World honors HH the Amir as `Humanitarian

Transcription

T
THE DIPLOMAT
he UN’s honoring of His Highness the Amir as a ‘Humanitarian Leader’, signals
the appreciation of international humanitarian organizations and its leaders of
the Amir’s role in various humanitarian quarters. The UN Secretary General, Ban
Ki-moon, has repeatedly lauded Sheikh Sabah as a humanitarian leader who has
transformed Kuwait into an international hub for humanitarian giving.
Here, we take a look at some of the reactions from diplomats and dignitaries in
the country, to the recent honors heaped upon His Highness and on Kuwait.
250 Fils Issue No 706 Established 1996 31 August - 06 September, 2014
See Page 3
www.timeskuwait.com
World honors H.H. the Amir as ‘Humanitarian Leader’
O
n the eve of World Humanitarian Day,
on 19 August, Kuwait’s Minister of
Information and Minister of State for
Youth Affairs, Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem
Al- Humoud Al-Sabah, announced that the
United Nations has named Kuwait as an
“international humanitarian center”, and His
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as a “humanitarian
leader”.
Sheikh Salman added that the State of
Kuwait, represented by His Highness the Amir,
is to be honored in September at the UN’s
headquarters in New York, in an appreciation
to the country’s significant humanitarian role.
The UN’s honoring of His Highness the
Amir signals the appreciation of international
humanitarian organizations and its leaders
of the Amir’s role in various humanitarian
quarters. The UN Secretary General, Ban
Ki-moon, has repeatedly lauded Sheikh
Sabah as a humanitarian leader who has
transformed Kuwait into an international
hub for humanitarian giving. The honoring
also acknowledges Kuwait’s significant
humanitarian role, implies praise for its
charitable activities at the official and grassroot levels, and constitutes an important
message to all workers in the humanitarian
and charitable fields. Pointing out that the
theme of this year’s World Humanitarian Day
is ‘The World Needs More’, Sheikh Salman
said that the World Humanitarian Day, which
commemorates all those who lost their lives in
humanitarian service, is also an opportunity to
celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian
work around the world.
Kuwait’s
humanitarian
efforts
are
significant in building and development,
as well as in supporting scientific research
and human investment that reached several
human societies. In this regard, the Minister
lauded the efforts exerted by Kuwait Fund
for Arab Economic Development (KFAED),
Arab Fund for Economic and Social
Development (AFSED), Kuwait Foundation for
Advancement of Science (KFAS), in addition
to other relief and youth voluntary institutions
and philanthropic works. He also highlighted
Kuwait efforts in assisting conflict-affected
countries, particularly its early sensing of the
Syrian crisis, for which it rushed to meet the
UN’s call to host first and second donors’
conference to aid the Syrian people, adding
at the same time that Kuwait was also at
top of the countries that supported the
Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip lately.
Kuwait’s supportive role of humanitarian
and developmental work has contributed
in bolstering its status in the international
community, which always backed Kuwait in
various circumstances, said Sheikh Salman.
Contracts for new medical facilities
to touch US$10 billion by end of 2014
C
ontracts for new medical
facilities across the GCC
are expected to reach $9.53
billion by the end of 2014 – a 25
percent increase on 2013. In
Kuwait, the Ministry of Health
has awarded local company
Sayed Hamid Behbehani
& Sons the construction
contract for the Farwaniya
Hospital expansion. The
$938 million project involves
the construction of three
buildings making up a
new hospital, including an
ER facility. Kuwait is also
investing in new facilities,
including the $1.26 billion
New Jahra hospital project,
currently under tender for
construction.
The government has also
outlined a new healthcare
infrastructure development
plan that promises an upsurge
of potential opportunities for
Continued on Page 6
Over three million Syrians seek
refuge outside the country
According to the latest report from the
United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) over three million
Syrian refugees have so far registered in
neighboring countries, with the vast majority
in the neighboring countries of Lebanon
(1.17 million), Turkey (830,000) and Jordan
(613,000). The UNHCR report said that the three
million refugees registered outside Syria
painted only part of the picture; a further 6.5
million people are believed to be displaced
within the country. Many more were also
believed to be trapped Syria by the advance
of militants or were having difficulty in
reaching open border crossings, the UN
said. Syrians desperate to leave their warengulfed homeland are forced to pay hefty
bribes at armed checkpoints proliferating
along Syria’s borders, or to smugglers,
the UN refugee agency said. The figures
recorded so far point to one million refugees
more than a year ago, and together with the
Continued on Page 6
EXCLUSIVE to
THE TIMES KUWAIT
Peace in an age
of Extremes
Michel Rocard
is former French prime minister and a
former leader of the French Socialist
Party.
W
e live in a time of progress and folly. From bullet trains to
the Mars rover, humanity has an insatiable appetite for
pushing boundaries and breaking records. But, while radical
ambition can drive progress, it can also fuel recklessness
and large-scale devastation, as we see today in Iraq, Syria,
Gaza, western China, and elsewhere. In an age of extremes,
how can peace be achieved?
One thing is certain: The international community is at a
loss. A staggering number of countries have simply refused
to help resolve the numerous conflicts plaguing the world,
particularly in the greater Middle East. Those that have
intervened – whether for essential strategic reasons, as in
the case of the United States, or out of a sense of obligation
to protect societies, as in the case of France – have yet to
Continued on Page 4
2
Local
The Times 31 August - 06 September, 2014 timeskuwait.com
Ooredoo reaches milestone of
1 million customers in Myanmar
O
oredoo has already broken
through the one million
customer milestone in its
newest market of Myanmar, less
than three weeks after going live
with its services.
H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Bin
Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani,
Chairman, Ooredoo Group, revealed
the significant achievement in a
special ceremony in the capital
Nay Pyi Taw, where he thanked
the people of Myanmar for their
warm welcome, and stressed the
company’s commitment to serving
the country. Since the launch of
Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos; Aziz
Al-Uthman Fakhroo, Ooredoo Group
Board Member and Chairman of
Ooredoo Myanmar; Dr. Nasser
Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo;
U Than Htun Aung, Director of
Posts and Telecommunications
Department; and Ross Cormack,
CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar.
Demonstrating the potential
for growth and strong appetite for
data services in Myanmar, many
customers are using mobile and
accessing the internet for the first
time. In his speech, H.E. Sheikh
Abdullah expressed his delight
Ooredoo in Myanmar, the company
has seen unprecedented demand
for its mobile phone and internet
services, with people queuing
overnight to purchase a lowcost Ooredoo SIM. The team is
striving to deliver up to customers’
expectations, offering crystal clear
voice services and fast Internet.
The event offered thanks to
customers, staff and partners who
have made this achievement possible
and the Chairman challenged his
team to go further in striving to
improve service for customers.
It was attended by a number of
VIP guests, including H.E. Sheikh
Abdullah; H.E. U Myat Hein, Union
Minister of Communications and
Information Technology; H.E. Jaber
Ali Al Dosari, Qatar Ambassador
to Thailand and accredited to
at the strong interest particularly
from people who previously had
not had the opportunity to benefit
from mobile and access to the
internet, and said the response from
customers has been “humbling”,
such as one of our first customers - a
father - who saw how this would give
his son access to better education
opportunities.
“Mobile communication enriches
people’s lives. It connects jobseekers with new opportunities,
unites families who are separated
by geography, enables teachers
to access learning resources,
farmers to track market demand,
and entrepreneurs to connect
with new suppliers, which is why
we have continuously pushed to
enable people’s access to these life
chances. I am humbled by the warm
welcome we have received from the
people of Myanmar, and by their
dedication to improving their lives
with technology. We are committed
to continuously improving our
service so we can meet our promise
of giving people better life chances”
he said.
Ooredoo has invested and
installed the world’s first nextgeneration purely UMTS900 network
throughout Myanmar, which will
provide fast internet and is primed to
enable a smooth transition to a 4G
LTE network in the future.
Aziz
Al-Uthman
Fakhroo,
Ooredoo Group Board Member and
Chairman of Ooredoo Myanmar,
said: “This has been a challenging
greenfield launch, where we have
needed to counter a number
of logistical and technological
challenges to deliver a worldclass network for the people. We
have overcome these challenges
with the help of local partners and
communities, and have become the
first international communications
company to operate in Myanmar. We
will continue to strive to offer the very
best services for our customers.”
Speaking of the challenges faced
during the development stage, Ross
Cormack, CEO Ooredoo Myanmar,
praised the 1,000 employees of the
Ooredoo Myanmar team, and stated
that – in keeping with the company’s
tradition of hiring local talent – 800 of
these team members are Myanmar
people. Alongside traditional sales
and services jobs, which cover 6,500
dealers at launch and 30,000 points
of sale for top-ups, the company
estimate through the distribution
network alone Ooredoo has already
supported approximately 50,000
new jobs for the people of Myanmar.
At the close of the ceremony,
Ooredoo highlighted that the
network will rapidly extend to include
25 million people by the end of 2014,
as the company brings the benefits
of connectivity to the population as
fast as is possible.
Indian Cultural Heritage
exhibition at National Museum
T
he Indian Embassy inaugurated
on Sunday, 24 August, the Indian
Cultural Heritage exhibition under the
auspices of National Council for Culture,
Arts, and Letters (NCCAL) at the Kuwait
National Museum on the occasion of the
9th Summer Cultural Festival.
The participation of the embassy in
the Summer Cultural Festival that will
run from 24 August to 4 September
highlights the cultural cooperation
between the two countries.
Mohammad Al-Asousi, Deputy
Secretary
General
in
NCCAL,
inaugurated the exhibition in the
presence of Shri Subasish Goldar,
Charge d’Affaires of Indian Embassy.
Al-Asousi expressed pleasure at
hosting the Indian exhibition which
highlights Indian culture through
photographs, handicrafts, and musical
shows from different Indian regions,
including the traditional Indian dance
performances. He added that five Indian
cinematic films will be shown during the
festival. The 12-day event would help
the audience be acquainted with the
diversity of India’s cultural heritage, said
Al-Asousi.
Shri A. K. Srivastava, Second
Secretary of Information, Press, and
Culture at the Embassy of India, in
his speech at the opening thanked
the authorities for their support and
cooperation with the Embassy, and
elaborated on the strong relations
between Kuwaiti and Indian people. He
also extended thanks to the performers
and others who helped make the
opening ceremony a success.
The exhibition, which showcases the
depth and diversity of India’s cultural
heritage included performance of
three Indian folklore dances performed
by skilled dancers of the Thrissur
Association of Kuwait. The ceremony
also included various collections of
Indian classical music, as well as
various musical instruments played by
distinctive players.
Diplomat
3
H.H. the Amir a Humanitarian Leader
Kuwait a Global Humanitarian Center
Foreign diplomats, Kuwaiti dignitaries and local and international media have hailed and highlighted the recent UN naming of Kuwait as “a global humanitarian center” and His
Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah “a humanitarian leader”. They note in their comments that His Highness the Amir has earned this honor for his
humane stances and the tangible relief contributions that Kuwait under his leadership has made to other nations over the years.
His Highness the Amir - “worthy of honor”
HH the Amir of Kuwait - “pride for world”
Ambassador of Senegal and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Kuwait
Ambassador of Somalia and Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps in Kuwait
– His Excellency Abdou Lahad Mbacke,
K
uwait’s massive humanitarian contributions
to Senegal were one of the factors leading
to the UN naming His Highness the Amir
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
as a “humanitarian leader”, said Senegal’s
Ambassador to Kuwait and Dean of the
Diplomatic Corps, Abdou Lahad Mbacke.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency, the
diplomat said, “His Highness the Amir Sheikh
Sabah is ‘worthy of an honor’.” The UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s decision to
honor His Highness the Amir “is not a strange
action,” he added, as “Kuwait and His Highness
the Amir are used to doing philanthropic work
in all parts of the world.” Mbacke added that
His Highness the Amir is widely known for his
care and attention to the needy people all over
the world, recalling His Highness’ initiatives in
easing the suffering of needy people in Africa.
The Senegalese Ambassador recalled the
great role played by the Kuwait Fund for Arab
Economic Development (KFAED) upon the
instructions of His Highness the Amir, including
the construction of schools, hospitals, medical
Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq, Chairman of
International Islamic Charity Organization
(IICO), said philanthropic work, during His
Highness the Amir’s era, has recorded “huge
leaps for development and global spread. This
is due to the Amir’s belief in such honorable
humane messages and his role for saving lives,
rescuing those in desperate need for help,
namely the children and women, salvaging the
poor from the swamps of illiteracy and diseases
and building a future for the orphans,” Dr. AlMaatouq said.
Under the directive of His Highness the Amir,
the IICO organized two NGOs’ conferences as
centers, as well as roads and other needed
humanitarian assistance. Senegal is the biggest
beneficiary of the projects carried out by KFAED
in Sub-Saharan Africa, as the fund has so far
executed some 26 projects worth approximately
US$ 320 million there. He said that he himself,
along with the accredited ambassadors to
Kuwait also hail the role played by His Highness
the Amir in reconciliation efforts among
Arab countries and at the international level,
describing him as the “dean of international
diplomacy”. The ambassador also said that
His Highness the Amir gives his instructions
to all state bodies to facilitate the measures
and procedures for the diplomatic missions in
Kuwait, describing this as “highly appreciated”.
Mbacke added that all outgoing ambassadors
recall the excellent generosity extended by the
State of Kuwait to the accredited diplomats, who
never forget the wise instructions and guidance
of His Highness the Amir to them.
The diplomat said that His Highness the
Amir’s selection for this post has not come by
chance or through mediation but through his
humbleness, diplomatic ties and the way he
treats his own people as well. He pointed out
that Senegal has extended an official invitation
for His Highness the Amir to visit Senegal to see
for himself the love and affection the Senegalese
people have for him.
well as two international donations’ conferences
for Syria, during which Kuwait granted some
US$ 800 million. Kuwait’s philanthropic
activities, under the Amir’s guidance, have
reached all corners of the world, Dr Al-Maatouq
said, alluding to Kuwait’s campaigns to
relieve victims of earthquakes in Pakistan and
Turkey and peoples who suffered from famine
and drought in Somalia. His contributions
also included establishment of the US$ one
billion Fund for supporting small and medium
enterprises, during the Arab economic summit
that was hosted by Kuwait in 2009, with aim of
helping youth across the Arab world.
– His Excellency Abdulkadir Amin Sheikh,
T
he UN’s decision to name His Highness
the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah a humanitarian leader “is a
great honor for the world to have,” said Somalia’s
Ambassador to Kuwait and Dean of Arab
Diplomatic Corps, Abdulkadir Amin Sheikh. The
ambassador said, “It is an honor for the Arab
and Islamic worlds that His Highness the Amir
Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah be
chosen a ‘humanitarian leader’ by the UN for his
great efforts in the philanthropic domain.”
Pointing
out
that His Highness
the
Amir
has
been known for
many years for his
assistance to needy
people
around
the world, chiefly
towards his own
country, Somalia,
the
ambassador
recalled
His
Highness the Amir’s
initiative in 2012 to help the people of Somalia,
who were suffering from famine at the time.
The diplomat added that the Kuwaiti convoys
were the first ones to have reached the country
as the security situation there was very hectic
and dangerous. He praised “the courageous
initiatives” of the Kuwaiti humanitarian aid
convoys, which did not hesitate to extend a
helping hand despite the worrying security
situation, thanks to the wise directions of His
Highness the Amir. Other convoys from the rest
of the world started arriving after the situation
had eased a bit.
Kuwait is a leading nation in its humanitarian
efforts, and never hesitates to offer a helping
hand to impoverished people around the world
under His Highness the Amir’s instructions.
He added that His Highness the Amir’s wise
leadership and status and his appreciation by
world leaders have all contributed to him being
labeled ‘dean of international diplomacy’.
Other factors that have contributed to His
Highness the Amir being granted this high-
ranking international attribution were due to his
“balanced policy, based on non-interference in
the internal affairs of others,” he also affirmed.
He recalled when world leaders had stood for
His Highness’ speech, thus, making his word
heard. He also recalled His Highness the Amir’s
initiative when he invited the African and Arab
Hamad Al-Omar Al-Omar, the Deputy
which His Highness launched development
initiatives, constitutes a clear indication of
his distinguished role and his keenness on
alleviating peoples’ humanitarian hardships,
improving living standards and combating
poverty, he said.
Al-Omar lauded HH the Amir’s countless
initiatives, namely his proclamation of a program
for funding development ventures in non-Arab
Asian nations where he declared a contribution
of US$300 million in this program.
Director General for Administrative and
Financial Affairs at the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab
Economic Development, said His Highness the
Amir’s directions, his humanitarian initiatives
across the world, in addition to the Fund’s
role, contributed to improving living conditions
for many individuals, helped in creating job
opportunities, limiting poverty and famine
as well as boosting development objectives.
Kuwait’s hosting of many conferences, during
leaders to attend the previously-concluded
3rd Arab-Africa Summit in Kuwait, in which
some 90 percent of African leaders and their
representatives had attended, describing the
attendance as “record breaking”.
Sheikh spoke highly of His Highness the
Amir’s being granted an “honorary membership”
of the African Union, thanks to his great role and
efforts in narrowing the gap between Africa and
the Arab world.
He expressed hope that a not too distant
visit to Somalia by His Highness the Amir
would materialize, particularly after the security
situation calms down, recalling His Highness the
Amir’s past frequent private visits to Somalia.
Sheikh said that the Somali people will always
remember the huge contributions made by the
State of Kuwait as directed by His Highness
the Amir that included the construction of
schools, hospitals, roads and the provision of
humanitarian supplies for the Somali people.
4
A
Local
Al Mulla Exchange presents ‘Sufiyana Safar’
— a spellbinding repertoire of Sufi songs
l Mulla International
Exchange, the premier
money
remittance
company in Kuwait, organized
two evenings of entrancing Sufi
songs and music at the Safir
International Hotel in Bneid
al Ghar on Friday, 22 and
Saturday, 23 August.
The chief guest on the first
evening was Mohamed Hassan
Wazir, Charge d’ Affaires
at the Pakistan Embassy in
Kuwait, and on the second
day, the honored guest was
leading Indian businessman
and Honorary Chairman of the
Indian Business Council, S.K.
Wadhawan. A large gathering
of over 1,200 music aficionados
from India and Pakistan graced
the occasion on both days.
Al
Mulla
Exchange’s
‘invitation-only’ event, aptly
named ‘Sufiyana Safar’, was
a
transcendental
journey
through the realms of traditional
Sufi songs with overtures of
contemporary music. The Sufi
melodies, taken to heights
of perfection and flawlessly
executed by the talented
duo of Deepali Somaiya and
Samir Date, drew unreserved
applause from the audience.
The seamless blend of classical
musical instruments, such
as the flute, table and dholak
that are normally associated
with Sufi songs, with the more
modern-day sounds emanating
from the guitar and electronic
keyboards, held the listeners
enthralled on both days.
The exclusive cultural and
informative events organized by
Al Mulla International Exchange
are part of the company’s
ongoing customer outreach
program that has seen more
than 80 such events organized
Peace in an age of Extremes
Continued from Page 1
find an effective approach. Some have even
sought to prolong conflicts, believing that to do so
serves their national interests.
Clearly, the focus on national interests is
inadequate to temper religious extremism, limit
human suffering, and prevent the deterioration of
societies. Given the factors fueling today’s turmoil
– Islam’s struggle with modernity, irrational belief
in the efficacy of force in solving problems, and
widespread fear, often stemming from religious
differences – addressing the greater Middle East’s
myriad problems begins with religious, not political,
leaders. Of course, Islam is not the only religion that
has struggled with modernity. In fact, nearly all of
the major faiths – from Judaism to Christianity to
Confucianism – were born of a desire to preserve
an established sociopolitical order. (The notable
exception is Buddhism – more a philosophy than
a religion – which emerged from a rejection of the
unequal and violent structure of Brahman societies.)
But, as stubbornly as religious leaders
resist change, the forces of economic and
social development are unstoppable, and the
transformation of relationships among genders,
generations, and classes is inevitable. Other groups
have reconciled with this immutable reality more
quickly than Islam.
The Jews, who long lacked their own territory,
found modernity elsewhere, then brought it to
Israel. In China, though clerics and soldiers blocked
development for centuries by forbidding any external
contact, the rise of an anticlerical regime finally
opened the way for modernization. And, following
a long and difficult struggle, Christian leaders
ultimately acknowledged the need for reform.
For Islam, that step has been far more difficult.
Political and military rulers have managed to rally
Islamic clerics behind opposition to religious reform,
silencing anyone who dared to defy them. This
constrained social, political, and economic progress
for many Muslims, especially women.
Making matters worse, in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, much of the Muslim world
was subjugated by European imperial powers.
Unsurprisingly, this humiliation fueled rage within
increasingly fragmented societies, with some
groups concluding that they must wage a holy war
against the Western infidels.
Nonetheless, in countries like Iraq, Syria, and
Egypt, secular powers enabled the cohabitation of
believers, at least for a while. Lebanon’s Western
colonizer, France, actually managed to engage
each religious community in an agreement for stable
cohabitation – a scheme that inspired similar efforts
in Algeria and in Iran under the Shah.
But, for Western powers, particularly the US,
preserving these delicate arrangements has taken
a backseat to strategic interests, particularly access
to the region’s oil. If these countries were, as their
governments claimed, seeking to improve the lives
of Arab populations, they would have promoted
cohabitation, secularity, and stability. Instead,
they launched destabilizing military interventions
under the false pretense of advancing democracy,
upending the fragile balance among religious and
ethnic groups in countries like Iraq and Syria.
As a result, Sunni-led governments that had
enjoyed Western support in exchange for generous
oil deals – notably, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – became
enemies of the Shia and their quest, backed by Iran,
to regain their dignity and identity. Russia, with its
9.4 million Muslims, also supported the Shia, hoping
that their rise would undermine the West’s influence
in the Arab world.
As the Islamic struggle against modernity has
led to conflict, Israel’s embrace of economic,
technological, and social progress has enabled it
to win five wars, without ever having to negotiate
a peace agreement. For Israel, fear is essential
both as a source of motivation, owing to its position
among Arab countries, and a source of protection,
through its status as a clandestine nuclear power.
But, as the recent eruption of violence in Gaza
demonstrates, there is a limit to the capacity of
fear to deter conflict. In many cases, it even fuels
more violence. Likewise, as the ongoing struggles
in countries like Syria and Iraq highlight, the use of
force is not an effective problem-solving strategy.
Though carefully calibrated force can, at times, curb
the human costs of a conflict, what is really needed
is compromise, based on the understanding that a
stable and conflict-free environment is in everyone’s
interests. Before any political compromise can
occur, however, a degree of religious reconciliation
is needed. While leaders seem to be increasingly
willing to communicate with one another, there has
been little talk of peace. It is time for believers to
pester their clerics – and non-believers to hound
those who believe – to provide what no politician
can: an injunction to respect all people, regardless
of their beliefs.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2014
Publisher & Editor-In-Chief
Tareq Yousuf Al-Shumaimry
[email protected]
in the past. This highly
appreciated initiative provides
their valued customers with an
enjoyable social experience
that
transcends
business
relations and helps cement
ties between people on a more
individual and personal level.
Al
Mulla
Exchange’s
commitment to providing the
best money transfer solutions
and unique customer services
has resulted in them being
recognized as one of the
leading companies in their
field in Kuwait. Reinforcing
their top ranking, last year, the
company remitted in excess of
US$1.2 billion only to India; this
accounted for over 40 percent
of all remittances from Kuwait
to India, and was two percent
of the total remittances into
India globally.
Since its inception in
2001, Al Mulla Exchange has
revolutionized the exchange
industry
in
Kuwait
with
their cutting-edge money
transaction technologies and
customer-centric
remittance
solutions.
Besides making
money transfer a swift, safe
and secure experience for
customers, Kuwait’s premier
exchange also offers the
facility to send money from the
comfort of one’s home or office
through their online service at
www.amxremit.com.
VIVA honors top 20 players in
Manchester United Soccer School
V
IVA, Kuwait’s fastest-growing and most
developed telecom operator, organized
a ceremony to honor the 20 players,
who visited and practiced at Manchester
United’s Cardington training ground, upon
their return to Kuwait. The ceremony took
place on Wednesday, 20 August 2014 at its
headquarters in Olympia Towers.
Recognizing their efforts during the
training course, Eng. Salman Bin Abdul Aziz
Al Badran, VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer
at VIVA, said: “We are very proud of each
and every player who went to MUSS and
demonstrated their skills, and particularly the
seven talented players who were honored by
the distinguished MUSS coaches. The young
Kuwaiti athletes have demonstrated their
abilities throughout the training program, and
to have seven of our players selected and
Managing Editor
Reaven D’Souza
[email protected]
honored by MUSS coaches makes us all very
proud. We were pleased to support all these
young athletes in bringing them closer to
their dream of becoming professional football
players.”
P O Box 5141, Safat 13052, Kuwait
Tel : 24814404, 24810109
Fax : 24834815
Email : [email protected]
Printed in: Arwa Universal Printing Press
Local
5
Cuban embassy celebrates birthday of Fidel Castro
H
is Excellency Andres Garrido, Ambassador of Cuba to Kuwait, held a reception at the chancery to mark the birthday of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Members of La Colmenita, the renowned children’s
theatre group from Cuba, who were present in Kuwait at the invitation of Kuwait National Council for Arts & Letters, attended the celebrations and performed to the delight of the invitees.
S
Over 428 bank accounts hacked in Kuwait
ecurity sources said that many bank accounts were
hacked and money was stolen lately, but authorities
following the matter kept it under the lid. They said
the latest investigations revealed that the number of stolen
accounts is over 428 and the amounts vary from one
customer to another, reports a local daily.
The sources said the hacking was done by an innovative
method and it was discovered a month later, as several
customers were complaining that there were withdrawals
through their cards and they did not know about them.
Investigation showed that most of the victims used the
same ATM in Salmiya. Investigations and review of security
cameras tapes showed that there was a small scanning
device in the ATM machine which scanned the card
information as well as the PIN of every customer who used
the machine. They added that after scanning, the information
was sent to a person in the Dominican Republic, who forged
the cards and withdrew money through ATMs there.
Investigations revealed that the network has three
members, all Bulgarians, who came to Kuwait a few
months ago, adding that the number of Kuwaiti victims is
low, as most of the affected accounts belong to expatriates
– Egyptians, Iranian, Lebanese and Indian – and it is
known that salaries of expats are low, and savings are not
much, and that is why the gang selected Salmiya for its
operations.
Local
6
Indian Embassy to close on Onam
T
he Embassy of India will remain closed on Sunday, 7 September
2014 on account of Onam. However, needed/emergency services
relating to Consular, Visa and Labour wings would be available to the
visiting service seekers.
Over three million Syrians seek
Dasman Diabetes Institute and Medtronic
Mediterranean sign a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’
D
asman Diabetes Institute (DDI), an affiliate of
the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of
Sciences, is pleased to announce the recent
signing of an MoU with Medtronic Mediterranean, one of
the world’s leading developers and providers of service
models for the treatment of chronic diseases and who
have been active in the field of Diabetes Management for
the past 25 years.
The scope of this potential collaboration aims at
U
improving the training and education of healthcare
professionals, organizing medical scientific seminars and
workshops including insulin pump schools and patient
camps; in addition to cooperating on possible clinical
trials for Diabetes therapies.
This collaboration will enhance and widen the scope of
the training and education aspects of the work of DDI in
its mission to mitigate the impact of diabetes in Kuwait and
improve the quality of life in the population.
refuge outside the country
millions displaced within Syria, it means that “almost half of all Syrians
have now been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives,”
the report said. “The Syrian crisis has become the biggest humanitarian
emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of
refugees and the countries hosting them,” Antonio Guterres, UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement.
False allegation against the safety
of Lipton tea bags in social media
nilever would like to inform consumers that in the
last few weeks, videos defamatory to the Lipton
brand have been circulating in different social media
channels in the Middle East.
These videos falsely show the
existence of foreign bodies in
the shape of a medical tablet
inside a Lipton tea bag.
In response to these
videos, the Abu Dhabi
Food Control Authority has
conducted an investigation,
including
a
physical
examination, and issued a
statement on 17 August 2014
confirming the lack of any
impurities/foreign bodies in
Lipton tea bags. Kindly note
that the above issue is also
currently being investigated
by the authorities in Saudi Arabia. As the leading
tea brand in the region, Unilever invests heavily into
their quality and production processes to ensure
they deliver the best product to their consumers. The
Lipton Jebel Ali Factory, which supplies tea to the
region, is Unilever’s second largest tea manufacturing
plant in the world. The factory
utilizes state-of-art machinery,
and employs rigorous quality
control
processes
and
standards. It has received
a number of certifications
and international recognition
for its quality standards and
consumer safety.
The factory has also been
the recipient of the prestigious
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum (MRM) Business
Award, not once, but twice
(2008 and 2014) for its
performance and operations.
It is thus with great confidence
that Unilever can state that it is impossible for a foreign
body of any nature to enter a Lipton tea bag during
production.
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who serves as UNHCR special
envoy, said in a separate statement: “Three million refugees is not just
another statistic. It is a searing indictment of our collective failure to end
the war in Syria.”
Besides the 2.6 million refugees registered in neighboring countries of
Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, there were over 215,000 Syrians in Iraq and
a significant number in Egypt and other countries. But there are worrying
signs that the journey out of Syria is becoming tougher for desperate
families, it said.
Some areas of Syria are emptying out as the front lines in the conflict
shift. “Recent arrivals to Jordan, for example, are running from attacks in
the areas of Al Raqqa and Aleppo,” the UNHCR said, referring to northern
areas of Syria controlled by ISIS militants.
Contracts for new medical facilities
to touch US$10 billion by end of 2014
medical and allied services vendors in
the coming 5 to 10 year period. According
to the plan approved by Kuwait’s Ministry of
Health, eight new hospitals and extensions
with an allocated budget of $1 billion
will be constructed in the coming 5-year
period. In addition, the Ministry of Public
Works has dedicated a budget of USD 4.19
billion for a further nine new hospitals to be
established in the country. This initiative by
the government is expected to create an
additional 3,334 hospital beds in the public
sector and an estimated number of 15,000
healthcare professional positions in the
country.
Kuwait, as elsewhere in the GCC, has
one of the highest incidences of diabetes
in the world, with some 26 percent of the
population suffering from the disease. Up
to 80 percent of Kuwaitis are classified
as overweight or obese, a problem that
easily leads to cardiovascular disease and
other adverse complications. It is in this
regard that apart from building new health
facilities, recruiting new staff and training
others there has also been an increasing
drive to reinforce health awareness through
schemes aimed at prevention rather than
cure.
Since 2009, the focus of the
government’s healthcare agenda has
been on enhancing the quality of medical
services in the country and encouraging
private sector participation and investments,
aimed at improving medical infrastructure
and services in Kuwait. Additionally, the
government is keen to facilitate all measures
needed for organizing work in the hospitals
according to the best standards while
preserving quality service in the medical
field. Global firms have been continuously
invited to partake in the country’s
healthcare infrastructure development and
upgrade healthcare service delivery.
Meanwhile, Dubai plans to attract
500,000 patients for treatment by 2020
as part of its drive to become a center for
medical excellence in the region and bring
a new stream of visitor revenue, according
to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).To
cater for these patients, the DHA said, 18
private and four public hospitals will be built
over the next few years.
The UAE has doubled its healthcare
budget since 2007 and currently ranks
among the top 20 destinations for medical
tourism. The country spends 3.3 percent
of its GDP on healthcare, the third highest
in the GCC. According to Alpen Capital
Investment Banking, the UAE’s medical
tourism sector drew revenue of $1.69 billion
in 2013.
Visa rules in the UAE were changed
to help encourage medical tourism,
simplifying the process for patients to
access the country. Dubai Tourism and
Marketing believes this market could be
worth as much as $30 million a year.
“The UAE spends an estimated $2
billion a year to send patients abroad for
treatment,” said Andy White, Group Event
Director of The Big 5, the Middle East’s
largest building and construction exhibition.
“Gulf countries are spending heavily to
ensure they can provide the best treatment
inside their country and, in the case of the
UAE, encourage medical tourists.”
“Rising populations and changing
demographics are creating a need for
more specialized facilities, and in turn
driving demand for more buildings. This is
providing yet another opportunity for the
region’s construction sector, and firms are
getting the chance to work on some of the
most exciting healthcare projects,” White
added.
Saudi Arabia is among the GCC
countries forecasted to triple healthcare
expenditure across the region, according to
Frost & Sullivan.
The Kingdom is spending more than $23
billion improving its hospitals and medical
facilities. One of the most high-profile
projects is the $1.7 billion King Abdullah
Medical City in Makkah that will have 1,500
beds in total, 500 of which are allotted for
specialist referrals.
Local
7
Pinoy Zumba lovers hit
150 attendees, hold
lunch program for shelter
Ricky Laxa
P
Staff Writer
inoy Zumba Lovers, an exercise group that convenes every Friday hit one
hundred and fifty three attendees Friday morning, making it the biggest
group class exercise in the country. The group, which promotes advocacy
in providing assistance to Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) or
shelter for distressed Filipino workers and undocumented children held its
first “lunch” program with the wards same day following the group exercise.
PZL Coordinator Editha Hael told The Times that the recent Friday
attendance of 150 was remarkable. “We share the court with basketball
games, so Philippine Amateur Basketball League Kuwait coordinator Mr.
Noel had to put the games on hold and give way for PZL attendees to
use the main court to accommodate the huge number of attendees. We
welcome other nationals from India, Sri Lanka and USA who also came to
Ambassador of Bangladesh pays courtesy
visit to the Prime Minister of Kuwait
A
mbassador of Bangladesh H.E.
Major
General
Mohammad
Ashab Uddin, ndc, psc, met His
Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlHamad Al-Sabah, the Hon’ble Prime
Minister of the State of Kuwait and
handed over an invitation from Her
Excellency Sheikh Hasina, Hon’ble
Prime Minister of the Government of
the People’s Republic of Bangladesh at
the Kuwaiti Prime Minister’s office on 24
August 2014.
H.E. Major General Mohammad
Ashab Uddin, ndc, psc was received by
His Highness the Prime Minister at his
office and exchanged words of courtesy
and pleasantries. The Ambassador
of Bangladesh extended his gratitude
for the call and expressed amicable
exercise with us, some even pledged to help in creating health awareness
and assist in any way they can. PZL advocacy to provide assistance for
distressed workers and undocumented children will continue and we invite
more people to come and share with us an hour on Friday,” commented
Hael. To add, Beverly Tonogbanua, Coordinator for Filipino Community said
that the collection of 1 KD per attendee is used to pay for the rent of the
space, and the remaining funds are directed to purchase items such as
milk and pampers for children in the Hateen shelter as well as other needs
for distressed workers. “It’s not that big amount we raise every Friday from
the registration, in fact the KD 1 donation is not compulsory, at times we
have over a hundred attendees, but the collection is lot less than that. This
is voluntary and the group has agreed not to impose,” added Tonogbanua.
Filipino Community Coordinator Bill Valenzuela also stated that more
officers and members from different organizations have started to support
the project; in fact several have attended the classes and pledged support
by promoting PZL’s activity on Friday among their members and officers.
PZL has also received support from different fitness instructors who
work in fitness centers and gyms in the country, in fact some instructors
have agreed to teach in coming days. Zumba certified fitness instructor
Blanche Bravo who currently works for Kuwait Oil Company Fitness Center
and Radisson Blu Hotel mentors PZL under her license as one of Kuwait’s
highest certified Zumba Trainer. “I am overwhelmed with the response PZL
receives from the public and we hope that others will be inspired to do the
same with their group activities. Small or big support is not what matters but
that chance to be a part of great project is the best reward one can have,”
added Bravo. PZL projects are on pipeline and will be announced in due
time. PZL extends its gratitude to Filinvest for their generous support in the
recent “lunch” program held at FWRC of the Philippine Embassy.
W
greetings on behalf of the Hon’ble Prime
Minister of Bangladesh to the Prime
Minister of Kuwait.
During the meeting, the Ambassador
reiterated the excellent bilateral relations
between Bangladesh and Kuwait since
the inception of Bangladesh in 1971,
and thanked the Kuwaiti Government
for reopening the Kuwait labour
market to the Bangladeshi manpower.
He urged the Kuwait authority to
recruit professionals such as doctors,
engineers, nurses, and technicians
from Bangladesh. The Bangladesh
Ambassador further mentioned that
to motivate the Bangladeshi nationals
to abide by the local laws, customs
and traditions, the embassy has been
carrying out a number of programs
including Bengali programs over
Kuwait radio. He reiterated that the
Bangladeshi community in Kuwait is
far more disciplined than before, and
they are proving to be a hardworking,
dedicated and law abiding work force.
His Highness the Prime Minister paid
a kind hearing to the Ambassador, and
also conveyed his heartfelt thanks for the
invitation of the Hon’ble Prime Minister
of Bangladesh. The Prime Minister
also expressed his kind intention to
visit the friendly country, Bangladesh
at a mutually convenient time. Among
the attendees, S.M. Mahbubul Alam,
Counsellor & HOC, K.M. Ali Reza, First
Secretary (Labour) and other dignitaries
from the Prime Minister’s office of Kuwait
were present during the meeting.
Expat kids act in Onam short film
hen on vacation, kids normally
do certain things: visit relatives,
re-explore their parents’ house and
go around visiting malls and shops.
This summer vacation was special for
three Hawally-based kids. They got a
chance to act in a short film on Onam,
Kerala’s harvest festival. The kids –
Cherish, Alma Trisa and Liva Maria
– all students of Indian Community
School, Salmiya, are thrilled about
their roles in a film that returns to the
past of a golden, legendary era that
proclaimed a beautiful, equal world.
This year, Onam falls on 6
September but the makers of Onam
Oru Orma (Onam, a Memory) released
the 19-minute film on YouTube after
its first public screening in Angamaly,
Kerala on 28 August. The story
unfolds through the memories of
Suresh Mookkannoor, a veteran, when
he is invited by Sathish Mambra,
representing a cultural organization
that is conducting Onam celebrations.
Kids gathering flowers to prepare the
traditional flowerbed to welcome the
good king Mahabali, elders presenting
new clothes, family vegetarian banquet
and the unity among all is beautifully
revealed through the skilled camera
work of Royta, the cameraman, who
also edited the film.
“My idea is to document Onam in
its originality,” said Sathish Mambra,
who wrote the script and lyrics.
The short film includes poetry and
folksongs within the details of the
traditions of Onam. The film is directed
by Prabhu Angamaly and is produced
by
Vipanchika
Sahithya
Vedi,
Angamaly while Christopher Kottackal
was the assistant director. Other
contributors are: Cast John Manjapra,
Arun West Koratty, Prabhakaran
Nayathodu, Binto Lonappan and
Anuja Velayudhan. Title animation by
bgm and Adithyan Suresh. Edakka
performance by Ramesh Kurup, and
Singer Durgadas set the musical tone.
8
Local
Indian workers arrested
for murder
H
Over a quarter of women divorcees
in Kuwait hold masters degrees
R
ecent statistics by the Ministry of Justice indicate that 28 percent of
women with divorce status hold a Masters, and 25 percent are Bachelor
Degree holders, while 21.8 percent are Diploma holders. The report also
added that the highest divorce rate among males in 2013 was registered
among the holders of intermediate certificate, with 27 percent of divorced
men having intermediate level certificate, followed by holders of Masters with
23 percent and then 22.4 percent of Bachelor holders. The report shows
divorce cases shot up from 6,672 in 2012 to 6,904 in 2013 representing a
3.5 percent increase with 232 cases, while the majority of marriages ended
in less than five years.
I
undreds of Indian workers in
Kuwait have appealed to the
government to secure the release
of 25 colleagues who have been
arrested on murder charges.
A video they sent out shows
them asking the Indian embassy
and the Indian and the Punjab
governments to provide legal
representation and secure the
release of the 25 laborers, reports
said. The laborers were allegedly
involved in a clash with Egyptian
workers which led to the death
of two Egyptians. The Indians
were subsequently arrested. It is
not clear where the incident took
place. The fight was caught on a
mobile camera.
National labor quotas increased in private sector
n a bid to increase the pace of ‘Kuwaitization’ and find private
sector jobs for over 100,00 citizens, the Cabinet has set
new percentages of national labor to be imposed on private
sector companies, said the Manpower and Government
Restructuring Program (MGRP) secretary general Fauzi Al-
Majdali. The Cabinet’s new decision increased the percentage
of national labor from 60 to 66 percent in the banking sector,
from 56 to 60 percent in communications, from 2 to 3 percent
in agricultural activities, from 15 to 20 percent in real estate
and from 16 to 18 percent in insurance.
Ice Bucket Challenge craze reaches Kuwait
T
he Ice Bucket Challenge, which is spreading throughout the world,
has reached Kuwait. Many local celebrities here have accepted the
challenge by dousing themselves and challenging others to do the same.
The ice bucket challenge has been spreading like wildfire on social media,
involving many people from political figures to celebrities. The activity
involves dumping a bucket of ice water on one’s head to promote awareness
of the disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and encourage donations
for research. Some do both – accept the ice bucket challenge and donate
something for ALS. A common stipulation is that nominated people have
24 hours to comply or forfeit by way of a charitable financial donation. The
craze is now doing the rounds of various expatriate communities in Kuwait.
Many have avoided wasting iced water for the challenge but are willing to
donate for the research. The Filipino community here has posted several
video clips on social media accepting the challenge.The ALS ice bucket
challenge reportedly has collected about US$88.5 million (and counting)
since it was launched weeks back.
Solid waste a growing problem in Kuwait
T
he World Bank has warned Kuwait that it ranks among the highest global
producers of solid waste. In a special report for Kuwait, the World Bank
noted that Kuwait produces 1.4 kg of solid waste per capita daily or around
two million tons of solid waste generated annually. The prevalent solid
waste disposal method in Kuwait is landfill burial. Despite being a small
country, there are 18 landfills, of which 14 sites are closed and 4 sites are
still in operation. These landfills act as dumpsites, rather than engineered
landfills. The report warned that total land area needed by 2020 as waste
dumping sites would read 5,433 sq kilometers, a potential problem for the
tiny emirate. The landfills have also not been divided according to types
of waste but instead are filled with all kinds of wastes, including municipal
wastes, food wastes, industrial wastes, construction and demolition debris
as well as 90 percent of Kuwait’s domestic waste. The government has
plans to build three new recycling plants to help tackle Kuwait’s waste
problem. The plants are to be constructed on the BOT (build, operate,
transfer) system that is part of the private-public partnership initiative of the
government. But a realistic timeframe for the plants’ construction remains
unconfirmed.
Over 2,500 companies referred to public
prosecution for visa trafficking
S
ocial Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Al-Subaih pointed out the
progress achieved in addressing the visa trafficking issue, saying
that several companies were referred to the public prosecution while
the ministry is waiting for investigation results before taking proper
actions. Nonetheless, the minister reiterated that resolving all those files
needs time “in order to come up with sound and precise solutions”, and
especially that the process of work regarding certain files is connected
to other state departments. Since assuming her position in January this
year, Subaih launched measures to identify and charge companies
accused of visa trafficking, such as using commercial licenses to run
a fake company and register labor forces. Over 2,500 companies were
referred to the Public Prosecution during the first half of 2014 on human
trafficking charges or for violating labor regulations, compared to only
around 250 companies throughout the past few years. Employers
convicted of human trafficking face jail terms ranging between 15 years
and life in prison. The ministry’s labor inspection department recorded
779 violations to the law that bans working outdoors during afternoon
hours in the summer. Inspection tours after June revealed that measures
were taken at 272 sites to protect 301 workers there, while 30 workers
in 12 sites continued to work in harsh weather conditions. The afternoon
ban ends on Aug 30.
Kuwait third ‘most livable’
Arab state – after Dubai and Doha
K
uwait ranked third after Dubai and Doha among Arab countries for
livability according to the annual ‘livability index’ recently published by
the intelligence unit of Economist magazine. The index took into account
30 factors spread across five areas related to things like safety, healthcare,
educational resources, infrastructure and environment in 140 cities.
While these three cities have improved in livability, other Arab cities have
declined, including Cairo, Tunis, Tripoli and Damascus.
Journey of Hope sets sail for Greece
K
uwait’s ‘Journey of Hope’ boat left the port of Palermo on 25 August
after a successful visit to Sicily Island, its second leg in Italy. The boat
is heading to Greece in an international tour to deliver a message to world
for benefit of persons with intellectual disability. Representatives of Mayor
of Palermo and Kuwait Embassy in Rome were on hand to see off the team
of the boat who tour 39 countries all over the world. Media in Italy paid
great attention to the team since their arrival here on 16 August. Kuwaiti
Ambassador to Italy Sheikh Ali Khaled Al-Jaber Al-Saba hosted a banquet
on Sunday in honor of representatives of the societies concerned with the
mentally disabled people and the delegation of the Journey of Hope. A film
screening too presented the idea of the Journey of Hope, the message it
convoys and objectives of the project, saying that Italy desires to take part
in such initiatives in the upcoming years.
India
9
Narendra Modi’s first 100 days
weren’t bolder
But next 100 could be different
Early next week, on 2 September, Narendra Modi’s government will be completing 100
days in office. Surprisingly – or, perhaps, not so surprisingly, given the media competition
to jump the gun even before the race begins - assessments are gushing in. The pink
papers, for example, are publishing CEO surveys on Modi’s 100-day performance when
we are still on the 95th day.
T
his quibble out of the way, I must admit
that judgment on the 100th day - Modi
will actually be in Japan on that day - is
unlikely to be significantly different from what
it is today. For we now have a fair idea of how
he handles things. Maybe we will see a slightly
more aggressive reformer after October when
some key assembly elections will be out of the
way, but given his 95-day track record and
12 years in Gujarat, one can be sure he is not
going to change his stripes all of a sudden.
At best what we may see is a quickening of
decision-making in the months ahead – till the
next political event slows things down again.
So rather than assess how he has fared
as Prime Minister, I prefer to assess what he
seems to be about, and what he may do in the
coming 100 days and beyond based on what
we now know.
#1: The first thing to realise about Modi
is that he is not a doctrinaire right-winger,
economically speaking, that is. He is not
going to dramatically reform labour laws (but
he will make some improvements), or cut
subsidies, or revise the Land Acquisition law
beyond a point (ie, he won’t scrap it). Nor is he
going to privatise public sector undertakings.
This is why he has disappointed almost all
the economists who were his ardent fans (Bibek
Debroy, Arvind Panagariya, Rajiv Kumar,
Surjit Bhalla, among them) till now. While
Debroy has assessed Modi’s performance
so far as “so-so sau din”, Panagariya prefers
to now pin his hopes for bold reforms in
states (he likes what Vasundhara Raje is
doing in Rajasthan). Bhalla is shaking his
head in disappointment, wondering where the
Modi he thought he knew has gone, and Rajiv
Kumar, who hasn’t given up hope, believes
Modi should now opt for “bold reforms”.
From what we have seen of Modi so far,
it is likely that he will not try and do anything
spectacular to earn the applause of fans
even after the assembly elections. He will
do reforms incrementally, speeding up when
politics is not a constraint, and slowing down
when it is.
Here’s what to expect after October
onwards: I believe that all changes in FDI
regulations (defence, railways, insurance,
etc), and small changes in labour and land
laws, will be pushed through in the OctoberDecember period. If the bills get shot down
in the Rajya Sabha, he will call a joint session
and get them through. As for subsidy reforms,
I believe diesel will be deregulated in a limited
way (oil companies can fix prices, but change
only by 50 paise a month, as now). Kerosene
and LPG will move towards direct cash
payments, but only in stages. Gas prices will
be raised by a smaller amount than what the
UPA has planned (not $8.4 per mmBtu, but
higher than the current $4.2), and fertiliser
and food subsidies will remain largely
unreformed for now. Sale of public sector
equity will stop well short of privatisation, but
their managements – especially banks - will
be strengthened with greater autonomy.
In short, Modi will be bold and decisive in
some areas, but not radical, in the next 100
days and beyond. Some of the bolder moves
may come in the budget of February 2015,
but only if Modi wins all the state assembly
polls between now and then.
#2: The second point to realise about
Modi is that he is trying to re-invent his
image. He began the process after the 2007
Gujarat elections, when he shifted focus from
Hindutva to development. Now, with Gujarat
2002 fading from public memory, he is trying
to cover his left flank completely before making
bolder moves to his right. Anyone who has
listened to Modi’s speeches after 26 May will
note that the poor are his new focus; his formal
agenda has turned soft around the edges:
financial inclusion, toilets for girls in schools,
sanitation, skill-building, e-governance. None
of these is controversial, and each of them will
yield economic dividends only after a huge
lag. Attacks from the Congress and the Left
are thus falling flat. They are upset that he has
stolen their clothes.
Modi is clearly trying to occupy the
centre of Indian politics first before moving
Right. However much this may distress his
supporters, politically this is the right thing
to do. You cannot build a long-term political
platform in India by being robustly Right-wing.
He is essentially building room for manoeuvre
on economic reforms by decisively looking
Left. He is leaving the pro-business talk
to Arun Jaitley, so that he has plausible
deniability if anything recoils.
In the coming 100 days and
beyond, Modi will alternate
between his political and
economic agenda. The economic
agenda will be prosecuted
largely by stealth – like previous
governments – but at a faster
pace. Modi’s first priority is
to make his political power
impregnable before moving
more decisively in the economic
and social spheres. In his view,
his hold on power is not yet
complete.
#3: Modi himself is pro-business, but
not necessarily pro-market. He is unlikely to
favour cronyism either. Being pro-business
has come to mean crony capitalism in India,
but Modi – contrary to his image - does not
encourage cronyism of any kind. Not among
politicians, nor among businessmen. He
has not gone out of his way to befriend any
businessmen (though they are trying their
damnedest to get close). Most businessmen
and journalists I have spoken to (and who
have better ears to the ground than me on
what Modi is about) tell me that he listens to
all, but does not let anyone control his actions.
He is a loner who likes control, and does not
like being controlled by anyone.
Modi is pro-business in the sense that
he wants to make it easy for all businesses
to work without red tape, not in the sense
that he is pro- any particular businessman
(though Adani is on everyone’s minds, I doubt
he dances to Adani’s tune). But Modi is not
necessarily pro-market; he may not let the
market decide prices, winners, or losers all
the time. He has a limited, but strong, belief in
the public sector, to the extent that he thinks
they can be run better. He does not believe
that they need to privatised. He will avoid that
– as long as it is possible. He may believe in
market pricing of goods only to the extent it
does not have to do with his social agenda
(hence his emphasis on food security, LPG
and kerosene subsidies for the poor, all antimarket policies). But if he opts for direct cash
subsidies, it would be pro-market.
Modi will focus on reducing red tape and
speeding things up for business, not change
the economy’s basic direction fundamentally.
He will be right-wing with a small ‘r’. The big
change has brought in is himself: business
knows that he will not do anything antibusiness.
social agenda to the states. True federalism
means not imposing an agenda from Delhi; it
also means voluntarily reducing the centre’s
powers in several areas and handing them
over to states. Will he do this? His stand on
toilet-building – lauded by one and all – is no
different from the Gandhi dynasty’s efforts to
push one-size-fits-all schemes like NREGA
and food security down all states’ throats.
Modi’s schemes will work only if states buy
into them. But Modi made no effort to get
that buy-in before announcing the schemes
on Independence Day, nor has he said
something to this effect: “This is my priority,
but states are free to set their own priorities
in this area.”
If he is a true federalist, in the coming 100
days Modi will push all central schemes down
to the states, saying here is the money, now
do what you need to. He will also tell states
that if you pass any law that conflicts with a
central law on the concurrent list, your law will
prevail in your state.
In the next 100 days, we will know whether
Modi is a true federalist or a centraliser. I
hope he is the former. His long-term success
depends on making India more federal so
that we have an effective centre and effective
states – even of the latter move at different
speeds.
#4: Modi has gotten off to a wrong
start with the judiciary. He will have to cool
things down to get his agenda going. The
government’s initial interactions and run-ins
with the judiciary – over the appointment of
Gopal Subramanium as Supreme Court judge,
and the enactment of the National Judicial
Appointments Commission Bills – have not
set the right tone. In many areas – from coal
block cancellations to the recomposition
of the wildlife board to the setting up of the
SIT on black money – the Supreme Court is
likely to try and set or influence policy. This
is bound to create executive-judiciary friction,
since the government cannot let the Supreme
Court enter the details of policy-making.
In the next 100 days, Modi will have to offer
an olive branch to the judiciary even while
asserting its legislative and executive rights.
It is not clear if he will do so.
#6: Modi is clear about India’s place
in the world. His has a broad ‘Look East’
policy, which means Japan, South-East
Asia and China are his inspirations and will
be his foreign policy priorities. This is why
his first big foreign trip outside the Indian
sub-continent is to Japan – a country he
truly admires and with whose current PM,
Shinzo Abe, he has a good equation. He
needs Japan both as a counter to China,
and as a source of investment funds for his
mega projects – including the Delhi-Mumbai
Industrial Corridor, smart cities and bullet
trains. He can also source funds from fundsflush China, but politically the relationship is
clothed in mistrust. Relationships with Asean
will improve, with Singapore being a key focal
point. The Smart Cities ideas will probably
have Singapore as model.
As for America, Modi will be pragmatic,
doing quid-pro-quo deals – in defence and
other areas. But the political relationship with
the US will be formal, not warm.
In the next 100 days, Modi will definitely
strengthen his ties with Japan and (possibly)
Russia, stabilise them with China, and have
a business-like relationship with the US.
Japan, US, Russia, and China will be his big
power priorities – possibly in that order. On
neighbours, despite his initial enthusiasm, we
will see only slow progress beyond Nepal and
Bhutan.
#5: Modi harbours an essential
contradiction within himself on federalism. As
a former Chief Minister, he believes in
federalism. But as a person he is a centraliser,
someone who likes to hold all the levers of
power. This is why the bureaucracy is more
important to him than fellow politicians. His
ability to control the political agenda, both
within his own party and outside, depends on
only one thing: his ability to talk directly to the
people over the heads of everybody. It is this
direct rapport that is the basis of his power.
Not for nothing did Pratap Bhanu Mehta
liken him to Charles de Gaulle, a Republican
Monarch of sorts. His power and authenticity
come from his plebeian roots and this aids
the concentration of power.
In the coming months, Modi will face
several contradictions as he tries to bring his
Bottomline: in the next 100 days, Modi
will move away from the political agenda to
the economic one. But he is likely to be less
radical and reformist that what his supporters
expect, but more pro-poor than what his
detractors paint him to be.
He will set the agenda on his own terms.
10
International
Norway avoids the Dutch Disease
T
Hugged by mountains and perched on a stunning coastline of fjords, Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, has picturepostcard views. As one of the centres of Norway’s booming oil and gas industries, it is also a very wealthy place. Yet there are
few displays of ostentatious spending - there are no supercars with tinted windows, no designer handbag shops, no queues
of people outside exclusive nightclubs and none of the symptoms of the dreaded Dutch Disease on the economy.
he term ‘Dutch disease’ originates from the
situation Netherlands found itself in, following
the discovery in the 1960s of vast natural
gas deposits in the North Sea. The newfound
wealth caused the Dutch guilder to rise, making
exports of all non-oil products less competitive on
the world market. Great Britain experienced the same economic
crisis in the 1970s when the price of oil quadrupled
and made it economically viable to drill for
oil reserves in the North Sea, off the coast of
Scotland. In less than a decade, Britain became
a net exporter of oil, but the subsequent rise in
value of the British pound led to exports becoming
uncompetitive on the world market. The drought
in exports combined with the demand for higher
wages by British workers resulted in a severe
recession.
That Bergen and Norway have avoided the
Dutch Disease from impaling its economy is in
large measure due to the sagacious decisions
made by past and present governments, as well
as general attitude and egalitarian disposition of
the Norwegian people.
Today, Norway ranks as the second-wealthiest
country in the world in monetary value, with the
largest capital reserve per capita of any nation
and a standard of living that is among the highest
in the world. The country is the world’s fifth-largest
exporter of oil and the third-largest exporter of
natural gas. Export revenues from oil and gas
constitute more than 20 percent of GDP and
account for almost 50 percent of the country’s
total exports.
While other countries have struck oil, and then
binged on the revenues, by contrast, Norway
continues to invest its oil and gas money in a
giant sovereign wealth fund called ‘Government
Pension Fund – Global’. Created in 1995, the
Fund is financed by oil revenues, including taxes,
dividends, sales revenues and licensing fees.
The fund, worth about US$800 billion at last
count, owns one percent of the entire world’s
stocks, and is big enough to make every citizen
a millionaire in the country’s currency, the kroner.
In effect, it is a giant savings account. The fund
not only helped to reduce the new oil and gas
revenues from overheating the economy, it also
minimized uncertainty from volatile oil prices and
provided a cushion to compensate for expenses
associated with the ageing of the population.
So, there was no spending bonanza for Norway.
In fact there is a closely followed guideline that
only 4 percent of the surplus from the fund is
spent or invested in public projects. And most
Norwegians are seemingly very content with this
arrangement- according to a 2012 study by New
York’s Columbia University Norway is one of the
world’s happiest countries.
“We had to invest a lot of money before we
could spend anything,” says Prof Alexander
Cappelen, from the Norway School of Economics,
explaining why the country has apparently avoided
the pitfalls of vast wealth. “In other countries the oil
is much easier to extract, so they got the money
straight away. We were put in the right mind-set by
knowing it was a long-term plan.”
“Actually we are spending less than 4 percent
currently - we are saving,” says Prof Cappelen.
There are several reasons, he says, why Norway
is happy to save its wealth and shrug off the
temptations of a luxury life.
As a result of social democracy and egalitarian
policies Norway is a homogenous society and has
built up an enormous level of trust. “For this kind
of system to work, you need to have an enormous
level of trust,” says Prof Cappelen. “Trust that the
money isn’t going to be mismanaged - that it’s not
going to be spent in a way you don’t like. “We
trust the government. We believe our tax money
will be spent wisely. Once you start trusting that
others are contributing their share then you are
happy to contribute yours.”
But what happens when the oil boom begins to
tail off? “Norway’s economy is in a very fortunate
situation. We are talking about a gradual shift
over the next few years,” says Norway’s Finance
Minister, Siv Jensen. “We have had a slower growth
in productivity over the past few years, and for this
government we have to look at a competitive tax
level and reducing red tape to attract investment.”
Norway also has a higher cost level than any
comparable country. Those costs can be quite
shocking for a visitor. In cafe overlooking Bergen’s
fish market, while sipping a cappuccino costing
almost $10, Tone Hartvedt from Business Region
Bergen explains that costs are simply comparable
to wages.
“It may sound surprising, but for us it is not too
expensive,” says Ms Hartvedt. “We tend to have
summer and winter holiday houses or cabins, and
we can afford life here. It is comfortable.”
Ms. Hartvedt added: “We pay our workers
a wage that means they have a good quality of
life. That is not so much the case in places like
London. Here we respect hard work, but we don’t
believe that the highest paid worker in a company
should earn vastly more than the lowest paid. This
does mean that some very talented people leave
for other countries where they will be paid more.”
While there is an inkling of concern for what will
become of Bergen, and Norway, when the oil runs
out - most Norwegians remain confident about
their prospects. “When the oil does run out, our
challenge will be to utilise our expertise and use
it in other areas,” says Dag Rune Olsen, rector of
Bergen University: “I worry we do not invest to a
sufficient extent in other ways to generate income
in the next decades. We are very well aware that
the oil and gas resources are limited, and at least
for Norwegian oil it will cost us more year by year
to extract the oil.”
Perhaps this awareness that it won’t last forever
goes some way to explain the second-hand
Volvos circling Bergen’s winding streets, rather
than the Porsches or Bentleys of wealthy parts of
London. Prudence and pragmatism rather than
posing seems to be the attitude.
Majority in the region
desire a greener lifestyle
D
oes your office recycle its paper waste? Do your colleagues
have an e-signature requesting you to consider the
ecological impact of printing emails and documents? Are the
reverse sides of A4 papers put to use? If so, you’re in good
company. A poll conducted by job site Bayt.com in MiddleEast and North Africa (Mena) revealed a desire in the region
to adopt a greener lifestyle, both at work and at home.
According to the poll, 72.5 percent of respondents
consider going green important, while a further 23.2 percent
consider it ‘moderately’ important. Almost 80 percent of
the respondents stated that they were concerned about
the environmental issues, such as pollution, conservation
of natural resources and so on, ‘to a large extent’. This
demonstrated that despite low awareness of technical
concepts such as carbon footprint (with only 27.7 percent
of survey respondents saying they are “very aware” of the
concept), there is a significant desire for Mena residents to
begin living more sustainably.
Only four in 10 (42.3 percent) of the respondents said they
use public transportation to travel to their workplace. And
according to the poll, 71.3 percent of respondents said that
renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy,
were the most up-and-coming technologies. Alternative fuel
vehicles, such as those run on electricity, will take off in the
future according to 16.3 percent.
“There seems to be growing awareness on the importance
of sustainability and green energy,” said Suhail Masri, VP of
sales at Bayt.com. “More than 40 percent of respondents
use public transportation to go to work. That’s a very positive
number. Also, imagine if alternative fuel vehicles were adopted
by the 39.3 percent of respondents who drive themselves to
work. It could mean significant carbon savings.”
When at work, more than half (52.3 percent) of the
respondents said they reuse items rather than throwing them
away. Paperless offices are popular with 49.1 percent saying
they are encouraged to use email or online resources all the
time rather than printing out documents. And 30.2 percent
said they are ‘sometimes’ encouraged to do so, though
they still rely heavily on printouts on certain occasions, 20.6
percent said they are required to have hard (paper) copies
for everything. Recycling bins are provided in 43 percent of
Mena offices, and seven in 10 (66.4 percent) respondents
said they recycle paper at work, while 49.8 percent recycle
paper while at home. Eight in 10 (83.7 percent) claim to
use energy-saving lights at home, and 71.2 percent of the
respondents claimed that their companies use energyefficient lighting for the office. Also, 57.8 percent respondents
said they put their computer into sleep mode when not using
it. Data for the Bayt.com ‘Green Workplaces in Mena’ poll
was collected online from June 24 to August 12, 2014, with
7,925 respondents from UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman,
Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco
and Tunisia.
Issues
11
The overstretched West
Joschka Fischer
Germany’s foreign minister and vice
chancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a
leader of the German Green Party for
almost 20 years.
The chaotic consequences of the gradual
disintegration of Pax Americana are becoming
increasingly clear. For seven decades, the
United States safeguarded a global framework,
which – however imperfect, and regardless of
how many mistakes the superpower made
– generally guaranteed a minimum level of
stability. At the very least, Pax Americana was
an essential component of Western security.
But the US is no longer willing or able to be
the world’s policeman.
T
he staggering accumulation of crises and conflicts facing
the world today – in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Gaza, and Libya –
are linked to America’s new stance. Should matters come
to a head in another seismic zone of world politics – namely, East
Asia – the world would confront a global catastrophe stemming
from the synchronicity of numerous regional crises. Obviously, it
would be a crisis that no one could control or contain.
The bipolar world of the Cold War is history; George W.
Bush squandered America’s brief moment as the only true
superpower. Economic globalization has so far not given rise
to a framework for global governance. Perhaps we are in the
middle of a chaotic process that will lead to a new international
order – or, more likely, we are only at the beginning of that
process.
The debate about a future global order is taking place
primarily in the West – specifically, North America and Europe.
With the emerging powers largely trying to adapt their strategic
positions to their national aspirations and interests, they are
unwilling or unable to articulate the ideas and binding rules
that should underpin a new international order.
What, for example, does a Chinese or Indian formula for
a new global order look like? (In light of events in eastern
Ukraine, it is perhaps advisable not to inquire too closely
about Russia’s views.) The old transatlantic West seems to be
alone in this respect, and therefore remains indispensable to
preserving global stability.
And yet the frequency of crises has also revived in Western
countries an old, fundamental normative conflict between
idealism and realism, or a value-based and an interest-based
foreign policy. Though it has long been clear that Western
polities rely on both, the contrast, however artificial, is now
front and center once again.
The crisis in Iraq, and the horrific violence of the Islamic
State (IS) there and in Syria, is largely the result of the West’s
non-intervention in the Syrian civil war. The foreign-policy
“realists” opposed a supposedly idealistic “humanitarian”
intervention. The results are now clear: a humanitarian disaster
and a grave challenge to the Arab Middle East as it has been
constituted for the last century.
The controversy in Europe about arming the Kurds seems
bizarre in light of the situation in Iraq. Before our eyes, the IS
is threatening to kill or enslave all members of religious and
ethnic minorities who do not immediately convert to Islam or
flee. With the world watching the IS threaten genocide, taking
action is a moral duty. Questions regarding, for example, what
happens after the fighting ends to the weapons given to the
Kurds are of secondary importance.
In terms of realpolitik, this argument is strengthened by the
fact that Iraq’s national army is all but incapable of defeating
the IS, while the Kurdish militias could – but only if they are
equipped with modern weapons. A victory for the IS in northern
Iraq, or even just the capture of Erbil, the Kurdish Regional
Government’s capital, would cause not just an unparalleled
humanitarian disaster; it would also pose an enormous
political threat to the greater Middle East and world peace.
So the nexus between values and interests is self-evident and
renders the conflict over fundamental foreign-policy principles
irrelevant. This is particularly true for the European Union. A
Middle East with a brutal, unfettered terrorist state at its center
would be a direct threat to neighboring Europe’s safety. So
why not help those in Iraq who are willing and able to confront
this peril?
But if only the West assumes responsibility for maintaining
global order, won’t it become overstretched, given the number
and nature of the crises it faces? Most of these struggles are
not clashes between states; they are asymmetrical conflicts,
for which Western societies – including the US – are not
equipped. These conflicts are further exacerbated by the
ruthlessness that characterizes religious wars – just like
those in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
So, yes, the West does indeed face a high risk of becoming
overstretched.
But what is the alternative, other than accelerating
chaos, mushrooming security risks, and serial humanitarian
disasters? For the West – and for Europe first and foremost –
this dilemma cannot be avoided.
Today’s accumulating crises, accompanied by America’s
strategic fatigue, are forcing Europe to define what role it will
play in the future of Western – and global – stability. If the US
can no longer bear the burden of Pax Americana, Europe must
do more for collective security. But Europe cannot assume
greater responsibility for global order and stability without
unifying politically. Unfortunately, too many European leaders
cannot – or will not – understand this.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2014
12
Destination
WEST AFRICA
IF THERE IS ONE PLACE WHERE THE PEOPLE PUSH THE USUAL AFRICAN ATTRACTIONS INTO A BLURRY BACKGROUND, IT IS WEST
AFRICA. MUSIC SETS LIFE’S RHYTHM HERE; WEST AFRICANS BREATHE IN THE SULTRY AIR AND EXHALE THEIR SOUL’S SONG.
SENEGAL
RANDOM FACTS
•
•
•
•
•
The annual Magal pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba
attracts some two million people.
Dakar is one of West Africa’s coolest spots, with average
temperatures at around 260C. In the north and east, it
can get much, much hotter.
An estimated three million Senegalese live abroad.
Greater Dakar is estimated to have around three million
inhabitants.
Renting an apartment in one of Dakar’s chic
neighborhoods for a month could easily set you back
US$3000
TOP FESTIVAL
Between solitary plains in the north and lush
tropical lands in the south, Senegal’s hectic
capital Dakar is a fine slice of urban Africa,
perched on a beach-lined peninsula.
Capital City:Dakar, Population: 12 Million Area: 196,190sq km,
official language: French
LANDSCAPE
MARKETPLACE
W
hen you see the gleaming four-wheel drives on the streets
of Dakar, you might be tempted to think that Senegal is
doing reasonably well economically, but a short stroll through the
heaving urban suburb of Pikine or a tour around the country’s rural
communities will quickly dispel that idea. With a GDP per capita
of around US$1800, Senegal is still one of the poorest nations in
the world. The most important branches of its economy are the
groundnut industry and fishing, which are closely followed by the
growing area of tourism.
S
enegal is a patchwork of classic African landscapes. Northern
Senegal lies just south of the Sahara, and the deserts hot,
dusty breath leaves its mark. In the south is the Casamance,
a lush zone of tropical forests and swelling rivers. West are the
beaches of the Atlantic coast; eastwards, towards the Malian
border, are flat, dry plains dotted with mighty baobabs. The only
kind of topography missing is mountains —the country’s highest
peak, in the southeastern corner of the Bassari lands, looms a
whole 580 meters
I
n Senegal, and particularly in Dakar, one music festival
chases the next. But Dakar’s queen of festivals doesn’t
tease the ears so much as the eyes; the famous Dak’Art
Biennale is one of Africa’s main celebrations of contemporary
art, and it drowns the town in color. Hundreds of galleries and
public spaces around the city announce imaginative fringe
programs, featuring artists from across Africa. It is the only
time of year that Dakar counts more artists than street hustlers
among its population.
MUSIC
M
balax, the beat made famous by Senegalese icon Youssou
N’Dour, is the heart and soul of Senegalese music-and
its legs, thighs, hips and backside, too. Created from a mixture
of Cuban beats and fiery sabar drumming in the mid-1970s,
mbalax in its myriad transformations still dominates Senegal’s
dance floors and airwaves today - and if the gyrating bodies
in Dakar’s nightclubs are anything to go by, it will continue
to do so for some years yet. Even the vibrant local hip-hop
scene (think Daara J), the enduringly popular Afro-salsa led
by Orchestra Baobab and the quieter, guitar-strumming folk
and Afro-jazz troupes can’t rival the immense full-body love
the Senegalese have reserved for mbalax. If you’re ever on an
exploding Dakar dance floor, you’ll understand.
IN ART & CULTURE
•
•
•
NATURAL BEAUTY
PEOPLE
T
he Wolof are the largest ethnic group in Senegal, comprising
around 43 percent of the population, and unifying much of the
nation through their language and culture. Parts of the northern area
along the Senegal River are home to substantial groups of Tukulor
(12 percent) as well as smaller Soninke populations. The Serer (14
percent) are another important ethnic group, inhabiting large parts
of the Sine-Saloum Delta. The Casamance is dominated in the west
by the Diola (nine percent) and in the east by the Malinke (nine
percent) and Fulani (10 percent). Kedougou is the only area with
substantial Bassari and Bedik populations. More than 90 percent of
Senegal’s population is Muslim.
HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL
O
ver the centuries Senegalese lands have been home
to some of West Africa’s major empires, like the Tekrur,
Jolof and Mali. In the 15th century, lured by stories about West
Africa’s vast gold reserves, the Portuguese established a
trading post for goods and slaves at Ile de Goree, but soon lost
control of it to the French. The first French settlement in West
Africa, St-Louis in northern Senegal, later became the capital
of Afrique Occidentale Francaise (French West Africa). In 1960
president (and poet) Leopold Sedar Senghor led Senegal to
independence; governments have since changed twice in
peaceful and democratic elections.
S
enegal’s mighty Oiseaux du Djoudj National Park - a
16,000-hectare expanse of wetlands, marshes and mud
flats, cut through by numerous channels and lakes — is
the third-largest bird sanctuary in the world and one of the
best places on the planet to see migrant birds escaping the
European winter. A few kilometers further south, conveniently
close to the windswept Grande Cote, are the rolling desert
dunes of Lompoul. The Sine-Saloum Delta is another one
of Senegal’s impressive natural zones: the Saloum River
meets the Atlantic Ocean in a maze of mangrove swamps,
tiny estuaries, islets and lagoons.
URBAN SCENE
S
enegal isn’t a place for those in search of African stereotypes:
if it’s jungle, lions and elephants you’re after, the country will
disappoint. What it lacks in wildlife wonders, however, Senegal
more than makes up in urban excitement. Dakar is one of Africa’s
most vibrant capitals, a noisy, bustling, and yes, polluted bubble of
activity, where new fashion and music trends grow in a fertile soil
of underground creativity and casual self-confidence. The two best
places to discover the Dakar bustle are the heaving Dakar Plateau,
with its ever-expanding markets, and the quartier populaire Medina,
where tiny tailor shops and boutiques stacked sky-high with goods
compete for space with clapboard housing and street stalls. The
trade-off, of course, is having to negotiate the city’s permanent
gridlock and shake off overeager traders and smooth-talking hustlers
•
•
•
The entire catalogue of prolific film director Ousmane
Sembene
The Afro-eccentric fashion displays of Oumou Sy
So Long a Letter, Mariama Ba’s beautiful novel about
women in polygamous marriages
Immigres, an early, rumbling Youssou N’Dour hit that
shifted Senegal into the consciousness of African-music
lovers worldwide
The reverse glass paintings (sous-verre) of Sabacar La
The urban paintings of Senegal’s spiritual leaders Cheikh
Amadou Samba and Cheikh lbra Fail, which adorn wails,
cars, shop fronts and T-shirts across the country
ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCES
•
•
•
•
•
Diving into the noisy, colorful chaos of Dakar’s urban
markets, clutching fistfuls of CFA francs tightly
Being buffeted by the salty winds of the Grande C6te and
the sandy winds of the dunes of Lompoul
Catching mbalax fever on Dakar’s glittering dance floors
Hopping from one beachside fishing village to the next
along the Petite Cote
Enjoying the sweet solitude along the Senegal River
route, passing crumbling French forts and subdued
Sudanese-style mosques
IMPORTS
Cars
(if they’re less than five years old)
Overland motorcyclists
Former emigres
Dreadlock-shaking
djembe amateurs
French culture and cuisine
Lions and elephants
EXPORT
Some of West Africa’s finest music
Style
The art of seduction
Patchwork trousers
Presidential poetry
(Leopold Sedar Senghor)
Hospitality
BEST TIME TO VISIT: November - April
Travel
13
HONG KONG
A place with multiple personalities
If a place can suffer from multiple personality disorder, then Hong
Kong not only has multiple personalities but flaunts it too; nonetheless
people have loved the variety and vibrancy of this country.
T
he face of Hong Kong has the evident
features and looks of a Cantonese Chinese
while retaining sprinkles of freckles from its
ex-British influence.
Most people tend to recognize Asians from
the Far-East as people with small, almond
shaped eyes and divide them into just two broad
categories — the Chinese and the Japanese.
However, there are many people in the Far-East
and elsewhere who share those definitive eyes
but differ broadly in their ethnicity and languages.
For instance, the differences between the
Mandarin and Cantonese languages are as vast
as the anomalies of American to British English,
or of Portuguese to Spanish. As a matter of
fact, Hong Kong people humorously call the
Cantonese-Mandarin difference as “the chicken
talking to the duck” as they cannot understand
each other.
Self proclaimed Asia’s world City, it is a
unique destination that has absorbed people
and cultural influences from places as diverse
as Vietnam and Vancouver. Today, the former
British colony is a major tourism destination
for China’s increasingly affluent mainland
population.
Nothing but more than a harbor city, Heȏȗng
Góng in Cantonese means Fragrant Harbor,
the traveler weary of its crowded streets may
be tempted to describe it as Hong Kongcrete.
Yet, this territory with its cloudy mountains and
rocky islands is mostly a rural landscape. Much
of the countryside is classified as Country Park
and, although seven million people are never far
away, it is possible to find pockets of wilderness
that will reward the more intrepid tourist.
JAMES BOND OF HONG KONG
The urban area of Hong Kong Islands is the place
the British colonizers took as their own and so if you
are looking for evidence of the territory’s colonial
past, then this is a good place to start. Victoria was
once the colony’s capital but has been rebranded
with a more descriptive name, Central.
Seek a glimpse of Government House which
was formerly home to 25 British governors and the
ex-Chief Executive ‘Bow Tie’, Sir Donald Tsang. It is
now the residence of the man they call 689 (based
on the number of votes he received). When the
Brits left, it seems they didn’t actually do so without
leaving behind traces. If not the glamor of British
James Bond 007, the fascination of at least being
known by a three digit number in itself fetches
dramatized movie-like phenomena, moreover, in a
Cantonese political situation, fits perfectly.
HIP DISTRICT OF SOHO
Leading up from Central is the Escalator and the
Peak Tram. The famous escalator passes through
the hip district of Soho and takes you into the
residential neighborhood - Mid-Levels because
it is neither up nor down the mountain. Up top
is The Peak where foreign diplomats and business
tycoons compete for the best views of the harbor
from some of the most expensive homes to be
found anywhere. For hikers, nature lovers and
other adventurous folks: go up walking the Old
Peak Road which is steep at times, but from the
gardens it can be conquered all the way to the
Peak in about 30 minutes.
ATTRACTIONS TO REPULSE BAY
The southern side of the island is an up-market
residential area with views across the South China
Sea. Nothing like its name, Repulse Bay, the island’s
best beaches here make way for a more relaxed
pace of life than on the bustling harbor side of the
island. Wan Chai and Causeway Bay are the most
visited neighborhoods on the northern side of the
island. The Ocean Park here grew up with many
local Hong Kong people. With roller coasters and
large aquariums altogether, it is still packed on
weekends with families and tourists. The cablecar is an icon. For many, the chance to see Hong
Kong’s pandas is a deciding factor.
DISNEYLAND
AND PIRATES’S DEN
The outlying islands like Lantau hosts some
of the territory’s most idyllic beaches as well
as major attractions such as Disneyland
and the Ngong Ping cable car. Other
islands include Lamma, well known for its
seafood, and Cheung Chau, a small island
that used to be a pirates’ den, but now
attracts seafood aficionados, windsurfers
and sunbathing day trippers.
HOW TO DO
HONG KONG ON A BUDGET
OFFBEAT IS OFTEN IGNORED
The New Territories, so named when the British
took more land from China in 1898, lie north of
Kowloon. Often ignored by travelers who have
little time to spare, the New Territories offers a
diverse landscape that takes time to get to know.
Mountainous country parks overlook New Towns
that have a clinical form of modernity that has
attracted many to move here from mainland China.
Exploring this offbeat place, you will not find
many idyllic villages, but once you get over the
stray dogs and the ramshackle buildings it is
doubtless to find something surprising enough to
cause you to reach for your camera.
GETTING DOWN
TO THE NITTY-GRITTY
When to visit: October-December has
the least rainfall, less chance of a typhoon
(almost non-existent after October), less
humid and more sunshine.
The cultural activities in the autumn lasts
till the end of the year. Some of the festivals
include H.K. Arts Festival, Man Literary
Festival, H.K. International Film Festival and
the weekend of H.K. Rugby Sevens.
Christmas visit is beautiful; major
buildings facing the harbor and downtown
areas are decorated in Christmas lights to
add to the festive spirit.
‘The more the merrier’ does sit well to
this already crowded place because it
tends to get very difficult to find a table in a
restaurant during these festive holidays.
The horse racing season (SeptemberJuly) takes place twice weekly. One good
tip: bring your passport and get in at the
tourist rate of just HK$1.
Good News: most visitors do not need
to obtain visas in advance.
M̀ h’gȏi: Just one Cantonese word that
will go a very long way in Hong Kong. Learn
this word and you can use it to say please,
thank you and excuse me. M̀h’gȏi rhymes
with boy and should be said with a cheery
high tone rising at the end. Give it a go.
Cheap Eats: For a food fanatic, eating is a
pretty big part of travelling. An expensive city
paired with little budget would not mean much
fun at all. For breakfast, you might plan on
heading straight for McDonalds for coffee and
muffins every day but not if you end up getting
a room that has a fridge in it. Stock up on water,
snacks, juice, yoghurt, crackers and Laughing
Cow cheese, pastries, instant coffee sachets
and stuff for breakfast from Marketplace,
in iSquare just off Nathan Road. This saves a
lot of money, and it gets really relaxing to be
able to have breakfast in the room when you
wake up. For dinner, Pasiano, a popular pizza
chain gets you a giant delicious pizza and a
drink for HK$55.
The night markets have lots of cheap,
authentic food, and there are tiny little
restaurants scattered around selling bowls of
noodles for a few dollars. Hong Kong is also
home to the world’s cheapest Michelin starred
restaurant, a dim sum place.
Cheap Accommodation: If you are on a
backpacker budget, arriving in Hong Kong
can be a little off-putting.
Do your research early. Given the
astronomical prices, start to peruse a few
hostel websites. Beware of the websites
mentioning mansions with cheap prices.
Chungking Mansions and Mirador Mansions
on Nathan Road are definitely not mansions,
first of all. They are big high-rises which
are home to all the cheap accommodation,
lots of currency exchanges and other little
businesses.
Book your chosen accommodation for, say,
two nights, and then try your luck bargaining
when you need to extend. This often leads to a
far lower price than what is advertised.
Hong Kong Metro is delicate on a small
pocket plus it is a sure shot way to witness
the fashion sense of Hongkongers. Allowing
yourself a great time on travel without spending
a fortune is the sign of a smart traveler.
14
Women
Anuradha Koirala – fighting human trafficking
H
“I want a society free of human trafficking,” says Anuradha Koirala, the founder of Maiti Nepal, a shelter and home for Nepali
girls and women who are victims of domestic violence, trafficking and sexual exploitation. Loosely translated, Maiti means
“mother’s home”. It is a safe haven for those girls and women who have been rescued from brothels or taken from traffickers
during the daily patrols by police at crossing points along the India-Nepal border.
independent and reintegrate them into society.
Despite the danger they encounter in their
work, many of the rescued young women
decide to join Anuradha Koirala in her fight
against human trafficking. They go out to the
villages and run awareness campaigns to
educate women and girls about the tricks used
by traffickers. These well-dressed, friendly men
promise a great job in the city, but then sell them
as prostitutes or unpaid maids.
In 2010, Anuradha Koirala was voted CNN
Hero of the Year to honor her tremendous work
and tireless efforts in her fight against human
trafficking. To the victims at Maiti Nepal, she is
a friend, a sister, a mother – and she fills these
roles with all her heart.
“Just imagine what would happen if your
daughter was standing there. What would you
do, how would you fight? So you have to join
hands, you have to take each child as your
daughter. Soon you will feel their sorrow and
then you will feel the strength that comes out of
you to protect them.”
aving started Maiti Nepal 20 years ago,
in a small house in Kathmandu with her
own savings, today Koirala is a widely
recognized activist and lecturer who has
dedicated her life to combating the trafficking
and exploitation of women and children.
Through her organization, the former teacher
and daughter of an Indian Army Officer has
helped rescue and rehabilitate more than
12,000 Nepali girls and prevent 45,000 children
and women from being trafficked at the IndianNepal border since 1993. Hundreds of offenders
have been sentenced to jail through the joint
efforts of Maiti Nepal and the police.
Most of the rescued girls are traumatized
and will receive psychological and medical
treatment. Some girls are able to return to
their families while others become socially
stigmatized due to their work as prostitutes,
particularly if they are infected by HIV/AIDS.
These girls will stay at Maiti Nepal, go to school
and later work there. Maiti’s ultimate goal is to
help the girls and women become economically
A new nail polish challenges
date rape drug
F
Rise in ‘Halal Tourism’
A breath of fresh air for Muslim female travelers
A
ntalya in Turkey would not strike you
as an Islamic destination at all, with
its thousands of pubs and clubs and
hundreds of miles of beaches crowded with
men and women in their bathing suits.
But the concept of “Islamic tourism” is
on the rise, not only in Antalya but in many
other cities across Turkey. And an increasing
number of hotels are offering what are
called “halal holidays” - beach holidays in
accordance with Islamic values.
This place is probably the best in the
Islamic world to be completely relaxed - which
allows for particularly Muslim women to be
able to enjoy the beach and swimming without
worrying about people taking photographs of
them and ending them up on Facebook or on
internet.
Turkey has many of these “halal hotels”
with certificates given by the Malaysianbased World Halal Union. These kinds of
hotels have “Women’s section” which needs
one to pass through security to enter.
Massive luxurious swimming pools - all
segregated and only for women allow no
cameras or phones inside, you can see why.
Muslim women have let their hair down, belly
dancing to the rhythm of the music.
The number of halal hotels has risen
fast in recent years. When Turkey’s Islamist
government first came to power there were
just five of them. There are now as many
as 50, attracting approximately five million
tourists annually, most of whom are local.
With a global Muslim population of some
1.6 billion, the Halal hotel market is relatively
untapped. Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and
Morocco are amongst the biggest players.
our students at North Carolina State
University have developed a nail polish
that can detect so-called rape drugs by
changing colors when it comes into contact
with them. Women who
wear the nail polish can
simply swirl their fingers
in a drink to test it for
any colorless, odorless
compund that may have
been slipped in.
The
four
male
entrepreneurs
behind
the product, which they
call Undercover Colors,
have received mainly
positive
responses.
They won an $ 11,000
prize from a contest in
the campus and have
also met a potential
investor.
A White House report estimates one in
five women have been sexually assaulted
while at college, but only 12 per cent of
those student victims ever report the crime.
North Carolina State has encouraged the
students to continue pursuing their project,
providing them with lab space to experiment.
It is not clear when the nail polish will be
available on the market.
Women’s International Film & Arts Festival (WIFF)
T
he
Women’s
International
Film & Arts Festival is now
accepting films for the 2015
Festival and Conference scheduled
for 1 – 8 March, 2015. For the
10th Anniversary Celebrations
on 28 February, 2015, WIFF will
host an Opening Night Gala —
Conversations with Classic Women,
Film and Party.
The Women’s International Film & Arts
Festival (WIFF) is a unique, cultural event
featuring films, visual and performance arts
and other artistic expressions by women. It
is one of only two festivals in
the Southeastern United States
specifically dedicated to women.
Held annually during Women’s
History month, the event is
designed to celebrate women and
to help them realize their dreams,
visions, and voices. The events
bring together women from all
over the world to explore, share
and dialogue about issues concerning women
through arts. WIFF believes the images of
women on film directly affect how women are
perceived, valued and treated in society.
Entertainment
15
For the Love of Art, Creativity and Life
A
Adihex’s oldest and most popular competitions.
According to Abdullah Al Qubaisi, director
of Adihex, they are open to anyone from
anywhere in the world and the only condition
is that they have to depict an Emirati hunting,
equestrian or general heritage scene.
There is only one artwork allowed per
participant of maximum 120cm x 80cm size
for the painting and 42cm x 30cm for the
photograph, which should be submitted on a
CD in JPG format, and the quality should be no
less than 300 DPI.
Deadline for UAE residents is 28 August,
while submissions coming from oversees will
be accepted until 7 September.
The falcon, saluki and Arabic coffee
competitions will remain open until the day of
the competition, as many participants sign up
on the spot. So far 120 UAE firms have booked
a spot at this year’s exhibition.
bu Dhabi International Hunting and
Equestrian Exhibition (Adihex) reaching
its 12th year, will celebrate its dozen
editions with a matching dozen heritage
activities taking place from 10 to 13 September
at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
These include traditional performances,
equestrian shows, hunting and prey
demonstrations, camel auction, Nabati poetry,
a heritage village with live handicrafts making,
Emirati children games and all heritage related
competitions.
The Emirates Falconers Club and the
Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals
Committee in Abu Dhabi, who organize the
event, will give away over Dh500,000 to
the winners of Nabati poetry, Arabic coffee
brewing, photography, painting, best looking
falcons and best looking saluki competitions.
Photography and painting are among
Kuwait’s
Rebellious Face
TWO MOVIES TO WATCH THIS SEPTEMBER
S
B
tarts with a whimper and ends with
several bangs, passing umpteen
snores en route. Coming from director
and co-writer Julian Gilbey, who earned
broad acclaim for his handsome
Scotland-set kidnap thriller A Lonely
Place to Die in 2011, Plastic is plodding
and simplistic crime film with its slick
locations and action-moments. This
flashy British crime caper relies on the
charms of an attractive young cast,
including ‘Games of Thrones’ regular
Alfie Allen and ‘Downton Abbey’ co-star
Ed Speleers.
Preposterous and charmless, this
heist flick purports to be based on a
true story and hopes to invoke a Robin
Hood vibe, which many viewers did
not seem to buy. Nevertheless, Plastic
is an unpredictable, albeit convoluted
production that bears many twists and
turns for the audience to enjoy.
Artist Shurooq Amin
ased on Radical Comics’
Hercules by Steve Moore, this
ensemble-action film is a revisionist
take on the classic myth, HERCULES.
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Golden
Globe Winner Ian McShane, Rufus
Sewell, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan
and Academy Award nominee John
Hurt, the story is fairly straightforward,
and, more importantly, so is much
of the action. Director Ratner has
fashioned an adequate actionadventure around Johnson’s horseheaving he-man, a hero who’s still
larger than life. It’s the humanizing
of Hercules - demi-god, mercenary
and legend - as he combats betrayal,
treachery and revenge, that gives this
big budget spectacular an appealing
point of difference. Impressive in
production values, it looks great,
especially in 3D.
‘GCC: Achievements in Retrospective’
N
K
uwaiti/Syrian
mixed-media
interdisciplinary artist and an Anglophone
poet Shurooq Amin is renowned for
raising controversial questions via her raw
images and taboo subject matter. She has
been listed as one of Kuwait’s 45 most
inspirational people by Sheikha Intisar
Al-Sabah in her book The Alchemy of
Wisdom, and one of Kuwait’s 50 “Stars” by
Layalina. She is also listed as one of the five
“hottest” artists from the Middle East today
by Your Middle East journal, 2012. On 17
April, 2013, Shurooq was awarded the title
of Artist of the Year by the Arab Woman
Awards, Kuwait chapter.
Represented exclusively by Ayyam
Gallery, Dubai, her paintings can be found
at the Bayan Palace/Amiri Diwan in Kuwait,
the Museum of Modern Art (Kuwait) and
OPEC headquarters (Vienna). Some of the
paintings can be found in Paris, Sweden,
at local private companies, and in private
collections in New York, Damascus, Dubai,
Cairo, Amsterdam, London, Sweden,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait. 2013, the collective group of artists makes
use of ministerial language and celebratory
rituals associated with the Gulf to create
videos, photographs, sculptures, and
installations that examine the region’s rapid
transformation in recent decades.
Contemporary globalized capitalism
has developed a visual style all its own:
distinctive enough to immediately signify
taste and success, but bland and unobtrusive
enough to be inoffensive in almost every
context. It doesn’t matter whether one is
attending a conference in Dubai, sitting in a
London office or looking through an in-flight
magazine—the same homogenous aesthetic
of shining wood furniture, plush carpets and
well-groomed management consultants
seems to prevail.
GCC: Achievements in
Retrospective which has been on view at
the Queens Galleries in MoMA PS1 will run
through 7 September.
Emirates Bike Festival 2014
Let’s Ride to
Dubai
O
ne of the biggest
events in MiddleEast
‘Emirates
Bike
Festival‘ has opened
up tour registrations
for motor bikers and
biking fanatics till 30
September with a limited
tour capacity of 200
bikers.
With slogans
that go as “Wake Up the
Beast”, “Get Ready for
the Roadshow” and “Dare to... Lead!” the Festival has abundant
of reasons to push off in Dubai for four consecutive days from
16 through 19 December, 2014.
An international Judges
Committee would co-vet the competition winners for the best
modified motorcycle, covering 15 categories. The competition
is likely to feature hundreds of contestants on their roaring
Ahmadi Music Group
‘We’ll Build This City on Art
and Love’ – a new series for
2014 by Shurooq Amin – is
to be exhibited with Ayyam
Gallery, Dubai DIFC, on 14
September, 2014.
ew York’s MoMA PS1, one of the oldest
and largest non-profit contemporary art
institutions in the United States, is now hosting
‘GCC: Achievements in Retrospective’, the
first North American exhibition of the GCC.
An artists’ collective that takes its name and
inspiration from the Gulf Cooperation Council,
the GCC collective consists of a delegation
of nine artists, who mimic the economic and
political consortium of Arabian Gulf nations.
Founded in the VIP lounge of Art Dubai in
F
or their 60th Anniversary Season (2014-2015), Ahmadi Music
Group’s tentative plan spreads from November through April
with orchestras and performances.
The Ahmadi Music Group (AMG) is one of the longeststanding arts organizations in Kuwait, with concert records
dating back to the 1950’s. Originally sponsored by KOC, it held
its rehearsals in Ahmadi until a few years ago, but is now a standalone organization.
Despite its open-to-anyone structure for the active professional
musicians who live in Kuwait, both singers and instrumentalists,
the Ahmadi Muisic Group performs with the highest musical
standards.
In recent years, the Group has endeavored to contribute more
and more to the artistic and cultural life of Kuwait by performing
both significant choral works and also fully-staged opera.
16
Beauty
Remirx
you
e
m
a
g
k
c
i
lipst
Pinks, plums, berries, browns, burgundies, nudes — everything from white
to black and in between makes its way into your makeup bags on the neverending quest for the perfect color/price/formula trifecta.
O
wl Nail Art is a huge hoot, and it is very easy to create this
original design. Start off by selecting nail polishes in hot pink,
brown, black, turquoise blue and glitter purple. For this special
design, choose regular binder reinforcement stickers, and cut them
in half properly so it is easier to attach them to your cuticles. On to
the design tutorial:
Step by step: Paint 2 coats of turquoise blue polish and let your
nail dry or apply a thin layer of quick dry topcoat. Then, using a small
nail art brush, paint a branch using a dark brown polish. It doesn’t
have to be perfect. If your hand shakes a bit, no worries, because it
will create the natural bumps of the branch.
Place half of a binder enforcer sticker at your half-moon, taking
care to press firmly around the cuticles to prevent lifting. Paint a coat
of glitter purple, starting from the sticker, sweep straight down the
left side of your nail bed, stopping just above the tree branch. Then,
make another sweep filling in the right side of the nail; curve it at
around 3 quarter of the way down to make the side owl belly shape.
Quickly remove the sticker and your owl body is complete!
Using the end of the brush or a dotting tool, create the eye whites
of your owl. If your tool is not big enough for the size of eyes you
want, simply swirl it around until your dot is big enough. Tip: don’t be
afraid to dip your tool with polish more than once to get the shape
you want.
Using the same tool (or a smaller dotting tool), create the black
centers. The next step is to use the nail art brush to paint a beak in
a metallic polish. Next, paint the side wing with the hot pink polish.
Draw the little owl feet with black polish or acrylic. Finally, create
a secure topcoat for the ultimate smooth glossy finish that protects
your hard work. Voila! You can repeat these steps on all your nails,
and you’ll end up with your very own owl family!
N
ow you may not know it, but many makeup artists are
saying that any two lipsticks you own can be used
together in a magical chocolate-and-peanut-butter
kind of pairing. It just takes know-how to remix your lipsticks
with artist-level mastery. Lipstick lovers, here is how to up
your lipstick game to the next level.
Prime the canvas: First, make sure your lips look their best
before you go all crazy with a new signature color. Prep
your lips with a matte balm, nothing too glossy as you want
to create a primed, hydrated lip rather than a slick, too-shiny
surface. Also, blot your lips with a clean tissue before you
apply lip color. This way, you start with a great clean base.
Start with similar pairings: You can always start by mixing
two lipsticks in the same color family, but with different
textures and effects. The simplest way is to use one color
to alter another. One method is to start with a bright or
deep base shade applied to all over your lips, then use
a light or shimmering shade to highlight just the center of
your lips.
Go for the unexpected: You could mix an orange with a
pink to create a beautiful coral lip or take a nude lip and
add a pop of pink to make it a pinky nude. Apply both lip
colors directly to your lips and dab them with the pad of
your ring finger to blend. When it comes to your makeup,
don’t be afraid to be an artist. In other words, be brave,
be bold, and go to work. The most fun you can have with
mixing lipsticks is to combine two colors that are very
different from each other, as you will get some beautiful
and surprising new colors.
Add eyeliner to your lip game: Many pros add eye pencils
and gel eyeliners into lip products to get signature
hues that amp your lip color to fabulous. It is so easy!
Depending on your lip color, mix two lipstick colors with a
small amount of good quality gel liner. Mix them together
on the back of your hand using a lip brush to create a
creamy velvety texture and a beautiful new shade.
Depending on your natural lip tone, you may want more
lipstick or you may want more gel liner. How do you know
when you’ve got it? Start small and build, and soon you
can see the amazing results.
Do a test run: If you are not sure about your mixing skills,
all the instructors advise newcomers to mix the colors
on another surface before going for the lips. Invest in a
lip palette with several shades to choose from, then use
the colors in your mixing experimentation to see how the
custom color develops.
Anything is fair game: If you have a beautiful cheek
stain, try blending it with another lip color, or an
alternative is to add a dash of powder over your
lipstick to create a matte look. The best way to try
something new is just to try it.
Lazy girl’s
E
veryone has those mornings where you just don’t feel like
getting up and starting the day, let alone putting on makeup.
You are feeling a little lazy and unmotivated – but you don’t want
to completely forgo makeup altogether. In case you’re in that boat
today, and need some help, here are some minimalistic makeup
tips that will maintain your makeup routine without requiring you to
go full out at 6 am.
BB/CC Cream as Cover-up: The overall application
of cover-up can be the longest part of the
makeup routine. From moisturizer, to concealer,
to powder foundation, it’s no wonder you want
to skip out on your makeup. To sum up this part
of process, use a BB or CC Cream. It’ll work
as a moisturizer while applying a light layer of
coverage. It also adds a healthy glow to give you
a nice fresh-faced look.
Strategic bronzer: Applying bronzer in key areas
can make all the difference in very little time.
Just a swift sweep of the bronzer brush over
your temples, along the sides of your face and right under the
cheekbones is all it takes. This will immediately strengthen
your bone structure without the need to completely contour.
Easy smokey eye: On a lazy morning, a smokey eye is exactly
the look you would not choose for the day. With all the different
guide to
morning makeup
eyeshadow shades and eyeliner tricks, creating this look is
too excessive. It doesn’t have to be though. You can create
a simple daytime smoky eye by the simple application of a
brown eyeliner pencil on the top and bottom lash line. Then
just use a smudging brush to create the hazy/smokey effect.
Eyelash curler: This is a typical step that women
tend to skip, but curling your eyelashes takes a few
seconds and makes all the difference. It opens up
your eyes without the need to apply anything. All
it does is simply enhance what is already there to
make you look more awake and ready to start the
day. Eyeliner outlines and shapes your eyes, but
it does take a certain technique that most women
aren’t always ready for so early in the morning.
To get the same eye-shaping effect, apply a
quick layer of mascara on the bottom lashes. You
already have the mascara brush out for your top
lashes, what’s a quick swipe of the bottom ones?
Bold lip: If you’re going to go bare everywhere
else on your face, commit to a bold lip. It’ll act almost as a
distraction for the lack of other makeup. Another method is
to choose a liner that is brighter than your lipstick. This is a
great way to make your lips pop with a simple bold effect. A
girl flashing a bright colored lip immediately looks very puttogether and ready to rock her day.
Health
Health shortcuts
to know
Who says being healthy has to be
complicated? All you need to know is
the most effective and quickest way
to feel the best you’ve ever felt. After
all, life’s too short to worry about
calorie counting and fad diets. You’ve
got better things to do, right?
Eat well: Good clean eating is what it’s about. If you
get this right, you can bypass having to worry
about a plethora of other health issues that come
from a bad diet. There’s no easier shortcut than
that! If you’re eating healthy and looking after
yourself, you won’t have to waste time trying to get
your skin under control or your hair looking glossy
because your diet has taken care of it for you.
Include the right nutrients in your diet: There’s a
reason why you keep hearing about the need to
include things like prebiotics and fibre in your diet
– they help you get a better digestive system which
means you can avoid conditions like bloating and
constipation, absorb nutrients better (which will
make you feel good inside and out) and also fight
off disease like a champion.
Tailor your diet to you: Does a big dinner make you
lethargic? Does gluten not agree with you? Now is
the time to pay attention to your body and what it’s
telling you when it comes to what you are eating.
Learn to tailor your diet according to what makes
you feel great and you’ll inevitably always feel
awesome.
Balance is key: Balance is everything when it comes
to health. Eat a balanced diet, learn to maintain
the balance between work, rest and relaxation
and you’ll always live in the smug knowledge that
you’re operating at 100 per cent. The moment you
learn to master the juggling act is the moment
when you realise you feel pretty darn good.
Small changes every day make a big difference:
Take the easy way around by avoiding drastic life
changes and introducing healthy life tweaks a little
bit at a time. So if your goal is to meet your daily
veggie intake, try and do it for one day. If you’re
successful, do it the next and so forth. If you do
it bit by bit you’re more likely to stick to it which
means less time wasted later on.
Chew your food: This may sound like something you’d
say to a toddler, but stop and chew your food. It’s
amazing how many of us are guilty of wolfing down
a plate of food in just a matter of minutes. You should
be chewing your food at least 10-12 times – this
sends the signal to our digestive
system that food is on its
way and to be prepared.
This in turn means you’re
able to digest food more
efficiently,
and
also
absorb
nutrients
better.
Get into good habits
now: There’s
no time like the
present. The
easiest shortcut
to getting healthy
further down
the track is by
starting today.
Train yourself to
eat well and
look after
yourself
now and
reap the
rewards
sooner
rather
than later.
17
Ways to soothe
Psoriasis
this summer
Ah, summer — the time of year filled with
vacations by the pool, backyard BBQs, and
baseball games. But if you have psoriasis,
summer can be a double-edged sword.
While humidity and sunshine can actually
help soothe your symptoms, air conditioning
and chlorine can dry out your skin and
trigger flare-ups. Top dermatology experts
share their best tips for finding relief from
your irritation during the warmer months so
that you can enjoy yourself all season long.
Embrace the Humidity: Ever wonder why your psoriasis
feels better in the summer? It has to do with the air. While
humidity is a major frizz-causer, it’s good for your skin
because the extra moisture makes psoriasis patches less
prone to cracking. On the other hand, decrease in humidity
can contribute to inflammation and cells that promote itching
in the skin. Bottom line: Enjoy the summer weather safely
by putting on sunscreen before you go outdoors and keep
hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
Schedule time in the sun: Although it’s not a substitute for
medical-grade light therapy, Lee says that some people do
find that a little sun exposure helps soothe their psoriasis.
Just make sure you talk to your dermatologist to formulate
a sunscreen and time-limit plan. A good rule of thumb for
sunscreen is to apply two ounces of SPF 30 or higher a half
hour before you go outside and reapply every two hours.
Additionally, limit your exposure to sunlight to avoid sunburn,
which has the potential to stimulate your immune system and
lead to more psoriasis plaques.
Shield yourself from sunburn: Sunburns are technically an
injury to the skin. And for some people, psoriasis forms at the
site of an injury (this is known as the Koebner phenomenon
— and as many as 50 percent of people with psoriasis
experience it). Here’s how to ensure you prevent a sunburn:
Choose a mineral sunscreen containing zinc or titanium
dioxide (these micro-formulated metals act as a barrier by
reflecting the sun’s rays), protect your scalp by wearing a hat,
wear a rash guard-style swim shirt at the beach, and cover
up with lightweight, loose clothing if you’ll be out in the sun for
a prolonged period of time.
Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize: While the humidity is
good for your psoriasis, many aspects of summer, like air
conditioning and chlorine, can lead to dry skin. If you know
that you’ll be exposed to any of these factors, compensate
by applying extra moisturizer. In the case of chlorine, shower
after swimming to minimize any potential irritation. To lock
in moisture, apply an ointment or cream within 3 minutes of
showering. Lotions tend to have a high water content, which
may evaporate rapidly, resulting in drier skin, so better you
use thicker formula.
Take a Dip in the Ocean: Soaking in water helps with
rehydrating the dry flaky lesions on your skin, Lee says,
but a dip in the ocean may be even more beneficial than
submerging in your tub. Although more research is needed to
evaluate the possible benefits of sea salt on psoriasis, there’s
definitely something about salt water that helps soothe the
condition. In fact, according to a 2013 study published in
the Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine
journal, the level of salt concentration in certain bodies of
water can enhance the transmission of UV light therapy. So
trek to the beach on your next day off; the combo of salt water
and careful exposure to UV rays can make a dip in the ocean
a great way to help ease your irritation this season.
Work out your
willpower for weight loss
M
ost people think of willpower as a mysterious force that “lazy”
people just don’t have enough of. In reality, willpower is more
like a muscle – it can only take you so far. If your willpower is not
trained, it can’t take on a heavy load. In fact, studies have shown
that the brain has limited power to make decisions, and that minor
decisions add up throughout the day, depleting our reserves. With
your willpower depleted, you may find yourself stress-eating more
frequently, or choosing a nap over a trip to the gym. The best way
to change your habits, whether it’s waking up earlier or choosing
a banana over a piece of pound cake, is
to work out your willpower incrementally.
Here are 4 ways to get started.
Call in positive reinforcements:
Routine will win out over willpower 99% of
the time. So how do you build a routine?
4 weeks of consistently following through
on an action will lead to that action becoming a part of
your everyday life. Eventually, these chores become like
treats – you’ll feel weird when you go against the routine
you have set up for working out and eating right.
Write down everything: Self-awareness is key to changing
a habit, and sometimes we have to go outside ourselves for
self-awareness. When you write down your actions in what
you eat and how and when you exercise, you can examine
your actions objectively and make changes in the future.
Also, take note of bad habits like sleep deprivation that can
degrade your self-awareness by increasing impulsiveness,
and limit them.
Set realistic goals: Setting an unrealistic goal for yourself is
a surefire way to fail. Your hopes and your expectations may not
always line up. You can hope to lose 20 lbs by your boss’ party, but
if that party is a month away, you’re most likely setting yourself up
for failure. Alternatively, set both short-term and long-term goals. A
gradual building of good habits may even be more effective than
a sudden change.
Relax: Every decision in your day eats away at your willpower.
So is it really worth it to stress over the small stuff? Stress depletes
your willpower reserves and leads to poor decision making. If
decision making is a part of your daily work, take the stress out
of smaller decisions in your life by scheduling out your healthy
choices. Plan out your meals in advance, and schedule workouts
with a friend or partner. When the decisions are already made for
you, you won’t have to deplete your brain power to choose whether
to do them or not.
18
Food
The pleasure of
Korean specialties
Representing beautiful Korea, Arirang restaurant creates a refined dining experience, imbued with charm and atmosphere.
The restaurant, located at the Swiss Bel Hotel Plaza, is at the center of the business hub in Kuwait city. Diners looking to
relish a unique aspect of Asian cuisine can look to Korean food for it is flavorsome, healthy and gratifying.
A
rirang prides itself on strong authentic
Korean food, and the menu reflects this,
for it contains a vast and an impressive
selection of dishes typical of a Korean feast.
Their latest additions to the menu are a testament
to innovative Korean fare, and offer a diverse
assortment of tastes from spicy to savory.
One step past its doors and you have entered
a miniature Korea with beautifully decorated
surroundings that emit a warm, classy ambience.
Arirang has designed spaces that replicate a
traditional Korean seating arrangement with low
ornate tables and floor sofas that allow you to
sit cross legged and recline back taking in the
soothing atmosphere. For those preferring a
more Western seating arrangement, reserve an
elegantly decorated table in the dining hall where
you can appreciate the full sophistication of the
restaurant.
Koreans believe in a balanced diet, and
Arirang’s main focus is presenting Korean
cuisine in a way that encourages a
balanced way of eating. The menu
consists of dishes specially created
with all the basic nutrients included in a
variety of healthy appetizers, soups and
meat choices. Arirang makes it point to
purchase only the freshest ingredients
from a trusted supplier, and the sauces
and seasonings are imported directly
from Korea.
Arirang’s professional Chef Noe,
trained in the art of Korean cuisine,
artfully prepares the food,
and infuses it with the
luscious
flavors
of
Korea. When questioned further about the health
concept behind the cuisine, Chef Noe elaborated:
“Freshness plays an important role to attain the
taste authenticity in any kind of cuisine. No matter
how good your spices are, if the meat or vegetable
is not fresh at all, the end product result will be
average. Hence we at Arirang guarantee that we
serve what is best for our customers.”
and the Dwenjang Chige (Beef-rib Soup) are other
excellent choices for stews that erupt with flavour.
Arirang’s main offerings are classic Korean
dishes that include Kalbi Gui, a spectacular
rendition of a classic Asian dish that promotes
the juiciest slices of short ribs that have been
marinated for 24 hours before being cooked and
served. Another main dish, the Dolsot Bibimbap, is
A complete Korean meal includes cold
and hot appetizers, soup, a main dish and a
dessert. For starters, you have a delicious
complimentary spread comprised of Kimchi
(a popular Korean starter traditionally made
of vegetables with a variety of seasonings),
sushi, rolled egg, California rolls and panfried vegetables. The appetizer, Japchae
(Korean Glass Noodles) with its
combination of sweetness and
texture is very yummy,
and very popular
among people who
a signature Korean dish that is a most delicious mix
of rice, beef and vegetables, topped with an egg
yolk and gochujang (Korean chili paste).
The Bulgogi, small grilled pieces of marinated
beef which are wrapped in fresh lettuce and
dipped in sauce before eating, reaffirms an
intimacy with Korean culture. You should also try
this method with the proffered diced vegetables
and rice. This Korean recipe ties in beautifully with
the rest of your main course.
In ending their meal, Koreans generally choose
the perfect sweetened dessert, Patbingsu, a
shaved-ice dessert sweetened with toppings of
chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup and red
beans.
With a bountiful menu of delicacies, efficient
service and value for money, Arirang restaurant
is a delightful place to sample a small slice of the
Korean way of life.
frequent the restaurant. For a little crunch, the
Ebi Furai, breaded shrimp dipped in zesty garlic
sauce, has astounding flavor.
Arirang’s distinctive flavor combinations are
evident in their regular and speciality dishes.
The latest addition to their menu, Haemultang
(a spicy seafood soup of radish, cabbage and
Korean Tofu) stands out as a true show of expert
merging of flavors and is very delicious. Soon Doo
Boo Chigae (a seafood soup with bean curd) is a
milder soup, and diners can choose if they would
like it spicy or not. Regular diners vouch that the
Soon Doo Boo Chigae is highly addictive in both
variations. The Kimchi Chige (Kimchi Pot Stew)
Technology
19
Singapore rolls out 100Gbps internet
Singapore’s new SLIX network will
allow rapid transmission of data
between researchers -- and let
students in partner universities enjoy
super-fast Internet speeds.
S
outheast Asia has its first 100Gbps network -- the
SingAren-Lightwave Internet Exchange (SLIX).
Meant for research and education purposes, SLIX
was set up by the Singapore Advanced Research and
Education Network (SingAren) at a cost of around $12
million. Besides the obvious use case for researchers to
download and upload research material quickly, students
in partner universities in Singapore, such as the National
University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological
University, are also able to enjoy quicker access to Google
and Microsoft services (such as YouTube and patch files)
thanks to content peering. The SLIX network lets users
transfer files as fast as 12.5GB per second, if the full
bandwidth is used.
While that’s usually not the case, the 100Gbps network
does help genomic researchers upload databases for
backup at a much faster rate than before. According to
a SingAren spokeperson, it was previously easier (and
cheaper) to mail a backup disk than performing an online
data backup that would have taken days.
The SLIX network is also connected to other research
networks in the region, such as AARNet in Australia and
Japan’s NICT. There are future plans to further boost the
SLIX-NICT connection with a 100Gbps line.
100Gbps is ridiculously fast now, with 1Gbps being the
norm for “fast” for consumers. But SingAren highlighted
that as the network is comprised of dark fibre (i.e. unlit
optical fibres) then if need be, it would be easy to increase
the bandwidth to even faster speeds of 400Gbps or more.
The superfast speeds that Internet Service Providers in
Kuwait tout is 10Mbps
Google Chrome launches
G
in 64-bit avatar
oogle has pushed its Chrome browser
into the 64-bit software era -- on
Windows, at least, and only for those who
specifically download it.
The new version, Chrome 37, takes
advantage of the transition over the last
decade to PCs with 64-bit processors,
which can handle vastly larger amounts
of memory and that offer more datastorage slots called registers that can
improve performance. Because of plugin compatibility problems, though, only
those who specifically download the 64bit Chrome version will get it. And 64bit Chrome for Macs remains a work in
progress.
The new Chrome is 15 percent faster
at decoding HD videos on YouTube as a
result, said Chrome team programmer Will
Harris in a blog post.It also is less prone
to crashes in the renderer — the core part
of the browser that interprets Web site
programming instructions and paints the
appropriate pixels on a screen. And the
software can thwart some types of hack
attacks.
Faster browsers are important —
people watch more videos, buy more
products, and spend more time on Web
sites — so performance is a top Chrome
priority along with security and ease of
use. The recipe has worked so far: Chrome
has seen steadily increasing usage since
its launch nearly six years ago.
The new version, though, drops
support for 32-bit plug-ins — software like
Microsoft’s Silverlight or Adobe Systems’
Flash Player that extend a browser’s
abilities. Chrome has its own version of
Adobe’s Flash Player built in, which means
the most-used plug-in isn’t a problem,
but others won’t work. And the plugin problem is mitigated by the fact that
Chrome is scrapping support for most of
them anyway by ditching the older NPAPI
interface in favor of the company’s own
newer PPAPI.
Chrome 37 also brings a substantial
change to text display, adopting Windows’
DirectWrite technology that permits higher
image quality and hardware-accelerated
rendering. And another thing for Windows
users: support for HiDPI, which means
screens such as Apple’s Retina models
that have high pixel density, measured in
dots per inch. It is increasingly common
to find Windows machines that use this
technology for crisp images and text,
but adding support has been more
complicated than it was for Macs, which
feature a narrower range of models
and simply quadrupled the number of
pixels during the transition to simplify
programming challenges.
NoKe Bluetooth Padlock
A
Bluetooth padlock is the latest gadget to
garner support from Kickstarter funding. Once
you’ve paired your Noke (pronounced “no key”)
padlock with your smartphone or shared access
to the lock with a friend, simply clicking the lock
opens it as long as there is a paired smartphone
within 3 meters.
The creators have even accounted for those
who let their phone batteries run out without any
charger in sight; or worse, one locked inside a
Noke-secured locker. You can set up a code to
unlock the Noke manually, which works by clicking
the padlock in a certain rhythm.
It’s a nifty idea, and if it works as well as the
Kickstarter video promises, it should see huge
success. The aspect of sharing access to the lock
is a smart move, as allowing friends and family
temporary access to lockers or locations could
make sharing items vastly easier. And you could
set up some elaborate scavenger hunts, if you
were so inclined. Solving long-standing everyday
issues like losing a key or forgetting a combination
through simplicity and technology gets a thumbsup any time.
Samsung’s new smartwatch
S
works without a smartphone
amsung Electronics and LG Electronics both
announced new smartwatches, with
Samsung displaying a wearable
that works without a smartphone,
and LG showing off a gadget that
has a round face like a regular
wristwatch.
The new Samsung Gear S
is the sixth smartwatch model
that Samsung Electronics has
unveiled since entering the
market last year. What sets the
Gear S apart is its 2-inch curved
display, which fits more naturally
to the wrist, and its built-in support
for 3G and Wi-Fi, enabling the wearer
to talk and exchange messages without
the need of a smartphone. It runs on the Tizen
operating system.
Samsung will wait until 3 SeptEMBER
in Berlin to provide details about
pricing and launch dates to coincide
with the IFA consumer electronics
conference, the largest trade show of
its kind in Europe.
Meanwhile,
LG
Electronics
unveiled its new smartwatch,
dubbed the LG G Watch R. Although
this device needs to operate in
conjunction with a smartphone, the
wearable gadget has the stylish design
of a high-end wristwatch, featuring a
1.3-inch circular display, a metallic body
and a leather wristband.

World honors HH the Amir as `Humanitarian

Transcription

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