Award Winning Restaurant in Juffair with Live Show Kitchen INDIAN RESTAURANT Corporate Lunch Sun- Wed , 12pm Onwards Live Counter Thursday & Friday, 7pm - 11.45pm Lunch : 12pm to 3pm Dinner : 7pm to 12am BEST WESTERN PLUS The Olive Juffair, Kingdom of Bahrain, T: 17360061 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Issue No. 6512 Mantraa Juffair www.mantraabahrain.com Russia sees Bahrain as a gateway to GCC 8P 6 Blues win on boxing day 8P 18 8P 32 disaBled MaY get a leg-uP DT News Network I t’s just a matter of days, as the decision on whether to increase the monthly social allowance for disabled Bahrainis will be taken within a week. There is a possibility that the amount could be raised to BD150 from BD100. “But, the decision making process will be influenced by the budget constraints due to the fall in oil prices,” said Services committee Chairwoman Dr. Jehad Abdullah Mohammed Al Fadhel. Speaking to DT News, she said, the oil prices had reduced to around USD57 a barrel. “This brings focus to the budget constraints that T sight”, said Obada al-Hussein, an activist from IS-held Raqa who spoke to AFP via the Internet. Raqa is the self-proclaimed IS “capital”. “Then the plane flew back, and this time smoke was coming out of it. I believe there was a technical failure,” Hussein said. Another activist from the city, Abu Ibrahim, also spoke of a “technical failure”. “The plane fell in an area called Hamra Ghannam, in the eastern countryside of Raqa,” said Abu Ibrahim, who fled IS persecution in Raqa but who continues to be well informed on events there. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a similar account. “Sources in the area saw the plane flying very low. There was 8P 5 we are facing. The limitations in the budget will be taken into careful consideration before any decision will be made in this regard,” Dr. Al Fadhel added. Read the full story on Page 3 Jordan pilot ejected after �technical failure’ Beirut echnical failure caused a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State group jihadists in Syria to eject after flying at low altitude, activists and a monitoring group told AFP yesterday. Maaz Al Kassasbeh “was flying at a high altitude to start with. He hit the brick factory and then disappeared from G R O U P A very Middleton Christmas �Big deal’ invites Big trouBle Smile boosts our immune system 8P 20 MANAGED BY For Reservations Please Call : 17 36 00 61 a technical failure. The sources then saw IS members fire heavy machineguns and shoulderfired missiles at the plane,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. “The pilot ejected, after the technical problem made it impossible for him to return to a higher altitude,” he added. Read the full story on Page 9 Violations reported in Budaiya rally Manama round 2,000 individuals participated in an authorised rally on Budaiya Highway last evening. The Northern Governorate Police General Director said, violations occurred during the rally and members of the organising committee had been summoned. The Public Prosecution was notified about the situation. A 2 FARC frees Colombian soldier Bogota Leftist FARC rebels released a Colombian soldier yesterday, nearly a week after beginning a unilateral ceasefire aimed at ending Latin America’s longestrunning conflict. President Juan Manuel Santos hailed the release of Carlos Becerra Ojeda in a rural area of southwestern Cauca department as “another step in the right direction.” “We hope that this release demonstrates an irreversible decision to end the conflict and that such events will not happen again,” he added on Twitter. The soldier, who had been held since December 19, was handed over to a humanitarian commission including representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as from Cuba and Norway, the guarantor countries of the peace talks that guerrillas have held with the government in Havana since November 2012. When cables make a noose Saturday, December 27, 2014 Forging documents to obtain telephone connections on the rise DT News Desk T he number of cases pertaining to forging documents by unscrupulous persons to obtain telephone connections is on the rise. And, the victims become aware of it only when they are slapped with a legal notice or a travel ban. One among the victims of such forgery is Mohammed Adavil Velom, an Indian national, who works in a cafeteria in Hidd. Mr. Velom is now dragged into a legal battle after an unidentified person forged his passport to get a telephone connection. The incident came to light when Mr. Velom received a call from a lawyer of a leading telecom service provider, asking him to pay the dues to the tune of BD285. The lawyer also added that if he failed to make the payment by December 23, 2014, he would face travel ban. “I had lost my wallet containing BD200, CPR and driving licence on December 3, 2013. I had filed a complaint of my missing wallet at Naim Police Station on the same day itself,” said Mr. Velom to DT News. After checking the passport copy submitted to the telecom service provider’s advocate Mr. Velom understood that his passport copy had been forged. The forged passport copy has a different photo of him, signature and different place of issue. “After many such cases came to fore, the Indian Embassy organised a meeting with Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA), chaired by First Secretary Ram Singh on April, 2014. I along with social activist E P Anil tried to bring maximum number of victims for the meeting. The TRA representative said, they would extend their support to genuine cases,” a social activist K T Salim told DT News.  The TRA officials, during Original passport of Mr. Velom Shaikh Nasser visits Al Basta Market Manama upreme Council for Youth and Sport Chairman, Bahrain Olympic Committee President and Royal Charity Organisation Chairman HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa paid a visit to Al Basta Market yesterday. S Shaikh Nasser Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Southern Governor Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa, officials and representatives of sponsoring companies were present. Shaikh Nasser toured the market and was informed about the products. He also met the stall owners and listened to their proposals on ways to develop the market. He pointed out that the market aims to support private sector establishments, and owners of small enterprises. He lauded the significant role played by the Southern Governorate to ensure the success of the event. He added that the market would profit participants and enable them to develop their business. Decision just Days away Hike in disabled allowance Budget constraints to influence decision-making process Mohammed Zafran/ DTNN news@dt.bh Copy of the forged passport of Mr. Velom the meeting, also added that the document scrutiny could be done only through the courts. “Any person facing travel ban due to similar issues from the telecom service providers should immediately contact the embassy. The victim could pay the amount to the court through the embassy lawyer to lift the ban. The money would be returned once the court orders in favour of the victim,” said Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Dr. Mohan Kumar during the Open House yesterday. Search on for missing Indian Mohammed Zafran/ DTNN news@dt.bh A prominent social worker in the Kingdom has launched a search for a man who has been missing for 11 years. Prisons across Bahrain as well as other prominent locations will be searched to find a man who has been missing since 2003. Indian national, identified by the first name Sasheedaran, came to Bahrain in 2000 in search of a job. According to his mother Seetha, who is currently a resident of the Kasargode district in the south Indian state of Kerala, he has not contacted his family or friends for the past 11 years. DT News had alerted the Indian Embassy and social 3 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Mr. Sasheedaran Seetha (Picture courtesy Kairali TV) workers regarding the case . When informed about the case, social worker Salam Mambattumoola said, he would immediately start a search for the man. He said, the first place he would be visiting would be the prisons across Bahrain. “We’ve seen many cases where the missing persons are later found in prisons. I’ll visit these places on Monday,” he said. “There’s also a chance that Sasheedaran might have abandoned his family in India. Recently I came across the case of a man named Rafeeq. He has wife and four kids back home. But, after coming to Bahrain, he married another woman and abandoned his entire family in India.” “He kept away from everyone else and lived in seclusion for many years,” he said. T he decision on whether to increase the monthly social allowance for disabled Bahrainis will be taken within a week’s time, said Shura Council Services Committee chief. Since January 2011, disabled persons have been entitled to BD100 monthly social allowance. However, there is a possibility that the amount could be raised to BD 150 by next week. “But, the decision making process will be influenced by the budget constraints due to the fall in oil prices,” said Services committee Chairwoman Dr. Jehad Abdullah Mohammed Al Fadhel. “The oil prices have dropped to around USD 57 a barrel. This brings focus to the budget constraints that we are facing. The limitations in the budget will be taken into careful consideration before any decision will be made in this regard,” she said. “At this stage, we are primarily focussing on revisiting the reports that were discussed by the previous committee. The welfare plans for the disabled and the retired topped the discussions during our first Dr. Al Fadhel meeting last week,” Dr. Al Fadhel added. Dr. Al Fadhel was a member of the Services committee of the previous Shura council term as well. She was recently reappointed and promoted as the chairwoman of the committee. Diversity in expertise and specialisation within the committee is a definite advantage, she said. “This new committee is very lucky to have such diversity in expertise. We’ve members who are specialised in education, special needs, media among others. This will contribute to the overall functioning and efficiency of the committee,” she said. The services committee consists of seven members and is dedicated in following issues related to Education, vocational training, eradication of illiteracy, social, cultural and health services, Media and information and labour unions. Great rates on worldwide money transfers and 0% commission on over 40 foreign currencies! Visit your nearest branch today /BFCBahrain /BFCBahrain Care. Trust. Efficiency. BFC_379_BH_DT_AD_160mmX128mm.indd 1 05/06/2014 14:11 4 Two geT 21 years T he High Criminal Court has handed down two Bahrainis 21 years each in jail for three counts of robbery. The defendants had posed as policemen while carrying out robberies in three local hotels, court files revealed. According to victims’ statements, they were holding wireless telecommunication devices, and impersonated policemen before stealing money from the properties at knife point. All the robberies were conducted in the evening of April 4 last year. “They approached me and inquired if we were housing prostitutes in the hotel, I shook my head in negative and one of them presented a police ID card and pretended to be an officer,” the receptionist of the first hotel said in his statement. “He ordered to see my ID card, and when I handed it to him his accomplice took out a knife Schoolteacher jailed for 3 years DT News Network A Bahraini woman has been jailed for three years after being held guilty of attacking an on duty policewoman. The defendant, a schoolteacher was reported to police by several parents of students for mistreating their children. Based on these complaints, an arrest warrant was issued against the defendant, who didn’t just resist it when police came to enforce it but also caused physical harm to a policewoman. “I approached her (the defendant) and introduced myself. I told her there was an arrest warrant against her,” the victim told the prosecutors. “She said that she wanted to go to pick her child from school and I accepted her request on the condition that I will accompany her to school but she suddenly became violent and insulted me verbally before attacking my body with her hands,” she explained. and threatened me. He shouted at me to give them all the money which was inside the register, and I complied,” he added. The convicts followed the same sinister practice with the other two hotels, and prosecutors said that the total amount of their thefts was around BD 3789. The defendants were arrested a few hours after robbing the third hotel. Judges at the High Criminal Court sentenced them to seven years in prison each for each robbery, thus their total jail time is 21 years each.  Teen gets three years for setting car ablaze DT News Network A 16-year-old boy accused of setting a car ablaze has been jailed for three years. The Bahraini teenager allegedly ignited a vehicle in Darkulaib after he stole it with the help of a friend late at night. “A week before the incident, I met my friend who introduced the idea of stealing this particular vehicle in order to roam around the area,” the teenager who doesn’t have even a valid driving license, told the prosecutors. “We found the car unlocked and we drove it away after turning it on with the use of an old key. My friend was behind the wheel and he suddenly crashed into a metal fence, causing terrible damages to the vehicle,” he said. He added that they decided to set the car on fire when it began making terrible noises after the accident. �Big deal’ invites Big trouBle Indian Embassy Open House Robbery DT News Network 5 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Saturday, December 27, 2014 A week before the incident, I met my friend who introduced the idea of stealing the vehicle for roaming around the area,” the teenager who doesn’t have even a valid driving license, told the prosecutors. “We feared that the residents in the area would wake up, therefore we steered the car to an isolated place,” he explained. The defendant was arrested through police investigations, while his co-accomplice is still at large. Drug case Save me from heavy salary cuts, Indian national begs Embassy for help Elayath Pragit Parameswaran/ DTNN A n Indian national approached the Embassy during the Open House yesterday with the complaint that his employer has been deducting a huge amount every month from his salary because the bank dishonoured some post-dated cheques he had received from a client. Cazi Fernandez did not know that a big deal would put him in great trouble. He has been working as a General Manager of a trading company in the Kingdom for the last 13 years. “Once, an administrator from a local gym visited our outlet and purchased gym equipment worth BD26, 000. He paid me BD6000 as cash and rest was paid in the form of post-dated cheques,” said Mr. Fernandez to DT News. According to the victim, the accounts department officers didn’t pay much heed when he intimated them that the cheques were postdated. The incident occurred in 2013. “My employer questioned me with regard to the same issue. He also assured me that he would file a case against the customer and he did it,” The Indian Embassy Open House in progress. said the victim. But, since then, the employer of Mr. Fernandez started deducting a major share of his salary as the commission to fight the case. “When asked, the employer told me that the deduction is for the case fee which was caused by me,” explains the victim to DT News. The officials attached to the Indian Embassy said that they will look into the matter and will find out a solution to solve it amicably. “I have been loyal to the company for the past 13 years. Even though the situation is bad presently, I want to stay with the same company myself,” added Mr. Fernandez.  When in trouble contact us immediately, urges the Ambassador Indian Ambassador Dr. Mohan Kumar has urged the Indians to approach either community leaders and community associations or the Embassy office when they land in trouble. “Most of the people come to the Embassy and file the complaint when the situation becomes worse. Meanwhile, they would have sought advice from his/her friends or relatives, who are not much aware of the procedures in the Kingdom,” said the Ambassador. He also added that the victims choose any lawyer who is not efficient which results in deeper troubles. He also urged the social workers to create a list of lawyers to help the victims during such situations. Change the hand written passports by November 2015 The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set a deadline of November 2015 for changing the hand-written passports. Any hand-written passport will be deemed invalid after the period. The Indian Embassy urges the community to apply for new passports if they possess handwritten passports. “The passports issued during the year span of 1994-2000 were handwritten. Moreover, they were issued with the validity of 30 years. I believe that there are still a few number of passports in Bahrain which are hand-written,” said Dr. Kumar. 2014: Decrease in complaints, suicides While addressing the media, Dr. Kumar said that there was a marginal decrease in the number of complaints from the community when compared to past years. He also added that the number of deaths including the suicides has also decreased during the same tenure. Stress Management Conference begins today Date set for the verdict Manama inister of Energy Dr. Abdul Hussain Mirza will patronise the two-day annual Stress Management Conference starting from today here in Bahrain. The event, being organised by Origin Consulting in collaboration with the Bahrain Association of Occupational Health Physicians is being held at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa. A well known meditation expert and spirtualist from M DT News Network A court verdict is set to be announced on 21 January against the bus driver accused of promoting drugs among secondary school students. The defendant’s illicit activities came to light following a tip off to the Anti-Narcotics Directorate about his illicit activities. He was nabbed in a sting operation after a police officer in plain clothes tricked him into selling hashish at a market value of BD 700 in March this year. Police seized another half kilogram of hashish from his home during inspection. However, the defendant has denied all the charges, the prosecution has laid against him. Open House Timings changed The starting timings of the Open House has been changed from 9 am to 9.30 am from January 1, 2015. pragit@dt.bh Shuddhaanandaa Baba India Shuddhaanandaa Baba will hold workshops on the theme “awaken the mind through meditation and stress relief.” The conference will shed light on work pressures and stress that employees have to face in their work environment and will bring out the means to cease the stress for optimal performance through therapy and meditation. According to the American Institute for the Management of Stress, nearly 82 per cent of Dr. Mirza the world’s employees suffer from stress and are susceptible to its negative effects. It is, therefore, important to manage this since it affects not only their performance but also the institutions where they work. The conference will also highlight the most important practices and tools that contribute to relieve tension and stress. Another speaker at the event will be Reiki expert Fawzia Al-Sindi from the Bahrain Reiki Centre, who will hold a workshop for the treatment of cognitive stress while Iman Al-Moussawi, a specialist in its treatment from Kuwait, will also address delegates. Bahraini yoga expert Fatima Al Mansouri, health professional Dr. Manoj Kumar and Bahrain Physicians Association president Dr. Mohammed Saleh will also be present at the two-day event, which concludes on January 28. Best-selling books of Shuddhaanandaa Baba will be distributed among the participants. Perfumes | Makeup | Skincare Watches | Gift Sets | Luggage | Accessories A 22-year-old man was seriously injured while another sustained minor injuries in a road accident at Sheikh Khalifa Highway where two cars collided with each other. No causalities have been reported. Bahrain Int’l. Exhibition Centre, Hall 2A 23rd - 28th December 2014 9:30am - 1:30pm 4:00pm - 10:00pm 6 Russia sees BahRain as a gateway to gCC Saturday, December 27, 2014 Russia and Bahrain are coming close to each other as both the countries have many things to share. Russia is far ahead in industrial, pharmaceutical and technical education while Bahrain is expert in refineries and oil technology. To explore these areas DT News had an exclusive interview with the Russian Trade Minister Denis Manturov during his recent visit to Bahrain. Here are the excerpts of the interview. Elayath Pragit Parameswaran/DTNN pragit@dt.bh DT: What are the outcomes of the Ministers Summit that took place here in Bahrain in December? Russian Minister: Russia is interested in extending our trade in economic relations between GCC countries and Bahrain is a perfect place to start with. Of course we have good bilateral relations with each of the countries of the Gulf especially with Emirates. Out of all volume of trade turnover is 1.6 m dollars and total volume of trade is 2.6 million. This does not keep us satisfied. For example, the trade turnover only with Egypt is Mr Manturov 3.8 Million Dollars. So, we want to raise our volume and one of the methods is to work is business to business. We are planning to organize a few sectors in these region including trade and production. During the Summit, we will come to certain agreements and exact future projects to participate with more funds. This is the main reason why we came and we want to explore more opportunities.  DT: What makes Bahrain special place for investment? Russian Minister: The population of Saudi Arabia is 25 million and in Bahrain it is 1.2 million. So, the Kingdom becomes the best market to attract both the populations apart from the other neighbouring GCC countries. It is very convenient to organize the shipments and to organize the service facilities. Bahrain is also a suitable place to organize the investors. DT: What are the main sectors you are planning to invest in Bahrain? Russian Minister: We are mainly focusing on industrial sector and we came to understand that high technology sectors are in great demand in the region. We are MIDDLE EAST 7 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Now the coldness between Turkey and Iraq is over, we will accelerate our relations in every possible way. The Jordanian pilot Kassasbeh is a model of heroism and all of us stand with his family and his colleague in-arms. - Jordanian government spokesman Al-Momani - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Turkey frees boy held for �insulting’ Erdogan A Burak Akinci Turkish court on Friday ordered the release of a 16-year-old high school pupil arrested for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following accusations his detention was the latest sign of the country veering to authoritarianism. The boy, Mehmet Emin Altunses, was released following a complaint by his lawyer over his arrest in the central city of Konya. He was met by his parents as he left the main courthouse building in the city but defiantly declared his political activism would continue. “There is no question of taking a step back from our path, we will continue along this road,” he said as he was released. Altunses had delivered a speech on Wednesday in Konya, a bastion of the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), where he accused Erdogan and the ruling party of corruption, besides calling him the “chief of theft and bribery” The boy, during questioning denied, links with a political party but confirmed he had made the statements. Creating a safe, stable, and sustainable environment in the GCC countries is a major goal we are seeking to achieve.” - Secretary-General of GCC Abdullatif Al Zayani 52 KILLED IN AIR STRIKES Syrian army operation Beirut yrian regime air strikes killed at least 52 civilians, including seven children, in strongholds of the Islamic State jihadist group, a monitoring group said Friday in a new toll. The raids struck Al-Bab and Qbasin Thursday in the northern province of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground. “At least 37 civilians, including seven children, three teenagers and two women, S were killed in the Syrian army air raids,” said the Observatory, adding that dozens more people were seriously wounded. Previously the toll stood at 37 dead. The regime air force has killed thousands of people since it was first deployed in the war in July 2012. Activists accuse the government of killing more civilians than jihadists in the raids. The UN and international rights groups have repeatedly called on the government to refrain from using its air force against inhabited areas. Representative picture. On Thursday, about 60 jihadists were killed in fighting 8 trekkers rescued in Oman Muscat ight Emirati nationals were rescued by the Oman Royal Air Force after they had gone missing in one of the mountains of Khasab province on Wednesday. The eight Emiratis aged between 25 to 39 years, were trekking near Al Bainah village of Khasab. The Emiratis lost their way while they were climbing the mountain. An official at the Royal Oman Police said that Khasab police E A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to throw a tear gas canister at Israeli security forces during clashes in the village of Kafr Qaddum, in the occupied West Bank, on Friday. (AFP) in a state of growth in pharmaceutical sector. The sector is our targeted programme in our nation. We are carrying out many research and development activities and we have formulae to produce innovative drugs. We are also planning to invest in technical education sector including joint engineering centres. Bahrain authorities have also promised us that they will propose certain norms on the partnership in technical education. We could exchange our expertise with them and vice versa with such initiatives. We do have engineering centres in Russia where students feel the taste of their profession. And, Bahrainis are more expert in technology in refineries and oil. This will help in knowledge sharing. DT: How do you plan to penetrate into the Bahrain market? Russian Minister: We will get into the market with innovative products. We will introduce well-researched and developed products, which are already being commercialized in Russia. We have tie-ups with countries like Cuba where the companies are very sophisticated and have medicines to cure many diseases. So we strongly feel confident and competent in Bahrain market. DT: When can we expect to turn these initiatives to reality? Russian Minister: The next step is to organize a business mission in which an expert team in the sphere will visit Bahrain. Following that visit, a Bahrain team will also visit our nation before finalizing the deals. DT: Are you planning to invite Bahrain delegation to Russia for similar summit? Russian Minister: We want to make use of this platform on the regular basis. We have invited Bahrain to attend International Economic Forum, which is scheduled to be held in June at St Petersburg. We are also planning to conduct similar business dialogues where the world can understand the impulse of the nation from the business community. station coordinated with the royal air force to rescue the Emirati nationals. A helicopter belonging to the air force flew to the area and rescued the Emiratis, who were then taken to the Khasab hospital after their health conditions deteriorated due to lack of food and water. “When they were admitted to the hospital, they were in serious condition due to dehydration,” said an official at Khasab hospital. with Kurdish forces for control of territory in northern Syria. Two cops stabbed in Jerusalem Two border police officers were stabbed in Jerusalem on Friday morning, near the Old City’s Lion’s Gate. The police said one officer, 19, was stabbed in the neck while the other, 35, suffered stab wounds to his hands. Police is on the lookout for the attacker who is at large. ˆΩ Shivering Days Syrian refugees brave Lebanon winter Beirut Serene Assir / Al-Saaydeh Camp ith just blankets to shield them against the icy wind and rain, Abu Ali’s family huddles in a flimsy tent in Lebanon, among the thousands of Syrian refugees struggling, as winter sets in. Sixty-year-old Abu Ali is now relatively safe after fleeing the threat of Islamic State group jihadists in northern Syria’s Raqa province, but some of his 14 children are already coughing badly. They have taken shelter W at an unofficial camp in Al-Saadiyeh, a village in the eastern Bekaa Valley home to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees inadequately equipped to cope with the cold. “This is our first winter here. We really didn’t expect it to be so cold,” said Abu Ali. “We have no sobia, nothing to heat us up,” he said, referring to a traditional Middle Eastern diesel or wood-powered stove that luckier refugee families have either received from humanitarian agencies, or bought with their savings. “All we have is blankets and God’s mercy,” said Abu Ali, wearing a red and white keffiyeh scarf on his head and a traditional camel-coloured Bedouin robe. His family’s tiny tent is made from sheets of white plastic and planks of wood, and only has straw mats as flooring. A single battery-powered lantern hangs in the tent, so to escape the darkness, Abu Ali’s children brave the cold and rain and play outside. “I am cold all the time, but there is nothing I can do to keep myself warm, so we green eyes glistened in the wind as he wandered around in plastic sandals, his feet covered in mud. Abu Ali’s family is among the 17 percent in informal camps, making them especially vulnerable to the elements as winter takes hold. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says humanitarian agencies have provided 400,000 people with fuel vouchers or cash for Umm Ali (4R), the mother of 11 children and who is currently November and December, but six-month pregnant sits at an unofficial refugee camp in Jabaa, that funding shortfalls mean a village in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. (AFP) many refugees are left “in cold, play anyway,” said 12-year- old Hammudi, whose striking adverse conditions”. (AFP) 8 Speak a “ S h a i k h Nasser visits Crossing Nature Camp “ @bna_en Sony HQ’s silence over “The Interview” underscores divide between Japanese parent company, US-led subsidiary “ @AP Ukraine, proRussia rebels begin mass prisoner swap “ @AFP Ivory Coast trial opens against former first lady Simone Gbagbo “ @euronews Xbox live and PSN attack: Christmas ruined for millions of gamers ` “ @guardian F o r m e r President George H.W. Bush will remain in hospital another night “ ministers. @NBCNews Russian President Vladimir Putin cancels vacation for government “ @cnnbrk Indonesians gather to commemorate 10th anniversary of Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda “ @BBCWorld Key �mastermind’ behind Taliban attack on Peshawar school �killed in shoot-out’ “ militants actively, resisting what comes, getting frustrated and badtempered. However, we could position ourselves in another way: being Alchemist the one who turn lead into gold, the ones who are able to change the external factors like people or situations by creating a different reality. To do so, we have to change our perception. Also, it is necessary to strengthen our capacity to tolerate, accept, let go and forget. Tolerance here also refers to understanding, love and compassion. Not to put up with people or things, but to go beyond them; to co-operate with trust and motivation. It is difficult for us to tolerate because we have expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how others should act and be. Then we create negative feelings towards them because they are not like that or don’t act in the manner that we want. This makes our relationship with them difficult. Being the Alchemist you turn obstacles into opportunities, you see people’s qualities and their values instead of their defects and their errors. You are open to listening to them and understanding their intentions. That way we can control the external factors and have good feelings in any the difficult situations. Ali Al-Aradi HRD Lecturer Unsafe food a threat to health F oodborne diseases take a major toll on health. Millions of people fall ill and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Deeply concerned by this, WHO Member States adopted a resolution in 2000 to recognise food safety as an essential public health function. Food safety encompasses actions aimed at ensuring that all food is as safe as possible. Food safety policies and actions need to cover the entire food chain, from production to consumption. The contamination of food by microbiological agents is a worldwide public health concern. Most countries have documented significant increases over the past few decades in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms in food, including pathogens such as Salmonella, and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and parasites such as cryptosporidium and trematodes. WHO develops scientific risk assessments, guidelines for risk management, including risk communication messages for all stakeholders, including the end users to assist Member States to improve their capacity to prevent and control foodborne diseases. Chemical risks Chemicals can end up in food either intentionally added for a technological purpose (e.g. food additives), or through environmental pollution of the air, water and soil. Chemicals in food are a worldwide health concern and are a leading cause of trade obstacles. WHO develops scientific risk assessments to define safe exposure levels which form the basis for the development of national and international food safety standards to protect the health of the consumers and ensure fair trade practices. Antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial agents are essential drugs for human and animal @ReutersWorld Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was a happy man after seeing #CFC overcome “difficult opponents” @BBCSport Molotov cocktail at the car near the Maale Shomron settlement. The car caught fire and the 11-year-old girl was seriously wounded while her father escaped with minor injuries. Housing Minister Uri Ariel called on the army to retaliate to firebombs as it does to attacks from the Gaza Strip. Beirut he Syrian Army has killed nearly 5,000 Islamic State (IS) fighters in the last three months. “Every day we note the approximate number of terrorists killed during fights on the ground. Just from the IS group, 4,800 fighters have been killed [since the T beginning of September],” said a military source. Islamic State, also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Sunni jihadist group that has been fighting the Syrian government after 2011 antigovernment protests turned into an armed rebellion. PILOT FORCED TO LAND AFTER SNAG Beirut echnical failure caused a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State group jihadists in Syria to eject after flying at low altitude, activists and a monitoring group said on Friday. Maaz al-Kassasbeh “was flying at a high altitude to start with. He hit the brick factory and then disappeared from sight”, said Obada al-Hussein, an activist from IS-held Raqa. Raqa is the self-proclaimed IS “capital”. “Then the plane flew back, and this time smoke was coming out of it. I believe there was a technical failure,” Hussein said. Another activist from the city, Abu Ibrahim, also spoke of a “technical failure”. “The plane fell in an area called Hamra Ghannam, in the eastern countryside of Raqa,” said Abu Ibrahim, who fled IS persecution in Raqa but who continues to be well informed on events there. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a similar T Jordan denies IS claim of shooting down warplane Amman ordan’s military on Friday denied claims by the Islamic State group to have shot down one of its warplanes which crashed in Syria, after the pilot was captured by the jihadists. “First indications show that the crash of the Jordanian military plane in the area of the Syrian city of Raqa was not caused by an IS fire,” a military official said using another name for IS. “But since the wreckage of the plane cannot be reached and since its pilot is not present, we cannot at this moment determine the exact cause of the crash,” the official said. Maaz al-Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured by IS on Wednesday. J A photogrpah released by the Islamic State group’s branch in Raqa on jihadist websites on December 24, 2014 purportedly shows a Jordanian pilot captured by IS group’s fighters. (AFP) account. “Sources in the area saw the plane flying very low. There was a technical failure. The sources then saw IS members fire heavy machine guns and shoulder-fired missiles at the plane,” said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. “The pilot ejected, after the technical problem made it impossible for him to return to a higher altitude,” he added. Nael Mustafa, another Raqa activist, said: “The pilot was at a low altitude, and then IS fire hit his plane.” Their accounts came hours after the Jordanian military denied IS claims that it shot down one of its warplanes. The US military has also dismissed the jihadists’ claim to have hit the jet with an anti-aircraft missile, saying “evidence clearly suggests that ISIL (IS) did not down the aircraft”. (AFP) Historical Gaffes health. However, the continuing emergence, development and spread of pathogenic organisms that are resistant to antimicrobials are a cause of increasing global concern. WHO develops and promotes guidelines to minimise the public health impact of antimicrobial resistance associated with the use of antimicrobials in food of animal origin. WHO also provides technical support in the monitoring of antimicrobial use. John Koshy @Independent India seeks help from Bhutan, Myanmar to hunt down “ e may feel ourselves to be victims of different factors that seem to direct our life without us being able to control them, and we feel ourselves to be victims because things do not work out or are not as we want. Therefore, we give up and decide to resign ourselves to this reality; to be victims of it and observe passively non- Jerusalem n Israeli man and his 11-year-old daughter were wounded when assailants threw a firebomb at their vehicle in the northern West Bank on Thursday, the army said. A military spokeswoman said the assailants, believed to be Palestinians, threw a A Being the Alchemist Microbial risks in food Over 4,800 IS fighters killed in Syria 11-yr-old suffers serious injuries in attack Readers’ VIEW W MIDDLE EAST 9 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Do you feel strongly about commenting on any issue of social relevance or on any report we carried? Be it bouquets or bricks, you can explore this space by airing your views, opinions or comments. The best letter, selected once in a week, will receive five tickets for watching a blockbuster at Dana Cinema. Letters can be sent at letters @dt.bh Egypt bans screening of Exodus Cario gypt has banned the Hollywood biblical epic movie “Exodus: Gods and Kings” citing historical inaccuracies, the culture minister said on Friday, a day after a similar move was made by Morocco. The film relates how Moses helped Israelite slaves flee persecution in Egypt under the Pharaoh Ramses by parting the Red Sea to let them cross safely. Culture Minister Gaber Asfour said the Ridley Scott’s blockbuster was rife with mistakes, including E an apparent claim that “Moses and the Jews built the pyramids”. “This totally contradicts proven historical facts,” Asfour said. “It is a Zionist film,” he said. “It gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies and that’s why we have decided to ban it.” The ban was decided by a committee comprising the head of the supreme council for culture, Mohammed Afifi, the head of the censorship committee and two history professors, said Asfour. Afifi said he took issue with the scene showing the parting of the Red Sea in which Moses, a prophet revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, is seen holding a “sword” like a warrior, instead of a “stick”. Furthermore, he said, the parting of the Red Sea is explained in the movie as a “tidal phenomenon” rather than a divine miracle. Morocco has also banned the film, despite it already having been approved by the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre, media reported on Thursday, quoting theatre managers. Egypt has censored other movies in the past, including the blockbuster “The Da Vinci Code” after protests from the Orthodox Coptic Church. Thinking green Rehan Ahmed Let us go green shopping W ith the month of December, many festivities, celebrations and seasonal parties are planned globally. These events require additional shopping leading to usage and wastage of more resources. �Shopping’ is certainly one of the most famous �indoor sport’ being practiced equally by people of developed and developing countries depending on their life style and budget and is majorly being done by the female gender. �Going green’ is a way forward for all of us as it is a life style change including improving our shopping and purchasing habits so that the additional environmental burden can be reduced. The market forces, industries, manufacturers are supported by extensive media and marketing campaigns which lure us to buy more and unnecessary commodities. The responsibility of environmental stewardship lies on us to control and behave and move to �green shopping’ altering our pampered purchasing habits. Start by auditing your lifestyles and shopping list and see where improvement can be achieved to reduce pollution. Being a green consumer we need to conserve resources, save energy, and prevent waste by buying products that are energy efficient, are used or reusable, made with recycled content or are recyclable and have no or less packaging. Green purchasing involves learning how to buy smartly and keeping environmental considerations in mind. Here are some useful eco-friendly green shopping tips: • Check if the item is �really’ or �urgently’ required. May be you do not have an immediate use or can postpone it to any later date. • Checkwhatquantityandcontentoftheitemisrequiredand for what duration? • Whatarethealternativestotheitemintermsofcost,size, number etc? • Buy durable products instead of disposable items. Buy things which last longer and can be reused like rechargeable batteries and avoiding plastic cutlery and plates. • Avoid excess packaging. Look for products that have less packaging or buy in bulk meaning less garbage generation, disposal and transportation. • Share items with friends. Another way to save resources and energy is to swap and exchange with friends and family instead of buying brand-new products. This includes sharing video games, CDs, DVDs etc. instead of individuals owning them. • Buy energy-efficient appliances and electronic items and promote energy-efficient products. • Buying useful presents and gifts aiming at its use and not cost. Select items made with recycled-content materials. Choose re-useable items in simple packaging. When selecting between two similar products, go for the one you can re-use or re-fill later, or the one that hasn’t wasted resources on a wrapper you’ll throw away as soon as you get home. • Buy Sustainable products which have the ability to be produced (over & over & over again) without doing much harm to the environment. • Buylocallymadeorgrownfood.Localfoodsarefresherand keep local farmers in business, while avoiding the pollution caused by transporting products around the country or region. Let us inspire ourselves to live a greener more environmentally friendly, healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Become a Green Shopper. Explore, Enjoy and Make A Difference! * Head of Waste Disposal Unit, Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain (Email: rahmed@sce.gov.bh) (The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of this newspaper.) 10 PET THERAPY DOES WONDERS AT JAIL Bollate Ella Ide W ith a bark of excitement, Titti, Tato and Carmela scamper down the corridors of the Bollate prison near Milan and are enveloped by prisoners who shower them with treats, pats and hugs. It’s pet therapy day, and Valeria Gallinotti, founder of the Dogs Inside association, has brought her labrador, doberman and a mongrel to play with inmates in Italy’s model jail, where a host of such initiatives keep repeat offender rates at a record low. Convicted murderers and sex offenders scoop up the canines for kisses, burying their hands in their fur and play endless games of fetch with tennis balls in the prison yard, chasing them oblivious to the rain. “My dream was to organise pet therapy sessions in prison because it’s the one place where there is a total lack of affection, where dogs can create calm, good moods, emotional bonds and physical contact,” Gallinotti, 47, said. She volunteers once a week to teach the prisoners how to Saturday, December 27, 2014 train the animals -- with treats handed out for sitting, shaking paws and lying down -- as well as how pet therapy works so that some can go on to set up their own initiatives once released. “I have always loved animals, I had a cat and dog at home, and pet therapy has been wonderful,” said Nazareno Caporali, who is serving life for murder, T h e 53-yearold, who divides his time between the dogs and studying for a third university degree, said he wanted to pass on the joys of pet therapy to others. “I hope one day we will be able to give to someone else what we have received, by doing pet therapy with people with Alzheimer’s or children with psychophysical problems, with the same dignity it’s been done with us,” he said, as Titti, tired out by the game, settles down for a snooze nearby. The theory of using animals as agents of socialisation a n d relaxation d a t e s b a c k to the 18th century. Later Sigmund Freud and Florence Nightingale  favoured the use of dogs or other pets during sessions or while treating patients. It is also a way of tackling solitude within the towering walls at the medium-security facility in northern Italy, set up in 2000 as an experimental project designed to cater to prisoners who wish to study or learn work skills. Maurizio, 36, who was found guilty of ordering five mafia killings and expects to serve at least 30 years of a sentence which officially ends in 2087, has done time in over 15 prisons and said Bollate is “by far the most advanced in terms of giving you opportunities to recreate yourself”. Italy has the second-highest level of prison overcrowding in Europe, partly due to the number of convicts who commit crimes once released, landing them back behind bars. While 78 per cent of prisoners in Italian jails go on to become repeat offenders, in Bollate just 20pc do so. With training for cooks, electricians and carpenters, as well as courses such as painting, yoga and gardening on offer, there’s a waiting list to get in. In exchange for a chance to spend their mornings playing tennis, learning a foreign language or playing with dogs, inmates must agree to conditions including living with sexual offenders, traditionally housed separately. Nicolo Vergani, 25, a former Red Cross volunteer, said he wanted to work with animals once he has finished serving time for sexual acts with minors, and hopes to specialise in zoology after he gains his biological science degree. “I do pet therapy to prepare me in even a small way for what I’d like to do in the future,” he said, as his fellow inmates tried to stop the dogs from eating the cakes and pizzas they had made for lunch in the ovens in their cell-blocks. He said his favourite dog is “Carmela, because she arrived and didn’t know what to do. She was so scared, sort of like us when we arrive in prison.” “Now, like us, she too is getting used to the experience,” he said. (AFP) �Angels’ give burial to unclaimed dead Lisbon, Thomas Cabral A hearse winds its way slowly through Benfica cemetery in Lisbon, followed by four people walking in silence through the December drizzle. The mourners are not relatives of the deceased. In fact, they barely know her. Since 2004, members of the Irmandade da Misericordia e de Sao Roque, a Catholic fraternity, have been organising funeral processions for people who die alone in the Portuguese capital. Many of those are elderly people, who were abandoned in hospital. B u t they also include homeless people, illegal immigrants, foreigners whose families were unable to repatriate the bodies and, sometimes, newborns found dead in dumpsters. Among the adult dead, men outnumber women two to one. “We can’t hold their hand when death comes knocking but we can accompany them, with dignity, on their last journey on Earth,” Mario Pinto Coelho, one of the fraternity’s leaders, said. The idea originated with Ana Campos Reis, who began by attending the funerals of HIV/AIDS victims who had been cast out by their families. Since then, the 62-yearold nurse has taken part in over 2,000 funeral processions. Campos Reis is planning a book about five cases that particularly moved her down the years. “When it comes to children, you can’t help asking �Where were the parents’,” she admitted. On this December afternoon the only thing the mourners know is that they are burying a woman called Laura, who was 99 at the time of her death. “Sometimes you find out they died at home or in hospital or in the street, but in some cases the health services and police never even succeed in finding out their name,” Pinto Coelho explained. Around 15 of the fraternity’s 150 or so members take turns to perform the last of the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy expected of Catholics: “Pray for the living and the dead.” The seventh of the Corporal Works of Mercy -- “To bury the dead”, or, rather, pay for their burial -- is taken care of by Lisbon’s Santa Casa da Misericordia, a charity dating back over 500 years, which is currently funded by lottery tickets. At the far end of the cemetery in northern Lisbon, next to a wall overlooking a motorway slip road, Father Cecilio is delivering a brief graveside oration. “Thank you very much, on behalf of Laura, for this charitable gesture,” he tells the mourners. Volunteering to lament the dead takes a toll on the living. To cushion the mourners the fraternity offers a programme of spiritual and psychological support. (AFP) BUSINESS Saturday, December 27, 2014 11 CURRENCIES CURRENCIES EF TI Japan factory output down Tokyo apan’s factory production suffered a surprise drop and inflation continued to slow in November, official data showed on Friday despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-spending policy blitz to stoke growth. November industrial production fell 0.6 per cent from the previous month, the industry ministry said, against a market forecast for a 0.8pc rise. “Industrial production fluctuates indecisively,” the ministry said in a monthly report, leaving unchanged its overall assessment despite the downturn after two months J SELL CASH Dollar 2.6483 Euro 2.1268 Pound 1.6689 Saudi Riyal 9.9384 Yen 299.4012 Indian Rupee 161.8123 SELL DRAFT GOLD 2.6455 2.1381 1.6793 9.9354 305.8104 164.2036 Bahrain London US BD152.00 $1,195.50 $1,194.20 OIL London US $61.38 $56.52 BRITAIN SEES SALES BOOM US $1.2bn expected to be spent on Boxing Day of rises. Separate data showed core consumer inflation continued to slow in November. Inflation, excluding volatile prices of fresh food, slowed to 2.7pc from 2.9pc in October, according to data from the internal affairs ministry. Prices rose from yearearlier levels largely because the government raised sales tax from 5.0pc to 8.0pc on April 1, which drove up retail prices. Adjusted for the tax increase, the nationwide core consumerprice index rose 0.7pc from a year earlier in November, the lowest since September 2013. (AFP) London undreds of thousands of bargain-seekers stormed British shops as post-Christmas sales began on Friday, in what one department store said was its most successful ever year. A crowd of 4,000 gathered on London’s main shopping site Oxford Street outside the Selfridges department store ahead of its opening at 09:00 GMT. Selfridges said some shoppers began queueing at 22:30 GMT the day before on Christmas day, lured by discounts of up to 70 per cent. Within an hour tills at the flagship British fashion and luxury store took in over 2 million pounds ($3.11m, 2.55m euros) -- the department store’s most successful hour on record, the shop said. “It’s the first time I’m H Shoppers walk along Oxford Street to find bargains in central London, on Friday. (AFP) shopping on Boxing Day, and queueing up and this is amazing,” said Jenny, a tourist from Malaysia who was waiting outside the store. “I’ve been waiting here outside the doors since 8:30 so it’s not too bad,” said Tahira, another tourist from Malaysia. (AFP) Dollar vs Ruble Mortgage holders urge Russia to end �financial slavery’ Moscow Anna Smolchenko W hen Olga Savelyeva took out a $226,000 mortgage to buy a small apartment on the outskirts of Moscow in 2008, she could never have imagined that the ruble would lose more than half its value in a few short years. But Savelyeva’s $2,090 monthly instalments have skyrocketed in ruble terms due to the Russian currency’s dive against the dollar. The resulting jump in monthly payments from 49,000 to 115,000 rubles now devours most of her family’s income. The 30-year-old mother of a young daughter and her husband have tried to honour their repayment commitments but despite their best efforts, December’s instalment was $400 short. “We’re left with 3,000 rubles ($56) this month,” Savelyeva said. “We won’t be able to make the January payment in full... “We also have other obligations,” she added, referring to her retired mother and cancer-stricken father. Savelyeva is one of tens of thousands of Russians who took on lower-interest foreign currency-denominated mortgages in the years before the financial crisis and now struggle with repayments as the ruble’s value shrinks. Russia’s central bank says that as of November 1, foreign exchange mortgage debt totalled 120.5 billion rubles ($2.28bn). According to the state-run Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending, those loans represent 3.3 MANAGEMENT THOUGHTS per cent of the total volume of outstanding mortgage debt. Critics say the government is deliberately downplaying the scope of the problem and claim some 100,000 to 150,000 people are likely affected. Hundreds of Russia’s hard-currency mortgage holders have created a social media group, attracting members from Yekaterinburg in the Urals to the exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. In a letter to central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina, the group threatened a “powerful social explosion” if assistance isn’t provided. Some 100 homeowners picketed the central bank this month and around 500 people plan to take to the streets this week, the first significant protests over the collapse of Russia’s currency -- down some 40 percent against the greenback this year. (AFP) The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies. 12 BUSINESS Saturday, December 27, 2014 Your job in the matter of tax collection has to be guided by firmness and fairness. A taxman’s job is mixed, he has to be firm and he has to be fair. There are no discounts or concession which he is entitled to give - Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley PLAYSTATION UNDER ATTACK Microsoft’s Xbox consoles also disrupted Washington Stephanie Griffith he online gaming networks for Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles -hot gifts this Christmas -- were disrupted for a second day on Friday in what hackers said was a coordinated attack. The disruption started Christmas Day, PlayStation and Xbox said on their Twitter feeds, adding that they were working to restore service. A message posted to the Xbox status page early Friday upgraded service to “limited” -- a sign that support teams were making inroads in fixing the problem. A new Twitter user going by the name “Lizard Squad” T COUNTRY/CURRENCIES US DOLLARS BRITISH POUND EURO INDIAN RUPEE PHILIPPINE PESO BANGLADESH TAKA PAKISTAN RUPEE SRI LANKAN RUPEE SWISS FRANC CANADIAN DOLLAR QATAR RIYAL UAE DIRHAMS AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR CHINESE YUAN EGYPTIAN POUND HONG KONG DOLLAR INDONESIAN RUPIAH KUWAITI DINAR JAPANESE YEN JORDANIAN DINAR LEBANESE POUND MALAYSIAN RINGGIT MOROCCAN DIRHAMS NEPALESE RUPEE NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR OMANI RIYAL SINGAPORE DOLLAR SAUDI RIYAL SOUTH AFRICAN RAND SYRIAN POUND THAI BAHT TURKISH LIRA YEMENI RIYAL BUY SELL 2.6667 1.7182 2.1978 169.2047 121.2121 205.2967 273.4871 368.2631 2.6434 3.1250 9.6899 9.7561 3.3058 16.6667 19.2678 21.5424 35,816.6189 0.7819 323.6246 1.8868 4,227.7935 9.5602 22.7790 299.3860 3.4953 1.0272 3.5298 10.0000 32.5733 591.7160 87.1080 6.2921 913.3254 2.6483 1.6686 2.1299 161.8123 114.2857 194.1371 255.9849 317.9195 2.5510 3.0075 9.6348 9.7276 3.1797 15.7978 18.2149 20.0723 30,845.1573 0.7728 301.2048 1.8636 3,816.3569 8.9606 20.8768 247.5143 3.3887 1.0204 3.4447 9.9384 28.9855 420.1681 85.5432 5.9137 542.0348 Rates are for indication purpose only. For firm rates or for currencies not listed above please call Bahrain Financing Company. Telephone: 17228888, Website: www.bfc.com.bh COUNTRY 1 US DLR 1 UK STG 1 SFR 100 YEN 0.3770 0.5881 3.8216 0.3135 KUWAIT 0.2855 34.3285 2.8941 0.2374 OMAN 0.3849 0.0380 3.9017 0.3201 BAHRAIN QATAR 3.6420 0.3593 36.9184 3.0289 UAE 3.6730 0.3623 37.2326 3.0547 SAUDI 3.7500 0.3699 38.0132 3.1188 Basel offers new model for capital Geneva The Basel global banking supervisory body has proposed introducing a standardised model to calculate a minimum level of capital banks would need to keep in reserve. The so-called capital floor “will be based on revised standardised approaches for credit, market and operational risk, which are currently under consultation,” the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said in a statement released this week. Separately, the Basel Committee also released proposals to reduce reliance on international credit ratings. A file picture taken in Los Angeles, California shows people testing the new Playstation TV consoles at the annual E3 video game extravaganza. took credit for the disruption, claiming it had the “nation on strings.” The name is the same used by a group of hackers that has targeted Sony in the past, though it was not possible to verify the Twitter account’s authenticity. The account did not return request for comment and only became active Wednesday. Sony’s @PlayStation Twitter account said Friday: “We’re aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN - engineers are investigating.” Its @AskPlayStation Twitter account wrote early Friday, a day after the difficulties began: “Our engineers are continuing to work hard to resolve the network issues users have experienced today. Thanks for your continued patience!” Analysts said a direct connection with the Sony Pictures attack was unlikely. Russian economy may shrink 4pc Moscow inance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday Russia’s economy could suffer a 4-per cent contraction next year and see a budget deficit of 3pc. Siluanov said that the economy would contract 4pc with oil prices around $60 a barrel, adding that he expected the ruble’s exchange rate to be F around 51 rubles per dollar. “That’s the exchange rate which according to our estimates corresponds to the balance of payments,” he said. He added that the government would have to further cut expenses or tap into reserves, noting that the planned 10pc spending cut was not enough. The central bank recently said the Russian contraction could be up to 4.8pc at current oil prices, with a recovery not expected until 2017, but that was before it hiked interest rates by more than a third to 17pc and which will also act as a drag on the economy. The government had previously said it expected that the economy would slump by 0.8 percent next year. Japan first to approve Novartis psoriasis drug Geneva Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis said Friday it has won approval to market its Cosentyx psoriasis treatment in Japan, making it the first country to authorise commercialisation of the drug. The Japanese decision allows Novartis to sell secukinumab, sold under the name Cosentyx, to adult patients suffering psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis. The drug is considered by experts to have market value of between $1 billion and $2.5bn annually. BUSINESS Saturday, December 27, 2014 Alstom’s corruption was sustained over more than a decade and across several continents. It was astounding in its breadth, its brazenness and its worldwide consequences - US Deputy Attorney General James Cole As a major economy, we have a strong interest in international peace and stability. The government is prepared to enhance our international responsibility - German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen As neighbours China and Nepal have common security needs ... we need to work together to crack down on illegal border crossings and crimes - Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi DAYS OF RATIONING RETURNS TO RUSSIA 1.8 million metro token sold in December Saint Petersburg ust when Russians thought it could not get any worse with the ruble tumbling as fast as the oil prices on which their economy depends, the people of St Petersburg are waking up to rationing. But in President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, the martyr city that survived a nearly 900-day siege in which thousands starved to death in World War II, it is not food and drink that is being rationed, but metro tokens. In one of the most bizarre episodes of panic buying in a nation notorious for its hoarding instincts in times of trouble, people have been J R buying up to 85,000 extra metro tokens a day so they can save three rubles (five cents) when the price goes up on January 1. BgSE to exit: Sebi Mumbai ebi on Friday allowed Bangalore Stock Exchange(BgSE) to exit as a bourse from the capital markets. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), BgSE has substantially S complied with the conditions for its exit as per the regulator’s framework and therefore “is a fit case to allow exit”. Sebi said BgSE had complied with the regulator’s exit norms and made payment of necessary dues to the regulator, including 10 per cent of the listing fee. With more than 1.8 million sold so far in December the authorities had to step in and ban cashiers from selling people more than two tokens at a time. The price of the tokens are set to rise from 28 roubles w(45 euro cents) to 31 roubles (50 cents) on January 1. Seoul outh Korean prosecutors raided the Seoul headquarters of LG Electronics on Friday following allegations that the firm’s executives vandalised their rival Samsung’s washing machines at a trade fair in Germany, company officials said. Samsung Electronics had filed a lawsuit accusing the LG executives of defamation, property damage and obstruction of business and said LG home appliance division president Jo Seong- Jin was among those who damaged machines displayed at September’s event in Berlin. Investigators seized documents and computer hard disks during Friday’s raid on LG headquarters. “Our office is under scrutiny by investigators,” an LG spokesman said, declining to give details. Samsung said surveillance video footage from the fair showed several men -- which they later identified as LG executives -- destroying door hinges on the washing machines. on Thursday that farmers were getting around 225 euros ($275) per tonne if they export and 160 euros ($195) if they sold on the domestic market. The duty in force from February 1 to June 30 will be 15 per cent of the price per tonne plus 7.5 euros, with a minimum rate of 35 euros per tonne. Refugees from eastern Ukraine queue to get social benefits at a temporary accommodation centre on December 25, 2014 in Russia’s Rostov region. T LG offices raided in Seoul S Travel Boom China builds huge new Beijing airport Beijing onstruction on a massive new international passenger airport in Beijing began on Friday, state media reported, as booming demand for travel to and from China stretches the capacity of existing facilities. Beijing’s current international airport is the world’s second busiest, but also one of the most delayed, with fewer than 20 per cent of commercial passenger flights C Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (C) chairs a meeting with representatives of the government finance and economy units, Central Bank management, management of major fuel, energy and metal companies in Moscow. US city sues Petrobras New York he US city of Providence has filed suit against Petrobras and senior officers of the company over investor losses due to a corruption scandal at the Brazilian oil giant. The complaint by Providence, the largest city in the northeastern state of Rhode Island, follows other investor suits against Petrobras in the United States in the wake of a massive corruption scandal that has depressed Petrobras’ stock value. But the Providence case, filed December 24 in New York by law firm Labaton Sucharow, is the first to bring allegations against key executives, including company president Graca Foster and chief financial officer Almir Barbassa, according to Brazilian newspaper O Estado. The suit accuses Petrobras of making “materially false and/ or misleading statements” to investors in Petrobras stocks and bonds that inflated the value of the company before the corruption scandal broke. Wheat export duty from Feb Moscow ussia has said it will from February apply a duty of at least 35 euros ($43) per tonne of wheat sent for export. Despite a near-record wheat harvest, prices have been rising as growers prefer to export where prices. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said 13 leaving on schedule according to a 2013 report. The new facility located in southern Beijing is designed to handle 72 million passengers by annually by 2025, the official Xinhua news agency said. The airport is set to cost 80 billion yuan ($13bn) and will be completed in around five years, Xinhua said, adding that it will be able to handle 620,000 flights per year. Beijing International Airport was the world’s second busiest airport in terms of passengers in 2013, Xinhua said, ranking behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States. But it is also the world’s most delayed, according to a study last year by US-based air travel information service FlightStats, which said just 18 percent of flights were on time. About 42pc of departures from Beijing suffered delays of 45 minutes or longer, the survey said. Portugal breaks TAP airline strike Lisbon Portugal’s state-owned airline TAP said Friday it plans to honour all its scheduled flights after breaking a planned four-day strike over the company’s privatisation. The government has invoked its power to force 70 per cent of workers to report for duty despite their intention to down tools -- known as a requisition -- from Saturday to Tuesday. “All the flights are still scheduled. We hope they will happen normally,” a TAP spokesman said. 14 BUSINESS Saturday, December 27, 2014 UK RIDING HIGH ON ILLEGAL DRUGS Britain leapfrog France; becomes fifth largest economy Volcano ash warning Guatemala City sh clouds from two active volcanoes in Guatemala prompted local air travel warnings Friday. The country’s National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology warned of columns of ash from the Fuego volcano in the south of the country rising up to 4,500 meters (14,700 feet) above sea level. The Santa Maria volcano in southwestern Santiaguito ejected ash about 500 meters above the crater, the institute said. The organization cautioned air craft from flying in the vicinity of the ash-spewing volcanoes. Fuego and Santa Maria are two of several active volcanoes in the country. A Biggest economies: Top 10 2014 London James Cusick ritain’s multi-billion pound sex and illegal drug industries have helped the UK leapfrog France to become the world’s fifth largest economy. The latest global economic league tables includes a £10 billion boost in UK earnings from drugs and sex - which earlier this year led to Brussels issuing a £1.7bn bill to the Treasury. New figures from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) also forecast that the UK economy will pass Germany’s after 2030, for the first time since 1954, with a declining population identified B by researchers as a “likely weakness” for the European industrial powerhouse. The UK’s jump up the table comes with a caveat as the French do not include prostitution or narcotics income in gross domestic Electronics weak, lodging strong Washington onsumers spent actively on lodging and restaurants during the holiday season, while sales of electronics were flat, reflecting an ongoing shift toward spending on “experiences” rather than goods, MasterCard said in a holiday spending report. Overall retail sales grew 5.5 per cent during the period from “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, through Dec. 24 compared with a year earlier. MasterCard said the growth was in line with its forecast for the holiday season and underscored the impact of an improving US economy. MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse C tracks spending during the holiday season by combining aggregate sales activity in its own credit card payments network with estimates of other payment forms including cash and checks. Contrary to the predictions of some experts, electronics was not a strong category, with sales “basically flat” from Black Friday to Dec. 24 and in negative territory when looking at sales starting on Nov. 1. Apparel posted single-digit growth overall, with women’s clothing particularly strong since Black Friday with mid single-digit growth. Other strong categories were furniture and jewellery. product (GDP) calculations. The CEBR survey also forecasts that Britain’s lead economic role in the Commonwealth will soon end. India’s growing economy is on course to overtake the UK within three years, and is expected to become the world’s third largest by 2024. Although the United States still tops the world’s economic premier league, revisions in the way China calculates its GDP means it is now forecast to overtake the US three years earlier than previously forecast. By 2025, China will hold the number one slot, and by 2030 the top six reads: China, the US, India, Japan, Brazil and Riyadh audi Arabia’s finance minister said there was no need for the kingdom to create a sovereign wealth fund to manage its oil wealth, rebuffing suggestions by prominent officials and businessmen. At present, the surplus petrodollars of the world’s top oil exporter are mostly invested abroad by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), its central bank, which had net foreign assets worth 2.75 trillion riyals ($733 billion) in October. S Foreigners control new homes in London T as “safe deposit boxes” for international investors rather than for Londoners in housing need. Foreign owners seizing on the London housing market include the Usaha Tegas Group, owned by Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan, which has submitted plans for 104 luxury homes on the site of the former St John’s Wood barracks, with apartments expected to sell for up to £5m each and seven-bedroom stone-clad detached mansions around landscaped gardens that will go for more. Knight Dragon, a company owned by Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-shun, has consent to build 10,000 homes on the Greenwich peninsula, including three-bedroom apartments, with interiors designed by Conran & Partners, costing above £800,000. Investors from China and United States (last year: 1) China (2) Japan (3) Germany (4) United Kingdom (6) France (5) Brazil (7) Italy (9) India (10) Russia (8) the UK. Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which is currently in economic turmoil, is not forecast to show any immediate recovery. The continuing weakness of the rouble, and a global oil price revised down further and stuck at around $75 a barrel, means Russia has slumped from eighth to 10th biggest economy this year - and is forecast to stay there at least till 2030. (AFP) There is no need to create sovereign fund: Saudi Corporate Invasion London he control of plans for tens of thousands of new homes in London is now in the hands of foreign investors who are increasing their grip on the capital’s prime property assets, according to a latest report. Sites for close to 30,000 homes are owned by just 10 investors in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore and Sweden, sparking warnings from politicians and housing industry experts that too many are being built to act 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund are also reported to be interested in bidding for the Hyde Park barracks site which is likely to be sold by the Ministry of Defence for about £650m. The pivotal role of foreign governments in London’s housing market was revealed in November when Malaysia’s housing minister, Datuk Rahman Dahlan, was chosen to launch the latest phase of homes at the revamped Battersea Power Station and a new open space was named Malaysia Square. Most of that money is believed to be in low-risk US dollar assets such as US Treasury bonds and bank accounts,. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal urged the government last month to establish such a fund. Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf, after projecting a budget deficit of 145 billion riyals for 2015, said he saw no need for such a change. “I believe the kingdom’s policy is the most suitable for its circumstances,” he said. Visa, MasterCard stop Crimea services New York isa and MasterCard, the world’s two biggest payment networks, both announced Friday they’re stopping services in Crimea, a report said. “Visa is now prohibited from offering Visabranded products and services to Crimea,” the company said in a statement. “This means that we can no longer support card-issuing and merchant/ ATM acquiring services in Crimea.” The move comes after a recent executive order from President Barack Obama. V BUSINESS Saturday, December 27, 2014 15 Microsoft updates app builder for 2015 BACK WITH A VENGEANCE Stephen Washington fter a series of high profile setbacks that would bring smaller companies to their knees, Microsoft is back with a vengeance in the form of Windows App Studio. If you’re a developer that wants to create a universal app to run on any phone, tablet, PC or gaming console running on Microsoft’s proprietary software, you’re going to have to go through the Windows App Studio to do just that. Written in XAML and .NET, it’s a webbased application that is designed to be the entryway into the Microsoft ecosystem for all application developers. Microsoft continues to release new updates for Windows App Studio on a regular basis that you’ll definitely need to know about to stay on the cutting edge of development. A Changes in app generation One of the biggest changes to hit Windows App Studio in 2014 went into effect on December 17th, 2014. In an effort to increase the ease at which developers are able to create universal apps that run on any operating system using Windows 8.1, support for the Windows Phone 8.0 generation was completely removed. It’s important to note, however, that Siladitya Ray New Delhi t may seem like an eternity but modern smartphones have only been around since 2007, when the original iPhone came out. The sleek, beautiful device was an instant hit, but what really set it apart was the operating system, then called iPhone OS. The OS was simple, easy to use and beautiful, and the arrival of the App Store in 2008 established it as the best phone OS by a long shot. When Android came out in 2008 it was obvious that Google’s OS was nothing more than an experimental halfbaked mess. Only with the arrival of Android 2.2 (Froyo) in 2010 did the operating system became a competitor to Apple. There was a clear divergence of approach between Android and iPhone OS, now known simply as iOS. Apple’s OS was a walled garden, with a sleek design and responsive interface while Google offered a highly customizable OS that allowed phone makers and users to tweak the OS to their specifications. iOS lacked proper notifications and useful widgets but Android was clunky, unstable and really ugly. Gradually though both companies began to chip away at the other’s advantages with regular updates to their OS. I iOS 8 and Lollipop This year though Google and Apple previous apps made with 8.0 in mind are still accessible through the “Generation History” functionality. All source codes can still be downloaded, publish packages and installable packages can still be accessed and more. The only major difference involves that information now being available for creating truly universal apps for the benefit of users. A wider level of integration Another set of new changes to recently hit the Windows App Studio involves an increased level of integration with many of today’s top services and platforms. Thanks to recent updates to the App Studio, for example, developers can now add an Xbox Music collection to the projects that they’re working on. The Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One were all game consoles developed by Microsoft and as a result have a very large place in the world of app development for these platforms. Other services that can be easily integrated thanks to an increased level of compatibility include SongKick, which can be used to display the concern calendar of a particular artist. Sound Cloud functionality can also be added into an app, allowing both the app and the third party Sound Cloud service to work together to provide core music-related functionality to quality and the complexity of games and other types of apps. (ARC) the user. TouchDevelop Another major change to recently hit Windows App Studio has to do with newly added support for TouchDevelop. As its name suggests, TouchDevelop is a touch-friendly programming language that comes complete with a modern day physics engine for easy access. The main benefit that comes with TouchDevelop support involves the ease at which developers can now access the types of sensors found on modern mobile devices, including equipment like accelerometers. Though this means quite a bit for universal app development in general, it also means that it will now be significantly easier to create games with the App Studio that utilize this type of functionality. A racing game, for example, may use the accelerometer in a phone to allow a user to easily steer their virtual car. If the user moves the phone left, the car turns in the same direction. TouchDevelop allows developers to write code directly onto the mobile device in question using a series of high-level APIs that have only recently become available. Microsoft indicates that not only does this go a long way towards making this the most impactful update since the release of Windows 8, but also that it can improve both the FIGHT OF THE TITANS also supports widgets like Android but only within the Notification Center and has song recognition built into voice searches like Google Voice Search. More importantly, iOS, which has historically shunned third-party keyboards, now offers users the ability to download them from the App Store and use them system-wide. Android has had this ability for years. Going forward took some bold steps with Android Lollipop and iOS 8. Both systems, it seemed, were designed to close the gap with the competitor and shut up detractors. The tables are turned when it comes to features. While Lollipop is all about refining existing functionality, iOS 8 takes major steps forward. In terms of design, Apple hasn’t strayed far away from the flat design it debuted with iOS 7 last year, but Google has come out with a swanky new design language it calls “Material Design.” Comparing Android 5.0 and iOS 8 is a huge surprise, because for the first time in Android history it has become more design focused than iOS. The ugly duckling is finally a swan. Its design is both visual, instructional and altogether more ambitious. While the flat design introduced with iOS 7 is very pretty, Material Design blends form with function better. iOS 8 helps Apple take a giant leap when it comes to notifications something that has been Android’s forte for a long time. iOS 8 replaces annoying pop-ups with more discreet notifications. The notifications are also now actionable like in Android (for example, you can reply directly from a new message notification). It What has set Google and Apple apart from competitors like Microsoft in the smart device arena has been they have constantly evolved and have tried to expand their presence beyond a singular device. iOS 8 and Lollipop offer a glimpse into the future both Apple and Google want to build where the phone is simply a conduit to a much larger tech ecosystem running either Android or iOS. The ultimate battle between the two tech giants will take place on every electronic device with a screen you will buy from now on. Everything from your smartwatch, phone, tablet, TV and even your car’s entertainment system will soon run scaled versions of Android or iOS. The battle to rule everything in your digital world is just getting started. (Hindustan Times) 16 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Minister of Information Affairs Isa bin Abdulrahman Al Hammadi patronised a poetry celebration organised by the Folk Poetry Society yesterday. Poets Saeed bin Mena from Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al Mohsin from Kuwait and Falah Al Absi and Younis Al Eid from Bahrain took part in the National GCC Evening held at the City Centre. The Information Affairs Minister lauded the key role played by the Folk Poetry Society in supporting Bahraini poets. The minister also presented the poets with commemorative gifts, wishing them more success. Supreme Council for Youth and Sport Chairman, Bahrain Olympic Committee President and Royal Charity Organisation Chairman HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa paid a visit to Al Basta Market yesterday. Industry and Commerce Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, Southern Governor Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa, officials and representatives of sponsoring companies were present. Along with Defence Affairs Minister Major-General Yussef bin Ahmed Al Jalahma, Azeri Defence Minister General Zakir Hasanov yesterday paid a visit to the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical Services (BDFRMS). Upon arrival, they were welcomed by BDFRMS Commander Major-General Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa. The Azeri minister was briefed about the major developments witnessed by BDFRMS. He also toured the Military Hospital, and was informed about the advanced technology and medical equipment used, as well as the hospital’s wards. 17 Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has organised a lecture on divorce, as part of its programmes to inform the public about its duties and womenoriented services, and raise awareness on family issues. Lawyer Ebtissam Al-Sabagh, the lecturer, listed the various types of divorce. She described divorce as an unjustified decision that has negative impacts on the family as a whole. She called upon husbands to think deeply before divorcing their wives. HRH Premier’s Adviser on Oil and Industrial Affairs and Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) Chairman Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa met GPIC employees who have been recently promoted to leadership positions yesterday. The members of the GPIC Executive Management were present on the occasion. The chairman congratulated the employees and expressed the hope that they would continue to make all efforts for the Company to achieve more success. GPIC President Dr. Abdulrahman Jawahery thanked Shaikh Isa and said his efforts deserved high praise. 18 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Ce leb s T he landscape may be frozen, but the red carpet lately has been a veritable hothouse of floral designs. Dressed in magnificent white fabrics embellished with rich flowered embroidery and iridescent petal appliqués, stars are bringing to mind, snow-covered blossoms. We love to see how designers have interpreted floral for the season. Let’s check and be “Awe”d at these 14 stunning stars who carried out their fairy best as 2014 closes. Bollywood Queen in Love Mumbai K a n g n a Ranaut, who is currently shooting for Katti Batti opposite Imran Khan, has apparently confirmed that she is in relationship. According to a report, the relationship is very special to her and she is glad to have found a companion. Not yet ready to reveal the name of her love interest, Kangna said that she hopes she gets into the position when she can talk about it. “Freedom of being alone is intoxicating. Relationships can be very traumatic. But being in a healthy relationship can be very empowering,” she said. Rodgers & Warren for Gaga New York ady Gaga has recruited industry heavyweights Nile Rodgers and Diane Warren to give her next album a major boost. The pop star, whose last solo record ARTPOP was deemed a flop by critics, shared a picture of herself posing with the Chic star, and another snap subsequently emerged showing her sitting at a piano in a music studio with Rodgers and song writing legend Warren. L Swift shells $6,000 in charity auction D Keira Knightley Maria Valverde Hilary Swank Katrina Bowden Los Angeles inger Taylor Swift spent $6,000 for Hugh Jackman’s t-shirt, all for charity. The 25-year-old took part in an auction benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS after attending Jackman’s Broadway show “The River” Wednesday afternoon. The t-shirt, which the Australian star wore during his performance, was one of the items auctioned off for charity. Swift and Jackman later posed together backstage at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City. S A very Middleton Christmas Sandringham uchess Kate Middleton and Prince William attended Christmas service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, on Christmas, but several prominent members of the royal family were missing for the special occasion. It was rumored that baby Prince George would be attending the service, but wasn’t seen for the same. George’s stepgrandmother also missed the service due to ill health. Later the Prince and Duchess broke tradition, as they headed back to Norfolk mansion and dined with the Middletons a n d not the Queen as t h e y did last year. Jing Tian Jillian turns Santa for her assistant California ow that’s the Christmas spirit! Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels gave her long time assistant, Ines, the surprise of a lifetime. “9 years of looking after myself and my family with love and care!” the former Biggest Loser star wrote on Instagram. “We surprised Ines with a new car. #MerryChristmas #WeLoveYouBuddy.” Michaels, 40, shared a video alongside her holiday update that captured the incredibly touching moment from when her beyond shocked assistant received the gift. N Will Jared Leto cut locks in 2015? Los Angeles he “Dallas Buyers Club” actor Jared Leto, who has maintained long locks, may go for a haircut in the New Year. And it’s presumably, in preparation for his role in “Suicide Squad”. The 42-yearold took to social media to tell fans that he’s ready to get a new look in 2015. T Michelle Monaghan Felicity Jones Elle Fanning Jennifer Lawrence 19 Saturday, December 27, 2014 20 Ripley’s CrossworD by John Graziano Across 1- Fall faller; 5- Neighbor of Cambodia; 9- Corrodes; 14- Actor Novello; 15- Concert gear; 16- Diciembre follower; 17- Taboo; 18- Capital of Calvados, in NW France; 19- Fungal infection; 20- Designed to arouse wonder; 22- Break into pieces; 24- Unit of loudness; 25- Mountain nymphs; 26- Having a pleasantly plump figure; 29- Fenced areas; 31- Follows orders; 32Obscene; 33- Family man; 36- Word used to precede a woman’s maiden name; 37- Make tough; 40- Daughter of Cadmus; 41- Building add-on; 42- “Othello” villain; 43- Approvals; 45- Anklebone; 47- Chooses; 48- Drink; 51- ___ about (approximately); 52- Automobile shelter; 54- Hard to please; 58- ___ Kick Out of You; 59- Scraps; 61- Sea-going eagle; 62Belgian painter James; 63- Shootout; 64- Authenticating mark; 65- Like most movies; 66- Sand hill by the sea; 67- Maryland athlete, for short; Smile boosts our immune system A ccording to Charles Gordy a smile is an inexpensive way to change one’s looks. It was Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile that made it one of the most famous paintings of all time as it puzzled people from Sigmund Freud and Harvard professors to countless observers. Marilyn Monroe’s captivating smile is equally famous. A smile is a means of communicating emotions such as pleasure, joy, happiness or amusement and a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth. Smiling is something spontaneous that is understood by everyone despite culture, race, or religion and it has the power to make one feel warm and comfortable as it helps us see the world through a happier lens. There are nine different types of smile and they are the genuine smile, full-blown smile, sneering smile, drop-jaw smile, turn-away smile, lop-sided smile, tight lipped smile, closed-lip smile and the forced smile. However, smiling, that can ignite a host of emotions and interactions, has myriad health benefits 1- Kind of cod; 2- Bacchanalian cry; 3- Primo; 4- Musty; 5- Thrashing; 6- Astonish; 7- Reveal, in verse; 8- IRS IDs; 9- Hinder; 10- Combines; 11- Actress Berger; 12- Cornered; 13- Flies high; 21- Raise; 23- Swarm; 26- Area; 27- Explorer Tasman; 28- Examine by touch; 29- Safecrackers; 30Horton Hears ___; 32- Hawaiian outdoor feast; 33- It may be compact; 34- Work without ___; 35- Improvised bed; 38- Former Houston footballer; 39- Parachute material; 44- Most strange; 45- Stealthy walk; 46- On the train; 47- Isolate; 48- More aloof; 49- ___ Carta; 50- French seaport; 51- Many times; 53- Sweeney ___; 55- Algonquian language; 56- Knot in wood; 57- Quick sharp bark; 60- Feel bad about; beetle bAiley Your StarS todaY Aries: 20th March 20th April There’s a very heavy atmosphere around you that might feel stifling, Aries. Situations are cropping up that urge you to think practically with regard to your emotions. You will find that things go much more smoothly if you slow down and think about a situation before you proceed. Leo: 20th July - 20th Aug You may not want to wander far from your bedroom today. That’s fine. Take this opportunity to get things done around the house that make you feel like your energy is an important part of the atmosphere. Hang new pictures, read inspiring articles, and laugh at magazine cartoons that inspire your humorous side. Virgo: 20th Aug - 20th sept Things are on the upswing for you today, Virgo. People are finally coming around to see things from your perspective. There’s no need to doubt yourself. Look in the mirror and know that the person you see is capable of accomplishing anything. sAgiTTArius: 20th nov - 20th Dec Try not to be too competitive today, Sagittarius. The more you try to drive your point across, the more it will meet stubborn opposition. This is a better day to observe the situation. Emotions are running high, and people aren’t necessarily acting rationally. geMini : 20th May - 20th June The more you let your ego and fantasies swell today, Gemini, the more friction you will encounter. Others aren’t going to be fooled, nor are they going to want to deal with frivolity. You might consider letting someone else take the lead while you focus more on your internal energy. LibrA: 20th sep - 20th oct Take a step back from the line of fire today and examine your position. You’ve made some bold moves and now it’s time to pause and evaluate. Listen to others’ reactions. Take the observations and comments to heart. Other people may see things about your situation that you don’t. CApriCorn: 20th Dec - 20th Jan Sink into a soft, gentle rhythm and you flow with everything around you, Capricorn. Ease your mind about any worries. Your subconscious knows the way. The key today is sensitivity and intuition - your specialties. You don’t need to be concerned about a thing. Yesterday’s solution Down and it’s a natural drug that enables us to relieve stress and reduce our blood pressure . Simultaneously it improves our digestion, increases blood flow, lowers blood sugar levels, reduces stress and helps us have a good sleep. It has been observed that smiling also boosts our immune system by raising our levels of infection-fighting antibodies. While an unpleasant demeanour can ruin moods and destroy confidence in others, a genuine smile is magnetic. This is why a smiling waitress makes more tips, and a smiling salesman makes more sales. People who smile are more approachable, and seen to be more likeable, confident and capable. Our face has 44 muscles that make more than 5,000 different facets of expressions, many of which are smiles. For example, when two lovers smile at each other, not only do the muscles on either side of their mouths contract upwards, but also the muscles at the outer corners of their eyes. Facial muscles do need exercise just as much as the rest of our body and it prevents drooping eyelids and a sagging neckline. TAurus : 20th April - 20th May Just when you thought that the whole world was turning on you, Taurus, things start to come back around. You will find that you don’t need to hide. In fact, the more you let your true spirit emerge, the more allies you will gain. Your secret ambition to rule your world is becoming a much more attainable goal than you might have thought at first. 21 Saturday, December 27, 2014 CanCer: 20th June - 20th July The hard work and detail-oriented planning you’ve done lately are really starting to pay off, Cancer. The key is to maintain your sensitivity and look to where you can be of service to others. Your nurturing side feels the need to express sCorpio: itself. 20th oct - 20th nov You may not feel like you’re in tune with your situation today, Scorpio. Try not to get too pushy with your opinions about how things should be done. pisCes: Honor other people’s perspectives 20th Feb and approaches. It may be hard 20th Mar for others to commit to This is a favorable day for things the same way you to deal with intimate and you do. AquArius: 20th Jan - 20th Feb Now isn’t the time to prove to people that you’re the boss, Aquarius. They would surely become defensive. You’re much better off taking a sensitive, nurturing approach on a day like today. Focus your fire internally and use it to drive your own engine. sensitive issues, Pisces. You will be in comfortable situations that allow you to express what you believe. There’s no need to hold back, because people will have a greater understanding of what it is you feel. You combine deep emotions with mental clarity and you’re able to see through to the truth in other people’s words. iN History S U D O KU R lAugH @ life Polar bear siblings are just like any others! L Hoy en la Historia December 27, 2007 Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of an Islamic state, was assassinated in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi 1904: The first performance of J.M. Barrie’s classic play Peter Pan took place in London 1989: Egypt and Syria resumed full diplomatic relations after 12 years 1996: Rwanda’s first genocide trial, for the slaughter in 1994 of some 800,000 Tutsis, began 2009: A tomb believed to be that of Cao Cao, a renowned third century Chinese warlord, was unearthed in Henan province in central China Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS ying back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they catch their breath after playtime. These stunning photographs of the brother and sister reveal a softer side to the famously ferocious polar bear. They were captured by Russian photographer Alexey Tishenko, 43, who braved temperatures of -18 to capture the intimate pictures in Churchill, Canada. �These young polar bears are brother and sister,’ explained Tishenko, of Omsk. �After a long day of playing, they shared a sweet hug with each other that I was lucky enough to capture on camera. �I was both inspired and fascinated by these two 5 year old bears, as I always am when I see the wild animals and nature. �I felt waves of adrenaline, getting to see the different kinds of behaviour each animal has is so mesmerising.’ After playing for around 25 minutes, these little bears decided to call for a time out as they fell to the ground together. Alexey says: �They reminded me a little of human children playing with each other. �I think everyone will find something to love in my photos. �Wildlife incredibly interesting and fascinating and it causes different emotions and feelings. �I hope that my photos have a positive effect on people and can inspire them.’ How to play: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine. Yesterday’s solution 26 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Saturday, December 27, 2014 27 Mitsubishi EclipsE, 2009 model for sale. KM 60000, engine size 3701 - 3800 CC. Price BD 4,700. Contact: 33794250 ................................................... GMc AcAdiA, 2008 model for sale. KM 115000, engine size 3501 - 3600 CC. Price BD 5,200. Contact: 39117862 ................................................... toyotA yAris, 2008 model for sale. Engine size 1201 1300 CC. Price BD 2,100. 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Contact: 38013420 ................................................... GMc yukon, 2004 model for sale. Engine Size 4000+CC. Price BD 3,500. Contact: 36704044 ................................................... nissAn tiidA, 2012 model for sale. KM 68000, engine Size 1000-2000CC. Price BD 3,400. Contact: 36706067 ................................................... VolkswAGEn cc, 2014 model for sale. KM 8500, Engine Size 1000-2000CC. Price BD 10,400. Contact: 33620118 ................................................... Coffee and walnut Cake IngredIents: For the cake For the buttercream topping • • 225g/8oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 225g/8ozcastersugar 4free-rangeeggs 50ml/1¾fl oz strong espressocoffee 225g/8oz self-raising flour 75g/2½ozwalnuts • • • • • • • • 125g/4½oz unsalted butter 200g/7ozicingsugar 50ml/2fl oz strong espressocoffee 12 walnut halves, to decorate PrePArAtIOn 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until very light and pale. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, beating well to completely incorporate each egg before adding the next egg. Add the espresso to the mixture and stir well. Add the flour and walnuts and stir well to completely combine. Spoon the cake mixture into two lined and greased 20cm/8in cake tins. Transfer to the oven to bake 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the cake is golden-brown. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. For the buttercream topping, beat the butter and icing sugar together in a small bowl until pale and light. Add the espresso and mix well. Spread the buttercream over the top of each cake, then place one cake on top of the other. Decorate the top of the cake with the walnut halves and serve in generous slices. Classifieds@dt.bh rooms, Tennis court, Kids play area. 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Reaching the right audience DINE OUT 28 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Shaikh Nasser visits Crossing Nature Camp DT News Network upreme Council for Youth and Sports and president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa yesterday visited the three-day Bahrain Crossing Nature Camp 2014 being held in association with Nasser bin Hamad Foundation in the Southern Governorate. The camp Shaikh Nasser visiting the camp. concludes today which has UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, All participants under seen 110 participants from Oman, Jordan, Egypt and Kuwaiti coach Ali Aldehan Kuwait, hosts Bahrain. are involved in technical S Showjumping Championship from today DT News Network nder the patronage of Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation (BREEF) President Shaikh Faisal bin Rashid Al Khalifa, the National Day Showjumping Championship will be held today at the BDF Equestrian Centre in Sakhir starting at 8.30am. The event sponsored by Horse Pride and Titolo comprises two junior and three adult classes. The height of fences are 80-90 cm and 90--100 cm for the two junior rounds. In the three rounds for the adult classes, fence heights are 80-90 cm, 100-110 cm and 110-125 cm. A prize fund of BD3,000 is up for grabs with trophies for the top three in each category. Overseeing the action is a jury comprising Haider Zu’bi, Sami Ghazwan and Ayed Nasser Abdulla. U Irish earn first league win London ondon Irish earned their first win in the Premiership since September as they beat fellow strugglers London Welsh. Tries from Alex Lewington, Geoff Cross and Tom Court sealed the victory, with Welsh’s Tom May and Irish’s Dan Leo sent off in the first half. Tom Homer kicked three conversions and a penalty, with all of London Welsh’s points coming through Will Robinson. The win, their third of the season, lifts Irish to 10th, while Welsh remain bottom without a victory all season. After two early missed penalties from Homer, it was Welsh who scored the first points of the game through Robinson. However, Irish soon found some form. L and physical abilities which involves walking, running, jogging, cycling and includes preparing meals for the other participants. This camp is aimed at giving participants skills to help them prepare for their future lives and increase their overall fitness and develop skills as well as psychological goals helping them gain self confidence away from modern lifestyle and amenities in a harsher environment. During his visit Shaikh Nasser listened to a detailed explanation by Kuwaiti coach and supervisor Ali Aldehan on the importance of the training programme provided to participants. Shaikh Nasser emphasised the importance of the camp for the Arab youth and increasing ties and friendship between them in addition to the exchange of experiences. Participants thanked Shaikh Nasser for his interest and keenness on following up on the progress of the camp and its success. GEORGE THE FIRST WINS FEATURE RACE Sultan bin Hamad Al Khalifa Cup DT News Network utsider George The First owned by State Shamlot, trained by Taleb Ali and ridden by Alberto Sanna won the feature race for the Sultan bin Hamad Al Khalifa Cup for imported handicap (0-85) over 1,600 metres and worth B3,000 in prize money yesterday at the eighth meeting of the season at the Rashid Equestrian and Horse Racing Club in Sakhir. Second placed and prerace favourite was True Event owned by Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Jasmi, trained by Fawzi Nass and ridden by Marcialis Joures was a neck behind, with third place going to Mega Mount ridden by Nader Abdul Aziz with Peak Royale ridden by Gerald Avranche fourth. The main race of the three Bapco Cup races and O sixth of the meeting overall was won by Harash owned by Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, trained by James Naylor and ridden by Gerald Avranche for locally bred 4 years and upwards over 1,800 metres worth BD1,500. A length behind was the favourite Brightsideoflife owned by Al Nasseriyeh, trained by Allan Smith and ridden by Brett Doyle, with third place going to Zayyir ridden by Ali Al Saffar and Wayne Looney ridden by Ahmed Akbar in fourth. Other results: Race 1: Bapco Cup for locally bred over 1,200 metres BD1,500, 1 Stevie G/Hussain Makki, 2 Ghafiya/Hassan Al Saffar, 3 Ghazaliya/G Avranche, 4 Basmaan/Ali Hassan. Race 2: Bapco Cup for imported handicap (0-72) 1,200 metres straight A an early penalty and then putting Arsenal ahead with a 37th-minute header. Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud was sent off for violent conduct before Sanchez’s mazy run carved out a second goal for Tomas Rosicky. Charlie Austin’s late penalty had nerves jangling at the London merican golfer John Daly can’t understand why a task force is needed to select the next American Ryder Cup team captain. In September the USA team were crushed 16.5 – 11.5 at Gleneagles by their European counterparts, to lift the title for a third consecutive time. Europe team captain Paul McGinley’s clear, meticulous planning A Juventus needs a new playmaker, says Allegri London uventus are exploring the possibility of signing some defensive cover and a new playmaker, head coach Massimiliano Allegri has revealed. The Serie A leaders have long been rumoured to be laying the groundwork for some January transfers, with Barcelona full-back Martin Montoya widely expected to be considering a switch to Turin next month. Allegri, however, has indicated that he has several other targets in mind when it comes to bolstering his defence and also admits he is looking to sign a new creative attacking player. However, the former AC Milan boss was quick to stress that any pursuit of another ball playing midfielder will not see Andrea Pirlo phased out of his plans. J BD2,000. 1 Jimmy Elder/ Mohammed Saeed, 2 Sword Of Light/Hassan Al Saffar, 3 Goodwood Storm/B Doyle, 4 Carnacki/H Makki. Race 3: Imported 2nd, 3rd, 4th, maidens 4 years and upwards 1,400 metres BD900. 1 Viennese Verse/B Doyle, 2 Mr Cayne/M Joures, 3 Empericist/H Makki, 4 My Own Way/H Al Saffar. Race 4: Sultan bin Hamad Al Khalifa Cup for 2nd, 3rd 4th class, maidens Arabian Horses over 1,600 metres BD2,000. 1 Al Hamdanieh 1453/H Makki, 2 Kuheilan Al Adiyat 1587/H Al Saffar, 3 Al Saqlawy 1578/A Sanna, 4 Kuheilan Al Adiyat 1438/H Al Saffar. Race 5: Imported handicap (0-82) 2,000 metres BD1,000. 1 Lebresem/G Avranche, 2 Beakers N Num Nums/B Doyle, 3 Main Straits/Nader A Aziz, 4 Howdigo/Tristand Normand. Emirates Stadium, but it was too little, too late for QPR, who fell to a record-equalling ninth straight away defeat. In a bid to end his side’s woes away from Loftus Road, QPR manager Harry Redknapp recalled Rio Ferdinand for the first time since October and he formed part of a new three-man defensive set-up. But those carefully-laid plans should have been thrown out of the window inside the opening eight minutes. Former Arsenal left-back Armand Traore, among those called in by Redknapp, tripped the all-action Sanchez for a clear penalty. Sanchez stepped up instead of regular taker Santi Cazorla, but saw his tame spot-kick pushed out by QPR goalkeeper Rob Green, who also scrambled away the rebound. Arsenal pressed and probed for an opener, but a combination of last-ditch defending and inaccurate final balls let them down. (AFP) London outhampton climbed back into the Premier League’s top four with a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park yesterday. Ronald Koeman’s side moved into the fourth and final Champions League place with their second successive victory to maintain their revival after a run of five games without a win. Senegal winger Sadio Mane’s third goal for Southampton, and his first since October, opened S London anager Gareth Ainsworth has signed a new longterm deal with League Two leaders Wycombe Wanderers. Ainsworth, 41, took his first permanent managerial role when he became Chairboys boss in 2012. The former QPR winger oversaw last season’s final-day escape from the League Two relegation zone. M was evident throughout the event, unlike that of American counterpart Tom Watson. The PGA of America has now put together an 11-man task force to select the next captain. B Melbourne auding his fellow bowlers for executing the plans well on the opening day, Indian pacer Mohammed Shami said the tourists would now aim to send Australia packing in the first session on Day 2 in the ongoing third cricket Test. “Throughout Ainsworth has led the Adams Park side to the top of the table with 12 wins this term. The length of the contract is undisclosed. SPURS SECURE Leicester ottenham claimed their third successive Premier League win as Christian Eriksen’s free kick sealed a 2-1 success at bottom-ofthe-table Leicester yesterday. Mauricio Pochettino’s side had goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to thank for an outstanding performance as Leicester dominated for long periods after Leonardo Ulloa cancelled out Harry Kane’s first-minute opener for Spurs. The north Londoners’ gritty win means they are in sixth place and just two points behind Southampton in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish. Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was serving a onematch touchline ban following his recent confrontation with a supporter and he watched his out-of-form team, now without two seasons ago. Tottenham appeared to be in total control when Nabol Bentaleb fired wide after a fine run. But Leicester were close to a leveller when Jeffrey Schlupp broke from his own penalty area and found Ulloa, whose spectacular volley was pushed over by Lloris. From the resulting Riyad Mahrez corner Marcin Wasilewski headed over following David Nugent’s flickon. Tottenham went close again when Eriksen forced Hamer into a save while at the other end Danny Drinkwater dragged a shot wide. (AFP) T Tottenham Hotspur’s English striker Harry Kane (centre) celebrates scoring the opening goal. a victory in 12 games, get off to the worst possible start. Nabir Chadi’s cross found Kane who coolly beat Wes the scoring in rain-lashed south London and second half strikes from Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld sealed the points. Palace have gone six matches without a win and Neil Warnock’s team slipped into the relegation zone after a dispiriting performance. Romania defender Florin Gardos was handed his first Premier League start in place of suspended former Eagles defender Jose Fonte. control from the moment Pitman sent a glancing header into the top corner past Marcus Bettinelli from Matt Ritchie’s eighth-minute cross. Five minutes after the break Bournemouth wasted a gift-wrapped chance to double their lead from the penalty spot. Callum Wilson’s pace took him in from the left before Jack Grimmer bought him down. But Pitman drilled his spot-kick straight at Fulham goalkeeper Bettinelli. 29 L Christian Eriksen keeps Tottenham in top four chase Cherries stay top after facile win London ournemouth remain on course for the Premier League after the surprise Championship leaders cruised to a 2-0 win over Fulham yesterday. Eddie Howe’s team maintained their one-point lead over second-placed Ipswich as goals from Brett Pitman and Harry Arter saw off Fulham at Dean Court.The Cherries have now won nine successive second tier matches and were always in Shami lauds Ashwin’s discipline Ainsworth joins Wycombe Task force to select captain Saints down Palace A scene from the race. Sanchez saves Arsenal London lexis Sanchez helped maintain 10-man Arsenal’s Champions League push as his man-of-the-match display condemned Queens Park Rangers to a 2-1 Premier League defeat yesterday. The Chilean forward went from zero to hero after squandering Saturday, December 27, 2014 Morgan before finishing well past Ben Hamer for his 14th goal of the season against the side he played for on loan SCORES: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR- 2 LIECESTER CITY- 1 the series, our intention has been to bowl to a plan, to bowl line and length,” said Shami. Eventful year for Indian hockey New Delhi ndian men’s hockey took giant strides towards reclaiming its long-lost numero uno position with an Asian Games gold, after a 16-year drought, and several memorable victories, but the momentum was marred by an untimely and poorly handled resignation of chief coach Terry Walsh. There was a gloomy start to the year due to the men’s junior team’s poor World Cup performance, in December 2013, finishing sixth in the eight-nation Hockey World League (HWL) Final held here. The players visibly looked out of sorts in the first competition under coach Walsh and it was apparent they would take time to settle down under the Australian. The only positive point in the tournament was a 5-4 victory over a depleted German team. Most of the players plied their trade in the Hockey India League (HIL), which was eventually won by Sardar Singh-led Delhi Waveriders. I Elgar, Du Plessis leave West Indies gasping Port Elizabeth ean Elgar and Faf du Plessis punished the West Indies for fielding lapses as South Africa built a strong position on the first day of the second Test in Port Elizabeth yesterday. South Africa were 270 for two at the close after being sent in to bat in overcast conditions at St George’s Park. Elgar made a Test-best 121 and shared a second wicket D an innings and 220 runs in the first Test. Du Plessis was put down by Marlon Samuels at gully off Jerome Taylor when he had eight and again by Devon Smith diving to his right off leftarm spinner Suleiman Benn when he had 26. One ball after Du Plessis’ SCOREBOARD second escape, the left-handed South Africa, first innings Elgar went down A. Petersen c Johnson b Gabriel 17 the wicket to D. Elgar c Ramdin b Peters 121 Benn and was F. du Plessis not out 99 well out of his H. Amla not out 17 ground as the ball Extras (lb4, nb7, w5) 16 squeezed through Total (2 wkts, 88 overs) 270 to hit low on the pad of captain Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Petersen), 2-226 (Elgar) Bowling: Taylor 19-4-64-0 (2nb, 1w), Peters 15-6- and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin. 44-1, Holder 13-5-25-0 (1nb), Gabriel 15-0-52-1 (AFP) partnership of 179 with Du Plessis, w h o finished the day on 99 not out. The West Indies missed four chances to break the Elgar-Du Plessis stand. The West Indian bowlers could feel aggrieved as they bowled with much better control and discipline than they did in Centurion where they were heavily beaten by 30 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Dravid helping Chikkarangappa Grover falters against Areshchenko Alain randmaster Sahaj Grover faltered and went down to Alexander Areshchenko of Ukraine in the eighth and penultimate round of Al Ain Classic International Chess tournament to fall out of contention. After getting a position that was close to being dynamically balanced out of a Jaenisch opening as Kolkata e was once considered �the wall’ of Indian batting and now, post retirement, Rahul Dravid is helping emerging sportspersons and golfer S Chikkarangappa is one among them. Inspired by Dravid’s mentorship, the 21-year-old Bengaluru lad is eyeing the numero uno position in the 2014 Rolex Rankings for the G H black, Grover went for a plan that saw him first lose a pawn and then his bid to continue the attack did not materialise. Devils dump DeBoer as coach Newark eter DeBoer has been fired as coach of the New Jersey Devils, the National Hockey League team announced yesterday, three days after their eighth loss in 10 games. New Jersey went 114-93 with 41 overtime or shootout losses under DeBoer, who took over the Devils to open P PGTI order of merit and is on a high having won his maiden International at the Asian Development Tour. ROONEY SCORES DOUBLE Wayne Rooney gives Newcastle a Boxing Day lesson Anand ends with a heart-break New Delhi n what turned out to be a bitter-sweet year for Indian chess, five-time winner Viswanathan Anand lost his bid to regain his title in the Sochi World Championship but Indian men’s team clinched a historic bronze at 41st Olympiad. After losing his World Championship crown at Chennai in 2013, this year saw Anand earn the right to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway again by winning the Candidates tournament at Khanty Mansiysk, Russia in March. His grand comeback in the Candidates -- which has one of the strongest fields as eight of the world’s elite compete -- reignited hopes of Anand clinching the World Championship title once more, and although the 45-year-old Indian took the fight to the Norwegian, it ended with a heartbreak. I Westbrook shines as Thunder sting Spurs San Antonio ussell Westbrook didn’t mind picking up the slack for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were missing reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant for the fifth-straight contest on Thursday. Westbrook tallied 35 points and 11 assists as the Thunder beat the defending league champion San Antonio Spurs 114-106 in front of a Christmas Day crowd of 18,500 at the AT&T Centre arena. Last Thursday, Durant sprained his right ankle late in the first half of a loss to Golden State. Westbrook also had five rebounds and five steals for the Thunder. R Scores: Manchester United- 3 Newcastle United - 1 Manchester ayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United rewarded manager Louis van Gaal’s decision to grant his players Christmas Day off by beating Newcastle United 3-1 yesterday. Rooney, relishing the deeper midfield role which he has been assigned recently, effectively decided the contest with two lethal finishes and set up a third goal for Robin van Persie in the second half. Rooney settled nerves with an excellently worked 23rd-minute opener, but W United had lived dangerously up to that point, despite enjoying a glut of possession. United were fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty when Juan Mata appeared to clip the heels of Yoan Gouffran, sending the Newcastle man clattering to the ground. Just six minutes later, United were indebted to the ever-impressive David de Gea as the Spanish goalkeeper flew to his right to keep out a magnificent 25-yard shot from Daryl Janmaat, who had been set up by Newcastle’s teenage debutant Adam Armstrong. The 17-year-old Armstrong Manchester United’s English striker Wayne Rooney (right) scores their second goal. was an unwitting accomplice to the opening goal, showing brilliant pace to beat Paddy McNair but then wasting possession by shooting directly McCullum puts N. Zealand in charge Christchurch ecord-breaking Brendon McCullum was at his belligerent best as he led New Zealand to a commanding 429-7 on the first day of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch yesterday. His whirlwind 195 runs off 134 deliveries included 11 sixes and 18 fours and came after he lost the toss and New Zealand were made to bat on a green wicket that bore all the hallmarks of a bowler’s paradise. McCullum, who admitted he desperately wanted to win the toss to bowl first, instead destroyed the Sri Lankan attack with the bat as he stood in century partnerships with Kane Williamson and Jimmy R SCOREBOARD J Chiefs lose quarterback Smith century in New Zealand Brendon McCullum makes a run. 26 off one over, when he Test history and became the first New Zealander smashed three sixes and to score 1,000 runs in a two fours off one over by calendar year. He equaled Sri Lanka strike bowler the New Zealand record of Suranga Lakmal, and Kansas City ith their slim NFL playoff hopes at stake, the Kansas City Chiefs will face San Diego without quarterback Alex Smith because he has a lacerated spleen, the team announced yesterday. Smith had practiced W Rockets sign forward Smith Houston New Zealand 1st innings T. Latham c Kaushal b Eranga 27 H. Rutherford b Lakmal 18 K. Williamson b Prasad 54 R. Taylor run out (Silva) 7 B. McCullum c Karunaratne b Kaushal 195 J. Neesham c Sangakkara b Mathews 85 BJ Watling lbw Mathews 26 M. Craig not out 5 Total (7 wickets, 80.3 overs) 429 Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Rutherford), 2-60 (Latham), 3-88 (Taylor), 4-214 (Williamson), 5-367 (McCullum), 6-420 (Neesham), 7-429 (Watling) Bowling: Lakmal 17-3-83-1 (1nb), Eranga 18-182-1, Mathews 9.3-1-34-2, Prasad 12-2-62-1 (2w), Kaushal 22-0-159-1 (5nb), Thirimanne 2-0-5-0 Neesham. Neesham was undone for 85, Williamson for 54. As McCullum bludgeoned the bowling, he cracked the fastest at the legs of a United defender. It proved a costly decision by the teenager as Rooney broke upfield and squared the ball for Mata. (AFP) finished with 11 sixes, one short of the world record of 12 sixes in an innings held by Pakistan’s Wasim Akram. (AFP) earlier this week after suffering the injury in the third quarter of Kansas City’s 20-12 loss to Pittsburgh. He was struck in the abdomen after a throw to Chiefs rookie receiver Albert Wilson. Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said that Smith felt an injury osh Smith, a standout forward dropped at the start of the week by the Detroit Pistons, signed a new NBA deal yesterday with the Houston Rockets, the team announced. The move came after the Pistons released Smith on Monday, less than halfway into a four-year contract that had been worth $54. The new contract was reportedly for one year at $2 million. Smith, 29, had averaged 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds over 28 games this season for Detroit. Houston centre Dwight Howard was a team-mate of Smith’s when both played on an amateur club in Atlanta. Smith has career averages of 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds over 781 games with Atlanta and Detroit. The Rockets released forward Tarik Black to make roster room for Smith. Black averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games this season. but did not consider it serious and worked out twice before having it checked. While Smith’s injury does not require surgery, it typically requires six weeks to heal, which would sideline Smith even if the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl. “I am not favourite to win award” Quesada gets two-year contract Paris onzalo Quesada the sporting director of French Top 14 side Stade Francais has extended his contract for two seasons with the option of extending it for a third, the Parisian club said yesterday. The 40-year-old former Argentinian international flyhalf -- who won 38 caps -joined from city rivals Racing G the 2011-12 season and guided them into the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to Los Angeles. 31 Saturday, December 27, 2014 Silviniaco Conti emulates Kauto Star London ilviniaco Conti produced a stunning frontrunning performance leading from pillar to post to emulate his stablemate Kauto Star in winning back to back King George VI Chases’ at Kempton Park yesterday. Silviniaco Conti given a great ride by Irishman Noel Fehily gave trainer Paul Nicholls his ninth winner in the Boxing Day showpiece that is only second to the Cheltenham Gold Cup in prestige in steeplechasing. The 15/8 favourite kicked clear after the second last to leave his rivals trailing in his wake with Dynaste running on strongly to finish second at 7/1 while another Nicholls runner Al Ferof was third for the second successive year. S Berlin ermany’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer yesterday played down his prospects of securing the World Player of the Year award over holder Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “I’m certainly not favourite,” the Bayern Munich star told. “The other two are international �marques’, they’ve clearly got G Metro in 2013 having worked in the French national team set up prior to that. Stade Francais are currently third in the table after narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season. James seizes lead in all-star voting New York leveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James grabbed the early lead in fans voting for the 2015 National Basketball Association all-star game. Two-time all-star game MVP James has a slim lead over Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. James has a league-best 552,967 votes, while Curry sits C an advantage.” If Neuer does receive the Ballon d’Or he will be the first of his countrymen to do so since Lothar Matthaus in 1990. Steve Smith leads from the front CAPTAIN’S KNOCK Melbourne SCOREBOARD ustralia’s Steve Smith played another captain’s knock and Chris Rogers and Australia 1st innings Shane Watson hit fifties on the C. Rogers c Dhoni b Shami 57 opening day of the third Test D. Warner c Dhawan b Yadav 0 against India in Melbourne S. Watson lbw b Ashwin 52 yesterday. Before a Boxing S. Smith not out 72 Day crowd of almost 70,000, 32 Smith joined teammate David S. Marsh c Dhoni b Shami Warner in reaching 1,000 Test J. Burns c Dhoni b Yadav 13 runs for the calendar year with B. Haddin not out 23 his unbeaten 72. At the close, Total (5 wickets, 90 overs) 259 Australia were 259 for five after winning the toss with Brad Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Warner), 2-115 (Rogers), Haddin seeking a confidence- 3-115 (Watson), 4-184 (Marsh), 5-216 (Burns) boosting innings on 23. Bowling: I. Sharma 21-6-54-0 (2nb), Smith passed 50 for the fourth Yadav 20-2-69-2, Shami 17-4-55-2 (1w), time in five innings in this series Ashwin 27-7-60-1, Vijay 5-0-14-0 among them an unconquered 162 in Adelaide and 133 in Rogers hit his third straight halfBrisbane. So far he has amassed 447 runs at 223.5 for the series. Smith, who century of the series and Watson made won his first Test as skipper in four 52 in a 115-run stand before they were days in Brisbane last weekend, was well dismissed five minutes apart in the positioned for his third ton of the series hour after lunch. The pair had put after Rogers and Watson missed out on on 59 runs off 131 balls for the fourth wicket. (AFP) cashing in on solid starts. Steve Smith plays a shot. A just behind him with 549,095 votes. New York forward Carmelo Anthony (265,170) and Chicago’s Pau Gasol (247,953) are next to James. Acy gets one-game ban New York ew York Knicks forward Quincy Acy was suspended for one game yesterday after a foul that sparked an altercation with Washington’s John Wall in a Thursday loss. Acy was whistled for a flagrant foul and ejected for his role in the incident, which took place with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 102-91 victory over the Knicks. N Former England batsman Pullar dies London ormer England batsman Geoff Pullar has died aged 79. Pullar made 28 Test appearances for England, making his debut against India in July 1959. His 131 against India at Old Trafford in his second Test was the first century scored by a Lancastrian on his home ground of Old Trafford. Pullar’s final match was against Australia in Adelaide in January 1963. He started his English county career with Lancashire. F Sydney to Hobart off to flying start Packers to face Lions Sydney ewcomer Comanche was off to a blinding start in Australia’s 70th Sydney to Hobart yacht race yesterday, blitzing all rivals including seven-times line honours winner Wild Oats XI in Sydney Harbour. The 100-foot Comanche was ahead of Wild Oats, also a supermaxi, to the first mark as 117 yachts set off on the 628 nautical mile endurance race down Australia’s east coast in scorching summer conditions. With the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as N a backdrop and thousands of spectators on boats and harbor side vantage points, the yachts enjoyed a 15 to 18 knot southeasterly breeze which helped them off in what is thought to be a record start. They have now turned south towards Hobart into a stiff southerly which is testing boats and sailors with uncomfortable seas, with four yachts retiring so far -- including one with hull damage and another with a damaged rudder. Among the retirements was the competitive Tina of US supermaxi yacht Comanche leads the Sydney to Hobart Melbourne. yacht race just after the start in Sydney harbour yesterday. Los Angeles he Green Bay Packers host the Detroit Lions in one of several high-stakes contests in the final weekend of the National Football League’s regular season. There are playoff spots and division titles to be determined including the critical Green Bay game which will see the winner earn the NFC North Division title and a first-round bye. Both teams have already clinched postseason spots and the Packers are a perfect 7-0 at home this season. T Green Bay claimed their spot in the playoffs for the sixth straight season with a 20-3 win over Tampa Bay last Sunday. If Green Bay beats the Lions and Seattle loses to St. Louis, the Packers will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Lions, who rallied to beat Chicago 20-14 last week, have lost 23 consecutive games at Lambeau Field. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a left calf injury in the win over Tampa Bay but the Packers say they are not worried. Azarenka may be unseeded for Aus Open Sydney wo-time Australian Open tennis champion Victoria Azarenka is in danger of going unseeded at T next year’s event. Azarenka has been suffering from a left foot injury and has not played since early September; her world ranking has now slipped to 31. According to heraldsun. com.au, Azarenka, the runner-up at the Brisbane International last January, defends 305 of her 1492 ranking points as an unseeded player when the Queensland Tennis Centre event starts on January 4. The Australian Open seeds the first 32 players and to have a seeding Azarenka likely needs to have a points tally greater than at least one of the players beneath her in the rankings list published after the first week of the season. P31 CAPTAIN’S KNOCK 32 32 Saturday, December 27, 2014 SPORTS Premier League BLUES WIN ON BOXING DAY London remier League leaders Chelsea showed West Ham United no Christmas cheer yesterday with a one-sided 2-0 Boxing Day victory that enhanced their status as title favourites. Goals in each half from John Terry and Diego Costa -- his 13th of the campaign -- earned Jose Mourinho’s side a win that enabled them to open up a provisional sixpoint lead over second-place Manchester City. Fourth-place West Ham were expected to provide a stern test after a run of five games without defeat, but despite hitting the woodwork late on, Sam Allardyce’s team were well beaten in what was the London rivals’ 100th encounter. “We played a very good game against a very difficult opponent. When we scored, we had the game always under control,” Mourinho told. “I am really happy. We are doing very well.” Eden Hazard overcame a knock to start for Chelsea and he proved a bewitching presence as the hosts P swarmed all over their opponents from the start at Stamford Bridge. Oscar had gone close and visiting goalkeeper Adrian had parried from Gary Cahill and Willian by the time Terry broke the deadlock in the 31st minute, tapping in after Costa headed on Cesc Fabregas’s corner. West Ham spent long periods of the first half penned inside their own area, with Adrian producing a one-handed save to thwart Nemanja Matic and Costa shooting over from a Branislav Ivanovic cross. After Adrian had thwarted Hazard, Costa made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute, gathering a pass from Hazard and sending Carl Jenkinson and James Collins the wrong way before drilling a left-foot shot into the bottom-right corner. Adrian athletically tipped an Oscar free-kick over the bar and Fabregas curled wide, but although Chelsea had dominated, West Ham came close to snatching a goal when substitute Morgan Amalfitano dinked a shot against the post. (AFP) Chelsea’s Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa (2nd right) shoots to score their second goal. Chelsea- 2 West Ham United- 0 Diego Costa Hon.Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Responsible Editor Mahmood AI Mahmood | Managing Editor Soman Baby | Managing Director P. Unnikrishnan | Adviser Med Jones Hon.Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Responsible Editor Mahmood AI Mahmood | Managing Editor Soman Baby | Managing Director P. 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