ISSUE NO: 17722 24 Pages 150 Fils www.kuwaittimes.net Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf RABI ALTHANI 25, 1440 AH TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019 Max 20º Min 07º News in brief TV boss fired over sex scene TEHRAN: A regional boss of Iran’s state broad- caster IRIB has been fired after inadvertently letting a Jackie Chan sex scene slip through its tight cen- sorship rules. Viewers on Iran’s Kish Island were shocked when their local TV station showed the martial arts star having sex with a prostitute in one of his films. But there were angry responses from some Iranians pointing out that no one had been fired over a fatal bus crash that killed 10 students at Tehran’s Azad University last week. IRIB TV presen- ter Reza Rashidpoor joked on his morning talk show that the controversy could have been avoided if IRIB had included a caption saying Chan was mar- ried to the actress playing the prostitute. — AFP Israel protests flag ‘desecration’ JERUSALEM/AMMAN: Israel protested to Jordan on Sunday after the spokeswoman for the government in Amman was photographed stepping on the Israeli flag. Jumana Ghunaimat, Jordan’s min- ister for media affairs and communications and the government spokeswoman, on Thursday walked over an Israeli flag painted on the floor of the headquar- ters of Jordan’s professional unions in Amman. She was on her way to attend a meeting between Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Al-Razzaz and union representatives. Razzaz, however, entered the build- ing through a rear door. — Reuters Kuwait rejects ‘slanderous’ charges of terror financing Syrian Embassy denies placing Kuwaiti fgures on terror list Due to the New Year holiday today, Kuwait Times will not be published tomorrow, January 2, 2019. Our next issue will hit the newsstands on Thursday, January 3, 2019. However, readers can stay updated on breaking news and events on our digital media channels including our web- site www.kuwaittimes.net and on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. NOTICE KUWAIT: Kuwait dismisses “slanderous” accusations lodged against it over terror financing, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah said yesterday. “I am baffled how Kuwait has been included in a list of terrorism financing countries,” Jarallah told Al-Jazeera television, citing the state’s host- ing of a trio of donor conferences in sup- port of Syria as counterevidence. His remarks came as the Syrian Embassy in Kuwait categorically denied a report by Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah on Sunday over listing a number of Kuwaiti personalities on the terrorism financing list. The embassy said in a statement that “it considers these allegations an attempt by some suspicious bodies which seem to be unhappy with the development of bilateral ties between the two brotherly countries”. On the status of Kuwait’s embassy in Syria, Jarallah said, “operations will only resume with the Arab League’s consent.” He predicted a “thaw in relations” between Syria and Arab Gulf states in the coming days as more nations look to reopen their embassies in Damascus. Jarallah added the Syrian Embassy in Kuwait has the leeway needed to look after the Syrian diaspora in the country, which number around a quarter of a million people. Arab states, including some that once backed rebels against President Bashar Al- Assad, are seeking to reconcile with him after decisive gains by his forces in the war, aiming to expand their clout in Syria at the expense of non-Arab Turkey and Iran. The United Arab Emirates re-opened its embassy in Damascus last Thursday and Bahrain said the next day that its embassy there and the Syrian diplomatic mission in Manama had been operating “without interruption”. Arab League’s permanent representa- tives are due to meet in Cairo on Jan 6. US- allied Gulf Arab states were the main regional backers of armed groups opposed to Assad, providing finance or weapons or both, acting largely as part of a program of support for the armed opposition coordi- nated by Washington. Unlike its other neighbors, Kuwait kept Syria’s embassy in Kuwait open and opposed arming the rebels, although private donors in Kuwait sent funds to anti-Assad forces. Kuwait has led a humanitarian fundraising campaign for Syria through the United Nations. An Arab diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters last week he believed a majority of members wanted Syria to be readmitted. Syria’s membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 in response to the government’s violent crackdown on “Arab Spring” protests. For Syria to be reinstated, the Arab League must reach a consensus. — Agencies SYDNEY: New Year’s Eve fireworks erupt over Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House early today. — AFP (See Page 18) Guard boats to get stealth tech LONDON: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said yes- terday they plan to upgrade their speedboats in the Gulf with radar-evading stealth technology and new missile launchers. “We are trying to increase the agility of the Guards’ speedboats and equip them with stealth technology to facilitate their opera- tions,” said Alireza Tangsiri, the Guards’ navy chief. He said the speedboats will be equipped with new missiles, and their speed will reach 80 knots per hour. The head of the Iranian armed forces warned that any Iranian confrontation with US forces might also target Gulf nations that he said had invited them into the region. — Reuters SYDNEY/KUWAIT: Australia’s largest city Sydney put on its biggest-ever fireworks display in a spectacu- lar welcome to the New Year, kicking off a wave of cel- ebrations for billions around the world. A record amount of pyrotechnics as well as new fireworks effects and colors lit up the city’s skyline for 12 minutes and dazzled the more than 1.5 million spectators who packed the harbor front and parks. The party atmos- phere swept across major cities in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas as the clock ticked past midnight. HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday exchanged congratulatory cables with world leaders on the advent of the New Year. In the cables, the Amir wished the leaders ever- more progress to their respective countries, as well as hoping for the prevalence of peace, security and pros- perity worldwide. — Agencies World rings in New Year; Amir exchanges greetings NICOSIA: Courts in the Gulf and Egypt have upheld jail terms against leading activists in a crackdown on protesting through social media, marking a somber end to 2018 for rights campaigners. In both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, prominent campaigners lost their appeals yesterday against lengthy prison terms over their online posts. Award-win- ning human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor saw his 10-year sentence upheld by the UAE’s Federal Supreme Court, Amnesty International said. Elsewhere in the Gulf, Amnesty decried the “utterly outrageous” five-year jail term handed down to promi- nent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab. Mansoor was convicted in May of attempting to harm his country’s relations with its neighbors by spreading misinfor- mation in Facebook and Twitter posts, according to local media. The upper court also confirmed a fine of one million dirhams ($270,000) for Mansoor, 49, who will be kept under surveillance for three years after his release. Amnesty said the final ruling “confirms there is no space for free expression in the United Arab Emirates”. Continued on Page 20 UAE, Bahrain, Egypt uphold jail sentences of activists Ahmed Mansoor Nabeel Rajab DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday rejected calls for a new vote after being declared landslide winner in an election marred by deadly violence that the opposition slammed as “farcical” and rigged. Hasina’s ruling Awami League party and its allies won 288 seats in the 300- seat parliament, with the main opposi- tion securing only six seats. Hasina, who gets a record fourth term, swept aside opposition protests over clashes between rival supporters that left at least 17 dead and allegations of ballot box stuffing and intimidation. “The election was totally free and independent. There is no doubt about it,” the 71-year-old Hasina said. “I have nothing to hide. Whatever I do I do it for the country. My conscience is clear,” she added in comments to reporters. Hasina insisted she had no desire “to remain in power” and that voters had backed her party because of Bangladesh’s economic growth dur- ing her decade-long rule. The opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) said it had been the target of a crackdown for months leading up to Sunday’s poll and called for a rerun. “We are demanding that a fresh election is held under a neutral government as early as possible,” alliance leader Kamal Hossain told reporters. Election authorities said they had not received a single complaint against the vote and that there was “no scope to hold a fresh one”. Continued on Page 20 Hasina rejects calls for fresh elections amid rigging claims Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Transcript
ISSUE NO: 17722
24 Pages
150 Fils
www.kuwaittimes.net
Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf
RABI ALTHANI 25, 1440 AH
TUESDAY,
JANUARY 1, 2019
Max 20ºMin 07º
News in briefTV boss fired over sex scene
TEHRAN: A regional boss of Iran’s state broad-caster IRIB has been fired after inadvertently lettinga Jackie Chan sex scene slip through its tight cen-sorship rules. Viewers on Iran’s Kish Island wereshocked when their local TV station showed themartial arts star having sex with a prostitute in oneof his films. But there were angry responses fromsome Iranians pointing out that no one had beenfired over a fatal bus crash that killed 10 students atTehran’s Azad University last week. IRIB TV presen-ter Reza Rashidpoor joked on his morning talk showthat the controversy could have been avoided ifIRIB had included a caption saying Chan was mar-ried to the actress playing the prostitute. — AFP
Israel protests flag ‘desecration’
JERUSALEM/AMMAN: Israel protested toJordan on Sunday after the spokeswoman for thegovernment in Amman was photographed steppingon the Israeli flag. Jumana Ghunaimat, Jordan’s min-ister for media affairs and communications and thegovernment spokeswoman, on Thursday walked overan Israeli flag painted on the floor of the headquar-ters of Jordan’s professional unions in Amman. Shewas on her way to attend a meeting betweenJordanian Prime Minister Omar Al-Razzaz and unionrepresentatives. Razzaz, however, entered the build-ing through a rear door. — Reuters
Kuwait rejects ‘slanderous’charges of terror financing
Syrian Embassy denies placing Kuwaiti figures on terror list
Due to the New Year holiday today, Kuwait
Times will not be published tomorrow, January 2,
2019. Our next issue will hit the newsstands on
Thursday, January 3, 2019. However, readers
can stay updated on breaking news and events
on our digital media channels including our web-
site www.kuwaittimes.net and on Instagram,
Twitter and Facebook.
NOTICE
KUWAIT: Kuwait dismisses “slanderous”accusations lodged against it over terrorfinancing, Deputy Foreign Minister KhaledAl-Jarallah said yesterday. “I am baffledhow Kuwait has been included in a list ofterrorism financing countries,” Jarallah toldAl-Jazeera television, citing the state’s host-ing of a trio of donor conferences in sup-port of Syria as counterevidence.
His remarks came as the Syrian Embassyin Kuwait categorically denied a report byKuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah on Sunday overlisting a number of Kuwaiti personalities on
the terrorism financing list. The embassysaid in a statement that “it considers theseallegations an attempt by some suspiciousbodies which seem to be unhappy with thedevelopment of bilateral ties between thetwo brotherly countries”.
On the status of Kuwait’s embassy inSyria, Jarallah said, “operations will onlyresume with the Arab League’s consent.” Hepredicted a “thaw in relations” betweenSyria and Arab Gulf states in the comingdays as more nations look to reopen theirembassies in Damascus. Jarallah added the
Syrian Embassy in Kuwait has the leewayneeded to look after the Syrian diaspora inthe country, which number around a quarterof a million people.
Arab states, including some that oncebacked rebels against President Bashar Al-Assad, are seeking to reconcile with himafter decisive gains by his forces in thewar, aiming to expand their clout in Syriaat the expense of non-Arab Turkey andIran. The United Arab Emirates re-openedits embassy in Damascus last Thursdayand Bahrain said the next day that its
embassy there and the Syrian diplomaticmission in Manama had been operating“without interruption”.
Arab League’s permanent representa-tives are due to meet in Cairo on Jan 6. US-allied Gulf Arab states were the mainregional backers of armed groups opposedto Assad, providing finance or weapons orboth, acting largely as part of a program ofsupport for the armed opposition coordi-nated by Washington. Unlike its otherneighbors, Kuwait kept Syria’s embassy inKuwait open and opposed arming the
rebels, although private donors in Kuwaitsent funds to anti-Assad forces. Kuwait hasled a humanitarian fundraising campaign forSyria through the United Nations.
An Arab diplomat, speaking on conditionof anonymity, told Reuters last week hebelieved a majority of members wantedSyria to be readmitted. Syria’s membershipof the Arab League was suspended in 2011in response to the government’s violentcrackdown on “Arab Spring” protests. ForSyria to be reinstated, the Arab Leaguemust reach a consensus. — Agencies
SYDNEY: New Year’s Eve fireworks erupt over Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House early today. — AFP (See Page 18)
Guard boats to get stealth tech
LONDON: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said yes-terday they plan to upgrade their speedboats in theGulf with radar-evading stealth technology and newmissile launchers. “We are trying to increase theagility of the Guards’ speedboats and equip themwith stealth technology to facilitate their opera-tions,” said Alireza Tangsiri, the Guards’ navy chief.He said the speedboats will be equipped with newmissiles, and their speed will reach 80 knots perhour. The head of the Iranian armed forces warnedthat any Iranian confrontation with US forces mightalso target Gulf nations that he said had invited theminto the region. — Reuters
SYDNEY/KUWAIT: Australia’s largest city Sydneyput on its biggest-ever fireworks display in a spectacu-lar welcome to the New Year, kicking off a wave of cel-ebrations for billions around the world. A recordamount of pyrotechnics as well as new fireworks effectsand colors lit up the city’s skyline for 12 minutes anddazzled the more than 1.5 million spectators whopacked the harbor front and parks. The party atmos-phere swept across major cities in Asia, Europe, Africaand the Americas as the clock ticked past midnight.
HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday exchanged congratulatorycables with world leaders on the advent of the NewYear. In the cables, the Amir wished the leaders ever-more progress to their respective countries, as well ashoping for the prevalence of peace, security and pros-perity worldwide. — Agencies
World rings inNew Year; Amirexchanges greetings
NICOSIA: Courts in the Gulf and Egypthave upheld jail terms against leadingactivists in a crackdown on protestingthrough social media, marking a somberend to 2018 for rights campaigners. Inboth Bahrain and the United ArabEmirates, prominent campaigners lost theirappeals yesterday against lengthy prisonterms over their online posts. Award-win-ning human rights activist Ahmed Mansoorsaw his 10-year sentence upheld by theUAE’s Federal Supreme Court, AmnestyInternational said. Elsewhere in the Gulf,Amnesty decried the “utterly outrageous”five-year jail term handed down to promi-nent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab.
Mansoor was convicted in May ofattempting to harm his country’s relationswith its neighbors by spreading misinfor-mation in Facebook and Twitter posts,according to local media. The upper courtalso confirmed a fine of one milliondirhams ($270,000) for Mansoor, 49, whowill be kept under surveillance for three
years after his release. Amnesty said thefinal ruling “confirms there is no space forfree expression in the United ArabEmirates”.
DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina yesterday rejected callsfor a new vote after being declaredlandslide winner in an election marredby deadly violence that the oppositionslammed as “farcical” and rigged.Hasina’s ruling Awami League partyand its allies won 288 seats in the 300-seat parliament, with the main opposi-tion securing only six seats. Hasina,who gets a record fourth term, sweptaside opposition protests over clashesbetween rival supporters that left atleast 17 dead and allegations of ballotbox stuffing and intimidation.
“The election was totally free andindependent. There is no doubt aboutit,” the 71-year-old Hasina said. “I havenothing to hide. Whatever I do I do itfor the country. My conscience isclear,” she added in comments toreporters. Hasina insisted she had nodesire “to remain in power” and that
voters had backed her party becauseof Bangladesh’s economic growth dur-ing her decade-long rule.
The opposition alliance led by theBangladesh National Party (BNP) saidit had been the target of a crackdownfor months leading up to Sunday’s polland called for a rerun. “We aredemanding that a fresh election is heldunder a neutral government as earlyas possible,” alliance leader KamalHossain told reporters. Electionauthorities said they had not receiveda single complaint against the voteand that there was “no scope to hold afresh one”.
Continued on Page 20
Hasina rejects calls for fresh elections amidrigging claims
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Minister of Public Works andMinister of State for Housing Affairs Dr Janan Bushehriannounced yesterday that the Cabinet has agreed toreduce the symbolic value of Al-Mutlaa city’s residen-tial lots from KD 5,000 to KD 3,000 (from $17,000 to$10,00). The move comes upon the directives of HisHighness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-MubarakAl-Hamad Al-Sabah. In a press statement after theweekly cabinet meeting, Bushehri said that at thebehest of His Highness the Prime Minister and his sup-port for the housing issue and a presentation tabled atthe meeting, the Cabinetdecided to approve this issue.
She added that the PublicAuthority for Housing Welfaresubmitted to the Cabinet astudy on the symbolic valueof Al-Mutlaa city’s residentiallots, noting that the number ofbeneficiaries of this reductionexceeds 28,000 Kuwaiti fami-lies. The Minister of Housingstressed keenness of PublicAuthority for Housing Welfareto support the citizens and ease their financial burdens,especially in the modern housing units and bordercities, thanking His Highness the Prime Minister for hiscontinuous support to the housing issue and citizens.
Certificate checkMeanwhile, the Cabinet commended the efforts of an
ad hoc committee entrusted with checking the universi-ty documents of Kuwaiti citizens and residents alike.This came during the cabinet’s discussion of the com-
mittee’s report on the recently raised issue of forgeduniversity documents at a customary weekly meetingheld at Bayan Palace and presided over by ActingPrime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
The cabinet also listened to a briefing from Ministerof Education and Higher Education Hamed Al-Azmi,who doubles as the head of the committee, DeputyPremier and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs AnasAl-Saleh said in a statement following the meeting.Having checked a total 6,050 certificates, the panel has
sent a number of forged doc-uments to the PublicProsecution as a prelude tolegal action against thoseinvolved in the case, Salehsaid.
Al-Qabas daily had report-ed yesterday that an Egyptianman, who had mastermindedthe forgeries of degrees inKuwait and then fled to Egypt,Turkey and UAE in an attemptto escape arrest, is finally in
Kuwaiti custody. After his name was sent to Interpol,security sources said UAE security authorities arrestedthe suspect, notified Kuwait and handed him over.During initial interrogations, the suspect admitted thatanother Egyptian working at a university outside Cairohad been providing him with blank degrees from vari-ous Egyptian universities and that he later filled inholders’ data as required. The suspect also stressedthat he has full information about those he had sold thefake degrees to, noting that they are mainly Kuwaitis.
Ministers congratulatedAlso locally, the Cabinet congratulated the newly
appointed ministers, wishing them the best of luck inserving their respective country’s national interests, headded. Internationally, the Cabinet offered heartfeltcondolences to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa binZayed Al Nahyan on the victims of a recent helicoptercrash. The Kuwaiti ministers also deplored a recent
attack on the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whichleft a number of people dead or injured. They furthervoiced vehement condemnation of a tourist bus blast inEgypt’s Giza Governorate. In this regard, the cabinetresounded Kuwait’s unwavering position based ondecrying violence and terrorism in all its forms andmanifestations, reiterating that it stands side by sidewith Libya and Egypt. — KUNA
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
2L o c a l
Established 1961
News in brief
KUWAIT: Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chairs the Cabinet’sweekly meeting yesterday. — KUNA
Symbolic value of Al-Mutlaa citylots cut from KD 5,000 to KD 3,000
Cabinet touts certificate check panel; fake degrees ‘mastermind’ in custody
Newly appointedministers
congratulated
KUWAIT: Ambassador of Turkey to Kuwait Ayse Hilal Sayan Koytak visited Kuwait Times yesterdayand discussed matters of mutual concern with Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan. — Photoby Joseph Shagra
KUWAIT: Director of the PublicAuthority for Manpower Ahmad Al-Moussa said the authority seeks toimprove the labor market by limiting thenumbers of marginal laborers, developingthe national workforce, supervising themanpower working for the private sectorand the oil sector and those on govern-
ment contracts, protecting the rights ofthese workers and training the authority’semployees.
Speaking about the authority’sachievements in 2018, Moussa said theauthority issued work permit regulations,responded to 2,301 inquiries made oversocial media networks, signed memos ofunderstanding with the InternationalLabor Organization (ILO) on the KuwaitDecent Work Country Program, signed amemo of understanding to link theauthority’s systems with those of itspeers in Egypt in 2019-2020, took partin 14 Arab and international conferences,won Kuwait the chairmanship of the ArabLabor Organization (ALO)’s board ofdirectors, hosted the 4th GCC labor min-isters’ meeting in Kuwait, launched e-service access for employers to fileabsconding reports, launched the GPS
search system, set the regulations to befollowed on assessing the needs of labor-ers, launched an online portal to supportSME projects and spent over KD 391million on national labor supportallowances.
Shrimping banKuwait Fishermen Union Chairman
Thaher Al-Sowayyan said shrimping inKuwaiti waters will be banned from Jan 1,2019 til l July 31, 2019. Sowayyanexpressed hope that the ban period willbe enough for PAAAFR to consideradopting a new mechanism for shrimp-ing, noting that Kuwait lost hundreds oftons of shrimps this year. He also calledfor coordinating with neighboring coun-tries to synchronize the ban and avoidallowing the sale of fresh shrimps fromthese nations in Kuwait during the ban.
Maids accuse sponsors of torture
KUWAIT: A case has been filed by the lawyerof the Philippine Embassy on behalf of twoFilipina housemaids working for a Kuwaiti cou-ple, accusing them of assault and abuse. Themaids allege they were tortured daily by heatedmetal objects and were locked up, until theymanaged to flee the house and reached theircountry’s embassy in a terrible condition.However, on summoning the suspects, theyclaimed that one of the maids had stolen KD1,000 from the house, a charge which both themaids denied. A case was filed and further inves-tigations are in progress.—Al-Rai
227,000 passengers depart
KUWAIT: Manager of the engineering depart-ment at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) Saleh Al-Fedaghi said 227,000 passen-gers had departed Kuwait over the past fewdays on board 1,667 flights. Fedaghi added thatDGCA had fully prepared for the new year witha plan set in collaboration with various bodies atall terminals, including the interior ministry, thecustoms department and other serviceproviders. He added that additional backupteams had been deployed in various departurelounges from Dec 26 till Dec 31 and that thesame teams will be deployed in arrival loungesfrom today, Jan 1, 2019. — Al-Rai
Ministry ready for new year
KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry’s relations andsecurity media department said that various fieldsecurity sectors have completed preparationsfor security measures in anticipation of the NewYear, noting that a special security and trafficplan has been set for the safety and security forboth citizens and expats on various roads and invarious ceremonial locations. The departmentadded that police patrols will be extensivelydeployed everywhere in addition to coastguardpatrols at various beaches and Kuwaiti islands.The department added that environmentalpolice will also be deployed to strictly deal withany environmental violations. — By Hanan Al-Saadoun
By A Saleh
KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health(MOH) obtained monitoring bodies’approval to extend the contracts ofsome expats working at Sabah,Farwaniya and Jahra medical zones forvaried periods at a total cost of KD 2.6million, well-informed ministry sourcessaid. The sources explained that thecontracts of medical services employ-ees in Sabah zone were extended fornine months effective Jan 5, 2019 at atotal cost of KD 1.9 million. Thesources added that the contracts of asimilar group of technical staff mem-bers in Farwaniya and Jahra medicalareas were extended for three monthseffective Feb 5, 2019 at a total cost ofKD 757,000.
In another health concern, MOH’sassistant undersecretary for legal affairsMohammed Dowaihi Al-Subaei saidthat the ministry issued 52,725 birthcertificates in 2018 including 30,954 forcitizens and 21,771 for expats, in addi-
tion to 3,933 death certificates for citi-zens and expats. Subaei added thatbirth rates slightly decreased in 2018compared to 2017, when total birthswere 60,022. He also noted that MOHissued 1,650 birth certificates and 134death certificates to stateless people in2018. He added that due to the fact thatthe maternity hospital at Sabah medicalzone witnesses around 40 percent ofbirths in Kuwait, a new birth and deathcenter will open there soon.
Murder suspects sentencedThe court of cassation annulled a
death sentence and sentenced twosuspects to 10 years in jail overcharges of killing a citizen in a shop-ping mall in Hawally. Notably, a fighthad started between two citizens anda group of five including the two sus-pects, when the first suspect stabbedone of the citizens in the chest, killinghim instantly, while the second suspectstabbed the other citizen in the shoul-der, injuring him.
By Nawara Fattahova
KUWAIT: Recently, an image of a ‘fakediscount’ offered by a popular internation-al furniture store went viral on socialmedia. It was a photo of a bill of that storeshowing a piece of furniture originally costKD 24 before the sales season, while thesame piece during the sales period costKD 29 before the discount and KD 26after the discount. The social media userwho spread this picture charged the storeis cheating consumers, “who are nowsmart to figure out fake sales”. He claimedsales are not real as he knew the price ofthe product and was waiting for the salesperiod to buy it.
Kuwait Times confirmed the veracity ofthis claim with the Consumer ProtectionDepartment of the Ministry of Commerce,which is in charge of probing cases ofcheating. The inspector said the price ofthe product was KD 24 more than a yearago, but the store later hiked the price upto KD 29. And during the sales period,they discounted the price to KD 26.
“After we saw this picture on socialmedia, we went on an inspection to thisstore to seek clarification of the claim,which turned out to be false news. We arenot sure if the social media user whospread it had the intention to tarnish thereputation of the store on purpose, or if hewas not aware that the original price wasold and not valid,” the inspector namedMohammed told Kuwait Times.
The Consumer Protection Departmentrarely receives complaints about fakesales. “We have only received a few com-plaints from customers complaining astore was cheating during the sales period.But when we went to check the store, wefound the customer was wrong. The bigand popular stores don’t make such mis-takes and they usually follow the law,” headded. All stores should obtain permissionfrom the Ministry of Commerce to holdsales. “After the store gets the permission,our inspectors check the store to confirmthe discounts are for real. In case of anyviolation, the store will pay a fine,”Mohammed pointed out.
Consumer protection denies‘fake discount’ rumors
Health Ministry to extendsome expats’ contracts
Land part ofSheikh JaberCauseway openedKUWAIT: The Public Authority for Roads andTransportation (PART) announced yesterday the openingof the land section of the Doha-link of the Sheikh JaberAl-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway. Acting Director of PARTSuha Ashkanani said in a press conference that the projectcomes in accordance with international standards, andaims to link Doha with Shuwaikh from the beginning of Al-Ghazali Bridge to ease traffic congestion. She added thatthe 4.7 kilometer-long land section serves an army campand the Doha area. Meanwhile, project directorMohammad Abdeen said that a 12.4-kilometer bridgeacross the south of Kuwait would link Shuwaikh Port withthe Doha motorway. The Doha-link cost around KD 165.7million (around $545 million). — KUNA
KUWAIT: A picture showing the extension of the bridge with its surface and marine components. — KUNA photos
L o c a l Tuesday, January 1, 2019
3Established 1961
Amir, Crown Prince receiveSheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with His Highness SheikhNasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. -—Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos
His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with His HighnessSheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Deputy FMmeets USAmbassadorKUWAIT: Kuwaiti Deputy ForeignMinister Khaled Al-Jarallah and USAmbassador to Kuwait LawrenceSilverman yesterday discussed bilat-eral relations. During the meeting,
they also addressed the latest region-al and international developments.The meeting was attended byAssistant Foreign Minister for theDeputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister’s Office Affairs AmbassadorSheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, AssistantForeign Minister for the Deputy ForeignMinister’s Office Affairs AmbassadorAyham Al-Omar and Assistant ForeignMinister for the Americas’ AffairsMinister Plenipotentiary Reem Al-Khaled. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with USAmbassador to Kuwait Lawrence Silverman. — KUNA
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received separately at Bayan Palace yesterday His HighnessSheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. In other news, His
Highness the Amir expressed his deepest sympathies yesterday over thevictims of landslides and flooding in the Philippines, triggered by a tropicalcyclone that brought heavy rains to the Southeast Asian archipelago. HisHighness the Amir extended his condolences in a cable he sent to
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, saying he was distraught over thetragic loss of life caused by the natural disaster. His Highness the CrownPrince and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar messages to the Filipino leader. — KUNA
KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince SheikhNawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at BayanPalace yesterday Kuwait’s Permanent Representative atthe UN headquarters in New York AmbassadorMansour Al-Otaibi.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Otaibi said that Kuwaithad scored some vital diplomatic achievementsthrough its 2018 non-permanent seat at the UNSecurity Council (UNSC). Speaking on the most sig-nificant efforts by the State of Kuwait during the firstperiod of its second membership, Ambassador Otaibisaid that after four decades from its first run, Kuwaithad proved to the world that it is a nation involved inimportant global issues.
On June 2, 2017, Kuwaitgained 188 of 192 votes neces-sary to join the UNSC as anon-permanent member, saidAmbassador Al-Otaibi, affirm-ing that Kuwaiti diplomacyhad always stood on a moder-ate and balanced platform,which championed worldpeace as well as welfare andjustice for all. “Chairing theUNSC in the second month ofmembership was not an easytask,” he said, lauding the Kuwaiti leadership andMinistry of Foreign Affairs for their supportive stanceduring Kuwait’s tenure.
In its February Presidency of the UNSC, five resolu-tions were passed, four press statements issued, and 33meetings were held, indicated Otaibi, noting that themain focus of Kuwait was to put forward Arab causes,specifically the plight of the Palestinian people sufferingfrom the unethical and inhumane Israeli occupation oftheir land. He added that the Kuwait efforts in thePalestinian regard was crowned with Palestine’sPresident Mahmoud Abbas participation in a Kuwait-chaired UN Security Council meeting.
Syrian crisisOn Syria, Ambassador Otaibi said that alongside
Sweden, Kuwait managed to push for the approval ofresolution 2401, unanimously adopted on February 24,2018. It called for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria for 30days. The senior diplomat also touched on KuwaitiForeign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-HamadAl-Sabah’s participation in several UNSC meetings,namely the one organized by Kuwait on maintainingglobal peace and security with the participation of cur-rent UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and for-mer General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon. Back on Syria,the Kuwaiti senior diplomat said that Kuwait andSweden pushed on December 13, 2018 for a renewed
mechanism of humanitarian aiddeliveries in Syria, which wasresolution 2449.
In regards to Yemen,Kuwait had played an impor-tant role to put an end to theconflict in the fellow Arabcountry through its UNSCmembership, said Otaibi.Kuwait was part of the effortsto approve resolution 2451regarding the humanitariansituation in Yemen, said
Ambassador Otaibi who called on all involved parties ofthe conflict to abide by the results of the national dia-logue, UNSC resolutions concerning Yemen, and theoutcome of the recent Sweden Yemen talks.
Kuwait, recently, transported Yemeni delegations tothe Stockholm talks, as well as providing $250 millionto various humanitarian entities and organization toease the pain of those caught in the conflict of Yemen,affirmed the Ambassador.
Returning to the issue of Palestine, AmbassadorOtaibi said that Kuwait tried to push for UNSC resolu-tions for the sake of Palestinians; however, the veto -regularly used by a number of UNSC permanent mem-
bers - usually stood in the way. Kuwait had always beenkeen on supporting the humanitarian cause in Palestine,donating this year a sum of $50 million to UNRWA,revealed Otaibi.
Rohingyas’ plightBeyond promoting Arab causes whether in Iraq,
Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Lebanon, the State ofKuwait also managed to stand with humanitarian caus-es such as the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minorityin Myanmar, noted Ambassador Otaibi. He indicatedthat via Kuwait-State-owned planes, Kuwait transport-ed UNSC members from the UK and Peru and othercountries to the region of conflict to have a betterunderstanding of the horrific situation.
On other Kuwaiti achievements during the member-ship, Otaibi said that Kuwait launched the idea of pre-
ventative diplomacy, a stance in which diplomats anddiplomatic measures play an important part in haltingaggression and maintaining security and peace. Incoordination with the Netherland, Sweden, and IvoryCoast, the State of Kuwait forwarded approved resolu-tion 2417, a document strongly condemning the starv-ing of civilians, unlawfully denying humanitarian accessas warfare tactics.
In connection with the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 fromthe Iraqi aggression and occupation of 1990, AmbassadorOtaibi highlighted the environmental impact of the horrificpast event on the environment during several UNSC pro-ceedings. On his predictions for the second year ofKuwait’s membership, Al-Otaibi said that the State ofKuwait would chair the UNSC in June of 2019, affirmingthat his country will continue to promote just causes aswell as security and peace in the deliberations. — KUNA
Kuwait proved it is a nation involved in important global issues: Otaibi
Kuwait donated$50 million to
UNRWAKUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Kuwait’sPermanent Representative to the UN headquarters in New York Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) yesterday distrib-uted crucial winter supplies to some 120 needy families across thecountry, the venerable charity said. Lifting people out of povertyremains KRCS’ primary goal, its public relations officer Khaled Al-Zaid said in a statement. Such altruistic endeavors leave an indelible
mark on people’s lives, he added, thanking all volunteers who con-tributed to the charity’s projects in any way. He highlighted theKuwaiti charity’s resoluteness to assist all those in need, in addition toits eagerness to cooperate with other humanitarian organizations forthe good of humanity. — KUNA
KRCS delivers winter aid to 120 families in Kuwait
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
4L o c a l
Established 1961
Photo of the Day
KUWAIT: Kuwait’s flag flies high as Kuwait City’s skyline is seen in the background. — Photo by Mustafa Al-Bader (KUNA)
By Faten Omar
KUWAIT: When it comes to New Year celebra-tions, people have some of the strangest traditions.Yeng Banares, 34, told Kuwait Times that in thePhilippines, they believe roundness signifies pros-perity. “On New Year’s Eve, people surround them-selves with round shapes by wearing clothes withpolka dots, filling their pockets with coins or eatinground fruits like oranges. So dress up in dots ifwealth is your New Year wish,” she said.
Isaline Francois, 29, said she used to live with herfamily in Torgny, a village in Belgium. “My grandfa-ther used to take his livestock seriously. He believeswhen he wishes his cows a happy new year, he willget enough milk from them.” She added that she alsolived for a while in Denmark, where people smashplates on the doorsteps of friends to show howmuch they value them.
“It’s a measure of your popularity to find a heapof broken plates on your doorstep at midnight,which presumably comes as some comfort whileyou’re cleaning up. On New Year’s Eve, people alsostand on chairs and then jump off them at midnight.Leaping into January is supposed to banish badspirits and bring good luck,” said Francois.
Xaviar, 34, explained that eating grapes on newyear is a must for most Spaniards. “Eating twelvegrapes during the ‘Nochevieja’ is our tradition.When the clock bells strike midnight, they accom-plish one of the most ritualistic elements that bestcharacterizes Spanish tradit ion: Eating twelvegrapes to have 12 months of luck. If you miss onegrape, you may have bad luck in the coming year,”he said. The tradition of eating twelve grapes origi-nated in 1909, when Vinalopo grape producers pro-moted consumption of the fruit due to an overpro-duction that occurred that year.
Eating round fruits is popular on New Year’s Eve in the Philippines, whereroundness signifies prosperity.
In Denmark, people smash plates on the doorsteps of friends to show howmuch they value them.
Eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve is a popular traditionin Spain.
People share their ‘strangesttraditions’ on New Year’s Eve
KUWAIT: Kuwait Dive Team worked with young volunteers yesterday to clean up Um Al-Naml island as part of its campaign to protect the island that is considered a nature reserve south of Kuwait Bay. — KUNA
International‘Mother of humanity’:Bangladesh’s democracyicon-turned-iron lady
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Probe used to track Indian miners as hopes fade Page 6
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gather during a military training in the north of Aleppo province, in preparation to be deployed on the outskirts of Manbij area. —AFP
BEIRUT: Syria’s nearly eight-year-old conflict saw itslowest annual death toll in 2018 as the regime reassert-ed its authority over swathes of territory, a war monitorsaid yesterday. A total of 19,666 people were killed thisyear as a result of the conflict, which erupted in 2011,the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoringgroup reported. “2018 was the lowest annual toll sincethe start of the conflict,” Observatory chief Rami AbdelRahman told AFP.
The Britain-based monitor relies on a vast networkof sources across Syria to document the war that brokeout after the brutal repression of nationwide anti-regime protests in 2011. The death toll for 2017 stood atmore than 33,000 and the highest annual figure wasreached in 2014 — the year the Islamic State jihadistgroup proclaimed a “caliphate” over large parts ofSyria and neighboring Iraq — when 76,000 peoplewere killed. Among those killed in 2018 were 6,349civilians, 1,437 of them children, Abdel Rahman said.
Eastern Ghouta “Most of those killed during the first part of the year
were killed in regime and Russian bombardment ofopposition areas, including Eastern Ghouta,” AbdelRahman said. “The majority of those killed in the sec-ond half of the year were killed in coalition air strikes,”he added. The first months of 2018 were marked bymajor Russian-backed government operations to retakerebel and jihadist bastions in and around the capitalDamascus.
The bloodiest of them was an assault on EasternGhouta, a densely-populated area east of Damascusthat remained besieged for years. The most active frontof the past few months has been the battle against theremnants of the Islamic State group in eastern Syria.The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),backed by a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes,launched an offensive on September 10. Jihadist fight-ers defending the last rump of their once sprawlingproto-state, near the Iraqi border along the EuphratesRiver, have put up fierce resistance but seem close tocollapsing. While fighting has ended or is winding downin several parts of the country, 2019 could see its shareof military flare-ups.
Threatened Turkish offensive Besides the continued threat posed by IS sleeper
cells even after it loses its last pocket in eastern Syria,two other areas remain of concern. Turkey has threat-ened a major offensive against the Kurdish militia thatcontrols regions along its border in northeastern Syria.The announcement made by Donald Trump two weeksago that he had ordered a full troop pullout from Syria
left the US-led coalition’s Kurdish allies more exposed.Thousands of rebel fighters and jihadists also remain
in Idlib, a northern province where many of them weretransferred as a result of deals to end governmentassaults on other areas across the country. Under anagreement reached in Russia, Turkey was tasked withdisarming some of the groups active in Idlib but littleprogress has been achieved. President Bashar Al-Assadhas consistently said that his forces would seek to re-conquer the entire Syrian territory. According to theObservatory, the government and its allies now controls60.2 percent of Syrian territory, while the SDF hold28.8 percent.
The Kurds last week asked for the regime’s helpagainst the threat of a Turkish offensive, a move thatwill put pay to their ambitions of increased autonomy.By comparison, the US-based Armed Confl ictLocation and Event Data Project puts the number ofconflict-related deaths in Afghanistan at more than40,000 this year.
IS arrests In related news, Iraq sentenced more than 600 for-
eigners including many women and dozens of minors in2018 for belonging to the Islamic State group, the judi-ciary said yesterday. Iraq declared “victory” over IS atthe end of 2017 after a three-year war against thejihadists, who once controlled nearly a third of thecountry as well as swathes of neighboring Syria.
Around 20,000 people suspected of links to IS havebeen arrested since 2014. Judicial spokesman AbdelSattar Bayraqdar said yesterday that “616 men andwomen accused of belonging to IS have been put ontrial” in 2018 and sentenced under Iraq’s anti-terrorismlaw. They comprised 466 women, 42 men and 108minors, he said. Bayraqdar did not, however specify thepunishments. Under Iraq’s anti-terrorism law courts canissue verdicts, including death sentences, against any-one found guilty of belonging to the jihadist group,including non-combatants.
In April, judicial sources said that more than 300suspects linked to IS had received death sentencesand more than 300 others were sentenced to life,which in Iraq is equivalent to 20 years. Most of thewomen sentenced for IS links were from Turkey andrepublics of the former Soviet Union. Three Frenchcitizens — two women and a man — have been sen-tenced to life imprisonment while a German woman, aBelgian man and a Russian man have been sentencedto death. Many women had travelled to Iraq with theirchildren to join their husbands who fought in the ranksof IS. Some are still waiting to be repatriated to theirhome countries. —AFP
2018 death toll Syria war’s lowestA total of 19,666 people were killed this year
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tuesday, January 1, 2019
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WASHINGTON: Outgoing White House chief JohnKelly said in an interview published Sunday that he had“nothing but compassion” for undocumented migrantscrossing into the US, and undercut President DonaldTrump’s claims to be building a “wall” at the Mexicoborder. As a partial government shutdown entered aninth day due to an impasse over Trump’s demands forfunding the US-Mexico border barrier, the president’schief of staff told the Los Angeles Times: “To be honest,it’s not a wall.”
“The president still says ‘wall.’ Oftentimes franklyhe’ll say ‘barrier’ or ‘fencing,’ now he’s tended towardsteel slats,” Kelly said. “But we left a solid concrete wallearly on in the administration, when we asked peoplewhat they needed and where they needed it,” he added.Building a solid “wall” along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico frontier was a central plank of Trump’s 2016election campaign, and he has tweeted about it almost100 times this year alone. “Either we build (finish) theWall or we close the Border,” Trump — who hasadopted the 2020 re-election mantra “promises made,promises kept” — posted as recently as Friday.
A former Marine general who led the military com-mand responsible for Latin America, Kelly was Trump’sHomeland Security secretary before becoming WhiteHouse chief of staff in July last year. His relationshipwith the president reportedly deteriorated, however,and he is to be replaced at the end of the year by MickMulvaney, the current budget director. “Illegal immi-grants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people,” Kelly toldthe LA Times, adding that many had been manipulatedby traffickers. “I have nothing but compassion for them,the young kids.” The remarks were in sharp contrast tothe rhetoric of the president who regularly appeals tohis overwhelmingly white political base by taking ahard line on immigration.
‘Pathetic immigration policies’ Trump has spoken of an “invasion” of migrants and
complained of “many gang members and some verybad people” among a thousands-strong caravan ofimmigrants that traveled to the US in October. Migrantsfrom Central America say they want to reach the US toescape poverty and gang violence. Trump has threat-ened to end aid to Guatemala, Honduras and ElSalvador, despite a State Department announcement onDecember 18 that the US was ready to offer $4.5 billionin investment in Central America and southern Mexico,and that the administration was requesting an addition-al $180 million in assistance to the region.
On Saturday Trump blamed opposition Democrats“and their pathetic immigration policies” for the deathsof two Guatemalan children who crossed the borderillegally with relatives who were taken into custody byUS Border Patrol. In a departure from the stance takenby his boss, Kelly said the way to halt illegal immigra-tion was to “stop US demand for drugs, and expandeconomic opportunity” in Central America. KevinMcAleenan, the commissioner of US Customs andBorder Protection, said on ABC’s “This Week” thatinvestment in Central America was one element of a“multi-faceted problem” that also requires funding bor-der security.
‘Wasting taxpayer dollars’ He called for a “sober-minded non-partisan look at
our immigration laws” as part of the solution to anupsurge in family and child arrivals. “We’ve asked forabout 1,000 miles of wall... And what we’re talkingabout is not just a dumb barrier,” McAleenan said.“We’re talking about censors, cameras, lighting, accessroads for our agents, a system that helps us secure thatarea of the border.”
The Democrats are refusing to provide billions forTrump’s border wall project and the president insists hewill not fully fund the government unless he gets themoney. As long as the debate holds up approval of awider spending bill, about 800,000 federal employees
are not getting salaries and non-essential parts of thegovernment are unable to function. Kellyanne Conway,a close Trump advisor, said on “Fox News Sunday” thatwhether the border barrier was a “wall” or not was “asilly semantic argument,” adding that the president hadalready compromised, since he had originally asked for$25 billion.
Mulvaney told Fox last week that the administrationhad shown movement on the latest $5 billion demandfor border security. “We actually came off of our $5 bil-
lion slightly,” he said. Democratic Congressman HakeemJeffries agreed on ABC’s “This Week” that immigrationreform and enhanced border security were needed. “Atits core, our responsibility in government is to managepublic money. We can either manage it efficiently or wecan waste taxpayer dollars,” he said. “And what DonaldTrump and the Republicans want to do is waste $5 bil-lion in taxpayer money on an ineffective medieval bor-der wall that is a fifth-century solution to a 21st centuryproblem.” —AFP
‘Illegal immigrants, overwhelmingly, are not bad people’
White House chief now says Trump is not building a ‘wall’
CALEXICO: An off-road vehicle with a “Trump 2020” campaign flag drives near the US-Mexico borderfence at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. —AFP
Probe used totrack Indianminers ashopes fadeCHIRANG DISTRICT ASSAM: TheIndian Navy yesterday sent an underwa-ter probe into a flooded mine in a bid totrace 15 miners who have been missingfor more than two weeks, officials said.The so-called “rat-hole” miners havebeen trapped since December 13 whenwater gushed into Ksan mine from anearby river in the remote northeasternstate of Meghalaya.
The navy has sent divers and searchequipment to the mine after a publicoutcry over the slow pace of the rescue,with many of the miners’ families fearingit is now too late for them to be found.“Rat hole” mining involves digging intothe side of hills and then burrowing tun-
nels up to five feet high to reach a coalseam. The remotely controlled probewas the latest initiative in the increasing-ly desperate search for the men.
Authorities have been struggling topump out water from the 380-foot deepmine so that divers can approach thearea where the men are believed to be.Navy divers entered the mine on Sundaybut failed to trace anything. “The Navywill commence diving again once thewater level is brought down,” FederickM Dopth, deputy commissioner of EastJaintia Hills district, told AFP. Rescuerssay there has been no sign of life butinsist it is still possible the miners mayhave found an air pocket.
Santosh Kumar Singh from the federalNational Disaster Relief Force told AFPthat the emergency crew “is doing theirbest and they can only hope for good”.At least 15 miners were killed after theywere trapped in a flooded rat hole minein Meghalaya in 2012. Their bodies werenever recovered. A federal environmentcourt banned wildcat mining in the min-eral-rich state in 2014 after local com-
munities complained it was pollutingwater sources and putting the lives ofminers at risk. But the practice continues,
with mine owners and the state govern-ment challenging the ban at India’sSupreme Court. —AFP
KSAN: In this photo taken on December 30, 2018, Indian Navy divers go down inthe mine with a pulley during rescue operations after 15 miners were trappedby flooding in an illegal coal mine. —AFP
Merkel: Germanymust fight for ‘our convictions’BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel yes-terday said Germany must “stand fast,argue, and fight for our own convictions”and assume greater responsibilities at atime when multilateralism is coming underintense pressure. In her New Year’saddress to Germans, Merkel said long-held certainties about international coop-eration were being put to the test. Globalchallenges including climate change,immigration and the fight against terror-ism could not be solved by countriesgoing it alone, she warned.
“For our own interests, we want tosolve all these questions, and we can dothat best when we also take into consid-eration the interests of others,” she saidin a speech to be broadcast in full lateryesterday. “That is the lesson from twoworld wars of the last century,” she said,warning however that “certainties aboutinternational cooperation is falling underpressure.”
“In our own interest, we must take onmore responsibilities,” she said. With aneye to Germany taking on a non-perma-nent seat in the UN Security Council in2019 and 2020, the leader of Europe’sbiggest economy said her country would
push for “global solutions”. She alsopledged to raise spending for humanitari-an and development aid, as well asdefense. Although Merkel did not nameUS President Donald Trump in herspeech, she has on previous occasionsrejected his criticisms of multilateralism.
In his second appearance before theUN’s annual gathering in September,Trump told the General Assembly that heand his administration “reject the ideolo-gy of globalism, and we embrace the doc-trine of patriotism”. A week later, Merkelhad warned Trump against “destroying”the UN. “I believe that destroying some-thing without having developed some-thing new is extremely dangerous,”Merkel said at a regional election cam-paign event then.
Channel crossing plan In other news, Britain and France have
agreed to boost bilateral cooperationover a spike in migrants trying to crossthe Channel, the UK’s Home Office saidSunday. In the coming weeks, the twocountries wil l increase surveil lancepatrols and focus on measures to disman-tle trafficking gangs and improve aware-ness about the dangers of sea crossings inone of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
“The UK and France will build on ourjoint efforts to deter illegal migration —protecting our borders and human life,”said Britain’s Home Office minister SajidJavid, after speaking on the phone withFrench counterpart Christophe Castaner.
Attempts to cross the English Channelhave been increasing since October, withauthorities on both sides struggling tostop them.
Javid, who has previously said the riseis being treated as a “major incident”, hasfaced criticism from the opposition andfrom within his own party for respondingtoo slowly. “More than 200 migrants havearrived on the Kent coast in small craft inthe past two months. The scale of theproblem is unprecedented,” CharlieElphicke, the MP for Dover on the south-
east coast of England, told the Daily Mail.A particular increase in arrivals has
been recorded over the Christmas period,with British authorities finding 43 peoplein English waters on Christmas Day andDecember 26. On Thursday, British borderofficials found 23 Iranians in three loca-tions in Kent on England’s southeastcoast, hours after French maritime author-ities intercepted 11 migrants in a smallboat near Sangatte. And on Sunday,authorities intercepted six Iranians nearKingsdown beach in Dover. —AFP
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for a photograph after therecording of her annual New Year’s speech at the Chancellery. —AFP
Iran says Taleban were in Tehranfor peace talksTEHRAN: Iran said yesterday that the AfghanTaleban have visited Tehran for a second round ofpeace talks in just a few days aimed at bringing anend to 17 years of conflict. Iran has made a moreconcerted and open push for peace in neighboringAfghanistan since US President Donald Trump indi-cated there would be a significant withdrawal ofAmerican troops.
“Yesterday (Sunday), a delegation of Talebanwere in Tehran and lengthy negotiations were heldwith Iran’s deputy foreign minister... (Abbas)Araghchi,” said spokesman Bahram Ghasemi at a tel-evised news conference. That came just days after AliShamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme NationalSecurity Council, visited Kabul and told reportersthat talks had been held with the Taleban inAfghanistan.
“The Islamic Republic has always been one of theprimary pillars of stability in the region and coopera-tion between the two countries will certainly help infixing Afghanistan’s security issues of today,”Shamkhani told the conservative Tasnim newsagency. There have been reports in the past of talksbetween Iran and the Taleban, but they have typicallybeen denied by Tehran. Ghasemi said Iran’s prioritywas “to help facilitate negotiations between Afghangroups and the country’s government”.
The current peace push will be viewed with con-cern by hawks in Washington, who fear that Trump’splanned withdrawal of troops from Syria andAfghanistan will cede regional influence to Iran. AnAmerican official told AFP on December 21 thatTrump had decided to pull out “roughly half” of the14,000 US forces from Afghanistan, but the WhiteHouse has yet to confirm the widely-publicised move.
Senior Republican senator Lindsey Graham metwith Trump on Sunday and urged him to delay anywithdrawal from Syria to make sure “Iran doesn’tbecome the big winner of our leaving”. StanleyMcChrystal, the former commander of US and inter-national forces in Afghanistan, told ABC: “Iran hasincreased influence across the region now. If you pullAmerican influence out, you’re likely to have greaterinstability.”
‘Peace development’ The Taleban also met with the United States,
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the United ArabEmirates earlier in December, but refused to meet adelegation from Afghanistan. Araghchi will travel toAfghanistan in the next two weeks, Iran’s foreignministry said, without giving further details.“Considering our long border with Afghanistan andthe cultural and historical ties, and our important rolein the region’s stability, the Islamic republic was inter-ested... to enter and play a more important role inpeace development in Afghanistan,” Ghasemi added.
Iran and Afghanistan share a nearly 600-mile bor-der, and have had a complex relationship in recentyears. Tehran has long supported its co-religionists inAfghanistan, the Shia Hazara minority, who were vio-lently persecuted by the Taleban during its rule in the1990s. Iran worked alongside the United States andWestern powers to help drive out the Taleban afterthe US-led invasion in 2001. But there have beenallegations, from Western and Afghan sources, thatIran’s Revolutionary Guards have in recent yearsestablished ties with the Taleban aimed at driving outUS forces from Afghanistan. —AFP
Russia detains Americansuspected of espionageMOSCOW: Russia said yesterday its security serviceshad detained a US citizen in Moscow accused of spy-ing, the latest in a series of espionage cases betweenRussia and the West. The FSB domestic security serv-ice said the American was arrested on Friday “whilecarrying out an act of espionage”.
A criminal case had been opened, the FSB said in
a statement, under Art ic le 276 of the RussianCriminal Code, which allows for sentences of up to20 years in prison. The statement identified theAmerican in Russian, using a name that appeared totranslate as Paul Whelan. No other details wereimmediately available.
The arrest came with Moscow embroiled in a num-ber of spy scandals with the West and after PresidentVladimir Putin accused Western nations of using espi-onage cases to try undermine an increasingly powerfulRussia. US intelligence services have accused Moscowof interfering in the 2016 presidential election and earli-
er this month convicted Russian Maria Butina of actingas an illegal foreign agent. Butina faces up to sixmonths in prison, followed by likely deportation.
Prosecutors said she launched a plan in March 2015to develop ties with the Republican Party with the aimof influencing US foreign policy. Russian military intelli-gence agents were also accused in the poisoning earlierthis year of former double agent Sergei Skripal and hisdaughter in Salisbury, England. The Skripals survivedbut a local woman died after picking up a discardedperfume bottle that police think was used to carry outthe attack.—AFP
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tuesday, January 1, 2019
7Established 1961
Police fire tear gas as protesters rally in Sudan capitalKHARTOUM: Police fired tear gas atprotesters in Sudan’s capital yesterdayahead of a planned march on PresidentOmar Al-Bashir’s palace calling on himto “step down” following deadly anti-government protests. Crowds of menand women chanting “freedom, peaceand justice” and “revolution is the peo-ple’s choice” gathered in downtownKhartoum, but they were quickly con-fronted by anti-riot police, witnessestold AFP.
Hundreds of policemen and securityforces deployed to key squares acrossthe capital in the early morning to pre-vent the march. Bashir has told police toabstain from using excessive forceagainst the demonstrators after 19 peo-ple, including two security personnel,were killed in clashes in the initial daysof demonstrations that erupted onDecember 19. Angry protesters took thestreets after the government raised theprice of a loaf of bread from one
Sudanese pound to three (from abouttwo to six US cents).
Bread price protests quickly evolvedinto anti-government rallies in Khartoumand several other cities. Yesterday’smarch was called for by a group of pro-fessionals including doctors, teachers andengineers, after it organized a similar rallyon December 25. “We will march towardsthe presidential palace calling forPresident Omar Al-Bashir to step down,”the Sudanese Professionals’ Associationsaid in a statement late Sunday.
Opposition groups and prominentrebel chief Abdel Wahid Al-Nur fromwar-torn Darfur have also urged theirsupporters to participate in the march.On Sunday, Bashir met top police offi-cers in Khartoum and instructed them torefrain from using excessive forceagainst demonstrators after the UnitedNations called for an investigation intothe deaths and violence during thedemonstrations. “We want to maintainsecurity and we want the police to dothat by using less force,” Bashir said.
“We admit that we have economicproblems... but they can’t be solved bydestructions, lootings, and thefts,” Bashirsaid, referring to the buildings andoffices of the president’s ruling party
torched by protesters in several citiesduring the demonstrations. Sudan is fac-ing an acute foreign exchange crisis andsoaring inflation despite Washington lift-ing an economic embargo in October2017. Inflation is running at 70 percentand the Sudanese pound has plunged in
value, while shortages of bread and fuelhave regularly hit several cities. UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres hasappealed “for calm and restraint” andcalled on “the authorities to conduct athorough investigation into the deathsand violence”. —AFP
4 dead, moremissing aftergas explosion hits Russiahigh-riseMOSCOW: Four people were killed andnearly 70 unaccounted for after a gas explo-sion tore through a residential building inRussia yesterday, leaving hundreds withouta home in freezing temperatures on NewYear’s Eve. A large section of the buildingcollapsed after a gas explosion around 6amlocal time at the high-rise in the industrialcity of Magnitogorsk, nearly 1,700 kilome-ters east of Moscow in the Ural mountains.
Four people were confirmed dead andanother four, including two children, werehospitalized, officials said, citing the latestinformation. Sixteen people including sevenchildren have been evacuated. The where-abouts of 28 people have been establishedbut the fate of nearly 70 was unclear.National television said some 50 peoplecould be trapped under the rubble. National
television broadcast footage of rescueworkers combing through mangled heaps ofconcrete and metal in temperatures ofminus 18 Celsius (minus 0.4 F).
Temperatures in Magnitogorsk wereexpected to plunge to minus 23 Celsius onNew Year’s night, the biggest holiday of theyear in Russia. Officials warned that two moresections of the Soviet-era high-rise on KarlMarx Street were in danger of collapsing.Local resident Anna Koroleva told Echo ofMoscow radio that the explosion shatteredwindows of nearby buildings. The Kremlin saidPresident Vladimir Putin had been “immediate-ly notified of the tragedy in Magnitogorsk”.
‘Common tragedy’Located in the mineral-rich southern
Ural region, Magnitogorsk, with a popula-tion of more than 400,000 people, is hometo one of the country’s largest steel produc-ers. The high-rise was built in 1973 and washome to around 1,100 people. Residentswere evacuated to a nearby school.Volunteers offered money, clothing andessentials to the victims, and some said theywere ready to provide temporary shelter tothose in need.
Regional governor Boris Dubrovsky saidauthorities planned to buy apartments forpeople who had lost their homes. Staff fromthe local Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel
Works (MMK), one of the country’s largeststeelmakers, took part in the rescue opera-tion. Billionaire Viktor Rashnikov, who con-trols the plant, called on city residents tohelp the victims. “This is our commontragedy and pain,” he said in a statement,adding that MMK would provide financialassistance to those in need.
Investigators opened a criminal probeinto the accident, with the FSB securityservice confirming the blast had been theresult of a gas explosion. Such deadly gasexplosions are relatively common in Russiawhere much of the infrastructure dates backto the Soviet era and safety requirementsare often ignored. —AFP
MAGNITOGORSK: This handout picture shows emergency officers as they take partin search and rescue operations after a gas explosion rocked a residential buildingin Russia’s Urals city of Magnitogorsk. —AFP
Macron faces new embarrassment from ex-bodyguardPARIS: Emmanuel Macron’s disgraced ex-bodyguardsaid he continued to exchange messages regularly withthe French president even after he was forced out ofhis job in July over a scandal. Alexandre Benalla causedthe most damaging controversy of Macron’s presiden-cy after he was caught on video roughing up protest-ers at a demonstration in May while wearing a policehelmet. And he was at the centre of more embarrassingheadlines for the embattled 41-year-old head of statelast week when it emerged he had retained his diplo-matic passports even after losing his job. In an interviewwith investigative website Mediapart, Benalla saidSunday that he continued giving advice to Macron viathe Telegram messaging app, which the president usesintensively. “We exchange messages on lots of differentsubjects. It’s often like, ‘how do you see things’. It couldbe about the ‘yellow vests’, the views on someone orsecurity issues,” Benalla said.
The 27-year-old former bouncer began working asa bodyguard for Macron during his campaign for thepresidency in 2016 before being promoted to a seniorsecurity role in the presidential palace in May 2017.Benalla’s role and the ties between the two men havebeen the focus of intense media scrutiny and the latestcomments undermine efforts by Macron to distancehimself publicly. The French president is to give a tele-vised New Year’s address later on Monday evening at8:00 pm (1900 GMT) — the same time as “yellowvest” protesters have called for a new demonstrationon the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
The protest movement, which swelled up from ruraland small-town France in November, has waned in inten-sity in recent weeks after Macron announced a series ofmeasures for low-income families. Benalla admitted visit-ing around a dozen countries in recent months and hesaid he always gave an account of his trips to the presi-dent or his aides. He met with Chad’s President IdrissDeby earlier in December, and Le Monde newspaper hasreported that he held talks with the Republic of Congo’sPresident Denis Sassou-Nguesso, as well as top officialsin Cameroon. “I explain that I’ve seen so and so and whatwas said. Afterwards they can do what they like with it,”Benalla told Mediapart.
He added, however, that since the revelations abouthis diplomatic passport emerged “the link has been cut”with the presidency. Last Tuesday, the French presiden-cy said that Benalla was “not an official or unofficialemissary”. But Benalla denied suggestions from the for-eign ministry that he had used his diplomatic passportsillegally, something which prosecutors are now examin-ing. “If they don’t want me to use these passports, theycould deactivate them,” he said. “When you travelabroad with a diplomatic passport, the French embassyknows when you arrive,” he added. —AFP
KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of Congo yes-terday began counting ballots from a presidentialelection marked by delays and fears of violence andvote-rigging, straining hopes for its first-ever peace-ful transfer of power. Sunday’s elections went aheadafter two years of delays and sporadic clashes in theunstable country, but the influential national confer-ence of Catholic bishops declared the vote had been“relatively calm.”
Among reported incidents, some electoralobservers were harassed and a clash took in therestive eastern province of South Kivu that left fourpeople dead. The DRC has never had a peaceful tran-sition of leader since it gained independence fromBelgium in 1960. Worries of a new spiral into violencedeepened after President Joseph Kabila, in powersince 2001, refused to quit two years ago when hisconstitutionally-declared limit expired. Tension andsuspicion were further stoked by repeated delays, abloody crackdown on anti-Kabila protests and accusa-tions that electronic voting machines would help to rigthe result. But Kabila appeared on public television lateSunday to congratulate the Congolese for having voted“in peace and dignity”.
Provisional results are due to be announced onJanuary 6, final results on January 15 and the new presi-dent sworn in on January 18. From Kinshasa to Goma,2,000 kilometers further east, polling stations alreadyput up first results on Monday morning. In Kisangani,the country’s third-largest city, observers hired by thepolitical parties slept on the floor or on desks at apolling station to keep their eye on the vote count, anAFP reporter said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Catholic Churchobservers, who were present at 78 percent of pollingstations, said some had been forced to leave the votingcenters. “We had cases where our observers weremolested and violated,” Luc Lutala told AFP yesterdaymorning. On Sunday evening, violence erupted at a
polling station in the Walungu area of South Kivuprovince after an electoral official was accused of try-ing to rig the vote in favour of Kabila’s preferred suc-cessor, according to an opposition figure. The electoralofficial was killed along with a policeman and two civil-ians, said Vital Kamerhe, who has been campaigning forFelix Tshisekedi.
declared Sunday to Actualite.cd news site: “I’ll beelected, I’ll be president.” Separately, Tshisekedi, one ofhis biggest rivals and the head of a veteran oppositionparty, UDPS, predicted: “Victory is ours.” However, thescant opinion polls that have been conducted in thediverse, sprawling country made Martin Fayulu — untilrecently a little-known legislator and former oil execu-tive — the clear favourite.
He garnered around 44 percent of voting intentions,followed by Tshisekedi with 24 percent and Shadarywith 18 percent, said Jason Stearns of the CongoResearch Group, based at the Center on InternationalCooperation at New York University. If the electionsare “free and fair,” an opposition candidate will almostcertainly win. However, “the potential for violence isextremely high,” he warned. Roughly half of surveyrespondents said they would reject the result if Shadary— a hardline former interior minister who is facing EUsanctions for a crackdown on protesters — wasdeclared winner.
Voting hitches While turnout failed to reach 50 percent at some
polling stations, many voters said they were exhilaratedat taking part in the first elections after the nearly 18-year Kabila era. But there was also much evidence oforganizational problems, including with the contestedvoting machines. The vote for a new president tookplace alongside legislative and municipal polls.
A country almost the size of continental westernEurope which straddles central Africa, the DRC is richin gold, uranium, copper, cobalt and other minerals.Little of that wealth trickles down to the poor. Poverty,corruption and government inertia are etched into thecountry’s history, along with a reputation for violence.In the last 22 years, it has twice been a battleground forwars drawing in armies from central and southernAfrica. That legacy endures in eastern DRC, where mili-
tias control swathes of territory and battle overresources, wantonly killing civilians.
Insecurity and an ongoing Ebola epidemic in part ofNorth Kivu province, and communal violence in Yumbi,in the southwest, prompted the authorities to postponethe elections there until March. Around 1.25 millionpeople in a national electoral roll of around 40 millionvoters are affected. Despite this, elections in the rest ofthe country went ahead. —AFP
‘We had cases where our observers were molested and violated’
Tense DR Congo counts vote in presidential poll
KINSHASA: Late voters check the voting list in a school in Kinshasa on December 30, 2018, duringDemocratic Republic of Congo’s general elections. —AFP
KHARTOUM: Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir arrives to meet with police offi-cials at the headquarters of the “police house” in the capital. —AFP
Presidential campaignstarts in heavily conflicted Ukraine KIEV: Campaigning began for a key presidential vote inUkraine yesterday with President Petro Poroshenko facingan uphill re-election battle among voters disillusioned with
corruption and the slow pace of reforms. Poroshenko, whosegovernment is locked in a conflict with Moscow-backedinsurgents in the industrial east, trails two-time ex-primeminister Yulia Tymoshenko in the latest opinion polls.
Voting will take place on March 31, with a second roundthree weeks later if no candidate takes more than 50 per-cent. Poroshenko, a 53-year-old chocolate tycoon, sailed tovictory in a May 2014 election after a popular uprising oust-ed the Moscow-backed regime of Viktor Yanukovich. Hepromised to pivot the ex-Soviet country of nearly 45 millionpeople towards the West and has sought to push through
ambitious reforms. But critics say the economy is in tatters,corruption is rampant and Poroshenko has done little to reinin fellow oligarchs.
One poll this week showed 16.1 percent of expected vot-ers planning to vote for Tymoshenko, ahead of Poroshenkowith 13.8 percent. After the 2014 uprising, Moscow annexedCrimea and supported Russian-speaking separatists inUkraine’s east, in a conflict that has claimed the lives of morethan 10,000 people. The war has been a huge burden for thecountry’s struggling economy, with Poroshenko forced torely on assistance from the West. This month the
International Monetary Fund confirmed it would give Kiev a$4 billion, 14-month loan.
Poroshenko is widely expected to stand for re-elec-tion even though he has not yet confirmed he is running.His re-election chances looked even more bleak inNovember when a Ukrainian comic and showman,Volodymyr Zelensky, overtook him as the country’s sec-ond-most-popular likely presidential candidate. ButPoroshenko’s popularity ratings increased after he over-saw the creation of a Ukrainian Orthodox Church inde-pendent of Moscow. —AFP
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
8I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Philippine storm death toll surges MANILA: The death toll from a storm that struck thePhilippines shortly after Christmas rose to 68 with thenumber of fatalities expected to climb even higher, civildefense officials said yesterday. Fifty-seven people diedin the mountainous Bicol region, southeast of Manila,while 11 were killed in the central island of Samar, mostlydue to landslides and drownings, the officials said. “I amafraid this (death toll) will still go up because there are alot of areas we still have to clear,” said Claudio Yucot,Bicol civil defense director.
The weather disturbance locally named “Usman” hitthe country on Saturday. While it did not have powerfulwinds it brought heavy rains that caused floods and
loosened the soil, triggering landslides in some areas.Many people failed to take necessary precautionsbecause Usman was not strong enough to be rated as atyphoon under the government’s storm alert system,Yucot said. “People were overconfident because theywere on (Christmas) vacation mode and there was notropical cyclone warning,” he told AFP.
Although Usman has since moved westward awayfrom the country, many affected areas were still expe-riencing seasonal rains, hampering rescue and recov-ery efforts, he added. At least 17 people are still miss-ing and more than 40,000 were displaced nationwidedue to the storm, the civil defense office said. An aver-age of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippineseach year, killing hundreds of people and leaving mil-lions in near-perpetual poverty. The most powerful wasSuper Typhoon Haiyan which left more than 7,360people dead or missing across the central Philippinesin 2013. —AFP
Taiwan rebuffs China tourist snub with record 2018 arrivalsTAIPAI: A record 11 million tourists have visitedTaiwan in 2018, the government said yesterday, aboon for the island as it courts holidaymakers acrossAsia to make up for a shortfall from China. The num-ber of Chinese mainlanders visiting Taiwan hasdropped dramatically since the 2016 election of presi-dent Tsai Ing-wen who has refused to acknowledgeBeijing’s stance that the island is part of “one China”.
Beijing still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to bereunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately
since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. Chinahas cut off official communication with Tsai’s governmentand stepped up military and diplomatic pressure. Tourgroup numbers from the mainland took a nosedive,sparking speculation that Beijing was deliberately turningoff the taps to punish Taiwan for electing Tsai.
In response, Tsai’s government went on a charmoffensive across Asia, launching advertising campaignsand making it easier for people to visit, particularly fromSouth and Southeast Asia. That strategy — dubbed the“southbound policy” — has reaped rewards. The 11 mil-lionth visitor, a Japanese doctor, arrived Sunday in whatTaiwan’s tourism bureau described as “a new landmark”.The island recorded 10.7 million arrivals in 2017 and10.6 million in 2016. The government has yet to release afull breakdown in nationalities for 2018. Japanese andChinese tourists still make up the bulk of arrivals. But lastyear’s data showed the number of Chinese nationals
coming to Taiwan had dropped from 4.18 million in 2015to just 2.73 million in 2017.
Some 2.46 million people from the mainland visitedin the first 11 months of 2018, suggesting that declinehas continued. In contrast, arrivals from Southeast Asiarose to 2.1 million in 2017 from 1.4 million in 2015, whileTaiwan has also seen increases from across the rest ofAsia. Designed to make the island less economicallydependent on Beijing, the “southbound policy” isaimed at ramping up business and cultural exchangeswith 16 South and Southeast Asian countries, as well asAustralia and New Zealand. Last week 152 Vietnamesewho arrived on group tours went missing with authori-ties suspecting them of coming to work illegally.Around 400 tourists have previously gone missingunder the program, according to the tourism bureau,although it is not clear how many of them have sincebeen found. —AFP
This handout photo taken and released by theDepartment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showsa woman standing in front of her damage house in LopeDe Vega Town in Northern Samar. —AFP
Pakistan airline fires pilots with fake school degreesISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national flag carrier has fired50 staffers including three pilots for holding fake highschool degrees, an airline official said yesterday, in thelatest embarrassing mishap to hit the troubled airline.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which was con-sidered a global leader in commercial aviation until the1970s, has been plagued by myriad controversies inrecent years and saddled by billions of dollars in debt.“The airline has dismissed from service its 50 staffersincluding three pilots for holding fake high schooldegrees,” PIA’s spokesman Mashood Tajwar said.
He said at least six additional pilots had been firedrecently on the same grounds. The airline has can-celled the pilots’ licenses, Tajwar added. He did notspecify what the other PIA staff who were sacked didfor the airline. PIA was widely mocked in 2016 forsacrificing a goat next to a turboprop ATR plane toward off bad luck, weeks after one of its planescrashed killing 47 people in one of Pakistan’s worstair disasters.
Last year it had to apologize after forgetting twocorpses due to be transferred to Pakistan from NewYork. And in 2013 one of its pilots was jailed in Britainfor being drunk before he was due to fly from Leedsto Islamabad with 156 people on board. PIA employ-ees have also been periodically investigated for drug-smuggling, especially after drugs were seized from aDubai-bound flight in 2016. —AFP
DHAKA: To her supporters, Sheikh Hasina is Bangladesh’s“mother of humanity” for giving Rohingya refugees shelter,but to her detractors she’s a creeping autocrat who hasjailed opponents and muzzled dissent. Hasina, the daughterof Bangladesh’s founder, won a historic fourth term asprime minister with a landslide victory in Sunday’s electionthat the opposition claimed was rigged. The 71-year-old islauded by supporters for overseeing a decade of impres-sive economic growth in the impoverished South Asiannation that was more commonly known for its frequentfloods and cyclones.
Opponents, however, accuse her of jailing arch-foeKhaleda Zia on politically motivated charges, of orchestrat-ing mass arrests, enforced disappearances and passing dra-conian anti-press freedom laws to try to cling to power.Hasina was abroad in August 1975 when a group of rene-gade military officers assassinated her father, Bangladesh’sfirst president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his wife and threesons. She started her political career as a hero of the peo-ple, returning from exile in 1981 to take over as AwamiLeague leader and begin a long struggle to restore democ-racy in Bangladesh. Hasina joined forces with Zia’sBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to help oust militarydictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1990 but the pairsoon fell out and were branded the “Battling Begums”.
Economic growth Their rivalry has dominated Bangladeshi politics for the
last 30 years. Hasina was first elected prime minister in1996 but she struggled to emerge from the shadow of herfather during her first term and lost the 2001 contest. Thepair were then imprisoned on corruption charges in 2007by a military-backed government which had taken powerin a coup.
The charges were dropped and they were freed to con-
test the December 2008 election, which Hasina won by alandslide. She has been in power ever since, presiding overeconomic expansion of more than six percent every yearsince 2009. GDP growth last year was 7.86 percent andHasina has promised to take that into double digits. Underher watch, Bangladesh is on course to graduate from aleast-developed country to a middle-income nation.
Poverty has been brought down to around 20 percentand nearly 90 percent of the country’s 165 million peoplenow have access to electricity. Her fans also praise her foropening Bangladesh’s doors to some one million Rohingyarefugees fleeing a military crackdown in western Myanmar.She has earned plaudits from Western nations for allowingthe refugees to stay in camps in Bangladesh’s southeast,while her supporters insist she should be given a NobelPeace Prize.
Going after Islamists Hasina’s fans have lauded her for cracking down on
Islamist extremists in the Muslim-majority nation, after fivehomegrown terrorists stormed a Dhaka cafe, killing 22 peo-ple — including 18 foreigners — in 2016. She also launchedtrials of the powerful Islamist opposition over crimes com-mitted during the 1971 independence war. Five top Islamistleaders and a main opposition stalwart were executed.
Her opponents branded the war crimes trials a farce,saying they were a politically motivated exercise designedto silence dissent. Instead of healing the wounds of war, thetrials have triggered mass protests and deadly clashes.Hasina showed similar resolve in holding the trial of hermain opponent and two-time former premier Zia, who wassentenced to 17 years in jail in two separate graft cases ear-lier this year.
Analysts said the jailing effectively ended Zia’s politicalcareer and weakened the opposition ahead of Sunday’s par-
liamentary vote, the country’s 11th since independence.They say Hasina’s regime has slid into authoritarianismsince she pushed on with an uncontested general election in2014. “She has crushed the opposition and created a one-party dominant political system in Bangladesh,” says AtaurRahman, a political science professor at Dhaka University.
Hasina married nuclear scientist MA Wazed Miah in
1968. They have two children, who are both US citizens,including son Sajeeb Wajed, who is an advisor to her gov-ernment. Hasina ignored calls by opponents to let a neutralgovernment oversee Sunday’s election, which extended herreign as Bangladesh’s longest-serving leader after a cam-paign marred by violence and arrests of oppositionactivists. —AFP
Lauded by supporters for overseeing a decade of economic growth
‘Mother of humanity’: Bangladesh’s democracy icon-turned-iron lady
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi man walks past a photo of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. —AFP
The resignation of US Defense Secretary JamesMattis stands not only as a radical disassociationfrom the actions of the president he served, but
as a foreboding for the future, a warning for 2019 - andbeyond. And, for all the assurances that the world isgetting better, such as Steven Pinker’s “EnlightenmentNow,” there are huge geopolitical challenges to faceand master to make that optimism real.
The key passages of Mattis’ resignation letterinclude statements asserting that the United Statescannot protect its interests or effectively serve its roleas “the indispensable nation in the free world” withoutmaintaining strong alliances and showing respect to itsallies. “We must use all tools of American power to pro-vide for the common defense, including providingeffective leadership to our alliances,” says Mattis. “It isclear that China and Russia... want to shape a worldconsistent with their authoritarian model.”
These are implicitly harsh criticisms of DonaldTrump, a president who has denigrated and insultedallies as close as Canada, Britain and Germany, anddeferred to Russian president Vladimir Putin, oftentreating him as a friend. More, Mattis’ remarks are redflags signaling the prospective collapse of the institu-tions and common policies of democratic states - nowin increasing peril.
As the United States under Trump retreats toFortress America, China under Xi Jinping retreatsbehind that version of Marxism which brooks no com-petitor on the political or ideological levels. The UighurMuslims in Xinjiang have over the past year seen manyof their number taken to re-education camps to purgethem of their devotion to Islam; some Chinese authori-ties have ordered Christmas displays in shopping andoffice centers to be taken down. China’s news mediahave been squeezed into conformity with the Party linefor the past few years. The internet and social mediaprovide some space for dissent, but it’s usually quicklycut off - consistent, as Mattis might say, with Beijing’sauthoritarian model.
Putin both retreats and advances. He publiclyembraces Orthodox Christianity and refers glowinglyto the doctrine of Eurasianism which stresses Russia’sseparation from Europe. At the same time, he advances
- piling pressure on neighboring Ukraine, most recent-ly in the Sea of Azov which lies between the two coun-tries, where Russian warships fired on poorly-armedUkrainian vessels - part of Moscow’s overall strategyto, as Orysia Lutsevych writes, “prevent the Ukrainianstate from delivering security, economic prosperityand closer integration with the EU and NATO for itscitizens.”
Putin is also ratcheting up pressure on Belarus, thesmallest of the three Slavic states, to integrate moreclosely with Russia - a move which the Belarusian pres-ident, Alexander Lukashenko, has so far resisted. WereRussia to bring Belarus back under direct Russian con-trol and engineer a pro-Russian government in
Ukraine’s capital Kiev, Putin’s new Slav empire wouldbe a reconstruction of much of the Soviet Union.
India, forecast to be the world’s most populousnation in three years’ time, becomes at one both morepopulist and more authoritarian in the fifth year ofNarendra Modi’s rule. The country’s democratic institu-tions survive and debate is often robust, but a relentlesscentralization of authority and a sapping of the strengthof formerly relatively independent institutions - as, thismonth, the Central Bank of India - are warnings ofpotentially unchecked executive power.
The largest project of a different kind of power, theEuropean Union, now learns the hard way that the softpowers of education, culture, democracy, civil societyand common markets - all of which the EU activelychampions - can go only so far without military power
to underpin them. 2019 will be a huge test for the Union- not just because the UK is due to leave it at the end ofMarch, but also because the EU parliamentary elec-tions in May are likely to see a large influx of populistand Eurosceptic deputies, dedicated to returning cen-tralized power to national parliaments.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union at the begin-ning of the 1990s, a new spirit went abroad. Call it theexport of democracy: the certainty that democraticpractices and the institutions of civil society - as non-governmental pressure groups, independent researchcenters, the news media - could, once released fromservitude, rapidly change into free societies on theWestern model. They would do so because their peoplewanted freedom - the revolutions in the former Sovietbloc and elsewhere seemed to prove it.
In the United Nations, steam built up behind a proj-ect named “genocide prevention and the responsibilityto protect” - the view that all rulers had a duty to pro-tect their citizens, and to refrain from subjecting themto “war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes againsthumanity.” If leaders did descend to attacking theirown people - as did Saddam Hussein of Iraq through-out much of his 24-year reign - then they would be thetarget of sanctions, and even military force.
The debacle of Iraq, above all else, convinced manyWestern publics and leaders that idealistic imperialismled to disaster, and always would. Those espousing it -as had Hillary Clinton - faded. Both a liberal like BarackObama and a populist like Donald Trump tacitly agreedthat such foreign adventures were, on any large scale, athing of the past. Thus, both the “new soft power” ofthe European Union and the idealistic imperialism towhich the “responsibility to protect” gave birth havebeen seen to have demonstratively failed.
We are left with hard power in the ascendant - powersat whose summits are men (in every case) who usenationalism and the projection and growth of militaryforce to bolster their popularity, and who saw liberalglobalism as having offered a threat to their ruling strate-gies - but which is now ceasing to do so. And becauselarge sections of the Western publics experienced mar-ginalization, a loss of identity and no rises in income, theytoo turned against the liberal vision. — Reuters
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
9A n a l y s i s
Established 1961
Sabra Purdy is just back from Joshua TreeNational Park in southern California, whichwas crammed with tourists. It is high season,
and to prevent chaos from the partial shutdown ofthe US federal government, she put on her gloves,cleaned toilets and picked up trash. The 40-year-old businesswoman joined other members of thebusiness community who benefit from park-relatedtourism, and together they performed some seriousmaintenance in the 790,737-acre park while wait-ing for politicians in faraway Washington to endtheir budget impasse.
The shutdown began on Dec 22, with Congress atloggerheads over whether to include the $5 billionsought by Donald Trump to fund a wall on the bor-der with Mexico, a central pillar of his election cam-paign and of his presidency. The result: Hundreds ofthousands of federal workers were sent home with-out pay, including 21,383 employees of the NationalPark Service (NPS), responsible for 418 facilitiesnationwide, including national parks, monuments,historic sites and even the White House.
But most parks were left open, and without theusual entry fee. “In the long run, the rangers whowork here are committed to preserve the area andjust their mere presence probably keeps thingsfrom happening that shouldn’t,” said Sherman Craig,who was visiting Joshua Tree from New York. APark Service statement issued for a shutdown earli-er in the year laid out a bare-bones plan. “The NPSwill not operate parks during the shutdown - novisitor services will be provided,” it said.
“NPS will cease providing visitor services,including restrooms, trash collection, facilities androads maintenance (including plowing), camp-ground reservation and check-in/check-out serv-ices, backcountry and other permits and publicinformation.” That is where the community aroundJoshua Tree came in, determined to help keep themagic in the air. The Sonora and Mojave desertsmeet on the park’s west side, amid a spectacularbackdrop of rocky mountains, boulders and a typeof cactus called the Joshua Tree that gives the areaits name.
Disorder but ‘no chaos’ Since the shutdown began, dozens of volunteers
have been traveling to the park to clean overusedbathrooms, remove mounting piles of garbage andcarry out other, equally unfragrant work. Purdy,who eight years ago opened a tour company forclimbing trips with her husband Seth Zaharias, saidthat when she arrived at Joshua Tree on Friday shefound disorder but “no chaos”. There were “a lot ofpeople with dogs where they shouldn’t be, campingwhere they shouldn’t be. But it could certainly bemuch worse,” she said. “Unfortunately, this isn’t thefirst shutdown, and probably not the last.”
Volunteers often take the opportunity to guidetourists and explain the rules about protecting thepark’s precious and delicate ecosystem - rules oftenflouted during the shutdown. Local businesses start-ed organizing their fairly informal grouping even asCongress was failing yet again to get its budget dealdone. All supplies for the effort come from the pock-et of local businessmen, though some donations arestarting to arrive from other park lovers.
Striving for ‘normalcy’ “There are about 150 latrines in the park. And I
estimate that we have distributed more than 500rolls of paper; I do not think we have reached all thebathrooms, only the most important ones,” saidJohn Lauretig, executive director of the NGOFriends of Joshua Tree National Park, which is help-ing coordinate while also working to protect localwildlife. “We are trying our best to maintain nor-malcy, but you know, we don’t really have theauthority or the power or the ability to stop peoplefrom doing really egregious acts: Driving off-road,or chopping down trees or stealing artifacts. Ihaven’t seen any of that. But you know the potentialis there,” he said.
On Twitter, someone posting as “Defend JoshuaTree” decried an “absolutely ridiculous” breakdownof conditions in the park - with trash piling up, peo-ple driving off-road and even stringing Christmaslights between delicate Joshua Tree cacti. Theposter called for the park to be closed until thebudget showdown ends.
But for Purdy, Lauretig and many othersdependent on tourism, that would be the worstpossible turn of events: The time betweenChristmas and New Year’s is among the park’sbusiest. When the park was shuttered for 17 daysin 2013, “it was devastating for us financially,”Purdy said. Lauretig shared the concern. “Back in2013 when the park was closed and people werenot visiting, the local restaurants and the localcommunity were laying people off. They weresending people home because there just wasn’t anymoney or visitors,” he said. — AFP
Established 1961 The First Daily in The Arabian Gulf
Hard power is in the
ascendance
Volunteers strive to stave off shutdown chaos at US parks
Expect 2019 to test global stability
Yemen girl’s tragic story makes her symbol of war
Buthaina Mansur Al-Rimi’s life has changed drasti-cally since last year - orphaned in Sanaa, the littlegirl controversially ended up in Saudi Arabia for
medical care and has just returned to Yemen’s capital.Her entire immediate family was wiped out in an airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s gov-ernment, using an explosive device AmnestyInternational says was made in the US. Images ofButhaina’s rescue and a picture of her swollen andbruised at a hospital trying to force open one of hereyes with her fingers were beamed worldwide.
That international fame saw her become somethingof a propaganda pawn in the war between Yemen’sIran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi media. In an inter-view with AFP, Buthaina and her uncle Ali - her legalguardian - recall the strike that killed her parents, foursisters, only brother and another uncle.
‘The house fell’ “I was in my mother’s room with my father, sisters,
brother and uncle,” Buthaina tells AFP from rebel-heldSanaa, where she has returned from Saudi Arabia tolive with Ali and her cousins. “The first missile hit, andmy father went to get us sugar to get over the shock,but then the second missile hit, and then the third,” shesays. “And then the house fell,” adds the little girl, whosays she is eight. It was the night of Aug 25, 2017. Theuncle who died was her “favorite”, she says.
Along with her family, eight other civilians -including two children - were killed in a house near-by. A few days later, the picture of Buthaina attempt-
ing to force open her right eye went viral. The Saudi-led alliance admitted responsibility for the air strikedescribing it as a “technical mistake”. But it drewstrong international condemnation. In the week aheadof that strike, 42 people were killed in other airstrikes, according to the UN.
A month after her close family was wiped out, pic-tures of Buthaina appeared in Saudi media showing herbeing treated in Riyadh. The circumstances surround-ing her move from Sanaa to the Saudi capital remainunclear. The Houthi rebels say Buthaina, her uncle Aliand his family were “kidnapped” by the coalition andtaken to government-held Aden, before travellingonwards to Riyadh. Saudi media said she was broughtto the Saudi capital at the request of the international-ly-recognized Yemeni government.
Although the Saudi government has never comment-ed officially on Buthaina’s case, pictures of her appar-ently boarding a private jet from Riyadh to Sanaa werepublished by the Al Riyadh newspaper on Dec 19. TheHuthis’ Al-Masirah media outlet has published storieswelcoming them back from the “grasps of SaudiArabia”. “Eye of humanity exposes the enemy”, ran oneheadline. Mahdi Al-Mshat, head of the rebels’ HigherPolitical Council, has ordered Buthaina and her remain-ing family be offered a home and salary, according tothe rebels’ Saba news agency.
‘She doesn’t forget’ Buthaina says she is looking forward to going to
school for the first time. Looking healthy, she sits on thefloor of her uncle’s home in Sanaa. She plays alongsideher cousins with a doll, braiding its hair. “I want to goto school and become a doctor,” she tells AFP, her ownhair tied in a ponytail. “I want the war to stop and forus to live in peace... for the children of Yemen to live inpeace,” she says. Her uncle, sitting behind her, nods.
While the Houthis have been accused of widespreadand indiscriminate use of landmines, the coalition has
come under fire for air raids that have killed civilians inrebel-held areas. Buthaina’s return to her home citycomes amid a ceasefire agreement in the lifeline portcity of Hodeida - part of a peace push seen as the bestchance yet of ending four years of devastating conflict.It has been a long journey back home for the little girl,who became a symbol of Yemen’s war. Ali says that shestill struggles with the loss of her family.
“She doesn’t forget her mum and dad. She feels sadwhen she sees things that remind her of her parents orsiblings... or when she hears the songs her father usedto listen to,” he says. “We tell her to hold on and thatthey are in heaven... and heaven is a beautiful place. Alisays that Buthaina is his “flesh and blood” and consid-ers her a daughter. Holding back tears, he says: “Whentheir house collapsed, I asked God not to deny me fromseeing my brother again, but it’s ok. Thanks to him,Buthaina stayed with us.” Yemen’s war has killed nearly10,000 people, including 2,200 children, according tothe World Health Organization, but other groups saythe toll is far higher. —AFP
This combination of pictures shows Yemeni girl ButhainaAl-Rimi in a hospital in Sanaa on Aug 28, 2017 (left); andas she mimics her face then while sitting in her uncle’shouse in Sanaa on Dec 26, 2018 (right). — AFP
Tokyo court extends Ghosn’s detention to January 11
NBK announces winner of KD 250,000 in Al-Jawhara draw during a live show
NASA spaceship zooms toward farthest world ever photographed1311 12
BusinessEstablished 1961
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019
DUBAI: Dubai’s stock market ended 2018 yesterday with a25-percent annual loss, the worst year since the globalfinancial crisis a decade ago, as the real estate and tourismsectors struggled. The plunge in the Dubai FinancialMarket Index was the biggest among Gulf and Arabbourses amid signs of a slowdown in the emirate’s highlydiversified economy. But it was not as bad as in 2008 whenthe Dubai stock market dived 72 percent after the financialcrisis triggered a debt problem for the emirate. BoursaKuwait ended 2018 trading in the green zone as the pre-mier market index rose by 0.14 points to reach 5079.5points. The main market index rose by 15.4 points to reach4738.5 points, same as all share market index went up by3.2 points to stand at 5267.3 points. The value of tradeswas at KD 17.9 million with the volume reaching KD 140.4million shares done through 4,716 deals.
In 2018 Oman’s small bourse dropped 15 percent whilestock markets in other energy-rich Arab Gulf monarchiesended the year in positive territory, buoyed by an increasein oil prices. The Qatar Stock Exchange led the gainers witha 21-percent rise despite an 18-month-old economic andpolitical blockade by its neighbors led by Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi stock market, the largest in the Arab world,ended the year up 8.3 percent despite dipping to a three-year low in October after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggiwas murdered in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. InDecember, the Dubai Financial Market Index dropped to afive-year low before slightly recovering to close the yearat 2,529.75 points.
The stock market’s dive was attributed to a sharp dropin real estate sales and prices due to oversupply and weakdemand. The property market, which makes up around 13percent of Dubai’s gross domestic product, has been indecline since 2014 but its slide accelerated in 2018. In thethird quarter alone, the price of houses dropped 7.4 per-
cent in Dubai, according to the UAE central bank, afterdeclining by more than six percent in the first half of 2018.Shares in Emaar Properties, the largest developer in theMiddle East, lost almost half their value over the past year,mirroring sharp falls for the sector as a whole.
Economic growth in Dubai, which is not directlydependent on oil, is expected to have slowed to 2.3 per-cent in 2018, from 2.8 percent the previous year, accordingto the central bank. A glut of housing units and weakdemand are also key reasons for the property marketdownturn, the Standard and Poor’s ratings agency saidearlier this year.
Meanwhile, world stock markets staggered yesterdaytowards the end of their worst year since the global finan-cial crisis a decade ago, rocked by rising interest rates, theglobal trade war and Brexit, dealers said.
London and Paris wobbled in holiday-shortened tradeon New Year’s Eve-but nursed dizzying double-digitannual falls after an exceptionally volatile 2018.
Hong Kong rose yesterday after US President DonaldTrump hailed “big progress” on resolving Washington’strade war with Beijing, but was down almost 14 percentover the year. Equities have been hammered in 2018 bytighter monetary policy-from both the US Federal Reserveand also the European Central Bank, which halted itsquantitative easing stimulus policy this month.
“Global stocks are set for their worst year since thefinancial crisis, thanks to the tightening monetary policiesadopted by several central banks around the globe-espe-cially the Federal Reserve and the ECB,” saidThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam.
“The Fed stopped printing easy money a few yearsback and increased interest rates four times this year. “TheECB also ended its quantitative easing program and therehas been discussion on ... normalizing interest rates.” The
Bank of England meanwhile hiked British interest rates inAugust for the second time since the financial crisis to helptame inflation, despite worries that Brexit could wreakhavoc on the economy.
‘America First’ Sentiment was also slammed by US President Donald
Trump’s ‘America First’ trade policy which has sparked adamaging trade war with China and others.
Wall Street did however mark the longest-ever “bullmarket” in August, a run that began amid extraordinarycrisis-era monetary policy-but for which Trump hasclaimed credit after his tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.
Yet markets have since spiralled lower on slowing glob-al growth, Italy’s fiscal woes, a US government shutdownand Trump’s attacks on the Fed. Investors also ran for cov-er as the uncertain nature of Britain’s looming exit from theEuropean Union in March 2019 casts a long shadow.
“Stock markets have been on a wild ride this year andthe United States has been at the center,” Oanda analystCraig Erlam said. “Tax reforms hugely boosted earnings,bringing an economic boost with it,” he said. However, “thetrade war with China and skirmishes elsewhere haveweighed heavily on the relevant domestic markets whichhas dented investor sentiment.”
Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs onmore than $300 billion worth of goods in total two-waytrade earlier this year, locking them in a conflict that hasbegun to eat into profits and contributed to stock marketplunges. In Europe yesterday, London’s benchmark FTSE100 index dipped 0.1 percent to finish at 6,728.13 points,marking a sharp annual loss of 12.5 percent.
The Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.1 percent to end at4,730.69 points-which was drop of nearly 11 percent forthe year. Many investors were away for Christmas and
New Year holidays, while trading hubs including Frankfurt,Rome, Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul were shut.
Return to recession? “2018 has been characterized by a shift from low
volatility, high liquidity and expectations of equity out-performance to high volatility, low liquidity and the returnof a bear market in equities,” said VTB Capital economistNeil MacKinnon. “For 2019, a global economic slow-down-perhaps recession-looks increasingly likely,” hewarned. Key Asian markets also limped towards the endof the year in bear market territory-meaning that theyare 20 percent below their most recent peaks. Tokyo’sbenchmark Nikkei index had rounded out 2018 on Fridaywith its first annual loss since 2011, and Shanghaibecame the worst-performing major global stock market,dropping by nearly a quarter. — Agencies
Dubai stocks end 2018 on a sluggish noteBoursa Kuwait buoyant; global equities lackluster
LONDON: World stock markets staggered yesterday towards the end of their worst year since the global financial crisis a decade ago, rocked by rising interest rates, the global trade war and Brexit fears.
China factory activity shrinks as year ends BEIJING: China’s factory activity contracted for the firsttime in over two years in December, highlighting the chal-lenges facing Beijing as it seeks to end a bruising tradewar with Washington and reduce the risk of a sharpereconomic slowdown in 2019.
The increasing strain on factories signals a continuedloss of momentum in China, adding to worries about soft-ening global growth, especially if the Sino-US disputedrags on. Trade frictions are already disrupting globalsupply chains, fuelling concerns of a bigger blow nextyear to world trade, investment and shaky financial mar-kets. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - thefirst snapshot of China’s economy each month - fell to49.4 in December, below the 50-point level that sepa-rates growth from contraction, a National Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) survey showed yesterday. It was the firstcontraction since July 2016 and the weakest reading sinceFebruary 2016. Analysts had forecast it would dip to 49.9from 50.0 the previous month. China is expected to rollout more economic support measures in coming monthson top of a raft of initiatives this year. A prolonged down-turn in the factory sector, key for jobs, would likely sparkfurther attempts to juice domestic demand.
In November, industrial output rose the least in nearly
three years, while earnings growth at industrial firms fellfor the first time in nearly three years. A PMI sub-indexon overall factory output prices fell to 43.3 in Decemberfrom 46.4, signalling earnings erosion. A gauge on overallproduction fell to 50.8, the lowest since February, from51.9. New orders - an indicator of future activity - con-tinued to soften, reinforcing views that business condi-tions in China will likely get worse before they get better.
A sub-index for total new orders contracted for thefirst time in at least a year, falling to 49.7 amid persistent-ly weak demand at home and softening global growth.
New export orders shrank for a seventh straightmonth, with the sub-index falling to 46.6 from 47.0.
Trade war uncertainties Many analysts doubt that Beijing and Washington can
bridge their many differences and reach a comprehensivetrade deal in the latest round of talks. US PresidentDonald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreedearly this month to a 90-day ceasefire that delayed aplanned Jan 1 US increase of tariffs on $200 billion worthof Chinese goods while the two sides negotiate.
Trump said over the weekend that a possible trade dealwas progressing well, but few concrete details haveemerged. The trade war has resulted in billions of dollars oflosses for both sides this year, hitting industries from autosand technology to US agriculture. “There are many short-term orders from overseas but few long-term ordersreceived by Chinese factories as caution remains amid thetrade uncertainties,” said Nie Wen, economist at HwabaoTrust in Shanghai. “The medium to long-term exportprospect is not optimistic particularly.” Warehouses acrossthe US are bursting with Chinese goods after retailers
stocked up before fresh tariffs, suggesting little chance of anear-term export rebound even if a trade deal is reached.
Consumer cautionOne bright spot in the downbeat data was a modest
pick-up in the services sector. The official non-manufac-turing PMI rose to 53.8 from 53.4. While that offers somecushion - services account for over half of the economy -consumers remain cautious. China’s auto sector has been
particularly hard hit. Sales in the world’s biggest auto mar-ket are on track to fall for the first time since at least 1990.“Last December we saw overall China carmakers’ capacityutilisation rate at around 56 percent, but now we estimateit is roughly 50 percent,” Shanghai-based senior analystAlan Kang at LMC Automotive told Reuters. “Carmakersin general are cutting production.” China’s stock markettumbled about 25 percent in 2018, while the yuan has lostaround 5 percent versus the dollar. — Reuters
RIYADH: The Saudi stock market ended 2018 up 8.3percent.—AFP
SHENYANG: This photo taken on Sunday shows a customer buying New Year decorations at a marketahead of New Year’s day in Shenyang in China’s northeastern Liaoning province. — AFP
B u s i n e s s Tuesday, January 1, 2019
11
NEW YORK: US companies have sent home overhalf a trillion dollars of cash they held overseas in2018 to take advantage of tax changes, but datasuggest the pace is slowing, potentially removing akey source of support for Wall Street.
Dollar repatriation in the July-September periodfell to $93 billion, around half of second-quarter vol-umes and less than a third of the $300 billion or sosent home from January to March, US currentaccount data shows. The repatriation bonanza fol-lowed new regulations that allowed the US govern-ment to tax profits accumulated overseas, regardlessof where the money was held. Prior rules allowedcompanies to “defer” US tax on worldwide profitsunless they repatriated the money.
The change offered a powerful incentive to bringhome some of the $3 trillion US firms were believedto hold in jurisdictions ranging from Ireland toSwitzerland, either in cash or in securities such asUS Treasuries.
But investment bank JPMorgan said the flowswere on “a rapidly decelerating trajectory”.
The current account data shows repatriation inall sectors. Looking at just non-financial companies,JPMorgan calculates $60 billion was repatriated inthe third quarter, versus $225 billion in the firstquarter and $115 billion in the second quarter.
Because companies had probably already pre-booked a one-off tax hit for the year, repatriationwill have dwindled further in the last quarter, itpredicted. Repatriation flows are also evident fromdata released by the US Treasury InternationalCapital, or TIC. That shows Treasury bond hold-ings falling in locations that are well known aslow-tax jurisdictions or overseas bases of UScompanies or that host significant fund manage-ment or custody business.
Ireland, which hosts the European hubs of UStechnology and pharmaceutical companies such asApple and Pfizer, saw Treasury holdings drop by$40 billion between end-2017 and end-October2018, TIC data released on Dec. 17 shows. The hold-ings fell by over a tenth in January-October to$287.6 billion.
Shrinking repatriation is likely to affect markets,because the flows helped fund this year’s record $1trillion in US share buybacks. A Jefferies analysis ofa Federal Reserve paper looking at the use of repa-triated cash concluded it had significantly enhancedbuybacks, effectively placing a floor under stockmarkets. But US equities have endured a dismal fewmonths as worries have grown for economic growth.The last quarter of 2018 has been the worst for theS&P500 index since the end of 2008 when theLehman Brothers crisis erupted.
Should flows dwindle further, “the extra boostthat US repatriation provided to US equity andbond markets via share buybacks and corporatebond redemptions would likely dissipate next year,”JPMorgan told clients. Bond markets meanwhile sawreduced issuance, as companies drew instead onrepatriation proceeds.
The 10 biggest US multinationals, including sixtech companies, sold zero bonds in 2018, after rais-ing $80 billion annually on average in the previousthree years, Goldman Sachs said, noting this hadsupported bond performance in 2018. The dollarmay be affected less-a significant part of the off-shore-held cash is already believed to be in dollars,whether cash or Treasuries. However, repatriationprobably supported the currency at the margins bytightening dollar supply outside the United States,so dwindling flows could act as another drag on thegreenback. — Reuters
US companies repatriate over half a trillion dollars in 2018
TOKYO: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn will be spend-ing the beginning of 2019 behind bars after a Tokyo courtyesterday extended his detention through to January 11.
The move comes after Japanese prosecutors re-arrest-ed Ghosn for fresh allegations on December 21, dashing hishopes of being home for Christmas. “The decision toextend the (detention period) was issued today. Thedetention expires on January 11,” the Tokyo District Courtsaid in a statement.
The growing case against the auto tycoon represents astunning reversal of fortune for a man once revered inJapan and beyond for his ability to turn around automak-ers, including Nissan.
Since his stunning arrest on November 19, the twistsand turns of the case have gripped Japan and the businessworld and shone a light on the Japanese legal system,which has come in for some criticism internationally.Authorities are pursuing three separate lines of enquiryagainst the 64-year-old Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian exec-utive, involving alleged financial wrongdoing during histenure as Nissan chief. They suspect he conspired with hisright-hand man, US executive Greg Kelly, to hide awayaround half of his income (some five billion yen or $44 mil-lion) over five fiscal years from 2010.
They also allege he under-reported his salary to thetune of four billion yen over the next three fiscal years-apparently to avoid criticism that his pay was too high.
The extension that prosecutors won Monday allowsthem to continue investigating a complex third claim thatalleges Ghosn sought to shift a personal investment lossonto Nissan’s books. As part of that scheme, he is alsoaccused of having used Nissan funds to repay a Saudiacquaintance who put up collateral money. Prosecutorshave pressed formal charges over the first allegation butnot yet over the other accusations.
‘Cup noodle’ Yesterday’s extension deals a new blow to Ghosn’s
hopes of being released from the Tokyo detention centerwhere he has been held since his shock arrest. Earlier thismonth, he appeared on the verge of winning bail after acourt rejected a request from prosecutors to extend hisdetention on the second allegation against him.
But by filing the new claims, prosecutors were able torestart the clock on his detention.
The once jet-setting executive, who denies any wrong-doing, was initially held in a tiny single cell but has nowreportedly been moved to a more comfortable room.
He has complained about the cold and the rice-basedmenu, sources say, though he has told embassy visitors heis being well-treated although he has shed a lot of weight.According to the Asahi Shimbun daily, Ghosn will beoffered cup noodles on New Year’s Eve-based on theJapanese tradition of eating noodles at the turn of the yearto wish for a long life.
He will reportedly be allowed access to his lawyers onJanuary 2 and 3, which are both Japanese holidays.
‘Dark side’ While he has failed to win bail, his alleged accomplice
Kelly won a court-ordered release on Christmas Day.Kelly’s bail conditions prevent him from leaving Japan, andhe is reportedly now seeking treatment for a spinal condi-tion at a Japanese hospital.
Ghosn’s lengthy detention has sparked criticism, espe-cially from abroad, but Japanese prosecutors have defend-ed the legal system, which allows suspects to be “re-arrested” several times over different allegations. And hisarrest has laid bare tensions in the alliance he helped forgebetween Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and France’s Renault.
While Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors swiftly oustedGhosn from his leadership posts after his arrest, Renaulthas responded more cautiously to the allegations.
The French firm has also repeatedly called on Nissan tohold a shareholders meeting, and is reportedly seekingincreased representation on the board of the Japanese
automaker. Nissan has rejected the calls for a shareholdermeeting at this stage, and says it is waiting until a commis-sion looking into governance at the firm releases its find-ings. The Japanese automaker has also so far failed toagree on who should succeed Ghosn as chairman.
While the tycoon was once so beloved for his role in
turning around Nissan that he was immortalised in mangacomic form, his former colleagues have since harshly criti-cized him.
Nissan’s CEO Hiroto Saikawa, a one-time Ghosn pro-tege, has accused his former boss of accruing too muchpower and referred to his tenure’s “dark side.” — AFP
Tokyo court extends Ghosn’s detention to January 11
Move after prosecutors re-arrest Ghosn for fresh allegations
Dollar drifts in year-end trade as clouds gather LONDON: The dollar was broadly steady in thinyear-end trading yesterday with the Australian dollarleading gainers as tensions over a trade disputebetween the United States and China faded onexpectations of progress in trade talks. The Australiandollar gained 0.4 percent to $0.7063 but on the yearis down 10 percent. The Aussie has suffered againstthe greenback this year due to tensions between theworld’s two biggest economies because of its statusas a currency highly correlated to global trade.
In a tweet which provided relief to financial mar-kets, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday thathe had a “long and very good call” with his Chinesecounterpart Xi Jinping and that a possible trade dealbetween the United States and China was progressingwell. The dollar was broadly steady at 96.43 but is setto close the year up nearly 5 percent against its rivalson trade tensions and rising interest rates.
China and the United States have been in a tradewar for much of 2018, shaking world financial marketsas the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth ofgoods between the world’s two largest economies hasbeen disrupted by tariffs. Going into 2019, the out-look for the dollar is more subdued with growingexpectations that a three-year rate hiking cycle in theUnited States has come to a close. Markets currentlyexpect no rate hikes next year.
“Along with growing expectations of no more ratehikes, the familiar issues of the twin deficits is expect-ed to weigh on the dollar next year,” said Alvin Tan, acurrency strategist at Societe Generale in London.The dollar has been relatively stable going into theend of 2018 despite falling US Treasury yields. TheUS 10-year Treasury bond yield was at 2.71 percenton Monday, having fallen nearly 30 basis points inDecember.
The euro was last quoted at $1.1440, flat versusthe dollar. Although the single currency has gainedversus the dollar in recent weeks, economic growthand inflation in Europe remain much weaker than theEuropean Central Bank’s expectations. The euro is setto lose nearly 5 percent versus the dollar in 2018.
Elsewhere, sterling, which has been battered thisyear by Brexit woes, rose to a three-week high inquiet trade. It rose 0.3 percent at $1.2732 but haslost more than 6 percent of its value versus the dol-lar this year. — Reuters
TOKYO: Pedestrians looking at a television news program featuring former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, inTokyo in this file photo. Ghosn will be spending the beginning of 2019 behind bars after a Tokyo court yester-day extended his detention through to January 11, local media reported. — AFP
Hong Kong stocks gain over 1% in shortened sessionHONG KONG: Hong Kong shares climbed over 1 percentyesterday, closing an otherwise bearish 2018 on a firmnote, on the back of optimism about Sino-US trade rela-tions, and gains in technology stocks. The Hang Sengindex rose 1.3 percent to 25,845.70, while the Hang SengChina Enterprises index gained 1.3 percent. The market isclosed in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve.
The Hang Seng lost 13.6 percent of its value this year,the worst decline since 2011. The market tracked the sorrystate of the Chinese stock market in 2018, whose blue-chipindex was the worst performer in Asia. H-shares also shed13.5 percent in 2018. The Hang Seng recorded a 2.5 per-cent fall in December, and lost almost 7 percent this quar-ter, while H-shares accumulated losses of 4.7 percent inDecember and 8.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Gains were seen across the board yesterday. The sub-index tracking the financial sector ended the session 1.4percent higher, the property sector rose 1.3 percent, whileenergy stocks added 1.5 percent, due to firmer oil prices.
US-China trade relations look amicable ahead of the NewYear. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping talked overthe phone on Sunday, and expressed willingness to strike atrade deal afterwards. The two leaders called a 90-dayceasefire in the trade war at the start of the month. TheHang Seng’s sub index for the I.T. hardware makers , whichwere caught in the trade war crossfire earlier this year,ended the session up 1.7 percent. The phone call betweenTrump and Xi was the main driver behind Hong Kongstocks’ performance yesterday, said Ben Kwong, head ofresearch at KGI Asia, adding that: “The market expectsmore progress in the US-China trade talks.
That, and the festive atmosphere, pushed the main(Hang Seng) index higher in today’s half-day trading.” Thesub index tracking the information technology sectorclimbed 1.2 percent, thanks to a rally in shares of TencentHoldings, the most actively traded stock in Hong Kong.Tencent climbed after China approved the release of 80new video games on Saturday, ending a freeze on gamesfor much of 2018. The news helped Tencent’s shares gaineven though the company’s games were not in theapproval list.
“I think 80 is a relatively small number, but it marks achange in policy,” said Steven Leung, director of sales atbrokerage UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. “There will prob-ably be more approvals, gradually coming out, at the startof next year.” Chinese economic growth, another driverforHong Kong equities, continues to look lackluster. In
December, the country’s factory activity contracted for thefirst time in more than two years, but services activitypicked up after a two-month slowdown, according to offi-cial data released yesterday morning. The top gainer onthe Hang Seng was Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd,which gained 6.4 percent.
The top gainers among H-shares were China TowerCorp Ltd , up 3.5 percent, followed by China Petroleum &Chemical Corp, gaining 3.3 percent, and CRRC Corp Ltd ,up 2.4 percent. The short and one-factor leveraged HangSeng index, which is designed to replicate the payoff of ashort or leveraged portfolio and is linked to the movementsof the Hang Seng Index, was lower by 1.3 percent on theday at 5,358.44 points. — Reuters
Kenyan GDPgrowth at 6%in Q3 2018NAIROBI: Kenya’s economy expand-ed faster in the third quarter of thisyear than in the same period last yeardue to strong performance in theagriculture and construction sectors,the statistics office said yesterday.
The Kenya National Bureau ofStatistics said the economy grew 6percent in the third quarter of 2018,compared with 4.7 percent in thesame period in 2017. It said the agri-culture sector expanded by 5.2 per-cent compared with 3.7 percent in thethird quarter of 2017, helped by bet-ter weather. “Prices of key food cropsremained low during the quartercompared to the corresponding quar-ter of 2017, an indication of relativestability in supply,” KNBS said.
Manufacturing grew by 3.2 per-cent from a 0.1 percent contraction inthe third quarter of 2017, KNBS said.It said that the electricity and water
supply sector grew by 8.5 percentfrom 4.5 percent in the third quarterof 2017, mainly due to a big increasein the generation of electricity fromhydro and geothermal sources.
Gross foreign reserves increasedto 1,222.5 billion from 1,085.6 billionin the same period of last year.
The current account deficit nar-
rowed by 23 percent to 116 billionKenyan shillings ($1.14 billion), itsaid. This was mainly due to lowerimports of food and higher value ofexports of goods and services. Thegovernment forecasts that the econ-omy will expand by 6.2 percent in2019, up from a forecast 6.0 percentthis year. — Reuters
A euro curse? European banking stocks’ lost decadesLONDON: Fearing his country’s pay-as-you-go pensionscheme is unsustainable, a 40-year old French engineer -let’s call him Jean Dupont - makes a New Year resolution.
Hoping the introduction of the euro the next day willmark a new era of prosperity for the European economy,Dupont decides to invest in the bloc’s banking sectorevery single trading day for the next two decades. Hisstrategy is simple: buying and holding on what he believesis the best proxy to play the region’s dynamic economy.
And why not? Europe is expanding at its fastest rate inabout 10 years, Germany has turned its economy aroundsince reunification in 1990 and, with more than 10 Easternand Central European countries queuing up to join the EU,there seems to be no shortage of growth on the horizon.
Moreover, a dot-com boom is fuelling belief in a prom-ising IT-based “new economy”.
What could possibly go wrong?Paris, December 31, 2018:Now 60, Dupont must come to terms with the fact that
his investment strategy has misfired horribly.Excluding dividends, he finds that he has lost money on
his 20 years of daily investments in the euro zone bankingsector a staggering 98.5 percent of the time.
Only about 1.5 percent of his investments were made ata lower level than the index’s close on Dec. 28, 2018. He isnot sure who to blame.
The great financial crisis of 2008 seems a credible cul-prit. But his American cousin Jonathan Bridges, who 20years ago followed a parallel strategy of daily investmentsin the US banking index, has had a success rate of about 50percent. That’s even though the subprime loans that were amajor factor in the crisis were centred on the United States.Dupont might also look for clues in the euro zone econo-my’s sluggish growth rate, the sovereign debt crisis of 2011or ultra-low, and at times negative, interest rates.
But none of that can fully explain to him why the bloc’sbanking index has lost about two-thirds of its value over20 years. If he wasn’t such a rational man, he’d almost thinkthe euro was cursed. — Reuters
A farmer works in his farm in Nyeri County, Central Kenya.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
12B u s i n e s s
NBK announces winner of KD 250,000 in Al-Jawhara draw during a live show
KUWAIT: Ending the year with more prizes and rewards,the National Bank of Kuwait continues to launch cam-paigns and hold activities that reward every segment of itscustomers. Most recently the bank held a fun-filled activityon FM 88.8 Kuwait Pulse with “Diwanyat Al-Yaqout W Al-Ansari” program, where the lucky winner of KD 250,000
in the Al-Jawhara quarterlydraw was announced live onair, in addition to the winnersin the previously-launchedGAC campaign and a winnerof Al-Jawhara account credit-ed with KD 400, in the specialcompetition that was held liveon air.
The activity started withan interview with Sara Al-Doukhi, Consumer BankingGroup, National Bank ofKuwait, whom highlighted theadvantages and value-addedservices offered by Al-Jawhara account. Al-Doukhi
said, “Al-Jawhara account gives customers access to manyfeatures and benefits. It is a great way of saving and win-ning big all-year-long. With this unique and rewardingaccount, we ensure that our customers are enjoying everystep of their banking experience with weekly, monthly andquarterly draws. Customers automatically enter the drawsby simply opening an Al-Jawhara account and double theirchances of winning when they do not withdraw or transferamounts from their account during the required period.”
Since 2012, NBK has rewarded loyal customers with
prizes worth a total of up to KD 2,200,000 annuallythrough the weekly, monthly and quarterly draws in whichcustomers receive a chance to enter the draw for everyKD 50 deposited in their Al-Jawhara account. Al-Doukhiadded, “Customers of Al-Jawhara account benefit from afree Visa Debit Card and access to NBK Online Bankingand NBK Mobile Banking for viewing and managing theaccount wherever the customer is in the world.”
Winner of KD 250,000 During the live show, NBK announced Rami Jamil Yacoub
as the winner of KD 250,000 in Al-Jawhara’s quarterly draw.The draw was held live in the presence of the representativefrom the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. NBK alsorecently announced the winners in Al-Jawhara account’sweekly draws for the month of December, announcingThamer Ebrahim Arab, Rashed Jassim Mohammad AlMesriand Mohamad Adil Al-Timimy as the winners.
Winners of the GAC Motor cars campaignAlso during the live show, NBK revealed the winners of
its recent campaign that gave customers the chance toenter the draw and win one of two GAC Motor cars, GS8or GA8, when using NBK Mobile Banking App or theInteractive Teller Machine (ITM). The winner, MohammadAhmed Anas Ahmad Abduljawad had the chance to choosebetween the GS8 and GA8 models. Under the same cam-paign, an additional car a GS4 was exclusively dedicatedto Al-Shabab account holders, the GS4 was won by Al-Shabab account holder, Jassim Haidar Jassim Hasan.
Winner of the live competition and drawCommitted to rewarding customers in every campaign
and activity, NBK’s live radio activity gave every listener achance to win an Al-Jawhara account credited with KD400 by simply answering questions of the live competition
about the Al-Jawhra account. Participants who gave a cor-rect answer entered the live draw and the winner was theannounced live on air.
KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah weeklydraw on the 30th of December 2018 announcingthe names of its winners for the week from the23rd December till the 27th of December 2018, inwhich five winners will receive KD 1,000 each,every week.
The winners this week are: * Lena Ibrahim Eid Eid* Ahmed Abdulrazag Bandar Abdulla* Ali Thamer Mostafa Al-Sayegh * Kazem Abdullah Mal Allah Hasan* Hamad Abdulaziz Khaled Al AnjariGulf Bank’s Al-Danah 1st quarterly draw for
KD200,000 prize was held on 28 March, and the2nd Al-Danah quarterly draw, for the prize of KD250,000 was held on 27th June and the 3rd quar-terly draw for the prize of KD 500,000 was heldon 26th September. The final Al-Danah draw forKD 1 million will be held on 10th January 2019,where the Al-Danah millionaire will be announced.
Gulf Bank encourages customers to increasetheir chances of winning with Al-Danah bydepositing more into their Gulf Bank accountsusing the new ePay (Self-Pay) service, which isavailable on Gulf Bank’s online and mobile bankingservices.
Al-Danah offers a number of unique services tocustomers, including the Al-Danah Deposit OnlyATM card, which allows account holders todeposit money into their accounts at their conven-ience. Account holders can also calculate theirchances of winning the draws through the ‘Al-Danah Chances’ calculator available on the GulfBank website and app.
Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah account is open toKuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti residents of Kuwait.Customers require a minimum of KD 200 to openan account and the same amount should be main-tained for customers to be eligible for the upcom-ing Al-Danah draws. If the customer’s account bal-ance falls below KD 200 at any given time, a KD 2fee will be charged to their account monthly untilthe minimum balance is met.
Customers who open an account and/or depositmore will enter the daily draw within two days. Totake part in the Al-Danah 2018 upcoming quarter-ly and yearly draws, customers must meet therequired hold period for each draw.
Gulf Bank announces winners of Al-Danah weekly draw
Rami Jamil Yacoub wins KD 250,000 in quarterly draw
Sara Al-Doukhi
Euronext secures majority backing for Oslo Bors bidPARIS/OSLO: Euronext NV has secured the backing ofa majority of shareholders in Norway’s Oslo Bors whichit aims to buy, the European exchanges operator said onFriday, while the target firm’s CEO said it would explorealternatives to the deal. Euronext, which operatesbourses in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon andDublin, has offered to buy Oslo Bors for 625 millioneuros ($716 million).
It said shareholders representing 50.6 percent of thecapital of Oslo Bors had agreed to sell their sharesahead of a tender offer which Paris-listed Euronextplans to launch in the coming weeks.
However, holding company Oslo Bors VPS tookissue with how Euronext had gone about its approachand said it would arrange a meeting with Euronext inearly January and had hired brokerage Arctic Securitiesas adviser. “We are open to speak to other parties alsoin addition to Euronext ... We want to have a widerprocess on behalf of shareholders, to have the bestprice for the share,” Oslo Bors VPS CEO BenteLandsnes told Reuters.
She said Euronext’s offer came as a surprise. “We didnot know it was coming. We were notified last weekendthat Euronext was to bid,” she said in an interview. “Wehave been told that it was an auction called a compactauction. We don’t know who participated. As far as we
know Euronext came with the best offer,” she said.She added that, after the auction, “more than one
strategic party” approached Oslo Bors VPS to say thatthey had not been invited. She did not name them.
“Exceeding the 50 percent of total outstandingshares threshold shows the interest from Oslo Bors VPSshareholders ... satisfying one of the conditions requiredfor its completion and strengthening Euronext’s confi-dence on its successful outcome,” Euronext said in astatement.
Euronext owns a 5.1 percent stake in Oslo Bors.Owning more than 10 percent would require approvalfrom the Norwegian government, which may hinge onthe contents of Euronext’s upcoming offer document.
While some Norwegian opposition politicians havebeen skeptical about the deal, a junior government min-ister struck a conciliatory note on Friday. “This couldresult in even better, cheaper services for Norwegianinvestors via increased investment in new technology.It’ll be interesting to see what the (Oslo Bors) boardsays,” Svein Flaatten told business daily Finansavisen.
The Norwegian finance ministry said it would take aposition on the issue only after it has received an offer.“We don’t know when, or if, we will receive an offer,”said a ministry spokeswoman.
“Both Euronext and Oslo Bors have informed usabout the situation. The FSA has no comments at thisstage,” said Anne Merethe Bellamy, deputy directorgeneral of capital markets supervision at theNorwegian Financial Supervisory Authority. Euronextis looking to expand its pan-European portfolio butopportunities are scarce as operators either alreadybelong to groups such as the London Stock Exchangeor Nasdaq Inc or because their shareholders want toremain independent. — Reuters
Al-Jawhara quarterly winner
KIB awarded ‘Fastest Growing Islamic Bank MENA’ 2018KUWAIT: For the third consecutive year, KIB was award-ed ‘Fastest Growing Islamic Bank MENA’ 2018 by CapitalFinance International (CFI.co), an organization specializ-ing in the finance and banking sectors. KIB received thisaward based on the result of a judging panel, whichincluded a group of specialized editors. Accordingly, thebank was recognized for its remarkable growth in thebanking sector and the success of its new strategy. Thisnew strategy has been a key component driving thebank’s fast-paced growth and expansion in the banking
sector, propelling KIB to theforefront of the sector locallyand regionally. The bank wasjudged against several key cri-teria, namely financial perform-ance, risk management, corpo-rate governance, customerservice, innovation, corporatesocial responsibility, marketleadership, transparency,response to market demands,and number of votes.
On this occasion, Chairmanof KIB, Sheikh MohammedJarrah Al-Sabah, congratulat-ed all KIB staff for winning
this prestigious award, saying: “We have made great strideswith our new strategy, making KIB a partner in everyaspect of people’s lives, particularly our customers,” Al-Jarrah added saying: “This new strategy focuses onenhancing the overall customer banking experience, there-
by ensuring customer satisfaction by providing them withthe latest innovative technological banking services andimproving the Bank’s efficiency. By doing so, we are able toexpand and grow despite the highly-competitive market.”
Al-Jarrah also noted that KIB continues to adopt a solidstrategy to develop and strategically market its productsand services, aiming at meeting diverse needs of the com-munity. The bank has also built a strategic network of rela-tionships with both public and private institutions acrossKuwait and the region. Additionally, KIB actively con-tributes to the financing of local development projects; acore component of the Bank’s operations.
CFI.co is an international, independent assessmentbody specializing in finance and banking. A prominent,London-based organization, CFI.co is dedicated to recog-nizing both individuals and institutions that demonstratehigh standards of innovation and performance excellencein the global financial market. The organization also shedslight on leading institutions across various specializedfields that display outstanding performance amidst chal-lenges in the financial sector.
500-euro note gets last print runPARIS: The eurozone is moving to stop printing 500-eurobanknotes, the violet-colored bills that authorities fear arefavored by criminals, with most of the 19 nations in thecurrency bloc to halt issuing them next month.
“As of 27 January 2019, 17 of the 19 national centralbanks in the euro area will no longer issue 500-euro ban-knotes,” the European Central Bank said on its website.
However, Austria and Germany will both continue print-ing the banknotes until April 26 “in order to ensure asmooth transition and for logistical reasons”, the ECB said.The 500-euro notes in circulation remain legal tender andcan be used to make payments. The ECB announced inMay 2016 that it would halt issuing new 500-euro notes,saying at the time that it expected to do so around the endof 2018, due to “concerns that this banknote could facili-tate illicit activities”.
The largest denomination banknote in the single cur-rency area is one of the world’s most valuable bills, along-side the 1,000 Swiss franc ($1,017, 888 euros) note.Because of its high value and portability, experts believethe 500-euro note had become prized by criminals formoney laundering and even terrorist financing, earning thenickname “Bin Laden” in some circles. According to ECBstatistics, 500-euro bills account for just 2.4 percent of thetotal number of banknotes in circulation, but a little over20 percent of the total value. At the end of Novemberthere were 521 million of the banknotes in circulation. The500-euro banknotes were actually last printed in 2014,with demand satisfied since from stocks. —AFP
Czech budget will end 2018 balanced, says finance minister PRAGUE: The Czech central state budget will be balancedat the end of the year, beating forecasts for a deficit of 50billion crowns ($2.22 billion), Finance Minister AlenaSchillerova said.
The budget has been boosted by a growing economyand unemployment at a two-decade low, increasing wages.
The government, though, has faced criticism from someeconomists for running deficits and adding higher spend-ing commitments to future budgets.
“We will be moving around zero,” Schillerova said onCzech Television on Friday evening, according to an articleon the broadcaster’s website.
“I will give the exact figure at a news conference onJan. 3, but I can confirm that we are talking about a bal-anced state budget.”
She added investment spending rose this year. The cen-tral budget - which makes up the bulk of the CzechRepublic’s overall fiscal balance - ended 2017 with adeficit of 6 billion crowns, much lower than planned. Thelower house this month approved a 2019 central statebudget with a deficit of 40 billion crowns. — Reuters
Sheikh MohammedJarrah Al-Sabah
S c i e n c e & Te c h n o l o g y Tuesday, January 1, 2019
13
TAMPA, US: A NASA spaceship is zoomingtoward the farthest, and quite possibly theoldest, cosmic body ever photographed byhumankind, a tiny, distant world called UltimaThule some four billion miles (6.4 billion kilo-meters) away.
The US space agency will ring in the NewYear with a live online broadcast to mark his-toric flyby of the mysterious object in a darkand frigid region of space known as theKuiper Belt at 12:33 am January 1 (0533 GMTtoday). A guitar anthem recorded by leg-endary Queen guitarist Brian May-who alsoholds an advanced degree in astrophysics-willbe released just after midnight to accompanya video simulation of the flyby, as NASA com-mentators describe the close pass onwww.nasa.gov/nasalive.
Real-time video of the actual flyby isimpossible, since it takes more six hours for asignal sent from Earth to reach the spaceship,named New Horizons, and another six hoursfor the response to arrive.
But if all goes well, the first images shouldbe in hand by the end of New Year’s Day. Andjudging by the latest tweet from Alan Stern,the lead scientist on the New Horizons mis-sion, the excitement among team members is
palpable. “IT’S HAPPENING!! Flyby is uponus! @NewHorizons2015 is healthy and oncourse! The farthest exploration of worlds inhistory!” he wrote on Saturday.
What does it look like? Scientists are not sure what Ultima Thule
(pronounced TOO-lee) looks like-whether it isround or oblong or even if it is a single objector a cluster. It was discovered in 2014 with thehelp of the Hubble Space Telescope, and isbelieved to be 12-20 miles (20-30 kilometers)in size. Scientists decided to study it withNew Horizons after the spaceship, whichlaunched in 2006, completed its main missionof flying by Pluto in 2015, returning the mostdetailed images ever taken of the dwarf plan-et. “At closest approach we are going to try toimage Ultima at three times the resolution wehad for Pluto,” said Stern.
“If we can accomplish that it will be spec-tacular.” Hurtling through space at a speed of32,000 miles (51,500 kilometers) per hour, thespacecraft aims to make its closest approachwithin 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) of thesurface of Ultima Thule.
The flyby will be fast, at a speed of ninemiles (14 kilometers) per second. Seven
instruments on board will record high-resolu-tion images and gather data about its size andcomposition. Ultima Thule is named for amythical, far-northern island in medieval liter-ature and cartography, according to NASA.“Ultima Thule means ‘beyond Thule’-beyondthe borders of the known world-symbolizingthe exploration of the distant Kuiper Belt andKuiper Belt objects that New Horizons is per-forming, something never before done,” theUS space agency said in a statement.
According to project scientist Hal Weaverof the Johns Hopkins Applied PhysicsLaboratory, mankind didn’t even know theKuiper Belt-a vast ring of relics from the for-mation days of the solar system — existeduntil the 1990s. “This is the frontier of plane-tary science,” said Weaver. “We finally havereached the outskirts of the solar system,these things that have been there since thebeginning and have hardly changed-we think.We will find out.”
Despite the partial US government shut-down, sparked by a feud over funding for aborder wall with Mexico between PresidentDonald Trump and opposition Democrats,NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine vowedthat the US space agency would broadcast
the flyby. Normally, NASA TV and NASA’swebsite would go dark during a governmentshutdown. NASA will also provide updates
about another spacecraft, called OSIRIS-REx,that will enter orbit around the asteroid Bennuon New Year’s Eve, Bridenstine said. — AFP
NASA spaceship zooms toward farthest world ever photographed
Climate change takes toll on French oyster farmersCANCALE, France: Gulping down oystershas long been a favorite New Year’s Eve ritu-al for the French, but as winters get warmerand summers get drier many growers worrythere will soon be fewer of the prized mol-lusks to go around. “Twenty years ago, we’dbe shivering in the warehouse while prepar-ing the holiday orders. Today it’s 15 degrees(60 Fahrenheit),” says Brittany oystermanMathieu Le Moal, his sleeves rolled up infront of a tractor carrying dozens of bulgingoyster sacks.
“We don’t have seasons anymore-butoysters need all four,” Le Moal adds. “Theyneed the winter, it’s when they can rest, use
less energy.” Inside a wooden hanger redo-lent of salt and the sea, around a dozen of hisworkers are sorting, weighing and packingoysters into crates in the Brittany port ofCancale. Le Moal and other farmers alongthis stretch of France’s Emerald Coast say thelong drought which struck swathes of thecountry this summer took a heavy toll, lead-ing to smaller harvests, and smaller shellfish.Without summer rains that wash crucial min-erals into the oyster beds, “there’s no plank-ton, the main food for oysters, so they don’tgrow,” explained fellow oysterman BertrandRacinne, weaving his way between basketsand stacked crates.
“In the end, we have oysters but notenough of the big ones,” said Racinne, wholike most growers sells more than half hisyearly production in December.
Cold weather normally encourages aneeded rest for oysters to mature, said YoannThomas of France’s IRD research institute.But this winter has so far been unusuallywarm and, paradoxically, too rainy.
Rains may bring minerals that favor plank-ton growth-but they also mean the mollusks
spend too much energy eating. This year’sharvest are likely to start the spring “fragileand vulnerable”, warned Racinne. “We’vefound that periods of extreme mortality(more than 25 percent of oysters) come sev-eral months after mild and rainy winters,”Thomas said.
“Ten grams fewer for each one, that makesa difference in sales,” said Philippe Le Gal,president of the CNC national shellfish pro-ducers’ association. In 2017 the roughly4,500 oyster growers in France sold 100,000tons, at an average price of 5,000 euros($5,700) per ton.
“Oyster farmers will see volumes down by20 to 30 percent this year,” Le Gal said.“Climate warming is starting to have animpact.” Warmer water temperatures are alsoa risk because they facilitate the spread ofviruses that are especially harmful to oysterlarvae, or spat, and young oysters.
Scientists point in particular to a Herpesvirus, OsHV-1, that has been present inFrench oyster waters since 1991 but hasbecome more aggressive recently, for rea-sons still unknown. — AFP
US space agency to ring in New Year with a live online broadcast
A handout file photo made available by NASA shows an artist’s concept of the NewHorizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.
As winters get warmer and summers get drier growers worry there will befewer mollusks.
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CROSSWORD 2099
ACROSS1. Fastened with stitches.5. A movement that is a response to a stim-
ulus but is not oriented with respect tothe source of stimulation.
12. Charge against a citizen's person orproperty or activity for the support ofgovernment.
15. An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measureequal to about a bushel.
16. Scottish insurgent who led the resist-ance to Edward I.
17. Any of various trees of the genusUlmus.
18. Boas and pythons.20. A chain of more than 200 islands about
400 miles long in the western centralPacific Ocean.
21. The cry made by sheep.22. A transuranic element that has not been
found in nature.23. A crystalline rock that can be cut and
polished for jewelry.25. Disability of walking due to crippling of
the legs or feet.27. A Powhatan Indian woman (the daugh-
ter of Powhatan) who befriended theEnglish at Jamestown and is said tohave saved Captain John Smith's life(1595-1617).
29. A hostel for pilgrims in Turkey.30. At full speed.34. A metric unit of length equal to 10,000
meters.41. Any member of a ship's crew.45. An organ in its earliest stage of devel-
opment.46. Fleshy and usually brightly colored
cover of some seeds that developsfrom the ovule stalk and partially orentirely envelopes the seed.
47. A self-funded retirement plan thatallows you to contribute a limitedyearly sum toward your retirement.
48. A bar of sand.50. Pastry made with a cream cheese
dough and different fillings (as raisinsand walnuts and cinnamon or choco-late and walnut and apricot preserves).
52. Used of a single unit or thing.53. Any place of complete bliss and delight
and peace.54. A soft gray malleable metallic element
that resembles tin but discolors onexposure to air.
55. A reason for wanting something done.57. A gonadotropic hormone that is
secreted by the anterior pituitary.59. A membrane (one of 3) that envelops
the brain and spinal cord.68. An Arabic speaking person who lives in
Arabia or North Africa.69. A Loloish language.71. A republic in southwestern Africa on
the Atlantic Ocean.72. Support resembling the rib of an ani-
mal.75. Having leadership guidance.76. The basic unit of money in Romania.77. A great raja.78. An edge tool with a heavy bladed head
mounted across a handle.
DOWN1. The oily secretion of the sebaceous
glands.2. (possibly Roman) Goddess of horses
and mules and asses.3. A card game for four players who form
two partnerships.
4. A coenzyme derived from the B vitaminnicotinic acid.
5. Trailing grass native to Europe now cos-mopolitan in warm regions.
6. A state in midwestern United States.7. The branch of information science that
deals with natural language informa-tion.
8. Resembling or characteristic of orappropriate to an elegy.
9. Highly seasoned fatty sausage of porkand beef usually dried.
10. Someone who cuts and delivers ice.11. A waste pipe that carries away sewage
or surface water.12. The fourth month of the civil year.13. By bad luck.14. A Christian holiday celebrating the birth
of Christ.19. Title for a civil or military leader (espe-
cially in Turkey).24. A flat-bottomed volcanic crater that
was formed by an explosion.26. In such a manner as could not be oth-
erwise.28. A doctor's degree in optometry.31. Any of various minerals consisting of
hydrous silicates of aluminum orpotassium etc. that crystallize in formsthat allow perfect cleavage into verythin leaves.
32. A kind of heavy jacket (`windcheater' isa British term).
33. Flightless New Zealand birds similar togallinules.
35. A language group of the Hokan family.36. English writer of stories for children
(1882-1956).37. Perennial plant of Europe and America
having racemes of white or purplishflowers and intensely bitter trifoliateleaves.
38. (Greek mythology) One of the moun-tain nymphs.
39. Before noon.40. A promontory in northern Morocco
opposite the Rock of Gibraltar.42. A boy or man.43. The distance around a person's body.44. The twelfth month of the civil year.49. (Old Testament) Wife of Isaac and
mother of Jacob and Esau.51. A member of a Turkic people of
Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.56. Top part of an apron.58. The capital and largest city of Yemen.60. A member of an Iroquoian people for-
merly living on the south shore of LakeErie in northern Ohio and northwestPennsylvania and western New York.
61. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agri-culture and patron of scribes andschools.
62. Offering fun and gaiety.63. One of the two main branches of
orthodox Islam.64. A pilgrimage to Mecca.65. Among the largest bony fish.66. A large genus of dicotyledonous trees
and shrubs of the family Aquifoliaceaethat have small flowers and berries(including hollies).
67. (of a young animal) Abandoned by itsmother and raised by hand.
70. The month following March and pre-ceding May.
73. A metric unit of length equal to 1000meters (or 0.621371 miles).
74. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.
Yesterday’s SolutionDaily SuDoku
Wordsearch Puzzle Yesterday’s Solution
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
15S t a r s
Established 1961
Yesterday’s Solution
Today is a day of emotional overload. High energy and high emotionscould find you coming across as very forceful in what you say and in the way youthink. You seem to be able to really get your point across to others. Careful not tooffend anyone with the forceful way your words are flowing. Bite your tongue ifyou must but be sure and use your words wisely today.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
STAR TRACK
You have set your focus on providing a strong foundation for yourfamily life. You crave security and the one that will be by your side for a lifetime.You find yourself in a serious mood where deep conversation and planning willhelp to insure the stability you crave. You are serious about your future and whoyou want to spend it with. The seeds you plant today will develop the roots of thereward you seek. You are focused and determined to lead a healthy, happy life. Youmake your health a priority now, a gym membership, meal planning, or makingplans to exercise as team, is where your focus is.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
You may be experiencing a time of drastic change in your world.Renovations to your home, buying or selling real estate, or new furnishings maybe something you are dealing with now. You will have to work hard to keep abalance between change and continuity. Change like this can be shocking andhard to adjust to. You may find yourself in the middle of a bit of drama. You mayfind yourself working hard to resolve conflict. You could be faced with having tohandle someone who has opposing views, and different opinions from yourself.This is a time of decision. Changes have to be made. Get the facts, Gemini. Makesure you have all of the facts before you make any decisions.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Today finds you more materialistic that usual. “Things” never havemuch importance to you. You know in the end it is not going to be what youhave, but who you are that matters. Today finds you having unfamiliar desires.You actually may be feeling a need to reward yourself for all of the hard workyou do. You make sacrifices daily to take care of and provide for others. Do notfeel bad about doing things for yourself. Spoil yourself, Cancer. That new pair ofshoes may be calling your name.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Leo (July 23-August 22)
You may be experiencing a time of drastic change in your world.Renovations to your home, buying or selling real estate, or new furnishings maybe something you are dealing with now. You will have to work hard to keep abalance between change and continuity. Change like this can be shocking andhard to adjust to. You may find yourself in the middle of a bit of drama. You mayfind yourself working hard to resolve conflict. You could be faced with having tohandle someone who has opposing views, and different opinions from yourself.This is a time of decision. Changes have to be made.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
This is a great time for you to experience the breakthrough you havebeen focusing on. Everything seems to be working in your favor. You may findyourself being drawn to all that represents romance. Take a stroll in the park,have a nice lunch with someone dear to you, a great time to curl up with a bookor just a nice long bath may be just what your need today. You may find yourselfhelping a friend in need today. You are often a source of support and help to oth-ers. A friend that everyone wants to have is you are looked at with admiration.Libra, enjoy yourself today and appreciate the fact you are loved by so many.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Talk about bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan! Thisis you all day every day. You are able to balance career and home life all withease. You are a jack of all trades. You have a deep desire to strengthen the foun-dation you have built for all. You desire a sense of roots and family, home, andrelatives are where your focus is. You want to feel as if you belong on a personaland private level. You have an intimate desire to know that you are needed, Leo.The energy and effort you put into taking care of others does not go unnoticed.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
This a great period of mental activity for you. Your communication lev-els are heightened. It seems as though you have so many ideas to share and you areable to fascinate everyone with what you have to say. You are smart as a fox andyou feel empowered by the fact others are taking note of this. In general this a timeyou feel great and feel as if you are at your intellectual best. You not only feel greatabout who you are, you feel wonderful about where you are in life. Things seem tobe going your way. Happiness is a wonderful emotion. Enjoy this time in your life.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
This may be a great day to enjoy a good book or catch a movie. Anescape from reality may be just what you need . This could clear your mind andleave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. You feel your most secure when sur-rounded by friends. You may be feeling a real need for a change in your life. Youmay feel as if you want to throw out the old and bring in the new. You have hadthis on your mind for a while and today seems the day you really begin to act onit. It seems a change in the right direction may bring great reward into your life.You will send enjoy world you have no desire to escape from.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
This is a wonderful time to surround yourself with the ones you holdnear and dear to your heart. It is a great time of understanding in your life andyou may be able to really bond with a special someone. You are happy and thereis a feeling of peace and harmony in your world. Your mind is quick today andyour words are sharp. You could find your words to be the only weapon youneed when dealing with a conflict that may arise in the workplace. You know whoyou are and are full of self confidence. This may be bringing out a bit of jealousyfrom a co-worker. You will be able to handle this calmly and quickly. You are whoyou are and your work ethic is strong.
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
You should find great pleasure in working with others today. Youcould find yourself being offered a new position or asked to take the lead on anew project. You seem to begin to develop a desire to start taking your healthseriously. Join the gym, take the walk, or start the meal planning. You won’t beable to shake this urge. You know to take care of all that you responsible for youfirst have to take care of yourself. You not only want to feel good about who youbut how you look. This is a step in the right direction for you. The beginning ofwonderful new time in your life. You have a lot to look forward to.
You may find yourself getting carried away and not as focused on thereality of what is best for you. You may be too focused on your wants rather thanwhat you truly need. You may find that others will are quick to offer unsolicitedadvice when your actions aren’t what they expected nor see as the best optionfor you. You may feel as the world around you is one big blur. This is a nice timeto take a step back and focus on the decisions you are making and possibly putthem off for a time your mind is clear. You may find that others are not as drawnto you when you are in this dreamy state.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019
Established 1961
Lifestyle
New Year’s Eve fireworks explode over the Harbor Bridge and Opera House during the traditional early family fireworks show held before the main midnight event in Sydney yesterday. — AFP
Mourners paid tribute on Monday to AmosOz, the revered Israeli writer and peaceadvocate who died aged 79, at a memori-
al ahead of his burial later in the day. Hundreds ofpeople lined up at a small theatre in central TelAviv, where Oz’s closed casket lay on the stageahead of eulogies from speakers including IsraeliPresident Reuven Rivlin. Family members, politi-cians and average Israelis touched by Oz’s worksand deeds slowly filed past the black coffin aheadof the ceremony.
Yona Kranz, 74, from the central city Givatayim,vividly remembered the first time he saw Ozdecades ago, when the author visited his kibbutzto talk about his first book. Kranz said he came tosay farewell to Oz, who died on Friday, because he“epitomized a myth of an Israel that might haveexisted and might have not, but I loved that myth”.“If there is such a thing as a real Zionist, I think hewas one,” Kranz said of Oz. Following the memori-al in Tel Aviv, Oz’s burial was set to take place atthe Hulda kibbutz in central Israel at 3:00 pm.
Oz was a celebrated novelist whose stirringmemoir “A Tale of Love and Darkness” became aworldwide bestseller that was adapted into a filmby Hollywood actress Natalie Portman. His deathled to an outpouring of tributes within Israel andfrom abroad. While his writing is widely acclaimed,he was perhaps equally known as one of the earli-est and most forceful critics of Israel’s occupationof Palestinian territory captured in the Six-DayWar of 1967.
In recent years, Oz spoke out against the poli-
cies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shun-ning official Israeli functions abroad in protest atwhat he has called the “growing extremism” of hisgovernment. Netanyahu, currently visiting Brazil,paid brief tribute to Oz on Friday, calling him “oneof our literary giants”. “We will always rememberhis contribution to Hebrew literature and theHebrew language,” he said.—AFP
Mourners pay tribute to Israeli writer and peace advocate Oz
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin delivers a speech near the coffin of Israeli writer Amos Oz during a memorial serviceyesterday in Tel Aviv. — AFP photos
People cry near the coffin of Israeli writer Amos Oz during a memorial service.
L i f e s t y l e Tuesday, January 1, 2019
17Established 1961
G o s s i p
he 26-year-old singer entereda treatment facility at thebeginning of October after shesuffered an “emotional break-
down” following multiple hospitalizationsdue to issues related to Lupus and her kid-ney transplant last year. And since leavingrehab last month, she’s been continuing towork on her heath, with sources now say-ing she’s ready to start 2019 with the “newskills” she’s learned to help her “navigatedaily life”. One insider said: “[Selena is]excited for the new year. She’s feeling likethis is a fresh start and she has new skillsto help her navigate daily life. She’s doing
well and is feeling great. She’s following asimple daily routine that involves a workout, either hiking, Pilates or hot yoga, ther-apy sessions and spending time withfriends.” The ‘Wolves’ hitmaker has report-edly started “going to church”, and is“working with several professionals” whoare helping her put together a routine soshe can stay healthy. And Selena has alsobeen enjoying “chill nights at home” withher close friends, who are all remainingsupportive of her health journey.
Selena Gomezis excited for 2019
Kelly Clarkson vows to shed
her holiday weight he 36-year-old singer treated herselfover Christmas as she says she’s put onsome weight this festive season, but hasmade it her mission to lose the extra
pounds “starting January 1”. On Twitter, the‘Because of You’ hitmaker joked: “To the person thatlost weight over the holidays.... Don’t worry, I foundit and I will get it back to you starting January 1st#TightPants #ButSoWorthIt (sic)” But hitting thegym will likely be a chore for the ‘Piece By Piece’singer though, as she admitted in November that she“hates working out”. She said on social media at thetime: “This just in... I still hate working out. I’msweaty, red, and not any thinner. People say it’s goodfor your heart... but people also say red wine is goodfor your heart. I mean, I’m just stating facts herepeople. Who am I to ignore science?! #cardiover-suswine. (sic)” Kelly - who has River, four, and Remy,two, with her husband Brandon Blackstock - hasoften faced criticism for her weight, but she previ-ously claimed she didn’t feel pressurised to drop anypounds, because her curves help define how “hap-py” she is in her life.
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he 39-year-old actor says hiswife was the “best collaborator”he’s ever worked with and it wasnice having his spouse around
on the set. He said: “It was unilaterallyhelpful for me, because I had everythinggoing for me with her. I had someone whocould deliver a performance when we wererunning out of time, running out of budget.She would hit her mark, and hit her per-formance every single time. I had that. Ialso had someone that, after she did herscenes, would stay around, and not only bethere for me, but be there for the entirecast and crew ... She was my best collabo-
rator.” Whilst Emily added: “I feel thesame. I think that we do collaborate reallywell. It turns out we do work really welltogether. There were scenes that were cer-tainly traumatic to do ... and you can’t helpbut be upset by some of those sceneswhen you’re doing them. They creep underyour skin before you know it. But I do feelthat John and I are able to find levity inmost places.” And John - who directed andstarred in the thriller movie - revealed howEmily admitted that this was the first moviewhere she had the same fears as her char-acter did.
John Krasinski grateful to have Emily Blunt on the
set of ‘A Quiet Place’T
Kevin Hart gifted hiswhole team a range
of classic muscle cars he 39-year-old comedian concluded his‘Irresponsible Tour’ last week, and took toInstagram on Saturday to reveal he has sent histhanks to the eight members of his backstage
crew by buying them each an “old school” vehicle. In avideo, he said: “So the tour is over, and I told my guys Iwas going to do something special for them. They had noidea what it was. I just surprised my whole team with oldschools. “I mean it when I say I love my team, I would notbe where I am or who I am today if it wasn’t for my team.We’re celebrating, and I love the fact that they’re gone.They’re blown away, and for me, that’s all I needed, noth-ing else.” The ‘Night School’ star continued the fun toSunday, when he took to Instagram again to reveal he andhis friends had started a car club with the new rides he’dgifted them. Kevin’s kind deed comes after he recentlystepped down as host of the 2019 Oscars, when Twitterusers resurfaced old tweets in which he made homophobiccomments.
he 59-year-old entertainmentmogul was at his annual auctionfor homeless dogs in Barbadoswhen he met the terrier cross
named Daisy, who was abandoned with hertwo puppies before being nursed back tohealth by pooch charity K9 Friends, ofwhich Simon is a patron. According to TheSun newspaper’s Bizarre column, the ‘XFactor’ boss is said to have fallen “in love”with Daisy, and is bringing her back hometo the UK on his private jet when he leavesBarbados. Daisy will be the fourth dog tojoin Simon’s family, with Yorkshire terriersSquiddly and Diddly, and Freddy, his moth-er’s dog which he took on after her passing
in 2015. The pooch rescue comes after theSyco helmer - who has four-year-old sonEric with his girlfriend Lauren Silverman -revealed he has “thoroughly looked into”cloning his dogs, so he never has to livewithout them. He said: “I am 100 per centcloning the dogs, all of them. We’ve thor-oughly looked into it, got all the details andI can prove to you I’m going to clone them.There is documentation. “I am doing itbecause I cannot bear the thought of themnot being around. I might actually do itsooner rather than later, which will meanwe have six dogs running around.”
he 46-year-old actor and pro-fessional wrestler revealed onsocial media on Saturday(29.12.18) that he has presented
his mother Ata, 70, with a “golden ticket”,which entitles her to any house she wants,wherever she wants. Posting a video onInstagram, Dwayne wrote: “Surprise!Bought my mom a new home forChristmas.” In the clip, Ata opens a cardwith the ticket inside and starts to read itbefore crying tears of joy, and huggingher son. Then, speaking to her grand-daughter Jasmine, three, she said: “Guesswhat? I get a brand-new house!” In thecaption of the video, the ‘Fast and Furious’star revealed how he and his family often
moved house when he was younger andso never truly created a home anywhere.He wrote: “All our lives growing up welived in little apartments all across thecountry. Lived like gypsies on the roadfrom one state to another. The first homemy parents ever lived in was the one Ibought for them in 1999. They divorcedabout 5yrs later and as with life, stuffhappens and things got a little complicat-ed. Since then I always made sure mymom and dad have everything they’ll everneed - houses, cars etc.” Dwayne went onto praise his “good mama” for turning himinto a “decent human being”, and said hehopes she’ll enjoy her new home.
Dwayne Johnsonsurprises his motherwith a new home
Simon Cowell rescues stray dog by adopting her T
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he 25-year-old model split from the‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star inAugust after almost two years of dating, butit seems he can’t get her out of his head as
he took to Instagram on Sunday to heap praise on hisformer beau, insisting he has nothing but “love” for her.Younes was reflecting on his year on his Instagram sto-ry when he posted a picture of Kourtney - who has
Mason, eight, Penelope, six, and Reign, three, with for-mer partner Scott Disick - and wrote: “let’s not forgetabout this beautiful woman inside and out, I’m not thetype of man that forget moments like that. you [sic] anamazing woman and mum and I hope you will find hap-piness for you and your children. it’s all love at the endof the day. we don’t know what can happen tmw sothere you go. (sic)” Since splitting with Younes, 39-
year-old Kourtney recently romanced 20-year-oldLuka Sabbat, but she put an end to their “fun fling” inOctober. And despite their age gap of almost twodecades, Kourtney’s friends were thought to be fans ofLuka, as he offered a nice change of pace for the star,who had “distanced herself from her sisters” during herromance with Younes. — Bang Showbiz
Younes Bendjima hails Kourtney Kardashian
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Tuesday, January 1, 2019L i f e s t y l e Fe a t u r e s
Established 1961 18
New Year’s Eve fireworks explode over the Harbor Bridge and Opera House during the traditional early family fireworks show held before the main midnight event in Sydney. — AFP photos
Australia’s largest city Sydney put on itsbiggest-ever fireworks display in a spectacu-lar welcome to the New Year, kicking off awave of celebrations for billions around theworld. A record amount of pyrotechnics as
well as new fireworks effects and colors lit up the city’sskyline for 12 minutes and dazzled the more than 1.5 mil-lion spectators who packed the harbor front and parks.
An earlier thunderstorm did not dampen the spirits ofrevellers who camped out at vantage points, some sincethe morning. To mark the international year of indigenouslanguages in 2019, the harbor also hosted a ceremony cel-ebrating Aboriginal heritage that included animations pro-jected onto the bridge’s pylons.
In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, more than 500 cou-ples tied the knot in a free mass wedding organized by thegovernment, with fireworks shows cancelled out of respectfor tsunami victims. New Year’s Eve celebrations were alsocalled off in nearby Banten province, where the disasterstruck on 22 December killing more than 400 people.
In Japan, locals flocked to temples to ring in 2019, asUS boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather came out ofretirement to beat Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawain a multi-million-dollar “exhibition” bout outside Tokyo.“It was all about entertainment. We had fun,” Mayweathersaid in the ring after the event, which pitted him against anopponent less than half his age. “I’m still retired... I did thisjust to entertain the fans in Japan,” added the 41-year-old.
Around the world The party atmosphere is set to sweep across major
cities in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas as the clockticks past midnight. A strong police presence has becomea key element of the festivities, to protect crowds thatcould be targeted in terror and vehicle attacks.
Hong Kong: Glittering fireworks will be sent skywardfrom five barges floating in Victoria Harbour in a 10-minute display watched by 300,000 people on the shore.
Moscow: Concerts and light shows will be held acrossthe city’s parks and more than 1,000 ice rinks have beenopened for merrymakers.
Paris: A fireworks display and sound and light showunder the theme “fraternity” is set to go ahead on theChamps-Elysees despite plans for further “yellow vest”anti-government protests at the famed avenue.
Berlin: Music lovers will party at a concert at theBrandenburg Gate, but a popular German tradition of set-ting off fireworks to mark the occasion has been banned insome other cities over safety concerns.
London: Britain’s capital will usher in the New Year bycelebrating its relationship with Europe amid turmoil overthe Brexit referendum vote to leave the EU, with the fire-
works display at the London Eye to feature music from thecontinent’s artists.
Edinburgh: The Scottish capital’s traditionalHogmanay celebrations will also take on a pro-Europeantheme ahead of the year in which Britain is due to exit theunion.
Looking ahead to 2019 As the world parties, many will also look forward to
2019 and wonder whether the turmoil witnessed duringthe previous year will spill over into the next. The politicalwrangling in Westminster over Brexit was one of the keystories of this year, with a resolution yet to be reachedahead of the scheduled March 29 departure.
US President Donald Trump dominated headlines in2018 as he ramped up his trade war with China, quit theIran nuclear deal, moved the American embassy toJerusalem and met his North Korean counterpart KimJong Un in Singapore for a historic summit. North Korea’scommitment to denuclearization will remain a major politi-cal and security issue into next year, as will SyrianPresident Bashar Al-Assad’s reassertion of control afterTrump’s shock military withdrawal announcement.
The war in Yemen, which started in 2014 and hasalready killed about 10,000 people and left some 20 mil-lion at risk of starvation, could take a crucial turn after aceasefire went into effect in mid-December. Numerouscountries go to the polls in 2019, with key elections inIndia, Afghanistan, Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina andAustralia. Major sporting events on the calendar includethe Rugby World Cup in Japan, the cricket one-day inter-national World Cup in England and the athletics WorldChampionships in Qatar. — AFP
Sydney kicks off global New Yearparties with dazzling spectacle
Biggest-ever fireworks display
A 3D image inspired bylocal schoolchildren is
projected on the walls ofLos Angeles City Hall, as
the city prepares for ‘NewYear’s Eve L.A.’
People pose for photos infront of an illuminated
‘2019’ sign on a square incentral Moscow.
This photo shows a vendorwaiting for customers at hismarket stall ahead of NewYear’s day in Shenyang inChina’s northeasternLiaoning province.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
The UAE’s ruling families rarely tolerate opposition andduring Mansoor’s trial all court proceedings were con-ducted in almost total secrecy.
Rajab was also jailed for criticizing his country’s rulerson social media, losing his appeal yesterday at Bahrain’ssupreme court, a judicial source said. A high-profile rightsactivist who is already serving a two-year term in anothercase, Rajab was first handed the sentence in February by alower court and an appeals court confirmed it in June.Amnesty International said the ruling “exposes Bahrain’sjustice system as a complete farce”.
Rajab was found guilty of insulting the state by “deliber-ately disseminating”, false and malicious news on socialmedia. He was also convicted of criticizing the Saudi-ledmilitary campaign in Yemen and publicly offending a for-eign country, a reference to Saudi Arabia. Manama is partof the alliance spearheaded by Riyadh and Rajab was foundguilty of endangering Bahrain’s military operation in Yemen.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy saidthe ruling had been carefully timed. “By arranging the final
verdict to fall during the holidays, a time when internation-al attention will be minimal, the intentions of Bahrain’srulers have been made clear. This appears to be a plannedoutcome, prepared well in advance,” it said in a statement.Rajab played a key role in anti-government protests in2011, since when dozens of high-profile activists havebeen jailed by authorities in the kingdom.
Social networking sites, notably Twitter, are a majorplatform for rights activists in Bahrain. In March, authori-ties announced they would be taking “severe measures” totrack down dissidents who use social media, as Bahraintightens its grip on political opposition. Egypt has alsoclamped down on online platforms this year, introducinglegislation to monitor social media users in the country aspart of a broader tightening of Internet controls.
The law was ratified by the presidency in Septemberand includes powers to suspend or block any personalaccount which publishes “fake news” or information incit-ing law-breaking, violence or hatred. Even before the newlegislation, Egyptian authorities were widely criticized byrights groups for their zero-tolerance approach to critics.
In May, rights activist Amal Fathi was arrested over avideo she posted online in which she spoke out againstsexual harassment in Egypt. The 34-year-old was subse-quently convicted of charges including “spreading falsenews”. Yesterday she lost her appeal and was handed atwo-year prison term, as well as a fine of 10,000 Egyptianpounds ($560). — AFP
UAE, Bahrain, Egypt uphold...
Continued from Page 1
Hasina has been lauded for boosting economicgrowth in the poor South Asian nation and for wel-coming Rohingya refugees fleeing a military crack-down in neighboring Myanmar. But critics accuse herof authoritarianism. Arch-rival and BNP leaderKhaleda Zia was jailed for 17 years this year on graftcharges that her party said were politically motivated.Deadly violence that blighted the election campaignspilled over into voting day, even though authoritiesdeployed 600,000 security forces across the country.
Thirteen people were killed in clashes betweenAwami League and BNP supporters, police said. Threepeople were shot and killed by police who said theywere protecting polling booths. An auxiliary policemember was also killed by armed opposition activists,according to officials. Police have now confirmed 21deaths during the election campaign and voting day.
The opposition alliance accused Hasina’s party ofstuffing ballot boxes and using other illegal means to
fix the result. BNP spokesman Syed Moazzem HossainAlal said there were “irregularities” in 221 of the 300seats. One voter, Atiar Rahman, said he was beaten byruling party activists in the central district ofNarayanganj. “They told me not to bother, ‘We’ll castyour vote on your behalf’,” he told AFP. The oppositionsaid the unrest was stirred up to deter voters but theelection commission reported 80 percent turnout.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the firstinternational leader to call and congratulate Hasina, theBangladesh leader’s press secretary said. China’sPresident Xi Jinping also greeted her with Beijing’senvoy handing over “congratulatory messages”.Experts say Hasina’s victory will be sullied by accusa-tions that she hamstrung opponents. “This result mightaffect our democratic system and might also damagestate institutions,” Sakhawat Hussain, a former electioncommissioner, told AFP.
The opposition claims some 21,000 of its activistswere detained during the campaign, crushing its abil-ity to mobilize support. Thirty-five of its candidateswere arrested over what they said were trumped-upcharges or disqualified from running by courts, whichHasina’s opponents say are government controlled.The leadership of Bangladesh has alternatedbetween Hasina and Zia, allies-turned-foes, over thelast three decades. — AFP
Hasina rejects calls for fresh...
WASHINGTON: US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a liberalfirebrand and Wall Street antagonist, took the first steptoward a 2020 White House run yesterday, becoming themost prominent Democrat to announce a challenge toRepublican President Donald Trump. Warren said she hadformed an exploratory committee, which will allow her tobegin raising campaign funding as part of what is expect-ed to be a crowded Democratic field before theNovember 2020 presidential election.
Warren, 69, who became a senator fromMassachusetts in 2013, has frequently clashed withTrump, who has cast aspersions on Warren’s claim toNative American ancestry and mockingly referred to heras “Pocahontas”. Warren released a video in which sheoutlines her vision of a path to opportunity for allAmericans, not just the wealthy. “Every person in Americashould be able to work hard, play by the same set of rules,& take care of themselves & the people they love,” shesaid in a Twitter post. “That’s what I’m fighting for, &that’s why I’m launching an exploratory committee forpresident. I need you with me.”
Warren said in September she would take a “hardlook” at running for the Democratic nomination to chal-lenge Republican Trump in 2020. The former HarvardLaw School professor campaigned with Democraticpresidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 andattacked Trump as an “insecure money grubber” drivenby greed and hate. Earlier this month, Julian Castro, 44,who was mayor of San Antonio and secretary of theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development underDemocratic President Barack Obama, said he was formingan exploratory committee and would announce his inten-tions on Jan 12. In 2017, former Democratic congressmanJohn Delaney of Maryland said he would seek the party’snomination.
Warren has been a strong voice in the US Senate onfinancial issues and a self-described defender of the ordi-nary American against powerful interests. Following the2007-2009 global financial crisis, she emerged as a lead-ing critic of Wall Street and continues to advocate forstiffer regulation and oversight, including reinstating a rulethat would separate banks’ retail business from their riski-er investment banking activities.
Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee,has vigorously fought the Trump administration’s effortsto weaken post-crisis financial rules, going as far as toattack moderate Democrats who backed a May rewrite ofthe 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law. In a September inter-
view marking 10 years since the financial crisis, Warrenwas asked about wanting to break up big banks. “Ohyeah,” she told the New York Times. “Give me a chance.”
She also has opposed the administration’s efforts toundermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, anagency she helped create, and has pressurized the FederalReserve to take a tough line on scandal-hit lender WellsFargo. In October, Warren released a DNA analysis shesaid supported her assertion that she had NativeAmerican lineage that goes back six to 10 generations.Trump, who had promised $1 million to her favorite chari-ty if she took a DNA test that showed she had NativeAmerican blood, greeted the results with a shrug, saying,“Who cares?”
Trump’s use of the name Pocahontas refers to a 17th
century Native American woman associated with theBritish colony in Jamestown, Virginia, and was aimed atdrawing attention to a controversy over her heritageraised during Warren’s 2012 Senate race. Trump’s mock-ing reference has drawn criticism from some NativeAmerican groups while others criticized Warren for tryingto lay claim to a tribal nation.
The website announcing Warren’s exploratory com-mittee portrays her as a product of the Americandream that has slipped out of reach for too manyAmericans. “America’s middle class is under attack,”Warren says on the website’s video. “How did we gethere? Billionaires and big corporations decided theywanted more of the pie and they enlisted politicians tocut them a fatter slice.” — Reuters
Democratic senator Warren takes step to challenge Trump in 2020
BOSTON: In this file photo taken on Nov 6, 2018 US Senator Elizabeth Warren addresses the audience at theFairmont Copley Hotel. — AFP
TEL AVIV: Iran could use its growing clout in Iraq to turnthe Arab country into a springboard for attacks againstIsrael, the top Israeli intelligence official said yesterday.Israel sees the spread of Tehran’s influence in the region as agrowing threat, and has carried out scores of air strikes incivil war-torn Syria against suspected military deploymentsand arms deliveries by Iranian forces supporting Damascus.
Iraq, which does not share a border with Israel, is techni-cally its enemy but was last an open threat in the 1991 Gulfwar. After a US-led invasion in 2003 toppled Iraqi dictatorSaddam Hussein, Israel has worried that the country’s Shiitemajority could tilt to Tehran. “Iraq is under growing influenceof the (covert Iranian foreign operations unit) Qods Forceand Iran,” Major-General Tamir Hayman, the chief of Israelimilitary intelligence chief, told a conference in Tel Aviv.
With US President Donald Trump signaling he sought todisengage from the region, Hayman said, the Iranians may“see Iraq as a convenient theatre for entrenchment, similar towhat they did in Syria, and to use it as a platform for a forcebuild-up that could also threaten the State of Israel”. CitingIranian, Iraqi and Western sources, Reuters reported inAugust that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic mis-siles to Shiite allies in Iraq. Baghdad denied the findings.
The following week, Israel said it might attack such sitesin Iraq, effectively expanding a campaign now focused inSyria. Hayman predicted 2019 would bring “significantchange” to Syria, whose President Bashar Al-Assad hasbeaten back rebels with the help of Russia, Iran andLebanese Hezbollah reinforcements, and where Trump thismonth ordered a pullout of US troops. “This presence ofIran, with Syria’s return to stabilization under a Russianumbrella, is something we are watching closely,” he said.
Israel has also been monitoring Iranian conduct sinceTrump quit the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in May andreimposed US sanctions. The deal placed caps on nuclearprojects with bomb-making potential, though Iran deniedhaving such designs. Trump, with Israeli support, deemed thecaps insufficient. — Reuters
GAZA: A Palestinian horseman rides into the sunset on a beach on New Year’s Eve yesterday. — AFP
Leonard powers Raptors by Bulls, Lakers get by Kings with big surge in fourth
21
NBA results/standings
Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB
Milwaukee 25 10 0.714 -
Toronto 27 11 0.711 1.5
Indiana 24 12 0.667 1.5
Philadelphia 23 14 0.622 3
Boston 21 14 0.600 4
Charlotte 17 18 0.486 8
Miami 17 18 0.486 8
Detroit 16 18 0.471 8.5
Orlando 16 19 0.457 9
Brooklyn 17 21 0.447 9.5
Washington 14 23 0.378 12
Atlanta 11 24 0.314 14
Chicago 10 27 0.270 16
New York 9 28 0.243 17
Cleveland 8 29 0.216 18
Western Conference
Denver 23 11 0.676 -
Golden State 24 13 0.649 1.5
Oklahoma City 22 13 0.629 1.5
LA Clippers 21 15 0.583 3
Houston 20 15 0.571 3.5
LA Lakers 21 16 0.568 3.5
Portland 21 16 0.568 3.5
San Antonio 20 17 0.541 4.5
Sacramento 19 17 0.528 5
Memphis 18 17 0.514 5.5
Utah 18 19 0.486 6.5
Dallas 17 18 0.486 6.5
Minnesota 17 19 0.472 7
New Orleans 16 21 0.432 8.5
Phoenix 9 28 0.243 15.5
LA Lakers 121, Sacramento 114; Miami 104, Minnesota 113; Toronto95, Chicago 89; Portland 129, Philadelphia 95; Dallas 105, OklahomaCity 103; Orlando 109, Detroit 107.
McCollum leads Blazers in season-best rout of 76ersTORONTO: Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points andgrabbed nine rebounds and the Toronto Raptors defeat-ed the visiting Chicago Bulls 95-89 on Sunday. PascalSiakam added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptorswhile Fred VanVleet and Danny Green added 10 pointseach. Lauri Markkanen scored 18 points and 10 reboundsfor the Bulls. Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 points and 11rebounds, Kris Dunn had 14 points, Zach LaVine scored13, and Justin Holiday and Chandler Hutchison had 11each. The Raptors, whose biggest lead of the game hadbeen seven points, opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0run to lead by nine points.
Trail Blazers 129, 76ers 95CJ McCollum scored 35 points in just 28 minutes as
Portland pounded visiting Philadelphia as Al-FarouqAminu added 16 points, Damian Lillard 15 and JusufNurkic 14. The Trail Blazers posted season bests in field-goal percentage (.590) and 3-point percentage (.545) inrolling up their largest margin of victory of the season.Portland beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-81 on Nov4. Ben Simmons scored 19 points for the 76ers, who shotonly .354 from the field, including .185 (8 of 43) frombeyond the arc. The Blazers won the rebound battle 59-36.
Lakers 121, Kings 114Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 26 points off the
bench and Brandon Ingram was key down the stretchwith 21 points as host Los Angeles rallied to beatSacramento. The Lakers won for the first time in threegames without an injured LeBron James while alsoavenging their last-second defeat at Sacramento onThursday when Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer at thebuzzer. De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points while Bogdanovicand Buddy Hield added 21 each as the Kings lost for thesecond time in three games, with both of the defeats inLos Angeles. The Kings lost to the Clippers 127-118 onWednesday.
Magic 109, Pistons 107Evan Fournier scored 13 points and made his second
game-winning shot of the season to lift Orlando over vis-iting Detroit. Nikola Vucevic continued his hot streakwith 22 points and 11 rebounds. He is averaging 24.7points and 14.7 rebounds over the last three games.Detroit tied the game at 107 when Reggie Bullock wasfouled on a 3-point attempt with 2.5 seconds remainingand made all three free throws. Orlando inbounded the
ball at the other end to Fournier, who drove to his rightand hit a floater from the free-throw line at the buzzer.
Mavericks 105, Thunder 103Harrison Barnes turned a last-minute steal into a pair
of free throws and Dennis Smith Jr. hit a go-ahead shotwith 24.8 seconds remaining to rally host Dallas overOklahoma City. Paul George saved 13 of his game-high36 points for the final 3:54, but missed a potential go-ahead jumper with four seconds left as the Mavericksheld on for just the second win in their last nine games.Luka Doncic had 25 points to lead the Mavericks, whowere coming off a home-and-home split with NewOrleans on Wednesday and Friday. The Mavericks and
Thunder will meet again Monday night at Oklahoma City.
Timberwolves 113, Heat 104Karl-Anthony Towns produced 34 points, 18
rebounds, seven assists and a career-high-tying sixblocks to lead Minnesota past host Miami, whose 20turnovers led to 24 Timberwolves points. Towns, whomade 12 of 24 shots from the floor and half of his six 3-point attempts, fouled out with 34 seconds left. It was hisfourth foul-out of the season, but he had already doneenough to lead Minnesota to victory. The Heat, looking togo over .500 for the first time since their fifth game ofthe season, fell to 17-18. Even so, Miami is 6-2 in its pasteight games. — Reuters
TORONTO: Kris Dunn #32 of the Chicago Bulls shoots the ball against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at theScotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. —AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has been rated as the mostcorrupt cricket nation by the world governing body,the country’s sports minister said yesterday. TheInternational Cricket Council feels “Sri Lanka’s cricketadministration is corrupt from top to bottom”, HarinFernando said, adding that he had been shown a confi-dential report on the matter at a Dubai meeting.
A host of scandals have rocked Sri Lankan cricketin recent years including a match-fixing controversyrevealed in a sting operation carried out for a TV doc-umentary. The ICC anti-corruption unit has regularlyinvestigated cases in the island nation.
The crisis-ridden Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is tohold delayed elections in February, which were duelast May when the term of president ThilangaSumathipala ended. Sumathipala has been accused ofviolating ICC rules by holding office despite allegedlinks to gambling. He denies the charges.
“Unfortunately Sri Lanka is being ranked as one ofthe worst or the top worst country for cricket corrup-tion,” Fernando told reporters after returning from themeeting with ICC anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall.
“They told me that the problem was not limited tobookies, but even the local game’s links with theunderworld,” he said, adding that the corruption wasmore to do with cricket administration than players.
Last month former Sri Lankan fast bowler DilharaLokuhettige was suspended for corruption during alimited over league in 2017. Lokuhettige was the thirdSri Lankan player charged for violating the anti-cor-ruption code following cases against former captainand ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya and formerpaceman Nuwan Zoysa.—AFP
Sri Lanka cricket rated most corrupt by ICC: Minister
MELBOURNE: Australia cricket coach Justin Langeradmitted yesterday he feels like a “director of a soapopera” as speculation grew around the future ofbanned Steve Smith and David Warner. Debate aboutthe pair reared again during the third Test against Indiain Melbourne, after Smith and Cameron Bancroft gavetelevision interviews about the ball-tampering scandalin South Africa in March.
Their comments were widely interpreted as deflect-ing all blame onto Warner, with some former playersslamming them for unnecessarily dredging it back upon Boxing Day, the most revered day in the Australiancricket calendar.
Australia’s woeful batting in the match, which theylost by 137 runs, also focused attention on how muchSmith and Warner were missed. Langer, who has previ-ously described the Australia team as a “dysfunctionalfamily”, said the headlines were yet another headache.
“It’s all just part of the soap opera we’re in everyday,” he said in Melbourne before heading to Sydneyfor Thursday’s fourth and final Test, with India leading
the series 2-1. “I feel like a director of a soap opera atthe moment, I honestly do.
“Coaching is about man management and lookingafter people, caring for people, and that was just anoth-er distraction last week,” he added. Bancroft, who wasbanned for nine months, made his return on Sundayevening for the Perch Scorchers in the Big Bash League,but only lasted three balls. Smith and Warner’s suspen-sions run out in late March.
LEARNING ON THE RUN Captain Tim Paine admitted on Sunday it was “pretty
clear” they were being missed, with no batsmen otherthan tailender Pat Cummins scoring more than 50 inMelbourne. Langer said cricket authorities were “intouch with the boys all the time”.
“There’s a really good process we’re going to gothrough to get the boys back into the team,” he addedof the trio. They could possibly return for a one-dayinternational in late March, when Australia have pen-cilled in a series against Pakistan in the United ArabEmirates. According to the Cricket Australia website,the series was tentatively set for March 15-29, butPakistan have reportedly proposed pushing it back toMarch 31-April 13. Smith and Warner’s exile has left abig void in the Test team.
Aaron Finch has been unable to reproduce his limit-ed overs form in the red ball game, Usman Khawaja hasstruggled and newcomer Marcus Harris at the top ofthe order is yet to post a big score. “We’ve got a lot ofguys learning on the run at the same time,” said Langer,acknowledging a lack of experience. “That’s not easyfor them, but we’ll collectively be better for it over
time.” Langer, a former opener who played 105 Testsand earned a reputation as a fighter, pointed to India’sCheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli as the consummateTest batsmen who Australia should be looking to emu-late. “Probably at this time the difference in the serieshas been Pujara and Kohli. Pujara averages 53 andKohli 45 or 46. The lesson we learn from that is keepabsorbing the pressure,” he said. “We have one of thebest bowling attacks in the world and they keep rock-ing up and absorbing the pressure. Our guys are learn-ing that, or hopefully they are learning that.” —AFP
Australia a ‘soap opera’ and ‘I feel like a director’, says coach Langer
MELBOURNE: File photo shows Australia’s crick-et coach Justin Langer (L) and captain Tim Paine(R) chat during training in Melbourne onDecember 24, 2018, ahead of the third cricketTest match against India. — AFP
NEW DELHI: India’s Smriti Mandhana was crownedwomen’s cricketer of the year yesterday by the sport’s worldgoverning body, capping off a prolific run-scoring season forthe opener. The left-handed batswoman was also namedODI cricketer of the year for accumulating 669 runs off 12one-day internationals. She scored 622 runs in 25 T20matches this year. Mandhana, 22, is only the second Indianwoman to win an International Cricket Council award afterfast bowler Jhulan Goswami who was named the women’splayer of the year in 2007. “The awards are pretty specialbecause as a player when you score runs, you want the teamto win, and then when you get acknowledged for your per-formances through these awards, it motivates you to workharder and do well for your team,” Mandhana was quoted assaying in the ICC release.
“The century I scored in South Africa (in Kimberley) wasquite satisfying and then I had good home series againstAustralia and England. A lot of people used to say I do notscore that much in India, so I had a point to prove to myself.”
ICC chief executive David Richardson congratulatedMandhana, saying she was “a worthy winner” of the RachaelHeyhoe Flint Award, named after the legendary English play-er. Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy was votedT20 player of the year after playing an important part in herteam’s World T20 triumph in the West Indies. She finishedwith 225 runs from six matches as Australia beat arch-rivalsEngland in the final. England’s teenage spinner SophieEcclestone was named emerging player of the year. — AFP
India’s Mandhana named ICC women’s cricketer of the year
MUMBAI: In this file photo taken on March 25, 2018, Indian cricketer Smriti Mandhana plays a shot duringthe third cricket match of the women’s Twenty20 (T20) Tri-Series between India and England at BrabourneStadium in Mumbai. India’s Smriti Mandhana was crowned women’s cricketer of the year yesterday by thesport’s world governing body. — AFP
TEHRAN: Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has demanded ahigh-intensity start from his top-ranked team in nextmonth’s Asian Cup opener against debutants Yemen. Iranhead into the tournament in the United Arab Emirates asone of the favourites for the title and Portuguese Queirozsaid they must make their presence felt starting with thefirst Group D clash in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 7.
“I want to develop this kind of instinct in my team, tokeep all of our energy so that it explodes in the 90 minutesagainst Yemen,” Queiroz told the AFC website. “And whenwe finish the game, then it’s time to think about Vietnamand after that Iraq.”
Queiroz described the clash against Yemen, ranked 25places below Iran in the Asian standings, as a “crucial”match and urged his team not to underestimate theiropponents. “The first game is always the most difficultbecause it’s everything for the winner and almost nothingfor the loser in a short competition of three games,”Queiroz added. “There are no small teams... I was checkingthe results of the Iran team in different competitions, atunder 17s, under 20s, and never has Iran beaten Yemen inofficial competition. — Reuters
Iran coach eyes strongstart to Asian Cup
Tuesday, January 1, 2019S p o r t s
22
Plain sailing for Dimitrov and Raonic in Brisbane International
Karolina Pliskova fights back to win opener
BEIJING: Five-time Grand Slam champion MariaSharapova had a tough start to her 2019 tennis sea-son yesterday at the Shenzhen Open, edging outSwitzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky 6-2, 7-6 (7/3). In abattle of former Top 10 players, Sharapova’s servefaltered early in the match but she regained compo-sure to take the first set, cheered on by the spiritedcrowd at the Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center.
Bacsinszky put up a strong fight in the second set,claiming the first two games and forcing Sharapova tostep up her game. The Russian powered through totake the match in one hour 42 minutes.
“It’s been a few months since I’ve been out ofplaying competitively,” Sharapova said in a post-match interview, calling Shenzhen a “warm-up tour-nament” for next month’s Australian Open.
“Considering the opponent and everything I hadto go through today I think it was a great practice forme.” Sharapova, who won the last of her five Slams atRoland Garros in 2014, has endured a disappointingreturn to the majors since the end of her drugs ban inApril of 2017.
She will next face 17-year-old Chinese wild cardWang Xinyu. Meanwhile, France’s Caroline Garcialost in straight sets to Serbia’s Ivana Jorovic 6-4, 6-2.The tournament, which runs until Saturday, will seeplayers battling for $750,000 in prize money. — AFP
Sharapova campaign off to tough start in Shenzhen
BRISBANE: Former champions Milos Raonic andGrigor Dimitrov stormed into the second round of theseason-opening Brisbane International tennis tourna-ment with comprehensive wins yesterday. Raonic, the2016 champion, demolished Slovenia’s Aljaz Bedene 6-0, 6-3 while Dimitrov, who won the following year,sailed past Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4.
Both men have career-high world rankings of three,but Raonic and Dimitrov have each slipped over thepast 12 months and sit at 18 and 19 respectively. Thebig-serving Raonic fired down 18 aces in his win overBedene and won 93 per cent of his first serves in amatch that only last 47 minutes.
Dimitrov was also in complete control against 23-year-old Nishioka, the world number 76. “I felt I wasactually hitting the ball quite all right for our first matchof the year,” he said. “It was a good day overall. Therewere a few things that I would like to maybe improveon the next match, but overall I think it’s off to a posi-tive start.”
Dimitrov was troubled by an ankle injury towardsthe end of last season and barely played in the last fewmonths of 2018. But he said he used the time away fromthe court to re-evaluate his game. “I just actually feltthat in those months I’ve learned a lot about myself,” hesaid. Meanwhile, Pliskova, a former world number one,appeared headed for an early exit when she stumbledagainst Putintseva late in the first set. “I learned thingsthat I need to do better, things that I could improve offthe court. “So overall I actually felt that they were verysuccessful months off the court.” Karolina Pliskova saidshe refused to panic despite falling behind a set and abreak to Yulia Putintseva in the opening round of theBrisbane International yesterday.
But she recovered from 2-0 down in the second to
win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two and a quarter hours at the PatRafter Arena. The 26-year-old Czech said despite sur-rendering the first set, she never felt in any real troubleagainst Putintseva.
“Even though I was losing a set and a break in thesecond, I was still pretty positive, because I felt (eventhough) I’m missing, it’s only small margins here andthere,” she said.
“I just felt like the ball on the racquet felt prettygood.” Pliskova has a good record in Brisbane, winningin 2017 and reaching the semi-finals in 2018. “I feel it’spretty fast, which is important for my game,” Pliskovasaid. “I can hit some aces, which I did today, and if Iplay aggressive there is a chance that I am going tomake a lot of points, so I feel good on this court forsure.” Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell pulled off amassive upset when she stunned world number 10Daria Kasatkina in three sets. Birrell, 20, had only everwon one match on the main WTA tour but showedgreat composure to come from 3-5 down in the thirdset to win 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in three hours, six min-utes. “I was just trying to stay positive-I was just tellingmyself to just keep fighting and keep asking the ques-tions,” Birrell said. She will now play Lesia Tsurenko inthe second round after the Ukranian beat Romania’sMihaela Buzarnescu 6-0, 6-2.
Birrell’s fellow countrywoman Destanee Aiava alsomoved into the second round with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2)upset over Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic and willnow play reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka.
Croatia’s Donna Vekic was too strong for MagdalenaRybarikova of Slovakia, winning 6-1, 6-2 to set up asecond-round clash against sixth-seeded DutchwomanKiki Bertens, who downed Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2,6-7 (6/8), 6-4. — AFP
BRISBANE: Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova hits a return against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan during theirwomen’s singles first round match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane yesterday. — AFP
NASHVILLE: Andrew Luck threw for 285yards and three touchdowns Sunday nightas the Indianapolis Colts claimed the AFC’sfinal playoff spot with a 33-17 win over theTennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium inNashville. Luck, who completed 24 of 35passes, finished the regular season with 39touchdown passes, the most for a playerwho missed the previous season. He alsoenabled Indianapolis (10-6) to cap a come-back from a 1-5 start and earn a trip to AFCSouth champion and divisional foe Houstonfor a wild-card round game on Saturday.Tennessee (9-7) snapped a nine-year play-off drought last year with a home win overJacksonville in Week 17, but wasn’t able torepeat the feat this time. The short-handedTitans played without quarterback MarcusMariota (stinger, plantar fascia) and ProBowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (knee),and their absences were clearly felt. Casey’sinjury left a massive gap in the interiordefense that Indianapolis exploited withconsistency. Besides Luck’s passing, theColts also pounded out 158 yards on 36carries, enabling them to possess the ball formore than 40 minutes.
Patriots 38, Jets 3Tom Brady tossed a season-high four
touchdowns and became the fourth quarter-back in NFL history to complete 6,000career passes as New England clinched theNo. 2 seed in the AFC by cruising past visit-ing New York. New England (11-5) clincheda bye for the 13th time in the Bill Belichick-Brady era since 2001 and the ninth straightseason. The Kansas City Chiefs beat theOakland Raiders later Sunday to clinch thetop seed in the AFC playoffs and lock thePatriots in to the No. 2 seed. The Jets (4-12)finished the season by losing nine of theirlast 10 games and fired coach Todd Bowleswith two years remaining on his contract.The Jets were 24-40 under Bowles, whotook over in 2015 following Rex Ryan.
Eagles 24, Redskins 0Nick Foles tied an NFL single-game
record with 25 straight pass completionsand visiting Philadelphia found a way intothe NFC playoffs with a blowout win atWashington. The Eagles (9-7) clinched thesecond wild card spot when the MinnesotaVikings lost to the Chicago Bears 24-10.Philadelphia will visit Chicago, the NFC’sthird seed, Saturday afternoon. After throw-ing an interception on the opening drive,Foles recovered to finish 28 of 33 for 221yards, two touchdowns and the pick beforeleaving with a chest injury in the fourthquarter. He was perfect in a stretch thatbegan in the first quarter and ended late inthe third. Washington (7-9) lost six of itsfinal seven games as it was forced to usefour different starting quarterbacks.
Bears 24, Vikings 10Jordan Howard had 21 carries for 109
yards and two touchdowns and Chicagoheld on to eliminate host Minnesota fromplayoff contention. Tarik Cohen also had arushing touchdown for Chicago (12-4),which finished with its best regular-seasonrecord since 2006. The Bears locked up theNo. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs and will hostthe Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday after-noon. Stefon Diggs scored the lone touch-down for Minnesota (8-7-1). The Vikingscould have earned a wild-card playoff berth
with a victory-which would have created arematch in Chicago next week-but insteadwill go home early for the third time in fiveseasons under head coach Mike Zimmer.
Ravens 26, Browns 24Lamar Jackson rushed for two touch-
downs and accounted for 269 all-purposeyards as Baltimore clinched the AFC Northtitle with a narrow win over visitingCleveland. The Ravens (10-6), who went 6-1with Jackson at quarterback after veteranJoe Flacco was injured midseason, will hostthe Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday at 1p.m. ET in the wild-card round. Baltimoredumped Los Angeles 22-10 on Dec. 22 inCarson, Calif. Jackson completed 14 of 24passes for 179 yards with no touchdowns orinterceptions while rushing 20 times for 90yards. Kenneth Dixon piled up 117 yards on12 carries and Gus Edwards chipped in 76yards on 12 attempts as the Ravens finishedwith 296 yards on the ground against theBrowns (7-8-1). Cleveland’s Baker Mayfieldset a new NFL record for rookie touchdownpasses with his 27th.
Steelers 16, Bengals 13Rookie kicker Matt McCrane’s third field
goal, from 35 yards with 1:56 left, gavePittsburgh a win over visiting Cincinnati, butit was not enough to ensure the Steelers’season would continue. With Baltimorebeating Cleveland, the only way Pittsburgh(9-6-1) could make the playoffs was if theTennessee-Indianapolis game Sunday nightended in a tie. The Colts won 33-17. TheSteelers played without receiver AntonioBrown, who has a knee injury. Without adouble threat, JuJu Smith-Schuster facedstiff coverage, with five catches for 37 yardsand a tying touchdown against the Bengals(6-10).
Chiefs 35, Raiders 3Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes became
the second quarterback in NFL history topass for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns ina season as the Chiefs bashed visitingOakland to lock up the top seed in the AFCplayoffs. An 89-yard scoring bomb toDemarcus Robinson with 8:33 left in thethird quarter was Mahomes’ 50th TD strikeof the season and pushed the first-yearstarter past the 5,000-yard plateau. Theonly other quarterback to reach both mile-stones in the same season was Denver’sPeyton Manning in 2013, when he setrecords for touchdown passes (55) andpassing yardage (5,477) in a season.Mahomes punctuated his MVP candidacywith 281 yards against the Raiders (4-12),going 14 of 24 with two touchdowns andone interception. Tyreek Hill led the Chiefs(12-4) with five receptions for 101 yards andscored touchdowns on a 67-yard receptionand 15-yard rush.
Chargers 23, Broncos 9Philip Rivers passed for 176 yards and a
touchdown, linebacker Kyle Emanuelreturned a fumble for another score and LosAngeles beat host Denver Broncos to endthe regular season. With Kansas City’s winover Oakland on Sunday, the Chargers (12-4) are locked into the No. 5 seed and willplay at Baltimore next Sunday at 1:05 ET onCBS. Mike Williams had 65 yards receivingand a score and Austin Ekeler ran for 58yards and a touchdown for Los Angeles,while Case Keenum was 31-for-48 passingfor 292 yards, a touchdown and an intercep-tion for Denver (6-10).
Rams 48, 49ers 32The Los Angeles defense set the tone
with four first-half turnovers and a touch-
down on the way to a victory over visitingSan Francisco that earned L.A. a first-roundbye in the playoffs. The Rams (13-3)clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC with thevictory over their longtime rival and finishedundefeated against the NFC West in theprocess. The opening-round bye is the firstfor the Rams since the 2003 season whenthe team was in St. Louis. Jarred Goffpassed for 199 yards and four touchdownsand C.J. Anderson rushed for 132 yards anda score against the 49ers (4-12) as the Ramswere without starting running back ToddGurley for a second consecutive week as heworks his way through knee inflammation.
Seahawks 27, Cardinals 24Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 33-yard
field goal as time expired to give Seattle awin against visiting Arizona. Chris Carsonrushed 19 times for 122 yards and a touch-down for the Seahawks (10-6), who hadalready clinched an NFC wild-card berth butcemented the No. 5 seed. Seattle will play atDallas on Saturday night. Arizona (3-13)clinched the league’s worst record and theNo. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
Texans 20, Jaguars 3Deshaun Watson capped his second sea-
son with a unique statistical accomplish-ment and host Houston claimed its thirdAFC South title in four seasons with a victo-ry over woeful Jacksonville, becoming thesecond team to earn a division title afterstarting a season 0-3. With 234 passingyards plus another 66 yards on the groundwith a touchdown, Watson is the first quar-terback in NFL history to total 4,000 yards(4,165) and at least 25 touchdowns (26)passing while rushing for 500 yards (551)with another five touchdowns on theground. Led by defensive end J.J. Watt, theTexans (11-5) harassed Jacksonville quarter-back Blake Bortles throughout what likelywas his last appearance with the Jaguars (5-11). Watt recorded 1 1/2 of the three sacks ofBortles, closing his season with 16. Watt andHall of Fame member Reggie White are theonly players in NFL history with four 15-plus sack seasons.
Cowboys 36, Giants 35Dak Prescott threw four touchdowns
passes and completed a two-point conver-sion to Michael Gallup with 1:12 left to liftDallas Cowboys past host New York.Prescott, who threw for 387 yards, complet-ed a 32-yard touchdown pass in the back ofthe end zone to Cole Beasley on fourth-and-15 to set up the two-point conversion.Originally, Beasley was called out of boundson the field, but after review was ruled to
have gotten his knee down before hiselbows landed out of bounds. Though run-ning back Ezekiel Elliott sat out the game,Dallas played most of its starters and headsinto the postseason having won seven ofeight games. The Cowboys (10-6) earnedthe fourth seed in the playoffs and will hostSeattle at AT&T Stadium next weekend.The Giants finish the season 5-11.
Lions 31, Packers 0Detroit blasted listless Green Bay, ending
the season on a positive note and earningback-to-back victories at Lambeau Fieldfor the first time since the 1990-91 seasons.Matthew Stafford, throwing passes to thelikes of Brandon Powell, Andy Jones and T.J.Jones instead of Kenny Golladay (inactive),Marvin Jones (injured reserve) and GoldenTate (traded), threw for 266 yards and apair of touchdowns to T.J. Jones for theLions (6-10). His counterpart, AaronRodgers, exited following the third serieswith a concussion. A week after rallyingthree times from two-touchdown deficits tobeat the New York Jets, interim coach JoePhilbin’s Packers (6-9-1) showed no fightagainst the Lions.
Bills 42, Dolphins 17Josh Allen passed for three touchdowns
and ran for two more as Buffalo defeatedMiami in Orchard Park, N.Y. Zay Jonescaught two touchdowns from Allen, whocompleted 17 of 26 passes for 224 yardswith an interception. Allen also ran ninetimes for 95 yards. Buffalo forced fourturnovers and enjoyed its highest-scoringgame of the season. The game was the sea-son finale for two teams out of playoff con-tention. Buffalo (6-10) finished 4-3 in itsfinal seven games. Miami (7-9) concludedits season on a three-game losing streak,dropping nine of its final 13.
Panthers 33, Saints 14Undrafted rookie quarterback Kyle Allen
threw two touchdowns passes before leavingthe game with a fourth-quarter shoulderinjury as visiting Carolina won in NewOrleans. With the Saints (13-3) secure in theirNo. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, they restedseveral starters. Drew Brees missed only histhird start since coming to the Saints in 2006.He finished the season with an NFL-record74.4 completion percentage (364 of 489)with 3,992 yards, 32 touchdowns and just fiveinterceptions. Carolina (7-9) scored touch-downs on its first three possessions, withAllen driving the Panthers 75, 89 and 90yards-mostly against the Saints’ startingdefense-to forge a 20-0 lead, and it climbedto 30-0 late in the third quarter.—AFP
Colts muscle past Titans
Serena wins Perth season-opener aheadof Grand Slam tiltPERTH: Serena Williams overcame a sluggish start to winher opening match of the new season in Perth yesterday,two weeks out from 2019’s first Grand Slam. The 37-year-old was a long way off her commanding best and was vis-ibly frustrated with her own game early in her HopmanCup singles match, but still did enough to beat Greece’sMaria Sakkari in straight sets.
However, it was Sakkari and her team-mate StefanosTsitsipas who had the last laugh as Greece beat the USA2-1 in the mixed doubles Group B tie. In her first tourna-ment outing since the controversial loss to Naomi Osakain the US Open final in September, Williams struggledearly and her groundstrokes were erratic in the first set.
Sakkari, ranked 41st in the world, gained an early breakand served for the first set but couldn’t capitalise despiteseveral gilt-edged opportunities. That opened the doorfor Williams, the bookmakers’ favourite for the upcomingAustralian Open in Melbourne, to power back and ulti-mately win 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in an hour and 44 minutes.
Williams had her left ankle worked on at the end of thefirst set but it didn’t stop her dominating the second, inwhich she looked more like the player who has won 23Grand Slam singles titles. “I was making a lot of errorsand I’m like ‘it’s okay, it’s your first match, it’ll get better’,”she said.
“It’s never easy (first match), there are lot of errors thatare going to be made and I think we both did prettygood.” Williams said her taped ankles weren’t a concernso soon before 2019’s first Grand Slam, blaming a littlediscomfort with her shoes.
Williams won her last Grand Slam in Melbourne in2017, but wasn’t able to defend her title due to the birth ofher first child. Bidding to equal Margaret Court’s recordof 24 titles, she was beaten in last year’s Wimbledon andUS Open finals.—AFP
NASHVILLE: Derrick Henry #22 of the Tennessee Titans runs with the ball against theIndianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on Sunday inNashville, Tennessee. — AFP
S p o r t s Tuesday, January 1, 2019
23
TOKYO: Floyd “Money” Mayweather beat Japanesekickboxing phenomenon Tenshin Nasukawa by a tech-nical knockout yesterday after just two minutes of aNew Year’s Eve “exhibition” bout that brought the USboxing superstar out of retirement for a big pay day.
In a mismatched contest, Mayweather flooredNasukawa, a kickboxer less than half his age, threetimes in the first round of the three-round contestbefore the Japanese fighter’s trainer rushed in to stopthe fight.
“Money” Mayweather has hinted on social media hewas pocketing $9 million for the fight, meaning heearned around $4.5 million per minute for the spectacle.The American boxer at first appeared not to be takingthe fight seriously, grinning at his opponent and aimingonly soft punches at him.
But he then demonstrated his power, launching aseries of jabs and hooks to the head of the 20-year-oldJapanese fighter, sending him to the canvas after justone minute with a left hook. Sensing his opponent wasstruggling, Mayweather stepped in for the kill, unleash-ing a flurry of punches that left Nasukawa reeling againwithin just two minutes of the bout and facing his sec-ond standing count after a huge right hook to the head.
With the Japanese fighter clearly battling to stay onhis feet, the trainer rushed in and stopped the fight withless than one minute of the first round remaining. “Itwas all about entertainment. We had fun,” Mayweathersaid in the ring after the event.
“I’m still retired. I don’t look forward to coming backto boxing but I did this just to entertain the fans inJapan,” added the 41-year-old. The rules were verystrictly defined: three, three minute bouts and boxingonly-kickboxer Nasukawa was reportedly facing a $5million fine if he aimed a kick at Mayweather.
There were no judges, with only a knockout or tech-nical knockout considered a victory in the bout, pro-
moted as a pure exhibition match. Crucially, the matchdid not feature on the record of either man, allowingthem both to retain a cherished unbeaten record.
“This won’t go on my record. This won’t go onTenshin’s record. Tenshin is still undefeated. I’m stillundefeated. This is just entertainment for the people,”he added.
$9M FOR 9 MINUTES The purse for the event was not disclosed but
“Money” hinted on Instagram that he would be making$1 million per minute. “What if I told you I was making$9,000,000 for nine minutes of sparring in Tokyo,Japan,” he wrote on his official page. “Would you dothe same if you were me? I like to call it a nine-minutewalk thru,” the post added.
Mayweather, a legend in the boxing world, has aperfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts. He won worldtitles in five different weight divisions and was consid-ered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport.
Virtually unknown outside the kickboxing ring in hisown country, Nasukawa from Chiba near Tokyo alsoboasts an unbeaten record. He won the world juniorkarate championship, made his professional kickboxingdebut at the age of 16 and has a 28-0 record with 21wins by knockout. Promoters RIZIN have hailed him as“perhaps the best combat sports prospect the countryhas ever seen” and the 20-year-old himself had claimedhe has a “punch that boxers don’t have”. But he hardlypenetrated Mayweather’s defences and barely madethe older man break sweat.
ON-OFF FIGHT This is the second time Mayweather has been
coaxed out of retirement. Last year, he knocked outmixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in the 10thround of a super-hyped boxing match.
There are also unconfirmed rumours Mayweathercould take on reigning UFC lightweight championKhabib Nurmagomedov, who said last month anymatch-up would be “twice as interesting” as theMcGregor fight.
Yesterday’s Tokyo fight was on-off from the start. Itwas announced out of the blue on November 5, withMayweather saying it had “always been a goal of mine
to go outside out of the US and display my talent”.However, just as abruptly as it was announced, it
was called off just three days later. Mayweather saidhe had been “blindsided” into the contest by theorganisers. But the promoter flew to the US to meetMayweather and announced a week later that thefight was back on, saying that a “misunderstanding”had been resolved. — AFP
Mayweather floors Japan’s Nasukawa in just two minutes
Mayweather best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport
SAITAMA: US boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr (L) knocks down Kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa of Japan (C)during their exhibition match at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama yesterday. Floyd Mayweather beat Japanesekickboxing phenomenon Tenshin Nasukawa by a technical knock-out in the first round of a New Year’s Eve“exhibition” bout. — AFP
Matches on TV (Local Timings)
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUEEverton FC v Leicester City 12:30
beIN SPORTS HD 2
Arsenal FC v Fulham FC 15:00
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Cardiff City v Tottenham Hotspur 17:30
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ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUEAston Villa v Queens Park Rangers 15:00
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Blackburn Rovers FC v West Bromwich Albion FC 15:00
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Brentford v Norwich City 15:00
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Derby County FC v Middlesbrough 15:00
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Hull City v Bolton Wanderers 15:00
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Ipswich Town FC v Millwall FC 15:00
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Reading FC v Swansea City 15:00
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Rotherham United v Preston North End 15:00
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Sheffield Wednesday FC v Birmingham City FC 15:00
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Stoke City FC v Bristol City FC 15:00
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Wigan Athletic v Sheffield United FC 15:00
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Nottingham Forest FC v Leeds United FC 15:00
beIN SPORTS
LISBON: Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has insistedthat he is “not obsessed” by individual trophies, havingmissed on this year’s Ballon d’Or after winning it fivetimes. The Juventus striker also missed out on FIFA andUEFA’s player of the year trophies as former RealMadrid teammate Luka Modric, a World Cup runner-up with Croatia, swept all before him.
“I’m not obsessed by individual prizes,” Ronaldo toldPortuguese sports daily Record. “The most importantthing is to win collective trophies and help the team.The rest comes naturally.”
Ronaldo added: “I don’t think all the time of beatingrecords. I work above all to help the club and be at mybest level. “The technical, tactical and physical level ofall teams is better today,” he said. “It’s increasinglytough to win so I have to keep working hard to stay ontop.” Having missed the start of Portugal’s NationsLeague campaign to better adjust to life with Juve,Ronaldo said that in 2019 he “envisages being at thedisposal of the national coach”. Portugal will host theinaugural Nations League finals in June, meetingSwitzerland in the semi-finals. In the wide-ranginginterview, Ronaldo also dubbed as “revolting” allega-tions of rape made against him dating back to 2009,something he strenuously denies. He added that he hada “calm conscience” and was “confident that everythingwill very soon be clarified”. — AFP
Ronaldo ‘notobsessed’ byindividual trophies
MANCHESTER: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer encouraged PaulPogba to cut showboating from his game to recreate the“efficient” display that saw the Frenchman score twice forthe second straight game in a 4-1 thrashing ofBournemouth at Old Trafford.
A third consecutive victory since Solskjaer took care-taker charge until the end of the season keeps United eightpoints adrift of Chelsea in the fight for a top-four finish.Pogba has been key to all three wins, but this was arguablyhis best display as he also teed up Romelu Lukaku’s fourthgoal and struck the post late on to just miss out on a firstcareer hat-trick. “That is a top, top performance for a mid-field player because it’s all-round: work rate, dangerous inthe box, no showboating. It’s touch, pass, move,” saidSolskjaer. “It’s an efficient game and Paul knows he’s at hisbest when it’s an efficient game.”
The change in mood around United in the 12 days sinceJose Mourinho was sacked is palpable, no more so in theperformances of Pogba, who was discarded from thePortuguese’s starting line-up for his final three leaguegames in charge.
“We are Manchester United and we need to be at thetop of the league. It is just a reaction of all of the playersand everyone is enjoying themselves,” said Pogba. “It isdifferent, we still won games with the old manager but it isjust a different style of playing, we are more offensive andwe are creating more chances and that is how we want toplay.” United have now scored 12 times in three gamesunder the Norwegian, but Solskjaer insisted he has justtried to instill what he learned under Alex Ferguson during11 seasons as a player at Old Trafford.
“This is how it was. I’ve just gone about the job as Iexperienced it as a player, and a coach,” added Solskjaer.“We want to go attacking. We’ve been at home two gamesand we have to entertain the fans. I love working withgood players and good people.”
Pogba played a part in four of United’s five goals atCardiff last weekend to get Solskjaer off to a flying start
before scoring twice against Huddersfield on Boxing Day.Solskjaer has spoken of his desire to see Pogba break intothe box more regularly and he had the simplest of tasks toprod the ball into an empty net after Marcus Rashford hadbewildered the Bournemouth defence.
Nathan Ake and Diego Rico were left beaten byRashford’s combination of fleet-footed dribbling and pacebefore his cross perfectly picked out Pogba’s run. Pogbathen made it 2-0 with a bullet header from Ander Herrera’scross. Unlike Pogba, Nemanja Matic was one ofMourinho’s most trusted lieutenants but the Serbian hasalso epitomised the change in tack orchestrated bySolskjaer with the former Chelsea midfielder much morewilling to look for a forward rather than sideways pass.
And Matic began the move for United’s third when he
picked out Anthony Martial’s run and the Frenchman’scross with the outside of his boot was turned home byRashford. For all the improvements of late, though,Solskjaer is still waiting for a first clean sheet sinceNovember as Ake beat Matic to power home DavidBrooks’s cross.
Rashford should have added to his tally when put cleanthrough by Pogba, but didn’t get enough elevation on hisattempted chip over Asmir Begovic before making way forLukaku 20 minutes from time.
And the Belgian netted almost instantly when hesqueezed the ball past Begovic on his weaker right footfrom another Pogba pass. Only the post then denied Pogbaa first ever hat-trick when his low strike from the edge ofthe box came off the woodwork.— AFP
Solskjaer tells two-goal Pogba to cut out showboating
MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku (L) vies with Bournemouth’s Dutch defenderNathan Ake (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Bournemouth atOld Trafford in Manchester. — AFP
LONDON: As Mauricio Pochettino offered an explanationof why Tottenham Hotspur’s emerging Premier League titlechallenge had stalled so quickly, it was hard to avoid theview their bid for success on four fronts could once againleave the club empty-handed.
The 3-1 home defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers onSaturday was utterly deflating for Pochettino’s side, whohad thrillingly moved into second place on the back of a 6-2 defeat of Everton and a 5-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
Their time spent as the nearest challengers to leadersLiverpool, however, lasted just four days and they travel toCardiff City today desperately seeking a win to revive thebelief they can last the pace in the title race.
Pochettino, the Spurs manager, cited mental fatigue as apossible reason for his players’ lethargic second half dis-play against Wolves and you could see his point.
The north London club had more representatives in thesemi-finals of the World Cup than any other and it wouldbe hardly surprising if the effects of a draining, exhilaratingbut ultimately disappointing summer campaign for eight ofthose nine players-France’s winning captain Hugo Llorisbeing the exception-lingered.
They certainly haven’t returned to a straightforwardseason with their club. The delays to the opening of theirnew stadium means Wembley has unexpectedly remainedSpurs’ temporary home.
And the drama that accompanied the ChampionsLeague group stage means Pochettino’s players havealready endured more than their fair share of nerve-jan-gling cliffhangers as they qualified despite claiming justone point from the opening three games.
Tottenham’s progress into January’s two-leggedLeague Cup semi-final with capital foes Chelsea washardly sedate given they had to overcome a quarter-finalvisit to north London rivals Arsenal to claim a place in thelast four.
Next Friday sees Spurs start their FA Cup campaignwith a visit to fourth-tier Tranmere Rovers, a further addi-tion to an already-congested holiday fixture schedule. Thecounter to all that is that a club with ambitions of challeng-ing for major trophies must expect to face those kinds ofdemands. And that is where criticism of Tottenham’s failureto bring in any new players during the pre-season transferwindow resurfaces.
Squad depth is so often the key to success and whileTottenham’s success in keeping the current group of play-ers together was admirable, right now it appears as thoughfresh additions would be welcome.
That is particularly so given Son Heung-min will join upwith South Korea at the Asian Cup in mid-January at atime when he is arguably Pochettino’s form player.Pochettino will be assessing all the possible factors andwith Manchester United reportedly on his trail, theArgentinian would appear to be in a strong position toinfluence Spurs’ future direction, particularly in the trans-fer market.
Clearly after repeatedly falling short in recent titleraces, there is something preventing the club-last crownedchampions of England way back in 1961 — making thatnext step up. Lifting the League Cup would be a goodstart. The trophy has proved to be a launchpad for a num-ber of teams who have gone on to become champions
having acquired the winning habit in the least prestigiousof the English game’s three main domestic competitions.
More important, though, would be to strengthen thesquad. As impressive as Pochettino’s side can be, they lackthe consistency of Liverpool or Manchester City who canboth change more players, more often with little negativeeffect on their results. —AFP
Tottenham facing prospect of all-too familiar collapse
