King visits Saudi
Saturday, January 31, 2015
8P 16 & 17
Issue No. 6547
new passport
agency
raises many
eyebrows
8P 5
Sea
life at
risk
UAE
down
Iraq
8P 6
8P 29
GOOGLE MISSES Q4 ESTIMATES
eXCELLENT
leadership, eGA bag Un praise
DT News Network
T
he United Nations is
all praise for Bahrain’s
eGovernment
Authority
(eGA) and the efforts of the
leadership in the Kingdom.
John-Mary Kazuya of the
Chief Governance and Public
Administration Branch at the
United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs
(UNDESA) said, eGA was one
of the best entities across the
globe, “as nationals are given
utmost priority, thanks to the
leadership in the Kingdom.”
Organised by UNDESA,
the second UN Study Tour
in Bahrain has concluded
last week. The tour was
aimed at maximizing benefits
from Bahrain’s experience
in eGovernment and public
service fields.
During the wrap-up session,
eGA CEO Mohammed Ali
Al Qaed along with eGA’s
executive directors met the UN
delegation. The officials had
been briefed on the results of all
working papers, deliberations
and constructive proposals
made by the participating states
so as to derive full benefit from
them and transforming it into
action plans.
UN
e-Governance
Consultant Alexandra Mills
emphasised that the visit
was an appropriate window
of opportunity to share
experience among States
in the e-Government field.
She said, discussions along
with presentations had been
beneficial.
Mr. Al Qaed said, selecting
Bahrain by the UNDESA
for the second time had
revealed Bahrain’s success in
implementing and crafting a
clear-cut vision to improve
eGovernment with core
focus on achieving set goals
and benchmarks, “enhancing
internal
coordination
among the relevant entities
and helping to achieve the
objectives of Government
Programme.”
Read the full story on Page 3
8P 14
Pakistan
mosque
blast kills
over 60
Shikarpur
powerful bomb tore
through a busy mosque in
southern Pakistan yesterday,
killing more than 60 people in
the country’s deadliest sectarian
attack in nearly two years.
The blast hit the mosque in
Shikarpur in Sindh province,
around 470 kilometres (300
miles) north of Karachi, as
hundreds of worshippers
attended Friday prayers.
Pakistan has suffered a rising
tide of sectarian violence in recent
years, most of it perpetrated by
hardline Sunni Muslim groups
against minority Shia Muslims,
who make up around one in five
of the population.
Sindh health Minister Jam
Mehtab Daher told AFP that
“the death toll from the attack
has increased to 61”.
A
Full story on Page 24
2
Saturday, January 31, 2015
eGA ridinG hiGh
Saturday, January 31, 2015
3
Officials during the second UN study tour.
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
e
Government Authority
(eGA) of the Kingdom
has bagged praise from
none other than the United
Nations.
John-Mary Kazuya of
the Chief Governance and
Public
Administration
Branch at the United
Nations Department of
Economic and Social
Affairs (UNDESA) said,
eGA was one of the best
entities across the globe, “as
nationals are given utmost
priority, thanks to the
leadership in the Kingdom.”
Organised by UNDESA,
the second UN Study Tour
in Bahrain has concluded
last week. The tour was
aimed at maximizing
benefits from Bahrain’s
experience in eGovernment
and public service fields.
During
the
wrapup session, eGA CEO
Mohammed Ali Al Qaed
along with eGA’s executive
directors met the UN
delegation.
The officials had been
briefed on the results of all
working papers, deliberations
and constructive proposals
made by the participating
states so as to derive full
benefit from them and
transforming it into action
plans.
UN e-Governance
Consultant Alexandra
John-Mary Kazuya
Mills
emphasised
that the visit was an
of the Chief
appropriate window
Governance and
of opportunity to
experience
Public Administration share
among States in
Branch at the United the e-Government
She
said,
Nations Department field.
discussions along with
presentations
had
of Economic and
been beneficial.
Social Affairs
The intensive week
included
study tours
(UNDESA) said, eGA
and
explanatory
was one of the best
presentations
for
various government
entities across the
entities
including
Central Informatics
globe, “as nationals
Organisation, Bahrain
are given utmost
Investors
Centre
(BIC),
Ministry
of
priority, thanks to
Finance, Ministry of
the leadership in the Health, Ministry of
Education, Ministry of
Kingdom.”
Works Municipalities
and Urban Planning,
Civil
Service
Mr. Al Qaed said, selecting Bureau, Ministry of Social
Bahrain by the UNDESA Development, Ministry of
for the second time had Works, Telecommunication
revealed Bahrain’s success in Regularity Authority and
implementing and crafting a Silah Gulf.
The delegation unilaterally
clear-cut vision to improve
eGovernment with core focus focused on exchange of
on achieving set goals and experience and further
benchmarks, “enhancing cooperation in relation to
internal
coordination several projects, mainly the
among the relevant entities National Portal (Bahrain.
and helping to achieve the bh), along with the National
Strategy
objectives of Government e-Government
2016.
Programme.”
50 mobile phones
to be won every week!
Stay in touch with your loved ones! We are giving away
3 x iPhone 6’s and 47 x Nokia 130’s every week between the
25th January 2015 and 9th May 2015. All you have to do is make
a transaction at BFC for a chance to be one of our lucky winners!*
With BFC you are always a winner!
Terms and Conditions apply.
MOIC 4243/2015
*For BFC Loyalty Card Holders Only
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Care. Trust. Efficiency.
JO1077_January_mobile_campaign_DT_160x128mm.indd 1
25/01/2015 11:27
4
Saturday, January 31, 2015
women take knives to
settle scores, injured
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
A
Bahraini man’s
two Moroccan
wives were admitted
to the hospital with
multiple stab wounds
following a knife fight
in Diraz yesterday
morning.
An eyewitness in the area
revealed that loud screams
were heard on the scene
before the two women were
seen lying on the ground and
bleeding.
It was reported that the
duo got bad blood between
them, and one of the
women was spotted going
to her “rival’s home” before
engaging in the quarrel.
“There was already an
ill-feeling between the two
and the quarrel exploded
when one of them visited
the home of her rival,” said
an eyewitness in the area.
“First it began with the
exchange of verbal insults,
but then it got violent.
When we arrived both were
lying on the ground,” he
added.
Ambulances were called
to transport the injured
women to hospital where
it’s said that they are in a
stable condition. Social
Media reports yesterday
claimed that one of them
has died. Both the Moroccan wives of a Bahraini lying unconscious on the ground after the knife-fight.
22 Bahrainis
imprisoned
for 10 years
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
T
wenty-two
Bahraini
men were sentenced to 10
years each in jail by the High
Criminal Court, which held
them guilty of rioting.
The defendants were reportedly
involved in a sabotage on March
24 last year in the village of A’ali,
where they had set tyres on fire
and poured oil in the area before
pelting firebombs at the security
forces when they arrived on the
scene.
The riot damaged a police
vehicle but no human casualties
were reported. The defendants’
involvement in the incident
was unearthed during police
investigations.
According to the case files, one
of the defendants said that he was
in his vehicle when the violence
broke out.
“A masked man approached
me and ordered me to participate
and I did, he said. The defendants
were also fined a combined total
of BD256 for the damages they
caused to the vehicle.
Former customs officer’s jail
sentence reduced to 3 years
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
T
he High Criminal Appeals
Court has reduced the
jail term of a former Bahraini Customs officer convicted of
corruption to three years. The 57-year-old Bahraini was
arrested last year after
deliberately allowing a vehicle
through the King Fahd
Causeway that was later found
to contain large quantities of
chewing tobacco in the boot.
The defendant, who had
been a Customs officer for
37 years, was sentenced to
five years after being found
guilty of aiding smuggling and
breaching professional ethics
before the High Criminal
Court. However, his jail term was
revised to three years on appeal. Two Indian men, including the
driver who was behind the wheel
of the seized car, were earlier
handed down three years each
in jail, and the appeals court
confirmed their sentences.
However, the other Indian
man who was reportedly the
mastermind of the racket is still
at large. Their offence was brought to
light when a Customs Inspection
Supervisor felt suspicious of his
colleague when the latter opened
the boot of the car only to close it
immediately, according to court
files. The Supervisor reportedly
ordered for the car to be
re-inspected. 161 bags of the
illicit chewing tobacco were
found stashed in the vehicle. Prosecutors estimated the street
value of the seized items at
BD1667. The Bahraini said in his
statement to prosecutors earlier
that he got involved in this illicit
activities when he became friends
with the Indian mastermind after
he had helped him with buying a
car from Saudi Arabia.
Appeals court upholds
sentence in terrorism case
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
T
PO Box: 50323,
Fax :+973-17464844,
E-mail : Info@membh.com
HIDD, Kingdom of Bahrain
wo Bahrainis convicted
of being part of a terrorist
cell have had their appeals
rejected by the High Criminal
Appeals Court.
The first defendant, 33,
was earlier handed down 15
years in jail, while the second
co-defendant, 32, was sentenced
to only five years by the High
Criminal Court.
The cell named “Frontline of
Independence Al Mohamadiya”
is allegedly responsible for
detonating three explosive
devices in Abu Saiba, Sanabis
and Budaiya.
The blasts occurred between
2012 and 2013 and no deaths
were reported during the
attacks. But a Pakistani
driver escaped the explosion
in Abu Saiba with injuries. The
cell mastermind, however, is still
at large and was slapped with life
in prison in absentia. Judges had earlier convicted the
mastermind of forming the group
and funding it as well as attempted
murder and detonating explosives.
Prosecutors said that the 33-yearold defendant was responsible for
detonating the bombs.
He was held guilty of
attempted murder, while the
second appellant was jailed for
being part of the cell. The court had earlier said
that the purpose of group
establishment was to carry out
attacks in the country and kill
policemen. Saturday, January 31, 2015
5
new PassPort agency
raises many eyebrows
View of the waiting hall of IVS Global with its limited seating facility (left). Officials working on their systems (right).
KK Nair / DTNN
news@dt.bh
C
omplaints
against
IVS Global, the new
outsourcing agency of the
Passport and Visa services of
the Embassy of India in Bahrain
were raised in the Open House
meeting yesterday.
The agency started its
operations in the Kingdom on
January 22.
Indian Ambassador Dr.
Mohan Kumar rejected the
complaints and said that IVS
Global had fulfilled all the
eligibility criteria and they
were the lowest bidder. It is
too early to decide about their
performance.
The complaints raised
against the agency were mainly
regarding the working hours.
According to the complainants
the previous agency was
working from 8 am to 8 pm
while the new agency follows a
different time schedule.
IVS Global representative,
Fathima Ahmed, however,
denied
the
allegations
explaining that they have the
same working hours but after
the holidays on the Saudi King
Abdullah’s death, we had a
huge crowd. So we had to stop
issuing tokens from 1 pm to
4 pm.
“We ensured that the needs
of all those present were dealt
with and we worked till 11.00
pm,” she added.
The Ambassador advised the
IVS Global officials to follow
the previous agency’s timings
and provide the same services. Complaints regarding the
Pics by MuhaMed thasleeM
infrastructure of the agency
like toilet facilities and car
parking were also raised in
the meeting.
“The Indian Embassy
officials visited the premises
before granting and finalizing
the bid. The issue of toilet
facility has to be resolved
soon. The agency is located at
a better accessible place and
nothing can be done in this
regard. The agency also has
better sitting area and other
facilities too,” explained the
Indian envoy.
The agency was also asked
to improve their efficiency
by reducing their time period
taken to attend to the needs
of the public. Complaints
like officials being rude
to the customers were also
condemned in the meeting.
Open House
Employers cannot keep passports: Dr. Kumar
KK Nair / DTNN
news@dt.bh
O
ne of the major issues
raised by social workers
during The Indian Embassy
Open House meeting yesterday
was the matter of passports
being withheld by the sponsors
despite the law forbidding it.
The law of the land clearly
states that the employer has
no right to hold employee’s
passport whatsoever.
That practice represents
a violation of freedom of
movement in contravention
of Article (19) (b) of the
Constitution, which ensures
the freedom of movement of
every person on the territory of
Bahrain. This practice although
quite common amounts to
criminal misappropriation and
breach of trust i.e. the employer
got the passport lawfully in
order to process the residency
permit and other formalities
but retained it unlawfully
without
the
employee’s
consent. The passport is a personal
property and is to be possessed
solely by its rightful bearer /
citizen.
It is clearly mentioned in the
passports that, “this passport
is the property of the issuing
government”, therefore, no
other party should be holding
it. If the employee demands
his passport back and the
employer refuses to hand it
over in writing if possible, the
employee should first contact
his embassy and secondly, raise
an urgent case before the court
for urgent matters.
“The law of the land is clear.
There are a lot of practical
issues behind people actually
wanting to keep their passports
and sponsors keeping the
employees’ passports for
various reasons. The answer to
this is very simple. Employees
always have the option of
saying ‘NO’ when the passport
employees in this regard,”
added Dr. Kumar
Awareness campaign urged
Open House meeting discussing issues at the Embassy premises.
is asked for safe keeping,”
said Indian Ambassador, Dr.
Mohan Kumar to the media.
Most of the times it is the
lowest paid employees who fall
prey to such practices. This
refrains them from travelling
to their homeland in the event
of marriages, deaths etc.
The matter of withholding
passports by the sponsors
is not limited to the Indian
community alone. This is a
common issue faced by most
of the Asian communities in
the Kingdom.
“We will have to work
out better options for the
Social
workers
and
community leaders urged
the embassy to discuss with
the officials of the General
Organisation
for
Social
Insurance (GOSI) to have an
awareness campaign for the
Indian community.
Community
leaders
informed the embassy that,
even though the GOSI rights
are well informed in the
websites and other media, the
employees still do not have
clarity about their rights. An
awareness campaign could be
an option where members of
the Indian community could
discuss their issues and get
first-hand information.
The ambassador welcomed
the suggestion and promised
to discuss the issue with GOSI
officials.
6
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Sea life at riSk
Illegal fishing activities
Elayath Pragit
Parameswaran / DTNN
pragit@dt.bh
T
he sighting of dead
fish and sea mammals
along the shores of Bahrain
has become a usual affair,
and the residents as well as
environment activists are
pointing fingers at illegal
fishing activities.
In a video circulating in
social media, hundreds of
dead fish are found lying along
the coast of Nurana Islands
amidst waste and polluted
stuffs including plastics.
The video had been
uploaded to a Facebook
page
named
‘Bahrain
According to the data
from Supreme Council for
Environment in the Kingdom,
four dolphins, four sea turtles
and three dugongs had been
found dead in the Bahrain
coasts last year.
Beachcombers’. The members
of the group said, they
received the video clipping
while carrying out cleaning
activities of the beaches of
Nurana Islands yesterday. “We got the video clipping
from a resident. The person,
A dolphin was found dead in Juffair coast last year.
Dead crabs, sea cow and sea turtle lying along the coast.
who claimed to be a fisherman
said, illegal fishing practices
had been turning fatal to the
marine life,” told Darren
Schneider, founder of Bahrain
Beachcombers, to DT News.
Illegal fishing activities are
affecting not only the fish. A
large number of crabs have
also been found dead on the
coast.
Mr. Schneider said, the
fishermen used to dump the
dead crabs that are found to
have a crack on their shell back
into the ocean.
“A lot of these crabs are
edible but because of a crack
in the shell, they are being
thrown back to the sea by kilos
daily,” Mr. Schneider pointed
out.
Carcasses of a sea cow and a
sea turtle had also been found
in Nurana beach.
The Bahrain Beachgoers, a
group of like-minded people,
regularly conducts cleaning
programmes to remove the
waste including the plastics
and other littered items
along the coastlines in the
Kingdom.
According to the data
from Supreme Council for
Environment in the Kingdom,
four dolphins, four sea turtles
and three dugongs had been
found dead in the Bahrain
coasts last year.
“Bahrain is rich with animal
life. So, it is the duty of every
resident in the Kingdom
to make efforts or protect
those lives. People should
start taking action instead of
sticking their heads in the sand
as if nothing is happening,”
added Mr. Schneider.
Fish that was found dead in the shores of Nurana.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Kuwait bus mishap: Kuwaiti Amir extends condolences
Manama
is Majesty King Hamad bin Isa
Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince
and Deputy Supreme Commander
H
Mr. Al Mulla
Parliament
Chairman
condoles
bereaved
families
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
P
arliament Chairman Ahmed
Al Mulla, in a statement,
extended condolences to the
families and relatives of the
victims of the bus accident that
occurred in Kuwait.
The statement also read that
the House of Representatives
would seek a legislation to
coordinate with different
agencies to ensure the safety and
security of bus travellers.
“The Kingdom is keen to
provide support and assistance to
every citizen to enhance love and
solidarity,” said the statement.
HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad
Al-Khalifa yesterday received
cables from the Amir of Kuwait
Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber
Al-Sabah, who extended sincere
condolences in the aftermath of the
fatal road accident, which happened
on Abdalli Road, in Kuwait, leaving
four Bahrainis dead and several
others wounded.
In the cable, the Kuwaiti leader
prayed to Allah Almighty to rest
7
the victims’ souls in eternal peace
and inspire the bereaved families
fortitude, wishing the injured quick
Kuwaiti Amir Shaikh Sabah
recovery. BSPCA defendS
euthAniSAtion PoliCy
DT News Network
news@dt.bh
B
ahrain Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (BSPCA) released a
detailed statement yesterday
defending its ‘mercy killing’
policy stating that it only applies
euthanisation when absolutely
necessary. Responding to the Social
Media campaigners who sounded
out against BSPCA for its policy
on euthanisation, the society
has released an official statement
justifying its policies.
BSPCA says that it has been their
policy since 1982 that the Society never
turns away an animal in need and they
accept every animal brought to them,
24 hours a day, 365 days a year. More
than 80% are strays entirely unsuitable
for rehoming and they have neither
the resources nor space to look after
thousands of animals in captivity for
the duration of their natural lives.
“Unfortunately,
we
have
no humane alternative but
to euthanise. This is done by
means of an injection, making
the animal sleep before its heart
stops. The American Veterinary
Medical Association and the
Humane Society of the United
States agree that an intravenous
injection of sodium pentobarbital
administered by a trained
professional is the kindest,
most compassionate method
of euthanising animals. This is
not something the Society does
lightly. We all dedicate our time
because we too love animals,
and it is distressing for everyone
involved, but we will not put
human sentiment before what is
right for the animals,” reads the
statement.
The society reiterated that the
only alternative would be to close
their doors, which is an option that
“no-kill” shelters can and must
exercise.
In the absence of a government
shelter in Bahrain, this would
condemn thousands of cats and
dogs to often slow, painful demises
through starvation, thirst, heat,
disease, traffic accidents, and
psychopaths.
“That would be a true cruelty,
and we therefore make no apology
for what we do.” it added.
Injection makes animals sleep before their heart stops.
New restrictions on meat sale
Mohammed Zafran
zafran@dt.bh
N
ew restrictions have been imposed
on purchase of subsidized meat
from butcher shops due to the meat
shortage issue.
A new ration has been applied on
the sale of meat because of the acute
shortage of meat supply in the Kingdom.
Slaughterhouses have been told that they
can sell only two kilograms of meat per
customer, business owners and butchers
confirmed to DT News. Butcher shops that previously received
meat without restrictions, now only receive
three goats per day. The meat shortage
hit Bahrain recently after authorities in
Bahrain revoked the importation license
of Bahrain Live Stock Company (BSC).
Authorities banned the import of frozen
meat through BLC on January 20. The
decision followed Public Prosecution
detection of 356 of contaminated livestock
by the middle of January. Abdulrahman Haidar
Aliyar Pookunju
The ration aimed at proportioning the
distribution of meat to the public has
not been received well by the public,
said business owners and butchers. Certain buyers have worked their
way around this system by buying the
two kilograms of meat from various
shops until the required quantity
is purchased, they said. The slaughterhouses have stopped
supplying to hotels because of shortage
in stock, said Abdulrahiman Haidar, who
works as a butcher at Manama central
Shamal Al Dosary
market. “We have been given the order to sell
only two kilograms of meat per customer,
this has resulted in the customers
becoming agitated. We had customers
buying dozens of meat, this shortage has
hit them hard,” he said. Another seller at
Manama central market, Aliyar Pookunju
said, “Even though we are selling only two
kilograms per person, the meat gets over
before noon! Three goats for a day are not
enough for us. “
Bahrain citizen Shamal Al Dosary,
Slaughter houses in Manama
who had to leave empty handed despite
visiting numerous butcher shops in
the central market demanded that the
situation must be sorted promptly. “I am
a regular customer here but today I was
not able to buy anything. This is a serious
problem, the authorities must take urgent
action,” he said.
It is expected that the ration will be lifted
once new shipments of frozen slaughtered
cattle arrives. Works, Municipalities
Affairs and Urban planning Ministry,
the ministry’s Agriculture and Marine
Resources Affairs had stated on Thursday
“Agreements to import frozen meat from
Sudan and Pakistan have been approved”.
The new importers confirmed that
around 30, 000 frozen slaughtered cattle
will be leaving Australia by today and is
expected to reach Bahrain by February 18.
8
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Speak
a
“
Autumn Fair
2015 posts
record number
of visitors
“
@bna_en
B o m b
a t t a c k
at
Pakistani
mosque kills
over 60: officials
“
@AFP
“
@AP
2012 GOP
presidential
nominee Mitt
Romney says
he will not run
for president in 2016.
Man who
forced his
way into Dutch
TV station had
no terrorist links: police
“
@ReutersWorld
US poet &
singer Rod
McKuen, perhaps best known
for Seasons in the
Sun, dies aged 81
“
@BBCWorld
#ISIS launches
attack
on the oil-rich
Kurdish city of
#Kirkuk in northeast Iraq
“
@cnni
B a b i e s
pulled alive
from debris of
Mexican maternity hospital
after gas truck explosion
“
@MailOnline
44
police
commandos
killed in anti-terror op mourned
in Philippines
“
@euronews
Chinese just
banned the
tool that was
the last hope
for citizens that
want Google or Twitter
“
@Independent
Malaysia
Airlines
#MH370 families
say they ‘don’t
accept’ their relatives are dead
“
@NBCNews
”Let’s focus
on what Amal
Clooney is doing,
not how she looks
while doing it”
@TIME
Readers’ VIEW
EcosystEm and hEalth
Dear Sir,
An ecosystem is a naturally occurring
community of organisms, such as
plants and animals, together with their
environment, functioning as a unit.
Disruption of ecosystems - whether as
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health.
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that people obtain from ecosystems.
Ecosystem services are indispensable
to the wellbeing of all people,
everywhere in the world.
They
include
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that directly affect people, and
supporting services needed to
maintain the other services.
From the availability of adequate
food and water, to disease
regulation of vectors, pests, and
pathogens, human health and wellbeing depends on these services
and conditions from the natural
environment. Biodiversity underlies
all ecosystem services.
The
causal
links
between
environmental change and human
health are complex because they are
often indirect, displaced in space and
time, and dependent on a number of
modifying forces.
Human health ultimately depends
upon ecosystem products and
services (such as availability of
fresh water, food and fuel sources)
which are requisite for good human
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Significant direct human health
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and physical security, freedom,
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to assess the consequences of
ecosystem change for human wellbeing. The MA was a multi-agency
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ecosystems, consequences of its
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Over the past 50 years, humans have
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largely to meet rapidly growing
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could grow significantly worse during
the first half of this century and is a
barrier to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.
The challenge of reversing the
and access to health services and complex pathways. The types of health degradation of ecosystem while
medicines.
effects experienced are determined by meeting increasing demands for
the degree to which local population’s services can be partially met under
depend on ecosystem services, and some scenarios considered by the MA,
Threats to ecosystems, health
Human interventions are altering the factors such as poverty which affect but will involve significant changes in
capacity of ecosystems to provide vulnerability to changes in elements policies, institutions and practices that
are not currently under way. Many
their goods (e.g. freshwater, food, like access to food and water.
options exist to conserve or enhance
pharmaceutical products, etc) and
specific ecosystem services in ways
services (e.g. purification of air, water, UN Millennium Ecosystem
that reduce negative trade-offs or that
soil, sequestration of pollutants, etc).
Assessment
The
Millennium
Ecosystem provide positive synergies with other
Ecosystem disruption can impact on Assessment (MA) was called for by ecosystem services.
health in a variety of ways and through the UN Secretary General in 2000, The bottom line of the MA findings
is that human actions are
depleting Earth’s natural
capital, putting such strain
Do you feel strongly about commenting on
on the environment that
the ability of the planet’s
any issue of social relevance or on any report we
ecosystems to sustain future
carried? Be it bouquets
generations can no longer
or bricks, you can explore
be taken for granted. The
assessment also showed
this space by airing
that with appropriate actions
your views, opinions or
it is possible to reverse
the degradation of many
comments. The best letter,
ecosystem services over
selected once in a week,
the next 50 years, but the
will receive five tickets
changes in policy and practice
required are substantial and
for watching a blockbuster at Dana Cinema.
not currently underway.
Letters can be sent at letters @dt.bh
Mohamed Asif
MIDDLE EAST 9
Saturday, January 31, 2015
IS KILLS TOP
IRAQI OFFICER
Bombings rock Kirkuk
Kirkuk
he Islamic State jihadist
group killed a senior
Kurdish commander and five
fighters Friday in a major attack
in Iraq’s Kirkuk province, while
bombings elsewhere left at least
nine dead.
The IS assault on areas south
and west of the northern city
of Kirkuk began at around
midnight, sparking fighting
with medium and heavy
weapons that was still ongoing
Friday morning, a police
brigadier general said.
Brigadier General Shirko
Rauf and five other members of
the Kurdish peshmerga forces
were killed in clashes and 46
T
Jihadists shoot down
Syria warplane
Beirut
The Islamic State group has
shot down a Syrian regime
warplane that was bombing
opposition-held areas, killing
the pilot.
Jihadists published photographs of the plane and the
pilot’s body on social media
sites. The jihadist group
and rebel factions seeking
President Bashar Al-Assad’s
overthrow have frequently
brought down warplanes.
“A plane was shot down in
the Bir Qasab area of southern
Damascus province,” said the
Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights.
Representative picture.
more were wounded, the police
officer and a doctor said.
Atif al-Najjar, a commander
in the Badr militia, said that
500
volunteer
“popular
mobilisation” fighters have
moved from the town of Tuz
Khurmatu to positions in three
areas south of Kirkuk to help
defend against IS.
The Kirkuk province security
committee announced a curfew
beginning at 10:00 am (0700
GMT) on Friday, saying it will
be in effect until further notice.
A car bomb also exploded
near security headquarters in
central Kirkuk city, wounding
five people, a police colonel said.
According to the colonel,
suicide bombers who were also
armed with other weapons tried
to take up positions on the roof
of a hotel in the city, but were
killed by security forces before
they could do so.
One
suicide
bomber
detonated a car bomb at a police
checkpoint at an entrance to
the city, while two more struck
a police headquarters inside it,
killing four and wounding nine.
Clashes erupt in Sinai
after jihadists kill 30
Cairo
gypt’s army clashed with jihadists in Sinai
Friday, leaving two children dead, as
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi flew home to deal
with a wave of militant attacks that killed at least
30 people. The top brass vowed to hunt down
those behind the violence.
Health officials said a six-month-old baby
was hit in the head by a bullet during the clashes
and a six-year-old was killed in a rocket blast
in the peninsula. Two more people including a
12-year-old were badly wounded.
Friday’s violence came a day after jihadists
targeted security forces with rockets and a car
bomb in North Sinai province in simultaneous
E
attacks claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State
group. Security officials said the bodies of the 30
victims, most of them soldiers, had been flown to
Cairo. It was the deadliest wave of attacks since
October when 30 soldiers were killed and scores
wounded.
Theory of Power
Erdogan takes a cue from England
Istanbul
urkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan brushed
off criticism that he’s trying
to amass sultan-like powers,
saying he really just wants to
be more like Britain’s Queen
Elizabeth II.
Erdogan told state-run TRT
channel on Thursday that
his desire for an expanded
presidential role would not
undermine democracy -- and
he pointed to the UK as an
example. “In my opinion, even the
T
UK is a semi-presidency. And
the dominant element is the
Queen,” Erdogan said. The UK is a constitutional
monarchy, governed by a
parliamentary system, but its
hereditary monarch wields
only symbolic power.
Erdogan’s comments came
after fresh criticism from the
opposition that he would act
like an “Ottoman sultan” once
his presidential role has been
boosted.
Erdogan said that leaders of
presidential systems in the US,
Brazil, South Korea, Mexico
are not accused of acting like
monarchs.
“I mean, why is it only a
monarchy when an idea like
this is floated in Turkey?”
Erdogan asked.
“We need to speed up to
close the gap in this race,” he
said. “The biggest advantage...
would be in abolishing policymaking through multiple
channels.” Erdogan became president
in August after more than
a decade as prime minister,
but the opposition accuses
him of transforming the
state by imposing a gradual
Islamisation and riding
roughshod over democracy. National Environment
Day of Bahrain
T
he National Environment Day of Bahrain is celebrated
on 4th February every year. Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad
Al Khalifa, Personal Representative of His Majesty and
President of the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE)
has always been reiterating the determination to improve
the environmental conditions of the Kingdom and to
take all possible measures for pollution abatement and its
conservation. His Excellency’s earnest desire is to enable
all citizens and residents in the Kingdom to contribute in
protecting the environment and maintaining its rich heritage
to ensure continued economic growth, social service and
commitment towards sustainable development.
The task of management and monitoring the environmental
resources is with the SCE which under the leadership of
Dr. Muhammad Mubarak bin Daina as Chief Executive is
planning proactive projects and tasks and addressing all
important national environmental issues on urgent footings.
Bahrain’s principal environmental problems have emerged
due to rapid population growth, industrial development
and commercialization leading to scarcity of fresh water,
desertification, land management, waste management, impacts
due to climate change, industrial and marine pollution. The
SCE now works on major environmental parameters along
with other government departments and organizations in
conserving the fragile and finite environmental resources of
the country.
The major environmental legislation of the country is
Legislative Decree No. 21 of 1996 which restricts all forms of
pollution and call for feasibility studies and environmental
impact assessments for all new industrial projects. It highlights
the penalties on violation and protection of environmental
resources. It also targets any environmental misuse of
resources and deals with illegal discharges to the marine
waters which is another cause of environmental degradation.
The country has made appropriate environmental
legislations, regulations and standards for air, water and soil.
The regional and international conventions and protocols
have been signed and ratified. All pollution generation
enterprises, small, medium and large industries have to
voluntarily submit Environmental Compliance Report to the
SCE. No chemicals can be imported in the country without
obtaining approval from SCE. The industries are inspected for
their compliance with the national environmental standards.
The national environmental day call for celebration and
organizing activities country wide which makes people
understands of their civic and environmental duties and
what they in their own individual capacities can do to save the
local resources and avoid pollution. We need to understand
that input of each individual counts. The positive thing is
that environmental awareness in the country is growing and
it has become a subject in major educational institutions.
The media on the other hand is also playing a crucial role
in enhancing awareness and is actively reporting on local
environmental issues.
At a minimum, we need to conserve water and electricity,
which are highly subsidized and generate minimum waste
which ultimately land in quarry area occupying valuable
space.
Let us be responsible citizen of the Kingdom of Bahrain
and care for our fragile environment.
Head of Waste Disposal Unit, Supreme Council for
Environment, Bahrain. (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.)
Jordan still awaits proof of pilot held by IS
Amman
Jordan’s military said on Friday
that it was still awaiting proof
that a warplane pilot threatened with execution by the
Islamic State group is safe.
IS had vowed to kill Maaz
Al-Kassasbeh by Thursday
unless Amman handed over
an Iraqi female jihadist.
10
MIDDLE EAST
Saturday, January 31, 2015
HBZ stadium among world’s best
‘Abu Dhabi safest city in Middle East’
Abu Dhabi
bu Dhabi is the safest
city in the Middle East
and one of the 25 most secure
places on the planet, a new
report found.
The latest Economist
Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities
Index 2015 - which takes
into account digital security,
health security, infrastructure
A
T
safety and personal safety ranked the UAE capital ahead
of Milan, Rome, Shanghai
and Moscow, among other
50 cities.
430 homes to be
built in West Bank
Jerusalem
he Israeli government has
published tenders to build
430 new settler homes in the
occupied West Bank.
Terrestrial
Jerusalem
reported that the tenders
were published on Friday for
new homes in four existing
settlements across the West
Bank, including 112 in Adam,
156 in Elkana, 78 in Alfei
Menashe and 84 in Kiryat Arba.
Building settlements in the
West Bank is considered illegal
under international law and
opposed by the United States
and international community
as an obstacle to an eventual
peace deal with the Palestinians.
Palestine
Liberation
Organisation (PLO) official
Wassel Abu Yusef told the
AFP news agency that “what
the Israelis announced is part
of a wider war... against the
Palestinian people. This is a
war crime which should push
the settlements issue to the
International Criminal Court”.
T
Daniel Seidemann, head of
Terrestrial Jerusalem, whose
group particularly monitors
settlement in Israeli-annexed
East Jerusalem, said that he
believed building plans were
likely to be announced there
soon.
“It’s the opening of the
settlement floodgates,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s over.”
His group also linked the
publication of tenders with
Israel’s March 17 election,
where
Prime
Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud
Party will be competing with
others for the settler vote.
“Today’s West Bank tenders
could not be published
without Netanyahu’s explicit
knowledge and consent.
Expect more and worse before
elections,” the group tweeted
on Friday morning.
The Palestinians want both
the occupied West Bank and
East Jerusalem, captured by
Israel in the 1967 Middle East
war, to be part of a future state.
C
nominated to Stadium of the
Year award. HBZ Stadium is
the first ever nominee from
the UAE and one of three in
the Middle East.
“After an hour long rescue
operation, the camel was
taken out of the pit... it was
not hurt and was handed over
to its owner,” Sada daily said.
KING RESHUFFLES
CABINET IN SAUDI
Riyadh
audi Arabia’s new King
Salman has tightened his
hold on power, firing two sons
of his predecessor and replacing
the heads of intelligence
and other key agencies in a
sweeping shakeup.
The appointments, which
analysts said supported signs
the kingdom will chart a
steady course on foreign and
oil policy, came a week after
Salman, 79, took the throne
following the death of King
Abdullah.
Top officials from the Ports
Authority, the National AntiCorruption
Commission
S
Saudi cabinet (File picture).
and the conservative Islamic
kingdom’s religious police
were among those let go late
on Thursday. But the oil and
foreign ministers retained their
key posts.
Salman, named a 31-member
cabinet whose new faces include
the ministers for culture and
information, social affairs, civil
service, and communications
and information technology,
Woman survives jihadist stoning
A
punishment and “stoned her
until they thought she had died.
But just as they had stopped
pelting her with stones, the
woman stood up and tried to
flee, said the monitor.
“An IS militant was about
to open fire at her when an
Islamist jurist intervened and
stopped him saying it was
God’s will that she did not die,”
said the Observatory, without
specifying when it happened.
The IS jurist told the woman
she can walk free but that she
must “repent”.
According to the Observatory, at least 15 people, nine
of them women, have been
executed by jihadists in Syria.
among others.
The changes confirmed
speculation that Abdullah’s
death “would see a reversal
in his immediate family’s
fortunes,” said Jon Marks, a
Middle East expert at Londonbased think-tank Chatham
House. “We have a situation of
change in a highly personalised
hierarchy, but not -- at least not
immediately -- of significant
policy change.”
One of his more than 30
decrees ordered “two months’
basic salary to all Saudi
government civil and military
employees,” said the Saudi
Press Agency (SPA) said.
Saudi postpones flogging
of blogger for third week
Riyadh
Saudi Arabia postponed on
Friday for a third week in a
row the flogging of a blogger
sentenced to 1,000 lashes for
insulting Islam, informed his
wife Ensaf Haidar, adding that
the reason was unclear.
The 30-year-old received
the first 50 lashes of his sentence outside a mosque in
Jeddah on January 9.
Iraqi artist aims kick at IS jihadists
Baghdad
he Islamic State group
militant glares at Baghdad
residents with bulging eyes
and bared teeth, but neither
kidnapping nor death are
imminent, because this jihadist is
made from a shoe.
A black, treaded sole with the
toe broken off serves as his face
and nose, while old shoelaces
evoke both black headscarf and
long hair.
T
Jazan
ivil defence men used a
massive crane and heavy
ropes to lift a camel out to
safety after it plunged into
an open sewage pit near a
farm in the southern Jazan
province.
The rescuers reached the
spot after its owner alerted
them.
Oil and foreign ministers retain their posts
Beirut
Syrian woman stoned by
the jihadist Islamic State
group for alleged adultery and
left for dead has miraculously
walked away from the brutal
punishment on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said the jihadist
group sentenced the woman to
be “stoned for adultery” in the
town of Raqa, the IS stronghold
in northern Syria.
Militants carried out the
Representative picture.
Art’s Sake
Abu Dhabi
he
Emirates’
most
modern stadium, Hazza
Bin Zayed (HBZ) Stadium
is nominated to become
Stadium of the Year 2014. It’s
subject to two votes: by the
public and by specialised jury
of architects.
The Hazza Bin Zayed
Stadium is among venues
Camel falls into sewage pit, saved
For teeth, zippers dangle into
a mouth formed by the space
between the heel and toe, and
round metal pieces stand in for
bulging eyes.
The jihadist is the creation
of Iraqi artist Akeel Khreef,
who takes worn-out shoes and
transforms them into faces
representing the “ugliness” of the
Islamic State (IS) group, which
has committed a slew of atrocities
in his country.
“I wanted to portray the extent
of the criminality and ugliness
and ugly acts of the organisation’s
members,” says Khreef, a 35-yearold architectural engineering
professor who is working on a
mural of two dozen shoe faces.
In Iraq it is considered
extremely rude to call someone
“waja al-kundara” -- literally
“face of the shoe”. “This is what
I want to say,” Khreef explains.
To obtain supplies for this and
other projects, Khreef collects
bits and pieces from rubbish bins
and buys old shoes from small
shops.
“The most important person
in my life is the cobbler -- he
provides me the remains of the
worn-out shoes,” he says.
Khreef is sometimes mocked
for searching through trash, but
wants to convey the idea that
“rubbish is not harmful, and can
be used for useful things”.
Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down
We hope Obama will
drop his threat to veto
this common sense bill
(Keystone oil pipeline)
that would strengthen
our energy security
11
Dublin
reland’s economy is speeding
ahead and unemployment
is dropping, but the coming
to power of a radical new
government in fellow eurozone
member Greece has revived
debate about the pain of
austerity.
Support for opposition
parties - including for the
radical left-wing Sinn Fein
party - has been surging for
months on the back of their
anti-austerity stance, and
Syriza’s win in Greece is an
extra boost.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry
Adams spoke to Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras this week,
backing the new Greek leader’s
campaign for a European Debt
conference like the one that
wrote off German debt after
World War II.
I
Brussels
urozone consumer prices
fell by a record 0.6 per
cent in January, confirming
deflation could be taking hold
for the long term, EU data
showed Wednesday.
The drop from minus 0.2
per cent in December appears
to back the European Central
Bank’s decision last week to
launch a bond-buying spree to
drive up prices.
Plummeting world oil
prices were largely to blame
for the fall in the 19-country
eurozone, already beset by
GREECE GIRDS UP
FOR FIRST TALKS
Athens
reece’s new anti-austerity government
is set to hold its first talks on Friday
with its eurozone partners about its
ambitions to secure a reduction in the
massive debts linked to its 240-billion-euro
($269bn) international bailout.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to
meet Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the current head
of the eurozone group of finance ministers
in an encounter that Athens said would
mark the start of Greece’s negotiations
on revising the conditions of its massive
bailout.
But the talks come hot on the heels of
a warning by the European Union and
G
E
Q
Alexis Tsipras
Germany that there was little support for
reducing the debt, which the radical new
government is hoping to cut in half.
Airways has acquired a 9.99
percent stake in IAG,” the
company said in a statement.
The
airline’s
chief
executive, Akbar al-Baker,
said International Airlines
Group
“represents
an
excellent
opportunity
to further develop our
westwards strategy.”
The move represents
something of a turn for Qatar
Obama to unveil ‘precision
medicine’ drive
Washington
President Barack Obama will
propose on Friday that the US
government plow $215 million into “precision medicine”
research, a field proponents
say can advance the treatment
of diseases like cancer and diabetes.
The funding would be used
in part to collect gene, chemical, lifestyle and other data
from one million volunteers.
The bulk of the money, $200m,
would go to the National
Institutes of Health.
UN praises Bahrain’s support
for eGovernment Programme
Manama
he second UN Study Tour
in Bahrain representing
21 states, organized and
funded by the United Nations
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, to maximize
benefits
from
Bahrain’s
experience in eGovernment
concluded last week.
CEO of eGovernment
Authority, Mohammed Ali
Al Qaed, along with eGA’s
executive directors, briefed the
delegates on the results of all
working papers, deliberations
and constructive proposals
T
weak economic growth and
high unemployment, the EU’s
data agency Eurostat said.
The -0.6 inflation rate
matches the same record drop
in prices the eurozone set in
July 2009 at the worst of the
global financial crisis.
Ahead of the Friday meeting, Greek
bank stocks rebounded on Thursday after
plunging the day before on concerns about
the first moves of Tsipras’s radical new
administration to roll back several reforms
underpinning the bailout.
European Parliament chief Martin
Schulz on Thursday became the first foreign
dignitary to meet Tsipras’ government,
and said the prime minister had assured
him that Greece would seek “common
ground” with its EU peers.
Schulz added that Tsipras had stressed
Athens would not seek a “unilateral
solution” to the renegotiation of its multibillion-euro bailout.
made by the participating states.
Chief Governance and
Public Administration Branch
at
UNDESA Mr. JohnMary Kauzya, expressed his
appreciation to the Kingdom
of Bahrain for the warm
hospitality, and invaluable
information, highlighting that
each delegate will maximize
the benefits from Bahrain’s
experience upon return to their
countries.
UN eGovernance Consultant
Ms. Alexandra Mills, said
the discussions and insights
contributed to shed light on
Qatar Airways takes 10pc stake in IAG
London
atar Airways on Friday
said it purchased almost
10 per cent of IAG, parent of
British Airways and Spanish
carrier Iberia, the second
European entry by a Gulf
carrier.
“As part of efforts
to enhance operations
and strengthen existing
commercial ties... Qatar
- French Prime Minister
Manuel Valls
With eurozone partners
Eurozone deflation
accelerates in Jan
New Vistas
- US House Speaker
John Boehner
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Ireland wants
to follow
Greece
Greece will remain, must
remain, in the eurozone,
the new Greek prime
minister has said, it can
not be any other way
Airways, as
Baker has
publicly criticised European
carriers, saying earlier this
month that they “cannot
keep up” with competition
from Gulf carriers.
In November, Baker took
a swipe at legacy carriers,
accusing them of being
“inefficient” and protected by
EU policies.
The three Gulf carriers
-- Qatar Airways, Emirates
and Etihad -- have snatched
a sizable share of the longhaul sector, turning their
home cities into major
hubs on routes to Asia and
Australasia.
A photo taken during the valedictory session.
practices made as a whole by
each state, by gaining even
partial benefits from Bahrain’s
experience.
Taiwan’s economy slows in
fourth quarter 2014
Spanish economy grew by
1.4pc in 2014
Taipei
Taiwan’s economic growth
slowed in the three months
to December in 2014 due to
lower-than-expected overseas
demand for goods and weaker
domestic spending, government estimates showed Friday.
The Taiwanese economy grew
3.17 per cent in the fourth
quarter year-on-year, lower
than the previous three quarters but better than a forecast
of 2.83pc made in November.
Madrid
Spain’s recovering economy grew by 1.4 per cent in
2014, provisional official data
showed Friday, after shrinking
by 1.2pc in the previous year
but remains plagued by mass
unemployment.
It is the first time there has
been full-year economic
growth in Spain since 2008
when a labour-intensive property bubble collapsed, pushing
millions of people out of work.
12
BUSINESS
Saturday, January 31, 2015
European stocks fall on deflation fears
London
uropean stock markets
fell on Friday, as deflation
worries deepened for the
eurozone, which was set for
showdown talks with Greece
over a possible restructuring
of debt.
London’s benchmark FTSE
100 index dropped 0.34 per
E
cent to 6,787.09 points around
midday in the capital.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dipped
0.02pc to 10,735.97 points,
with early gains won thanks to
an improved showing on Wall
Street giving way to deflation
fears.
The CAC 40 in Paris slipped
0.22pc to 4,621.29 points
compared with Thursday’s
close. Eurozone consumer
prices fell by a record 0.6pc in
January, confirming deflation
could be taking hold for the
long term, EU data showed
Wednesday.
The drop from minus 0.2pc
in December appears to back
the European Central Bank’s
decision last week to launch
a bond-buying spree to drive
up prices.
“Big news out of the
eurozone... as falling energy
prices continue to keep the
economic storm clouds
hovering,”
said
Daniel
Sugarman, market strategist
at ETX Capital trading group.
OIL PRICES DOWN
Supply glut concerns continue
Singapore
rude prices were down in
Asia Friday, after the US
Senate approved a bill to build
an oil pipeline from Canada
to refineries in the US Gulf
Coast, adding to concerns over
a supply glut.
US benchmark West Texas
Intermediate for delivery in
March was down three cents
to $44.50 in volatile afternoon
trading, while Brent for March
eased 35 cents to $48.78.
WTI fell below $44 a barrel
at one point in New York trade
C
COUNTRY/CURRENCIES
SOUTH AFRICAN RAND
US DOLLARS
CANADIAN DOLLAR
INDIAN RUPEE
BANGLADESH TAKA
CHINESE YUAN
HONG KONG DOLLAR
INDONESIAN RUPIAH
JAPANESE YEN
SRI LANKAN RUPEE
MALAYSIAN RINGGIT
NEPALESE RUPEE
PHILIPPINE PESO
PAKISTAN RUPEE
SINGAPORE DOLLAR
THAI BAHT
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR
EURO
SWISS FRANC
BRITISH POUND
TURKISH LIRA
SAUDI RIYAL
UAE DIRHAMS
QATAR RIYAL
KUWAITI DINAR
OMANI RIYAL
EGYPTIAN POUND
JORDANIAN DINAR
LEBANESE POUND
MOROCCAN DIRHAMS
SYRIAN POUND
YEMENI RIYAL
BUY
SELL
32.5733
2.6667
3.4048
169.7793
203.7075
16.835
21.5424
36563.0713
319.4888
371.6464
9.9404
299.386
121.3592
281.4681
3.6298
86.5801
3.4722
3.7258
2.3935
2.4876
1.7937
6.3767
10.02
9.7561
9.6899
0.788
1.0272
20.9205
1.8868
4227.7935
23.8663
591.716
913.3254
28.9855
2.6483
3.2658
162.3377
192.7154
15.949
20.0723
31397.1743
297.619
320.4378
9.2937
247.5143
114.4165
262.9641
3.5398
85.034
3.3333
3.6049
2.3132
2.3827
1.74
5.9884
9.9404
9.7276
9.6348
0.7788
1.0204
19.685
1.8636
3816.3569
21.7865
420.1681
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
Asian markets mixed
Hong Kong
sian stock markets were mixed on Friday,
with Tokyo’s main index rising as traders
took heart from news employment hit its lowest
level since 1997, despite a slowdown in inflation
and weak consumer spending.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 0.39 per cent, or
68.17 points, to 17,674.39 at the close, with
traders buoyed by a weaker yen, which boosts
Japanese exporters. Sydney gained 18.82 points,
or 0.34pc, to close at 5,588.3 while Seoul finished
flat, closing down 1.76 points at 1,949.26.
But in mainland China, shares closed the week
nearly 4 per cent lower, pressured by concerns
about market liquidity, dealers said.
The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.59pc,
or 51.95 points, to 3,210.36 while Hong Kong
declined 0.36pc, or 88.8 points, to 24,507.05.
But analysts said lower energy costs could
boost economic growth in the world’s thirdlargest economy, which is a net importer of oil.
US stock markets edge lower
Dollar trades mixed
A
New York
U.S. stocks drifted lower in early trading Friday
as investors sized up the latest batch of corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average
fell 36 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 17,377 as of
10:02 a.m ET. The Nasdaq composite slid two
points, or 0.1pc, to 4,680.
Historic Soup
COUNTRY
1 US DLR
1 UK STG
1 SFR
100 YEN
BAHRAIN
0.3770
0.5714
0.4344
0.3208
KUWAIT
0.2855
33.5548
0.3290
0.2429
OMAN
0.3849
0.3340
0.4435
0.3275
QATAR
3.6420
3.1605
4.1968
3.0988
UAE
3.6730
3.1874
4.2325
3.1252
SAUDI
3.7500
3.2543
4.3213
3.1907
Thursday, a level not seen since
March 2009.
The US Senate also on
Thursday approved a bill
authorising construction of the
controversial Keystone XL oil
pipeline from Canada to the
United States.
After weeks of at-times
fierce debate, the bill passed
with 62 votes to 36, with nine
Democrats defying President
Barack Obama to support a
project that would transport
crude from Alberta’s oil
sands to refineries along the
US Gulf Coast. The House
of Representatives approved
its own Keystone legislation
earlier this month and now
must decide whether it passes
Shanghai
S fast food giant
McDonald’s
has
served up a super-sized
order of controversy by
proposing a branch in a
historic building in one of
China’s most frequently
painted
landscapes,
Hangzhou’s West Lake.
The government agency
U
New York
The dollar traded mixed on Friday after weaker-than-expected headline U.S. fourth-quarter
gross domestic product data, which included
the fastest pace of consumer spending since
2006 and left intact market expectations of
long-term greenback gains.
the Senate measure or enters
into bicameral conference to
thrash out a compromise bill.
“The Keystone pipeline will
move US oil production more
efficiently in the long term, and
in the grand scale of things this
will further exert downward
pressure on oil prices,” said
Shailaja Nair, associate editorial
director at energy information
provider Platts.
Oil has lost more than half
its value since June last year
when it was sitting at more
than $100 a barrel.
Sensex
closes 499
points down
Mumbai
he
benchmark
BSE Sensex today
plummeted by 498.82
points, its second biggest
single-day fall this year,
on heavy profit booking
mainly in banking, pharma
and auto stocks after recent
record gains.
The Sensex opened on a
high note and touched all
time high of 29,844.16 in
early trade. The NSE Nifty
too closed down by 143.45
points, or 1.60 per cent, at
8,808.90 points.
The 50-share index had
hit an intra-day record high
of 8,996.60, just missing the
9,000-mark in the opening
trade.
T
McDonald’s seeks West Lake entry
that manages the lake and
its surroundings this week
posted a proposal to allow
a McDonald’s into the
former home of the late
Taiwanese leader Chiang
Ching-kuo, the son of
Kuomintang chief Chiang
Kai-shek.
The plan described the
outlet as a coffee shop,
suggesting a McCafe. It will
have 100 seats in a building
with an area of 335 square
metres and serve French
fries among other items.
The thought of the
Golden Arches finding
a spot among its stone
causeways and
treelined paths, dotted waters
triggered fury.
BUSINESS
Saturday, January 31, 2015
13
Singapore launches universal health insurance
Singapore
ingapore’s parliament has enacted a
universal health insurance scheme
with nearly $3.0 billion in subsidies
to help the elderly and lower-income
people, as it responds to demands for
better social safety nets.
Lawmakers late Thursday passed the
Medishield Life Scheme, the latest in a
series of reforms including new policies
on immigration, housing, transport
S
and education, introduced since 2011
elections that saw the ruling party’s
share of the popular vote slip.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said
the new scheme would make Singapore
a “more caring and progressive society”
and was the result of consultations with
the public.
The city-state has traditionally
frowned upon welfarism, but it has
become one of the fastest-graying
societies in the world. Life expectancy
in Singapore now stands at 82.5 years.
TOKYO INVESTORS
EYE US JOBS DATA
Await demand clues
Tokyo
okyo investors will watch closely a
set of demand-linked data in Japan
next week for clues on the health of the
economy after it tipped into recession last
year, while US data will also be in focus.
Dealers are awaiting Japan’s auto sales
data for January expected on Monday and
household income data due Wednesday
“to see the extent of rise in winter bonus
and overtime work provisions,” Nomura
Securities said in a statement.
The brokerage noted that real wages are
not increasing despite rises in consumer
T
Dealers are awaiting
data for Japan’s auto
sales for January and
household income
data
prices.
US payrolls data due to be released Friday
next week will be in focus for possible clues
as to the US Federal Reserve’s next move,
it said, with speculation the Fed could raise
interest rates later this year.
“There is growing confidence in the
US economy... Employment has gotten
better and the effects from cheaper oil have
yet to come,” Shigetoshi Kamata, general
manager of the research department at
Tachibana Securities said.
“Investors feel bullish for Japanese
stocks today.” Markets largely shrugged
off Japanese government data that showed
inflation slowed for a fifth straight month
in December.
Russian central bank
cuts interest rate
Moscow
ussia’s
central
bank
unexpectedly cut its main
interest rate on Friday as fears
of recession mount in the
country following the fall in
global oil prices and Western
sanctions over the Ukraine
crisis.
The central bank reduced its
one-week minimum auction
repo rate by two points to 15
R
Real to Reel
per cent, a little over a month
after pushing it up by 6.5
points to 17pc after a run on
the rouble.
Following the decision, the
rouble extended losses to trade
as much as 4pc on the day
against the dollar, though it
later clawed back some of the
losses. The move implies a
shift in the bank’s priorities
away from clamping down on
rising inflation and supporting
the rouble, towards trying to
support economic activity.
AirAsia X shuffles
management
Kuala Lumpur
Loss-making AirAsia X, the
long-haul arm of Malaysiabased budget carrier AirAsia,
on Friday shuffled its leadership and announced plans
to raise 395 million ringgit
($108m) to shore up its bottom line. CEO Azran Osman
Rani will leave and be replaced
by Kamarudin Meranun, previously an executive chairman,
the airline said.
The changes were part of a
“reorganisational exercise”, it
said.
Filming begins on Steve Jobs movie
Los Angeles
ilming got under way
in San Francisco on a
new biopic about Apple
co-founder Steve Jobs,
with Hollywood’s Michael
Fassbender playing the role
of the mercurial computer
pioneer.
Sources
said
that
German-Irish actor Michael
Fassbender, 37, took on the
title role in the movie “Steve
Jobs” after it was turned
down by Leonardo DiCaprio
F
and Christian Bale.
Bale,
Oscar-winning
British star of “The Dark
Knight” pulled out of the
project in November, news
reports said, after deciding he
wasn’t right for the part.
Fassbender,
one
of
Hollywood’s
most
accomplished actors, is
best-known for dark and
intense dramatic roles in
movies by British director
Steve McQueen, including
“Hunger,” “Shame,” and
“Twelve Years a Slave.” He
also appears in “X-Men: Days
of Future Past.”
The movie is being directed
by Danny Boyle, best known
for “Slumdog Millionaire”
and “Trainspotting,” and is
scheduled for release next
year.
Jobs’ sidekick at Apple,
Steve Wozniak, is to be played
by Seth Rogen, most recently
seen on the big screen in the
controversial movie “The
Interview.”
Healthcare reforms
I
n the United Kingdom and the United States, performance
accountability has become a core element of healthcare reform.
This includes an increasing focus on measuring and reporting
quality, and tying payment to demonstrated performance. Because
of this focus, healthcare providers now consider improving
performance a strategic imperative.
Simultaneously, providers view a well-implemented digital health
record as a critical foundation for better-functioning healthcare.
Significant business and regulatory incentives, such as the U.S.
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health
(HITECH) program and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS)
2018 paperless goal, also are driving that agenda forward.
By coordinating these two initiatives, providers have an
opportunity to frame their health IT (HIT) strategies, make
quality management and improvement a major objective, and
quickly leverage their IT investments.
Today, healthcare providers’ performance is measured in
a variety of ways, including by regulators, peers and patients.
However, as healthcare reform increasingly ties measured
performance to accountability and payment, ever-increasing
clinical measurements have added to the burden of assembling
the information needed for reporting.
Many of these measures rely heavily on information that can
only be found in inpatient medical records, most of which is
hand-recorded on paper forms. This unwieldy process severely
hampers patient management and quality measurement and
improvement because it relies on often illegible or incomplete
information and delivers the assembled information too late to
be put to direct use.
New measures increase expectations
New quality measures expand external hospital performance
expectations, further driving their scope and financial implications. Providers that build a capacity to manage against these rising expectations in real time will be well positioned for the future.
Data capture and analysis are at the core of making measurement
a real-time reality, but are most powerful when working in parallel
with digital health records used by clinicians at the point of care for
both seeking and documenting patient medical record information.
As more patient-specific documentation is accumulated during
a hospital stay, measurement can take a more proactive role than
traditional retrospective, often post-discharge, reporting.
Taking a granular look at the data elements for hospital quality
measures — by deconstructing measures into data requirements
— is a useful first step in planning how to apply the power of the
digital health record to quality measurement and management.
Achieving the right balance of structured and unstructured information lies at the core of overcoming these challenges, and much
work remains to be done.
Keys to the successful journey
The journey to quality measurement and management enabled
by the digital health record will be a long one for most hospitals.
The following principles can help achieve that goal:
• Makequalitymanagementakeydriverofthedigitalhealth
record strategy
• Mapaplanfordatacapture—bothmeasuresandinterventions — and use
• Havetherightpersondocumenttheinformation
Suitably recorded patient information is the foundation for
HIT-enabled care and quality management. The endgame is better performance rather than measurement. While aiming for an
ultimate goal of one electronic source of truth for each patient
captured as a by-product of routine care, each increment of the
digital health record provides new opportunities.
Hospitals best prepared for the future will have mastered capturing necessary patient information, while also making it easy
for physicians, nurses and others to provide quality care. This
requires transformed clinical processes and a lot of skill in leveraging digital health records and analytics. Building organizational
competency — culture, processes, people — to pull this together
is as important as the tools that can make it possible.
(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.)
BUSINESS
14
Saturday, January 31, 2015
A surprise gift of profit from Amazon
Seattle
ooks like Amazon got its
happy holidays after all.
The
company
on
Thursday reported a profit
of $214 million, or 45 cents a
share, on revenue of $29.33
billion, exceeding some
analysts’ estimates of 17
L
cents a share on $29.68 bn
in revenue.
For the current quarter,
the company said it expects
sales to rise to between
$20.9bn and $22.9bn,
growing 6pc to 16pc
compared with the first
quarter last year.
It also forecast that
operating income would
range from a loss of $450m
to a profit of $50m.
Amazon last year reported
$146m in operating income.
Shares surged more than
13pc in after-hours trading.
Last quarter’s profit comes
after two consecutive
quarters of losses, and
investors are buying into
the results.
Shares surged more
than 13pc in after-hours
trading. The stock closed at
$311.78, up $7.87, or more
than 2pc.
GOOGLE MISSES
Q4 ESTIMATES
Declining online ad prices hurt
German retail sales grow
for fifth year in row: Data
Berlin
erman retail sales, a
closely watched measure
of household confidence,
showed solid growth last year
compared to 2013 despite
rounding off the year with a
modest rise, data showed on
Friday.
The 1.4 per cent increase
for 2014 as a whole marked
the fifth consecutive year
that German retailers
posted real and nominal
year-on-year sales increases,
the federal statistics office
G
Japan’s Fujitsu boosts
profit outlook on weak yen
Tokyo
Japan’s Fujitsu on Friday
boosted its full-year net profit
forecast thanks to a sharp fall
in the yen, despite its AprilDecember earnings falling
from a year ago.
The sprawling information
technology company said its
fiscal year to March net profit would be 132 billion yen
($1.12bn), up from an earlier
125bn yen forecast, citing the
“beneficial impact” of a weaker
yen.
Destatis said.
Retailers’ sales went up by
0.2pc in December compared
to the previous month when
they rose by 0.9pc, the
statisticians said.
“Average monthly retail
sales in the fourth quarter
rose by a whopping 1.6pc
over the third quarter
average, suggesting that
consumption made a major
contribution to GDP growth
in the fourth quarter,” said
analyst Christian Schulz at
Berenberg bank.
San Francisco
oogle Inc’s revenue
grew 15 per cent in the
fourth quarter but fell short
of Wall Street’s target on
declining online ad prices and
unfavourable foreign exchange
rates.
Google’s advertising revenue
has come under pressure as
more consumers access its
online services on mobile
devices such as smartphones
and tablets, where ad rates are
typically lower.
The growing popularity of
mobile devices has made No.1
social network Facebook Inc a
greater threat in the battle for
advertisers.
G
Google to change privacy policy following UK probe
San Francisco
Search engine Google has agreed to better inform users about
how it handles their personal information after an investigation by Britain’s data protection regulator found its privacy
policy was too vague. The Information Commissioner’s Office
(ICO) said in a statement on Friday that it required Google to
sign a “formal undertaking” that it would make the changes
by June 30 and take further steps in the next two years.
Japan’s airline biggies raise
annual earnings forecasts
Tokyo
apan’s two biggest airlines on
Friday projected smooth fullyear earnings, with All Nippon
Airways (ANA) placing a $2.2
billion order for Boeing and
Airbus planes, while rival Japan
Airlines (JAL) raised its fullyear profit forecast.
ANA said its AprilDecember net profit soared
J
57.2 per cent to 52.36bn yen
($443million) from a year ago,
as an expansion at Tokyo’s
Hump Ahead
HCL Tech Q2 net up 2.3pc
in its domestic passenger flight
business inched up 1.0pc.
ANA added seven new
routes at the airport with
flights bound for London,
Paris, Munich, Hanoi, Jakarta,
Manila and Vancouver.
Also Friday, the carrier said
it has placed a $2.2bn order for
a total of 15 planes from Boeing
and Airbus.
New Delhi
HCL Technologies , the fourth
largest software services
exporter in India, surpassed
street expectations on every
parameter on Friday. Profit
increased 2.3 per cent sequentially to Rs 1,915 crore during
the quarter.
Revenue grew 6.3pc quarteron-quarter to Rs 9,283 crore
and dollar revenue rose 4pc
to USD 1.49billion during
October-December quarter (as
against expected dollar revenue of USD 1.477bn).
Airbag crisis: Honda cuts profit forecast
Tokyo
onda cut its full-year profit
forecast on Friday as the
Japanese automaker grapples with
soaring recall costs, including from
an exploding airbag crisis linked to
at least five deaths.
The downgrade came after
Honda said it was probing a fatal
H
downtown Haneda airport
increased landing slots for
international flights.
Sales in the latest period rose
9.1pc to 1.3 trillion yen, while
ANA left unchanged its annual
net profit forecast of 35bn yen
for the fiscal year to March.
Revenue from international
passenger flights jumped
19.1pc on-year, while revenue
Google said on Thursday
the average price of its online
ads, or “cost per click,”
decreased 3pc year-over-year
in the fourth quarter, while the
number of consumer clicks on
its ads increased 14pc.
Some analysts had hoped
for gains in cost-per-click, said
BGC Partners analyst Colin
Gillis.
Consolidated revenue in
the three months ended Dec.
31 totalled $18.10 billion,
compared to $15.71bn in the
year-ago period. Analysts
were looking for revenue of
$18.46bn. Adjusted earnings
per share of $6.88 missed
analysts’ expectations of $7.11.
crash in the United States that may
have been caused by a defect in
airbags made by embattled supplier
Takata, which has sparked the recall
of millions of vehicles worldwide
by 10 major automakers.
Honda, Japan’s third-biggest
automaker, said Friday it was
cutting its fiscal year to March
net profit forecast by 3.5 per cent
to 545 billion yen ($4.6bn), citing
“quality-related expenses” as well
as falling demand in Japan and
the world’s biggest vehicle market,
China.
It blamed the move on a “decline
in unit sales in Japan and China
due to the difficult automobile
market environment and a forecast
increase in quality-related expenses,
mainly in North America”.
Honda’s airbag recalls - and
others involving its Fit compact
car and Vezel SUV - diluted the
positive impact of the yen’s sharp
decline, which has inflated profits
among major Japanese exporters.
People called 911 to report Facebook outage!
E
15
arlier this week, Facebook, Instagram,
and a handful of other sites, went down
for about an hour.
According to Facebook, it was the result
of an internal glitch, but some souls didn’t
think that explanation was sufficient, so
they called 911 — seriously.
One 911 dispatcher in California said
people actually had the gall to pick up the
phone, dial 911, and ask when Facebook
would be back online.
The dispatcher who requested
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Qantas passengers play
with Gear VR headsets
C
learly eager to mark itself
out from the competition
when it comes to in-flight
entertainment, Qantas is lining
up to supply its passengers
with Samsung’s Gear VR
headset for a bit of 360-degree
long-haul awesomeness.
That’s right, forget seat-back
screens and iPads, Australia’s
national carrier wants you to
sit back and relax with a Note
4-equipped virtual reality
headset strapped to your face.
Introduced as a three month
trial, the airline carrier is only
offering the device to those at
5
1
3
5
anonymity, asked them to not call 911
when a website doesn’t work.
“We have nothing to do with Facebook
the pointy end of the plane.
This one’s for first-class
ticket holders only, your
Gear VR gadget will initially
offer immersive previews of
Qantas destinations alongside
information on new products
and services from the airline.
The Gear VR headsets will
be offered to fliers at Qantas
flight lounges in Sydney and
Melbourne from February,
as well as on select long-haul
services using its A380 aircraft
from March.
Qantas marketing executive
Olivia Wirth described the
inclusion of a virtual reality
headset as part of its in-flight
entertainment service as “an
industry first.”
Certainly as time goes on,
the airline could consider
offering more enhanced
content with the headset.
Just think, nervous fliers
could immerse themselves
in a thoroughly groundbased
audio-visual
experience, while aviation
enthusiasts could enjoy a
cockpit experience with real
turbulence thrown in for
good measure.
Apps for easy home improvement !!!
Roomscan: Need to figure out
the dimensions of the room? Leave
that rusty old measure tape in your
toolbox. This app allows you to create
a detailed floor plan of your space
just by tapping your phone to walls.
2
4
My Measures and Dimensions:
If you’re not trusting enough your
measure tape, this is arguably the best
app to keep track of the measurements
you take. It allows you to snap photos
and annotate different surfaces with
dimensional information.
Handy: If you need to get something
fixed or renovated and you don’t have
the time or resources to do it yourself,
check out Handy. This app is like Uber
for home improvement professionals
and allows you to order and schedule
services from your phone.
MagicPlan: Same purpose as the
Roomscan app, but in a different way.
All measurements are taken with your
phone’s camera. All you got to do is
snap a few pictures.
and when Facebook isn’t working, it’s not
an emergency.”
The dispatcher went on to describe one
caller in particular, who actually called
back and blasted the dispatcher for being
rude.We wish this was some kind of joke as
much as you do.
Lizard Squad, the nebulous collective
took credit for Facebook’s and Instagram’s
outages. As previously mentioned,
Facebook claims it was the result of an
internal glitch.
Google Fiber may
start work in April
G
oogle Fiber’s next stop appears
to be North Carolina, according
to sources and some connect-the-dots
conjecturing. An announcement could
be made as early as this week.
Local officials in Raleigh, Durham
and Charlotte received vague “save
the date” invitations from Google for
Jan. 28 and 29. A source said a formal
announcement could be made this week,
though Google remains mum on the
exact reason for these evening events.
Google is already seeking bids to
begin laying out its fiber network as
early as April, according to a source.
The tech giant has been in talks with
local government officials in Raleigh
and Cary about access and zoning for
placing fiber huts. To add credence
to this speculation, on Dec. 2, Google
created a Google Fiber company in
North Carolina.
Last February, Google added
Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham to its
list of nine potential Google Fiber cities.
Google Fiber boasts speeds up to
1Gbps, which the company says is up to
100 times faster than basic broadband
speeds. Currently, three U.S. cities can
boast about having Google Fiber: Provo,
Utah; Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri;
and Austin, Texas.
Local businesses in Kansas City have
access to Google Fiber for Business, the
first time the high-speed network has
been offered to businesses.
MS Office for Android tabs launched
Adornably: Using augmented
reality, adornably allows you pick a
piece of furnitureThis way can get
an accurate idea of how a given piece
would look with the rest of your
spread before you actually buy it.
M
icrosoft has launched the full
version of its Office suite for
Android tablets after trialling the
software in Preview form.
The complete versions of World,
Excel and PowerPoint for Android
slates are now available to download
and use for free.
Basic functionality such as creating,
saving and printing documents is
included in the free editions, but
anything more extensive requires an
Office 365 subscription.
Office 365 membership allows
users to install the full-fat version of
the software on five tablets and five
phones, and use it on slates of more
than 10.1 inches. It also includes
cloud storage, 60 Skype minutes,
Microsoft support and more.
Minimum
hardware
requirements for Office for Android
tablets are a 7-inch device with at
least 1GB of RAM, an ARM-based
processor and Android 4.4 KitKat
or higher.
16
Saturday, January 31, 2015
His M
Ham
Minister of Education Dr. Majid Al Nuaimi is taking part in UNESCO’s international meeting of Educational Administration in Geneva. The minister, during the meeting, stressed the need to
develop a new curriculum for children with special needs. Several key topics will be discussed in the three-day meeting that kick-started yesterday.
Bahrain Samskriti, in association with Salmaniya Blood Bank, organised a blood donation camp. The event was inaugurated by Pravasi Bharatiya Samman winner P.V. Radhakrishna Pillai.
Bahra
Othm
eral r
Saturday, January 31, 2015
17
Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on his farm in Dariya yesterday. Welcoming HM the King, the Saudi King apprised King
mad about the Al-Ouja historical palace as well as the pictures and artefacts it contains. King Salman also hosted a lunch banquet in honour of HM the King.
ain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Chairman Khalid Almoayed alongside First Vice-Chairman
man Al Rayyes received Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Neil Hawkins. The meeting hailed the bilatrelations between the two friendly countries, particularly in business and trade sectors.
The 108th medical camp of Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF) was organized at
Ambathur Clothing in Maameer on Thursday. It is the first medical camp of ICRF
during the year 2015. Over 300 patients attended the camp.
Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) organised a Gazal night by renowned Malayalam playback singer Manjari yesterday. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Indian Ambassador to
Bahrain Dr. Mohan Kumar and the guest of honour was Zayani Motors General Manager
Mohammed Zaki.
18
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Watson tweets
inspiring advice
Washington
ctress Emma Watson has recently
delivered advice on the importance of
equal rights for men and women on Twitter during
her HeForShe campaign.
When a young woman asked the 24-year-old on Twitter
what she could do to change her dad’s view that engineering was
a man’s profession, Watson replied, “Become an engineer.”
Another fan wrote “any tips for teenage girls with parents who
think they should aspire to marry and have kids, rather than have
a successful career?” to which the Harry Potter star replied,
“Why not have both?”
When one fan asked what people can do against
internalized sexism, Watson said, “aware of it”.
A
Los Angeles
inger Rita Ora is all set to make her debut as a performer in the Academy
Awards with the forthcoming edition. She will be singing Grateful from the
film Beyond the Lights.
“International recording artist Rita Ora will make her Oscar stage debut
this year. The mixture of her incredible voice and glamour makes a
perfect combination for our show,” Oscar producers Craig Zadan and
Neil Meron said in a statement. The 87th Annual Academy Awards will
be airing on Feb 22.
S
Los Angeles
he Twilight star Kristen Stewart has been
selected by the brand’s chief executive Karl
Lagerfeld to star in the upcoming Spring 2015
handbag campaign.
The 24-year-old appears in the
advertisement with Chanel
muses Vanessa Paradis and
Alice Dellal.
Stewart had first stepped
out in Chanel on the red carpet
at the Toronto Film Festival
in 2007.
T
Many things have changed for
John Travolta since he started his
Hollywood career. He did more
of musicals in the beginning such
as Grease, Saturday Night Fever
and the remake of the Broadway
hit musical Hairspray. Over the
years he kept changing his genre
from musicals, action, comedy to
animation. He is also a licensed,
accomplished private pilot, with
multiple certifications and extensive
experience and owns five aircrafts,
including an ex-Qantas Boeing 707–
138 airliner that bears the name
Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his
children. The 707 aircraft bears the
marks of Qantas, as Travolta acts
as an official goodwill ambassador
for the airline wherever he flies. He
is the author of the book Propeller
One-Way Night Coach.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Here’s a list of stars who dropped their old hair look for a new one
Los Angeles
he singer Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon are
being sued by one of their former nannies claims she was
underpaid and fired for showing “too much affection” for the
former couple’s twins Moroccan and Monroe.
According to legal documents, Simonette DeCosta states that
she worked for the separated twosome from October 2013 to Jan.
26, 2014.
She said she cared for the twins during the day, on trips around
the world and even lived with Carey and Cannon at times.
Her job duties included “feeding, bathing and comforting
Ms. Carey’s and Mr. Cannon’s children who were infants and/or
toddlers at the time.”
Lucy Hale: The Pretty Little Liars star first
chopped her hair in November last year, opting for a
honey blonde ombre hair. She again lost a few more
inches, officially joining the bob bandwagon.
Nicole Richie: She has tried purple and midnight
blue hair colours, but now she has lightened her locks
with a brand-new bright pink hue. During the same
salon visit, she also switched her style, losing some
length and adding some bangs, for a bob.
Selena Gomez: Her latest cut - a face-framing,
textured, looks similar to ‘Rachel’, Jennifer Aniston’s
character in the hit US sitcom Friends.
Rosie Huntington: The supermodel has sported
long beachy locks for as long as we can remember,
but she shed some tresses over the holiday break,
switching her style for a chic textured lob with a whole
lot of movement.
T
DT News now gives you a chance to quiz
yourself!
Through our Celeb pages we’ve introduced
you to the world of glitz and glamour, In &
Out! So lets see how much you know about
the stars in limelight!
Clue: Fifth Oscar nominations
To register your guesses and find out this
Diva,
London
he American reality star Kim Kardashian has
revealed the secret behind her slow baby fat
reduction by stating that she doesn’t have time to cook
healthy food.
She said that she started looking a nutritionist, as she
used to eat really bad, but now the star is back on the healthy
eating track with right workouts.
The 34-year-old actress added that after pregnancy she
didn’t know what to cook and how to make it healthier,
that’s the reason she took time to get back her flat
tummy.
She also gushed about her rapper husband, as he
always helps her to decide upon her outfits, and also
makes lunch for his wife.
T
Follow us on:
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DailyTribunenews
Happy guessing!
Kajol Devgan
Kajol Devgan is an Indian film actress who predominantly
works in Hindi cinema. She has received six Filmfare
Awards from eleven nominations, and along with her late
aunt Nutan, holds the record for most Best Actress wins
at Filmfare, with five. In 2011, the Government of India
awarded her with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest
civilian award of the country. Her chemistry with SRK in
movies is appreciated.
19
20
Ripley’s
Saturday, January 31, 2015
CAP THE SNAP
by John Graziano
Head this challenge.
Can you think of an apt
caption for this?
Something funny, intelligent and out-of-the-box!
If you make a winning
entry, your photo along
with the caption will be
featured in DT News.
So grab a pen, think hard,
write to us and see yourself in this space soon!
Don’t forget to attach your
picture.
Sent entries to: facebook@
dt.bh with subject as
‘Caption Contest’
BEST FROM THE LOT. YOU COULD BE NEXT
HA HA...HEE HEE...HO HO...!
A family of mice were surprised by
a big cat. Father Mouse jumped and
and said, “Bow-wow!” The cat ran
away. “What was that, Father?” asked
Baby Mouse. “Well, son, that’s why it’s
important to learn a second language.”
Up close watch
Daren Figueredo
YOUR STAR TODAY
ARIES
20th March - 20th April
All the success and good fortune you’ve enjoyed over the
past several months may have
freed you from the grind enough to
concentrate on spiritual or artistic interests. There may be a few surprises in
store for you, Aries.
LEO
20th July - 20th Aug
Money that has come your
way unexpectedly might have
you thinking in terms of expanding your personal interests and
holdings, Leo. You might consider trying some new investments, particularly
property. There’s no need to rush to
make a decision, however.
SAGITTARIUS
20th Nov - 20th Dec
Surprising developments in
your life might bring a lot of
visitors and much happiness to
your home. You could host a party or
other sort of gathering. This is likely to
keep you very busy throughout the day,
Sagittarius, but you will have fun all the
same.
TAURUS
20th April - 20th May
The company of good friends,
perhaps at a group activity or festival of some kind, contributes to a
powerful feeling of good health, good fortune, and happiness, Taurus. You will probably want to spend a lot of time outdoors
today.
VIRGO
20th Aug - 20th Sept
You may feel so confident
that you could be thinking in
terms of starting a new enterprise, Virgo. Partnerships are especially
likely to succeed now. You could also
grow closer to those who mean the
most to you - family, friends, romantic
partners.
CAPRICORN
20th Dec - 20th Jan
Some wonderful new developments could take place in
your community, Capricorn.
You might meet some new people who
move in nearby. New businesses could
also arrive and give a whole new look to
the area.
GEMINI
20th May - 20th June
Continued success and good
fortune regarding finances could
have you flying high right now,
Gemini. You’re probably glowing with selfconfidence and may well be surrounded by
good friends. There might even be some
public acclaim.
LIBRA
20th Sep - 20th Oct
Recent successes haven’t
made you feel you can rest
on your laurels, Libra. Rather,
you’re more likely to work harder. Today you might spend a lot of time considering different options for improving your socioeconomic status.
AQUARIUS
20th Jan - 20th Feb
A high level of self-confidence and optimism should
stay with you throughout the
day, Aquarius. Your energy is good, as
is your enthusiasm. The success and
good fortune that have been coming
your way are likely to stay with you.
CANCER
20th June - 20th July
Now that you’ve earned your
place in the world after all
your hard work, Cancer, you
might take some time to pursue your
own interests. This could involve writing or publishing, going back to school
to get an advanced degree, or taking a
trip around the world.
SCORPIO
20th Oct - 20th Nov
This is likely a day when you
want to reflect on your successes. As your professional success continues to skyrocket, your sense
of self-confidence follows suit. So do
your relationships with family, friends,
children, and romantic partners.
PISCES
20th Feb - 20th Mar
Happiness is the mood of the
day, Pisces, as you enjoy the
fruits of all your hard work over
the past few years. You’re able to pursue
a few things that you’ve never been able
to before. You’re likely surrounded by
old and new friends, and romance is
blossoming.
21
Saturday, January 31, 2015
CROSSWORD
Across
1- Small dam; 5- Pickling solution; 10- Oscar Madison,
for one; 14- Cross inscription; 15- Breed of duck revered
for its feathers; 16- Shredded; 17- Grump; 18- Diciembre
follower; 19- Scottish Gaelic; 20- Agree; 22- Opposite of
subtraction; 24- AKA; 25- Valuate; 26- Attire; 28- Red
fluorescent dye; 32- Medicinal amount; 35- Menu words;
37- Seaport in NE Italy; 38- LAX posting; 39- Have a feeling
about; 41- Freight weight; 42- Tree limb; 45- Wow; 46- Actor
Auberjonois; 47- Law of Moses; 48- Neighborhood; 50- Inn;
54- Floor worker; 58- Fully; 61- Separable component; 62Sportscaster Albert; 63- Cowboy display; 65- Pianist Gilels;
66- It transforms carbon dioxide into oxygen; 67- European
wheat; 68- Nerve network; 69- The ___ the limit!; 70- Eagle’s
home; 71- Keep it, to an editor;
Yesterday’s solution
Down
1- Good witchcraft; 2- Sign up; 3- Teheran native; 4Enclosure formed by the ribs; 5- Ale, e.g.; 6- Oysters ___
season; 7- Brainstorms; 8- Squares; 9- Wear down; 10Felt hat; 11- Actress Petty; 12- Estimator’s phrase; 13- “It’s
___ real”; 21- Mex. neighbor; 23- Got it; 25- Skilled; 27Impetuous; 29- Locale; 30- Desktop picture; 31- Hawaiian
goose; 32- It’s outstanding; 33- Other, in Oaxaca; 34German river; 36- Actress Alicia; 37- Change direction;
40- Stately aquatic bird; 43- Indigenous inhabitants; 44Blacken; 46- Oakland outfit; 49- DDE’s command; 51- Vice
___; 52- Take the honey and run; 53- U-Haul competitor;
55- “Network” director; 56- Best of the best; 57- Sublease;
58- CPR experts; 59- Stool pigeon: var.; 60- Deuce topper;
61- Speck; 64- Certain Ivy Leaguer;
BEETLE BAILEY
IN HISTORY
Hoy en la Historia
January 31, 1990
Huge queues snaked through
the streets as Russia’s first
McDonald’s restaurant opened in
Moscow. At that time it was the
largest McDonald’s in the world
1915: German troops fired artillery
shells containing tear gas on Russian
positions near Warsaw in the first
large-scale use of gas as a war weapon
1950: U.S. President Harry Truman
announced he had ordered the
development of the hydrogen bomb
1955: The first musical synthesizer was
demonstrated by RCA
1971: A limited telephone service
linked East and West Berlin for the
first time in 19 years
Picture: Getty Images
© GRAPHIC NEWS
S U D O KU
R
Little Known Facts
Ancient Egyptians
worshipped over
1,400 different gods
and goddesses.
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
22
Saturday, January 31, 2015
QATARI ROYAL FAMILY’S
PALACE PLAN HALTED
Q
atar’s royal family may
have snapped up Canary
Wharf for £2.6bn this week,
adding to its London portfolio
of Harrods and the Shard
skyscraper, but the Gulf
billionaires’ property spree has
finally run into a dead end – a
humble town hall bureaucrat.
In a rare act of resistance
against the tide of Qatari
petro-dollars that has swept
through London’s property
market, a planning officer
at Westminster city council,
Matthew Rees, has said
the family’s plans to create
a British palace worth an
estimated £200m will be
refused.
The Qatari royals had
hoped to knock together two
Grade I-listed mansions in
Regent’s Park to create a lavish
palace with 17 bedrooms, 14
lounges, four dining rooms,
a swimming pool, a cigar
lounge, a cinema and a juice
bar. Blueprints suggest it
was intended for the current
or former emir and one of
his wives. It includes a huge
master suite with separate
dressing rooms for the sheikh
and sheikha, and a special
eveningwear wardrobe and
private fitting room for the
sheikha. Children were to
have the whole top floor to
themselves – with lift access
to a games room, a large
pantry for snacks and various
lounges.
But the council officer
said no, citing an issue that
matters to millions in the
capital: the shortage of homes.
He torpedoed the scheme in
a dry official memo to the
Qataris’ agents, which read:
“Your development would
lead to the loss of a housing
unit which would not meet
S14 of Westminster’s City
Plan: Strategic Policies
adopted November 2013.”
He added: “Negotiation could
not overcome the reasons for
refusal.”
Paul
Dimoldenberg,
leader of the Labour group
at the Conservative-controlled
authority, said: “The stories
about the mega-rich parking
their money in Westminster
have got to the point where
even Westminster council is
embarrassed at what is going
on. There is no need for more
multimillion-pound houses.
The issue isn’t finding homes
for the Qatar royal family or
any other monarchy. We need
to find homes for people on
medium and low incomes.”
The Qataris’ agents had tried
to head off the problem by
offering the council £850,000
in cash towards its affordable
housing fund. The council’s
head of affordable housing had
said the money could be put to
good use in contributing to
the construction or purchase
of new affordable homes.
But Rees said this was not
permitted, and the decision
stood.
Dimoldenberg pointed out
that the Qataris’ offer would
only buy one two-bedroom
apartment in that part of
the city. “Houses containing
a number of flats or homes
shouldn’t be knocked through,
and that is our policy,” said a
spokesman for Westminster.
“We need as many homes
in central London as we can
possibly get. It would now be
up to the planning committee
to decide [if] they agree with
that.”
Qatari sources said they
had yet to decide what
strategy to take following the
recommendation for refusal.
They bought the homes for an
estimated £120m in 2013.
Their designers, March &
White declined to comment.
(The Guardian)
Winston Churchill’s 50th anniversary of funeral
O
nly the raw bleak January
day and the great dome of
St Paul’s Cathedral appeared
unchanged since the funeral
half a century ago today of Sir
Winston Churchill, the leader
regularly voted the greatest
Briton.
The anniversary of the
funeral on 30 January 1965,
which brought the capital to
a standstill and took place
a week after his death aged
90 on 24 January, is being
marked by scores of events,
including a service and
wreath laying at the Houses
of Parliament, a memorial
service at Westminster Abbey,
and the rebroadcast by BBC
Parliament of the original
live coverage.
In a tribute to his most
famous predecessor, the prime
minister, David Cameron,
said: “Half a century after his
death, Winston Churchill’s
legacy continues to inspire not
only the nation whose liberty
he saved, but the entire world.
His words and his actions
reverberate through our
national life today.”
Churchill was above all a
patriot with lessons to teach
the world today, the prime
minister said, as he laid a
wreath at the feet of the statue
in the House of Commons
The Havengore, the boat which carried Sir Winston Churchill lobby.
along the Thames during his state funeral in 1965, repeats its
“He knew that Britain was
journey from the Tower of London to Westminster.
not just a place on the map
Winston Churchill’s memorial stone is cleaned in
Westminster Abbey this
week.
but a force in the world, with a
destiny to shape events and a
duty to stand up for freedom.
That is why in 1940 – after
France had fallen, before
America or Russia had entered
the war – he said this: ‘Hitler
knows that he will have to
break us in this island or lose
the war. If we can stand up
to him all Europe may be free
- and the life of the world
may move forward into broad,
sunlit uplands.’
“Churchill was confident
that freedom and democracy
would win out over barbarism
and tyranny in the end... and
it did.” He added: “with every
affront to freedom in this
century, we must remember
that courage and resolve in the
last century.” (The Guardian)
23
Saturday, January 31, 2015
French tourists pose naked at temple, held
Phnom Penh
hree French tourists in their
early twenties have been
arrested by Cambodian authorities
for taking nude photos of each
other inside the country’s famed
Angkor temple complex, officials
said on Friday.
The male tourists were
discovered inside the Banteay Kdei
temple at the world heritage site
T
Japan to
launch new
spy satellite
Tokyo
apan’s government said it
will launch a back-up spy
satellite on Sunday, after
cancelling an earlier lift-off due
to bad weather.
Tokyo put spy satellites into
operation in the early 2000s
after its elusive neighbour
North Korea fired a midrange ballistic missile over the
Japanese mainland and into the
western Pacific in 1998.
Four Japanese intelligence
satellites are currently in orbit
-- two optical satellites and two
radar satellites. The backup
satellite will supplement the two
radar satellites, a government
official said on Friday.
J
Uganda charges 18 for
murder of Muslim clerics
Kampala
A Ugandan Muslim sheikh and
17 others have been charged
with killing two fellow clerics,
a case police said on Friday
is linked to Islamist rebels in
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Toll in Mexico gas explosion
rises to three
on Thursday, Chau Sun Kerya,
spokeswoman for the Apsara
Authority -- the government
agency managing the Angkor
complex -- said.
The temple is a worship site and
their behaviour is inappropriate.
They were nude,” she said.
Keat Bunthan, a senior
heritage police official, said many
Cambodians would be offended by
the tourists’ actions.
“Their activities affect our
culture. Nobody should take nude
pictures at ancient temples,” he
said. The three were all in their
early 20s, according to passport
details released by the Cambodian
authorities.
The Apsara Authority said in a
statement that the three tourists
have “admitted they really made a
PHILIPPINES, REBELS
TALKS FORGE AHEAD
Disarmament main issue
Kuala Lumpur
hilippine government and
Muslim rebel negotiators
met in Malaysia on Friday,
forging ahead with talks on
disarming the guerrillas despite
a historic peace deal struck last
year being thrown into doubt
by a deadly clash.
The discussions marked the
first formal sit-down between
the two sides since a botched
Philippine police anti-terror
raid in the country’s Muslim
south last Sunday resulted in
a firefight that killed 44 police
commandos and shook the
peace effort.
The Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), which has
P
waged a decades-long bloody
insurgency, signed a protocol
during an initial encounter
Thursday in Kuala Lumpur that
paves the way for disarmament.
Talks are expected to
continue into the weekend
at an undisclosed location as
procedures are hammered out.
But the future of the entire
peace effort has been called
into doubt by the clash in
Mindanao, with public calls
growing in the Philippines for
retribution against the rebels.
The police raid was aimed at
capturing or killing a wanted
Malaysian terrorism suspect
but turned into a debacle when
commandos were ambushed
Philippines chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferer (left) and
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher
Iqbal (right) sign the peace agreement, with AB Ghafar Tengku
Mohamed as a witness in Kuala Lumpur, January 25, 2014.
(File pic)
Four arrested in Belgium anti-terror raids
Mexico City
The toll in the powerful gas
explosion that destroyed a
maternity and children’s hospital here, has risen to three
73 others were injured, 20 of
them newborns.
The huge explosion occurred
Thursday due to a major leak
in the hose carrying gas.
Brussels
our people were arrested
following a total of 22
police raids in Belgium
Friday as part of ongoing
investigations into terrorist
activity in the country.
The police action was
directed against a gang that
was recruiting people to fight
Islamic militants in Syria,
F
Xinhua news agency reported
citing Belgian newspaper Le
Soir.
The raids took place at
several locations across
Belgium. There were 22 raids
in all. Half of them took place
in the city of Maaseik in
north-eastern Belgium, in the
Limburg Province, close to the
border with the Netherlands.
Two more raids took place
separately in Maasmechelen
and Houthalen, also in
Limburg. There were four
raids carried out in Antwerp.
Premises in Brussels,
Genk and Kinrooi were also
searched. Belgium remains on
high alert following a police
clampdown on a major jihadi
cell earlier in the month.
Grouchy
Philippines a ‘crying baby’: Chinese media
Beijing
hina’s official news agency on
Friday likened the Philippines
to a “crying baby” for seeking
international support against
island-building in disputed waters
by Beijing, denouncing its efforts
as “pathetic”.
The caustic commentary by the
Xinhua news agency came two
C
mistake by taking nude pictures”.
The agency added Cambodian
police were building a case against
them and that they faced two
possible charges. The first -- public
exposure -- is punishable by up
to six months in prison and a
maximum $120 fine while a second
charge of making pornography
could see the trio jailed for up to a
year and fined $500. (AFP)
days after foreign ministers from
the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) voiced concern
over Beijing’s land reclamation
efforts in the South China Sea.
Manila -- which has challenged
China’s territorial claims at
a UN tribunal -- had urged the
10-country grouping to take
a firmer stand against Beijing
on the issue. “Only one month
after an arbitration farce, the
Philippines is putting up another
pathetic show in an attempt to
lobby international sympathy and
support in its territorial spat with
China,” Xinhua wrote.
“Manila should be fully aware
that acting like a crying baby and
begging for compassion from the
international community would
never help justify its claims in the
South China Sea dispute,” it said.
The dispute “should and could
be properly handled only by
the parties directly concerned”,
it added. China says it controls
almost all of the South China Sea, a
claim which conflicts with those of
ASEAN members. (AFP)
by fighters from MILF and the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF), a MILF
splinter group.
MILF chief negotiator
Mohagher Iqbal said that
11 MILF fighters also were
killed, and 15 wounded, some
seriously.
Last year’s peace deal would
create a southern autonomous
region for the Philippines’
Muslim minority with locally
elected leaders by mid-2016.
Representatives of both
sides at the Malaysia-hosted
talks said they would not allow
the bloodshed to derail the
painstakingly achieved peace
agreement signed last March.
Democratically-elected
president of Bulgaria dies
Sofia
Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgaria’s first
democratically-elected president and a humble hero in the
toppling of communism, died
on Friday aged 79, his family
said.
“Zhelev was a symbol of public
and intellectual dignity and of
uncompromising faith in liberty and democracy,” speaker
of parliament said.
24
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Yes, France and China
are two great nations,
which like to talk of their
history, of their culture...
of their stubborn attachment to independence
People around the world
have expressed their
concern about leaders who refuse to leave
office when their terms
end. I share those concerns.
- UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
In Kabul
Taliban claim
responsibility
for attack
Kabul
he Afghan Taliban have
claimed
responsibility
for a suicide attack that killed
three American contractors at
a military base attached to the
Kabul airport.
The attacker in the Thursday
incident was a Taliban agent
who “had penetrated into the
security forces and was waiting
for such a target for a long
time,” a spokesman for the
group, Zabiullah Mujahid, said
on Friday.
“Yesterday in the evening he
managed to get to a crowd of
invading and infidel American
military forces where he turned
his gun towards them and
opened fire,” he added. “During
the gun battle, Ehsanullah was
also killed by the enemy.”
A U.S. military official earlier
told the three American were
contractors.
T
Non-terror
convict to
be hanged
Islamabad
nother Pakistani convict
will be hanged in Punjab
province’s Haripur central
jail as the prison authorities
received his death warrant on
Friday.
Shoaib Sarwar, who was
awarded the death sentence on
murder charges, is likely to be
executed within the next three
days, The Nation reported.
Sarwar will be the first
civilian to be hanged for a
non-terror related charge since
2008. There are nearly 8,000
death row convicts in Pakistan.
A
Rebuke
I feel your pain. I pledge
to bring justice to all those
who were killed. one of
the top priorities would
be to go after militant
Abdul Basit Usman
- French Prime Minister
Manuel Valls
-Philippine President
Benigno Aquino
PAK MOSQUE
BLAST KILLS 57
TTP splinter group Jundullah takes onus
Shikarpur
t least 57 people were
killed and 60 others were
injured in an explosion inside
a central imambargah (mosque
affiliated with Shia Muslims)
in Sindh province’s Shikarpur
district on Friday.
Civil Hospital Shikarpur
issued a list of 49 victims out
of whom 46 bodies had been
identified whereas the identity
of three others was yet to be
confirmed. TTP splinter
group Jundullah have claimed
responsibility for the terrorist
attack.
The imambargah is located
in Shikarpur’s Lakhi Dar area
and the explosion occurred just
after Friday prayers.
A number of victims were
trapped under debris after
the roof of the imambargah
collapsed due to the intensity
of the blast. Many injured
A
Security officials gather at the scene following a bomb attack.
(AFP)
were shifted to hospital in
Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen
Sukkur and Larkana districts (MWM)
central
leader
of Sindh.
Allama Mohammed Amin
Shaheedi announced three
days mourning, describing
the incident a failure of the
government.
The Jafria Disaster Cell
(JDC) demanded that the
critically wounded victims be
immediately shifted to Karachi
for treatment.
Local resident Mohammad
Jehangir said he had “felt the
earth move beneath my feet” as
he prayed at another mosque
around 1.5 kilometres away.
An official with a national
Shiia organisation, Rahat
Kazmi, said that up to 400
people were worshipping in
the mosque when the blast
struck.
Sindh Information Minister
Sharjeel Inam Memon told
Dawn that an emergency had
been imposed at all hospitals
in Shikarpur and surrounding
talukas and cities. (AFP)
Terror bid foiled, explosives seized
Quetta
ecurity forces on Friday
morning foiled a major
terror bid by seizing an
explosive-laden vehicle in
Quetta in Pakistan.
A security official said that
forces also apprehended an
alleged suicide bomber along
with the explosive-laden
vehicle. He said 200 bombs were
S
recovered from the vehicle.
Forces acted quickly and did
not face any resistance, he said,
adding that the explosive-laden
vehicle was being brought to
Quetta to carry out a major act
of terrorism.
Intelligence agencies and
anti-terrorist forces personnel
also picked up a suspected
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) commander from
Balochistan on Friday
morning. Security sources
said one low-level TTP
militant was also arrested
during the operation and
forces recovered weapons.
In another incident,
Frontier Corps personnel
recovered
arms
and
ammunition from an Alto car
in the Gulistan area of Killa
Abdullah district.
Rape victim
sues Uber
in US court
New Delhi
woman who alleges a
Uber driver raped her in
the Indian capital has sued
the online taxi service in a US
court, accusing it of failing to
provide passenger safety.
In her lawsuit, the Indian
woman accuses Uber of putting
profits over safety, calling
the US-based company the
“modern day equivalent of
electronic hitchhiking”.
In an email late Thursday,
the American lawyer for the
25-year-old woman, said Uber
was being sued for unspecified
damages for “physical and
emotional harm”.
A
15 civilians killed in eastern
Ukraine shelling
Moscow
At least 15 civilians were
killed in the city of Donetsk
by Ukrainian artillery bombardments, five of them killed
in a new attack on a trolleybus, pro-Russian separatists
charged Friday.
“Five people died in the trolleybus,” said the ministry of
defence of the self-proclaimed
People’s Republic of Donetsk.
New Greek PM Tsipras in
Italy, France next week
Athens
Greece’s new radical Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras will
travel to Italy and France next
week for meetings, his office
said Friday, as his government
began talks to renegotiate its
unpopular EU-IMF bailout.
Tsipras, elected on Sunday,
will meet Italian Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi on Tuesday and
French President Francois
Hollande on Wednesday.
Kerry fined for not removing snow
Washington
S secretary of state John
Kerry has been fined a
penalty of $50 by the Boston
City officials for not removing
snow dumped on the side street
in front of his house which
was formed due to the massive
snowstorm this week.
The city officials on
U
Thursday slapped Kerry with
a $50 fine for failing to clear
the snow-clogged sidewalk
on the Pinckney Street side of
his Beacon Hill mansion, The
Boston Globe reported.
Kerry’s spokesperson Glen
Johnson said the secretary of
state would promptly pay the
fine.
“Diplomats - they’re just
like us. Secretary John Kerry
was working overseas while the
blizzard packed a wallop back
home,” Johnson was quoted as
saying.
The US secretary of state was
not at the Boston home when
the massive snowstorm hit the
city.
Kerry was in Saudi Arabia
along with US President Barack
Obama and Michelle Obama to
express condolences over the
death of King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud and meeting
the new king.
“It was a very public rebuke
of one of the city’s most famous
dwellers,” the daily reported.
25
Saturday, January 31, 2015
China vows no ‘Western values’ in varsities
Beijing
Tom Hancock
C
hina’s
education
minister has vowed to
ban university textbooks,
which promote “Western
values”, state media said, in
the latest sign of ideological
tightening under President Xi
Jinping.
“Never let textbooks
promoting Western values
appear in our classes,”
minister Yuan Guiren said,
according to a report late
Thursday by Xinhua news
agency. “Remarks that
slander the leadership of the
Communist Party of China”
and “smear socialism” must
never appear in college
classrooms, he added.
China’s universities are
run by the ruling Communist
party, which tightly controls
discussions of history and
other topics it construes
as a potential threat to its
grip on power. The party
often brands concepts such
as multiparty elections and
the separation of powers
as “Western”, despite their
global appeal and application.
Beijing and Hong Kong
authorities blamed recent
student-led demonstrations
in Hong Kong calling for
greater democracy in the
former British colony on
“foreign forces”, although
no evidence has been cited.
(AFP)
Migrant boat tragedy in Bangladesh
EIGHT BODIES FOUND
Dhaka
escuers pulled eight bodies
Friday from a fishing boat
that sank off the Bangladesh
coast carrying migrants to
Malaysia, as a search continued
for a dozen still missing, an
official said.
Emergency workers have
rescued 43 Bangladeshis in the
Bay of Bengal since the trawler
capsized in strong currents
some 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles)
offshore on Thursday, officials
have said.
“We recovered seven bodies
from the lower deck of the
boat on Friday morning,”
coastguard captain Shahidul
Islam said. The bodies were
R
AU calls for 7,500-strong
force to fight Boko Haram
Addis Ababa
The African Union (AU) called
on Friday for a regional fivenation force of 7,500 troops to
defeat the “horrendous” rise of
Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist
militants.
The call for collective action
came as leaders of the
54-member bloc opened their
two-day annual summit in the
Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
“Terrorism is a threat to our
collective safety, security
and development,” AU chair
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.
Hacked Off
found after the coastguard
towed the boat to shore, Islam
said.
Although dozens were
how many people are still
missing because the survivors
gave us different estimates as to
how many people were aboard
Aus files fresh plea for
death row convicts
Denpasar
wo Australians on death row
in Indonesia applied for a new
judicial review of their cases on Friday
in a bid to halt their executions, with
their lawyer calling for the men to be
given a “second chance”.
However, the attorney general’s
office in Jakarta said judges were
likely to reject the request for a fresh
Australian drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran and judicial review from the leaders of the
Andrew Chan (R) wait inside a holding cell.
“Bali Nine” drug-smuggling gang.
T
Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran were arrested in Bali in 2005
and sentenced to death the following
year for attempting to smuggle eight
kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin out of
the Indonesian holiday island.
In December, Sukumaran lost an
appeal for presidential clemency, a
death row convict’s last chance to avoid
the firing squad.
Chan’s appeal was rejected earlier
this month. (AFP)
Cho Hyun-Ah
Apology by
Korean Air
boss in court
Seoul
orean Air chief Cho YangHo on Friday apologised
for his daughter’s behaviour to
a South Korean court, where
she is on trial for air safety
violations after a now notorious
“nut rage” incident.
His daughter Cho HyunAh faces a maximum 10-year
sentence if convicted of the
charges, which stem from an
incident in December when she
allegedly forced the chief purser
off a New York-Seoul flight,
compelling the taxiing plane to
return to the gate so he could
disembark.
K
Underwater search for
MH370 to end by May
Kuala Lumpur
The underwater search for the
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,
missing the past 10 months,
is expected to be completed by May, an official of the
Malaysian Department of Civil
Aviation (DCA) said.
“The weather condition will be
very challenging for the search
after May,” the official added in
a briefing on Friday.
Chinese kin reject MH370 death declaration
Beijing
istraught Chinese relatives of
passengers on missing flight
MH370 on Friday called for Malaysia
to withdraw its declaration that all
onboard had died in an accident,
shunning offers of compensation.
Malaysian authorities on Thursday
formally declared that all 239 the
passengers and crew onboard the
lost Malaysia Airlines plane -- twothirds of whom were Chinese -- were
presumed dead for the first time.
“We call on Malaysia to withdraw
D
initially feared missing, officials
now believe the figure is lower
after interviewing more of the
survivors. “We don’t know
when the boat capsized,” Islam
said adding: “But it was a small
boat and we think the number
of missing won’t be more than
a dozen.”
The coastguard along with
the Bangladesh navy were
scouring the sea, but with more
than 24 hours elapsing since
the disaster, hopes were fading
of finding them alive, he said.
All of the passengers were
Bangladeshis
who
were
heading to Malaysia by sea
illegally, police have said.
The boat hit strong currents
in a channel shortly after
leaving a coastal town near
the southern port city of
Chittagong. (AFP)
their statement. It lacks a basis
in evidence,” said Jiang Hui,
whose mother was on the
plane, calling on authorities to
apologise.
“They gave up searching for
survivors after 40 days.”
More than 100 Chinese
relatives of the lost passengers
are requesting Malaysia take
back their statement, according
to posts in an online group
they use.
Family members, some
of whom burst into tears as
they spoke to reporters near
a Buddhist temple in Beijing,
said they had received little
advance warning of the
announcement -- echoing
complaints from distraught
relatives in Kuala Lumpur on
Thursday. “Malaysia ignored
the right of relatives to know
the news first,” Jiang added.
Furious accusations from
Chinese relatives that Malaysia
had covered-up information
about the loss of the flight during the
10-month investigation drew Beijing
into the fray, straining bilateral ties.
Malaysia’s official declaration that
MH370 was an “accident,” opens the
door for compensation payments -but several relatives said they were
not interested in compensation
without further investigations.
“We don’t want money. We want
the truth about what happened,”
said Hu Xiufang, whose only child,
daughter-in-law and grandson were
on the plane. (AFP)
26
Saturday, January 31, 2015
ceptionist (preferably female)
is required for a reputable training centre, good command of
English Language, fast learner,
good communication skills and
have good working knowledge of
social media marketing. Please
send your CV to info@rgtc-me.
com
....................................................
Required INTERIOR DESIGNER. We are looking for a interior designer with the knowledge
of 3d studio max. Interested
candidate please send your
cv. Freshers can also apply.
email:sammanigrafix@gmail.
com
Reputed
FMCG
Company
requires Outdoor Salesman.
Tel:77066050. Email: elena.
moonlight@hotmail.com”
....................................................
EXPERIENCED HOUSE DRIVER REQUIRED
Work permit available, interested please Call 33114486
....................................................
Urgently Required CIVIL QA
QC INSPECTOR We are looking for CIVIL QA QC Inspector
in Bahrain. Suitable candidates,
Please submit your CVs to: bd@
bitsgroups.com
....................................................
Interior Design Company offers
two positions: (1) ARCHITECT/
INTERIOR DRAFTSMAN expert
in AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Revit. Minimum 6 years experience.
(2) VISUALIZER expert in photorealistic 3D renderings. Email CV
to bahdintjob@gmail.com
...................................................
PROJECT MANAGER, CIVIL
ENGINEER, QUANTITY SURVEYORS urgently required for
Grade ‘A’ Contracting Company.
Email: constjobs12@gmail.com
...................................................
Urgently Required ACCOUNTANT experienced from consultancy company an advantage, local hire only . Email CV: jobmcr@
gmail.com
...................................................
ORACLE DEVELOPER
Experience in requirement analysis, designing, developing, imple-
menting and executing a project.
Good knowledge of programming techniques. Experience on
Database architecture, design,
modeling and implementation.
Prepare and manage Documentation. Please send CV to E-mail
bahjobs455@gmail.com
...................................................
Urgently required PART TIME
SANDWICH MAKER for a franchise company to work from 2am
to 7am. If interested please send
email to finance@aubonme.com
...................................................
Urgently Required ADMIN ASSISTANT. Branded Property
Management and Real Estate
Group in Bahrain looking for Admin Assistant (female) to join immediately with team. Experience
- Minimum 1 year similar experience, Gender - female, Nationality
- Any. Forward your application to
“localrecruitbahrain@gmail.com”
.....................................................
Urgently Required SENIOR
SECRETARY we accept applicants with wide experience in
foreign exchange, age not more
than 30 years. Ability to communicate with expected clients. Very
attractive salaries. Bilingual is
preferred. Please send your CV
to bh.joboffers@gmail.com
....................................................
ACCOUNTANT REQUIRED
Must possess 5 years of GCC
experience in handling the accounts. Should hold a university degree. Must read, write and
speak Arabic and English fluently.
This vacancy is open for any
nationality. E-mail : - clientmanager@futurehousemp.com
...................................................
Urgently Required CHIEF COOK
For a newly opening cafe cum
restaurant. Should be a specialist in making broasted, burger,
sandwiches, juices, & parathas.
Please send CV to E-mail :
georgekim786@yahoo.com
...................................................
Required ACCOUNTANT, A leading trading company is looking for
accountant with audit experience
and finalization of accounts. Commerce graduate with minimum
five years experience and ready to
work in two shifts can send CV with
recent photo graphs and expected
salary to hr@awalgas.com
...................................................
Urgently Required SITE ENGINEER for high rise building project with 5 - 10 years experience.
Please send CV to Email: nasser.
towers14@gmail.com
...................................................
Urgently Required WAITRESS
with minimum experience of 2
years in the field and must have
pleasing personality. Should
handle guest with high quality of
service. Minimum height of 5’6.
Interested applicant may submit
CV to hr@newvisiongrp.com
...................................................
FRONT OFFICE ADMIN & RECEPTIONIST REQUIRED A
skillful Front Office Admin & Re-
FOR RENT
SHOP, WORKSHOPS, GARAGE,
STORE for rent in Hamala.
Contact 34437731
..................................................
TUBLI fully furnished apartment for
rent with 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms
with gym, swimming pool, monthly
BD400 include electricity and water
. Contact: 3536 9925
..................................................
HIDD apartment for rent, close
by Dilmun bakery 2 medium size
bedrooms 2 bathroom Hall and
kitchen in ground floor. Rent: BD
180 BD. Contact: 3723 9136
..................................................
HIDD studio apartment for rent
with one bedroom, one bathroom,
kitchen
(comprehensive
air
conditioning and curtains +
electricity. Contact: 3770 9766
..................................................
AMWAJ apartment for Rent in tala
island with two bedrooms, laundry
room, overlooking the sea, open
kitchen, parking, swimming pool,
gym, supermarket and restaurants.
for rent at a price of BD700 only.
Email: naif@quest-amwaj.com
..................................................
AMWAJ 3 bedroom villa for rent
in the floating city, Rent: BD 1300.
Email: naif@quest-amwaj.com
..................................................
SERVICE
HOME CARE Cleaning Services:
carpet & sofa shampoo, plumbing
& electrical jobs. Tel. 17562400,
36994899.
This rich and satisfying lamb and lentil curry uses
a great-value cut of meat for a tasty dinner on a
budget.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp sunflower oil
500g/1lb 2oz lamb neck fillets, trimmed, cut into
3cm/1¼in chunks
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp medium curry paste
150g/5½oz dried split red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 tsp salt, plus extra to season
75g/2½oz curly kale (or mature spinach leaves),
rinsed, shredded, any tough stalks discarded
freshly ground black pepper
steamed rice or naan bread, to serve
PREPARATION
Heat the oil in a large, lidded, non-stick saucepan
over a medium heat. Add the lamb, onions and garlic
and fry for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned, stirring
regularly.
Add the curry paste and stir well to coat the lamb and
onions. Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring well,
then add the tomatoes, lentils, 500ml/18fl oz water
and salt. Bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat
until the mixture is simmering, then half-cover the pan
with the lid and simmer very gently for 45-50 minutes,
stirring regularly, until the lamb is very tender. (Add a
little extra water if the curry is beginning to look dry
before the lamb is tender.)
Season with salt and pepper, stir in the kale and
simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, or until tender.
Serve in bowls with steamed rice or warm naan bread.
Classifieds@dt.bh
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
17256470
HONDA ACCORD, 2009 model
for sale. KM 92000, Engine Size
2001-3000CC. Price BD 4,500.
Contact: 36485501
...................................................
INFINITI FX45/FX35, 2006
model for sale. Engine Size
3001-4000CC. Price BD 4,700.
Contact: 33276252
...................................................
BMW 3-SERIES, 2007 model
for sale. Engine Size 30014000CC. Price BD 6,300. Contact: 39787898
...................................................
TOYOTA COROLLA, 2001
model for sale. KM 190000, Engine Size 1000-2000CC. Price
BD 1,750. Contact: 39754346
...................................................
VOLKSWAGEN CC, 2014 model for sale. KM 8500, Engine
Size 1000-2000CC. Price BD
10,400. Contact: 33620118
...................................................
CHEVROLET
TRAILBLAZER, 2004 model for sale. KM
170000, engine Size 4000+CC.
Price BD 2,000. Contact:
36039002
...................................................
MERCEDES-BENZ CLK-Class,
1999 model for sale. Engine
size 1901 - 2000 CC. Price BD
2,000. Contact: 36942567
...................................................
HONDA ACCORD, 2005 model
for sale. KM 137000, Engine
Size 2001-3000CC. Price BD
2,500. Contact: 33833390
...................................................
CITROEN C4, 2006 model for
sale. Engine Size 1000-2000 CC.
Price BD 650. Contact: 39144218
...................................................
MITSUBISHI LANCER, 2009
model for sale. KM 127000, engine Size 1000-2000CC. Price
BD 2,500. Contact: 33055827
...................................................
NISSAN ARMADA, 2004 model
for sale. KM 173000, engine
Size 4000+CC. Price BD 4,500.
Contact: 39977886
...................................................
MAZDA CX-9, 2008 model for
sale. KM 177000, engine Size
3001-4000CC. Price BD 4,800.
Contact: 36991412
...................................................
TOYOTA SOLARA, 2006 model for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 4,200. Contact: 38333612
...................................................
LEXUS for sale, 1994 model
for sale, engine Size 30014000CC. Price: BD 900 Contact: 39787787
...................................................
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. Contact: 33453396
...................................................
NISSAN ALTIMA, 2005 model
for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 1,500. Contact: 34064033
...................................................
LAMB AND LENTIL
CURRY
17579869
Contact: 39541177
...................................................
MITSUBISHI LANCER, 2008
model for sale, engine Size
2001-3000CC. Price BD 1,900.
Contact: 32229226
...................................................
38444695
TOYOTA FORTUNER, 2013
model for sale. KM 33000, engine size 2001-3000CC. Price
BD 8,000. Contact: 34443543
...................................................
HONDA CR-VENGINE, 1998
model for sale, engine size
1000-2000CC. Price BD 1,200.
Contact: 33285528
...................................................
FORD FOCUS, 2006 model for
sale. KM 135000, engine Size
1000-2000CC. Price BD 1,300.
Contact: 36065004
...................................................
HYUNDAI GALLOPER, 2002
model for sale. KM 220000, engine Size 3001-4000CC. Price
BD 1,300. Contact: 37737756
...................................................
HONDA CR-V, 1998 model
for sale. Engine Size 10002000CC. Price BD 1,250. Contact: 33071582
...................................................
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE,
2000 model for sale. KM 150000,
engine Size 4000+CC. Price BD
950. Contact: 34556227
...................................................
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. Contact: 33453396
...................................................
NISSAN ALTIMA, 2005 model
for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 1,500. Contact: 34064033
...................................................
TOYOTA ECHO, 2004 model
for sale. KM 150000, Engine
Size 1000-2000CC. Price BD
1,450. Contact: 39435292
.................................................
BMW 7-SERIES, 2007 model
for sale. KM 144000, Engine
Size 4000+CC. Price BD 5,800.
Contact: 33741525
...................................................
LEXUS IS-SERIES, 2006 model for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 5,300. Contact: 36611106
...................................................
FORD GT, 2006 model for sale.
Engine Size 3001-4000CC.
Price BD 4,300. Contact:
33056210
...................................................
HONDA CIVIC, 2002 model
for sale. Engine Size 10002000CC. Price BD 1,350. Contact: 33855420.
...................................................
HYUNDAI TUCSON, 2009
model for sale, engine Size
2001-3000CC. Price BD 3,000.
Contact: 33276252
...................................................
MITSUBISHI LANCER, 2009
model for sale. KM 79000, engine Size 1000-2000CC. Price
BD 2,200. Contact: 35004377
...................................................
FORD FOCUS, 2004 model for
sale. KM 173000, engine Size
1000-2000CC. Price BD 1,150.
Contact: 35392897
...................................................
BMW 3-SERIES, 2008 model
for sale. KM 96000, engine Size
2001-3000CC. Price BD 7,200.
Contact: 39265885
...................................................
CHRYSLER 300M/300C, 2003
model for sale. Engine Size
3001-4000CC. Price BD 1,100.
Contact: 33558876
...................................................
NISSAN ALTIMA, 2008 model
for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 2,800. Contact: 36100026
...................................................
LEXUS ES-Series, 2006 model
for sale. Engine Size 2901 3000 CC. Price BD 3,800. Contact: 39881810
...................................................
MINI COOPER, 2011 model for
sale. KM 60000, engine Size
1000-2000CC. Price BD 5,200.
Contact: 33355790
...................................................
CHRYSLER 300M/300C, 2012
model for sale. KM 68000, engine Size 4000+CC. Price BD
8,800. Contact: 36640466
...................................................
HONDA ACCORD, 2010 model
for sale. KM 73452, engine Size
3001-4000CC. Price BD 5,299.
Contact: 38808449
...................................................
NISSAN SUNNY, 2004 model
for sale. KM 105000, engine
Size 1000-2000CC. Price BD
1,650. Contact: 34129197
...................................................
NISSAN XTERRA, 2010 model
for sale. KM 81000, engine Size
3001-4000CC. Price BD 5,700.
Contact: 33054520
...................................................
NISSAN PATHFINDER, 2003
model for sale, engine Size
2001-3000 CC. Price BD 2,250.
Contact: 35392897
...................................................
BMW 7-SERIES, 2007 model
for sale. KM 144000, Engine
Size 4000+CC. Price BD 5,800.
Contact: 33741525
...................................................
LEXUS IS-SERIES, 2006 model for sale. Engine Size 20013000CC. Price BD 5,300. Contact: 36611106
...................................................
FORD GT, 2006 model for sale.
Engine Size 3001-4000CC.
Price BD 4,300. Contact:
33056210
...................................................
LEXUS ES-SERIES, 2008 model for sale. Engine Size30014000CC . Price BD 8,000. Contact: 36611106
...................................................
NISSAN ALTIMA, 2012 model
for sale. KM 53000, engine Size
2001-3000CC. Price BD 4,800.
27
Reaching the right audience
Saturday, January 31, 2015
28
SPORTS
Saturday, January 31, 2015
McIlroy seizes Dubai lead with late flourish
Dubai
W
orld number one Rory
McIlroy made three
birdies in his last three holes
in the second round of the
Dubai Desert Classic to take sole
possession of the lead on Friday.
The Northern Irishman calmly
rolled in a 20ft birdie putt on the
par-5 18th hole on the Majlis
course to finish a sensational
bogey-free round of eight-under
par 64 as he moved to 14-under
par 130 for the tournament.
That
gave
him
the
breathing space of one shot
over Scotland’s in-form Marc
Warren, who made nine
birdies and two bogies in a
round of seven-under par 65.
But McIlroy will have
to keep his foot on the gas
as two players are tied for
third a further shot behind,
which include his compatriot
Graeme McDowell (65) and
five players bunched on
fifth place on 133, including
defending champion Stephen
Gallacher (67), the current
FACILE WIN FOR
SHAIKH EBRAHIM
Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Endurance Race
DT News Network
Manama
S
haikh
Ebrahim
bin
Mohammed Al Khalifa
won the Shaikh Khalid bin
Hamad Endurance Race
Championship, the fourth
of the season at the Bahrain
International
Endurance
Village in Sakhir.
Supreme Council for
Youth and Sports Chairman
and
Bahrain
Olympic
Committee President Shaikh
Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa
crowned Shaikh Ebrahim
bin Mohammed Al Khalifa
after the race. Riding Samira
from Al Zaeem Stable, Shaikh
Ebrahim finished the race in 4
hours 46 minutes 10 seconds
with an average speed of
25km/h.
In second place was
Abdulrahman Al Zayed
(4:50.54) riding Tarik from
Victorious Stable with third
place going to Rashid Al Rowaei
Action from the race.
(4:58.44) from Al Zaeem Stable
riding Kosak.
In the other stables’ race,
Ramzi Mohammed (5:08.00)
on Salik from Ahmed Al Fateh
Stable came in first, followed
in second by Mohammed Al
Khatri (5:16.18) from Al Asayel
riding Khalifa with third place
going to Abdulaziz Al Dosari
(5:22.31) riding Namir from
Ahmed Al Fateh Stable.
The race held over five
stages covering a total distance
of 120km and was praised
by Shaikh Nasser as a great
success with a high number
of participants producing
good results and technical
performances.
Palmer keeps
Phoenix lead
Jang keeps four-stroke
LPGA edge
Orlando
South Korean rookie Jang
Ha-Na remained four strokes
ahead of the field after
Friday’s conclusion of the
second round of the LPGA’s
season-opening
Coates
Championship.
Darkness halted play with
some contenders still on the
course after an early frost
delay, but none could chip
into 22-year-old Jang’s margin after 36 holes, leading on
12-under par 132.
Angela Stanford joined fellow
American and world number
three Stacy Lewis in second on
136. Stanford’s three pars and
a birdie at the par-5 seventh
in a round that began on the
back nine allowed her to fire a
65 in round two.
Results (rider, horse, time):
First Stage (30km): 1 Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al
Khalifa, Romance (1:12.00),
2 Rashid Al Ruwaei, Kosak
(1:12.10), 3 Shaikh Ebrahim
bin Mohammed Al Khalifa,
Samira (1:12:27).
Second stage (30km): 1
Shaikh Ebrahim (1:14.51), 2 R
Al Rowaei (1:15.35), 3 Shaikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al
Khalifa (1:16.48).
Third stage (24km): 1
Shaikh Mohammed (1:03.56),
2 Abdulrahman Al Zayed
(1:02.11), 3 Ahmed Al Dosari
(1:02.31).
Fourth stage (20km): 1
Shaikh Ebrahim (49.05),
2 Abdulrahman Al Zayed
(48.09), 3 Shaikh Mohammed
(49.44).
Fifth stage (16km): Shaikh
Ebrahim bin Mohammed
Al Khalifa (4:46.10), 2
Abdulrahman Al Zayed
(4:50.54), 3 Rashid Al Rowaei
(4:58:44).
Scottsdale
iger Woods continued his
struggles into the second
round of the Phoenix Open
on Friday morning while Ryan
Palmer kept a one-stroke lead
after the opening round’s
completion.
Former world number
one Woods, a 14-time major
winner in his first US PGA
event since last August’s PGA
Championship due to a back
injury, opened with a two-over
73 Thursday and was threeover through five holes in his
second round Friday.
Woods, who began on the
back nine, made a bogey at the
11th hole and a double bogey
on the 14th and fell five strokes
off the projected cut line.
T
The Royal Golf Club’s outgoing 2014 Men’s Captain, Stephen
Wagstaff (Centre), presented representatives from Bahrain
Down Syndrome Society with a donation of BD1,000 at their
headquarters in Adliya. The society was the captain’s chosen
charity for the duration of his captaincy and the sum was raised
through various Members’ golf competitions when a ball landed
in the Captain’s charity bunker on the 18th fairway of the Club’s
Montgomerie championship course or in the bunker on the 9th
hole of the Mini Monty par 3 course.
leader of the Race to Dubai,
Danny Willett (66) and
England’s Lee Westwood (68).
McIlroy has already made
15 birdies in the first two
rounds, and he was under no
illusion that he needed more
of the same over the weekend
if he wanted to stay ahead of
the chasing pack. (AFP)
Farange wins Race
Aidan Payne
aidan@dt.bh
he favourite Farange
owned by Al Nasseriyeh,
trained by Allan Smith and
ridden by Brett Doyle lived up
to its billing to win one of the
two richest races the Al Sharif
Group Cup for locally bred
handicap (0-75) three years
and upwards over 1,600 metres
and worth BD2,000 yesterday
in the 14th race of the season
at the Rashid Equestrian and
Horse Racing Club in Sakhir.
Second favourite Zayyir
owned by Shaikh Hamad bin
Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa,
trained by James Naylor and
ridden by Gerald Avranche
finished in the pre-race position
as predicted and was three and
a half lengths ahead of third
placed Rising Sun owned by
Al Nasseriyeh, trained by A
Smith and ridden by Tristan
Normand.
Fourth place a further length
behind was Tickety Boo owned
by H and R Stables, trained by
A Smith and ridden by Ahmed
Akbar.
In the sixth race also for
the Al Sharif Group Cup,
the form book went out the
window as outsiders finished
in the top four places, race
winner was Rad owned by
Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa
bin Khalid Al Khalifa, trained
by A Smith and ridden by T
Normand by three quarters of a
length ahead of Raffinn owned
T
by Mohammed Taher Ahmed,
trained by Jaffar Marzooq
and ridden by Mohammed
Al Saffar. Third placed a nose
behind was Aakef owned by
Zainab Mohammed Ebrahim,
trained by Jaffar Radhi and
ridden by Mohammed Saeed.
Results (all Al Sharif Group
Cup unless stated): (position,
horse jockey)
Race 1: Locally bred 4th and
maiden classes 3 years only.
1,200m BD1,500. 1 Milyar/G
Avranche, 2 Missour/B Doyle,
3 Namuthej/Alberto Sanna, 4
Shamikh/Ali Samir.
Race 2: The Late Hassan
bin Saleh Al Rouwai Cup
for 4th and maiden class
Arabian Horses 3 years and
upwards. 1,200m BD1,500.
1 Al Ma’anagy 1555/Abdulla
Faisal, 2 Al Ma’anagy 150/T
Normand, 3 Mlolshan 1627/B
Doyle, 4 AlSaqlawy 1578/A
Sanna.
Race 3: Imported handicap
(0-78) 3 years and upwards.
1,200m straight BD1,500. 1
True Event/Ahmed Makki, 2
Android/Billy Cray, 3 Mayfair
Leaf/G Avranche, 4 Municipal/
Ali Hassan.
Race 4: Imported 2nd, 3rd,
4th and maiden classes Fillies
and Mares only 3 years and
upwards. 1,400m BD1,500. 1
La Faisan Blanche/Hassan Al
Saffar, 2 Wye Valley/Ali Al
Saffar, 3 Pastoral Witness/
Ali Hassan, 4 Election Night/
Declan Cannon.
Shaikh Nasser Showjumping today
DT News Network
Manama
P
reparations have been
completed for the Nasser
bin Hamad Showjumping
Championship which begins
on Saturday at 8.30 am under
the patronage of Supreme
Council for Youth and Sports
Chairman and Bahrain Olympic
Committee President Shaikh
Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa
and supported by Ahli United
Bank at the BDF Equestrian
Centre in Sakhir.
The fifth competition of the
season organised by the Bahrain
Royal Equestrian and Endurance
Federation features two junior and
three adult classes and includes a
number of top local riders.
29
Saturday, January 31, 2015
The most
important
thing is that
we left that
game knowing if we play
our best we can
certainly match the
Korea team. It will be
up to them to try to
stop us scoring goals
-- we’ll just do what
we’ve been doing.
Ange Postecoglou
Ki ashamed over
title drought
Sydney
South Korea skipper
Ki Sung-Yueng
has spoken of his
“shame” at the
country’s failure
to lift the Asian
Cup for 55 years
as they prepare for
Saturday’s final against hosts
Australia.
“It’s been too long for Korea to
be champions,” the Swansea
City midfielder said on Friday.
Mabkhout reveals
German approach
Newcastle
United
Arab
Emirates sharpshooter
Ali
Mabkhout on
Friday said he
would ask his
club about a move
to Europe after he finished the Asian Cup with a
tournament-leading five goals.
The prolific striker stroked
home a nerveless penalty in
the second half to seal a 3-2
win over Iraq and third place at
the tournament for the attractive UAE side.
Shenaishil takes
positives from loss
Sydney
Iraq interim coach
Radhi Shenaishil
believes
his
side’s
fourth
place finish in
the Asian Cup is a
positive result for
them despite the 3-2
defeat against the United Arab
Emirates on Friday.
Shenaishil’s side led 2-1 at halftime of the third place play-off
after Waleed Salim and Amjed
Kalaf scored to cancel out
Ahmed Khalil’s opening goal.
Ali Mabkhout fires UAE to third place finish
UAE DOWN IRAQ
Newcastle
li Mabkhout put one
hand on the Asian
Cup top-scorer award on
Friday as the United Arab
Emirates came from behind
to beat 10-man Iraq 3-2 in
a rollercoaster third-place
playoff.
The Al Jazira marksman
took his tally for the
competition to five with a
nerveless second-half penalty
in Newcastle, putting him a
goal ahead of partner Ahmed
Khalil, who grabbed a brace.
“Before the match Ali was
top scorer and I said if we
get a penalty he would take
it -- but by then Ahmed had
scored two and also had the
chance for the golden boot,”
UAE coach Mahdi Ali told
reporters.
“It was a difficult decision
but in the end the players
stuck with my instructions.”
Khalil opened the scoring
on 16 minutes, sliding the ball
past goalkeeper Mohammed
Hameed to complete a
blistering
counter-attack
A
UAE’s Walid Abbas misses a scoring chance as he heads the
ball onto the goal post.
sparked by midfield wizard
Omar Abdulrahman.
It was the stand-in
captain’s first goal since
his double against Qatar in
their opening group match,
and the Emiratis were on
top in the early stages with
Abdulrahman again pulling
the strings.
But on 28 minutes the
momentum swung towards
Iraq when Waleed Salim’s
deflected shot from inside the
box looped over goalkeeper
Khalid Eisa and into the back
of the net.
The Iraqis then took the
lead three minutes before
half-time, winger Amjed
Kalaf slotting in a rebound
from close range after Eisa
parried Ahmed Yaseen’s
powerful shot.
Younis Mahmoud spurned
a golden opportunity to
extend the lead when he
blazed wide when through
on goal just after the restart.
(AFP)
Heavyweights collide
in blockbuster final
Sydney
op-scorers Australia will try
to unlock the Asian Cup’s
stingiest defence on Saturday
when they meet South
Korea in a blockbuster
final between two
of
the
region’s
heavyweights.
The Socceroos are
desperate to win
a first Asian title
on home soil, but
to do so they will
have to find a way
through a Korean
rearguard which
has not conceded all
tournament.
It could be a case
of who blinks first
as Australia look to be
crowned kings of Asia, after
defecting from Oceania in
2006, and South Korea try to end
a hoodoo stretching back a staggering
55 years.
Runners-up to Japan in 2011, Australia have hit 12 goals in
five games and they will start as slight favourites, despite losing
1-0 to South Korea in the group phase.
Coach Ange Postecoglou opted to rest talisman Tim Cahill
for that game in Brisbane and he was robbed of captain Mile
Jedinak through injury, but he insisted the result would count
for little with the stakes now so high.
Cahill has netted three times so far and is likely to be central
to the plot in one of the biggest games in Australia’s history.
T
UAE can qualify for World Cup
Sydney
nited
Arab
Emirates head
coach Mahdi Ali
believes that his side
have shown they have
what it takes to qualify
for the 2018 World
Cup in Russia.
U
Making it to the
semi-finals was a
big accomplishment
from
the
UAE,
particularly as they
came up against the
three Asian Football
Confederation
nations that qualified
for 2014 World Cup
- Japan, Iran and
Australia - during the
tournament, “There
was not a big gap
between them and us
and that is a sign that
we have a chance of
qualifying for the next
World Cup,” Ali said.
“There is a good
chance
we
can
qualify for Russia.
I think we have a
good generation, a
young team and we
can perform well,” he
added.
Thumbs Down
Asian boss ‘stunned’ by anti-Aussie report
Sydney
sia’s football chief said
he was “stunned” on
Friday after he was quoted as
outlining a movement to oust
Asian Cup hosts Australia
from the regional body.
A
Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim
Al Khalifa said his comments
had been “manipulated” after
he told UAE newspaper Al
Ittihad that some countries
wanted Australia out.
Australian
newspapers
splashed with the story, a day
before the Socceroos take on
South Korea in the Asian Cup
final as they try to win the title
for the first time.
“I’m really stunned with
the timing to bring this topic
out. It’s a false topic,” the AFC
president told the Herald Sun
newspaper.
“To read a story like this
is really sad because there’s
no truth in it. “The success of
this tournament has exceeded
our expectations. I won’t let
a story like this affect the
success of the tournament we
had in Australia.”
Australia’s football boss
David Gallop had said he
was “extremely surprised” at
Shaikh Salman’s comments to
Arabic-language Al Ittihad.
The newspaper quoted
the Bahraini royal as saying
some AFC members in
West Asia and beyond are
opposed to the involvement
of Australia. “There are other
Asian associations in different
regions of the continent that
see the need of disengagement
between us and Australia,”
Shaikh Salman was quoted as
saying.
Australia could
face AFC exit
As Australia prepare for the
Asian Cup final on Saturday,
there is a growing feeling
among some Asian nations
that Australia should not be
part of the Asian Football
Confederation.
Australia joined the region
in 2006 from the Oceania
Football Confederation as the
Australian Football Federation
looked to give the Socceroos a
better chance of qualifying for
the World Cup and improve
the standard of the A-League
through exposure to continental competitions.
30
SPORTS
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Michael Clarke to test fitness
Sydney
ichael Clarke will bat in a
local game this weekend
as he embarks on a gradual
return to cricket in a bid to be
fully fit for the World Cup after
hamstring surgery. Cricket
Australia has said the 33-yearold, who also suffers from a
chronic degenerative back
condition, would turn out for
M
Sydney’s Western Suburbs. If
all goes well, he would start for
a Cricket Australia XI against a
Bangladesh XI.
Kabul
t
an
indoor
academy
in
Kabul, Afghanistan’s
cricketers are training
hard for their debut in
the upcoming World
Cup tournament in
Australia and New
Zealand next month.
Shuttle runs and
lifting weights help
keep out the bitter chill
of the Afghan winter
as the players tune up
for the tournament on
Afghan cricketers practise at the
warmer antipodean
Kabul Cricket Academy training
shores.
centre.
The
Afghans’
opening match against Bangladesh in Canberra on February 18
will mark the culmination of a fairy-tale journey for a team born
in the ashes of decades of war. Afghanistan qualified for the last
two World Twenty20 tournaments in 2010 and 2012 but lost all
their matches, however this will be their first time in the 50-over
tournament.
Afghanistan face a tough fight to get out of their group, which
includes Australia, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand. Only the
top four in each group go through to the knockout stages.
A
Sauber out to make a point
F
Perth
ustralia fast bowler
Mitchell Johnson is set to
return to ODI cricket after a
break of over a month and
will play in the tri-series final
against England on Sunday.
Johnson said the break was a
much-needed one, especially
after the tour in the United
Arab
Emirates
against
Dhoni blames batsmen for loss
A
Afghans prepare for
dream WC debut
Geneva
ormula One minnows
Sauber outlined their
ambitions for the upcoming
season on Friday - to win
points, something they failed
to do in 2014.
An all new driver line-up Swede Marcus Ericsson and F1
Johnson to play tri-series final
rookie Brazilian Felipe Nasr,
who took over from Adrian
Sutil and Esteban Guttierez, is
upbeat ahead of season. “2014
was a very disappointing year.
We have learnt our lessons
and are confident for the
new season,” Team Principal
Monisha Kaltenborn said.
ICC reprimands
Kulasekara
Wellington
Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekara
has been reprimanded by ICC
for “unacceptable” aggressive
behaviour during the
O D I
against
N e w
Zealand.
After
dismissing New Zealand batsman Luke Ronchi in Thursday’s
match, the fast bowler “aggressively changed direction
towards the dismissed batsman,
which was considered unacceptable by the match officials,” the
ICC ruling said.
Marathon queen
gets two-year ban
Nairobi
Kenyan Rita Jeptoo, winner
of the Boston and Chicago
marathons for the last two
years, has been banned from
the sport for two years after
failing a drugs test, Athletics
Kenya (AK) said on Friday.
Jeptoo has denied doping,
saying last year that the
accusations against her were
“lies”. “AK followed due process in her (Rita Jeptoo) matter and it was appropriate
that she serves a two-year
ban,” AK chief executive
Isaac Kamande said.
Perth
ndian captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni blamed the
batsmen for Friday’s loss
against England. “When we
started batting, I thought we did
decent with the new ball and a
bit more runs initially would
have helped. Poor selection of
shots led to the low score and
40-50 more runs would have
I
Pakistan. The 33-year-old said
that he was ready to make a
come-back and was looking
forward to playing in the triseries final.
TAYLOR HOLDS
ENG TOGETHER
Sydney
ames
Taylor
revived
England’s wobbly chase to
lead them to a three-wicket
victory over India on Friday
and the Sunday’s tri-series
final against Australia.
Taylor (82) added 125
runs with Josh Buttler (67)
for the sixth wicket to help
England overcome a top-order
collapse and chase down a 201run victory target with 19 balls to
spare.
It was, however, their disciplined
bowlers who had laid the victory
platform, shooting out India for
200 in 48.1 overs in what was
effectively a semi-final at the
WACA.
Barely two weeks before they
start their World Cup defence,
India would still be worried as
only Ajinkya Rahane (73) shone
with the bat in yet another
capitulation.
Put into bat, Rahane added
83 with opening partner
Shikhar Dhawan (38) in 20
overs before the wheels fell off
the Indian innings.
Chris Woakes sent back
Dhawan to get the breakthrough
but it was Moeen Ali’s double strike
-- dismissing Virat Kohli and Suresh
Raina -- that broke the back of the
J
Wraps Off
Ferrari unveil new car for 2015 season
Milan
errari unveiled the
SF15-T on Friday, the
car the legendary Italian
stable are counting on to
bring back the feel good
factor at Maranello after a
miserable 2014.
When Fernando Alonso
trailed in a lowly ninth in
Abu Dhabi in November
it wrapped up a wretched
season for the iconic Italian
stable, their first winless
campaign since 1993.
F
Ferrari’s lacklustre
performance in taking
only fourth in the
constructors title race
triggered
sweeping
changes at their Italian
HQ in a bid to put the
team back at the top of
Formula One.
In November, team
chief Marco Mattiacci
was sacked after just
seven months in the
post with Maurizio
Arrivabene parachuted in
to take his place.
That headline
switch
helped. I don’t think the wicket
played a factor but the English
bowlers made most of these
conditions,” Dhoni said.
came days after Red Bull’s
four-time world champion
Sebastien
Vettel
was
signed on a three-yearcontract to replace Alonso
after the Spaniard’s move
to McLaren.
Vettel links up with
Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn
who clinched Ferrari’s last
world championship in
2007.
A major overhaul of
the car’s engine has been
undertaken in a bid to reel
in last season’s runaway
champions Mercedes.
Indian batting.
Even the 200-mark did not
look a possibility until number 11
Mohammad Shami smacked 25 runs
off 18 balls as India were dismissed
in the 49th over.
India innings
A. Rahane c Buttler b Finn 73,
S. Dhawan c Buttler b Woakes
38, V. Kohli c Root b Ali 8,
S. Raina c Woakes b Ali 1, A.
Rayudu c Buttler b Broad 12,
MS Dhoni lbw Anderson 17, S.
Binny c Bell b Finn 7, R. Jadeja
c Finn b Broad 5, A. Patel c
Bell b Finn 1, M. Sharma not
out 7, M. Shami c Buttler b
Woakes 25.
Total (all out, 48.1 overs)
200
England innings
I. Bell lbw Sharma 10, M. Ali
c Rayudu b Patel 17, J. Taylor
c Raina b Sharma 82, J. Root
c and b Binny 3, E. Morgan c
Dhawan b Binny 2, R. Bopara
c Jadeja b Binny 4, J. Buttler c
Rayudu b Shami 67, C. Woakes
not out 4, S. Broad not out 3.
Total (7 wickets, 46.5 overs)
201
Zaripova to lose
Olympic gold
Moscow
Olympic steeplechase champion Yulia Zaripova could be
stripped of the gold medal she
won at the London Games after
the Russian Anti-Doping Agency
(RUSADA) on Friday banned her
for doping. Zaripova, 28, was
suspended for 30 months from
July 25, 2013, for abnormal
indexes in the haematological
profile of her biological passport. Her results from June 20
until August 20, 2011 and from
June 3 to September 3, 2012
were all cancelled, meaning she
will likely be stripped of her 2012
Olympic gold medal.
SPORTS
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Ryan throws deciding TD
Carrick
ruled out for a month
London
anchester
United
midfielder
Michael
Carrick will be out for four
weeks with a ruptured muscle,
manager Louis van Gaal said.
The 33-year-old will miss the
visit of Leicester City in the
Premier League and could be
absent for another six games
during February. Carrick has
M
Paes and Hingis
storm into final
Melbourne
eander Paes kept himself in
line for his 15th Grand Slam
title by reaching the Australian
Open mixed doubles final
with Martina Hingis as they
defeated Su-Wei Hsieh and
Pablo Cuevas in straight sets
on Friday.
The
seventh
seeded
Indo-Swiss pair recorded a
comfortable 7-5, 6-4 win over
the unseeded Taipei-Uruguay
combine in the semifinals in
one hour and 14 minutes.
The 41-year-old Paes has
won eight men’s doubles and
six mixed doubles title in his
glittering career.
L
Costa gets three-match ban
London
helsea striker Diego Costa
has been banned for three
matches with immediate effect
after being found guilty of a
violent conduct charge, the
FA announced. The Spain
international was suspended
after a regulatory commission
ruled he had stamped on the
ankle of Liverpool’s Emre Can
C
been a key member in the
United side since November,
which coincided with six
consecutive wins after an
indifferent start to the season.
in the League Cup semi-final
at Stamford Bridge. There is
no right of appeal and Costa
will now miss match at home
to title rivals Manchester City.
DJOKOVIC OUSTS
STAN WAWRINKA
N
Ginola withdraws
FIFA presidency bid
Melbourne
Park
last
year.
Djokovic,
bidding
to
become the first
man to win five
Australian Open titles
since the game went
professional in 1968, ran
Paris
Former France winger David
Ginola has abandoned his bid
to stand in the FIFA presidential elections after failing to
secure the five FA nominations
needed, he said on Friday. FIFA
will announce the list of election candidates on February 8.
Paul Van is India’s hockey coach
New Delhi
ormer
Netherlands
coach Paul Van Ass was
appointed India’s men’s
hockey coach, making him
the sixth foreigner to hold
the post over the last decade.
Van Ass, who coached the
Netherlands to a silver medal
at the 2012 Olympics, replaces
Terry Walsh, who resigned
F
Sets up Murray final
Melbourne
ovak Djokovic once
again stood tall at
the Australian Open as he
reached his fourth final
in the past five years with
another five-set victory
over Stan W a w r i n k a ,
t h e
man who
dumped
him
out
of
31
hot and cold but seized the
points that mattered on
Friday to beat the defending
champion 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4,
4-6, 6-0.
The Serb world number
one’s life will not get any
easier on Sunday when
he faces old friend Andy
Murray, with the Briton
looking to win his first
Melbourne Park title in his
fourth final.
On Friday, the standard
of play was not as high
as in the past, indeed
Djokovic was atypically
enigmatic and lacking in
vigour, though there were
flashes of genius, with both
applauding shots that were
simply too good for their
opponent.
over a pay dispute. Anthony
Thornton of New Zealand was
named the women’s coach,
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
also said.
Mattek-Sands, Safarova
clinch women’s title
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (right) and Lucie Safarova of the
Czech Republic celebrate the victory.
Melbourne
merican Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her Czech partner
Lucie Safarova won their first grand slam women’s
doubles titles at the Australian Open on Friday with a 6-4,
7-6(5) victory over China’s Zheng Jie and Taiwan’s partner
Chan Yung-jan.
The unseeded Mattek-Sands and Safarova beat five seeded
pairings to win the title on Rod Laver Arena, the first of the
titles to be decided at this year’s Australian Open.
It was also the first time the 29-year-old Mattek-Sands and
27-year-old Safarova had played together in a tournament,
and they are the first new pairing to win the women’s
doubles title at Melbourne Park since 2005.
A
Serena enjoys upper hand Wolfsburg to
Melbourne
ne of the few
players with the
game to trouble Serena
Williams,
Maria
Sharapova’s decadelong
losing
s t r e a k
to
the
O
American great is one of the
more curious anomalies in
women’s tennis.
Sharapova was a 17-yearold sensation when she last
beat Williams at the titledecider of her debut at the
season-ending Tour Finals
in 2004.
That win followed her
Wimbledon triumph a few
months earlier when she
shocked the American
top seed in the final, a
result hailed as one of
the greatest upsets in
the modern era by tennis
writers at the time.
It has all been one-way
traffic since with Williams
notching 15 successive
victories on all surfaces,
a record that Sharapova
has been reminded of, again
and again, before her bid
to break the streak in the
Australian Open women’s
final on Saturday.
“I go into matches where
I’ve beaten opponents and I
don’t want to focus on that
because I don’t want to get
overly confident going onto
the court,” Sharapova said
on Friday.
Against
Sharapova,
GS Finals
10-22
GS Wins
05-18
AO Finals
03-05
AO Wins
01-05
H2H
02-16
H2H at GS
01-04
however, of their last 10
meetings only the 2013
final at Miami went to three
sets, meaning the American
always keeps her racquet
sharpest for the Russian.
sign Schuerrle
Berlin
fL
Wolfsburg
are
poised to sign Chelsea’s
Germany
international
Andre Schuerrle for a club
record transfer, according to
German media reports, after
selling Croatia’s Ivica Olic to
Hamburg on Friday.
It was Schuerrle’s cross
from which Mario Goetze
scored the winning goal for
Germany in the World Cup
V
final last July, but the winger
has failed to win a regular
place under Jose Mourinho.
According to German
daily Bild and magazine
Kicker, Wolfsburg have
agreed terms with Chelsea
and
the
24-year-old
Schuerrle is set to sign a
four-year deal. He will be
returning to the Bundesliga
after spells at Mainz and
Leverkusen.
32
Saturday, January 31, 2015

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