Daily newspaper
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Daily newspaper
BUSINESS | Page 1 SPORT | Page 5 INDEX QATAR 2 – 9, 28 26, 27 COMMENT 1 – 6, 13 – 16 REGION 10 BUSINESS ARAB WORLD 11 CLASSIFIED 7 – 13 SPORTS 1 – 12 INTERNATIONAL 12 – 25 Qatar National Bank (QNB) will open a representative office in Vietnam’s economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City on March 30, according to Qatar’s new ambassador, Abdullah Sultan al-Hamar. The branch will be followed by another one in the capital Hanoi “in the future”, the ambassador said. The opening of the first QNB office in Vietnam comes after the bank received a licence from the State Bank of Vietnam in September 2014. The representative offices will function as a “liaison entity to make market research and promotion of investment projects of QNB in Vietnam”, it was announced. AFRICA | Election Nigeria begins tense vote count Nigeria counted ballots in its closelyfought general election yesterday after failures in controversial new technology pushed voting into a second day, with officials calling for calm in the tense wait for a winner. Despite violence linked to Boko Haram militants and sporadic unrest elsewhere, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and others praised the conduct of the vote and urged vigilance to avoid a repeat of deadly rioting that followed 2011 elections. Page 12 SRI LANKA | Politics Premier pledges ‘political solution’ Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged a “political solution” for the island’s war-torn north, where ethnic minority Tamils have long demanded greater autonomy. Page 25 Life in Qatar A Woman’s Perspective American Josephine fell in love with a Qatari young man, who was her college mate in Texas and married him 27 years ago, only to settle down in Qatar two years later. Josephine tells her story in the second interview of “Life in Qatar- A Woman’s Perspective” series. Page 9 -2.56 -4.98% MONDAY www. gulf-times.com 2 Riyals Arab summit agrees on joint military force A HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signing the condolence book for Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday. HH the Emir, on a visit to Singapore, offered condolences to President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the death of Lee. The Emir also condoled the family of the former premier during the funeral service, held at the National University of Singapore yesterday afternoon. The funeral service was attended by a number of heads of states and government and senior officials. More than 100,000 people lined Singapore’s streets to bid farewell to Lee as a week of mourning ended in the city-state he led to prosperity. Page 14 Al Wakra Hospital starts new services A l Wakra Hospital (AWH), a member of the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), has launched a range of new services. The new services, including a neurology clinic and a range of new evening clinics, are part of HMC’s “innovative model of care which brings more specialist services to community hospitals”, an official said. AWH has also announced the opening of evening clinics for some of its clinical services like orthopaedics, respiratory/ pulmonary, oral and maxillofacial, gastro-intestinal (GI), urology, nephrology, ear, nose and throat (ENT), dermatology and cardiology. The hospital is to start evening clinics for general surgery and physiotherapy. The hours of operation for these clinics are from 3pm to 5pm from Sunday through Thursday. The neurology clinic offers comprehensive consultation, evaluation, and treatment for problems that result from disorders in the nervous system, such as muscle weakness, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and dizziness. The clinic, managed by Dr Abbas Elsiddig Khalid El Hadi, consultant neurologist, is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:30am to 12pm. The clinic is part of the Outpatient Department at AWH and can be accessed following referral from either a Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) physician or an HMC physician via an internal referral. In some cases referrals from physicians at private healthcare facilities may also be accepted. This new service covers emergency cases at AWH that need urgent neurological consultation and support. “Since the opening of this clinic, we have already provided neurology consultation to more than 35 patients and we are receiving more patients each day. We receive all kinds of neurology cases; however, the most common are patients with stroke and epilepsy,” Dr ElSiddig said. AWH now offers a valet parking service to patients, families and visitors. The service is available at the main entrance of the hospital, at the Outpatient Department A and at the Adult Emergency Unit. Wilson Ross, AWH’s acting CEO, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to bring these patient-centred services to AWH and closer to the community we serve. Our top priority is to ensure that all patients who arrive at the hospital feel welcomed and well-taken care of - knowing that they have easy access to the best care possible.” Dr Mahmoud Heidous, acting medical director AWH said: “This new endeavour supports our commitment to provide the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to each and every one of our patients. We are certain that the introduction of these services will result in improved clinical and operational efficiencies and will create a more positive experience for our patients.” Vol. XXXVI No. 9677 March 30, 2015 Jumada II 10, 1436 AH Reuters/AFP Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt REGION | Negotiations Iran and six world powers yesterday tried to break an impasse in nuclear negotiations, but officials cautioned that attempts to reach a preliminary deal by a deadline in two days could yet fall apart. The two sides explored compromises in areas including numbers of centrifuges used to enrich uranium that Iran could operate, and its nuclear enrichment work for medical research. Page 10 48.87 +77.66 +0.68% Arab representatives will meet over the next month to study the creation of the joint force Business page 1 Iran, world powers explore compromises 11,488.41 +34.43 +0.19% in QNB to open first branch in Vietnam 17,712.66 d BUSINESS | Expansion NYMEX he R is bl TA 978 A 1 Q since In brief QE Latest Figures GULF TIMES Emir offers condolences DOW JONES pu Sheikh Faisal signs JV agreement with leading Indian hotelier Australia win fifth World Cup rab leaders at a summit in Egypt yesterday announced the formation of a unified military force to counter growing security threats from Yemen to Libya. Working out the mechanism and logistics of the unified force could take months. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri told a news conference the Arab force would be voluntary, meaning no one country would be forced to take part and it could give member states flexibility should differences arise. At least two countries have committed to the force, he added. The unified force would be supervised by the chiefs of staffs of Arab armed forces, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the summit. The dangers facing the region since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 are stark and complex. While conflicts intensify in Yemen and Libya, the civil war in Syria is entering its fifth year. Islamic State militants have taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria and spawned splinter groups across the Arab world. The summit’s final communique HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah attending the closing session of the Arab summit in Sharm El Sheikh yesterday. called for “co-ordination, efforts and steps to establish an unified Arab force” to intervene in countries such as Yemen. The move came after Saudi Arabia formed a 10-nation Arab coalition against Houthi fighters who have made rapid advances in Yemen and launched military strikes against them on Thursday. Arab representatives will meet over the next month to study the creation of the force and present their findings to defence ministers within four months, according to the resolution adopted by the leaders. The decision was mostly aimed at fighting extremists who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria and secured a foothold in Libya, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said ahead of the summit. Yesterday, Arabi told the meet- ing the region was threatened by a “destructive” force that threatened “ethnic and religious diversity”, in an apparent reference to the Islamic State group. “What is important is that today there is an important decision, in light of the tumult afflicting the Arab world,” he said. Arabi, reading a statement at the conclusion of the summit, said the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen would continue until the Houthis withdraw from regions they have overrun and surrender their weapons. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi at the start of the summit called for the offensive to end only when the Houthis “surrender”, calling the rebel leader an Iranian “puppet”. James Dorsey, a Middle East analyst with the Singapore-based S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that despite support for a joint-Arab force, “it would still take months to create and then operate on an ad-hoc basis”. Chaos in Libya may be one key test for the unified force if it intervenes in a country with factions allied to two governments, vying for control of territory and oil facilities. Sisi has repeatedly called for concerted Arab and Western action against what he sees as an existential threat posed by militant groups operating in Libya and elsewhere. He ordered air strikes against Islamic State militants in Libya after the group beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians there. Page 10 Rossi wins thrilling Grand Prix of Qatar M otoGP great Valentino Rossi, on a Yamaha, won a spectacular Grand Prix of Qatar yesterday as he withstood a furious onslaught from fellow Italian Andrea Dovizioso over the final laps to take the opening race of the season. A see-saw battle saw the lead change hands numerous times before the 36-year-old Rossi opened up a slight gap on the final two laps and held off the charging Dovizioso on his Ducati, who was looking for his first win in MotoGP. It was a stunning 109th victory for the iconic Rossi and his 197th podium as Italy swept the board with Andrea Iannone, also on a Ducati, coming home third. It was a first time Italy took the top three places since the Japanese MotoGP in 2006. Rossi won by 0.174sec with Iannone 2.250 back, Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo in fourth and world champion Marc Marquez well back in fifth Italy’s Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi receiving the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar trophy from Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah at the Losail International Circuit yesterday. at 7.036 after a nightmare start. “This was one of the best victories for me,” said Rossi with his trademark grin. “The bike was fantastic, I never gave up but it was a real fight with the Ducatis and the Hondas who were really strong. “I’m so happy for me, for the team and for Yamaha. The second part of the race was really good and I’m very happy because we had difficulties in testing and practice but my experience helped today. “This is a great, great victory but I had a good feeling this morning.” he added. Lorenzo, also on a Yamaha, was also in the hunt for victory and led midway through the race before Rossi, who began from eighth on the grid, charged to the front and went into battle with his compatriot Dovizioso. It came down to an all Italian battle with Rossi seizing the lead for the final time with two laps to go and just hanging on to cross the line ahead of Dovizioso, who started from pole position. Sport page 1 Qatar Museums and ictQATAR sign agreement for digitising 3D materials Q atar Museums has become the 3D Conversion Centre for the country, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) for digitising 3D materials. The agreement was signed by Reem al-Mansoori, assistant undersecretary of Digital Society, ICT and Society, ictQATAR; and Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud, acting CEO of Qatar Museums. ictQATAR is responsible for developing programs and taking the necessary actions required to digitise Qatar’s national cultural heritage as well as publishing it online in collaboration with authorities concerned. Qatar Museums is the national body responsible for developing, promoting and sustaining Qatar’s cultural sector. This MoU comes within the framework of the Media, Culture, and Heritage National Digitisation Plan unveiled in 2014. It also translates an ongoing governmental commitment to improv- ing access to Qatari heritage and culture by digitising and making them available online in multiple digital formats. “The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology believes in the importance of preserving Qatar’s heritage by harnessing the potential of ICT and capitalising on considerable expertise and skills owned by the parties connected to that sector,” al-Mansoori said. “Working closely with all bodies in fields of media, culture and heritage, we can develop new methods not only on how to preserve our national heritage but also on how to make it available and accessible in newer digital formats in line with best international practices,” the official explained. Al-Mansoori described the MoU as “another step forward on implementing ictQATAR’s digitisation project that aims at preserving and sharing the Arabic and Islamic heritage of the State of Qatar”. “3D materials digitisation is important in making our heritage available for students and researchers here and from around the world thus enriching the knowledge of our history by introducing it to local and international audiences,” al-Mahmoud said. 3D digitisation allows for the virtual examination of 3D objects, reduces the risk of damage to 3D objects and facilitates comparative study. It also assists with the restoration of 3D objects by making it easier to replicate delicate parts. On the sidelines of the MoU signing ceremony, ictQATAR and the Qatar National Library organised a workshop on heritage digitisation. A total of 24 professionals, enthusiasts and project owners from various institutions such as the Emiri Diwan, the Supreme Education Council, Qatar University and QNA, attended. In 2014 during Qatar’s Qitcom, a tripartite MoU was signed by ictQATAR, QNL and the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage for the digitisation of the 2D materials owned by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. As per that MoU, QNL became the national 2D conversion centre of Qatar. 2 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 QATAR Labour Minister meets Polish envoy Qatar-Ecuador ties reviewed In brief GCC finance undersecretaries to meet in Doha HE the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Dr Abdullah Saleh Mubarak al-Khulaifi holding talks with the Polish Ambassador to Qatar Krzysztof Suprowicz in Doha yesterday. Talks dealt with aspects of co-operation and means to develop them in addition to other topics of common interest. Pearl diving contest draws good response The organising committee of the fourth pearl diving and fishing competition – Senyar - at Katara, the Cultural Village Foundation, has received a large number of applications for participation. Scheduled for April 22-25, the heritage festival contest features three main categories. Ahmed al-Hatmi, chairman of the organising committee said that the management of the event is going to hold a meeting with the participating divers on April 5 at 6.30pm to give them the information and instruction. Each participating team would be allowed to include a child under 10 years old as an active participant on condition that the child should be accompanied by his parent or a first degree relative. All the participating dhows would undergo a technical inspection test to confirm their readiness for the event. Registration would remain open until April 1 at Katara. Gulf national gets 25-year jail term The Criminal Court has sentenced a Gulf national to 25 years in jail for causing the death of the owner of a house where he had broken into with the intention of committing theft, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported. The accused also has to pay a blood money of QR200,000 to the victim’s family. The armed accused fought with the house owner, a heart patient, who collapsed and died. Therefore, the court punished the accused person under the most stringent articles 1/306, 85 and 84 of the Penal Code, the daily added. HE the Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi meeting the Finance Minister of Ecuador Fausto Herrera in Doha yesterday. They discussed ways to develop relations between Qatar and Ecuador. Major traffic diversion on Doha-Wakrah road T o facilitate the construction of the Red Line segment of the Qatar Rail among other projects including an interchange, a major traffic diversion has been announced near Barwa Village on the main road between Doha and Al Wakrah. Announcing this yesterday Public Works Authority (Ashghal) said the diversion would be in place starting from near the Barwa Village interchange to Al Wakrah roundabout. It said both Ashghal and Qatar Rail have assessed the current road use before developing the best alternative routes to facilitate traffic diversion. It would help reduce the impact of the diversion on the traffic flow for the duration of the work. The diversion will facilitate the construction work of the Doha Metro project (The Red Line South Elevated and atgrade) being implemented by the Qatar Railways Company. The work to be carried out will also allow the construction of the interchange 27, one of four interchanges of the East Corridor Expressway project. The traffic diversion has been designed in accordance with the highest standards and requirements in order to ensure the safety of road users and smooth traffic flow on the alternative road, said the Ashghal communique. The main road, consisting of three lanes in each direction, will be closed and diverted to a temporary alternative road that has been built with as many lanes and in each direction. A traffic light has also been installed to facilitate vehicular movement from and to Ras Abu Funtas road (as shown in the map). The traffic diversion will be implemented in two phases. At first the diversion will be open on southbound towards Al Wakrah starting from tomorrow (March 31). The diversion will then be open on northbound towards Doha on April 8. The traffic diversion will be open on both directions from April 8, until the last quarter of next year (2016). Earlier this month, the left lane (fast lane) of the main road, northbound towards Al Wakrah, was closed in order to facilitate the opening of the temporary road for the diversion. The East Corridor Expressway project is part of Ashghal’s vital Expressway Programme, and it includes the construction of a new, approximately Undersecretaries of Finance Ministries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States will hold a preparatory meeting for the upcoming meeting of the GCC Committee on Financial and Economic Co-operation slated for May in Doha. The undersecretaries will discuss topics including the recommendations of the GCC States Central Banks Governors’ committee and the GCC Customs Union Authority regarding the updates on the completion of the requirements of the Customs Union Authority in addition to the recommendations of the Committee on the Gulf Common Market. They will also discuss the recommendations on the amendments proposed by the Industrial Co-operation Committee on the controls to exempt industry inputs, and on the general framework for the study of deepening economic integration among the GCC countries, in addition to the report by the General Secretariat on the priorities of the GCC countries, which suggest the resumption of negotiations with countries and economic groups, and the proposals submitted by GCC States on the activation of economic integration among Member States. Deputy PM returns to Doha from China HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud yesterday returned to Doha After participating in the Boao Forum for Asia, which was held in Boao, South China. HE al-Mahmoud was seen off at Sanya International Airport by Qatar’s Ambassador to China Sultan bin Salmeen al-Mansouri and a number of officials in the Chinese government. MEC launches free recall of Dodge Viper vehicles The area where road diversion is effected is marked in red. 11km-long, dual carriageway. It consists of five lanes on each direction. The road extends from the west of the access to the Barwa Development as far as Al Matar Street, south of the Air Force roundabout. It will create a new strategic link in the south area. The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has launched a free recall campaign for Dodge Viper vehicles (models 2013 and 2014) for a potential problem regarding the glass window of the doors going up more than the limit. The campaign is conducted in co-operation with United Cars Al Mana, the dealer of Dodge vehicles in Qatar. Single-lane traffic for 90 days on a stretch of Najma Street S An inspector from the MEC at a commercial outlet. Ministry officials conduct surprise inspection campaign T he Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has issued 16 different licensing violation notices to a number of commercial outlets at Al Rayyan Municipality. MEC inspectors recently conducted a surprise inspection campaign at various shops that have different commercial activities such as clothes, mobile phones, hair cutting, supermarkets and women clothes. Most of the violations spotted by MEC inspectors of the Department of Registration and Commercial Licensing were regarding practising activities other than those stated in the licence. Some of these violations were regarding using the commercial outlet as a staff accommodation. In addition to being issued violation notices, such outlets were told to amend their situation. tarting from tomorrow (March 31), only singlelane traffic would be possible through a nearly 100-metre stretch of Najma Street as part of the infrastructural development works to be carried out in the area. The stretch and the street would be completely ready for traffic only towards the end of June, according to an announcement from the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). The authority said in the statement that the temporary closure would be in place between the intersection of Najma Street with Al Hilal and Abha streets (Hot Breads roundabout) and the intersection of Najma Street with Ibn Shuaib and Nawfal bin Al Hareth streets (Near Regal Department Store). Motorists moving towards Najma Street from Al Hilal must use only one of the lanes of the street (after the Hot Breads roundabout) which will remain open throughout the duration of the works. Meanwhile, commuters coming from Al Mansoora Signal towards Al Hilal and Abha Streets (Hot Bread roundabout) should first turn right on Nawfal bin Al Hareth Street (870), then make a left on Salim bin Al Hareth Street, and finally make another left turn to enter Abha Street. Ashghal will also close Bin Al Hareth Street (990) (where Bruce Lee Restaurant used to be located) as part of the infrastructural development works, and vehicles com- ing from Al Hilal Street must make a right before they reach Bin Al Hareth Street and take the open lanes to reach their destination. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 3 QATAR 1,000 delegates set to attend medical congress By Joseph Varghese Staff Reporter A Officials, dignitaries and guests at the opening of the new Quality Hypermarket in Bin Mahmoud. Quality Hypermarket opens in Bin Mahmoud Q uality Group of Companies opened its sixth retail outlet, Quality Hypermarket, in Bin Mahmoud on Saturday. The outlet was inaugurated by Shamsudheen Olakara, managing director of Quality Group of Companies, Sheikh Jassim bin Thamir al-Thani, chairman of New Quality Hypermarket, and Ebrahim Abdullah al-Malki, chairman of Quality Group of Companies. The first sale at the outlet was launched by TK Ibrahim H Malabari, founder and president of Mercy Foundation, by delivering to young Islamic scholar Umar Ul Farooq. The inaugural function saw the presence of a large number of customers who had turned up with their families and children. A number of promotions and price discounts were offered as part of the inauguration. The hypermarket is spread over three floors with a total area of 100,000sqft. A wide variety of products and brands are available, catering to the tastes and preference of customers from all walks of life, according to a statement. The ground floor features various shops and kiosks, including a pharmacy, optical care, counters for flowers and chocolates, coffee shops, ATMs of leading banks and automatic utility payment machines, in addition to a supermarket for food and non-food. On the first floor, mobile phones, watches, beauty parlours for men and children, fashion items, garments and readymade products, footwear, home furniture and decor, stationery, fashion jewellery etc are available. The second floor is exclusively designed for electric, electronic, IT & technology products and home appliances of leading brands. Spacious and convenient parking is also available. Besides featuring products of renowned brands, the new hypermarket will also provide a variety of additional services for customers, the statement adds. The hypermarket also features an advanced travelator facility for the convenience of visitors. In addition to the three retail outlets of Quality Retail Group in Qatar on Salwa Road, Airport Road and in the Industrial Area, Parco Mall in Mamoura was taken over by the group last month as the fourth outlet and renamed as Quality Mall. In addition, it has a hypermarket in Bengaluru, India. The management has also informed that Quality Mall in Hilal will be opened in the last week of next month as the seventh outlet of Quality Retail Group. bout 1,000 delegates and 10,000 visitors are expected to attend the first Qatar International Medical Congress (QIMC) that will be held at Qatar National Convention Centre from 26 to 28 May. There is also an exhibition along with the congress which will have about 350 exhibitors showcasing latest, cutting edge products, services and technologies in the medical field. Supreme Council of Health (SCH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) are the strategic partners of the congress. The organisers said that the event will be bigger in the coming years with over 40,000 visitors in the next three years. The details of the congress were announced at a press conference at St Regis Doha yesterday. Abdulrahman Ahmad al-Mannai, Officials of QIMC along with representatives of partnering organisations. vice-president, QIMC, Abdullatif Ali Abdulrahman al-Abdulla, manager, International Health Relations Department, SCH, Ali Abdulla al-Khater, executive director Corporate Communications, HMC, Marriam Yaseen al-Hamadi, executive director, Corporate Communication & PR, PHCC, Fahad Rashid al-Kaabi, CEO, Manateq and Rabih Karam, managing partner, Art &Art took part in the press conference. Al-Mannai, said: “In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, QIMC 2015 aims to continuously support events that will lay the foundations for a healthier and strong society, and encourage innovation in Qatar’s healthcare sector. This year’s exhibition will serve as the initial stepping stone in our country’s journey towards the development of the local, regional and international medical sectors, and markets that depend on the medical industry.” “SCH support comes as an evidence of its importance in supporting medical industries, the importance it attaches on investors in the health sector and encouraging competition among them to provide the best in this field, which essentially contributes in the development of medi- cal equipment and devices in Qatar and attract local, regional and global companies working in this field,” stated al-Abdulla of SCH. The event will attract researchers, experts, and leading medical companies from around the world. QIMC will be helping introduce medical discoveries and advancements in the field to the local healthcare sector, providing better treatment for the residents of the country. The event will bring together renowned international companies, connecting them to leading entrepreneurs, doctors, researchers and industry professionals. Topics to be covered at the QIMC conference include internal medication and autoimmune diseases, oncology, cardiology, diabetology, pulmonology and other subjects of interest. Innovation and new findings in video capsule endoscopy, antalgia, and sensitive, yet crucial, new concepts of end-of-life (palliative care) will also be debated and discussed amongst the participants. Unesco launches training workshop T he Unesco Doha office launched yesterday a training workshop on world heritage natural sites and Man Biosphere Reserve concepts and process of inscription. The workshop, concluding tomorrow, is organised by Unesco in co-operation with the Ministry of Environment (MoE) General Directorate of Natural Reserve (GDNR). The workshop is based on the recognition that sustainable de- velopment and nature conservation in Qatar is at the core of the national plans, including Qatar National Vision 2030. Further, it is a follow up of the recommendation of the previous two preparatory Qatari stakeholders meetings held by Unesco Doha office in co-operation with MoE/ GDNR last year. The main objectives of the workshop include presenting the process of inscription of natural areas as Unesco world herit- age (WH) natural site or as Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) reserve, introducing the concepts of MAB and WH sites nomination, presenting the most successful examples of WH natural sites and MAB sites, and providing the government entities with the technical support needed to start any nomination process. The World Heritage Convention concerning the protection of world cultural and natural herit- age was adopted by the General Conference of Unesco on November 16, 1972. The number of world heritage sites continued to grow reaching after the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in June 2014 in Doha, the 1007 site. Among those 197 are natural sites and 31 of mixed cultural and natural value. The WH sites inscribed on the WH list are sites of Outstanding Universal Value which are fully maintaining their integrity. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 4 QATAR Media meet The Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) has taken part in the 64th International Press Institute World Congress and General Assembly 2015 in Myanmar. The congress adopted the topic ‘On the path to a free media’. The DCMF was among the main supporters of the event alongside Al Jazeera Media Network, which has announced that it would host the next year’s edition of the global event in Doha during April 30-May 3, 2016. Qatar Airways to increase capacity to Bengaluru Q atar Airways has announced that it is continuing its expansion plans in India with a significant increase in capacity on its flights from Doha to Bengaluru from August 1 to meet the increasing passenger demand on the route. Currently, Qatar Airways operates a Boeing 787 on the Doha-Bengaluru route with 254 seats. From August 1, the Boeing 787 will be replaced by a Boeing 777, with a capacity of 335 seats, which will connect to more than 140 destinations worldwide via the airline’s hub in Doha. Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said: “The strengthening of the Doha–Bengaluru route reflects increased passenger demand and reaffirms our continuous expansion strategy for the Indian market. With our increasing capacity, we aim to offer our customers a superior travel experience and seamless connectivity into the State of Qatar. “India is growing as an economic hub and shows enormous potential, and our growth strategy has always stressed the significance of the Indian market where we plan to seek even more capacity and increase frequency on existing routes.” With the new upgraded service between Doha and Bengaluru, more passengers flying to Doha - or onwards to their final destination - will have the opportunity to experience Hamad International Airport, which has been designed with customer experience firmly to the fore. The Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 has been designed to ensure that its passengers can fly long distances while immersed in complete comfort and enjoy the airline’s hospitality, all while enjoying fine cuisine and more than 1,000 on-board entertainment options, the statement adds. The airline recently announced that it would double the number of movies and TV shows on-board over the coming months, increasing the choice of entertainment channels to more than 2,000. The Doha-Bengaluru daily flight schedule from August 1 will be as follows: QR572 departing Doha at 8pm and arriving in Bengaluru at 2.45am (next day), and QR573 departing Bengaluru at 4.15am and arriving in Doha at 5.40am. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 5 QATAR ‘Made in Turkey’ expo set for December T he second edition of “Made in Turkey” exhibition will be held in Doha, in December with the participation of more than 150 exhibitors representing different companies of building materials, real estate, electronics and others. Dursun Topcu, vice president of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC), announced this yesterday after a meeting with Qatar Chamber (QC) vice chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tuwar. Topcu invited QC and Qatari business community to take part in the upcoming exhibition. “Qatar is an active economic power and plays a key role in the Gulf region. Accordingly, both Qatar and Turkey should benefit from the available potential and enhance their mutual Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Tuwar and Dursun Topcu, centre, during a meeting yesterday. co-operation in economy and business spheres,” said Topcu. He added that the “Made in Turkey” exhibition would be a good opportunity for Qatari and Turkish business leaders to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest. He hoped that such meetings would result in active partnerships and joint enterprises among the businessmen of the two countries. Topcu stated that ICOC is considered the largest chamber of commerce in Turkey and includes 360,000 companies as its affiliates. A large volume of investment in Turkey goes through ICOC, which has signed a memorandum of understanding with QC. The QC vice chairman stressed that QC welcomes participation in the upcoming exhibition and would present the event to the business community in Qatar to encourage them to take part. QC board member Mohamed Ahmed al-Ubaidly attended the meeting. Workshop on cyber probe gets under way A training workshop on “cyber investigation” began at the CID Training Centre yesterday. The workshop is being hosted by the Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the Ministry of Interior (MoI). The course is being held in association with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (Dubai Office). Captain Mohamed Abdullah al-Khater, head of International Affairs and Studies Section at the DEA, said the course is a Ministry of Interior initiative to have a better understanding of the global developments in tackling cybercrimes. He said one required better access to the latest means of technology to track down the perpetrators and bring them to book. The workshop began at the CID Training Centre yesterday. The MoI official said the workshop will deal with two aspects - theoretical study of the traditional investigative techniques and skills of interrogation, surveillance, operations, in addition to Internet protocols and use of telecommunications and media like Whatsapp and Instagram. The workshop will conclude on Thursday. 6 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 QATAR Domasco launches new service for Volvo customers QF honoured for activities of National Sport Day Q atar Foundation (QF) has been honoured by the Ministry of Youth and Sports for its successful organisation of activities to celebrate the National Sport Day last month. The QF was commended by the ministry for adhering to the guidelines, earning praise and adulation for organising a healthy and fun-filled educational day. Minister of Youth and Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali presented the ministry’s award to Mohamed al-Naimi, chairman of Qatar Foundation’s National Sport Day Committee, who accepted the accolade on behalf of QF. The accolade reflected Qatar Foundation’s commitment in staging a variety of sporting activities for all ages, attracting over 11,500 participants from across the community in Qatar during the national holiday on February 10. Almost 50 day-long activities were held at QF’s Education City, including the overwhelmingly popular walkathon, supporting Qatar Foundation’s mission to promote productive change through various projects and programmes including healthy living through sports in line with the goals and objectives set out in the Qatar National Vision 2030. Saad al-Muhannadi, president of Qatar Foundation, commented: “We are delighted to have received this award which recognises QF’s unwavering dedication to encouraging men, women and children of all ages and athletic abilities to lead healthier lifestyles and become more active.” “Qatar Foundation is extremely honoured to receive this recognition from the Ministry of Youth and Sports” QF is dedicated to integrating sports and exercise into everyday lives to encourage the population to become more active. Its leadership supported the National Sport Day celebrations with participation from HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Father Emir, and HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairperson of QF. The Ministry of Youth and Sports prepared a number of guidelines and criteria for local organisations to adhere to when planning their National Day activities. These included activities that appeal to a cross-section of the community, organising activities while being cost effective and showing how to successfully promote healthy living. Al-Naimi said: “Qatar Foundation is extremely honoured to receive this recognition from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the many activities we arranged through team effort that involved volunteer staff from departments across the organisation. “Following the success of staging National Sport Day activities in previous years, we demonstrated once again the importance that Qatar Foundation places on engaging the community in our activities and encouraging people to lead healthy lifestyles as a core element of QF’s mission.” The highlight of this year’s activities at QF was the walkathon through Education City. Under the theme of ‘Unlock Your Inner Athlete,’ each stage of the 3.8km route included educational activities to inspire people to lead healthier, more active lifestyles, and learn about Education City and the role QF plays in promoting its three core pillars. D Minister of Youth and Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali presenting the award to Mohammed al-Naimi, chairman of Qatar Foundation’s National Sport Day Committee. One of the activities of QF’s National Sport Day programmes this year. omasco has announced that it has launched Volvo Service 2.0 with free software updates. With Volvo Service 2.0, both the car and the customer are taken care of in new ways and the concept of car servicing is “taken to a new level,” the company said in a statement. The name Volvo Service 2.0 alludes to the fact that Volvo now offers free updates to the latest version of the car’s software while servicing at Domasco Volvo service centre on Street 10, gate 3, in the Industrial Area. This is crucial for customers as there are many computers in today’s cars that control various systems, and just like with other computers, their software should be updated from time to time. It is also a new level of servicing in terms of service to the customer, since Volvo Service 2.0 includes more than what one would usually expect from a workshop, the statement added. The customer will be offered alternative transport, a complimentary car wash and a personal service contact. The car will also get a special health check and a free breakdown help called Volvo Assistance will be extended for a year at no extra charge. This is in addition to the usual benefits of servicing at Domasco’s main Volvo service centre, such as expertly trained technicians using the manufacturer’s methods and genuine parts. Examples of functions or systems that can be optimised with a software update are air-conditioning, engine, passive safety and driver information. 8 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 QATAR ‘Smarter grid must for green environment’ W ith a goal to generate a long-term smart grid research agenda relating to smart grid and renewable energy, Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) recently hosted the first workshop on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy. “The workshop brought together leading experts from international research institutions and universities, as well as government and private sector research and development, to discuss the progress and future challenges of smart grid and renewable energies,” said CEO and dean Dr Mark H Weichold. The participants exchanged information on medium- to longterm research and future challenges of smart grid and renewable energies. Ongoing and future research toward next generation smart grid technologies and applications, leading to research collaboration opportunities, were discussed. It was pointed out that a smarter electric grid is necessary for maintaining rapid economic development, improved social lifestyle and a greener living environment. The workshop generated awareness in industries, engineers and researchers about advanced smart grid technologies and their benefits; renewable energy resources and their integration with the smart grid and information and communications technologies and their adoption in the smart grid. The event was also co-organised by Qatar University, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) and supported through sponsorship from Qatar Petrochemical Co. Dr Weichold addressing the workshop. Dr Mladen Kezunovic, director, Smart Grid Centre Extension in Qatar and professor of electrical engineering at TAMUQ, observed that the workshop positions Qatar as the one of the centres of excellence in research, education and deployment of the future smart grid solutions for the benefits of the citizens of Qatar and the world. The programme also featured a poster session, which included a competition of separate tracks for students and researchers, with first-place winners from each track receiving QR5,000 and with second-place winners from each track receiving QR3,000. Students and researchers presented the outcomes of their research and impact on advancing the industry in Qatar. Dr Rashid Alammari, dean of College of Engineering at Qatar University, said the workshop set the tone of collaboration among academic institutions, research institutes and industry. “The workshop is expected to generate research on smart grid and renewable energy, which is in alignment with Qatar national research strategy.” Dr Haitham Abu-Rub, chair of electrical and computer engineering programme at TAMUQ, senior research scientist at QEERI and managing director of the Smart Grid Centre-Extension in Qatar, said electric energy is key to every economy and for societal prosperity across the globe. “The smart grid effort aims to transform this critical infrastructure into the 21st century using computer-based remote control and automation. The smart grid has been called “electricity with a brain,” the “energy Internet” and the “Electronet.” “Basically, the smart grid integrates electricity and information and communication infrastructures to produce electricity more efficiently and reliably, as well as cleanly and safely for the environment,” he added. Workshop on community policing inaugurated T he importance of community policing in a multi-lingual, multicultural and multi-national society as in Qatar was highlighted at a workshop organised at the Civil Defence Officers Club by the community policing department of the Ministry of Interior. The programme was inaugurated by Lt Col Ahmad Zayed al-Mohannadi, director, community policing department. Officers from Civil Defence, Drugs Enforcement Administration, Al Fazaa and traffic are participating in the two-day workshop. A session on the first day hosted a discussion on “community policing and communication with local communities”. Captain Abdul Aziz Mohamed alRabeea and Captain Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim Mabyuo from Sudan’s interior ministry recited their experiences. Lt Col Ahmad Zayed al-Mohannadi said the workshop aims to exchange experiences of Sudan’s interior ministry in community policing which, he said, helped a lot to improve relations between the local police there and community members. While thanking the Qatar community policing department for the invitation, Captain Abdul Aziz al-Rabeea said the exchange of ideas between two police forces would contribute to improvement in the ways to be adopted in the community policing. Al-Rabeea said the community policing in Sudan is known as community and popular police (CPP) and they succeeded to accomplish many positive results in dealing with the people. Their initiatives, he said, had helped to win the support of the public for policing system. The workshop will feature paper presentations on the Sudanese concept of community policing, major projects of Sudanese CPP and their working methods, CPP security and community groups in residential neighborhoods, comprehensive security and method of internal coordination with police and use of values in attracting the community members and building relations with local community. Workshop on community policing progressing at Officers Club at the Civil Defence headquarters. Muayed Mohamed al-Sharshani and his son, Hassan, receiving a cheque for QR1mn from an Ahlibank executive. Ali al-Khalaf, director, GRSIA. GRSIA opens 24-hour call centre T he General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA) has launched a call centre to serve citizens and customers better. Citizens can now call hotline 183 for their queries round-the-clock. Ali al-Khalaf, director at GRSIA, said the new call centre will provide quality communication service that will benefit its target Ooredoo launches ‘Go Hala!’ campaign Ahlibank announces O winner of QR1mn prize A hlibank has announced the winner of its Al Rabeh saving scheme for Q1 of 2015, with quarterly winner Muayed Mohamed alSharshani bringing home QR1mn, the bank said in a statement yesterday. “With 469 cash prizes to be awarded this year, the latest big money winner expects the Al Rabeh savings scheme will continue to grow in popularity,” the statement added. Al-Sharshani said, “I was very happy when Ahlibank said I was the quarterly QR1mn prize draw winner. I have been a customer for over 20 years and have been extremely satisfied with them. I have also recommended Ahlibank to other members of my family. I am sure the Al Rabeh savings scheme will go from strength to strength.” “The prize will help me diversify and add value to my investments as I look to the future. I will definitely invest in Al Rabeh again by opening an account for my children, which will give us more opportunity to win. It was great to bring my son, Hassan, here today to receive the cheque,” he added. The Al Rabeh savings scheme reward structure offers a range of cash prizes with 93 draws in 2015, including: Every week, 10 customers win QR5,000 and one customer wins QR15,000 in a grand weekly draw; Every month, three customers win QR100,000 in the grand monthly draw; Every quarter, one customer wins QR1mn in the quarterly draw; and Every year to mark National Day, a further QR1mn winner is announced. Andrew McKechnie, deputy CEO, retail banking, Ahlibank, said, “The Al Rabeh savings scheme is a simple, safe, and secure savings opportunity with instant access to funds deposited. It gives savers the opportunity through its prize draw to become mil- lionaires through electronic draws held quarterly and to celebrate National Day. The savings scheme will provide 469 cash prizes this year.” Hassan al-Frangi, head of retail banking services, said, “As a community bank, we have created a ‘best in class’ savings scheme exclusively for Qataris or Qatar residents. Having personally congratulated Mr al-Sharshani on his QR1mn prize draw win, I was pleased to hear how this money will provide additional investment opportunities for him and his family. We are delighted to provide such opportunities through our Al Rabeh savings scheme.” Ahlibank customers are eligible for entry into the Prize Draw by depositing QR500 for a minimum of seven days in either an Al Rabeh Savings Account or by investing in a Savings Certificate (This is the shortest qualifying period and the lowest balance required for a bank prize draw). Portable Bluetooth speaker from top brand L uxurious audio-visual brand Bang & Olufsen’s B&O PLAY has brought to Qatar BeoLit 15, the latest powerful portable Bluetooth speaker designed by award-winning Danish designer Cecilie Manz. BeoLit 15, which comes shortly after the arrival of the ultra-portable BeoPlay A2, packs the best of modern technology with acclaimed acoustics, premium materials and Scandinavian design. The new BeoLit 15 is now available at the Bang & Olufsen store at Lagoona Mall, in addition to iSpace and Fifty One East’s Lagoona Mall and Al Maha Centre branches. BeoLit 15 comes with True360 omni-directional sound, up to 24 hours of continuous playtime from a single battery charge, the acclaimed Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound and features premium quality materials such as anodised aluminium and full grain leather. BeoLit 15, improves upon BeoLit 12, released in 2012, and considered an iconic product, by completely redesigning the acoustic structure. It is the best music system of its kind in the market. The output of 240 Watts of peak power is enough to fill even larger rooms. Bluetooth 4.0 technology makes it easy and fast to connect and play music from any Bluetooth device. BeoLit 15 stands out with its anodised aluminium grill wrapped around the speaker and its full grain leather strap that adds to the portability. The speaker body is made from strong and durable polymer and there is a non-slip rubber tray on top of the speaker for holding mobile devices. BeoLit 15 speaker. clients, as well as their partners and employees. GRSIA has trained a special team to activate the call centre service. AlKhalaf noted that all teams in each department have been coached separately. “This service will be available to provide 24/7 answers from questions of pensioners, subscribers and employers inside and outside Qatar,” he added. oredoo continues to enhance and improve its Hala service in a bid to make it one of the best prepaid mobile services in the region. The ‘Go Hala!’ campaign has been launched to enable people to find out more about the service, which will be supported by a range of value-packed offers, Fatima Sultan al-Kuwari, director, community and public relations, said in a statement yesterday. As its most popular service, Ooredoo had worked hard to offer a wide range of options for its customers as “they pay-as-they-go.” “We’ve launched the Go Hala! Campaign to shine a light on some of our less well-known but exceptional features that could offer more value and greater convenience,” she said, adding: “In addition, we’re planning a range of enhancements for Hala in 2015.” Among the most popular Hala features are a range of international keys, which enable customers to enjoy the best rates when they call their home countries. This month, Ooredoo has added Hala Nigeria International Keys, which enable customers to enjoy the lowest rate of just 30Dhs per minute for calls to Nigeria for one month at QR1 per week. Other value-packed International Keys include special keys for Egypt, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, along with the International Saver Key which offers great rates for 121 countries. Customers can top up their Hala accounts through a wide range of channels, including the Ooredoo website, Ooredoo mobile application, scratch cards, evouchers and Ooredoo self-service machines, and in-person at any Ooredoo shop. Since the launch of 4G+ in December 2014, Hala customers have been able to enjoy Qatar’s fastest Internet service. The company recently revamped its Hala Smart bundles to enable customers to enjoy more Ooredoo minutes and data at the same price every week. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 9 QATAR Life In Qatar - A Woman’s Perspective Commercial Bank launches Cross-cultural new online rewards portal marriage: when love knows no boundaries By Joey Aguilar Staff Reporter A ll it takes is a special person in your life for you to adapt to whatever changes that may come along. For a lady like Josephine, who knows no boundaries in love, marrying a man of a different religion and culture 27 years ago was a choice she will never regret. “We met in college in class. Then I saw him at the student centre and began talking to him about his country and I asked him a lot of questions about his culture,” Josephine told Gulf Times. ‘I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for the first year I was here. I didn’t like the spices in the food and wasn’t crazy about the fried fish having ‘eyes’... but slowly I got used to it and now I wouldn’t trade it for anything’ Both were then studying in Texas, taking foundation courses. It was during those times when Josephine felt the sincerity and honesty of Muslims, especially with her boyfriend, who showed utmost care and love to her, her friends and family. After a couple of years, she converted to Islam and the two got married and settled in Doha in 1990. She described her husband as respectful, religious and kind – traits she was attracted to. Unlike other parents, who usually have objections to their children marrying someone from a different society, Josephine’s mother and father liked her Qatari husband without any hesitation. “They were not afraid of me marrying him. I also changed my religion at the same time, so the only question they had was ‘Does Islam believe in God and does Islam believe He has no partners?’” she said. “Of course, both answers were “yes”. Josephine added that she was lucky to have a husband who treated her parents like his own parents, willing to extend a helping hand at every given opportunity. On the other hand, her mother-in-law was a bit upset at first since the latter had already picked out a wife for her son. “But towards the end of her life, she said she loved me more than she loved her own flesh and blood, and thanked Allah over and over for sending me to her son and to her,” recounted Josephine. “I took care of her in her old age, so there was mutual respect and kindness.” Gulf Times Exclusive Josephine admits she had a hard time adjusting to the cultural and religious changes during her first two years in Qatar. First was the food and then the dress, something that she personally had difficulty coping with. Compared with the environment in the West, she thanked God for her children grew without getting addicted to drugs, safe from criminals and immoral acts such as pornography , and disrespect, among others “To tell you the truth, at first it was very hard. The first two years here, I cried a lot. I missed my home, culture and food,” she stressed. “I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for the first year I was here. I didn’t like the spices in the food and wasn’t crazy about the fried fish having ‘eyes’,” she quipped. “But slowly I got used to it and now I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Asked why, Josephine said there is no other reason except their love for each other: some differences can be fixed easily by making small adjustments. However, some considerations and realities cannot be ignored, too, according to her. She noted that Qatar was one of the best and safest places on earth to raise children. The couple had been blessed with four girls and a boy, their ages ranging from 14 to 26. ‘But towards the end of her life, she said she loved me more than she loved her own flesh and blood, and thanked Allah over and over for sending me to her son and to her,.. I took care of her in her old age, so there was mutual respect and kindness’ Compared with the environment in the West, she thanked God for her children grew without getting addicted to drugs, safe from criminals and immoral acts such as pornography, and disrespect, among others. She believes the Arab community has a huge level of respect for elders, “which I am sad to say is not the same in the US.” She was all praise for the teachings of Islam. Despite living a good life in Qatar, Josephine admits she missed a lot of things back home. First, she missed her family and friends who had been very supportive of her endeavours. She also missed the seasons: the rain and the snow where they used to play before. And of course, the food that had satisfied her taste buds. C ommercial Bank has launched a new online rewards portal, powered by Infinia Services & Solutions, making it “easier” for its credit card loyalty programme customers to redeem their Commercial Bank rewards points online for flights, home furnishing, fashion, spas, electronics and more. www.cbqrewards.com is a fully automated loyalty rewards portal, where customers can instantly view and redeem their current Commercial Bank rewards points balance online, anytime, anywhere, with no paper forms to be filled and no waiting time at branches or retail outlets to receive or redeem vouchers. All Commercial Bank credit cardholders are automatically enrolled into one of three types of generous rewards programmes when taking a Commercial Bank credit card, and earn reward points each time they spend using their credit cards. To view the points accumulated and to redeem these, all that customers need to do is register and activate their online rewards account by visiting www.cbqrewards.com, click “redeem your points” and then choose what to redeem their points for. Customers can opt to redeem their rewards points for FlyMiles, Accolades vouchers or simply transfer their points to other preferred airlines or hotel loyalty schemes. FlyMiles allows customers to redeem reward points to fly to any destination, on any date, with any airline, and was the first loyalty programme to offer this to customers in Qatar when launched in 2013. Commercial Bank custom- The Commercial Bank headquarters in West Bay. ers opting to redeem their reward points for Accolades vouchers are able to choose from the widest variety of redemption partners in Qatar, and now, with the launch of this new platform, customers receive their vouchers via their mo- bile or e-mail for immediate use. Customers can then visit any one of Commercial Bank’s partners and enter their voucher number at the point of sale to enjoy great discounts on jewellery, fashion, electronics, home furnishing and more. This now eliminates the need for customers to complete forms and collect paper vouchers from Commercial Bank’s branches. Commercial Bank EGM (Retail and Consumer Banking) Dean Proctor said, “Commercial Bank’s new online redemption portal makes it even easier for customers to enjoy our market-leading loyalty programme and to redeem their rewards points, all from the comfort of their home or office. “This is another step forward in the bank’s goal to making life simpler and more convenient for our customers. By receiving e-vouchers on a customer’s phone or smart device, customers can now instantly enjoy the benefits of our enhanced online rewards programme and benefit from their use on our range of credit cards. “The real-time, personalised and state-of-the-art platform takes customer loyalty to the next level. Instant online redemption is already enabled through a partner network of more than 900 airlines and 450,000 hotels worldwide, through FlyMiles and now through e-vouchers, which are easily redeemable at hundreds of Commercial Bank partner outlets across Qatar.” Prashant Khattar, founder and managing director of Infinia Services & Solutions, said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Commercial Bank of Qatar, one of the leading banks in the country. Commercial Bank’s aim is to make life simpler for customers and to reward them for their loyalty. Our platform enables them to do this easily and simply. We are confident that Commercial Bank customers will be delighted with this newly enhanced rewards programme.” Officials at the inauguration of the fourth Annual Career Fair for Universities & Work Sectors held at Al Wakra Secondary Independent School. Qatar Steel sponsors career fair Q atar Steel recently participated, as an official sponsor, in the fourth Annual Career Fair for Universities & Work Sectors held at Al Wakra Secondary Independent School. A number of local and overseas industrial companies, universities and educational institutions took part in the fair. The event was attended by Ali al-Buainain, director of the Scholarship Office at Higher Education Institute, Ahmed al-Buainain, chairman of the school trustees’ council, Dr Saleh al-Ibrahim, vice-principal for administrative and students affairs, a number of principals of independent schools, event sponsors and other officials from government offices and institutions. Qatar Steel was represented by Mohamed Saleh al-Mahdi, HR manager, Yousef Abdullah al-Mansouri, learning and development manager, and a team from both departments, who briefed the students on job opportunities and internship programmes available. They also answered all queries from the students about potential learning disciplines and career prospects. The career fair aims at familiarising the students with the work opportunities and academic careers offered by industrial companies and educational institutions in terms of internships and scholarships programmes, updating them on the disciplines required by the job market, giving them a chance to meet officials from various important sectors to enquire about the internships that can be granted to national high school students to complete their undergraduate or postgraduate studies. Qatar Steel is keen to participate in this annual event, hoping to attract qualified and high-performing students so as to recruit them in the company’s different departments. Its participation is also aimed at providing academic guidance to high school students and help them choose the right career paths, according to a statement. 10 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 REGION Iran, powers move toward accord, Israel sounds alarm AFP Lausanne, Switzerland I People stand on a tank that was burnt during clashes on a street in Aden yesterday. Air strikes target Sanaa airport, rebel troop base The “coalition operations will increase pressure on Houthi militia” who will “no longer have a safe haven within Yemen”, a spokesman says AFP Sanaa S audi-led warplanes bombed Yemen’s main international airport and struck a renegade troop base in the capital, as Arab leaders vowed yesterday to pummel Iranian-backed rebels until they surrender. The raids on the country’s main air gateway came just hours after UN workers were evacuated following deadly fighting that has sent tensions between Tehran and other Middle East powers soaring. India and Pakistan also moved to airlift their citizens from the chaos-wracked country. Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has urged his Arab allies to keep up the bombing until the Houthi Shia rebels are defeated, branding them Iran’s “puppet”. His Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin said there could be “no negotiations and dialogue” with the rebels “until the legitimate government has control over all Yemeni lands”. Arab League chief Nabil alArabi said at a regional summit in Egypt yesterday the offensive would go on until the rebels “surrender” their weapons and withdraw from areas they seized. The Houthis and allied renegade military units have overrun much of the country and prompted Hadi to flee what had been his last remaining refuge in the main southern city Aden for Saudi Arabia. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes in Aden in recent days, dimming prospects of Hadi returning any time soon. At least 38 people were killed yesterday in fighting near the oil region of Usaylan in southern Shabwa province after tribesmen attacked rebel positions, security and tribal sources said. In the capital, witnesses reported hearing three loud explosions and seeing a large fire when Sanaa International Airport was bombed during a fourth night of Saudi-led air raids. “This was the first time they hit the runway” since the campaign began, an aviation source said. “The airport is completely out of service.” A civil aviation official at the airport later told AFP that work to repair the runway had begun. More than 200 staff from the UN, foreign embassies and other organisations had been flown out from the airport on Saturday. A jumbo jet sent by Pakistan flew out of Hodeida in western Yemen yesterday with nearly 500 of its citizens on board, including the ambassador, officials said. India said it had received permission from the Arab coalition to airlift out its stranded citizens and would also send a ship. Overnight air strikes hit the headquarters of the rebel republican guard at Al Subaha base in Sanaa, killing 15 soldiers, a military official said. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in 2012 after a year-long popular uprising and is accused of supporting the rebels. The latest Saudi-led strikes also hit an airbase in rebel-held Hodeida, witnesses said. Other raids targeted a base of the First Artillery Brigade in Saada, the northern stronghold of the Houthis. Spokesman Ahmed Assiri told reporters in Riyadh that the “coalition operations will increase pressure on Houthi militia” who will “no longer have a safe haven within Yemen”. At the regional summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Arab leaders had “agreed on the principle” of creating a joint military force. The proposal has taken on added urgency since the Houthis seized swathes of Yemen, although Saudi Arabia has said there are no immediate plans to send in ground troops. The Arab coalition is said to have been spurred into action by the prospect of an Iran-backed regime seizing power in Yemen. Russia has voiced concern that the clashes could undermine nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran in the Swiss city of Lausanne, although diplomats said a ten- tative deal was emerging. In talks with Yassin in Egypt, Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov called on “all sides of the conflict to cease military action in the name of preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen”, his ministry said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vociferous critic of Tehran, denounced the “Iran-Lausanne-Yemen axis which is dangerous for all of humanity and which must be stopped”. According to Saudi Arabia, more than 10 countries have joined the coalition defending Hadi. Washington and Britain have pledged logistical support. Late Saturday, anti-Houthi local fighters were reported to have taken full control of Aden airport with the loss of five men, and nine rebels killed. The rebels also set up a base in Dar Saad on the city’s northern fringe after clashes in which six people, including four Houthis, were killed, a military source said. Nearly 100 people are reported to have died in violence in Aden in recent days. ran and world powers have reached tentative agreement on parts of a deal sharply curtailing Tehran’s nuclear programme, Western diplomats said yesterday while cautioning that the deal is by no means done. As negotiators raced against the clock in a rainy Switzerland, in Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering attack on the “dangerous” accord that may be emerging. One Western diplomat said Iran had “more or less” agreed to slash the number of its centrifuge machines by more than two-thirds and to ship abroad most of its stockpile of nuclear material. A senior Iranian negotiator denied any such thing, saying any such claims were aimed at “disturbing” the talks. “No deal has been reached, and the remaining issues have to be resolved,” the Iranian official said. But at the same time Iranian officials have expressed guarded optimism that after 18 months of tortuous negotiations and two missed deadlines, a breakthrough might be in sight for a deal ending 12 years of tensions. “If we manage to resolve all the remaining issues today or in the next two to three days, then we can begin to draw up a text. But for the moment we are still in discussions,” a source close to the Iranian delegation said yesterday. In Lausanne, US Secretary of State John Kerry cancelled plans to leave for an event in Boston today in order to keep negotiating, the State Department said. “It’s going all right. We’re working,” Kerry said yesterday during a break from talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif at a luxury hotel in the Swiss town. His French and German counterparts, Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also scrapped plans to go to Kazakhstan, diplomats said. Steinmeier said on Saturday talks were in the “endgame”. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived yesterday morning. Russian and British top diplomats Sergei Lavrov and Philip Hammond were expected later, completing the line-up of foreign ministers. The aim is to agree broad outlines for an accord by tomorrow’s midnight deadline, and then flesh out a series of complex annexes containing all the technical details by June 30. The mooted deal would see Iran scale down its nuclear programme and allow unprecedented inspections of its remaining activities. The hope is to prolong the theoretical “breakout” time that Iran would need to produce enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb to at least a year from the current estimate of several months. This would require a combination of slashing the number of centrifuges, converting existing nuclear plants such as the underground Fordow facility, exporting its stocks of enriched uranium and limiting the development of newer, faster equipment. The latter is thought to be a particularly thorny issue, as is the issue of sanctions. Iran is insisting that in exchange global powers must lift sanctions that have choked its economy by strangling its oil exports and banks. The issue of UN sanctions is proving particularly thorny, diplomats said, with global powers insisting the sanctions should be eased only gradually to ensure that they can be “snapped” back into place if Iran violates the deal. “Ultimately, it’s time for the Iranians to send a clear signal to the international community about whether or not they’re willing to make the serious commitments required,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told ABC television yesterday. But for Israel and US President Barack Obama’s Republican opponents, the agreement will not go far enough to stop Iran one day getting the bomb. Kerry is under pressure to return from Lausanne with something concrete to head off a push by Republican lawmakers to introduce yet more sanctions, potentially torpedoing the whole negotiating process. “The dangerous accord which is being negotiated in Lausanne confirms our concerns and even worse,” Netanyahu said in remarks broadcast on public radio. Putin letter draws Saudi rebuke Reuters Sharm El Sheikh S audi Arabia accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy yesterday, telling an Arab summit that he should not express support for the Middle East while fuelling instability by supporting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. In a rare move, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that a letter from Putin would be read out to the gathering in Egypt, where Arab leaders discussed an array of regional crises, including conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya. “We support the Arabs’ aspirations for a prosperous future and for the resolution of all the problems the Arab world faces through peaceful means, without any external interference,” Putin said in the letter. His comments triggered a sharp attack from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. “He speaks about the problems in the Middle East as though Russia is not influencing these problems,” he told the summit right after the letter was read out. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia have been cool over Moscow’s support for Assad, whom Riyadh opposes. The civil war between Assad’s forces and rebels has cost more than 200,000 lives in four years. “They speak about tragedies in Syria while they are an essential part of the tragedies befalling the Syrian people, by arming the Syrian regime above and beyond what it needs to Prince Saud attends the summit in Sharm El Sheikh yesterday. fight its own people,” Prince Saud said. “I hope that the Russian president corrects this so that the Arab world’s relations with Russia can be at their best level.” The Saudi rebuke may have been awkward for summit host Egypt, which depends heavily on billions of dollars in support from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab allies, but has also improved ties with Moscow. In February, Putin received a grand welcome in Egypt, signalling a rapprochement. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 11 ARAB WORLD Syrian forces regroup after fall of Idlib The city’s capture is praised by opposition forces across the spectrum of Syria’s uprising AFP Beirut S yrian troops regrouped yesterday after a coalition including Al Qaeda’s local affiliate seized the city of Idlib, the second provincial capital to fall from government control. The capture is a blow to the government and raises the prospect that the city will become the effective capital of territory held by Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing, Al Nusra Front, analysts said. Yesterday, the city in northwestern Syria was largely quiet, after sporadic government aerial bombardment overnight, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. A security source in Damascus and Syrian media said government forces were regrouping outside the city. “Forces are repositioning on the outskirts of Idlib in order to face the terrorist battalions... and be in the best position to repel their attack,” a security source in Damascus said. The Al Watan newspaper, which is close to the government, said troops had carried out a “successful operation regrouping south of the city”. “Army reinforcements were sent to start a military operation to regain control of the areas that were vacated after the evacuation of the local population to safe areas,” the daily added, citing a source on the ground. A coalition of Islamist forces overran Idlib on Saturday, after an operation that began just five days earlier and killed at least 170 opposition and regime forces. The city becomes only the second provincial capital to fall from regime control after Raqa, in northern Syria, which was seized by rebel groups in March 2013. Those groups were subsequently ousted from the city by the Islamic State jihadist group, which has made Raqa the de facto Syrian capital of its self-declared Islamic “caliphate” on Syrian and Iraqi territory. The group that seized Idlib calls itself the Army of Conquest and includes Al Nusra and the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham group, as well as other smaller conservative Islamist rebel forces. They touted their victory on social media, with Al Nusra’s Twitter accounts posting photos of its fighters in front of government buildings. Al Nusra also posted video of its forces entering a prison in the city, where they discovered the bodies of detainees apparently executed by government forces before their withdrawal. The Observatory said at least 15 prisoners had been found dead at a military intelligence detention facility in the city. The city’s capture was praised by opposition forces across the spectrum of Syria’s uprising, which began in March 2011 with anti-government protests before descending into a brutal war after a regime crackdown. The opposition National Coalition, which is recognised by much of the international community, welcomed it as “an important victory on the road to the full liberation of Syrian territory”. Its statement made no reference to the composition of the forces that seized the city, saying only it had “confidence” they would protect civilians and abide by international law. Analysts said Al Nusra’s role in Idlib’s capture had put the Coalition and other “moderate” rebels in a difficult position. “The capture of Idlib is a huge boost for the Syrian opposition, but it’s one that once again will serve to underline the relative inadequacies of genuine ‘moderates,’” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Centre think tank. “Considering the posture established by Al Nusra in Idlib over the last nine months, it seems pretty implausible that the city won’t eventually end up representing Nusra’s effective capital and stronghold,” Lister said. More than 215,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began, and half the country’s population has been displaced in the war. Essebsi , Hollande and Abbas lead an anti-extremism march in Tunis yesterday. Militants’ leader killed as thousands march in Tunis AFP Tunis T unisia said yesterday it had killed the leader of the militants behind the massacre at its national museum, as foreign leaders joined thousands of Tunisians in a march against extremism. Chanting “Tunisia is free! Terrorism out!” the demonstrators marched in a sea of red Tunisian flags to the capital’s Bardo Museum, where 21 foreign tourists were killed in the March 18 shooting rampage. “The Tunisian people have proven that they will not give in to terrorism. My thanks go out to all and I tell the Tunisian people: ‘Forwards. You are not alone,’” President Beji Caid Essebsi said after joining the march with foreign dignitaries. French President Francois Hollande, whose country held a similar march after January’s Enemy fire, bombs slow Tikrit offensive Reuters Baghdad I raqi security forces battled Islamic State militants in central Tikrit yesterday as the United States and its allies provided aerial support and local officials warned that the battle to retake the Sunni Muslim city would not be quick. “A rapid advance in a city where the ground is littered with bombs and booby-traps is too tough to achieve,” said Mayor Osama al-Tikriti. IS fighters stormed into Tikrit last June during a lightning advance in which they seized swathes of Sunni Iraqi territory before finally being halted outside Baghdad. Complicating matters around Tikrit was a decision by most Iranian-backed Shia armed groups to boycott the current offensive in protest against the US- led air strikes that began on Thursday at the request of the Baghdad government. The Shia militias, aligned with Tehran, have repeatedly said they do not need US support to drive the IS militants from Tikrit, home city of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain. The security forces and Shia militias, who provided the largest number of fighters, began their offensive on March 2 but halted operations after two weeks due to heavy casualties and tensions within the government and with US officials over Iran’s prominent role. The battle remains slow-going. At least 17 security personnel have been killed in fighting and another 100 wounded around Tikrit since Thursday when the US air strikes began, a security officer said. Yesterday, an attempt to infiltrate Tikrit from the southern district of Shisheen was thwarted by militants. They used anti-tank missiles to destroy a bulldozer being used by the military to clear a path around booby-trapped roads, an official said. Fighting to the south of Tikrit underscored the high stakes of the war against IS as even areas under government and militia control near Baghdad remain vulnerable to lightning-fast attacks by the militants. IS ambushed an Iraqi army and Shia paramilitary base near Dujail yesterday, killing six paramilitary volunteers and wounding 14 others, a security official said. The clashes in the countryside around Dujail, just 54km from Baghdad, lasted until sunset and involved two suicide bombers and machine gunners in pickup trucks. In Baghdad, at least seven people were killed in three bombings yesterday, while a soldier also died in a bomb blast targeting a convoy in Tarmiyah just north of the capital. Israel unearths ancient Egyptian vessels for beer Fragments of pottery used by Egyptians to make beer and dating back 5,000 years have been discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said yesterday. Excavation director Diego Barkan said 17 pits were found that had been used to store produce in the Early Bronze Age, from 3500 to 3000 BC. “Among the hundreds of pottery sherds that characterise the local culture, a number of fragments of large ceramic basins were discovered that were made in an Egyptian tradition and were used to prepare beer,” he said in a statement. The excavation is the first to offer evidence of an “Egyptian occupation” in the centre of Tel Aviv 5,000 years ago. “This is also the northernmost evidence we have of an Egyptian presence in the early Bronze Age,” he said. According to the antiquities authority “beer was the Egyptian national drink and was a staple along with bread”. It said beer was consumed by the entire population of Egypt, regardless of age, gender or status. “It was made from a mixture of barley and water that was partially baked and then left to ferment in the sun,” the statement added. attacks in Paris, was among the figures attending along with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. “We must all fight against terrorism,” Hollande told reporters after the march. “Tunisians wanted this international solidarity.” Tunisian authorities earlier said Lokmane Abou Sakhr—an Algerian who allegedly masterminded the museum attack— was killed along with at least eight others from the notorious Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade. Officials had accused Abou Sakhr and his group of organising the attack on the Bardo National Museum carried out by two gunmen who were shot dead, despite a claim of responsibility from the Islamic State jihadist group. Tunisian forces “were able yesterday (Saturday) to kill the most important members of the Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade including its head Lokmane Abou Sa- khr”, Prime Minister Habib Essid told reporters. Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said security forces had killed “nine terrorists” in an operation in the westcentral area of Sidi Aich. Authorities say Okba Ibn Nafaa has been behind a series of attacks on security forces that have left some 60 dead since late 2012. During the official march, a stone tablet was unveiled with the names of the foreign tourists and a Tunisian policeman killed in the attack. The authorities gave no immediate estimate for the number of participants in the march, which took place amid tight security. “Tunisia is not a country of jihad, extremism and terrorism!” yelled Majda Friga, a participant wrapped in the Tunisian flag. “Let the terrorists leave our lands. Let them go to hell and leave us in peace,” said Fadhila Lahmar, a woman in her 60s. Tunisia has seen an upsurge in Islamic extremism since overthrowing long-time strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, but has taken pride in forming a democratic government since the Arab Spring—in marked contrast to countries such as Libya, Syria and Yemen. The moderate Islamist Ennahda main opposition party called on its supporters to join the march “as an expression of Tunisian unity in the face of this danger and of their determination to defend their country and... preserve their freedom”. The country’s powerful UGTT trade union also urged its supporters to take part. However, the leftist opposition Popular Front called for a boycott, accusing some participants of “hypocrisy”, referring to accusations that the Islamists in power after Tunisia’s 2011 revolution had failed to act against militants. 12 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 AFRICA Nigeria opposition protests in oil state Reuters Port Harcourt C onfusion and sporadic violence blighted Nigeria’s tensest presidential election since the end of army rule, with opposition supporters yesterday disputing results from a turbulent southern state even before they were announced. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state accused supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan of being behind killings of its campaigners, and denounced the vote there as “a sham and a charade”. Dismissal of the vote in Rivers - the centre of Africa’s biggest oil industry - raises the prospect of a disputed national outcome and the risk of a repeat of the violence that erupted after the last election in 2011, when 800 people were killed and 65,000 displaced in the mainly Muslim north. Hundreds of protesters chanted ‘APC’ outside the main INEC electoral commission office in Port Harcourt, watched by dozens of police. Senator Magnus Abe accused the ruling party of intimidation. “There was no election in Rivers,” APC polling agent Achinike WilliamWobodo told Reuters, calling for a fresh ballot. In a sign the opposition will challenge results elsewhere, the APC governor of southern Imo state, Rochas Okorocha, denounced on television the conduct of the election in his region and accused the military of meddling in the result. There was no immediate comment from INEC. Kano and Kaduna, the northern cities worst-hit by the 2011 violence, were calm. Voting in Saturday’s election was extended into yesterday at a relatively small number of polling stations af- All Progressives Congress party supporters march towards the Independent National Electoral Commission Office in Port Harcourt during a demonstration calling for the cancellation of the presidential elections in the Rivers State. ter technical glitches hit voter ID machines. Islamist Boko Haram militants also killed more than a dozen voters in the northeast, while at least two people were shot dead in Port Harcourt, a city with a long history of political thuggery. The vote pits Jonathan against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari for the favour of an electorate divided along a complex mix of ethnic, regional and in some cases religious lines in Africa’s most populous nation. It is also the first time since the end of military rule in 1999 that an op- position candidate has had a serious chance of unseating the incumbent, raising the stakes compared to previous years. Buhari’s APC reported violence in Rivers state and blamed it on “armed militias” backed by Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “Whatever trash will (be) announced as the result of today’s election is not acceptable to us,” the APC concluded. “A sham and a charade.” PDP officials did not respond to a request for comment and it was not possible to corroborate the claim independently. Islamist insurgents launched several attacks on voters in the northeast on election day, killing three in Yobe state and 11 in neighbouring Gombe, including an opposition parliamentary candidate. The militants, who are trying to establish an Islamic caliphate, reject democracy and their leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to kill voters. A string of military victories by troops from Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger has reclaimed much of the territory the Islamists controlled earlier this year, but they retain the ability to mount deadly attacks on civilians. Voting was beset by problems from the start as officials turned up late and biometric card readers, introduced to prevent the vote-rigging that has marred previous polls, failed to work. Even Jonathan had to wait 40 minutes. Electoral commission spokesman Kayode Odowu said just 350 polling stations out of 120,000 were still voting. “You can’t say that is too sizeable,” he said, adding that results would be collated within 48 hours of the polls closing. Anybody who announced results before the commission would be breaking the law, he added. Turnout appears to have been high, and with up to 56.7mn voters to process, results could take a while to collate. Buhari and Jonathan have appealed for calm and signed a “peace accord” on the eve of the vote, but many Nigerians still fear a repeat of the postelection violence that erupted in 2011, when Jonathan defeated Buhari. “The danger is post-election,” former Malawian President Bakili Muluzi, who is leading a Commonwealth observer mission, told Reuters. “We’ve been assured by the peace accord between the leaders but how that trickles down is the danger.” Ivory Coast and Ghana spar over disputed zone oil hunt Reuters Hamburg I vory Coast argued in an international tribunal yesterday that allowing Ghana to continue oil exploration in a disputed offshore area pending a ruling on their border line would do irreparable damage to its economy and energy policy. The two West African neighbours have asked the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg to rule on the location of their shared maritime boundary. London-listed Tullow Oil is due to finish work on its TEN project in the disputed zone and start pumping oil by mid-2016. Ivory Coast has submitted a request to ITLOS for a suspension of Ghana’s ongoing exploration activities in the zone pending a final ruling, which could take three years. A decision on Ivory Coast’s request is expected next month. In its first round of oral arguments, Ivory Coast said Ghana was accelerating development in the zone, which would leave it to face a fait accompli. Michael Wood, a special adviser to the Ivorian delegation, said that not granting the suspension “could irreparably compromise Cote d’Ivoire’s entitlement to formulate and pursue a national policy with respect to the use of natural resources”. Paul Reichler, a member of Ghana’s legal team, said that Ivory Coast had for at least the last 40 years accepted the demarcation that Accra considers to be the boundary between the two nations. “There was an agreed border separating their respective maritime territories, and it consisted of an equidistant line whose specific co-ordinates were identified and were reflected in their oil concession agreements,” he said. The argument was rejected at the tribunal by Ibrahima Diaby, directorgeneral of hydrocarbons for Ivory Coast’s energy ministry. “I regret that Ghana should rewrite our shared history by asserting that Cote d’Ivoire expressly accepted as a maritime boundary between the two states the line along which oil blocks were granted by the two states,” he said. Ghana is seeking a dismissal of Ivory Coast’s request for a provisional suspension. Fifth Kenyan minister steps down temporarily AFP Nairobi A fifth Kenyan minister has temporarily stepped down over a probe by the country’s anticorruption commission, leaving the cabinet without more than a quarter of its members, the presidency announced yesterday. President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier asked those named in a confidential report by the east African nation’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to step aside while its work continues. The probe is expected to continue for about 60 days and the allegations involved have not yet been made public. “Lands, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu has stepped aside to allow for ongoing investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive,” a presidency statement said. On Saturday, Kenyatta spokesman Manoah Esipisu said that “the president reaffirms that there are no sacred cows and that this is just the beginning of an unwavering war against corruption.” Liberia moots sexual abstinence to cut Ebola risk By Alphonso Toweh, Reuters Monrovia L iberia yesterday called on Ebola survivors to strictly observe a period of sexual abstinence after recovering from the disease, amid fears the country’s last case may have resulted from sexual transmission. The West African nation suffered a setback in its efforts to end a year-long outbreak of the disease earlier this month when it recorded its first new case of Ebola in several weeks. The patient, a 44-year-old woman, died on Friday. More than 10,300 people have succumbed to the disease across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the three countries hardest hit by the worst Ebola epidemic on record. Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah, who heads Liberia’s Ebola response, said health officials were monitoring 211 individuals known to have come in contact with the woman but that none had presented symptoms of the disease. “New information indicates that sexual transmission may have occurred, but remains unproven. Additional tests are be- UN official warns against complacency as Ebola fight draws to a close The head of the UN’s Ebola fighting force yesterday warned against complacency as the battle against the disease entered its final lap while also hailing Guinea for tightening surveillance. Mauritanian Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s comments came a day after Guinea announced a health emergency in five regions in the south-west and west for 45 days. Guinean President Alpha Conde announced a series of measures on Saturday, including the temporary closure of hospitals and clinics where there have been cases of Ebola. Since the Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013, more than 24,000 people in nine countries have been infected with the virus, and over 10,000 of them have died. All but a handful of those deaths have occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. “On behalf of the international community and the UN, I hail this brave decision,” Ould Cheikh Ahmed told AFP. “Guinea has made tremendous efforts,” he said. “There have been very positive results but we are now at the most critical moment... the last phase in the fight against Ebola.” “Our biggest enemy today is complacency.” In Sierra Leone, which imposed a three-day nationwide lockdown Friday to prevent a resurgence of the deadly virus, the restrictions were eased for seven hours for Christians to attend Palm Sunday services. Many priests prayed for a speedy end of the epidemic, a recurrent theme across churches in the country. “By God’s grace, the current stay-at-home will signal the last kick of the dying Ebola horse,” said Pastor Henry Williams in a church in a western district of the capital Freetown. Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, the director of planning at Sierra Leone’s National Ebola Response Centre said Sunday that regional authorities were co-operating to stamp out the disease. “It’s a race against time as we want to get Ebola out quickly as we are approaching the ...start of the rainy season,” she said. “We are sharing contact information and follow up on case searches in the border communities. We are working as a single team to monitor the situation.” Sierra Leone health officials check passengers transiting at the border crossing with Liberia in Jendema. ing undertaken to investigate this possibility,” he told journalists. Research has shown traces of Ebola in semen of some survivors for at least 82 days after the onset of symptoms. There is no conclusive scientific proof these traces are infectious. But anecdotal evidence of several cases in West Africa and confirmed transmission of Marburg, another viral haemorrhagic fever, have led experts to warn of the potential risk of sexually transmitted Ebola. As a precaution, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises Ebola survivors to abstain from sex during a 90-day period following recovery, or, failing that, to practice safe sex. Nyenswah reiterated the WHO’s advice and suggested survivors go a step further until the modes of transmission are better understood. “Ebola survivors should con- sider correct and consistent use of condoms for all sexual acts beyond three months until more information is available,” he said. Liberia has largely succeeded in getting its Ebola outbreak under control and was on its way to completing the 42 days without a new case necessary to declaring the country free of the disease when it recorded the most recent infection. Its neighbours, however, have faced more difficulties in containing their own outbreaks. Guinea’s President Alpha Conde announced on Saturday new emergency measures Tanzania wary of rising religious tensions Reuters Dar es Salaam T anzania’s president said tensions between Muslims and Christians were rising ahead of a constitutional referendum and elections and warned religious leaders against political meddling, saying this could stoke violence. A spate of violent attacks on Christian and Muslim leaders over the past few years has raised concerns of an escalation of sectarian tensions in relatively stable and secular Tanzania, east Africa’s second largest economy. Jakaya Kikwete told a meeting of religious leaders in a speech seen by Reuters yesterday that the referendum slated for April 30 and presidential and parliamentary elections set for October had raised the spectre of violence. “The threat to peace is high,” he told the gathering, late on Saturday in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. “You don’t need to be a master of astrology to know that the current situation, if left unchecked, could plunge our country into a major conflict between Christians and Muslims.” Tanzania’s population of 45mn is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians. The new constitution would replace one approved in 1977 when Tanzania was under oneparty rule and it has drawn criticism from some Christian clergy. Kikwete said their opposition to the proposed charter was probably meant as retalia- tion for his government’s decision to present legislation that would allow Tanzanian courts to recognise verdicts from Islamic ‘Kadhi’ courts. “I’ve been saddened and dismayed by these statements because I did not expect religious leaders whom we all respect to do this,” said Kikwete, who is a Muslim. The courts would allow Muslims to enforce marriage, divorce, inheritance and family rights in their community, but some Christian leaders say they undermine Tanzania’s secular state. Kikwete said the Kadhi courts would only adjudicate on Muslim issues and would receive no state funding, adding that the secular courts would remain superior to them. “The government will not set up Kadhi courts. Instead these courts will be established by Muslims themselves ... I do not see any reason whatsoever for religious leaders to instruct their worshippers to vote against the proposed constitution.” Many Muslims living along Tanzania’s coast feel marginalised by the secular government, providing fertile recruitment grounds for Islamist groups such as Somalia’s Shebaab, which operates further north along Africa’s eastern seaboard. The semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands have posed the biggest headache for the Tanzanian government because of religious tensions and deep social and economic divisions, but there has been a lull in sectarian violence in the mainly Muslim archipelago over the past year. enabling authorities to restrict movements in western Guinea, where Ebola transmission continues a year after the epidemic was declared. Sierra Leone, the worst affected country, launched a three-day national lockdown on Friday aimed at accelerating the end of its Ebola epidemic. Mozambique president elected head of party M ozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi was yesterday elected head of the ruling party Frelimo, allaying fears his predecessor was planning to cling to power behind the scenes. Nyusi took over at the helm of the party from Mozambique’s ex-president Armando Guebuza, Frelimo spokesman Damiao Jose told reporters, ending weeks of uncertainty. He was elected with 98.4% of the vote at the annual congress of the supreme decision-making body of the Marxist-Leninist party, which has ruled the former Portuguese colony since independence 40 years ago. Guebuza, 72, was succeeded by 56-year-old former defence minister Nyusi as leader of the southern African nation in January following an October election. Guebuza was not eligible to run for president as he had served a second and final term, but he could have stayed on as party head as his mandate was not due to expire until 2017. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 13 AMERICAS Utility found ‘hazardous situation’ in gas link before NY blast Reuters New York U tility workers dispatched in August to one of three buildings destroyed in an explosion and fire in Manhattan last week found dangerous gas line connections that created a “hazardous situation,” a Con Edi- son spokesman said on Saturday. The crew was sent to the building after a Con Edison worker reading gas meters smelled gas on Aug. 6 in the basement, said Con Edison spokesman Allan Drury. The basement could hold the key to the cause of the devastation, in which 22 people were injured - four critically - and two people remained unaccounted for, police said. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that the blast was possibly tied to someone “inappropriately” tapping into a gas line. The owner of the sushi restaurant where the explosion occurred told The New York Times that utility workers determined that gas intended for his restaurant was being siphoned off illegally for use in newly renovated apartments upstairs. Drury said that utility workers found multiple leaks on Aug. 6 in hoses that had been connected to the gas line leading to a restaurant in the building, creating a “hazardous situation.” He noted that Con Edison shut off the building’s gas for about 10 days, until it was determined to be safe. On Saturday, rescue crews with cadaver dogs clawed through smoldering rubble in the search for two people still unaccounted for. Authorities said it could take a week of careful digging through twisted debris, bricks and splintered wood before the basement is reached. In all 11 buildings were evacuated, leaving residents of 144 apart- ments needing places to stay. Investigators were looking into whether gas and plumbing work being done privately in one building led to the explosion. An hour before the blast Con Edison utility inspectors had been at the scene and determined that pre-existing work was not satisfactory, but the problems were not safety related, the mayor said. The contractor, identified as Dilber Kukic, was one of 50 people arrested in February in a sweep of the city by building and housing inspectors. He was accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss violations at two properties, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said. The hospitalised Kukic could not be reached for comment. Questions linger after Pao’s loss in Silicon Valley trial Tribune News Service Los Angeles A jury has spoken in a case that riveted Silicon Valley, but that doesn’t mean all’s An Air Canada Airbus A320 lies in the snow after it skidded off the runway at Halifax International Airport, Nova Scotia yesterday. At least 23 passengers and crew suffered non-life threatening injuries. Air Canada plane ‘exits’ Halifax runway, 23 hurt AFP Montreal A t least 23 people were hurt and petrified passengers described how they feared for their lives when an Air Canada plane careened off a runway in heavy snow at Halifax airport yesterday. All but one of the injured were later released from hospital but the incident caps a traumatic week for the airline industry, coming five days after a pilot killed himself and 149 others when he slammed his Germanwings plane into the French Alps, obliterating the aircraft. Like the doomed Germanwings flight, the Air Canada plane was an Airbus A320. Flight AC624 from Toronto “exited runway upon landing at Halifax,” the airline said on Twitter, and pictures showed the nose of the plane sliced off, its landing gear collapsed and at least one engine badly mangled. Passengers said the plane had circled over the airport before coming in to land and had “bounced” upon impact, shortly after midnight. Investigators were probing what caused the incident, but heavy snow was falling in the eastern Canadian city and Environment Canada had issued a snowfall alert, warning of low visibility. Five crew and 133 passengers were on board the plane, according to Air Canada. Passengers described scenes of panic. “There was a couple people, all bloodied. Everybody was able to get out, but what was worse was that they left us for an hour outside in the blowing snow,” Lianne Clark told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Some ran from the plane “because the fuel was coming out and we were scared,” she said. Halifax airport spokesman Peter Spurway said passengers had appeared shaken as they left the plane, describing the incident as “scary.” Greg Wright was waiting at the airport to meet his 13-yearold son. He told CBC News he initially thought his son was joking when he called to say there had been an accident. “He said, ‘We crashed, we Train-car crash crashed,’” Wright told CBC. “I was panicked.” Power was out at the airport at the time of the incident, but Spurway did not say whether there was any link to the accident. “We did lose power, we’re not sure if the two incidents are connected. They may be but we’re not sure,” he said. Back-up generators were running when the flight landed and the runways were lit, he added. Spurway could not confirm reports that the plane’s wings became tangled in electricity wires upon landing, saying only the Transportation Safety Board of Canada was on site to investigate. Both runways were closed overnight but the airport was slowly returning to normal- ity yesterday morning. Images showed the aircraft sitting on the airfield with its badly damaged nose as thick snow covered the ground. Spurway reported the damage as “extensive” and at least one emergency chute had opened. Several counties in the eastern coastal province of Nova Scotia were affected by Saturday’s winter weather alert. “We at Air Canada are greatly relieved that no one was critically injured,” said Klaus Goersch, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Air Canada. “Yet we fully appreciate this has been a very unsettling experience for our customers and their families, as well as our employees, and we are focused on caring for all those affected.” Home comfy atop box office AFP Los Angeles A The remains of a car that collided with a Metro Train in Los Angeles on Saturday. At least 21 people were injured in the accident which occurred next to the University of Southern California campus. The 21-year-old driver, who was hospitalised in critical condition, was travelling in the same direction as the train on Exposition Boulevard and was trying to make an improper left turn into the USC campus when the collision occurred, Metro officials said. nimated children’s flick Home, about an unpopular space alien forced to flee his own kind, took up residence over the weekend at the top of the North American box office, estimates showed yesterday. The computer-generated movie, featuring Jim Parsons as the voice of “Oh” the extraterrestrial and Rihanna as his Earthling friend, landed $54mn in its first weekend out, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. Trailing by $20mn, comedy Get Hard, about a prison-bound white executive (Will Ferrell) who hires a black car washer (Kevin Hart) for lessons on surviving the slammer, debuted in second place with $34.6mn, despite criticism from some corners for racist and homophobic jokes. Dystopian thriller Insurgent, the second big-screen adaptation based on Veronica Roth’s best-selling Divergent series, fell to third with $22mn, after its debut at the top last week. Meanwhile Disney’s live action Cinderella remake worked its magic in fourth, earning $17.5mn, with Lily James as the enchanted princess and Cate Blanchett as her wicked stepmother. Indie horror flick It Follows, which opened weeks ago but debuted over the weekend in wide release, took fifth place and $4mn in ticket sales. Sixth went to British spy spoof Kingsman: The Secret Service, with $3.1mn in its sixth weekend out. Action flick Run All Night, featuring grizzled tough guy Liam Neeson playing a hit man going up against the mob, was seventh with $2.2mn. over. In a verdict delivered on Friday, a San Francisco County Superior Court jury found that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the nation’s most prominent venture capital firms, didn’t discriminate against one its employees, Ellen Pao, and didn’t fire her in retaliation for her protesting her treatment. The decision has left a number of uncertainties. Will male-dominated Silicon Valley change its ways? No time soon, some fear. “The outcome of the trial sends a message that women simply have to accommodate to such disappointing cultures,” said Bernice Ledbetter of the practitioner faculty of organisational theory and management at Pepperdine University. But in the weeks leading up to the hearing of the case, some venture capitalists said the lawsuit put them on notice and that they were stepping up efforts to find ways to promote women. Only about 5% of decision-makers at venture-capital firms now are female, according to research firm PitchBook. Chris Sacca, an investor in Uber and Instagram, said on Twitter that the conversation about technology’s “deep gender discrimination problem” shouldn’t end with Pao’s loss. Meanwhile, Google, Facebook, Intel and other big tech companies have acknowledged the low representation of women and minorities in engineering roles and are implementing programmes that they hope will improve their records. Will women now suing Twitter, Facebook and others lose hope? “It’s got to look like a more difficult proposition,” said Debra Katz, an attorney at Katz, Marshall & Banks. The dynamics of a venture capital firm, with small staffs often on the road, differ from big organisations with more human resource department attention on hiring and promotion, so the new batch of cases won’t be carbon copies. But legal experts said Pao’s loss certainly offers a bar for what a jury needs to see to find bias. “We don’t know ... whether the claims that she underperformed are valid, but it does send a reminder to women: You’d better work hard and make sure everyone around you knows the quality of your work and make sure that quality is unquestionable,” Ledbetter said. Even thou Pao lost, the publicity of the trial could encourage more lawsuits. Felicia Medina, an employment attorney in San Francisco, said she had recently heard from at least 10 women in tech with discrimination or harassment complaints, a significant increase for her office. What’s next for Ellen Pao? Pao is the interim chief executive of Reddit, a popular online bulletin board. In one conversation thread on Reddit on Friday, anonymous users bashed Pao and said the company should get rid of her. Attorneys who’ve worked gender suits and women who’ve followed such cases said Pao can expect more criticism in the weeks to come. “I suspect there will be quite a backlash against her,” said Melinda Briana Epler, chief executive of ChangeCatalyst, a San Francisco organisation that supports women entrepreneurs. “People are likely to talk more and more about the reasons why she didn’t win the trial and stuff about the speculation that she’s just not a likable person is likely to come out more and more.” As for Pao herself, she said: “Now it’s time for me to get back to my career, my family and my friends.” 14 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 ASEAN Grandchildren of Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew carry his portrait during a funeral procession at the University Cultural Centre in Singapore yesterday. Right: Members of the public react as the ceremonial gun carriage bearing Singapore’s late former prime minister passes by during his funeral procession. Grateful Singapore gives founding father Lee Kuan Yew a hero’s funeral AFP Singapore M ore than 100,000 people lined Singapore’s streets to bid farewell to its founding father Lee Kuan Yew yesterday, officials said as a week of mourning ended in the citystate he led to prosperity. Torrential rain soaked the crowds as howitzers fired a 21gun salute to the country’s first prime minister and jet fighters screamed across the sky in a grand farewell normally reserved for a head of state. “The light that has guided us all these years has been extinguished,” his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, told a state funeral attended by 2,200 people including Asia-Pacific leaders at the National University of Singapore. Lee’s coffin, draped in the redand-white national flag and protected by a glass case atop a twowheeled gun carriage, was taken in a procession from parliament to the university with close to 2,000 police officers ensuring security. Officials said 454,687 12 dead in Indonesia landslide AFP Jakarta T welve people were killed and 11 houses buried after a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Indonesia’s main island of Java, an official said yesterday. The landslide hit Tegal Panjang village in Sukabumi district in west Java late Saturday after a particularly heavy downpour, according to national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. “We found all 12 bodies,” he said in an update, revising the earlier death toll of 10 and two missing. He said heavy rain caused a cliff to collapse and hit the village, burying 11 houses. Landslides triggered by heavy rain and floods are common in tropical Indonesia during the rainy season. The national disaster agency estimates around half the country’s 250mn population lives in areas prone to landslides. Leaders (bottom left-right) Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott and former US president Bill Clinton attend the funeral service for former Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew at the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore. On top is Bhutan’s Queen Jetsun Pem, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (right). people — in a nation with just 3.34mn citizens — had paid their last respects to Lee, 91, before his wake ended in parliament on Saturday. People chanting Lee’s name wept openly, waved miniature flags and threw flowers on the street as the motorcade drove through districts associated with his 60-year political career. Four Air Force F-16 jets staged a fly-past as the cortege made its way through a square where Lee was first sworn in as prime minister in 1959. He kept the position for 31 years, ruling with an iron fist to transform Singapore from a sleepy British colonial outpost into a gleaming metropolis that now enjoys one of the world’s highest standards of living. Singapore became a republic in 1965 after a brief and stormy union with Malaysia. Lee died less than five months before the island celebrates its 50th anniversary as a nation on August 9. Civil defence sirens sounded across the island at the start of one minute of silence during the state funeral. It ended with the singing of the Malay-language national anthem “Majulah Singapura” (Onwards Singapore), after which Lee’s remains were driven to a suburban crematorium with mourners still lining the roads. Lee said in a note to his children in 2011, one year after the death of his wife of 63 years Kwa Geok Choo, that “for reasons of sentiment, I would like part of my ashes to be mixed up with Mama’s, and both her ashes and mine put side by side in the columbarium.” One of the mourners on the streets yesterday was Tan Yen Lee, 26, a nurse at the Singapore General Hospital where Lee died on Monday after a seven-week confinement for severe pneumonia. “We have seen over the last week amazing scenes, a massive outpouring of emotion for our national hero, and it culminates today,” she said. Strangers huddled together under umbrellas and families came early to grab choice spots along the 15-kilometre route of the funeral procession. “As Singaporeans we may have our differences, but when it comes to a crunch we stand together. That is what Singapore is about and that is Mr Lee’s legacy,” said teacher Joel Lim, 35. Lee stepped down in 1990 in favour of his deputy Goh Chok Tong, who was succeeded by Lee’s son. Former US president Bill Clinton and Lee’s close friend former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Indonesian President Joko Widodo were among the dignitaries in attendance. William Hague, the former foreign secretary and current leader of the House of Commons, represented old colonial ruler Britain. Lee, a British-educated lawyer, is revered for his economic and social legacy but criticised by rights groups for sidelining political opponents, muzzling the press and clamping down on civil liberties. A number of his opponents went bankrupt due to costly libel damages or went into self-exile. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, called on Singapore to mark Lee’s passing by reconciling with the dwindling number of political exiles still afraid to return home. Singapore now has one of the world’s highest gross domestic product per capita incomes at $56,284 in 2014, from $516 when it gained independence. About 90% of Singaporeans own their homes thanks to a public housing scheme launched by Lee, the crime rate is low, and highly paid civil servants are consistently ranked among the world’s most honest. Vietnam rice boom heaping pressure on farmers, environment AFP Can Tho R ice farmer Nguyen Hien Thien is so busy growing his crops that he has never even visited Can Tho, a town only a few miles from his farm in the southern Mekong Delta. “When I was a child, we grew one crop of rice per year - now it’s three. It’s a lot of work,” 60-year-old Thien, who has been farming since he was a child, said on the edge of his small paddy field. Experts say Vietnam’s drive to become one of the world’s leading rice exporters is pushing farmers in the fertile delta region to the brink, with mounting costs to the environment. The communist country is already the world’s second largest exporter of the staple grain. But intensive rice cultivation, particularly the shift to producing three crops per year, is taking its toll on farmers and the ecosystem. “Politicians want to be the world’s number one or two rice exporter. As a scientist, I want to see more being done to protect farmers and the environment,” said Vietnamese rice Farmers walk on a rice field in the southern Mekong delta province of Can Tho. expert Vo Tong Xuan. A major famine in 1945 and food shortages in the post-war years led to the government adopting a “rice first” policy. This now generates far more of the crop than needed to feed Vietnam’s 90mn population and has catalysed a thriving export industry. Rice yields have nearly quadrupled since the 1970s, official figures show, thanks to highyield strains and the construction of a network of dykes that today allow farmers to grow up to three crops per year. The amount of land under cultivation in the Mekong Delta has also expanded and quotas are in place to prevent farmers from switching to other crops. But experts are questioning who really benefits. According to Xuan, farmers don’t reap the rewards of the three crop system -- the rice is low quality and they spend more on pesticides and fertilisers, which become less effective year by year. He argues the delta would be better off if farmers cultivated a more diverse range of crops, from coconuts to prawns, with just the most suitable land used to grow rice. The country should consider abandoning the third crop and focus on improving quality and branding to sell Vietnamese rice at higher prices, he said. Currently, the bulk of Vietnam’s rice is exported at cutprice costs on government-togovernment contracts through large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) like the Southern Food Corp, known as Vinafood 2. “Over the last five years, the trend is towards lower-quality rice,” admitted Le Huu Trang, deputy office manager at the firm. Some argue that such SOEs have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo as they earn lucrative kickbacks from the huge contracts. But even as salt water intrusion, drought and flooding increase in the delta — to say nothing of agricultural chemical pollution — it is also hard to convince farmers to change. “The prevailing mindset is to grow three crops... we have to explain two crops is better,” said Nguyen Tuan Hiep from the Co Do Agriculture company. Over the last 20 years, Co Do — which is state-run but a flagship model of how the industry could evolve - has identified the best rice-growing land in the delta and helped farmers expand their farms. They now work with 2,500 families on 5,900 hectares (14,600 acres) of land, enough for each family to make a living - typically the average rice farm in the delta spans less than one hectare. The firm invests heavily in high-quality seeds and improving irrigation, while also advising farmers on the best chemicals to use. “Two crops is more sustainable long term -- the soil is not degraded, the environment isn’t polluted, and value of the rice increases,” Hiep said. Climate change is another factor threatening the delta, according to the World Bank Group’s vice president and special envoy for climate change Rachel Kyte. “This is really ground zero for some of the most difficult adaptation, planning challenges that any country in the world has,” she said. Ultimately Vietnam has tough choices to make, including whether to help people transition from a rice-based economy to aquaculture (fish or shellfish farming) or other crops, Kyte added. The environmental costs of maintaining Vietnam’s current level of rice production are also rising. The system of dykes, which blocks flood water, are preventing soil nutrients from flowing freely and over time “soil fertility will fade”, said Tran Ngoc Thac, deputy director of Vietnam’s Rice Research Institute. Scientists there are busy trying to breed new strains of rice that require fewer fertilisers and can survive in extreme weather. “If farmers don’t change, if we can’t find a suitable new rice strain, pollution will continue and incomes will drop,” Thac said, adding these measures were essential to save the delta. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 15 AUSTRALASIA/EAST ASIA Style parade Huge rise in family day-care numbers across Victoria Agencies Sydney T Models parade creations by Chinese designer Liu Jia during the Comme Tu Es Liu Jia Parent-child Outfit Collection at China Fashion Week in Beijing yesterday. The biannual China Fashion Week is being held from March 24-31. Court jails Uighur for six years for growing beard AFP Beijing A court in China’s mainly Muslim Xinjiang region has sentenced a man to six years in prison for “provoking trouble” and growing a beard, a practise discouraged by local authorities, a newspaper reported yesterday. The court in the desert oasis city of Kashgar sentenced the 38-year-old Uighur to six years, Tokyo eyes six-way talks on North Korea AFP Tokyo J apan has sounded out other members of long-stalled talks about North Korea’s nuclear programme about holding an informal meeting in Tokyo possibly by the end of June, reports said yesterday. Japan hopes to bring together envoys from the six states involved when the next round of the Northeast Asia Co-operation Dialogue, hosted by a US research institute, is held in Tokyo, Kyodo News agency said. The Sankei Shimbun newspaper, citing government sources, also reported that Tokyo wants to host a “preliminary” meeting aimed at restarting the formal talks. The talks, which group North and South Korea, Japan, the US, China and Russia, were aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in return for economic and diplomatic benefits and security guarantees. But they have not been held since December 2008. In April 2009 the North, in an angry response to UN criticism of its failed satellite launch, announced it was quitting the forum and would restart its nuclear programme. while his wife was given a twoyear sentence, according to the China Youth Daily. The man “had started growing his beard in 2010” while his wife “wore a veil hiding her face and a burqa”, the paper said. The couple were found guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a vague accusation regularly used in the Chinese judicial system. For more than a year the authorities in Xinjiang have been campaigning against men grow- ing beards — a practice officials associate with extremist ideas. A campaign dubbed “Project Beauty” also encourages women to leave their heads bare and abandon wearing the veil, a relatively widespread practice among the Uighurs -- the main Muslim ethnic group in Xinjiang. The Kashgar couple had “received several warnings” before being charged, the newspaper reported, citing local officials. “Since the beginning of the year, a certain number of people breaking the regulation on beards, veils and burqas have been prosecuted and sentenced,” officials in Kashgar were quoted as saying by the paper. Kashgar authorities could not be reached for comment yesterday. Rights groups believe Beijing’s repression of the Uighurs’ culture and religion has fanned tensions in Xinjiang, a resourcerich region that abuts central Asia. Violence increased last year and at least 200 people were killed in a series of bombings and deadly clashes with security forces, blamed by Beijing on “separatists” and “religious extremists”. In April last year authorities in Xinjiang’s Shaya county offered cash to informants to report on neighbours with excessive facial hair. In August authorities in Karamay city banned people with large beards or Islamic clothing from travelling on public buses. he number of childcare educators operating out of family homes across the country has skyrocketed in the past year, as more parents struggle to find a place for their child in a traditional facility. The number of services rose 40% in the 12 months to June 30, 2014, with most operators having been running for three years or less, Sydney Morning Herald reported. However, only 31% of operators have so far been awarded a quality rating by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. A lack of places in large childcare centres is pushing more parents to the family day-care sector, which is growing as a result, a recent Productivity Commission report said. Although family day-care comprises just 4% of the industry, between 2013 and 2014, the number of accredited services increased from 512 to 735 across the country. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that families often turn to nannies or family day-care where they are unable to access a long-day-care place,” the report said. Family Day Care Australia, the national peak body for the sector, said that because the sector offered more flexibility and care outside of standard hours, it was becoming increasingly attractive to parents. “Family day-care is provided in a nurturing, homebased setting with smaller group sizes, which research suggests is more beneficial to a child’s emotional and cognitive development,” a spokesperson for the organisation said. “The small group settings also mean children have more one-on-one time with the educator and children are able to form secure, ongoing bonds with their educator.” Victoria has the most family day-care centres in the country, with 190. Of the 269 services that have a Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority quality rating, only two were deemed “excellent” and 66 were exceeding standards. Samantha Page, chief executive at Early Childhood Australia, said there were some unscrupulous operators that were only set up to take advantage of federal government funding. “There has been a problem with new start-ups, some of which are not there for the right reasons,” she said. “Government has been concerned with the level of fraud and the fact quality standards are unlikely to be met.” Chinese nationals to be evacuated from Yemen Agencies Beijing T he Chinese government launched preparatory work for the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Yemen, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday at the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s southern Hainan province, China Daily reported Wang said that there are 590 Chinese nationals in Yemen and the Chinese government launched the evacuation plan Thursday evening, when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched airstrikes in Yemen. The evacuation will help ensure Chinese nationals come back safely. Violence has been spreading across the country on the Arabian Peninsula since last year, when Iranian-backed Houthi militia seized the capital, Sanaa. They effectively removed Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi Taiwan protesters pelt eggs over China flight route AFP Taipei T aiwanese demonstrators threw eggs and slippers to protest against China’s launch of a controversial new flight route yesterday, accusing the government of failing to stand up to Beijing. Thirty-odd members from the radical anti-China opposition party Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) attempted to push their way through a police line that guarded the entrance of a shrine where President Ma Ying-jeou was visiting. After chanting slogans like “Ma Ying-jeou betraying, humiliating country” and a series of tussles with police, several of the demonstrators broke through the line but were blocked from going further. “People of Taiwan by no means accept M503,” a protest leader said, referring to the new route near the middle of the Taiwan Strait which separates the island from mainland China. “Ma is a coward. He dares not say ‘No’ to China.” Holding protest signs, the crowd angrily pelted eggs and slippers at Ma’s motorcade, but the projectiles fell short. No one was injured or arrested in the clash. M503 is one of four routes which would take planes over the Taiwan Strait from China’s coastal province of Zhejiang and the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province. Beijing says they are necessary to ease congestion In this handout photograph provided by the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), demonstrators tussle with police during a protest in Taipei yesterday. on an existing flightpath. But Taiwan’s authorities have slammed the unilateral move and said it poses a potential air defence threat, prompting China to postpone the inauguration of M503 and move it slightly closer to the mainland. The other three routes have been indefinitely postponed, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration. The run-up to yesterday’s route launch saw protesters scuffle with police, and the arrest of 13 demonstrators who splashed red paint on the walls of the presidential residence. The government has said that negotiations with China over the routes will help safeguard the island’s aviation security. It has also said that Chinese fighter jets would not use M503. China considers self-ruled Taiwan a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. They split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. Ties have improved markedly since Ma came to power in 2008 on a China-friendly platform, but some fear Taiwan is becoming over-dependent on the mainland. 16 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 BRITAIN Pre-election survey boost for Labour Milliband has to overcome voters doubts on Labour’s economic credentials Reuters London B ritain’s opposition Labour Party has taken a four point lead over Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives after the first TV encounter of an unusually close-fought national election, an opinion poll showed yesterday. The poll is a morale boost for Labour and its leader Ed Miliband, and prompted party strategists to say it showed they could win an outright majority on May 7. Miliband’s earnest personality is mocked by the country’s mainly rightleaning press, and the left-wing party hopes voters will see past caricatures and warm to him during the campaign. “As the polls this morning indicate, this is a winnable election for Labour,” Douglas Alexander, Labour’s campaign chairman, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “It is difficult, but it is certainly doable that we can get a majority,” he added, saying he was confident Labour could increase its support in the coming weeks. Britain’s future in the European Union could ride on the outcome as Cameron is pledging an EU membership referendum. The poll, by YouGov for the Sunday Times, put Labour on 36%, the Conservatives on 32%, the centrist Liberal Democrats, now in coalition with Cameron’s Conservatives, on 8%, the anti-EU UK In- Ed Miliband dependence Party (UKIP) on 13%, and the Greens on 6%. It also suggested, contrary to an earlier poll, that most Britons - by a margin of 49% to 34% - thought Miliband had performed better than Cameron in last Thursday’s first TV encounter of the campaign. A snap poll conducted immediately afterwards suggested Cameron had won, albeit by a slimmer margin than expected. Cameron is still far ahead when Britons are asked to say who they think would be the best prime minister and his party enjoys a commanding lead over Labour when it comes to what it hopes will be the decisive issue of economic credibility. Polls also show Labour struggling to stem what looks like a devastating loss of support in Scotland to Scottish national- ists who have surged since losing a referendum on independence last year. That makes it harder for Labour to win outright. But Cameron’s appearance in the first TV encounter was less assured than expected and he had to use his final debate in parliament last week to defend his surprise decision to announce he wouldn’t seek a third term in power if re-elected. Most polls in recent months have put Labour and the Conservatives neck-andneck, though both have briefly notched up leads of up to four points only to see them swiftly evaporate. YouGov’s Joe Twyman said yesterday’s poll showed the TV encounter had given Labour momentum ahead of what is regarded as the formal start of the campaign on Monday. “The big question is whether this is a talking point or a turning point. Will they be able to make it stick and turn the momentum into sustained gains?” he said. The Scottish National Party pledged Saturday to “shake up” the British parliament if they seize the balance of power at the general election in May. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said her pro-independence party would act in the interests of left-wingers across the United Kingdom if they are in a position of influence after the May 7 polls. Scotland’s first minister used her speech to reach out to people in the rest of the United Kingdom with a “message of friendship and solidarity”. “I won’t pretend that the SNP doesn’t still want Scotland to be independent,” she told a party conference in Glasgow, in reference to the September referendum vote to remain part of the three-centuries-old union with England. “But... I say this to people of progressive opinion all across the UK. “As long as Scotland remains part of the Westminster system, we will be your allies in seeking to shake up and reform that outdated and discredited system once and for all.” Sturgeon said SNP lawmakers would “demand an alternative to slash and burn austerity” -- referring to the public spending reductions being made in a bid to balance the budget. She said the nationalists would stand against any attempt to renew Britain’s nuclear weapons deterrent, and added it was time to abolish parliament’s unelected house of lords upper revising chamber. At the last general election in 2010, the Labour main opposition won 41 of Scotland’s 59 seats in the British parliament’s 650-member lower house of commons, to the SNP’s six. But following a surge in support, the nationalists are tipped to win at least 40 seats this time around, making it difficult for centre-left Labour to form a majority government. The SNP have proposed backing a Labour minority government on a voteby-vote basis, with prime minister David Cameron’s centre-right Conservatives claiming that would mean the separatists perpetually holding Labour to ransom. “If you want a Labour government to have backbone and guts, you need to elect SNP MPs to provide it for them,” Sturgeon said. “You must elect SNP MPs to force Labour’s hand and keep them honest.” Earth Hour Former 007 denies racism over Bond role AFP London J ames Bond legend Roger Moore insisted Saturday he had said nothing racist about fellow British actor Idris Elba — tipped to play the superspy next — in a French magazine interview. The 87-year-old star, who played the suave British agent in seven films from 1973 to 1985, insisted his meaning had been lost in translation. “An interview I gave to Paris Match implies I said something racist about Idris Elba. That is simply untrue,” Moore wrote on Twitter, using the hashtag “Lost in translation”. He added: “When a journalist asks if ‘Bond should be English’ and you agree, then quotes you saying it about Idris Elba it’s out of context.” Reproductions of the interview have led to Moore being blasted by Twitter users. In the interview, Moore was talking about the different actors who have played agent 007 on screen. In the 23 official Bond films to date, the title role has been played in turn by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, who is currently shooting Spectre, due out in November. In a translation of the quotes printed in French in Paris Match, Moore told the magazine: “Though James has been played by a Scot, a Welshman, an Irishman, I think he should be English-English. It’s nonetheless an interesting idea, but unrealistic. “Some years ago, I said that Cuba Gooding Jr would make an excellent Bond but it was a joke!” Benjamin Locoge, who is in charge of Paris Match’s culture section, said the recording Idris Elba of the conversation “backs up that Roger Moore’s words have been faithfully transcribed”. “The journalist (who conducted the interview) is certain about the term “English-English”: he said it like that, it’s on the tape,” he added. He claimed: “Roger Moore implies that it would be difficult to have a black James Bond in the sense that one cannot imagine General de Gaulle being played by a black actor and James Brown by a white (actor).” “One should not interpret his words as racist and the Twittersphere has without doubt got carried away a bit too hastily.” Elba, 42, is from Hackney in east London and was born to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. His most famous film role to date is that of former South African president Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. On television, he played drug lord Russell Stringer Bell in US crime drama series The Wire and the title role in the BBC detective series Luther, which won him a best actor Golden Globe. British bookmakers across the board have Elba as their clear favourite to be the next Bond after Craig, who has held the role for 10 years. William Hill price Elba at 2/1, followed by Tom Hardy at 9/2, Henry Cavill at 6/1, Michael Fassbender at 13/2. Paddy Power and Ladbrokes have the same actors as their top four. BBC chief gets death threats The houses of parliament in darkness for the Earth Hour environmental campaign on Saturday. AFP London For poor, food aid now a way of life AFP Cornwall C lutching a bag of pasta, canned pears and beef, David Kirk leaves a food bank in one of Britain’s poorest corners -- his sixth visit in a few weeks. “It’s certainly a big help,” the tattooed 54-year-old said as he loaded the free supplies into his car in the town of Camborne in Cornwall in the southwest of England. “My wife has been diagnosed with cancer and I’m not able to work at the moment,” Kirk said. The growing numbers of Britons turning to food banks run by charities to get by has become a key political issue weeks from a May 7 general election. The first question thrown at Prime Minister David Cameron in a prime time television grilling on Thursday was about how many food banks had sprung up during his five years in power. Cameron parried, saying his government had created jobs to lift people out of poverty and rejected the idea of a “broken Britain”. But the reality looks different at a food bank in the backroom of a church in Camborne on a peninsula famous for its beaches, holiday homes and rich history. It is less known for being one of the country’s poorest regions, with average Salisbury foodbank volunteer sorts a donation of food. wages of around £14,300 a year — five times lower than in London, according to European Union data. Near a piano covered with a blanket and old Bibles, volunteers fill bags with vegetables, tea, rice and other staples. Nicola Bacca, 32, came with her daughter and said her benefits had been cut “through no fault of our own”. “That left us with very little money,” said Bacca, who has four children and complained that all of her money was used up paying bills. “Food is the final thing on the list and with four children? You got to feed them.” The Camborne food bank opened in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis. But rather than becoming less frequented as the economy has strengthened, the opposite has happened, according to its 70-year-old founder Don Gardner. “The first month we did about 150 meals,” Gardner said. “Now it’s 2,000 meals on average. Weekly.” A former tin-producing town, Camborne has never truly recovered from the closure of its mines — their remains still visible under encroaching vegetation. The poverty here is no anomaly. Britain has at least 850 food banks and more and more are opening every year, according to a parliamentary inquiry into hunger in the country released last year. Over the 2013-2014 tax year, the Trussell Trust, which runs around 400 food banks, served meals to 913,000 people, compared to 61,500 in 2010-2011. “The situation is an issue of concern,” Alison Inglis-Jones, a spokeswoman for the trust, told AFP. “There has been an increase in number and use of food banks over the last 10 years,” she said. Inglis-Jones said food banks were cropping up around the country, including in London, the wealthy capital. The parliamentary inquiry found the reasons to be mainly the 47% rise in food prices between 2003 and 2013 and a 30.4% increase in housing costs, which salaries have failed to keep up with. But there is also the austerity policies applied by Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, which has cracked down on welfare to bring down the country’s spiralling public deficit. “There has been a change in the political culture in the UK from anti-poverty to anti-poor,” economists Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley wrote in their book Breadline Britain — The Rise of Mass Poverty. “This toughening stance against the poor has been used to roll back the state and to justify a succession of deep cuts in benefit levels,” they said. Ed Miliband, leader of the main opposition Labour party, has accused Cameron of creating “a country founded on rising inequality”. Cameron has responded by saying that his government is “lifting people into work and out of poverty”. But in Cornwall, the political debate sounds far away. “Nobody cares about us. We are a forgotten area,” said Gardner as he drove his battered old Renault car through the grey streets of Camborne, pointing to all the shops that have shut down in recent years. “The economic downturn was like coffin nails but we were already in the coffin”. B ritish police were yesterday investigating death threats against BBC director-general Tony Hall following his decision to drop popular Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. Scotland Yard police headquarters confirmed it was examining allegations made on Wednesday, when Hall confirmed Clarkson’s contract would not be renewed at the end of March after he hit a producer. “Police in Westminster (central London) are investigating an allegation of threats to kill. The allegation was reported to police on Wednesday,” a spokesman said. “Inquiries continue. No arrests have been made.” The Mail on Sunday newspaper said Hall’s home had been under 24-hour guard since the threat was received. The weekly tabloid printed pictures showing security outside, claiming it was costing £1,000 a day to protect the corporation’s top executive. A BBC spokeswoman said: “We wouldn’t comment on security matters.” Top Gear is the world’s most popular factual television programme, with 350mn viewers per week in 170 countries. Clarkson, who was the main presenter, is caricatured by Jeremy Clarkson fans as a straight-talking manof-the-people and by detractors as a boorish bigot. More than a million people have signed a petition calling for Clarkson to be reinstated. Clarkson’s contract was not renewed after an internal BBC investigation found he physically attacked Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon following a lengthy verbal tirade, reportedly because the presenter was annoyed at a lack of hot food after a day’s filming. The 30-second attack saw Clarkson strike the producer, giving Tymon a swelling, bleeding lip. The outspoken presenter, 54, flagged the incident to the BBC after Tymon took himself to hospital. Clarkson’s departure will have financial implications for the British Broadcasting Corporation, as its commercial arm BBC Worldwide earns around £50mn a year from the show. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 17 EUROPE Germanwings airliner captain shouted ‘open the damn door’ The co-pilot’s medical problems are the subject of intense scrutiny AFP Berlin T he captain of a passenger jet that investigators believe was deliberately crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, shouted at the co-pilot to “open the damn door” as he desperately tried to get back into the locked cockpit, a German newspaper reported yesterday. Forensic teams meanwhile announced that they had isolated 78 distinct DNA strands from body parts at the mountain crash site with investigators describing the difficulty of the search as “unprecedented” due to the arduous terrain. French officials say the plane’s black box voice recorder indicates that Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Germanwings jet and steered Flight 4U 9525 into a mountainside. They believe that the more senior pilot, identified by Germany’s Bild newspaper as Patrick S, tried desperately to reopen the door during the Barcelona to Duesseldorf flight’s eightminute descent after he left to use the toilet. The mass-circulation paper’s Sunday edition reported that data from the cockpit recorder showed the captain shouted: “For God’s sake, open the door”, as passengers’ screams could be heard in the background. It said “loud metallic blows” against the cockpit door could A French rescue worker inspects the remains of the Germanwings Airbus A320 at the site of the crash. Right: A French Gendarmerie rescue helicopter drops rescue workers next to the debris. then be heard, before another warning alarm went off and then the pilot is heard to scream to a silent Lubitz in the cockpit “open the damn door”. Investigators in the Alps said the violence of the impact and the remote location was severely hampering the search for both body parts and the second “black box”. “We haven’t found a single body intact,” said Patrick Touron, deputy director of the police’s criminal research institute. “We have slopes of 40 to 60 degrees, falling rocks, and ground that tends to crumble,” said Touron. “Some things have to be done by abseiling.” As investigators seek to build up a picture of Lubitz and any possible motives, media reports have emerged that he suffered from eye problems, adding to earlier reports he was severely depressed. German prosecutors believe Lubitz hid an illness from his airline but have not specified the ailment, and said he had apparently been written off sick on the day the Airbus crashed. The Sunday edition of Germany’s Bild tabloid and the New York Times, which cited two officials with knowledge of the investigation, said Lubitz had sought treatment for problems with his sight. It is thought to be a retinal de- tachment, the German weekly said. It also reported that Lubitz’s girlfriend with whom he lived in the western city of Duesseldorf was believed to be pregnant. It gave no sources but said the teacher, who taught maths and English, had told pupils a few weeks ago she was expecting a baby. Bild’s Saturday edition had published an interview with a flight attendant who it said had had a relationship last year with Lubitz and recalled him saying: “One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember.” If Lubitz did deliberately crash the plane, it was “because he understood that because of his health problems, his big dream of a job at Lufthansa, of a job as captain and as a long-haul pilot was practically impossible”, the woman told Bild. German prosecutors revealed Friday that searches of Lubitz’s homes netted “medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment”, including “tornup and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash”. Police have found a number “of medicines for the treatment of psychological illness” during a search at his Duesseldorf home, Welt am Sonntag newspaper said. It added that the Germanwings co-pilot was suffering from being overstressed and was severely depressive, according to personal notes found. French police investigator Jean-Pierre Michel told AFP Saturday that Lubitz’s personality was a “serious lead” in the inquiry but not the only one. The investigation has so far not turned up a “particular element” in the co-pilot’s life which could explain his alleged action, he said. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, “for a certain period”, before restarting and quali- fying for the Airbus A320 in 2013. The second-in-command had passed all psychological tests required for training, Spohr told reporters. Germany is to hold a national memorial ceremony on April 17 for the victims of the disaster, half of whom were German, with Spain accounting for at least 50 and the remainder composed of more than a dozen other nationalities. France’s Investigation and Analysis Bureau (BEA), tasked with investigating civil aviation accidents, meanwhile said it was “dismayed” by the revelations in the German press which it said smacked of “voyeurism”. Page 26 French local election tests strength of far-right, Sarkozy comeback Belgian coalfield shows where Van Gogh emerged Reuters Paris Reuters Mons, Belgium F I rance’s far-right National Front is expected to strengthen its hold on grassroots politics in a second round of local elections yesterday that ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservatives are forecast to win. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigrant, anti-euro FN party aims to build a base of locally elected officials to become more mainstream and thus better placed to contest national ballots. In a setback to its claims to have become France’s leading party, the FN placed second last week in the first round of the local elections, but it did win one in four votes and is all but certain to see a big jump from its current two councillors. “The FN has now put down roots nationwide, it has reached a level that is high, too high,” French prime minister Manuel Valls, a Socialist, told Le Journal du Dimanche weekly. Valls, whose deeply unpopular government is trying to play up modest signs of recovery in the eurozone’s second largest economy, has stressed his “fear” of the FN’s rise in an attempt to mobilise left-wing voters. The second round is also a key test for Sarkozy, who has put a shaky political comeback back on track by steering his conservative UMP party and its allies to an unexpected victory in the first round but still faces resistance within his party. Opinion polls see the UMP and its allies winning the local elections with nearly twice as many seats as president Francois Hollande’s Socialists and their allies. The polls see the Socialists losing 20 to 40 of the 61 “departments” they now hold, but Valls said his government would press on with reforms to tackle France’s economic stagnation, adding that a cabinet reshuffle was not on the cards for now. The FN, which topped last year’s European parliament elections in France, had eight of its French far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen leaves the polling station after casting her ballot in Henin-Beaumont. candidates elected in the first round of the local polls and could see as many as 220 more elected yesterday, an Ifop poll showed. That would be far fewer than the mainstream parties but a big jump from all past elections in the “departements” councils. The far-right party is hoping to win one or two “departements” at most due to unfavourable electoral arithmetic but it is eyeing a bigger win in regional polls later this year. Surveys also show that Le Pen is likely to make it to the second round of France’s presidential election in 2017, but not winning. The complex election system, in which a duo of councillors is elected per constituency who then elect the presidents of 98 “departements” councils, means it may take time to form a clear picture of how many councils each party has won. In total, 4,108 councillors with limited powers over roads, schools and social services will be elected. At 1700 (1500 GMT), voter turnout stood at 41.94%, nearly six points higher than in the previous local elections in 2011. A heavy defeat for the Social- ists would be a bad sign in the run-up to the 2017 presidential elections, in which Sarkozy hopes to wrest power back from the leftist government that has struggled with a sluggish economy and high unemployment. Shortly before heading to Tunisia to take part in an anti-terrorism march, president Francois Hollande cast his vote in the rural area of Tulle, where he was mayor from 2001 to 2008. Voter disappointment with what some see as Hollande’s economic failures mean Sarkozy’s centre-right coalition is likely to dominate the ballot after topping last week’s first-round vote. “The situation is catastrophic, maybe things will change,” said Paul, a 52-year-old maintenance worker living in Lille, near the Belgian border. Despite the widespread thirst for change, the Socialists did better than expected, taking 21.% of the first-round vote. However, government officials fear the ruling party may lose between half and two-thirds of the 60 councils it currently controls in the run-off round. The local vote has put Sarkozy back in the limelight after a sluggish return to politics in September. “Change is under way, and nothing will stop it,” he said after his UMP-UDI alliance took 29% last week. Sarkozy had been criticised since his return for being distant, preoccupied and even bored. But his energetic leadership of the current campaign has restored some of his allure. “If results match the forecasts, the right’s victory will help repair damage Sarkozy inflicted on himself with his weak, sleepy start,” political analyst Stephane Rozes, president of the CAP political consultancy in Paris, said. “It will also signal he has appreciated the importance of the centrist vote, which he ignored in 2012 as he shifted his position farther to the right to rival the FN.” The Socialists are heading in the opposite direction after a campaign that mostly focused on the threat of the far-right, and said little about key economic issues. A boost in Hollande’s poll ratings after the January jihadist attacks in Paris proved short-lived. “Everyone in the (Elysee) is scared he will be eliminated in the first round in 2017,” a presidential advisor told AFP, adding that Hollande had no choice but to continue unpopular austerity reforms that have alienated the public and many in his own party. Gilles Finchelstein, a political strategist close to the Socialists painted an even darker picture this week in an article for L’Express magazine, saying “the left is in danger of dying, (and) risks becoming nothing more than a residual political force”. However, Rozes said there is still hope for the Socialists, since voters approach local elections very differently from national contests. “You can’t project results from one to what will occur in the others,” he said. The same is true for the farright, according to analysts, despite claims from Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls that Le Pen “is at the doors of power.” “Yes, she’s had recent significant successes, particularly gaining the most votes in European elections,” political analyst Nonna Mayer said. “(But) despite what you hear these days, it’s mad to imagine Marine Le Pen in the Elysee.” t is fitting tribute to the role the Belgian coalfield around Mons played in Van Gogh’s emergence as an artist that the city has made a rare show of his early works a focus of its year as European Capital of Culture. From the clumsy sketches with which the 25-year-old Dutch lay preacher began to drawings flowing with the energy that marked his later painting, ‘Van Gogh in the Borinage: Birth of an Artist’ at Beaux Arts Mons is a treat for the academic and casually curious alike. It ought, too, to inspire perseverance in any would-be creator — even Van Gogh started out with dross. “I can see it is not any good yet,” Vincent wrote to his art dealer elder brother Theo Van Gogh in a letter accompanying two small pencil drawings showing the weary lives of the miners of the Borinage coalfield among whom he lived from 1878 to 1880. “But,” he added, “It is starting to come”. Alongside letters scratched out from the colliers’ cottages where the well-born Van Gogh lodged, the show traces progression in technique, in pencil and paint. Largely early work, it does culminate in the sumptuous, sunlit Impressionism of Street in Auvers-sur-Oise, painted in the weeks before his death aged 37. Van Gogh drew the pitheads, the simple homes, the miners’ potato patches, even, after an underground visit, the coalface itself. In the grip of the youthful religiosity that later gave way to suicidal despair, he wrote: “Those who work in the shadows, in the belly of the earth, like the miners deep in the black coalworkings, are very touched by the word of the gospel.” Also on display are works by others who inspired him as well as versions he made of them, notably Jean-Francois Millet’s paintings of peasant life such as The Sower and The Angelus. From hesitant copyist to inspired original, the Van Gogh at Mons labours as hard as those he saw around him in the Borinage. In a final touch to encourage today’s amateur, the last room shows how he returned in his last months to studying the human form from a bestselling textbook of his day. Hung next to the clean Classical lines of the printed models, Van Gogh’s figures are no accurate copies. Yet they leap from the wall with life. The exhibition in the neat modern BAM gallery just off Mons’ florid Renaissance town square, an hour south of Brussels, has packed in 100,000 visitors since January. It will open extended hours for its last six weeks once the city celebrates its year in the European eye by opening five new museums on April 3. Next Sunday, for Easter, entry to the Van Gogh is free. There is a wealth of art, architecture and history to take in around Mons, including new exhibitions on the city’s place in the two world wars. But as a complement to the Van Gogh, contemporary Flemish master Luc Tuymans’ print show in the nearby ex-mining town of La Louviere is thought-provoking. Best known for his paintings, often exploring troubling histories and based on photographs and other printed images, Luc Tuymans: Suspended offers 25 years of his collaboration with printmakers to create fluid, layered, intriguing effects. The Temple consists of etchings of watercolours of Polaroids of watercolours of Polaroids of a TV screen showing a documentary about Mormons. For all the lost levels of clarity, they still convey a clear sense of each image to the human eye. Van Gogh, battling in the Borinage to command his pencil and paintbrush to extract an essence of life, would have understood. 18 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 EUROPE Lights off Bulgaria struggles to manage pensions Reuters Sofia T People hold balloons with lights inside as they wait for the start of the Earth Hour outside Madrid’s Royal Palace on Saturday. Uzbeks set to re-elect strongman Karimov The result appears to be a foregone conclusion AFP Uzbekistan U zbeks voted massively in a presidential election yesterday with turnout topping 70% halfway through the poll expected to deliver another landslide victory for strongman Islam Karimov. Few doubted the outcome after all three of Karimov’s challengers endorsed his campaign to extend an iron-fisted rule that dates to before the fall of the Soviet Union. The central electoral commission said almost 15mn people had cast their ballots at more than 9,000 polling stations as of the halfway point in voting, for a turnout of 71.6%. Karimov, 77, cast his ballot at midday in the lopsided vote in the Central Asian country of more than 30mn, where voting began at 6am (0100 GMT) as snow fell in the streets of the capital Tashkent. Karimov, who won around 90% of the vote in 2007, is running for a five-year term following two seven-year stints. Before those, the man who held onto his leadership position when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 extended his post-Soviet rule by referendum in 1996. While exit polls are prohibited under A woman walks past an election board of Uzbekistan’s president Karimov near a polling station in Tashkent. Uzbek law, many voters in Tashkent told AFP they had voted for Karimov. Burkhon, a 63-year municipal transport mechanic who declined to give his surname, cited periodic unrest in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as reasons for casting his vote for the longtime strongman. “We haven’t had such bad things, thanks to Karimov, and we don’t want them happening in the future,” Burkhon told AFP. Gulhayo Khujanova, an 18-year-old student casting her vote for the first time, told AFP: “I voted for our president, Islam Karimov. I am really satisfied with what he is doing for young people.” One voter, a taxi driver who requested anonymity, was undecided, saying: “I really wanted our respected president Karimov to retire, give the rule to someone younger and enjoy his happy retirement... But this is not going to happen, so I don’t care now and I don’t know who to vote for.” The ageing Karimov has contended with increasing rumours of illness and physical frailty but appeared healthy last weekend when dancing at celebra- tions to mark the beginning of spring. He stressed the importance of stability during the low-key six-week campaign. “What do Uzbek people need? We need peace and well-being,” Karimov told the crowd. On Wednesday he defended the need for “strong government”, telling a small group of voters in comments aired by state media that otherwise “there will be chaos in society”. He added: “The time will come when we will give full freedom to our citizens, all human freedoms, and first and foremost, freedom of the media.” Karimov has continually warned of the danger posed by Islamic radicals based in Afghanistan, some of whom are ethnic Uzbeks. “If we retain stability in Uzbekistan, we secure order in the entire Central Asian region,” Rafik Sayfullin, a political analyst based in Tashkent, told AFP. “Let these elections pass normally so that we can keep the same team.” Strategically located Uzbekistan provided support to the US-led military operation in its southern neighbour Afghanistan and maintains close ties with both Russia and China. More than 300 international observers from 43 different countries are monitoring the vote. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is expected to issue its assessment of the ballot today. Brain drain as Greenlanders leave for Denmark’s ‘greener’ shores AFP Copenhagen A s hopes fade for a commodities boom in Greenland there is growing concern that an exodus of young people could cripple the economy of a territory already facing an uncertain outlook. “People come down here to study and then they become so rooted that it’s difficult to go back again,” said Angunguak Egede, a 28-year-old Greenlander working as an office clerk for the Copenhagen municipality. Together with a group of friends, Egede left home in 2004 for Denmark, Greenland’s former colonial master and some 4,000km away, because “it was just the thing to do”. Danish cities offered a “fastpaced” lifestyle many young Greenlanders have only seen on the Internet, and seemingly endless options for recreational activities compared to home: The remote territory’s first public swimming pool opened in 2003, five years after Coca Cola became available. “If you go to the cinema in Nuuk, the capital, you have one option,” Egede said in a bustling Copenhagen coffee shop. The same goes for the number of jobs available and higher education. “In general there is just much more to choose from in Denmark,” he said. Over the past 25 years Greenland has had an average annual net emigration of 500 people, many of whom are young and well educated. With a population of just 55,000 and widespread social problems, it is an exodus the Arctic territory can scarcely afford, as a 2012 survey found that 62% of 16 to 18-year-olds had dropped out of school. Greenland prime minister Kim Kielsen told AFP that there “should be no doubt that we want our young back to Greenland after an education in Denmark or abroad”. To that end, financial aid has been made available to help them repay student loans if they re- turn, and Greenland job fairs held in Denmark’s major cities, he said in an e-mail. But there are many like Egede. Twisting a single polar bear claw that he wears around his neck, Egede said he wants to move back to Nuuk at some point. He just doesn’t know when. A 2009 agreement allows Greenland to secede from Denmark completely, but to do that it needs to wean itself off an annual 3.6bn kroner (€483) subsidy from Copenhagen, representing more than half of the home rule government’s budget. Adding to its problems is what observers call “the death gap” -- a widening chasm between a shrinking economy and the rising cost of an ageing population. Kielsen’s predecessor Aleqa Hammond, who had to step down in September following a corruption scandal, had promised economic independence from Denmark based on exploitation of the territory’s oil and mineral riches, but the plunging price of commodities has put a damper on those plans. The territory’s unemployment rate, twice that of Denmark’s at around 10%, mostly affects unskilled workers and there is demand for those with an education in some sectors, Kielsen said. However, he admitted that if the economy continued to deteriorate it could eventually lead to even higher emigration. “But that is currently not believed to be the case,” he said. But Torben Andersen, an economics professor and the head of the Economic Council of Greenland, said there was already “an element of brain draining.” The most common reason for Greenlanders to move to Denmark was to pursue an education not available at home, followed by those moving for jobs, he said. “Up until now we have seen that emigration patterns mirror economic development,” he added. Thomas Johansen, a 28-year old engineering student in Copenhagen from the western Greenland town of Ilulissat, said many young Greenlanders in Denmark felt “a certain responsibility to give something back to Greenland” but that at the same time “there are better opportunities abroad”. “I think it’s a problem. I think there is a brain drain,” he said. Naja Motzfeldt, a 28-year-old management student, said that after her studies she planned to go back to the southern town of Qaqortoq with a population of just 3,200. “I know a few people who plan to stay here. They don’t see any future in returning to Greenland,” she said. But as much as jobs it was the Danish lifestyle that was keeping them from returning, with Greenland sometimes feeling “very small”, she added. “Everyone knows each other and rumours spread quickly. Things can also get a bit boring, you can’t just drive from one town to the next like in Denmark. You have to sail or fly,” she said. As for herself, she said any culture shock upon returning from the Danish capital would be manageable. “Creative people never get bored,” she said. he poorest country in the European Union enables some public sector workers to retire in their forties. Elena Yaneva hopes she won’t be caught up in Bulgaria’s pending pensions overhaul. “I do hope I can retire by the end of the year, otherwise I will have to race with the increase (in retirement age) for who knows how many years,” said Yaneva, an accountant who turned 60 this month. “And I do not want to die at my workplace.” Her anxiety underscores how, for all the noisy debate in western Europe about foreign workers, mass emigration puts a strain on the economies of former Eastern Bloc countries. Poland has lost about 1.2mn workers since joining the EU over a decade ago, while in some villages in Romania the few remaining children are brought up by grandparents while the parents work abroad. The exodus of young Bulgarians since Communism fell in 1989 means Bulgaria’s pension system swallows 37.5% of the central government’s budget, up from 12.8% in 2003. That could rise to 70% in 10 years, according to labour minister Ivailo Kalfin. Prime minister Boiko Borisov’s government is considering raising the pension age, curbing early retirement and tackling fraudulent disability claims. Bulgaria is “facing a demographic collapse”, Bozhidar Danev, executive president of Bulgaria’s largest industrial association BIA told Reuters, urging reforms to curb unsustainable costs. Bulgaria’s population has shrunk by a fifth since 1990 to 7.25mn. Yet the average age when Bulgarians first receive an old age pension is 57, the lowest in the EU along with Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia, according to 2012 Eurostat data. A 2013 World Bank report estimates just one in two Bulgarians will be of working age in 2050. The pension system is also riddled with dodges such as employers paying the minimum wage on the books, then some more in cash, reducing pension contributions to the state. Moreover, claims for disability pensions have more than doubled as a percentage of GDP since 2001. One in eight Bulgarians is officially disabled in some way. “Everybody knows the reasons for the deficit,” said Krassen Stanchev, a founder of the think tank that has published a study on pensions. “But nobody dares to do anything,” he said, because the proportion of younger voters who are net contributors to the budget is shrinking. Those who benefit still struggle to live on the thinlyspread payments. Simeon Naidenov, a 58-year-old former policeman who first started drawing a pension aged 42, has taken jobs as a security guard, a construction labourer and a driver for a casino. “I cannot even afford to go the seaside,” said Naidenov, a former commando in the “Red Berets” counterterrorism unit who draws a monthly pension of €240. Borisov has already faced street protests since becoming premier again in November over plans to raise the pension age by four months every year. Trade unions want a slower increase. A full set of reform proposals could be sent to parliament in April. At the same time Borisov pushed a law through parliament to end mandatory payments to private pension funds, a move he defended as giving workers more choice but that business and coalition allies panned as a savings grab. If he moves too slowly to tackle pensions, healthcare and endemic corruption in the judicial system, he risks alienating his main partner, a rightwing group of parties called the Reformist Bloc. “If they don’t push on with the reforms, the coalition will fall apart and this will bring down the government,” said Kamen Kolchev, the head of ELANA Financial Holding in Sofia. Two charged for spying on Erdogan AFP Istanbul A Turkish court yesterday charged two former policemen with illegally eavesdropping on president Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their extradition from Romania, state-media said. Sedat Zavar, a former police chief, and Ilker Usta, were detained at Istanbul airport late Saturday after their arrival on a flight from Bucharest, the Anatolia news agency reported. The court in Istanbul formally charged the two policemen with “forming a crime syndicate”, “violating privacy” and “illegally obtaining personal information,” Anatolia said. The police officers, who were placed in pre-trial detention, are expected to appear in court on May 4 and face up to 36 years in jail if found guilty. The detentions are a part of an intensifying crackdown against followers of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused by Erdogan of setting up a “parallel state” seeking to oust him from power and of concocting a corruption scandal that rocked the government in late 2013. The authorities accuse police of bugging Erdogan and other top officials at the be- President Erdogan hest of Gulen, whose extradition is being sought by Turkey. Since becoming president in August 2014 after serving as prime minister since 2003, Erdogan has intensified his offensive against Gulen followers. The authorities have conducted raids against dozens of police officers accused in the spying case and others in the police force and the judiciary suspected of being Gulen supporters. Erdogan described the two detained policemen as “spies” and said: “Why did you flee if you were innocent? You fled to Romania but you were caught there. “You had been employed to serve the prime minister... When did you set out to become a spy?” he told a rally in Istanbul. “We told them we would pursue them (Gulen supporters) into their lairs. We will find whoever is behind them no matter where they go.” Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 19 INDIA LIFESTYLE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION CRIME RESERVATION Bollywood stars love unusually shaped handbags New healthcare system for pregnant mothers Amrita ties up with Dutch university 1,000 impersonators held during police recruitment Maneka wants quota for women in police Some women like to carry XXL-size handbags, while others are happy with a cloth bag, a clutch or a shoulder bag. But on the red carpets of India’s film production capital, Mumbai, female stars like to carry something more eye-catching. Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt recently clutched a handbag in the shape of a camera and Sonam Kapoor sported a bag that looked like a cat, according to the Hindustan Times. Kiara Advani wore a Chihuahua-shaped handbag and Richa Chadda even had a cake-shaped one. The handbags had one thing in common: they all had plenty of bling and sparkle. The cumbersome days of stressful, manual, wired monitoring of the unborn child in pregnant mothers will soon end - thanks to a new system unveiled at a hospital in Mumbai. The Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, known as the Sion Hospital, has introduced India’s first Wireless Foetal Monitoring System, a state-ofthe-art product invented and developed by the University of Nottingham. The Monitoring and Care (MONICA) system has been made available through a donation by Steel Chambers Charitable Foundation of India. The Sion Hospital holds the record for conducting around 14,000 child deliveries a year, the highest in India, its dean Suleman Merchant said. Leading higher education provider Amrita University has entered into an agreement with Vrije University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands to extend its collaboration to more departments and programmes. “We are extending our collaboration with the European university after a five-year rewarding association with it through student exchange programme, online lectures, conferences, and adjunct faculty,” Amrita University vice-chancellor Venkat Rangan said. The new agreement envisages expanding the collaboration to health sciences, involving advanced speciality services, precision robotic surgery, radiotherapy, oncology, translational medical research, nano medical sciences, biotechnology and public health. After widespread cheating in Bihar’s secondary school board examinations hit the headlines, over 1,000 impersonators have been arrested in the state during the screening of documents for constable recruitment exam in the past 13 days, police said yesterday. A police officer said: “Never before such were a large number of aspirants arrested for impersonating.” He said a total of 1,068 impersonators have been identified and detected during the screening test that ended on Saturday. “The highest number of 200 were arrested on March 28,” the officer said. They were caught when they came for physical test and produced fake documents. Those arrested were hired by aspirants for taking the physical test. The women and child development ministry has urged the home ministry to take up with various state governments the issue of 33% reservation of posts for women in police forces, official sources said yesterday. In a letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said: “I request you to take up the issue of 33% reservation for women in police forces at your level so that together we can address the problem of violence against women.” Gandhi has pitched reservation for women in police forces as one of the key steps which can stop violence against women. India to airlift citizens from Yemen, to send ship too Agencies New Delhi I ndia said yesterday it was preparing to airlift stranded citizens from war-torn Yemen despite the bombing of the country’s main international airport. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said air evacuations would take place from Yemen, which has been plunged into chaos by a Houthi rebellion that has triggered Saudi-backed airstrikes on the capital Sanaa. Some 4,100 Indians are currently in Yemen, including 3,100 in Sanaa, 500 in Aden and the rest around the country, the minister said. “Today we got permission to fly from Sanaa for three hours a day. We will use this slot for evacuating our citizens every day,” Swaraj said on Twitter. “The end of runway of Sanaa airport was damaged. That is repaired. It is now functional,” she said. India will also send a ship to help evacuate its workers and other citizens, many of whom are nurses from Kerala, the minister said. Meanwhile a Kerala minister said Swaraj has urged the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to persuade Saudi Arabia to lift the ban on flying through its air space. Minister of Diaspora K C Joseph said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was told this when he had a talk with Swaraj. “We are told that things have calmed down a bit and yesterday (Saturday) the airport was opened for a few hours. A flight carrying 90 Indians, including 15 Kerala nurses, has departed from there. The Kerala nurses will arrive from Doha tomorrow (Monday) morning at Kochi airport,” said Joseph. “We are in touch with the Indian embassy officials in Yemen and they have said that every day the airport will be kept open for a few hours. In order to make use of that, we have to get permission from Saudi Arabia to use their air space for which India has got in touch with the GCC to prevail upon Saudi Arabia. Once we get that permission, India will send aircraft to evacuate our people,” Joseph added. Chandy said on Friday that New Delhi planned to send two ships to take the Indians to nearby Djibouti, from where they would be airlifted. The chief minister said workers had complained of having their passports and other documents seized by hospital authorities, preventing them from leaving. The Saudi-led airstrikes have hit Sanaa’s airport and a renegade troop base, as Arab leaders vow to pummel the rebels until they surrender. India’s government last week asked all its nationals to leave Yemen, where deadly fighting has sent tensions in the Middle East soaring. Two killed, 12kg heroin seized The Border Security Force has killed two suspected Pakistani smugglers along the IndiaPakistan border in Punjab and recovered 12kg heroin, valued at Rs500mn, an official said yesterday. BSF troopers also recovered one AK-47 assault rifle, magazines and 31 rounds of ammunition from the place in the Amritsar sector following a search operation yesterday. The heroin, wrapped in 12 packets, was found near the border outpost of Rattan Khurd in the sector, 285km from Chandigarh. A BSF spokesman said the troopers saw suspicious movement near the outpost late Saturday. The men were using a plastic pipe to bring the heroin into India, he said, adding the smugglers were challenged but they opened fire on the troopers, who retaliated. With the latest seizure, the BSF has seized over 123kg of heroin this year in the Punjab sector valued at over Rs6.15bn. ‘Driving’ a camel A man pulls his camel as he sits in an auto-rickshaw during a dust storm in Ahmedabad, Gujarat yesterday. Rebel leaders worked against AAP: Kejriwal Party replaces former navy chief Ramdas as internal Lokpal IANS New Delhi D issident leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav had been conspiring against the Aam Aadmi Party for the past one year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said. In a 44-minute, partly emotional speech at Saturday’s National Executive meeting here, the video of which was released yesterday, Kejriwal made several accusations against the other two co-founders of the party. He alleged that the two men had made every leadership meeting of the party a cantankerous affair. He had bowed to many of their demands but they never appeared to relent. “People of Delhi trusted us and voted us to power but our own friends backstabbed us. They called me a cheat, which even the Congress and the BJP did not dare to,” said an emotional Kejriwal. He said Bhushan and Yadav had worked against the party for the past one year while being within, and had prevented people from funding it ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Bhushan and Yadav were expelled from the National Executive on Saturday after which they called the chief minister an autocrat. The AAP chief blamed the two men for the mess the party was finding itself in despite winning a smashing victory in the Delhi election in February. He said both Yadav and Bhushan kept leaking to the media information that harmed the AAP. “Who benefited from this? I? Yogendra Yadav? Prashant Bhushan? No! Parties like the BJP and the Congress benefited.” The 46-year-old chief minister accused Bhushan and Yadav of tripping the party when they should have honoured the Delhi mandate. Claiming that his barely two-month-old government had achieved much more than what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had managed to do in 10 months, Kejriwal lamented that it had all gone waste. “People of Delhi trusted us and voted us to power but our own friends backstabbed us. They called me a cheat, which even the Congress and the BJP did not dare to” “We should have worked to make Delhi a model city. When we should have been in news for our positive work, we were on the front pages because of all the wrong reasons.” P rime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Singapore’s founder leader Lee Kuan Yew, who was cremated yesterday, as “among the tallest leaders of our times” and a friend of India. Shortly after arriving here to attend the funeral of Lee who died on March 23, Modi said Lee believed in India’s potential “more than many of us did.” The prime minister was among the world leaders who gathered here to pay their last respects to Lee. “The passing away of Lee Kuan Yew marks the end of an era. He was among the tallest leaders of our times,” Modi said. “He was a global thinker who saw things ahead of others. He was an advocate of economic progress, but also made tireless efforts to advance peace and sta- bility in our region,” he added. Stating that Lee’s personal life was an “inspiration for many like me,” the prime minister wrote in the condolence book: “He was a torchbearer of hope, not just for Singapore, but for all of Asia. “Today, the flame is no more, but this was a torch that lit the lamp of hope in many new nations. As long as these lamps flicker, he will continue to inspire, eternally. “...I bow to this committed Karma Yogi, this great man. On behalf of all Indians, I pay homage to him.” Modi said Lee believed in India’s potential “more than many of us did,” adding “India’s relations with Singapore is one of our strongest relationships in the world and Singapore is a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy.” The prime minister met a host of leaders on the sidelines of the funeral including senior Singapore leader Goh Chok Tong, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister T Shanmugaratnam, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, former US president Bill Clinton and Governor General of Canada David Johnston, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Among the others who attended the funeral were Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and British Secretary of State William Hague. As a tribute to Lee, the government yesterday observed a day of national mourning with the national flag flown at half-mast and no official entertainment, a home ministry official said. “National mourning was observed in the country today. The national flag remained at halfmast and there was no official entertainment in the country,” additional director general K S Dhatwalia said. Lee, 91, died after a long battle with pneumonia. The AAP also decided to lay siege to parliament on April 22 to protest against the land acquisition bill. Bhushan and Yadav have vowed to approach the Supreme Court and the Election Commission against their sacking. But the AAP sought to underline yesterday that Ramdas, a former chief of the Indian Navy, was not removed or sacked but his term had ended. “A new Lokpal committee has been constituted. The tenure of Ramdas was over, so a new Lokpal had to be appointed. It should not be considered he was removed or sacked,” party leader Sanjay Singh told reporters. Ramdas, however, said he was surprised to hear from the media that the AAP no longer required his services. “I am disappointed that the leadership of the party did not accord me the courtesy of informing me first before making this decision public. I still await their phone call,” he said in a statement. Kashmir Valley faces no flood threat: official Lee among tallest leaders of our times, says Modi IANS Singapore Amid repeated applause, Kejriwal cited examples to claim that many of the accusations heaped against him by the dissidents were baseless. Before concluding, he said: “It is for you to understand whether the fight that has been going for the last one-and-ahalf months is a fight of principles or ambitions.” “You have to select them or me,” he said, taking out his resignation as the National Convener and from the Political Affairs Committee, the National Executive and the National Council. “If you select them, then I will step down from all posts and work as an ordinary party worker.” Meanwhile, AAP yesterday replaced its Lokpal, retired Admiral L Ramdas, with a team of three ombudsmen, who include two former police officers. AAP leaders who met at Kejriwal’s residence also set up a new disciplinary committee and a panel to study the party’s state of affairs in various states. IANS Srinagar T Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accompanied by an official as he arrives at the University Cultural Centre (UCC) for the funeral services for Lee Kuan Yew yesterday. he Kashmir Valley faces no flood threat, authorities said yesterday, as many residents of Srinagar began shifting to safer areas as the water level in the Jhelum river rose menacingly. The Jhelum’s level reached 12ft at the Ram Manshibagh in Srinagar overnight following incessant rains, triggering panic in many parts of the city that faced unprecedented floods in September 2014, killing over 200 people and affecting some 700,000 residents. Sonam Lotus, director of the meteorological office, yesterday dismissed any flood threat to the Kashmir Valley. His word should bring relief to residents in Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar and Gogjibagh areas of Srinagar, many of whom began shifting valuables to the homes of friends and relatives in other parts of Srinagar. The flood control department, which is on high alert, said the present water level in Jhelum was much below the danger mark of 18ft at Ram Munshibagh and so there was no reason to panic. “We have kept the entire administration including the flood control department on alert,” Gazanfar Hussain, Kashmir’s divisional commissioner, told reporters here. “There is no reason to panic.” Official assurances, however, mean little to the people of flood-prone areas where the September 2014 flooding caused widespread destruction. The scars and memories of that period still haunt the locals. Lotus said: “Although there has been a rise in the water level of rivers and streams in the Kashmir Valley due to overnight incessant rains, there is no reason to worry.” 20 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 INDIA Tamil Nadu Roundup By Umaima Shafiq Protest against Karnataka dam project Tamil Nadu observed a statewide semi-curfew to protest against a recent decision by the Karnataka government to build a new dam across the river Cauvery at Mekedatu in the neighbouring state. The Karnataka government had sanctioned Rs250mn for the project. Many government buses and trucks kept off the road. Shops and other businesses which were closed in the morning opened in the evening. More than 55 Tamil Nadu parliamentarians cutting across parties met Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to stop the project. They also urged the prime minister to set up the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority to settle the inter-state river dispute. Modi has promised to consider their request. Taj Corridor now an animal graveyard, garbage dump IANS Agra T he Taj Corridor, a vast wasteland situated along the Yamuna river and lying between world heritage monuments the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, has now been reduced to a dumping ground for garbage and an unofficial burial ground for animals. Foreign tourists have taken numerous images of bloated camels, swollen and stinking donkeys, dead dogs and heaps of fish bones along a stretch that is now a visually ugly sight and mars the scenery between the two great monuments visited by millions round the year. “The Taj Corridor is an example of how we hardly care for our heritage and the tourism,” Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society, said. “Such an ugly sight near the world’s most beautiful monument can be repulsive and nauseating,” Rajesh Kumar, a nonresident Indian, said. Despite a 2006 Supreme Court order to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to green the wasteland, neither the Uttar Pradesh forest department nor the ASI has made any move to clear the debris and turn the area into a green lung. Once at the centre of a huge political furore, the ill-conceived Taj Corridor brought down the Uttar Pradesh government of Mayawati in 2003 on charges of corruption. The Supreme Court in the same year stayed construction on the site. Agra Development Foundation president and eminent lawyer K C Jain said: “In December 2005, the apex court constituted a committee of experts to give its recommendations. In February 2006, on the basis of this report, the Supreme Court directed the ASI to present a plan of action. Since then the matter has been hanging fire, despite promises by former tourism minister Ram Naik and present Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma.” “It is not our responsibility to clean up the area. We will ask the municipal authorities and send them a notice,” the regional office of the UP Pollution Control Board said. Govt calls for studies on health hazards of cell phones IANS New Delhi National awards for Tamil films and debut actors Several Tamil debut film artistes including children won awards at the 62nd National Film Awards announced last week. Tamil film Kaakkaa Muttai won the best children’s film and its actors Vignesh and Ramesh the best child artistes, while Kutram Kadithal directed by Brahma was selected the best Tamil film Jigarthanda won three awards for best editor Vivek Harshan, best supporting actor Bobby Simha and best lyricist Na Muthukumar. Ten-year-old Uthara won the best female playback singer award for her song Azhagu in the film Saivam. She is the daughter of noted playback singer Unnikrishnan. Exploratory filmmaker Nalla Muthu Subbiah has won the national Rajat Kamal award for his documentary on the biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Dead man’s organs save five lives Organs harvested from a 39-yearold road accident victim helped save the lives of five patients in Puducherry, about 180km from Chennai last week. U Anand’s liver, heart and kidneys were flown by air ambulances to hospitals in Chennai and Tiruchi and successfully transplanted. Anand was on his way to work on his two-wheeler when he met with an accident. Similarly, a 39-year-old woman’s kidneys and corneas were harvested and transplanted at the Madurai-based Meenakshi Mission hospital. The woman had died of high blood pressure. Girl writes board exam despite falling into well A 17-year-old girl fell into a well behind her house but was rescued within an hour and wrote her Class XII board exams at Madipakkam in suburban Chennai last week. S Supraja fell into the 30ft-deep well while walking up and down studying her textbook early that morning. Her family woke up on hearing her cries and informed the fire service. Since it was a narrow well, only one fire service officer was able to enter. He successfully brought Supraja out. Cellar found at heritage temple Archaeologists discovered a 200sq ft cellar inside the eighth century Sri Ranganathasamy temple at Srirangam in Tiruchi district during excavation last week. The excavation was conducted after a wall behind a heritage stone deity caved in. Archaeologists said that such cellars were used in olden times to store temple jewellery during invasion. The Srirangam temple is protected by the Archaeological Society of India and is one of the major deities for Hindu devotees in South India. A district official said: “The Taj Corridor is court property and we cannot interfere till the stay is lifted.” Agra Development Authority officials said they had put up an iron gate to regulate the movement of undesirable elements. The gate, however, always remains open and there is no one there to look after the incomplete corridor which has become a dumping ground of municipal waste. I The family members of potato farmer Foring Gosh, who committed suicide, mourn at his home at Gazole in Malda district of West Bengal yesterday. Ghosh committed suicide by consuming pesticide at his home the previous night after he could not repay agricultural loan of about Rs80,000 due to low potato prices. Modi has let us down, say debt-laden farmers The prime minister’s popularity in rural India is punctured by discontent, suicides Reuters Vaidi, Uttar Pradesh O ver a dozen debt-laden farmers have committed suicide in recent weeks in India, and discontent in many rural areas against government policies is turning into anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi less than a year after he swept into office. Unseasonal storms have badly damaged the winter crop in large parts of the fertile northern plains, most likely contributing to the suicides, and villagers have blamed Modi for not stepping in to help the distressed farmers or ensuring that crop prices remained stable. The farmer suicides in India’s most politically sensitive region are the latest in several setbacks for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is hoping to consolidate power by winning local elections in large, predominantly rural states over the next two years. The government has delayed a comprehensive health plan as it shifts focus from subsidies to investment, while religious tensions have made minorities uneasy. Nevertheless, Modi has made progress with economic reform in his first year - although not as rapidly as some investors would like - and has reined in inflation. In a village in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, Dharmendra Singh mourned his brother Babu Singh, who committed suicide after rain destroyed wheat growing on the five-acre farm he leased from a landlord. Babu Singh, who had run up debts amounting to Rs800,000 ($13,000), soaked himself in kerosene and set himself on fire on March 19. He succumbed to burn injuries six days later. “My brother was banking on the crop so the loss came as the last straw,” Dharmendra Singh said in his village, Vaidi, 185km southeast of Delhi. “For God’s sake why hasn’t the government reached out to us? We overwhelmingly voted for Modi as he promised to take care of us but he has stabbed us in the back.” In more than a dozen villages across the state that sends the most lawmakers to parliament, farmers said there was a “crisis” in the countryside, where 70% of India’s 1.2bn people live. Angered by low farmgate prices and the lack of state compensation for crop damage, some villagers said they have ostracised local members of the BJP and barred them from attending weddings. Parties crushed by the BJP in last year’s general election have coupled the discontent with street protests against a land acquisition bill that will make it easier for businesses to buy farmland, a potent issue in the countryside. For the BJP, the next major election will be in November in the large, mostly rural state of Bihar, and a poor performance will be a huge setback. India’s states send representatives to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, where the BJP is struggling to form a majority to match its domination of the lower house Lok Sabha. With global food prices low, an anti-inflation policy that has hit rural incomes and the shift Kerala CM leaves for Dubai, says decision on George ‘soon’ By Ashraf Padanna Thiruvananthapuram K erala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy left for Dubai amid growing demand for the ouster of his government’s chief whip, P C George, a perennial headache for the fragile ruling coalition. Chandy, a senior Congress Party leader, said he would soon take a decision on the demand of the key partner, Kerala Congress (M), of which George is the vicepresident. “I’ll be back on Thursday and soon take a decision after consulting other leaders. There’ll be no delay,” Chandy, whose options are limited given a wafer thin majority, told reporters in Kottayam. KC (M) chairman K M Mani and working chairman P J Joseph, both senior ministers, last week met Chandy and handed over a letter saying George no longer represented the party. Mani has since made it clear that George should be sacked immediately. George wants Mani to expel him from the party to avoid disqualification under India’s strict anti-defection law and Chandy’s help to revive his Kerala Congress (Secular), and remain a coalition partner. The KC (S) merged with the KC (M) in 2010 after switching his allegiance from the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which was in power, to the Congressled United Democratic Front. Joseph’s K C (J) quit the LDF and joined them later. George is now at the mercy of Mani and Chandy to remain in the assembly. If he resigns from the party, he needs to get a fresh man- date to continue as a legislator. Disregarding George’s threat to “reveal all” as usual and “teach him (Mani) a lesson” in the elections, Mani told the chief minister that he wanted immediate action against him. “We went to the chief minister together and conveyed our decision. He has given us an assurance that he would take action accordingly. It’s a collective decision, approved by all legislators,” said Joseph, also a victim of George’s vitriolic tongue. George is left with no friends in the UDF and many in the Congress were baying for his blood since he started attacking Chandy and his ministers last year. Meanwhile, the chief minister has a tight schedule in Dubai, attending various functions organised by community groups and meeting potential investors. from subsidy to investment spending, debt-laden farmers were already suffering when rain devastated standing winter crops across north India. Over 10mn hectares of crops were damaged, but the government says there is no clear link to the suicides. “Only the state governments can figure out cases of farmers’ suicides,” said a senior federal agriculture ministry official, who did not wish to be identified. “We’ll work closely with the affected states if they ask for any specific help.” In the case of Singh at least, his family says there is no doubt why he died. The rains earlier this month washed out his entire crop. The fields would have paid for his son’s education and daughter’s wedding, relatives said. “He knew that he couldn’t pay his debt and live with dignity after the crop loss. A little help from the government could have saved my brother,” Dharmendra Singh said. It is not unusual for federal and state government compensation for crop damage to trickle down slowly, but farmers said they expected more from Modi, who came to power promising efficient and responsive government. Modi tried to address the issue in a radio address last week, arguing that the land bill would help create rural jobs. But in the villages of Uttar Pradesh, farmers were not impressed. “Instead of ensuring some concrete help to farmers, especially after rains this month, Modi and his government are spending time and energy on the land bill,” said Buddha Singh, a district chief of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, a leading farmers’ body. The turnaround is dramatic Modi swept Uttar Pradesh last year, winning 73 of 80 seats with rural voters swayed by a promise to pay high crop prices along with religious tensions that favoured his party. Now the same farmers say they regret their support. “Modi has let us down. We have decided to socially boycott BJP politicians, including lawmakers we elected,” said Jitendra Kumar, a farmer in Sisola Khurd village. “Some of us had joined BJP as part of its membership drive but we are now going to surrender it.” n the backdrop of the recently concluded spectrum auctions, the science and technology ministry has commissioned research studies on health aspects of mobile phone radiations from 16 scientific institutions, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said yesterday. “This is the first time the government of India is going for a massive evaluation and project proposals received from institutions have been identified for financial support from the Department of Science and Technology following an interministerial committee directive in 2011,” the COAI said in a statement here. Among the prestigious institutions to be conducting studies are the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital, the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru and the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. The key focus of these studies will be on the impact of electromagnetic fields, brain-related effects, biochemical studies, reproduction pattern, comparison of animal and human models and remedial measures, among others, the COAI said. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is currently engaged in a study on these lines as recommended by the inter-ministerial committee of 2011, with a target group of 4,500 people in Delhi, while the Tata Memorial Centre is doing research in Mumbai, the statement said. “In compliance with the direction of the Allahabad High Court, a committee was set up by the government in 2012, which submitted its report in 2014 on issues relating to radiations from cell phone tower and handsets,” it said. “In this report, it was recommended that the Department of Science and Technology and the Indian Council of Medical Research TDP celebrates formation day Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu pays homage at the memorial to former chief minister N T Rama Rao on the 34th formation day of Telugu Desam Party, in Hyderabad yesterday. It was on this day in 1982 that NTR, a famous Telugu actor, formed the TDP on the slogan of Telugu self-respect. He created a record of sorts by coming to power within nine months of forming the party. 22 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 LATIN AMERICA Swiss pilot on a solo odyssey dies in Ecuador volcano crash AFP Quito A Locals walk next to a damaged railway line after a flood at Diego de Almagro town. ‘Bleak’ scene in flood-hit north stuns Chile leader AFP Santiago C hilean President Michelle Bachelet pointed to a “bleak” situation in the country’s flood-hit north Saturday, after deadly rains swept through the normally arid area last week. The president spent two days in the devastated Atacama region and in nearby Antofagasta, where floods left at least 12 dead, 20 missing and hundreds of people homeless. The death toll is expected to rise. “The outlook is bleak and we need to speed things up to get to villages that remain isolated and need our help,” Bachelet said. “As we are able to reach different places, these figures are probably going to climb.” The downpour began on Tuesday in the Atacama region, home to the world’s most arid desert, and lashed the area for hours, turning riverbeds that had been dry for years into torrents. Desperate residents scrambled onto the roofs of their homes or fled to high ground to escape the floodwaters, as streets morphed into rivers that swept up nearly everything in their path. Victor Zamora, one of the 33 Chil- ean miners who captured worldwide attention in 2010 after spending more than two months in a collapsed mine, lost his house in flooding that washed away most of his village. “This is another tragedy, we have lost everything,” Zamora told AFP, speaking from the town of Tierra Amarilla. He said the waters came around 3am on Tuesday when everyone was asleep. He was only able to get away with the few items he had with him. “We’ve got nothing left. But me and my neighbours are trying to help each other,” said Zamora, who in October 2010 was the 14th miner to be pulled safely to the surface af- ter spending 69 days trapped deep underground. Residents in the city of Copiapo were seen emptying buckets of water from flooded homes, while some neighbourhoods were completely submerged after the heavy rains. The interior ministry declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and invoked a constitutional clause transferring power from the regional government to the military. After two days of rain, the sun came out Friday and revealed the extent of the destruction. As water levels subsided, some streets were left covered in thick mud, and several residents headed out with shovels to unclog drains and clear roadways. The weather service has said the rains were at least 10 times greater in volume than the region normally gets in a year. The area has seen years of drought and was not prepared for the deluge - the last major flood was in 1997. Meanwhile, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Chile just north of the flooded Atacama region, but produced no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The US Geological Service said the quake hit at 1.36pm (1636 GMT) at a depth of 109km, around 240km northeast of Antofagasta. Swiss aviator attempting to circumnavigate the world in 20 months in a lightweight two-seater aircraft died on Saturday after crashing into a volcano in central Ecuador, officials said. Eric Guilloud, 62, was declared dead following the accident in Cotopaxi province, Ecuador’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement. An aide to the pilot said Guilloud’s Aerospool WT9 Dynamic aircraft had slammed into the Cotopaxi volcano shortly after taking off from Latacunga airport south of Ecuador’s capital Quito. Sixteen soldiers went to the site to try to save him, the aviation agency said. Guilloud had been attempting to fly around the globe in a series of stages over 20 months. He had already flown through several countries in Europe and Africa before reaching South America, where he flew over Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. He was en route to the city of Tabacundo, northeast of Quito, when his plane crashed. According to a blog maintained by the aviator, money raised through his marathon odyssey were to go towards funding orthopaedic surgeries in central Burkina Faso. Guilloud, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, had planned to visit 34 countries aboard the lightweight aircraft he had nicknamed “Baby.” He said he would fly a total of 76,000km, clock 384 flight hours and perform 106 landings, DGCA said. His two-seater plane had enough space for just a suitcase and a small refrigerator. Guilloud decided to fly around the world after a close friend died in a plane accident, motivating him to see the world from the sky in honour of his companion. Ecuador’s aviation agency said Guilloud’s enthusiasm for all things that fly started as a young man. “His passion for soaring in the air dates back to his youth. At 23, he started hand-gliding and won the Swiss championship in 1976,” DGCA said. “And now at 62, he chose to fly over mountains and oceans from his ultralight plane.” Brazil uncovers new tax fraud D ozens of Brazilian firms, including industrial companies and banks, are under investigation amid allegations they paid $5.9bn in bribes to tax officials, police said on Saturday. Brazil is already reeling from the biggest graft scandal the country has known, a $3.8bn scam involving inflated contracts between construction companies and state oil giant Petrobras, causing a storm after dozens of politicians were implicated. The new scandal, dubbed Operation Zeal, comes following a federal police probe into an alleged scam at CARF, an offshoot of Brazil’s tax authority that oversees appeals on tax disputes. According to police, the body managed to obtain tax appeals board rulings in the companies’ favour by either cutting penalties or waiving them altogether. In return, officials allegedly received bribes from some 70 companies believed to have benefited from the scheme. “The investigations, begun in 2013, showed the organisation acted within the body sponsoring private interests, seeking to influence and corrupt advisors with a view either to securing the cancellation or reduction” of penalties from tax authorities, a police statement explained. Colombia tackles landmine issue amid peace talks By Jim Wyss Sonson, Colombia A s a child soldier for Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, Jairo watched his fellow fighters seed trails and pastures with anti-personnel mines designed to kill and maim. Sometimes they made careful maps indicating where the explosives were buried. Other times they carried the knowledge in their heads - and when they died in combat the mines became a perilous mystery. “Even a (guerrilla) commander stepped on one of them,” said Jairo, who was forced to join the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Farc, when he was 15 years old, and who asked to remain anonymous to avoid guerrilla retaliation. “They just forgot where they put it and he stepped on it.” Colombia’s half century civil conflict has turned large swaths of the country, quite literally, into a minefield. In 2013, Colombia had more landmine-related deaths than any country in the world except for Afghanistan. Now, however, there’s an effort under way to try to clean up the mess. And current and former guerrillas like Jairo could play a leading role. Government and Farc negotiators in Havana are working on a plan that would allow a few guerrilla members to leave their strongholds and, in conjunction with the military and Norwegian People’s Aid, help identify three or four minefields that put civilian populations at risk. The army’s de-mining brigade would clear the explosives. The deal is part of efforts to de-escalate violence even as negotiators have spent more than two years trying to cobble together a comprehensive peace plan. A worker with the HALO Trust looking for landmines near Sonson, Colombia. “The virtue of this measure is that, with or without a peace, the Farc, the government and international organisations have agreed to start clearing landmines,” said Gen. Oscar Naranjo, a former chief of police who was recently named minister of post-conflict. “It’s an agreement with limited reach. It’s a pilot project that will allow us to learn lessons and learn from this new model.” In a sense, people like Jairo are already proving it works. The former guerrilla, now 29, is one of a handful of ex-combatants who have been hired by the HALO Trust, a United Kingdom nonprofit and the only organisation doing humanitarian mine removal aside from the Colombian military. Jairo, whose work location needs to be kept secret for security reasons, said that once de-mining operations move to the part of the country where he was an active guerrilla, he’ll be able to share information about minefields. Imagining a post-conflict future where the Farc are part of the work force, he said, they would be invaluable in this line of work. “If anyone knows where the mines are it’s the guerrillas,” he said. “This would give them a job and let them do something good for the civilian population.” Nick Smart, HALO’s programme manager in Colombia, said that among the 165 civilians the group has hired there are a handful of former combatants employed through an agreement with the Colombian Agency for Reintegration. The Farc de-mining deal in Havana only gives the hiring strategy more credence. “We are hoping now that in the future we can roll out this model on a much larger scale as we expand in Colombia,” he said. Even so, the former combatants will never make up more than 20 or 30% of the work force, he said. The Havana deal could also offer other benefits. Under Colombian law, HALO and organisations like it are only allowed to work in “green zones” - areas where there hasn’t been fighting for three to five years and where the landmines have no strategic value. That also means many of the landmines they’re finding have degraded with time. The new deal could open the door to operations in areas where the conflict is just dying down. “With this new agreement we are hoping to be able to go into areas where mines have been laid more recently, where mines are killing people right now,” Smart said. “In terms of saving life and limb we could have a greater impact.” Anti-personnel mines have injured or killed at least 11,068 people in Colombia since 1990. In 2013, landmines claimed 368 lives, including those of 165 civilians, according to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor. That puts the South American nation only behind Afghanistan (1,050 casualties) in terms of landmine deaths. The government says 31 of 32 geographic departments have some type of landmine contamination, and clearing those areas will be key to allowing millions of people who have fled the violence to return home. That’s where organisations like HALO come in. Hiring locals to work as landmine investigators, the group canvasses villages until they gather enough information to roughly identify a minefield. Then it’s up to trained mine-clearing teams to inch their way through the area with metal detectors and trowels. In a tiny hamlet about three hours from the city of Medellin, dozens of HALO workers clad in blue Kevlar flack-jackets and blast visors were carefully clipping grass and digging through the dirt like cautious archaeologists. The village sits on high ground between three municipalities, making it a favoured guerrilla lookout. The Farc spiked the area with homemade landmines - sometimes crafted from coffee cans and PVC pipes, and using medical syringes as plungers - to keep the military at bay. But when the guerrillas left around 2007, the mines stayed. Donaldo Gomez, 53, who has house near the minefield, said he was removing brush near his home about a year ago when his machete hit the top of a landmine. The explosive - encased in a glass jar - was old and inert, but Gomez said he had reason to worry: In 2003, his father was killed after stepping on an explosive. “My father was super sharp and a hard worker,” Gomez said. “In his 79 years he never got sick, and then one of those landmines kills him.”- Miami Herald/TNS Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 23 PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN HEALTHCARE ENERGY POLITICS RIGHTS CRIME Pakistan brings medical devices under rules Lahore’s first biogas plant to start supply from April PTI seeks army deployment inside polling stations House panel to take up bill against child marriage Afghan cop sentenced for killing German journalist The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has notified the Medical Devices Rules 2015, bringing medical devices under comprehensive regulatory control for the first time in Pakistan. The purpose of the regulation is to protect public health by providing safe and effective medical devices, to ensure that new technology is made available for use for patients in a timely manner, and to prevent the alarming increase in deadly blood-borne infectious diseases like Aids, Hepatitis B and C, Viral haemorrhagic fever, septicaemia, etc. “After promulgation of these rules, Pakistan is now standing ahead of its neighbouring countries. A first of its kind and a role model biogas plant constructed at Ichu Gill, a locality situated in the outskirt of Lahore, will start supplying biogas to the local community next month enabling the residents to get benefit from the green waste and animal rubbish, said Managing Director provincial metropolis by the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) Khalid Majeed yesterday. The plant has the capacity to produce biogas from green waste and animal refuse being abundantly produced in the Ichu Gill and will help fulfil the need of almost 200 households at a marginal cost. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan has sought the help of the station commander Rawalpindi in stopping the ruling PML-N from ‘influencing the cantonment elections’. It also demanded the deployment of army personnel inside the polling stations on the polling day. Zahid Kazmi, the secretary general of the PTI Punjab north, made the demand in a letter sent to the station commander, who is also the president of the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards. When asked why he did not register a complaint with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PTI leader said the copy of the letter had also been sent to the ECP. A parliamentary committee in Pakistan’s national assembly will take up next week a significant bill seeking amendments to the 85-year-old British-era law on child marriage and making the practice a cognisable offence. The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill 2014, a private member bill moved by four lawmakers of the PML-N last year, is on the agenda of a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs to be held on April 3. The proposed law seeks to change the definition of “child”, saying that “child means a person who is under 18 years of age” as declared by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Afghan Supreme Court sentenced a police officer to 20 years in prison for killing a German photojournalist in 2014, a judicial official said yesterday. The officer identified as Naqibullah opened fire on Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus and reporter Kathy Gannon during the April election campaign. Niedringhaus was killed and Canadian reporter Gannon was wounded in the incident in the eastern province of Khost. A court official who requested anonymity said Naqibullah was initially sentenced to death, but the court commuted the sentence to 20 years in prison. Pakistan sends plane, frigate to rescue citizens from Yemen A jumbo jet sent by Pakistan flew out of Hodeida in western Yemen yesterday with nearly 500 of its citizens on board, including the ambassador Reuters Islamabad P akistan has sent a jumbo jet and a naval frigate to evacuate its citizens and diplomatic staff stranded in war-torn Yemen, as Saudiled air strikes hammered Shia Houthi rebel targets, officials said yesterday. Pakistan’s ambassador to Yemen Irfan Shami told state television that 482 Pakistanis will be evacuated on the first flight. “The plane has landed at Hodeidah and boarding has started. On seeing the plane landing, stranded Pakistanis expressed their happiness by clapping,” the ambassador told Pakistan Television. Pakistan TV has interviewed distraught nationals in Yemen who have pleaded for help, saying nothing was being down to rescue them. “The Saudi civil aviation authorities had given us clearance to send our passenger planes to Yemen,” a Defence Ministry official said earlier. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was personally monitoring the evacuation and had directed the officials to ensure safe return of every citizen, a spokesman of Sharif’s office said. Earlier, PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) spokesman Hanif Rana said that a 747 aircraft had been flown to Hodeidah. A second, smaller plane with a capacity of 230 passengers was also being kept on stand by in Pakistan, he said. A convoy of 600 Pakistanis was moving towards the Red Sea port of Hodeida, where “arrangements for their brief stay before their return journey to Pakistan have been made”, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry was quoted by media as saying. A frigate had also been sent to assist. “A Pakistan navy frigate today left Karachi to rescue stranded Pakistanis in Yemen,” a naval spokesman said. The frigate will remain on stand-by in the Gulf of Aden with full preparedness and, if the need arose, will participate in the evacuations, he said. Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said late Saturday that around 3,000 Pakistanis lived in Yemen with some 1,000 trying to leave the country. A convoy of 16 buses was carrying stranded Pakistanis from the capital of Sanaa to Hodeidah, he said, while some remained stranded in the southern government stronghold of Aden and were awaiting a lull in the fighting so they too could be rescued. Pakistan is a longstanding ally of Saudi Arabia with close military ties, but Islamabad has not yet committed to the operation, which has drawn strong criticism from its neighbour Iran. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told parliament on Friday Pakistan had made no decision on whether to give military support to the Saudi-led coalition, while pledging to defend Saudi Arabia against any threat. “We have made no decision to participate in this war. We didn’t make any promise. We have not promised any military support to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen,” Asif said. Asif said there was no danger of Pakistan getting caught up in a sectarian war. Pakistan has been plagued with sectarian violence for years, with militant Sunni groups targeting its Shia minority. “So many minorities and sects live in Pakistan,” Asif said. “Whatever assurances we give Saudi Arabia is to defend its territorial integrity, but I assure that there is no danger of us getting involved in a sectarian war.” Sharif has long enjoyed close relations with the Saudi royal family. After his second term as prime minister was ended by a military coup in 1999, he went into exile in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia last year loaned $1.5bn to Pakistan to help Islamabad shore up its foreign exchange reserves, meet debtservice obligations and undertake large energy and infrastructure projects. Sharif assures support to Saudi king Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz that he will soon send a high-level delegation to Riyadh to discuss co-operation for the Saudi-led strikes on Yemen, a top diplomat said. Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry told a press conference late on Saturday that the delegation could depart within 24 to 48 hours, Xinhua reported. “The prime minister told the Saudi king that the security of Saudi Arabia is very important for Pakistan and any threat to Saudi Arabia will be a matter of serious concern for us,” he said. “Our leadership is in contact with the Saudi leaders and has told them Pakistan will send a delegation to assess the situation and will later make decisions,” Chaudhry said. Chaudhry denied reports that Pakistan has joined the Saudi-led coalition in strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. “All these reports are false and based on assumptions,” the foreign secretary said when commenting on Saudi state news agency’s report that Islamabad has agreed to join the Saudi-led coalition. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif will lead the Pakistani delegation that will also comprise the country’s security adviser and military officials. Afghan firefighters hose down the site of a suicide attack targeting lawmaker Gul Pacha Majidi, in Kabul yesterday. Afghan MP survives suicide attack in Kabul AFP Kabul A suicide attacker targeting a prominent Afghan MP killed three people and wounded seven others in Kabul yesterday, just days after Washington announced it would slow the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. President Barack Obama last Tuesday reversed plans to withdraw around 5,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year, an overture to the country’s new reform-minded leader, President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban, waging a deadly insurgency since they were ousted from power in late 2001, warned that the announcement would damage any prospects of peace talks as they vowed to continue fighting. The suicide bomber detonated himself yesterday evening as Gul Pacha Majidi, a lawmaker from eastern Paktia province, was leaving a meeting of Afghan elders in central Kabul. He escaped with shrapnel wounds to his leg. “Majidi was attending a jirga (assembly of elders)... and as he was exiting the premises, a suicide attacker on foot detonated himself,” Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told AFP. Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi confirmed the incident but did not offer any details on casualties. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents have stepped up suicide attacks on government targets following an Afghan army offensive which began in southern Helmand province more than two months ago. This is the second suicide bombing in the Afghan capital in less than a week and highlights the fragile security situation as the country prepares for the start of the traditional spring-summer fighting season. Hosting Ghani at the White House for their first presidential head-to-head last week, Obama agreed to keep the current level of 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2015. Hours later, a suicide car bomber struck close to the presidential palace in Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens more. Last November, prominent female Afghan MP Shukria Barakza survived a suicide attack on her convoy near the parliament in Kabul but three civilians were killed and nearly two dozen others were left wounded. Since coming to power in September after protracted power-sharing negotiations, Ghani has sought to establish a peace process with the Taliban to end their 13-year insurgency. Supportive signals from Pakistan, which has long held significant influence over the Taliban, have boosted hopes for possible dialogue. The Taliban have always denied talks with the government. They maintain they will not negotiate while foreign troops remain on Afghan soil. Balochistan’s displaced tribals eager to return home Internews Islamabad M ohamed Murad just wants to go back to his hometown. He had fled his home in Phelawagh, a small town of Dera Bugti district in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan, after his brother got killed when his motorbike hit a landmine said to have been laid by Baloch militants five years ago. Now he has signed up with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, which is facilitating the return home of the 900 Masoori Bugtis families settled all over Rajanpur - a south Punjab district bordering with Balochistan - for the past four to 10 years. “I cannot wait to get back home and start all over,” Murad said. “I knew it was time to take our family to some place safe when my brother got killed - between 60 and 70 people had died in my town because of landmines. But I haven’t heard of any such incident in the last couple of years. Now it’s time to head back home.” Several thousand Masoori Bugtis were forced to flee their hometown between 2005 and 2010 when they found themselves caught in the crossfire between the army and the Baloch militants. Most families took refuge in southern districts of Punjab as they found them closer and safer. “Most of us kept living there despite the deteriorating security conditions following the death of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti [in a military strike at his mountain hideout in 2006],” recalled Wali Mohamed, whose family walked around 50km to cross over to Punjab. “But when the army left Dera Bugti and Baloch Republican Army fighters returned to lay landmines everywhere to punish those who had sided with the army, it became impossible for the rest of us to survive there any longer,” he said, adding that he was happy that they could now return home without the fear of ‘accidentally’ getting killed by a landmine. A vast majority of ‘internally’ displaced Baloch tribesmen are settled all over Rajanpur Several thousand Masoori Bugtis were forced to flee their hometown between 2005 and 2010. while others have made DG Khan their home, working as farm workers in exchange for temporary shelter and nominal wages in the form of a small share in the farm produce. “These people are the poorest of the poor, living in extremely oppressive conditions here without any source of income,” said Asad Bugti, chief of the Nohkani Bugtis, a sub-tribe of the Masooris, who persuaded the PPAF to finance his tribesmen’s return and rehabilitation back home. “There’s no one to take care of these displaced people here,” he said. He was of the opinion that militancy in Dera Bugti had been under control for some time. “At this moment we’ve an opportunity to let the people know that they can go back home and live a peaceful, normal life without any fear. It is also time to dismantle whatever is left of the old Sardari system and help the Baloch people improve their lives by providing them education, healthcare, etc. They are not destined to live in absolute poverty and on charity. Are they?” he said of the crowd gathered at a tobacco factory in Jampur to collect food, clothes and cash for their travel from the PPAF staff. The PPAF decided to facilitate the journey after getting the go-ahead from both the army and the government of Balochistan. “They want to do right by these internally displaced people who have lived under the open sky like animals all these years,” PPAF boss Qazi Azmat Isa said of the govern- ment and the military. The journey back home for many is filled with both hope and fear. “I do not know what is in store for us when we get back home, but I know that I want to be home again. How long can I live here like a refugee?” said Saib Khan, whose family fled to Rajanpur immediately after the military action began in Dera Bugti in 2005. Asad Bugti agreed. “There is hope and there is uncertainty about the future. We need the government to provide protection to the people so that they don’t have to flee again. The people should be convinced that problems of Balochistan can be fixed. But first the government will have to establish its writ in the troubled area.” Wali, who lives and works on the land of the Legharis in Kot Hassoo in Mauza Darkhwast Jamal Khan of D.G. Khan, wants the government to do a little more than just protect them when they get back home. “We’ve lost our livelihood due to the conflict. It is the duty of the government to help us stand on our own feet again.” 24 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 PHILIPPINES Households with savings ‘rise to record high in first quarter’ By Mayvelin U Caraballo Manila Times T he number of Filipino households with savings rose to a record high in the first quarter of 2015 based on the latest Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. According to the survey, 31.6% of 5,818 households surveyed said they had savings during the quarter, up from 25.7% in the previous quarter. More than two-thirds, or 68.5%, said they save in banks, 39% kept their savings at home, while the rest put their money in co-operatives, paluwagan (rotating savings and credit association) and other credit/loan associations. Respondents said their savings were intended for emergencies; education; health and hospitalisation; retirement, business capital and investment.Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who reported that they were able to set aside money for savings during the quarter also reached an all-time high of 40.9% from 35.6% in the previous quarter.On the other hand, the survey also showed that the proportion of Filipinos willing to save 10% or more of their monthly income declined to 36.2% in the first quarter compared to 38% in the previous quarter. The CES also revealed that the number of households with savings from remittances received from relatives abroad dropped in the first quarter. Of the 602 households polled, the percentage of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) households that used their remittances for savings fell to 39.4% from 42.1% in the fourth quarter. The survey showed that 98.5% of OFW households used the remittances that they received to purchase food and other needs. More than half, or 56.6%, of the OFW households allocated part of their remittances for medical expenses while 41.9% went to debt payments and 65.6% to education. The survey also showed that respondents’ outlook on buying conditions for big-ticket items increased to a record high during the quarter. The survey said the percentage of households that considered the current quarter as a favourable time to buy big-ticket items increased to an all-time high of 28.4%. “The outlook on buying conditions for real estate was the most optimistic, followed by consumer durables (appliances and gadgets) and motor vehicles, which all posted record-high indices since the first quarter of 2007,” it stated. The CES said respondents’ outlook was driven by the view that: a piece of real property is a good investment; consumer durables are affordable and motor vehicles can be utilised both for business and for personal use.Respondents also cited cheaper oil prices as a reason for buying motor vehicles. The CES is a quarterly survey of households drawn from the Philippine Statistics Authority-National Statistics Office’s Master Sample List of Households, which is considered a representative sample of households nationwide. The survey was conducted from January 26 to February 5, 2015 and surveyed 5,818 households nationwide. Four trafficking victims rescued in Tawi-Tawi By Al Jacinto Manila Times/Zamboanga City P hilippine authorities yesterday arrested a man trying to illegally transport four women into Malaysia’s state of Sabah from the southern province of TawiTawi, officials said. Ensign Chester Ian Ramos, spokesman for the Joint Task Force Zambasulta (Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi), said military and police units nabbed the suspect, Henry Alsamala, on board the boat ML Sea Glory that docked on a pier in Bongao, the capital town of Tawi-Tawi, following a tip off by an informant. He identified Alsamala’s victims as Marilou Olico, Clarisa Pardines, Claiza Ann Lorez and Ritz Pas.Among those who took part in the operation to rescue the four women were members of the Naval Intelligence and Security Group-Western Mindanao, Provincial Women and Children Protection DeskBongao, Tactical Operations Group-Sultaw, Regional Intelligence Unit-9 and the 304th Area Intelligence Security Service, according to Ramos. “Alsamala is currently being investigated by the police, while the trafficking victims were handed over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” Ramos said. He added: “We are intensifying our law enforcement operations. With this arrest, we hope to curb the human trafficking activities of lawless groups in the province,” Ramos said. Palm Sunday observance Roman Catholic devotees wave their palm fronds during Palm Sunday mass in Manila yesterday. Palm Sunday marks the sixth and last Sunday of the Christian Holy month of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. Philippines in Sabah offer to win Malaysia’s UN support By Tessa Jamandre Manila Times T he Philippines has offered to downgrade its claim on Sabah in exchange for Malaysia’s support for its case against China before the UN. The quid pro quo was contained in a note verbale that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) handed to a representative of the Malaysian Embassy last week, shortly after the visit of Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. The note verbale, a copy of which was obtained by Vera Files, referred to the May 6, 2009 joint submission by Malaysia and Vietnam to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in which Malaysia claimed an extended continental shelf (350 nautical miles from baseline) that was clearly projected from Sabah. The Philippines, in an August 4, 2009 note to the UN Secretary General, protested the joint submission because it declared Sabah to be a Malaysian territory. The Philippines claims ownership of Sabah, which is at present occupied by Malaysia, based on the title of the Sultan of Sulu who ceded proprietary rights over the 76,115-square- kilometre land to the Philippines in 1962. In last week’s note verbale, the DFA informed the Malaysian government that it is “reviewing” its 2009 protest and its action would depend on Malaysia’s response to Manila’s two requests related to the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) conflicting territorial claims. The first request is for Malaysia to “confirm” that its claim to an extended continental shelf is “entirely from the mainland coast of Malaysia, and not from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands.” The DFA requested Malaysia to confirm that it “does not claim entitlement to maritime areas beyond 12 nautical miles from any of the maritime features in the Spratly islands it claims.” Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), a state is entitled to 12-nauticalmile territorial sea over which it exercises sovereignty. Malaysia, like the Philippines, claims parts of the Spratly islands, which are being claimed almost wholly by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. Brunei Darussalam is another claimant to some parts of the Spratlys. There are some parts in the Spratlys where the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines and Malaysia overlap.The DFA did not issue any statement when Vera Files sought its comment on the note verbale and its implications. Former Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Lauro Baja Jr said the Philippine claim to Sabah will be “prejudiced” if Malaysia accedes to the DFA’s request.“We are in effect withdrawing our objection to Malaysia’s claim of ownership to Sabah,” he noted. A DFA official who requested anonymity, said, however that the Philippine claim to Sabah will remain intact even if Manila withdraws its 2009 objection to Malaysia’s submission to the UN. Baja countered: “Even if we are not formally dropping the Sabah claim, it (the withdrawal of the protest) can be used as evidence against our claim.” A DFA source said officials involved in the case against China before the UN Arbitral Court said if Malaysia confirms it does not claim beyond 12 nautical miles from any maritime features in the Spratlys islands it claims, the Philippine case will be strengthened because one of Manila’s demands for relief from the UN court is to declare that certain features, such as rocks, do not generate maritime entitlement beyond 12 nautical miles. This would clarify that the 12 nautical miles surrounding among others, the Panatag Shoal, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc (Chinese name: Huangyan Island), are part of the Philippines 200-nautical-mile EEZ. The Philippine suit, which primarily sought to nullify China’s all-encompassing ninedash line map invalid, also wants the UN court to rule that submerged features within and beyond 200 nautical miles of the Philippines are not part of China’s continental shelf. This would make China’s occupation of these features a violation of Unclos. A diplomatic source said Malaysia may find the Philippine request “too hard to handle” because it has adopted the policy of “playing it safe”–expressing concern on China’s aggressiveness in the disputed waters while maintaining good relations with the economic superpower. “A maritime entitlement of only 12 nautical miles for their reefs, as the essence of the Philippines request, will not be in the interest of Malaysia. Besides, Malaysia will not risk its close economic ties with China, its biggest trading partner,” the source added. The source said China also protested the 2009 MalaysiaVietnam submission to the UN. So even if the Philippines withdrew its objection, the Chinese protest would stand, the source said.The CLCS would not proceed on the Philippines’ withdrawal of its protest unless and until the Chinese nine-dash line claim is rendered invalid. Baja said the Philippine position on Sabah is much stronger than its Spratly islands claim. Economically, the timber and mineral-rich Sabah is much more valuable than Spratlys, he added. There are more than 600,000 Filipinos in Sabah, most of them considered by Malaysia as illegal residents and are often subject to harassment. Sabah (North Borneo) originally belonged to the Sultan of Brunei, who gave it to Sultan of Sulu Salah ud-Din Karamat Bakhtiar in 1658 as a reward for helping quell a rebellion. In 1878, Sulu Sultan Jamalul Alam Kiram leased North Borneo to the Hong Kong-based British North Borneo Co of Baron Gustavos von Overbeck and Alfred Dent for 5,000 Malaysian dollars a year. LEGAL Bangsamoro law changes ‘inevitable’ The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) should be open to changes in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) because the revisions that will be introduced by lawmakers will make the bill withstand legal scrutiny, senators said yesterday. Sen. Francis Escudero said revisions are inevitable because many lawmakers believe that some provisions of the proposed law that seeks to establish a Bangsamoro region that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are unconstitutional, Manila Times reported. The senator added that the Citizens’ Council on Bangsamoro Law that President Benigno Aquino wants established should not only work on helping the public understand the proposed BBL but explain to the MILF that changes are needed to make the bill acceptable. “I hope the council together with the government peace panel will help sell the congressional amendments to the BBL to the MILF and for the MILF to accept them,” Escudero said. Sunset in Manila Binay meets family of Filipina facing death in Indonesia Manila Times Manila V Workers are silhouetted against the sun, during sunset in Manila yesterday. ice President Jejomar Binay yesterday assured the parents of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) facing execution in Indonesia that the government will exhaust all “legal remedies and options” to spare the life of their child. Binay, the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns, met with Celia and Cesar Veloso at the Makati City Hall, where he discussed the government’s next move to save Mary Jane Veloso. During the meeting, Binay called up Assistant Secretary Minda Calaguian-Cruz of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs, who assured the vice president that the government will be filing a second petition for judicial review. “Let us check what we can do. (Veloso) is a first time offender and a widow with two young children,” Binay told CalaguianCruz. Jakarta had said it will wait for any outstanding legal appeals to conclude before executing all 10 drug convicts — including Veloso — at the same time. Veloso, 30, was sentenced to die by firing squad after she was apprehended at Java’s Yogyakarta Airport in April 2010 for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage. But Celia denied the heroin seized from Mary Jane’s luggage were her daughter’s, saying the contraband was secretly put there by Christine, who she said was the wife of her daughter’s godbrother. “My daughter really had no idea. She was only carrying a small bag. But Christine was wily. She bought plenty of clothes. When Mary Jane was about to leave for Indonesia, she suddenly handed her a piece of luggage,” Celia said. The couple sought the vice president’s help after the Indonesian Supreme Court denied the Philippine government’s request for a judicial review of Veloso’s case. In their appeal for judicial review, Veloso’s lawyers argued that the Filipina was not provided with a capable translator during her trial. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 25 SRI LANKA/BANGLADESH/NEPAL Lanka pledges ‘political solution’ in war-hit north AFP Colombo S ri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged a “political solution” for the island’s wartorn north, where ethnic minority Tamils have long demanded greater autonomy. During a two-day visit to the Tamil heartland of Jaffna, Wickremesinghe also repeated his government’s promise of national reconciliation six years after the island’s ethnic war ended, his office said in a statement yesterday. “If you want a stable and secure country, we must have a political solution (with Tamils) and move forward,” Wickremesinghe said in an address in the Jaffna peninsula on Saturday and released by his office in the statement. Minister’s brother found dead in Dhaka By Mizan Rahman Dhaka P olice recovered the body of Bangladesh railways minister’s brother at the Dhanmondi Lake in Dhaka yesterday. Abdul Latif, the elder brother of railways minister Mujibul Haque, was a former additional secretary. Police said Latif had been missing since Saturday evening when he went out for an evening walk in the lake area. Later locals spotted his body floating in the lake around 11:30 am and informed the police. The body had no injury marks, but torn grass was found in one of the hands, police said. “It seems he tried to grab the grass while falling down.” Some cash was found in his pocket, but his mobile phone is missing. “Family members suspect he fell into the lake accidentally while walking. And that’s why they do not want an autopsy,” said the police. The family hails from Sripur Union of Comilla district’s Chouddagram sub-district. Latif was the seventh of the eight siblings while the minister is the youngest. He was buried at the family graveyard in his ancestral home in Basuara village. Latif retired in 2002 as an additional secretary of the industries ministry and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. bring about reconciliation with Tamils. Rajapakse had also refused to co-operate with a UN-mandated investigation into allegations that troops possibly killed up to 40,000 Tamil civilians while defeating the separatists. Wickremesinghe said his government has won support from the UN Human Rights Council to establish a credible domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes. The new government has already taken steps towards reconciliation since January, including by lifting travel restrictions to the north and beginning to return Tamil-owned land taken over by the military. In a major sign of rapprochement, the country’s main minority political party, the Tamil National Alliance, attended last month’s national day celebrations hosted by Sirisena, for the first time in four decades. He did not give details of any proposed political agreement with Tamils, many of whom have for decades pressed for regional autonomy rather than full independence. Tamil Tiger rebels, however, fought for outright separation but were crushed in a military offensive in May 2009 - ending 37 years of ethnic bloodshed which had claimed at least 100,000 lives. “The war is over, but we do not have unity among ethnic communities,” Wickremesinghe said. “Tamils have shown their willingness to ensure reconciliation. We must have a political settlement and move forward, protecting peace and stability.” In the January presidential election Maithripala Sirisena defeated long-time strongman Mahinda Rajapakse, who enjoyed support among majority Sinhalese but failed to By Gopal Sharma/Reuters Kathmandu L Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe: “If you want a stable and secure country, we must have a political solution (with Tamils) and move forward.” Dhaka seeks transit facility through Indian territory By Mizan Rahman Dhaka B angladesh has proposed inclusion of a new transit provision in the current Indo-Bangladesh bilateral trade agreement for ferrying goods from the country to Nepal and Bhutan across Indian territory, a senior foreign ministry official said yesterday. The proposal was made apparently to strike a balance in the trade agreement as India enjoys similar facility in the trade pact for carrying goods from its one state to another using Bangladesh land. The three-year trade agree- ment will expire on Thursday. The ministry of commerce has yet to have a response from the Indian government to the proposal. “We are waiting for response from the Indian authorities to our proposal, ahead of the trade pact renewal,” commerce secretary Hedayet Ullah Al Mamun told newsmen yesterday. He, however, refused to give details of the proposal the Bangladesh government has made. “It is a sensitive issue which I cannot disclose for the sake of diplomatic norms and bilateral ties,” Hedayet added. Sources in the foreign ministry said they had sought transit facility under the existing trade agreement so that goods could be carried from Bangladesh to Nepal and Bhutan using Indian corridor. “India enjoys an edge over Bangladesh regarding transit under the current IndiaBangladesh trade agreement, signed originally in 1972,” a high official in the foreign ministry said, adding, “It is nothing wrong on Bangladesh’s part to seek a similar facility from its counterpart 40 years into the agreement.” According to the IndiaBangladesh trade agreement, the two governments agreed to make mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways, railways and road ways for commerce between the two countries and for passage of goods between two places in one country through the territory of the other. A trade expert in the commerce ministry said words like ‘for passage of goods between two places in one country through the territory of the other’ included in the trade agreement had so far been used only in India’s interests and not in the interest of Bangladesh. Officials in the commerce ministry said the existing trade agreement would need an amendment by both sides once India accepted Bangladesh proposal. T he 45-year-old elephant Man Kali saunters around in her half-hectare of freedom with her two-year-old offspring Hem Gaj. They walk slowly, pausing to tug at a branch, lean against each other, swing their trunks and walk on again. They are among the 47 captive elephants that have been unchained through the efforts of American elephant lover Carol Buckley. Buckely has been working to help the animals - which form a backbone of Nepal’s elephant safari tourism and conservation - running a project that unchains working elephants. Buckley started the “Chain Free is Pain Free” project after her first visit to Nepal five years ago. She was on a tour of Asia, awmakers from nine countries vowed yesterday to put aside politics and join forces to help protect children from being forced into manual labour or trafficked into slavery. In an initiative led by Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, 22 parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay and Turkey pledged to protect and promote the rights of children. The lawmakers concluded a two-day conference in Nepal by forming a group called the Parliamentarians Without Borders for Children’s Rights to find ways to work across borders to protect children. “This is a unique initiative, and we believe child-centric politics will begin from here,” said Satyarthi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work fighting child slavery in India. Delegates at the conference said the world was riddled with slavery, abuse and exploitation of youngsters with an estimated 168mn child labourers globally of which 85mn are engaged in hazardous work. The International Labour Organisation estimates that there are 21mn people in forced labour worldwide, of which 5.5mn, or 26%, are aged under 18. “The abuse of children is not a local problem, it is a global problem, and needs a global response,” a conference document said. “As long as there is a single child denied of her right to live freely, it is a disgrace to our values of freedom, dignity and democracy.” The conference heard that many children were victims of cross-border trafficking, work in armed conflicts or were forced into prostitution. They had no access to education or adequate healthcare. 22 parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay and Turkey pledged to protect and promote the rights of children Brazilian Senator Cristovam Buarque said the newlyformed group would bring together politicians to work across borders to protect children’s rights. Satyarthi said the network of parliamentarians would be expanded to make it a global platform to address the problem of child labour. His non-government organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) has been credited with freeing over 80,000 child labourers in India over 30 years. China woos Nepal with more infrastructure projects IANS Beijing F Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2015 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China’s Hainan province. irming up ties with Nepal, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the two countries should strengthen cooperation in interconnectivity, infrastructure, and hydropower development as Kathmandu pledged to keep up the crackdown on protests supporting the Dalai Lama. China is willing to initiate talks on free trade agreement with Nepal at an early date, Xi said. He suggested that the two countries should work on traffic interconnectivity, infrastructure, hydropower development, modernisation of agriculture and science and technology. The Chinese president on Saturday met his Nepalese counterpart Ram Baran Yadav on the sidelines of Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province, Xinhua reported. Xi welcomed Nepal’s participation in the Silk Road projects unveiled by him at the forum to improve China’s connectivity to Europe through a maze of road, rail and port network. Though no specific projects were mentioned with Nepal, the two sides are planning to beef up the connectivity with rail and road links, amid concerns in India over China’s growing influence in the Himalayan country. Early this month, China had Breaking the chains, one elephant at a time By Pratibha Tuladhar/DPA Chitwan, Nepal Lawmakers from nine countries unite to fight child abuse, slavery which took her to tourist spots in Nepal, India and Thailand that offered elephant safaris. “In all three countries, I saw the same thing: elephants in captivity working in horrible conditions,” she says. “And I knew something had to be done.” Buckely set up the Elephant Aid Foundation, raising funds to help working elephants. She began in Nepal, where she has managed to unchain 47 captive elephants. “We began with a pilot project aimed at freeing retired elephants,” says Chiranjibi Pokharel, project chief at Nepal Trust for Nature Conservation. “The project has now been replicated by all the 15 government-run elephant shelters, because we could see that the elephants were healthier when they were set free.” An eight-year-old elephant named Prakriti Kali, which appeared depressed, was the first to be put to test. “Elephants in captivity sway because they are depressed, and swaying helps them release serotonin, which makes them feel good,” Buckley says. “Prakriti stopped swaying and bobbing when she was unchained and that was a real change.” Over the years, Buckley has brought in technicians and equipment from India every six months to build electric corrals. Every corral costs between $5,000 and $7,000. “The aim is to secure at least one acre (about 0.4 hectare) of land per elephant close to a forest, away from human settlements, if possible,” she says. But the campaign faces resistance from mahouts, who are used to managing their elephants under chains. “When they are unchained, it’s difficult to clean them and they won’t listen sometimes, so it’s hard. But it’s good for the elephants as they can be free,” says Sri Narayan Dhami, Man Kali’s caretaker. The mahouts say unchaining is a viable option for female elephants, which enjoy spending time with their friends, but not for males. “It’s good to see that the elephants have their space to roam and they look happier. But it is not possible to unchain the bulls because they are aggressive,” says Jalendra Prasad Chaudhary, who has been working as a mahout for 24 years. In February, an unchained bull in a government elephant shed broke through an electric fence and ran amok into the forest, killing a female elephant. Traditionally, elephants used on tourist safaris or antipoaching patrols in the forest were brought back to their sheds and chained. “Trying to help the elephants is a transformative experience for both the elephants and me,” Australian volunteer Chantelle Ridley says. “Having the working elephants in chains is a culture, so you have to teach the mahouts that it’s not right and you can’t teach them that unless you make them see the difference,” says German volunteer Marina Loch. But there are some who contest the method. “The chain-free concept is challenging to maintain. It’s less stressful for elephants, but traditional culture is difficult to break and (the mahouts) feel threatened,” Pokharel said. Although she has made progress, Buckley says sustaining the project is her main problem, because constant monitoring is needed to ensure that elephants are not put back in chains. increased its annual aid to Nepal to $128mn from $24mn. Yadav was one of the 13 heads of state and government who took part in the annual conference at Boao town. “China appreciates Nepal’s firm support on issues concerning China’s core interests, including issues related to Tibet and Taiwan,” Xi said, apparently referring to Kathmandu’s crackdown on Tibetan refugees crossing over to meet the Dalai Lama at Dharamshala in India. Xi hoped that Nepal would not allow any forces to use Nepal’s territory to engage in antiChina separatist activities. He said China will continue to support Nepal’s effort in safeguarding independence, sover- eignty and territorial integrity. Yadav said Nepal would never allow its territory to be used by any anti-China activities. Nepal called for strengthened cooperation between the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (Saarc) and China, in a bid to promote regional interconnectivity and economic development, he said. China made a pitch to join Saarc at the last year’s South Asian regional grouping’s conference at Kathmandu which was stalled by India. Yadav also said Nepal supports China’s initiatives of jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt, 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Constitution protest Protesters holding sticks shout anti-government slogans during a protest organised by the opposition alliance led by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), to demand the new constitution be drafted with the consensus of all political parties, in Kathmandu yesterday. Nepal’s political parties have repeatedly missed deadlines to write the new republic’s first constitution. At the heart of the dispute is disagreement over creating new provinces based on ethnicity, a move backed by the former rebels. 26 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 COMMENT Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed Production Editor: C P Ravindran P.O.Box 2888 Doha, Qatar [email protected] Telephone 44350478 (news), 44466404 (sport), 44466636 (home delivery) Fax 44350474 GULF TIMES Make it a habit to minimise energy consumption Earth Hour, observed globally yesterday from 8.30pm local time, was a big success, going by the fact that more than 170 countries and territories and close to 1,200 landmarks and 40 Unesco world heritage sites participated. Earth Hour, which began in Sydney in 2007 but quickly went global, encourages citizens, communities, businesses and organisations to switch the lights off for an hour to highlight the plight of the planet. Earth Hour’s goal is not to achieve measurable electricity savings but to raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy use, and this year also to demand action to halt planet-harming climate change. In Qatar, the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and a large group of its partners in the public and private sectors, including hotels and tourist establishments, joined the world in marking Earth Hour. All non-essential lights in these establishments were switched off or dimmed from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Hotel guests also participated in this global campaign by turning off or dimming lights in their rooms or hotel apartments. The usually well-lit Doha skyline also looked different during Earth Hour, thanks to all the companies and establishments that joined the initiative. QTA said it “seeks to emphasise the importance of the Qatari tourism sector’s commitment to preserving energy and the environment as well as raise public awareness about the importance of Earth Hour and the need to protect the environment”. A drive through the bustling commercial areas of Doha after nightfall will prove that lot of energy is being wasted in many buildings, which remain lit from top to bottom. It may be a beautiful sight to behold, but the practice is an avoidable wastage of precious electricity. When viewed from outside, it is evident that almost all these buildings are deserted with absolutely no activity going on. The office chairs are vacant and there is not even a soul in sight. But all the lights will be on. Similar is the case with many households throughout the country. There are lights on the compound walls on the exterior walls of the houses and they remain lit throughout the night, even when street lights provide ample lighting throughout. Those responsible might say that they have replaced all the conventional bulbs with CFL lamps or LED lights and therefore the energy used is very little. Well, switching to energy efficient lighting is a welcome move every business establishment and household ought to do. But the question is whether lights are being switched on unnecessarily, irrespective of the energy they consume. There is a limit to which the government could enforce energy saving regulations. It is up to each individual to practice energy efficient measures. Energy saved is equal to energy produced. Less the amount of energy used translates into a proportionately less strain on the production system. Whether we pay for energy from our pockets or not, let each one of us make it a habit to minimise energy consumption. Let us make switching off a habit, when energy use is not essential, and in the process help our planet to heal. The Germanwings tragedy: inside the mind of a pilot As a qualified pilot and psychiatrist, I am certain that no prior psychological test to Andreas Lubitz would have predicted his actions By Michael Bloomfield Guardian News & Media F rench prosecutors have reported that first officer Andreas Lubitz appeared to want to destroy the aircraft carrying 149 innocent people aboard Germanwings flight 4U9525. As a qualified pilot and a psychiatrist, I have since repeatedly imagined nightmare scenarios in that cockpit. Although we will never know what was truly going through Lubitz’s mind as the aircraft plunged, one of the many alarming aspects of this tragedy is that his depression is being quickly blamed. Obviously depression cannot be the sole cause of a likely mass murder. Understanding this could yield many important lessons, and for now, the black box flight recorder will continue to yield vital information. So far, we have been told that after the captain left the flight deck, the cockpit door was closed behind him and then Lubitz entered the command in the flight computer to descend the aircraft. The captain can be heard asking to be let in, then attempting to bang down the door while Lubitz is chillingly silent. Investigators know Lubitz was still alive until the moment of impact because he can be heard breathing. Was Lubitz able to remain calm by psychologically blocking out the reality of what was happening? Clearly we need to wait for investigations to be concluded, but it may be possible to deduce critical clues to Lubitz’s state of mind by listening to his breathing, which could reflect his physiological and psychological state in those final moments. Obviously depression cannot be the sole cause of a likely mass murder Simply put, despite knowing the command to descend the plane would result in his and everyone else’s death, despite the pilot attempting to bang the door down, despite the alarms from the computers, despite seeing the mountains become dangerously close, and ultimately despite hearing the screams from those on board - was Lubitz calm or panic-stricken? Excluding unlikely medical conditions such as rare forms of epilepsy, calm and normal breathing may indicate the cold and calculating nature of a psychopath, a person who does not feel guilt and has a callous disregard for the welfare of others. This might imply a high degree of premeditation necessary to coldbloodedly kill so many. Alternatively, was this an impulsive act of ultraviolence? Although a pilot’s noisecancelling headphones may well have been blocking out some sensory information, was he able to remain calm by psychologically blocking out the reality of what was happening, disconnecting from reality via a process called “dissociation” - akin to entering a trance-like state in the face of overwhelming threat or fear? Otherwise, was Lubitz’s breathing quickened and deep? Did he become as terrorised as everyone else on board and freeze in fright? Thinking about these questions, together with evidence from what Lubitz has left behind, will enable a psychological postmortem to be conducted, so that he can be profiled. Apart from practical steps that airlines can take, such as now making sure that there are always two crew members in the cockpit , will this change how pilots are selected and, perhaps more importantly, how they are supported during their careers? A few years ago I worked as an air ambulance doctor and, knowing how much I loved flying, my crewmates encouraged me to learn to fly and become a pilot myself. I knew I would have to pass the Civil Aviation Authority’s medical requirements. I once asked a doctor who conducted these medicals about depression in pilots and he chuckled: “This needs psychiatric evaluation - no one wants a pilot throwing a wobbly in the cockpit!” I took his point but thought, “How dare you imply that, because someone goes through something so awful (and common) as depression, that would make them compromise the safety of others?” Potential pilots who have had depression will often need to be assessed by two separate psychiatrists in order to be deemed fit to fly. Such a psychiatric evaluation will focus on whether a mental illness is currently present and ask detailed questions to formulate risk. What was someone’s childhood like? Their past? Their experience of depression? Did they have violent and impulsive tendencies? Would they seek help appropriately? Thinking about this now, does mental health stigma prevent pilots, like many others, from seeking help early? Most airlines include some psychological assessment, often using variations of common personality questionnaires such as the widely used “five-factor inventory”. In simple terms, they are looking for people with well-rounded personalities. Many airlines also put candidate pilots through group exercises to pick out good team-workers and leaders. They will exclude people with a criminal record. One issue, however, is that pilots are not routinely subjected to psychological or psychiatric assessment. The awful truth is that even this would not be able to predict such a horrific act. If indeed this was the act of a psychopath, despite leaps and bounds in neuroscience, there is no screening tool, blood test or brain scan for psychopathy that is good enough. Ultimately, all this provides little consolation to the families and friends of the victims of this catastrophe. I struggle to imagine their pain at this dark hour. As I prepare to board a plane to travel to America, my thoughts are with them. However, we must remember that being depressed, “throwing a wobbly” and being a mass murderer are very different entities. zMichael Bloomfield is a research fellow in psychiatry at Imperial College London. There is a limit to which the government could enforce energy-saving regulations To Advertise [email protected] Display Telephone 44466621 Fax 44418811 Classified Telephone 44466609 Fax 44418811 Subscription [email protected] 2014 Gulf Times. All rights reserved Debris of the Germanwings Airbus A320 on the crash site. Blaming depression alone will be irresponsible By Masuma Rahim Guardian News & Media N ews of the Germanwings crash which left 150 dead has, inevitably, led to questions about what went wrong. In the absence of any technical fault, attention has shifted to Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who appears to have deliberately caused the crash . Reports are now suggesting that Lubitz had a history of depression. Predictably, this has resulted in a barrage of stigmatising, fear-mongering media reports, both in the UK and internationally. Depression is among the most common of mental illnesses, and is experienced by around 20% of adults. Characterised by feelings of guilt, hopelessness and reduced interest in pleasurable activities, it can affect anyone, from manual workers to heads of FTSE companies. Indeed, many successful people have experienced depression - among them Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens and Henri Matisse - and there is virtually no evidence to suggest that the depressed pose a danger to others as a result of their illness. This is true of the full range of mental health problems: the scientific literature is clear that people with schizophrenia, long demonised and reviled by the press, are far more likely to be harmed by others or Andreas Lubitz taking part in the Airport Hamburg 10-mile run in 2009. Reports now suggest that Lubitz had a history of depression. themselves than to enact violence. It is now known that Lubitz’s aviation training was interrupted for six months, quite possibly because he was recuperating from depression. This is not an uncommon scenario in any industry, and something which wouldn’t have necessarily made him unfit to fly (he did, after all, pass all required physical and psychological assessments before being allowed to do so). To conclude that his role in the crash was the automatic consequence of any history of mental illness would be irresponsible and damaging. There has been no suggestion that males should be prohibited from becoming pilots, that Germans are unfit to fly, or that 27-year-olds should not be let loose in the cockpit. Only one factor has been picked over: Lubitz’s mental health. The truth is that people with depression are all around us - they are our teachers and solicitors; our plumbers and health professionals. Data obtained following a recent freedom of information request in the UK revealed that more than 40,000 NHS staff took sick leave as a result of stress , anxiety and depression in 2014. Up to 20% of those are likely to be medical doctors; indeed, doctors are significantly more likely to experience depression than the general population. Having depression does not necessarily make you unfit to work, but, based upon the headlines in many of today’s papers you could be forgiven for thinking that it does. We may never fully understand why Lubitz crashed flight 4U9525. Despite that, the assumption that his mental health was the sole reason 149 others died will do nothing to diminish the stigma attached to mental health problems. Fear and discrimination continue to discourage people from disclosing their problems and seeking help early on. Media outlets could have used this tragedy to explore the impact of stress and to highlight the need for greater support. Instead some have chosen to vilify Lubitz and, by association, the millions who share his diagnosis. They have taken the easy option. Worse, they have added to the stigmatisation of a group that society already does a superb job of demonising. zMasuma Rahim is a clinical psychologist. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 27 COMMENT What comes after Lee Kuan Yew? Several volumes of memoirs attest to Lee’s concern about his legacy, although Singapore’s extraordinary success under his leadership speaks for itself By Bill Emmott London A ll political leaders worry about their legacies. Lee Kuan Yew, who presided over Singapore either directly or indirectly for more than a halfcentury – remaining influential right up to his death at 91 – had more time in power than most to do so. Several volumes of memoirs attest to Lee’s concern about his legacy, although Singapore’s extraordinary success under his leadership speaks for itself. Like him or not – and many did not – there is no denying the city-state’s remarkable and enduring prosperity and stability. Yet the effort put into those memoirs by the man who called himself “minister mentor” during his later years offers a clue about Lee’s ultimate concern. His legacy in terms of Singapore’s past success may be clear, but what about the future? That, of course, is one of the few things he could not control, beyond offering his teachings to future generations. Yet in one crucial respect – determining who Singapore’s new generation of leaders will be – the tight control that Lee exercised in the past may now make that future more difficult. The issue is certainly solvable, especially given an excellent education system and high-quality institutions of all kinds. But Lee’s own actions suggest that he harboured doubts. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with his wife Ho Ching acknowledging guests during the funeral service for Singapore’s late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday. The succession to Lee was clear: after handing over the premiership in 1990 (at the surprisingly young age of 66) to a trusted associate, Goh Chok Tong, he groomed his eldest son, Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong, for the job. After serving as Singapore’s trade minister, finance minister and deputy prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong took over the top post in 2004. What is unresolved is where power goes next, and how. Perhaps the answer will simply be that the ruling People’s Action Party will choose a successor in the conventional way. Certainly, Singapore’s cadre of talented and experienced officials and ministers is deep. Still, the question is an open one, owing to Lee Kuan Yew’s somewhat paradoxical sensitivity to the prominence of his family members in some of the country’s most senior posts. Lee fought many battles with the international media over their coverage of Singapore, especially from the mid-1980s onward, by which point the country’s success had become abundantly clear. As a Cambridge-trained lawyer, he was especially keen on using the law to browbeat his media (and political) critics, knowing full well that he had no serious chance of losing in Singapore’s own courts. During my time as the editor-inchief of The Economist (1993-2006), I received such browbeatings on many occasions. What eventually became clear was that under no circumstances could Lee Kuan Yew countenance one particular word or concept: nepotism. After all, he had set up Singapore as an intensely meritocratic society, in which competition, under clear and accepted rules, was king. So when his own son became prime minister, and his daughter-in-law, Ho Ching, took the helm at Temasek, one of the state’s huge investment companies, any insinuation that they had done so on anything other than their own merit was unacceptable. Lee established a high-minded committee to establish that nepotism was not the reason, and then set about suing anyone who dared to suggest otherwise. Yet this abhorrence of nepotism was illogical – and Lee was generally nothing if not logical, even ruthlessly so – because in this case a perfectly good justification for it followed smoothly from his own analysis of Singapore. A tiny, multi-racial society ejected from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore was born in an atmosphere of vulnerability, lack of legitimacy and trust and ethnic conflict. Up through the 1980s and 1990s, Lee often justified the continuation of authoritarian policies by reference to those communal riots, and to the everpresent possibility of a loss of social trust and a return to conflict. So, in passing the baton to his eldest son, he could be said to have dealt with that risk in the most logical way possible. If you trusted the founder of Singapore and thought him legitimate, who better to trust than the founder’s own son? Indeed, the father would remain on the scene, first as “senior minister” and then in his mentor role, and had made his son prove his abilities openly in a series of prominent positions. It worked, and Lee Hsien Loong has by all accounts done a good job as prime minister, whatever the explanation for his rise. There is no current risk to Singapore’s political stability, and the younger Lee is only 63 years old; he could remain in office for a long time to come. The question, though, remains: What happens next? Lee Kuan Yew dealt with the question of succession by deferring it. His son will need to provide the answer. - Project Syndicate zBill Emmott, a former editor-in-chief of The Economist, is the author of Good Italy, Bad Italy, and The Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India, and Japan Will Shape Our Next Decade. Weather report Letters Three-day forecast TODAY A healthy outlook Dear Sir, It is said that health is wealth. But we often ignore the saying at our own peril. If health is lost, everything is lost. It doesn’t matter how wealthy we are, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything of it if we are unhealthy. Good health, which is essential to lead a happy and fulfilling life, cannot be bought. One has to make efforts to remain healthy. One of the basic requirements for good health is to live in a clean and good environment. Secondly, one has to cultivate good personal habits. Positive habits like getting up early, maintaining personal cleanliness, doing regular physical exercise, having a good sleep, etc are vital to maintain good health. Thirdly, the importance of having a “healthy” mind for our physical wellbeing cannot be overestimated. Depression and negative thoughts ruin our health. We should develop a positive approach and be optimistic in our attitude. A Spanish proverb says that “A man who is too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools”. Unfortunately, very few heed the saying. It is great that authorities in Qatar are aware about the importance of health and have taken a series of initiatives to make people aware about it. Schools must think about shift system Expected fog at places in the early morning Please send us your letters Dear Sir, Getting admission for children in Indian schools in Qatar has become extremely difficult these days because of the limited number of seats in them. This problem can be solved to some extent by schools working in two shifts. This way the schools will not need any new buildings. They will need more teaching staff, though. But the educational institutions can easily hire them with a bit a planning and preparation. Schools will have double the capacity overnight if they adopt the shift system! Hafsa Khatoon PO Box 6094 Doha High: 32 C Low : 19 C V Krishnan (e-mail address supplied) TUESDAY High: 34 C Low : 22 C By e-mail [email protected] Fax 44350474 Or Post Letters to the Editor Gulf Times P O Box 2888 Doha, Qatar Sunny WEDNESDAY High: 33 C Low : 22 C Sunny All letters, which are subject to editing, should have the name of the writer, address and phone number. The writer’s name and address may be withheld by request. Fishermen’s forecast OFFSHORE DOHA Wind: SE-SW 05-15/18 KT Waves: 2-4/5 Feet INSHORE DOHA Wind: SE-SW 05-15/20 KT Waves: 1-2/3 Feet Around the region Abu Dhabi Live issues Baghdad Dubai Kuwait City Manama Should anybody care how hard you tried? By Gina Barreca The Hartford Courant/TNS D o you believe that “showing effort” should count more than it does, or do you think it’s a disingenuously misleading reward system undermining the character, both in school and out? Let’s put it another way: Do you respect an individual more because he or she struggled to achieve or create something, or do you applaud more vigorously if what they do appears accomplished through an astonishing act of grace, a hidden wellspring of talent or a moment of dazzling inspiration? To be perfectly honest, if I hadn’t been awarded points for effort, I might have never completed grade school. On our report cards, as I remember, the “E” hovered right there over the “F”: Effort was dangerously close to failure but you could keep the worlds from colliding if you tried hard enough. You could do extra-credit reports and stay after school for study groups. My inability to complete the most basic forms of arithmetic would have kept me in fourth grade long past menopause if the principal hadn’t taken pity and permitted me to move along despite the fact that I was way behind. I’ve only recently realised that I automatically reverse the last two digits in any string of numbers. This glitch renders me less mathematically adept, for example, than certain horses who when asked, “What’s two plus three?” can paw the ground and offer correct responses while I’m still counting on my fingers. I passed my classes because I displayed effort, not because I learned math. But how can we help young people understand life rarely gives partial credit for effort, especially if that effort doesn’t lead to understanding or success? Outside of school, very few people will ask you to show your work or explain how you arrived at your results: They just want to know you can do the job effectively, efficiently and without too much fuss. Rarely in life do we actually appreciate something more fully because it took a lot of effort. Do you really want a contractor who says, “I could be a couple of years late installing your bathroom because I have a really hard time measuring stuff ”? Nobody wants to hear her surgeon announce, “Boy, did I ever have trouble getting your gallbladder out! I had to get three guys to help me and they weren’t doctors, either. They were pharmacists on their way to get coffee.” Why, then, do we like to think that somebody must suffer to produce a work of art? I recently Rarely in life do we actually appreciate something more fully because it took a lot of effort learned from Pamela Katz’s book The Partnership that the song Mack the Knife, composed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill for The Threepenny Opera, took less than 24 hours to write. And in my office I have printed out, for my own benefit as well as that of my students, the following line from New York literary agent Betsy Lerner’s book The Forest for the Trees: “Your struggle to produce a piece of writing of interest and value means nothing to the reader. The reader doesn’t care what you went through to produce your work. He only cares if the piece succeeds, if it looks as if it arrived whole.” Sometimes things can take a very long time and still not be very good. It took us all of evolutionary history just to get where we are today, for instance, and mostly where we are today is on the couch. Let’s not pretend there’s no difference between effort and accomplishment; let’s not pretend there’s no difference between those who try hard and those who do well. Those we respect, admire and remember bring to their work diligence, focus and an indefatigable passion for improvement. They aren’t perfectionists but they’ll reject the shoddy and the secondrate. We should learn to take genuine pride in a job well done and not expect praise for one simply carried out. What we need is an honest assessment of our abilities, our talents - and our limitations. And that will take some real effort. zGina Barreca is an English professor at the University of Connecticut, a feminist scholar who has written eight books, and a columnist for the Hartford Courant. She can be reached through www.ginabarreca.com Muscat Riyadh Tehran Weather today Sunny Sunny P Cloudy P Cloudy Sunny Sunny Sunny Rain Max/min 30/22 27/12 32/22 38/21 29/24 33/25 37/22 19/11 Weather tomorrow Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Max/min 35/23 26/12 37/24 32/18 26/22 34/28 37/19 19/08 Weather tomorrow P Cloudy P Cloudy Sunny Rain& Snow Sunny M Sunny S T Storms T Storms P Cloudy Showers S T Storms Sunny Cloudy M Sunny Sd Showers P Cloudy M Sunny S Showers S T Storms Rain T Storms Showers Clear Max/min 19/13 19/15 33/27 12/03 26/14 28/17 32/25 30/24 24/20 12/09 33/24 32/23 12/05 33/24 04/02 31/20 12/03 14/07 29/19 17/09 31/26 24/17 22/13 Around the world Athens Beirut Bangkok Berlin Cairo Cape Town Colombo Dhaka Hong Kong Istanbul Jakarta Karachi London Manila Moscow New Delhi New York Paris Sao Paulo Seoul Singapore Sydney Tokyo Weather today Sunny Showers Sunny Showers Sunny Sunny S T Storms M Sunny S Showers P Cloudy S T Storms Sunny Showers P Cloudy S Showers T Storms Cloudy S Showers T Storms Sunny T Storms Rain Clear Max/min 18/13 18/15 33/26 08/03 26/12 31/19 32/25 32/25 24/20 14/09 31/24 34/21 12/11 33/23 04/02 27/18 13/03 13/12 28/21 21/05 33/26 24/17 21/11 28 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 QATAR QIFF visitors had the chance to participate in the live cooking demonstration. QA’s Cooking Theatre hosted live cooking sessions led by celebrity chefs. Artistes entertain visitors at the festival. The Dine in the Sky provided guests with authentic Qatar Airways Business Class hospitality and menu. Huge turnout for food festival M ore than 170,000 visitors, including tourists, attended the five-day Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) 2015 which concluded on Saturday at the Museum of Islamic Art Park. Organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Qatar Airways (QA), the festival showcased Qatari, Gulf, Arabic, and international cuisine at the festival’s different zones. The International zone showcased dishes from 31 of Doha’s most high profile restaurants with 69 participants. A number of celebrity chefs prepared sumptuous international dishes at QA’s Live Cooking Theatre, which included high- tech equipment and a seating area for more than 100 people to watch and participate in the live demonstrations. “QIFF is a great platform to showcase global cuisines and to show Qatar’s culinary delights as well as the elegance of its variety of hotels and restaurants,” said QTA’s chief marketing and promotions Officer Rashed al-Qurese. He expressed confidence that the success of the festival will create a positive impact in the tourism and hospitality sector. QTA sees more innovation and creativity in next year’s edition. “We are delighted to see the high turnout of tourists and visitors who attended QIFF’s sixth edition,” said al-Qurese. “I would like to thank all participants, partners, and sponsors who helped to make this event a great success.” He noted that they always seek to make the festival exceed all expectations every year by hosting a larger number of restaurants and exhibitors. Visitors and tourists also enjoyed the wide-ranging entertainment activities that catered to family members of all ages and tastes as the MIA’s beautiful green spaces were crowded with families enjoying the festivities. Music performances and fireworks filled the atmosphere with joy during the festival. Hotels and tourist facilities in Qatar saw a huge increase in the number of regional and interna- tional visitors during the five-day event. “Authentic Qatari hospitality is at the heart of our business, and we are very pleased that this year’s festival provided visitors with the opportunity to experience QA’s hospitality and Business Class menu and taste the delicious food that our internationally renowned chefs prepare for our passengers on board of our five-star flights,” said Salam al-Shawa, senior vice president of Marketing and Corporate Communications at QA. QA’s Live Cooking Theatre attracted a large number of visitors, giving them a chance to taste delicious food cooked live by top chefs, including celebrity Chef Vineet Bhatia and Chef Massimo Capra who stunned the audience with their culinary skills. QIFF’s sixth edition included a wide range of areas including a special entertainment zone specifically targeting families. Tourists and visitors sampled mouthwatering local and Turkish dishes at the Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture zone, where delicious food was prepared under traditional Qatari tents. The Instagram Market zone was filled with stalls from top Qatari female chefs who are active on Instagram for live preparations of local dishes as the organisers are supporting local culinary talents and intend to promote the festival on social media channels. The festival included an excit- ing programme of contests, workshops and live cooking activities. QA’s Live Cooking Theatre provided the audience with the opportunity to learn how to cook enabling them to meet celebrity chefs. Live cooking sessions, consisting of 30 minutes each, were organised for those who wished to learn culinary arts with the help of skillful chefs. The activity also provided training to prepare Qatari cuisine, providing 50 participating professional hotel chefs in Qatar with guidelines and tips on how to prepare traditional and fusion Qatari dishes. The training was delivered by two skillful chefs, Qatari cuisine expert Chef Aisha al-Tamimi and renowned Kuwaiti Chef Fawwaz al-Amim. Qatar culinary professionals also held an ice sculpting competition while Philips sponsored an amateur cooking contest. This year’s festival hosted number of new activities among those is the High Tea-Lounge zone by the Kempinski. The festival this year also saw participation of Fetafeat famous Chefs, Chef Salma Soliman and Chef Daad Abu Jaber. Also among participants was Kulluna for health and safety initiative. In addition, the Festival hosted this year BBQ Doughnut by Diplomatic Club. Souq Waqif Boutique hotels sponsored the “Dinner on a dhow” activity. QDF opens four new retail outlets at HIA Q The new PSG store stocks a wide range of club branded merchandise and products. Passengers can buy products such as L’Oréal, Bourjois, Toni & Guy, Rimmel, OPI and Lanocreme at Blush. Bazaar is based on the style of a traditional souq where guests can buy last-minute Middle Eastern and Qatari souvenirs and gifts before they leave Doha. beIN Sports now has a dedicated boutique at HIA. atar Duty Free (QDF) has announced the opening of four new exclusive retail outlets at Hamad International Airport (HIA). Bazaar, Blush, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and beIN Sports are the latest additions to QDF’s premium portfolio of brands located within the airport’s 25,000sq m duty-free shopping area, which incorporates more than 70 retail outlets, according to a statement. “We are delighted to announce the opening of these four important stores that will add a dynamic new flavour to the vibrant retail mix at Qatar Duty Free in Hamad International Airport,” said senior vicepresident of QDF, Keith Hunter. “Both Bazaar and Blush are homegrown brands that we are very proud to have conceptualised and developed especially for this market, and we believe they will be a major attrac- tion for passengers looking for unique gifts and products at affordable prices.” The concept of Bazaar is based on the style of a traditional souq where guests can buy last-minute Middle Eastern and Qatari souvenirs and gifts before they leave Doha. The wide range of gift items includes colourful pashminas, jewellery, soft toys and Qatari-themed souvenirs such as mugs, pens and keyrings. Blush is QDF’s own beauty emporium, which rivals any high-street multi-brand beauty store for the breadth and diversity of its products, all available at duty-free prices, the statement adds. The large selection of popular brands at Blush includes L’Oréal, Bourjois, Toni & Guy, Rimmel, OPI and Lanocreme. Paris Saint Germain fans passing through HIA are also in for a treat now as the new PSG store stocks a wide range of clubbranded merchandise and products. In addition, Qatar’s own beIN Sports TV channel now has a dedicated boutique at HIA stocking branded sports apparel, accessories and gifts from the Qatari homegrown sports network. At HIA, Qatar Duty Free offers 40,000sq m of combined retail, food and beverage facilities, establishing the retailer as a premier shopping and dining destination, the statement adds. With more than 70 retail outlets offering a wide range of designer labels, fashion, electronics, gourmet foods and more, QDF at HIA caters to all passengers’ tastes. In addition, more than 30 cafés and restaurants offer a selection of global and local cuisine. Other luxury brands available at HIA include Bulgari, Hermès, Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss, Mont Blanc, Rolex and Chanel. QNB employees gain high-level financial skills A group of QNB employees have graduated from Foundation & Core Credit Skills Development Programmes. Employees benefited by way of important skills and qualifications within the financial field. The programmes provided them with high-level skills in credit relationship management and a step-by-step reorganisation of the lending process. The programmes delivered in co-operation with Omega Performance Corporation, was composed of 18 modules, which focused on three key areas: financial accounting for lenders, commercial loans to businesses, and credit relationship management. In addition to the study modules, the programmes required its participants to successfully pass 15 on-line assessments with a passing score of over 80%. “QNB Group is always keen on developing its employees’ skills and qualifications to help them in their careers and provide the Qatari and international markets with skilled professionals to enrich the global workforce across its network of operations,” the bank said in a statement. QNB Group currently operates in more than 26 Countries and across three continents. It has about14,500 employees in 615 office locations. The QNB employees who graduated from the programmes are seen with officials. RIGHTS ISSUE | Page 2 EURO TRADES | Page 3 QSE to adopt new selling and pricing system ECB, BoE in accord on UK clearers Monday, March 30, 2015 Jumada II 10, 1436 AH ANOTHER EXCEPTIONAL YEAR: Page 16 GULF TIMES BUSINESS Abdullah Abdulghani & Brothers receives top awards from Toyota Motor Corporation Ooredoo 4G+ network to be available across Qatar by end of year By Santhosh V Perumal Business Reporter O oredoo yesterday said its high speed 4G+ network will be available across Qatar by the end of this year and that its return on investments from overseas operations is set to be “substantial”. “By the end of this year, whole of Qatar will be 4G+,” Ooredoo chief operating officer Waleed al-Sayed told the media after the annual general assembly (AGM) where shareholders approved 40% cash dividend. With 4G+, at present available in greater Doha, customers are able to reach up to 225 Mbps, nearly double the average 4G speed in areas of Doha. The current available Ooredoo 4G speed is up to 150 Mbps. Using a 4G+ enabled device that supports Ooredoo Qatar’s 4G frequencies, customers will be able to access the superfast 4G+ network for free, taking advantage of the extra speeds and smooth browsing experience to stay in touch, check e-mails, video call and more. Areas with access to 4G+ speeds are the Corniche, West Bay lagoon, Katara, Souq Waqif, Al Rayyan, Shahaniya and Sealine. Ooredoo’s focus on data delivered positive returns in 2014, with data Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani: To continue as chairman. revenue now representing 25% of total group revenue, which positions the company well for future growth. On 5G, he said in the GSMA world, Ooredoo has already been in discussion with 5G manufacturers but the technology itself is now under standardisation and “there is no clue regarding when standardisation is going to finish”. Ooredoo also said it has intention to enter into research and develop- ment in 5G so as to be prepared for its launch whenever it is ready and the estimation time is between 2018 and 2020, according to al-Sayed. Asked about its expansion plans, he said Ooredoo has plans to grow in new markets like Myanmar where it is building big customer base. Ooredoo had commercially launched services in Myanmar in the summer of 2014, adding a new market to its global portfolio and offering 3G services to a population that had previously had very limited access to the Internet. He said Ooredoo has been investing and will continue to do so in its overseas operations from which “we believe that return on investments is going to be significant in the future.” Ooredoo has taken a leadership role in data services across its footprint, because the company believes that all its customers will benefit from the new opportunities of the digital era, according to Sheikh Abdullah. In the home market, Ooredoo’s revenue grew 8% year-on-year to QR7.15bn in 2015, manly driven by mobile services, broadband, megaprojects and device sales. The AGM also elected new board members with Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani continuing to be chairman; while other members are Ali Shareef al-Emadi, Mohamed bin Issa al-Mohannadi, Omer Abdulaziz al-Hamed al-Marwani, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority, Nasser Rashid al Humaidi, Ibrahim Abdulla al-Mahmoud, Khalifa Matar al-Mheiri and Mohamed Ahmed al-Qamzi. In an extraordinary meeting that followed the AGM, the assembly approved an amendment of Article 25 of the company’s articles of association. HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim after signing the agreement with Amruda Nair. Sheikh Faisal signs JV agreement with Indian hotelier to set up global management company HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, chairman, Al Sawari Holding and Qatari Business Association, and Amruda Nair, joint managing director and chief executive officer, Aiana Hotels & Resorts, have signed a joint venture agreement to create Aiana Hotels & Resorts, a global hotel management company with the “fabled Indian service ethos” at its heart. Both partners share the common vision of creating a brand that will appeal to young professionals and global travellers and provide its guests with unique, and enriching experiences, as well as bringing the first Asian-inspired hotel to Qatar. The new joint venture company, Aiana Hotels & Resorts, will embody a hospitality brand of upper upscale hotels and leading operator of hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in the Middle East, the Sub-Continent and South East Asia. To mark the launch, Aiana Hotels & Resorts unveiled the visual identity of the brand. Aiana, meaning “eternal blossom” in Sanskrit, also means a place of refuge or retreat. These two powerful and evocative images represented as the universal symbol of the “mandala” in the brand logo, come together to represent the unique experience that Aiana promises its guests. “The joint venture combines the resources and visionary entrepreneurial skills of HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, chairman, Al Sawari Holding with the hospitality expertise and passion of Amruda Nair, herself a third generation hotelier, driven by a desire to redefine hospitality today,” Al Sawari Holding said in a release. Aiana Hotels & Resorts reflects the strengths of its principals – business excellence and Indian hospitality to cater to the growing demand for value added offerings in the upper upscale hospitality segment and offers hotel owners an effective management solution from an experienced team of hospitality specialists. The joint venture, with both partners having an equal share, will be based in Doha and operate under the name Aiana Hotels & Resorts. HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin mohamed al-Thani stated at the signing ceremony that “Qatar is taking an unprecedented leap in development due to the economic boom the country is experiencing at all levels, clearly illustrated by the projects we are set to carry out over the next few years, especially in infrastructure. “I am delighted to witness the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Al Sawari Holding and Amruda Nair, scion of famous Leela hotel group family in India, with the aim of introducing a new brand to the Qatari hospitality market that is already home to several internationally renowned names. The new brand will definitely make a valuable addition to the local tourism sector,” Sheikh Ahmed said. Sheikh Faisal said, “Given the long standing relationship between Qatar and India, there is great synergy in the similar way that we travel. This is why we want to bring Aiana as a new lifestyle hotel brand to the Middle East and will continue to support Aiana through our ambitious expansion plans for acquisitions in key destinations starting with the property in Doha with many more to follow in Western Europe (London) and the US.” Nair said, “With the launch of Aiana Hotels and Resorts, I am delighted to be introducing a brand I am confident will become the preferred choice of travellers seeking authentic and immersive experiences that will stay with them long after they have checked out. I was fortunate to meet HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani who shared my passion for hospitality and supported my dreams and ambitions of creating an Indian brand with a global presence. Our service, design, and operating philosophy are geared to exceed the expectations of a new generation of savvy travellers. We call it Hospitality 2.0”. The Ooredoo board members at the company’s AGM in Doha yesterday. Qatar National Bank to open its first branch in Vietnam By Arno Maierbrugger Gulf Times Correspondent Bangkok Q atar National Bank (QNB) will open a representative office in Vietnam’s economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City on March 30, it was revealed by Qatar’s new ambassador to Vietnam Abdullah Sultan al-Hamar at his inauguration visit to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday. The branch will be followed by another one in the capital Hanoi “in the future”, the ambassador said. The opening of the first QNB office in Vietnam comes after the bank received a licence from the State Bank of Vietnam in September 2014. The representative offices will function as a “liaison entity to make market research and promotion of investment projects of QNB in Vietnam”, the state bank announced. It will also “promote and monitor the implementation of the contracts and agreements signed between the QNB and credit institutions and businesses, and QNB-financed projects in Vietnam,” the announcement read. Al-Hamar also said that he has been tasked with further developing bilateral ties between Qatar and Vietnam, which includes seeking more large-scale project beyond the $1bn-plus capital investment made by Qatari investors in Gulf Times Exclusive Vietnam so far, an amount with which they were “not satisfied.” The ambassador emphasised that Qatar is supporting Vietnam’s economic reform efforts and its bid for seats in United Nations agencies. In turn, the Vietnamese prime minister invited Qatar investors to buy stakes in equitised firms, become strategic stakeholders in major commercial banks, and vie for bids to operate airport, seaport and highway facilities in the country. Vietnam is currently undergoing a major privatisation programme that includes hundreds of state-owned companies which are to be transformed into stock companies and will partly be listed at the stock exchange. These companies include financial institutions, infrastructure companies, telecom and shipping operators, mining firms and others. For example, Vietnam will open 41 marine infrastructure projects to private investors, including 19 seaports, which are together expected to need $1.98bn in private funding. Furthermore, national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is seeking strategic partners to sell 20% of the company and the government will reduce its stake to 75% from 95%. The airline will operate as a joint stock company starting April 1. However, the road to privatisation has been bumpy so far in Vietnam, with few investors picking up shares and some companies being equitised, but not listed. But analysts believe that after flagship companies such as Vietnam Airlines succeed in the process, it will gain traction. The prime minister also suggested that Qatar should “create conditions to facilitate the exports of Vietnamese goods,” and the two countries should soon organise an inter-government meeting to further foster trade and cooperation ties. He also asked Qatar to offer additional official development assistance to impoverished areas in Vietnam as well as strengthen collaboration across labour, finance and banking. Investments of Qatar firms in Vietnam include a number of real estate development projects by Qatari Diar including multi-purpose facilities, residential and commercial projects and some hotels in Vietnam. Qatar is also investing in the oil and gas sector through Vietnam’s Long Son Petrochemical Complex where Qatar Petroleum holds a stake of 25%. The two countries last year also held the first meeting of the Qatari-Vietnamese joint committee for economic, trade and technical co-operation. 2 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 BUSINESS Prospects of strengthening crude lifts sentiments on QSE By Santhosh V Perumal Business Reporter P rospects of strengthening crude, amid Yemen issue, appear to have lifted the sentiments on the Qatar Stock Exchange, which yesterday inched near the 11,500 mark. The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) retail and institutions as well as foreign individual investors were seen bullish as the 20-stock Qatar Index gained 0.68% to 11,488.41 points amid fall in trade volumes. Buying interests were seen strong within realty, insurance and industrials counters in the market, which is however down 6.49% year-to-date. The index that tracks Shariahprincipled stocks was seen gaining slower than the other indices in the bourse, where banking and real estate stocks accounted for about 69% of the total trading volume. Market capitalisation rose 0.52% or more than QR3bn to QR620.66bn with small, micro, mid and large cap stocks gaining 0.99%, 0.64%, 0.34% and 0.2% respectively. The Total Return Index gained 0.68% to 17,775.1 points, All Share Index by 0.59% to 3,065.82 points and Al Rayan Islamic Index by 0.49% to 4,188.96 points. Realty stocks appreciated 1.99%, insurance (1.18%), industrials (0.74%), banks and financial services (0.26%) and telecom (0.08%); while transport and consumer goods fell 0.65% and 0.17% respectively. About 68% of the stocks extended gains with major movers being Ezdan, Mazaya Qatar, International Islamic, Dlala, Gulf International Services, Mesaieed New selling and pricing mechanism for rights issues to be implemented The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) is all set to see new selling and pricing mechanism of the rights issue as part of modernising the financial framework to offer flexibility and protection to shareholders. The rights-holder will have the option either to exercise the rights by subscribing in the company’s capital increase, or sell the rights, fully or partially, in the market under the conditions and within the period specified in the Qatar Financial Market Authority (QFMA) regulations as well as in the market notice, a QSE spokesman said in a communiqué. The bourse is working closely with the QFMA and Qatar Central Securities Depository Company to put in place the selling and pricing mechanism of the rights issue as a new financial instrument in the market, in light of the QFMA regulations in this regard and the trading rules of the exchange. Consultations are on-going between the three parties to define the mechanisms in implementation of Article (7a) of the QFMA’s regulations with the aim of providing protection and flexibility to those shareholders who receive the rights to subscribe in the listed company’s capital increase. Rights issues are securities that entitle their holder the right to subscribe in the capital increase issued by the company and dedicated to its existing shareholders. According to the new QFMA’s regulations, rights issues can be listed and sold at the stock exchange. The number of rights issues will be equal to the number of shares in the capital increase to be issued by the company to its existing shareholders through the subscription process. Additionally, the QSE said the computation of the Petrochemical Holding, Widam Food, Vodafone Qatar and Nakilat. However, QNB, Qatar Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank, Al Khaliji, Aamal Company and United Development Company bucked The rights-holder will have the option either to exercise the rights by subscribing in the company’s capital increase, or sell the rights, fully or partially, in the market. right’s theoretical price depends on the underlying share’s price, and it has an expiry date after which the rights lapse and become with no value, unless they are used in the subscription of the company’s capital increase. The QSE, which is keen to raise awareness among investors, will launch a campaign to introduce this new investment tool and provide investors with all supporting information needed to enable them making the decision. Through adding the rights to the investment portfolios of the eligible shareholders, the right issues selling rules and mechanism aim at compensating the eligible shareholders for the decline in the value of their investment portfolios resulting from the decline in the price of the share when traded on the X-right date (the day following the deadline specified by the company’s extraordinary general assembly for holding the share to be eligible to participate in the subscription of the company’s capital increase). the trend. The GCC institutions turned net buyers to the tune of QR13.44mn against net sellers of QR30.5mn the previous trading day. Non-Qatari retail investors were also net buyers to the extent of QR7.4mn compared with net sellers of QR18.17mn last Thursday. Non-Qatari institutions were marginally net buyers to the tune of QR0.79mn against net sellers of QR17.02mn on March 26. The GCC individual investors’ net buying fell to QR17.79mn compared to QR29.14mn the previous trading day. Domestic institutions’ net buying sunk to QR0.44mn against QR93.68mn last Thursday. Local retail investors’ net profit booking weakened to QR39.9mn compared to QR57.12mn on March 26. Total trade volume fell 38% to 7.42mn shares, value by 42% to QR317.7mn and transactions by 53% to 3,571. The insurance sector’s trade volume plummeted 71% to 0.05mn stocks, value by 73% to QR3.19mn and deals by 55% to 42. The real estate sector saw its trade volume plunge 65% to 1.33mn equities, value by 76% to QR22.7mn and transactions by 67% to 491. The market witnessed 59% shrinkage in the industrials sector’s trade volume to 0.8mn shares, 62% in value to QR50.81mn and 53% in deals to 765. The telecom sector’s trade volume tanked 56% to 0.88mn stocks, value by 73% to QR15.37mn and transactions by 86% to 238. The consumer goods sector witnessed 48% fall in trade volume to 0.33mn equities, while value rose 23% to QR36.08mn. Deals were down 13% to 535. The transport sector saw its trade volume decline 47% to 0.24mn shares, value by 52% to QR9.6mn and transactions by 54% to 91. However, the banks and financial services sector reported 26% expansion in trade volume to 3.78mn stocks; even as value fell 11% to QR179.95mn and deals by 27% to 1,409. In the debt market, there was no trading of treasury bills and government bonds. Thomson Reuters releases ’14 Mena financial crime report Thomson Reuters has released the findings of a financial crime report covering the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in 2014. The report, conducted in collaboration with Deloitte, is the first of its kind in the Mena region. According to the survey, compliance departments are juggling competing priorities. Findings show that reputation is still critical for compliance divisions and confirm that compliance officers are investing in technology rather than skills to help them meet their compliance challenge. Furthermore, practitioners cited the low levels of confidence in existing compliance programs across Mena markets and highlighted the increasing demands on budget and resources in the compliance field. Around 85% of respondents have seen anti-crime and compliance activities increase in the last two years, while less than 6% of respondents believe that their compliance policy will stay the same over the short term. More than 75% of participants surveyed expect that compliancerelated costs will continue to increase in the short term with technology (26%) and process improvement (22%) standing out as key tools organisations are investing in to manage compliance risks. Almost half of those surveyed highlighted a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of their existing financial crime programs when compared with both domestic and international regulatory requirements. Similarly, 57% of respondents questioned the ability of their compliance policy to prevent illicit activity. Nadim Najjar, managing director, (Mena), Thomson Reuters, said: “It is increasingly evident that compliance needs to become central to operations, not merely a back office function, and continuing communication between the compliance function and both internal and external stakeholders is crucial in this respect.” He added: “While the future of financial crime management appears to be in the use of technology, businesses in the Mena region need to ensure they are not overly reliant on it. The low levels of confidence are noteworthy particularly given the majority of the respondents are responsible for setting and guiding corporate compliance policy. “In 2015, compliance officers will have to think about how to do more for less. More will be expected of them, yet it will become increasingly difficult to stay abreast of the changing demands of the regulatory environment. We look forward to tracking the progress of financial crime management by organisations across the Mena region in next year’s survey,” Najjar noted. Humphry Hatton, Deloitte Corporate Finance CEO, said: “This year is perhaps of greater importance than ever given the international and regional regulatory developments that increasingly dominate the headlines of the business world. Since last year, we have seen an increased regulatory focus on financial crime issues, and in areas such as sanctions, record fines on institutions as well as both the emergence of new sanctions regimes and the prospect of the lifting of existing ones.” Hala Bou Alwan, head (Advisory and Education Services) at Thomson Reuters, said: “MENA companies are not investing in a sustainable manner. It’s one thing to have a cutting edge technology and the most up-to-date processes that mimic corporate policies in more developed economies, but if you do not have the skills that can properly manage those processes and confidently make critical decisions, you will undoubtedly lack confidence in your compliance policy.” Qatar sees double-digit decline y-o-y in trade surplus in Feb By Santhosh V Perumal Business Reporter Q atar has witnessed double-digit decline year-on-year (y-o-y) in trade surplus in February 2015 as exports, especially crude and natural gas, fell considerably; while imports were on the rise, according to official figures. The precipitous fall in the country’s trade surplus is rather reflective of the considerable drop in the energy prices, which is at least 40% lower than the 2014 levels, owing to lower demand and increase in the supply from the US and other non-Opec producers. The trade surplus of energy-major Qatar, whose non-hydrocarbon segments is firing from all cylinders as part of diversification to keep the economy grow well above the peers, plummeted 47.5% y-o-y to QR18.21bn in February on lower exports of crude, non-crude and natural gas, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said. However, merchandise trade surplus was up mere 0.3% compared to that in January 2015 as there was substantial jump in the exports of crude and noncrude. The country’s total exports (valued free-on-board) plunged 36% y-o-y to QR27.5bn as shipments to top destinations were on the decline. The exports fell 1.3% month-on-month. The MDPS, in its latest Qatar Eco- nomic Outlook 2014-16 Update, had cautioned that a prolonged weakening of oil prices could pose a key downside risk to the economic outlook. Japan continued to be the top destination of Qatar’s exports in February 2015; followed by South Korea, India, China and Singapore. The country’s total exports of domestic products sunk 36.9% to QR26.87bn in February this year and were down 0.1% against January this year. Qatar’s exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons plummeted 41.5% to QR17.62bn, noncrude by 34.6% to QR1.19bn, crude by 31.9% to QR4.4bn and other commodities by 12.5% to QR3.65bn. Against January 2015 levels, there was 48.1% expansion in exports of crude, 31.6% in non-crude and 9.3% in petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons. Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons constituted 65.57% of total exports of domestic products in February 2015 compared to 72.26% a year-ago period; crude petroleum oils 16.38% (11.04%), non-crude petroleum oils and bituminous minerals 4.43% (3.38%) and other commodities 13.58% (13.31%). On export destinations, Japan accounted for 28% of total exports in February, South Korea 16%, India 10%, China 8% and Singapore 4%. Qatar’s exports to South Korea tanked 58.66% to QR4.32bn, India by 50.75% to QR2.64bn, China by 42.82% to QR2.11bn, Japan by 39.26% to QR7.69bn and Singapore by 24.69% to QR1.22bn. The country’s re-exports had reported 67.6% growth y-o-y to QR0.63bn in February 2015. Total imports (valued at cost insurance and freight) had risen 12.2% to QR9.28bn in February mainly on faster growth in shipments from Japan, the UAE and China. Imports, however, fell 4.3% compared to those in January this year. China, the US, the UAE, Japan and Germany were among the top five destinations from where Qatar imported merchandise goods. China accounted for 12% of Qatar’s imports in February, the US (11%), the UAE (9%), Japan (7%) and Germany (6%). Qatar’s imports from Japan surged 24.34% to QR0.61bn, the UAE by 24.12% to QR0.81bn, China by 23.6% to QR1.1bn and the US by 8.98% to QR1bn; whereas those from Germany fell 14.26% to QR0.52bn. Motor cars and vehicles, aircraft and helicopter spare parts, electrical apparatus and other group commodities were mainly imported by Qatar in February 2015. The imports of motor cars and other motor vehicles for transportation swelled 33.6% y-o-y to QR0.81bn, electrical apparatus for telephony by 29% to QR0.27bn and other group commodities by 12.7% to QR7.82bn; even as those of parts of aircraft and helicopter fell 25.7% to QR0.39bn. Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, Consolidated Gulf Company announce partnership Hitachi Data Systems Corporation (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, hosted an event with Consolidated Gulf Company (CGC) Qatar at the Crowne Plaza here recently. At the end user focused event, the partnership between Hitachi Data Systems and Consolidated Gulf Company was announced. The event had a key message to teach representatives to shift to a business-defined IT model to lay a foundation for the future; attended by over 100 representatives. The educational itinerary consisted of topics including “Innovating with information”, “Maximising your IT”, the focus of data centres and an overview of converged infrastructures. Attendees were given the opportunity to hear technology leaders and analysts share the latest IT and storage innovations and network. Hitachi Data Systems teamed up with CGC to teach representatives how to support the new breed of futureready, IT-accelerated business and to reduce complexities and costs while delivering performance and ensuring SLAs are met. The partnership event also addressed future needs by sharing tactics in adapting easily to changing business needs and resources to accelerate IT response. Tony Reid, chief operating officer, Hitachi Data Systems EMEA was the main speaker for the event and comments on the partnership said, “We are delighted to announce our newfound partnership with CGC; as it will aide our expansion plans in Qatar and introduce us to the open market in this country. As one of the first technology companies in Qatar, they bring numerous years of experience as an industry leader in this field and future plans through innovation alongside HDS.” Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 3 BUSINESS Spain urges EU to clear away barriers to retail banking mergers Bloomberg Madrid S The new agreement follows a court ruling, which has led the ECB to shelve a policy requiring clearing houses that handle euro-denominated securities to be located in the eurozone. ECB, BoE reach accord on clearers in the UK handling euro trades Reuters London/Frankfurt The European Central Bank and the Bank of England have reached a deal that strengthens the financial backing of British clearing houses in their handling of euro-denominated securities, ending a long-running legal battle. The agreement follows a court ruling, which has led the ECB to shelve a policy requiring clearing houses that handle euro-denominated securities to be located in the eurozone. Britain had challenged the policy in the European Union’s secondhighest court, fearing it would damage London’s role as a financial centre and fragment the European Union’s single market. The court ruled earlier this month against the ECB. The ECB was concerned that if a London-based clearing house ran into trouble, it would not be eligible for direct support from the bank and the euros it could provide. Clearing houses stand between the two sides of securities transactions to ensure they are completed even if one side goes bust. Their business is set to grow sharply due to reforms to make derivatives such as interest rate swaps more transparent. The ECB and the BoE announced in a joint statement on Sunday that they had agreed to extend a deal under which the ECB could provide the British central bank with euros. The BoE also will provide the ECB with information on Britain-based clearing houses with significant euro-denominated business. The ECB and the UK government also agreed to end all legal action connected to the lawsuits that Britain had filed in the matter, the central banks said. The French central bank had led a drive to locate clearing houses in the euro zone, because France is home to one of the region’s biggest clearing houses, Clearnet, whose London arm LCH Clearnet, clears large amounts of euro-denominated securities. British finance minister George Osborne said Sunday’s deal secures a principle of non-discrimination of countries outside the euro zone, including Britain. “This is vital to our relationship with the euro zone and is another step forward in terms of a reformed EU,” Osborne said. Nicolas Veron, an EU financial services expert at think-tank Bruegel, said the agreement does not necessarily resolve the underlying issue of how to deal with the expected growth and risks from clearing houses that straddle borders. BoE Governor Mark Carney has cautioned they must not become a new breed of financial institutions that are “too big to fail”. “This share of supervisory information might work. Will it work in a crisis? Nobody knows,” Veron said. Cross-border clearers such as LCH Clearnet are also major players in the US. “The underlying challenge is even more so on a trans-Atlantic basis. Will this now become a template between the BoE and the Fed?” Veron said. pain, home of the euro area’s largest bank, is pushing the European Union to remove obstacles to crossborder mergers of retail lenders. The European Commission should stop national regulators using discretionary powers to hamper tie-ups that strengthen the financial links between euro member states, Alvaro Nadal, chief economic adviser to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, said in an interview this week. “One of the problems with monetary union is the lack of risk sharing across the system,” Nadal said. “Imagine if half of Spanish mortgages had been provided by German banks, the crisis would have been very different.” Europe’s retail banking industry should follow the path of the telecommunications industry which has seen a wave of consolidation since EU action facilitated deals, Nadal said. That would make the currency bloc’s financial system more resilient to shocks like the real-estate collapse that forced Spain to seek a bankingsystem bailout in 2012. Nadal said he wants to see measures to promote cross-border bank mergers included in the plans to strengthen the euro financial system being drawn up by the so-called four presidents — the heads of the EU, the commission, the European Central Bank and the finance ministers’ group. Spain still has to sell its majority stake in Bankia SA, a lender with more than €230bn ($253bn) of assets, which was bailed out with European funds in 2012. Bankia has cleaned up its books selling non-performing real estate assets to Spain’s bad bank and received more than €22bn of state aid. While European banking rules are already harmonized in general terms, national regulators still have discretion in how they apply those rules, said Ricardo Wehrhahn, a Madrid-based managing partner at Intral Strategy Execution, a banking and business consultant. “Within the margins of the law a regulator can make your life harder,” said Wehrhahn, who has analysed possible targets in Spain for German lenders. “The French, German and Italian banking markets are particularly difficult to penetrate.” Banco Santander SA, the euro region’s largest bank by market value, has submitted one of seven non-binding offers for Portugal’s state-owned Novo Banco. The European Central Bank took over supervision of the euro area’s 120 biggest lenders in November, in the biggest expansion of its remit since the creation of the euro. Also the Single Resolution Fund plans to hire 120 staff this year as it’s readying to lead liquidation and restructuring processes of failed lenders in the region, “A lot of effort has been made to restructure the banking system and we are also seeing improvements in the European debt markets,” Nadal said. “Now we should be thinking about the need for more integration in retail banking.” Espirito Santo probe turns Mariana Mortagua into Portuguese star Bloomberg Lisbon F our months ago, few in Portugal had heard of Mariana Mortagua. The 28-year-old member of the Left Bloc, Portugal’s equivalent to Greece’s anti-austerity Syriza party, has been catapulted into the limelight with her single-minded pursuit of those responsible for the country’s biggest corporate collapse in a generation. Her pithy and direct questioning in a parliamentary inquiry into the failure of Banco Espirito Santo and a group of associated family-controlled businesses has made her something of a local hero. “She’s managed to express the frustration people feel towards a small elite that used to run the country’s financial system for decades,” said Antonio Costa Pinto, a professor of political science at the University of Lisbon. “It has to do with her style of asking short, tough questions in a country where people are usually more subtle.” In her quest, Mortagua is targeting the country’s rich and powerful — former Banco Espirito Santo chief executive officer Ricardo Salgado and other members of the Espirito Santo family and executives who ran the bank, Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa and Henrique Granadeiro, the former chief executive officer of Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, which failed to recover almost €900mn ($989mn) invested in Grupo Espirito Santo debt. “For the first time we are able to confront a group of people who were al- most untouchable and ask them tough questions at these hearings,” Mortagua said in an interview on March 12. “I think people have been shocked by what they’ve seen.” Portugal completed a three-year international rescue programme last year, only to find itself bailing out Banco Espirito Santo to the tune of €4.9bn three months later. Many Espirito Santo family holding companies that relied on the bank to borrow money have now gone bankrupt. With the questioning of Portuguese Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque — whose government lent money for the bailout of what was once Portugal’s largest listed bank — for the second time on Wednesday, the inquiry has entered its 18th week. Mortagua, who holds a degree in economics from a university in Lisbon, has for months been sifting through the wreckage of Banco Espirito Santo and a complex web of assets linked to the prominent Espirito Santo family, ranging from a hotel chain in Portugal, a diamond mine in Angola and a farm in Paraguay. “I used to stay awake until 3am or 4am trying to put all the pieces together,” said Mortagua, who is often seen walking around Portugal’s Parliament building in a dark outfit and Converse All-Star sneakers. Her homework has paid off. The average daily viewership of Portugal’s Parliament Channel, which broadcasts the hearings, rose 45% in the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2014, according to market research company Mediamonitor and GFK. A YouTube video featuring Mortagua during the inquiry received more than 200,000 hits. Her Facebook page won’t allow any new friend requests after reaching the 5,000 limit. “I’m starting to get worried,” said Mortagua. The interview with Bloomberg, which took place in Lisbon’s parliament building, was delayed by 30 minutes because she said her agenda was “overbooked.” Mortagua has come a long way since her childhood in Alvito, a town in Portugal’s southern Alentejo region, one of the poorest areas in Western Europe, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office. While Mortagua only became a lawmaker for the Left Bloc in 2013, politics is in her blood. She is the daughter of Camilo Mortagua, who along with a handful of other political activists in 1961 forced the pilot of a TAP flight from Casablanca to Lisbon to fly in circles over the Portuguese capital as they dropped thousands of leaflets calling for an end to the right-wing dictatorship of Antonio Salazar. Her twin sister, Joana Mortagua, is also a member of the Left Bloc party. While Mortagua has seen her popularity rise since the Espirito Santo inquiry began in November, her Left Bloc party has failed to mirror gains by other anti-austerity groups in Europe. The Left Bloc, which wants Portugal to restructure its debt and end austerity, had 4.4% backing from voters in a survey published by newspaper Expresso on March 13. In Greece, Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza won general elections in January on a Mortagua: In limelight. platform of rejecting more spending cuts. Spain’s anti-austerity Podemos party is leading opinion polls before an election due by the end of the year. Portugal is also scheduled to hold elections in September or October. “It’s hard to explain,” Mortagua said. Portugal, as opposed to Greece, which was occupied by the Germans, was a colonizer and so “we don’t have those antibodies,” she said. For now, Mortagua says she’s fighting for ordinary people who became victims of the excesses of the Espirito Santo group. On the day of the interview, protesters occupied a branch of Novo Banco SA in northern Portugal, demanding repayment of Grupo Espirito Santo commercial paper sold by branches of the former Banco Espirito Santo. The Bank of Portugal in August placed the rescued lender’s deposits and most of its assets into the newly-created Novo Banco, now for sale. “I get lots of e-mails from people who lost all their money. Justice has to be served,” said Mortagua. Mortagua’s work has managed to expose some of the things that were wrong in Portuguese business, said Pedro Pintassilgo, a fund manager at F&C Management Ltd. “She has studied the subject very well and has shown herself to be a good representative of Portuguese citizens,” said Pintassilgo, who manages about €38mn invested in Portuguese stocks through F&C in Lisbon. “While I don’t share her political views, I admire her professionalism, competence and hard work.” When Salgado, once branded the owner of everything, went before the parliamentary inquiry on Dec. 9, he indicated that regulators and the financial crisis contributed to the collapse of Banco Espirito Santo and Grupo Espirito Santo. Mortagua wasn’t impressed. “It’s curious that the owner of everything has appeared before us today as the victim of everything,” she said. “Mr. Salgado wants to convince us that his empire crumbled and that the man in charge of that empire had nothing to do with it.” Salgado said in parliament on March 19 that he had always acted in the best interest of the bank, and while admitting he may have made mistakes said he was going to fight to defend his honour and that of his family. While the inquiry has no legal mandate, what is said during hearings can be used in court, according to Mortagua. That may help explain why many former executives at Banco Espirito Santo and Grupo Espirito Santo have said they don’t know or can’t recall certain things, she said. Mortagua, who relies on an assistant to research the inner workings of Banco Espirito Santo and Grupo Espirito Santo, says it’s rational for some people who appear in the hearings to deny any wrongdoing or claim they have forgotten certain things. “They are protecting themselves,” she said. “But it’s very hard not to feel a little impatient, revolted or even outraged because we share the same feelings as those people watching us at home.” 4 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 BUSINESS Heinz deal for Kraft expands food larder for Buffett, 3G Kraft brands have opportunity to expand overseas; Kraft shareholders to hold 49% of Kraft Heinz Co; Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway to own over 320mn shares; deal unlikely to face regulatory hurdles Reuters New York K etchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc and Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, will combine with Kraft Foods Group Inc in a $46bn deal to create the thirdlargest North American food company, executives said. The deal gives Buffett more leading US food brands, as well as that of 3G founder Jorge Paulo Lemann, Brazil’s richest man. The two teamed up to buy control of Heinz in 2013 and collaborated on the 2014 merger of fast-food chain Burger King and Tim Hortons Inc, which runs coffee and doughnut shops. Food industry experts see Kraft benefiting from Heinz’s international presence, which generates more than 60% of its sales. Kraft brands are in 98% of North American households, the companies said, but would have a greater opportunity to expand overseas. The combined company, which will be publicly traded under the name Kraft Heinz Co, expects to save about $1.5bn in annual costs by the end of 2017. 3G has a reputation for introducing aggressive cost cuts and improving efficiencies at other companies it has invested in, including Heinz and Anheuser-Busch InBev. “Mature businesses look for cost cutting. 3G takes cost cutting to a different level,” said Bob Goldin, executive vice president at food industry consultant Technomic. Goldin noted that neither Kraft nor Heinz are major players in the sector’s growth segments, from organic to fresh foods. The deal calls for the exchange of each Kraft share for one share in the combined Kraft Heinz Co, plus a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share to existing Kraft shareholders. The $10bn behind the special dividend will be funded by an equity investment by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G. Heinz shareholders will own 51% of the combined company and Kraft shareholders the rest. The transaction is worth about $46bn for Kraft shareholders, based on Kraft’s market capitalisation of $36bn on Tuesday before news of the deal emerged plus the special dividend. Packaged-food makers from Kraft to General Mills and Kellogg are battling sluggish demand as consumers shift to brands that are perceived as healthier, including foods that are organic or less processed. Kraft’s efforts to revamp its own products, such as combining its higher-protein snacks like meat and nuts into one container called the P3 pack, have not shifted the tide enough. In December, Kraft named John Cahill as chief executive, who acknowledged the company has not changed enough in the face of shifting consumer tastes. Cahill overhauled his leadership team last month, announcing the exit of three senior executives. Cahill said on a call with analysts that 3G Managing Director Alex Behring approached him at the end of January about a possible deal. The discussions picked up in the second half of February. While Kraft had been developing its own plan for change, the board saw the 3G opportunity as more compelling, said Cahill, who will be vice chairman of the combined company. Behring will serve as chairman of Kraft Heinz Co and Bernardo Hees, CEO of Heinz, will become CEO of the combined company. Kraft Heinz Co will retain headquarters both in the Chicago area and in Pittsburgh. It will have combined revenue of about $28bn, about half that of market leader PepsiCo in 2014. Berkshire Hathaway will own more than 320mn of the approximately 1.22bn Kraft Heinz shares outstanding, Buffett told CNBC, adding “We will be in the stock forever.” “Heinz goes back to 1859,” he said. “I think those tastes are pretty enduring. There will be plenty of people that want to eat other things, but there are many people who want to eat the products that Kraft/Heinz turnout” The deal is Saipem close to Nigeria JV deal after China success Reuters Milan Italy’s Saipem is close to signing a joint venture with a big local partner in Nigeria just days after clinching a similar deal in China with PetroChina as the oil contractor seeks access to new markets. Saipem, 43% owned by Italian oil major Eni, has seen some €10bn ($11bn) wiped off its market value over the past two years after two profit warnings, a corruption investigation in Algeria and a worsening outlook. “The group is finalising the creation of a joint venture with a very important Nigerian partner to help it develop its business in the country,” a source close to the matter said. Tumbling oil prices and rising costs have prompted oil majors worldwide to cut spending, prompting contract cancellations that have hurt contractors. “The company is seeking to leverage its E&C (Engineering & Construction) competences and its vessel fleet to enter into new markets or grow its presence in existing markets with leading local operators,” the source said. Saipem, which has been fined in a case relating to alleged corruption in Nigeria, already has a presence in the country, including the subsea development of the Egina Field with France’s Total The source said the Nigeria deal follows hard on the heels of a landmark joint venture signed with the PetroChina group last week. The deal will create a new company well placed to build a strong position in the growing Chinese oil service sector, with a specific focus on turnkey projects likes LNG terminals, pipelines, and storage units. “In a few months the joint venture will have the license to operate,” the source said. People’s Bank of China owns around 2% of Saipem. Vivendi trades barbs with activist investor seeking bigger payout Reuters Paris V ivendi has traded blows with activist investor PSAM over the fund’s bid for a larger payout from the French media group, with Vivendi warning the fund could be in breach of the law and the fund accusing it of attempting to intimidate it. PSAM, or P Schoenfeld Asset Management, which says it owns 0.8% of Vivendi, has called on other minority shareholders to join its campaign for a €9bn ($9.8bn) payout, while also urging the company to consider spinning off its Universal Music Group (UMG) unit. But Vivendi says if it joins forces with others, PSAM could be in breach of French law, which it says bans foreign ownership of more than 20%, a limit which if reached would put it at risk of losing its licence for Canal+ television. A spokesman for Vivendi said on Saturday the company would decide at the beginning of next week on whether to take any further action after looking at PSAM’s response in detail. “Insofar as it would appear that your direct or indirect share ownership, together with that of third parties with whom you might join forces, could surpass the 20% threshold, this could be seriously prejudicial to the company,” Vivendi said in a letter on Friday. “We would be forced to promptly bring legal action against you,” it added, saying a first estimate showed it could seek damages of between €5bn and €9bn. In response, PSAM said: “Now, as a result of our decision to propose two resolutions to shareholders, we have received a letter whose purpose seems to be to intimidate us. We consider this behaviour totally unacceptable.” Vivendi has said it plans to return €5.7bn to shareholders by 2017, while keeping back cash to invest in growth and acquisitions. But PSAM’s resolutions would require Vivendi to make a larger payout from a cash pile amassed via disposals. Vivendi confirmed it had received the proposed resolutions and recommended shareholders reject them at its April 17 meeting. PSAM also said Vivendi should publish details of foreign ownership and asked if it had sent the same letter to other shareholders. The Vivendi spokesman said it had sent its letter to all US shareholders and details of its main shareholders was public. He said it had sent the letter to PSAM to point out it was “in danger of bringing around some sort of dangerous coalition ... The management’s board job is to make sure everybody understands the law.” unlikely to face regulatory hurdles as there is little overlap in products, antitrust experts said. Areas that could draw regulatory scrutiny include steak sauces — Kraft makes A1 and Heinz makes Lea & Perrins. “Whatever divestitures there are will be easy, and they will be kind of minor,” said Fiona Scott Morton, who teaches economics at the Yale University School of Management. Industry watchers had speculated for months that 3G would buy another food company after the Heinz acquisition. Kraft’s appeal, according to some, is that its brands occupy shelf space in the centre of many stores, just like Heinz. That could lead to cost savings in merchandising and sales. Kraft is 3G Capital’s fifth major deal in the food and beverage industry since 2008, when it engineered the takeover of Anheuser-Busch by brewer InBev. 3G Capital also controls Restaurant Brands International Inc, formed when Burger King business bought Canada’s Tim Hortons. 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway acquired Heinz for $23.2bn in 2013. Kraft split into two companies Buffett: We will be in the stock forever. in 2012, with Kraft Foods focusing on grocery products in North America and Mondelez International Inc on snack products. Lazard was Heinz’s financial adviser, while Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Kirkland and Ellis were its legal advisers. Centerview Partners LLC was Kraft’s financial adviser and Sullivan & Cromwell its legal adviser. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 5 BUSINESS PBoC chief warns on growth slowdown Bloomberg Beijing C hina’s central bank chief said that the nation’s growth rate has tumbled “a bit” too much and that policy makers have scope to respond, underscoring forecasts for further monetary easing in the world’s second-largest economy. “China’s inflation is also declining, so we need to be vigilant to see if the disinflation trend will continue, and if deflation will happen or not,” People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, 67, said in remarks at the Boao Forum for Asia, an annual conference on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. “China can have room to act,” both with interest rates and “quantitative” measures, he said. Zhou’s remarks followed fresh signs that China slowed further in the first quarter, after recording its weakest expansion since 1990 last year. A gauge of manufacturing slid to an 11-month low in March, a private report showed last week. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expect the PBoC will lower both benchmark lending rates and banks’ required reserve ratios, adding to cuts made in recent months. China’s leadership is trying to wean the economy off debt- fuelled property investment and old-line polluting industries, shifting toward services and domestic-consumption led growth. While President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said his nation is comfortable with a “new normal” of less-rapid expansion, officials are also wary of the slowdown weakening too much. Premier Li Keqiang earlier this month set a growth target of about 7% for this year, while pledging action if it slows toward the lower limit of the range and cuts into jobs and income. Zhou said at Boao yesterday that the economy had slowed Zhou: Ready to initiate ‘quantitative’ measures. “a bit too sharply,” while adding that patience was needed to see the effect of steps already taken. Even with a more moderate pace than in the past, Xi told Boao attendees Saturday that his nation “will continue to provide countries including Asian nations more markets, growth, investment and cooperation opportunities.” China is building its influence even amid the slowdown, championing new lending institutions, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which saw additional nations signing up in recent days. US allies including the UK, Australia and South Korea are among the supporters of the AIIB, after they set aside American opposition. Zhou at Boao yesterday highlighted how China is working on reform of its currency, the yuan, which has been subject to limits on capital flows and restricted movements against counterparts. China will revamp foreign-exchange regulation “relatively radically” this year, the PBoC chief said. Earlier this month, he pressed the head of the International Monetary Fund to consider the yuan for inclusion as an official reserve currency - by adding it to the fund’s special drawing rights unit. In addressing the risk of deflation, Zhou’s concerns reflect those of many counterparts around the world. Japan saw its benchmark gauge of inflation stagnate in February, according to a report released on Friday. European monetary policy makers have stepped up easing to combat the danger of falling consumer prices, which can inflate the real burden of loans. “Further policy easing is on the way, there’s no doubt about that,” said Guan Qingyou, chief macro-economic researcher with Minsheng Securities Co in Beijing. “The central bank seems to realize that it’s better to act sooner than later given consideration to China’s deepening slowdown and deflationary pressure.” The major economy with perhaps the least concern on that score is the US, which has enjoyed a strengthening job market in recent months. As a consequence, the Federal Reserve has been preparing the ground for its first interest-rate increase in years, a shift that has seen the dollar climb since the middle of last year. Zhou told an audience that included central bankers from Japan and Germany that by many nations easing policy, the dollar could become too high. Officials will need to be cautious about capital flows, he said. The governor said that patience is needed to observe the impact of monetary measures. The PBoC announced its first interest-rate cut in two years in November and followed with another reduction February 28. It also lowered banks’ reserve ratio requirements last month. China’s disinflation eased in February after the central bank stepped up easing and the Lunar New Year holiday pushed up food and transport costs. The consumer-price index rose 1.4% from a year earlier, compared with January’s 0.8%, data from the statistics bureau show. The government set a 2015 consumer inflation target of 3% in its annual work report earlier this month. The room the country has to move on monetary policy “is not necessarily for quantitative easing,” Zhou said. There is scope “on both the price side and the quantitative side,” he said. Chen Yulu, an academic member with the central bank’s monetary policy committee, an advisory body, was quoted by Chinese journal Caixin as saying yesterday that the “non- conventional” policy in China means “continuous policy relaxation.” “In the monetary policy committee, the discussion is always about looking for new structural tools to use, including targeted easing,” Chen was quoted as saying. Xi pledges to protect interests of foreign companies in China Reuters Beijing C hina’s President Xi Jinping said he hoped its annual trade with the countries involved in Beijing’s plan to create a modern Silk Road would surpass $2.5tn in a decade. Xi also pledged to protect the interests of foreign companies in China amid investors’ rising concerns that Beijing is enacting policies that could hurt their businesses. Under the so-called “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China aims to create a modern Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to boost trade and extend its global influence. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said previously that more than 50 countries had shown interest in the initiative. Projects under the plan include a network of railways, highways, oil and gas pipelines, power grids, Internet networks, maritime and other infrastructure links across Central, West and South Asia to as far as Greece, Russia and Oman, increasing China’s connections to Europe and Africa. Speaking at the sidelines of a high-level event in the southern city of Boao on Sunday, Xi said the scheme would stimulate trade and investment between China and countries along the route, according to a statement on the foreign ministry’s website. “We hope that the annual trade volume between China and these countries surpasses $2.5tn in a decade or so,” Xi told 40 company representatives from China and overseas. By way of comparison, China’s trade with the European Union Xi: Allaying fears of foreign businesses. in 2013 amounted to €428.1bn ($466.1bn). Chinese industries expected to benefit from the plan include agriculture and mining as the route encourages exploration for minerals. In addition to trade efforts, China is seeking to boost its global influence by signing up countries to its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Xi, meanwhile, sought to address concerns from foreign businesses, which have complained of an increasingly tough business climate in the world’s second-largest economy. “China will be more open. China’s policies that encourage the use of foreign investment will not change, and the protection of legitimate rights and interests of foreigninvested businesses will not change,” Xi said. The US is concerned about China’s restrictions on the use of foreign information technology equipment by the banking sector, according to a filing published by the World Trade Organization on Thursday. New cyber-security regulations would force technology vendors to Chinese banks to hand over secret source code and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms. 6 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 BUSINESS SAUDI ARABIA Company Name QATAR Company Name Zad Holding Co Widam Food Co Vodafone Qatar United Development Co Salam International Investme Qatar & Oman Investment Co Qatar Navigation Qatar National Cement Co Qatar National Bank Qatar Islamic Insurance Qatar Industrial Manufactur Qatar International Islamic Qatari Investors Group Qatar Islamic Bank Qatar Gas Transport(Nakilat) Qatar General Insurance & Re Qatar German Co For Medical Qatar Fuel Co Qatar Electricity & Water Co Qatar Cinema & Film Distrib Qatar Insurance Co Ooredoo Qsc National Leasing Mazaya Qatar Real Estate Dev Mesaieed Petrochemical Holdi Al Meera Consumer Goods Co Medicare Group Mannai Corporation Qsc Masraf Al Rayan Al Khalij Commercial Bank Industries Qatar Islamic Holding Group Gulf Warehousing Company Gulf International Services Ezdan Holding Group Doha Insurance Co Doha Bank Qsc Dlala Holding Commercial Bank Of Qatar Qsc Barwa Real Estate Co Al Khaleej Takaful Group Aamal Co Lt Price 96.00 58.50 17.39 20.97 13.00 14.16 98.50 120.00 187.00 77.30 45.00 77.80 38.10 98.10 22.30 57.00 10.54 176.20 187.50 49.00 78.50 103.00 20.90 17.75 26.05 216.50 142.50 104.40 46.70 20.30 132.60 116.90 56.00 89.50 15.38 26.90 49.80 36.50 56.60 45.40 43.00 14.82 % Chg 2.89 4.46 0.29 -0.71 1.96 2.91 -1.20 2.74 -0.05 0.39 0.00 1.57 -0.78 -1.41 0.45 3.26 3.84 -1.29 0.81 0.00 0.77 0.00 0.97 1.60 1.17 0.28 0.00 0.97 1.85 -2.40 0.30 0.78 -3.45 2.64 3.57 0.94 0.30 3.55 -0.35 0.00 -0.23 -1.07 Volume 23,795 22,794 877,643 343,236 49,854 114,530 54,525 593 227,362 733 21,929 201,653 22,555 103,406 185,645 180 69,761 92,461 13,229 23,360 1,379,901 199,725 245,202 61,147 11,263 9,948 984,919 183,324 86,683 17,915 314 288,877 786,384 10,718 152,471 64,594 249,577 23,507 108,038 SAUDI ARABIA Company Name Saudi Hollandi Bank Al-Ahsa Development Co. Al-Baha Development & Invest Ace Arabia Cooperative Insur Allied Cooperative Insurance Arriyadh Development Company Fitaihi Holding Group Arabia Insurance Cooperative Alabdullatif Industrial Inv Al-Ahlia Cooperative Insuran Al Alamiya Cooperative Insur Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev Al Babtain Power & Telecommu Bank Albilad Alujain Corporation (Alco) Aldrees Petroleum And Transp Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & C Alinma Bank Alinma Tokio Marine Al Khaleej Training And Educ Abdullah A.M. Al-Khodari Son Allianz Saudi Fransi Coopera Almarai Co Saudi Integrated Telecom Co Alsorayai Group Al Tayyar Travel Group Amana Cooperative Insurance Anaam International Holding Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Arabian Pipes Co Advanced Petrochemicals Co Al Rajhi Co For Co-Operative Arabian Cement Arab National Bank Ash-Sharqiyah Development Co United Wire Factories Compan Astra Industrial Group Alahli Takaful Co Aseer Trading Tourism & Manu Axa Cooperative Insurance Basic Chemical Industries Bishah Agriculture Bank Al-Jazira Banque Saudi Fransi United International Transpo Bupa Arabia For Cooperative Buruj Cooperative Insurance Saudi Airlines Catering Co Methanol Chemicals Co City Cement Co Eastern Province Cement Co Etihad Atheeb Telecommunicat Etihad Etisalat Co Emaar Economic City Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insu United Electronics Co Falcom Saudi Equity Etf Filing & Packing Materials M Wafrah For Industry And Deve Falcom Petrochemical Etf Gulf General Cooperative Ins Jazan Development Co Gulf Union Cooperative Insur Halwani Bros Co Hail Cement Herfy Food Services Co Al Jouf Agriculture Developm Jarir Marketing Co Jabal Omar Development Co Al Jouf Cement Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co Knowledge Economic City Kingdom Holding Co Saudi Arabian Mining Co Malath Cooperative & Reinsur Makkah Construction & Devepl Mediterranean & Gulf Insuran Middle East Specialized Cabl Mohammad Al Mojil Group Co Mouwasat Medical Services Co The National Agriculture Dev Najran Cement Co Nama Chemicals Co National Gypsum National Gas & Industrializa National Industrialization C Maadaniyah National Shipping Co Of/The National Petrochemical Co Rabigh Refining And Petroche Al Qassim Agricultural Co Qassim Cement/The Red Sea Housing Services Co Saudi Research And Marketing Riyad Bank Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co Lt Price 43.00 15.27 13.50 72.10 27.51 21.66 24.13 17.21 39.07 14.07 61.35 8.87 41.63 48.20 20.96 62.71 101.66 22.92 56.50 63.00 30.33 55.65 88.66 24.30 19.53 104.02 12.45 29.03 106.95 20.08 43.52 27.14 75.40 34.84 76.05 34.03 33.12 66.67 27.41 19.42 37.10 69.75 29.10 34.64 71.70 187.42 48.30 172.50 14.58 22.60 55.55 6.65 39.03 13.82 29.37 95.69 31.50 49.14 36.69 26.20 30.87 14.67 17.80 80.60 23.58 111.95 42.97 218.01 79.93 14.64 11.24 24.43 21.10 39.99 30.90 105.47 58.10 14.98 12.55 135.15 36.84 26.92 11.31 28.30 31.86 23.79 33.04 40.84 22.98 22.31 14.52 92.00 41.66 16.92 17.09 59.58 12.85 % Chg 4.88 4.23 0.00 2.53 1.51 3.04 2.86 4.30 3.33 5.24 4.14 2.90 0.68 1.82 3.56 3.52 -0.33 1.46 9.09 2.41 1.95 1.44 0.86 0.00 5.68 1.34 9.98 3.13 0.90 0.30 0.05 5.69 0.86 0.20 3.33 3.69 2.63 8.80 4.38 4.24 3.00 0.00 2.46 0.41 1.19 1.69 6.48 2.34 9.54 1.62 1.76 6.23 1.56 1.62 5.46 1.29 2.94 3.30 3.41 0.00 4.54 3.75 3.31 2.35 2.66 1.73 1.87 3.54 5.67 3.17 2.55 3.60 0.52 1.55 5.35 6.76 3.55 2.74 0.00 2.26 1.94 1.97 3.48 0.18 1.08 3.71 2.93 1.97 2.04 2.11 3.79 0.62 1.58 3.11 0.18 1.31 4.81 Volume 354,060 2,328,201 300,244 1,399,860 2,482,046 158,392 426,609 103,738 1,100,813 263,546 45,265,750 215,533 1,338,576 633,784 625,566 290,897 29,386,456 532,992 241,355 808,425 1,365,816 230,965 603,348 715,187 479,351 127,991 97,549 1,054,724 744,223 449,534 651,720 17,068 286,747 320,126 683,477 591,901 666,273 1,080,774 327,738 1,916,896 158,264 87,387 139,721 386,491 57,326 3,982,483 796,767 173,104 5,856,281 9,898,362 15,830,919 1,158,552 33,392 145,839 441,361 443,812 100 885,539 575,538 1,959,038 20,385 216,429 20,814 151,368 58,530 3,329,541 2,365,852 12,600,518 8,955,399 384,739 11,071,422 3,096,052 329,742 1,147,886 4,195,327 20,600 444,658 677,481 1,716,343 580,132 107,983 2,284,091 677,813 1,615,040 241,952 2,278,795 1,811,106 34,548 673,162 195,891 1,801,948 2,632,166 2,667,766 Saudi British Bank Sabb Takaful Saudi Basic Industries Corp Saudi Cement Sasco Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Co Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co Al Sagr Co-Operative Insuran Saudi Advanced Industries Saudi Arabian Coop Ins Co Salama Cooperative Insurance Samba Financial Group Sanad Cooperative Insurance Saudi Public Transport Co Saudi Arabia Refineries Co Hsbc Amanah Saudi 20 Etf Saudi Re For Cooperative Rei Savola Saudi Cable Co Saudi Chemical Company Saudi Ceramic Co Saudi Electricity Co Saudi Fisheries Al-Hassan G.I. Shaker Co Dur Hospitality Co Arabian Shield Cooperative Saudi Investment Bank/The Saudi Industrial Development Saudi Industrial Export Co KUWAIT Lt Price 33.96 34.83 83.58 91.24 29.45 126.39 151.05 31.11 21.73 49.68 25.79 26.95 15.23 29.12 58.07 30.00 11.39 72.20 10.10 70.91 108.56 17.18 27.88 72.83 33.94 38.00 25.17 19.35 51.92 % Chg 1.98 3.75 0.49 0.61 4.62 3.60 0.21 4.85 4.37 7.46 4.03 2.47 0.00 4.15 2.63 1.01 0.44 1.22 0.00 1.74 1.77 1.42 3.57 4.28 2.85 2.93 1.29 1.36 2.37 Volume 427,575 558,937 3,871,845 62,432 482,805 8,830 65,896 771,290 857,260 799,123 429,505 2,494,069 5,774,274 143,531 6,542 2,564,889 613,459 215,133 158,791 2,224,400 540,154 138,041 190,553 573,722 206,491 977,552 469,355 KUWAIT Company Name Securities Group Co Viva Kuwait Telecom Co Sultan Center Food Products Kuwait Foundry Co Sak Kuwait Financial Centre Sak Ajial Real Estate Entmt Gulf Glass Manuf Co -Kscc Kuwait Finance & Investment National Industries Co Ksc Kuwait Real Estate Holding C Securities House/The Boubyan Petrochemicals Co Al Ahli Bank Of Kuwait Ahli United Bank (Almutahed) National Bank Of Kuwait Commercial Bank Of Kuwait Kuwait International Bank Gulf Bank Al-Massaleh Real Estate Co Al Arabiya Real Estate Co Kuwait Remal Real Estate Co Alkout Industrial Projects C A’ayan Real Estate Co Investors Holding Group Co.K Markaz Real Estate Fund Al-Mazaya Holding Co Al-Madar Finance & Invt Co Gulf Petroleum Investment Mabanee Co Sakc City Group Inovest Co Bsc Kuwait Gypsum Manufacturing Al-Deera Holding Co Alshamel International Hold Mena Real Estate Co National Slaughter House Amar Finance & Leasing Co United Projects Group Kscc National Consumer Holding Co Amwal International Investme Jeeran Holdings Equipment Holding Co K.S.C.C Nafais Holding Safwan Trading & Contracting Arkan Al Kuwait Real Estate Gulf Finance House Ec Energy House Holding Co Kscc Kuwait Slaughter House Co Kuwait Co For Process Plant Al Maidan Dental Clinic Co K National Ranges Company Kuwait Pipes Indus & Oil Ser Al-Themar Real International Al Ahleia Insurance Co Sak Wethaq Takaful Insurance Co Salbookh Trading Co K.S.C.C Aqar Real Estate Investments Hayat Communications Kuwait Packing Materials Mfg Soor Fuel Marketing Co Ksc Alargan International Real Burgan Co For Well Drilling Kuwait Resorts Co Kscc Oula Fuel Marketing Co Palms Agro Production Co Ikarus Petroleum Industries Mubarrad Transport Co Al Mowasat Health Care Co Shuaiba Industrial Co Kuwait Invest Co Holding Hits Telecom Holding First Takaful Insurance Co Kuwaiti Syrian Holding Co National Cleaning Company Eyas For High & Technical Ed United Real Estate Company Agility Kuwait & Middle East Fin Inv Fujairah Cement Industries Livestock Transport & Tradng International Resorts Co National Industries Grp Hold Marine Services Co Warba Insurance Co Kuwait United Poultry Co First Dubai Real Estate Deve Al Arabi Group Holding Co Kuwait Hotels Co Mobile Telecommunications Co Al Safat Real Estate Co Tamdeen Real Estate Co Ksc Al Mudon Intl Real Estate Co Kuwait Cement Co Ksc Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel Kuwait Portland Cement Co Educational Holding Group Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Kuwait China Investment Co Kuwait Investment Co Burgan Bank Kuwait Projects Co Holdings Al Madina For Finance And In Kuwait Insurance Co Al Masaken Intl Real Estate Intl Financial Advisors First Investment Co Kscc Al Mal Investment Company Bayan Investment Co Kscc Egypt Kuwait Holding Co Sae Coast Investment Development Privatization Holding Compan Kuwait Medical Services Co Injazzat Real State Company Kuwait Cable Vision Sak Sanam Real Estate Co Kscc Ithmaar Bank Bsc Aviation Lease And Finance C Arzan Financial Group For Fi Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Co Manafae Investment Co Kuwait Business Town Real Es Future Kid Entertainment And Specialities Group Holding C Abyaar Real Eastate Developm Dar Al Thuraya Real Estate C Lt Price 112.00 840.00 93.00 280.00 114.00 204.00 550.00 57.00 218.00 26.50 67.00 580.00 370.00 640.00 830.00 610.00 246.00 280.00 78.00 41.50 58.00 0.00 98.00 28.50 1.54 114.00 19.00 78.00 990.00 445.00 65.00 150.00 9.00 0.00 30.50 152.00 50.00 740.00 128.00 34.00 50.00 87.00 87.00 440.00 116.00 17.00 87.00 230.00 260.00 0.00 28.50 0.00 90.00 480.00 48.50 124.00 80.00 66.00 405.00 134.00 166.00 152.00 99.00 136.00 106.00 140.00 89.00 0.00 285.00 0.00 29.00 0.00 28.50 61.00 270.00 98.00 790.00 42.50 71.00 110.00 35.00 182.00 112.00 116.00 200.00 66.00 140.00 0.00 475.00 22.00 465.00 56.00 380.00 93.00 1,400.00 170.00 0.00 58.00 132.00 460.00 640.00 34.50 275.00 70.00 35.00 85.00 31.00 54.00 198.00 53.00 61.00 80.00 71.00 26.50 56.00 43.00 220.00 49.50 33.00 64.00 34.00 98.00 126.00 32.00 0.00 % Chg -1.75 0.00 -2.11 -3.45 1.79 0.00 0.00 1.79 0.00 10.42 6.35 0.00 2.78 3.23 3.75 1.67 -1.60 1.82 0.00 0.00 3.57 0.00 2.08 9.62 0.00 1.79 -2.56 2.63 4.21 -1.11 4.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.69 0.00 -3.85 2.78 0.00 3.03 -1.96 2.35 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.25 -5.43 0.00 4.84 0.00 7.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.43 6.90 0.00 1.54 6.58 -4.29 -3.49 0.00 2.06 -1.45 0.00 1.45 2.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 7.41 0.00 3.64 1.67 -8.55 0.00 1.28 6.25 1.43 0.00 2.94 2.25 5.66 0.00 5.26 3.13 -1.41 0.00 3.26 -2.22 -1.06 3.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.19 0.00 7.41 3.13 2.22 0.00 4.55 0.00 1.45 2.94 3.66 5.08 5.88 0.00 3.92 3.39 0.00 -2.74 0.00 0.00 2.38 0.00 4.21 8.20 8.47 6.25 0.00 0.00 6.67 0.00 Volume 10,000 1,369,497 121,000 10 65,765 40,000 27,800 50,900 48,435 2,500 257,510 15,386 12,500 151,820 2,500,004 2,252 190,000 201,428 11 1,104,000 1,092,156 518,948 7,131,351 1,210,000 71,302 118,000 54,017 10 200 96 5,729,600 30,000 4 540,000 6,770 100 40,510 1,000 554,650 9,000 18,562 10,199 24,729,816 303,300 20,010 50 18,593,515 2,500 149,006 10 587,177 3,477 347,112 1 33,143 170,000 1,100 481,610 13,284 4,890 10,000 729,164 461,061 3,763,150 2,219,837 658,500 5,000 12,446 320,188 6 60,000 200 235 906,672 35,514 50,000 1,211,564 610,535 30,002 1,227,525 9,660,567 15,718 3,603,018 65,000 259,752 9,977 1,700,000 1,959,783 219,750 1,353,759 1,171,359 3,633,733 900 78,473 1,425,920 1,982,217 1,350,884 2,959,706 5,000 3,974,999 1,229,194 20,000 300,000 10,479 65,100 2,555,714 309 168,200 1,146,225 50 895,646 20,000 1,000 5,681,278 - Company Name Al-Dar National Real Estate Kgl Logistics Company Kscc Combined Group Contracting Zima Holding Co Ksc Qurain Holding Co Boubyan Intl Industries Hold Gulf Investment House Boubyan Bank K.S.C Ahli United Bank B.S.C Al-Safat Tec Holding Co Al-Eid Food Co Qurain Petrochemical Industr Advanced Technology Co Ekttitab Holding Co S.A.K.C Kout Food Group Ksc Real Estate Trade Centers Co Acico Industries Co Kscc Kipco Asset Management Co National Petroleum Services Alimtiaz Investment Co Kscc Ras Al Khaimah White Cement Kuwait Reinsurance Co Ksc Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport Human Soft Holding Co Ksc Automated Systems Co Metal & Recycling Co Gulf Franchising Holding Co Al-Enma’a Real Estate Co National Mobile Telecommuni Al Bareeq Holding Co Kscc Housing Finance Co Sak Al Salam Group Holding Co United Foodstuff Industries Al Aman Investment Company Mashaer Holdings Co Ksc Manazel Holding Mushrif Trading & Contractin Tijara And Real Estate Inves Kuwait Building Materials Jazeera Airways Co Ksc Commercial Real Estate Co Future Communications Co National International Co Taameer Real Estate Invest C Gulf Cement Co Heavy Engineering And Ship B Refrigeration Industries & S National Real Estate Co Al Safat Energy Holding Comp Kuwait National Cinema Co Danah Alsafat Foodstuff Co Independent Petroleum Group Kuwait Real Estate Co Ksc Salhia Real Estate Co Ksc Gulf Cable & Electrical Ind Al Nawadi Holding Co Ksc Kuwait Finance House Gulf North Africa Holding Co Hilal Cement Co OMAN Lt Price 23.50 92.00 890.00 95.00 13.50 55.00 53.00 415.00 240.00 48.50 0.00 198.00 0.00 39.00 870.00 29.00 335.00 118.00 600.00 80.00 110.00 194.00 50.00 650.00 440.00 87.00 51.00 70.00 1,440.00 0.00 0.00 57.00 0.00 71.00 132.00 39.00 59.00 55.00 390.00 520.00 97.00 126.00 61.00 32.50 87.00 126.00 325.00 132.00 20.50 1,020.00 78.00 410.00 73.00 365.00 620.00 104.00 700.00 34.50 172.00 % Chg 6.82 5.75 0.00 0.00 3.85 7.84 3.92 1.22 1.69 0.00 0.00 1.02 0.00 5.41 0.00 0.00 1.52 1.72 1.69 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.04 0.00 6.02 4.82 4.08 1.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.56 0.00 1.43 0.00 6.85 -1.67 5.77 0.00 1.96 0.00 -3.08 0.00 8.33 1.16 0.00 0.00 4.76 2.50 0.00 4.00 0.00 4.29 0.00 8.77 1.96 4.48 4.55 0.00 Volume 25,525,602 232,210 23,000 6,831 5,540,814 1,964,893 1,549,155 486,123 1,198,617 896,046 231,697 76,832 110,455 2,048 7,000 10 24,000 2,150,300 20 5,000 1,285,000 1,110 53,100 3,100 111,055 100,000 1,043 4,763,978 1,514,200 10,067 3,723,332 151,550 2,000 1,009 196,806 7,532,838 15,000 685,730 26,100 872,215 22,400 157,657 115,975 2,718,665 1,450 1,528,542 2,705 1,233,601 10,000 202,458 7,500 1,892,052 1,170,108 3,732 OMAN Company Name Voltamp Energy Saog United Finance Co United Power Co United Power/Energy Co- Pref Al Madina Investment Co Taageer Finance Salalah Port Services A’saffa Foods Saog Sohar Poultry Shell Oman Marketing Shell Oman Marketing - Pref Smn Power Holding Saog Al Shurooq Inv Ser Al Sharqiya Invest Holding Sohar Power Co Salalah Beach Resort Saog Salalah Mills Co Sahara Hospitality Renaissance Services Saog Raysut Cement Co Port Service Corporation Packaging Co Ltd Oman United Insurance Co Oman Textile Holding Co Saog Oman Telecommunications Co Sweets Of Oman Oman Orix Leasing Co. Oman Refreshment Co Oman Packaging Oman Oil Marketing Company 0Man Oil Marketing Co-Pref Oman National Investment Co Oman National Engineering An Oman National Dairy Products Ominvest Oman Medical Projects Oman Ceramic Com Oman Intl Marketing Oman Investment & Finance Hsbc Bank Oman Oman Hotels & Tourism Co Oman Holding International Oman Fiber Optics Oman Flour Mills Oman Filters Industry Oman Fisheries Co Oman Education & Training In Oman & Emirates Inv(Om)50% Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% Oman Europe Foods Industries Oman Cement Co Oman Chlorine Oman Chromite Oman Cables Industry Oman Agricultural Dev Omani Qatari Telecommunicati National Securities Oman Foods International Soa National Pharmaceutical-Rts National Pharmaceutical National Packaging Fac National Mineral Water National Hospitality Institu National Gas Co National Finance Co National Detergents/The National Carpet Factory National Bank Of Oman Saog National Biscuit Industries National Real Estate Develop Natl Aluminium Products Muscat Thread Mills Co Muscat Insurance Company Modern Poultry Farms Muscat National Holding Musandam Marketing & Invest Al Maha Petroleum Products M Muscat Gases Company Saog Majan Glass Company Muscat Finance Al Kamil Power Co Interior Hotels Hotels Management Co Interna Al-Hassan Engineering Co Gulf Stone Gulf Mushroom Company Gulf Invest. Serv. Pref-Shar Gulf Investments Services Gulf International Chemicals Gulf Hotels (Oman) Co Ltd Global Fin Investment Galfar Engineering&Contract Galfar Engineering -Prefer Financial Services Co. Flexible Ind Packages Lt Price 0.40 0.12 1.96 1.00 0.00 0.15 0.65 0.86 0.21 2.00 1.05 0.66 1.04 0.15 0.38 1.38 1.50 2.45 0.37 1.74 0.27 0.48 0.31 0.27 1.70 1.35 0.14 2.45 0.26 2.23 0.25 0.40 0.28 0.00 0.47 0.00 0.45 0.52 0.21 0.00 0.24 0.00 5.25 0.51 0.00 0.06 0.14 0.12 0.00 1.00 0.48 0.53 3.64 1.88 1.45 0.00 0.17 0.48 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.06 2.05 0.41 0.15 0.70 0.00 0.29 3.75 0.00 0.32 0.12 0.00 0.00 1.86 0.00 2.12 0.83 0.24 0.14 0.31 0.00 1.25 0.12 0.11 0.39 0.15 0.14 0.25 10.50 0.11 0.12 0.43 0.17 0.00 % Chg 1.02 -0.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -7.45 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.58 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.73 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.46 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.46 2.02 0.00 3.77 4.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 Volume 980,479 31,307 168,470 100 15,200 16,440 102,350 181,213 2,755 172,345 9,997 400,000 209,500 379,547 1,000 4,000 83,700 100,000 2,940 1,261,069 381,200 5,178,931 352,481 - Company Name Financial Corp/The Dhofar Tourism Dhofar Poultry Aloula Co Dhofar Intl Development Dhofar Insurance Dhofar University Dhofar Power Co Dhofar Power Co-Pfd Dhofar Fisheries & Food Indu Dhofar Cattlefeed Al Batinah Dev & Inv Dhofar Beverages Co Computer Stationery Inds Construction Materials Ind Cement & Gypsum Pro Marine Bander Al-Rowdha Bank Sohar Bankmuscat Saog Bank Dhofar Saog Al Batinah Hotels Majan College Areej Vegetable Oils Al Jazeera Steel Products Co Al Sallan Food Industry Acwa Power Barka Saog Al-Omaniya Financial Service Taghleef Industries Saog Gulf Plastic Industries Co Al Jazeera Services Al Jazerah Services -Pfd Al-Fajar Al-Alamia Co Ahli Bank Abrasives Manufacturing Co S Al-Batinah Intl Saog Lt Price 0.13 0.49 0.18 0.53 0.55 0.23 1.47 0.00 0.00 1.28 0.18 0.14 0.26 0.28 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.53 0.34 1.13 0.50 5.51 0.30 0.00 0.84 0.32 0.00 0.39 0.34 0.55 0.75 0.19 0.05 0.00 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.58 2.73 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.70 0.00 0.00 Volume 280 317,309 2,893,463 106,248 299,323 1,032,400 - UAE Company Name National Takaful Company Waha Capital Pjsc Union Insurance Co Union National Bank/Abu Dhab United Insurance Company Union Cement Co United Arab Bank Pjsc Abu Dhabi National Takaful C Abu Dhabi National Energy Co #N/A Invalid Security Sorouh Real Estate Company Sharjah Insurance Company Sharjah Cement & Indus Devel Ras Al Khaima Poultry Ras Al Khaimah White Cement Rak Properties Ras Al-Khaimah National Insu Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co National Bank Of Ras Al-Khai Ooredoo Qsc Umm Al Qaiwain Cement Indust Oman & Emirates Inv(Emir)50% National Marine Dredging Co National Corp Tourism & Hote Sharjah Islamic Bank National Bank Of Umm Al Qaiw National Bank Of Fujairah National Bank Of Abu Dhabi Methaq Takaful Insurance #N/A Invalid Security Gulf Pharmaceutical Industri Invest Bank Insurance House Gulf Medical Projects Gulf Livestock Co Green Crescent Insurance Co Gulf Cement Co Foodco Holding Finance House First Gulf Bank Fujairah Cement Industries Fujairah Building Industries Emirates Telecom Corporation Eshraq Properties Co Pjsc Emirates Insurance Co. (Psc) Emirates Driving Company Al Dhafra Insurance Co. P.S. Dana Gas Commercial Bank Internationa Bank Of Sharjah Abu Dhabi Natl Co For Buildi Al Wathba National Insurance Intl Fish Farming Co Pjsc Arkan Building Materials Co Aldar Properties Pjsc Al Ain Ahlia Ins. Co. Al Khazna Insurance Co Agthia Group Pjsc Al Fujairah National Insuran Abu Dhabi Ship Building Co Abu Dhabi National Insurance Abu Dhabi National Hotels Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Abu Dhabi Aviation Lt Price 0.75 2.86 1.00 5.40 2.00 1.38 5.83 5.50 0.85 0.00 0.00 3.85 1.14 1.45 1.46 0.64 3.62 3.99 0.85 8.00 110.00 1.20 1.20 6.90 6.00 1.65 2.90 5.01 11.00 0.68 0.00 2.97 2.50 0.81 1.90 3.00 0.64 1.10 4.50 3.15 14.15 1.35 1.45 12.45 0.68 7.50 4.90 5.27 0.40 1.66 1.75 0.62 5.35 5.00 1.18 2.34 60.00 0.45 7.15 300.00 1.40 5.85 2.57 5.00 6.24 2.90 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -6.30 13.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.54 0.00 1.01 0.00 -0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.61 0.00 0.00 -1.79 6.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.08 0.00 0.00 1.22 3.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.26 0.00 -2.78 3.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.74 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.19 0.00 0.00 2.04 3.14 0.00 Volume 6,877,497 90 926,993 13,250 7,235,615 691,955 38,200 249,140 148,039 230,430 2,111,046 2,708,782 27,315,906 3,430,987 91,704 415,000 15,100,924 15,000 388,130 2,110,206 10,000 BAHRAIN Company Name United Paper Industries Bsc United Gulf Investment Corp United Gulf Bank United Finance Co Trafco Group Bsc Takaful International Co Taib Bank -$Us Securities & Investment Co Seef Properties #N/A Invalid Security Al-Salam Bank Delmon Poultry Co National Hotels Co National Bank Of Bahrain Nass Corp Bsc Khaleeji Commercial Bank Ithmaar Bank Bsc Investcorp Bank -$Us Inovest Co Bsc Intl Investment Group-Kuwait Gulf Monetary Group Global Investment House Kpsc Gulf Finance House Ec Bahrain Family Leisure Co Esterad Investment Co B.S.C. Bahrain Duty Free Complex Bahrain Car Park Co Bahrain Cinema Co Bahrain Tourism Co Bahraini Saudi Bank/The Bahrain National Holding Bankmuscat Saog Bmmi Bsc Bmb Investment Bank Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Bahrain Islamic Bank Gulf Hotel Group B.S.C Bahrain Flour Mills Co Bahrain Commercial Facilitie Bbk Bsc Bahrain Telecom Co Bahrain Ship Repair & Engin Albaraka Banking Group Banader Hotels Co Ahli United Bank B.S.C Lt Price 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.00 0.81 0.17 0.04 0.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.22 0.87 ` 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.80 0.00 0.67 0.15 0.90 0.00 0.83 0.43 0.33 2.00 0.83 0.00 0.84 % Chg 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.93 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.38 Volume 75,400 189,524 79,000 34,500 60,000 87,414 13,251 4,500 20,000 10,000 2,742 82,600 6,565 2,000 17,154 47,000 2,000 30,602 520,000 LATEST MARKET CLOSING FIGURES Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 13 BUSINESS Chevron to exit shale gas exploration in Australia Bloomberg Sydney C hevron Corp abandoned Australian shale exploration and said it will sell its 50% stake in that nation’s largest fuel supplier. Chevron notified Beach Energy, its partner in the central Australian shale project, that “the opportunity does not align strategically” with the US explorer’s portfolio, according to a statement Friday from Beach. Selling its half of refiner Caltex Australia is expected to yield about A$4.7bn ($3.7bn.) Chevron announced plans earlier this month to shed $15bn in oil and natural gas assets by the end of 2017 and reduce spending on new projects for the next two years. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson is raising cash and curbing expenditures after the plunge in global oil prices dented profits and made some fields less attractive to drill. “They are perhaps looking to increase their margins and get away from businesses that offer lower-end margins,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. “They are getting Chevron Corp has abandoned Australian shale exploration and said it will sell its 50% stake in that nation’s largest fuel supplier. knocked around a bit,” by oil prices. Chevron entered Australian shale two years ago when it pledged to invest $349mn in Beach’s Nappamerri Trough gas project. Beach said on Friday that it will seek other partners and continue studies at the site through June 2016. Icon Energy is also a partner in the venture. Chevron has been trimming its refining portfolio for the past decade to focus on higher-margin investments such as oil drilling. The company sold about $14bn in refineries, filling stations and related assets between 2004 and the end of last year. Chevron is selling its shares in Caltex Australia at A$35 apiece, a 7.6% discount to Friday’s close, people with knowledge of the matter said. The deal underwritten by Goldman Sachs Group is the largest block trade ever in Australia, exceeding Royal Dutch Shell’s sale of Woodside Petroleum Ltd shares in 2010 for about A$3.3bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. So-called cornerstone investors agreed to buy about A$2bn of the Caltex stock before the offering started, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Caltex, the Australian-based refiner, has risen 74% in Sydney in the past 12 months. It closed Friday at A$37.88. Chevron expects to sell the shares in Caltex to a broad range of Australian and global institutional investors, the San Ramon, California-based company said Friday in a statement. In the Asia-Pacific region that includes Australia, Chevron’s net cash refining margins were less than $1 a barrel during the last four years, compared with more than $6 at its North American plants. The moves will have no impact on Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone gasexport projects in the country, the company said. ChemChina chairman hopes to re-list Pirelli on Italian bourse Reuters Beijing T he chairman of China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) said yesterday he hopes to re-list Italy’s Pirelli on the Italian stock exchange after his firm agreed earlier this month to acquire the world’s fifth-largest tyre maker. Ren Jianxin also warned that a counterbid for Pirelli would hurt the Italian firm’s investors and long-term strategy. ChemChina has agreed to become majority owner of Pirelli as part of a multi-layered €7.3bn ($8bn) deal, putting one of Italy’s storied manufacturing names in Chinese hands. “We were worried that due to cheap liquidity, there might be blind competition,” Ren told reporters. “But a counterbid will hurt Pirelli investors and also its long-term strategy.” On Thursday, Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera told Reuters his firm is not talking to others about a possible counterbid. Ren is betting the Pirelli acquisition will accelerate the transformation of stateowned ChemChina’s tyre and rubber business. The deal will give the Beijing-based conglomerate access to technology to make premium tyres which can be sold at higher margins, and give the Italian firm a boost in China, the world’s biggest autos market. Pirelli’s industrial tyre operations will be merged with ChemChina’s Aeolus Tyre Co unit, making the combined firm the world’s fourth or fifth biggest industrial tyre maker, Ren said. The deal also will allow the combined firm to expand its presence in China and Asia. Ren characterised the acquisition as “revolutionary” for his company’s rubber and tyre business. He described his partnership with Tronchetti as a “very beautiful marriage” and said the Italian will be CEO for the next five years, after which Tronchetti would pick his successor. 14 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 BUSINESS Fed weighs insurers’ proposal for costly capital framework Reuters Washington Reuters Brussels T he US Federal Reserve is considering a proposal from life insurers that could delay the implementation of a costly nationwide capital framework for the $1tn industry, according to records of a recent meeting between the two sides seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter. More than a dozen senior insurance executives met Fed Governor Dan Tarullo on February 6 to pitch a twostep process for launching nationwide insurance rules, according to records of the meeting by Dirk Kempthorne, who heads the American Council of Life Insurers, an industry group. The group presented the plan under which the Fed would use the current system of state-based regulation for a period of time before writing a national framework that would likely require firms to boost capital buffers, according to the meeting records and people briefed on the matter. Tarullo, the Fed’s top Wall Street regulator, did not indicate whether he was open to adopting the insurers’ proposal, the people said. But he did ask the companies to form a team to work with his staff in developing final details for such a scenario, the meeting records show. The Fed has not committed to executing any plans submitted by the industry, a person briefed on the matter said. A delay could give some relief to insurers from a new capital regime that analysts and investors fear would ramp up costs and stifle profits. While precise estimates are lacking because the rules are still unknown, Bank of America has estimated that Prudential and MetLife could see their capital levels drop by 50% in a worstcase scenario under the new rules. A two-step process could also buy more time for the Fed, which has been slow in building insurance expertise, and only last year hired a former Connecticut state regulator to head the effort. Insurance firms have lobbied Congress about how their industry will be regulated after the crisis, and politicians have often raised the issue with regulators on Capitol Hill. Asked for a comment, the Fed said P The US Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC. The Fed is considering a proposal from life insurers that could delay the implementation of a costly nationwide capital framework for the $1tn industry. Tarullo has encouraged various industry representatives and state commissioners to offer suggestions on how it should set capital requirements for the industry. “The Federal Reserve welcomes these views as it prepares to formulate consolidated capital requirements applicable to holding companies with insurance activities,” a spokesman said. One of the people briefed on the matter said the Fed has noted in subsequent staff-level meetings that the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law does not prohibit it from adopting a two-step process. “Tarullo was intrigued by these ideas and their potential as standards that could apply to both life and propertycasualty companies,” Kempthorne said in a March 10 e-mail sent to members of the American Council of Life Insurers. Other attendees in the meeting, including Roger Ferguson, the chief executive of TIAA-CREF, MetLife President of the Americas Bill Wheeler, and Mark Grier, a member of Prudential’s board of directors, declined to comment or did not immediately return a request for comment. The ACLI confirmed it had met with Tarullo to discuss capital standards. The Dodd-Frank law mandated the Fed to write nationwide capital standards for the first time to help avoid an- other insurer failure such as the near collapse that prompted the $182bn bailout of AIG at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. That is a marked shift for the industry, which has so far been overseen by state commissioners whose main goal is to protect policyholders rather than the wider financial system. The industry has long expressed scepticism that the Fed does not have enough expertise or resources to regulate the sector. The central bank only has several dozen insurance experts spread throughout its organisation, versus more than 400 banking experts in its Washington headquarters alone. Tarullo told the insurance executives at the meeting that the Fed is looking to bring on more insurance experts, Kempthorne wrote in the e-mail, but that he would not establish a separate insurance division. Since the financial crisis, the Fed was put in charge of overseeing insurance holding companies that own thrifts, a type of bank that focuses on building up deposits and doling out mortgage loans, as well as insurance holding companies whose demise could jeopardise the wider financial system. Insurers fear they could be treated too much like the heavily-regulated Wall Street banks, given the Fed’s history as a bank watchdog. Shaky markets slow IPO momentum in US Zero rate floor now a question dogging Danish T mortgage banks Reuters New York Bloomberg Copenhagen N egative money market rates are forcing Denmark’s mortgage banks to choose between investors and borrowers. Rates dipped below zero as the central bank cut its deposit rate four times this year to defend the krone’s peg to the euro. It’s a situation the $550bn covered bond market didn’t foresee, and now banks must decide whether in the future to set a floor at zero for bonds with floating rates, shielding investors while denying borrowers negative rates. Either way, lenders will be criticised, according to Anders Aalund, chief analyst at Nordea Bank in Copenhagen. “It’s a very complex subject and no matter what they do, it’s going to come back and hit them,” Aalund said by phone. “Someone will be a loser.” The controversy comes as the industry has been pushing the loans as an alternative to mortgages that were funded by rolling over one-year securities, which regulators and rating companies warned pose refinancing risks to the system. There are now about 366bn kroner ($54bn) of outstanding floating-rate notes, according to Danske Bank. This month, rates on about 137bn kroner of the securities need to be reset, Danske said. Danske, Denmark’s largest lender, and Nykredit Realkredit, its largest mortgage lender, say the Portugal pushes for closer eurozone integration terms set for the existing floating-rate notes don’t allow them to pass on the negative rates to borrowers and investors. “Investors will obviously want the bonds to be floored,” Aalund said. “For bank treasuries, it’s a good deal, much better than placing excess liquidity with the central bank at a minus 0.75%.” The central bank cut its deposit rate to minus 0.75% after Switzerland’s decision to drop a cap tying the franc to the euro trigged massive speculation that Denmark would follow. The bank warned last week that future “turbulence” in the foreign exchange markets would likely lead to an appreciation in the krone. “It’s an unusual situation,” Aalund said. “If you look at the textbooks, they say rates can’t be negative. Otherwise, people would take their money out of the bank and put it under their mattresses. But that’s clearly not the case.” The six-month Copenhagen interbank offered rate fell below zero last month, hitting a record low of minus 0.3667% February 12. The rate was set at 0.015% last week. Nykredit says the industry should work on a plan that will allow it to pass on negative rates, arguing that adjustable loans act as a cushion during an economic downturn and serve as channel for monetary easing. “It would be best if we could have negative interest rates on all types of loans going forward,” Soeren Holm, Nykredit’s chief financial officer, said last week. he number of US initial public offerings fell sharply in the first quarter as shaky equities and commodities markets took their toll, after a record number of companies went public last year. US IPOs raised $4.7bn from 26 offerings in the first quarter, nearly half of the $8.6bn from 46 offerings in the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. Overall, 277 companies listed last year. A sudden spike in volatility in October pushed the VIX volatility index to its highest in almost three years, forcing some companies to wrap up their IPOs be- fore the year ended, analysts said. “Quite simply, the pipeline ran dry in first quarter 2015,” said Jacqueline Kelley, Americas IPO leader at EY. “What most companies did was really just try to exit and complete their offerings as quickly as possible,” Kelley said. A contracting energy industry due to a fall in oil prices resulted in just one oil and gas company - Columbia Pipeline Partners LP – going public compared with four last year. Technology firms also largely stayed away, taking cues from the weak share performance of some of the companies that went public last year. Six months after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding’s IPO, its shares are down about 30% from their high of $120 in November. Shares of tech- nology companies such as peer-to-peer lender LendingClub Corp and online storage company Box are also trading about 30% below their record highs. Alibaba shares jumped 38% on their first day after the company’s offering raised $21.8bn in one of the biggest IPOs ever. The company’s disappointing performance in recent months “takes the wind out of China IPO deal flow as well,” said Josef Schuster, founder of IPO research firm Ipox Schuster. The number of healthcare IPOs, which formed the bulk of 2014 listings, dropped to 10 during the quarter from 25 in the same period last year. However, analysts expect technology and healthcare offerings to drive IPOs in the coming quarters, led by web-hosting company GoDaddy. ortugal has presented proposals for closer economic co-ordination between the countries of the eurozone as the bloc tries to put crises over Greece and other big debtor states behind it. EU ministers will study the Portuguese discussion paper, entitled “The Missing Piece in the Economic and Monetary Union Puzzle: Economic Policy Coordination”, ahead of a summit of leaders in June at which they are expected to outline plans to strengthen the single currency area over coming years. The paper carries weight not least because Portugal has been among those euro zone states obliged to adjust policy in return for an international bailout following the 2008 global crisis. Lisbon is now among the toughest critics of the new Greek government’s drive to ease the terms of its own bailout. Among the Portuguese proposals is a common unemployment benefit scheme for the zone. That could help balance out the fiscal effects of different economies being bound by the same monetary policy due to sharing the single currency. Geographically isolated, like Greece, from the core of the currency bloc, Portugal would also like states to benefit under eurozone budget rules from investments which produce spinoff gains for others – Lisbon, for example, wants more cross-border power lines. “Member States need to recognise that cross-border co-ordination creates positive spillover effects and that in the case of structural reform ... a valid constituency exists beyond their borders,” read the Portuguese paper, seen by Reuters. Current eurozone rules oblige governments to meet targets for public sector deficits which give special credit for efforts to make reforms to the underlying structure of their economies. “Economic policies and structural reforms with significant spillover or coordination ‘dividend’ or, more generally, which promote greater policy convergence, could benefit from adequate incentives from fiscal guidance at the EU level,” Portugal said. The paper proposes that such reform efforts be measured against the aggregate budget stance of the bloc rather than of one state. It also said efforts to create a single market in digital services should be recognised in monetary union rules. It gave little detail on its suggested unemployment insurance scheme. Several proposals made by other countries last year included a shared budget for funds that could help countries in a downturn with the costs of unemployment benefit in exchange for contributions when they were doing well. Nomura, RBS ‘crap’ e-mails come into play in $1bn mortgage bond trial Reuters New York In 2007, a Royal Bank of Scotland Group employee e-mailed his boss with his view of a sample of mortgages underlying a bond that the bank was underwriting: “This one is crap.” Asked about it this week in Manhattan federal court, Brian Farrell, the employee, said he did not recall the deal. But a US regulator cited the e-mail as evidence that Nomura Holdings Inc and RBS made false statements about mortgage securities they sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The e-mail and others like it are part of a $1.1bn lawsuit by the Federal Housing Finance Agency against Nomura and RBS that went to trial this month. The messages add to a litany of arguably embarrassing electronic musings by bank employees that have resurfaced in litigation over the 2008 financial crisis. Private plaintiffs and US regulators alike have seized upon internal e-mails from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co and Deutsche Bank calling the mortgage products they sold investors “lemons,” “junk,” and “pigs.” The FHFA’s case is the first to reach trial out of 18 lawsuits the regulator filed in 2011 over some $200bn in mortgagebacked securities that various banks sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHFA, which became the conservator for Fannie and Freddie in 2008 amid the financial crisis, previously obtained nearly $17.9bn in settlements with banks including Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank. Those deals followed a series of adverse rulings by US District Judge Denise Cote, who is overseeing the non-jury trial. The FHFA says of the loans underlying the $2bn in securities Fannie and Freddie bought from Nomura, 68.6% had underwriting defects. Nearly a third had false loan-to-value ratios, while 13.1% were underwater from the start, the FHFA says. Nomura, the deals’ sponsor, and RBS, which underwrote three of the seven, deny wrongdoing, and argue any losses were due to an unforeseeable decline in the housing market. Data has been a prime focus of the trial, with expert witnesses making up a large number of the individuals testifying. But the FHFA is also relying in part on the banks’ employees’ own words at the time as captured in e-mails. Many have been previewed during the FHFA’s opening statements and outlined in court filings. In one, an RBS trader in 2006 referred to originator Fremont Investment & Loan as “FraudMont.” In another, a Nomura employee said lender People’s Choice Home Loan Inc had “obviously an inherent flaw” in its loan origination process. RBS’ Farrell was not the only bank employee in the case to call mortgages in the securities “crap”: The same term was used by a Nomura employee during a review of mortgages issued by subprime lender Ownit Mortgage Solutions. Donald Hawthorne, a lawyer at Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider who has pursued similar cases against banks, said such e-mails can be “helpful for atmospherics” and could suggest a reckless disregard about the mortgages if coupled with evidence about how mortgages failed to comply with underwriting guidelines. However, since the case is being tried before a judge rather than a jury, plays to emotion could be less significant, Hawthorne said. The “crap” e-mail by Farrell, a former vice president in RBS’ credit risk department, was introduced Tuesday during questioning about a 2007 deal he worked on. Richard Schirtzer, a lawyer for the FHFA, showed Farrell the e-mail, in which he said he had reviewed a sample of 250 loans underlying the deal. “Sir, ‘crap’ is never used in a positive sense, is it?” Schirtzer asked. “Nothing comes to mind,” Farrell responded. The case is Federal Housing Finance Agency v Nomura Holding America Inc, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-06201. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 15 BUSINESS Once-bullish fund managers start to capitulate on oil prices Reuters New York L ast fall, when the price of oil started dropping, fund manager Craig Hodges figured crude would rebound in 2015 and began buying shares of companies he thought would be unfairly hit, including construction company Primoris Services Corp and Eagle Materials, which produces sand used in fracked wells. Hodges, who runs the $2.1bn Hodges Small Cap fund, is now starting to concede that oil prices will stay low for as long as a year or more because of a global glut. Even the air strikes Thursday in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies, which prompted a one-day 5% boost to the price of oil, presented “a traders move” and doesn’t signal a sustained move up, Hodges said. Oil fell 6% to about $48 a barrel. Instead of looking for a bounce back this year, Hodges is now on the hunt for companies that can take advantage of low prices and are strong enough to withstand a year or more of waiting for oil to be more profitable for producers. It could be two or three years before oil goes back above $70 a barrel, he said. While his fund is top-loaded with companies like American Airlines Group and affordable footwear retailer Shoe Carnival that are benefiting from cheap gas prices, he is also buying stakes in companies such as Matador Resources Co – an energy company that has been using the slow market to negotiate lower-priced contracts with its suppliers to lower costs. Matador shares are down 16% over the last six months, but are up 5.8% for the year through Thursday. Primoris Services is down 24% this year, while Eagle Materials is up about 8%. Hodges’ fund as a whole is up 2.7% this year, better than 62% of its peers. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is little changed since the beginning of the year. “Oil could stay down longer than anyone is anticipating,” Hodges said. He began buying exploration and production company Comstock Resources Inc after it fell from about $28 a share in July to $4 in early March. The company changed plans and stopped drilling in its most expensive fields to focus on lower-cost acreage and on natural gas, Hodges said. Its recent $700mn bond issue also gives it a financial backstop through at least 2019, he said. Increasingly, mutual fund managers don’t see the oil glut going away any time soon. Lord Abbett’s Thomas O’Halloran, for example, last year was calling fracking stocks one of the pillars of his $3.6bn Developing Growth fund, among the top-performing small cap funds over the last decade. He is now shifting more money into solar companies. “We think that there’s another leg down” to oil prices, O’Halloran said. His fund is up 4.1% this year, better than 60% of its peers. At Londonbased Guinness Atkinson fund managers have been adding more natural gas exposure to their portfolios, out of the theory that a slump in oil production following price declines will over time boost natural gas commodity prices. The firm is keeping some oil exposure in light of political factors such as the Yemen airstrike, but it doesn’t expect a recovery based on fundamentals until at least the end of the year. “It may take even longer than that,” said Will Riley, one of the portfolio managers of the Guinness Atkinson Global Energy fund. The fund is down 2.1% this year, better than 48% of its peers. Riley, has been buying natural gas companies such as Southwestern Energy Co, thinking the price of natural gas should rise as the amount of so-called associated natural gas, the by-product of crude oil wells, falls as firms cut back on drilling, he said. “The oversupply in the US natural gas market should moderate a bit later this year,” he said. The capitulation of fund managers comes at a time when retail and professional investors are diverging when it comes to predicting the price of oil. Retail investors have been pouring billions into exchanged traded funds that track the price of oil in an attempt to call the bottom, even as the pros have suggested that bottom isn’t here yet, and may last for some time.. The US Oil Fund, the best-known of several exchange traded funds that have a long position in oil prices, has netted $2.1bn in new investor dollars Investment banks eye potential trading boost from ECB stimulus Reuters London I nvestment banks feeling the pinch from increased regulation since the financial crisis could reap an earnings reward from a boost in trading activity under the European Central Bank’s (ECB) €1tn quantitative easing (QE) programme. The flood of money into markets from the ECB’s bond-buying has brought an increase in the volatility that traders crave as investors stake bets on the impact the scheme will have on inflation and longterm interest rates. “QE is likely to underpin a sustained period of strength in euro capital markets,” Citigroup said in a research note on Friday. “There has been a sharp spike in rates and foreign exchange volatility, which also points to a strong quarter for wholesale banks’ macro revenues.” Revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities trading, the so-called FICC universe, have historically been a rich source of profit for banks, but new capital rules and moves towards electronic trading have squeezed the sector in recent years. The 10 biggest investment banks’ revenue from FICC fell 7% in 2014, industry analytics firm Coalition calculates. What’s more, the investment bank balance sheets that support trading markets have declined by 20% since 2010 and by 40% in risk-weighted asset terms, Morgan Stanley analysts estimate. The analysts said that a further 10-15% reduction is likely over the next two years. The trading environment in Europe, however, could be about to take a turn for the better. “ECB moving to QE could provide a real fillip to earnings,” Morgan Stanley analyst Huw van Steenis said. “Fixed income trading may buck the trend of five years of shrinkage.” Anshu Jain, the co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, one of continent’s largest trading banks, said in January that the ECB’s bond-buying programme would be of “profound importance” for Europe and its banks. “You may see a progression which hurts net interest margins but ben- The best-placed banks would be those with significant euro-denominated franchises including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale, according to analysts. efits sales and trading revenue,” Jain said on an earnings call with analysts. Citigroup said that the best-placed banks would be those with significant euro-denominated franchises, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale. JPMorgan is the biggest bank by revenue in the FICC space. While it’s too early to tell the exact impact of the QE programme, which is expected to last until at least September 2016, the fees earned from the central bank’s buying alone could be significant. Economists at the US Federal Reserve estimate that Wall Street firms could have made as much as $653mn in fees selling bonds to the Fed during its monetary stimulus programme. When the ECB launched its LTRO (longer-term refinancing operations) scheme in late 2011, revenues in the rates business of global investment banks improved the following year, increasing to $29bn in 2012 from $27.4bn the previous year, data from Coalition shows. But traders and analysts question how much is really down to the first-order effects of ECB action or second-order effects such as volatility. Price fluctuation has certainly picked up this year after months in the doldrums. Banks benefit because such volatility allows them to charge higher margins on trades because of the greater risk around execution. It also helps them sell hedging instruments to investors. But QE also presents risks. One of the biggest fears for traders is that ECB buying and the reluctance of some investors to sell because of regulation or client obligations could reduce the amount of debt actively traded in the longer term. Signs of that squeeze are already showing in the soaring cost of borrowing in secured lending markets. “Volatility and volumes are good for traders. Volatility but no volumes ... are awful for traders,” one eurozone government bond trader said on condition of anonymity. A survey of dealers this month showed concern that the Japanese government bond was not functioning well under lingering concerns that its QE programme, launched in 2013, is reducing bond market liquidity. However, data shows there has been no dramatic change in trading volumes over that period. Even if ultra-low yields in government bonds put off some investors, bankers say they will be able to capitalise on those that rush to put their cash into assets with better returns. “You trade flows,” one investment banker said. “The trend is only just starting.” Data shows that cash is already flowing out of government bonds and money markets towards junk bonds and emerging markets. But the real rewards will come if the ECB’s stimulus serves to hoist inflation and bond yields with it. “If QE is successful, long-term rates will go up and generally higher rates will lead to more activity and hedging opportunities. this year, according to Lipper data, more than all but seven other funds. Most of that money appears to come from retail investors and speculators in an attempt to call the bottom for oil prices, analysts said. The fund is down 15.8% this year. Dwindling storage capacity in the US, along with the possibility that sanctions are lifted that brings more oil from Iran or Russia onto the market, could lead to an even greater glut on the market, several analysts said. “The people who think that this is a great chance to get into the energy patch are a little premature,” said Charles Smith, portfolio manager of the Fort Pitt Capital Total Return fund. He has only has one energy company, pipeline company Kinder Morgan, in his portfolio, and isn’t tempted to add more – he is waiting until oil prices slip to the high $20s before he would buy into the sector, he told Reuters. Greek PM says he seeks no rift with Europe Reuters Athens G reek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that he sought no rift with Europe after his cashstrapped country submitted a list of reforms to its lenders in a bid to secure much-needed funds. Tsipras’s government agreed an extension to its €240mn bailout funding in February, albeit with aid frozen, and now must agree on a set of reforms which it sent to its EU-IMF creditors on Friday in order to stave off bankruptcy. The austerity-weary nation will run out of money by April 20, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, if it does not unlock much-needed funding. “The liquidity problem is naturally hampering the situation but I believe that will be tackled immediately once we reach an agreement over reforms,” Tsipras said in an interview with Real News newspaper. After answering a question regarding government attempts to deal with corruption, Tsipras was asked whether he wanted a rift or a solution with Greece’s European partners. “My view has always been the same: a break from corruption, a solution with Europe,” he replied. Earlier Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, one of Tsipras’s most left-wing ministers, hit out at a “Germanised European Union ... for tightening week-by-week the noose around the Greek economy.” Athens says its reforms will boost state revenues by €3bn ($3.3bn) in 2015, partly by tackling tax evasion, but that it will oppose any new “recessionary measures” such as further wage or pension cuts. Discussions with EU and IMF lenders, known as the Brussels Group, will continue throughout the weekend with “much work to be done,” sources told the semi-official Athens News Agency. As talks unfold, Finance Minister Varoufakis told Vima newspaper yesterday that the reforms would not include a rise in VAT, which had been a concern on Greece’s islands where rates are lower, but changes to tax collection would be made. Varoufakis was the centre of speculation on Friday following a report in the German newspaper Bild that a Greek government source had said it was only a matter of time before he resigned. But Tsipras said Varoufakis was “one of the key members of the government”. As Greece races to agree to raise funds, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis told China’s official Xinhua news agency that Athens will sell its majority stake in the port of Piraeus within weeks, a flip-flop from its previous position. Speaking during a visit by Greek officials to China, Dragasakis hinted that Chinese firm Costco Group – shortlisted in a process launched by the previous centre-right government – was a front runner for the state’s 67% stake. And as Greece seeks to fill its state coffers, the Russian ambassador to Athens told Kathimerini newspaper that Moscow would examine any loan request from Greece, were it to be made. Tsipras is due to visit Moscow on April 8 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but the Greek government has stressed it is not seeking funding from the Kremlin. On Saturday, Greece’s energy ministry said Lafazanis will meet Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller today in the capital, a week before Tsipras is due to arrive. Russia’s rich forego some luxuries but still back Putin Reuters Moscow Russian model Alisa Krylova cancelled her order for the latest Mercedes, spent New Year in Moscow rather than skiing in the Alps and now employs Russian staff rather than foreigners. The former Mrs Russia and Mrs Globe beauty pageant winner is among Russia’s super rich but even she and many of her wealthy friends are feeling the pinch from the economic crisis. Driven into “a kind of hibernation”, they are steering clear of celebrity parties and trimming spending to make up some of the millions lost to a weak rouble and a falling stock market. But the enforced modesty has not yet driven the super wealthy out of Russia or against President Vladimir Putin, who has fanned patriotism during the Ukraine crisis and appealed to businessmen to bring their money home to bolster Russia’s position in the worst standoff with the West since the Cold War. Perched on a golden sofa in the living room of her newly built apartment in Moscow, Krylova, 32, recoils at her compatriots who flocked to buy televisions, refrigerators and buckwheat – a popular staple when the rouble plunged in December and shops had yet to change their prices to catch up. “And what about me? I am calm in dealing with the crisis, nothing really terrible has happened. Yes, of course, we didn’t fly away on holiday this year because I did not see the point in paying three times over the odds,” said Krylova, whose flawless beauty has put her on the covers of numerous fashion magazines. “So we decided to holiday in Moscow and St Petersburg and went to museums, theatres, everywhere, and we had a wonderful time. It was great to go to Red Square to see the Christmas tree and I think it was just as good as skiing in Austria or France.” It’s an attitude Putin is counting on. Since coming to power in 2000, the former KGB spy has tamed the country’s The former Mrs Globe Alisa Krylova at her home in Moscow. Krylova is among Russia’s super rich who are feeling the pinch from the economic crisis. powerful businessmen, or oligarchs, who in the 1990s used their control over the Russian economy to influence politics and his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. After bringing some of what he calls Russia’s ‘national champions’ in the energy sector back under state control, Putin made a deal with private owners of big business - be loyal and stay out of politics and you can keep your assets. It is a bargain which has largely held, even with the rouble down 40% against the US dollar since last summer, and the economy weakened by a fall in global oil prices and Western economic sanctions over Ukraine. Konstantin Kostin, a former aide to Putin who now heads the Civil Society Development Foundation, said some in Russia’s business elite were without doubt suffering from the downturn. “Someone may be discontented, but I don’t think that it’s that widespread,” he said. “I think that if we are talking about their political affiliations, then they are loyal.” Earlier this month, Putin appealed again to leading businessmen to bring their money from offshore accounts back to Russia before, he suggested, the West closed off flows in possible further sanctions over Ukraine. “So he said clearly – you’ve got enough for a good standard of living so please bring everything back to Russia so we can lift up our country,” said Krylova. She says she is married to a “successful businessman” while declining to identify him, and that all of her assets are in Russia, as are most of her husband’s. A self-declared patriot who wants to “pass something on” to the next generation, Krylova still likes to pop over to France and other west European countries for long weekends to indulge herself in French and Italian cheeses, imports of which have been banned by Russia in retaliation to the sanctions. But mostly, Russia’s wealthy are staying home, while making sure they have a firm plan B in place. Luxury magazine director Alexei Koval said some businessmen had worked out an “evacuation plan” in case they fell out of favour. “I think that the majority of businessmen who in some way may have something to fear have, a long time ago, prepared spare airfields and put in place plans for a quick emigration or, God forbid, evacuation of their family,” said Koval, operating director at CITYMAGAZINE, which offers lifestyle and investment tips to “successful people” in Russia’s main cities. Monday, March 30, 2015 BUSINESS GULF TIMES Changing dynamics in property market By Dr R Seetharaman New home sales rose 7.8% in the US in February 2015. Most sales activity continues to be among existing home owners who are taking advantage of low mortgage rates. In the US the existing home inventory is at a level of 1.85mn for December 2014, down from 2.08mn in November 2014 and down from 1.86mn one year ago. The current economic indicators of the US housing market health indicate that they are stronger than their historical levels. The UK’s house prices rose by 0.1% in March 2015; however, in some parts of the country prices are lower than that at the start of the year. The UK property market is likely to remain subdued up until the general election in May 2015. Singapore’s home prices fell 4% in 2014. The slump came as Singapore added more measures to rein in property values with some of the strictest measures, including capping total debt repayments at 60% of a borrower’s income. The Singa- pore government aims for a soft landing for the housing market. The recovery in China’s property market remains fragile, with new-home prices rising in only one of 70 cities. Average prices fell 5.1% from a year earlier, the biggest drop on record. The nation’s first interest-rate cut since 2012 in November and the removal of property curbs have yet to revive an industry that became a drag on economic expansion last year. China’s has issued new directives to curb the overhang in housing supply across China. Land supplies will be decreased in cities with excess housing available. Low interest rates, low inflation and drop in oil prices can give room for bubbles in Japan property market. India property market hopes on rate cuts to revive its growth. The UAE market is going through a period of correction; the fall in oil prices are to further impact property sales market in the short- to medium-term in the UAE, particularly Dubai, as domestic, regional and international investors from key oil dependent markets reign in investment. Dubai home prices climbed 18% in 2014. The strengthening of the US dollar and the weakness of the euro also means that demand from European buyers has also begun to wane, in turn adding further downward pressure on residential property prices in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi house prices would remain stable or fall slightly. Oil prices could have an impact on corporate sentiment which could be reflected in the office real estate prices. On the retail segment too, there could be some impact if consumption spending is impacted. On the residential side, weakening macroeconomic situation could dampen investor demand. The above developments can also impact economic growth. In Saudi Arabia, there is encouragement for accelerated new home delivery. Encouraging real estate activity on unused land are also under consideration on account of demand from surging population. However, concerns of prices due to fall in oil price also remain. The real estate loans of Saudi banks to individuals and corporate amounted to SR148.9bn by the end of 2014. The loans value rose by 31% compared with 2013 to reach SR113.7bn. The individual property loans grew by 34% to SR94.2bn by the end of 2014 compared to SR70.3bn in 2013, whereas corporate loans rose by 26% to SR54.7bn compared to SR43.4bn. The gross trade value for a property in Oman has witnessed a remarkable growth that stood at OMR2.7bn in 2014, compared to OMR1.5bn in 2013. GCC nationals are encouraged to buy real estate properties in Oman due to the government policies as well as building mega projects nationwide. Bahrain’s commercial real estate sector is witnessing stagnant growth as a dip in economic output, and an overhanging supply of commercial space combine to keep rental rates down. In Qatar, office developments are coming up on ‘C’ and ‘D’ Ring Road and in Al Saad. However, limited leasing activity are witnessed. Many towers in West Bay are leased to government organisations. The organised retail market is currently dominated by the Villagio and City Centre malls. Medina Central on the Pearl-Qatar and Barwa Commercial Avenue have increased retail space. There are currently approximately 125 hotel establishments currently under construction in Qatar. There was a slow- down in number of hotels built in 2014, combined with the increase in tourist numbers, resulting in a jump in occupancy levels. Occupancy levels are likely to be tested further in the medium term as the supply of hotel rooms continues to increase to meet Qatar’s FIFA 2022 obligations. West Bay and Pearl witness new residential developments, and rentals have remained stable in 2014. WTI and Brent settled to $48.87/barrel and $56.41/barrel by end of last week as fears about the disruption of Middle East crude shipments from Yemen’s conflict eased, and focus turned to the likelihood of an Iranian nuclear deal which could increase oil supply. The recent oil price rallies have been short-lived. If the low oil price levels persist, it may lead to slowdown in the GCC property market. The dynamics have changed in GCC property market on account of fall in oil prices. • Dr R Seetharaman is Group CEO of Doha Bank. The views expressed are his own. Barwa set to launch major expansion projects this year By Peter Alagos Business Reporter B Osama Abdulla Abdulghani, chairman, AAB, receiving the Diamond Award from Hisayuki Inoue, senior managing officer, Toyota Motor Corporation. Abdulrahman Abduljaleel Abdulghani, vice-chairman, AAB, receiving the ‘Outstanding customer service award’ from Inoue. Dr Nasser Abdulghani al-Abdulghani, managing director, AAB, receiving the ‘Marketing award for excellence’ from Inoue. Abdullah Abdulghani & Brothers receives top Toyota awards A bdullah Abdulghani & Brothers (AAB) recently held a special function as “proud recipients” of Toyota Motor Corporation’s coveted ‘Diamond award’. At the ceremony, AAB was also conferred with the ‘Outstanding customer service award’ and the ‘Marketing award for excellence’. 2014 has proved to be “another exceptional” year, with the highest ever sales recorded and an increased market share. AAB also had the distinction of achieving high points for Customer Satisfaction. Hisayuki Inoue, senior managing officer, Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan, presented the awards. Dr Nasser Abdulghani alAbdulghani, AAB managing director and acting CEO, thanked Inoue and Toyota Motor Corporation for all their support and encouragement, which helped AAB to achieve the prestigious awards. Further, he stated, “Our goal is to become the best automobile distributor in terms of Customer Satisfaction. This is why we give high importance to quality service and we continuously come up with various other initiatives to build and foster lifetime relationships with our customers. Customer service is part of AAB’s DNA. It is embodied in our corporate values and principle, which is, ‘Customer first’. ” In the AAB values and principle, ‘First’ is an acronym for ‘fairness, integrity, respect, superior performance and teamwork’. Strong after-sales support is an area that contributed to achieving the Toyota Motor Corporation’s Customer Service Awards. The company has eight quick service centres in various parts of the country, in addition to its state-of-the-art work- shop at the Industrial Area. The quick service centres are located in D Ring Road, Abu Hamour, Al Wakrah, Landmark, Golf Course, Al Nayef and Al Khor with some of these QSCs open to customers 24x7. Today, AAB’s customers can get a quotation for new vehicles and make service appointments through the company website, Facebook page or via phone. Further, AAB’s showrooms are open seven days a week with extended working hours with no lunch breaks. The AAB CRM Department also organises customer educational workshops every month to educate customers on various Toyota features and to convey tips on maintenance and other ‘Dos and Don’ts’. AAB also invested in information technology when it launched the Inspire Project in 2014 to enhance customers’ showroom experience and for future business requirements by upgrading the IT Platform to SAP. It was also the year when a major step was taken in connecting with customers and the public at large via the social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – attracting a 200,000-plus fan-following for Toyota and more than 100,000 for Lexus. Through the social media AAB engages customers and fans with information about the latest offers, tips on maintenance, booking of test drives, innovations in the automobile industry, etc. An exciting highlight of the year 2014 was AAB’s participation in the Qatar Motor Show with Toyota’s stunning ‘Wave’ concept show area where the public was treated to not only Toyota’s current array of models but also ‘Cut Body’ displays highlighting future safety features, Toyota Driving Experience Simulator, T-Connect and an Instagram booth. Finally, one of the significant milestones in 2014 was the celebration of 50 years of partnership between AAB and TMC. AAB has always recognised the value of fostering happy, motivated performers and the fact that keeping up the success momentum requires the active participation of its employees. In line with this principle, the company continually implements numerous employee engagement programmes to enhance employee morale and to empower them in their responsibilities. Abdullah Abdulghani & Bros Company was established in 1958 as part of Qatar’s infrastructure development. In 1964, AAB was awarded the Toyota Dealership. AAB has grown to be one of Qatar’s leading automobile companies with operations spanning heavy equipment, pre-owned vehicles, rental and leasing. arwa Real Estate Company expects to start construction work on its Barwa Village expansion and the Alaateda (Barwa Al Doha), Madinat Al Mowatir, and Manateq projects this year. This was announced by Barwa chairman Salah bin Ghanim alAli at the company’s ordinary annual general meeting at the Sheraton Doha yesterday. Al-Ali said Barwa was “progressing with development” of the two phases of the Barwa Al Baraha project, a “quality and high-level” housing for workers. “Both phases will accommodate 53,000 workers and is considered one of the largest workers accommodations in Qatar and in the Gulf Co-operation Council, as the project reflects Barwa’s strategy towards developing innovative solutions and supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030,” al-Ali stressed. He said the construction work on the Barwa Al Khor residential project, which consists of 300 apartments and 50 villas for Qatar Shell staff, “is progressing.” “Barwa is continuing its strategic analysis of development opportunities with various business models with government and private companies to ensure a promising investment prospects that can deliver sustainable growth and superior returns to shareholders,” he said. Al-Ali said, “The board of directors and management is committed to developing the investment thinking of the Group to build a base of assets to generate sustainable returns, and this can be achieved only through evaluating the performance of current projects and formulating an optimum development strategy for the new investments to benefit the shareholders. “Barwa has sizable land plots, which are currently being evaluated to determine the highest and best use, whether selling or developing, leasing, and selling Barwa Real Estate Group chairman Salah bin Ghanim al-Ali at the company’s AGM in Doha yesterday. purposes.” At yesterday’s general meeting, Barwa board of directors approved the proposed 22% cash dividend (QR2.2 per share) for 2014. As part of the framework agreement finalised with Qatari Diar for divestment of selected assets, al-Ali said the company has completed the sale of shares of Barwa City and Barwa Commercial Avenue to Labregah. “We concluded the sale of two plots of Barwa City-2 in Mesaimeer, settlement of plot 1 has been completed in 2014 and the second plot transaction will be completed in early 2015. “We signed the agreement to buy shares in the Arcapita Lusail development company, the transfer of ownership completed in January 2015. As a part of the deal, Barwa has got the ownership to develop 3.6mn square metres of land area, which is a significant addition to Barwa’s land bank,” al-Ali said. Al-Ali said Barwa had doubled its net profit to QR2.78bn in 2014 mainly on the back of “stronger operating earnings” from profit on sale of properties, as well as better cost management. Meanwhile, net rental and finance lease income grew 9% to QR1.27bn and net consultancy income by 11% to QR119.04mn. Profit on sale of properties grew to QR2.93bn compared to QR954,000 in the previous year. Total equity stood at QR15.92bn on a capital base of QR3.89bn and earnings-pershare was QR7.14 at the end of December 31, 2014. QDB to boost global presence of Qatar SMEs By Peter Alagos Business Reporter Q atar Development Bank (QDB) aims to boost the global presence of the country’s SME sector, as it expects to surpass the more than QR250mn international deals Qatar companies signed in 2014, QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said. Through QDB’s export promotion arm, Tasdeer, al-Khalifa said the bank was able to support 150 entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in signing business transactions with international partners. “Our export development programme is contributing significantly to the non-hydrocarbon exports from Qatar,” al-Khalifa told Gulf Times on the sidelines of a press briefing yesterday to announce QDB’s Isteshara programme. He added, “Last year, we took more than 150 non-hydrocarbon-related companies and SMEs to international markets where they have managed to sign deals worth more than QR250mn, and we will continue to do that and we will even From left: QDB’s al-Mannai, al-Khalifa, and al-Kubaisi during a press briefing on the bank’s Isteshara programme. PICTURE: Thajudheen do more.” Asked how QDB schemes would help diversify the economy by assisting the entrepreneurial sector, al-Khalifa noted that the bank plays a major role in Qatar’s diversification strategy. “Government statistics have showed that there has been adequate growth in the nonhydrocarbon sector, which has contributed to GDP growth. Do we claim that we are the only contributor to this? No. “But are we a major contributor to Qatar’s diversification strategy? Yes. We are supporting SMEs and helping the private sector contribute to Qatar’s GDP growth and our programmes are speaking on our behalf,” al-Khalifa stressed. This was reiterated by QDB training and development manager Ibrahim Abdul Aziz alMannai, who explained to Gulf Times that the decision to merge QDB and Enterprise Qatar will push the bank “to focus more on the diversification of the economy.” “We are looking at the strategies that we have developed and from 2015 to 2019, we will be a major player in the diversification strategy,” alMannai said. QDB executive director of Strategy & Business Development Hamad Khamis al-Kubaisi said the bank’s Isteshara (advisory services) programme is part of its family of subsidised professional consultancy services available to Qatari entrepreneurs and SMEs. He said four services are under the Isteshara platform, namely Jadwa, Oqood, Tadqeeq, and Eyada (SMEs clinic). “Isteshara supports Qatar’s entreprenuers and SMEs on their journey to success by validating the commercial feasibility of their business opportunities and ideas, enhancing operational efficiency, competitiveness and profitability. For each service, QDB will pay 70% of the consultancy service cost, while the entrepreneur or SME pays only 30%,” al-Kubaisi said. He explained that Isteshara allows QDB to provide feasibility studies, market studies, training programmes, and workshops to Qatar SMEs. “More than 80,000 people have visited our dedicated digital SME toolkit and we’ve inked a number of impactful MoUs and contracts with private and government entities. By the end of 2014, 250 Qatari SMEs and entrepreneurs have benefited from advisory services valuing QR12.7mn,” al-Kubaisi said. He added, “Around 190 feasibility studies worth more than QR10mn have been completed and 67 of those were forwarded for direct and indirect funding, through Al Dhameen, while 21 studies did not pass the feasibility tests. A total of QR135.5mn has been loaned.” FORMULA 1 | Page 3 FOOTBALL | Page 11 Vettel powers Ferrari to Malaysia win Reus, Mueller on target as Germany ease past Georgia Monday, March 30, 2015 Jumada II 10, 1436 AH GULF TIMES SPORT Rossi turns back the clock CRICKET Clarke bows out of ODIs with all guns blazing Page 4 By Mikhil Bhat Losail even-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi won the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar for the first time since 2010 holding off the blistering Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso by a little under two hundredths of a second at the floodlit Losail International Circuit yesterday. The Movistar Yamaha rider started the race in eighth position, fell to 10th briefly, before working his way up to fourth behind the two Ducatis and teammate Jorge Lorenzo, and then to a victory over the last two laps. Dovizioso’s team-mate Andrea Iannone completed the podium, while Lorenzo was fourth ahead of Repsol Honda’s defending champion Marc Marquez. Marquez, who started third behind Dovizioso and teammate Dani Pedrosa, went wide on the first turn of the opening lap and never recovered enough to challenge for a podium finish despite making up 20-odd places. This is the first time since his 2013 German GP win at Sachsenring that Marquez is not on top of the championship standings. “I have said this before but for me this is one of the best wins,” Rossi said after the race. “We did a great job in the practice. My bike was fantastic.” On his move up through the top ten, Rossi said, “Step by step, I made up places. I tried not to give up. After getting close to Ducatis and Jorge it was very difficult but in some places I was very strong and very good in the line. I am so happy for S my team Yamaha and all the guys.” In parc ferme, the win evoked a child-like joy in 36-year-old Rossi, who did everything from licking a television camera to jumping over the barricades on his team members. Dovizioso’s pole position effort put him in the thick of things at the top along with Lorenzo, who moved up from sixth position on the grid to fight for the lead even as the two Hondas fell back in the opening moments of the race. Later, the top four of Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Rossi and Iannone traded places at frantic pace providing some really amazing racing moments. The winged Desmosedici GP15 was especially fast on the home straight giving the Ducati duo fantastic opportunities to overtake their rivals. Lorenzo missed out on a third Qatar MotoGP win, having won the race in 2012 and 2013 but crashing out on the opening lap last year. “I am just really happy to come back and fight for the victory,” said Dovizioso, who, along with Iannone, gave Ducati their first podium finish at the 5.38km Losail circuit since Casey Stoner’s win in 2009. “The last lap I pushed really hard but I didn’t have any more grip. The bike was on the edge and it was impossible to try and attack Valentino. Anyway, second position in the first race is a good start.” A drained Iannone, who made it to the podium for the first time since moving up to the MotoGP class in 2013, said, “I want to thank the Ducati guys because this weekend their work was incredible. I am really really happy.” RESULTS AND STANDINGS MOTOGP RESULTS (TOP TEN) 1. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) 42'35.717 2. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) +0.174 3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) +2.250 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) +2.707 5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +7.036 6. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) +10.755 7. Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda) +12.384 8. Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) +12.914 9. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) +13.031 10. Yonny Hernandez (Pramac Ducati) +17.435 MOTOGP STANDINGS (TOP FIVE) 1. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) 25 2. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 20 3. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 16 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) 13 5. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) 11 A champ like no other: Valentino Rossi Pictures: Noushad Thekkayil and Reuters 2 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 SPORT COMMERCIAL BANK GRAND PRIX OF QATAR BADMINTON Germany’s Folger rides his luck to take Moto2 victory QMMF’s Anthony West crashes out; Alexis Masbou wins Moto3 By Sahan Bidappa Losail J onas Folger is one lucky man. Not many would have tipped the German to win the Moto2 race in Doha, but he created a flutter yesterday when he crossed the finish line first at the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit here. Fortune played a big role in Folger’s maiden victory as the AGR Team rider admitted later. First, pole winner Sam Lowes of Speed Up Racing crashed midrace and in the ending stages, second-placed qualifier Ajo Motosport’s Johann Zarco, who was leading the race, suffered gear problems which curtailed his speed significantly. However, credit to Folger, who made the most of his fortune and grabbed it with both hands. “I can’t believe I just won the race. I’m so happy, I don’t know what happened to Johann. I could keep my rhythm and win this brilliant race,” the delighted 21-year-old said. After Lowes retired, Zarco was a runaway leader and was seemingly cruising along for an easy victory before misfortune struck in the closing stages of 20-lap race. Folger eventually took the chequered flag, five seconds clear of his rival Xavier Simeon of Federal Oil Gresini after pulling away on his own. Belgium’s Simeon equalled his best ever result in second position, while Tom Luthi (Deendinger Racing Interwetten) took third spot, completing an allKalex podium for the manufacturer. Home team OMMF Racing Team had a mixed day, with debutant Julian Simon finishing 13th to take three points. But Anthony West had a night to forget after he crashed out in the 11th lap. Rookie and current Moto3 champion Alex Marquez, brother of reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, came home 11th in his debut Moto2 race. Earlier in the night’s opening race, the Moto3, Alexis Masbou of Saxoprint RPG Honda won only the second Grand Prix of his career. The Frenchman has not had much success despite his experience and at 27 was the second oldest in the 26-rider field. Winner Jonas Folger of Germany (C) celebrates on the podium with runner-up Belgian Xavier Simeon and third-placed Swiss Thomas Luthi after the Moto2 race. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil Moto3 winner Alexis Masbou celebrates with his trophy. However yesterday, Masbou was well-placed to win in Doha, after he had qualified on pole for the first time in his 141st Grand Prix appearance. It wasn’t a smooth ride though for Masbou in a race, where leads changed many times. In the end, it boiled down to final corner and Masbou just about edged out Ena Bastianini of Gresini Racing by mere 0.027 seconds to ghost through the pack for a famous win. Leopard Racing Honda’s Danny Kent, one of the contenders for overall title, finished third. “I was afraid on the last lap. I knew the potential to win was here and in Turn 3 and 4 I was fast. I knew I could pass everybody. When I saw I was behind Efren (Vazquez) and Bastianini I knew I could win the race. I passed on the straight and I’m happy,” said Masbou, who gained 25 points for the victory. Bastianini, too, was a happy man. The Italian was riding in a new bike and started 21st from the grid. “I’m happy because this week was very difficult. Today was difficult too, the final corner was hard. I did not go fast but still a win was possible. But after this result, I am confident I can do well this season,” Bastianini said. Highly-rated Estrella Galicia 0,0 rider Fabio Quartararo, the youngest in the grid at 15 years and 343 days, finished a creditable seventh in his Grand Prix debut. The Frenchman, who is tipped for great things and had impressed with his pace in the pre-season testing, was in contention for a podium finish at least. But with 2 laps to go he made a mid-lap mistake, which cost him a dream debut. Quartararo, however, was just within a second of the winner and is one to watch out for this season. Results (Top 5): Moto2 1. Jonas Fogler (Germany / AGR Team Kalex) 40:18.532 seconds 2. Xavier Simeon (Belgium / Federal Oil Gresini Kalex) 40:23.583 3. Thomas Luthi (Switzerland / Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex) 40:30.655 4. Alex Rins (Spain / Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) 40:30.734 5. Franco Morbidelli (Italy / Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) 40:32.917 Moto3 1. Alexis Masbou (France / Saxoprint RPG Honda) 38:25.424 seconds 2. Enea Bastianini (Italy / Gresini Racing Team Honda) 38:25.451 3. Danny Kent (Great Britain / Leopard Racing Honda) 38:25.566 4. Efren Vazquez (Spain / Leopard Racing Honda) 38:25.712 5. John McPhee (Great Britain / Saxoprint RPG Honda) 38:26.117 SPOTLIGHT Indonesia’s Izdihar excels in Asia Talent Cup By Sports Reporter Losail A ndy Izdihar won the second race of the Shell Advance Asia Talent Cup, which formed part of the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar. The Indonesian rider from Bulukumba who is just 17 years old, managed to pass Sasaki and Chantra in the drag to the finish line with the top two separated by just 0.029s. The race was essentially a carbon copy of the first one, which took place on Saturday. With 20 riders on track (Taylor and Paz having withdrawn), a leading group composed of 11 riders, led the race for the majority of the 14 laps around the 5.4km circuit. Battling at the front of this group were Sasaki, Izdihar and Atiratphuvapat, with Masaki also getting involved. The winner of yesterday’s race, Kunimine, decided to stay in the middle of the pack and let his rivals take the responsibility of leading from the front, with the pace being slight faster than yesterday, as once again lap records were re-written. The 11 riders were separated by just 1.5 seconds, meaning the action at the end of the home straight in the braking zone was spectacular to say the least, although it did lead to some hair-raising moments as there were so many riders aiming for the racing line. With 5 laps remaining this led to Atiratphuvapat and Kunimine touching slightly under heavy braking, with the Japanese rider unfortunately crashing out. This incident would prove to be decisive in the outcome of the race. With the leading ten riders split by just a second as they started the final lap, the action became even more frenetic as riders tried to get themselves into the best position to allow them to take advantage of the slipstreams on offer on the long straight, in the race to the line. Atiratphuvapat was the first out of the last corner, but it was Izdihar, who managed to gain the biggest advantage from the leaders breaking the air in front of him, taking the race win by just 0.029s from Sasaki in 2nd. After the race, Race Direction reviewed the incident between Atiratphuvapat and Kunimine, and decided to give the Thai rider a one-minute penalty, which relegated him down to 18th, and promoted Chantra onto the podium in 3rd. Saina first Indian woman to become world number one Saina Nehwal of India displays her gold medal after winning the women’s singles final against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open in New Delhi yesterday. AFP New Delhi S aina Nehwal, badminton’s new world number one, trounced Thai challenger Ratchanok Intanon yersterday to win the India Open women’s singles on home turf. Nehwal defeated Ratchanok 21-16, 21-14 in less than an hour in the final of the Super Series tournament in front of an adoring crowd packed into the Siri Fort stadium in New Delhi. The 25-year-old Nehwal has already had a dream run this year after reaching the final of the prestigious All England Championship earlier this month where she lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin. Nehwal became the world number one—the first Indian to do so—after she reached the semi-finals of the Indian Open tournament, although rankings are not formally announced by the Badminton World Federation until Thursday. Another Indian shuttler, K Srikanth, won the men’s sin- gles final in a keenly contested match against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. Srikanth defeated Axelsen 18-21, 21-13 and 21-12 in a 55 minute encounter. He had stormed into the final with a comfortable 21-16, 21-13 victory over China’s Xue Song in the semi-final on Saturday. Earlier on Sunday, the Japanese duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi defeated their Chinese challengers Luo Ying and Luo Yu 21-19 and 2119 to win the women’s doubles final in a 81-minute encounter. Two other Chinese pairs had a better day, routing their opponents in the mixed and men’s doubles finals. Chai Biao and Hong Wei comfortably defeated Denmark’s Conrad Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding 21-18 and 21-14 to take the men’s doubles title in 45 minutes. China’s Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin downed Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen in the mixed doubles final, with a score of 21-19, 21-19 in 52 minutes. CYCLING Italian veteran Paolini wins Gent-Wevelgem AFP Wevelgem, Belgium I talian veteran Luca Paolini timed his attack to perfection to take victory at the one-day cobbled classic race GentWevelgem in Belgium yesterday. Last year’s Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra took second at the end of the 240km race in dreadful conditions with blustery winds and driving rain as Friday’s E3 Harelbeke winner Geraint Thomas came third. With winds of up to 90kph (56mph) the race became an interminable slog and a battle of wills but it was Paolini’s opportunistic attack just under 6km from home to distance his five breakaway companions that proved decisive. “It was an incredible race, one for the courageous,” said Paolini, who crashed twice and had to change his bike during the day. “Halfway through I was asking myself if it was reasonable to continue. But I resisted (the temptation to quit) and I’ve earned the best win of my career.” After winning in 6hr 20min 55sec, Paolini added: “This victory is one for heart, courage but also intelligence. “I possibly wasn’t the strong- est at the finish. Niki Terpstra and Geraint Thomas still had strong legs, but they were worried about each other and I took my chance.” The 38-year-old Katusha rider had fought gamely to join the other five following the final climb of the race around 30km from the finish of the second of four cobbled classics. Dutchman Terpstra, Briton Thomas and Belgians Stijn Vandenbergh, Sep Vanmarcke and Jens Debusschere were chasing down a sole leader at that time, Jurgen Roelandts. Paolini managed to bridge the gap but compatriot Daniel Oss failed to do so as a six-man chase group formed. Debusschere sat at the back as Belgian Roelandts rides for the same Lotto Soudal team. However, he was caught 17km from the end, after which Terpstra and Paolini struck out for home. Thomas reeled them in and as the three started playing a game of cat-and-mouse, first Vandenbergh and then both Vanmarcke and Debusschere managed to make contact once again—Roelandts, who later claimed it had been difficult at times to stay on the bike, by now had blown a gasket after a solo break of almost 60km. TENNIS ITF Qatar Futures begins today T QMMF president and FIM deputy president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah, FIM president Vipo Ippolito, FIM chief executive Ignacio Verneda and others pose as part of the “FIM GO Green” initiative at the Losail International Circuit yesterday. he Qatar Tennis Federation is hosting the Qatar ITF Futures tournament from today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. This event is the first of a three-week ITF Men’s Circuit series. The tournament attracts a large number of players who are seeking to gain more points on the ITF and ATP Tours. The Qatar Tennis Federation has given four wild cards to national team players Moussa Shanan, Abdallah Shanan, Jassim Zeyara and Abdul Reda. Saad al-Mohannadi, QTF Executive Director and the Tournament Director, said, “QTF is proud of the continued organisation for the Futures events and we expect high level competitions with the high-ranked players who came to play in Doha from all over the world and we wish our National Team Players can take this chance to achieve successful results during this event.” Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 3 FORMULA ONE Mercedes vow to keep calm and carry on SEPANG: Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told his team not to panic but accepted that Ferrari had launched a new era in Formula One with their stunning win at yesterday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Wolff said the Silver Arrows now face a capable new challenger after Sebastian Vettel held off Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at a sun-baked Sepang circuit. Mercedes dominated 2014 and they cruised to a onetwo finish at the seasonopener in Australia, but Wolff admitted they were caught on the hop by Ferrari’s raw pace on Sunday. “It’s not the end of an era. It’s maybe the start of a new era of a good battle, a challenge we want to take on,” Wolff said. “It’s about staying calm and assessing and trying to get back with the speed we’ve had in the last couple of races.” He added: “There’s no reason to panic. Probably we’re back into a more normal racing season where you have more than just one contender and more than just one-twos every weekend. Back to normal business.” He said Mercedes would pick over their performance after a troubled outing marked by garbled radio communications, which drew complaints from both drivers. Strategy was also a major issue with three pitstops and a questionable use of tyres putting them at a disadvantage compared to Vettel, who only stopped twice. It brought a halt to a run of eight straight Mercedes victories, stretching back to Daniel Ricciardo’s triumph for Red Bull in Belgium last August. “Today things didn’t pan out the way we expected them to pan out,” Wolff said. “This is one of the topics. We need to sit down and say, Okay, what did we do wrong? And it’s not one particular thing, it’s a couple of things where we can improve.” “It was clear that the winning streak was not going to go on forever, anyway. And today, we were beaten fair and square. We weren’t the fastest car today.” The Mercedes drivers will certainly not back away from the Ferrari challenge, starting with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai in two weeks’ time. “All I can say now, on behalf of our team, is: game on, Ferrari!” said Rosberg. MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX Ferrari end win drought with Sepang success Vettel chalks up 40th career victory in F1; Hamilton leads driver’s standings, Vettel second Reuters Sepang, Malaysia S ebastian Vettel showed again that form is temporary and class permanent when the fourtimes world champion put in a faultless display to record his first victory for Ferrari at the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday. The triumph ended a long drought for Formula One’s most successful team, whose last win was at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2013, and was the 40th of the German’s career. Starting from second place on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton’s seemingly unbeatable Mercedes, Vettel and Ferrari produced a tactical masterclass to overhaul the Briton and cross the line 8.5 seconds ahead of the double world champion. “Numero uno is back, Ferrari is back,” Vettel was told over the team radio as he took the chequered flag. “Grazie, grazie. Forza Ferrari” he shouted in reply as he celebrated his fourth win at Sepang, a circuit that has favoured the Italian team over the years with seven victories in 17 editions since 1999. Hamilton’s teammate Nico Rosberg finished a distant third while 17-year-old Max Verstappen claimed seventh place for Toro Rosso to become the youngest ever points scorer in Formula One. Mercedes dominated last season and when Hamilton led a one-two in Australia two weeks ago the rest of the field looked even further behind in the second year of the V6 hybrid engines. Vettel had cut a forlorn figure in his last season at Red Bull in 2014, unable to record a victory and way off the pace of the front runners. (Left to right) Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari Chief Mechanic Diego Ioverno, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg (R) celebrate on the podium after the presentation ceremony of the Malaysian Grand Prix 2015 at the Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday. He agreed to join a stuttering Ferrari last year, replacing Spain’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, and the union appears to have revitalised them both. RESULTS 1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:41:05.793 2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes +00:08.569 3. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 00:12.310 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 00:53.822 5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) WilliamsMercedes 01:10.409 6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 01:13.586 7. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Toro Rosso - Renault 01:37.762 8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Renault 1 lap 9. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) RedBull - Renault 1 lap 10. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1 lap 11. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - Mercedes 1 lap 12. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) Sauber - Ferrari 1 lap 13. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 1 lap 14. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India - Mercedes 1 lap 15. Roberto Merhi (Spain) Marussia - Ferrari 3 laps r. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - Mercedes 9 laps r. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 15 laps r. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 35 laps r. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 53 laps (rank: r = retired, nc = not classified) Fastest Lap: Nico Rosberg,1:42.062, lap 43. Third in Australia, though some way behind Mercedes, Vettel and Ferrari showed real potential in practice and qualifying and were able to carry that momentum forward into the race. When the lights went out at the start, Hamilton pulled away from Vettel but the race turned in Ferrari’s favour when Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson spun off at the start of lap four to bring out the safety car. While Mercedes pulled both their cars into the pits to put on hard tyres, Vettel stayed out on the medium compound and made the lead stick until the end of the race as Mercedes scrambled around trying to outsmart the leader but unable to rein him in. “It has been a while since I’ve been on top step and obviously the first time with Ferrari,” a beaming Vettel said in a podium interview. “I’m speechless. I’m happy and proud of today. We beat them fair and square and it is a special day - that is why I am emotional.” His Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen overcame a tough qualifying session and an early puncture to finish fourth, well clear of Williams pair Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Vettel, who finished fifth in the standings last year after four successive titles, has now won races for three separate teams— Toro Rosso, Red Bull and Ferrari. Hamilton was magnanimous in defeat after a frustrating drive in which he often struggled to understand team strat- SPOTLIGHT on a poor day as both Fernando Alonso, back in action after missing the season-opener following a pre-season crash, and Jenson Button retired from the race. After two races, Hamilton leads the driver’s standings on 43 points, Vettel sits second on 40, with Rosberg on 33 and Massa on 20. Malaysia signs F1 contract extension to 2018 SEPANG: The Malaysian Grand Prix will stay on the Formula One calendar until 2018 after organisers signed a three-year contract extension yesterday. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s office said in a statement the extension was announced after Germany’s Sebastian Vettel won this year’s race at the Sepang circuit for Ferrari. Organisers said state oil giant Petronas would also continue as title sponsor of the race, which has been on the calendar since 1999, for the next three years. YOUNGEST POINTS SCORER Alonso stays positive despite retirement and Ferrari win DPA Sepang, Malaysia F ernando Alonso remained positive yesterday despite failing to finish in his first race for McLaren and seeing his former Ferrari team winning again at the Malaysian Grand Prix. But it must have been hard to swallow for the former twotime champion that his successor at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, took the winning honours and a second podium in as many races for the Scuderia. Until Sunday, Alonso had won the last race for Ferrari, in May 2013 in his native Spain. Alonso himself had missed the season-opener in Australia in the wake of a concussion sustained in pre-season testing which had already revealed that a difficult season lay ahead of himself and teammate Jenson Button. The Briton Button was 11th and last in Australia, and on Sunday shared Alonso’s fate of not finishing for the former top egy and orders over the radio. “Huge congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian ... I gave it everything I could but their pace was excellent,” the Briton said. “We knew that Ferrari had made a step but didn’t know how big, they were too quick today.” McLaren put a positive spin McLaren Honda’s driver Fernando Alonso (left) and Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr (right) arrive to take part in the driver’s parade ahead of the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang yesterday. team McLaren. But both rather looked at the bright side of the weekend action. “This whole weekend has been better than I expected,” Alonso said. “We were able to run with other cars - Jenson and I weren’t simply fighting with each other. That was the first step we needed to take, and we’ve taken it already. “Indeed, our race pace was surprisingly good; I was running with the pack, and I was even able to catch the Red Bulls before the pit-stops. That was a nice surprise. “For us, these are the sort of reliability problems you’d usually discover in pre-season testing, but, given our lack of running over the winter, unfortunately we’re likely to encounter such issues in the first few races of the year.” The 2009 champion But- ton said: “I enjoyed it out there - we’re actually racing people ... Fighting in the pack is the most positive thing to take away from this weekend - hopefully, before too long, we can start to pick them off on a race-by-race basis. “Today has been a useful day; it’s just a pity that both Fernando and I ended up finishing it early.” McLaren will continue to work on every aspect of the car until the next race April 12 in China along with their new engine partners Honda who identied power unit problems as the reason for the drivers’ retirement - an ERS colling issue with Alonso and a turbo problem with Button. “Both retirements were a result of the harsh use of the power unit within competitive race conditions, not the result of the high-temperature conditions encountered at this circuit,” Honda motorsport chief officer Yasuhisa Arai said. “We’ll investigate the issues further and aim to improve things before Shanghai.” Verstappen adds another record with first F1 points Reuters Sepang, Malaysia M ax Verstappen’s rush into the record books continued yesterday when the 17-yearold Dutch driver became Formula One’s youngest ever points scorer with seventh place for Toro Rosso at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The glamour sport’s youngest racer had already paved the way by matching the best qualifying position of his father, former Formula One driver Jos, by starting a dizzying sixth on the grid in Sepang. That in itself was the best qualifying performance by a teenager since 19-year-old Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez in 1961. “It was a good day. The first few laps were a bit difficult for me, I struggled a bit with the brakes and the tyres,” Verstappen told reporters. “But when we went on to hard tyres, it worked much better. “I found good balance and good rhythm. From there, the car felt great.” The youngster made a poor start and opted to pit during an early safety car period, but battled back to end the race just one spot behind his qualifying position and ahead of Spanish team mate Carlos Sainz. The two Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat, the previous youngest points scorer who made his debut as a 19-year-old with Toro Rosso last year, and Daniel Riciardo were ninth and 10th. As was the case after qualifying, Jos Verstappen beamed with pride at his son’s performance and stressed that the points were richly deserved. “I’m very pleased with what he has done today and I’m most of all happy for himself that he finished the race and the way he raced. I think he deserved it,” the older Verstappen told the BBC. “You could see he was struggling a bit at the beginning of the race as he lacked confidence with his brakes. The team did an incredible job to call him in when the safety car was there and you saw after that he went into the groove, consistent and he kept going.” 4 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 CRICKET COMMENT Forget David, Goliaths are worthy winners By Vic Marks in Melbourne The Guardian S ometimes Goliath wins are the most popular outcomes. Most of those at the MCG, which was at its most majestic, a waspish conglomeration of yellow interspersed by a bit of black here and there, were very happy. Australia were winning; the old order was intact and that was reassuring. They prevailed with super efficiency, without doubt the best side on the day and the best in the tournament. Beyond Australia, New Zealand had become everyone’s second favourite team. However, here on the crowded side of Tasman, they suddenly seemed a long, long way from home. The advantage of playing in their own country, which the Kiwis had enjoyed for eight matches, now seemed something of a hindrance. This was certainly not Napier. In fact it would be possible to fit the entire population of Napier into the MCG and more than a third of the seats would still be empty. The New Zealanders, however determined they were to stay calm and clear-headed, had not acclimatised to a harsher environment. Maybe they had not completely recovered from that epic, draining semi-final against South Africa. Brendon McCullum looked a bit of a David against Mitchell—“Goliath”— Starc. Twelve inches separated their eyes and in McCullum’s case those eyes could not detect the ball propelled by Starc in that decisive opening over. The first delivery McCullum received swung a little at around 150kmh and just missed the off-stump; the second one passed the leg stump; the third thudded against the timbers and those bails lit up again. Each time McCullum had swished at thin air. And he would be castigated for that. Yet this is how McCullum has batted throughout the entire tournament and he has been praised to the skies. But the old sling-shot was not working so well in Melbourne and Starc delivered with the ruthlessness of an assassin. Discretion will never be McCullum’s middle name, which is why we love him. For a while, Grant Elliott—another David figure—suggested that he might become the seventh man to score a century in the World Cup final; his name might have seemed a little incongruous alongside the names of Lloyd, Richards, De Silva, Ponting, DESERVING WINNER: Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (left) presents the Player-of-the-Tournament award to Australian paceman Mitchell Starc. (AFP) Gilchrist and Jayawardene. Even so he was the only New Zealander capable of taking the attack to a bowling unit that has improved and been refined as the tournament progressed. And they did not look too bad at the start of the competition. Australia did lose one game back in Auckland by one wicket against the New Zealanders. Maybe even that outcome had done the Kiwis very few favours. Michael Clarke has described how this was “the kick up the backside” that his side required. The New Zealanders had alerted them. Back in 1983, India had scored 183 at Lord’s in the final against the West Indies and everyone was stunned when they won by 43 runs. The West Indies had underestimated them. The Australians were never going to fall into that trap—especially after their experiences in Auckland. However the “David” tag does not sit perfectly with the New Zealanders as England may discover before too long in the forthcoming Test series. The Kiwis will provide some very substantial threats. Most obviously Trent Boult demonstrated that he could swing the white ball at pace whichever side of the Tasman he was playing. SPOTLIGHT REACTIONS Captain Clarke bows out of one-dayers with all guns blazing ‘I said yesterday that I thought it was the right time. Now I know it’s the right time. There’s no such things as fairytales in sport but that’s as close as it gets’ Reuters Melbourne Australian captain Michael Clarke acknowledges the applause of the MCG crowd after top-scoring with 74 in yesterday’s World Cup final against New Zealand. (AFP) A ustralia captain Michael Clarke had hoped his retirement from one-day international cricket would be a footnote to Australia’s successful bid for a fifth World Cup. But having top-scored for Australia with a 74 to push his team to victory over New Zealand, the 33-year-old bowed out with guns blazing in a fairytale farewell at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. James Faulkner won the man-ofthe-match award for his three-wicket haul that sent New Zealand crashing to 183, but the night belonged to Clarke who saved his best for last. “I said yesterday that I thought it was the right time. Now I know it’s the right time,” Clarke told reporters after his 245th ODI match left him with a total of 7,981 runs at an impressive average of 44.58. “There’s no such things as fairytales in sport but that’s as close as it gets.” In front of a roaring crowd of 93,000, Clarke had the golden touch from the start, his first left-field bowling change bringing an immediate wicket. Bringing in Glenn Maxwell in the 12th over, the part-time spinner bowled New Zealand opener Martin Guptill for 15, leaving New Zealand rocking at 33-2. Clarke would later position himself at slip, and took a sharp catch to dismiss Luke Ronchi for a duck off the bowling of player-of-the-tournament Mitchell Starc. Though Australia were set a modest chase of 184 for victory, Clarke came to the crease with his team wobbling at 63-2. Watchful at first, he dominated his partnership with captainin-waiting Steven Smith, crunching 10 fours and a six in a 72-ball knock, his most fluent of a mostly scratchy World Cup campaign. He seemed destined to push Australia to victory, so his dismissal, bowled by paceman Matt Henry, drew groans from the crowd then a standing ovation as he left the MCG for the last time in a gold outfit. At times a polarising figure in cricket-mad Australia, Clarke finishes his one-day career with a second World Cup win after the 2007 triumph, and with legacy intact after a tumultuous few months in which he struggled with the death of his “little brother” Phillip Hughes. In this tournament no Englishman was anywhere near him. Boult might also be handy with a red ball in May. Tim Southee has not been too shabby either, nor has the novice, Matt Henry. Yet it was the Australian bowling combination that dictated how this match would unfold. They ruined it for the neutrals, not that there were many of those at the MCG. Starc was stunning from the very first ball. He might have been the manof-the-match—if only for deflating the Kiwi bubble by sending McCullum on his way—but no one could complain when it was James Faulkner. Starc was deservedly the man-of-the-tournament. Mitchell Johnson, almost a veteran, has displayed many virtues in this tournament, including humility. He has been out-bowled by Starc and denied the new ball. But this bothered him not a jot. He improved with every game, bowling progressively quicker and straighter. He will be alongside Starc in England in July for the Ashes series and there are plenty of contenders to join them: from this squad Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins; from recent Test teams Ryan Harris and James Pattinson. Australia suddenly have Goliaths everywhere. “It’s been one hell of a ride and something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. It would have been great to have got the silverware but it wasn’t meant to be, but I think what we were able to achieve in this tournament will last for a long time.” —New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum “Watching @stevesmith49 hit #CWC15 winning runs! Congrats @ MClarke23 on brilliant ODI career & NZ on great tournament.” —Tony Abbott, Australia Prime Minister “Unfortunately not the result the country was hoping for, but the @ BLACKCAPS have still made us all incredibly proud over the past six weeks.” —John Key, New Zealand Prime Minister “Congratulations @cricketworldcup Farewell Clarkey. What a way to go out!” —Actor Hugh Jackman “It’s nice to see bat dominate ball every now and again. There’s been some big scores, but the whole tournament has been fantastic. We’ve worked really hard at our bowling. The whole bowling unit was awesome.” —Australian pacer Mitchell Starc “I thought Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot had an exceptional partnership considering what happened at the start, to pull things back for them, but at the end of the day, to bowl them out for 183 was fantastic.” —Australia all-rounder James Faulkner “Well played Australia you were the best team by far and your wins from the quarterfinals onwards were clinical and showed your superiority!” —West Indies batting great Brian Lara “Congrats to my great mate @ MClarke23 & the entire Australian team, just an outstanding result To all the Nz team, you won our hearts!” —Former Australia spinner Shane Warne “Australia, you #*+#*#+ beauty!!!” —Former Australia stumper Adam Gilchrist “Congratulations to @mstarc56 on winning the player of the tournament for @cricketworldcup Sensational bowling mate very well deserved #CWC15” —Former Australia bowler Glenn McGrath “Congrats @MClarke23 & team Australia on winning the #WorldCup2015 #FullJoy #CWC15 #63NotOut #Champions-well done NZ! Great finish pups” —West Indies batsman Chris Gayle “Very fitting that Australia are crowned World Champions .... #63NotOut #riphughsey” Clarke’s role in leading the mourning for his teammate, who was killed by a short ball during a domestic match in November, endeared him to the Australian public. His stirring Test century against India when battling injury in the tribute match to Hughes in Adelaide will remain a part of Australian sporting folklore for decades to come. Clarke wore an armband throughout the tournament for his team mate who died at the age of 25, and said Hughes was the 16th member of Australia’s World Cup squad. “It makes it more special, there’s no doubt about it,” Clarke said. “We are still thinking about him. We are still talking about him, and we always will. “I won’t play another game, I cer- tainly won’t play a Test match without his Test number on my hat, and I’ll wear this black armband for the rest of my career.” But leaving the 50-over format will give Clarke—whose career has been blighted by back and hamstring problems—an opportunity to concentrate on the five-day game. “My next task is to try and get Australia back to the number one position in Tests,” he said. “We have a busy period ahead with tours of the West Indies and then on to England for the Ashes. “I hope my retirement from oneday cricket will prolong my Test career. I am only 33 and hope I have a few more years left in the game.” He added that he had not made up his mind about playing in various Twenty20 leagues around the world due to his Test commitments. “I have not thought about playing in the T20 leagues,” he said. “I just wanted to concentrate on the World Cup. Now that it is over, I will get time to think over it. But I am very excited about Test cricket. I don’t want to rush to any decisions about other things.” Clarke praised his bowling unit after the left-arm pace trio of Mitchell Starc, James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson shared eight wickets to set up the emphatic victory yesterday. “Our bowlers won us the World Cup,” he said. “There is no doubt that Starc deserved the man-of-the-series award for his 22 wickets. Starc and the whole bowling unit have done a great job. Our bowling in every single game has been exceptional. “I think being aggressive and going for wickets was a good strategy. If there are wickets in hand, the last 15 overs can be very destructive. So it’s better to take wickets and not just restrict the runs.” Clarke also complimented New Zealand, whose unbeaten tournament run of eight consecutive victories ahead of the final included a onewicket pool-stage win over Australia in Auckland, saying they were worthy finalists. “New Zealand deserve credit for the way they played in the World Cup,” he said. “I wish them good luck for the future. But it was to be our day today.” —Former England captain Michael Vaughan “4 title wins in last 5 world cups is a testimony to the Australian cricket culture. Well done Australia!#ICCCricketWorldCup” —Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar “Congrats to Australia. Well deserved Champions. NZ can be proud their campaign too. End of a fabulous WC that has enhanced ODIs reputation” —Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis “Congrats to the @CricketAus on an outstanding trnmnt.Terrific cricketers, worthy & brilliant co-hosts as @ BLACKCAPS surely u were brilliant.” —Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 CRICKET Wizards of Oz Australia cruise to a fifth World Cup triumph with 7-wicket decimation of New Zealand Australian players celebrate with the World Cup trophy after beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the final in Melbourne yesterday. After bowling out the Kiwis for 183, Aussies took just 33.1 overs to reach the target. (AFP) Mike Selvey in Melbourne The Guardian F or the fourth time in five tournaments, the World Cup is in Australian hands, presented to the captain Michael Clarke on the outfield of this vast, soaring stadium under the floodlight glare and in a shower of gold glitter, with the Black Caps beaten by seven wickets. Magnificent pace bowling first of all stifled the challenge of New Zealand and then blew them out of the water as the last seven wickets fell for 33 runs from the start of the second power play. Only Grant Elliott, the hero of the Auckland semi-final, who made 83, and Ross Taylor who sweated blood for 40, the pair adding 111 for the fourth wicket, had any answer to the Mitchells Starc and Johnson. Along with James Faulkner, they shared eight of the wickets. Faulkner received the man-of-the-match award for 3-36, including a spell of 3-15 that changed the course of the game, and Starc was the man-ofthe-tournament for 22 wickets at 10 runs apiece. All out for 183, the Black Caps might have hoped that World Cup final history could repeat itself and that they might repeat India’s feat 32 years ago of defending that same total. It was to prove a forlorn hope. Though the largest crowd ever recorded officially for a cricket match—93,013—saw Aaron Finch fall without scoring, in Trent Boult’s first over, it was a false dawn, for there were no demons to be found in this pitch beyond those to be extracted by high pace. David Warner swished around at first but then clattered 45 at a runa-ball to get things moving, and, after his dismissal Steve Smith and Clarke, steady at first and accelerating later, put together a third-wicket stand of 112 that took the side to the brink, before Smith finished the game off by pulling Matt Henry to the square leg ropes. There were 101 balls remaining. Smith, enjoying an astounding run in all formats of the game, ended unbeaten and untroubled on 56, a measured effort from 71 balls with only three fours, while Clarke, who had stolen some of his team’s thunder by announcing his retirement from ODIs on the eve of the game, batted superbly for 74 from 72 balls with 10 fours and a six hit over long-off from Daniel Vettori, before he was bowled by Henry with eight runs required. Thus a six-week tournament ends with the favourites taking a title they were always destined to claim if they could hold their nerve. This they did almost unwaveringly, faltering only in the nailbiter against these same opponents in Auckland and then only by the most slender of margins. They really do have a powerful side, appropriate for the age and the conditions. But New Zealand have given the tournament a run for its money, reigniting a passion for the game in their homeland, not just by the manner in which they play their cricket, but the spirit in which they did so. It is something that could serve as a lesson to some others. They leave Melbourne without the trophy but can do so with many friends and their heads held high. Only when Brendon McCullum won the toss on a warm blue-bright autumn morning, and later, when Elliott and Taylor were attempting to repair things, did things go right for New Zealand. Australia rarely allowed them breathing space beyond that, and for once, the force deserted the talismanic McCullum, who, staying true to himself in pursuit of a high octane start, threw the bat at his first three balls from Starc, missed them all and was neckand-cropped by the last. Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Johnson hardly put a delivery out of place in line or length, an exemplary display of new-ball bowling. By the time the 12th over was done, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson had followed the captain and, one sensed, the game was already Australia’s to lose. Under the circumstances, Elliott and Taylor deserve all credit for the manner in which they shrugged that aside and rebuilt, taking New Zealand to within striking distance of the last 15 overs and the cavalry charge that can bring, with seven wickets still in hand. It was at this point, with the start of the batting power play and the shadow of the stands now falling distractingly across the pitch, that Faulkner turned the game on its head, having Taylor caught behind chasing the first ball of a new spell and then bowling the dangerous Corey Anderson with his third. It opened the door for Starc and Johnson to blast the rest of the innings away. Only Elliott held sway, hitting 11 fours and a six, before another of those back-of-the-hand deliveries from Faulkner, deceptive because the seam is still presented upright, found him swinging too early and edging to Brad Haddin. McCullum’s instinct is to attack come what may, but he really did need to find some inspiration for his bowlers if they were to make any impact. Boult duly removed Finch, who edged on to his pad and was caught and bowled. But from Smith’s first ball, into which he moved seamlessly and with time to spare, it just seemed obvious that he would bat through. Perhaps a final indication that McCullum’s luck had run out came as early as the fifth over, after Warner had pummelled successive boundaries from Tim Southee. McCullum’s nature would have told him to persist with his slip cordon. Instead, he moved second slip away and placed him at short extra cover, on the drive as they say. Warner edged the next delivery straight through second slip. Even he could smile wryly at that. New Zealand gave it their all but the game was up, the race was won. New Zealand M Guptill b Maxwell .......................................... 15 B McCullum b Starc ........................................... 0 K Williamson c&b Johnson ........................... 12 R Taylor c Haddin b Faulkner....................... 40 G Elliott c Haddin b Faulkner ....................... 83 C Anderson b Faulkner ................................... 0 L Ronchi c Clarke b Starc ............................... 0 D Vettori b Johnson .......................................... 9 T Southee (run out)........................................... 11 M Henry c Starc b Johnson ........................... 0 T Boult (not out).................................................. 0 Extras (lb7, w6) ................................................... 13 Total (all out, 45 overs) ................................... 183 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (McCullum), 2-33 (Guptill), 3-39 (Williamson), 4-150 (Taylor), 5-150 (Anderson), 6-151 (Ronchi), 7-167 (Vettori), 8-171 (Elliott), 9-182 (Henry), 10-183 (Southee) Bowling: Starc 8-0-20-2 (1w); Hazlewood 8-2-30-0; Johnson 9-0-30-3 (2w); Maxwell 7-0-37-1 (1w); Faulkner 9-1-36-3; Watson 4-0-23-0 (2w) Australia D Warner c Elliott b Henry............................. 45 A Finch c&b Boult .............................................. 0 S Smith (not out)................................................. 56 M Clarke b Henry................................................ 74 S Watson (not out) ............................................. 2 Extras (lb3, w6) ................................................... 9 Total (3 wickets, 33.1 overs) .......................... 186 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Finch), 2-63 (Warner), 3-175 (Clarke) Bowling: Southee 8-3-65-0 (3w); Boult 100-40-1; Vettori 5-0-25-0; Henry 9.1-0-46-2 (2w); Anderson 1-0-7-0 (1w) Man-of-the-match: James Faulkner (Aus) Man-of-the-tournament: Mitchell Starc (Aus) STARC AWARD DEFIES TREND IN BAT-DOMINATED TOURNAMENT A t a World Cup dominated by batsmen and huge scores, it was an old-fashioned fast bowler who ultimately played the biggest role in Australia’s success. Mitchell Starc, whose devastating pace and movement troubled almost every batsmen who faced him, was named Player-of-the-Tournament after Australia wrapped up their fifth title with a seven-wicket over New Zealand yesterday. Glenn McGrath (2007) is the only other specialist bowler to have won the award but Starc was a popular choice after terrorising his opponents for the past six weeks. “It’s nice to see bat dominate ball every now and again,” Starc told reporters. “There’s been some fantastic performances with both. Obviously, it’s been a couple of big scores, a couple of double tons... but it’s just been fantastic the whole tournament.” Although New Zealand opener Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle scored double centuries during the World Cup, Starc was an obvious choice for the award. He took 22 wickets, equal best with New Zealand seamer Trent Boult, but at a far better average of 10.18. Perhaps the left-armer’s most telling contribution, however, came in the first over of the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he cleaned bowled New Zealand captain and most destructive batsman Brendon McCullum with a yorker. The Black Caps never recovered and were bowled out for just 183 in the 45th over. “He’s been a key player for them right from the beginning, and he’s been fantastic for the Kiwis to get them off to great starts,” Starc said. “We knew we had to sort of assess him as he went because he’s very unpredictable. I think personally it was a bit of a planning game with (bowling coach) Craig McDermott about just bowling in pace and yorker to him first up. I’m not sure how that first one missed, but lucky the third one hit. There’s a lot of luck involved, but just nice to see that plan come off.” For Starc, his award was also a vindication of his rising status in Australia’s bowling ranks. One of three left-arm fast bowlers, he has often been overshadowed by Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner, who was named man of the match in the final. He was also criticised this summer by Shane Warne for not being aggressive enough but proved all his doubters wrong and now hopes his form in the one-day game will help him play more Tests. “Over the last sort of 12 to 18 months I’ve really felt a part of the one-day team, really felt at home,” he said. “I’d like to push into Test cricket now, but we’ve got a bit of a break now before any of the Tests, but still a lot of work to do with white and red ball. Just going to really enjoy this moment.” New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is bowled by Mitchell Starc for a duck. (AFP) 5 6 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 CRICKET FOCUS NZ falter at final hurdle after ride of a lifetime Reuters Melbourne T he 2015 World Cup was, skipper Brendon McCullum said, the ride of a lifetime for New Zealand and even if Australia brought it to a shuddering halt in yesterday’s final, their brilliant campaign will not quickly fade from the memory. For six weeks, the Black Caps rode to the pinnacle of international cricket on the back of an aggressive brand of the game which earned them eight successive victories and the admiration of millions. There have been good, some might say great, New Zealand cricket sides in the past but none have captured the imagination of a small but proud sporting nation in the way McCullum’s band of brothers did. Had they won yesterday, they might even have challenged the grip the All Blacks have on the nation’s affections—at least until the most successful international team in sport defend their rugby world title later this year. As it was, New Zealand’s first cricket World Cup final ended in anti-climax with a crushing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of their neighbours from across the Tasman Sea. Stunned by the loss of McCullum to a third ball duck in the opening over, New Zealand never really got back on the front foot and 183 was not the sort of tally their bowlers were hoping to defend. They battled, of course, but standout pacemen Trent Boult and Tim Southee were unable to find the potency with the new ball they had displayed in their previous matches, while the guile of Daniel Vettori’s spin could only slow the flow of runs. After a national record 10 straight one-day international victories in front of packed houses at home, they came a cropper in their first match overseas this year—forcing Australia to bat for less than 34 overs to claim their fifth title. It will be of scant consolation to McCullum’s men that their brand of the game has played an integral role in making the 11th one of the most attractive of World Cups and will probably redefine the tactics of 50-overs cricket. They have also transformed the world’s view of the game as played by New Zealand, deemed unworthy of matches against a full Australia side until as recently as the early 1970s. Martin Crowe’s batting and innovative tactics took New Zealand to the brink of a World Cup final in 1992 but neither he nor any other previous captain had led a team to a final in six attempts. “I think there’s an element of fearlessness about how we play, which has been an effect on other teams, as well. I think if you ask most of the teams in this tournament what they think of how we’ve played the game, they would be very respectful of how we’ve gone about it..." McCullum was always aware, however, that rejuvenating the reputation of New Zealand cricket was a longterm project, win or lose at the MCG on Sunday. “We’ve got a great group of guys from one through 25 on the squad, and the guys who it’s been a pleasure to be able to share this experience with,” McCullum said on the eve of the final. “It won’t stop at the end of the World Cup. We’ve still got a lot of hard work to do to achieve what we want in this game, and where we want to stand in international cricket, but we’ve made a good start.” But the scale of New Zealand’s defeat, including McCullum’s dismissal for a three-ball duck, led to questions over whether they should temper their bold playing style, a suggestion the skipper flatly rejected. “No, no, you don’t change your style of play. Look, for us to develop into the team that we want to be in international cricket, we have to play like that,” he told his post-match media conference. “I think there’s an element of fearlessness about how we play, which has been an effect on other teams, as well. “I think if you ask most of the teams in this tournament what they think NO REGRETS of how we’ve played the game, they would be very respectful of how we’ve gone about it. “It’s what gives us our greatest pleasure, as well, and sometimes we’re going to come undone, but for us to compete against the big teams on regular occasions and for us to be able to develop into the team we want to be, we need to keep playing this brand of cricket. “We’ll get better at doing it the more we become accustomed to it, and I guess a stronger depth of players we develop in the same sort of mould of cricket as we have. So yeah, we’re not going to change.” While the underarm bowling scandal of 1981 will always remain the defining moment in New Zealand cricket for some, a younger generation will never forget the six weeks when the national sporting mantra was “Attack! Attack! Attack!”. SPOTLIGHT McCullum proud of his team despite the final debacle ‘It’s been one hell of a ride for us, right the way through, we played some outstanding cricket. We ran into an outstanding team in Australia... they deserved to win’ Aussies resume world domination Reuters Melbourne A s Steven Smith pulled the winning boundary to crush a New Zealand fairytale and clinch a fifth World Cup for Australia yesterday, Michael Clarke’s side celebrated a glorious end to a journey marked by a period of self-doubt and grief for a fallen teammate. Captain Clarke retires from one-day cricket with his legacy intact but his team will charge on to the 2019 tournament with renewed belief in their ability to re-generate, adapt and rebound from the stiffest of challenges. Two years after their annus horribilis of 2013 and less than three months after the death of batsman Phillip Hughes, Australia resumed their dominion of world cricket with a ruthless seven-wicket victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Brutal in the ultimate back yard battle against the ‘little brother’ from across the ‘ditch’, Australia’s fifth world trophy may be regarded the sweetest, having played out in front of a record home crowd of 93,013. Australia have won four of the last five World Cups, an astonishing record of dominance unlikely to ever be repeated. Roared on by canary-yellow fans in the terraces, Mitchell Starc bowled New Zealand’s totemic captain Brendon McCullum for a third-ball duck, setting the tone for a banner day for the hosts’ pacemen who skittled the visitors for 183. Clarke made the most of his swan-song, plundering a teamhigh score of 74 runs as Australia emphatically wiped away the stain of 1992 when they were knocked out early in their first World Cup on home soil. Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson enjoyed their second such triumph, having toasted success in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. Though boasting an embarrassment of riches in both bowling and batting, and a formidable blend of youth and experience, Australia were just one of a pack of contenders at this tournament, unlike the great sides who swept to three consecutive World Cups from 1999 to 2007. A nerve-jangling loss against New Zealand in the pool phase followed a rained-out match against Bangladesh, fanning premature fears the hosts campaign might be ill-fated. Those fears were torpedoed with a crushing quarter-final win over Pakistan and a vengeful thrashing of champions India who ended their title defence in 2011. Though the players will hail a golden six weeks, some may reflect on the dark places from which they emerged. Two years ago, Australia battled mediocrity in all formats, lurching from crisis to crisis in a humbling 2013. Humiliated in Test series by India and England, Australia meekly surrendered their last one-day title, the Champions Trophy in England, after opening batsman David Warner punched an England player in a Birmingham bar. Coach Mickey Arthur was sacked and Clarke was plagued by his perennial back problems. But led by the calm direction of new coach Darren Lehmann and fired by the renaissance of fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, Australia dragged themselves off the canvas to thrash England 5-0 in the 2013-14 Ashes and upset world number one Test team South Africa in their own back yard. Those successes would filter down to the one-day side, who finished 2014 with a 13-5 winning record, but the year would see Australia thrown into turmoil again. On November 25 last year, batsman Phillip Hughes collapsed at the Sydney Cricket Ground after being struck by a short ball in a domestic match. The youngest player to score two centuries in a Test, Hughes’ death in hospital at the age of 25 cast a pall over the World Cup co-hosts less than three months before the tournament. Their ability to put their grief aside and roar to a successful World Cup campaign underlined Australia’s steely resolve in the face of adversity and restored a dynasty that may prove difficult to break. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (centre) and his team stand after losing the World Cup final against Australia by seven wickets, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. (AFP) Reuters Melbourne N ew Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he had no regrets after his team were beaten by Australia in the World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. Despite being bowled for a duck in the first over of the day, then seeing his team beaten by seven wickets, a gracious McCullum said he was still proud of his team. “It’s been one hell of a ride for us, right the way through, we played some outstanding cricket,” he said at the presentation. “We ran into an outstanding team in Australia, they continue to set the standard... they deserved to win.” New Zealand’s hopes of pulling off an upset suffered a devastating blow when McCullum was clean bowled by Mitchell Starc in the first over of the day. They recovered with a brilliant 83 from Grant Elliott and a dour 40 from Ross Taylor but lost their last seven wickets for 33 runs to be all out for 183 in 45 overs. “It probably didn’t unfold as planned, but we got ourselves back in the game at 3 for 150,” McCullum said. “With 180, you still dare to dream and it could have ended up differently with a couple of things going our way.” For New Zealand, the tournament was still a great success. They had never played in a World Cup final before, reaching the semi-finals six times but losing on each occasion, and were unbeaten going into the final. “This is what you ask for as a cricketer,” McCullum said. “We’ve forged memories and friendships that will last forever. We didn’t lift the trophy but we have no regrets with the brand of cricket we’ve played . “It’s the greatest time of our lives and that’s how we tried to play the game, with a free spirit and heart. I think we can be very proud of our achievements in this tournament.” The Black Caps were the form team of the tournament going into yesterday's final, unbeaten in eight matches with Australia and South Africa among their victims. “It came down to one game,” McCullum said. “We gave ourselves that opportunity in this tournament with so much on the line, and ultimately Australia stepped up and they were too good for us on the night. “You go out there and try and play as well as you possibly can, and if a team is better than you on the day, then you cop it sweet and you let them enjoy the celebrations. I think they stepped up on the day. They were better than us, and yeah, they’ll be drinking the winning champagne.” McCullum said he thought they were still in with a chance of a maiden World Cup title when they were 150-3 in the 35th over. “Then we saw Australia I guess really bare its teeth and put the hammer down on us,” he said. “That was probably the pivotal stage. “I thought if we were able to get through three or four overs at a decent strike rate we would have been able to launch later on with our bigger hitters coming in with a bit of freedom.” Apart from his obvious disappointment, McCullum said his overwhelming feeling was one of pride in what his team had achieved at the tournament. “I looked in the changing room today, and the guys that we’ve had, we’ve been on an incredible journey,” he said. “We’ve loved every single minute of it. We’ve had some support from our country which we never believed was possible. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve.” New Zealand have players who will retire in the coming days but McCullum said his team had no intention of grabbing the headlines off the rejoicing Australians and would do so when “the dust settles”. Senior player Daniel Vettori, at 36, is one Black Cap rumoured to be quitting, and even 33-yearold McCullum has been mentioned, but the skipper would not divulge names. “There are maybe guys within our group who will retire,” he said. “We’ll let the dust settle on this one and we certainly won’t look to grab any headlines over the next couple of days because they belong to Australia as they’ve deserve the right. “We’ll let the dust settle, we’ll be gracious in defeat and then we’ll work a plan over the next couple of days for some of those guys who may look to retire. “But it’s the right thing to allow Australia to bask in the glory of their success.” McCullum didn’t want to get into any criticism of verbal “send-offs” Australian bowlers gave to dismissed batsmen, notably Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill and Vettori. “Look, it wasn’t really discussed within the group. A send-off is a send-off. It’s not something we are necessarily concerned about,” he said. “I think the focus should be on how well Australia played and how much they deserve this victory rather than any of those sort of minor issues on the way through. Yeah, I certainly don’t want to go too deep into that. “We ran second today, and all credit to Australia, but we walk away with our heads held high.” Steve Smith celebrates after hitting the winning runs for Australia. (AFP) Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 7 SPORT GOLF CYCLING Walker stretches lead in hometown Texas Open ‘You definitely want to find a way to extend the lead, but you have to be smart about it’ AFP Barcelona AFP Texas A H ometown hope Jimmy Walker fired six birdies in a three-underpar 69 on Saturday to stretch his lead in the US PGA Tour Texas Open to four strokes. Walker, who lives just a halfhour’s drive from TPC San Antonio, had a 54-hole total of nine-under-par 207 and a comfortable cushion over rising US star Jordan Spieth. Spieth, the 21-year-old who also hails from Texas, carded a one-under 71 for 211. He was two strokes in front of last season’s FedEx Cup playoff champion Billy Horschel, who birdied the last three holes in a 71 for 213. Walker, who captured his fourth PGA Tour title at the Sony Open in Hawaii this year, started the day with a one-shot lead over Charley Hoffman and Aaron Baddeley. He closed his round with back-to-back birdies, chipping to seven feet at 17 and draining a 10-footer at the last, and was pleased with his effort on another tough, windy day. “It was a tough day today. It blew really hard again, out of the south today. So I know it’s a windy golf course, but it’s still tough,” Walker said. “The greens are firm. You can see some spots starting to brown out a bit.” “You definitely want to find a way to extend the lead, but you have to be smart about it.” Spieth, who started the day two shots adrift, gained ground with four birdies in a five-hole span on the front nine and was tied for the lead through 13 holes. But he played the final five holes in one over par with a bogey at 14 followed by a birdie at 15, double bogey at the parthree 16th and birdie at 17 before he capped his round with a par at the last. “I just kind of let some get away from me there,” Spieth said. “I didn’t play the smartest shots and was being a little too aggressive for this golf course.” Scott Pinckney carded a 69 to vault into a share of fourth place on 214. Porte holds off Valverde charge to win Tour of Catalonia Jimmy Walker fired six birdies in a three-under-par 69 on Saturday to stretch his lead in the US PGA Tour Texas Open to four strokes. He was tied with former Masters champion Zach Johnson (72), Brendan Steele (72), Jason Kokrak (71) and Chesson Hadley (71). Australia’s Baddeley had a disastrous day, his seven bogeys including four in a row on the front nine on his way to a fourover 76 that left him on 215, alongside Chris Kirk and Kevin Na. Hoffman, who had led after the first round with a bogey free round in tough winds, fared even worse—signing for a 79 that left him 11 adrift on 218. South Korea’s Lee Mi-Rim takes slim LPGA lead South Korean Lee Mi-rim maintained her lead at the Kia Classic for the third successive day after a six-under-par 66 gave her a one-stroke edge on Saturday heading into the final round in southern California. Lee entered the third round tied with Morgan Pressel but blew past her with a sizzling five birdies on the back nine to push her to 16-under at the Aviara course in Carlsbad. The 24-year-old won twice in her rookie season on the LPGA circuit last year, but is looking for her first title in 2015. “To be honest, I didn’t even know what I shot until I signed my scorecard,” Lee told reporters. “I feel like I’ve had a lot of experience and played in a lot of tournaments to know that I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself.” American Alison Lee also fired a six-under with birdies on her final two holes to get to 15-under and outright second. American Pressel faded after an even-par round that kept her at 10-under, while compatriot Cristie Kerr is one of two contenders at 13-under after a bogey on her final hole dropped her three behind. A group of four players sit at 12-under including world number one Lydia Ko and major champions Paula Creamer and Pak Se-ri. New Zealand’s Ko enjoyed her 27th successive LPGA Tour round under par, which is two short of Annika Sorenstam’s record set in 2004. The South Korean-born 17-year-old has victories this year at the Australian and New Zealand Opens. On a day of low scoring, five-time major champion Pak owned the best round of the day with a course record-tying eight-under-par 64. ustralia’s Richie Porte sealed victory at the Tour of Catalonia yesterday despite Spaniard Alejandro Valverde winning his third stage of the seven-day race. Valverde picked up a total of 12 bonus seconds on the day thanks to the stage win and an earlier intermediate sprint, but Porte didn’t lose any more time on the hilly 126.6 kilometre circuit around Barcelona to win by four seconds. Victory continued 30-yearold Porte’s fantastic early season form having also won his second Paris-Nice title just two weeks ago. France’s Bryan Coquard was second in the stage just ahead of Russian Sergei Chernetski, who won his first World Tour stage on Saturday. Italian Domenico Pozzovivo was just a second behind Valverde in third overall with two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador a further two seconds adrift in fourth. “We wanted to try and get the overall win and we fought all day for it, although we knew it was going to be very, very difficult,” said Valverde. “We go away from here with three victories and second in the general classification, so you can’t ask for more. It was a very balanced race.” An early three-man breakaway group of Marek Rutkiewicz, David Arroyo and Walter Pedraza was kept in check by Movistar as they looked to set up Valverde for a push at winning the general classification. The 34-year-old then made his move on the last of eight laps up the Alt de Montjuic with five kilometres to go, but quickly abandoned any hopes of making a solo run to the line as Pozzovivo and Porte followed him. Irishman Dan Martin attacked two kilometres later, but he too was caught in the final few metres as Valverde had just enough power to get to the line first in a congested sprint finish. Fourth National Showjumping Championship Qatar Racing’s Noble Protector winning the Sunline Stakes In Moonee Valley, Melbourne on Friday. HORSE RACING Qatar Racing’s Noble Protector wins Sunline Stakes Agencies Melbourne T he Qatar Racing owned Noble Protector won the Group II Sunline Stakes in Moonee Valley on Friday. It was her second Group victory in Australia, two weeks after winning the Group III Schweppervescence Trophy.. Noble Protector, who was drawn in stall one, led from pillar to post to win by two lengths. The filly has confirmed her talent in Australian races. This is the second time she has won a Group race over a mile, but looking back on her victory, she looks capable of winning over a longer trip. Noble Protector could make her next appearance in a Group 1 at Sydney’s Spring Carnival. Her trainer Robert Smerdon, said : “If she jumped out well, she was always going to be prominent. We just wanted to take luck out of the equation. She’s in good shape. We’ve just got to keep her together and get her there (to Sydney) as well as she was tonight and I’m sure she’ll be very competitive.” Qatar Equestrian Federation’s Saeed Hamad Saeed receiving the winners trophy after gaining the top ranking in the first competition of the fourth National Showjumping Championship at the outdoor arena of the QEF on Saturday. Fahad Al Eid astride Natal De St Martin jumping to victory in the third competition. The winners of the second competition pose with their trophies after the presentation ceremony. Mohammed Jassim al-Ghazali astride Caresse MG won the first place, clocking 26.98 at the QEF on Saturday. Khalid al-Eid (Dona Evita) receives the winner’s trophy after clocking the best timing of 36.55 seconds in the fourth competition. PICTURES: Abdo Garsi Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 8 SPORT NBA Jazz silence former teammate Kanter with win over Thunder ‘It was very personal. We try to stay away from those things but we all felt disrespected’ DPA Los Angeles Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (centre) attempts to get past Golden State Warriors’ Harrison Barnes (left) and Klay Thompson (11) in the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports T urkey’s Enes Kanter wasn’t happy during his three-plus seasons in Utah. His return visit wasn’t so great, either. Hours after blasting his former team, Kanter and the Oklahoma City Thunder squandered a 16-point lead and suffered a 94-89 loss on Saturday to the host Utah Jazz that slowed their push for a playoff berth. Trey Burke scored 22 points and France’s Rudy Gobert - Kanter’s replacement - had 13 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz, who stopped a four-game losing streak with an emotional win. “It was very personal,” Burke said. “We try to stay away from those things but we all felt disrespected.” “We had a little extra incentive,” Jazz forward Gordon Hayward added. “I think he kind of (ticked) us all off, honestly. He just fuelled the fire for us.” The Thunder got their customary huge game from NBA scoring leader Russell Westbrook, who had 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Kanter chipped in 18 points and 11 rebounds, but Oklahoma City (41-32) dropped its second straight game and had its lead over New Orleans for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot trimmed to 2 ½ games. Last month, Kanter was traded by Utah to Oklahoma City in a three-team deal. He has flourished with the Thunder, averaging 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds while compensating for the absence of injured superstar Kevin Durant. At Saturday’s shootaround, Kanter was asked by reporters about the differences between Oklahoma City and Salt Lake City. “The difference is I like playing basketball there, that’s the most important thing,” Kanter said. “I never liked playing basketball before in my NBA career. That’s the first time I felt like playing basketball for my team, for the fans, for my teammates, for coaches, everybody.” The Jazz made the 6-11 Kanter the third pick in the 2011 draft. He came off the bench his first two years before becoming a part-time starter last season, averaging 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. But he was not happy with his situation. “Almost everything was a frustration,” he said. “It wasn’t just one or two-game frustration, it was a 3 ½-year frustration. ... It wasn’t just basketball stuff. It was professionalism. “After seeing OKC, I was like ‘This is how NBA teams are,’” he added. “It was like you’re in a dream and you don’t want to open your eyes. You don’t want to end that dream. Oklahoma City has been like that for me.” Booed every time he touched the ball, Kanter got off to a quick start, collecting 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half, when the Thunder led by 16 points before the Jazz rallied within 49-47. Hayward scored eight of his 17 points in the third quarter as Utah grabbed a 7666 lead entering the final period. A jumper by Burke gave the Jazz their largest lead at 82-69 before Westbrook took over. He scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 91-89 with 31 seconds left. Hayward missed a jumper, but Gobert grabbed the rebound and was fouled with eight seconds left and sank both free throws to seal the win. After the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, “I didn’t like the way Enes handled the interviews this afternoon.” “It just pumped us up,” Gobert said. Trevor Booker started for the injured Derrick Favors (back) and scored 12 points for the Jazz, who won despite shooting 38 percent (32-of-84). Utah (32-41) is 13-7 since trading Kanter. Anthony Morrow scored 12 points for the Thunder, who shot 43percent (31of-73) but committed 23 turnovers. STATE WARRIORS 108, MILWAUKEE BUCKS 95 Stephen Curry scored 25 points and Klay Thompson added 21 as the visiting Warriors clinched the top seed in the West with their franchise-record 60th win. The Bucks had a two-game winning streak stopped. HORNETS 115, ATLANTA HAWKS 100 Kemba Walker scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures for the host Hornets, who pulled within one game of Boston for the East’s final playoff spot. Germany’s Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, who rested all five starters one night after clinching the East’s best record. TRAIL BLAZERS 120, DENVER NUGGETS 114 LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 11 re- NHL Predators clinch playoff spot Reuters Washington N ashville Predators clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012 and a couple of former Washington Capitals players helped them do it. Rookie center Filip Forsberg, taken by the Capitals with the 11th pick of the 2012 NHL draft, scored one goal and assisted on two others, and center Mike Ribeiro, who played for the Capitals two seasons ago, recorded a goal and an assist in the Saturday’s National Hockey League. Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne turned aside 25 shots to improve his record to 41-15-4, while Washington goalie Braden Holtby was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots. The Predators also received goals from defenseman Mattias Ekholm and center Mike Fisher in winning their fourth straight game. The Capitals collected two goals from right winger Troy Brouwer and one from defenseman Mike Green. DUCKS 3, ISLANDERS 2 Centers Kyle Palmieri and Andrew Cogliano scored in the second period and Anaheim clinched a playoff berth. The Ducks (48-22-7) have won two straight and six of eight to move into first place overall in the NHL with 103 points. Right winger Richard Rakell was credited with a goal in the first period for the Ducks while goalie Frederik Andersen made 29 saves. The Islanders (44-27-5) continued their freefall by losing for the ninth time in 12 games this month (3-6-3). PENGUINS 3, COYOTES 2 Center Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists, all in the third period, to boost his league-leading points total to 78 as Pittsburgh beat Arizona. Right wingers Daniel Winnik and Steve Downie also scored for Pittsburgh. Left winger Tye McGinn and center Tobias Rieder scored for Arizona. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang, widely considered a candidate for the Norris Trophy, left the Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (right) saves a shot from Washington Capitals’ Curtis Glencross during the first period at the Verizon Center in Washington. (UPI) game in the second period. After Letang released a long outlet pass, Arizona right winger Shane Doan hit him. Letang fell backward into the end boards and needed assistance as he left the ice. BRUINS 4, RANGERS 2 Boston took advantage of a rusty Henrik Lundqvist in his return, scoring three times in the first period on the New York Rangers’ veteran goaltender. Lundqvist, who missed 25 games because of a sprained blood vessel in his neck, gave up four goals in the first 26 minutes for New York (47-20-7). He finished with 26 saves. SHARKS 3, FLYERS 2 (SHOOTOUT) San Jose center Melker Karlsson and defenseman Brent Burns each scored shootout goals, and goaltender Alex Stalock stopped 16 of 18 shots to beat Philadelphia. By winning, the Sharks kept themselves in the conversation for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. San Jose center Joe Pavelski scored his 36th goal of the season and defenseman Matt Irwin added his eighth. Flyers center Claude Giroux scored his 28th goal of the season, and Flyers left winger Michael Raffl notched his 20th for Philadelphia. RED WINGS 4, LIGHTNING 0 Goaltender Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career to lead Detroit over Tampa Bay. Right winger Gusav Nyquist had a goal and an assist and center Joakim Andersson, left winger Justin Abdelkader and center Luke Glendening also scored for Detroit. Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop stopped 19 shots. bounds for the host Trail Blazers, who have won three in a row following a five-game slide. Jameer Nelson scored 22 points for the Nuggets, losers of five of seven. CHICAGO BULLS 111, NEW YORK KNICKS 80 Montenegrin rookie Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points to lead a balanced attack as the host Bulls won their third in a row. Italy’s Andrea Bargnani scored 14 points for the league-worst Knicks, who have dropped seven straight and set a franchise record with their 60th loss. PAGANO WANTS TO BE COLTS COACH ‘FOR YEARS TO COME’ New York: Indianapolis Colts coach CHUCK PAGANO released a statement to downplay talk about his job security with the team. Pagano is entering the final season of his original four-year deal, and reportedly the Colts won’t offer him a contract extension before the 2015 season begins. “Be where your feet are,” Pagano wrote. “What do I mean? Cancer taught me to be thankful for today. All I’m concentrating on is today. Then tomorrow. “My focus right now is on the draft, bringing in players that can help us continue to grow, get better, and continue to ‘Build the Monster.’ I look forward to coaching the Colts this season and for many years to come.” Since taking over the Colts, Pagano has helped lead the franchise to three consecutive 11-5 seasons that included trips to the playoffs. This past season, the Colts reached the AFC Championship game and lost to the New England Patriots 45-7. According to an NFL.com report on Thursday, the Colts have no plans to extend Pagano before next season. Meanwhile, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway has taken a pay cut that will give the team more than $3.2 million in salary cap relief, according to reports Saturday. ESPN.com reported that Greenway’s base salary for 2015, the final year of his deal with Minnesota, has been reduced from $7 million to $3.4 million. He will receive $1 million in guaranteed money and can make up to $600,000 from bonuses. The 32-year-old Greenway, a twotime Pro Bowler, has played his entire eight-year career with the Vikings after being drafted in the first round in 2006. He recorded a career-low 93 tackles last season despite appearing in just 12 games. The New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins are among the teams planning to privately work out former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. The New York Daily News reported Friday that Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, head coach Todd Bowles, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and others in the organization will be in Eugene, Ore., this weekend to watch Mariota at the Ducks’ facilities. The Jets have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. NFL Media’s Albert Breer reported Saturday that the Bucs will work out Mariota on April 7, the Chargers on April 15 and the Redskins are setting up a visit in Ashburn, Va. The Titans, who have the No. 2 pick, also plan visits with Mariota. Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 9 TENNIS MIAIMI OPEN SPOTLIGHT Djokovic overcomes wobble, Serena cruises Williams sisters ready to lead US in Fed Cup Sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard upset by German qualifier Tatjana Maria AFP Miami S erena and Venus Williams plan to play for the US Fed Cup team in the World Group playoff tie next month against Italy, Serena said on Saturday. Italy will host the best-offive match tie on a clay court in Brindisi April 18-19. The two nations are fighting for a place in the tournament’s top tier. “We deserve to be back in,” Serena Williams said as she opened her title defence at the Miami Open. “We have some of the best players in the world. We should be in the World Group A and competing for the title.” The United States dropped out of the World Group in 2014. Italy, meanwhile, are facing relegation for the first time since 2008 after winning the title in 2009, 2010 and 2013. Led by the Williams sisters, the USA beat Argentina 4-1 in Buenos Aires last month to advance to the playoff round with a chance to return to the World Group in 2016. The United States have won the Fed Cup 17 times, but their most recent triumph in the international tournament was in 2000. Novak Djokovic hits a forehand en route to his hard-fought win over Martin Klizan at the Miami Open. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports AFP Miami D efending champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams launched their Miami Open repeat bids in constrasting style on Saturday, Djokovic battling past Martin Klizan as Williams cruised into the third round. Djokovic, the top seed who is looking for a fifth Miami Masters crown, had to work for his 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 second-round victory over Slovakia’s Klizan. The world number one, who beat Roger Federer last weekend for the Indian Wells crown in California, is hoping to duplicate his North American March hardcourt title double of last year. In fact, the Serb is bidding to become the first man to complete the sweep three times. He looked well on his way to a quick win when he snapped up the opening set against his 41st-ranked opponent in 23 minutes. He won the first seven games before Klizan got onto the scoreboard and appeared set to serve out a quick victory with a 5-3 lead in the second. But he dropped his serve and Klizan went on to win the second set before Djokovic reestablished control and earned the victory after one hour, 56 minutes. “Credit to Martin for battling and making me play an extra shot,” Djokovic said. “It was a pretty different game in the second set than it was in the first. “I obviously felt great in the beginning of the match, and then in the opening three games of the second set I made two double faults and kind of got him got into the match. I did drop the level at the second set, but in the third I managed to bounce back and get a win.” Djokovic next plays Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis, a 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 winner over Gilles Muller. “I hope to have another great week in Miami,” Djokovic said of his quest for another career milestone. “I’ve played some of my best tennis on these courts.” Women’s world number one Williams had little trouble in a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Monica Niculescu. The 33-yearold American, who had a much harder time getting past the Romanian spinmerchant in her Indian Wells opener, showed no sign of the knee injury that forced her to forfeit her quarter-final in California last week. “It was a little sore in practice, but it was OK today,” Williams said of her knee. “I really didn’t feel it today, to be honest. Once you step out on the court you have so much adrenaline going. The adrenaline kind of kills it. So I was surprised. I felt pretty good,” added Williams, who is seeking an eighth Miami crown. The 33-year-old American star next faces 15-year-old compatriot Catherine “CiCi” Bellis. Bellis advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over 29th-seeded Zarina Diyas on Friday. In other men’s matches, Japanese fourth seed Kei Nishikori defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-1. Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic beat Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4 while Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer beat Argentine Federico Delbonis 6-1, 6-1. French 11th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his return from a lingering arm injury with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over American Tim Smyczek. Tsonga, who hadn’t played since France’s Davis Cup tie against Switzerland in November, said he was satisfied with his 2015 debut. “I didn’t expect to play my best tennis today ever, but I’m happy the way I managed my match,” said Tsonga. “I played pretty solid, I just had a little hole in the second set.” While Williams looked sharp in her second-round match postponed from Friday by rain, sixth-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard fell at the first hurdle, beaten 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) by German qualifier Tatjana Maria. In women’s third-round play, fourth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki, Russian eighthseed Ekaterina Makarova and ninthseeded German Andrea Petkovic all advanced. Venus Williams also booked a fourth-round berth, with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Australian Samantha Stosur. Venus Williams celebrates her win over Samantha Stosur in Key Biscayne, Florida. (AFP) SECOND ROUND RESULTS Men: Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt Martin Klizan (SVK) 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 Steve Darcis (BEL) bt Gilles Muller (LUX x30) 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 Thomaz Belluci (BRA) bt Pablo Cuevas (URU x21) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) bt Tommy Robredo (ESP x17) 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 7-5 Gilles Simon (FRA x12) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-0 Alejandro Falla (COL) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO x22) 6-4, 6-2 Lukas Rosol (CZE x25) bt Alexander Zverev (GER) 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 David Ferrer (ESP x6) bt Federico Del Bonis (ARG) 6-1, 6-1 Kei Nishikori (JPN x4) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 6-2, 6-1 Viktor Troicki (SRB x32) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 David Goffin (BEL x19) bt Borna Coric (CRO) 6-0, 6-4 Jerzy Janowicz (POL) bt Roberto Bautista (ESP x14) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x9) bt Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 6-2, 6-2 John Isner (USA x18) bt Andrey Rublev (RUS) 6-3, 6-4 Jeremy Chardy (FRA x28) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-4, 6-1 Milos Raonic (CAN x5) bt Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-1, 6-4 Adrian Mannarino (FRA x31) bt Albert Ramos (ESP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 Jack Sock (USA) bt Fabio Fognini (ITA x20) 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 Gael Monfils (FRA x16) bt Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x11) bt Tim Smyczek (USA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Juan Monaco (ARG) bt Ernests Gulbis (LAT x13) 6-2, 6-4 Fernando Verdasco (ESP x26) bt James Duckworth (AUS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Women: 2nd round Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Monica Niculescu (ROM) 6-3, 6-1 Angelique Kerber (GER x13) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 Sara Errani (ITA x11) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) Tatjana Maria (GER) bt Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x6) 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) 3rd round: Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x7) bt Irina Begu (ROM x31) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x12) bt Alize Cornet (FRA x22) 6-0, 6-4 Venus Williams (USA) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3); Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x4) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x8) bt Elina Svitolina (UKR x26) 6-0, 6-4 Andrea Petkovic (GER x9) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-0, 6-2 Karolína Pliskova (CZE x14) bt Paula Badosa (ESP) 7-5, 6-1 Daria Gavrilova (RUS) bt Kurumi Nara (JPN) 6-0, 7-6 (7/5) BOXING Russell stops Gonzalez for WBC featherweight title AFP Las Vegas A merican Gary Russell dominated Jhonny Gonzalez en route to a fourthround technical knockout on Saturday to seize the Mexican’s World Boxing Council featherweight world title. Gonzalez had no answer for Russell’s speed and power. Russell knocked down Gonzalez three times in the fight—once in the third round and twice in the fourth, with referee Tony Weeks calling a halt less than a minute into the round. “This is the kind of performance I expect, but you can’t get these every time,” said Russell, who was making his second bid for a world title after losing last June to Ukraine southpaw Vasyl Lomachenko in a World Boxing Organization title bout. “We put the work in at the gym. We grind three times a day, hard,” added Russell, who indicated after the fight he wants a rematch with Lomachenko. “For all the young fighters coming up, never come into a fight questioning or doubting. Always come into a fight ready.” Russell knocked Gonzalez down with a big left-right combination at the end of the third round, Gonzalez regaining his feet just as the round ended. Russell opened the fourth by landing a flurry of blows to Gonzalez’ head and body, a left to the head sending him down again. Gonzalez rose but was clearly hurt when the action resumed, and another flurry from Russell sent him down again and had Weeks stepping in. Russell, a 2008 Olympian, improved to 26-1 with 15 knockouts while Gonzalez fell to 57-9 with 48 wins inside the distance. Gonzalez was making his third defense of the title he won for the second time in 2013, with a victory over compatriot Abner Mares in Los Angeles. Gonzalez first won the crown in 2011 but lost it in 2012 when an accidental head-butt brought an eighth-round end and a loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon at Las Vegas. BROOK BEATS DAN TO RETAIN IBF TITLE England’s Kell Brook, who returned from an horrific knife attack last year, on Saturday re- American Gary Russell (left) knocked down Jhonny Gonzalez three times in the fight, with referee Tony Weeks calling a halt less than a minute into the round. tained his IBF world welterweight title. The unbeaten 28-year-old floored Romanian challenger Jo Jo Dan four times in a four-round stoppage win six months after being stabbed with a machete in Tenerife. Brook won the IBF title by beating America’s Shawn Porter last August, and he defended the belt against Canada-based Dan at the Motorpoint Arena in his hometown of Sheffield. Soon after beating Porter, Brook sustained serious leg injuries in the machete attack while on holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife, but declared last January he was ready to return to the ring. He produced a dominant performance as he floored Dan twice in the second round. He was knocked down twice in the fourth and did not come out for round five. Brook has a new record of 34-0 (23KOs). Southpaw Dan entered the ring a heavy underdog with a record of 34-3 with 18 early wins. Victory paves the way for a more lucrative fight this summer, with Brook targeting the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Marcos Maidana and, of course, fellow Briton Amir Khan. 10 Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 FOOTBALL EURO QUALIFIERS COMMENT Late goals save day for Netherlands, Italy ‘We came out in the second half buzzing and showed what a good team we are’ AFP London T he Netherlands and Italy needed late equalisers to earn draws in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday, while Gareth Bale inspired Wales to a fine win in Israel that left them top of their group. The Dutch were heading to a first competitive defeat on home soil since October 2000 after Burak Yilmaz put Turkey ahead in Amsterdam, but a 92nd-minute shot by captain Wesley Sneijder deflected into the net off Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to spare Oranje blushes and secure a 1-1 draw. A defeat might have made Dutch coach Guus Hiddink’s position untenable, and even the draw leaves last year’s World Cup semi-finalists in third place in qualifying Group A, five points behind second-placed Iceland and two points ahead of Turkey. “It wasn’t a bad match, but not our best either,” said Hiddink. “A defeat would have been catastrophic but the (equalising) goal keeps us in the running.” Only the top two in each group qualify automatically for next year’s finals in France, along with the best third-place finisher. The Czech Republic lead the section, although they required a last-minute goal by substitute Vaclav Pilar just to earn a 1-1 draw with Latvia in Prague after Aleksejs Visnakovs had given the away side the lead. They are a point ahead of Iceland, who won 3-0 in Kazakhstan with Birkir Bjarnason scoring twice after veteran forward Eidur Gudjohnsen put them ahead in Astana. Debut goal for Eder Antonio Conte’s Italy are in a rather more comfortable position than the Netherlands and remain unbeaten in Group H after coming back to draw 2-2 with Bulgaria in Sofia. Yordan Minev’s early own goal gave the Azzurri the lead, but Ivelin Popov and Ilian Micanski both scored for Bulgaria to turn the game on its head. The hosts looked to be heading for a win in Ivaylo Petev’s first game as coach but Brazilian-born debutant Eder, of Sampdoria, came off the bench to save a point for Italy with a fine strike with six minutes left. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Eder told Rai Sport. “Conte had faith in me and I’ve scored a goal wearing an important jersey. I hope I’ll go on to be given other chances.” Nevertheless, it is Croatia who top the group by two points from the Euro 2012 runners-up after a romping to a 5-1 win at home to a Norway side featur- Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder (R) fights for the ball with Turkey’s Ozan Tufan during their Euro 2016 qualifying match in Amsterdam. (Reuters) Wales’ midfielder Gareth Bale celebrates his goal during the Euro 2016 qualifying match against Israel at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa. (AFP) Hiddink insists Dutch will qualify despite setback Reuters Amsterdam V eteran Netherlands coach Guus Hiddink insisted his side would qualify for next year’s European Championship as questions over his tenure re-emerged in the wake of a last-gasp 1-1 home draw with Turkey on Saturday. Hiddink’s team needed a goal from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar two minutes into stoppage time to snatch a dramatic draw in the Group A qualifier at the Amsterdam Arena. Had Huntelaar not scored, it would have been their first loss at home in a European Championship qualifier. “Of course, we will succeed even if I’m not sure yet how,” Hiddink said. “We wanted to beat Turkey but at the end of the qualifying competition it could yet prove to be a very important point.” Hiddink had already been under pressure after the Dutch lost two of their opening three Group A qualifiers. After the 2-0 defeat in Iceland in October, he had talks with the Dutch football association over his role, but was given a vote of confidence. Pressure eased after a 6-0 win over Latvia in November but was ratcheted up again after Saturday’s disappointing draw. A leading Dutch soccer website began an online poll on whether the coach should stay after Saturday’s performance, eliciting a luke warm response. “It was difficult against a team like Turkey,” said Hiddink. “They came to play football with a wall but they are not a bad team. Their position in the standings does not reflect their capabilities. “We gave our all but it was not a good match from us.” Turkey, who took a 37th minute lead through Burak Yilmaz, are still two points behind the third-placed Dutch in Group A. The Netherlands are on seven points, trailing leaders the Czech Republic by six points and second placed Iceland by five. All have five more games to play. The top two teams in each group plus the best third placed finisher qualify automatically for the finals in France with the other third placed finishers then competing in play-offs to complete an expanded 24-team tournament. OPINION Spain’s former glories not far away, says Del Bosque AFP Madrid S ing 16-year-old Real Madrid prospect Martin Odegaard. Marcelo Brozovic gave Croatia the lead with a curling strike on the half hour and Ivan Perisic, Ivica Olic, Gordon Schildenfeld and Danijel Pranjic added further goals in the second half. The hosts were comfortable despite having Vedran Corluka sent off in the second half, with Norway missing a penalty through Tarik Elyounoussi before Alexander Tettey pulled one back. Elsewhere in Group H, Azerbaijan moved off the bottom by defeating Malta 2-0 in Baku in former Croatia star Robert Prosinecki’s first game as coach. Brilliant Bale Meanwhile, Madrid winger Bale scored a second-half brace as Wales cruised to a 3-0 win in Israel that put them top of Group B. Israel came into the game in Haifa in first place having won their opening three qualifiers, but Bale set up Aaron Ramsey to give the visitors the lead late in the first half. Bale doubled their advantage shortly after the restart from an exquisite free-kick before forcing the sending-off of Israel defender Eytan Tibi and then making it 3-0 on 77 minutes. Chris Coleman’s side have won three and drawn two of five matches in Group B and lead the way with 11 points, two ahead of Israel. “To come out on top is amazing. The first half was very hard. We did a lot of running, closed them down well, and luckily got the goal which gave us a lot of confidence,” Bale told Sky Sports. “We came out in the second half buzzing and showed what a good team we are.” Belgium can go level on points with Wales if they win their game in hand in Israel on Tuesday, after the Red Devils eased to a 5-0 victory over Cyprus in Brussels. Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini scored twice with Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard and Michy Batshuayi also on target. Bosnia and Herzegovina claimed a much-needed win in their first match under Mehmed Bazdarevic as Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko’s hat-trick secured a 3-0 success in Andorra. pain coach Vicente del Bosque insists his side are not as far away from the form that saw them win three consecutive major tournaments between 2008 and 2012 as their critics suggest. The European champions’ 1-0 win over Ukraine on Friday was met with a lukewarm reaction by Spanish fans and media for the lack of control and attacking intent showed by Del Bosque’s men. Indeed, the former Real Madrid boss himself admitted after the game that Spain’s lacklustre second-half showing had left him with a “bad taste in his mouth.” However, he believes Spain’s disastrous World Cup showing, when they were eliminated after just two games last June, has coloured the views of their current qualification campaign for Euro 2016. “It is a logical reaction after all that happened at the World Cup in Brazil. Before we were blessed and now people focus on the bad things rather than the good,” he said on Saturday. “Everything seems worse and it is not like that. We are doing some things well. Spain aren’t so far away from what they were.” The post World Cup hangover continued with a shock 2-1 defeat to Slovakia in October which has left Spain trailing the Group C leaders by three points despite winning the other four of their five qualifiers. Del Bosque, though, is confident Spain will be amongst the contenders for the title at the championships next year in France. “The love and interest of the fans will return with victories and good performances, but I am optimistic. “The first objective is to qualify for the European Championships. I hope we can achieve that. We are the reigning European champions and we want to be in France to defend our title. We will get there with a team capable and ready to compete.” Spain aren’t in competitive action again until June when they travel to Belarus, but they face the Netherlands in a friendly on Tuesday hoping to avenge the humiliating 5-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the Dutch in the first game of the World Cup. FRIENDLY ‘Chicharito’ goal lifts Mexico 1-0 over Ecuador AFP Los Angeles A goal by Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez and an impressive performance from goalkeeper Jesus Corona lifted Mexico to a 1-0 friendly win over Ecuador on Saturday. In front of 90,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum—a venue where Mexico enjoy strong support— Hernandez scored the lone goal in the 14th minute, ending his four-month scoring drought. The 26-year-old striker’s last goal for club or country had come in Amsterdam on November 12 in Mexico’s 3-1 win over the Dutch. Before that, it was in a Real Madrid shirt on October 29 in the Copa del Rey against lowly Cornella. Hernandez, currently on loan from Manchester United to Real Madrid, gained possession outside the penalty area and beat two defenders before curling the ball past Ecuadoran keeper Alexander Dominguez and in off the post. It was his 39th goal for Mexico, tying him with Cuauhtemoc Blanco for second on his country’s all-time list— seven behind all-time scoring leader Jared Borgetti. Corona’s crucial contribution included three denials of Miller Bolanos—including from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute. Referee Christopher Reid awarded the penalty after Diego Reyes collided in the area with first-half substitute Angel Mena. Corona dived right for the stop and preserved Mexico’s lead. Mexico nearly doubled their advantage nine minutes from full time with a Raul Jimenez header that was parried by Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez onto the crossbar. “It was a very important win because we want in each game to try to show how to respond to the confidence that the manager gives to us when he calls us up,” Hernandez told ESPN after the match. “We’re very happy with this victory. We know they’re friendlies, but we know it’s better when you prepare all the process when you win most of the games.” The match was part of both teams’ build-up for the Copa America in Chile. Mexico will play the South American tournament in June as an invited guest. Mexico are also tuning up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July. Both teams continue their preparations with friendlies in the United States on Tuesday. Mexico will take on Paraguay in Kansas City, Missouri, while Ecuador face off against Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Javier Hernandez of Mexico celebrates with teammate Andres Guardado (top) after scoring during a friendly match against Ecuador in Los Angeles. (AFP) Gulf Times Monday, March 30, 2015 11 FOOTBALL EURO QUALIFIERS SPOTLIGHT Reus, Mueller on target as Germany ease past Georgia Scotland stay on track; wins for Romania, Northern Ireland Germany’s forward Thomas Muller heads the ball with Georgia’s defender Lasha Dvali during the Euro 2016 qualifying match in Tbilisi yesterday. (AFP) Reuters Tbilisi W orld Cup winners Germany eased past hosts Georgia 2-0 in their Euro 2016 qualifier yesterday with first-half goals from Marco Reus and Thomas Mueller enough to get their Group D campaign back on track. Reus put the visitors ahead after 39 minutes and Mueller doubled their lead before the break as the Germans, who had an erratic start to qualifiers last year and lost in Poland, were never threatened by their weaker opponents. The win lifted Germany, who did not need to hit top form, to 10 points from five games, as many as leaders Poland, who take on Ireland later on Sunday. Scotland are also on 10. Georgia have had a tough start in Group D, recording four defeats and a win in Gibraltar to stay on three points. It did not take long for Germany, with several World Cup winners back in the squad including captain Bastian Sch- weinsteiger, to threaten with Reus’ powerful drive palmed on to the crossbar by keeper Giorgi Loria after five minutes. With coach Joachim Loew reverting to a four-man defence from a three-player experiment against Australia in a friendly on Wednesday, the Germans were in and around their opponents’ box for most of the first half. Mueller fired at goal directly from a corner only to see the ball fly just wide of the post and Mesut Ozil missed another big chance as the visitors had the hosts firmly on the backfoot. Reus did better in the 39th when Mario Goetze charged into the box and was lucky to scramble the ball to the winger, who drilled home for his second goal this week, after also scoring in their 2-2 friendly draw against Australia. Mueller then added another on the stroke of halftime to firmly put them in the driving seat. New Georgia coach Kakhaber Tskhadadze added a forward after the break but it was Reus who came close again, rattling the bar for a second time on the hour with another powerful shot. Germany group rivals Scotland defeat- ed Gibraltar 6-1 to stay in the running. Steven Fletcher scored a hat-trick, while Shaun Maloney converted twice from the spot and Steven Naismith was also on target for Scotland in an expected easy win over rank outsiders Gibraltar at Hampden Park. Gilbraltar could at least celebrate a first competitive goal when Lee Casciaro scored to equalize in the first-half for the international debutants. Group F leaders Romania and nearest challengers Northern Ireland also both won to stay in the top two places in their group. Romania moved to 13 points after beating Faroe Islands 1-0, courtesy of a 21st-minute goal from Claudiu Keseru. Northern Ireland remained a point behind after overcoming Finland 2-1, both first-half goals coming from Kyle Lafferty before a stoppage-time strike from Berat Sadik in Belfast. Albania came from behind to beat Armenia 2-1 in a Group I encounter which takes Albania level on seven points with Denmark. Portugal, a point behind, could go top of the group with a win later over visiting Serbia. Firmino fires Brazil in feisty friendly AFP London B razil extended their winning streak under new coach Dunga to eight matches as Roberto Firmino came off the bench to secure a 1-0 win over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. Hired for a second spell in charge in the aftermath of their humiliating 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat against Germany last year, Dunga is restoring his country’s pride in their national team and he will earn more plaudits for the astute substitution that brought on matchwinner Firmino. The Hoffenheim attacking midfielder’s second-half goal capped an impressive few days for Brazil, who won 3-1 against France in Paris on Thursday and survived a bruising encounter with South American rivals Chile in north London to maintain Dunga’s 100 percent record. Dunga, who captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994, is overseeing a period of transition ahead of the Copa America in Chile in June and his team have now scored 18 goals and conceded only two under his nononsense leadership. In contrast, Chile’s third defeat in four matches leaves them with plenty to work to do before their Copa challenge. After Brazil’s penalty shootout victory against Chile in the last 16 of the World Cup, there was clearly some lingering illfeeling between the teams. Chile’s Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez was pictured in a relaxed mood playing with his dogs before a training session earlier in the week, but there were no creature comforts in his adopted home as a crunching challenge from Souza sent him crashing to the turf. Chile’s Miiko Albornoz sought immediate retribution and his crude tackle on Neymar left the Brazil captain crumpled in a heap. Referee Martin Atkinson kept his cards in his pocket after those two offences, but he was less lenient when Albornoz once again targeted Barcelona star Neymar with a cynical foul. Fractious encounter Brazil defender Thiago Silva Scotland’s Steven Fletcher celebrates after he scores his third goal during the Euro 2016 qualifying match against Gibraltar in Glasgow. (AFP) followed Albornoz into the book for a hack at Chile’s Pablo Hernandez and an already fractious encounter turned spiteful moments later when Gary Medel bundled Neymar to the floor and then stood on the prone striker’s right leg. Atkinson had sent off Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard for stamping on Manchester United’s Ander Herrera last weekend, but luckily for Medel he missed the Inter Milan midfielder’s ugly foul. Neymar shook off the challenge and almost provided the perfect response to Medel’s brutality when his free-kick was inches away from being finished off by Miranda. Douglas Costa had an even better chance just before the interval when he controlled Marcelo’s lofted pass on his chest, but the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder blazed way over. A scrappy half ended on a suitably aggressive note when Neymar was booked for needlessly chopping down Gonzalo Jara and there was no sign of a drop in intensity after the break. Chile’s Pablo Hernandez appealed in vain for a penalty after stumbling under pressure from Fernandinho and his team-mate Mauricio Isla also saw a spotkick claim rejected following Marcelo’s challenge. While shots on target were proving hard to come by, the booking count continued to mount after Miranda bundled over Sanchez, who had tenaciously harried the defender out of possession. When Sanchez sent the resulting free-kick well over, it summed up a game in which even the flair players were more notable for moments of perspiration rather than inspiration. Dunga made four changes on the hour, with former Manchester City forward Robinho among those sent on in a bid to break free of the Chilean defensive shackles. The changes worked a treat as Firmino made a perfectly timed run through the heart of Chile’s defence to meet Danilo’s pass with a composed touch that took him around goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to slot into the empty net in the 72nd minute. Chile nearly snatched a late equaliser, but Matias Fernandez’s free-kick was pushed away by Jefferson. Brazil’s Neymar (2nd R) celebrates with Roberto Firmino (R) after Firmino scores against Chile in London. (AFP) FOCUS Man United’s Smalling hails Van Gaal impact Reuters London M anchester United defender Chris Smalling hailed manager Louis van Gaal as the reason behind his upturn in form and believes he is now playing the best football of his career. Smalling has struggled for consistency since joining United from Fulham in 2010 but the 25-year-old has flourished under Van Gaal this season, making 22 Premier League appearances. Smalling, part England’s squad to travel to Turin to play Italy in a friendly on Tuesday, gave an assured performance alongside Phil Jones in United’s 3-0 win over Liverpool last weekend and is now targeting a successful end to the season. “The manager has shown a lot of faith in me. Especially over the last couple of months,” Smalling told a news conference on Sunday ahead of the Italy game. “The manager has chosen me and I am enjoying my football. I think he is very honest. He says what you are doing very well and what you can improve. He has real belief in you. “We have got another eight games, so we will look to finish as strong as we can.” Smalling’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season and media reports have linked him with a move away from United, but the former Fulham defender hopes his long-term future is at Old Trafford. “I have always enjoyed playing for United, especially at the minute,” he said. “If I can contribute then I am happy to stay as long as they want me.” Fourth-placed United host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday. Roy Hodgson’s contract runs to the end of Euro 2016 and Smalling would like to see the England manager stay on beyond that tournament. Hodgson signed Smalling for Fulham seven years ago and the defender is a big fan of the 67-year-old. ‘Ever since I have worked with Roy, he has shown faith in all the players, especially the younger players,’ Smalling said. ‘We have all enjoyed training with him and obviously he is focusing on until next summer. I would be very happy to work with him for a longer period.’ Hodgson maintained his 100 per cent post-World Cup record on Friday when England beat Lithuania 4-0 at Wembley. The Three Lions will make it eight wins in a row if they beat Italy in Turin on Tuesday. Smalling thinks Hodgson has turned England into a fearsome team since their World Cup debacle. ‘A lot of teams will be frightened and hopefully on Tuesday we will show that,’ he said. ‘I think we are on the verge of something special. We are winning games. We are being ruthless and we are really together.’ CHRIS SMALLING Monday, March 30, 2015 SPORT GULF TIMES QATAR BASKETBALL LEAGUE FOCUS Al Rayyan off to a winning start in finals ‘It is great to be one up after the first game as it gives us a lot of confidence’ Al Rayyan’s Dominic Davon (No 14) spins away from El Jaish’s Fadi Abilmona (No 6) during their first match of their Qatar Basketball Leagues’s best-of-three finals at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday. PICTURES: Othman Iraqi By Sports Reporter Doha A l Rayyan drew first blood in their quest for the Qatar Men’s League title when they beat El Jaish 86-78 in the first match of their best-of-three finals at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall yesterday. A 52-31 lead at the end of the second quarter proved instrumental in their victory as the Qatar giants fought off a late challenge from El Jaish. Al Rayyan’s Dominic Davon shot five three-throws to emerge the top-scorer for either side with 28 points, while Armond Bolds had 22 and Mohamed Hassan 14. Qatar veteran Yaseen Ismail Musa played almost a full match to score 11 points and lend some inspiration to his team. Al Rayyan asserted themselves early in the match by taking a 12-9 lead at the end of the first five minutes, but by the time the first quarter ended, they had stretched their advantage to 28-18 lead. In the second quarter, Al Rayyan scored 24 points as against El Jaish’s 13 and that proved the key to the outcome of the match. And although El Jaish produced a much-improved show in the third quarter by scoring 21 points, it was too little too late for them. For El Jaish, Larrell Taggart top-scored with 21 points, while Yusuf Mohamed and Harold Boney Watson had 14. Al Rayyan led for 36 minutes in the match, while El Jaish had their noses ahead for only about three minutes. “It is great to be one up after the first game as it gives us a lot of confidence,” said Al Rayyan coach Koufos Stergois. “It was by no means an easy match but the boys stuck to their task and ensured victory for the team. Dominic is a fine player and he delivered for us today as he has often,” the Greek said. El Jaish coach Dragoslav Milovanovic said he was disappointed but not losing hope. “For sure you get upset when you lose but there are still two more matches remaining in the series and we can still turn the tables on Al Rayyan,” he said. Meanwhile, Al Wakrah pipped Al Shamal 81-77 to take fifth place. In a neck-and-neck battle, Al Wakrah edged their rivals after trailing 4839 and 61-59 at the end of the second and third quarters. Adamu Saaka was the hero in Al Wakrah’s win as he top-scored with 34 points, nailing a whopping 15 off them from threepointers. Mohamed Abdulrehman with 23 and Rashaad Singleton and Mohamed Ouiri with 10 each also excelled for the winners. For Al Shamal, Leron Hunter II excelled with 24 points, while Kosar alKader and Samer Rabia contributed 16 and 15 respectively. Yahya outshines best to take lead in Desert Challenge By Sports Reporter Abu Dhabi T he UAE’s Yahya al-Helei covered himself in glory today in the 25th anniversary Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Powered by Nissan, outshining the world’s best drivers to take the lead as he extended his remarkable 100% appearance record in the event. Partnered by Emirati codriver Khalid al-Kindi in a Nissan Pick-up, al-Helei won the 262km Yas Marina Circuit Special Stage 1 in impressive style to take a 1mins 54 secs overall lead from reigning FIA World Cup champion Vladimir Vasilyev, last year’s cars winner, in a Mini. Brazilian Reinaldo Varela in a Toyota Hilux finished the leg in third, with Dakar Rally champion Nasser al-Attiyah, the UAE’s Sheikh Khalid al-Qassimi and Dutchman Erik Van Loon completing the top six. In the battle of the bikes, reigning FIM world champion Marc Coma of Spain once again looked in complete control in the desert of the Western Region which he has come to know so well, taking a lead of 1.21 secs from his KTM teammate, Dubai-based British rider Sam Sunderland. But al-Helei, the man who has previously contested the Desert Challenge 23 times in a car and once on a bike, was unquestionably the star of the day, despite a nervous last section when he was hindered by gearbox problems. He reached the end of the stage to say: “I spent AED1 million to turn my car from T2 to T1 because I want to win this rally. The other drivers have factory cars, but I wanted to show that the most important thing is how strong is the driver, not the car. “I had a good day, but for the last 80kms I had transmission problems, sometimes losing fourth gear and third gear. I was happy to finish, and tomorrow I hope for another good day.” Making it an even better day for the host country, al-Qassmi produced a splendid drive on his Desert Challenge debut to finish the day in fifth place, showing that he has adapted quickly after making the transition from conventional rallying to cross coun- try for this event. “It was a great performance from Yaha, who has shown again what an accomplished driver he is,” said Mohamed Ben Sulayem, President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE, the rally organisers. “It’s good to see an Emirati driver performing so well on this world stage, and it was encouraging as well to see Sheikh Khalid driving so confidently on his first attempt at the Desert Challenge.” Coma was in commanding form on his KTM, and with defending champion Paulo Goncalves of Portugal more than four minutes further adrift in third, the Spaniard said at the end of the stage: “The first day has been tricky however everyone is excited and pushing. I am happy and in a good position.” Sunderland, who had been uncomfortable with his sixth place starting position on the day, produced another quality performance to say: “I gave it my all to gain ground and catch up with bikers in front. It was difficult but I pushed myself really hard to get there.” Goncalves, who produced a brilliant final leg surge to win the bikes crown last year, said: “Today has been hard as I began fast so I could chase the leaders. I then lost time when I stopped to help a competitor. Tomorrow is another day and I need to remain focused.” Portugal’s Ruben Faria, American Ricky Brabec and Austrian Matthias Walkner completed the top six, while top UAE rider Mohamed al-Balooshi again looked comfortable in the presence of the world’s top riders, setting the seventh fastest time. Balooshi said: “I started the stage in third and stayed there almost until the first service. I then stalled and Marc Coma passed me. It’s day one of four more long days. Anything can happen and it’s important to be smart and take it day by day.” The 25th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is taking place under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western region. The Nissan Patrol, the “Hero of All terrain in Life”, is positioned for the 12th year as the official vehicle of the event. Nasser al-Attiyah in his Mini during the leg 1. Al Rayyan’s Armond Bolds (No 73) attempts a shot as El Jaish defenders look on. WARM-UP SPOTLIGHT Rivera discusses Rio Games with Aspetar medicine experts By Sports Reporter Doha V Qatar football team during a training session on the eve of their friendly match against Slovenia. Qatar will meet Slovenia at Lekhwiya stadium today at 7.00pm. Qatar defeated Algeria 1-0 in an earlier friendly on March 26. alero Rivera López, the coach of Qatar’s successful men’s national handball team, paid a work visit to Aspetar yesterday. Coach Rivera was welcomed by Ibrahim al-Darwish, Aspetar’s Chief Operating Officer and Prof Nebojsa Popovic, Acting Chief Medical Officer. The coach, who is originally from Spain and has a long history of handball coaching success there, met with several Aspetar senior staff to discuss the further collaboration of Qatar Handball Association with Aspetar and the preparation of the Qatar national teams for both the 2015 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in August this year and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Valero thanked Aspetar for the excellent services provided to Qatar’s men’s handball national team during the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship. He highlighted the importance of the medical services provided by Aspetar for the success of the Qatar team at the championship. He also congratulated Aspetar to the overall provision of medical services at the event which were praised by all participating teams. In return, Prof Popovic, himself an Olympic Gold medal winner with the Yugoslavian national handball team in 1972, congratulated the national team coach for the outstanding work done when leading the Annabi to win the silver medal in the 2015 Championship, the best Arab and Asian achievement in the history of handball.