Corp JV eyes facility management boost amid Qatar infrastructure upgrade drive Mannai Corporation is aiming at making further inroads into facility management services in Qatar in view of the rising prospects due to the infrastructure upgrade drive in the country. The Qatar Stock Exchange-listed company has already created a joint venture Cofely Besix Mannai Facility Management (CBMFM) with Cofely Besix, which has picked a 49% stake in the joint venture. “With a significant amount of infrastructure and construction projects anticipated in Qatar over the coming years, Cofely Besix Mannai Facility Management is rightly positioned to capitalise on the facility management services demand arising from the domestic market,” said Alekh Grewal, Group CEO and director of Mannai Corporation in a communiqué to the local bourse. The key focus of CBMFM will be to drive the improvement in performance, while reducing operational costs and risks through activities such as maintenance management, energy conservation, life-cycle costing and analysis as well as comprehensive facility and property portfolio management solutions. The technical services include the maintenance of air-conditioning, HVAC (heating, ventilation and airconditioning), electrical including HV activities, and integrated building facilities services as well as managing and delivering soft services, waste removal, grounds maintenance and security. “Both business entities are leading FM companies in their own right, and by combining the strengths of both companies we will be able to deliver a wider range of services to our clients, and gain an even larger presence in the market, “ said Ian Harfield, general manager of Cofely Besix facility management. 4 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS Flexibility key to building on LNG deals, expanding markets: RasGas official R asGas will continue to utilise flexibility in its portfolio to capture both short- and long-term contracts to further expand and serve its customers as well as the liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets, said a senior company official. This approach is key to meeting short- and longterm markets and customers’ increased demand and the new trends for flexibility, and most importantly, reliability, said RasGas chief marketing and shipping officer, Khalid Sultan R al-Kuwari at the CWC World LNG Summit, Paris. This is RasGas’ 10th consecutive participation in the industry event for which it was a platinum sponsor. In his opening keynote address titled, ‘Perspective of a Major Supplier: Characteristics of New Long-Term LNG Contracts’, al-Kuwari outlined the interplay of price indexation, contract term and flexibility; and how these factors are influencing commercial terms for new long term LNG sales and purchase contracts. He said the definition of the market for ‘long term’ may change as market expectations continue to evolve. The trend towards short-term and shorter long-term contracts may continue if new supplies are developed in a timely fashion to meet overall global demand. If projects are not developed on time, then longer term commitments and contracts will return to lead the market. “LNG contract flexibility may encompass many different contract provisions including among others, annual quantity tolerances, diversions, seasonality of supply and alternative destinations. However, such flexibility comes at a price; flexibility offers value and that value must be priced into the contract in ways that make commercial sense for both sellers and buyers. At RasGas, our goal is to maintain a balanced partnership with our customers based on equitable terms, which are agreed at the time of initial negotiations; to make the relationship work,” al-Kuwari added. The annual CWC World LNG Summit brought together more than 500 industry professionals from all over the world. Global meeting of SWFs in Doha today to focus on oil drop, new invest prospects Falling oil prices, new world economic order and the prospects of investments in various geographies will come up for in-depth discussions today among the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), whose strategies have bulwarked their respective economies against the vagaries of business cycles. The domestic and international role of SWFs, adhering to Santiago Principles, will be the focus of this year’s annual meeting of the International Forum for SWFs (IFSWF), which is being hosted by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in Doha. More than 200 participants — including SWFs from 27 countries, international organisations and officials of the countries where SWFs invest, academia and private sector — are expected to partake. HE the Prime Minster Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani is expected to deliver the inaugural address and the guests will be welcomed by Ahmad M alSayed, QIA chief executive. “We look forward to meeting with participants and IFSWF members, particularly those who have recently joined IFSWF and are attending the first meeting. This year our emphasis is on the domestic and international role of SWFs, and how the Santiago Principles assist SWFs in institutionalising disciplined long-term investment strategies,” said Bader M alSa’ad, IFSWF chair and managing director of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The Santiago Principles is a framework of principles and practices voluntarily endorsed by IFSWF members. The emphasis is on appropriate governance and accountability arrangements and sound, prudent conduct of investment practices. The domestic and international role of SWFs, adhering to Santiago Principles, will be the focus of this year’s annual meeting of the International Forum for SWFs (IFSWF), which is being hosted by the Qatar Investment Authority in Doha Al-Kuwari speaking at the CWC World LNG Summit in Paris. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS QSE crosses 13,900 with ease By Santhosh V Perumal Business Reporter T he Qatar Stock Exchange yesterday crossed the 13,900 mark with much ease, gaining for the fourth consecutive session, in spite of weakness in the world energy market. Buying interests – especially in the telecom, consumer goods, banks and real estate –lifted the 20-stock Qatar Index (based on price data) by 0.66% to 13,901.08 points as volumes also expanded. Institutional buying support was rather instrumental in sustaining bullish momentum in the market, which is up 33.93% year-to-date. The index that tracks Shariahprincipled stock was seen gaining faster than the other indices in the bourse, where realty, banks and transport stocks together accounted for about 74% of the total trading volume. The Total Return Index rose 0.66% to 20,733.32 points, the All Share Index by 0.62% to 3,522.44 points and the Al Rayan Islamic Index by 1.02% to 4,747.11 points. Market capitalisation rose 0.41%, or more than QR3bn, to QR751.87bn with micro, mid, small and large cap equities gaining 1.05%, 0.96%, 0.94% and 0.59% respectively. Telecom stocks surged 0.98%, followed by consumer goods (0.97%), banks and financial services (0.83%), realty (0.76%), transport (0.42%) and industrials (0.22%); whereas insurance was down 0.05%. More than 67% of the stocks extended gains with major movers being Vodafone Qatar, Ooredoo, Commercial Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Al Khaleej Takaful, Barwa, United Development Company, Mazaya Qatar, Gulf Warehousing, Nakilat and Qatari Investors Group. However, QNB, Industries Qatar, Ezdan, Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding and Al Meera bucked the trend. Foreign institutions’ net buying rose to QR66.83mn against QR45.68mn the previous day. Domestic institutions’ net selling plunged to QR34.69mn compared to QR68.28mn on November 18. However, Qatari retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR20.35mn against net buyers of QR21.62mn on Tuesday. Non-Qatari individual investors also turned net profit takers to the extent of QR11.56mn compared with net buyers of QR0.98mn the previous day. Total trade volume rose 36% to 16.47mn shares, value by 36% to QR1.11bn and transactions by 6% to 9,033. The transport sector’s trade volume more than doubled to 2.45mn equities and value also more than doubled to QR144.63mn on a 45% jump in deals to 775. The banks and financial services sector reported a 52% surge in trade volume to 4.14mn stocks, 53% in val- ue to QR374.47mn and 20% in transactions to 2,691. The consumer goods sector saw its trade volume expand 42% to 1.78mn shares, value by 46% to QR229.44mn and deals by 20% to 1,364. The market witnessed a 35% rise in the real estate sector’s trade volume to 5.55mn equities and 22% in value to QR169.18mn but on a 12% fall in transactions to 1,668. The insurance sector’s trade volume roe 4% to 0.47mn stocks, value by 15% to QR30.66mn and deals by 9% to 332. The industrials sector’s trade volume was up 1% to 1.31mn shares; whereas value shrank 12% to QR134.87mn and transactions by 9% to 1,855. However, the telecom sector’s trade volume tanked 32% to 0.78mn equities and value by 4% to QR28.66mn while deals rose 1% to 348. In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds. Weak oil prices keep Gulf markets jittery; Egypt up Reuters Dubai W eak oil prices and global equities kept most Gulf stock markets jittery yesterday, although a glut of upbeat news lifted Qatar’s bourse to an eightweek high. Shares were down in Europe and Asia and crude prices remained near 4-year lows on signs of disagreement between Opec members before a meeting next week. Dubai’s index erased early-session gains to end 0.9% lower as most stocks declined. Low-cost carrier Air Arabia was one of a few gainers, jumping 2.1% after it announced a $230mn deal with Dubai Islamic Bank to finance the purchase of six new Airbus A320 aircraft in 2015. Local and regional investors were net sellers, according to bourse data. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark, up 0.6% at one stage, closed 0.1% lower as telecom operator Etisalat fell 0.9%. Saudi Arabia’s bourse eked out a 0.1 gain after flitting between black and red zones throughout the day. The petrochemical sector index slipped 0.4%. “Unless oil prices find a floor, the Saudi market will remain jittery,” said Shakeel Sarwar, head of asset management at Securities & Investment Co (SICO) in Bahrain. “It may continue for some time,” he said, adding that as the region’s biggest market Saudi Arabia affects other Gulf bourses. Elsewhere in the region, Egypt’s main index rose 0.5% as the market further recovered from a profit-taking bout and some stocks displayed a delayed reaction to third-quarter earnings. Carpet maker Oriental Weavers was one of the main supports, surging 6.1% to 52pounds. It reported a 5.8% rise in third-quarter profit last week. According to NBK Capital, which rated the stock as a “buy” with a target price of 56 pounds, excluding the impact of provisions and foreign exchange losses, net income would have increased by around 60%. Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait’s index fell 0.4% to 7,025 points; Oman’s benchmark rose 0.2% to 7,046 points, while Bahrain’s measure fell 0.2% at 1,449 points. Roots said to drop JPMorgan as IPO manager Saudi Arabia’s Roots Group Arabia is replacing JPMorgan Chase & Co as financial adviser on its planned initial public offering, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported. The company, which had $930mn of sales in 2013, expects to list shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Bahrain’s Gulf International Bank may replace the New York-based bank, one of the people said. The IPO is expected to raise about 1bn riyals ($267mn), one of the people said. Roots Group, which provides materials to the construction industry, is joining companies across the Middle East that are planning share sales amid surging stock markets. The Saudi Stock Exchange has risen 9.8% this year and will open to direct foreign investment for the first time by mid-2015. HSBC Holdings said earlier this month that the market opening could attract $23bn of new money into the exchange. Saudi Arabia’s Fawaz Alhokair Group plans to raise $2bn from the IPO of its Arabian Centers malls unit in 2016, a company executive said in a November 16 interview. A spokeswoman for JPMorgan declined to comment as did Roots Group. Gulf International didn’t immediately return calls and e-mailed requests for comment. Buying interests – especially in the telecom, consumer goods, banks and real estate stocks – yesterday lifted the 20-stock Qatar Index by 0.66% to 13,901.08 points. 5 6 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS SAUDI ARABIA Company Name QATAR Company Name Zad Holding Co Widam Food Co Vodafone Qatar United Development Co Salam International Investme Qatar & Oman Investment Co Qatar Navigation Qatar National Cement Co Qatar National Bank Qatar Islamic Insurance Qatar Industrial Manufactur Qatar International Islamic Qatari Investors Group Qatar Islamic Bank Qatar Gas Transport(Nakilat) Qatar General Insurance & Re Qatar German Co For Medical Qatar Fuel Co Qatar Electricity & Water Co Qatar Cinema & Film Distrib Qatar Insurance Co Ooredoo Qsc National Leasing Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev Mesaieed Petrochemical Holdi Al Meera Consumer Goods Co Medicare Group Mannai Corporation Qsc Masraf Al Rayan Al Khalij Commercial Bank Industries Qatar Islamic Holding Group Gulf Warehousing Company Gulf International Services Ezdan Holding Group Doha Insurance Co Doha Bank Qsc Dlala Holding Commercial Bank Of Qatar Qsc Barwa Real Estate Co Al Khaleej Takaful Group Aamal Co Lt Price 89.20 71.00 19.00 27.20 17.80 17.00 104.00 139.50 229.00 87.10 47.90 88.50 47.30 112.00 24.30 45.50 12.00 225.00 192.00 47.60 97.90 120.00 25.35 23.12 31.85 233.20 139.00 110.90 51.40 22.60 198.00 199.60 65.90 122.50 19.00 35.50 60.00 55.00 74.90 52.90 57.00 14.62 % Chg -3.04 0.71 1.39 0.74 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.43 -0.48 0.81 1.91 1.61 2.05 0.90 0.21 -2.15 0.59 1.81 1.05 -0.21 -0.10 0.84 0.00 0.52 -0.31 -2.67 2.96 -0.89 2.80 0.04 -0.50 0.55 2.17 1.66 -0.26 1.43 0.50 -1.96 1.90 3.12 3.07 0.14 Volume 5,080 462,287 641,652 767,670 167,962 27,721 69,847 32,320 516,130 36,211 53,500 210,526 184,104 125,891 477,345 30,697 144,142 76,927 95,092 1,718 86,772 137,889 65,795 1,579,961 351,493 489,345 432,750 22,548 1,724,263 21,866 270,125 249,505 1,900,786 273,200 1,644,169 13,122 363,367 85,912 742,429 1,559,239 301,522 25,200 SAUDI ARABIA Company Name Saudi Hollandi Bank Al-Ahsa Development Co. Al-Baha Development & Invest Ace Arabia Cooperative Insur Allied Cooperative Insurance Arriyadh Development Company Fitaihi Holding Group Arabia Insurance Cooperative Al Abdullatif Industrial Inv Al-Ahlia Cooperative Insuran Al Alamiya Cooperative Insur Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev Al Babtain Power & Telecommu Bank Albilad Alujain Corporation (Alco) Aldrees Petroleum And Transp Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C Alinma Bank Alinma Tokio Marine Al Khaleej Training And Educ Abdullah A.M. Al-Khodari Son Allianz Saudi Fransi Coopera Almarai Co Saudi Integrated Telecom Co Alsorayai Group Al Tayyar Amana Cooperative Insurance Anaam International Holding Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Arabian Pipes Co Advanced Petrochemicals Co Al Rajhi Co For Co-Operative Arabian Cement Arab National Bank Ash-Sharqiyah Development Co United Wire Factories Compan Astra Industrial Group Alahli Takaful Co Aseer Axa Cooperative Insurance Basic Chemical Industries Bishah Agriculture Bank Al-Jazira Banque Saudi Fransi United International Transpo Bupa Arabia For Cooperative Buruj Cooperative Insurance Saudi Airlines Catering Co Methanol Chemicals Co City Cement Co Eastern Cement Etihad Atheeb Telecommunicat Etihad Etisalat Co Emaar Economic City Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insu United Electronics Co Falcom Saudi Equity Etf Filing & Packing Materials M Wafrah For Industry And Deve Falcom Petrochemical Etf Gulf General Cooperative Ins Jazan Development Co Gulf Union Cooperative Insur Halwani Bros Co Hail Cement Herfy Food Services Co Al Jouf Agriculture Developm Jarir Marketing Co Jabal Omar Development Co Al Jouf Cement Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co Knowledge Economic City Kingdom Holding Co Saudi Arabian Mining Co Malath Cooperative & Reinsur Makkah Construction & Devepl Mediterranean & Gulf Insuran Middle East Specialized Cabl Mohammad Al Mojil Group Co Al Mouwasat Medical Services The National Agriculture Dev Najran Cement Co Nama Chemicals Co National Gypsum National Gas & Industrializa National Industrialization C Maadaniyah National Shipping Co Of/The National Petrochemical Co Rabigh Refining And Petroche Al Qassim Agricultural Co Qassim Cement/The Red Sea Housing Services Co Saudi Research And Marketing Riyad Bank Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co Lt Price 51.09 18.61 13.50 63.98 25.96 21.25 22.46 22.35 41.18 17.81 110.84 10.70 37.46 53.62 22.84 58.05 97.20 23.00 51.50 63.00 66.00 50.45 75.25 24.30 20.59 128.39 16.75 36.28 101.50 25.41 52.91 50.50 80.75 31.30 97.45 42.40 42.86 57.33 28.29 44.80 34.77 69.75 29.01 35.26 69.08 167.55 45.66 178.25 14.68 25.60 58.50 8.88 56.48 14.85 33.46 107.20 33.00 60.93 46.37 30.20 38.81 17.67 24.07 81.00 26.10 100.50 49.50 182.02 52.17 21.50 13.06 19.52 19.33 33.16 37.00 80.86 62.17 22.18 12.55 123.07 36.99 28.54 13.23 32.22 32.40 29.60 40.20 34.58 29.92 24.27 14.17 96.73 50.21 18.62 18.66 62.75 15.61 % Chg 2.18 1.64 0.00 1.56 2.45 -0.47 1.72 -0.84 0.93 0.34 -0.77 -1.92 -0.21 -2.19 0.93 1.84 -1.16 -0.43 9.81 0.32 3.79 1.82 2.33 0.00 -0.05 -0.75 1.70 2.46 1.56 -0.63 -0.15 2.27 -0.31 -0.45 -0.89 1.29 3.38 1.79 0.71 3.92 0.20 0.00 -0.21 -0.70 0.85 -3.45 1.78 0.02 0.07 -1.16 -0.36 0.91 0.57 -0.27 2.36 2.10 0.00 1.55 0.26 0.00 1.49 -1.06 1.65 0.24 0.00 0.59 0.88 1.39 -0.23 -1.69 -0.68 1.30 1.15 1.59 9.79 0.82 4.68 -1.81 0.00 2.22 1.54 3.82 0.30 -0.56 -0.12 0.10 -0.27 1.53 -0.70 0.25 0.00 0.84 0.64 -1.48 -0.37 0.38 0.71 Volume 225,197 985,496 76,195 382,119 440,613 220,724 546,539 142,021 1,004,551 51,408 19,695,814 347,369 444,418 840,882 281,432 269,926 20,097,381 567,888 49,276 2,703,200 329,709 384,822 273,935 271,099 3,379,507 406,002 85,132 582,514 316,162 275,534 148,760 404,040 361,604 70,332 578,357 145,441 727,985 1,452,225 662,940 1,224,907 184,462 48,806 243,994 229,221 53,222 1,024,769 753,968 45,308 1,509,983 10,293,581 3,498,536 673,864 35,875 130 252,641 375,360 123 548,306 764,853 735,721 45,301 103,964 10,335 43,017 40,709 157,120 1,434,562 4,949,251 1,402,338 1,664,825 3,303,450 13,429,483 58,377 1,893,805 9,312,699 70,369 205,950 1,180,675 1,229,022 353,835 30,343 1,497,293 1,030,060 636,264 43,073 1,059,414 638,719 51,088 179,054 86,500 743,000 2,836,640 578,731 Saudi British Bank Sabb Takaful Saudi Basic Industries Corp Saudi Cement Sasco Saudi Dairy & Foodstuff Co Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co Al Sagr Co-Operative Insuran Saudi Advanced Industries Saudi Arabian Coop Ins Co Salama Cooperative Insurance Samba Financial Group Sanad Cooperative Insurance Saudi Public Transport Co Saudi Arabia Refineries Co Hsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf Saudi Re For Cooperative Rei Savola Saudi Cable Co Saudi Chemical Company Saudi Ceramic Saudi Electricity Co Saudi Fisheries Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker Co Dur Hospitality Co Arabian Shield Cooperative Saudi Investment Bank/The Saudi Industrial Development Saudi Industrial Export Co KUWAIT Lt Price 55.52 37.31 100.87 106.50 30.46 120.25 151.82 41.02 23.80 54.45 32.15 46.08 15.23 30.67 69.14 31.00 11.35 77.78 10.85 62.87 130.54 16.15 33.60 81.61 35.82 47.75 27.90 19.57 56.84 % Chg -0.86 2.05 -0.13 -0.75 -0.23 3.89 -0.09 0.86 0.55 1.26 1.80 0.26 0.00 -1.16 -0.76 0.00 0.71 0.01 -1.36 -0.19 -0.73 0.00 -0.03 -1.63 5.32 0.00 0.36 -0.25 0.58 Volume 275,527 1,191,084 4,226,418 97,033 322,256 36,580 95,889 247,122 389,938 669,248 204,648 806,600 599,463 299,856 2,289,182 327,950 834,233 83,441 97,047 1,980,704 315,520 130,348 1,037,488 104,896 89,317 821,848 195,778 KUWAIT Company Name Securities Group Co Sultan Center Food Products Kuwait Foundry Co Sak Kuwait Financial Centre Ajial Real Estate Entmt Gulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc Kuwait Finance & Investment National Industries Co Kuwait Real Estate Holding C Securities House/The Boubyan Petrochemicals Co Al Ahli Bank Of Kuwait Ahli United Bank (Almutahed) National Bank Of Kuwait Commercial Bank Of Kuwait Kuwait International Bank Gulf Bank Al-Massaleh Real Estate Co Al Arabiya Real Estate Co Kuwait Remal Real Estate Co Alkout Industrial Projects C A’ayan Real Estate Co Investors Holding Group Co.K Markaz Real Estate Fund Al-Mazaya Holding Co Al-Madar Finance & Invt Co Gulf Petroleum Investment Mabanee Co Sakc City Group Inovest Co Bsc Kuwait Gypsum Manufacturing Al-Deera Holding Co Alshamel International Hold United Industries Co Mena Real Estate Co National Slaughter House Amar Finance & Leasing Co United Projects Group Kscc National Consumer Holding Co Amwal International Investme Jeeran Holdings Equipment Holding Co K.S.C.C Nafais Holding Safwan Trading & Contracting Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate Gulf Finance House Ec Energy House Holding Co Kscc Kuwait Slaughter House Co Kuwait Co For Process Plant Al Maidan Dental Clinic Co K National Ranges Company Kuwait Pipes Indus & Oil Ser Al-Themar Real International Al-Ahleia Insurance Co Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co Salbookh Trading Co K.S.C.C Aqar Real Estate Investments Hayat Communications Kuwait Packing Materials Mfg Soor Fuel Marketing Co Ksc Alargan International Real Burgan Co For Well Drilling Kuwait Resorts Co Kscc Oula Fuel Marketing Co Palms Agro Production Co Ikarus Petroleum Industries Mubarrad Transport Co Al Mowasat Health Care Co Shuaiba Industrial Co Kuwait Invest Co Holding Hits Telecom Holding First Takaful Insurance Co Kuwaiti Syrian Holding Co National Cleaning Company Eyas For High & Technical Ed United Real Estate Company Agility Kuwait & Middle East Fin Inv Fujairah Cement Industries Livestock Transport & Tradng International Resorts Co National Industries Grp Hold Marine Services Co Pearl Of Kuwait Real Estate Warba Insurance Co Kuwait United Poultry Co First Dubai Real Estate Deve Al Arabi Group Holding Co Kuwait Hotels Co Mobile Telecommunications Co Al Safat Real Estate Co Tamdeen Real Estate Co Kscc Al Mudon Intl Real Estate Co Kuwait Cement Co Ksc Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel Kuwait Portland Cement Co Educational Holding Group Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Kuwait China Investment Co Kuwait Investment Co Burgan Bank Kuwait Projects Co Holdings Al Madina For Finance And In Kuwait Insurance Co Al Masaken Intl Real Estate Intl Financial Advisors First Investment Co Kscc Al Mal Investment Company Bayan Investment Co Kscc Egypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae Coast Investment Development Privatization Holding Compan Kuwait Medical Services Co Injazzat Real State Company Kuwait Cable Vision Sak Sanam Real Estate Co Kscc Ithmaar Bank Bsc Aviation Lease And Finance C Arzan Financial Group For Fi Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co Manafae Investment Co Kuwait Business Town Real Es Future Kid Entertainment And Specialities Group Holding C Abyaar Real Eastate Developm Lt Price 134.00 99.00 330.00 130.00 220.00 590.00 69.00 216.00 39.00 87.00 690.00 440.00 640.00 970.00 650.00 290.00 320.00 64.00 46.00 74.00 520.00 93.00 0.00 1.52 126.00 43.50 87.00 990.00 440.00 70.00 0.00 16.00 0.00 110.00 42.50 160.00 62.00 780.00 79.00 45.00 70.00 126.00 88.00 405.00 114.00 33.50 98.00 0.00 265.00 0.00 36.50 0.00 95.00 460.00 59.00 79.00 89.00 73.00 620.00 150.00 176.00 0.00 98.00 154.00 0.00 164.00 80.00 0.00 240.00 0.00 38.50 0.00 23.50 90.00 315.00 100.00 850.00 49.00 83.00 186.00 48.00 204.00 110.00 14.50 126.00 180.00 84.00 162.00 96.00 610.00 23.50 445.00 79.00 425.00 94.00 1,360.00 0.00 0.00 56.00 150.00 520.00 680.00 33.50 305.00 69.00 48.00 104.00 42.00 76.00 280.00 71.00 58.00 0.00 71.00 48.00 62.00 52.00 244.00 60.00 61.00 0.00 40.50 108.00 150.00 36.50 % Chg 0.00 -1.00 1.54 -5.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.93 5.41 -2.25 -1.43 -1.12 0.00 0.00 -2.99 0.00 -3.03 -5.88 1.10 -1.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.16 0.00 0.00 1.45 0.00 -8.57 0.00 0.00 1.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.17 0.00 8.62 -2.22 0.00 0.00 1.52 0.00 0.00 1.92 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.25 0.00 1.39 0.00 1.35 0.00 0.00 -3.92 0.00 0.00 -1.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -6.10 0.00 -2.08 2.27 0.00 0.00 -2.30 2.08 1.22 -2.11 -1.03 0.00 -5.17 11.54 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.08 0.00 2.60 0.00 0.00 -2.86 0.00 0.00 1.82 0.00 0.00 0.00 -6.94 0.00 1.47 -2.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.43 0.00 0.00 1.43 0.00 -3.13 1.96 -0.81 3.45 1.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.39 Volume 25,000 472,791 110,100 21,001 20,500 410 51,500 3,258 253,500 585,100 71,914 192,904 18,805 238,756 40,136 34,595 2,776,451 1,730 90,071 895,797 1,000 105,300 730,763 29,210 276,704 45,156 119 18,000 12,091,280 2,618 1,900 5,000 47,770 5,000 2,400 328,767 877 840,502 111,100 1 41,531 12,543,719 22,000 2,417 3,777,987 106,000 96 186,400 10,000 5,000 479,459 1 707,496 100 1,296,400 36,762 83,505 528,832 116,500 10,971,938 1,255,000 69,254 50 272,477 1,492,773 9,808 20,000 870 473,086 518,004 13,970 122,462 362 4,950 18,099 7,877 6,264 419,901 5,016,072 13,275 584,020 6,813 100,200 8,305 115,082 10,000 489,499 516,051 5,947,617 90,199 93,010 825,794 3,996,037 2,629,142 1,091,410 5 4,102,890 2,103,550 1,149,999 500 741,000 828,600 25,411 1,529,940 495 1,162,781 500 50,000 5,060,367 Company Name Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate C Al-Dar National Real Estate Kgl Logistics Company Kscc Combined Group Contracting Zima Holding Co Ksc Qurain Holding Co Boubyan Intl Industries Hold Gulf Investment House Boubyan Bank K.S.C Ahli United Bank B.S.C Al-Safat Tec Holding Co Al-Eid Food Co Al-Qurain Petrochemicals Co Advanced Technology Co Ekttitab Holding Co S.A.K.C Kout Food Group Real Estate Trade Centers Co Acico Industries Co Kscc Kipco Asset Management Co National Petroleum Services Alimtiaz Investment Co Kscc Ras Al Khaimah White Cement Kuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport Human Soft Holding Co Automated Systems Co Metal & Recycling Co Gulf Franchising Holding Co Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co National Mobile Telecommuni Al Bareeq Holding Co Kscc Union Real Estate Co Housing Finance Co Sak Al Salam Group Holding Co United Foodstuff Industries Al Aman Investment Company Mashaer Holdings Manazel Holding Mushrif Trading & Contractin Tijara And Real Estate Inves Kuwait Building Materials Jazeera Airways Commercial Real Estate Co Future Communications Co National International Co Taameer Real Estate Invest C Gulf Cement Co Heavy Engineering And Ship B Refrigeration Industries & S National Real Estate Co Al Safat Energy Holding Comp Kuwait National Cinema Co Danah Alsafat Foodstuff Co Independent Petroleum Group Kuwait Real Estate Co Salhia Real Estate Co Ksc Gulf Cable & Electrical Ind Al-Nawadi Holding Co K.S.C Kuwait Finance House OMAN Lt Price 146.00 26.00 114.00 840.00 170.00 18.00 78.00 62.00 495.00 232.00 62.00 122.00 214.00 930.00 53.00 850.00 48.50 310.00 104.00 570.00 69.00 132.00 188.00 70.00 380.00 400.00 108.00 71.00 82.00 1,480.00 0.00 160.00 22.00 78.00 0.00 86.00 150.00 55.00 77.00 61.00 445.00 425.00 93.00 120.00 64.00 38.50 110.00 146.00 350.00 150.00 24.00 1,000.00 78.00 420.00 74.00 365.00 740.00 148.00 740.00 % Chg 0.00 1.96 -1.72 0.00 0.00 -12.20 -1.27 -1.59 -1.00 -0.85 1.64 0.00 -0.93 0.00 -1.85 0.00 3.19 -1.59 0.00 0.00 -1.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 -5.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.20 -1.33 0.00 0.00 -2.22 1.30 0.00 -2.27 4.17 1.85 0.00 -6.15 0.00 -3.41 -2.11 -6.25 1.59 0.00 1.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.30 -5.62 -1.33 -1.35 0.00 0.00 -1.33 Volume 10 6,286,399 152,173 46,247 6 11,954,939 79,900 1,720,400 1,156,871 1,581,999 2,587,540 500 141,529 70 622,300 20 5,500 60,000 9,600 270 95,653 190,999 310 257,293 100 11,859 1,160 33,739 243,000 5,372 10 1,584,000 2,623,626 498,233 1,700 2,101,214 426,799 1,000,840 200 13,675 87,459 7,656 75,000 128,000 105,000 55,010 410 380,618 4,277,784 39,245 140,100 20,400 1,919,448 3,668 12,468 100 1,294,939 OMAN Company Name Voltamp Energy Saog United Finance Co United Power Co United Power/Energy Co- Pref Al Madina Investment Co Taageer Finance Salalah Port Services A’saffa Foods Saog Sohar Poultry Shell Oman Marketing Shell Oman Marketing - Pref Smn Power Holding Saog Al Shurooq Inv Ser Al Sharqiya Invest Holding Sohar Power Co Salalah Beach Resort Saog Salalah Mills Co Sahara Hospitality Renaissance Services Saog Raysut Cement Co Port Service Corporation Packaging Co Ltd Oman United Insurance Co Oman Textile Holding Co Saog Oman Telecommunications Co Sweets Of Oman Oman Orix Leasing Co. Oman Refreshment Co Oman Packaging Oman Oil Marketing Company 0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref Oman National Investment Co Oman National Engineering An Oman National Dairy Products Ominvest Oman Medical Projects Oman Ceramic Com Oman Intl Marketing Oman Investment & Finance Hsbc Bank Oman Oman Hotels & Tourism Co Oman Holding International Oman Fiber Optics Oman Flour Mills Oman Filters Industry Oman Fisheries Co Oman Education & Training In Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50% Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% Oman Europe Foods Industries Oman Cement Co Oman Chlorine Oman Chromite Oman Cables Industry Oman Agricultural Dev Omani Qatari Telecommunicati National Securities Oman Foods International Soa National Pharmaceutical-Rts National Pharmaceutical National Packaging Fac National Mineral Water National Hospitality Institu National Gas Co National Finance Co National Detergents/The National Carpet Factory National Bank Of Oman Saog National Biscuit Industries National Real Estate Develop Natl Aluminium Products Muscat Thread Mills Co Muscat Insurance Company Modern Poultry Farms Muscat National Holding Musandam Marketing & Invest Al Maha Petroleum Products M Muscat Gases Company Saog Majan Glass Company Muscat Finance Al Kamil Power Co Interior Hotels Hotels Management Co Interna Al-Hassan Engineering Co Gulf Stone Gulf Mushroom Company Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-Shar Gulf Investments Services Gulf International Chemicals Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co Ltd Global Fin Investment Galfar Engineering&Contract Galfar Engineering -Prefer Financial Services Co. Flexible Ind Packages Lt Price 0.44 0.14 1.23 1.00 0.00 0.15 0.65 0.85 0.21 2.03 1.05 0.64 1.04 0.18 0.37 1.38 1.49 2.45 0.59 2.11 0.39 0.48 0.43 0.29 1.72 1.35 0.15 2.45 0.26 2.25 0.25 0.38 0.31 0.00 0.42 0.00 0.45 0.52 0.22 0.00 0.23 0.00 5.51 0.60 0.02 0.07 0.14 0.17 0.00 1.00 0.72 0.56 3.64 2.40 1.45 0.66 0.16 0.52 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.06 2.05 0.61 0.15 0.70 0.00 0.37 3.75 0.00 0.33 0.16 0.00 0.00 1.86 0.00 2.43 0.83 0.29 0.15 0.31 0.00 1.25 0.12 0.08 0.43 0.15 0.20 0.17 10.50 0.12 0.17 0.43 0.16 0.06 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.29 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.53 0.00 0.00 -0.47 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.91 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.82 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.44 0.00 0.00 3.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 Volume 44,800 49,993 57,000 47,986 456,948 49,390 215,200 494,280 29 47,466 388,827 1,250 679,949 18,902 62,000 9,465 326,346 1,226,940 1,000 700 15,000 10,530 58,820 1,000 99,000 745,450 695,600 - Company Name Financial Corp/The Dhofar Tourism Dhofar Poultry Aloula Co Dhofar Intl Development Dhofar Insurance Dhofar University Dhofar Power Co Dhofar Power Co-Pfd Dhofar Fisheries & Food Indu Dhofar Cattlefeed Al Batinah Dev & Inv Dhofar Beverages Co Computer Stationery Inds Construction Materials Ind Cement & Gypsum Pro Marine Bander Al-Rowdha Bank Sohar Bankmuscat Saog Bank Dhofar Saog Al Batinah Hotels Majan College Areej Vegetable Oils Al Jazeera Steel Products Co Al Sallan Food Industry Acwa Power Barka Saog Al-Omaniya Financial Service Taghleef Industries Saog Gulf Plastic Industries Co Al Jazeera Services Al Jazerah Services -Pfd Al-Fajar Al-Alamia Co Ahli Bank Abrasives Manufacturing Co S Al-Batinah Intl Saog Lt Price 0.13 1.00 0.18 0.53 0.55 0.20 1.47 0.00 0.00 1.28 0.19 0.16 0.26 0.25 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.22 0.69 0.36 1.13 0.50 5.50 0.46 0.00 0.80 0.33 0.00 0.39 0.40 0.55 0.75 0.22 0.05 0.00 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.08 -0.63 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.44 -1.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.38 0.00 0.00 Volume 7,758 85,050 109,406 11,000 579,439 1,465,189 851,732 54,394 155,641 80,337 136,728 - UAE Company Name National Takaful Company Waha Capital Pjsc Union Insurance Co Union National Bank/Abu Dhab United Insurance Company Union Cement Co United Arab Bank Abu Dhabi National Takaful C Abu Dhabi National Energy Co Sudan Telecommunications Co$ Sorouh Real Estate Company Sharjah Insurance Company Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel Ras Al Khaima Poultry Ras Al Khaimah White Cement Rak Properties Ras Al-Khaimah National Insu Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co National Bank Of Ras Al-Khai Ooredoo Qsc Umm Al Qaiwain Cement Indust Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% National Marine Dredging Co National Corp Tourism & Hote Sharjah Islamic Bank National Bank Of Umm Al Qaiw National Bank Of Fujairah National Bank Of Abu Dhabi Methaq Takaful Insurance #N/A Invalid Security Gulf Pharmaceutical Ind-Julp Invest Bank Insurance House Gulf Medical Projects Gulf Livestock Co Green Crescent Insurance Co Gulf Cement Co Foodco Holding Finance House First Gulf Bank Fujairah Cement Industries Fujairah Building Industries Emirates Telecom Corporation Eshraq Properties Co Pjsc Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc) Emirates Driving Company Al Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S. Dana Gas Commercial Bank Internationa Bank Of Sharjah Abu Dhabi Natl Co For Buildi Al Wathba National Insurance Intl Fish Farming Co-Asmak Arkan Building Materials Co Aldar Properties Pjsc Al Ain Ahlia Ins. Co. Al Khazna Insurance Co Agthia Group Pjsc Al Fujairah National Insuran Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co Abu Dhabi National Insurance Abu Dhabi National Hotels Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Abu Dhabi Aviation Lt Price 0.91 3.08 1.10 6.60 2.00 1.31 7.00 5.85 0.94 0.91 0.00 3.90 1.10 1.27 1.60 0.88 3.78 3.26 1.03 9.09 130.00 1.40 1.17 6.90 6.80 1.85 3.60 4.25 13.60 0.99 0.00 2.98 2.70 1.20 2.54 3.00 0.81 1.39 3.99 4.15 19.10 1.35 1.45 11.45 1.17 7.30 4.75 7.70 0.65 1.89 1.97 0.93 5.35 5.55 1.48 3.20 46.20 0.65 7.23 300.00 2.15 6.50 3.00 6.40 7.56 3.40 % Chg -8.08 -0.65 0.00 3.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -5.05 1.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.62 1.15 0.00 -1.21 -3.74 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.54 0.00 0.00 -0.73 -2.94 0.00 -0.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -7.95 0.72 0.00 0.00 0.53 0.00 0.00 -0.87 2.63 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.53 0.00 -5.10 0.00 0.00 -0.67 -1.54 14.93 0.00 5.55 0.00 6.44 0.00 0.00 -1.08 -1.18 0.00 Volume 106,000 2,816,381 1,291,945 923,818 228,089 7,350 14,134,456 186,498 473,800 2,761,708 33,819,992 383,750 767,069 514,778 57,500 58,846 10,000 2,866,179 2,118,428 21,460,149 108,762 781,193 5,000 143,000 12,773,873 250 454,086 45,000 28,500 287,209 2,571,490 - BAHRAIN Company Name United Paper Industries Bsc United Gulf Investment Corp United Gulf Bank United Finance Co Trafco Group Bsc Takaful International Co Taib Bank -$Us Securities & Investment Co Seef Properties Sudan Telecommunications Co$ Al-Salam Bank Delmon Poultry Co National Hotels Co National Bank Of Bahrain Nass Corp Bsc Khaleeji Commercial Bank Ithmaar Bank Bsc Investcorp Bank -$Us Inovest Co Bsc Intl Investment Group-Kuwait Gulf Monetary Group Global Investment House Kscc Gulf Finance House Ec Bahrain Family Leisure Co Esterad Investment Co B.S.C. Bahrain Duty Free Complex Bahrain Car Park Co Bahrain Cinema Co Bahrain Tourism Co Bahraini Saudi Bank/The Bahrain National Holding Bankmuscat Saog Bmmi Bsc Bmb Investment Bank Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Bahrain Islamic Bank Gulf Hotel Group B.S.C Bahrain Flour Mills Co Bahrain Commercial Facilitie Bbk Bsc Bahrain Telecom Co Bahrain Ship Repair & Engin Albaraka Banking Group Banader Hotels Co Ahli United Bank B.S.C Lt Price 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.40 0.23 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.21 0.00 0.18 0.32 0.30 0.88 0.18 0.05 0.18 501.75 0.23 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.21 0.87 ` 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.44 0.00 0.84 0.00 0.66 0.16 0.90 0.00 0.70 0.47 0.34 2.20 0.82 0.06 0.81 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.23 2.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.16 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.94 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Volume 8,728 100,000 10,000 12,600 5,000 3,500 25,000 490,354 100,000 500 47,300 208,833 60,000 18,500 10,000 20,000 85,000 23,226 23,400 4,000 89,560 11,435 50,000 1,965 45,000 201,223 56,600 LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 7 BUSINESS DJIA WORLD INDICES Company Name Microsoft Corp Exxon Mobil Corp Johnson & Johnson General Electric Co Wal-Mart Stores Inc Procter & Gamble Co/The Jpmorgan Chase & Co Chevron Corp Verizon Communications Inc Pfizer Inc Coca-Cola Co/The At&T Inc Merck & Co. Inc. Intel Corp Intl Business Machines Corp Visa Inc-Class A Shares Walt Disney Co/The Cisco Systems Inc Home Depot Inc 3M Co United Technologies Corp Unitedhealth Group Inc Mcdonald’s Corp American Express Co Boeing Co/The Goldman Sachs Group Inc Nike Inc -Cl B Du Pont (E.I.) De Nemours Caterpillar Inc Travelers Cos Inc/The Lt Price 48.12 94.72 108.35 26.80 84.89 88.52 60.38 115.63 50.50 30.36 43.92 35.42 59.40 34.46 161.71 248.43 89.23 26.42 96.94 158.33 108.69 97.30 96.89 90.44 132.40 188.72 96.72 71.03 101.58 102.65 % Chg -1.28 -0.16 -0.44 -0.78 1.31 0.65 -0.25 0.14 -1.41 -0.75 0.90 -0.83 -0.83 -0.73 -0.11 -0.52 -1.17 -0.66 1.00 -1.14 -0.10 -0.91 0.50 -0.15 1.33 -0.49 0.26 -0.18 -0.45 -0.19 9,260,914 2,095,811 1,209,084 9,652,491 2,818,106 2,154,012 2,873,428 1,224,171 4,234,304 5,231,872 10,852,128 5,255,610 1,967,157 7,023,092 839,061 496,528 2,564,294 6,053,322 2,525,750 782,805 520,030 932,914 1,965,466 776,528 1,869,664 598,697 706,697 396,977 1,423,575 388,054 FTSE 100 Company Name Wpp Plc Wolseley Plc Wm Morrison Supermarkets Whitbread Plc Weir Group Plc/The Vodafone Group Plc United Utilities Group Plc Unilever Plc Tullow Oil Plc Tui Travel Plc Travis Perkins Plc Tesco Plc Standard Life Plc Standard Chartered Plc St James’s Place Plc Sse Plc Sports Direct International Smiths Group Plc Smith & Nephew Plc Shire Plc Severn Trent Plc Schroders Plc Sainsbury (J) Plc Sage Group Plc/The Sabmiller Plc Rsa Insurance Group Plc Royal Mail Plc Royal Dutch Shell Plc-B Shs Royal Dutch Shell Plc-A Shs Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc Rio Tinto Plc Reed Elsevier Plc Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc Randgold Resources Ltd Prudential Plc Petrofac Ltd Persimmon Plc Pearson Plc Old Mutual Plc Next Plc National Grid Plc Mondi Plc Meggitt Plc Marks & Spencer Group Plc London Stock Exchange Group Lloyds Banking Group Plc Legal & General Group Plc Land Securities Group Plc Kingfisher Plc Johnson Matthey Plc Itv Plc Intu Properties Plc Intl Consolidated Airline-Di Intertek Group Plc Intercontinental Hotels Grou Imperial Tobacco Group Plc Imi Plc Hsbc Holdings Plc Hargreaves Lansdown Plc Hammerson Plc Glencore Plc Glaxosmithkline Plc Gkn Plc G4s Plc Friends Life Group Ltd Fresnillo Plc Experian Plc Easyjet Plc Dixons Carphone Plc Direct Line Insurance Group Diageo Plc Crh Plc Compass Group Plc Coca-Cola Hbc Ag-Cdi Centrica Plc Carnival Plc Capita Plc Burberry Group Plc Bunzl Plc Bt Group Plc British Sky Broadcasting Gro British Land Co Plc British American Tobacco Plc Bp Plc Bhp Billiton Plc Bg Group Plc Barclays Plc Bae Systems Plc Babcock Intl Group Plc Aviva Plc Astrazeneca Plc Associated British Foods Plc Ashtead Group Plc Arm Holdings Plc Antofagasta Plc Anglo American Plc Aggreko Plc Admiral Group Plc Aberdeen Asset Mgmt Plc 3I Group Plc #N/A Invalid Security Lt Price 1,292.00 3,452.00 182.20 4,430.00 2,068.00 227.80 910.00 2,632.00 470.20 417.20 1,731.00 194.05 413.10 918.70 754.50 1,586.00 651.50 1,207.00 1,077.00 4,447.00 2,080.00 2,604.00 262.80 390.90 3,463.00 465.00 428.20 2,318.50 2,225.50 383.80 841.50 2,940.50 1,062.00 5,235.00 4,326.00 1,502.50 1,143.00 1,480.00 1,228.00 199.70 6,630.00 956.00 1,071.00 479.60 474.70 2,069.00 78.52 245.00 1,165.00 303.80 3,143.00 204.90 345.90 427.90 2,448.00 2,573.00 2,888.00 1,200.00 633.20 977.00 619.50 328.25 1,468.00 325.90 270.10 335.90 730.50 997.50 1,542.00 426.20 282.70 1,885.00 1,404.00 1,057.00 1,395.00 298.20 2,647.00 1,052.00 1,587.00 1,742.00 380.60 898.00 750.00 3,708.00 439.25 1,623.00 1,025.50 235.80 463.50 1,118.00 534.50 4,755.00 3,106.00 1,024.00 880.50 704.50 1,320.50 1,575.00 1,217.00 444.10 419.60 0.00 % Chg 0.31 0.20 0.05 -0.61 1.27 -0.22 0.78 0.61 -1.01 -0.24 -0.29 0.70 0.17 -0.60 0.13 0.19 0.08 -2.19 0.19 -0.02 2.82 -0.91 -1.05 -0.46 -1.74 0.19 -8.74 -0.34 -0.47 0.58 -0.41 -2.11 -0.56 0.10 -2.30 0.77 -1.72 -1.99 -0.89 -0.30 -1.49 0.05 -0.83 1.35 -0.40 -0.86 0.78 0.37 -0.43 0.53 -1.07 -0.77 0.06 -0.67 -7.73 0.08 -0.10 -2.04 -1.06 -1.86 -0.64 -1.03 -0.51 -0.06 -0.15 0.06 -2.27 1.27 1.11 0.28 0.07 -1.05 2.71 0.00 0.43 -0.73 -0.64 -1.22 0.06 0.23 -0.16 0.90 0.13 0.12 0.38 -2.23 -1.25 -0.72 0.15 1.82 -0.09 1.49 0.78 -2.29 -0.06 -0.70 -3.12 -0.19 1.08 -0.85 -0.50 0.00 Volume 2,266,561 601,017 5,344,980 280,336 668,575 72,465,920 1,452,636 1,572,520 3,818,797 3,838,088 342,690 28,772,031 1,806,948 5,182,814 812,898 900,344 727,987 622,817 1,311,203 2,180,659 925,235 278,632 5,684,846 1,609,872 1,602,712 1,988,682 9,281,911 2,068,031 2,198,154 4,774,440 2,069,419 4,666,531 2,197,686 1,019,652 636,605 2,345,284 1,084,139 634,485 1,778,242 6,380,963 268,005 4,637,341 568,204 1,241,894 4,043,477 332,010 124,034,597 8,290,482 1,199,118 3,549,077 337,672 5,322,333 1,140,674 4,286,789 896,909 361,471 1,100,843 1,249,883 14,872,943 516,194 4,556,929 19,226,545 4,926,890 2,215,289 1,853,361 1,978,129 1,549,070 8,447,837 1,814,939 2,348,023 2,118,539 3,204,794 2,205,675 1,386,271 309,879 9,722,399 350,242 902,415 548,692 186,229 8,070,969 4,253,320 4,767,343 1,196,772 22,379,072 5,309,567 4,123,672 22,243,193 5,161,015 1,616,193 3,234,412 1,860,351 302,050 1,894,185 2,542,111 911,186 4,152,185 395,515 406,601 1,052,919 1,248,114 - TOKYO Company Name Inpex Corp Daiwa House Industry Co Ltd Sekisui House Ltd Kirin Holdings Co Ltd Japan Tobacco Inc Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd Toray Industries Inc Asahi Kasei Corp Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Kao Corp Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Astellas Pharma Inc Eisai Co Ltd Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd Fujifilm Holdings Corp Shiseido Co Ltd Jx Holdings Inc Lt Price 1,357.50 2,249.00 1,557.50 1,469.00 3,875.50 4,500.00 873.80 1,002.50 419.00 7,722.00 586.70 4,515.00 4,949.00 1,791.50 4,344.00 1,721.00 4,040.00 1,762.50 437.10 % Chg -0.73 0.76 0.84 0.24 0.79 -1.06 -0.70 0.48 0.48 -0.01 0.70 0.18 -0.02 -0.75 -0.01 -0.38 -0.17 0.31 0.23 Indices Volume Volume 3,934,000 1,882,100 6,706,200 3,181,400 3,964,900 2,764,900 16,934,000 4,951,000 12,047,000 1,231,000 6,426,900 1,461,400 2,455,400 7,205,300 1,108,300 2,774,100 4,214,100 2,598,200 16,439,000 Lt Price Change Dow Jones Indus. Avg S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index S&P/Tsx Composite Index Mexico Bolsa Index Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx Ftse 100 Index Cac 40 Index Dax Index Ibex 35 Tr 17,659.39 2,043.02 4,667.42 14,925.25 43,711.33 52,793.34 6,686.47 4,260.96 9,458.24 10,372.20 -28.43 -8.78 -35.02 -47.72 +219.88 +731.48 -22.66 -1.42 +1.71 -60.70 Nikkei 225 Japan Topix Hang Seng Index All Ordinaries Indx Nzx All Index Bse Sensex 30 Index Nse S&P Cnx Nifty Index Straits Times Index Karachi All Share Index Jakarta Composite Index 17,288.75 1,396.54 23,373.31 5,352.46 1,115.32 28,032.85 8,382.30 3,334.56 23,254.30 5,127.93 -55.31 +1.66 -155.86 -30.64 +2.43 -130.44 -43.60 +20.83 -203.57 +25.46 TOKYO Company Name Bridgestone Corp Asahi Glass Co Ltd Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Meta Sumitomo Metal Industries Kobe Steel Ltd Jfe Holdings Inc Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd Sumitomo Electric Industries Smc Corp Komatsu Ltd Kubota Corp Daikin Industries Ltd Hitachi Ltd Toshiba Corp Mitsubishi Electric Corp Nidec Corp Nec Corp Fujitsu Ltd Panasonic Corp Sharp Corp Sony Corp Tdk Corp Keyence Corp Denso Corp Fanuc Corp Rohm Co Ltd Kyocera Corp Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd Nitto Denko Corp Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nissan Motor Co Ltd Toyota Motor Corp Honda Motor Co Ltd Suzuki Motor Corp Nikon Corp Hoya Corp Canon Inc Ricoh Co Ltd Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd Nintendo Co Ltd Itochu Corp Marubeni Corp Mitsui & Co Ltd Tokyo Electron Ltd Sumitomo Corp Mitsubishi Corp Aeon Co Ltd Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Gro Resona Holdings Inc Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdin Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Gr Bank Of Yokohama Ltd/The Mizuho Financial Group Inc Orix Corp Daiwa Securities Group Inc Nomura Holdings Inc Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdin Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdin Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Tokio Marine Holdings Inc T&D Holdings Inc Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd Sumitomo Realty & Developmen East Japan Railway Co West Japan Railway Co Central Japan Railway Co Ana Holdings Inc Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Kddi Corp Ntt Docomo Inc Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc Chubu Electric Power Co Inc Kansai Electric Power Co Inc Tohoku Electric Power Co Inc Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc Tokyo Gas Co Ltd Secom Co Ltd Yamada Denki Co Ltd Fast Retailing Co Ltd Softbank Corp Lt Price 3,867.00 572.00 304.20 0.00 178.00 2,385.50 1,713.00 1,537.50 31,765.00 2,748.50 1,817.00 7,184.00 893.00 499.00 1,417.50 7,542.00 347.00 643.40 1,475.00 297.00 2,441.50 7,000.00 55,470.00 5,506.00 19,900.00 7,540.00 5,649.00 13,040.00 6,184.00 684.00 1,073.50 7,025.00 3,621.50 3,662.50 1,607.00 4,259.00 3,635.00 1,250.50 1,051.00 12,850.00 1,359.50 729.60 1,627.00 7,679.00 1,250.00 2,304.00 1,195.50 671.00 642.40 472.60 4,473.00 664.00 203.10 1,579.50 956.00 725.20 2,916.00 2,567.00 1,711.50 3,857.50 1,433.50 3,603.50 2,819.00 4,506.00 8,977.00 5,699.00 17,510.00 274.20 6,540.00 7,599.00 1,881.50 464.00 1,418.00 1,237.00 1,486.00 1,276.00 644.00 6,903.00 392.00 43,030.00 7,886.00 % Chg 0.91 0.35 0.40 0.00 0.56 0.99 0.85 0.20 0.84 -0.61 0.78 1.27 0.90 0.77 0.11 1.14 -1.14 2.11 0.31 -1.00 -1.49 0.43 -1.09 0.81 -1.34 -0.40 0.86 0.00 -0.53 0.43 -0.32 0.39 -1.48 0.33 0.25 -0.93 0.12 0.48 0.00 -1.08 0.74 1.38 -0.18 -0.79 -0.83 -0.17 -2.01 0.16 0.06 0.62 1.21 -0.08 0.79 -0.38 0.08 2.05 -1.70 1.06 -0.35 4.14 0.21 0.92 0.64 0.38 0.68 -0.56 -0.51 1.33 -0.37 -0.34 0.64 4.98 0.18 0.16 0.34 0.71 -0.71 -0.72 -0.76 -1.16 -1.62 Volume 3,177,100 6,187,000 28,714,000 15,406,000 3,170,500 3,882,000 3,764,300 163,700 4,773,900 7,640,000 1,826,600 27,103,000 21,061,000 7,431,000 1,138,000 34,986,000 19,036,000 9,966,600 18,811,000 14,775,100 1,187,800 153,900 1,957,300 1,108,700 844,400 1,865,200 1,044,900 1,017,600 15,030,000 15,543,900 12,916,000 7,564,100 2,481,200 2,216,200 1,396,800 4,526,300 4,254,300 1,978,000 934,000 6,992,100 9,265,900 9,165,700 584,600 4,994,600 6,084,700 7,925,600 62,535,600 13,573,000 18,087,000 6,860,400 5,483,000 173,755,100 5,591,000 11,143,000 36,733,500 1,563,300 3,401,100 3,675,800 5,988,200 2,492,200 4,360,000 5,653,000 3,019,000 1,346,600 592,600 498,600 17,823,000 3,448,400 2,772,500 5,479,700 102,502,700 1,759,700 2,726,300 1,678,600 1,734,900 7,235,000 952,100 6,975,700 686,000 10,333,800 SENSEX Company Name Zee Entertainment Enterprise Wipro Ltd Ultratech Cement Ltd Tech Mahindra Ltd Tata Steel Ltd Tata Power Co Ltd Tata Motors Ltd Tata Consultancy Svcs Ltd Sun Pharmaceutical Indus State Bank Of India Sesa Sterlite Ltd Reliance Industries Ltd Punjab National Bank Power Grid Corp Of India Ltd Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd Ntpc Ltd Nmdc Ltd Maruti Suzuki India Ltd Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Lupin Ltd Larsen & Toubro Ltd Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd Jindal Steel & Power Ltd Itc Ltd Infosys Ltd Indusind Bank Ltd Idfc Ltd Icici Bank Ltd Housing Development Finance Hindustan Unilever Ltd Hindalco Industries Ltd Hero Motocorp Ltd Hdfc Bank Limited Hcl Technologies Ltd Grasim Industries Ltd Gail India Ltd Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Dlf Ltd Coal India Ltd Cipla Ltd Cairn India Ltd Bharti Airtel Ltd Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd Bharat Heavy Electricals Bank Of Baroda Bajaj Auto Ltd Axis Bank Ltd Asian Paints Ltd Ambuja Cements Ltd Acc Ltd Lt Price 388.55 564.90 2,494.75 2,627.25 471.00 88.50 529.50 2,573.75 850.10 2,910.50 240.40 978.15 963.05 146.65 384.15 144.20 149.35 3,343.40 1,245.00 1,449.35 1,658.60 1,077.55 152.00 367.85 4,173.35 715.50 158.70 1,682.90 1,117.20 760.20 154.75 3,000.35 926.55 1,631.15 3,558.05 477.25 3,523.05 141.20 347.05 599.20 261.15 401.75 721.55 249.10 1,040.05 2,674.95 470.20 683.10 222.15 1,463.05 % Chg 1.36 -0.24 -1.40 1.19 -3.17 -0.45 -2.23 -0.47 -1.94 -1.20 -2.65 -1.06 -2.07 -1.15 -1.66 -1.77 -1.48 -0.63 -1.57 0.12 0.85 -0.69 -3.09 -0.65 -0.22 -0.94 -2.19 0.10 1.04 1.11 -0.35 -0.58 -0.61 1.90 -1.07 -2.66 2.62 1.77 -1.57 -1.42 -2.66 0.56 0.23 -2.01 -1.51 1.17 -0.80 -2.54 -1.96 -1.61 Volume 4,152,727 1,746,652 171,498 466,171 5,278,560 2,777,245 5,023,632 993,118 4,137,135 2,380,052 5,094,897 1,980,315 736,579 3,188,182 5,026,539 4,986,538 2,590,505 231,234 1,253,013 294,891 1,882,624 1,100,285 4,653,501 8,845,631 680,483 631,507 7,471,352 2,805,802 2,222,712 1,003,722 10,117,014 373,685 931,477 644,005 74,932 909,146 397,348 12,594,914 2,907,036 1,698,298 4,256,825 5,947,312 1,447,442 4,028,184 653,140 904,596 2,994,154 1,647,744 908,656 201,866 A man walks to the lifts inside the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2% yesterday. European markets decline as miners fall, Greek shares gain Bloomberg Frankfurt E uropean stocks slipped from a seven-week high yesterday, with commodity producers falling and Greek shares rising, before the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1% to 339.15 at the close of trading, after sliding as much as 0.3% and gaining 0.3% earlier. Miners fell posted the biggest declines among 19 industry groups, while Greece’s ASE Index rallied 4.2%, the most in almost a month, for the biggest increase among 18 western-European markets. “So far, markets are still pretty relaxed and convinced that the Fed won’t do much damage,” said Ralf Zimmermann, an equity strategist at Bankhaus Lampe KG in Dusseldorf, Germany. “Whether this conviction will hold true all the time in upcoming months remains to be seen. Investors will screen the minutes for any fresh hints about the fights between the doves and the hawks at the Fed and the pace of the future rate path.” The Fed will release its minutes at 2 p.m. in Washington. The central bank ended its bond-buying program last month amid an improving labor market. The S&P 500 jumped the most since November 5 to a record on Tuesday. The Stoxx 600 climbed 1.1% in the past two days as German investor confidence rose and Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank’s expanded purchase program could include government bonds. The gauge has rallied 9.4% since its low last month as most lenders in Europe passed capitalstrength tests, and Japan’s central bank added stimulus. In the UK, where the FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2%, Bank of England policy makers voted 7-2 to keep interest rates at a record low, according to minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s November 5-6 meeting. Some of the majority began to raise concerns HONG KONG HONG KONG Company Name Aluminum Corp Of China Ltd-H Bank Of East Asia Bank Of China Ltd-H Bank Of Communications Co-H Belle International Holdings Boc Hong Kong Holdings Ltd Cathay Pacific Airways Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd China Coal Energy Co-H China Construction Bank-H China Life Insurance Co-H China Merchants Hldgs Intl China Mobile Ltd China Overseas Land & Invest China Petroleum & Chemical-H China Resources Enterprise China Resources Land Ltd China Resources Power Holdin China Shenhua Energy Co-H China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd Citic Ltd Clp Holdings Ltd Cnooc Ltd Cosco Pacific Ltd Esprit Holdings Ltd Fih Mobile Ltd Hang Lung Properties Ltd Hang Seng Bank Ltd Henderson Land Development about potential inflation pressures. Commodity producers in the Stoxx 600 lost 1.6% as a group for their biggest decline in more than a month. Rio Tinto Group dropped 2.1% to 2,942 pence. Anglo American Plc fell 2.9% to 1,323 pence. ICAP Plc lost 10% to 386 pence, the biggest drop since February 2010, after the world’s largest broker of transactions between banks said pretax profit fell 10% in the first half of its fiscal year. Royal Mail declined 8.4% to 430 pence after the British postal service said first-half profit dropped and warned that Amazon.com’s move to develop its own delivery network will trim the parcel market for other carriers. Greek and Spanish stocks had some of the biggest advances. Piraeus Bank SA climbed 7.2% to €1.19, and Eurobank Ergasias gained 6.6% to 27.3 euro cents. Abengoa SA rallied for a third day, up 9.5% to €2.43. The volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands was 20% lower than the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lt Price 3.31 32.40 3.71 5.73 9.60 26.85 15.30 137.50 4.65 5.59 22.70 25.90 93.85 20.60 6.17 15.82 17.06 20.70 20.25 11.22 13.08 66.60 11.26 10.52 9.97 4.11 22.55 129.00 51.40 % Chg 0.61 -0.46 -0.54 -0.69 -2.24 -0.92 -0.26 -0.51 0.22 -0.71 0.22 0.78 -1.88 -1.20 -0.48 -3.18 0.24 -1.43 -1.94 1.08 -1.36 0.15 -0.88 -0.38 0.30 1.73 -0.44 -1.00 0.29 Volume 8,624,194 942,046 281,668,787 18,382,670 27,038,681 16,927,815 3,752,933 1,926,366 11,573,186 163,921,657 18,794,706 5,587,729 14,241,804 18,882,045 61,164,754 4,523,611 5,395,396 4,500,177 18,174,197 21,159,098 13,329,967 1,686,196 54,129,263 5,153,317 2,166,285 6,997,266 2,746,960 1,062,022 2,222,254 Company Name Hong Kong & China Gas Hong Kong Exchanges & Clear Hsbc Holdings Plc Hutchison Whampoa Ltd Ind & Comm Bk Of China-H Li & Fung Ltd Mtr Corp New World Development Petrochina Co Ltd-H Ping An Insurance Group Co-H Power Assets Holdings Ltd Sino Land Co Sun Hung Kai Properties Swire Pacific Ltd-A Tencent Holdings Ltd Wharf Holdings Ltd Lt Price 18.22 168.00 77.05 98.45 4.95 8.86 31.25 9.50 8.47 58.90 72.85 12.62 112.50 103.70 124.40 55.00 % Chg -0.76 -3.39 -0.19 -0.15 -0.60 -0.45 0.00 -0.31 -0.82 0.00 -0.82 -1.71 -0.27 -1.24 -1.11 0.18 Volume 6,828,462 20,600,040 10,563,819 3,705,329 297,839,263 13,059,244 1,251,290 8,750,555 94,648,032 10,752,398 2,125,671 5,334,348 2,915,664 616,656 22,032,498 2,520,875 GCC INDICES Indices Doha Securities Market Saudi Tadawul Kuwait Stocks Exchange Bahrain Stock Exchage Oman Stock Market Abudhabi Stock Market Dubai Financial Market Lt Price 13,901.08 9,383.79 7,025.36 1,448.59 7,046.04 4,936.18 4,551.49 Change +91.64 +9.11 -26.41 -2.18 +16.66 -5.30 -40.42 “Information contained herein is believed to be reliable and had been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This publication is for providing information only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for a purchase or sale of any of the financial instruments mentioned. Gulf Times and Doha Bank or any of their employees shall not be held accountable and will not accept any losses or liabilities for actions based on this data.” CURRENCIES DOLLAR QATAR RIYAL SAUDI RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS BAHRAINI DINAR KUWAITI DINAR Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 11 BUSINESS Trade mission introduces US firms to diversifying Qatar markets The US Architecture Services Trade Mission to Qatar with Ambassador Smith and Chu Richter among others in Doha. The US Embassy in Doha and United States Department of Commerce, with support from the American Institute of Architects, organised an executive-led Architecture Services Trade Mission to Qatar on Tuesday and Wednesday. The purpose of this mission was to introduce US firms to the expanding and diversifying Qatari market as Qatar continues to develop new infrastructure projects. During the visit to Doha, the participants had the opportunity to meet and develop strong working relationships with locally-based architects, developers, and local government officials. The American firms, which have expertise in planning and development, port redevelopment, airport and transportation infrastructure architecture, healthcare facility design, and sports, entertainment and educational facility architecture, visited many noteworthy Qatari buildings and participated in networking events to showcase the best in American architectural services. “This trade mission represents another exceptional opportunity to expand the reach of architectural talent around the globe,” said 2015 AIA President-elect Elizabeth Chu Richter. “Qatar’s astounding pace of development and rising international prominence is presenting new and exciting opportunities. US design firms are world leaders with unique capabilities and experience, and we welcome the opportunity to form these new relationships with our Qatari partners,” said US ambassador Dana Shell Smith. Ambassador Smith and American Institute of Architects President-elect Chu Richter welcomed guests to a reception at the ambassador’s residence in honour of the Trade Mission on November 18. The reception featured guests from the public and private sectors, government, and arts community and included a special performance by Dominick Farinacci and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha. ‘Mideast expected to get 2,950 planes worth $640bn by 2033’ By Peter Alagos Business Reporter S Johnson: Upbeat on aircraft demand growth. ome 2,950 aircraft worth $640bn were expected to be delivered in the Middle East between 2014 and 2033, an aviation expert said yesterday. Boeing Middle East president Jeffrey Johnson added that for the same period the region would see a rise in demand for both airline pilots and technicians. Citing current market outlook, Johnson said Boeing forecasts long-term demand for 36,770 new airplanes, valued at $5.2tn. “We project that 15,500 of these airplanes or 42% of all new deliveries will replace older, less efficient airplanes,” he said. Johnson noted that the remaining 21,270 airplanes will be for fleet growth, which stimulated expansion in emerging markets and development of innovative airline business models. Single-aisle airplanes continue to command the largest share of the market. He said 25,680 new single-aisle airplanes would be needed over the next 20 years. Fast-growing low-cost carriers and network carriers pressed to replace ageing airplanes drive single-aisle demand. Similarly, widebody fleet will need 8,600 new airplanes. The new generation of efficient widebody airplanes was helping airlines open new markets that would not have been economically viable in the past, he said. For the Middle East, he stressed that the total aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years were about 15% of the 33,000 new airplanes for the worldwide market. “Of the 2,950 deliveries between 2014 and 2033, 74% or 2,180 aircraft were for growth while 26% or 770 airplanes were for replacement and 410 retained fleet. From a global perspective that’s 60% growth and 40% replacement with much newer aircraft going to the Middle East,” Johnson said at the ‘Distinguished speaker series’ organised by the American Chamber of Commerce Qatar here yesterday. The aviation official also emphasised that industry demand for new pilots and technicians ushers in a challenge and “huge opportunity” for aviation-related training and education. He said the region needs 55,000 new pilots or 10% of the global demand (533,000) and 62,000 new technicians or 11% of the 584,000 required worldwide in the next two decades. “Our current market outlook is 20 years and what you’ll see within that pe- riod is a lot of retirement, which is going to be a cycle,” Johnson told Gulf Times on the sidelines on the event. When asked if training facilities in the region could address the demand for new pilots and technicians, Johnson said players in the region’s aviation industry were beginning to see the extent of personnel requirement. “I am sure that within the next three to four years there would be announcements for growth of training facilities,” Johnson said, referring to the need to establish more training facilities in the Middle East. In 2013, Johnson said Middle East traffic growth was more than 11% compared to global traffic of 5% recorded in the last two years. Boeing’s traffic growth forecast in the Middle East in the next 20 years was 6.4%, he added. Qatar’s aviation industry also saw “fantastic growth” with the opening of the Hamad International Airport (HIA), which handles more than 2mn passengers monthly since April, according to Johnson. He said compared to the 12mn passengers accommodated at the old Doha International Airport, Boeing predicts that HIA would be able to meet its projected target of 30mn passengers. Egypt seeing new African Pound volatile on dollar surge, trade bloc in Dec: minister Qatar repayment concerns Reuters Cairo T hree African economic blocs will merge into a new 27-nation free-trade zone under an agreement to be signed in Cairo next month, uniting markets worth 58% of the continent’s economic activity, Egypt’s industry and trade minister said. The deal will combine the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the South African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC). Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said Cairo is also pursuing trade agreements with the Eurasian Economic Community and the South American trade bloc Mercosur in order to win back foreign investors who left Egypt due to the political turmoil that began with a popular uprising in 2011. The Africa initiative will create “one huge free-trade union” allowing foreign investors in Egypt to more easily reach 260mn consumers from South Africa to Ethiopia. “It is going to happen immediately. We expect to sign, absolutely,” Abdel Nour told Reuters in an interview at his office overlooking Tahrir Square. “The execution, like any free trade agreement is done in stages, for some countries quicker than others depending on their economic structure, their ability to compete. But it’s going to be done.” South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry said the deal had been long in the making. It is a “tripartate alliance” made up of the COMESA, SADC, and the EAC, it said. It had not been led by Egypt, it said. Egypt, which relies heavily on imports of gas, wheat and other basic goods, posted a trade bal- ance deficit of about $35bn in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Abdel Nour said he expected the country’s position to improve slightly by the end of the current fiscal year to $32bn-£33bn. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has put infrastructure megaprojects like the new Suez Canal at the top of his economic agenda, alongside long-awaited reforms to subsidies and taxes. Abdel Nour said he would announce in a few days the result of a tender for drafting a master plan to develop a region in southeast Egypt, which the government considers rich in resources including gold, phosphate and quartz. Cairo has for years touted the “Golden Triangle” as a potential mining investment, but little is known about the quantity of mineral resources in the area between the southern city of Qena and the Red Sea towns of Safaga and Qoseir. Egypt said it would repay a $2.5bn deposit to Qatar this month, bringing to $6bn the deposits it has returned to the gas exporter. Reuters Cairo T he Egyptian pound was flat at a central bank dollar sale yesterday but was volatile on the black market as a surge in commercial demand for dollars added to concerns over Egypt’s plans to repay a $2.5bn Qatari deposit, traders said. The bank offered $40mn yesterday and said it had sold $37.6mn at a cut-off price of £7.1401 per dollar, unchanged from its last sale on Monday. The rates at which banks are allowed to trade dollars are determined by the results of central bank sales, giving the bank effective control over official exchange rates. In the unofficial market, traders reported significant volatility. One trader quoted the pound at about 7.75 to the dollar at midday, weaker than Monday’s rate of 7.67 pounds and a marked decline from around 7.57 pounds on Thursday. The trader said a major surge in demand for dollars from a single large company early this week had forced exchange brokers to scramble for hard currency, driving up the price in recent days and creating volatility on the un- official market. “This commercial demand created the shortage,” he said. Another trader said pressure was beginning to ease, having peaked late on Tuesday. Black market rates were being quoted at levels as divergent as 7.55 and 7.68 by yesterday afternoon. Huge demand for dollars to finance imports of food, fuel and manufactured goods often creates shortages in Egypt, which can drive up unofficial rates, particularly ahead of holidays or at certain points in the financial calendar. Economic and political uncertainty has also raised currency pressures since the 2011 revolt, boosting a black market that had dwindled during years of growth. “There is pressure because of the Qatari deposit,” said the head of foreign exchange at one Egyptian bank. “You are talking about a country where there is a cashflow deficit. Imports exceed exports so there is an imbalance.” Egypt said it would repay a $2.5bn deposit to Qatar this month, bringing to $6bn the deposits it has returned to the gas exporter. Libya official sees Opec at least cutting above-target oil output Reuters London O pec will agree as a minimum step to remove crude from the market that it is pumping above the agreed target, a Libyan oil official said, to support prices that hit a four-year low. Oil ministers from Opec meet on November 27 to consider adjusting their output target of 30mn barrels per day (bpd). More delegates are talking of a need to lower production, although top exporter Saudi Arabia has yet to say whether it supports a cut. “I believe that the ministers will arrive to an agreement, as a minimum, to ask all members to abide by the 30mn ceiling for December,” Samir Kamal, Libya’s Opec governor and head of planning at the Libyan oil ministry, told Reuters. Complying with the target would in theory cut Opec output by 600,000 bpd based on the International Energy Agency’s estimate that Opec pumped 30.60mn bpd in October. Opec’s own figures put production lower at 30.25mn bpd. Oil fell to a four-year low below $77 a barrel last week on ample global supply, slowing demand and scepticism that the 12-member Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be able to bolster prices. The Libyan official added he also expected Opec ministers to “keep a watch on the market response and if needed, to set a new ceiling of not more than 29.5mn bpd”. Kamal said he was not speaking on behalf of the Libyan government. Libya is struggling with two administrations – the internationally recognised government, located in Tobruk since August, and a Tripolibased rival administration. Neither has commented on the Opec meeting. Last month, Kamal called for an Opec cut of at least 500,000 bpd and said Libya should be exempt from the measure since it is working to sustain a rise in production hit by months of fighting and protests. Fellow Opec members Venezuela and Ecuador also want an Opec cut. Kuwait has said a reduction is unlikely, while traders and analysts are split over the likelihood of action. Oldest airline in Asia PAL seeks strategic partner By Arno Maierbrugger Gulf Times Correspondent Bangkok The oldest airline in Asia operating under the same name for more than 70 years, Philippine Airlines (PAL), is on the lookout for a strategic partner after 49% shareholder San Miguel Corp in September sold its stake to Filipino businessman Lucio Tan’s LT Group, which is now restructuring the carrier. According to PAL’s new president Jaime Bautista, a partner could be a foreign airline or a foreign aviationrelated company, and the stake on offer could be as high as 40%, in line with the Philippine foreign acquisition law. Bautista said last Friday in Manila that talks with potential partners are yet to be initiated, without mentioning any names or a price for the stake. The airline’s current market capitalisation as per Bloomberg data is around $2.2bn, thus a 40% stake would have a value of $880mn. This also corresponds with the price of more than $1bn that Tan paid for the 49% share acquired from San Miguel. PAL has been struggling with losses due to high fuel prices, labour disputes and harsh competition from discount carriers, most of all Cebu Pacific, in the past. The airline, however, returned to profitability in the second quarter of 2014 due to aggressive cost-cutting measures and rising travel demand on established and new routes. The share price of the carrier’s parent company, PAL Holding, however, dropped around 30% in October after Lucio Tan announced that he is aiming at buying out minority shareholders at a steep discount as part of the restructuring. The airline industry is now speculating over what companies could be a suitable partner for PAL. The airline in the past has enhanced its code-share co-operation with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad after competition with Cebu Pacific in the Philippine-Middle East market has been heating up. Abu Dhabi, which is currently working on a big upgrade of its international airport, could emerge as a transfer point for travellers on PAL connecting to Europe and thus become a logical partner in this market, much to the disgrace of Emirates Airlines that just recently ended its code share agreement with PAL on the DubaiManila route. A partnership between PAL and Etihad looks even more attractive given the fact that PAL is now the top Middle East carrier out of Manila with 16,744 seats projected for December 2014, followed by Emirates with 15,582 and Cebu Pacific with 13,080, serving the large and growing Filipino worker population in the Gulf region. PAL re-entered the Middle East market after several years of absence in October 2013 by launching flights to Abu Dhabi, followed by Dubai, Doha, Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah and Manama (code share with Gulf Air). Currently, PAL offers 19 weekly flights to the Middle East and will introduce a daily service to Abu Dhabi, up from three flights week, on December 1, increasing its offerings to 21 flights a week. As for Qatar, both PAL and Qatar Airways now serve the Doha-Manila route, which forced Qatar Airways to drop one of its two daily flights but did not result in a capacity drop as Qatar Airways launched an additional route to Clark (north of Manila) in October 2013. Another candidate for a strategic partnership for PAL is All Nippon Airways to cover trans-pacific connections to North America. PAL has recently introduced a flight to New York via Vancouver after an 18-year hiatus in addition to its reopened flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Honolulu, and also plans to fly to Chicago, Miami and San Diego in the future. 12 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS Samsung units scrap $2.5bn takeover plan Setback to Samsung Group’s restructuring moves; shareholders doubt short-term synergies of the merger; shares in both firms slump Reuters Seoul S amsung Heavy Industries scrapped yesterday a $2.5bn takeover of Samsung Engineering due to shareholder opposition, a setback for parent Samsung Group’s restructuring plans ahead of a looming succession. Stocks in both firms have fallen since the takeover was announced in September as investors were not convinced of its benefits. The decline triggered shareholder demands for a share buyback worth $1.5bn, which was more than the firms were willing to pay to go ahead with the deal. The takeover was one of several deals that Samsung Group has recently done to simplify its shareholding structure as the South Korean conglomerate prepares for a power transfer from its ailing and elderly chief Lee Kun-hee to his children. Its scrapping shows these plans could be derailed by shareholders. “I expect a handful of decision makers at Samsung Group to be mindful of shareholders in restructuring going forward,” said Kim Sung-soo, fund manager at LS Asset Management. Shipbuilder Samsung Heavy had proposed the takeover of engineering and construction firm Samsung Engineering to create a larger, more efficient company. Analysts had said the deal was mainly aimed at laying a groundwork that would make it easier for the Lee siblings to divide inherited assets. Samsung Engineering office in Seoul. Samsung Heavy Industries scrapped yesterday a $2.5bn takeover of Samsung Engineering due to shareholder opposition. The two companies had said they could cancel the merger if the buyback costs exceeded 410bn won for Samsung Engineering or 950bn won for Samsung Heavy. According to joint statement, Samsung Engineering shareholders wanted to sell shares worth 706.3bn won while Samsung Heavy shareholders wanted a buyback worth 923.5bn won. Beijing to bolster aid to small firms Dow Jones Beijing C hina rolled out a series of measures to help struggling smaller companies amid a slowing economy, vowing to boost lending, reduce borrowing costs and make better use of the country’s vast pool of foreign-exchange reserves. China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in over five years in the third quarter, and growing numbers of borrowers, many of them smaller companies, have struggled to repay bank loans. The government has already tried a number of measures to make it easier for borrowers to get credit – but so far it has failed to resolve corporate funding problems, analysts say. “The problems of high funding costs and no access to credit have been relieved in some regions and sectors, but they are still prominent,” said the State Council, the nation’s cabinet, in a statement published yesterday after a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. The government body said it would make “innovative use” of the country’s foreign-exchange reserves to support the real economy. It didn’t give details but China’s foreign-exchange reserves stood at $3.89tn at the end of September, according to government data. China doesn’t disclose details of its foreign-exchange investments but much of the total is estimated to be in stable but lowyielding US government bonds. Economists have long called for putting some of those funds to work in the home market. The government also said it would give more flexibility to banks in their loan-to-deposit ratio, a move that would allow lenders to extend more credit to small companies and the agricultural sector. Under current rules, Chinese banks must keep their loan-to-deposit ratios below 75%. For every dollar a bank collects in deposits, it can only lend 75 cents. It also said it wanted to help write off more of their bad loans to small firms to encourage fresh lending. It didn’t provide further details. The State Council said it would ease profit requirements for initial public offerings and lower the threshold for the listing of smaller firms on the country’s stock markets. China’s economic growth slowed to 7.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, down from 7.5% in the second quarter and 7.7% for the full year of 2013. Shares in Samsung Engineering closed more than 9% down, their lowest level in 5-1/2 years, as investors who had held onto their stocks in anticipation of a buyback dumped shares. Samsung Heavy also closed down 6.4%. In their statement, Samsung Heavy and Samsung Engineering said they could reconsider the merger after “taking into ac- count the market situation and shareholder opinions”. “Today’s move should sound the alarm on Samsung’s restructuring, which has been carried out unilaterally,” said Chung Sun-sup, CEO of research firm Chaebul. com. “It signals shareholders could put brakes on restructuring moves if they go against their interests.” Risky rewards for China’s overseas investment boom AFP Beijing China’s inexorable economic rise is set to see it become a net global investor after decades of Western money flowing into the country, but analysts warn the change offers risks as well as profits. Chinese oil behemoth CNOOC’s $15bn acquisition of Canada’s Nexen, completed last year, was just a fraction of the $625bn the country has invested abroad, much of it resources driven and also taking in other sectors including agriculture, manufacturing and banking. But the looming changeover may be a sign that China is becoming less attractive as an investment destination itself, while some deals have been less successful than others. Chinese external acquisitions were strictly controlled until 2000 when the Communist Party listed overseas investment as a new growth strategy, widely described as “going out” to secure technology, resources and market access. Overseas direct investment (ODI) has since ballooned – along with China’s foreign exchange stockpile – and reached $90.2bn in 2013, more than 30 times what it was a decade previously. Incoming foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $117.6bn last year, official data showed, and the latest figures on Tuesday showed the gap between them has narrowed substantially in 2014. China invested $4.19bn in nonfinancial sectors in the US alone in the first 10 months of this year, the commerce ministry said, almost twice as much as the $2.32bn that flowed in the other direction. “It is a matter of time before China’s overseas investment exceeds the foreign investment it receives,” assistant commerce minister Zhang Xiangchen told reporters last month. “Even if it is not realised this year, it will in the near future. China is soon to become a net capital exporter.” China is now the world’s third largest investor after the US and Japan, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and Beijing’s figures show the US and Australia as its top recipient nations. But the spending spree has been largely driven by big state-owned enterprises (SOEs), backed by state banks as they purchase mineral and energy resources, sparking concerns over China’s growing economic power and possible political motives. At the same time, some projects have not proved as profitable as hoped. Auto manufacturer SAIC Motor took a controlling stake in South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company but lost several billion yuan when it went bankrupt and suffered a bitter strike, which ended only with a police raid featuring commandos rappelling from a helicopter in a hail of missiles. India must speed up reforms: OECD AFP New Delhi I ndia is emerging from its worst economic slowdown in a quarter-century, but needs big structural reforms to return to the 8%-plus growth needed to generate jobs for its burgeoning young population, the OECD said yesterday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development left unchanged its 5.4% growth forecast for this financial year to March 30, 2015 – a figure broadly in line with government projections and up from 4.7% expansion posted by India last year. But the Paris-based OECD revised upwards its forecast for next year, projecting Asia’s third-largest economy will expand by 6.6% – compared to its 5.7% estimate in May. “The Indian economy is coming out of some tough times,” OECD chief economist Catherine Mann told reporters. India’s growth has languished below 5% for the last two years, the longest weak growth spell in 25 years, hit by high interest rates, stubborn inflation and weak investment. The economy should grow by 6.8% in the 2016-17 year, the OECD’s India Economic Survey added, bolstered by economic reforms already introduced by the right-wing government of Narendra Modi which swept to power in May. Despite the forecast growth, significant structural reforms are needed to return to the near double-digit figures of the past. “Structural reforms would help return India’s growth to the near double-digit levels of the previous decade,” the OECD said, adding it was “critical” to remove ma- A worker tends to yarn-spinning equipment at a factory in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad yesterday. India is emerging from its worst economic slowdown in a quarter-century, but needs big structural reforms to return to the 8%-plus growth needed to generate jobs for its burgeoning young population, the OECD said yesterday. jor economic bottlenecks. “Structural reforms” is economic shorthand for changes such as deregulation, better governance and improvements to public finances. The report warned that without such steps, expansion “will remain below the 8% growth achieved during the previous decade”. India needs close to nine-to-10% growth to generate jobs for millions of young people who join the workforce each year, economists say. “Key reforms in the business environment, to labour markets and to infrastruc- ture will bring economic growth back to higher levels seen in the recent past,” Mann said. Dilapidated roads, railways and other infrastructure, inadequate education and training and rigid hire-and-fire laws “are increasingly impeding growth and jobcreation”, the report added. Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party government is viewed as more pro-business than its left-leaning Congress predecessor, has already started chopping away at India’s thicket of regulations considered by companies to be one of their key chal- lenges. But the government must do more to simplify India’s infamous red tape to speed up commissioning of infrastructure projects and spur growth, the report said. Uncertainty surrounding complex and costly land acquisition rules is holding up projects that could help decrease supplychain bottlenecks and reduce input costs fuelling inflation, the report added. It was also imperative the government press ahead with a long-pending national goods and services tax to eliminate a patchwork of levies and create a single internal market, the report said. BoJ on hold despite grim GDP, Kuroda avoids criticising Abe on tax delay Reuters Tokyo Kuroda: To continue purchases of government bonds and risky assets. The Bank of Japan kept monetary settings and its upbeat economic view unchanged yesterday in the wake of data showing the economy has slipped into recession, preferring to spend more time to gauge the effect of its surprise easing last month. BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda avoided criticising Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision on Tuesday to delay a tax increase that the central banker had supported as a needed budget-balancing step. As widely expected, the BoJ voted to continue its purchases of government bonds and risky assets, maintaining its pledge of increasing base money, or cash and deposits at the central bank, at an annual pace of ¥80tn ($683bn). “Japan’s economy continues to recover moderately as a trend, although some weaknesses remain mainly in output,” the BoJ said in a statement after its policy meeting. It raised its view on exports to “flat” from weakening. Board member Takahide Kiuchi, a sceptic of the current quantitative easing programme, dissented to the policy decision in a show of his continued disapproval to last month’s surprise monetary easing that was made by a closely split vote. The meeting came in the wake of data on Monday which showed the world’s third-largest economy unexpectedly slipped into recession in the third quarter, as the hit to spending from a sales tax hike in April overwhelmed the impact of massive pump-priming by the BoJ and the government. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would call an early election to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies, and postponed a second increase in the tax slated for October 2015 to April 2017. The dismal third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data complicates the efforts of the BoJ, which aimed to preempt risks to the inflation outlook by expanding monetary stimulus last month. Kuroda, facing reporters after the BoJ decision, focused on Abe’s promise to maintain Japan’s long-term commitment to curbing the heaviest debt burden in the industrial world. “Whether to raise the sales tax is something the government and parliament decides, taking into account economic and other conditions,” Kuroda said. “In general terms, it’s important for Japan as a nation to maintain market trust in its finances.” “The government has laid out a mediumterm fiscal consolidation plan and has set a clear target ... We hope the government steadily implements measures, based on this plan, to create a sustainable fiscal structure.” The second straight quarter of contraction will almost certainly force the BoJ to cut its forecast of a 0.5% economic expansion for the current fiscal year at a quarterly review of long-term projections in January, analysts say. “Both prices and the economy are undershooting the BoJ’s forecasts. That will heighten market expectations of further easing,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. Shinke is among a growing number of analysts who see the economy shrinking in the current fiscal year ending in March 2015, and now projects a 0.8% contraction. The postponement of the tax hike compounds problems for Kuroda, who already faces an divided board and markets that are questioning his credibility. The BoJ now gobbles up almost the same amount of government bonds that are issued each month, a move critics describe as tantamount to debt monetisation. The delay in raising the tax stokes worries that the BoJ’s ultra-easy monetary stance is bank-rolling an alarmingly high public debt, already the highest among major economies. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 13 BUSINESS Rouble inches lower as oil prices decline Reuters London T he rouble inched lower yesterday and Russian bond yields touched new five-year highs as Moscow prepared for its first debt auction since October, while a firmer dollar also took a toll on most other emerging currencies. The rouble reversed some of the previous day’s gains to slip 0.3% as crude prices fell towards $78 a barrel and the dollar index rose. Russian 10-year yields were around 10.4%, the highest since December 2009 ahead of an auction of 5bn roubles’ ($106.7mn) worth of two-year treasury bonds. The last five sales were cancelled. “It’s not a massive test (of investor appetite) it’s a small amount and very short duration. The reason they made it short duration is they want the auction to perform,” said Luis Costa, head of CEEMEA debt and equity strategy at Citi. He said the bonds would likely be snapped up by Russian banks which are always in need of extra collateral. Of the rouble, Costa said: “The dynamics are changing, we are no longer in the environment of 1-2% daily moves. It’s difficult to be constructive on the rouble but there seems to be some sort of stabilisation.” Russian shares were marginally lower overall, but shares of potash producer Uralkali slumped 8%, extending losses after the company was focrced to suspend work at the key Solikamsk mine due to water inflow. Broader emerging equities were down slightly but there were some outliers. Turkish markets were up 0.7%, due to 1.7% gains in Garanti Bank after Spain’s BBVA said it was in advanced talks over the possible acquisition of a stake. And the Jakarta bourse hit seven-week highs after an emergency rate rise to curb inflation after the lifting of fuel subsidies. Currencies however were on the backfoot for the most part versus the dollar as the yen hit a seven-year low. The Korean won hit a 14-month low to the dollar. Russia’s $100bn reserve fall contrasts with some other emerging markets Reuters London R ussia’s hard currency reserves have fallen by the equivalent of almost $100bn in the past year to the lowest since early-2009, contrasting with a rise in holdings in many other emerging economies. Russian reserves stood at $428.6bn at the end of October, down from $524.3 a year before due to multibillion dollar central bank interventions to defend the rouble. They have declined further to $421.4bn since then. While the scale of the fall is not on a par with moves seen during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, when Russia spent almost $200bn in the rouble’s defence, it represents a fall of almost 20% from the levels of one year ago. The following graphic shows the state of hard currency reserves in several emerging central banks at the end of October. Some of the decline is down to valuation effects as the euro, which makes up 40% of the reserves, has fallen more than 8% this year versus the greenback. Tatiana Orlova, senior Russia economist at RBS, saw further reserve reduction ahead despite short-term stabilisation due to Russia’s recent decision to float the rouble. “The switch to freefloat is good news for stabilisation of reserves. We may expect some intervention from time to time but not the steady drain that we saw in recent months,” she said. Orlova noted also that Russia’s headline reserves include $170bn from two savings funds, the National Wealth Fund and the Reserve Fund. Some of this may be used to help banks and companies hurt by Western economic sanctions, weak oil prices and the slowdown in economic growth. “The long-term outlook is for a reduction in reserves, the question is how much,” Orlova added. Russian reserves are also now below those of Taiwan for the first time since mid-2006. Taiwan’s reserves have risen just 1.4% in the past year, but those in Indonesia, Mexico and India have gone up by 12-15% in this period. The steepest drop in reserves has been in Ukraine where they fell to $12.6bn from $20.6bn a year back. Nigerian reserves are also sharply lower after heavy central bank interventions to support the naira, which has fallen to successive record lows. Nigeria’s reserves are down $7 $7bn, or 16%, from year-ago levels. CORPORATE RESULTS AirAsia net profit plunges 85% in Q3 on higher costs Revenue, however, fell 2.5% to $5.96bn. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 36 cents per share and revenue of $5.93bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Royal Mail Malaysia-based AirAsia, the region’s biggest lowcost carrier by fleet size, said yesterday its thirdquarter net profit plunged a year-on-year 85% due mainly to higher financing costs. Net profit for the quarter ending September 30 was 5.4mn ringgit ($1.61mn), the company said, while revenue increased 3.1% to 1.32bn ringgit. It also blamed some of the lower profit on affiliate Thai AirAsia posting its second consecutive quarterly loss due to the unsettled political situation in Thailand, whose visitor industry was hit in the wake of a May coup. AirAsia said the quarterly results demonstrated “the company’s strong standalone performance at a time when most of the other airlines around the region are facing a challenging period and recording poor performances.” AirAsia is led by flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001. It has seen spectacular success and aggressive growth under his low-cost, low-overhead model. AirAsia signed an agreement in July to buy 50 longhaul A330 jets from Europe’s Airbus in a deal worth $13.75bn at catalogue prices. Meanwhile, AirAsia X, the budget carrier’s longhaul, low-cost affiliate, announced its fourth consecutive quarterly loss yesterday. Target Target Corp, the fourth-largest US retailer, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as US samestore increased for the first time in four quarters. US same-store sales rose 1.2%, double the rate that analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had expected. Last week Wal-Mart Stores, the largest US retailer, reported its first rise in US same-store sales in seven quarters, helped by a drop in gasoline prices. Target raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted earnings forecast range, but cut the top end. The company now expects adjusted earnings of $3.15-$3.25 per share for the year ending January, compared with its previous forecast of $3.10-$3.30. The forecast includes a pre-tax expense of $13mn, or 1 cent per share, related to the conversion of Target’s payment cards to MasterCard chip-and-pin cards following a massive data breach during last year’s holiday shopping season. Target has also had to resort to price cuts to attract cash-strapped consumers and win back customers unsettled by the breach, which resulted in the theft of at least 40mn card numbers and 70mn other pieces of customer data. The company said yesterday it had incurred net breach-related expenses of $158mn so far, including $12mn in the third quarter ended November 1. The upcoming holiday season will be the first under new CEO Brian Cornell, who took the helm in August. Staples Staples reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales and profit as demand recovered for core office supplies such as paper and ink products after six quarters of decline. Shares of the largest US office supplies retailer rose about 4% in premarket trading. Staples also raised its free cash flow forecast for the year to “more than $800mn” from “more than $600mn.” The company said it would shut 170 stores in North America this year, higher than the 140 stores it had planned earlier. The retailer said it had achieved annual cost savings of more than $200mn, of the $500mn it aimed to save under a two-year program. Same-store sales fell 4% in the third quarter ended November 1, in line with the average analyst estimate, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. Staples, which has been focusing on growing its online business, said sales at Staples.com rose 9%. Net income rose to $216.8mn, or 34 cents per share, from $135.2mn or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 37 cents per share. Online retail giant Amazon’s own delivery service will more than halve the growth potential for Royal Mail’s parcels business, the former state-owned British company said yesterday, sending its shares lower. Parcels make up half of Royal Mail’s turnover and the development of online shopping has made them central to the company’s prospects when letter volumes are in decline. However, competition from the likes of TNT, Yodel, and a new delivery service from Amazon, which was Royal Mail’s biggest customer accounting for six% of sales, has hampered progress and hit revenues. Royal Mail warned yesterday that Amazon’s plans to deliver more of its own packages would cut growth in the British parcels market for it and rivals from an annual rate of 4-5% to 1-2% for at least two years. The squeeze showed in a 21% decline in Royal Mail operating profit for the six months to September 28, although the figure of £279mn was not as bad as many analysts had feared. Moya Greene, Royal Mail’s chief executive, said Amazon’s arrival and increased capacity from rivals were having a dramatic effect on its market. James Hardie James Hardie Industries, the world’s biggest fibre cement products maker, yesterday posted a sharp increase in second-quarter net operating profit, despite a slower-than-expected recovery in the US housing sector. James Hardie, which generates two-thirds of its revenue in Europe and the US, warned of short-term US uncertainty with the recent “flattening in housing activity” but forecast a moderate improvement for the year ending in March. Its Australian, New Zealand and Philippines businesses are expected to improve, it added. “Management cautions that although US housing activity has been improving for some time, market conditions remain somewhat uncertain and some input costs remain volatile,” it said in a statement. The company, which supplies products like cladding for the outside walls of houses, reported net operating profit of $127.2mn for the quarter ended September 30, up from $51.9mn a year ago. Chief Executive Louis Gries said the 66% jump reflected increased volumes and higher average net sales prices across its US, European and Asian fiber cement businesses, which drove net sales up 12% for both the quarter and the half year. Home Depot Home Depot has reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly sales as an improving job market encouraged home owners to increase spending on renovations, but earnings came in just below Wall Street estimates. Sales increased despite the September disclosure from the world’s largest home improvement chain that its data systems were breached, probably affecting about 56mn payment cards. Home Depot said it might face other breach-related costs, including legal action, that could have a material impact on results for the current quarter and beyond. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 5.2% in the third quarter ended November 2, beating the analysts’ average estimate of 5%, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. Same-store sales increased 5.8% in the US, where Home Depot has more than 85% of its stores. Net sales rose 5.4% to $20.52bn, while analysts on average had expected $20.47bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Third-quarter net income rose to $1.54bn, or $1.15 per share, from $1.35bn, or 95 cents per share, a year earlier. JA Solar Chinese solar company JA Solar Holdings Co reported its fourth straight quarterly profit, helped by higher demand for solar panels and modules, and raised its shipment forecast. The company said it expects to ship 850-900 megawatts (MW) of cells and modules in the fourth quarter, up from the 785.4 MW it shipped in the third quarter ended September 30. JA Solar also raised its 2014 shipment forecast to 3.1-3.2 gigawatt (GW) from 2.9-3.1 GW. Third-quarter module shipment jumped to 693.5 MW in the third quarter from 445.8 MW in the second quarter, mainly due to robust growth in sales to Japan and China, the company said. Revenue jumped 71% to $492.2mn. JA Solar reported a net profit of $25.3mn, or 42 cents per American Depositary Share, compared with a year-ago loss of $37mn, or $1.10 per ADS. year. Vienna Insurance Vienna Insurance Group is turning round its problematic Romanian business but may still post a small loss in Italy next year as it unwinds a disastrous foray into car insurance there, Chief Executive Peter Hagen said. Its Romanian business continued a fragile recovery with a €2.6mn ($3.3mn) pretax profit in the first three quarters as cut-throat competition eased. “It is a bit early to be optimistic but there is sufficient reason to no longer be pessimistic,” Hagen said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Vienna’s Italian business was still losing money but not like in 2013, when a flood of claims from a ballooning business triggered a drastic cut-back. Asked if losses would continue into 2015, Hagen said: “That may well be, but only at a very low level.” Baader Bank analysts kept a “buy” rating on Vienna shares, saying: “We believe that Vienna’s turnaround is overall well on track, with expected reported top-line growth next year and stabilisation in Romania and Italy in the near term.” Third-quarter group profit before tax rose 27% to €140mn as premiums climbed 1.7% to 2.06bn. Vienna’s combined ratio—a measure of profitability in the property and accident business—improved to 97.2%. Analysts had seen pretax profit up 32%. EasyJet EasyJet’s annual profits climbed on the back of rising passenger numbers and sales, the no-frills British airline said. Net profits, or earnings after taxation, rallied 13% to £450mn ($704mn, €565mn) in the group’s financial year to the end of September, compared with 2012/13, EasyJet said in a results statement. Pre-tax profits surged 22% to £581mn, which was slightly ahead of the group’s own forecast. Passenger numbers jumped seven% to 64.8mn, as the airline also picked up business from rival Air France—which had to cancel flights in September because of a record two-week-long pilots’ strike. EasyJet’s total revenues meanwhile swelled by 6.3% to £4.527bn. “Our performance demonstrates our continued focus on cost and progress against every strategic revenue priority,” said chief executive Carolyn McCall. 14 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS Deutsche Bank prices $1.5bn debut US bond market CoCo Reuters London/New York Bloomberg Hong Kong D eutsche Bank on Tuesday priced $1.5bn of bonds that convert into equity, fortifying its capital strength and its leverage ratio in particular. The perpetual non-call 10-year Contingent Convertible or CoCo priced at 100.065 to yield 7.5%, in line with guidance. It was sized at the upper end of the $1bn to $1.5bn range flagged to investors. The self-led deal attracted $3.6bn of interest from more than 230 investors, half of which were US domestic accounts unable to participate in Deutsche’s ground-breaking May issue of sterling, euro and Reg-S only dollar AT1s that raised the equivalent of $3.5bn. Of the rest, around 25% was sold into Asia and the rest into Europe. With the $1.5bn deal, Deutsche is just shy of completing its objective of raising $5bn of CoCos and improving its leverage ratio to 3.5% by the end of 2015 from 2.4% at the start of 2014. “It’s the last leg of the capital raising plan,” said analyst Jacques-Henri Gaulard at Scope Ratings. Like the bank’s previous CoCos, the new issue is perpetual but will be temporarily written-down if the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio falls below 5.125%, consistent with other continental European banks. Like many other borrowers that hit the bond market on Tuesday, however, Deutsche was unable to pull in pricing from guidance levels. Market participants pointed to signs that investor demand is buckling under the weight of the $88.475bn in issuance so far this month. The Deutsche CoCo was first marketed at a coupon of 7.5% area, nearly 1.5 percentage points higher than Swedish lender Nordea paid for a bond with a matching maturity in September, even though Nordea’s bonds have a much higher 8% write-down trigger. One market source said Deutsche could have achieved tighter pricing but opted to stick with the 7.5% yield and raise the maximum amount of the trade. “I think it (DB’s pricing on top of whispered levels) was a matter of the market just being overwhelmed with so much supply, and the fact that investors know there are some huge deals in D The headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. The bank on Tuesday priced $1.5bn of bonds that convert into equity, fortifying its capital strength and its leverage ratio in particular. the pipeline,” said one banker not directly involved in the deal. Alibaba is expected to issue a potential $8bn debut deal in the US market this week, and medical device maker Medtronic will begin roadshowing a jumbo financing on Friday to help raise the US$16bn of debt it needs for its $42.9bn acquisition of Covidien. “It’s hard for (investors) to step up and buy bonds in front of that,” said the banker. The new Deutsche AT1 floats at mid-swaps plus 500.3bp if it is not called in year 10, and then resets every five years thereafter over the five-year mid-swap rate. At 7.5% the deal offers about a 25bp concession over its outstanding 6.25% Reg S only perpetual non-call fives with a first call date in April 2020. That deal was part of May’s threecurrency AT1 transaction and was quoted at a yield-to-call of around 6.5% on Tuesday. Adding 75bp to account for the trading difference between a non-call five and a non-call 10 would suggest fair value at around 7.25% for the new deal. Some investors compared the trade with French banks like Societe Generale and Credit Agricole. SocGen has a 7.875% CoCo trading at par with a yield-to-call of 7.72%, while Credit Agricole’s 7.875% AT1s were quoted at US$103with a yield-to-call of 7.2%. The difference between Deutsche Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 14.7% and the CoCo’s 5.125% trigger is nearly 10 percentage points, the widest distance of any issuer. But according to Simon Adamson, an analyst at CreditSights, Deutsche has less in the way of retained profits, which raises the risks the coupon might not be paid. At Ba3/BB/BB+ with Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, Deutsche Bank’s CoCo is not considered investment-grade by credit ratings agencies, unlike Nordic banks like Nordea at BBB+/BBB, with S&P and Fitch. Asia bourses dip; Tokyo retreats as BoJ stands pat on monetary policy AFP Tokyo A sian markets slipped yesterday despite record closing highs on Wall Street, with Tokyo stocks retreating after the central bank stood pat on monetary policy even as Japan tipped back into recession. Sydney dropped 0.57%, or 30.9 points, to 5,368.8, Shanghai lost 0.22%, or 5.38 points, to 2,450.99 and Hong Kong fell 0.66%, or 155.86 points, to 23,373.31. Seoul ended flat, shedding 0.14 points to 1,966.87. In other markets, Bangkok fell 0.24%, or 3.72 points, to 1,577.55; Kasikorn Bank added 2.09% to 244baht, while Siam Cement fell 0.88% to 448baht. Malaysia’s main stock index rose 6.01 points, or 0.33%, to close at 1,824.39; Public Bank added 0.22% to 18.34 ringgit, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.73% to 13.74 while Airasia X lost 7.86% to 0.65 ringgit. Jakarta ended up 0.50%, or 25.46 points, at 5,127.93; cigarette maker Gudang Garam gained 2.04% to 63,700 rupiah, while retailer Hero Supermarket slipped 1.00% to 2,475 rupiah. Singapore rose 0.63%, or 20.83 points, to 3,334.56; agribusiness company Wilmar International gained 0.31% to Sg$3.24, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp rose 2.34% to Sg$10.50. Taipei gained 1.18%, or 104.17 points, to 8,963.24; TSMC rose 3.42% to Tw$136.0 while HTC was 1.14% higher at Tw$133.5. Manila ended flat, edging down 6.17 points to 7,269.49; top-traded Megaworld rose 1.61% to 5.05 pesos while Philippine Long Distance Telephone shed 0.07% to 2,992 pesos. Tokyo shed 0.32%, or 55.31 points, to end at 17,288.75 after Bank of Japan policymakers trimmed their inflation expectations but held off fresh monetary easing. On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Deutsche Bank sees Asia-Pacific revenue growing at least 10% Money dealers call orders at a foreign exchange market in Tokyo. The US dollar gained against the Japanese yen at the Tokyo market and traded in the ¥117 level yesterday. Shinzo Abe called for early elections to seek a mandate for delaying next year’s sales tax increase, after data showed the Japanese economy was in recession— hammered by a sales tax rise in April. “Abe’s actions were in line with market expectations, which had been building for several days,” said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical strategist at Daiwa Securities. “Historically, the market tends to rise between the time elections are declared and when the vote actually occurs, and foreign investors, importantly, appear to be embracing the decision,” Kinouchi told Dow Jones Newswires. On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.23% and the S&P 500 rose 0.51% to close at fresh records following solid economic data from Germany and the US. Investment sentiment in the eurozone’s biggest economy rebounded in November, a survey showed Tuesday. After hitting a 22-month low in October, the widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute was back in positive territory in November, jumping to 11.5 points from minus 3.6 points the previous month. The European single currency rose on the upbeat data, trading at $1.2516 and ¥146.94 in Asian afternoon trade from $1.2482 and ¥145.68 late Tuesday. And in the US, homebuilder confi- dence rose by four points to 58, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The dollar rose to ¥117.40 from ¥116.83 in New York Tuesday afternoon and ¥116.57 in Tokyo earlier Tuesday. Oil prices were mixed in Asia as dealers predicted that leading producer Saudi Arabia would resist pressure from other Opec members to cut output in order to prop up falling prices. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for December delivery fell 44 cents to $74.17, while Brent crude for January rose eight cents to $78.55 in afternoon trade. Gold was at $1,200.30 an ounce, compared with $1,202 late Tuesday. eutsche Bank’s Asia-Pacific revenue may expand 10% or more over the next three to five years, said Gunit Chadha, co-chief executive officer for the region. Germany’s biggest lender has made “large hires” for wealth management in the region and is adding people in investment and transaction banking, Chadha, 53, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin in Singapore. Deutsche Bank reported a €94mn ($118mn) loss for the three months through September after setting aside funds to cover the costs of settling investigations. Growth in trade financing in the Asia-Pacific region was a bright spot in what the lender described as a “challenging” quarter for transaction banking. “We feel very good about the Asia Pacific and especially as we see some markets coming back into growth,” said Chadha, who leads the bank’s operations in the region with Alan Cloete. The Asia Pacific accounted for €3.85bn of Deutsche Bank’s €31.92bn of revenue in 2013, company filings show. That region and the UK were the only geographic areas where revenue grew from the prior year. Deutsche Bank has about 18,000 Asia-Pacific employees, according to Chadha. That compares with about 98,000 people globally at the end of September, a company presentation shows. The firm’s hiring for wealth management has been focused on Singapore, a private-banking hub for Deutsche Bank, Chadha said. The Asia-Pacific wealthmanagement business aims to increase revenue by 20% next year by targeting ultra-high net worth clients, Mark Smallwood, Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management’s head of franchise development and strategic initiatives in the region, said last month. Sensex falls; rupee hits 8-1/2 month low Reuters Mumbai Indian shares fell yesterday, retreating from record highs hit earlier in the session as investors pared positions in blue-chips such as Tata Motors after overseas investors marked their first sale of cash shares in three weeks. Foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth Rs1.02bn ($16.5mn) on Tuesday, marking their first sale since October 28. Overseas investors have been key drivers of the stock market rally this year, buying a net $15.47bn worth of shares so far in 2014, according to regulatory data. But caution is now beginning to set in ahead of the winter session of the parliament scheduled to begin next week, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is expected to push a slew of reforms including goods and services tax. Investors are also looking forward to the Reserve Bank of India’s policy review on December 2, while also tracking global factors, including minutes of the US Fed’s policy meeting due later this week. “FIIs are making good profit on Indian shares after a long time, so expect 3-5% correction by December-end due to profit taking,” said G Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a research and fund advisory firm. The BSE index fell 0.46% after hitting an all-time high of 28,294.01 earlier in the day. The NSE index settled down 0.52% after rising to a record high of 8,455.65. Blue-chips led falls amid profittaking. The 50-share NSE index has gained 35.2% so far this year, making India the best performing equity market in Asia during the period. Tata Motors fell 2.2%, while Sun Pharmaceutical Indus- tries ended lower 1.9%. ITC lost 0.7%, while Tata Steel ended 3.2% lower. State bank of India lost 1.2% after rising 8.3% in the previous three sessions. Reliance Industries fell 1.1%, Oil and Natural Gas Corp lost 1.7%, and Cairn India declined 2.7%. Among gainers, consumer goods stocks rose on hopes falling inflation would lift spending, while lower raw material costs would aid margins. Hindustan Unilever rose 1.1% and Britannia Industries advanced 2.1%. Meanwhile the rupee hit an 8-1/2 month low yesterday as global gains in the dollar ahead of the release of US Federal Reserve minutes later in the day and slumping crude prices spurred oil firms to accelerate their greenback purchases. Fed minutes come amid rising expectations the US central bank is moving towards eventual rate hikes, in contrast to the European Central Bank or the Bank of Japan. Any US rate hikes could end up hitting emerging market currencies such as the rupee, despite the accommodative stances in countries outside the US. But traders say relatively better economic fundamentals in India could protect the rupee from steep falls compared with other emerging market currencies. “The dollar demand from oil companies should continue at least till the end of the month,” said Anish Vyas, a currency analyst at Angel Securities in Mumbai. “However, hopes of rate cuts and positive reforms from the government should limit any major fall in the rupee.” The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.96/97 per dollar versus its previous close of 61.74/75, after earlier touching a low of 61.9950, its weakest level since March 4. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 15 BUSINESS Carney’s majority shows cracks on inflation concerns Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s November 5-6 meeting contrast with the downbeat assessment presented by Carney at the November 12 press conference Bloomberg London B ank of England policy makers voted 7-2 to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low this month as some of the majority began to raise concerns about potential inflation pressures. Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s November 5-6 meeting showed the majority in favour of maintaining the key rate at 0.5% — which includes Governor Mark Carney — had a “material spread of views on the balance of risks.” While some of those views were focused on the possibility of weaker UK growth, others cited the potential for a faster decline in excess capacity in the economy, boosting inflation. “There was a risk that growth might soften further than anticipated” and premature tightening “would leave the economy vulnerable to shocks,” the MPC majority said. “Against this, however, there was also a risk that the degree of spare capacity would be eliminated more quickly than assumed,” which would “potentially result in inflation rising to, and subsequently overshooting, the 2% target.” The minutes contrast somewhat with the downbeat assessment presented by Carney at the November 12 Inflation Report press conference, when he cited “moribund” global expansion and stagnation in Europe. His comments, along with lower BoE forecasts, prompted investors and economists to change their view on the timing of the first interest-rate increase. “There was a much greater sense of this spare capacity question hovering hawkishly over the MPC than the Inflation Report and recent speeches have suggested,” said Philip Rush, an economist at Nomura International in London. “It would still leave a blocking majority of internal doves.” The pound rose against the dollar after the minutes were published and was trading at $1.5679 as of 11:52am London time, up 0.3% from Monday. While the minutes yesterday cited threats to the recovery from the euro area and the UK housing market, it said business investment growth was “buoyant” and there were signs that wage growth was picking up. “Further increases in earnings growth would be necessary” if the BoE’s inflation projections were to be met, the central bank said. “But, given the pace at which spare capacity appeared to have been eroded over the past year and the possibility that productivity growth would remain weak, there was a risk that any remaining slack might soon be exhausted, causing inflationary pressures to build.” Data Monday showed inflation unexpectedly accelerated to 1.3% last month from 1.2%. While the BoE expects price growth to cool again in the coming months, Annual pay growth accelerated to 1% in the three months through September. David Tinsley, an economist at UBS in London, said the minutes show that it’s “probably be wrong to put all the majority seven members of the MPC in the same boat.” “The discussion in the committee on policy rates is a little more live than recent speeches might suggest,” he said. “Domestically the key indicator to watch is clearly pay growth, particularly that in the private sector.” After the Inflation Report, economists were focused on the minority of Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale favouring higher interest rates, rather than a move within the majority. While most analysts forecast another 7-2 split being revealed yesterday, some had said at least one of the minority would change his vote. For Weale and McCafferty, economic circumstances continued to justify an immediate increase in the benchmark rate from 0.5% to 0.75%, according to the minutes. They said the MPC should anticipate labourmarket pressures. Volvo Cars plots US resurgence with model overhaul Reuters Stockholm C hinese-owned Volvo Car Group said yesterday a sweeping overhaul of its model range over the next five years would propel its long-suffering sales volumes in the US back above 100,000 cars per year. Strong growth in China and more modest gains in Europe have helped Volvo grow sales for 16 straight months. However, turnover in the US, once its biggest market but now eclipsed by China, has been eroding over the past decade. Volvo, bought by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co from Ford Motor Co in 2010, said it expected to reach its sales target “in the medium term” and sought to dispel doubts it had a future in the vast US market. The Swedish car brand is up against much larger luxury rivals at a time when the global industry is shifting to a smaller number of vehicle platforms to exploit economies of scale while offering a broader array of models. Volvo chief executive Hakan Samuelsson believes Volvo can compete with a more focused offering and just one core engine family. “Volvo is in the US to stay. Not only will we stay, we will prosper,” Samuelsson said in a statement. We sold over 100,000 cars a year in the US in the past. Our initial aim is to get back to that level and in the longer term surpass it.” Volvo, which expects to sell only about 60,000 cars in US this year, is seeking to generate enough global sales to support the billions of dollars in investment in new vehicles needed to remain viable in a cut-throat car industry. Volvo last sold more than a 100,000 cars in the US in 2007, its best year globally before a sharp downturn hit auto sales across the world as the financial crisis struck. US auto industry sales rose to more than 15mn vehicles last year. The Gothenburg-based car maker aims to nearly double annual sales to 800,000 cars by 2020 and stake out a claim in a premium market dominated by Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen’s Audi. Fed’s Yellen inherits Greenspan’s conundrum as long rates sink Bloomberg New York Alan Greenspan couldn’t control long-term interest rates a decade ago, and bond investors are betting Janet Yellen’s luck will be no better. When then-Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan raised the benchmark overnight rate from 2004 to 2006, long-term borrowing costs failed to increase, thwarting his attempts to tighten credit and curb excesses that contributed to the worst financial crisis in 80 years. “We wanted to control the federal funds rate, but ran into trouble because long-term rates did not, as they always had previously, respond to the rise in short-term rates,” Greenspan said in an interview last week. He called this a “conundrum” during congressional testimony in 2005. The bond market is signalling that past may be prologue as Yellen’s Fed prepares to raise rates next year. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note has fallen 0.71 percentage point in 2014 even as the Fed wound down its bond-buying program and mapped out a strategy to raise the benchmark federal funds rate from near zero, where it has been since 2008. Most Fed policy makers expect the central bank will raise the federal funds rate, which represents the cost of overnight loans among banks, sometime next year, according to projections released in September. The stakes are higher this time because rates are lower and the yield curve is flatter. Raising short-term rates in the face of stable or falling long-term rates could lead to a situation where the Fed “quickly inverts the yield curve and turns credit creation on its head,” said Tim Duy, an economics professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene and a former US Treasury Department economist. An inverted yield curve occurs when short-term securities yield more than longer-dated bonds. That discourages banks from extending credit because they finance long-term loans with short-term debt. Inverted yield curves typically precede recessions. Duy said the Fed has few options if long rates don’t rise after increases in the federal funds rate: the Fed would have little scope to raise the benchmark further, and not much room to cut if the economy were to slump. “I’m sort of wondering, what’s the game plan here,” Duy said. The Fed does have one tool that Greenspan didn’t: a $4.49tn portfolio accumulated in three rounds of asset purchases. Selling some of those assets might provide a way to lift long-term rates if necessary, said Michael Gapen, senior US economist at Barclays in New York. The challenges Fed policy makers face today are similar to those of a decade ago. The “global savings glut” then-Fed Governor Ben S Bernanke highlighted as a key source of downward pressure on long-term rates in 2005 has grown even larger over the last 10 years, said George Saravelos, head of Europe FX and crossmarkets strategy at Deutsche Bank in London. Saravelos said Europe’s surplus in its current account, the broadest measure of trade that includes investment income, is “bigger than China’s in the 2000s” at around $400bn per year. “The next few years will mark the beginning of very large European purchases of foreign assets,” he wrote in an October 6 report. Economic stagnation has reduced yields in places like Germany and Japan, which will help funnel excess savings into the US and prevent Treasury yields from rising, according to Roberto Perli, a partner at Cornerstone Macro in Washington. The 2.32% yield on 10-year Treasuries compares with 0.80% on 10-year German Bunds and 0.50% on 10-year Japanese government bonds. Unlike the 2004-2006 period, when the dollar was depreciating, a rising greenback in this tightening cycle will increase foreigners’ incentive to hold US assets, “which just makes things worse,” Perli said. “Investors should be mindful of global factors,” Priya Misra, rates strategist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York, wrote in a note yesterday. Weakness in global growth and inflation “can prevent a significant move higher in US 10-year rates,” she wrote. Foreign investors have replaced the Fed’s purchases, which ended in October, as a major source of demand for US government debt, according to Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher. “I definitely think that has helped suppress the yield curve,” he told reporters November 3. Fisher said lack of concern about the potential Yellen: Higher stakes. for a surge in inflation is having a similar effect. A measure of the outlook for annual inflation over the five-year period that begins five years from now, derived from yields on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, has fallen to 2.15% from 2.69% on December 31. The decline reflects a drop in the price investors are willing to pay for protection against an unexpected jump in inflation, New York Fed President William C Dudley said in a November 13 speech. “Many investors have a hard time seeing significant upside inflation risk, even over a 10-year period, and they’re not willing to pay up for that type of protection in portfolios,” said Zach Pandl, a Minneapolis-based interest-rate strategist at Columbia Management Investment Advisers, which oversees $340bn. A lack of inflationary pressure, excess savings and global stagnation have combined to reduce the compensation investors demand for unexpected changes in long-term interest rates, measured by a component of yields known as the term premium, according to a New York Fed model. “If you want to know what moves long rates, in general it’s more term premiums than it is the path of policy,” Jeremy Stein, a Harvard economics professor and former Fed governor, said in an interview. Forecasters are paying attention. Barclays strategists said in a November 13 note they cut their prediction for the 10-year Treasury yield at the end of 2015 to 2.85%, citing a negative term premium. For now, policy makers are probably more worried about unintentionally causing a destabilising surge in long-term rates, said Jonathan Wright, an economist who developed term structure models at the Fed’s Division of Monetary Affairs in 2004-2008. That’s what happened in mid-2013, when thenchairman Bernanke triggered the so-called taper tantrum by suggesting the Fed could begin reducing asset purchases within months. As a result, the 10-year US Treasury term premium derived from the New York Fed’s model rose 1.63 percentage point over the next seven months, driving long-term rates higher. From policy makers’ current point of view, “a rising term premium is a problem. A falling one is not,” said Wright, now a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. That’s why “the Fed is trying to be very, very careful in laying out as much as they can an expected path of tightening.” What’s more, the conundrum could actually work to the Fed’s advantage as it focuses on raising the federal funds rate above zero and restoring its role as the primary policy tool. To the extent that long-term rates stay low and therefore don’t add to monetary tightening, “that allows you to put emphasis on that short-term rate and getting it off zero,” Donald Kohn, vicechairman of the Fed from 2006 to 2010, said in an interview. Still, the Fed may eventually need to take further action if the economy starts to overheat. That’s where the central bank’s expanded balance sheet may be useful, according to Gapen, a former Fed economist. Just as the Fed’s purchases are thought to have depressed term premiums, sales of Treasuries could reverse the downward pressure, Gapen said. The potential to sell Treasuries “gives people confidence that if there is a serious problem, you have an additional policy tool,” he said. Exercise in a bottle is next food frontier for Nestle Bloomberg Zurich T ucked away near Lake Geneva, a handful of Nestle scientists are quietly working on realising every couch potato’s dream: exercise that comes in a bottle. The world’s biggest food company, known for KitKat candy bars and Nespresso capsules, says it has identified how an enzyme in charge of regulating metabolism can be stimulated by a compound called C13, a potential first step in developing a way to mimic the fat-burning effect of exercise. The findings were published in the science journal Chemistry & Biology in July. While any slimming smoothies or snack bars are a long way off, eight scientists at the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences in Lausanne, Switzerland, are looking for natural substances that can act as triggers. Nestle’s commitment to this type of project illustrates how the company is working to address con- sumers’ disenchantment with packaged food by formulating products that can do more than sate hunger. “The border between food and pharma will narrow in the coming years,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel in Zurich. “Companies with a diversified, healthy food portfolio will emerge as the winners.” The numbers already point that way. Consumers’ appetite for food perceived to bring a health benefit, such as gluten-free pasta and organic juice, is forecast to outpace growth in traditional packaged food through 2019 after doing so almost every year in the past decade, according to research firm Euromonitor International. On the ground floor of a box-like building located on the campus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the Nestle scientists are sorting through natural substances such as fruit and plant extracts to see which ones could modulate the enzyme called AMPK, which acts as a metabolic master switch to facilitate the body’s use of sugar and fat. The goal is to develop a nutritional product that mimics or enhances the effect of exercise for people with limited mobility due to old age, diabetes or obesity, Kei Sakamoto, the scientist who oversees research on diabetes and circadian rhythms at Nestle, said in a telephone interview. Testing on animals probably won’t start for several years, he said. “The enzyme can help people who can’t tolerate or continue rigorous exercise,” Sakamoto said. “Instead of 20 minutes of jogging or 40 minutes of cycling, it may help boost metabolism with moderate exercise like brisk walking. They’d get similar effects with less strain.” AMPK’s role is crucial “as energy is needed for all the key physiological processes in the body, from secreting a hormone to moving a muscle and even brain function,” Nestle said in a statement yesterday disclosing its research on the enzyme. Nestle shares gained 0.3% to 71.80 Swiss francs at 1:46pm in Zurich trading. The push into science nutrition means Nestle is going after targets that pharmaceutical companies have pursued for years. Rigel Pharmaceuticals of San Francisco started testing its own experimental AMPK activator on humans earlier this year, to see if it can help with one of the consequences of a chronic form of vascular disease. The German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH is working with the Indian biotech Connexios Life Sciences to develop AMPK activators for diabetes. The list of those who have tried to target AMPK and had no success so far, directly or through collaborations, includes Merck & Co of the US and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories of India. Merck is still at it after more than a decade of research, according to spokeswoman Pamela Eisele. Dr Reddy’s, reached via e-mail, says it has abandoned research on the enzyme. One older diabetes medicine does work by stimulating AMPK. The drug, called metformin, inhibits sugar out- put from the liver and helps some patients slim down. Nestle doesn’t plan to partner with a drug maker for its own AMPK project, according to Sakamoto. The Vevey, Switzerland-based company’s research budget of 1.5bn francs ($1.6bn) last year almost rivaled that of the Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk. Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, points out others have tried to develop fat-burning products before, to no avail. “A successful attempt in producing metabolic-assisting foods that mimic exercise would be marvelous — the holy grail,” Sattar said by telephone. “But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. So far no such product has ever passed clinical trials.” Nestle’s dabbling in health extends far back. Founder Henri Nestle was a pharmacist by training. The company made Nestrovit vitamins as early as 1936 with the Swiss drug maker now known as Roche Holding. Fifty years later it disbursed $2.5bn to buy the medical-nutrition unit of Roche’s archrival Novartis. Current products include Boost shakes, which help diabetics manage their blood-sugar levels, and Optifast, formulated to assist medically-at-risk patients who need to lose weight swiftly. The commitment wasn’t always sustained: A joint venture with Baxter International to sell medical foods was disbanded almost twenty years ago. But lately, the company points to health nutrition as the way of the future, especially as it and others in the industry struggle to find the next frontier of growth, faced with consumers who increasingly shun packaged branded goods in favour of healthier or generic options. “There’s still a lot about nutrition we don’t know and haven’t explored,” Ewa Hudson, head of health and wellness at Euromonitor in London, said in a phone interview. “You can’t be 100% certain of the outcome. It’s expensive. If anyone is to explore it, it would be a company like Nestle.” Thursday, November 20, 2014 BUSINESS GULF TIMES Seven lady envoys join QBWA as honorary members QNB sets up interactive booth at City Center Lady envoys of seven countries have joined Qatari Businesswomen Association (QBWA) as honorary members, in an effort to expand its global relations network and strengthen its role in enhancing economic co-operation between their countries and Qatar. Ambassadors of the US, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Georgia, Sweden and Argentina to Qatar, have joined the organisation as honorary members, a spokesperson of QBWA said. QBWA recently extended its invitation to all lady ambassadors to Qatar to become honorary members and this membership will be valid for the duration of their term in Qatar. “We are fully aware of the busy schedules of our honorary members; we will work to make their membership a mutually positive and beneficial partnership without putting additional burdens on them, and we are sure that this will open new doors and will generate more opportunities for all of us,” said Aisha Alfardan, vice-chairwoman of QBWA. The fourth quarter of this year is expected to be very active as the QBWA seeks to launch a series of events and workshops, including a monthly business to business meeting that will develop the exchange between members of the association; annual networking dinner; several training workshops for members and the 5th edition of Qatar International Businesswomen Forum, which will be held next month. Picture shows the QBWA with new honorary members. QNB has set up an interactive display booth at City Center to inform customers about QNB’s latest electronic services and promotions. QNB’s e-Services team will give visitors a detailed explanation about the bank’s electronic banking services offered to help customers complete their transactions while on the move and without having to visit the branch. The services are designed to be convenient and easy to use, highly secured, and available 24/7. Using electronic services, customers can perform most of their financial needs easily online such as paying utility bills and credit cards, viewing account statements, money transfers between own accounts from anywhere in the world. Also, they can top-up Hala and Vodafone prepaid accounts, among others. Customers visiting the QNB booth could find out more about QNB’s cardless services available for QNB customers to access cash without using their cards. The QNB team will also inform customers of the latest campaign launched in partnership with Western Union on free Western Union transfers through QNB Internet banking. The promotion is valid until December 9, 2014. Also, customers could learn more about another QNB campaign that gives them a chance to win an iPhone 6 when they register for Internet banking or mobile banking and conduct at least two transactions online. The promotion is valid until December 8, 2014. QNB online services are among the best and most innovative electronic channels in the Mena region. For more information, customers can visit the QNB booth City Center from November 20 to 24, 2014. Arab airlines have increasing impact on global stage, says Emirates chief Sheikh Ahmed Dr Seetharaman delivering the keynote address on ‘Enterprise Risk Integration’ at the Enterprise Risk Summit 2014 at the Oryx Rotana in Doha yesterday. G20 commits to 2.1% increase in global growth: Seetharaman T he G20 countries have committed themselves to achieving a 2.1% increase in global growth in the next five years as world economy has not picked up, said Doha Bank Group CEO, Dr R Seetharaman. He was delivering the keynote address on ‘Enterprise Risk Integration’ at the Enterprise Risk Summit 2014 at the Oryx Rotana in Doha yesterday. Seetharaman said, “They have also agreed to a plan to reduce the gap between men and women in the workforce by 25% over the next 10 years. This has the potential to bring 100mn women into the global workforce. G20 supported the initiatives to prevent, detect, report early, and rapidly respond to infectious diseases like Ebola and make sure basic public health system prevails which allow for early warning when outbreaks of infectious disease occur. The G20 Food Security and Nutrition Framework will strengthen growth by lifting investment in food systems, raising productivity to expand food supply, and increasing incomes and quality jobs. To prevent cross-border tax evasion, G20 endorsed the global Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI) on a reciprocal basis.” Highlighting global governance, he said, “Ethical and moral governance has failed, which contributed to the subprime crisis and global financial crisis. Global governance has got redefined after the crisis and has an impact on corporate governance. Gone are the days where financial institutions used to gamble. The public private partnership model prevailed in financial services industry after the crisis. Since April 2009 the global governance has brought measures to regulate the banking sector.” Systematic risk is monitored closely by the regulators after the crisis and regulatory reforms have been pursued in relation to this. However, the easing measures by various central banks have lifted the stock markets. Currency volatility has also prevailed. The dollar index has strengthened and the oil prices have fallen recently. Japan has gone into recession despite the measures taken as part of ‘Abenomics’. The climate change challenge is prevalent and hence every organisation whether it is bank or an oil company should contribute to sustainable development as part of moral governance. On risk integration, he said, “The global financial crisis is an opportunity to strengthen enterprise risk management. Whether it is lending or investing or the overall balance sheet management risk management is critical as part of Governance. Enterprise risk management broadens the scope of risk management behaviours to include every significant business risk of the organisation. It can be credit risk, market risk, operation risk, human resource risk or reputation risks. There should be an objective assessment of every transaction and we should manage the risks and contribute to the value system. “We can’t see risks in isolation and an integrated approach towards risk is required. Recently, global banks were subject to fines and litigation on account of Libor rigging, forex rigging and AML issues. Going forward, banks and financial institutions need to integrate their risk and compliance efforts to prevent recurrence of such events. There is also a need to protect the brand of the organisation as part of reputation risks. We live in a digital world and banks have embraced technology to provide better offerings to its customers. At the same banks should respond to challenges arising from digital security. “Human resource is critical for every organisation and back up plans are necessary for key staff in the organisation as part of business continuity plans. Key management staff should contribute to the shared vision of the organisation and towards the strategy. The enterprise risk integration will provide value advantage to various stakeholders. Risk integration is the key to strengthen governance.” A rab airlines have increasing impact and visibility on the global stage, with many Arab countries recognising the economic importance of aviation and investing in infrastructure, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Dubai Airports. Sheikh Ahmed made his remarks as patron of the 47th Arab Air Carriers Organisation Annual General Meeting (AACO AGM), at the event’s official opening dinner held last night in Dubai. Sheikh Ahmed said, “Some 47 years ago, in 1967, the world’s airlines transported less than 300mn passengers annually. Today, airlines serve an estimated 3.3bn passengers. What’s more, the 31 airline members of AACO are playing a bigger role in world air traffic than ever before. According to figures from Airbus, in less than 10 years between 2003 and 2013, the number of passengers carried by airlines in Middle East and North Africa has increased by more than 300%. “In the past, European airports were the default hubs for travellers flying East to West, or North to South. Today, more and more travellers are choosing to fly via hubs in our region, Sheikh Ahmed (centre) with Sir Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline (right); and AACO secretary-general Abdul Wahab Teffaha at the opening ceremony of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO) 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dubai. because we can offer better connection times, and a better travel experience. This huge shift in global aviation is a success story for all of us. As individual airlines, and together with our home countries, we have made the world sit up and take notice.” He also remarked that aviation is recognised as a key economic driver in many Middle East and North African coun- tries, citing the UAE and Dubai as an example. “The latest study from Oxford Economics show that the aviation sector contributed 26.7% to Dubai’s GDP in 2013, and supported over 400,000 jobs. In 2020, aviation’s contribution to Dubai’s GDP is expected be $53bn. And by 2030, this will rise to $88.1bn. This is a powerful story. It proves that aviation Qatar Airways chief takes swipe at European carriers AFP, Reuters Dubai Q atar Airways chief Akbar al-Baker yesterday took a swipe at legacy carriers which complain of competition from Gulf carriers, accusing them of being “inefficient” and protected by EU policies. Legacy carriers “are screaming about the Gulf Three,” al-Baker told an aviation forum in Dubai referring to his airline, Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad. “There is enough business... They are inefficient,” he charged. Al-Baker said workers’ unions were the cause of problems faced by legacy carriers, not Gulf carriers which have seized a sizeable share of transit travel between the West and Asia and Australasia. “It is the unions that should be blamed,” he said. Al-Baker charged that the European Union intervened far more than the US when it came to the protection of home carriers. “EU without doubt,” he said, naming France and Germany in particular. “We have problems in France, Germany, the Nether- Al-Baker: Defensive. ‘Delay on A380 delivery cost $200mn’ Qatar Airways’ CEO said yesterday a three-month delay in the delivery of A380 superjumbo jets had cost the airline $200mn. “It cost us nearly three months ... In revenue over $200mn,” chief executive Akbar al-Baker said on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Dubai. lands and elsewhere... Stirred by two individual countries: Germany and France,” he said. European airlines, notably Air France and KLM, have voiced con- cern at increased activity by Gulfbased companies, complaining of differences in taxation that they say cause unfair competition. Gulf-based airlines have closed financing agreements for a total of 16 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, according to statements from the carriers and banks involved. The region’s airlines are securing funds as they take delivery of what Boeing has forecast to be a need for 2,610 aircraft by 2033, valued at $550bn. The deals follow Qatar Airways closing a sale and operating leaseback transaction with Standard Chartered for three 777-300ER and five 787-8 aircraft. It was the first sale and leaseback transaction entered into by the Qatari flag carrier, according to local press reports. Emirates and Qatar are among the fastest-growing airlines in the world. In July, Emirates finalised a $56bn to buy 150 777X jets, while Qatar ordered 50 of the aircraft. Dubai’s Emirates airline has signed a 1.1bn dirham ($299.5mn) financing deal with a group of banks for the purchase of two Boeing planes. can have a huge positive impact on economies if there is a clear strategy, and collaboration. “Dubai has its own model. But we are certainly not the only ones in the Arab world who see aviation as a key economic driver. Many Arab airlines are investing in new efficient aircraft, new technologies, better onboard products, and better service. Many of the world’s latest — and biggest — infrastructure projects in aviation, are happening right here in the Arab world.” Citing IATA forecasts, Sheikh Ahmed noted that the aviation industry expects to see massive growth over the next 20 years with 7bn passengers expected to take to the skies by 2034. The Middle East region is also expected to have the highest growth rate at 4.9% per annum, the same rate as Asia Pacific, while Africa will see a growth rate of 4.7% per annum. “Both Airbus and Boeing forecast that airlines in our region will need more than 2,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years. That’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Think about what this might mean for the global aviation supply chain in terms of jobs and more. There is no doubt that our impact on the global aviation industry is increasing,” he said. Sheikh Ahmed noted that airlines would continue to face external challenges such as aeropolitics, global economics, health pandemics, armed conflict, amongst others. However, prospects for Arab carriers remain bright as the airlines continue to compete commercially, while working together through platforms such as the AACO to tackle issues of common interest collectively. Airbus to deliver first A350 to Qatar Airways by mid-Dec Reuters Seattle European plane maker Airbus aims to deliver the first A350 jetliner to launch customer Qatar Airways by midDecember, the airline said on Tuesday. Gulf News quoted its chief executive Akbar al-Baker as saying the mid-sized jet would be delivered between December 12 and 15 and appeared to rule out any lastminute hitches that might rattle investors in plane maker parent Airbus Group. “Everything is perfect,” he said, according to the Dubai-based newspaper. In the US, a representative for the Gulf carrier said the aircraft would be delivered around December 12. The A350, Airbus’s newest plane and made with a carbonfibre composite fuselage, is a direct competitor to Boeing’s composite 787 Dreamliner. The long-range, twin-aisle plane received its certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration last week, after winning European safety approval in September. The version of the jet certified by the FAA and European regulators, the A350-900, is designed to seat 314 passengers. Airbus has booked 750 orders for the A350, including 549 for the A350-900 and 169 for the larger A350-1000, which is due to enter service in 2017. The smaller A350-800 has 32 orders but is likely to be phased out to make way for the revamped A330neo. Airbus is planning a steep production increase, aiming to build three A350s per month by year-end, up from two a month currently. By the end of next year it plans to build five a month and to hit 10 a month by mid-2018. Airbus originally targeted entry to service in 2012 when it relaunched the current design of the A350 at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2006. It later slowed development, both to ensure its maturity and iron out problems including a glitch in wings production, but the schedule has been broadly stable for the past two years. The plane’s successful test flight programme, regulatory certification and impending first delivery have been well received by Airbus investors, helping shares rise more than 7% in the past month. SPOTLIGHT| Page 9 FOOTBALL| Page 3 Only Olympics missing from Qatar’s sports portfolio Hodgson dismayed by England fan chants Thursday, November 20, 2014 Moharram 27, 1436 AH CRICKET GULF TIMES SPORT Finch hits ton as Aussies win big against S. Africa Page 6 FOOTBALL Luck puts Qatar into semis Qatar qualified despite failing to win any of their three group matches Agencies Jeddah Q atar heaved a sigh of relief yesterday after qualifying for the semifinals of the Gulf Cup despite failing to win a single match in the group phase. In Jeddah yesterday, they played out their third consecutive draw in the tournament to squeak into the next stage with three points. Qatar could have gone out of the prestigious regional event if Yemen had upset Saudi Arabia in the other match in Group A. But that didn’t happen as the hosts held out for a 1-0 victory to clinch the top spot. Saudi Arabia finished their Group A engagements with seven points, having won two matches and drawn one. Thanks to a massive dose of luck, Qatar ended in second position with much to look forward to over the next few days. Qatar’s inability to crack defences will worry coach Djamel Belmadi, but on the positive side, he has a few weeks to address this issue. Yesterday, however, it was the same old story of missed chances and lucky escapes. Bahraini goalkeeper Sayed Jaafar kept Qatar at bay with some crucial saves, especially one from point blank range off Hassan Khaled. Towards the fag end of play, Qatar’s Boualem Khouky made a desperate save from the goalline to prevent a certain Bahrain goal. A few minutes earlier, Bahrain’s Abdulla Abdo went wide from close. Bahrain were supposed to be a demoralized lot as they were playing under stop-gap coach Marjan Eid after after Iraqi Adnan Hamad was fired a day before the match. But despite that they held their wits about them to prevent a defeat. Qatar survive a tense moment during yesterday’s Gulf Cup match against Bahrain. 2 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT LAST-GASP Portugal win 1-0 after Messi and Ronaldo fail to fire The match was decided by a later header from substitute Raphaël Guerreiro By Jamie Jackson The Guardian T here was scant sign of the apparent animus between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo before the start of this friendly encounter. Argentina’s captain and his Portugal counterpart winked and embraced in the tunnel in a manner that may or may not have been a mere show of public affection. The match was decided in Portugal’s favour by a late header from the second-half substitute Raphaël Guerreiro though all anyone had really cared about was how Messi and Ronaldo performed. By the break the lead actors in a game billed as a showdown between the world’s finest two players had left the stage which, given the £60 paid for top priced tickets, was greeted by a smattering of boos from the 41,233 attendance. Gerardo Martino, the Argentina head coach, was certainly correct when stating during the build-up that there was no way the match would have any effect on who would win this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or. The 45 minutes played by the winners of the past four awards – Ronaldo is the incumbent – was insipid fare, with Messi brighter than the former United man. Ronaldo’s continuing status an adored old boy here meant he – and Portugal – were granted the far warmer reception from a crowd that created the kind of jolly atmosphere usually present at pre-season matches. As Martino left Sergio Agüero on the bench – the Manchester City striker was jeered to his seat – the star attractions for Argentina were Messi and Ángel Di María during an opening half the “home” team dominated. These two shone whether in combination or individually and though Di María lined up on the left and Messi on the opposing flank these proved nominal positions as each roved across the Old Trafford turf. Di María has been criticised by Louis van Gaal for dribbling too much in Manchester United colours and an example in the livery of Argentina came when he raced clear towards Beto’s goal only to over-complicate the footwork and the threat fizzled out. Di María did come closer when Messi darted forward and slipped the ball to him, though the 20-yard shot he unloaded missed to Beto’s right. By the end of period it was Messi who went closest to scoring, hitting the Portugal goalkeeper’s left post after engineering a one-two with Lucas Biglia. Later, the No10 also took a free-kick that flew just over Beto’s bar. Van Gaal was present alongside his assistant, Marcel Bout, and United’s manager must have shuddered when Nani, who he allowed to be loaned to Sporting Lisbon, stamped on Di María’s right foot just before the 20-minute mark. The last thing the Dutchman needs is yet another injury and though the £59.7m British record signing left the pitch he was able to rejoin the fray moments later. As can be the case when he is on international duty Ronaldo had been quiet – becalmed almost – as the break arrived. There was one flash of magic when he took José Bosingwa’s cross and executed a couple of soft shoe-shuffles but when taking aim the radar was awry. In the second half Argentina continued to dominate yet this is a relative judgment as any “entertainment” remained tame. This was one of those nights when a Mexican wave feels inevitable – it came on 70 minutes – and as the end nears players become ever more careful of avoiding injury. With this in mind Di María was taken off while Carlos Tevez, once of Manchester United before moving to City, was booed on as one of the numerous substitutes, though it was all rather sub-pantomime stuff. Throughout, the so-called super-agent, Jorge Mendes, sat between Radamel Falcao and Anderson, two of his clients and valued members, in varying degrees, of Van Gaal’s squad. As the end neared another of Mendes’s players, Nani, had a brief altercation with Martín Demichelis that threatened to spark into something more serious before normal order was resumed. It summed up the evening. Portugal player Bruno Alves (R) vies for the ball with Argentina’sCarlos Tevez during their friendly match at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester on Tuesday. Germany beat Spain in ‘clash of the titans’ AFP Vigo G ermany edged the big match between the last two World Cup winners on Tuesday as Toni Kroos’s last-gasp goal handed them a 1-0 friendly victory over Spain in rainlashed Vigo. The goal came in the 90th minute of a game between two experimental sides when Spain’s substitute goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was guilty of a howler, fumbling Kroos’s innocuous looking shot from the edge of the area. Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas had started for Spain in his 160th international appearance, but made way for his near namesake Casilla with 20 minutes to go. “It was just what we’d been hoping for. It’s been a big year and this was a fine way to close it,” Kroos said after the game. Spain’s best chance had come ten minutes earlier as Barcelona’s Pedro tried to chip Germany keeper Ron-Robert Zieler of Hannover 96, who produced a fine stop on what was actually a quiet night for him. Germany have been suffering something of a World Cup hangover with a run of poor form that saw them lose in Poland in a Euro 2016 qualifier. While Spain have also been far from their own rampant form that saw them win Euro 2008 and 2012 plus the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and neither side is leading it’s Euro 2016 qualifying group. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque remained upbeat despite the narrow defeat. “We had as many chances as they did and all in all it was a close game. We’re in a transition period and we can continue to look to the future with optimism,” said Del Bosque. Germany coach Joachim Loew said he was looking forward to seeing both teams in action in the near future. “It was a difficult match on a very wet pitch, but I felt we controlled it well,” said Loew. “These two teams have marked the recent history of football and I’m convinced we’ll both play a decisive role at Euro 2016. Spain and Germany have a host of good players with which to assure the future.” Only four of the players that started the 2014 World Cup final for Germany, Benedikt Hoewedes, Kroos, Thomas Mueller and Mario Goetze started the game and it was a similar case for Spain. Bayern Munich striker Mueller, who had scored ten times during 2014 for the national team, limped out of the game on 27 minutes after a clash with Sergio Ramos, to be replaced by Karim Bellarabi. The heavy rain dampened what might have been expected to be a party atmosphere given the profile of the teams, but the biggest cheer of the night came with the news striker Nolito of local outfit Celta would start the game. Nolito sent a free-kick wide late in the first-half and was also in a position to score from another chance when ruled off-side on his international debut. German striker Kevin Volland (L) vies for the ball with Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets during their friendly game at Balaidos stadium in Vigo, northwestern Spain, on Tuesday. BOTTOMLINE Mackay back in business as Wigan manager AFP London M alky Mackay returned to football yesterday when he was appointed as manager of English second-tier strugglers Wigan Athletic. The 42-year-old Scotsman, who had been out of work since being sacked by Cardiff in December, took over with Wigan, who dismissed Uwe Rosler last week, languishing in the bottom three of the Championship. In August, Mackay found himself having to apologise for allegedly racist, sexist and homophobic text messages, which he admitted were “unacceptable”, but Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said now was the time to “move on” from the furore gener- ated by his new manager’s comments. “Malky made a mistake, he knows that, we know that and we have discussed this issue at length face to face,” said Whelan. “He apologised publicly for what happened at the time and has paid for what he did in terms of the bad publicity he has received since and will no doubt continue to suffer in the future.” Whelan added: “But I believe that it is now time to move on. Contrary to the way he has been portrayed in recent months, the Malky Mackay I met this week, and who has been vouched for by the many different people from whom we have sought advice before making this appointment, is an honourable man. “He is a committed family man with decent values and is a professional who has worked and thrived for over 20 years in the multi-cultural world of modern football. “There is nothing more to say about this subject, and as far as I am concerned we draw a line under it from today.” Mackay guided Cardiff to the League Cup final in 2012, where they lost on penalties to Liverpool at Wembley, before overseeing the club’s promotion to the Premier League the following season as they returned to the English top flight for the first time in 51 years. But he was sacked by Cardiff owner Vincent Tan in December 2013, with the Malaysian businessman reportedly referred to as a “chink”, a derogatory term for a person of Chinese origin, in one of Mackay’s texts. Cardiff were subsequently relegated following MacKay’s exit and are now also in the Championship. Mackay’s achievements in charge of the Welsh capital club weighed heavily with Whelan, desperate for Wigan to return to the Premier League 18 months on from both their relegation and FA Cup triumph. “He is the man to lead us back into the Premier League, I am convinced of that having met him and discussed the demands of the job ahead of him,” Whelan said. “He has led a team out of the Championship before and he knows this league inside out having played and managed in it.” England’s governing Football Association announced in August they were investigating a dossier of messages between Mackay and Iain Moody, Cardiff ’s former head of recruitment, but so far no charges have been brought against either man. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20 2014 3 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT PRAISE England fan chants dismay Hodgson Scotland boss Strachan salutes ‘spooky’ England ‘I don’t condone any chanting, I have to say’ England’s Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring against Scotland at Celtic Park in Glasgow on Tuesday. Reuters Glasgow B AFP Glasgow E ngland manager Roy Hodgson admitted that his side’s 3-1 friendly victory over Scotland in Glasgow had been slightly tarnished by antagonistic chanting from the away supporters. Wayne Rooney scored twice and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also found the target in Tuesday’s game at Celtic Park as England recorded a sixth win in six games. But England’s fans could be heard chanting about the IRA (Irish Republican Army), the paramilitary group responsible for hundreds of deaths during the Irish Troubles, in an apparent bid to rile rival supporters at the home of Celtic, who have a historic association with the Irish community. It came after Scotland’s supporters had booed ‘God Save the Queen’, the British national anthem, but Hodgson told his post-match press conference: “I don’t condone any chanting, I’ve got to say. “My concentration was on the football match. I was aware the crowd were tremendously supportive. I didn’t have a clue what they were chanting. I heard a few about (Scotland manager) Gordon Strachan. “But unfortunately, chanting and people singing songs which no-one in football condones goes on. I don’t condone it. “If anyone was offended, I’m sure the FA (Football Association) would apologise to them. All we can do is play our football and hope our fans behave themselves and enjoy our football.” Rooney’s brace, either side of a late strike by Scotland left-back Andy Robertson, took his tally of international goals to 46, leaving the Manchester United striker three goals short of Bobby Charlton’s record. “His game is improving all the time, and there was more to his play today (Tuesday) than the two goals. There were many positive points to his game,” Hodgson said. “Records and milestones are important. It must be nice for him to think he’ll see his name at the top of the list, and a record number of caps is in his sights, too. “He must keep his fitness, but he won’t be the first one to retire from football.” Hodgson’s evening was not without disappointment, however, amid news that Liverpool’s England striker Daniel Sturridge has suffered a setback in his attempt to recover from a thigh injury. When informed of the news, Hodgson responded by saying: “Has he? That’s really bad news. “The only positive for that is we don’t play again until March. That’s a massive blow for Liverpool. I hope, by March, he will be OK.” Hodgson also revealed that Jordan Henderson, Luke Shaw and Danny Welbeck had received minor injury scares. “Jordan Henderson has a slight hamstring problem. He could have played, and wanted to play,” said the former Liverpool manager. “Luke Shaw and Danny Welbeck were taken off the field for the same reason. They’d felt slight stiffness in the groin and hamstring.” Scotland manager Gordon Strachan admitted that his side had been unset- tled by England’s positive approach to the game on their first trip north of the border in 15 years. But having previously seen his team record an important 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland in Euro 2016 qualifying last week, he said that it was important to keep things in perspective. “When we met 10 days ago, the point of the exercise was to get three points against the Republic, which we did. I’m proud of the way we went about it,” he said. “Then you analyse the game tonight (Tuesday), because you want to win it. The intensity, the pace England played at, without the ball in particular, was fantastic, and spooked our players a bit. “I think my players were expecting England to sit back and wait, but they didn’t. They’re a team full of Champions League players, and they showed that. “Maybe we were mentally fatigued from Friday, too, which we need to look at.” He added: “We let ourselves down, to be honest. But we haven’t over the 10 days. Just in this game.” eaten Scotland were “spooked” by England in Tuesday’s friendly, said manager Gordon Strachan before describing the visitors as the best side his squad had faced since he took charge last year. Wayne Rooney (2) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored as England maintained their impressive record against the Auld Enemy, winning 3-1 to chalk up a seventh victory in nine meetings. Roy Hodgson’s team have not been beaten on Scottish soil in four games since a 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park in 1985. “I have to say that was probably the best performance against us tonight for a very long time,” Strachan told reporters. “The intensity that England played at, the way they played and the pace without the ball especially was fantastic—and it kind of spooked my players. “They are a team full of Champions League players and they showed that tonight,” added Strachan. “I thought they were fantastic.” The Scotland boss said his team were probably tired in their second international in five days, having played a Euro 2016 qualifier last week. “We might have been mentally fatigued after playing on Friday, and that’s something we need to look at, but a feature of our game tonight was giving the ball away under pressure,” he explained. “We are disappointed by our performance but the priority was getting three points against Ireland on Friday.” Hodgson was delighted with England’s show as they made it six wins out of six since their dismal World Cup showing in June. “We showed our intentions from the off, started the game very well and I can’t think of many periods in the game when we were losing control—and some of the attacking movements in particular were very good,” he said. Hodgson praised captain Rooney as he rose to third on England’s scoring list with 46 goals in 101 appearances. Only Bobby Charlton (49) and Gary Lineker (48) have scored more than Rooney who started the night level with Jimmy Greaves. “I think milestones and records are important and it must be nice for him to think that if he carries on this way he will soon see his name at the top of the list,” said Hodgson. “He also has a record number of caps in his sights but if he wants to catch that he will have to keep his fitness and form and keep playing for a few more years.” RESULTS OF TUESDAY’S FRIENDLIES At Vienna Austria 1 (Dragovic 75-pen) Brazil 2 (Luiz 64, Firminio 83) At Borisov, Belarus Belarus 3 (Kislyak 50, Signevich 56, Nekhaichik 81) Mexico 2 (Jimenez 48, 53) At Marseille, France France 1 (Varane 84) Sweden 0 At Athens Greece 0 Serbia 2 (Petrovic 60, Gudelj 90) At Budapest Hungary 1 (Nikolic 86) Russia 2 (Ignashevich 49, Kerzhakov 80) At Genoa, Italy Italy 1 (Salihi 82-og) Albania 0 At Wroclaw, Poland Poland 2 (Jedrzejczyk 45+1, Milik 62) Switzerland 2 (Drmic 4, Frei 87) At Manchester, England Portugal 1 (Guerreiro 90+1) Argentina 0 At Dublin Republic of Irleand 4 (Pilkington 7, Brady 55, 86, McClean 82) USA 1 (Diskerud 39) At Bucharest Romania 2 (Keseru 53, 59) Denmark 0 At Glasgow Scotland 1 (Robertson 83) England 3 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 32, Rooney 47, 85) At Bratislava Slovakia 2 (Holosko 1, Hamsik 17) Finland 1 (Hubocan 45-og) At Ljubljana Slovenia 0 Colombia 1 (Ramos 43) At Vigo, Spain Spain 0 Germany 1 (Kroos 89) BOTTOMLINE Podolski to speak to Wenger about his future By Sid Lowe theguardian.com L ukas Podolski has admitted that he wants to speak to Arsène Wenger about his future at the club. The 29-year-old said that while he is happy at the Emirates he is concerned at how little he is playing this season. But he also insisted that the league title race is not over for Arsenal, despite them lying sixth and trailing the leaders, Chelsea, by twelve points. “I have to speak to Wenger because the situation at the moment is not good for me because I have to play, so we will see what happens,” Podolski said after Germany’s 1-0 victory over Spain on Tuesday night . “I am happy at Arsenal and happy in London but the only thing is I don’t play. I don’t get the chance to play. I play always ten to 15 minutes. I cannot be happy with this.” Podolski is yet to start a game for Arsenal in the league, where he has made just four appearances, all of them as a substitute: 13 min- utes against Leicester City, 12 minutes against Aston Villa, 11 minutes against Chelsea and 10 minutes against Burnley. In the Champions League, he scored the 91st minute winner away at Anderlecht after coming on as a substitute with six minutes left. In total, he has played just 26 minutes across three European games. He did not add to his 121 caps for Germany against Spain on Tuesday night, remaining on the bench in Vigo, and manager Joachim Löw has warned that it will be harder to select him if he is not playing for his club. “I never say that I am unhappy with the club or with the players or with the city but I want to play,” Podolski said. “I think when I am ready and 100 per cent I could play in the first XI. It is the decision from the coach, it is not my decision. Every player wants to play, every player wants to play in the middle, every players wants to score goals. But it is Arsène Wenger’s decision. He picks the first XI and he picks the tactics. When you ask players they say ‘I want to play up front [or] as a number 10’, but the decision is his. I cannot change the style or tactics of the team.” He added: “I don’t say that I want to leave or that I leave in winter. I just think about my situation and my situation is unhappy. It is like anyone who is not getting a chance at doing their job. I know that only eleven can play but when you always play 10 or 15 minutes and it happens every week then you cannot be happy. I am happy with the team and the coach and the club but I don’t play. That is the only thing.” Opportunities are fewer still because of the form of Alexis Sánchez but Podolski was quick to praise the Chilean striker. “The Premier League is good for him,” he said. “He is a physical player. He is fast and powerful and the Premier League suits him. He is battling in every game and running a lot and he is making the difference at the moment at Arsenal.” Podolski also insisted that Arsenal have not ruled out winning the title because the Premier League remains competitive and open – unlike in Germany or Spain. “In the Premier League you have a tough game every week. It’s not like other leagues where you only have three top games in a season. You can always speak about problems but the season is not finished. The Premier League is the best league in the world. It is not like in Spain where you have two teams or in Germany where you have [only] Bayern Munich. You see it every week, that every game is tough. Home and away every team is hard to play. You can never say that the three points are easy to get.” “There is always pressure when you are at a big club and you are not in the top four. So we have to start winning games and start picking up points. We lost our last game and it’s a big match against Manchester United [this weekend] so we have to win it and then we have a big game against Dortmund straight after that. [Mesut] Özil can’t help us now because he is injured. When he comes back he can help us because he is a great player. We have start winning games now.” 4 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 FOOTBALL ANALYSIS FOCUS Dogmatic Dunga papers over Brazil’s cracks ‘...you have to put everything you learn into practice’ Setpiece woes add to Socceroos problems ahead of Asian Cup Reuters Sydney A ustralia cannot afford to give up goals from set pieces as they did against Japan on Tuesday if they want to win the Asian Cup on home soil in January, according to central defender Alex Wilkinson. The 2-1 defeat after a promising first half in Osaka compounded some miserable statistics for the Socceroos—one win in 11 matches with 22 goals conceded this year. Substitute Tim Cahill’s 36th international goal left him with eight of the 12 Australia have scored since Ange Postecoglou took over as coach in October last year. The most concerning part of the game was that the goals from Yasuyuki Konno and Shinji Okazaki in a seven-minute period in the second half came from what Postecoglou described as “sloppy” defending at set pieces. “On the positive side of things, I suppose set pieces are something that can be easily fixed,” Wilkinson said in Osaka. “But when it comes to Asian Cup time, we can’t afford to concede by set pieces. Games can be decided on those things and we’ve got to improve.” Despite the result, the players were encouraged by the per- formance of the team going forward in the first half before the Asian champions stepped up a gear and started pressing them more in the second. “It was a definite step forward from the last camp, and the last couple of games,” Wilkinson, who plays his club football with South Korean champions Jeonbuk Motors, added. “I think the week in training has done us good and I think Ange has had a good chance to get his message across. “I thought the first half was very good, we kept the ball well and put them under a lot of pressure, the only negative was we didn’t punish them. “When you’re on top like that you’ve got to try and take advantage and try and get a goal or a couple of goals.” The match in Osaka was Australia’s final friendly before they open their Asian Cup campaign against Kuwait in Melbourne on January 9. As runners-up to Japan at the last Asian Cup, with the added advantage this time of being hosts, Australia are favourites to win the trophy at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on Jan 31. “We’ll go back to our clubs, get a few games under our belts, look forward to getting back into camp and come out all guns blazing on January 9,” Wilkinson concluded. SPOTLIGHT Germany coach Loew thrilled to end year on high Brazil coach Carlos Dunga gestures prior to a friendly against Austria in Vienna on Tuesday. Brazil won 2-1. (AFP) Reuters Vienna D unga’s return as Brazil coach has brought a quick fix after their traumatic World Cup when more profound, long-term changes were needed. The South Americans made it six wins out of six under the snarling former midfielder when they beat Austria 2-1 on Tuesday. But their performance left a sense that they have merely papered over the cracks exposed in the embarrassing 7-1 World Cup semi-final rout by Germany in July. There was something depressingly familiar about the flailing arms and cynical, tactical fouls which left Austria midfielder Veli Kavlak with blood streaming for a cut above his eye and coach Marcel Koller complaining that the referee had left his yellow card at home. There were no flowing moves in attack, either, as Brazil depended on set pieces or rare moments of individual inspiration from the likes of Neymar and newcomer Roberto Firmino. Defensive midfielders Fernandinho and Luiz Gustavo were so devoid of creativity that Brazil struggled to play their way out of defence and, at one point, the Ernst Happel crowd jeered as they passed the ball aimlessly among the back four. The combination of joyless football and impressive results is all too familiar following Dunga’s previous spell in charge between 2006 and 2010. Dunga turned Brazil into a brutally efficient counter-attacking machine, winning the 2007 Copa America and storming through the World Cup qualifying competition. He poured scorn on the memorable 1982 World Cup team and even said that the 1970 World Cup winners were flattered by television because it only showed their best moments. But it all went down the drain when Brazil came up against a feisty, provocative Netherlands side in the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, where they were unable to react after falling 2-1 behind. It was, in Brazilian eyes, the unforgivable combination of failure and ugly football. Since then, Dunga has had an only a brief stint in charge of Internacional, his hometown club from Porto Alegre. He said on Monday that he has spent the rest of the time studying, learning and drinking coffee with Europe’s top coaches. “I am better than I was yesterday. You have to perfect yourself, learn from other people, you have to put everything you learn into practice and not everyone can manage it,” he mused. Yet, there is very little concrete sign of change. Dunga’s discourse is still punctuated by words such as work, order, hierarchy, organisation and commitment. Talent features rarely, inspiration almost never. His team also looks remarkably similar; very comfortable when sitting back and playing on the counter-attack, distinctly ill at ease when forced to take the initiative and pressure the opponents. “The 7-1 was so catastrophic that there should have been a period of mourning,” wrote former Brazil forward Tostao in a recent newspaper column. “Brazil should have not played any matches for the next six months. “It left a big symbolic message, a cry of horror, a desperate plea for help which should not have been responded to with a Dunga-esque quick fix. It deserved a period of mourning, a long reflection and discussion. “The opposite happened. They brought in Dunga to try and wipe out the 7-1.” Brazil have so far beaten Austria, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Japan and Turkey in friendlies, scoring four against each of the last two. But Tostao was unimpressed, warning that, just like the 2010 World Cup, it could all come undone when they face more serious tests and that Dunga’s famously volatile temper could be his undoing. “Those who are dogmatic, and extremely rigid, such as Dunga, lose themselves when, suddenly, they encounter unexpected, different situations, because they only know one solution, one truth,” he wrote. “Dunga’s grumpiness is treated by many as something that is funny, interesting, part of the game’s folklore. As long as Brazil are winning, everything will be allowed.” BOTTOMLINE Ireland boss O’Neill warns of tougher tests ahead AFP Dublin M artin O’Neill told his Republic of Ireland side to prepare for sterner tests in key European Championship qualifiers after they rounded off 2014 with a comfortable 4-1 friendly win at home to the United States. Goals from Anthony Pilkington, Robbie Brady (two) and James McClean helped Ireland see off Jurgen Klinsmann’s side at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road on Tuesday, despite the Irish fielding a second-string side. None of the 11 that started in last Friday’s 1-0 Group D qualifying defeat by Scotland at Glasgow’s Celtic Park kickedoff against the United States, but those who got their chance grabbed it. Debutants David McGoldrick, with two assists, and Cyrus Christie, impressed, while Brady shone in a slightly unfamiliar left back role, with two goals—a free-kick moments from time taking the breath away. “Qualifying games are the most important and everything else is a build up to it,” said Republic manager O’Neill. “We scored four goals, which was nice, but the most important matches will be those played in 2015. “We have seven points on the board (in Group D) and, while it was disappointing not to get something from the game (against Scotland) on Friday, if we had got Ireland’s Robbie Brady (centre) celebrates scoring their fourth goal during the friendly against United States in Dublin on Tuesday. (AFP) a point we would still be looking to beat Scotland and Poland here,” the former Northern Ireland midfielder and Celtic manager added. McGoldrick’s guile, Christie’s pace and the natural ability of Brady, are all attributes O’Neill could integrate to his squad for the next qualifier against Poland in March, and he was cautiously optimistic about what he saw from the trio. “The positive aspect for me is the number of decent performances and the addition of some quality to the squad,” he said. “Some lads who hadn’t played on Friday were desperate to play so I made it so everyone in the squad was involved and it worked out nicely for us. “Cyrus and David gave two excellent performances and epitomised what we are trying to do. “It was nice to win the game and I thought we scored from our first proper attack with a great through ball by David McGoldrick. “America came into the game then and deserved the equaliser but our second half was excellent and it was terrific to score the goals that we did. “Robbie Brady himself will say that he sees the whole game in front of him from left-back. He still has to improve and he will say that himself, but he is an excellent player and I was delighted for him.” Despite some Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood occasionally going close, Mix Diskerud was the only man on the scoresheet for the visitors, and Klinsmann admitted it was tough to see his young players punished so ruthlessly. “Obviously, from a result point of view, it is disappointing,” Klinsmann said. “We were 1-0 down and we equalised and hoped to get the lead before halftime,” the former Germany striker and manager explained. “After half-time we could have scored a second and then individual mistakes cost us for the second and third goal. “They punished us. You want your younger players coming in and getting minutes in this atmosphere and there is always a risk you might concede another one and they scored a lovely free-kick. “It finished off a long year, 2014, which was overall a positive year.” Klinsmann added: “We are building a new cycle and introducing new players. “There will be some growing pains along the way. That is normal. You don’t want to lose games, but this is experience they needed. We’re obviously not happy about the result, but we’ll accept it.” DPA Vigo, Spain G ermany coach Joachim Loew is thrilled to end the World Cup winning year of 2014 on a high after defeating Spain on Tuesday - but is already looking forward to the next challenges that face his team. The 1-0 victory over Spain in Vigo, courtesy of a last minute goal by Toni Kroos, was Loew’s first win against the World Cup winners of 2010 and the reigning European champions. “For us it was a nice conclusion to the year,” Loew said. “Germany and Spain are the nations that have dominated world football with the national teams in recent years, so it was a prestigious duel. “We were very well organized. In the second half we did much better at building our game from the back. In this respect I am very happy, it is a good end to the year for us.” Loew and Germany had previously lost out to Spain in the final of Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup semi-final. But while those matches were contested by a range of established stars, the clash in Vigo was an opportunity to test new players for the future. The performance of 25-yearold keeper Ron-Robert Zieler drew praise from Loew, who highlighted not only the saves he made but his ability to build the play and keep possession. Antonio Ruediger, Shkrodan Mustafi, Erik Durm and Kevin Volland were further young players given the opportunity to im- press. “The Spaniards have, just like before, high quality players, the same as us,” Loew said. “For us it was a chance for some players, against a strong friendly opponent, to play over a whole game.” And along with new players, there was also the chance to test a new system as Germany lined up in a 3-4-3 formation. “The three-man defensive line was though of because Spain always try to combine through the centre,” Loew explained. “We had to occupy the middle well, including with an extra man.” Germany have a four-month break from international duty before returning to action with a friendly against Australia and a Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia in March. And though Loew plans to have a break, his work will soon resume. “In January and February we will already have the task to prepare the national team,” he said. “We will sit down as a coaching team. We want to develop new ideas and new approaches. These are our important tasks before March.” FIFA award will go to a German world champion, Loew says Vigo, Spain: German national coach Joachim Loew says he’s optimistic that one of his World Cup winning players will be named FIFA World Player of the Year 2014. “I think it’s already becoming a close contest to see which player will get this accolade,” Loew said after Germany’s 1-0 victory over Spain in Vigo on Tuesday. “But I think it will be one of the Germans.” FIFA named six of Loew’s world champions to its provisional list of award nominees: retired captain Philipp Lahm, current captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller, Mario Goetze - all of Bayern Munich - and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos. Should Neuer win, he would become the first keeper to claim the award. The list named a total of 23 contenders including Barcelona’s Argentina forward Lionel Messi and current holder Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Portugal. Loew is also on the 10-man shortlist for FIFA’s coach award. The winner will be announced on January 12, 2015, at a gala in Zurich. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 5 MOTORSPORT SPOTLIGHT Force India to trial new race display system Reuters London F ormula One is set to test a new on-car display system championed by Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony aimed at helping fans to follow a race without having to take their eyes off the action. Hamilton said the ‘Info Wing’, a carbon fibre camera mount with an integrated LED display system, would be trialled on one of the Force India cars in testing next Tuesday after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi season-ender. It may also be trialled on the safety car at Yas Marina this Thursday or Friday. Sunday’s race could see Hamilton, with patents pending, was worth trying anyway. “One of the major problems with watching race cars is knowing who is where and who is who without having to take your eyes off the action to find and locate the information on a hand held device, or one of the circuit monitors,” said Hamilton. “By the time you have found the information the car has gone past and you’re no better off, having missed the action as well. “I believe that the Info Wing has the potential to make a huge impact on the viewing of races and tests, making it more informative and enjoyable. Hopefully it could bring new fans to the sport and old fans back.” leading the championship for Mercedes, secure his second title. The wing, mounted on the airbox behind the driver’s head, would display real time race positions on the endplates in coloured numbers that should be visible from the stands. The data would be provided by race control, with the wing able to display a range of information updated during the course of the race. Hamilton said the tests would aim to show whether the unit was practical for Formula One and single seaters in general, whether the LED display could be seen from the grandstands and how well it might work for TV audiences. He recognised it might not work in bright sunlight but felt the concept, INFO WING PREVIEW FOCUS F-1 showdown could spell double trouble ‘Clearly Lewis breaking down would have a massive impact on his championship attempt’ Reuters Abu Dhabi DPA Abu Dhabi LEWIS HAMILTON AND NICO ROSBERG L ewis Hamilton could be only days away from his second Formula One world title but the Mercedes driver is wary of double trouble in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. The Briton leads German teammate Nico Rosberg by 17 points going into Sunday’s season-ending ‘Duel in the Desert’, which means he does not have to win the race to take the crown even with an unprecedented double points on offer. Second place at Yas Marina would do, even if Rosberg were to triumph, but the scoring potential and shadow of a mechanical failure or race incident still cast a heavy shadow. “There is zero comfort going into the next race because it’s 50 points to gain,” said Hamilton, who took his 2008 title with a last gasp overtake when all seemed lost. In the last race you never know what is going to happen, so I’m going to the last race to win.” Sunday’s double points could be a one-off, with even commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone now against continuing the idea he pushed through, but in other respects it should be more of the same. Mercedes have already secured both titles and finished one-two a record 11 times this season, and are now chasing a record 16th win of the 19 race campaign. The nightmare for the team, and particularly Hamilton who has won 10 races to Rosberg’s five, is mechanical failure. To many fans, it would turn the championship into a travesty if he loses out that way. “Clearly Lewis breaking down would have a massive impact on his championship attempt. And it would, for me personally, be a nightmare,” said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff. “We need to provide him with the most reliable car and we want the championship to end in a straight and fair battle and not by one of them breaking down.” While the focus is on the title scrap between the two Mercedes rivals, whose relationship has been under the microscope all year, other battles will be fought Departing Vettel targets final podium with Red Bull S ebastian Vettel races a final time for Red Bull on Sunday in Abu Dhabi and hopes to secure a last podium finish on an emotional weekend for the four-time world champion. Abu Dhabi (dpa) - Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will race for Red Bull for the last time in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Sunday and the German star is targeting a final podium before moving to pastures new. “Of course it will be an emotional weekend as we have great memories together, but I’ll enjoy the weekend with the team and with a bit of luck maybe we’ll get a final podium,” Vettel said. After several years within the Red Bull organization, including time at the feeder Toro Rosso team, the now 27-year-old Vettel is preparing to suit up for a rival from the start of the 2015 season. It is widely expected he will don the famous prancing horse emblem of Ferrari though this is not yet confirmed. Concluding his time with Red Bull on the Yas Marina track is particularly poignant as it was where he won his first world title four years ago. “I personally have very special memories of the Abu Dhabi circuit and race; it was here in 2010 that I became world champion for the first time in my favourite F1 car, the RB6,” he said. “That was a weekend I will never forget and this year the race will mark another big moment in my career; my last race with Red Bull Racing.” The Abu Dhabi victory of 2010 signalled the start of an era as SEBASTIAN VETTEL behind them in what amounts to a last roll of the dice for some. Red Bull are sure of second place while Williams look set to finish ahead of Ferrari for the first time since they took their last title in 1997. For Ferrari, the sport’s most successful and glamorous team, it is the last chance to stave off their first winless season since 1993. Sauber are also staring at their first season without a single point while Caterham, in administration and with a skeleton crew, are hoping to do enough to convince a buyer to rescue them. The race will be quadruple champion Sebastian Vettel’s farewell to Red Bull and could also be the final appearance in Formula One of 2009 world champion Jenson Button, Hamilton’s former McLaren teammate. McLaren, who end a long relationship with Mercedes and start a new partnership with Honda after Abu Dhabi, are expected to sign Fernando Alonso from Ferrari and have yet to decide whether to keep Button or Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen. Other drivers possibly preparing for their final curtain call are Sauber’s German Adrian Sutil and Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, both surplus to requirement at the Swiss team. Abu Dhabi double ‘artificial’, says Prost French legend Alain Prost yesterday hit out at the double points on offer at Abu Dhabi this week as the unpopular innovation threatened to cast a shadow over the climax to the Formula One season. The four-time world champion said he was never a fan of awarding twice the normal number of points at the final race, known as the “Abu Double”—an idea aimed at maintaining interest throughout the season. In the event, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are just 17 points apart, meaning the Briton will have to work hard to make sure his second world title isn’t cruelly snatched away. “I was never in favour of double points because it’s artificial,” Prost told AFP in Singapore, during an industry conference run by high-tech composite manufacturer JEC. “Maybe sometimes it could be good for the interest of the championship. But I don’t like very much the idea of a race giving more points than another.” Prost said he was a traditionalist who also was against the awarding of 25 points to the winner rather than 10, which began in 2010. “I think for interest in Formula One you want to keep things very stable, because people are always very interested about statistics and it’s changing all the time,” he said. “I would be against (double points) if I had to vote for it but it’s like this, so we have to accept it and see how it is... Let’s wait and see and then we can judge later on. But I was not in favour of it.” Prost’s fierce rivalry with the late Ayrton Senna once dominated F1, and he said he welcomed Hamilton’s duel with Rosberg—which comes after Sebastian Vettel’s march to four straight titles. “In fact it was positive for the sport, for the championship. I like the way that Mercedes in the end left the drivers free to fight,” said the 59-year-old. “Okay, we had one or two situations but I think it was good for the sport. It’s not very often that you can do that because maybe next year they’re going to have more competition (from other teams) and then it’s difficult to give the drivers that freedom.” Tempers have repeatedly threatened to boil over between the Mercedes pair but they have managed to keep their cool heading into what could be a stormy final race. Vettel followed up his maiden world title with three more. Red Bull won the constructors’ world championship each year alongside their star driver. But 2014, following various sporting and technical rule changes, has been hard for both Vettel and Red Bull as Mercedes have emerged as the new dominant team in the sport. Its drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, have contested the world title between themselves. Vettel has failed to add to his 39 wins this season and has finished on the podium on only three occasions from 18 races. Even more strikingly, when the Mercedes duo have slipped up, it was his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who was able to take advantage, winning the three Grands Prix not snapped up by the Silver Arrows. And former Red Bull teammate Mark Webber believes Vettel moving to Ferrari is a positive thing - even if it will not improve things overnight. The classic Italian team are on the verge of a first winless season since 1993 and even current drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, both former world champions, cannot make up for the failings of the car. “I have always expected him (Vettel) to eventually go where everyone nows expects him to go,” Webber told Austrian paper Salzburger Nachrichten. “His next team will be his last in F1. “He was frustrated, he wants results, but he knows better than anyone else that he needs to be patient. “Perhaps the decision is really correct. When Lewis (Hamilton) left McLaren, everyone called him crazy and now with Mercedes he is approaching a massive triumph.” 6 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 SPORT REPORT SPOTLIGHT New Zealand take control of 2nd Test ‘From our point of view it was a successful day’ N ew Zealand bowled with discipline and, despite Azhar Ali and Younis Khan’s halfcenturies, looked set for a lead in the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai yesterday. Pakistan lost Asad Shafiq in seamer Tim Southee’s penultimate over for 44 to close the third day on 281-6, still trailing by 122 runs on New Zealand’s first innings total of 403. Sarfraz Ahmed was unbeaten on 28 and Yasir Shah on one in a day when the Pakistani batsmen failed to score big after getting good starts. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi led the New Zealand bowling with 2-65. Trent Boult, who got the prized wicket of Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq, termed it a good day for New Zealand. “From our point of view it was a successful day,” said Boult. “We are in a good position and the focus tomorrow will be to get a good lead to force a result in our favour.” Pakistan, resuming at 34-2 saw off the first session with- New Zealand Ist innings 403 (T. Latham 137, M. Craig 43; Zulfiqar Babar 4-137) Pakistan Ist innings (overnight 34-2) Shan Masood b Sodhi .................................13 T. Umar st Watling b Craig ....................16 Azhar Ali b Sodhi ..............................................75 Y. Khan c Craig b Neesham .................72 Misbah-ul Haq c Taylor b Boult .... 28 Asad Shafiq c Taylor b Southee ...44 Sarfraz Ahmed not out ........................... 28 Yasir Shah not out ................................................1 Extras: (b1, lb2, nb1) ........................................4 Total: (for six wkts; 109 overs) ....281 Fall of wickets: 1-28 (Masood), 2-32 (Taufeeq), 3-145 (Younis), 4-195 (Misbah), 5-220 (Ali), 6-279 (Shafiq) Bowling: Boult 22-8-46-1 (1nb), Southee 21-3-41-1, Craig 24-5-94-1, Sodhi 30-7-65-1, Anderson 7-0-26-0, Neesham 5-1-6-1 New Zealand bowler Trent Boult (C top) celebrates with teammates Tom Latham (L) and Corey Anderson after taking the wicket of Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq during the third day of the second Test match at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai yesterday. out losing any wicket as Younis Khan (72) and Azhar Ali (75) shared a 113-run stand for the third wicket. But New Zealand got four wickets in the next two sessions to press home their claims for a useful lead and in turn improve their chances for a series-levelling win. Pakistan won the first Test by 248 runs in Abu Dhabi. Azhar added another 50 runs with Misbah, but New Zealand hit back with the second new ball taken after 83 overs with the score at 194-3. Trent Boult claimed his first wicket in the series when he produced a beautiful delivery which got the edge of Misbah’s bat and landed in the safe hands of Ross Taylor at first slip. Misbah’s 28 had two fours and a six. Ali drove spinner Hafeez to undergo testing in UK Reuters: Pakistan offspinner Mohammad Hafeez will fly to England next week to undergo biomechanic tests after he was reported for a suspect bowling action during a match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday that allrounder Hafeez had been released from the squad and would appear for the tests on his action on Nov. 24 after arriving in Loughborough a day earlier. “If he is match fit he will return to Dubai to join the team for the remaining part of the series against New Zealand,” a PCB official said. Hafeez was dropped for the second test due to a hamstring problem which he sustained after his bowling action had been reported in the first match. Mark Craig through point for three to complete his 18th halfcentury. But he too fell soon, trying to cut Sodhi and was bowled. He hit six boundaries and a six during his patient fivehour 22-minute vigil. Shafiq was lucky to survive at 26 when Boult bowled him with a sharp incoming delivery but much to New Zealand’s dismay it turned out to be a no-ball. He too failed to bat for long and was caught off a loose shot in the end, adding 59 for the sixth wicket with Sarfraz. In the morning, Pakistan’s in-form batsmen were under pressure after a big New Zealand total and, more so, after losing both the openers cheaply on Tuesday. But Younis and Ali showed no sign of pressure as they started the day solidly. Younis reached his halfcentury with a sweetly-timed boundary off Craig. Younis hit seven fours and two sixes—both off Craig— during his 160-ball knock but fell to a casual shot, spoiling a good chance of scoring another hundred. He also amassed 468 runs with three hundreds in the 2-0 white-wash of Australia in the preceding series, also played in United Arab Emirates. CRITICAL F ormer Pakistan captain turned commentator Ramiz Raja yesterday criticised the lobbying for the return of paceman Mohamed Aamer, banned for spot-fixing, saying his return would expose the team to the “virus”. Aamer, along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, was banned in a spotfixing scandal on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010. The International Cricket Council (ICC), at the request of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), earlier this month revised its anti-corruption code, paving the way for all the banned players to feature in firstclass cricket a few months before their bans expire. The PCB said it would launch an appeal ustralia cruised to a 73run victory over South Africa in their third one-day international yesterday on the back of big-hitting innings by Aaron Finch and Steve Smith. Opener Finch cracked 109 off 127 balls and Smith hit a swashbuckling unbeaten 73 off 55 balls as Australia amassed a formidable 329 for five off their 50 overs in Canberra. The Proteas were always up against it and were dismissed for 256 in the 45th over, with last man Imran Tahir unable to bat because of a knee he injured while fielding. The Australians now lead the five-match series 2-1 ahead of the final games in Melbourne tomorrow and Sydney on Sunday. Left-armer Mitchell Starc troubled the South Africans with his late swing and finished with four for 32 off eight overs, while fellow opening bowler Josh Hazlewood claimed three for 51. Hashim Amla hit 102 off 115 balls and skipper AB de Villiers cracked a belligerent 52 off 34 balls to briefly threaten Australia’s bowlers. Smith was named man-of-the-match for his innings which was full of improvised shots, including one boundary cheekily hit through his legs. “It was a free hit, so I had pretty free rein to do what I wanted. I was lucky enough it came off and went to the boundary,” Smith said. “Aaron was able to lay the foundation and I was able to close it out. You always feel more comfortable when AB (de Villiers) is back in the sheds, he’s an unbelievable player and it was good to see the back of him. “It was a hard wicket to start on so we thought we were a great chance when we got him out. “The boys hit their lengths well and bowled really well, we got the ball quite soft and it started reversing.” Finch was in blistering form as the Australians made full use of the slow Manuka Oval pitch after winning the toss. Finch hit nine fours and three sixes to spearhead the Australian run plunder before he was dismissed by part-time bowler de Aaron Finch of Australia celebrates his century during the third ODI against South Africa at the Manuka Oval in Canberra yesterday. Villiers in the 41st over. Fellow opener David Warner pounded 53 off 50 balls, with six fours and two sixes, in a firstwicket stand of 118 in 20 overs. Warner looked set for a big score before he found de Villiers, who took a leaping catch at mid-wicket. Smith crashed eight fours in a majestic knock, while Shane Watson took a more controlled 40 off 38 balls before he miscued and was caught in the deep by David Miller off the medium pacers of Farhaan Behardien. Watson holds the highest ODI score at Manuka Oval with 122 against the West Indies in 2013. Morne Morkel was the best of the Proteas bowlers with two for 84, while Vernon Philander, de Villiers and Behardien took a wicket each. South Africa’s hopes were pinned on the fourthwicket stand of 76 between Amla and de Villiers, but once the skipper fell leg before wicket to Kane Richardson in the 38th over, the tourists were unable to keep pace with the Australian total. Amla followed five balls later when he was bowled as he tried to slog Hazlewood through the leg-side. “It’s disappointing. I thought we were in the game and I got out at a bad time,” de Villiers said. David Miller looked unlucky to be given out leg before wicket to Starc on three when replays showed the ball was sliding down leg. But the team had no more reviews left to challenge the decision. SCORECARD Ramiz questions Pakistan support for tainted Aamer AFP Lahore AFP Canberra A AFP Dubai SCORECARD Finch, Smith spearhead Aussies to big win over South Africa for Aamer later this month and a final decision on when he can return to domestic cricket is expected at the next ICC meeting in January. Ramiz questioned why Aamer’s return was fast-tracked. “Why is the world so keen to see Amer back? The managers of the game, who for whatever reason are trying to fast-track him into the very system that he had wronged, have obviously not experienced the pangs of betrayal and cheating that fixing causes,” wrote Raja in his cricinfo column. Raja revealed he had experienced how fixing can damage the game during the 1990s with a scandal which ultimately led to a life ban on then captain Salim Malik and fines on six leading players, including former captains Wasim Akran and current Pakistan coach Waqar Younis in 2000. Raja said the current players needed to be asked would they like to play alongside Aamer. “Someone needs to ask the Pakistan players if they at all want Aamer back. After years of perseverance, Misbah-ul-Haq and his men have been able to salvage Pakistan cricket and its image,” said Raja of the current Pakistan captain. “Should they be exposed to a virus now? How unjust would it be to the performers who have toiled long and hard to make way for a man whose integrity is still suspect,” said Raja. Raja, who played 57 Tests and 158 oneday internationals, refused to buy the argument that Aamer was naive. “The argument put across in Aamer’s favour is that his talent was compromised at a young age due to poor judgement and his naivete, and because he comes from a poor family. “If that is the case, there are millions of other Pakistani youth who have had a tough start in life, and less than ideal upbringings. “Does that give them a license to use underhanded means and cheat to make a living? In fact, to quote an incident, I was approached to find out why Aamer had turned down a more-than-decent offer made to him by an English county just a day before he was caught,” said Raja. “During my conversation with him regarding the offer, I realised that because the offer was a few thousand pounds short of what he expected, he was willing to let go of an opportunity to play and establish himself at a renowned and historic county. “I came to the conclusion that he was not, after all, so gullible and naive about money matters. “It is the most awful and sickening feeling. When a bunch of rogues you share the dressing room with are fighting tooth and nail to lose a match, it kills your desire to play the game, and whips up a desire to kill them.” Australia innings D. Warner c de Villiers b Philander ....53 A. Finch b de Villiers ........................................ 109 S. Watson c Miller b Behardien .............40 S. Smith not out ......................................................73 G. Bailey c du Plessis b Morkel ..............12 M. Marsh c de Villiers b Morkel ............22 M. Wade not out .......................................................8 Extras: (lb1, w7, nb4) ........................................12 Total: (5 wickets; 50 overs) .................329 Fall of wickets: 1-118 (Warner), 2-189 (Watson), 3-242 (Finch), 4-264 (Bailey), 5-295 (Marsh) Did not bat: M. Starc, K. Richardson, X. Doherty, J. Hazlewood Bowling: M. Morkel 10-0-84-2 (2nb, 5w), V. Philander 10-0-70-1 (2nb, 1w), D. Steyn 10-0-53-0 (1w), F. Behardien 8-0-39-1, I. Tahir 6-0-40-0, De Villiers 6-0-42-1 South Africa Innings H. Amla b Hazlewood ...................................102 Q. de Kock c Marsh b Hazlewood ....47 F. du Plessis c Warner b Marsh ............. 17 R. Rossouw c Wade b Starc ..........................2 A.B. de Villiers lbw b Richardson ..........52 F. Behardien c Finch b Hazlewood ....12 D. Miller lbw b Starc ................................................ 3 V. Philander c Finch b Starc ............................1 D. Steyn c Marsh b Starc.................................12 M. Morkel not out.....................................................0 I. Tahir absent injured ..........................................0 Extras: (lb5, w2, nb1)............................................8 Total: (all out; 44.3 overs) ......................256 Fall of wickets: 1-108 (de Kock), 2-143 (du Plessis), 3-148 (Rossouw), 4-224 (de Villiers), 5-226 (Amla), 6-231 (Miller), 7-238 (Philander), 8-252 (Steyn), 9-256 (Behardien) Bowling: M. Starc 8-1-32-4 (1nb), J. Hazlewood 9.3-0-51-3 (1w), S. Watson 6-0-47-0, K. Richardson 8-0-49-1, X. Doherty 6-0-31-0, M. Marsh 7-0-41-1 (1w) Result: Australia won by 73 runs Series: Australia lead 2-1 Toss: Australia Umpires: Simon Fry (AUS), Nigel Llong (ENG) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND) GOLF Stenson hopes birdie blitz bodes well for defence Reuters Dubai H enrik Stenson hopes his final round birdie blitz in Turkey last weekend bodes well for his defence of Europe’s season-ending $8 million DP World Tour Championship, which starts today. Last year, the 38-year-old romped to a six-stroke victory at Dubai’s Earth course that also saw him top the European money list, capping a stellar year in which he also won the US PGA Tour’s end-of-season FedExCup. Stenson has yet to win a tournament this year, but if his final round in Belek is anything to go by, he may be finding form at just the right time. Stenson bagged nine birdies, including four in his last six holes, for a closing 64 and third place at the Turkish Airlines Open. “I struggled on the greens the first three days ... (but) it gives the confidence a little boost ,” Stenson told reporters. “I was putting nicely and I would love to bring some of that momentum in here this week.” A member of Europe’s Ryder Cup winning team, he was also runner-up at the Volvo World Match Play Cham- pionship in October and third at the US PGA Championship in August. “I was battling a bit of fatigue and when you’re in a bad spell, you’re tired, you don’t have the energy to practise and get going. Then it becomes a bad cycle,” said Stenson. World number one Rory McIlroy is guaranteed top spot on the 2014 European money list after his nearest rivals failed to win in Turkey, but the rest of the top places are up for grabs. The leading 15 players will split a $5 million bonus pool. Stenson is second, narrowly ahead of Wales’ Jamie Donaldson, Germany’s Marcel Siem and Spain’s Sergio Garcia. Stenson has reduced his schedule from 31 tournaments last year to 28 in 2014 and plans to play only 26 next year. “I found a good rhythm ... giving myself breaks for rest and practise and gym work,” said the world number four. “I had a great formula from 2012 and into 2013. Then I slipped out of that a little bit.” Stenson said it was vital to be in perfect shape coming into the peak of golf’s season from March to August. “If you’re not feeling reasonably fresh and practiced, then you’re trying to catch up throughout that whole period,” said the Swede, who became a father for a third time last month. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 7 SPORT NBA NHL Lakers beat Hawks as Bryant hits career milestone ‘When we really needed him to step up he was able to do that as usual’ AFP New York K obe Bryant scored 28 points and passed the 32,000-point mark for his NBA career on Tuesday to spark the Los Angeles Lakers over the host Atlanta Hawks 114-109. The Lakers, who snapped a four-game losing streak, recorded their first road triumph of the season and only their second triumph in 11 starts while the Hawks fell to 5-5 in the young campaign with their first loss in five home games. NBA scoring leader Bryant made 10-of-18 shots and added four rebounds, three assists and a steal for the Lakers, finishing on 32,001 points with a 3-point play off his final jump shot. The total puts Bryant 291 points behind Michael Jordan for third on the all-time NBA scoring list. “Kobe played great,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “When we really needed him to step up he was able to do that as usual.” The Lakers welcomed back Nick Young, who had been sidelined so far this season with a torn right thumb ligament. Young scored 17 points off the bench while Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Jeremy Lin contributed 15 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Lakers. Paul Millsap scored 29 points to lead the Hawks, who also had 23 points from Jeff Teague and 15 points from Al Horford. The Lakers led 67-52 at halftime but Atlanta scored the first 13 points of the second half only to falter and never move ahead of Los Angeles the rest of the way. A left-handed running shot fell for Bryant to put the Lakers ahead 105-100 with 2:25 to play and after two Kyle Korver free throws for Atlanta, Bryant made the key 3-point play. The Lakers, who had been the only Western Conference club without a road victory, opened a three-game road swing that includes visits to Houston and Dallas. Bryant became just the fourth player to reach 32,000 points for his career, joining Hall of Fame icons Michael Jordan (32,292), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem AbdulJabbar (38,387). “It means a lot,” said Bryant, who needs 291 points to pass Jordan as the NBA’s third alltime leading scorer. I can’t stress how much work it is to be in this position over 19 years. That’s Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (R) makes a move against Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha in the fourth quarter of their game at Philips Arena. The Lakers won 114-109. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports RESULTS Atlanta ..............109 Sacramento100 Utah.......................98 Milwaukee .......117 LA Lakers............114 New Orleans 106 Oklahoma City..81 New York.............113 where I really take enjoyment from it. It’s the process. It feels good to be able to have that accomplishment.” The Lakers led 111-106 with 17.7 seconds left on Jordan Hill’s put-back of Bryant’s missed jumper but had to sweat out the final seconds. The Hawks drew to within 112109 on Kyle Korver’s 3-pointer, and had a shot to force overtime after getting the ball back with 7.7 seconds. Out of a timeout, centre Pero Antic launched a wide-open 3-point attempt from the right wing but it bounced off the back of the iron. “It’s basically an easy shot,” Antic said. “I usually make that shot” NBA star Howard investigated in Georgia for child abuse Authorities in Georgia are investigating child abuse allegations against National Basketball Association star Dwight Howard, a centre for the Houston Rockets who is among the league’s marquee performers, police said on Tuesday. The allegation against the basketball star comes amid heightened attention to domestic violence incidents involving professional athletes including NFL star Adrian Peterson, who was suspended on Tuesday for “abusive discipline” on his 4-year-old son. Police declined to elaborate on the details of the Howard investigation, which followed a prior probe of the same accusation in Florida. Entertainment news website TMZ said Howard is accused of beating his 6-year-old son with a belt buckle. “The Cobb County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit reopened their investigation into the allegations against Mr. Howard,” said Dana Pierce, a spokesman for the suburban Atlanta police department. Howard’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement that Florida authorities previously investigated the allegations and found them to be not substantiated. The Florida case was closed in September, Markus said. The child’s mother, with whom Howard is involved in an ongoing Florida civil case involving child custody, “is now shopping her baseless allegations to authorities in Georgia,” Markus said. In court documents from the Florida civil case, the NBA star said he disciplined his son “in an appropriate manner when necessary,” but “never caused marks, bruises, welts or injuries requiring medical treatment.” Jane Carey, attorney for the child’s mother, declined to comment. The 28-year-old 6-foot, 11inch (2.11-meter) Howard, a 10-year NBA veteran, played for the Orlando Magic from 2004 to 2012. He has led the league in rebounding during five seasons and is an eight-time All-Star. Before entering the NBA, Howard played high school basketball in suburban Atlanta. Flames rally to 4-3 shootout win over Anaheim Ducks Agencies Calgary T hings didn’t look too good for Jonas Hiller playing against his old team for the first time. Down 2-0 at the second intermission, the Calgary Flames mounted a furious comeback in the third period on their way to a wild 4-3 shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks. “It feels great to get the win,” said Hiller, who made 24 saves in regulation and overtime before allowing just one goal in the shootout, while the Flames scored twice. “Especially after being down after two periods and not playing our best game and finding a way to step it up. I think it shows a lot of character on this team.” After Sean Monahan scored in the third-round of the shootout, Hiller stood his ground to force Corey Perry to shoot wide of the net to preserve the victory for Calgary (12-6-2). “I think everyone in here is believing that we can turn games around,” said Hiller, who signed as a free agent with the Flames on July 1 after seven seasons with the Ducks. “A lot of times, third periods have been our best periods.” That was the case on Tuesday as the Ducks (11-4-5) led 2-0 after two periods, while holding the Flames to just seven shots on net.“I don’t know how you can be so great and so bad all in the same game,” lamented Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau after the loss. “We beat ourselves. There’s no doubt in my mind. I think it was evident that after two periods, we had total control of the game and then we do stupid stuff in the third period and get lazy. It doesn’t take much to get the crowd back into it and the next thing you know it’s 3-2.” Dennis Wideman had a pair of goals for the Flames, who have come back to win four games when trailing after two periods this season. They accomplished that same feat just four times all last season. “We’ve done a good job this year so far of sticking to our game and when we haven’t had the first and second period that we’d like … we’ve found a way to find our legs in the third,” RESULTS Los Angeles ...5 Dallas .................... 4 Buffalo.................. 4 Toronto ................2 Montréal............0 Calgary ............... 4 Arizona .................1 Winnipeg ...........3 Boston ..................2 NY Islanders...5 Columbus........0 Florida......................2 Carolina..................6 San Jose ..................1 Nashville................9 Pittsburgh............4 Anaheim .3 (SO) Washington2 (OT) New Jersey ..........1 St. Louis.................0 Tampa Bay .........2 Detroit ......................5 said Wideman, who’s now tied for the NHL lead in goals by a defenceman at seven with Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. “It’s early in the year for a statement game, but it’s a big win for us because it gives the young guys the confidence to know they can go up against the best and we can win games.” Jiri Hudler also scored for Calgary, while Markus Granlund had two assists. Sami Vatanen had a goal and two assists for the Ducks, who also lost 6-2 at home to the Florida Panthers two nights earlier. “We made some mental mistakes that cost us the game tonight,” said Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf. “We should have been out of that game and on our way.” Matt Beleskey and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Ducks, while goalie Frederik Andersen made 16 saves in a losing cause. Anaheim opened the scoring at 15:54 of the first when Vatanen snapped a shot from the point that deflected off Calgary defenceman Raphael Diaz’s stick and through Hiller’s legs. During an early man advantage for the Ducks in the second, Hiller made a nice glove save on a shot from the slot by Getzlaf before also making a pad save to deny Palmieri. Beleskey put the Ducks up 2-0 at 12:29 of the second with a power-play goal when he tipped a point shot by Hampus Lindholm past Hiller. Hudler pulled the Flames within a goal at 3:25 of the third when he deposited a shot from the slot into the net behind Andersen, who was out of position. Wideman then blasted a pair of slap shots — at 9:03 of the third and again at 13:43 — past Andersen to put the Flames up 3-2. Calgary Flames goalie Jonas Hiller guards his net as Anaheim Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg tries to score during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports BASEBALL Otani cutting his teeth in Japan but MLB beckons Reuters Sapporo S hohei Otani has made waves in Japan by throwing strikes and smashing home runs for the Nippon Ham Fighters, but the ‘Double Sworded Samurai’ may have to give up one of his weapons if he is to realise his dream of making it big in Major League Baseball. In his second season with the Fighters, the lanky right hander won a team-best 11 games with two shutouts, throwing 160 kph (100mph) fastballs and recording a 2.61 earned run average. The 20-year-old’s prowess with the bat has also been a boon for the Fighters. Japanese professional baseball’s only “nitoryu,” which refers to someone who wields two swords, recorded a .274 batting average with 10 home runs. However, if he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Yu Darvish (Texas Rangers) and Masahiro Tanaka (New York Yankees) by making it big in the United States, he may have to stick to the mound instead of home plate. “Otani is the most wanted Japanese player by Major League Baseball teams,” Yoshi Hasegawa, director for Japan baseball at the Chicago-based global sports agency Octagon, told Reuters in Tokyo. “(But) He is not playing to 100 percent of his ability as a pitcher because he also bats. “His pitching potential is enormous.” Otani showed glimpses of that huge potential on Tuesday. Starting for Samurai Japan against a team of Major League Baseball All Stars, the 20-yearold had an impressive seven strikeouts in front of his home fans at the Sapporo Dome. SHOHEI OTANI It was a far from perfect outing from Otani, however, as he also gave up two runs on six hits with a pair of walks as the All Stars beat Japan 3-1 in the fivegame series finale. Japan won the series 3-2. PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF Like Darvish and Tanaka before him, Otani signalled his potential in the country’s national high school baseball tournaments, where he was throwing 160kph fastballs for Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate prefecture, northern Japan. Japanese clubs were drooling at the prospect of grabbing Otani at the 2012 draft but he dashed their hopes by announcing his intention to go straight to Major League Baseball. While virtually all of Nippon Professional Baseball’s clubs ceded to Otani’s wish not to be drafted, only the Fighters refused to let him slip through their fingers, knowing full well he could simply refuse to sign and go to MLB anyway. At first, Otani refused even to meet Fighters officials when they visited him in Iwate. But they did not give up. Eventually their persistence paid off, and they were able to present a 40-page document entitled, “The path to realising Shohei Otani’s dream” to the pitcher and his father, a former amateur player who taught Otani the game. The document outlined the benefits of gaining experience at home before having a crack at the big leagues, but it was the Fighters’ willingness to let Otani bat as well as pitch that seemed to tip the balance in their favour. “I never imagined I would be able to pitch and hit. The Fighters were the only team who gave me that option and it meant a lot to me,” Otani told Reuters in Kamagaya, on the outskirts of Tokyo, where the Fighters’ minor league team are based. “The Fighters took a chance on both of my abilities.” ‘ANOTHER SHOHEI’ In a sign of how much the Fighters believed in him, they gave him the number 11 uniform to wear, the same number Darvish wore for the team until 2011. “The Fighters are not afraid of taking risks when they hire talent,” Masato Yoshii, a former pitcher for the New York Mets who also was a pitching coach for the Fighters, told Reuters. “And they are good at developing potential.” Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama says the team are focused on unearthing gems rather than shelling out huge sums on contracts for top-level talent. “Our team is not rich so we can’t spend a lot of money on players,” Kuriyama told Reuters. “Instead we focus on spotting potential and developing it.” Better known as a commentator than a former player until he took over the team in 2011, Kuriyama says the biggest risk for Otani is injury. Throwing right and batting left, usually as a designated hitter, Otani wears special protection on his arms when he is hitting. He has not been struck by a pitch in an official game yet. While Otani has burnished his reputation in the NPB, it is only a matter of time before he again sets his sights on playing in the United States. “I wish he would stay with the team. And I wish Darvish was here, too. But that would be wrong of me,” Kuriyama said. “We should be happy seeing players grow and getting to the next level. That’s how this team will grow. “If Shohei leaves, we will produce another Shohei.” 8 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 SPORT TENNIS RUGBY FedEx injury, spat hit Switzerland’s Davis Cup bid ‘I’m making some progress. But I know I don’t have a month ahead of me to get better’ AFP Paris S witzerland’s preparations for the Davis Cup Final against France in Lille on Sunday have been disrupted by a back injury to Roger Federer and a spat within the Swiss camp. The 17-times grand slam champion, chasing the only major title to elude him, withdrew from Sunday’s ATP World Tour final against Novak Djokovic citing back problems and skipped training at Lille’s Pierre Mauroy stadium on Tuesday. World number two Federer said his back was “not good enough” to practice on Tuesday, doing little to dispel doubts surrounding his participation in the final, which will be played indoors on clay from Friday to Sunday. He was not seen at the first of two training sessions scheduled yesterday. If Federer fails to recover and the Swiss claim a maiden Davis Cup title he would still receive a replica trophy and be considered part of the winning team but only the four players nominated for the final will have their names on the trophy. “I’m making some progress. But I know I don’t have a month ahead of me to get better. I need to get better quickly. I’m trying whatever I can,” he said on Tuesday. Federer is due to spearhead the Swiss challenge just days after being dragged into a row between his wife Mirka and Davis Cup team mate Stan Wawrinka during their World Tour semifinal clash in London. World number four Wawrinka, who seems back to his best after going through a rough patch, was heckled by Mirka during the match, which Federer won in three sets after saving several match points, but the Swiss camp played down the controversy. “I believe this makes us even closer to each other. As the two players said, we talked about it,” said captain Severin Luthi who can also call on Marco Chiudinelli, the world number 212, and Michael Lammer, ranked 508th. France’s advantage may lie in their strength in depth as all of their players feature in the top 30. Captain Arnaud Clement, looking to steer the team Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland (R) speaks with Swiss coach Ivo Werner during a training session in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France. Four changes to Springbok side for Italy AFP Johannesburg S outh Africa coach Heyneke Meyer made four changes from the side that beat England 31-28 at Twickenham last week when he named his side for the Test against Italy in Padua on Saturday. Full-back Johan Goosen comes in for Willie le Roux, while in the pack Teboho Mohoje replaces Schalk Burger, Coenie Ooosthuizen comes in for Jannie du Plessis and Trevor Nykane replaces Tendai Mtawarira. Italy have never beaten South Africa and Meyer also made five changes on the bench, with Nizaam Carr and Julian Redelinghuys included in a Test match 23 for the first time. Nyakane will start his first Test for the Springboks at loosehead prop, while Oosthuizen comes off the bench to replace Du Plessis, who was ruled out with injury earlier this week. “We planned to make a few shifts for this Test as I’d like to see if these players can make the step up,” said Meyer. “The guys coming in deserve their opportunities and seeing that we won’t have our overseas-based players available next week against Wales, it made sense to bring a few of them in this week. “I’m excited to see what these guys can do on Saturday in what will be a stern test against a fired-up Italy,” said Meyer. Italy, who will name their starting team on Thursday, lost 20-18 to Argentina a week after a 24-13 win over Samoa. Despite Italy never having beaten the Springboks in their previous 11 meetings, Meyer added: “They are a passionate nation with a very experienced coach in Jacques Brunel and a world-class captain in Sergio Parisse. “The Italian pack is always formidable and their backs are not scared of taking chances. Our focus is to show improvements from our performance at Twickenham and we know it will be a big challenge on Saturday.” South Africa team (15-1) Johan Goosen; JP Pietersen, Jan Serfontein, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; Pat Lambie, Cobus Reinach; Duane Vermeulen, Teboho Mohoje, Marcell Coetzee; Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth; Coenie Oosthuizen, Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane Replacements Bismarck du Plessis, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Julian Redelinghuys, Lood de Jager, Nizaam Carr, Francois Hougaard, Handré Pollard, Willie Le Roux IOC suggests more venues outside Tokyo for 2020 Games French captain Arnaud Clment (R) speaks with French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga during a training session of the French team at the ‘Pierre Mauroy’ Stadium in Villeneuve d’Ascq, France. (AFP) to their 10th Davis Cup title although the first since 2001 must choose his second singles player alongside French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Richard Gasquet was instrumental in Les Bleus’ defeat of holders the Czech Republic in the semi-final on the Roland Garros clay although the en- tertaining Gael Monfils has not been at his best since the US Open. All members of the French team except for Gasquet have already played in a Davis Cup final. “Of course it is good for us. In a final there is always more emotion, more pressure. Experience is important,” said Clement. International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President John Coates has urged Tokyo to consider moving more events to venues outside the capital, including one hundreds of kilometres away, in a bid to rein in spending for the 2020 Summer Games. Rising labour and construction costs have forced Tokyo to rethink its plans for 10 venues it intended to build for the Games, contravening its promise that virtually all events would take place within 8km (5 miles) of the Olympic village - one of the key points in its successful hosting bid. In addition, the IOC on Tuesday made some of the biggest changes in decades in the way the Games are organised and run, issuing 40 recommendations and putting more of an emphasis on sustainability in an effort to ease the burden on host cities. “(The IOC) has come out and specifically said that we should make the maximum use of existing facilities, and that, so far as I am concerned, overrides the 8km philosophy which we had as part of the bid,” Coates told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday after a two-day IOC review of Tokyo’s preparations. “We have suggested to the organising committee that for the preliminaries for basketball, just as for football, they may care to look at cities like Osaka that might have large venues.” Tokyo has said from the start that some preliminary events for soccer would be held in parts of northeastern Japan affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in an effort to broaden the economic impact, but this is the first time holding events in other regions has been mentioned. Osaka is some 400km (255 miles) west of Tokyo. Planners allotted $1.5 billion for venues in Tokyo’s Olympics bid but that estimate more than doubled late last year after recalculation. Such budget worries mean plans for a new basketball arena may be dropped in favour of an existing venue about 25km (17 miles) out of Tokyo, with badminton moving a similar distance outside the city. Coates said he had visited both prospective sites and felt “very positive” about them. No decision has yet been made but Tokyo hopes to have a fairly complete final plan pulled together by February 2015, officials said yesterday. “What we’re trying to avoid above all is swelling expenses that become a huge burden for the people of Japan,” said Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo organising committee. SPOTLIGHT Returning Rafa ready to roll once again Reuters London A s years go 2014 has not been a good one for Rafa Nadal but with his injury troubles seemingly behind him, the Spaniard is confident he will be back to his best next season. Nadal, blighted by back and wrist injuries this year, underwent surgery to remove his appendix on Nov 3, an operation that forced him out of this month’s ATP World Tour Finals in London. Now on the mend, the 28-year-old Spaniard hopes his injury troubles will be nothing more than a memory when he returns to training in December before he begins the defence of his Qatar Open title in January. “It was not an easy year, especially in the second half it was hard, but that’s part of my life, that’s part of my career, and I accept that,” Nadal said in an interview with Reuters. “What happened with my wrist and then appendix—it was problem and then problems again. “I am not practicing yet, but I am happy with how the operation went and I have no problems.” Nadal’s frustrating season began in January when his back failed him during his Australian Open final defeat by Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. He managed to recover to claim a ninth French Open crown after beating Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros in June. However, that proved to be the only shining light in a testing season for the world number three as he was beaten in the fourth round at Wimbledon by Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios before a wrist injury ruled him out of the US Open. “This year was unlucky because it was accidents, it was not injuries that I had really felt before,” the 14-time grand slam winner said at a Poker Stars event in London. “I am doing all the right things but I have worked my body pretty hard for a lot of years so these kind of things can happen. “But I am confident I will have the chance to be back and be competitive with all the things I want to compete in. Djokovic, who won the season-finale in London on Sunday after Roger Federer withdrew with a back injury, finished the year as world number one for the third time in four years and the Mallorcan praised the Serb’s consistency over the last 12 months. “He is a fantastic player,” Nadal said. “He deserves to be where he is because he hasn’t had an injury for a long time and that’s very important for a tennis player. “He is an amazing player so he deserves it.” RAFA NADAL Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 9 SPORT SPOTLIGHT BOXING Only Olympics now missing in Qatar’s sports portfolio Pacquiao ‘back to his best’ and ready to stop Algieri The rich and ambitious nation lands the 2019 athletics worlds on top of the 2022 football World Cup and other global events - and a 2024 bid is expected File picture of Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines celebrating his victory over WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley of the US during their title fight in Las Vegas. AFP Macau M Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee and Chairman of Doha’s Bid, HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (second left), Qatar Athletics Federation and CEO of Doha’s Bid, Dahlan al-Hamad ( third left) and other officials rejoice after Doha won the bid to host the 2019 World Athletic Championships. two months, and further worlds in sports like road cycling and gymnastics, plus the ultimate event so far - the 2022 football World Cup. DPA Berlin T he election of Doha to host the 2019 world athletics championships could be the last stepping stone in Qatar’s bid to land the biggest prize in sports: the Olympics. Athletics is the blue riband sport at the Games, and its ruling body IAAF dismissed human rights and climate concerns when they chose the capital of the super-rich and ambitious Gulf state over Spain’s Barcelona and American bidder Eugene on Tuesday. The athletics worlds are the latest coup for Qatar which hosted the indoor worlds in 2010, the Asian Games in 2006, has swimming short course worlds and the global handball championship in the next SECOND TIME LUCKY It was second time lucky for Doha after losing against London for 2017, and local officials could be hoping for a similar turnaround on the Olympic front after not even being shortlisted for the 2016 and 2020 Games - with influential Asian Olympic Council chief Sheikh Ahmad alFahad al-Sabah was quoted as saying at the Asian Games in September that Doha and Dubai are both ready to stage future Games. With the IOC now opening the door for one Games to be staged in more than one city or country, this could work to their advantage. “I want to inspire a new generation. We need everybody to help. We need to make an impact, to take athletics to new places,” Barshim said at Doha’s final presentation before the IAAF Tuesday What remains, though, are climate concerns, with the football World Cup set to be moved from its traditional JuneJuly slot to winter and the athletics to start after the normal end of the season in what would be the latest global gathering in the year since the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, with proposed dates September 28-October 6. “2019 will be a long season! No meeting in may and june?!? Interesting problem!” French pole vault star Renaud Lavillenie tweeted. American decathlete Trey Hardee agreed: “Gonna be interesting for guys/ gals trying to do Multi’s in October.” IAAF vice-president Sergei Bubka tweeted the worlds “promises great sport future to Qatar and Middle East. Region has huge potential” - and the hosts themselves insist they are ready to stage for a top event at Khalifa Stadium. And, after getting their only previous two worlds golds from a born Kenyan, steeplechaser Saif Saaeed Shaheen, Qatar now have their first home-bred global star in high-jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim who has vowed to compete at his home event. “I want to inspire a new generation. We need everybody to help. We need to make an impact, to take athletics to new places,” Barshim said at Doha’s final presentation before the IAAF Tuesday. Over to 2019 now. anny Pacquiao said yesterday he will show the world he is back to his very best by stopping pretender to his throne Chris Algieri in their world welterwight title contest in Macau. It has been five years since Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) last stopped a fighter and the Filipino eight-weight world champion said he would blow away any lingering suggestion that his powers are on the wane two weeks before his 36th birthday. “I’m very happy with my training camp because it was a new birth. It was like back to the old days—my speed and power and determination are back,” said a confident Pacquiao at a pre-fight news conference at the Venetian Macau last night. “I’m very excited by this fight and I know my opponent is excited to win this fight, but I won’t let that happen,” Pacquiao added. Pacquiao will be aided in his quest at the weekend by defending his WBO welterweight (147lb) title against American Algieri, the WBO junior welterweight (140lb) champion, at a catchweight limit of 144lb. “He wants to prove to everyone that he can still punch,” Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach told reporters earlier yesterday. “That’s why we went to catchweight at 144. He’s never been a puncher at 147. He’s only knocked out two welterweights. That’s why the drop in weight.” Welterweight Miguel Angel Cotto was the last man ‘Pacman’ stopped, on November 14, 2009, and Roach has pushed Pacquiao through a punishing camp with increased the heavy bag work to bring back the congressman from Sarangani province’s legendary punching power. “When Manny hits the bag, the whole gym stops. I mean, everyone looks at the pop he has, the power and the speed,” said Roach as Pacquiao went through his paces in the gym. “The heavy bag is for strength. The heavy bag was a vital part of our training camp for this fight.” Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) is former kickboxer from Long Island dubbed the ‘real-life Rocky’ and he will have ‘silver screen Rocky’ Sylvester Stallone rooting for him at the Cotai Arena ringside come Sunday morning’s fight time (Saturday evening in the US). But Roach declared it will be no fairytale ending for the 30 year-old. “He’s in way over his head,” said Roach. “Once that bell rings, this is not a Rocky movie. Trust me. Rocky’s going to get knocked out.” There are two other world title fights on an explosive support card which begins at 8am local time Sunday (0000GMT) to cater for Saturday night TV audiences in the US. WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO) and WBA super lightweight champion Jessie Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs) will each defend their titles against Thailand’s Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-1, 33 KOs) and Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco (313-1, 23 KOs) respectively. FOCUS Champ Klitschko out to make history by holding top four belts 12TH FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Gyurta keen on a good race in Doha, doesn’t mind a record too By Sports Reporter Doha T he fastest man to ever swim 200m Breaststroke, Daniel Gyurta, will arrive in Doha in December for the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in a dominant but unassuming fashion. The Hungarian has cemented his place as one of the world’s best and is becoming a red hot favourite to topple world records at Hamad Aquatic Centre from December 3-7 – but he remains humble about his achievements. Fresh from victory at the FINA Mastbank Swimming World Cup series where Gyurta finished second in the overall points table, he is showing that he is ready to take on the world and has not lost the winning form which saw him win gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games. When asking the star about his intentions come the World Championships, the Hungarian is keeping Daniel Gyurta, the fastest man to ever swim 200m breaststroke. his cards close to his chest but he cannot help but hint at his desire to set a new world record. “I never reveal my aims – they remain my secret. Of course I always try to improve my results and get better, and to have a good race where I feel comfortable in the water. World records are set to be broken and everything can happen as a result of a good race.” The Hungarian has been winning fans in the Middle East for many years following numerous appearances in Doha and Dubai respectively. He made waves in Qatar earlier this year when he set a World Cup record in his signature 200m breaststroke at the first meet of the FINA Mastbank Swimming World Cup which also took place at Hamad Aquatic Centre. The London 2012 Olympic Champion’s his rivals have come and gone over the years but he has remained at the top of his game. “We have not changed anything in our preparations based on how others are swimming at that time, because what we have been doing in the past has shown we are right on track. My coaches are continuously refining my training and preparation, but before a major competition, we already know how we want to swim the race and only small things will be altered. I do not follow what the other swimmers are doing to prepare, I focus on my technique and try to do the best that I can.” Daniel Gyurta is just one of more than 1,300 of the world’s best athletes that will compete at the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships in Doha, 3-7 December 2014. Previous victors include US Olympic Gold medallist Ryan Lochte, who took home six gold medals at the last Championships in 2012. Olympic champion, Chad Le Clos (RSA), and multiple World Record holder, Katinka Hosszu (HUN), are among the top those athletes already looking forward to a return to Doha. In addition, Cameron Van Der Burgh (RSA), Ryan Lochte (USA), Mireia Belmonte (ESP), Inge Dekker (NED) and other key athletes from Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Japan and the Netherlands are expected to bring their best to the competition. File picture of Ukrainian heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko attending a training session in Oberhausen. AFP Berlin U ndisputed heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko says he plans to become the first boxer in history to hold all four major world titles. The 38-year-old produced an impressive display in the 17th defence of his world titles on Saturday with a fifth round knock-out of IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg for his 63rd victory and his last defeat is now a decade ago. Of the world’s top four—the IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC belts—only the WBC crown, currently held by Canada’s Bermane Stiverne, is missing from Klitschko’s collection. Stiverne is due to defend his WBC belt for the first time against Deontay Wilder of the United States in Las Vegas on January 17 and Klitschko is likely to face the winner. Boxing legends Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield, Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson have all held a maximum of three of the titles simultaneously, just like Klitschko does now. Elder brother Vitali, who last fought in 2012, twice held the WBC title before retiring as champion to go into politics and is now the mayor of Kiev, and Klitschko wants to bring the belt back into the family. “My big wish is to bring the WBC belt back into the family,” Hamburg-based Klitschko told German magazine Sport Bild. Previously, Klitschko would have had to relinquish all of his belts to fight for the WBC title, but that has changed and a unifying bout could now happen. “Wladimir is a true icon of boxing and the WBC would completely support a unification fight,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman. 10 Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 SPORT HORSE RACING Harran takes Lemail Cup, Aseer wins Dukhan Cup ‘He has beaten some of the best sprinters in the country and I’m glad to see him back in form. He has one more big race in him’ By Chris Hoover Doha Results 1st race: TM Tasha Tiki (Salim Golam) 1, Saif Brooq 2, Rassan 3, Hemma 4. Won by: Hd, ½, 6. Time: 1:19.62. Trained by: Ahmed Kobeissi. Owned by: Mohammed KazaimAl Ansari and Sons H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani owned Harran (Burning Sand-Aziza D’Arocco) plunged into an all out offensive in the final furlong and launched a fiery gallop to outrun AJS Qahir and score a comfortable victory in the Lemail Cup, the feature event of the races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. The Julian Smart trained Harran was brilliantly ridden by jockey Richard Mullen. AJS Qahir led them all the way into the straight and Harran was improving position all along the turn. After entering the straight, AJS Qahir continued to call the shots. Meanwhile, Mullen showed the daylight to Harran, who came charging at the front runner. Once put into top gear, Harran skipped away and won in fine style. In an unfortunate incident during the race, Hassan al-Matwi’s La Hoor collapsed but soon recovered much to the relief of his supporters. Jockey Balush also escaped unhurt in the incident. “It was a little bit unfortunate with the accident in the race. But to be honest it would not have mattered because I was confident that Harran would have a big say in the race. Harran has been in good form this year who has got stronger. I am happy with him right now and looking for the future with Harran. He will be most probably be targeted in the Qatar International race. He has beaten some of the best sprinters in the country and I am glad to see him back in form. He has one more big race in him and we are looking ahead to it,” a delighted Smart told the Gulf Times. Jockey Tadgh O’Shea rode a marvellous race to guide Mohanad al-Yaqout trained Aseer Singspiet-Like Blazes) to a splendid victory in the Dukhan Cup, a local Thoroughbred Conditions race, which was the other added attraction of the day. The perseverance of O’Shea enabled Aseer to thwart the all out effort of Sraab. Aseer settled quickly in midfield as One Cool Bex set the pace. Entering the home stretch, One Cool Bex was out of steam soon and jockey o’Shea was quick to get Aseer alongside. Approaching the distance post the Mohanad trainee gained the initiative even as Sraab came along to dispute for the lead. The duo were engaged in a fierce battle for supremacy in the final 200 metres. Though Golam did his best with Sraab, he was unable to get past the eventual winner. ‘CONFIDENT OF GOOD SHOW’ “This was the second time that Aseer was running this season. Though he was unfit in his previous start, Aseer went down narrowly to Sraab, he was up to the task today. I had worked hard with him and was confident of a good show. He did not disappoint us today. Jockey O’Shea also rode him well to win this race,” trainer Yaqout explained. Jockey O’Shea was thrilled with the victory of Aseer. “He is a very tough 2nd race: Absher (Gary Carter) 1, Al Wasmiya 2, Okay 3, Al Zubara 4. Won by: 5, 3 ½, 1. Time: 1:12.76. Trained by: Mohammed Hussain. Owned by: Dhafi al-Ardhi al-Marri 3rd race: Rock Up (JP Guillambert) 1, Bern Me Baby 2, The Smart One 3, Lions Park 4. Won by: 1 12. ½, 1. Time: 1:11.56. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Abullah Mohammed Al Kuwari Sons 4th race: Maazouz (Alberto Senna) 1, Nomaas 2, Ladys Sandman 3, Hassiba 4. Won by: 6, 7, Nk. Time: 1:18.77. Trained by: Majid Safedeen. Owned by: Mubarak Saeed Aljafal al-Naimi 5th race: Nile Knight (Marco Monteriso) 1, Statesmanship 2, Protect 3, Sunley Pride 4. Won by: 1 ¼, 5, 1 ¾. Time: 1:55.16. Trained by: Abduljabar Ali. Owned by: Rashid Mohammed Alathiba 6th race: Late Debate (Harry Bentley) 1, Elkhart 2, Mefraas 3, Glossy Posse 4. Won by: Hd, 7, 1 ½. Time: 2:01.31. Trained by: Jassim al-Ghazali. Owned by: Shaheen bin Khalid Shaheen al-Ghanim QREC general manager Sami Jassim al-Boenain (centre) and QREC deputy general manager Tariq Abdulhameed al-Sidiqie (second from right) are seen with the winners of the Lemail Cup, which featured the races at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club yesterday. PICTURES: Juhaim 7th race: Aseer (Tadgh O’Shea) 1, Sraab 2, Qadir 3, Moaddie 4. Won by: Nk, 2 ½, 6. Time: 2:04.40. Trained by: Mohanad al-Yaqout. Owned by: Al Jeryan Stud 8th race: Harran (Richard Mullen) 1, AJS Qahir 2, TM Thunder Struck 3, Tuyoorna 4. Won by: 1, 2 ½, ½. Time: 1:17.99. Trained by: Julian Smart. Owned by: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Thani Trainer Mohanad al-Yaqout leads in Aseer (Tadgh O’Shea astride) after a thrilling victory in the Dukhan Cup yesterday. horse who enjoys a battle. He stuck his head out when it was needed and I am very thrilled with this win. I have had four winners with Aseer and I am glad that I had the opportunity to ride such a fantastic horse.” Ahmed Kobeissi schooled TM Tasha Tiki (Burning Sand-Lanatiki) lived up to the promise of her previous run and scored her maiden victory in the Pure Arabian Maiden Plate, run over six furlongs. The Burning Sand progeny got straight down to business as she led the field from the word ‘go’ and made every post a winning one to record her first win in 14 starts. Though Saif Brooq came up with a spirited bid in the dying stages of the race, jockey Salim Golam rode out Tasha Tiki vigorously to win by a head. Rassan also impressed while finishing with a late dash to take the third place. Mohammed Hussain trained Absher was a runaway winner of the Local Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 0 to 60. The Dhafi al-Ardhi alMarri owned Absher was quickly off the blocks and set his own pace before skipping away from his nine rivals to win by a widening margin of five lengths. Al Wasmiya chased the winner all the way to finish second ahead of QREC general manager Sami Jassim al-Boenain (centre) is seen with the winners of the Dukhan Cup at the QREC yesterday. Okay. Tha manner of this victory suggests that Absher is capable of a similar performance when saddled next. Jassim al-Ghazali saddled Rock Up scored a resounding victory in the Thoroughbred Graduation Plate in a start to finish mission. Jockey Guillambert had no trouble getting Rock Up going at the start and they shot into the lead and never looked back. It was Rock Up all the way and once he turned for home he galloped straight as an arrow, bounding forward showing fine acceleration and eventually outclassing his opponents altogether, clocking one minute 11.56 seconds for the 1,200 metres trip Maazouz (Alberto Senna astride) trained by Majid Safedeen rose to the occasion in a splendid manner to clinch the Pure Arabian Graduation Plate with a pillar to post victory. Taking over the running soon after the start, Maazouz found a good rhythm going and looked completely in command. The Safedeen trainee quickly amassed a winning lead and looked the winner long way from home and galloped on majestically to win by a six lengths. Nomaas was a faraway second ahead of Ladys Sandman. Abduljabar Ali trained Nile Knight recorded a facile win in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 50 to 50. Under the able riding of Marco Monteriso, Nile Knight moved strongly from the third position at the bend to gather speed with minimum of fuss to win by over a length from Statesmanship and Protect. Jockey Harry Bentley had to use all the resources at his command to contain the challenge of Elkhart while steering Late Debate to a thrilling victory in the Thoroughbred Handicap for horses rated 85 to 105. It was a fascinating duel between Late Debate and Elkhart in the final stages of the race. After Bentley and Late Debate had established an useful lead, Monteriso brought the Elkhart into contention with a brilliant run, while Bentley was unrelenting on the eventual winner. With the duo fighting each inch of the ground, it was Late Debate that got stronger at the finish to win by a head. Mefraas seven lenghths behind in third. ORYX CUP UIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Shane and Kelly in the fight for National High Points title at Qatar’s Oryx Cup UIM race helm of the town of Madison’s very own 6 Oberto/Beef Jerky hydroplane, Shane has been the fastest racer of the season, but he knows that anything can happen in one of the most exciting marine sport disciplines in the world. “Our goal is to win the Oryx Cup and everything else will take care of itself,” said Shane confidently. The Oberto team assessed the best set-up for the Doha heats and Oryx Cup after the Seattle Seafair, including working on the filters and additional equipment needed to see the boat through a saltwater race. Shane has three motors at his disposal in Qatar. By Sports Reporter Doha T he outcome of both the Oryx Cup UIM World Championship and the H1 Unlimited National High Points championship will be decided at this weekend’s Oryx Cup on Doha Bay. The final round of the H1 Unlimited series has attracted 10 entrants from the United States for their annual pilgrimage out of North America to sample Qatari hospitality and one of the most demanding race courses in a calendar of events that has already taken them to esteemed races in Madison, Detroit, Tri-Cities, Seattle and San Diego. Defending Oryx Cup champion Jimmy Shane arrives in Doha with a commanding 832-point lead in the race for the prestigious National High Points title. After replacing Steve David – the new H1 Unlimited chairman — at the New 96 Spirit of Qatar driver Jean Theoret all set to represent the State of Qatar in the Oryx Cup this weekend. THEORET TO RACE FOR QMSF The Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF), which is hosting the Oryx Cup, has joined forces with Ellstrom Racing and will be represented by Canadian racer Jean Theoret in 96 Spirit of Qatar. According to team manager Erick Ellstrom, Theoret – a six-time H1 race winner - will have two of the strongest motors available at his disposal for the Oryx Cup. “We saw the best numbers we have ever seen on the dyno, so we know the motors will be strong,” enthused Ellstrom. “We also shipped spare fuel controls and four new propellers engineered especially for the course in Doha.” J. Michael Kelly was the winner of the inaugural Oryx Cup in Qatar in 2009 and is back in the Ted Porter-owned boat that Shane used to seek out Oryx Cup glory in 2012 and 2013. “We are definitely here in Doha to make a run at the Oryx Cup and the Championship,” said Porter. “We have sent all our best equipment, turbines, gearboxes and propellers. We need to pick up points quickly and narrow the gap right from qualifying on Thursday. J. Michael will need to win all his heats and we will also probably need to win the final to give us a chance.” Porter’s Graham Trucking boats have won four of the five Oryx Cups and he has the added advantage of running a second hydroplane for the ever-improving Cal Phipps, who holds third in the National High Points standings. Phipps is well clear of Jon Zimmerman, who performed so impressively at the last Oryx Cup in Doha. Former 96 Spirit of Qatar driver Dave Villwock returns to racing action in Qatar at the helm of 21 Miss Seattle, run by Schumacher Racing. The most successful racer in H1 history notched up one of his 67 H1 victories at the Oryx Cup in 2010 in front of a delighted Qatar crowd. Villwock could be a dark horse to spring a surprise this weekend. Today, teams will be permitted to carry out testing on the Doha Bay course before the all-important qualifying sessions take place during the afternoon. The draw for the first of tomorrow’s heats is scheduled for 16.15hrs. Spectators are welcome and there is plenty of viewing access along Doha Corniche. Gulf Times Thursday, November 20, 2014 11 SQUASH WORLD SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP Top seeds live up to their billing, set up exciting semis ‘I think I am adding something extra to my game with each passing day. I was not happy with the way I begun, but things seem to be shaping up just fine. I am happy to be still there, and I hope this continues for two more days’ Top seed Gregory Gaultier (left) plays a shot during his World Squash Championship quarter-final against Australia’s Cameron Pilley at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. PICTURES: Noushad Thekkayil By Satya Rath Doha A fter all the jolts, scares, disappointments, shockers and upsets, the top four seeds managed to live up to their billing at the World Squash Championship, being played at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex here. French top seed Gregory Gaultier, second seed Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt, third seed and defending champion Nick Matthew of England and fourth seed Ramy Ashour were the last men standing at the end of the quarterfinal round yesterday. The semi-finals today will be a keenly contested affair with Gaultier taking on Ashour and Matthew facing off against Elshorbagy for a spot in the final. It was the best of days for top seed Gaultier. After three error-prone, scrappy, ill-tempered wins preceding yesterday’s quarter-final clash, Gaultier managed to rediscover that missing touch, those trademark delectable drops and ferocious volleys that helped the Frenchman scale the world’s peak a year back. It was, however, the worst of days for Cameron Pilley, one of two unseeded players in the last-eight round, the other being South African Stephen Coppinger. Till yesterday, Australian Pilley had been having a dream run -dumping three higher-rated players including the seventh seed en route to his first Worlds quarters, but his free- flowing game deserted him just when he needed it most. IN HIS ELEMENTS Gaultier was in his elements today, whatever he tried clicked for him. He hit the right length, volleyed tight, and had just one error to may be a dozen by Pilley. But importantly, he got his drops dead right. He scored seven points on the trot to take the first game in 14 minutes, nine straight points in the 10-minute second game, and seven on the trot in the deciding third. Forty-one minutes was all it took him to get past Pilley 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, his ninth win in 10 meetings between the two. It’s his fifth semi-final appearance in his 13th straight Worlds, where he has lost in the finals an agonizing four times. “As I said before, I am taking it match by match. Each day, each match is like a new mission for me. I feel for Cameron, it was his first quarter-final at a World Championship, and both of us have been seeing each other for 13 years now. He played really well in the earlier rounds, but today, I think, was my day,” said Gaultier. “I think I am adding something extra to my game with each passing day. I was not happy with the way I begun, but things seem to be shaping up just fine. I am happy to be still there, and I hope this continues for two more days. Some of my friends have flown down all the way just to cheer for me, and I would not like to disappoint them,” added the Frenchman. Gaultier, though, may have to unveil all his ‘extras’ in today’s semi- final as a gentleman called Ramy Ashour will be standing in his way to a fifth final. Gaultier trails 7-19 in their head-to-head meetings, and if one witnessed yesterday’s match between Ashour and Borja Golan, one can well understand why. Spain’s Golan, seeded sixth here and considered one of the fastest movers among the current lot, blitzed through the first two games 11-9, 11-7, catching even the seasoned Egyptian off-guard with his blistering pace and athleticism. But once the two-time world champion settled down, he was in a class of his own. The crafty Ashour just had too much guile and far too many tricks in his game. The more Golan ran, the more he made him run. The more he dived, the more he made him plunge. A fall looked inevitable, and soon enough, down went Golan, in the process hurting the little finger of his serving right hand. The medical timeout broke his momentum and Ashour never looked back after that. He raced through the next three games 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 to make the semi-finals of the Worlds for the third straight year. “It’s very difficult to describe my feelings after such an intense match. All credit to Golan, he played great, he definitely deserves to among the top 10. “I enjoyed playing, it sorts of prepares you mentally for what to expect next. Gaultier is a tough competitor, he has won our last two meetings, so it would be interesting,” Ashour said after the exciting 75-minute encounter. OLD IS GOLD Legend Hunt to watch attempt on his record Hunt’s record as the oldest male winner of the world title has lasted a remarkable 34 years, but modern sports science has now helped give two men, Nick Matthew of England and Amr Shabana of Egypt, a chance of superseding it AFP Doha G Fourth seed Ramy Ashour of Egypt (left) plays a shot during his World Squash Championship quarterfinal against Spain’s Borja Golan at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. Quarter-final results and today’s order of play RESULTS (QUARTER-FINAL) 1-Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-5) 2-Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-8 11-9 11-7 4-Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt 6-Borja Golan (ESP) 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6) SEMI-FINALS (17:30 ONWARDS) 1-Gregory Gaultier (FRA) vs 4-Ramy Ashour (EGY) 3-Nick Matthew (ENG) bt 5-Amr Shabana (EGY) 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-7) 3-Nick Matthew (ENG) vs 2-Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) (Seedings in prefix) eoff Hunt, who was at the forefront of world squash longer than any other man, has praised the sport’s progress which has given two players a chance to better one of his most famous achievements at the World Open this week. The legendary Australian’s record as the oldest male winner of the world title has lasted a remarkable 34 years, but modern sports science has now helped give two men, Nick Matthew of England and Amr Shabana of Egypt, a chance of superseding it. Hunt, a leading player for a decade and a half, was 33 years and six months old when he won the last of his four World Open titles in 1980. Matthew is 34 and Shabana 35, and their enduring excellence is an important attribute at a time when squash still has hopes of getting into the Olympics. a consultant coach during the World Open. “The ability to be able to film people playing and watch them in slow motion to use as a coaching tool, and the progress in sports medicine and injury treatment have all developed,” he said. “The strength and conditioning staff can all create better programmes now so you get players that are stronger, fitter and faster and that avoid injuries better.” Geoff Hunt “The sports science behind squash has developed enormously,” said Hunt, who retired as a coach in Qatar a year ago but has returned this week as BETTER SPECTACLE NOW It is these advances which have helped give modern squash speedier rallies, a greater emphasis on stroke-play, and more tactical variety, making it a better spectacle than it has ever been. It has also helped players like Shabana and Matthew. Hunt might well have remained at the top for a year or two longer had not a hip injury ended his career, and he suggests he inadvertently contributed to his own unwanted retirement. “When I was young I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he admitted. “As a consequence I had a few physical problems but players now have a much better chance of avoiding that.” He added: “At one point I played every single day for three years, even on Christmas day when my father got the courts opened up for me - and I couldn’t get enough,” he said. I was fanatical about the game and I realised later that it was about more than just hitting the ball.” No player today would deny his body the need to recover and rehabilitate, which is partly why Shabana has survived so long at a very high standard, and why Matthew has played his best squash after the age of 30. And Hunt will be there right till the end to see whether his record survives. Thursday, November 20, 2014 SPORT GULF TIMES INTERVIEW Al-Attiyah to drive Mini in quest for Dakar glory Fresh off winning the 2014 WRC2 title, Qatari champion talks about getting back into a X-Raid Mini for Dakar, his pursuit of 10th Middle East Rally Championship win and dreams of having a WRC rally in Qatar By Mikhil Bhat Doha I n January this year, Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah was on the podium of the Dakar Rally, having finished third in a X-Raid Mini. Something, however, must have still rankled given that he had not had any practice in the Mini ahead of the rally, and that by the end of it all he also had to obey team orders to ensure that Mini swept the podium. At a celebration event later, when asked about having to wait 25 minutes so that the other driver could pass for lead, he only said, “I understand.” He was going to have none of it when Dakar kicked off again in January 2015. The 2011 Dakar champion wanted to win what is one of the toughest tests of endurance again… on his own terms. After six months of tough negotiations, the Qatari champion yesterday announced that he will be driving a X-Raid Mini yet again but this time a few things are different. “Now the team wanted me to drive in Dakar,” al-Attiyah told Gulf Times yesterday. Earlier this year, al-Attiyah’s decision to drive in Dakar was pretty last moment, which meant that he was a newbie in the team. “Actually, the talks had been going on for the last six months until we approved last month. We had kept it a secret because there were a few agreements to be taken care off. The team had an agreement with Monster Energy, while I am supported by Red Bull, Qatar and Ooredoo. So this wasn’t easy, but the deals have got through.” Meanwhile, he had also announced that he was going to drive a Toyota Hilux. “Mini had asked me to drive with different brands but I wasn’t going to miss the chance of carrying the names that have supported me. Qatar, Red Bull and Ooredoo have supported me all this while,” he said. Asked about his chances in Dakar 2015, he said, “I am confident about the race. In 2010, I finished second; in 2011, I won. In 2014, I was leading but finished third with a one-hour penalty. With Qatar behind me, and Ooredoo and everyone supporting me, I will try and bring the title to Qatar. I am sure my team and Nasser alAttiyah are the favourites for Dakar.” Giving him company in the four-wheel drive 3.0 litre turbocharged diesel Mini will be French co-driver Mathieu Baumel. Al-Attiyah and Baumel have raced six rallies together so far, and have won three, finishing second twice. The nine-time Middle East Rally champion’s confidence stems from what has been a great year in a rally car. On Sunday, al-Attiyah was crowned the WRC2 champion by a nail-biting three-point advantage over Finland’s Jari Ketomaa in the final standings. Going into the final rally, the Qatari 43-yearold only needed a seventh-place finish to win the title. But early gearbox problems coupled with a very cautious strategy even as Ketomaa built a healthy lead saw al-Attiyah in eighth place before he pulled things back together to finish sixth. “You know sometimes you think you only need seventh position to win the world championship. Everyone thinks that it is very easy and I can finish seventh, but then the race started. We had a little bit of a problem and we dropped from top three to eighth. That was difficult,” alAttiyah said. “But we fixed the problem and we came back very strong. We managed to be in top six. And then we found ourselves not far away from the Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah will have the company of French co-driver Mathieu Baumel (inset) at the 2015 Dakar Rally, which will run from January 4-17, 2015. “The real problem is that I am racing a lot. We do seven to eight Middle East rallies. If I move to WRC, that means 13 rallies right there, and it will be difficult to participate in the Middle East. WRC2 does not clash with the Middle East rallies, so I can handle that,” al-Attiyah on why he might not step a level up to WRC. other driver. But eventually it was all happy. This year has been a great year for us. We won four races and this was the plan — to be world champion in WRC 2. This is a great moment for me, motorsport, Qatar and for the Middle East to have an Arab driver win the championship.” For most rally drivers the obvious next step would be WRC. “The real problem is that I am racing a lot. We do seven to eight Middle East rallies. If I move to WRC, that means 13 rallies right there, and it will be difficult to participate in the Middle East. WRC2 does not clash with the Middle East rallies, so I can handle that,” he said. Given that too much racing seems to be the problem, has the thought of only focusing on WRC ever crossed the mind? “For me, as a Middle East driver, it is very important to participate in our region. It will help motorsport here. It is not good to move outside and leave your region, and supporting them,” he said. He then talks of bringing WRC to the Middle East. “That’s what we dream of. It will be fantastic if we manage to get a rally to Qatar. The WRC does not have a desert race. A long time ago there was Safari Kenya. It will be good to have a desert leg like that… Safari in Qatar,” he said. Talking about the Middle East Rally Championship, with nine points separating the top three, including al-Attiyah (75), United Arab Emirates’ Khalid al-Qassimi (69) and Qatar’s Abdulaziz al-Kuwari (66), al-Attiyah needs to win next week’s Dubai International Rally to win the championship comfortably for the 10th time. “We are in good position and we know Du- bai really well. I am afraid of one thing. In 2007, some spectator, who was friends with a driver had put rocks and other things in my way,” he said. Sabotage, you mean? “Yes. I hope everything is clear this time.” The 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist had a forgettable Asian Games earlier this year not being able to qualify for Skeet finals. “I was not prepared then. But I was asked by the Olympic Committee and by the Federation and my coach, to be there and help the team. My plan that I had charted out with my federation and my coach was that 2015 will be the step for Rio Olympic Games,” he said. BOTTOMLINE School kids voice their thoughts on Qatar 2022 T he first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East is already inspiring a whole generation of youngsters who are looking forward to seeing their idols play from close quarters in stadiums in Qatar. The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) went to different schools across Qatar to find out what school kids thought about the tournament in 2022. “When I learned that Qatar will host the World Cup, I thought they will never, ever win it. But now since they won the Asian Cup (U-19), I thought of course, why not, they will win at least a few matches,” 11-year-old Rashid from Qatar said. Fahad, a sixth-grader from Palestine added: “If you see it on TV it wouldn’t be as exciting as if you were with the crowd, with everybody cheering and watching the match at the stadium.” Never before has a FIFA World Cup had the potential to make such an impact on youngsters across an entire region. Thirty percent of the Middle East and North Africa’s population is aged between 15 and 29. That is a total of around 100 million people. For the Supreme Education Council (SEC) in Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar forms part of the Social Sciences curriculum being taught across the country to make students aware of the importance of hosting the world’s greatest football tournament. “The teaching of topics related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the curriculum of various educational levels — fourth, seventh grades and second secondary — comes within the framework of the efforts made by the SEC to explain the importance of this exciting global event. In Arabic language, students analyse texts related to hosting. In physics, they are asked to conduct research related to cooling technology. They also learn about National Sport Day,” said Afrah Ahmed al-Rayashi, team leader of Social Sciences in the office of Curriculum Standards at the SEC. Students also learn about major sporting events that Qatar has hosted in the past such as the Doha 2006 Asian Games, as well as looking forward to the legacy of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in terms of preserving the environment, using clean energy in cooling stadiums and creating an overall sustainable event. The SC has been placing an emphasis on education initiatives as part of creating a lasting legacy for the tournament in Qatar and the region. Talking in a panel discussion at the WISE Summit on education in Doha earlier this month, SC secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi highlighted the importance of overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities in the Middle East. The SC is already supporting important initiatives in education like the recently-announced donation of $500,000 to the Education Above All Kakuma refugee project in Kenya. It has also founded and developed the Josoor Institute, a centre of excellence designed to deliver world-class education and training to the people of Qatar, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) to continue developing a sporting industry in the region. In addition, the SC has embarked on an education initiative called the Qatar Environmental Sustainability Case Study Challenge, which reached out to every high school and university in Qatar and invited students to do research and find workable solutions to promote environmental sustainability in the country. Over 500 students registered, with 37 university teams and 54 high school teams with an age range of 13-22 years taking part as they came up with ways of changing behaviour, creating ideas and developing solutions for a more sustainable future.
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