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FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019 / RABEE’A AL AWWAL 4-5, 1441 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17221 24 PAGES 150 FILS

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KUWAIT RELENTLESSLY SEEKS TO BOLSTER JOINT ARAB ACTION

Turkish aggression hit in stand for Arab sovereigntyCAIRO, Oct 31, (KUNA): President of the Arab Parliament Mishaal Al-Salami af-firmed Thursday the Parliament’s support for the sovereignty of all Arab countries, standing by their side against any dangers or interference.

This came in a speech delivered by Al-Salami during the opening of the fourth session of the second legislative term of the Arab Parliament.

The current session will be “full of many issues and will result in a number of unified Arab laws, strategies, action plans and parliamentary visions,” he said

In this context, Al-Salami assured the Parliament Protection of Egypt’s water se-curity and maintaining its legal and historical rights, calling on Ethiopia not to harm Egypt’s share of the Nile River, which is very important to the Egyptian people.

On the Syrian file, he strongly condemned “the Turkish aggression” on northeastern Syria, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign forces and armed militias from Syrian territory.

On the other hand, Al-Salami stressed the importance of Palestinian issue and the demand to take immediate and urgent action to compel Israel to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy, welcoming at the same time the call by Pal-estinian President Mahmoud Abbas to hold the Palestinian elections.

Al-Salami also stressed the solidarity of the Arab Parliament with the King-dom of Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures taken to protect its vital and economic facilities.

In his speech, Al-Salami affirmed the Arab Parliament’s firm position in sup-port of Yemeni legitimacy, security, stability and unity of Yemen and the ter-ritorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.

On Libya, Al-Salami renewed appeal to all parties in Libya to prevail the language of dialogue and wisdom and end the armed conflict to preserve the security and stability of the country.

As for the Sudanese issue, he called for Sudan to be removed from the list of state sponsoring terrorism.

“Based on the plan of the Arab Parliament adopted by the Jerusalem Sum-mit in Dhahran 2018, a draft resolution on this matter will be presented to the Parliament session”, he noted.

As for the current situation in Iraq, the Arab Parliament follows with great concern the developments in Iraq, condemning in the strongest terms the kill-ing of demonstrators and security forces and the burning of state buildings, Al-Salami added.

He called on the Iraqi government to respond to the legitimate demands of the demonstrators.

He concluded his speech by addressing the latest developments in Lebanon, and saluted the Lebanese people and their rights and establish a civil system based on scrutiny and the rule of law, fighting corruption and achieving decent living.

A Kuwaiti legislator on Thursday affirmed Kuwait’s relentless efforts for bolstering joint Arab action.

Kuwait, through His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has adopted a continuous policy for backing up the Arab nation se-curity and preserving interests of the Arab people, said the Kuwaiti MP Ali Al-Degbasi, in a statement to KUNA, on sidelines of the fourth session of the Arab Parliament.

He alluded to His Highness the Amir address at the recent session of the Kuwaiti Parliament, affirming support for Arab communities and the common Arab work. He also noted His Highness’ call upon the Arab nations to resort to dialogue for serving joint interests.

Demand for withdrawal of all foreign forcesApp hack ‘spied’ MP ‘renews’ focuson expatriate hiresWASHINGTON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Se-

nior government officials in multiple US-allied countries were targeted ear-lier this year with hacking software that used Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp to take over users’ phones, according to people familiar with the messaging company’s investigation.

Sources familiar with WhatsApp’s in-ternal investigation into the breach said a “significant” portion of the known victims are high-profile government and military officials spread across at least 20 countries on five continents.

The hacking of a wider group of top government officials’ smartphones than previously reported suggests the What-sApp cyber intrusion could have broad political and diplomatic consequences.

WhatsApp filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group. The Facebook-owned soft-ware giant alleges that NSO Group built and sold a hacking platform that exploit-ed a flaw in WhatsApp-owned servers to help clients hack into the cellphones of at least 1,400 users.

By Ahmed Al-NaqeebArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: The employ-ment of expatriates will cease, especially if it comes at the expense of the wellbeing of citizens, says MP Khaleel Al-Saleh.

After issuing this statement during the last parliamentary round, he said he will submit a request to the National Assem-bly to reform the human resources de-velopment committee calling it crucial to address the replacement policy and solve the issue of unemployment.

He added, the Civil Service Commis-sion has been mandated to provide the statistics on employment to the National Assembly highlighting the progress that has been achieved in the area of replace-ment policy while at the same time em-phasizing that the progress in this area is currently in its preliminary stage.

He added, the committee plans to push

Continued on Page 3

Al-Quraishi new leader

DAESH ‘confirms’death of BaghdadiCAIRO, Oct 31, (Agencies): The Islamic State militant group con-fi rmed on Thursday its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed, the group’s news agency Amaq said in an audio tape following a US weekend raid.

Baghdadi, an Iraqi jihadist who rose from obscurity to declare him-self “caliph” of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic State, was killed by US special forces in northwestern Syria, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

The group had been silent until now. As successor it appointed some-one Amaq only identifi ed as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi.

Aymenn al-Tamimi, a researcher at Swansea University focused on Islamic State, said the name was unknown but could be a top fi gure called Hajj Abdullah whom the US State Department had identifi ed as

a possible successor to Baghdadi“It could be someone we know,

who perhaps has just assumed this new name,” said Tamimi.

The group, which controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria be-tween 2014 and 2017 and car-ried out atrocities that horrifi ed most Muslims, also confi rmed the death of its spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir.

Baghdadi was killed in Idlib in northwestern Syria.

US special forces carried out the Syrian operation in which Baghdadi killed himself and three of his children by detonat-ing a suicide vest when he was cornered in a tunnel, according to US offi cials.

The Pentagon on Wednesday released its fi rst images from last weekend’s commando raid in Syria that led to the death of -Baghdadi and warned the mili-tant group may attempt to stage a “retribution attack.”

The declassifi ed, grainy, black-and-white aerial videos from Saturday’s raid showed US special operations forces closing in on the compound and US air-craft fi ring on militants nearby.

The most dramatic video showed a massive, black plume of smoke rising from the ground after US military bombs leveled Baghdadi’s compound.

“It looks pretty much like a parking lot, with large potholes,” said Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East.

McKenzie, briefi ng Penta-gon reporters, said the idea of destroying the compound was at least in part “to ensure that it would not be a shrine or other-wise memorable in any way.

“It’s just another piece of ground,” he said.

Baghdadi, an Iraqi jihad-ist who rose from obscurity to declare himself “caliph” of all Muslims as the leader of Islamic State, died by detonating a sui-cide vest as he fl ed into a dead-end tunnel as elite US special forces closed in.

McKenzie said he brought two young children into the tunnel with him – not three, as had been the US government estimate. Both children were believed to be under the age of 12 and both were killed, he said.

He portrayed Baghdadi as iso-lated at his Syrian compound, just four miles from the Turk-ish border, saying fi ghters from other militant groups nearby probably did not even know he was there. McKenzie suggested it was unlikely that Baghdadi used the Internet or had digital connections to the outside world.

“I think you’d fi nd (he was using) probably a messenger system that allows you to put something on a fl oppy or on a bit of electronics and have someone physically move it somewhere,” he said.

MP nod needed for VATUnion key

RIYADH, Oct 31, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Min-ister of Finance Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf said on Thursday that the value-added tax (VAT) could not be imposed without approval of the National Assembly (Parliament).

Kuwait is a State of institu-tions and has a Constitution, thus the VAT could not be en-forced without consent of the National Assembly, Minister Al-Hajraf stated.

He was reacting to a question in this respect during a seminar, titled, “The Middle East Wel-comes Businesses: How the re-gion has turned into an axis for international investments,” as part of the Third Future Invest-ment Initiative (FII) forum, host-ed by the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Legislations and regulations are necessary to impose any tax, he said, also noting that other member states of the Gulf Co-operation Council namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, had already endorsed and imple-mented the GCC VAT Treaty.

Al-Hajraf said that GCC eco-nomic integration should not be affected by any differences, opin-ions or political views among some Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Al-Hajraf made his remarks at “The Middle East welcomes business” session on Thursday, held as part of the “Future Invest-ment Initiative” forum in Riyadh, with the participation of Saudi Finance Minister Mohammad Al-Jadaan and Bahraini Minister of Finance and National Econo-my Sheikh Salman Al-Khalifa.

Al-Hajraf explained that the economy affects every citizen in all Gulf countries, “which is what we focus on in the Gulf Econom-ic Committee”, he added.

He stressed that what has been achieved during the past 30 years under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council is very good, pointing out that the dif-ferences between the GCC coun-tries happens in all countries of the world, “and we must work to resolve it”, he said.

Al-Hajraf pointed out that the visions and plans of the GCC countries are working in an inte-grated manner, and support each other to achieve the best way to give the private sector the abil-ity to play its role, stressing that the GCC states will work in the economic aspect in an integrated manner.

For his part, Saudi Minister Al-Jadaan said, “we are introduc-ing Gulf resolutions every year in order to improve economic unifi-cation, such as allowing GCC cit-izens to do their business in any Gulf country as it citizens, which applies to most professions”.

“We, as ministers, meet at least twice a year and every time we work on new laws,” he said.

The Initiative, which launched on Tuesday and will run until Thursday, is organized by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and in the presence of a number of head of states and decision makers.

Al-Hajraf discussed with US

Continued on Page 3

Photo by Rizalde Cayanan, courtesy of DAIThe Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah hosted a Bedawi music night performed by Majed Al Kuwaiti on Wednesday evening at its Yar-mouk Cultural Centre. Badawi music is a type of music generated in the desert. Despite the harshness of the desert atmosphere, the music and the poetry which characterises this genre is gentle and effervescent. The evening was even more special as the

music was performed by young musicians who wish to further develop this genre of Kuwaiti music.

Iraqi President consents to pollBAGHDAD, Oct 31, (Agencies): Iraqi President Barham Saleh an-nounced on Thursday his consent for holding early elections with a new electoral law.

In a televised address to the Iraqi people, Saleh said Prime Min-ister Adel Abdul Mahdi agreed to tender his resignation, urging political parties to select “an acceptable successor.”

“The current situation cannot persist and we really need serious re-forms and great changes,” said the president after a week of demonstra-tions claimed 100 lives and left the nation engulfed in much chaos.

Saleh added that the presidency had already begun sponsoring na-tional dialogue to tackle structural flaws in the administration, assuring the people that he was seeking to reform the governing system.

The president also indicated that he was pursuing contacts with various forces for drafting a new electoral law as prelude to old early and fair polls.

Corruption files have been referred to the judiciary, he said, stressing on the necessity for transparency and adherence to the laws and peoples’ rights.

He also called for speedy action to penalize “the criminals and those who have been complacent” in addressing the nation issues.

Iraqi security forces killed one protester and wounded more than 50 on Thursday as tens of thousands resumed mass demonstra-tions to demand an end to the sectarian power-sharing system they blame for endemic corruption and economic hardships.

More than 250 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and pro-government paramilitary groups since protests be-gan on Oct 1 and eventually swelled into the worst mass unrest in Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.

The protester was killed in the capital Baghdad early on Thurs-day when security forces fired a tear-gas canister into his chest – the latest to die of canister-related injuries.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s political elite was gripped by a power strug-gle that raised pressure for the removal of Abdul Mahdi but pro-testers said this would not be enough.

“We want a total change of government, we don’t want one or two officials fired and replaced with other corrupt ones. We want to completely uproot the government,” said protester Hussein, who did not give a last name, in Tahrir Square.

“They think we will protest for one or two days then go home. No, we are staying here until the government is uprooted.”

Protesters from across Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic divides thronged the centre of Baghdad in a show of fury at an elite they see as deeply corrupt, beholden to foreign powers and responsible for daily privations and shambolic public services.

Protests also took place in seven other provinces, mostly in the southern Shi’ite heartland. Thousands gathered in Nassiriya, Di-waniya and oil-rich Basra while hundreds hit the streets in Hilla, Samawa, and the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf.

Two rockets were fired into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Wednesday, killing one Iraqi soldier and adding to the violence gripping the country amid unprecedented anti-government protests and a violent security crackdown.

Turks captureSyria soldiers

Al Hariri said todefy Hezbollah

ISTANBUL, Oct 31, (AP): Turkey’s defense minister said Thursday its forces captured 18 Syrian government soldiers in northeastern Syria, including two who are wounded.

Hulusi Akar said the soldiers were captured during Turkish re-connaissance southeast of Ras al-Ayn, but didn’t say when. Ankara was already in talks with Russia to hand over the Syrian soldiers, he added, according to the official ministry website on Thursday. Akar was speaking during a visit to Turkish troops at the border.

A Syrian Kurdish official said the soldiers were captured Tues-day during an intense battle be-tween Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed fighters. Kurdish fighters were fighting alongside the Syrian troops. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

The town of Ras al-Ayn has been a flashpoint in Turkey’s in-vasion of northeastern Syria that has sought to drive back Kurdish fighters from its borders.

Turkey agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Russia on Oct 22. Under the deal, Kurdish fighters would withdraw to 30 kms (19 miles) away from the Turkish bor-der and Syrian government forces would take positions along the frontier. Joint Turkish-Russian pa-trols are due to begin Friday.

Turkey launched its cross-bor-der operation earlier in the month to push out Syrian Kurdish fighters who had partnered with US forces against the Islamic State group.

BEIRUT, Oct 31, (RTRS): After hitting a dead end in efforts to defuse the crisis sweeping Leba-non, Saad al-Hariri informed a top Hezbollah official on Mon-day he had no choice but to quit as prime minister in defiance of the powerful Shi’ite group.

The decision by the Sunni leader shocked Hussein al-Khalil, po-litical advisor to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who advised him against giving in to protesters who wanted to see his coalition government toppled.

The meeting described to Re-uters by four senior sources from outside Hariri’s Future Party captures a critical moment in the crisis that has swept Lebanon for the last two weeks as Hariri yielded to the massive street pro-tests against the ruling elite.

The resignation has left a po-litical vacuum and paralysed a state in need of urgent action to steer Lebanon out of an econom-ic crisis that is hitting all Leba-nese hard, including Hezbollah’s Shi’ite constituency.

Officials at Hariri’s office and Hezbollah could not immediately reached for comment. The meet-ing which began at 8:00 pm at Hariri’s Beit al-Wasat residence in central Beirut did not last long.

“I have made my decision I want to resign to make a positive shock and give the protests some of what they want,” Hariri told Khalil, ac-cording to one of the sources.

Khalil sought to change his mind. “These protests are nearly over, breathing their last breaths, we are next to you, steel your-self,” Khalil told Hariri.

Kuwait rate cut– See Page 15 –

Newswatch

JEDDAH: Governor of the Saudi Region of Makkah Prince Khaled Al-Faisal honored Wednesday Sheikha Suad Al-Sabah in recog-nition of her role in dissemination of Arabic poetry.

This honoring came during a prize-giving ceremony of the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Inter-national Prize for Arabic Poetry which was held in Jeddah Thurs-day. (KUNA)

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KUWAIT CITY: HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has appointed Aziz Rahim Al-Daihani as the country’s first ambassador to the State of Palestine, reports Ma’an News Agency.

The decision comes as Kuwait works to increase its support for Palestine against Israel’s illegal occupation. (Middle East Monitor)

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TEHRAN: Spokesman for the Ira-nian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday Iran’s readiness to preserve and promote constructive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) based on goodwill, mutual respect, impartiality, and professional ac-curacy.

Abbas Mousavi made the an-nouncement while congratulating the new IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi on his ap-pointment. (KUNA)

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WASHINGTON: The United States plans to allow Russian, Chi-nese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The Trump administration, which last year pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, will let the work go forward by issu-ing waivers to sanctions that bar non-US firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the sources on condition of anonymity. (RTRS)

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CAIRO: The United Arab Emir-ates said on Wednesday that its troops have left Yemen’s southern port of Aden and returned home, handing over control to Saudi Arabia which is leading an Arab military coalition engaged in Ye-men.

The UAE, which had already in June scaled down its military pres-ence in Yemen, would continue fighting “terrorist organizations” in southern provinces and other areas, the General Command of the Armed Forces said in a state-ment carried on state news agency WAM. (RTRS)

LOCALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

2

Signing ceremony of the new agreement to regulate air services between the State of Kuwait and the Duchy of Luxembourg.

Kuwait renews support for Rabat‘autonomy plan’ in Sahara region

UNSC extends UN mission mandate till Oct ‘20NEW YORK, Oct 31, (KUNA): Ku-wait reiterated sup-porting Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Sahara region, along with its con-structive choice aimed at reaching a solution acceptable to all parties.

This was brought up during a speech by Ku-wait, at the UN Security Council (UNSC) session, through First Secretary of the Permanent Delegation of Kuwait to the United Nations Fawaz Buresli on Wednesday, after UNSC adopted resolution 2494 on renewing the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referen-dum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Kuwait voted in favor of the resolution, in which the UNSC extends the mandate of the UN mission until the end of October 2020, believing in MINURSO’s positive role, Buresli said.

He was grateful to the US delegation as the pen-holder for its cooperation and was satisfied with the extension of the mandate for one year, which Kuwait has called for on over one occasion, as the current mandate will provide more time to move the political process.

Kuwait supports the implementation of relevant UNSC resolutions, sup-porting the Secretary-Gen-eral’s efforts to conclude an acceptable agreement, stressing the importance of MINURSO’s role needing to implement its mandate, Buresli said.

He admired efforts of former UN Secretary-General’s Personal En-voy Horst Kohler, which pushed the political process forward and created the momentum needed to re-new hope for a realistic and pragmatic political consen-sual solution.

Buresli was eager to re-sume the round-table meet-ings with the participa-tion of all parties without preconditions and in good faith while maintaining the pace of meetings, underlin-ing Kuwait’s willingness to enhance security, stability and prosperity in Morocco.

KUNA photoHealth Minister inaugurating Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad area health center.

Wooden ships spent months in sea with skilled divers

Pearls were major income source for many KuwaitisKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31, (KUNA): The Kuwaiti people have long been talented in fi shing and pearl diving, with the latter being a main source of income for many families.

Wooden ships spent months in sea with skilled divers searching for pearls, which would then be traded by what Kuwaitis called “Tawwash,” or pearl trader.

“The Tawwash will start his job almost a month after end of the pearl diving season,” Hussain Al-Qattan, a

Kuwaiti historian, said.He noted that ships would hoist a

fl ag upon their return as an indication that they have pearls that were ready for sale. The Tawwash, said Al-Qat-tan, would be the person who bought and sold pearls.

He said the Tawwash would fi rst weigh the whole quantity of pearls, then separate them according to their sizes which would then determine the price.

Al-Qattan explained the Tawwash

used small dish-like instruments which have multi-size holes that would determine the size of pearls.

Pearl traders, said Al-Qattan, gave special names to the pearls according to their sizes, shape and color like Qamasha, Shirin, Badlah, Yaka, Fas, Batn, Tanbul, Sahtit and Baidhi.Pearl traders were very skilled although some of them may be illiterate.

It was the tough and risky journeys of divers who got the Tawwash the pearls.

DGCA’S modernization policy to open skies

Kuwait and Luxembourg sign new civil aviation agreementBRUSSELS, Oct 31, (KUNA): A new agreement to regulate air ser-vices between the State of Kuwait and the Duchy of Luxembourg was initialed to promote bilateral aviation between both sides.

The deal would replace the agree-

ment signed between the two coun-tries on 28 July 1993, Deputy Direc-tor-General of General Directorate of Kuwaiti Civil Aviation for Aviation Safety Emad Faleh Al-Jalawi said in a statement to KUNA.

The agreement includes the rules

of operation of the national airlines of both countries and the exchange of transport rights and facilities and privileges between the two friendly countries and the strengthening of cooperation between them in the fi eld of security and safety of civil

aviation.The head of the Kuwaiti delegation

Emad Al-Jalawi said that this agree-ment is in line with the moderniza-tion of the policy of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to open the skies and encourage in-

ternational airlines to increase their fl ights to Kuwait International Air-port to facilitate the movement of passengers and air cargo and to link Kuwait International Airport with the largest number of airports.

It also aims to promote air traf-

fi c between the two countries and encourage trade exchange between Kuwait and the Duchy of Luxem-bourg and strive to provide new and varied options to serve passengers between Kuwait and of Luxem-bourg, he said.

Proposal for naturalization in 8 categories

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: The Kuwaiti Law-yers Association (KLA) has submitted a three-pronged draft proposal to end the situation of stateless people or the so-called bedoun in Kuwait. They are divided into three catego-ries, each of which is dealt with according to its classification, reports Al-Jarida daily.

The proposal was submitted, last week, to the Speaker of the National Assembly Mar-zouq Al-Ghanim. The association says it has worked on the proposal in coordination with the committee for the stateless, and after several meetings with concerned bodies and associations of public benefit, jurists and aca-demics.

The proposal calls for immediate natural-ization to eight categories including those who have been living in Kuwait before 1965, relatives of citizens up to the third degree, the children of martyrs and Kuwaiti women, and those who rendered great services to Kuwait.

According to the proposal the second cate-gory includes military personnel and govern-ment employees who lived between 1965 and 1990 who should be given residence for ten years, during which their cases will be stud-ied individually and taken into consideration whether they should be granted citizenship or not. The third category calls for granting a permanent residence permit for relatives of the first and second categories and the state-less and is revocable by the loss of one of the conditions.

The proposal requires that the Minister of Interior submit lists of categories to the Higher Committee of Nationality, and submit it to the Council of Ministers within a period not exceeding one year from the adoption of the law.

According to the proposal, the stateless persons will be granted a temporary civil ID card, which will be adopted in the official authorities until the issue is resolved. This card will guarantee a number of benefits to its holders, most notably free medical treat-ment and education, issuance of identification documents, passports, the right to work and ownership, etc.

The proposal permits stateless persons who already hold (bought) passports (citizen-ships) or have signed pledges to amend their status to return to stateless, and the proposal to abolish the Central System for Remedy-ing the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) and transfer all its work, records, papers and documents and all related information to the Ministry of Interior.

The text of the proposal is as follows: Hav-ing reviewed the Constitution; The Kuwaiti Nationality Law No. 15 of 1959; the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) Law No. 467 of 2010; The Civil Information System Law No. 32 of 1982; Civil and Commercial Procedures No. 38 of 1980; Law No. 23 of 1990 on the orga-nization of the judiciary; The Law on the Resi-dence of Foreigners No. 67 of 1959; Law No. 27 of 1963 on the establishment of the census and statistics; The Administrative Organiza-tion Law, specifying the powers and delega-tion thereof, No. 116 of 1992; Law No. (20) of 1981 on the Establishment of a Chamber at the General Court for Administrative Disputes; The Passports Law No. 11 of 1962; The Civil Service Law No. 15 of 1979; The General Budget Law, the control of its implementa-tion, the final account No. 31 of 1978 and the amending laws thereof; Law No. 21 of 2015 on the Rights of the Child; Law No. 91 of 1962 on combating trafficking in persons and smug-gling of migrants; The Compulsory Education Law No. 11 of 1965; The Law Regulating Higher Education in Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education No. 24 of 1996; Law No. (36) of 1969 on registering births and deaths; The Professional Informa-tion System Law No. 32 of 1982; The National Assembly approved the following law, which we have ratified and promulgated.

■ Article 1: In the application of this law, the following expressions and words shall have the meaning assigned to each of them:

The Minister: The Minister of Interior; Stateless persons: The group of persons re-siding in Kuwait have not yet been granted proof of Kuwaiti nationality and does not rec-ognize their belonging to any country; Basis: Basis shall be established to end the status of stateless persons in accordance with this law; Temporary residence: An official permit to reside for stateless persons during the period of studying their cases.

Civil ID: A personal card issued by Pub-lic Authority for Civil Information (PACI) to stateless persons.

Birth in Kuwait: Any person holding offi-cial proof of his birth inside Kuwaiti territory;

Security Restriction: Any person whose security profile includes documents indicat-ing reservations about his actions and actions related to security;

Intermediate Qualification: Those hold-ing a high school diploma or intermediate education diploma from Kuwait;

High Qualification: Holds university de-grees or higher from Kuwait universities or equivalent from another country;

Duration of Residence: The period stipu-lated by the Nationality Law as one of the conditions required to apply for naturaliza-tion in Kuwait;

Non-Kuwaiti Passports: Passports issued to stateless persons by other countries or of-ficial or unofficial authorities as a solution to their status in the country while continuing to

reside in the State of Kuwait;Citizenship Index: Any mark contained

in stateless papers, records or files indicating a potential nationality without a domestic or external official document.

■ Article 2: The status of stateless per-sons shall be terminated, in accordance with the definitions and grounds established in this Law, according to the following categories:

Category 1: Stateless persons who meet the eligibility requirements for Kuwaiti na-tionality and are: if proven presence in Ku-wait since 1965 and before; Individuals who are related to Kuwaiti citizens from the fa-ther ‘s hand up to the third degree; Sons of Kuwaiti martyrs according to state records; Children of Kuwaiti women who do not en-joy other nationalities; Individuals who have applications in the naturalization committees in 1965 and before; Individuals who have served for 30 years from 1965 onwards in the government, oil, military and private sectors; Individuals proved to be performing well for the country and individuals with higher aca-demic degrees and high and rare specialties. This category can be granted Kuwaiti citizen-ship immediately upon the implementation of the plan.

Category 2: Stateless persons who have incomplete eligibility requirements: Individu-als who have proof of presence in the country after 1965 to 1/8/1990; Military personnel and personnel in the public and private sec-tors after 1965 until 1 August 1990. This cat-egory can be granted a legal residence permit in the country for ten Gregorian years.

Third category: Stateless persons other than the two previous categories, namely, Relatives of those who have met the condi-tions of the first and second categories, and those who reside in the State of Kuwait and carry proof of this; All stateless individuals in the State of Kuwait who are not included in the first and second category lists indicated in the Public Authority for Civil Information statistics and through its information and data. This category can be granted a perma-nent residence permit which is revocable in the event of the loss of one of the conditions for being stateless and canceled from the reg-ister of this category.

■ Article 3: The Minister of Interior shall submit comprehensive statements of all cat-egories mentioned in the preceding article to the Higher Committee for Nationality, in preparation for submission to the Council of Ministers in a time frame not exceeding one year from the date of the adoption of the law.

■ Article 4: According to the statistics, information and data available at the Public Authority for Civil Information and other relevant government agencies, all stateless individuals in Kuwait shall be granted a tem-porary civil ID, which shall be approved in all ministries of the State and its official bodies, without reference to any other party during the period.

The cardholders shall be treated as Kuwaitis in all health, education and humanitarian ser-vices during the validity of the card, so that stateless persons shall be entitled, under this card, to obtain documents guaranteeing civil and legal rights, in particular free treatment in all specialties and requirements, medicine and care for the disabled and people with special needs; Free education in all levels of education, in addition to the stages of higher education, in accordance with their admission systems and rules; Issuing birth certificates; Issuing death certificates; Drafting and documenting mar-riage, divorce, wills, land survey and all mat-ters related to personal status; Issuing all types of driving licenses; Issuance of passports to travel and travel abroad and return; The right to retire, pay dues and end of service benefits in the public and private sectors; The right to choose employment in the public and private sectors; The right to own property individually or in association with others; The right to resort to the competent courts.

■ Article 5: An Appeals Chamber shall be established within the Administrative Court with a tripartite composition which shall be competent to appeals related to this Law against the Minister of the Interior in his capacity. Its rulings shall be irrevocable and shall be settled expeditiously.

■ Article 6: The security restrictions for which a final conviction is rendered are re-pealed.

■ Article 7: Indicators of nationality and non-Kuwaiti passports in stateless files shall not be valid unless approved by the foreign governments concerned or by a court ruling.

■ Article 8: All stateless persons resid-ing in Kuwait who have been issued real or forged passports or signed pledges to amend their status may return to stateless status ac-cording to the categories mentioned in this law.

■ Article 9: Decree No. 467 of 2010 es-tablishing the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) shall be repealed, and all its work, records, papers and documents, and all information relating to the information previously recorded at the time of issuance of this Law, shall be trans-ferred to the Ministry of Interior.

■ Article 10: Every rule that does not comply with this law will be canceled.

■ Article 11: The Ministers, each within his jurisdiction, shall implement this Law which shall come into force from the date of its issuance and shall be published in the Of-ficial Gazette.

KLA submits three-pronged draftproposal to end ‘stateless’ issue

‘Kuwait-Sudan tieson solid foundation’KHARTOUM, Oct 31 (KUNA): Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok affi rmed on Thursday that Sudanese-Kuwaiti relations have been based on solid foundations and called for facilitating Kuwaiti invest-ments in his country.

Kuwaiti Ambassador to Sudan Bassam Al-Qa-bandi said in a statement to KUNA after meeting the prime mnister that he relayed a message from His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to premier Hamdok.

His Highness the prime minister, in the message, expessed ever lasting Ku-waiti support for Sudanese causes.

The ambassador added that his talks with premier Hamdok dealt with rela-tions at the economic and development levels.

He also revealed that he also met Sudanese Foreign Minister Asmaa Abdalla, handing her a message from the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Min-ister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on prospects of re-activating the joint commission.

Ambassador Al-Qabandi added that he also dis-cussed with the minister a number of fi les concerning economic and development topics.

LOCALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

3

Prayer TimingsFajr ............................................................................. 04:40Sunrise ....................................................................... 06:01Zohr ............................................................................ 11:32Asr ............................................................................... 14:39Maghrib .......................................................................17:02 Isha ............................................................................ 18:20

WeatherExpected weather for the next 24 hours:By Day: Relatively hot with light to moderate north westerly wind, with a speed of 10-35 km/h.By Night: Fair with light to moderate north west-erly wind, with speed of 08-32 km/h.Station Max Min Exp RecKuwait City 31 23Kuwait Airport 32 23Abdaly 32 18Bubyan — —Jahra 33 22Failaka Island — —Salmiyah 30 24Ahmadi 29 24Nuwaisib 32 22Wafra 32 21Salmy 31 17

4 days forecast — WeatherFriday, Nov 01

Expected weather: ......................................... Relatively hotMax Temp ...................................................................... 30CMin Temp ....................................................................... 20CWind Direction ................................................................NWWind Speed ....................................................... 10-32 km/h

Saturday, Nov 02Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areasMax Temp ...................................................................... 31CMin Temp ....................................................................... 20CWind Direction ........................................................NW-VRBWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Sunday, Nov 03Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areas and some scattered clouds will appearMax Temp ...................................................................... 32CMin Temp ....................................................................... 21CWind Direction .........................................................VRB-NEWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Monday, Nov 04Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areas and some scattered clouds will appearMax Temp ...................................................................... 32CMin Temp ....................................................................... 22CWind Direction .........................................................NE-VRBWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Marine ForecastStation Max Min Sea Today’s Exp Rec Surf Waves Ht DirectionSouth Dolphin - - - 5ft SWUmm Mudayrah - - - 5ft SWBeacon M28 - - - 5ft SWBeacon N6 - - - 5ft SWQaruh Island 32 27 - 5ft SWUmm Al-Maradem 32 27 - 5ft SWSea Island Buoy - - - - -

Salmiyah 30 24 - 5ft SW

4 days forecast - MarineFriday, Nov 01

Expected weather: ......................................... Relatively hotSea state ................................................ Slight to moderateWave height ................................................................. 2-5 ftMax Temp ...................................................................... 30CMin Temp ....................................................................... 20CWind Direction ................................................................NWWind Speed ....................................................... 10-32 km/h

Saturday, Nov 02Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areasSea state ................................................ Slight to moderateWave height ................................................................. 1-3 ftMax Temp ...................................................................... 31CMin Temp ....................................................................... 20CWind Direction ........................................................NW-VRBWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Sunday, Nov 03Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areas and some scattered clouds will appearSea state ................................................ Slight to moderateWave height ................................................................. 1-3 ftMax Temp ...................................................................... 32CMin Temp ....................................................................... 21CWind Direction .........................................................VRB-NEWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Monday, Nov 04Expected weather: Relatively hot and relatively humid over coastal areas and some scattered clouds will appearSea state ................................................ Slight to moderateWave height ................................................................. 1-3 ftMax Temp ...................................................................... 32CMin Temp ....................................................................... 22CWind Direction .........................................................NE-VRBWind Speed ....................................................... 06-26 km/h

Tide times at Shuwaikh Port1st high tide .................................................................14:292nd high tide ................................................................01:201st low tide ..................................................................08:072nd low tide .................................................................20:07Sunrise.........................................................................06:01Sunset .........................................................................17:03

Recorded yesterday at Kuwait AirportMax temp .....................................................................32°CMin temp ......................................................................24°CMax Rh ......................................................................... 69%Min Rh .......................................................................... 24%Max Wind ..........................................................NE 57 km/hTotal Rainfall in 24 hrs .................................................0 mm

Recorded yesterday at South DolphinMin/Max/ Air Temp -/- ....................................................... CMin/Max Rel Hum ........................................................... - / -Wind Direction/Wind Speed .................................N / - km/hPrev Wave Dir/Max Wave Ht ......................................N / - ftMin/Max Sea Surface Temp ....................................... - / - CSea Current .......................................................... Upwelling

— Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Meteorological Dept.

deathsSughra Hajeya Mohammad Shamsah, 76 years old, widow of Habib Sefer Sana ceny, buried.Condolences: Salwa, Huseiniyat Al Imam Al Husein, Block 1, Street 7, House 27, Tel. 66613937, 99700480. Noora Khaled Sulaiman Al Mosama, 52 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) at the cemetery only, Tel. 66155353. (Women) Sabah Al Nasser, Block 3, Street 20, House 35, Tel. 97204777. Ghaneema Mohammad Abdul Malik, 79 years old, wife of Abdul Jabar Mohammad Al Kandari, buried. Condolences: (Men) Shaab, Diwan Al Kanadra, Tel. 99377467 (Women) Surra, Block 2, Street 9, House 17, Tel. 99777554. Othman Saud Abdullah Al Osaimi, 78 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Zahra, Block 2, Street 214, Plot 473, House 22, Tel. 99998841 (Women) Qortu-ba, Block 4, Street 1, Avenue 12, House 14. Ameena Abdul Razak Othman Al Sharikh, 84 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Rawda, Block 5, Mishari Al Rodan Street, House 19, Diwan Al Sharekh, Tel. 69095050 (Women) Nuzha, Block 2, Abdul Rahman Al Faris Street, House 29, Tel. 99666093. Hessa Mohammad Mohammad Al Roomi, 91 years old, buried. Condolences: (Men) Da’iya, Diwan Al Roomi, Block 2, Rashed Bin Ahmad Al Roomi Street, Tel. 66544982. (Women) Yarmouk, Block 2, Street 3, Avenue 1, House 30 Aysha Rashed Al Manzel, 78 years old, widow of Mubarak Rashed Mefrih Al Zaid, to be buried on Friday after Asr prayers. Condolences: (Men) Hadiya, Block 5, Street 7, House 10, Tel. 94938393 (Women) Rigga, Block 1, Street 5, House 124, Tel. 96669700.

Oct 31, 2019

Kuwait participates in ICCROM’s General Assembly 31st Session

‘Kuwait keen in preserving, promoting national heritage’

By Mahdi El-Nemr

ROME, Oct 31, (KUNA): Kuwait’s rep-resentative to the Inter-national Centre for the Study of the Preserva-tion and Restoration of Cultural Property (IC-CROM) confi rmed Ku-wait’s keenness to coop-erate with ICCROM in preserving and promot-ing national heritage.

Head of Kuwait’s delega-tion to ICCROM’s General Assembly 31st Session, Fa-rah Ali Al-Sabah from Ku-wait National Museum said, Kuwait attaches great impor-tance to the current session of the ICCROM.

In a statement to KUNA, Al-Sabah said that Kuwait relies on the organization’s expertise, co-operation, policies, and efforts of sponsoring the national, Arab and Islamic cultural and archaeo-logical heritage.

Al-Sabah, who is also a spe-cialized lecturer, added that Ku-wait has widly benefi ted from programs and courses organized by ICCROM at its regional cent-er in Sharjah.

She commended the success of the programs offered by the ICCROM during the past years, such as the preservation of ar-chaeological sites, historic build-ings and archives.

Benefi tingShe noted the extent of ben-

efi ting from the specialized sci-entifi c programs and their role in the preparation and rehabilitation of national expertise in the Shar-jah Center.

As for Kuwait, she stressed Kuwait’s keenness to develop and enhance cooperation with ICCROM through the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).

NCCAL has always worked within the framework of the state policy for sustainable develop-ment and preservation of cultural and historical heritage and the rehabilitation of national cadres competent in this sector, she said.

On the other hand, Al-Sabah pointed out the side meeting, organized by ICCROM regional offi ce in Sharjah for the Arab Group, which focused on a spe-cial strategy to preserve the Arab cultural and historical heritage.

In a speech she delivered in the meeting, she thanked ICCROM for organizing such events and providing training courses for the 22 Arab state members.

Kuwait’s delegation partici-pates in ICCROM’s current ses-sion beside 137 other member countries.

ICCROM’s 31st General started its meeting in the Italian Capital Rome on Wednesday, and in the presence of Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Ema-nuela Del Re, and attendance of representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization (UN-ESCO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a number of international organizations, ambassadors and heads of diplo-matic missions in Rome.

KUNA photoKuwait’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi during the UN Security Council session.

KUNA photoFM Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled during the meeting with new ambassador of Cambodia.

KUNA photoFarah Ali Al-Sabah from Kuwait National Museum during the ICCROM’s General

Assembly 31st Session.

Mansour Al-Otaibi speaks at UNSC session

FM receives credentials of new Cambodian ambassador

Kuwait underlines Arab-African-UNcooperation on Libya and Somalia

‘Competition provides education, training to turn students’ ideas into digital projects’

Deputy Prime Minister and For-eign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah re-ceived on Thursday credentials of the new Cambodian Ambassador to Kuwait Hun Han.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled ex-pressed during reception of the new Cambodian envoy to the country, held in his bureau at the

Foreign Ministry headquarters, his hope that the ambassador would be successful in his new mission.

The Kuwaiti minister also hoped relations between Kuwait and Cambodia would be boosted fur-ther.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, Assistant Foreign

Minister for Affairs of the Bureau of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ambassador Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Assistant Foreign Minister for Protocol Af-fairs Ambassador Dhari Al-Ajran and a number of senior offi cials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (KUNA)

NEW YORK, Oct 31, (KUNA): Ku-wait underscored the signifi cance of promoting cooperation among the Arab League, African Union and United Nations to press for peaceful solutions in Libya and Somalia.

The remark was made by Kuwait’s Permanent Representative at the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi during a UN Se-curity Council (UNSC) session on cooperation between the UN and AU.

He spoke highly of the outcomes of the recent fi eld visit by UNSC member states’ representatives to Juba and Addis Ababa.

He added that the meetings they had with members of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on various issues and matters were so fruitful and constructive.

UN-AU partnership has produced remarkable progress in the devel-opment of an effective strategy to address complicated challenges to peace and security in Africa, he add-ed.

The Kuwaiti diplomat cited this as a clear-cut example of cooperation between the UN and regional organi-zations.

He noted that peacekeeping op-erations are considered one of the key aspects of cooperation between both organizations for effectively fi nding solutions to African peace challeng-es. In this context, Al-Otaibi highly commended the AU’s contribution to funding 25 percent of the expenses of all peacekeeping operations in the African continent.

He also welcomed existing and current consultations between the African Union’s peace agencies and regional economic blocs about ways of streamlining AU-UN partnership.

Hackathon Kuwait encourages creativity in youth: offi cialKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31, (KUNA): Head of His Highness Sheikh Sa-lem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award Bassam Al-Shemmari said that “Hackathon Kuwait 2019”

competition allows creative com-petitiveness among college stu-dents.

The competition provides educa-tion and training to turn the students’

ideas into digital projects, Al-Shem-mari said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The competition included several workshops and activities supervised

by experts in designing, program-ming and digital projects, he added.

Creative students launched several projects in the workshops including a device that can be put in the forests

to send warning signals on fi re and a shoes that regularly measures the weight of a person, said the offi cial.

The hackathon competition was launched by the award for October,

in cooperation with Kuwait Innova-tion Center to develop the program-ming and technology skills of youth, and encourage innovation and inven-tion.

Finance moves to rationalize govtspending: reportKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: As part of the efforts exerted by the government to rationalize public spending, Ministry of Finance is conducting a study on the fi nancial performance of the government in the last eight years, reports An-nahar daily quoting informed sources.

They stressed that the study aims at fi guring out the shortcom-ings and the reasons behind them in order to prevent the repetition of those mistakes and fi ll the gaps that lead to extravagant spending.

Meanwhile, the ministry plans to dismiss a number of projects of different state institutions because they are not part of the specifi ed developmental plan.

The sources indicated some state bodies requested fi nancial support of millions of dinars for projects which have no develop-mental importance, revealing that the issue will not be limited to dis-missing such kind of projects but those responsible for them will be punished.

MP renews

MP nod

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

matters forward at an accelerated pace and that if the Parliament gives the green light, the committee will fi rst address the CSC and request call for resolving the unemployment issue and ask for the statistics on the number of unemployed citizens and their corresponding credentials and the number of expatriates employed in government sectors.

In another development, MP Osama Al-Shaheen called for the cancelation of the protocols be-tween the Ministry of Social Af-fairs and the Farmers Union and the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies affi rming that although its slogan is inspiring in reality its harms the consumers and Kuwaiti farmers.

Speaking to the press at the Na-tional Assembly Media Center, the MP stressed that the welcoming attitude of the concerned people remains vastly misplaced which prioritizes supporting investors and Kuwaiti farmers.

The MP questioned the cancela-tion of the article which allowed cooperative societies to purchase goods directly from the farmers market without the interference of a middle-man which is in line with the protocol – according to the pro-tocol any cooperative society that does not go through the middle-man will be subjected to penalties.

Therefore, MP Al-Shaheen has called for the cancelation of this current protocol because it does not help the Kuwaiti farmers and con-sumers alike.

platform for Kuwaiti businessmen to meet with their American coun-terparts to accomplish common in-terests, he added.

Kuwait and the US have extreme-ly strong ties, Al-Hajraf stressed.

Such opportunities are taken to emphasize Kuwait’s strategic in-terests and to communicate with countries that have strategic ties with Kuwait, and certainly Ameri-ca is an excellent ally, as they are keen to take such opportunities to emphasize vital ties, he said.

He underlined Kuwait’s efforts to support the international com-munity’s efforts in combatting fi -nancing terrorism, stressing that Kuwait is committed to the inter-national community in combating it, which is unrelated to religion, homeland nor history, but a scourge facing humanity.

Kuwait has been supporting inter-national efforts in the fi ght against terrorism, emphasizing their discus-sions with the US side, especially since there is a conference that will be held in Melbourne with the Aus-tralian Minister of Finance next week to complement the Paris Conference held last year, he underscored.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday many common top-ics, including the launch of the Ku-waiti-American Business Council.

Dr Al-Hajraf told KUNA after the meeting, on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Ri-yadh, that the Kuwaiti-American Business Council was announced last week in Washington.

The business council would be a

LOCALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

4

A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION

DIWANIYADiplomacy cloaked in smile, threat

‘Putin’s quiet, balanced policy’“THE Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting his country’s policy in a subtle manner that does not know the impossible. Anyone who closely watches him using his magic wand will discover that his wand is tinted with a padded threat but he has the ability to score big on the diplomatic front,” columnist Dr Abdulmo-hsen Jamal wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“With his quiet and balanced policy, he was able to contain all contradictions in international politics. He has befriended Israel and at the same time has succeed-ed in ‘courting’ Iran and now he is an acceptable media-tor between the Kurds and the Turks, he is smooth with the Americans and the Syrians, receives the opposition factions from Syria and Afghanistan, and the Palestin-ians have given nod for dialogue with him while they have opposed the Americans.

“Putin stands fi rmly behind with the people in the face of the American threat to Cuba and Venezuela at the same time the Americans accuse him of interfering in the US presidential elections. He fi ghts the Europeans and be-friends them at the same time.

“He is open to China and not hostile to Taiwan, develops his nuclear weapons and makes re-markable progress on the inter-national scene, diplomatically and economically.

“He visits Iran and the Gulf states and signs various agree-ments. He deals with the opposi-tion in his country and wins the elections with ease. He meets with his friends and helps them, and does not abandon them when they are in distress, standing fi rmly in front of his rivals without losing them.

“He makes alliances with the former Soviet re-publics, and maintains successful contacts with non-aligned countries. You fi nd him everywhere and hardly hear his loud voice. All his talks are successful, all his meetings are infl uential, and all his political dialogues are respected.

“The league of Arab countries expelled Syria. Ter-rorism and some countries are tearing Syria apart and displacing its people and Putin comes to embrace and unite it and returns what had been looted and under-takes to bring back to the homeland the displaced and refugees. He succeeds in Syria and establishes a mili-tary base before the eyes of the Americans.

“He disagrees with Netanyahu, without taking into account the Russian Jews, is fi ghting IS, including the Chechens from his country.

“He defi es the Americans, the Europeans and the Turks and provides his allies weapons and military ex-perts without any fear.

“He contested the presidential elections twice and succeeded, then as prime minister, and then as president for the third time.

“Only success is known to him and his allies and peo-ple who struggle. His ideas are applied, and policies are taking hold. It is Vladimir Putin, the uncrowned king of Russia … it is worth taking a lesson from his soft policy.”

Also:“South Surrah suffers from traffi c congestion and

unbelievable overcrowding due to the continuation of the government approach in relocating ministries and government agencies for years, under the pretext of eas-ing the pressure on the Capital City, Kuwait,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Annahar daily.

“The government approach did not work as it seems that the places of congestion have shifted from the Capital. The congestion can be dealt with being located within a major administrative area as in all countries of the world, into an annoying congestion within a subur-ban residential area.

“According to a report published in a local newspa-per a few days ago, there are more than 15 government agencies employing tens of thousands of employees in addition to tens of thousands of visitors to these agen-cies, especially since they include important ministries and major bodies such as education, electricity and civil information, which causes serious harm to the inhabit-ants of these suburbs, who had hoped to live in a quiet residential area.

“The real problem, according to published reports, is not in the number of visitors to these agencies to com-plete transactions but in the thousands of cars owned by these visitors because the culture of public transport does not exist or say it is not possible due to poor infra-structure and hot weather.

“Despite the large number of cars, government agencies do not have a sufficient number of vehicles for their employees, making the area hell at peak business hours.

“We are not asking the government for the impos-sible as congestion is a global problem and can be clas-sifi ed as the ‘disease of the age’ for major cities around the world, which can only be avoided only in one case – the re-planning of urban cities and area of Kuwait, and the formation of a higher committee to keep pace with the population growth and urban expansion in or-der to eliminate congestion and clear the Kuwaiti ar-eas between commercial cities (as is the case with the capital, for example) and between residential cities and between residential suburbs as well.

“The process of re-planning of Kuwait will be cost-ly and diffi cult, but at the same time will lead to the sustainability of cities within the country and ensure a longer working time for them.

“If they are left behind and neglected and do not keep up with the great developments and huge increases at the level of population and urbanization, Kuwait will turn into huge slums and the state will not be able to amend such a problem even after decades.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“One of the main causes for the problems in the Third World countries is poverty, unemployment, and mar-ginalization, which refl ects the indignation of many cit-izens in the world,” Mishref Aqab wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“In some Third World countries, people are living in a state of extreme poverty, unemployment and need. The rates of unemployment, marginalization and pov-erty are high, and more than half of the citizens live below the poverty line.

“According to a number of experts, fi nancial and ad-ministrative corruption is affl icting human beings and countries. The Third World countries face many prob-lems, the most important of which is the problem of unemployment and marginalization. And some of these problems are strange in some other countries.

“The problem of unemployment, poverty and igno-rance are similar in some countries of the world. They lack job opportunities for the youth, and security of services. The citizens complain about high prices and unemployment, as if they say our demands are to cre-ate jobs, pumping and desalination projects, building power plants, fi ghting poverty, living well and fi ghting corruption.

“The increase in unemployment rate in the Arab world and the Third World confi rms that there is an

imbalance in the work of governments, and there is no government planning. Although some countries are rich in oil, there is a problem in some government policies.

“There is no balance between the outputs of educa-tion and the labor market due to which the problem is qualifi ed to worsen. It leads to other problems – some social and some psychological – such as the inability to marry and support a family, the feeling of frustration, and breaking of hopes on the rock of painful reality. People are compelled to use wasta (infl uence) and seek help of some deputies for services. “Thus, those with wasta will be lucky to work even more than those with academic excellence.”

“Unemployment is currently one of the most serious crises among many groups in the Arab countries as a result of the high rates reached recently.

“Unemployment is defi ned as the stoppage or lack of work, especially for someone who has the ability to work. It has been described differently in our societies, including joblessness. Unemployment is defi ned as a process that occurs when there is an individual in the community capable of working, who has a high ability to do it, and follows many ways and means to search for work, but is not given the opportunity to fi nd work for many reasons.

“It includes lack of opportunities in the society, mar-ginalization and nepotism. There are clear and basic conditions that must be combined to say that a person is unemployed, among which is the ability to work.

“Finally, unemployment is a danger to any country or society and threatens the stability of society.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The MPs will not abide by His Highness the Amir’s speech he delivered during the opening of the fourth session of the National Assembly’s 15th legislative term. They will also not adhere to the roadmap set by His Highness the Amir’s brief but vital speech,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“The parliamentarians are certain that the bond be-tween them and the voters has been severed. Majority of them realize that returning to the ballot boxes is not in their interest at all. This time, the voters have tough-ened the terms of accountability. Even for those who issue some services to the constituency, their services will be of any benefi t when it comes to the next elec-tion.

“The voters aspire for the best as they have endured enough pain through major concessions that those who are supposed to represent them made throughout their parliamentary tenure. There is neither legislation worth praising nor any indication that the parliamentarians are working for the interest of the people.

“It has been noticed that the government is more merciful to the people than the parliamentarians; hence, they will work tirelessly to regain their popularity. However, it is too late.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The speech of His Highness the Amir during the opening of the fourth session of the National Assem-bly’s 15th legislative term bore three very important messages. In fact, the speech represents a roadmap towards local and regional political reforms, which if adopted, will have a positive outcome,” Za’ar Al-Rasheedi wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“His Highness the Amir clearly indicated how vital it is to cement national unity and work based on it for the interest of the nation. Regionally, he insisted to affi rm how critical it is for the prolonged GCC crisis to end, given that its continuity in this manner refl ects nega-tively on the regional countries, their future and secu-rity. In terms of the Arab world, His Highness the Amir called upon the Arab nations to overlook the disputes among themselves.

“After this speech, there is no fi eld for interpretations on the future of the parliament and the government, even though the condition of ‘arbitrariness’ will change the balance in terms of breaking this condition at any time. His Highness the Amir’s speech is full of wisdom and sagacity, and all we can say after this crystal-clear speech is – “Your wish is our command”.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“With the murder of DAESH leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Idlib, Syria, we can say that the era of DAESH has come to an end, like what happened pre-viously with Al-Qaeda,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Reportedly, al-Baghdadi was killed in a military operation planned by the CIA. Actually there are con-tradictory stories about the incident. However, the most important thing is that we have to get ready for a new al-Baghdadi and may be a new DAESH. They recently released some people from the Syrian prisons.

“Today, they killed al-Baghdadi. It seems that they were aware of the spot where he was hiding but they decided to dispose of him only when the suitable time, according to them, arrived.

“Everybody must know that they will never ever leave the region safe. There is a new DAESH cur-rently being prepared. Of course it will carry a new name and will have a new leader with a new name. Obviously, the task of the new terrorist body will not be away from the Gulf region. It seems it is our turn, which means we are in urgent need for solving the disputes because, as leaders and citizens of GCC countries, we are sure we are powerful when we are united. We need to unify our defense strategies and adopt one political strategy.

“If we do not hurry up in accomplishing this target, they will catch up, then we will have no choice but to face our fate. The wave went through many areas like Afghanistan, Pakistan, New York, Syria and Iraq. We have to think carefully about where the wave will hit next.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“Undoubtedly, the information media plays a pivotal and very important role amid the current combusting conditions in the region, in terms of publishing accurate news and refuting rumors, as well as enlightening the recipient on what is true and untrue,” Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“Recently, Minister of Information Muhammad Al-Jabri affi rmed during the opening ceremony of the fo-rum of women journalists representing the Gulf Coop-eration Council (GCC) member states hosted in Kuwait, the importance of accuracy and credibility in publishing news, and putting the interest of the nation and the Gulf above any other considerations. He also emphasized the importance of being a brick wall against rumors, fabri-cated news and destructive ideas in a bid to preserve our communities, especially the youth.

“Indeed, we have to be cautious about deviated ideas that stalk the nations by taking advantage of both traditional and modern media as a means to reach out to communities. The information media should use a critical eye on what transpires around in order to distinguish the good from the evil, and differentiate between what has been tucked and what is direct in order to convey it without inviting thread of harm and evil to nations.”

– Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

Dr Jamal

IAEA new chief values Kuwait‘signifi cant’ role and support

We’ll continue to boost ties: Grossi

By Abdulwahab Al-QayedVIENNA, Oct 31, (KUNA): New-elected Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ra-fael Grossi of Argentina af-fi rmed on Thursday keenness to continue boosting ties with Kuwait due to its signifi cant role in the agency.

Kuwait, as a member of IAEA Board of Governors, plays a very distinctive role inside this inter-national organization, sharing the responsibility, alongside 35 other member-countries, in drafting the agency’s policies and making necessary decisions on various nuclear affair issues, Grossi told KUNA.

“I would be working on finding out and meeting Kuwait’s needs and as-pirations,” the IAEA chief affirmed, pointing out his long and great friend-ship with Kuwait’s Permanent Repre-sentative to IAEA Ambassador Sadeq Marafi would benefit the two sides;

Kuwait and IAEA.It would also refl ect positively on the

agency’s future action in terms of meet-ing the needs of member-states and in-vesting nuclear energy for various peace-ful purposes, he added.

Grossi expressed his sincere apprecia-tion of Kuwait’s support, alongside ma-jority of board of governors, in electing him for the IAEA director-general post.

On future IAEA plans, the new di-rector-general mentioned an intention to

make the international agency more dy-namic and transparent in its dealings with member-states, as well as a step to boost women contributions inside it.

For the next four years, IAEA would focus on guaranteeing nuclear safety and security “since it is a vital issue” for member-states, Grossi mentioned, af-fi rming his keenness to back the agency’s various activities and projects in devel-oping countries, and strengthen peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

KUNA photoHH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah poses for a picture with Chairman of the

Board of Directors and members of the Kuwaiti Artists Association.

Call to ‘open’ pedestrian bridgesKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: A securi-ty source has called for the need to open pedestrian bridges that have been build recently but remains un-used, saying the continued closure of these bridges leads to pedestri-ans punching a hole in the netted fence separating the two roads, while at the same time endangering their lives, reports Al-Anba daily.

The source said several bridges have been constructed and may

lack some simple things and stressed that the opening of these bridges will protect the lives of pedestrians and prevent damage to the netted fence.

According to security sources these bridges were built after compiling reports and statistics on multiple run-over cases, which prompted the Ministry of Interior to submit reports to the Ministry of Public Works to build the bridges.

HH PM receives KAA delegationHis Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Ham-ad Al-Sabah received Thursday at Seif Palace Kuwait Arts Associa-

tion’s (KAA) Chairman Abdulaziz Al-Mufarrej (a veteran singer) and board of directors.

The meeting was attended by

Director of His Highness the Prime Minister’s Diwan Sheikha Etemad Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sa-bah. (KUNA)

LOCALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

5

Interpol notifi ed

Expat duo embezzles cashKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Statistics issued by the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) say judicial verdicts and war-rants via Interpol have been issued for the arrest of two expatriates who have embezzled KD 60,588 from the authority, reports Al-Rai daily.

In response to a parliamentary query by MP Khal-il Al-Saleh, Minister of Information and State Min-ister for Youth Affairs Mohammad Al-Jabri reported that the value of overdue debts to PAAAFR until the end of last September was worth 4,469,054 dinars, including debts 60,588 which are diffi cult to collect.

The minister made clear that the state’s concerned bodies are responsible for arresting the suspects and collecting the sums not PAAAFR. He indicated that PAAAFR formed teamwork in the fi scal year 2018-2019 with regard collecting and following up the debts to the bodies and individuals.

The Minister pointed out at the same time that the arrest of the accused and the collection of money is not the prerogative of the PAAAFR, but the con-cerned state institutions.

He said PAAAFR had formed a team to collect and follow-up the debt from the concerned parties and individuals, pointing that KD 488,214 were private debts on companies in the form of tenders, fi nes, delays and revenues and debts on employees and individuals in unlawfully paid salaries and al-lowances.

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Mother threatened: The Sabah Al-Salem Police Station has summoned a young Kuwaiti, born in 1994, for interrogation after a complaint has been fi led against him by his mother, reports Al-Anba daily.

A security source said if the suspect does not sur-render voluntarily an arrest warrant will be issued against him.

In her complaint the mother says the son not only insulted her, but hurled abuses and threatened her and vandalized her car.

Cleaning Contract

Afghan jailed for life

‘Cleaning tender awarded to second lowest bidder’KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Education Yousef Al-Najjar told the Al-Rai daily that after the completion of the procedures related to the maintenance contract for schools and buildings of the Ahmadi Educational Zone, the tender was awarded to the lowest bidding com-pany, but the company failed to show up to sign the contract and it was but natural to award the contract to the next low-est bidder after informing the Central Agency for Public Ten-ders, reports Al-Rai daily.

A l - N a j j a r expects the contract to be signed within one week to 10 days at most, while the ministry en-gineers are ready to meet the conse-quences of the rain, at all schools and educational facilities.

He told the daily, the complaints were minor as a result of the recent rains but expects the complaints to increase and multiply should Kuwait experience heavy rains because many of the schools are houses in old prem-ises such as in the Ahmadi Educa-tional District, which includes nearly 70 educational facilities which suffer more than other districts.

The engineers explained that the signing of the Ahmadi Maintenance Contract is a major breakthrough for the schools of the region, which has not had any maintenance contract for nearly three years, where a number of schools and facilities will benefi t.

The engineers added, the work is expected to begin immediately after signing the contract which will in-clude all types of works including the school compound walls, roofs, main-tenance of toilets, etc.

Engineers pointed out that engi-neering departments in all educational areas began to take their fi rst steps in preparing for the rain, by conducting a thorough cleaning the sewage net-

works and water pipes, and full prepa-rations for emergencies, stressing that the engineering teams in the ministry have enough experience in dealing with rain, but there are some schools with a special geographic nature, lo-cated in relatively low places and in residential areas with poor infrastruc-ture for drainage, and the streets are almost without drainage networks, especially old areas.

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Afghan gets life term: The Criminal Court, headed by Chancellor Miteb Al-Aridi, has sentenced an Afghan to life imprisonment for possessing nar-cotics for the purpose of traffi cking, reports Al-Anba daily.

According to security sources the suspect was arrested in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. Acting on information police armed with a search and arrest warrant issued by the Public Prosecu-tion raided the home of the suspect and seized a plastic bag containing 140 drug pills which were hidden on the roof of the building.

Although the suspect during inter-rogations admitted that he was traf-fi cking in drugs, he denied the accusa-tion in front of the Public Prosecution.

However, the court found him guilty and sent him to life in prison.

❑ ❑ ❑

Pakistani caught drunk: The securi-ty authorities have arrested an uniden-tifi ed Pakistani who was involved in a road accident on the Seventh Ring Road, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to security sources the Pakistani was high on alcohol and al-legedly lost control of his vehicle and collided with a road barrier.

Police have seized from his car two bottles of booze.

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Asian hurt in mishap: An Asian worker who was injured in the face when an electric bulb exploded has been admitted to the Jahra Hospital, reports Al-Anba daily.

The daily said the incident hap-pened in a restaurant in Jahra Indus-trial Area after the incessant rainfall which is the cause of the incident.

Al-Najjar

MoI photoMinistry inspectors checking the slippers and shoes in a shop.

Shoes with mosque photos in shopsThe Ministry of Commerce and Indus-try, Thursday, referred a company to the Commercial Prosecution for selling shoes with pictures of mosques and Is-lamic insignia, reports Al-Rai daily.

In a press statement the commercial control sector of the ministry (Hawalli

branch) said a quantity goods were found displayed by company which is specialized in the sale of clothing and footwear. The goods also have been confi scated.

The sources explained the company violated the rules and regulations in force.

News in Brief

Indians rob compatriot: Police are looking for two young Indians for as-saulting a compatriot and robbing him of 200 dinars, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to a complaint fi led by the victim with the Saad Al-Abdullah Police Station, he offered to drive the suspect to Amghara on his way home to Jahra.

When they reached an isolated spot the suspects allegedly ordered the man to pull over, assaulted him and threatened to kill him if he did not part with the money.

The man then went to the Jahra Hos-pital and got himself treated and fi led a complaint with the police.

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Knocked down twice: An Iranian, born in 1960, has been admitted to the in-tensive care unit of the Al-Sabah Hospital after he was knocked down twice by two different cars on the Fourth Ring, reports Al-Anba daily.

According to reports two Kuwaitis in two different vehicles accidentally run over him opposite a well-know super-market.

The fi rst motorist said the man was crossing the busy road, while the second motorist said she could not avoid hitting the man.

According to a medical report the victim in injured in the head and has a fractured leg.

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Camel dies, two critical: A stray

camel died after it was hit by a vehicle on the Abdali road. The two Indian men in the vehicle have been referred to the Jahra Hospital in serious condition, reports Al-Rai daily.

When the Operations Room of the Ministry of Interior received a report police and paramedics rushed to the area and took the injured to the hospital.

A case of accident has been registered at the area police station.

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Asian held with drugs: The Ahmadi police have referred an Asian to the General Department for Drugs Control (GDDC) for possessing narcotic pills, reports Al-Anba daily.

The suspect was arrested on a beach in Mahboula. The suspect reportedly tried in vain to escape when he felt he was fol-lowed by securitymen.

❑ ❑ ❑

Generator stolen by force: Police are looking for four men for stealing an expensive power generator belonging to a company based in Al-Sabriya and threatening to cause harm to the Egyptian guard because he tried to deter them, reports Al-Rai daily.

A complaint has been fi led with the Sulaibiya Police Station by the com-pany’s legal representative.

A security source said the security men have been provided with the licence plate number of the suspects’ vehicle.

A fl ock of little egret looking for its lunch. (Ghazi Qafaf – KUNA)

Gambian housemaid fl ees, accuses Kuwaiti family of human traffi cking

Kuwaiti military offi cer dies in Saudi accident

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: A domestic worker from Gambia, who was work-ing for the Kuwaiti fam-ily escaped from her em-ployer when the family was in the United States of America, accusing the family of human traffi ck-ing, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting Daily Mail.

The maid allegedly called a lawyer and escaped from the apartment of her sponsors who were living in Cleveland, Ohio. The woman, who is not identi-fi ed, told police that she had been sold to the family in Ku-wait, held captive for four years and then brought to America to take care of the family’s elderly relative, according to local po-lice reports.

That family traveled to Cleve-land on Aug 12, 2019 so the elderly woman could receive treatment at the Cleveland Clinic, says a report posted on Cleveland.com, quoting police reports.

The family allegedly locked the woman in an apartment in Cleve-land for two months, according to her statements to police. She also told offi cers that the family would lock her in a bedroom in the apart-ment when they went out, and did not allow her to talk to anyone when they were in public.

After escaping, the woman called a friend, who helped her report her case to the National Human Traf-fi cking Hotline, and then to police. Cleveland police went to the apart-ment where the woman said she was held and found nothing inside, but noted the apartment smelled of hookah.

The Cleveland police then con-tacted the concerned authorities, which helped fi nd the woman a tem-porary place to live.

The offi cers said while they were taking her to that location, she started receiving several calls from

the family, local news websites re-ported.

The woman also told police she feared for her life, and that she would be killed if she was returned to the family from Kuwait or her family in Africa. Investigations are ongoing in the case.

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Kuwaiti killed: A two-vehicle col-lision in Saudi Arabia resulted in the death of a Kuwaiti military offi cer working for Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily said the accident hap-pened after the Kuwaiti crossed over into Saudi Arabia in his vehicle and after reaching his destination, he was involved in a collision that

led to his death.The daily added, acting on infor-

mation help was rushed to the vic-tim, but paramedics could do noth-ing to rescue the man.

The security authorities are working to identify the cause of the accident. In the meantime, the fam-ily of the victim has gone to Saudi Arabia to complete the proceedings to bring the deceased to Kuwait for burial.

❑ ❑ ❑

Woman robbed: Police are looking for a thief who allegedly stole KD 250 cash and withdrew KD 60 from the account of a citizen woman by using her ATM card, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily quoting security sourc-es said an unidentifi ed employee working for a government depart-ment has fi led a complaint with the police station in the Capital gover-norate that she left her offi ce for a few minutes to complete a transac-tion for a colleague and at this time she received a message on her cell-phone saying KD 60 had been with-drawn from her account.

She rushed back to her offi ce where she had left her wallet and found KD 250 cash which was in her bag was missing.

The police will check the CCTV footage to identify the suspect since the victim has not pointed a fi nger of accusation at anyone.

A view of a camping site in the desert.

Nod to 20 locations for campersKuwait Municipality has announced it has allocated 20 locations for serving those who frequent the camping sites, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

Director General of Farwaniya and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorates Affairs Fahad Al-Shuteili said the camping season is due to start on November 15 and continue until March 15 next year.

He explained that the municipality has called

upon representatives of the cooperative societies that are willing to provide services to the consum-ers to contact and coordinate with concerned bod-ies with the objective of preparing, equipping and providing means of comfort for those who frequent the desert, especially with the approach of the camping season.

World News Roundup

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

6

US President Donald Trump places the Medal of Honor on Army Master Sgt Matthew Williams, currently assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, during a Medal of Honor Ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Oct 30 in Washington. (AP)

Trump presents Medal of Honor to Green BeretWASHINGTON, Oct 31, (AP): US President Donald Trump presented the nation’s highest military honor on Wednesday to a Green Beret who helped save four critically wound-ed comrades and prevented the lead element of a special

operations force from being overrun in Afghanistan.

The Medal of Honor was presented to Master Sgt Matthew O. Williams of Texas, who still serves in the Army.

The events leading to the honor occurred in April

2008 during a mountainside firefight that lasted several hours as Williams’ team and about 100 Afghan comman-dos were attacked by insur-gents waiting above them.

Trump recounted how Williams led the comman-dos across a fast-moving

and icy river and engaged the enemy. When his team sergeant was wounded by a sniper, Williams exposed himself to enemy fire to come to his aid. He helped evacuate the sergeant and then climbed back up the mountain to evacuate oth-

ers, again exposing himself to enemy fire as he helped carry and load others on to evacuation helicopters.

“Matt’s incredible hero-ism helped ensure that not a single American soldier died in the battle of Shok Valley,” Trump said.

HealthCare

Sign-ups open

Stable costs but more uninsuredWASHINGTON, Oct 31, (AP): More Americans are going without health insurance, and stable premiums plus greater choice next year under the Obama health law aren’t likely to reverse that.

As sign-up season starts on Friday, the Affordable Care Act has shown remarkable resiliency, but it has also

fallen short of expectations. Even many D e m o c r a t s want to move on.

P r e s i d e n t Donald Trump doesn’t conceal his disdain for “Obamacare” and keeps try-ing to disman-

tle the program.During President Barack Obama’s

tenure, open enrollment involved a national campaign to get people signed up. The program’s complexity was always a problem, and many lower-income people didn’t understand they could get financial help with premi-ums.

UninsuredFor example, the nonpartisan Kaiser

Family Foundation has estimated that some 4 million uninsured people may be eligible for coverage at no monthly cost to them, after taking subsidies into account. Zero-premium plans are skimpy, but experts say it beats going uninsured.

But the Trump administration says it’s not specifically advertising that. Early on, it slashed the Obamacare ad budget. Officials say they’re focused on providing a quality sign-up experi-ence and keeping the HealthCare.gov website running smoothly.

Democrats who once touted the health overhaul as a generational achievement now see it as a stepping stone, not the final word.

Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would bring the 20 million people covered under the law into a new government-run system for all Americans. “It’s time for the next step,” says Warren.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden, who asserts “Obamacare is working,” is proposing a major expansion of cur-rent ACA subsidies and a whole new “public option” insurance program.

For John Gold, a self-employed graphic designer from Maine, health-care that’s stable, affordable and com-prehensive still feels more like a goal than a reality. He’s been covered by the ACA since 2014.

“It’s a great start, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of healthcare,” he said.

Health care “takes up too much of my budget, and it doesn’t need to,” explained Gold, who lives near Portland. “There are appointments my doctor suggests, that I turn down because it’s going to cost me $300.”

IncomeGold’s income fluctuates, and when

he makes too much to qualify for sub-sidized premiums, he must pay full freight. He’s in his 50s, so his monthly cost is higher, about $700. On top of that, the plan comes with a $4,000 deductible and an $8,000 out-of-pock-et limit, potentially leaving him on the hook for a lot more.

Nonetheless, Gold said he hasn’t looked at the cheaper alternative the Trump administration is touting, though it can cost up to 60% less. One reason is “short-term plans” don’t have to cover pre-existing medical conditions.

With the economy strong, it’s unusual for progress to falter on America’s uninsured rate. Yet the Census Bureau reported that 27.5 mil-lion people were uninsured in 2018, an increase of nearly 1.9 million from 2017, and the first time the rate went up in a decade.

Caroline Pearson, a health insurance expert with the nonpartisan NORC research institution at the University of Chicago, said she doesn’t expect to see ACA coverage gains in 2020.

“Premiums are still expensive for people who have other costs,” said Pearson. “It’s a challenging proposi-tion unless you are getting a big sub-sidy or really need insurance.”

Enrollment has been slowly eroding since Trump took office, from 12.2 million in 2017 to 11.4 million this year. The drop has come mainly in HealthCare.gov states, where the fed-eral government runs sign-up season. State-run insurance markets have held their own.

But Trump administration officials say they’re doing just fine managing Obamacare. They recently announced that premiums for a hypothetical 27-year-old choosing a standard plan will decline 4% on average in 2020 in HealthCare.gov states.

Despite relatively good news on premiums, Trump’s actions still cast a shadow over the ACA’s future.

His administration is asking a fed-eral appeals court in New Orleans to strike down the entire law as unconsti-tutional. The White House has released no plans to replace it.

Seema Verma, the top administra-tion official overseeing the health law, sounded confident in a recent appear-ance before a House committee.

Obama

Steinmeier in Boston: Germany’s president is visiting Boston as his country wraps up a yearlong charm offensive designed to ease tensions with the United States.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier is sched-uled to deliver brief remarks Thursday afternoon at the Goethe Institute in Boston. He’s then expected to attend a joint concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Germany’s visiting Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Germany and the US have boosted cultural ties throughout 2019 as part of a two-nation friendship campaign dubbed “Wunderbar Together” (“Wonderful Together.”)

Germany launched the multimillion-dollar publicity campaign in late 2018 as it smarted from President Donald Trump’s verbal attacks and a perceived disregard for the long-term US ally.

Following the evening concert, a reception will be held that includes free beer and pretzels courtesy of the German government. (AP)

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Fight over funding: A bitter fight over funding for border fencing is imperiling Capitol Hill efforts to forge progress on more than $1.4 trillion worth of overdue spending bills, one of the few areas in which divided govern-ment in Washington has been able to deliver results in the Trump era.

Poisonous political fallout from the ongoing impeachment battle isn’t help-ing matters. While it appears likely that lawmakers will prevent a government shutdown next month with a govern-ment-wide stopgap spending bill, there has been little progress, if any, on the tricky trade-offs needed to balance Democratic demands for social pro-grams with President Donald Trump’s ballooning border wall demands.

Even an expected Senate vote on Thursday to pass a $209 billion bundle of four bipartisan spending bills isn’t regarded as much progress, especially since it will be followed by a Democratic filibuster of a massive Pentagon spending bill.

At issue are the agency appropria-tions bills that Congress passes each year to keep the government running. A hard-won budget and debt deal this summer produced a top-line framework for the 12 yearly spending bills, but filling in the details is proving difficult.

Democrats say White House demands for $5 billion for Trump’s long-sought US-Mexico border wall have led the GOP-controlled Senate to shortchange Democratic domestic priorities.

They say negotiations can’t begin in earnest until spending hikes permitted under the July budget deal are allocated among the 12 appropriations subcommit-tees more to their liking. Trump is demanding a huge border funding increase that comes mostly at the expense of a major health and education spending bill.

“I am not optimistic,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. “I don’t see the Senate taking action that would enable us to have an active negotiation with them. They haven’t set the groundwork. And until they fig-ure out the (subcommittee allocations) – although we are having very nice

conversations – I don’t see prog-ress.”

Current stop-gap spending authority expires Nov 21 and another measure will be needed to prevent a shut-down reprising last year’s 35-day partial shuttering of the govern-ment. All sides

want to avert a repeat shutdown, but it can’t be entirely ruled out because of the dysfunction and bitterness engulf-ing Washington these days.

Staff discussions on a new stopgap continuing resolution, or CR in Capitol Hill shorthand, haven’t yielded agree-ment yet. Democrats, including Lowey, have floated the idea of a stopgap CR into February, which would likely punt the budget battle past any Senate impeachment trial. (AP)

America

Lowey

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

7

Pakistan Britain

40 passengers injured Brexit deadlock

73 killed as fi re sweepsthrough Pakistan ‘train’

PM fi ghts for his‘political future’

ISLAMABAD, Oct 31, (Agencies): At least 73 people lost their lives while over 40 others sustained injuries as fi re broke out in three bogies of a local train that was passing through Pakistans eastern Punjab prov-ince.

The train was travelling from Karachi city to Raw-alpindi city when a fi re broke out in the Tezgam Ex-press after a gas canister reportedly exploded on board near Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab.

Provincial Heath Minister Yasmin Rashid told me-dia that the death toll has reached 73 while 40 peo-ple, including women and children, were injured. The dead and injured were shifted to the nearest govern-ment hospital where condition of few wounded was reported critical.

The fi re erupted as some passengers started cook-ing on the train resulting in destruction of three economy-class carriages of the train.

Pakistan Railways Minis-ter Sheikh Rashid in a state-ment said, “Two stoves blew up when people were cook-ing breakfast, the presence of kerosene with the passengers in (the) moving train further spread the fi re.”

He further said that most deaths occurred from people

jumping off the train. Army troops including doctors and paramedics were also dispatched to assist rescue teams in the operation.

President of Pakistan Arif Alvi expressed profound grief on the loss of precious lives in the tragic blast. Prime Minister Imran Khan in a statement said he was deeply saddened by the terrible tragedy of the Tezgam train.

“My condolences go to the victims’ families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured. I have ordered an immediate inquiry to be completed on an urgent basis,” he added.

Survivors said it took the train nearly 20 minutes to come to a halt after the fi re broke out and passengers began screaming for help. Some pulled at emergency cords that weave through the train to notify the con-ductor.

RecountedGhulam Abbas, a passenger who had gotten on the

train in the town of Nawabshah in neighboring Sindh province with his wife and two children, recounted watching panicked passengers jumping off.

“We learned afterward that most of them had died,” he said.

His wife, Sulai Khan Bibi, said she was horrifi ed what would happen to their two small children. “We were so close to death, but Allah saved us,” she said, clutching the children.

In Pakistan, poor passengers often bring their own small gas stoves on the trains to cook their meals, despite rules to the contrary, according to Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Safety regulations are often ignored in the overcrowded trains.

Ahmed said in Thursday’s tragedy, it was cooking oil carried on the train by a group of Islamic mission-aries known as Tableeqi-e-Jamaat that had caught fi re after the initial cooking stove exploded, contributing to the extent of the blaze and its speedy progress.

Railway offi cial Shabir Ahmed said bodies of pas-sengers were scattered over a 2 km (mile)-wide area around the site.

People from nearby villages rushed to the train, car-rying buckets of water and shovels to help douse the fl ames. “But it was impossible,” said Ahmed.

Through the morning hours, rescue workers and in-spectors sifted through the charred wreckage, looking for survivors and aiding the injured. Local Pakistani TV footage from the scene showed a huge blaze rag-ing as fi refi ghters struggled to get it under control.

Offi cials said they were still trying to identify the victims and that the lists of fatalities and those injured were not ready yet. Another train was dispatched to bring the survivors to the city of Rawalpindi, they said.

Yasmin Rashid, a provincial minister in the Punjab, told reporters that the medical staff were providing the best possible treatment for the injured at a hospital in Liaquatpur.

Those critically injured were taken by ambulances to the city of Multan, the largest city nearest to the site of the accident.

The train was on its way from the southern port city of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, to the garrison city of Rawalpindi when the blaze erupt-ed, said Ahmed, the deputy commissioner.

UXBRIDGE, England, Oct 31, (RTRS): Over the next few weeks, Sunil Paul and thousands of voters like him in this com-muter town on the edge of Lon-don will be among the most im-portant people in British politics: they could decide Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fate.

Johnson, who called a snap election to break the Brexit dead-lock, is the local member of par-liament and is battling to retain his seat. He has the smallest majority in his parliamentary constituency of any Brit-ish leader since 1924.

If John-son wins the election, but loses in Ux-bridge, about 20 miles from central London, he will have to stand down. This could alter the course of Brexit and would be the fi rst time any serving British prime minister has been unseated.

Paul, a 43-year-old who sells satellite television, is just the sort of voter that Johnson needs. The problem for Johnson is the life-time Conservative voter will not vote for him in protest at his sup-port for Brexit, and claims he was parachuted into the seat in 2015 despite having no connection to the area.

“Brexit is an absolute mess, it’s dividing the country when we should all be pulling together,” he said. “I also don’t know what he has ever done for people here. He occasionally shows his face, but he doesn’t engage on local issues. I have contacted him twice, but he never replied.”

Johnson has embarked on the biggest gamble of his life pushing for an early election, which could cost him his premiership, result in the socialist Labour Party seiz-ing power, and forfeit the chances of Britain leaving the European Union. By pursuing such an ap-proach, Johnson’s place in his-tory could be as one of Britain’s shortest serving prime ministers or the leader who fi nally broke the paralysis in parliament to deliver Brexit.

CandidateJohnson’s main opponent in his

constituency is a candidate for the main opposition Labour Party, a young and lively speaker who is the antithesis of the prime minis-ter.

Born in New York, Johnson was educated at Eton, Britain’s most exclusive school, and stud-ied classics at Oxford University. He then worked as a journalist before entering politics where he served as Mayor of London and then Britain’s foreign minister.

Ali Milani was born in Iran and arrived in Britain aged 5. He grew up on a council estate, lost friends to knife crime, and witnessed his mother become homeless while he was studying at the local uni-versity.

Milani, 25, believes a campaign which pits his own credentials as a local man from a poor back-ground against Johnson – who he says spends little time in the constituency – gives him a good chance to cause one of the biggest upsets in British political history.

Alvi

JohnsonA fi re-fi ghter works in front of the burning north hall of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, southern Japan on Oct 31. (AP)

Fire destroys Japan’s World Heritage-listed Shuri CastleA fi re tore through World Heritage-list-ed Shuri Castle in Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Thursday, re-ducing the main hall of the more than 500-year-old landmark to a charred skeleton.

The wooden castle, once a palace and cultural heart of the Ryukyu King-dom which fl ourished from the 15th to 19th century, burned for around 12 hours until fi refi ghters brought it under

control in the afternoon.The castle has been damaged by

fi re and rebuilt several times. It was last destroyed during World War 2, and its restoration was a symbol of recovery for Okinawa, which suffered heavy casualties as a site of heavy fi ghting between US and Japanese forces.

“My heart is full of pain and a feeling of indescribable loss,” said Okinawa

governor Denny Tamaki, who cut short a South Korea trip to deal with the fi re. “At the same time, I feel strongly that we must rebuild Shuri Castle, a symbol of the Ryukyu Kingdom, an expression of its history and culture.”

Television showed local residents and tourists, some praying and in tears, watching as smoke billowed from the remains of the once bright-red castle. (RTRS)

This is your turf: US offi cial

‘Stand up to China’KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31, (AP): A senior US offi cial on Thursday urged Southeast Asian nations meeting this weekend in Bangkok to put up a stiffer resistance to China’s militarization of the disputed South China Sea waters.

At the same time, David Stilwell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacifi c, sought to down-play Beijing’s concerns over the US involvement in the region.

He told a forum in Malaysia that the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacifi c region was not a move to expand US domination but refl ected Washington’s “enduring engagement” to make the area prosperous.

China’s smaller neighbors including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia contest Beijing’s claims of ownership of almost all of the strategically important South China Sea. Beijing has asserted its claim by building seven man-made islands and equipping them with mili-tary runways, missile defense systems and outposts.

Stilwell, who is en route to Bangkok

for regional summits with the 10-mem-ber Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said the grouping should have resisted moves to militarize the South China Sea. “This is your turf, this is your place. Vietnam has done a good job of pushing back. I would think that regard-ing ASEAN centrality ... (the grouping) would join Vietnam to resist actions that are destabilizing and effecting security,” he said.

Stilwell acknowledged the bloc doesn’t want to have to take sides be-tween the two superpowers.

“I ask my ASEAN counterparts what their alternate plan was in this world where we like not to have to choose. I think the US has done a great job in standing up at great political cost to our-selves,” he added.

The South China Sea territorial row is expected to again be a source of fric-tion at the meetings in Bangkok this weekend. ASEAN has been unable to forge a strong stance on the issue due to objection from China’s allies such as Cambodia.

Maritime

Eva’s Hotel stands damaged after a strong earthquake in Kidapawan, north Cotabato province, Philippines on Oct 31. The third strong earth-quake this month jolted the southern Philippines on Thursday morning, further damaging structures already weakened by the earlier shaking. (AP)

Japan’s justice min resigns: Japan’s justice minister resigned Thursday over election payment allegations involving his wife, also a lawmaker, and about his own reported gift-giving, becoming the second Cabinet minister to step down in a week.

Katsuyuki Kawai’s resignation and that of the trade minister last Friday are an embarrass-ment to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s govern-ment, which has been plagued by a series of gaffes that have prompted public anger. In his nearly seven years in offi ce, Abe has managed to shake off various scandals, and support rat-ings for his Cabinet have been generally stable, in part because of a weak opposition and voter indifference. (AP)

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N. Korea fi res 2 missiles: North Korea on Thursday fi red two projectiles into its eastern sea, an apparent resumption of weapons tests aimed at ramping up pressure on Washington over a stalemate in nuclear negotiations, according to offi cials in South Korea and Japan.

Asia

Abe Jong Un

The launches followed statements of displeasure by top North Korean offi cials over the slow pace of nuclear negotiations with the United States and demands that the Trump administration ease crippling sanc-tions and pressure on their country.

Analysts say the North could dial up its weapons demonstrations in the coming weeks as it approaches an end-of-year deadline set by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Wash-ington to offer mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the nuclear diplomacy. (AB)

World News Roundup

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

8

Food

High in nutrients

Thailand push insectsas snack of the futureBANGKOK, Oct 31, (Agencies): They are sold in bags like salted peanuts, or tubes like stacked potato chips, but these crunchy morsels on the shelves of Thai convenience stores and supermarkets stand apart from the snack food crowd.

The bugs – baked, not fried – could be the next big thing in tasty treats.

Rural Thais have long eaten bugs as part of their diet. In big cities, street vendors catering to migrant workers sell cooked insects that under most circum-stances would cause foreign tourists to whip out a can of bug spray.

The idea to package them like potato chips came to entrepreneur Thatnat Chanthatham when a story on the news caught his attention.

“I heard on the TV news that the UN said insects were an alternative source of protein for the future,

so I thought that Thais eat a lot of insects already and can get them as street food. Has anyone put them in a bag?” the 46-year-old told The Associ-ated Press. “If not, how can we do it? What sort of fl avors?”

His supply chain begins at the Smile cricket farm in Ratchaburi province, 100 km (60 miles) west of Bangkok. In one breeding room alone, more than a million of the chirping insects are being raised on a

45-day cycle from egg to adult to harvest. Some of the products are baked here, others at the next stop, a factory in Bangkok, where they are packaged and then trucked to retail outlets.

Range Small crickets are one of the best sellers in the range

of insect convenience snacks sold under the HiSo brand – that’s Thai slang for “high society.”

HiSo snacks unabashedly proclaim what they are: the bamboo worms look like bamboo worms; the crickets look like crickets. The line also includes crispy silkworms.

They come in original, barbecue and tom yam fl avors, and can be found in Thailand’s ubiquitous 7-Eleven shops and in a major supermarket chain. Crickets are priced at 25 baht (83 cents) for a bag; at the high end, a tube of bamboo worms costs 160 baht ($5.29).

HiSo has established itself in the snack market, but there was plenty of trial-and-error involved, Thatnat said, such as when they were considering whether to sell large, black crickets.

“Even though I’m a regular when it comes to eating bugs, I still felt like their eyes were staring at me ... Then, after we ate them, their legs and wings poked out and got stuck in our teeth and gums,” he said, laughing.

“I thought, should we go ahead? I talked to the team and they said please shelve this one, so I did.”

Two tons of insects pass through his Bangkok factory every month. Revenue is steady at around $100,000 per month, but overheads are high. While he raises his own crickets, he hasn’t yet found a way to produce enough silkworms and bamboo worms to the required standard, so he has to buy them from in-dependent suppliers.

Still, four years after the metamorphosis of HiSo from idea to industry, Thatnat is a satisfi ed man.

“When it comes to bugs, there are people who are scared of them, people who eat them and people who don’t. But to be where we are today, with people knowing and accepting our HiSo brand, that’s what I’d call a success.”

Until recently, demand for edible bugs was main-ly in parts of Asia, Africa and South America. But HiSo’s emergence comes amid growing global inter-est in insects as a food source.

They don’t need a lot of space, don’t need a lot of feed and don’t leave a large carbon footprint. And in return, as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization points out, they offer substantial nutritional benefi ts for livestock and for humans.

“They have an incredibly high content of protein, but also minerals and also vitamin B12,” said the FAO’s Katinka de Balogh. “The nutritional value of insects has not been recognized in the past and I think, nowadays, we are fi nding that there is a huge poten-tial.”

Will HiSo’s packaging and marketing be a game-changer, helping make insects the food of the future?

Thatnat said his products are popular with Asian tourists, especially the Chinese, so his next goal is to export them. But so far, he’s hit a brick wall, and blames a morass of unclear regulations.

“There needs to be an agreement between govern-ments. All you really get is advice on bugs as a food source,” he says. “In the end, these insects can’t re-ally go between countries yet. That’s one of the things stopping us from obtaining our goal.”

Even in Thailand, some can’t stomach the thought of crunchy crickets or original fl avor bamboo worms.

Many passers-by kept walking when recently of-fered samples in the street, or fl at out turned down a taste, though two offi ce workers who tried them said they were fi ne.

“If I see them, I’ll buy them,” said Anuwat Suetrong.

Also:NEW YORK: New York City, often viewed as the fi ne dining capital of America, was poised on Wednesday to become the latest US city to ban the sale of foie gras, sparking manufacturers to vow a court battle to overturn it.

The New York City Council was expected to pass a bill to “ban the sale or provision of certain force-fed poultry products.”

Foie gras, French for “fatty liver,” is a delicacy pro-duced from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese that have been force-fed corn.

Animal rights groups contend that the force-feed-ing process is painful and gruesome.

“The council is banning a really cruel and inhu-mane practice,” said Jeremy Unger, spokesman for Council Member Carlina Rivera of Manhattan, who introduced the bill.

But the nation’s largest maker of foie gras, Hud-son Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, located about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of New York City, defended the practice it uses to make the luxury item.

“I can tell you we take proper care of the birds,” said Hudson Valley manager Marcus Henley. He said the farm, which employs 400 people, makes foie gras “in conformity with humane animal management and in compliance with the laws of the state of New York.”

The ban would take effect in three years, in a move meant to give farmers time to retool their businesses to focus on other products, Unger said.

Thatnat

Firefi ghters mop up a brushfi re, named the Castlewood Fire in Fullerton, Calif on Oct 30, 2019. Crews halted the blaze, which had threatened homes amid red fl ag fi re weather warnings, at approximately 8 acres, according to Fullerton police. (AP)

Carbon emissions underestimated

‘Warming could put SDGs beyond reach’LONDON, Oct 31, (RTRS): As global warming brings wilder weather, more harvest failures and the risk of growing migration and poverty, “sustainable development as we think of it today may be out of reach”, a top UN spe-cialist in climate change losses warned on Wednesday.

Nations around the world in 2015 agreed to pursue a set of “sustainable development goals” (SDGs) aiming to end poverty and hunger, and provide safe drinking water and affordable clean energy to all, among other tar-gets, by 2030.

But with the planet heating up fast, serious threats – from expanding cities facing rising seas and fl oods to small islands watching their coral reefs die and water supplies turn salty – mean those “worthy” global goals may no longer be the right focus, said Koko Warner of the UN climate change sec-retariat.

“These (climate) changes out in the world are in some cases unfolding at a pace that’s a bit surprising,” the econo-mist told a conference on researching climate-related damage at Sweden’s Lund University.

With Indonesia already planning to shift its fl ood-prone capital and other nations grappling with problems such as worsening water shortages, pushing to meet the SDGs could be a matter of “trying to solve the problems of the 20th century” even as grave new 21st-century challenges loom, she said.

Leaders and societies seeking to protect the well-being of their people may need to refocus on tougher issues, she said.

Those could include what lifestyle changes people are willing to make to reduce climate risk and protect things they prize, such as securing their chil-dren’s futures or being able to stay in their home nations rather than be forced to move.

“We need to understand what peo-ple value and what’s acceptable or

not,” said Warner, who leads work on climate change impacts and risks for the UN climate body.

As more protesters take to the streets around the world, demanding faster climate action, governments will need to make policy shifts that are acceptable to both activists and the broader public – and “that’s a hard needle to thread”, she said.

Dealing with growing climate threats also might require reshaping international institutions, she added.

The UN climate secretariat, for in-stance, which oversaw the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, focuses primarily on national-level action on climate threats.

But with cities growing so fast – about 70% of the world’s population will be urban by 2050, the United Nations predicts – much of the work to cut carbon emissions and build cli-mate-safe infrastructure is happening at city level, Warner said.

ProcessesToday’s international processes to

fi ght climate change do not necessarily focus “where action needs to occur”, she added.

Reinhard Mechler, a scientist who looks at socio-economic aspects of disasters and climate change, said dis-cussions on climate-related losses will need to explore more deeply damage to culture, traditions and heritage, as well as economies.

Already, there is a move to examine “existential” threats, said Mechler of the Austria-based International Insti-tute for Applied Systems Analysis.

UN climate talks in 2013 estab-lished the Warsaw International Mech-anism for Loss and Damage, to explore ways of dealing with climate-related harm to people, property and nature.

That mechanism is up for review at the next round of UN climate talks, scheduled for December.

Digging into the wider implications

of climate losses is important now as they have started to surge, Warner said.

From small islands facing a decline in tourism as coral reefs deteriorate to Germany seeing its famed forests die off, “we are talking about profound change”, she noted.

Also:KUALA LUMPUR: The amount of planet-warming carbon emitted by the world’s lost tropical forests has been under-reported as estimates failed to take into account the longer-term ef-fects of tree destruction, researchers said.

A new international study re-eval-uated the carbon impacts of forests that were destroyed or degraded be-tween 2000 and 2013, adding up to 49 million hectares (121 million acres), roughly the size of Spain.

The carbon released from losses to those “intact forests” will amount to more than six times previous estimates when additional emissions caused by changes to the forest up to 2050 are included, it found.

Intact forests are large areas of con-tinuous forest with no signs of inten-sive human activity, like agriculture or logging.

“Once you’ve caused the initial round of damage, you have commit-ted to a lot of further emissions in the future once the forest has opened up,” said study co-author Tom Evans of the New York-based Wildlife Conser-vation Society (WCS).

“It’s a bit like if you’re injured at work you have lost earnings for years into the future,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Those carbon lost earnings turn out to be the biggest part of the picture for these intact for-ests.”

Trees suck carbon dioxide from the air, and store carbon, the main green-house gas heating up the Earth’s cli-mate. But they release it when they are cut down and are burned or rot.

Climate

In this Oct 3, 2019 photo, employees sort out crickets for size at Smile crick-et farm at Ratchaburi province, south-

west of Bangkok, Thailand. (AP)

Kemp Zgrabczynska

Zoo to rescue 9 tigers: A Polish zoo will take in nine tigers originally bound for a Russian circus and which have spent days stuck in cages on a lorry stranded at Poland’s border with Belarus, the zoo’s director said.

The lorry set off from Rome carrying 10 tigers but was stopped after driving almost 2,000 kilometres at a Polish/Belarus border crossing on Sunday, as the animals lacked the necessary veterinary permits and the driver did not have the correct paperwork to continue into Belarus, Polish broadcaster TVN 24 reported.

One of the tigers died on Tuesday, a Polish offi cial said.

The border had no facilities for unload-ing the tigers.

“I hope the tigers will reach us today, time is against us,” Ewa Zgrabczynska, the director of Poznan zoo in western Poland, told TVN.

“The animals are locked up, unfed with nothing to drink, it is a huge tragedy.”

The death of one of the tigers was probably due to problems with its stomach, Deputy Border Veterinarian Eugeniusz Karpiuk said.

Zgrabczynska said the animals would stay in Poznan until they received documents to be transported to an animal reserve in Spain. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

Plant agrees to close: Georgia offi cials reached an agreement Monday to temporar-ily shut down a medical sterilization facil-ity that uses a gas that studies have linked to an increased risk of cancer.

A Newton County judge signed off on a deal between the state and Becton, Dickin-son and Co to close the plant in the Atlanta suburb of Covington for a week to allow offi cials to take air samples.

The agreement also requires Becton, Dickinson to reduce “fugitive emissions” of ethylene oxide after it resumes opera-tions Nov 7 in part by reducing the quantity of product it sterilizes. It additionally sets a deadline for the installation of new emis-sions control equipment.

The Covington plant uses ethylene oxide to sterilize urinary catheters, feeding tubes, stents and other items that hospitals rely on. But it and other medical device plants that use ethylene oxide have faced increasing scrutiny over concerns about cancer.

The US Environmental Protection Agen-cy classifi ed ethylene oxide as a human carcinogen in 2016 and has fl agged some

Discovery

Frozen leaves lay on a path in a park in Berlin on Oct 30, 2019. (AP)

areas near plants that emit it for potentially elevated cancer risks.

Exposure to dangerous levels of the gas can cause cancer including leukemia and lymphoma, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Earlier this year, Illinois authorities closed a large plant owned by sterilization company Sterigenics after detecting high outdoor

levels of the gas. This month, the company announced the plant would not reopen.

Another Sterigenics plant in Georgia has been closed for maintenance since August after state offi cials detected potentially dangerous emissions at the Atlanta facility. The company has been working to reduce emission levels from the plant.

Georgia had gone to court earlier this

month seeking a temporary closure of the Covington plant. Gov Brian Kemp said in a statement that Monday’s agreement “al-lows for cleaner operations and improved, long-term accountability at BD’s medical sterilization facilities in Covington” and another location. (RTRS)

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Workers protest rules: Thousands of Dutch construction workers converged on The Hague on Wednesday to protest restric-tions they say are crippling their industry, the latest large-scale demonstration against the government’s environmental policies.

A central park in The Hague fi lled up early with trucks, diggers, cranes and con-struction workers in orange high-visibility jackets. The demonstration disrupted traffi c around The Hague for hours, forcing police to block the main highway into the city to prevent even more trucks from arriving.

The industry is protesting govern-ment limits on nitrogen emissions and rules about transporting sand and earth contaminated with tiny amounts of chemi-cals known as PFAS, which are used in fi refi ghting foam, nonstick pots and pans, water-repellent clothing and many other household and personal items.

The protests underscore how diffi cult it is for the Dutch government to push through reforms aimed at cleaning up the environment and reducing emissions without hurting essential industries like construction and agriculture. (AP)

Featu

res

Featu

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This image released by Warner Bros shows Gugu Mbatha-Raw (left), and Edward Norton in a scene from ‘Motherless Brooklyn’. (AP)

Hollywood fi lm seeks to honor Tubman

Cynthia Erivo engages in imperfect but important ‘Harriet’By Jocelyn Noveck

Legendary American heroine that she is, there are certain things for which Harriet Tubman is overdue. One is her spot on US currency:

Google “Tubman” and “$20” and “Trump”. Another is a major feature film based on her life: Google “Tubman” and “Hollywood” and “why so long?”

Well, that $20 bill has been delayed, but fi nally there’s a Hollywood fi lm, “Harriet”, that seeks to honor Tubman and her extraordinary place in the anti-slavery movement.

Hollywood doesn’t make tons of movies about female heroes or black heroes, let alone black female heroes. One can only imagine the pressure the creative team must have felt to get it just right. And that’s exactly what comes across in the fi nal product. “Harriet” is built on such good intentions and such a fi erce desire to get it right that it seems risk-averse creatively, a fairly formulaic biopic created more for a his-tory classroom than the multiplex.

This is not to say “Harriet” is an unworthy enterprise, but it could have pierced more deeply than it does. In the plus column, it marks the welcome return to the director’s chair of Kasi Lemmons, who fi rst drew attention with “Eve’s Bayou” in 1997. And it stars a truly singular talent in Cynthia Erivo, in one of her fi rst major screen roles.

Erivo is a Tony-winning stage actress of such unique power and in-tensity that it’s not overstating it to say she can thrill with a single note – she’s simply one of the most talented dramatic singers alive today. If you want a hint of that, make sure to catch the closing credits; Erivo sings “Stand Up”, a song she co-wrote.

And though she doesn’t get to sing much in the movie – there are snippets of spirituals here and there, and if you were Lemmons, you’d fi nd every reason to have Erivo sing, too – the actress does turn in one of the deeper portrayals. Many other characters seem one-dimensional, a failing of the screenplay more than the cast, which is fi lled with es-timable names like Janelle Monae and Leslie Odom Jr. The main “vil-lain” role of Gideon (Joe Alwyn), the owner’s son at the plantation where Tubman grew up enslaved, feels particularly underwritten.

SplitWe begin at that plantation, in Maryland, with Araminta Ross – aka

“Minty” – lying on her back in a fi eld. Since she was a little girl, when her head was split open in a blow from an abusive master, Minty, now in her 20s, has suffered seizures and blackouts, during which she has visions.

On this day Minty is awoken by her husband, a free man, who sur-prises her with documentation he’s obtained of a promise from her

owner’s ancestor to grant the slave family its freedom, now overdue. But the owner – Gideon’s father – shreds the letter in a nasty rage.

Minty now knows she has no choice but to fl ee. She makes it off the plantation, only to be caught by Gideon and his posse, trapped on a bridge over a raging river. She stuns Gideon by jumping off, to a certain death.

But she survives – and makes it to Delaware, where a friend helps her to the border of free Pennsylvania. She walks the last bit by herself. This incredible achievement – imagine the obstacles she faces, covering 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) on foot – is largely hinted at, not shown.

In Philadelphia, Minty is welcomed by abolitionist William Still (Odom, playing a real-life character) and given a room in a house owned by the elegant Marie Buchanon (Monae, playing a fi ctional one.) Offered a new name for her new life, she becomes Harriet Tubman.

Despite her freedom, Tubman soon makes a hugely risky decision: to go back to Maryland to bring back her beloved husband. She makes it there, only to fi nd out – in a beautifully acted scene – that her hus-band, believing her dead, has another wife.

It’s hard to go too far wrong, though, with a story as compelling as Tubman’s and an actress as vivid as Erivo. Better to celebrate the arrival of what hopefully will be a slew of Tubman fi lms, and look forward to those Tubman bills in our wallets. (AP)

LOS ANGELES: Gerard Butler will star in the elevated action thriller “The Plane”, which will be produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures and MadRiver Pictures. MadRiver Intl. will launch sales at AFM next week and CAA Media Finance will handle the domestic rights to the fi lm.

The script was written by Charles Cumming and J.P. Davis (“Violence of Action”), based on the book by Cum-ming. The fi lm will be produced by Di Bonaventura’s Lorenzo di Bonvaventura and Mark Vahradian, MadRiver’s Marc Butan and Ara Keshishian, and Butler and Alan Siegel under their G-BASE banner. The fi lm is scheduled to shoot next year.

“The Plane” is a real-time ac-tion thriller that follows commer-cial pilot Ray Torrance (Butler), who after a heroic job of success-fully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in a war zone, fi nds him-self caught between the agendas of multiple militia who are planning to take the plane and its pas-sengers’ hostage. As the world’s authorities and media search for the disappeared aircraft Ray must rise to the occasion and keep his passengers safe long enough for help to arrive. (RTRS)

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LOS ANGELES: Andrew Garfi eld will star in Lin-Ma-nuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick... Boom!” for Netfl ix.

Variety fi rst reported in June that Netfl ix had won the movie rights to “Tick, Tick ... Boom!” with “Hamilton” creator Miranda attached to direct and Garfi eld the top choice to star. His deal was announced on Wednesday.

“Dear Evan Hansen” writer Steven Levenson is adapting the script based on the original stage show by late “Rent” crea-tor Jonathan Larson. Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Julie Oh of Imagine Entertainment are producing along with Miranda. Julie Larson and Levenson are executive producing.

“Tick, Tick ... Boom!” is set in 1990 and tells the story of an aspiring theater composer who is waiting tables in New York City while writing “Superbia”, which he hopes will be the next great American musical and fi nally give him his big break. As he

approaches his 30th birthday, he is overcome with anxiety, wondering if his dream is worth the cost.

Larson originated the autobio-graphical show in 1990 and went on to write the Pulitzer-winning musical “Rent”. (RTRS)

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LOS ANGELES: Disney’s

“Frozen II” is set to hit theat-ers in China on Nov 22, day and date with the US. The first installment, “Frozen”, grossed $48.2 million in China in 2014, at a time when the country had fewer screens and lower expectations for animated fare.

Animation hasn’t always been a huge hit at the Chinese

box offi ce, since viewers com-monly think of the genre as for children. That’s increasingly changing, however, particu-larly after the recent success of local animation “Nezha”, which grossed $709 million (RMB4.97 billion) to become the country’s second-highest-grossing fi lm of all time.

“Abominable”, the US-China

co-production between Dream-Works Animation and Pearl Stu-dios, is currently still in Chinese theaters but has made only $15.2 million (RMB107 million) in the mainland after almost a month on screens.

In the past, Disney animated fare like “Zootopia” and “Coco” have hit home in the territory. (RTRS)

Film

Variety

Film

A resolutely sturdy movie

In ‘Brooklyn’, ‘Chinatown’ goes EastBy Jake Coyle

Jonathan Lethem’s novel about a private eye with Tourette’s syndrome, “Motherless Brooklyn”, starts

with a brilliant burst of uncontrolled profanity and an explanation of its protagonist’s condition.

“Words rush out of the cornucopia of my brain to course over the surface of the world, tickling reality like fi ngers on piano keys. Caressing, nudging. They’re an invisible army on a peacekeeping mission, a peaceable horde. They mean no harm.”

Lethem lets loose a riot of language across the sub-sequent pages, remaking a classic detective story with an uncontrollable fl ow of words. In his intelligent, engrossing and derivative adaptation of “Motherless Brooklyn”, Edward Norton has something tidier in mind.

Norton, who wrote, directed, produced and stars in the fi lm, has shifted the story from the ‘90s to the ‘50s, taking a then-contemporary twist on an old genre and sending it back to its late-noir heyday, along with all the period-appropriate trench coats, automobiles and venetian blinds. Norton fi rst sought out the book more than 20 years ago – this is a longtime “passion project” fi nally come to fruition – and it’s clear that he wanted to enlarge the story’s ambitions. He’s after a “Chinatown” for New York.

Lionel Essrog (Norton) is private dick whose men-tor Frank Minna (Bruce Willis, whose infrequent ap-pearance in movies of late has only heightened his powerful presence), adopted Lionel and raised him in his private investigator business. When Minna is killed in the film’s opening scenes, Essrog throws himself into discovering the murderers, whipping up his fellow detectives – Tony (Bobby Cannavale), Gilbert (Ethan Suplee) and Danny (Dallas Roberts) – to join in the search.

Essrog, at times donning the guise of a reporter, fol-lows a trail of clues that leads him across the metropo-lis and into a broad city hall conspiracy that rises to the penthouse-heights of New York power. Along the way are trips through a not-yet-razed Penn Station, a handsome Washington Square Park and a pivotal Har-

lem jazz club (where Michael K. Williams plays a trumpet player). He befriends a black attorney, Laura Ross (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who helps him realize the full scope of the corruption revolving around “slum clearance” policies of redevelopment, and how Minna fi gures into it.

Norton is leading Essrog into foundational mid-century New York history. Just as Jake Gittes un-wittingly uncovered the water supply sins on which Los Angeles was built in “Chinatown”, “Motherless Brooklyn” winds its way through the neighborhood-destroying freeway laying of Robert Moses’ New York. “Motherless Brooklyn” is more indebted, ul-timately, to Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker” than Lethem’s novel.

PerfectionThe Robert Moses doppelganger here is named

Moses Randolph and played with perfection by Alec Baldwin, who’s making something of a habit of play-ing New York’s real-estate villains. In one fi ne moment with a large map of New York behind him, he insists that he’s not above the law, “I’m ahead of it.”

To some, this well-known history (there is also a Jane Jacobs-like figure protesting Randolph’s brute-force policies) is too familiar to be particularly in-triguing. It’s a little like a gumshoe wandering into a text book. But not everyone is deeply versed in Mo-ses’ overwhelming imprint on New York City. And what makes “Motherless Brooklyn” respectable and even novel is this grafting of social history onto a genre tale. It’s not exactly commonplace in today’s movies to be taken down a rabbit hole about urban development. It’s a laudable impulse, and Norton’s film provides a welcome reminder of what we’ve been missing.

There’s certainly more to be gained from that side of “Motherless Brooklyn” than the showcase of Norton’s performance. The actor, who famously played a stut-tering schizophrenic in “Primal Fear”, largely pulls it off with a full diet of tics, mannerisms, jerks and blurts. “It makes me say funny things, but I’m not trying to be funny,” Essrog, nicknamed “Freakshow”, tells some-

one. But the performance never feels like much more than an acting challenge.

Norton, who last directed the 2000 romantic comedy “Keeping the Faith”, has made a resolutely sturdy mov-ie, fi lled with excellent actors (Willem Dafoe is also in the mix) and composed – Dick Pope (“Mr Turner”) supplies the slick and shadowy cinematography – with a vivid feel for New York. “Motherless Brooklyn” is done well enough that you wish it had struck out on its own path, rather than crib from Robert Towne and Roman Polanski. It’s hard to forget it, but that’s “Chi-natown”.

“Motherless Brooklyn”, a Warner Bros release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for language throughout including some sexual refer-ences, brief drug use, and violence. Running time: 144 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Also:LOS ANGELES: Thom Yorke closed out the fi rst of two sold-out shows at LA’s Greek Theatre on Tuesday night by performing a new song from the “Motherless Brook-lyn” soundtrack. He dedicated the somber piano ballad, “Daily Battles”, to the fi lm’s director-star Ed Norton, who stood in wonderment only a few feet from the stage.

“If I f-- it up, Ed, it’s because it’s the fi rst time I’ve played it (live),” Yorke warned.

Norton has said in previous interviews that he loves the song so much, he put it in the fi lm twice. “Mother-less Brooklyn”, about a New York detective struggling with Tourette disorder, opens Friday.

Also on hand for Yorke’s audio-visual spectacle was director Paul Thomas Anderson, a frequent collabo-rator of Yorke and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Green-wood, along with his wife Maya Rudolph, “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul and Oscar-winning fi lmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

The beat-heavy show was dominated by tracks from Yorke’s latest effort, “Anima”, as well as songs spanning from his solo albums “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes”, “The Eraser” and Atoms for Peace’s “Amok”. (Agencies)

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People & Places

NEWS/FEATURESARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

10

Original programs

Apple TV Plus hotsup streaming wars

By Lynn Elber

As the streaming wars near a fever pitch and view-ers are targeted from every vantage point – Dis-

ney Plus has the Marvel and Star Wars brands! HBO Max counters with “Game of Thrones” and DC super-heroes! – Apple TV Plus could be cast as the highly pedigreed and improbable underdog.

While the venture counts Oprah Winfrey and Ste-ven Spielberg among its fi rst wave of talent, Apple TV Plus launches Friday with just a handful of origi-nal programs. It also lacks a warehouse of old shows and franchise fi lms that can reliably draw nostalgic viewers and produce spinoffs, such as “The Man-

dalorian” for Disney Plus and HBO Max’s newly announced “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon”.

Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, the former Sony Pictures Television presidents who are heads of worldwide video for Apple, say they are undaunted by the compari-sons and optimistic about the streamer’s future.

“We are working with some of the most tremendously tal-

ented people we’ve ever met working in entertainment today,” Van Amburg said, and he sees them rising to the challenge of building an enterprise in general and for tech giant Apple in particular. “There’s an expres-sion that we use here across the board at Apple: ‘Come to Apple and do the best work of your life.’ That’s actually what we ask of everyone who comes here.”

OpportunityThere’s both opportunity and anxiety in being part

of such a launch, said Kerry Ehrin, showrunner for the Jennifer Aniston-Reese Witherspoon drama “The Morning Show”.

“It’s a huge amount of pressure, but you can’t re-ally live in that space,” Ehrin said. “You drive your-self crazy ... because you start creating for, ‘Oh, is this right, or is that gonna work?’ instead of just creating what you fi nd compelling and entertaining.”

Aniston, who’s also a producer for the series, calls it “refreshing and exciting to be a part of something that’s just beginning. ... We’re building it all together.”

Besides “The Morning Show”, the service’s starting lineup includes Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard in the futuristic drama “See”, Hailee Steinfeld in “Dickin-son”, a revisionist take on poet Emily Dickinson, and the wildlife documentary “The Elephant Queen”. Upcoming fare includes Spielberg’s revival of “Amazing Stories”; a book-focused series and other projects from Winfrey; the psychological thriller “Servant” from M. Night Shy-amalan and “The Banker” drama series starring Anthony Mackie and Joe Morris.

A subscription costs $4.99 a month, with usage al-lowed for up to six family members. Buyers of new Ap-ple devices such as the iPhone and iPad get the streamer free for a year. Among the competition, Disney Plus (launching Nov 12) is $6.99 monthly, HBO Max (May 2020) is $14.99 and, among the existing services, it’s as low as $5.99 a month for Hulu and $8.99 each for Netf-lix and Amazon Prime Video (which is included with a $119 annual Amazon Prime membership).

There are deals to be had. Buyers of new Apple de-vices get a free year of Apple TV Plus and a seven-day trial is available without charge to all, enticements that mirror those of its competitors. For the new services, free promotions are key to building a subscriber base, while retaining them will be another challenge .

DrawTo break out from the pack, streamers are touting their

wares with carnival barker-like gusto. In a presentation Tuesday for HBO Max, part of AT&T-owned Warner-Media, executives emphasized the hits it will draw from the WarnerMedia library, including the full 10-season run of “Friends” (which it’s retrieving from Netfl ix), and newly purchased series including “South Park”.

Van Amburg and Erlicht, who in their long tenure at Sony were involved with some of the shows their com-petitors stream, including Netfl ix’s Emmy-winning “The Crown”, brush away concerns about being library-less. Instead, the executives stress a bonus they’re offering consumers in this dauntingly prolifi c television age. The Apple TV app, which houses Apple TV Plus and is avail-able on iPhones, iPads and other iOS devices, also func-tions as a sort of Grand Central Terminal to effi ciently access everything streaming, including from competitors (to be paid for accordingly).

“We want to make it easy for the user to fi nd all the things that they watch,” Erlicht said.

Viewers, especially cord-cutters seeking to es-cape hefty cable and satellite TV bills, likely will be choosy. A new study found that 70% of the 4,816 re-spondents believe there will be too many streaming services and even more, 80%, worry the streaming habit will become too expensive to maintain, accord-ing to the fi ndings from TV Time, a movie and TV tracking platform, and United Talent Agency’s data and analytics group, which joined in the study.

According to the research fi rm Magid, consumers are willing to subscribe to an average of four stream-ing services and pay an average of $42 a month for them.

The budget for the streamers themselves? Based on reports, Apple Plus TV is spending $1 billion for its fi rst year of programming, with Disney Plus at slightly under that and HBO Max budgeted for about $2 bil-lion. By comparison, Netfl ix, with its deep bench of movies and buzzy original series including “Stranger Things”, shelled out a hefty $15 billion this year.

If Apple is serious about the service it will have to open its wallet wider, said analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities. The lack of a library is another signifi cant drawback, one that could force Apple into the acquisition of a major studio and its creative as-sets as early as in 2020, said Ives. He offered a bullish prediction for Apple TV Plus of possibly 100 million customers within three to four years, given its loyalists and the 1.4 billion Apple devices worldwide.

Streaming leader Netfl ix has about 160 million sub-scribers worldwide.

Apple, however, has long struggled to crack the TV market, said Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak. While it has plenty of capital to throw at Apple TV Plus and a built-in consumer base, he said, it remains to be seen if its new service ultimately is among the survivors of streaming’s fi erce contest. Ma-jor companies can’t always break into another sector, he said, citing Google’s attempt to compete against Facebook with Google Plus.

“Just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to be successful,” Wlodarc-zak said. (AP)

Winfrey

This image released by Apple TV Plus shows Jason Momoa (right), and Hera Hilmar in a scene from ‘See’, premiering on Nov 1 on Apple TV Plus. (AP)

‘I didn’t want to disappoint Connor’

Hamilton makes return countBy Jonathan Landrum Jr

For the new “Terminator” film, it was seemingly easy to bring back

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the human-looking cyborg assassin because of his devotion to the franchise. But having Linda Hamilton return as Sarah Con-nor was a tougher decision considering she’d already turned down a chance to reprise her iconic role.

It took Hamilton six weeks to decide whether she wanted to portray Connor, the waitress-turned-warrior who along with Schwarzenegger made the fi rst two “Terminator” movies among the best action fi lms ever made.

Her hesitation stemmed from the fear that a return as Connor in “Termi-nator: Dark Fate” might not live up to the hype of the earlier fi lms.

“I was terrifi ed,” she recalled. “I re-ally didn’t want to disappoint Sarah Connor. That’s where I go when I’m terrifi ed. You usually regret what you didn’t do. So I thought, ‘If I’m this ter-rifi ed, then maybe that’s the reason to do it.’”

Another convincing factor for Ham-ilton’s return was James Cameron, who directed the fi rst two fi lms and would serve as a producer on “Dark Fate”, which arrives in theaters Fri-day. She passed on the opportunity to appear in 2003’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” believing she had “completed the character’s story” and because of Cameron’s absence, calling him the “magic ingredient.”

Hamilton was concerned with “Dark Fate” messing with the legacy of the uber-popular “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”. But she said Cameron’s emails from three years ago detailing the pros and cons of her playing Connor and his enthusiasm about the project helped put her at ease.

The new fi lm ignores three of the franchise’s previous movies including 2015’s “Terminator: Genisys”, which fi zzled with domestic audiences but had a strong turnout overseas. “Dark Fate” picks up soon after the events of “T2”.

This time, Connor and an aug-mented soldier named Grace, played by Mackenzie Davis, must protect a young Mexican girl Dani (Natalia Reyes) who is being hunted by a new-ly modifi ed liquid Terminator from the future.

Hamilton says Connor still has a vengeful heart against Termina-tors, yet grudgingly reunites with Schwarzenegger, a time-traveling kill-ing-machine who’s developed a con-science. Connor’s character is also not a fan of humans because “humankind builds machines that create their own death,” the actress said.

Vengeance“Sarah has nothing else left, but

vengeance,” Hamilton said. “She’s a woman without a country. She has no mission, no son; broken, dark, black heart.”

Schwarzenegger said the 63-year-old Hamilton brought some “fresh-ness” back into the franchise.

“I thought that she set the bar really high again, just like she did in 1991,” Schwarzenegger said of Hamilton, who trained for a year to get in fi ghting shape. “Especially as a woman in her 60s now. There’s no action lady out there that I know of who’s in her 60s doing what she does. Only Cameron really has the (courage) to do some-thing like that. But he always feels quite comfortable with those kinds of ideas, especially women action he-roes.”

Hamilton praised Schwarzeneg-

ger for his work as well as her female co-stars, Davis and Reyes. But some-times, she said it was a struggle to fi nd the voice of their female characters with an all-male screenwriter team.

Hamilton said initially the writ-ers had a hard time writing “organic” dialogue between her and Davis’ char-acter. She called the process a fail at fi rst and sometimes declined to recite certain lines, until everyone got on the same page.

The results have been met with mixed reviews, with some criticizing the dialogue between female charac-ters.

“They really had trouble getting the script together,” she said. “There were so many writers. They were four months late delivering it to me, be-cause they didn’t want me to read the fi rst pass. In the end, I think they re-ally did a bang up job. But it was re-ally changing throughout, even as we were shooting. That was wacky to me, because I never really had to work that way and try to fi ll in the blanks when you don’t quite know where you’ve been or where you’re going or when you’re going to learn that. Acting is a linear job. You want to know precisely where I just come from, where I’m go-ing and I fi ll in those moments with as much authenticity as I can. There were some issues with the script, but ulti-mately I think we got it worked out.”

Hamilton believes her input helped serve the fi lm, her character and oth-ers well.

“In the end, I know her best,” she said. “That is the advantage of having played someone over a 35-year period. Otherwise, in all my other work, I would let the greater minds have their way. But not this time.” (AP)

Film

Media

This Oct 26, 2019 photo shows ac-tress Linda Hamilton posing for a por-trait to promote her film ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in Los

Angeles. (AP)

Frank Depp

LOS ANGELES: Barry Frank, the pioneer sports programmer who negoti-ated Olympic TV deals and represented broadcasting stars John Madden, Bob Costas and Jim Nantz, has died. He was 87.

Endeavor, the parent company of the International Management Group, confi rmed Wednesday that Frank died Tuesday.

“Barry was a visionary with guts and incredible instincts, seeing what no one else saw and bringing new deals and formats to life with drama, excitement and style. His extraordinary talents made IMG what it is today, and his fi ghting spirit was with him until the end. We will all miss him dearly,” En-deavor President Mark Shapiro said in a statement.

Frank created many made-for-televi-sion shows, including “The Superstars”, “The Skins Game”, “The Battle of the Network Stars”, “World’s Strongest Man”, “Survival of the Fittest” and “American Gladiator”. His list of clients included Mike Tirico, Deion Sand-ers, Kirk Herbstreit, Todd Black-ledge, Lesley Visser, Chris Evert, Robin Roberts, Peggy Fleming, Cris Collinsworth, Bill Walton and Greg Gumbel. (RTRS)

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LOS ANGELES: Johnny Depp has settled his long-running legal fi ght with his former attorney, Jake Bloom, whom he had accused of collecting tens of millions in fees without a representation agreement.

Depp’s attorney, Adam Waldman, said that Bloom’s fi rm, Bloom Hergott, agreed to pay an “8-fi gure” amount to settle the case. Depp sued Bloom in October 2017, alleging that the attorney had improperly collected more than $30 million in legal fees over the course of their 18-year relationship. A trial was scheduled to begin on Dec 2.

Bloom countersued, claiming that Depp

Variety

In this Dec 21, 2009 file photo, John Witherspoon leaves a taping of ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ in New York. Actor-comedian Witherspoon, who memorably

played Ice Cube’s father in the ‘Friday’ films, has died at age 77. (AP)

had failed to fully pay his bills, and sought to have Depp’s case thrown out. However, in a critical hearing in August 2018, Judge Terry Green ruled in Depp’s favor, fi nd-ing that Bloom and Depp had a contingen-cy agreement, which under state law must be in writing. (RTRS)

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CHICAGO: R. Kelly’s lawyer has told a federal judge that an infected toe prevented the R&B star from attending a hearing in Chicago.

Kelly is detained at a jail two blocks from the courthouse and had been expected to appear at Wednesday’s status hearing.

But defense lawyer Steve Greenberg said one of Kelly’s toenails had to be removed as treatment and Kelly worried someone might trample on his toe as he was escorted to and from court.

During the fi ve-minute hearing, Judge Harry Leinenweber said he’d rule later on motions to dismiss some charges and reconsider bond for the 52-year-old.

Kelly has pleaded not guilty to federal charges against him in Chicago and New York, where he is accused of a racket-eering scheme.

Leinenweber set Kelly’s next hearing for Feb 13. (AP)

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LOS ANGELES: Actor-comedian John Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube’s father in the “Friday” fi lms, has died. He was 77.

Witherspoon’s family issued a state-ment to the website Deadline saying that Witherspoon died Tuesday in Los Ange-les. No cause of death was released.

The actor had a prolifi c career, co-starring in three “Friday” fi lms, appearing on “The Wayans Bros” television series and voicing the grandfather in “The Boondocks” animated series. His fi lm roles included “Vampire in Brooklyn” and “Boomerang”, and he was a frequent guest on “Late Show with David Letterman”.

For many, his most recognizable role was “Pops”, Ice Cube’s father in the stoner comedy “Friday” and its two sequels, a crude but affectionate father trying to guide his son to be better. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

11

h o r o s c o p eBy Jacqueline Bigar

Happy birthday for Friday, Nov 1, 2019: This year, you display the more gregari-ous and curious facets of your personality. Rather than observe, you often choose to ask questions. If single, you meet people with ease and get to know them nearly as easily. Trust your judgment. If attached, your calm approach, though sometimes cold, keeps dif-fi cult and/or angry situations to a minimum. Your partner knows how to draw you in. The two of you create a major goal or desire to-gether this year. Capricorn likes the way you present yourself.

The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5-Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1-Difficult.

Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19)

***** Your unusually high energy helps

you complete a lot of errands and much of your to-do list. A child or loved one could surprise you with his or her ideas and will-ingness to follow through. Tonight: Let it all hang out; greet the weekend in style.

Aquarius - (Jan 20 - Feb 18)

**** You have lots of energy and resourc-es. You might be more secretive than you are normally. You are in the process of collecting information and doing some research. Soon, you will be making an important decision. Tonight: Whatever feels right.

Pisces - (Feb 19 - Mar 20)

**** Your emotional nature emphasizes friendship right now, as well as what you re-ally want in your heart. Though you might be hesitant to share this desire with most people, you could make it a reality with a stroke of

luck. Tonight: A key friendship plays a major role.

Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19)

**** A take-charge attitude goes far in resolving a problem. The unexpected often upsets others. You seem to be able to deal with a sudden or surprise event. You will be more mellow than many people around you. Tonight: Celebrate the weekend.

Taurus - (Apr 20 - May 20)

***** Reach out for another person. Know what it is you want and desire. You might be fl oored by his or her reaction. One-on-one relating helps you get to the basics surrounding a personal matter. Tonight: Out enjoying munchies for two.

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20)

***** Be direct when dealing with a loved one. He or she nearly always is more stern or serious than you. At times, this person’s attitude might annoy you. Refl ect on how you feel about him or her when interacting – not how you feel about his or her attitude. To-night: Lighten up the moment.

Cancer - (June 21 - July 22)

**** Others come toward you. A sur-prise could be on the backburner involving friends or a specific goal. Be more direct in your dealings; express your caring more openly. Tonight: Surround yourself with friends.

Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22)

*** Plunge into a project and decide to complete it as best you can. A boss or some-one you look up to could behave in a fl akey

manner or simply might not be responsive. Your efforts count to a loved one. Tonight: Play it low-key.

Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22)

**** You are on the way to gaining more insight and knowledge – if you do not overre-act to a sudden change. The status quo chang-es, and you need to be able to adapt to it. A matter around your domestic life makes you smile. Tonight: Romp the night away.

Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22)

*** Stay centered, knowing what is pos-sible and what needs to happen. You can be-come over-reactive if you are overwhelmed by what is happening around you. Your do-mestic life becomes the focus of attention. Tonight: Be smart about spending.

Scorpio - (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

***** You speak your mind and others react. You could be pleasantly surprised by an associate or a loved one who cannot help but demonstrate his or her caring. This per-son adds excitement to your life. Tonight: Say yes.

Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21)

*** Be aware of the fi nancial ramifi cations of continuing as you have. You need to slow down and have a long overdue conversation. You know what another person wants and why. Explain carefully where you are com-ing from. Tonight: Fun does not need to cost.

❑ ❑ ❑

Born today: Apple CEO Tim Cook (1960), publisher Larry Flynt (1942), musi-cian Anthony Kiedis (1962)

home decor indoor gardening beauty tips taste buds

jute frames tetranema tips for spiral curls german choco pieSupplies: Cardboard; jute bags; glue; picture; clothespin

Instructions: Cut out two pieces of out of heavy cardboard – one for the frame and one for the backing. Glue the pictures onto the frame back. Cut the jute into strips wrap around the cardboard frames, using glue where you began and ended each strip. Then paint the back of heavy cardboard, which acts as the back of the frame. Once that was dry, glue the frame back to the frame. To make sure it adhered to each other while they dried, clamp with a bunch of clothes-pins all over.

Native to Mexico and Guatemala, this plant is grown for its showy, trumpet-shaped fl owers that are produced over a long period of time during the summer. Flowers are either mauve, violet, or lilac colored and leaves are leathery and elliptical and scalloped.

Site: Requires high humidity and bright indirect sunlight.

Temperature: 60-85°F.Water: Keep the soil evenly moist and use

warm water.

Apply a little bit of mousse throughout the hair. Take a wide barrel curling iron and wrap individu-al sections of hair around the curling iron. Leave the hair wrapped around the barrel for about 10 seconds. Wrap every single hair strand curled around your fi ngers and pin it up close to the scalp so you can have a better view of the sec-tions remained uncurled. After you fi nished curl-ing all the hair remove the pins and dust a little bit of hairspray to set them in place. Separate the curly hairs which are too thick using your fi ngers.

Ingredients: 2 ounces German chocolate; 1 stick butter; 1 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1/2 cup fl our; 1 cup pecans; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 eggs beaten

Method: Melt chocolate with butter in a small pan and let cool. Mix sugar, vanilla, fl our, pecans, salt and eggs then combine with chocolate mix-ture. Pour into greased pie plate and bake at 350 for 30 minutes then allow to cool.

Dear Abby

A fl yer of the event A fl yer of the events

what’s on todaywhat’s on today emergency number 112

Civil ID info: 1889988Site for checking travel ban www.kuwaitcourts.gov.kw/mojweb/NGeneral/Main.jsp

■ ILF ‘Ponnoman 2019’: The Indian Lawyers’ Forum, (ILF) Kuwait, Onam 2019, the unique, secular Indian celebra-tion, on Friday, Nov 1, in the name of Ponnonam 2019 at Symphony Auditorium Riggae Kuwait from 10.30 am onwards.

And ILF Onam Celebration 2019, “Pon-nonam 2019” is for celebrating the tra-dition of Onam and fostering fraternity among the Indian lawyers and the com-munity leaders and members. This cel-ebration that we planned will have a com-bination of fl oral decoration, Thiruvathira, fusion dance, musical orchestra, which we are sure, will entertain the audience. Above all, a sumptuous Ona Sadhya will be served to all guests and attendees.

For further information please contact: 97203939, 60692370

advpanicker@gmai.com❑ ❑ ❑

■ Arnis/Eskrima training: Eskrimador-Kuwait a member of Cacoy Doce Pares World Federation now opens a new batch of training. Learn the Philippine national sports, which is Arnis/Eskrima with the authentic style and techniques. Training schedule will be every Friday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm @ Kaifan Sports Complex-Karate Gym. Text or call #50292148-Herms.

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■ Free IFRA coaching classes: Indian Football Referees Association (IFRA) will be starting free refresher/coaching class-es for existing referees, new recruits, those aspiring to be referees and even those who would like to learn about the laws of the game at IEAS – Salmiya (Don Bosco).

Classes will be from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm every Friday.

Those interested may call 99519439 or get in touch with any IFRA member for registration.

❑ ❑ ❑

■ FBC tournament: Filipino Badminton Committee (FBC) is inviting all badminton enthusiast in Kuwait to join their regular

badminton tournament being held every Friday from 8 am to 7 pm at Kuwait Disabled Sports Club, Bin Khaldoun Hawalli. Over 10 badminton courts are now available for badminton practices and tournament and it is open for all nationalities and from different badminton organizations. Exclusive-private court are also available on per hour rental. For more information, please contact Dr Chie Umandap – 97197268

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■ UBC badminton tourney: United Badminton Club (UBC) is inviting all play-ers and enthusiast of all nationalities to join their badminton tournament every Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. UBC offers 10 badminton courts for their tour-naments, where an exciting price awaits to the winners. And not just that, they also have raffle prizes for those who joined their tournaments. UBC also allowing exclusive badminton courts for hourly rentals. UBC is a newly-formed badmin-ton club located at Street 9, Block 3, Fahaheel Sports Club, Fahaheel, Ahmadi Al Asimah Kuwait headed by Dennis Romeo Malay and Jimmy Carandang. For more information please contact the following number 6566753.

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■ Redeemed Christian Church: The Redeemed Christian Church of God (HOD Parish) worship in English.

Celebration Service: Friday 9 am – 11 am; Divine encounter: Sunday, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm; Digging Deep (Bible studies): Tuesday, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm; Night vigil every last Friday of the month from 10 pm.

Venue: New Mishref. For more infor-mation and direction please call 9927-6603, 6557-7482. Email: rccghouseofda-vidq8@gmail.com

❑ ❑ ❑

■ ENK’s worship service: Every Nation Kuwait (ENK) invites you to our Worship Service every Friday, 9 am at Royal King Palace Restaurant, Kuwait City. Pls con-tact: 99248990 for more details.

Left: ‘Harold, you are a precious boy than any diamond. No matter how many birthdays come and go, you will always be our little boy – our greatest pride and joy. May this birth-day in Kuwait be an everlasting memory in your life! Warm wishes from Dada, Mama and brother Ronald.’ Right: ‘Today we wish a very happy birthday to Hussain Ezzy!

Enjoy every moment of your life. Have a great year ahead! Cheers!’

A fl yer of the event

Grandma’s health keepsgrandson from ‘visiting’

By Abigail Van BurenDear Abby: I work and have a family and

live fi ve hours from where I grew up. My mom isn’t in the best health and neither is her hus-band. While I try to visit as often as I can, she always wants me to visit more often, which I understand.

The problem is, she keeps asking us to leave our 5-year-old son with her for long weekends or to spend a week with her and her husband. They are good people, but both have physical limitations.

Would I let my son stay with them if one of them was still in good health? Yes. It is hard for me to explain to her my concern that my son would be too much for them to deal with at this point. If she has a series of good days, great. If she doesn’t, we would have a problem, and I’d

have to drive back to deal with it.

I have tried explain-ing nicely, and then other times more directly, that it isn’t that I don’t want her to spend time with her grand-children. I’m tired of the guilt trips she tries to put on me. I’m also tired of her tell-ing my son to “talk to your mom about staying with me

for a week.”As a child, I was in my son’s position, and I

know how it affected me. I just wanted to see “Sara,” and I thought Mom and Dad were mean for not letting me. I do not want my son to feel that way. He’s a child, not a pawn in a game. Can you help me explain to my mom that my concern is for the safety of everyone involved?

— Safety FirstDear Safety First: Have a series of

talks with your little boy. He needs to un-derstand that, although Grandma loves him and wants him to visit, she is not al-ways well enough to look after him prop-erly if he does, which is why you won’t allow it. It isn’t his fault, it isn’t your fault, and it isn’t Grandma’s. If Grandma could come to visit you occasionally for a few days, it might give her more time with your boy and be good for both of them.

❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby: I am a 46-year-old, single man. Although I’ve had a few crushes, I have never been deeply in love. I don’t like going out to the bars.

Is it OK to not be actively looking for love? Everyone I know keeps asking me if I have found someone, and I keep telling them I don’t believe in love. I’m content. I don’t do anything but work, so I always say I never have time.

Is there something wrong with being single all your life and not having a signifi cant other? I have my cat to love, as well as my sisters. Does a person have to be with someone if they are content being alone? Yes, I would like to go out, but why does it have to be with a partner?

— Content Loner In MontanaDear Loner: If you are comfortable fl y-

ing solo, it is perfectly acceptable to live your life that way. The people who are telling you otherwise may mean well, but you do not have to take it to heart. Live your life the way you want, do not sec-ond-guess yourself and don’t allow your-self to be pressured. If you are content, you are doing fi ne.

❑ ❑ ❑

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Paul-ine Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

(Source: Universal Uclick)

Abigail

ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

12

DPTM Club raises bar for toastmasters in Kuwait

Toastmasters International celebrates 95th anniversaryBy Allen Paul

Toastmasters International recently celebrated its 95th birthday on

Oct 22, 2019. And what can one say about its success! No number of words would be truly sufficient to encapsu-late the splendor of this remarkable organization.

Ralph C. Smedley, can be very aptly called a visionary. Having founded the Toastmasters Interna-tional organization at the age of 46, he had a very extraordinary vision for this endeavor, and his vision is what we at Toastmasters around the world are truly living right until this day.

Let me now take you directly to the activities of a certain club that has re-cently been making outstanding waves in the Toastmaster arena, especially in the Middle East. The Desert Pioneers Toastmasters Club!

Based in Salmiya – Kuwait, and as a part of the District 20, Area H30, the DPTM Club has raised the performance bar in Toastmasters in such a way that it is swiftly becoming a benchmark for other clubs, and will eventually have a legacy of its own!

This club is not only known for the number of awards it has won at district and area level, but also for the quality of the meetings that are organized here. The energetic trend of theme meetings may not have started here, but the “Theme meeting” trend has surely been popularized and estab-lished by the DPTM.

One could say that DPTM is not only living the vision of Ralph Smedley, in all the seriousness, but also taking the experience to a whole new level by making fun, joy, and camaraderie an integral part of the Toastmasters experience.

On Oct 22 too, the DPTM Club conducted something that can be called nothing less than a spectacu-lar meeting. The Club ExCommput together all their energies into coming up with one of the best executed “Birthday Meeting” on the occasion of the birthday of the Toastmasters International organisation. The theme was set, and the dress code was deter-mined. The meeting was held just like any other standard TM meeting (as far as the structure is concerned). But the

innovative way the proceedings were done was truly amazing!

The meeting itself, had a wonderful turnout. With several guests and noted dignitaries, and with everyone dressed in their best formal attire, it was really an intense, yet exciting affair.

The meeting was opened by TM Hariprasad as the Sergeant-At-Arms, who after going through the standard protocol of instructions and the mission statement, handed over the podium to the Club President TM Amrit. TM Amrit (with his boyish charm) addressed the audience and very earnestly ex-plained the gist of the day’s celebration. He thereafter handed over the reins of the meeting to our very own, dashing, District Logistics Manager, and VP Education of the newly-formed Dream

Weavers TM Club, TM Rajesh Venugo-pal, who was the TMOD (Toastmaster Of The Day).

PraiseAnything said in the praise of TM

Rajesh will not be enough. Right from his formal attire (which made him look like a character right out of an 80’s American movie), to the content of his matter as the TMOD, he was a striking fi gure, reminiscent of the Toastmasters in the early years of the organization. In an innova-tive fashion he took us all through the important landmark dates in the journey of Toastmaster International over the 95 years. He made individual chits with important dates and the notable event of that particular date in Toastmasters, and distributed these chits to members of the audience, before the meeting, who then read these chits one-by-one (in chronologi-cal order) and TM Rajesh gave us a quick glimpse into the signifi cance of each of those events. A novel way to impart key information!

TM Rajesh had also put together a resourceful team of role-players to assist him in conducting the meeting effi ciently. The team consisted of TM Shazia Tabassum (Timer), TM Riyaz Jamaldeen (Ah! Counter), TM Sebastian Noronha (Grammarian), TM Subish Menon (Hark-Master in-absentia), TM Shiraz Mohamed (Photographer), and TM Fariah Fatima (General Evaluator).

The meeting was also graced by the presence of DTM Wafaa Salman who along with the VP Marketing (TM Alina) and the Club President (TM Amrit), conducted the elabo-rate induction ceremony for the new club-members. The new members read their Toastmasters pledge aloud in unison, followed by the commit-ment statement that was read by the DPTM Club members to reinforce the mission of the club towards the new members.

Besides this, there was a small, yet interesting line-up of speakers with their prepared speeches.

SpeechTM June Soares, astonished us all

with her Ice Breaker speech, which (trust me) did not sound like an Ice Breaker speech at all! In a very innocent and (Aww!)-inspiring manner she took us through certain important stages in her life right from childhood, to a college student who had interesting experi-ences during her hostel days, right up to her graduation and how she is now become a different person on accepting a challenge that she made to herself of becoming more confi dent.

After the break, where everyone enjoyed the lavish snacks generously sponsored by DTM Areej Jafar, the meeting went into the more interesting segment of Table Topics.

As the Table Topics Master, TM Am-rit took the place of TM Subha Rajesh, who couldn’t be present due to another

unforeseen event. The Table Topics Master had some very interesting topics which were related to the events in the Toastmasters International’s journey right from inception. We had several marvelous guest-speakers who took to the stage with their impromptu speeches, and guest-TM Adil stood out, with his statement that “Behind every successful man there is not one woman, but many women!” Needless to say, he walked away with the “Best Table Topics” award for that day!

The general evaluation session was conducted really competently by TM Fariah Fatima, who along with her troupe of the various role-players, gave very valuable analysis, feedback, and suggestions to the people present.

This exceptional meeting then was duly adjourned, with the awards ceremony and the Club President’s address towards the end.

Meetings like this may last for only a few hours. But the impact that they make is outstanding, and if there’s one thing I can say about the way that this particular meeting was conceptual-ized, planned, and fi nally executed, the impact is going to last a very long time! And most importantly… the benchmark has thus been raised!

Be a part of this wonderful journey called Toastmasters. Contact your nearest club today!

Better still, move to Salmiya – Ku-wait, so that your nearest club is the rocking, Desert Pioneers Toastmasters Club!!!

Then and now photos of Toastmasters Club.

ESF

Photos from the event.

ESF marks Breast Cancer Awareness MonthThe English School Fahaheel held its annual Breast Cancer awareness month which culminated in Pink Day. The day included a host of activities organized by Ms Van Zitters including a presentation to Upper School stu-

dents, a bake sale and a Pink Hat parade by the Lower School. This special fund raising month raised over KD 1,000 which will be do-

nated towards Breast Cancer research.

clickDrinking problem?: Friends of Bill W. are available to help. Totally confi -dential. Email: rohsecretary@gmail.com

❑ ❑ ❑

Narcotics Anonymous: NA can help with addiction problems. Totally confidential: 94087800 English/Arabic.

❑ ❑ ❑

Cancer online support group: If you are Cancer patient or family member fi ghting with this deadly disease, come join our online support group. Best way of deal-ing with this disease is providing support and share our experience with each other. There are lot of things which even doctors can’t tell so be member of this website and start sharing your experiences which may help others. October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The primary purpose is to promote self examination and screening mammography as the most effective way to save lives by detecting breast cancer at early stage. For more information visit: http://fi ghtingwithcancer.webs.com/

LatestNov 8

IMA Children Fest 2019: Indian Muslim Association organizes Children Fest 2019 on Friday, Nov 8, at Indian Community School Kuwait-Junior Branch Salmiya from 1:30 pm onwards. The Fest includes various competitions for children in photography, essay writing, drawing, elocution, fancy dress, Qirat, Azaan, Nasheed and general knowledge quiz. Along with the competitions the children can enjoy the carnival games too.

For participation please visit our website

https://www.imachildrencircle.org/ or call the following Tel nos. 66037944, 66613162, 99632314, 66241968

Nov 15Niram 2019 registration starts: The registration process for “Niram 2019” Children’s Day Painting Com-petition is in full swing. Students from more than 24 Indian Schools in Kuwait are expected to take part in the painting competition, which would be held on Friday, Nov 15 at 2 pm at Indian Com-munity School, Khaitan on the occasion of Children’s Day celebration by mark-ing the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of India. The painting competition will be held in 4 different groups for students from LKG to 12th Std and Clay modeling for students from 7th to 12th Std and the parents and visitors also will have the opportunity to win prizes for Open Canvas Painting, according to Jaison

speakers on different engineering fi elds and abstracts/an articles related to Interna-tional Conference topics. The conference will cover the engineering challenges and innovative solutions in the area of Oil and gas exploration and exploitation, Water desalination, Food security, Infrastructure development, dust storm issues, Conven-tional and renewable Energy produc-tion, climate change and environmental degradation of land, water and air, Coastal infrastructure and marine facility develop-ments, Waste disposal and management and Other engineering disciplines which affects the socioeconomic development of Kuwait and Gulf countries.

An engineering quiz related to the themes of the conference will be organized with attractive prizes for the winners. Opportunity exists for exhibiting the engineering products of companies in the conference exhibition booth during Nov 29 and 30. Engineer-ing companies can also advertise their products in the Souvenir/conference proceedings, which will be released during the program. Many organiza-tions, engineers and decision makers for selection of products and designing of projects will use the Publication as Technical Directory.

For further clarifi cation for Advertise-ment of your company in the Souvenir and more details, you may contact the Engr Sudhir Kumar Sahoo, General Secretary (Mob: 69030472), or Engr Sam Ananth Kumar, Treasurer (Mob: 97604574), or Engr Ajay Sharma, Chairman (Mob: 97794660). For scientifi c and technical matters, please contact Dr S. Neelamani (99278411), and for all items related to the confer-ence co-ordination, please contact Dr M. Mahendran (66930700).

For registration and other details about this International Conference, please visit https://icecingulf.org. For any question, you can also send an email to ieikwt@hotmail.com

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Timbre Talkers meeting: Timbre Talkers has completed almost 9 years in Kuwait and is a dynamic and happen-ing club with stalwarts and winners who have represented it to the Division and District levels. “Timbre” means the pitch of sound and each and every member represents a unique sounding speech which resonates as a stupen-dous orchestra when played together. Our Club meets every fi rst and third Tuesdays at 7.00 pm at Better Books in Salmiya. Our members not only look forward to the innovative meetings but also to the yummy food our members bring from home.

Do come and witness our meetings and join us for a fun-fi lled evening.

For details contact: Rohaina Aqueel VP PR, 66634224; Anand Pillai VP Membership 67055797

Continued on Page 14

Joseph, the General Convener of the Niram-2019 Organizing Committee.

Children’s Day is a day to remem-ber a great leader, who in his quiet but determined way, laid foundation to convert a nascent nation into a world power. His contributions to India and the world would always be remembered. He has hope of oppressed people of Asia, Africa and South America and one of the strong pillars of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and above all he was an apostle of world peace, a tireless fi ghter to justice throughout the world, Mukesh V.P., Kala (Art) Kuwait President, stated in the press release issued

on the occasion.Siva Kumar, General Secretary, Kala

(Art) Kuwait, emphasize the exclusive prizes for the winners as fi rst place with gold coin & gold medal, second place with silver medal and third place with bronze medal along with memento & certifi cate. Besides the 1st, 2nd & 3rd, there will be 50 participants to Merit Prizes and Ten (10) percent of the participants will be awarded with consolation prizes. Parents also have the opportunity to win prizes for Open Canvas Painting.

The online registration will be continued

until Nov 12. Students are requested to report at the venue at 1 pm on Friday, Nov 15 to collect their chest cards. For more details, please visit www.kalakuwait.net, by e-mail kalakuwait@gmail.com and telephone numbers, 97959072, 97219439 and 97219833 according to Sunil Kumar, Registration Convener, Niram-2019.

GeneralIEI Centenary Engineers Day: The Institution of Engineers India, Kuwait Chapter (IEI Kuwait Chapter)

will be celebrating the “The Centenary Engineer’s day” and “The second international Conference on Engineer-ing Challenges in Gulf countries” on Nov 29 and 30, 2019 at Radisson Blu, Salwa, Kuwait respectively. Apart from HE the Ambassador of India to State of Kuwait, many distinguished guests from Ministries, Universities, KSE, KISR, Engineers, technocrats, consultants, decision makers and business leaders shall be attending this program.

To commemorate the occasion, we shall bring out a souvenir that will include ma-terials of keynote addresses from eminent

Bank supports Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

ABK cardholders get 30 pct discount at Global Med ClinicKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) today an-nounced the launch of its Novem-ber initiative, in recognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness. Pros-tate Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign held each November to increase the awareness and understanding of the disease and raise funds for research into its diagnosis, preven-tion and treatment.

Many people do not realize that screening is a lot simpler today than it was in the past and that

Prostrate Cancer can be detected by having a simple blood test.

Throughout November, ABK male staff and customers will re-ceive a 30% discount ona prostate cancer indicators test (Total PSA & Free PSA) at Global Med Clinic, Mazaya Tower in Jabriya or Glob-al Med Center in Bneid Al Gar.

For more information on Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait please contact an ABK representative via ‘Ahli Chat’ or by contacting a customer service agent via ‘Ahlan Ahli’ at 1899899

ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

13

Health

‘Child assent moral obligation’

Moms acetaminophen useups babies ‘risk’ for ADHDNEW YORK, Oct 31, (RTRS): Babies born to women who used acetaminophen late in pregnancy may be at increased risk of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, a new study suggests.

After examining stored blood samples from babies’ umbilical cords, researchers determined that the risks of ADHD and autism were signifi cantly increased in children whose blood had high levels of acetaminophen breakdown prod-ucts, according to a report in JAMA Psychiatry.

“Our fi ndings corroborate previ-ous studies that were based on ma-ternal self-report of acetaminophen use and they warrant additional investigations,” said Dr Xiaobin Wang, a professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medi-cine in Baltimore and director of the Center on Early Life Origins of Dis-ease at the Johns Hopkins Bloomb-erg School of Public Health. This study, “provides objective evidence of fetal exposure to acetaminophen in utero.”

ResearchEarlier research showed that

acetaminophen can cross through the placenta, Wang noted. Because the metabolites, or breakdown products, of the drug appear to lin-ger for nearly two days, researchers are able to get an estimate of mater-nal acetaminophen use in the hours before delivery.

For a window on the possible im-pact of acetaminophen exposure on babies’ risks of developing certain neuro-developmental disorders, the researchers turned to data from the Boston Birth Cohort. That database includes only births that produced a single child. It excludes babies conceived with the help of IVF and those born with major birth defects.

Wang and her colleagues fo-cused on 996 mother-infant pairs, for whom there was suffi cient cord blood in the samples for an analysis of acetaminophen metabolites.

At the time of the study, the chil-dren’s average age was 9.8 years, with 257 having been diagnosed only with ADHD, 66 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) only, 42 with both ADHD and ASD, 304 with other developmental disabili-ties and 327 who were developing typically. All of the cord samples contained some detectable acetami-nophen, the researchers note.

When they compared children with cord blood containing the highest levels of acetaminophen metabolites to those with the low-est levels, they found a signifi cant association between acetaminophen metabolite levels and neuro-devel-opmental disorders.

Those at the highest levels were 2.86 times more likely than those at the lowest to have been diagnosed with ADHD and 3.62 times more likely to have an ASD diagnosis.

Because metabolite levels were measured only around the time of birth, the researchers can’t say any-thing about how often the mothers took the drug or at which points during pregnancy, Wang said. “Our study opened inquiry for further in-vestigation,” she added.

Dr Hyagriv Simhan isn’t ready to tell his pregnant patients to stop us-ing acetaminophen.

“There are some limitations to the study,” said Simhan, executive

vice chair, obstetrical services at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “First, the acetaminophen metabolite lev-els in the cord blood only refl ects acetaminophen use around the time of delivery and doesn’t refl ect expo-sure to acetaminophen during other points in the pregnancy,” he said.

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Ethics: Doctors should always ask for a child’s consent before treat-ing them, and they should apolo-gize when they proceed against the child’s objections, argues a new commentary aimed at pediatricians.

This ethical debate itself is not new, the authors acknowledge in the journal Pediatrics, where they make a case for strengthening guidelines on pediatric assent.

“In our work, we noticed that there are lots of patients who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves but who nonethe-less have strong preferences about how they want to be treated,” said lead author Jason Wasserman of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

“They don’t necessarily under-stand fully, or reason well, about their care, but they still often have fi rm preferences about what they want,” he told Reuters Health by email.

“This doesn’t mean we always give kids what they want; sometimes we are morally obligated to treat them over their objections because it’s in their best interest,” Wasser-man said. “But if we want to treat kids as persons, then we have to so-licit and take seriously their prefer-ences.” Wasserman and colleagues cite a 1995 letter to the editor of the same journal written by pediatrician and ethicist William Bartholome, in response to a revised statement on pediatric assent from the Ameri-can Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Committee on Bioethics.

Bartholome said the organiza-tion’s statement didn’t show enough respect for children, and that doc-tors should always ask for permis-sion and apologize when they act against their patients’ wishes.

Wasserman and his co-authors take up that position and offer sev-eral suggestions to improve current guidelines.

RespectIn its latest statement on pediatric

assent in 2016, the AAP said doc-tors are “obliged to act out of fun-damental respect for other persons by virtue of their personal autono-my.” The Committee on Bioethics emphasized that informed consent should be seen as an “essential part” of healthcare, both parental permission and child assent should be included, and patients should participate in decision-making as appropriate for their developmental phase. Wasserman and colleagues say this doesn’t go far enough. Some pediatric ethics organizations say a child’s assent shouldn’t be solicited if treatment is inevitable, they note. Instead, pediatricians should ask kids about their prefer-ences, even if they already know they ultimately can’t grant them.

“And even when treating those kids over their objections is ulti-mately the right thing to do, pedia-tricians should acknowledge that the child has experienced that treat-ment as a harm,” Wasserman said.

A flyer of the event A flyer of the event

Customers ordered an average of 60 fewer calories

Orders dip as calorie counts go on fast-foodsNEW YORK, Oct 31, (AP): Soon af-ter calories were posted on fast-food menus, people cut back a little bit on what they ordered. But it didn’t last.

Customers at fast-food chains in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas or-dered an average of 60 fewer calories per transaction in the weeks after the fi gures were displayed, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal, BMJ. That amount-ed to a 4% drop, and declines came largely from extras such as fries and desserts.

After about a year, the drop was down to 23 calories.

Since orders likely included food for multiple people, the impact per person might be even smaller. But the decreases are averages and some people may have made bigger cuts while others didn’t make any, said study co-author Joshua Petimar of Harvard’s School of Public Health.

Impact“The strongest impact might be

felt in the short term, whereas the long-term effects are still a little bit up in the air,” he said.

It’s the latest effort at sizing up how calorie counts infl uence what people order. A national law in US that went into effect last year re-quires chains with 20 or more loca-tions to post calories. Some places, including New York City and Cali-fornia, imposed similar rules years ago to combat obesity. The idea is to give people information to make better choices.

Past research has suggested calorie counts lead to modest or no changes, and Wednesday’s study suggests that also seems to be the case in the South, where obesity rates tend to be higher. Still, the authors say more research is needed to understand the effects of the practice, especially over the long run and in other set-tings, like sit-down restaurants.

It could be that people don’t notice the numbers on crowded fast-food menus, or know what they mean,

Bigger killer than Fentanyl

Meth most common drug in US overdose deathsNEW YORK, Oct 31, (AP): Fen-tanyl is driving drug overdose deaths in the US overall, but in nearly half of the country, it’s a different story. Meth is the bigger killer, a new government report shows.

Nationwide, most deaths still involve opioid drugs like fentan-yl and heroin. But in 2017, the stimulant meth was the drug most frequently involved in deaths in four regions that include 19 states west of the Mississippi.

The report released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the agency’s first geographic breakdown of deaths by drug. It’s based on 2017 figures when there were more than 70,000 overdose deaths in the US, two-thirds of them involv-ing opioids.

Fentanyl was involved in 39% of the deaths that year, followed by heroin, 23%, and cocaine, 21%. Those drugs top the list in the eastern part of the country.

Methamphetamine was No. 4 nationwide, cited in 13% of over-dose deaths. But in the four west-

ern regions, it was No. 1, at 21% to 38%.

Previous CDC reports have charted meth’s increasing toll, noting that it rose from eighth to fourth in just four years.

The new report found dramatic differences in the 10 regions. For example, In New England, fentan-yl had the highest adjusted over-dose death rate and meth was a distant 10th on the list. In the region that includes the mountain states and the Dakotas, meth was No. 1 and fentanyl was sixth.

Most of the meth in the US is made in Mexico and smuggled across the border – US produc-tion has actually been declining in recent years, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency. Its availability has held at high lev-els in recent years in areas of the Southwest, and has increased in some areas of the Midwest, the agency’s field offices report.

Final 2018 data has not yet been released, but preliminary figures suggest that overdose deaths involving meth increased.

The CDC report is based on

a search of overdose death cer-tificates for the name of drugs. In many cases, a person was taking multiple drugs.

Since the report is the first of its kind, how meth factored into over-dose deaths regionally in the past isn’t known.

New Mexico has seen a shift. For years, black tar heroin was the biggest problem, then pre-scription painkillers, said Dr Mi-chael Landen of the state’s health department. State meth deaths went from 150 in 2017 to 194 last year, vaulting meth to the top.

“It’s really been the first time we’ve seen that,” said Landen.

He attributed the surge in meth to its wide availability and low cost, and said he worried it could get worse. While there are pro-grams to deal with fentanyl and heroin overdoses, there’s not much in place to prevent meth deaths, he said.

“I think we’re potentially going to be caught off guard with meth-amphetamine deaths, and we have to get our act together,” he said.

said Bonnie Liebman of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has pushed for calorie counts on menus.

“Like, is 600 a lot? Is 800 a lot?” she said. Calorie needs vary, but a 40-year-old moderately active man is estimated to need around 2,600. Liebman said requiring restaurants to post calories is also a way to pressure them to make dishes less fattening.

The fi ndings were based on sales data from 104 fast-food locations over three years. The owner provided

the information but did not allow re-searchers to identify the chains.

The locations posted calories counts in 2017, when the law was supposed to go into effect. The au-thors noted the study ended before the law’s postponed implementation last year, when awareness might have been greater.

And they said people may have made changes the study didn’t cap-ture, such as requesting no mayo or cheese, or deciding to stop going to the restaurant. The initial average

drop in calories was driven by peo-ple buying fewer items rather than switching to lower-calorie options, the study found.

Even if the study didn’t fi nd a big drop, it shows calorie counts can have an impact, said Brian Elbel, who researches calorie posting at NYU’s School of Medicine.

“I don’t think that 60 calories is going to turn the tide,” he said. “But I think it could be part of a broader set of efforts.”

ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

14

bridgebridgeBy Steve Becker

contract bridgebridge

Challenger

DIRECTIONS:Fill each square with a

number, one through nine.■ Horizontal squares

should add to totals on right.

■ Vertical squares should add to totals on bottom.

■ Diagonal squares through center should add to total in upper and lower

right.

THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

Today’s ChallengeTime 13 Minutes

28 SecondsYour Working

Time __ Minutes__ Seconds

Yesterday’s solution

Eugene Sheffer Crossword

General

IEI Kuwait membership: The Institution of Engineers (India), Kuwait Chapter invites all its members to update their membership information for the year 2018-19 and actively participate in the chapter activities. Indian engineers residing in Kuwait are welcome to join the pool of more than 750,000 engineers by becoming corporate or non-corporate members of The Institution of Engineers (India).

IEI, Kuwait Chapter conducts many technical events for the benefi ts of its members. Please watch for further details in your registered e-mail or announcement in media. The chapter has sci-ence club activities for members’ children, and ladies wing activities for the member’s family. IEI, Kuwait Chapter has facility to register stu-dent members for AMIE Examination for those interested in pursuing career enrichment.

For more information and on chapter member-ship, kindly contact IEI, Kuwait Chapter on Mob: 90098667 or through email to ieikwt@hotmail.com

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Advisory for OCI card holders: All those having OCI Cards are required to carry both their OCI Card and passport to travel to India so that they do not face any diffi culty in immigration clearance.

From October 2018, ICAO will accept only machine readable travel documents, hence, existing PIO Cards, which are handwritten will therefore, become invalid. Thus it will be neces-sary upon PIO Cardholders to obtain machine readable OCI Cards in lieu of existing hand writ-ten PIO Cards before October 2018 to avoid any inconvenience.

❑ ❑ ❑

Q8BBall Season 13: Q8BBall is beginning our 13th season with Boys U13 (ages 10-13) and U17 (ages 14-17). We train three times a week and play regular games throughout the year with schools and clubs. Contact Coach T 97128884 for information.

❑ ❑ ❑

Invitation to Grand Mosque: The Visits Department is pleased to invite you to visit the Grand Mosque, which is one of Kuwait’s most treasured religious and cultural landmarks to dis-cover the beauty of Islamic arts and architecture. Free guided tours are available all year round on offi cial working days between (9-11 am) and (5-7 pm), within a special tour program designed to cater to the needs of different age groups. The program is as follows:

Reception; Auditorium show; (according to age group); Touring the Mosque; Q & A; Art workshops; (according to age group – between 5 and 18 years old); Snack break; Distribution of the Grand Mosque publications and souvenirs; End of tour.

According to these age groups:Age group: 5 to 9 years old: Morning: 60 visi-

tors max; Evening: 20; 10 to 15 years: Morning: 100 visitors max; Evening: 45; 16 and above: Morning: 140 visitors max, Evening: 105:

Tour language: Arabic- English- French; Ara-bic (English upon prior request); Arabic- Eng-lish- French; Arabic (English upon prior request); Arabic- English- French: Arabic (English upon prior request)

Rules and Regulations:■ Please arrive in time for your visit.■ All visitors are kindly required to abide by the mosque’s dress code. Male visitors should wear long pants. Shorts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed. Female visitors: should wear head cover and long loose clothing (available at the mosque).■ Foods and drinks are not allowed inside the prayer halls.■ For school visits, teachers are responsible for their students and are required to cooperate with the staff members of the Grand Mosque.■ Photography is allowed inside the Grand Mosque (please note that disrespectful poses are strictly prohibited).

If you would like to book a tour, please contact us:

Tel: 22980813/ 22980815/ 22980812 Email: gmvisits@gmail.com Fax: 22473708

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NYF offers free yoga classes: NYF Kuwait offers free yoga, breathing, meditation and reiki classes by a well-experienced female yoga teach-er for all age groups. Classes are given on the basis of different health problems, stress and other problems by different techniques. Contact: 99315825.

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AWL registration: If you would like to join the American Women’s League (AWL), please call 99039723 or 94067999 or email: kuwaitawl@yahoo.com. All American women and wives of Americans are welcomed.

click

Continued from Page 12

Word by Word

Proof TorafThe proof of the pudding is in the eating.Be al mathaq toraf jawdat al halwa.

Numbers

8309 Eight thousand three hun-dred nine

Thamaniyat alaaf wa thal-ath maah wa tesaha

Conceptis SudokuThe grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3

box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive

Answer to yesterday’s puzzle

Market Movements 31-10-2019

Business Change Closing ptsJAPAN - Nikkei +83.92 22,927.04S. KOREA - KRX 100 +5.25 4,463.69 INDIA - Sensex +77.18 40,129.05PAKISTAN - KSE 100 +442.27 34,203.68

Change Closing ptsAUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -21.82 6,772.88GERMANY - DAX -43.44 12,866.79FRANCE - CAC 40 -36.01 5,729.86EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -15.88 3,604.4PHILIPPINES - PSEi -42.94 7,977.12CHINA - Shanghai SE -10.27 2,929.06

Samsung Electronics says third quarter profit drops 56%

Samsung Electronics said Thursday its operating profit for the last quarter fell by nearly 56%, with its robust sales of smartphones, displays and TVs offset by a continuously weak market for com-puter chips.

The South Korean technology giant reported an operating profit of 7.78 tril-lion won ($6.7 billion) for the July-September quarter, which represented a 55.7% drop from the same period last year. Samsung says third-quarter reve-nue fell 5.3% to 62 trillion won ($53.4

billion).Samsung is the world’s biggest maker

of semiconductors and smartphones, but it has struggled with falling prices for DRAM and NAND memory chips since late last year.

Experts say chipmakers are suffering after misreading industry demand for their products. They invested heavily in 2016 and 2017 to ramp up production, but global orders for chips used in smart-phones, internet-connected cars and other products have been slower than

expected.Samsung said there are positive signs

for its semiconductor business, which could possibly be boosted by data-cen-ter customers and the expansion of 5G smartphone services in the coming months.

However, the company said semicon-ductor demand for next year should be “viewed with caution as uncertainties remain in the macroeconomic environ-ment,” a likely reference to the US-China trade dispute. (AP)

A man passes by an advertisement of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy 5G Note10+ smartphone at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea on Oct 31. Samsung Electronics said it operating profit for the last quarter fell by nearly 56%, with its robust sales of smartphone, displays and TVs offset by a con-tinuously weak market for computer chips. (AP)

CBK move aims to maintain monetary and fiscal stability

Kuwait Central Bank lowers discount rate to 2.75 pctKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31, (KUNA): The Central Bank of Kuwait has decided to cut the discount rate by 0.25 percent to 2.75 percent, the CBK gov-ernor announced on Wednesday.

“The move aims to maintain the monetary and fiscal stability and sup-port the atmospheres conducive to non-inflationary growth in the non-oil economic sectors,” Dr. Mohammad Al-Hashel said in a statement received by KUNA.

The CBK decision aims to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of the local currency as a pool for domestic savings, he pointed out.

“It is made in line with the trajecto-ries of the basic financial policy of the country and in the light of continuous review of the world economic outlook and financial developments, including the interest rate trajectories of major currencies,

“It comes a few hours after the US Federal Reserve cut the interest rates for the US dollar,” Dr. Al-Hashel noted.

He clarified that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce the dollar interest rate for the third time this year has increased the interest rate margin in favor of the Kuwaiti dinar compared to the US dollar.

The new development has paved the way for cutting the dinar discount rate while keeping an interest rate margin to retain the attractiveness of the Kuwaiti currency and reduce the cost of borrowing in Kuwaiti dinar, he elaborated.

Al-Hashel expected that this will encourage demand for loans by the productive economic sectors and improve environment for investment which will stimulates aggregate demand and supports the growth of GDP for non-oil sectors.

He underlined that the CBK deci-sions draw on the data of the general economic performance, the indicators of local liquidity, the movements of savings and bank credits, and the inter-est on Kuwaiti dinar and the world’s major currencies, notably the US dol-lar.

“These data serve as parameters for determining the upward or downward movement of the local interest rates,” Dr. Al-Hashel explained.

He reiterated the commitment of the CBK to watching the developments in global economic, monetary and bank-ing sectors continuously with a view to adapting the local monetary policy to them and maintaining the atmospheres conducive to economic growth.

Earlier, the Federal Reserve Board brought down the targeted range of its key interest rate by 0.25 basis point to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent.

Turkey’s ‘room’ to cut rates is dwindling: CBISTANBUL, Oct 31, (RTRS): Turkey’s Central Bank has used a sig-nificant part of its leeway for loosen-ing monetary policy, Governor Murat Uysal said on Thursday, after the bank cut its key interest rate by 1,000 basis points in less than four months.

Uysal also said the bank had low-ered its mid-point inflation forecast for the end of 2019 to 12%, down from a prediction of 13.9% in July. Analysts had expected a reduction to 12% or lower.

A currency crisis last year tipped Turkey’s economy into recession and sent inflation soaring above 25%, prompting aggressive monetary tight-ening. Inflation eased to as low as 9.26% in September.

“I want to stress that ... at the point we have reached, we have used a sig-nificant portion of the space in the loosening direction,” Uysal told reporters at a news conference to pres-ent the bank’s quarterly inflation report.

A moderate recovery in economic activity continues, but investment remains weak and a weakening global outlook is tempering external demand, the governor said.

The bank slashed its policy rate to 14% last week, taking advantage of slower inflation and a steadier lira after Washington cancelled sanctions over Ankara’s Syrian military offen-sive.

The repo rate stood at 24% before it began easing policy in late July.

“There is a notable improvement in the main inflation trend. That is the fundamental factor in our decision,” Uysal said. “The expansionary global monetary policies support us.”

Asked about the threat of sanctions, he said Turkey’s financial system was prepared for all risks. On Wednesday, Washington said it had a list of possi-ble Turkish sanctions targets but did not expect to use them.

Uysal said the latest rate cut was due not only to “base effects” but also to improvements in inflation expecta-tions and pricing behaviour.

US consumer spending rises moderately; inflation muted

Personal income rises 0.3%; wages unchanged

WASHINGTON, Oct 31, (RTRS): US consumer spending increased mar-ginally in September while wages were unchanged, which could cast doubts on consumers’ ability to con-tinue driving the economy amid a deepening slump in business investment.

The report from the Commerce Department on Thursday also showed inflation was muted last month. The data came a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year, but signaled a pause in the easing cycle that started in July when it reduced borrowing costs for the first time since 2008.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he expected the economy to continue on a moderate growth path, driven by “solid household spending and sup-portive financial conditions.”

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US eco-nomic activity, gained 0.2% last month as households stepped up purchases of motor vehicles and spent more on healthcare, the government said.

Data for August was revised up to show consumer spending climbing 0.2% instead of the previously report-ed 0.1% rise. Last month’s increase in consumer spending was in line with economists’ expectations. Consumer spending has slowed since jumping 0.5% in July.

The data was included in the gross domestic product report for the third quarter, which was published on Wednesday.

The government reported that growth in consumer spending slowed to a still-healthy 2.9% annualized rate last quarter after surging at a 4.6% pace in the second quarter, the fastest since the fourth quarter of 2017.

That softened some of the blow on the economy from the second straight quarterly contraction in business investment.

The economy grew at a 1.9% rate in the third quarter after expanding at a

2.0% pace in the April-June period.US stock index futures were trading

slightly lower on Thursday while pric-es of US Treasuries were higher. The dollar was weaker against a basket of currencies.

Inflation was tame in September. Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index were unchanged for a second straight month in September as the cost of energy goods and ser-vices dropped 1.3%.

In the 12 months through September, the PCE price index increased 1.3% after rising 1.4% in the 12 months through August. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index was also unchanged last month after gaining 0.1% in August. That lowered the annual increase in the so-called core PCE price index to 1.7% in September from 1.8% in

August.The core PCE index is the Fed’s

preferred inflation measure. It has undershot the US central bank’s 2% target this year.

Low inflation and the lowest unem-ployment rate in nearly 50 years are supporting consumer spending.

In a separate report on Thursday, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 5,000 to a seasonally adjust-ed 218,000 for the week ended Oct 26.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would rise to 215,000 in the latest week.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better mea-sure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, slipped 500 to 214,750 last week.

While the low levels of claims sug-gest solid labor market conditions, job

growth is expected to have slowed sharply in October because of a 40-day strike by workers at General Motors . Government data last Friday showed 46,000 GM employees were idle at the automaker’s plants in Michigan and Kentucky during the October nonfarm payrolls count.

Striking workers who do not receive a paycheck during the payrolls survey period are treated as unemployed. The strike by members of the United Auto Workers union, which ended last Friday, had ripple effects on the auto industry.

Economists estimated the work stoppage cut between 75,000 and 80,000 jobs from October payrolls. As a result, the employment report on Friday will likely show only 89,000 jobs were added in October, down from 136,000 in September, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

In this file photo customers look over Harley Davidson motorcycles on display at a dealership in Ashland, Va. On Oct 31, the Commerce Department issues its September report on consumer spending, which accounts for

roughly 70 percent of US economic activity. (AP)

Weaker inflation figures cast shadow over outlook

Eurozone grows at modest pact in Q3FRANKFURT, Germany, Oct 31, (AP): The 19-country eurozone econo-my grew at a subdued pace in the third quarter, continuing a shaky upswing amid trade disputes and uncertainty over Brexit.

At the same time, weaker inflation figures cast a shadow over the outlook and presented a challenge for the new president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, as she takes office.

Statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday that the economy grew 0.2% in the quarter from the previous three-month period.

The countries that share the euro are growing at a slower pace amid uncer-tainty over when and how Britain will leave the EU and the US-China trade dispute, which have weighed on busi-ness confidence. The ECB responded in September by launching a stimulus package of bond purchases and an interest rate cut.

Unemployment remained unchanged in September at 7.5%, the lowest since July 2008, as the labor market continues its slow recovery from the 2010-2012 eurozone debt crisis.

But inflation dropped to an annual rate of just 0.7% from 0.8% the month before, underlining the ECB’s struggle to lift it toward its target of just under 2%.

“The slightly better-than-expected third-quarter GDP figure for the euro-zone does not alter the fact that the region is expanding at only a very mod-est pace,” said Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics. “And forward-looking indi-cators suggest that it is likely to slow further in the fourth quarter.”

Europe’s economy is losing steam

New ECB head Lagarde faces big challengesFRANKFURT, Germany, Oct 31, (AP): Europe’s economy is losing steam. Top officials at the European Central Bank are at odds over policy. And it’s even unclear whether they can do much to help anyway.

It adds up to a full in-tray for Christine Lagarde as she takes over as ECB president on Friday.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund succeeds Mario Draghi, who as head of the central bank for the 19 countries that use the euro helped keep the currency union together through a financial crisis.

While the crisis has abated, the pres-sures of the job have not diminished, with the ECB president acting as the final backstop for Europe’s economy and with global uncertainties on the rise.

Here’s a look at the main challenges Lagarde faces.

■ A weakening economyGrowth data have weakened even

since Draghi announced a big stimulus package on Sept. 12. Analysts think Lagarde may not have to change poli-cy for a while as that stimulus runs, but big risks still loom over the global and European economies. Trade disputes between the U.S. and major economies like China and Europe have hurt man-ufacturing. Brexit has yet to be resolved, keeping businesses uncertain about how to invest.

The ECB’s next move may be to provide even more stimulus, rather than raising interest rates back to where they were before the global financial crisis.

■ Central Bank powerAnd yet providing more stimulus

could be complicated, in part because

so much has already been deployed.The ECB’s benchmark interest rate on

deposits left overnight from banks is already at an unprecedented minus 0.5%. Bank officials have said it could be cut further, but at some point the ECB would reach a point where adverse side effects such as the impact on bank prof-its may outweigh the benefits.

Draghi’s plan to have the ECB buy 20 billion euros ($22 billion) a month in corporate and government bonds will continue to help hold down mar-ket borrowing costs for companies and governments. Eventually, however, there won’t be enough government bonds to buy up. The ECB has a self-imposed limit of buying no more than a third of any government’s debt.

And it’s not clear how much good more rate cuts and bond purchases would do.

Rates are already negative, and the ECB already pumped 2.6 billion euros ($2.9 billion) into the economy through bond purchases from 2015 to the end of 2018. Despite that, inflation has remained below the ECB’s goal of under 2%. Growth has not led to increases in wages and inflation as seen in earlier eras, and not just in Europe; economists say aging popula-tions, digitalization and globalization that can shift jobs to lower wage loca-tions may all play a role.

In this file photo, outgoing European Central Bank President Mario Draghi shakes hands with his des-ignated successor Christine Lagarde, at a ceremony celebrat-ing the change at the head of the ECB in Frankfurt, Germany. (AP)

bottomlinethe

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is still running a well-oiled moneymaking machine despite cooling demand for its hottest product, the iPhone.

Sales and revenue in the July-September quarter exceeded Wall Street estimates as Apple’s newest iPhones got off to a better start than expected, even though the devices aren’t that much different from last year’s models.

Apple said Wednesday that reve-nue rose 2% from the same time last year to $64 billion, despite iPhone revenue dropping 9%. The compa-ny’s iPhone sales have now declined from the previous year for four straight quarter.

Apple’s quarterly profit dipped 3% to $13.7 billion, but its earnings per share of $3.03 topped analyst projections.

In another encouraging sign for the company, Apple’s sales in China recover further from a sharp drop-off earlier this year. That helped ease worries that Apple might be bruised by President Donald Trump’s trade war with the world’s most populous country.

Apple also signaled its confidence that the momentum will continue in the current quarter, which spans the crucial holiday season. The Cupertino, California, company projects revenue will climb by about 4% from the same time last year. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Shares of Facebook Inc rose nearly 5% on Thursday, a day after the social network reported its third straight rise in the pace of quarterly sales growth as well as an uptick in users in some of its most lucrative markets.

Wall Street analysts gave a more mixed reception to the earnings report, with at least nine analysts raising their price targets on the stock, while at least five trimmed.

But if the share gains hold through Thursday’s session, it would trans-late to a nearly $26 billion gain in value for the Silicon Valley firm.

The stock was last up 4.8% at $197.27, still around 22% off ana-lysts’ median price target of $240.

Facebook, the world’s No. 2 sell-er of online ads, said that revenue would grow more slowly in the fourth quarter, at closer to about 20% to 25%, partly due to users choosing to limit the company’s ability to target ads to them using personal details.

That did little to shake brokerag-es’ faith in a business model that has generated stellar gains throughout the past two years, in counterpoint to growing pressure from politicians and regulators about privacy and competition. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Altria Inc took a $4.5 billion hit from its investment in electronic-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc on Thursday as it faced up to the financial fallout of a regulatory crackdown on the vaping industry this year.

The tobacco company had bought a $12.8 billion stake in the fast-growing e-cigarette rival looking to make inroads among smokers. Philip Morris walked away from merger talks with Altria in September as regulatory risk around Juul increased.

Altria on Thursday cited increased chances of US Food & Drug Administration removing flavored e-vapor products from the market as well as bans in certain cities and states in the United States for the charge.

Juul has suspended advertising in the United States, hired an Altria-executive as its CEO and revamped its management in the past few weeks.

Altria also said it expects the Federal Trade Commission’s request for additional information into its Juul investment to be resolved in first-quarter of 2020. (RTRS)

❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: US drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co reported higher-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strong sales of blood thinner Eliquis, even as growth of its blockbuster cancer treatment Opdivo slowed.

Bristol-Myers, which is set to buy biotechnology company Celgene Corp for $74 billion later this year, posted net earnings of $1.35 billion, or 83 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $1.9 billion, or $1.16 a share, last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $1.17 a share, exceeding analysts’ expecta-tions of $1.07 a share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company raised both ends of its full-year adjusted earnings fore-cast range by 5 cents and now expects a profit of $4.25 to $4.35 per share. (RTRS)

BUSINESSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

16

Combination would create carmaker with 8.7 million vehicle sales

FCA and Peugeot on course to create world’s No. 4 automakerMILAN/PARIS, Oct 31, (RTRS): Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA plan to join forces in a 50-50 share merger to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, seeking scale to cope with costly new tech-nologies and slowing global demand.

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and PSA said on Thursday they aimed to reach a binding deal to create a $50 billion group with listings in Paris, Milan and New York, and with PSA’s Car-los Tavares as chief executive and FCA’s John Elkann as chairman.

It was less than fi ve months ago that FCA abandoned merger talks with PSA’s French rival Renault and the move comes as carmakers grap-ple with a downturn in their markets as well as hefty investments in elec-tric and self-driving vehicles.

FCA would get access to PSA’s more modern vehicle platforms, helping it to meet tough new emis-sions rules, while Europe-focused PSA would benefi t from FCA’s prof-itable US business featuring brands such as Ram and Jeep.

However, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois said that, adjust-ing for the differences in market val-ue and planned dividend payments, achieving the 50-50 split would ef-fectively see PSA paying a 32% pre-mium to take control of FCA.

FCA shares jumped as much as 11% to hit a one-year high of 14.248 euros. PSA shares fell as much as 14% to touch a two-week low of 22.38 euros.

“PSA shareholders are assum-ing more market risk than FCA’s,” Houchois said, although he added an PSA-FCA deal was still the most logical and attractive combination in the industry.

PSA and FCA said they would seek to fi nalise a deal in the coming weeks to create a group with 8.7 million in annual vehicle sales, putting it fourth globally behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan alliance.

They aim to make 3.7 billion eu-ros ($4.1 billion) of savings without plant closures, and achieve around 80% within four years, at a one-off cost of 2.8 billion euros.

The group will include the Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Peugeot, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, allowing it to serve mass and premium passenger car markets as well as trucks and light commercial vehicles markets.

The plan comes at a diffi cult time for automakers. Manufacturers Ford, Daimler and Volkswagen and supplier Continental have in the past months lowered their forecasts citing a steep-er-than-expected drop in demand.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the plan, which would give Paris a say in two of the world’s top four carmakers. That contrasts with a FCA-Renault merg-er, which risked leaving PSA behind.

“It gives us critical size to face the dual challenges of autonomous vehi-

cles and electric cars,” Le Maire told reporters.

Paris, which has a 12% stake in PSA, was blamed for the collapse of the FCA-Renault talks by urg-ing Renault to focus on its existing alliance with Japan’s Nissan. The French government also owns 15% of Renault.

However, the PSA-FCA deal could still be subject to close regula-tory scrutiny, while Rome, Paris and unions are all likely to be wary about potential job losses.

Italian industry minister Stefano Patuanelli said the deal was good news provided it didn’t affect jobs in Italy.

The combined group will be dom-iciled in the Netherlands, but have operating centres in France, Italy and the United States, and will have an 11-person board, with six mem-bers coming from PSA including Ta-vares, and fi ve from FCA including Elkann.

Analysts, who questioned whether FCA and Renault had the manage-ment expertise to deliver a mega-merger, said Tavares was the right man for the job, having returned Opel to profi t after buying it from GM in 2017.

The former Renault executive has emerged as one of the leading fi g-ures in the auto industry following the death last year of FCA’s former CEO Sergio Marchionne and the ar-rest of former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn.

Marchionne long championed a merger for FCA, a cause that has been taken up by Elkann, a scion of the Agnelli family that owns a 29.2% stake in FCA and will be the largest shareholder in a combined PSA-FCA, with a 14.5% stake.

One industry source said Tavares had made savings at Opel by cutting engineering centres in Germany and consolidating activity in France. A similar move with FCA could fuel opposition in Italy.

As part of the deal, FCA will pay its shareholders a 5.5 billion euro special dividend and hand them shares in its robot-making unit Co-mau. PSA, meanwhile, will distrib-ute to its investors its 46% stake in supplier Faurecia.

Citi analysts said the cash payout for FCA shareholders contrasted with the Faurecia shares, worth about 2.7 billion euros at Wednes-day’s close, being offered to PSA shareholders, saying the latter were “being asked to remain patient.”

China’s Dongfeng Motor has a 12.2% equity stake and 19.5% vot-ing stake in PSA, and there has been speculation it might use the tie-up to sell its holdings.

One banking source told Reuters Dongfeng would be able to sell its stakes, which could help ease the deal’s passage through US regulators, given US-Chinese trade tensions.

Stricter anti-pollution rules from 2021 have triggered heavy invest-ments into electric and hybrid vehicles as European lawmakers are forcing a 37.5% reduction in vehicle C02 emis-sions between 2021 and 2030, after a 40% cut between 2007 and 2021.

A combination with PSA would give FCA access to the French group’s CMP modular platform, which was launched in 2019 for Peugeot’s e-208 compact city car, and donated for Opel to build the Corsa-e mini.

The CMP platform was jointly de-veloped by Dongfeng and PSA.

Strategy fi rm PA Consulting has forecast FCA faces 700 million eu-ros ($777 million) in emissions fi nes unless it radically shifts to selling more electric and hybrid cars.

PSA has moved Opel and Vaux-hall from nine GM platforms to just two, helping Opel to return to profi t after more than a decade of losses.

FCA is being advised by Goldman Sachs and D’Angelin; PSA is working with Morgan Stanley, Mediobanca’s Messier Maris & Associes unit and Perella; and Lazard is advising Exor, the Agnelli’s holding company, sourc-es close to the deal said.

China’s factory activity shrinks at sharper pace

Services weaken as risks grow

BEIJING, Oct 31, (RTRS): Factory activity in China shrank for the sixth straight month in October and by more than expected, while service sector growth eased as fi rms grapple with the weakest economic growth in nearly 30 years.

The world’s second-largest economy is facing heightened risks from slowing global demand and the Sino-US trade war, adding pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus to avoid a sharp-er slowdown and bigger job losses.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.3 in October, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, versus 49.8 in September. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the reading would be un-changed from September.

Weighed down by cooling domes-tic demand, sluggish investment and a protracted trade war with the Unit-ed States, China’s economic growth slowed to a near 30-year low of 6.0% in the third quarter, raising expecta-tions that Beijing will need to roll out more support measures soon.

New export orders fell for the 17th month in a row in October, with the sub-index down to 47.0 from 48.2 in the previous month.

Total new orders, which includes those for export and domestic use, fell back to contractionary territory and erased September’s fl eeting growth, suggesting continued weakness in de-mand at home.

Demand contraction would put a dent on prices and further chip away the already-thin margin for manufac-turers. In September, China’s producer prices posted the steepest decline in more than three years, while industrial profi ts shrank for the second month.

Factories continued to shed jobs in October on weakening demand and ris-ing business uncertainties. The sub-index for employment was at 47.3 in October compared with 47.0 the previous month.

China’s manufacturing sector will remain under pressure in the coming months as the nearly 16-months long Sino-US trade war remains unresolved although Washington and Beijing are working on a fi rst-phase trade accord that could be fi nalised soon.

But even if a “phase one” trade deal were signed it would be unlikely to have a signifi cant positive impact on in-dustrial activity, said Raymond Yeung, ANZ’s chief Greater China economist in Hong Kong. Slumping price indexes in both the manufacturing and services PMIs point to increasing defl ationary risk amid a pointed slowdown in eco-nomic momentum, he said.

Activity at larger fi rms slipped back into contractionary territory after a slight recovery in September. Gauges of activity at small- and medium-sized fi rms continued to be even lower.

“The offi cial PMIs fell by more than expected this month, reinforcing our view that the improvement at the end of Q3 didn’t mark the start of a sustained recovery,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Eco-nomics.

He said in a research note the con-struction index picked up, suggesting that building activity remained a bright spot, but adding this was overshad-owed by a large drop in the index for service sector activity.

Growth in China’s services sector activity slowed in October, fl agging a further weakening in domestic demand.

The offi cial services PMI fell to 52.8 from 53.7 in September, the lowest it has been since February 2016 but still above the 50-mark that separates con-traction from expansion, according to a separate NBS survey.

Beijing has been counting on robust services fi rms to partly offset sluggish domestic and global demand for its manufactured products.

The services sector, which makes up more than 50% of the economy, has

been propped up by Chinese consum-ers’ rising wages and robust spending power in recent years. However, the services sector cooled late last year amid a broader economic downturn.

“We expect the offi cial manufactur-ing PMI to remain sluggish in coming months, the growth slowdown could gather pace, and markets could become more volatile in coming months,” said analysts from Nomura in a note, adding that Beijing will likely ramp up stimu-lus measures in the coming quarters.

The ruling Communist Party’s Peo-ple’s Daily said stabilising growth should be made more of a priority. The commentary published on Thursday called for expanding investment in in-frastructure where it is needed.

A Reuters poll showed China’s gross domestic product growth is expected to slow to 6.2% in 2019 and then hit 5.9% in 2020.

“Current economic conditions are very similar to 2009,” said ANZ’s Yeung, but he thinks Beijing will not launch a major stimulus as it did then.

While there is room for lower rates, Yeung said Beijing is more likely to rely on industrial policy and fi scal sup-port measures to keep the slowdown gradual and ensure a so-called “soft landing” for the economy.

China’s southern province of Guang-dong plans to use some of its 2020 bond issuance quota to issue debt as early as November, three sources with knowl-edge of the situation told Reuters.

Local government bond issuance typically begins in March but the statis-tics bureau has said the country would front-load some 2020 special local government bond issuance to this year.

In this fi le photo, a woman works on a production line in a fi ber optics fac-tory in Nantong in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. (AP)

Real estate stocks surge as investors balance riskNEW YORK, Oct 31, (AP): In 2019, investors have re-lied on bricks and mortar to balance the riskier parts of their portfolios and get a good return.

The S&P 500’s real estate sector has been outpacing the broader market throughout the year. It’s the second best performing sector in the index, in between tech-nology and communications companies. That risky and safe-haven sectors could simultaneously lead the market might seem contradictory, but investors have needed a hedge as the decade-long bull market appears threatened by a global economic slowdown.

“It’s like a barbell approach,” said Sam Stovall, chief in-vestment strategist at CFRA. “You have investors starving for yield and they’re looking at some of the higher yield ar-eas like staples and utilities, but it’s getting expensive.”

Stovall said real estate stocks are holding up well be-cause investors feel they are not overvalued.

Real estate investment trusts, including HCP and Duke Realty are sought after mainly for dividends. The stocks are legally required to pay 90% of their income to share-holders. Many of them have dividend yields of more than 4% and are also insulated from potential swings in the market created by the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China.

Investors have been hedging their bets throughout the year in other ways. Bond prices have been rising, which has pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to around 1.7% from around 2.7% at the start of the year. The government bonds are also viewed as a safe place to shift money when economic growth seems uncertain.

The sharp drop in bond yields, which has happened on a global scale, is also likely behind the rise of real estate stocks with their reliable dividends.

“The big move down in yields globally created an ap-petite for more defensive high-yield holdings,” said Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial.

The US-China trade war has been looming over the bond and stock markets through most of the year. The two na-tions now appear to be holding to a truce as they negotiate a deal. That has helped shift investors’ focus back to corporate earnings and the latest fi nancial forecasts.

Increased optimism for corporate earnings growth in 2020 could put more emphasis on high-growth holdings like technology and communications stocks. Investors are closely watching company statements about capital spend-ing, which has been slumping amid anxiety over trade.

Sky Express partners with QA profits at BA owner IAG knocked by pilot strikes

Greek airline Sky Express said on Thursday it had signed an agree-ment with Qatar Airways to cooper-ate on fl ights connecting Doha with the Greek islands, in a boost to the country’s key tourism industry.

Tourism accounts for about a quarter of economic output in Greece, which saw a record number of about 33 million visitors last year.

The privately owned carrier, which competes with Aegean Air-lines’ subsidiary Olympic Airways

on domestic routes, fl ies to 24 Greek destinations, including the popular islands of Corfu, Santorini and Crete on ATR42 and ATR72 twin engine turboprop aircraft.

Sky Express said the deal would allow passengers to travel across its network.

Qatar Airways, the country’s fl ag-ship airline, has been fl ying to Ath-ens since 2005. Last year it added fl ights to Thessaloniki and Mykonos. (RTRS)

British Airways owner IAG said on Thursday it had taken a hit from industrial action from pilots at the airline, knocking profi ts in its third quarter and reiterating a lower outlook for the year.

The group said that the ac-tion by pilots at BA, together with other disruption, resulted in a hit to operating profi t of 155 million euros ($173.03 million) in the three months to September 30.

British Airways pilots went on

strike for 48 hours last month, grounding 1,700 fl ights in a dis-pute between pilot union BAL-PA and the airline over pay.

The pilot walkout was the fi rst in the airline’s history. No further strike dates have been scheduled, but the union said it retained the right to announce more. IAG has also faced dis-ruption at airports. Strikes by ground staff at its Iberia airline, which also serve its Vueling

brand, have disrupted fl ights in Barcelona.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh said threatened industrial action by Heathrow staff had also had an impact, even though those August strikes did not go ahead.

Walsh said that disruption aside, IAG had posted good underlying results, but did not specify a timetable for the reso-lution of the BA dispute.

IAG posted third-quarter op-

erating profi t of 1.4 billion euros ($1.56 billion), in line with ana-lyst consensus.

The group said it expects its 2019 operating profi t before exceptional items to be 215 million euros lower than 2018, reiterating a September profi t warning.

Analysts at RBC said that the pilot dispute could overshadow holiday trading at Christmas. (RTRS)

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire answers reporters on Oct 31, 2019 in Paris. The boards of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot an-nounced Thursday fast-moving plans to merge the two companies creating the world’s fourth-largest automaker with enough scale to confront ‘the

new era in mobility.’ (AP)

BUSINESSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

17

Kuwait’s bourse winds up month on dull note

Zain slips 4 fi ls, KFH fl atBy John MathewsArab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Kuwait stocks headed south on Thursday to wind up the month on a dour note. The All Shares In-dex slipped 12.41 points in volatile session to 5,717.33 points led by some of the blue chips even as the over-all mood remained mixed.

The Premier Market dropped 19.64 pts to 6,211.13 points while Main Market ticked 2.67 points higher to 4,757,94 pts. The volume turnover meanwhile tapered fol-lowing Wednesday’s modest rise. Over 133 million shares changed hands – down 15 pct from the day before.

The sector closed mixed. Consumer Good outshone the rest with 0.29 pct rise whereas Telecommunications shed 0.68 per-cent, the biggest loser of the day. Volume wise, Financial Services topped with 52 million shares while in value terms Banks dominated with KD 18.7 million.

In the individual shares, National Bank of Kuwait fell 4 fils to 941 fils after trading 4.8 million shares and Burgan Bank followed suit to finish at 310 fils. Mabnee Co was down 6 fils at 772 fils trimming the month’s gains to 8 fils while Humansoft Holding shed 15 fils before settling at KD 3.090.

Zain slipped 4 fils to 565 fils after trading 3.4 million shares while Ooredoo stood pat at 745 fils with thin trading. Kuwait Telecommunications Co (VIVA) dropped 9 fils to 751 fils and Agility tripped 1 fil to end at 750 fils. Integrated Holding Co climbed 5 fils to 450 fils.

The market opened firm and pulled lower in early trade. The main index clawed back amid buying in select counters and moved sideways as sentiment turned mixed. It drifted south in the second half before clos-ing with small losses.

Top gainer of the day, Warba Insurance Co spiked 9.6 percent to 68 fils and KMEFIC sprinted 7.5 pct to stand next. International Resorts Co skidded 9. Percent, the steepest declin-er of the day and Gulf Bank topped the volume with 19.3 million shares.

Mirroring the day’s fall, the losers outnumbered the winners. 40 stocks advanced whereas 50 closed lower. Of the 114 counters active on Thursday, 24 closed flat. 6,114 deals worth KD 29.53 million were transacted during the session.

National Industries Group fell 2 fils to 221 fils after pushing 1.4 million shares while Mezzan Holding dialed up 2 fils before settling at 539 fils. Boubyan Petrochemical Co dropped 10 fils to 740 fils and Al Qurain Petrochemical Co inched 1 fil higher to 307 fils.

Jazeera Airways partly gave up last session’s robust gains with 11 fils drop to KD 1.089 and ALAFCO dialed up 2 fils to close at 270 fils. Combined Group Contracting Co and Mashaer Holding took in 1 fil each to end at 241 fils and 72.5 fils respec-tively.

Kuwait Portland Cement Co climbed 10 fils to KD 1.100 and Kuwait Cement Co gave up 5 fils to

Russia cuts oil output in October

Russia has lowered its oil output to 11.23 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in October, represent-ing over 70% compliance with the OPEC and non-OPEC supply pact, a source familiar with the data told Reuters on Thursday.

Russian September oil output was 11.25 million bpd..

The energy ministry will report official oil and gas production sta-tistics for October on Saturday. The ministry did not respond to

request for comment.The country’s production has

been recovering following the con-taminated oil crisis in the Druzhba pipeline, its exporting network, which emerged in late April.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers – a group known as OPEC+ – have since January implemented a deal to cut oil output by 1.2 million bar-rels per day to support the market.

According to Reuters calcula-tions, which use a tonnes/barrel ratio of 7.33, that indicates Russia should cap output at around 11.17-11.18 million bpd.

The agreement runs to the end of March 2020 and producers meet to review policy on Dec 5-6.

Russia has said OPEC and its oil-exporting allies would factor in the slowdown of US oil output growth when they meet. (RTRS)

Set for biggest daily fall in October

Major Gulf markets drop

Eurozone bond govt bond yields drop

FAB pressures Abu Dhabi

LONDON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Eurozone bond yields fell to two-week lows on Thursday and were set for their sharp-est daily fall in October, after the US Federal Reserve cut rates and doubts about US-China trade talks drove de-mand for safe-haven assets.

The Fed on Wednesday lowered its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.50%-1.75% to help the US economy weather a global trade war. But it also dropped a reference in its policy statement to acting “as appropriate” to sustain economic expansion – language considered a sign of future rate cuts.

Chairman Jerome Powell said some of the risks that had convinced Fed of-fi cials lower rates were needed, if only as insurance, seemed to abate in recent weeks.

The Fed rate cut and renewed con-cern about trade tensions bolstered bond markets at the end of a month that has seen heavy selling.

Chinese offi cials have doubts about whether it is possible to reach a com-prehensive long-term trade deal with Washington and US President Donald

Trump, Bloomberg reported on Thurs-day, citing unnamed sources.

They have told visitors to Beijing and others in private conversations that China will not budge on the thorniest issues, the report said.

“It might seem ... surprising as the Fed delivered a hawkish cut,” said ING senior rates strategist Antoine Bouvet of Thursday’s fall in yields. “But the market had moved probably too high into the meeting in terms of yields. The market might not share the Fed’s optimism on the economy.”

Most eurozone 10-year bond yields were down around 5 basis points on the day, having hit their lowest levels in around two weeks.

Germany’s benchmark 10-year yield fell as low as -0.42% and was set for its biggest daily fall in October, as was the case for most other eurozone bond yields.

US 10-year Treasury yields were 9 bps lower on the day, while British and Swiss bond yields were also sharply lower.

Despite Thursday’s falls, bond

yields are set to end October signifi -cantly higher, mostly driven by expec-tations that Britain will avoid a no-deal Brexit.

Germany’s 10-year yield was on track for its biggest monthly rise since January 2018, up 17 bps in October.

With the Fed and trade tensions dominating, there was little market reaction to third quarter eurozone eco-nomic growth data, which defi ed mar-ket expectations of a slowdown and was steady quarter-on-quarter.

Meanwhile headline infl ation slowed because of a sharp fall in en-ergy prices.

Elsewhere, the fi rst fi xing of the eurozone’s fi rst overnight rate ESTR following the implementation of the European Central Bank’s tiered inter-est rates was unchanged at -0.545%.

Analysts are watching the impact of tiering on money markets, as the sys-tem, which exempts banks from pay-ing the ECB the deposit rate of -0.50% on part of their excess cash, had stoked fears that short-term interest rates could increase.

DUBAI, Oct 31, (RTRS): All ma-jor Gulf stock markets slipped on Thursday amid falling oil prices, while Abu Dhabi led the losses as its top lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) declined.

Oil prices came under pressure from rising US crude oil stocks and weak factory activity in China, with few bullish factors on the horizon. Brent crude futures LCoc1 were down 20 cents at $60.41 a barrel by 1156 GMT, erasing earlier gains.

The Abu Dhabi index retreated 1.3%, with FAB shedding 2.7%, its biggest intra-day fall since mid-May. In the previous session the United Arab Emirates’ largest lend-er had surged after on Tuesday announcing the opening of a new branch in Saudi’s Al Khobar An-other branch is scheduled to open soon in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia’s index dropped 0.6%, with Al Rajhi Bank declining 1% and Jabal Omar Development plunging 4%, making it the biggest loser in the index.

The developer posted a net loss of 80.6 million riyals ($21.5 million) on Wednesday compared with a profi t of 469.6 million a year earlier, blaming the losses on lower rev-enue from sales of residential units.

Advanced Petrochemical fell 1.7%. It reported a rise in third-quarter net profi t of more than 5% but revenue dropped more than 13%.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s fi -nance minister said the kingdom expects its oil gross domestic prod-uct (GDP) to fall by 3% this year. In Dubai the index slipped 0.3%, with its largest lender Emirates NBD and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank falling 0.4% each. In the real estate sector, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties was

down 0.9%. The Qatari index reversed

course to close 0.9% lower, led by a 2.6%fall in market heavyweight Industries Qatar and a 1.5% drop in Qatar National Bank. On Oct 27 the former reported a 47% fall in nine-month net profi t to 2 billion riyals ($549.5 million) from 3.8 billion a year earlier.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip stock index extended gains fora sixth consecutive session, gaining 0.6% as its largest lender Commercial International Bank added 0.6%.

Saudi Arabia ■ The index dropped 0.6% to 7,744 points

Abu Dhabi ■ The index fell 1.3% to 5,108 points

Dubai ■ The index lost 0.3% to 2,747 points

Qatar ■ The index declined 0.9% to 10,189 points

Egypt ■ The index up 0.6% to 14,558 points

Bahrain ■ The index edged up 0.1% to 1,523 points

Oman ■ The index slipped 0.3% to 4,000 points

Kuwait ■ The index was down 0.3% at 6,211 points

finish at 245 fils. Sharjah Cement Co and Gulf Cement Co paused at 55 fils and 58 fils respectively whereas Fujairah Cement Co dialed down 2 fils and QIC ticked 0.1 fil into red.

Kuwait Foundry Co was flat at 400 fils and ACICO Industries too did not budge from its earlier close of 122 fils. AGHC dipped 14 fils to 207 fils while Shuaiba Industrial stood pat at 146 fils. Equipment Holding tripped 0.2 fil and Salbookh followed suit.

Gulf Cable rallied 9 fils to 487 fils and Gulf Petroleum Investment ticked 0.3 fil into green. KPPC trimmed 0.6 fil whereas KPPC held ground at 54.4 fils. Energy Holding eased 0.1 fil to 19.2 fils and UPAC clipped 2 fils. Soor Fuel added 3 fils before settling at 120 fils.

Kuwait Gulf Links Transport Co was flat at 67 fils and KGL Logistics too did not budge from its earlier close of 35 fils. Al Rai Media Group fell 2.5 fils to 38 fils and Al Manar closed 2.2 fils below the rim. Inovest gave up 2 fils.

In the banking sector, Kuwait Finance House was unchanged at 684 fils after trading 7.5 million shares while Kuwait International Bank was down 3 fils at 265 fils. Boubyan Bank paused at 562 fils, Al Ahli Bank dialed up 2 fils to close at 290 fils while Al Mutahed inched 1 fil into red. Warba Bank stood pat at 267 fils and Ahli United Bank tripped 1 fil before closing at 268 fils.

KIPCO eased 1 fil to 219 fils and Gulf Finance House took in 1 fil. Kuwait Investment Co dialed down 1 fil whereas FACIL closed flat at 202 fils. International Financial Advisors added 0.5 fil and Arzan followed suit with brisk trading of over 15.3 million shares.

Kuwait Finance Centre (Markaz) fell 2.4 fils to 87.4 fils with thin trad-ing whereas KMEFIC sprinted 6 fils to 85 fils on back of over 5 million shares. National Investment Co took in 2 fils and Coast Investment ticked 0.2 fil into red. ALOLA edged 0.4 fil up on back of 5.5 million shares.

KFIC rose 1.5 fils to 51.5 fils and Bayan Investment took in 0.2 fil. Unicap gave up 2.3 fils and Madar rallied 5 fils on back of 136 fils. Ektittab Holding trimmed 0.7 fil and Sokouk Holding clipped 1 fil. Tamdeen Investment was up 3 fils with thin trading.

Noor Financial Investment rallied 5 fils to 131 fils on back of over 1 million shares while KSHC added 1.7 fils. Al Imtiaz was unchanged at 125 fils and Gulf Insurance Co clipped 1 fils.

The bourse was largely downbeat during the week. The main index closed lower in three of the five ses-sion shedding 52 points week-on-week. It has gained 39 during the month and is trading 611 pts higher year-to-date. Boursa Kuwait, with 176 listed stocks, is the second larg-est market in the region.

BUSINESSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

18

Nintendo Q2 net profit jumps from Switch Lite sales

Nintendo’s fiscal second quarter net profit rose by nearly a third on strong sales of software for its Switch Lite game console, the company said Thursday.

Net profit for Kyoto-based Nintendo Co rose to 45.4 billion yen ($420 million) in the July-September quarter from 34 billion yen a year earlier.

Sales rose 23% from a year earlier to 271.9 billion yen ($2.5 billion).

The company said it sold nearly 5 mil-lion Nintendo Switch machines in April-

September, while sales of its handheld Switch Lite, which was launched in September, totaled nearly 2 million units.

The Switch is a hybrid game machine that works both as a console and a tab-let. More than 40 million consoles have been sold since sales began about two years ago.

Nintendo said its forecasts for the fis-cal year that ends in March 2020 were unchanged at 180 billion yen ($1.7 bil-lion) profit on 1.25 trillion yen ($11.5 bil-lion) sales.

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a compact and lightweight version of Nintendo Switch meant for on-the-go playing.

Nintendo, which makes Super Mario and Pokemon games, said its game software “Super Mario Maker 2,” released in June was selling well, as are games from outside software makers such as “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.”

Nintendo stuck to its sales forecast for this fiscal year, which runs through March 2020, at 18 million Switch machines. (AP)

Malaysia plans tender for 500 MW plant in Q2 2020 – minister

Cheaper solar power gains ground in southeast AsiaSINGAPORE, Oct 31, (RTRS): Southeast Asia is accelerating plans to harness energy from the sun in com-ing years as the cost of generating electricity from some solar power projects has become more affordable than gas-fired plants, officials and analysts said.

The region, where power demand is expected to double by 2040, is striving to expand the share of renewable sources as developing nations seek affordable electricity while battling climate change.

Southeast Asia’s cumulative solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity could nearly triple to 35.8 gigawatt (GW) in 2024 from an estimated 12.6 GW this year, consultancy Wood Mackenzie says.

Vietnam leads the pack with a cumulative solar PV installation of 5.5 GW by this year, or 44% of the total capacity in the region, said Rishab Shrestha, Woodmac’s power and renewables analyst. This compares with 134 MW last year.

Among the encouraging signs for the solar industry was a recent auction for a 500 megawatt (MW) solar proj-ect in Malaysia of which 365 MW were bid at a price lower than the country’s average gas-powered elec-tricity, said Yeo Bee Yin, minister of energy, science, technology, environ-ment and climate change.

“For the first time in the history of Malaysia we have a large-scale solar energy costs that is less than gas, Yeo said at the Singapore International Energy Week.

“We now finally have an alternative energy that is cheaper than gas to replace our peak energy demand at midday.”

Malaysia has set a target to increase its renewable energy in electricity generation from current 6% to 20% by 2025, and a majority of this would be driven by solar.

The country also plans to open at least another 500 MW tender in the second quarter next year, Yeo said.

Singapore has also targeted at least 2 gigawatt (GW) peak of solar power capacity by 2030, or more than 10% of current peak electricity demand, potentially replacing natural gas which generates 95% of the country’s power now.

“This being presented by the (Singaporean) authorities is very interesting as this points towards firm political determination to go towards a low-carbon economy in a constrained world,” said Francesco La Camera, Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Keisuke Sadamori, the International Energy Agency (IEA) director for energy markets and security said: “There needs to be some good mea-sures to ensure that investors feel con-fident that their money could be returned in a relatively reasonable period.”

Still, the mushrooming of solar PV in Vietnam has exceeded its grid capacity by 18%, Woodmac’s Shrestha said, underscoring the need for further investments across power sector.

“The approved capacity for the Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan prov-inces amounts to 5 GW, more than double the grid usable capacity,” he said.

Hong Kong falls into first recession in10 years as protests, trade war weigh

Retail sales drops the most on record year-on-year in August

HONG KONG, Oct 31, (RTRS): Hong Kong slid into recession for the first time in a decade in the third quarter, weighed down by increasingly vio-lent anti-government pro-tests and the protracted US-China trade war.

Five months of protests have battered the Chinese-ruled city’s retail and tourism sector, and there is no sign of the demonstrations abating. Police tightened security on Thursday ahead of more poten-tial clashes.

The city’s economy shrank 3.2% in July-September from the pre-ceding period, contracting for a second straight quarter and meet-ing the technical definition of a recession, according to prelimi-nary government data on Thursday.

From a year earlier, gross domestic product (GDP) contract-ed 2.9%. The readings were the weakest for the Asian financial hub since the global financial cri-sis in 2008/2009.

The government also revised down second-quarter GDP data to show growth of 0.4% year-on-year, from a preliminary estimate of 0.6% and a later reading of 0.5%. Quarter-on-quarter was revised down to -0.5%, versus a preliminary forecast of -0.3% and a later reading of -0.4%.

“Domestic demand worsened significantly,” the government said in a statement.

“As the weakening economic conditions dampened consumer sentiment and large-scale demon-strations cause severe disruptions to the retail, catering and other consumer-related sectors, private consumption expenditure recorded its first year-on-year decline in more than 10 years.”

The government said that with no sign of protests abating, private consumption and investment senti-ment would continue to be affect-ed.

Some Hong Kong businesses have asked employees to take unpaid leave as tourists steer clear of sometimes violent running bat-tles between protesters and police in key shopping areas and malls.

Capital Economics said in a

research note that while GDP would probably continue to con-tract in the fourth quarter, the pace of contraction should ease barring a further escalation in the demon-strations.

“Any recovery will be con-strained by weak business invest-ment, however, as the city’s politi-cal crisis has done lasting damage to its reputation as a stable and autonomous financial hub,” it said in a note to clients.

The protests and escalating vio-lence have plunged the former British colony into its biggest political crisis in decades and unnerved many in the business and financial communities.

Protesters are angry at what they see as Beijing’s increasing inter-ference in the Chinese-ruled city. China denies meddling and has accused foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, of stirring up trouble.

The city’s leader Carrie Lam warned on Tuesday that full-year growth could contract.

Almost all growth engines in the Asian financial hub stalled over the summer as shops shut to avoid clashes between riot police and protesters, while the Sino-US trade war intensified. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations and a bustling container port.

Retail sales fell the most on record year-on-year in August, while tourist arrivals dropped the most since Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) struck Hong Kong in 2003.

Last week, the government announced relief measures of HK$2 billion ($255 million) to support the economy, particularly in its transport, tourism and retail industries, and more is expected. It has also urged landlords to cut rents for struggling businesses.

But there is no guarantee Beijing will come to Hong Kong’s rescue as it has done during previous downturns, at times relaxing main-land visitor restrictions to boost tourism.

“There is no liquidity bail-out for Hong Kong, ever. This is it. It’s not coming back,” said Andy Xie, a Shanghai-based independent economist formerly at Morgan Stanley.

investment funds

NBK CAPITALMoney Market Funds Watani KD Money Market Fund II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 22, 2019 KD 1.079 1.079 Oct 15, 2019 Watani USD Money Market Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 22, 2019 USD 10.667 10.656 Oct 15, 2019 Watani KD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 22, 2019 KD 10.078 1.077 Oct 15, 2019 Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc to Islamic Shariah principles) II Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 22, 2019 USD 10.461 10.458 Oct 15, 2019 NBK Kuwait Equity Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 17, 2019 KD 0.811 0.809 Oct 17, 2019 Gulf Equity Investment Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 17, 2019 USD 12.712 12.470 Oct 17, 2019 Regional Bond and Sukuk Investment Fund Watani Invesment Company Weekly Oct 17, 2019 USD 11.399 11.404 Oct 17, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Bank Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly June 30, 2019 USD 7.907 7.701 May 31, 2019 Coast Fund Coast Investment & Dev. Co. Monthly Aug 31, 2019 KD 0.826 0.817 June 30, 2019 Markaz Real Estate Fund Bi-annual Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.339 1.341 Aug 29, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Ahli Bank Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Set 30, 2019 KD 1.028 1.024 Aug 31, 2019 Al Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Aug 31, 2019 KD 0.899 0.937 July 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Boubyan Bank Boubyan KD Money Market Fund II Boubyan Bank Weekly Oct 15, 2019 KD 1.059 1.058 Oct 01, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Boubyan Capital Investment Co. Boubyan USD Liquidity Fund Boubyan Capital Investment Co Weekly Oct 15, 2019 USD 10.658 10.648 Oct 01, 2019 Boubyan Multi-Asset Holding Fund Boubyan Bank Sept 30, 2019 USD 11.643 11.596 Aug 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Investment Co.Local Fund Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.000 1.146 Sept 05, 2019 Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.873 0.873 Aug 31, 2019 Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.881 0.743 Sept 09, 2019 Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.174 1.189 Aug 31, 2019International Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Aug 30, 2019 USD 20.600 21.000 June 28, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Investment Co. (NIC) Al-Wataniya Fund NIC Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.632 0.661 Aug 31, 2019 Al-Darij Fund NIC Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.372 0.384 Aug 31, 2019 Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.478 0.481 Aug 31, 2019 Zajil Fund NIC Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.792 0.782 Aug 31, 2019 Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Weekly Sept 30, 2019 USD 0.843 0.850 Aug 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 19, 2019 KD 4.807 5.225 Sept 05, 2019 MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 19, 2019 KD 3.648 3.962 Sept 05, 2019 Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Sept 19, 2019 KD 1.753 1.918 Sept 05, 2019 FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly July 31, 2019 KD 1.318 1.251 June 30, 2019 Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Aug 31, 2019 KD 1.341 1.343 June 30, 2019

Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co. Al Rou’yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.389 1.458 Aug 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Global Investment HouseIndex Funds Global Premier Market Index Fund Global Weekly Sept 26, 2019 KD 1.647 1.733 Sept 08, 2019Equity Funds Al-Mamoun Fund A Global Weekly Oct 03, 2019 KD 0.806 0.848 Sept 05, 2019 Al-Mamoun Fund B Global Weekly Oct 03, 2019 KD 0.806 0.848 Sept 05, 2019 GCC Large Cap Fund Global Weekly Oct 01, 2019 USD 171.670 174.680 Sept 08, 2019 Global Saudi Equity Fund Global Biweekly Oct 06, 2019 SAR 269.256 271.870 Sept 08, 2019Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Weekly Sept 24, 2019 USD 94.486 95.193 Sept 03, 2019Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Weekly Oct 01, 2019 USD 110.736 111.997 Sept 03, 2019 Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Weekly Oct 03, 2019 KD 1.446 1.511 Sept 05, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC) Al Wasm Fund KFIC Weekly Oct 09, 2019 KD 0.519 0.551 Sept 04, 2019 Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund KFIC Monthly June 30, 2019 USD 7.907 7.701 May 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

KAMCO KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly July 31, 2019 KD 1.515 1.341 Apr 30, 2019 KAMCO Real Estate Yield Fund KAMCO July 31, 2019 USD 8.840 8.900 June 30, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Wafra International Investment Co. Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.995 1.037 July 31, 2019 Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.042 1.038 Aug 31, 2019 Masaref Investment Fund Wafra Co. Weekly Sept 30, 2019 KD 1.221 1.242 Aug 31, 2019 Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Sept 30, 2019 KD 0.826 0.865 Aug 31, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Tharwa Investment Co. Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Oct 03, 2019 KD 1.024 1.067 Sept 05, 2019 Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Oct 03, 2019 KD 0.687 0.707 Sept 05, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bank Al-Bilad Al Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Daily Oct 27, 2019 KD 0.495 0.487 Oct 6, 2019—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial International Bank CIB Money Market Fund (Osoul) CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 30, 2019 EGP 404.700 401.740 Oct 8, 2019 CIB II Equity (Isthethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 30, 2019 EGP 203.220 208.420 Oct 8, 2019 CIB and Faisal Islamic Al Aman CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 30, 2019 EGP 107.070 109.000 Oct 8, 2019 Hemaya CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 01, 2019 EGP 236.130 236.850 Sept 01, 2019 Thabat CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 30, 2019 EGP 271.740 266.780 Oct 8, 2019 Takamol CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 30, 2019 EGP 190.370 192.490 Oct 8, 2019 Misr El Mostakbel CI Asset Management Weekly Oct 27, 2019 EGP 23.900 24.090 Oct 7, 2019 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————KFH Capital KFHC GCC Equities Fund KFH Capital Investmen Co Daily Apr 30, 2019 KD 0.824 0.797 Mar 31, 2019 KFH Capital Investment Co KFH Capital Investmen Co Daily Nov 30, 2018 KD 0.407 0.406 Oct 31, 2018 Baitak GCC Fund KFH Capital Investment Co Weekly June 29, 2017 KD 0.930 0.916 Feb 28, 2017

Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV)————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Funds Fund Manager Valuation Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV)————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

In this file photo, a salesman of a watch shop directs the way to find a taxi for a group of mainland tourists in a shopping district in Hong Kong. Business has plunged in Hong Kong’s shopping districts after more than four months of protests. The government announced on Oct 31, that the city is in a technical recession after it con-

tracted for a second straight quarter. (AP)

Malaysia-Singapore rail link back on: MahathirJOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, Oct 31, (RTRS): A railway line link-ing Malaysia’s southern state of Johor with Singapore will go ahead after the projected cost was cut by a third, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday, ending months of uncertainty over the delayed proj-ect.

The Rapid Transit System Link, which will bridge one of the world’s busiest border crossings, can carry up to 10,000 passengers an hour each way – more than 30 times the capacity of the existing train service.

The project will cost 3.16 bil-lion ringgit ($757 million), down from 4.93 billion ringgit under the original proposal, a reduction of 36%, Mahathir said.

“We will build this railway, the agreement has been made. Half will be built by Singapore, the other half will be built by us,”

Mahathir told reporters at the Malaysia-Singapore border.

“The details will be discussed with Singapore.”

Singapore’s transport ministry said it welcomed Malaysia’s deci-sion.

“Both sides are now discussing the changes to the project, which Malaysia is proposing in order to reduce the project cost ... the dis-cussions will take some time,” the ministry said in a statement.

The train project was originally suspended in May as Malaysia, saddled with more than $200 bil-lion in debt, reassessed projects agreed under the previous admin-istration. A further delay was agreed last month.

The Southeast Asian neighbours last year scrapped a high-speed rail project linking Singapore to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, which analysts estimated would cost around $17 billion.

Tensions often run high between Malaysia and Singapore, and Mahathir took a swipe at the city-state for not agreeing to a new road bridge between the two coun-tries that he believes is the solu-tion to congestion.

An estimated 300,000 people travel along the main highway between Johor and Singapore every day, the primary crossing between two countries, which sep-arated from each other in 1965.

Singapore relies on Malaysia for around half of its fresh water and Mahathir threatened to increase the price.

“We are willing to sacrifice our money to support Singapore so that they can buy cheap water for themselves, but when we want to build a bridge to solve the traffic problem, they refuse,” he said.

“I don’t see why we are accom-modating to Singapore when they’re not accommodating to us.”

‘Malaysia is no currency manipulator’

Malaysia’s finance minister said on Thursday the country would not be labelled a currency manipulator when the US Treasury Department releases the second of its bi-annual report on foreign exchange policies of US trading partners.

Southeast Asia’s third biggest econ-omy was for the first time put on the Treasury’s “monitoring list” in May for meeting two of its three criteria: having a significant bilateral trade surplus with the United States, a substantial

current account surplus and persistent one-sided intervention in forex mar-kets.

Malaysia was found meeting the first two conditions, but Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told lawmakers in parliament the country did not deliberately devalue the ringgit.

“I would like to guarantee that we will ensure Malaysia will only be on the watchlist, and if possible be removed from the list,” he said to a question on the impending report. (RTRS)

BUSINESSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

19

After budget bombshell

South Africa braces for‘bleak’ Moody’s reviewCAPE TOWN, Oct 31, (RTRS): South Africa’s government was bracing for an unfavourable re-view of the country’s fi nal invest-ment grade credit rating on Friday, bringing an exodus of foreign money from an already debt–rid-dled economy a step closer.

Moody’s pegs South Africa at Baa3, its lowest investment grade rating, with a “stable” outlook.

The credit agency – the last of the big three agencies not to have consigned South Africa’s rating to ‘junk’ status – told the treasury it was looking “very carefully” at the country’s fi scal position before publishing its review, said Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

“At the most I hope they keep the rating where it is. ... It’s not looking good,” he told parliament.

On Wednesday, Mboweni fore-cast wider budget defi cits and soaring debt. The economy is barely growing, and also saddled with chronically high unemploy-ment.

While many analysts believe an immediate downgrade remains un-likely despite that bleak mid-term budget outlook, they said Moody’s looked almost certain to deliver some sort of negative assessment.

It could put South Africa on “outlook negative”, which would provide a window of 12-18 months before a downgrade might be de-livered. Alternatively, a move to “credit watch negative” could lead to a ratings decision within three to six months, they said.

“Moody’s has to go to negative now if they want to have a shred of credibility,” said Kevin Daly at Aberdeen Standard Investments in London.

Markets have reacted nervously to the glum projections, with the rand weakening more than 1% af-ter a 2.5% drop on Wednesday, its largest daily decline in over a year.

A full downgrade to non–in-vestment grade would see South Africa evicted from the bench-mark World Government Bond In-dex (WGBI) of local currency debt and trigger a sell-off by investors mandated to buy high–grade debt.

Goldman Sachs said in August that a downgrade of the local is-suer rating could lead to $5 billion in passive outfl ows and up to $10 billion in active outfl ows.

With funds tracking the WGBI having $172 billion under man-agement and South Africa’s weight of 0.44% in the index, the $5 billion outfl ow could happen in the space of two months, predicted Reezwana Sumad, senior research anlyst at Nedbank.

Goldman Sachs said on Thurs-day that, while there was now “a higher probability (from a low lev-el) of an immediate downgrade,” its main scenario remained a shift of the outlook to “negative”, either on Friday or shortly thereafter.

JPMorgan also forecast a nega-tive outlook, with a base case for a downgrade in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Stocks fall from 20-month highson US-China trade talk concerns

Sterling on track for biggest monthly rise in a decade

NEW YORK, Oct 31, (RTRS): World stock mar-kets slid from 20-month highs on Thursday as un-certainty about a potential US-China trade deal offset strong results from Apple and Facebook, while the dollar eased as investors mulled whether the Fed-eral Reserve will cut rates further.

Chinese offi cials have doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal with Wash-ington and US President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported, cit-ing unidentifi ed sources.

The trade spat between the world’s largest economies has been a major fo-cal point for investors as it has disrupt-ed supply chains and roiled fi nancial markets for more than a year.

MSCI’s gauge of equity perfor-mance in 47 countries slid 0.37% from highs last reached in February 2018.

The dollar fell to a 10-day low against a basket of major currencies after the Fed cut rates on Wednesday.

Investors remain concerned about a US slowdown as the trade war contin-ues, which could force the Fed’s hand.

European stocks fell. The pan-Eu-ropean STOXX 600 index lost 0.30% and the FTSEurofi rst 300 index of leading regional shares fell 0.27%.

In late-morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Av-erage fell 173.54 points, or 0.64%, to 27,013.15. The S&P 500 lost 12.2 points, or 0.40%, to 3,034.57 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 11.91 points, or 0.14%, to 8,292.07.

MSCI’s emerging market index slid 0.03%.

The dollar index fell 0.24%, with the euro down 0.11% to $1.1136. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.62% ver-sus the greenback at 108.19 per dollar.

Euro zone bond yields fell sharply, on track for their sharpest daily fall in October, after the Fed cut interest rates on Wednesday and as the report on US-China trade tensions drove de-mand for safe-haven assets.l.

USUS stocks dropped on Thursday

as worries that the United States and China may not be able to strike a trade deal cast a shadow over strong earn-ings reports from Apple and Facebook.

The S&P 500 was dragged down by losses in interest-rate sensitive bank stocks, a day after the Federal Reserve lowered borrowing costs for the third time this year. The benchmark index has notched record highs in the past three sessions.

The trade-sensitive industrials sector dropped 1.30%. Chipmak-ers, which have a sizable exposure to China, also fell, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor index slipping 1.02%.

However, corporate earnings were a bright spot. Apple Inc rose 2.1% after the iPhone maker forecast sales for the holiday shopping quarter ahead of ex-pectations.

Facebook Inc gained 3% after re-porting an uptick in users in lucrative markets and its third straight rise in quarterly sales growth..

Data on Thursday showed a mar-ginal rise in consumer spending in September, casting doubts on con-sumers’ ability to continue driving the economy.

The Labor Department’s crucial jobs data on Friday will be closely watched after the Fed signalled on Wednesday that there would be no further cuts unless the economy takes a turn for the worse.

“You have a solid economy, a strong consumer but negative headlines on trade and slowing global growth. They are offsetting each other and that’s what we’re seeing in the markets,” Nauman said.

At 11:33 am ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 188.64 points, or 0.69%, at 26,998.05, the S&P 500 was down 15.21 points, or 0.50%, at 3,031.56 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 21.46 points, or 0.26%, at 8,282.52.

Among other stocks, Estee Lauder Cos Inc fell 5% after the cosmetics maker cut its forecast for full-year profi t.

Kraft Heinz Co rose 12% as the packaged foods company said it was spending more on marketing key brands next year, after reporting a bet-ter-than-expected third-quarter profi t.

Twitter Inc dropped 1.5% after the company said it will ban political ad-vertising on its platform next month.

UKLondon’s FTSE 100 lagged its Eu-

ropean counterparts on Thursday as disappointing earnings reports from heavyweights Shell and Lloyds took investor focus away from the US Fed-eral Reserve’s third interest rate cut this year.

The main index gave up 0.3%, with its most valued company, Shell, drop-ping 3.2% after profi ts plunged and it warned that uncertain economic condi-tions could slow its $25 billion share buyback.

The domestically focussed FTSE 250 added 0.1% by 0838 GMT, though Crest Nicholson dropped more than 7% after warning its annual profi t could plunge by as much as a third.

Crest highlighted hits from weak consumer confi dence and fl attening prices as a result of Brexit nerves, and shares of blue-chip housebuilders Persimmon, Barratt and Berkeley lost about 1% each.

Lloyds, another blue-chip compo-nent, shed 2.2% after missing market expectations for third-quarter earnings.

The FTSE 100 is set to post a loss for only the third month this year as a rally in sterling amid a fl urry of Brexit updates - most notably the risk of a ‘no-deal’ exit subsiding – has hurt ex-

porter stocks in October.The mid-cap index is on course for

its second straight month of gains and investors now brace for a general elec-tion in December.

Corporate headlines diverted at-tention, and perhaps sentiment, away from the Fed’s widely-expected inter-est rate cut. The U.S. central bank did however signal that the latest policy action would be the last for some time.

“That takes December of the table, and we may well see no action until well into Q2 next year if at all. The ‘in-surance cut’ as Chairman Powell put it, makes complete sense in this context,” OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said.

Gains among mid-caps were led by specialist media services fi rm Future Plc that jumped 11.5% to its highest since December 2000, following a proposed acquisition of UK-based print and digital magazine publisher TI Media.

Among smaller stocks, property manager Foxtons slid 5.2% after it said volumes and prices in London residen-tial sales were pressured by political uncertainty and hit quarterly revenue.

EuropeEuropean shares reversed course to

trade lower on Thursday after China said it doubts a long-term trade deal is possible with the United States, tem-pering gains that came earlier in the day after the Federal Reserve cut inter-est rates.

A Bloomberg report said that China is doubtful of a long-term trade deal with US President Donald Trump, raising fresh uncertainty about trade progress between the two countries after an interim trade deal was almost fi nalized.

By 0950 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index moved 0.5% lower, but was on track to end higher in a busy month of earnings peppered with some Brexit and trade twists.

Apart from the trade drama, there was plenty of action in earnings with energy heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell down 2.5%, after warning that uncertain economic conditions could slow its $25 billion share buyback plan.

That followed fellow British fi rm BP France’s Total warning earlier this week about lower oil and gas prices hitting margins.

Another set of disappointing num-bers came from carriers with Air France-KLM down 5%, after it said slowing travel demand is likely to hurt ticket sales in the remainder of 2019.

British Airways owner IAG said in-dustrial action from pilots at the airline had knocked down its third-quarter profi ts.

In the auto sector, a deal between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker lifted the shares of Fiat Chrysler 10%.

AsiaMost Asian stock markets followed

Wall Street higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve cut a key US interest

rate.Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul ad-

vanced. Shanghai retreated 0.1% af-ter Chinese factory activity weakened more than expected in October.

Investors welcomed the Fed’s third rate cut this year to shore up economic growth amid a bruising US-China trade war. The Fed indicated it won’t cut rates again unless the outlook worsens.

The Fed has “ample time to add a few more gallons of high octane to the tank and boost a sputtering US eco-nomic engine,” said Stephen Innes of Oanda in a report.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 22,932.27 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1% to 26,948.79. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4% to 2,090.45.

Australia’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 6,663.40, while India’s Sensex rose 0.6% to 40,307.24. Singapore ad-vanced, while Taiwan and New Zea-land retreated.

OilOil prices came under pressure on

Thursday from rising US crude oil stocks and weak factory activity in China, with few bullish factors on the horizon.

Brent crude futures were down 13 cents at $60.48 a barrel by 1338 GMT, erasing earlier gains. They had dropped by 1.6% on Wednesday and the contract is set for a monthly decline of about 0.5%.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 48 cents at $54.58. On the month, however, they are set for a rise of about 0.9%, its big-gest monthly gain since June.

The front-month Brent contract for December delivery expires on Thurs-day. The one for January delivery was also down.

CurrenciesThe pound rose above $1.290 on

Thursday, heading for its biggest month-ly rise in more than a decade as the com-bination of a weak dollar and the falling risks of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal fuelled demand.

As the dollar was weakened by com-ments from the US Federal Reserve af-ter its interest rate cut on Wednesday, the pound strengthened to as much as $1.2975 on Thursday, closing in on a fi ve-month high above $1.30 hit last week.

Against the more steady euro, the pound was up around 0.4% at 86.10 pence.

While the immediate catalyst for the pound’s gains was a cautious US Federal Reserve, which kept the door open for further policy easing after cut-ting interest rates for the third time this year, the broader base for the pound’s rally this month was some progress on the Brexit deadlock.

British Prime Minister Boris John-son, who has failed to deliver on his “do or die” promise that Britain would leave the EU on Oct 31, secured agree-ment for an election on Dec 12 after the EU granted a third delay to Brexit.

Uber sues Chicago suburb of Skokie EuropaCorp gets debt waiver extension

Uber is suing the Chicago suburb of Skokie, alleging that its new tax on ride-hailing services violates the Illi-nois constitution.

The lawsuit asks a Cook County judge to block Skokie from collecting the tax, which took effect Wednesday.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Uber claims the village’s ride-hailing ordinance violates Illinois’ constitution by imposing a tax on a specifi c occu-pation.

The complaint says Skokie began

charging ride-share companies 15 cents for every shared trip that begins or ends in the suburb, and 35 cents for every solo trip.

Skokie spokeswoman Ann Tennes says the village hasn’t been served with the suit.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed increasing fees for solo passengers on ride-hailing services.

An Uber spokesperson says a posi-tive ruling in the Skokie case will likely impact Chicago. (AP)

Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp has been granted a six–month extension of its debt waiver from a French busi-ness court in order to give the Paris–based company more time to seal a deal with its lenders.

The fi nancially struggling company was initially given a six–month debt reprieve from the court in May while it conducted discussions with

lenders and other investors on how to restructure its debt and equity. EuropaCorp said the six–month extension, granted Tuesday, will “nota-bly allow for the fi nalization of the current discussions with lenders” regarding a re-structuring plan.

EuropaCorp is currently in negotiations to be taken over by the New York investment fund Vine Alternative Invest-

ments, its junior lender. Vine Alternative Investments al-ready has a controlling stake in Village Roadshow Enter-tainment Group.

Earlier this month, Eu-ropaCorp announced that its US arm, EuropaCorp Films USA, had also been granted a six–month debt waiver. A company spokesperson told Variety that that move was chiefly an administrative

procedure since Europa-Corp Films USA doesn’t have any assets.

EuropaCorp’s biggest asset is its library, which includes successful franchises such as “Taken,” “Taxi” and “Trans-porter.” Its debt load exceeds $250 million.

Besson’s latest fi lm, “Anna,” grossed about $31 million worldwide, including just $7.7 million in the US. (RTRS)

exchange rates – Oct 31

US dollar

BuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuy

BEC

Muzaini

Commercial Bank

Gulf Bank

NBK

Burgan Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

BuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuySellBuy

Cash.300000.305300

——

.297000

.305350——————

.300200

.306300

.300990

.306520—

Draft.301750.304100.296650.304100.302700.304800.302700.304800.302700.304800

—.303400.302700.304800.302700.304800

—

Danish krone

Cyprus pound

BEC

Muzaini

Gulf Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

BECCommercial BankGulf BankAl-Ahli Bank

BECMuzaini Exchange

BuySellBuySell BuySellBuySellBuySellBuy

US dollar.301750.302700.302700.302700

Gold 999 kg— —

Gold 999 10 tola——

Gold ounce——

Gold gm 22k——

Gold gm 21k——

Gold gm 18k——

100 gm 999——

10 gm 999——

Transfer.301750.304100.296650.304100.302700.304800.302700.304800.302700.304800

—.303400.302700.304800.302700.304800

—

Cash.041327.046327

———————————————

Draft.041330.046330

——

.045163

.045476

.045086

.045674

.045170

.045650————

.045101

.045692—

Cash———————————

Draft——— ————————

Transfer——— ————————

Sterling pound

Cash.385614.399514

— —

.390000

.399000——————

.387030

.397990

.387550

.399089—

Draft.384992.395992.394420

—.392254.344975.389580.397523.391120.395510

——

.390010

.398010

.390211

.396088—

Indian rupee

Yemeni riyal

Transfer.384992.395992.394420

—.392254.344975.389580.397523.391120.395510

——

.390010

.398010

.390211

.396088—

Cash.003671.004443

——

.004000

.006500———————————

Draft.004225.004306.042950

——

.004301—

.004346

.004257

.004323——

.004240

.004370

.004242

.004333—

Transfer.004225.004306.042950

——

.004301—

.004346

.004257

.004323——

.004240

.004370

.004242

.004333—

Cash.000988.001068

—————————

Draft.001167.001267.001221

————————

Transfer.001167.001267.001221

————————

Euro

Cash.331655.345355

——

.337000

.344000——————

.333410

.343310

.334069

.344528—

Draft.333685.342685

—.341050.337965.340309.335845.342616.337780.341800.338430

—.335920.343580.336421.341833

—

Pakistani rupee

Thai baht

Transfer.333685.342685

—.341050.337965.340309.335845.342616.337780.341800.338430

—.335920.343580.336421.341833

—

Cash.001315.002085

———————————————

Draft.001924.001958.001961

——

.001961—

.001984—

.001964————

.001938

.001974—

Transfer.001924.001958.001961

——

.001961—

.001984—

.001964————

.001938

.001974—

Cash.009726.010276

—————————

Draft.009649.010089.010098

—————

.009944

.010184—

Transfer.009649.010089.010098

—————

.009944

.010184—

Japanese yen

Cash.002712.002892

———————————————

Draft.002712.002892.002799

—.002794.002813.002784.002827.002782.002815

——

.002780

.002830

.002776

.002821—

Sri Lankan rupee

South African rand

Transfer.002712.002892.002799

—.002794.002813.002784.002827.002782.002815

——

.002780

.002830

.002776

.002821—

Cash .001317.001897

——

.002000

.003500———————————

Draft .001632.001675.001671

——

.001681—

.001704

.001660

.001687————

.001664

.001688—

Transfer.001632.001675.001671

——

.001681—

.001704

.001660

.001687————

.001664

.001688—

Cash———————————

Draft—————

.021109—————

Transfer—————

.021109—————

Swiss franc

Cash.301303.302303

——

.306000

.312000———————————

Draft.302302.309302.309520

—.306609.308736.304793.311004.306160.310010

——

.304710

.311430

.304895

.310261—

Bangladesh taka

Korean won

Transfer.302302.309302.309520

—.306609.308736.304793.311004.306160.310010

——

.304710

.311430

.304895

.310261—

Draft.003496.003585.003560

——

.003603—

.003641——————

.003540

.003629—

Cash.002958.003759

———————————————

Transfer.003496.003585.003560

——

.003603—

.003641——————

.003540

.003629—

Cash.000251.000266

—————————

Draft———————————

Transfer———————————

Canadian dollar

Cash.225591.234591

——

.229000

.235000———————————

Draft.223555.230555.232140

—.230050.231646.228583.233241.229810.232370

——

.228830

.232940

.229179

.232601—

Philippine peso

Syrian pound

Transfer.223555.230555.232140

—.230050.231646.228583.233241.229810.232370

——

.228830

.232940

.229179

.232601—

Cash.005716.006016

——

.005000

.007900———————————

Draft.005516.006008.005985

——

.006023—

.006071

.005830

.006030————

.005905

.006067—

Transfer.005516.006008.005985

——

.006023—

.006071

.005830

.006030————

.005905

.006067—

Cash.001289.001509

——— — —————

Draft.006051.008251

——— ——————

Transfer.006051.008251

——— ——————

Swedish krona

Cash.027490.032490

———————————————

Draft.027499.032499

——

.031318

.031535

.031287

.031644

.031370

.031690

.032240———

.031344

.031769—

Australian dollar

Iranian Riyal

Transfer.027499.032499

——

.031318

.031535

.031287

.031644

.031370

.031690

.032240———

.031344

.031769—

Cash.202044.214044

——

.209000

.215000———————————

Draft.200134.213134

——

.208591

.210038

.208160

.210924

.209410

.212540——

.207470

.212160

.207713

.212446—

Transfer.200134.213134

——

.208591

.210038

.208160

.210924

.209410

.212540——

.207470

.212160

.207713

.212446—

Cash———————————

Draft———————————

Transfer———————————

Saudi riyal

Cash.080007.081307

——

.080476

.081284————————

.080165

.081373—

Draft.080506.081146.081470

—.080815.081375.080576.081682.080640.081410.081460

—.079750.081810 .080615.081373

—

Hong Kong dollar

Lebanese pound

Transfer.080506.081146.081470

—.080815.081375.080576.081682.080640.081410.081460

—.079750.081810 .080615.081373

—

Cash.036721.039471

———————————————

Draft.036221.039321.038815

—.038632.038900.038420.039191

—————————

Transfer.036221.039321.038815

—.038632.038900.038420.039191

—————————

Cash.000151.000251

—————————

Draft.000185.000205.002030

——— —————

Transfer.000185.000205.002030

——— —————

UAE dirham

Cash.082162.082988

——

.082163

.082989————————

.082311

.083093—

Draft.081375.082824.082850

—.082523.083095.082233.083239.082360.083120

——

.081730

.083610

.082311

.083093—

Singapore dollar

Malaysian ringgit

Transfer.081375.082824.082850

—.082523.083095.082233.083239.082360.083120

——

.081730

.083610

.082311

.083093—

Cash.218039.228039

———————————————

Draft.219022.225022.224300

—.222516.224060.221917.224384.221760.224780

——

.221470

.225350

.221693

.224945—

Transfer.219022.225022.224300

—.222516.224060.221917.224384.221760.224780

——

.221470

.225350

.221693

.224945—

Cash.069285.075285

—————————

Draft.067653.076533.077775

—————

.072399

.073129—

Transfer.067653.076533.077775

—————

.072399

.073129—

Bahraini dinar

Cash.800482.808536

——

.800486

.808532————————

.802492

.808810—

Draft.799561.808061.808020

—.804183.809756.799319.810552.801750.809780

——

.793660

.814160

.802492

.808810—

Jordanian dinar

Indonesian rupiah

Transfer.799561.808061.808020

—.804183.809756.799319.810552.801750.809780

——

.793660

.814160

.802492

.808810—

Cash.424008.433008

——

.420000

.440000———————————

Draft.423137.430637.429240

——

.431148—

.433736

.424840

.433260——

.425570

.434490

.426879

.431117—

Transfer.423137.430637.429240

——

.431148—

.433736

.424840

.433260——

.425570

.434490

.426879

.431117—

Cash.000017.000023

—————————

Draft.000016.000023

———

.000221—————

Transfer.000016.000023

———

.000221—————

Omani riyal

Cash .784742.792637

——

.784745

.792632————————

.785928

.794060—

Draft .778511.789461 .790383

—.787258.792715.784864.795697.785720.792920

——

.780060

.797780

.785928

.794060—

Egyptian pound

New Zealand dollar

Transfer .778511.789461 .790383

—.787258.792715.784864.795697.785720.792920

——

.780060

.797780

.785928

.794060—

Cash.018616.021357.020900

—.012000.023000

———————————

Draft.018151.018902.188300

——

.019538—

.019211

.018230

.019050—

.017300

.017710

.019290

.018480

.018988—

Transfer.018151.018902.188300

——

.019538—

.019211

.018230

.019050—

.017300

.017710

.019290

.018480

.018988—

Cash.188843.198343

—————————

Draft.186858.197858

——

.192759

.196751—————

Transfer.186858.197858

——

.192759

.196751—————

All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency

travellers cheques local gold — Sterling.384992.392254.389580.390010

Euro.333685.337965.335845.335920

Transfer.041330.046330

——

.045163

.045476

.045086

.045674

.045170

.045650————

.045101

.045692—

BEC

Muzaini

Commercial Bank

Gulf Bank

NBK

Burgan Bank

ABK

KFH

KBE

Russia signs fi rst tainted oil settlement deal in HungaryBUDAPEST, Oct 31, (RTRS): Russia and Hungary on Wednesday signed a fi rst settlement over compensation for tainted oil shipped to Europe via a ma-jor oil pipeline earlier this year, with Moscow promising to clinch deals with other countries soon.

The Russian Druzhba pipeline, which pumps 1 million barrels of oil per day to western and eastern Eu-rope, was found in mid-April to be contaminated with organic chlorides.

Belarus, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Ger-many were affected, as were supplies from Kazakhstan whose means for ex-port via the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga was contaminated too.

Russia’s state oil pipeline mo-nopoly Transneft has promised to compensate energy companies for contamination-related losses and then companies, in turn, should reach agreements with the buyers of their oil who received tainted crude.

He was part of a delegation to Budapest led by President Vladimir Putin.

In a separate statement, Transneft

said that the deal was signed with Lukoil, Russia’s biggest private oil producer, over its oil shipments to Hungarian energy company MOL.

Lukoil said separately that the set-tlement covered tainted oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia. Neither Transneft nor Lukoil said how big the compensation was. Transneft had capped the upper level of compensa-tion at $15 per barrel.

Tokarev said on Wednesday that his company planned to clinch a deal with Kazakhstan on Thursday, has agreed on a deal with Ukraine and was in talks with Belarus.

Talks with Rosneft, Russia’s top oil producer which also has refi neries in Germany, were the most diffi cult. Rosneft and Transneft have publicly attacked each other since the tainted oil crisis.

Rosneft has sold a 100,000 tonne cargo of contaminated oil to energy trader Vitol with a discount of more than $25 per barrel to dated Brent, traders told Reuters earlier this month, far more than Transneft has offered as a maximum.

Business PlusPlus

He made promises to working people

all across this coun-try that he would be

there on their behalf. Instead he’s

been there for the lobbyists, he’s been

there for the giant corporations, he’s been there to help

make the rich richer and leave everyone

else behind

‘

’

The fixed exchange rate and

banking sector model have simply

not been working for the wider econo-

my

‘

’

Data shows manufacturing jobs are disappearing in states critical to Trump’s re-election chances

Trump’s Rust Belt revival is fading. Will it matter in 2020?than 50 years of car manufacturing at assembly plant near Youngstown, a labor stronghold where Trump sur-prised Democrats by winning half the vote in 2016. But for every GM-scale closure, there are other, lower-profi le layoffs in other states.

Nearly 950 manufacturing jobs in Pennsylvania were lost in May when the cabinetmaker Wood-Mode shut-tered. Bimbo Bakeries closed a plant in July in northern Pennsylvania that cost 151 jobs, according to fi lings with the state.

Earlier this month, Canton, Ohio-based Timken Steel ousted CEO Tim Timken, also a Republican donor, as the company’s stock has plummeted over the past year.

Timken received $4 million in cash as severance. The company eliminated 55 positions in July in order to save $7 million annually next fi scal year, according to fi lings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Separately, roughly 250 Timken Steel employees so far have received extended layoff notices, said Bob Harper, president of United Steel-workers 1,123. Factories have been idled at times due to a lack of orders.

Each job at Timken Steel supports about fi ve other jobs in the commu-nity, said Harper, who says he thinks the layoffs could turn voters there against Trump.

“Things are going to get worse,” he said. “We’re going to get hurt.”

Timken’s wife is Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken, a chief cheerleader for Trump’s economic stewardship in the state. Asked about the layoffs and Ohio’s economy, Jane Timken issued a statement touting Trump’s record.

“President Trump is committed to bringing good paying manufacturing jobs back to Ohio and the Midwest,” she said, citing statistics largely shaped by Great Recession layoffs that preceded Trump by seven years. “Since he became president, he has brought over 14,500 manufacturing jobs back to Ohio. Compare that to president Obama who only brought 11,700 manufacturing jobs to Ohio during his entire administration. ... Democrats can cry economic wolf, but Ohioans know the truth.”

It’s far from clear that Ohioans are poised to blame Trump for the economic blows.

In Ohio, Dan Wade has worked at Timken Steel for the past 19 years. He was temporarily laid off last week, but says he expects to go back in a few days. He blames the company’s troubles on management, not Trump.

“I’m going to vote for him again. I like him, I like his attitude,” Wade said.

Timken retiree Joe Hoagland, who didn’t vote Trump and won’t in 2020, said he sees no evidence that Trump has been a boon for manufacturing.

“I don’t see any revitalization,” Hoagland said. “When you talk about bringing employment back, you can’t just all of a sudden make the hap-pen.” (AP)

In this fi le photo, Tom Wolikow, a General Motors employee who was currently laid-off (left), takes a phone call at home alongside his fi ancee Rochelle Carlisle in Warren, Ohio. An economic renaissance in the industrial Midwest promised by President Donald Trump has suffered in recent weeks in ways that could be problematic for Trump’s 2020 re-election. (AP)

Black market indicates discount to peg of over 20%

Breaking Lebanon’s FX peg could be ruinousLONDON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Lebanon’s political and banking crisis has put growing pressure on its 22-year-old cur-rency peg to the US dollar and foreign funds fear a devaluation now could be disastrous for a country with one of the world’s biggest foreign debt burdens.

The risk of devaluation has risen as Lebanon grapples with its most severe economic pressures since the 1975-90 civil war, with widespread protests that have toppled the coalition government of Saad al-Hariri.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh governor once again ruled out a break in the long-standing peg on Monday, saying the government had the means to maintain it.

But with the black market exchange rate indicating a discount to the peg of more than 20%, observers say a double-digit devaluation has become increas-ingly likely, especially in the wake of Hariri’s resignation on Tuesday.

Unlike many other economies with such currency pegs, Lebanon has huge overseas liabilities, burdened by a debt to GDP ratio of around 150%, the third highest in the world.

That ratio would soar further under a devaluation, making Beirut’s ability to repay its debt tougher still.

“The fi xed exchange rate and bank-ing sector model have simply not been working for the wider economy,” said Timothy Ash, senior emerging markets

strategist at BlueBay Asset Manage-ment, which was underweight heading into the crisis.

“Some combination of debt restruc-turing and a more fl exible and competi-tive exchange rate seems likely.”

Lebanon has long been a comfortable part of many foreign funds’ portfolios and despite bouts of volatility, such as in 2008, when Hezbollah fi ghters briefl y seized control of the capital, it has never defaulted on its external debt.

BlackRock, JPMorgan, Amundi,

Credit Suisse and Invesco are among the world’s big international players holding Lebanese debt as of Sept 30, according to Morningstar and EPFR Global data.

But the latest crisis threatens that dynamic – and the peg, which has helped provide an anchor of stability since its introduction in 1997. The peg has remained fi xed at 1,507.5 pounds per dollar. High levels of US dollar de-nominated debt, which makes up nearly half of Lebanon’s total liabilities, is one reason why a devaluation could be more

painful than those experienced by other emerging markets, including Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea during the Asia fi nancial crisis in 1997.

“Having such large FX liabilities is the original sin of emerging markets,” said Brett Diment, head of global emerg-ing market debt at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which sold all its Lebanon positions over a month ago.

“During the 1997-98 Asia crisis most of the debt was local currency debt, not dollar debt. Most other emerging markets have most of their debt as local so it doesn’t cause so many problems in a situation like Lebanon is in.”

Unlike Gulf states, which have in the past provided fi nancial support for Beirut, Lebanon does not have the enor-mous riches from oil revenues to help prop up its peg.

Instead, it has relied on huge infl ows from its sizeable diaspora to fi ll the de-posits in its banks, which in turn helped fi nance its defi cit and towering debt burden. But as those fl ows have faltered recently, the problems for Lebanon’s economy have mounted.

Even so, Lebanon had “comfort-able” levels of gross offi cial reserves of around $38 billion as of mid October – on the face of it equivalent to about 12 months of imports, estimated Garbis Iradian, chief economist for Middle East and North Africa at Institute of Interna-tional Finance.

He put the risk of a devaluation at less than 50% in the short-term, but admitted a protracted political hiatus could yet see a devaluation of more than 10%.

The question is how much of those reserves are available – some estimate usable reserves could be as little as a quarter of that – and how much of those have been used up in the past few weeks of turmoil, during which the country’s banks have been closed for 11 straight days. The banks partly reopen on Thurs-day to assess the damage to their deposit bases and aim to fully reopen on Friday.

Those reserves are measured against a heavy redemption schedule, starting with a $1.5 billion dollar bond due at the end of November, and secondary market bond yields indicating a two-year cost of borrowing in excess of 30%.

Another Middle East neighbour, Egypt, was among the latest to devalue its currency when it cut the value of its pound by about half in late 2016 in return for a $12 billion loan program from the IMF.

Despite initial pain caused by a spike in infl ation, which analysts say would happen in Lebanon too, Egypt netted hefty infl ows of foreign investment in subsequent years.

Lebanon is badly in need of such fl ows to help build its tiny industrial sec-tor and bolster tourism, which had been on course for its best season since 2010 until protests hit two weeks ago.

By Josh Boak and John Seewer

President Donald Trump once promised that coal and steel

would be the beating heart of a revived US economy – a nostalgic vision that helped carry him to vic-tory three years ago in the industrial Midwest.

But a year away from Election Day, that promised renaissance is not materializing and both sec-tors are faltering in ways that are painfully familiar and politically significant.

Recent data show manufactur-ing jobs are disappearing across Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio, states critical to Trump’s reelec-tion chances. On Tuesday, Murray Energy, a major mining firm with close ties to the president, became the latest of many coal companies to file for bankruptcy this year, rattling communities across Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. The news followed recent layoffs at a prominent steel manufacturer in northeastern Ohio and General Motors’ final decision this fall to shutter its massive plant at Lords-town, Ohio.

The turmoil in the manufacturing and mining sectors threatens to un-

dermine Trump’s claim to a booming economy – the bedrock of his and his Republican allies’ campaign strategy – in places where it matters most. While Trump’s economy is benefi t-ing high-tech manufacturing and energy sectors in other regions, the manufacturing slump across the Rust Belt may test whether Trump can re-tain his appeal to blue-collar workers without having fully delivered on his promise to fatten their bank accounts.

“I don’t think that Ohio is just a lock in the Republican’s column, nor do I think that blue-collar voters are settled on who they’re likely to select,” said Robert Alexander, a political scientist at Ohio Northern University. “There is a lot of eco-nomic angst still in the state.”

Recent elections haven’t shown that angst to be aimed at Republi-cans. After Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points - the largest margin of any presidential candidate since 1988 – Republicans fared better in Ohio than in many other states in last year’s midterms, nabbing every statewide offi ce but one. Their win-ning formula was based overwhelm-ing support from working-class, white voters in small communities where a single company can anchor the local economy.

Murray Energy is based in St Clairsville, Ohio, a small city near the West Virginia and Pennsylva-nia borders in a county that voted for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a margin of 40 percentage points. But the company’s footprint is far larger, including 17 mines across Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia, as well as Colombia, South America.

The company’s former CEO Bob Murray is a Trump donor and ad-vocate for his company’s interests. Murray openly pressured Trump to issue an emergency order that would have exempted his strug-gling company from environmental regulations he said were burden-some. Trump flirted with that idea but never approved it.

Murray said Tuesday the company was fi ling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a restructuring that puts at risk the incomes, pensions and health care benefi ts of roughly 7,000 workers.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, a bankruptcy ex-pert, seized on the news as evidence of Trump failing his voters.

“He made promises to working people all across this country that he would be there on their behalf.

Instead he’s been there for the lob-byists, he’s been there for the giant corporations, he’s been there to help make the rich richer and leave every-one else behind,” she said.

Trump bounded into offi ce promis-ing to bring back “beautiful clean coal” and deliver a victory for every factory worker. The message helped him pull out victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio, where scars from the Great Recession that technically ended in 2009 were still fresh.

For the fi rst two years of his presi-dency, Trump oversaw an economic recovery that extended across sectors and regions - adding manufacturing and factory jobs in the Rust Belt and beyond.

But recent signs show that trajec-tory shifting downward quickly, fueled by a slumping global economy and the trade wars escalated by the Trump administration.

So far this year, Ohio has shed 2,400 factory jobs. Michigan has lost 6,200. Pennsylvania has 9,100 fewer manufacturing workers. West Vir-ginia employers have cut 400 mining jobs. And Kentucky has let go of 600 mine workers.

General Motors struck a devastat-ing blow to Ohio by ending more

Qantas rejects calls to ground Boeing 737s on crack reports

Australian airline Qantas on Thursday re-jected calls to ground its Boeing 737s after claims that a second aircraft in its fl eet was found with a crack in its wing structure.

The airline has been inspecting its aircraft following calls this month from the US Fed-eral Aviation Administration for all airlines to check Boeing 737 NG planes that had com-pleted more than 30,000 takeoff and landing cycles for cracking in a part that helps keep wings attached to the fuselage.

Qantas on Wednesday said it had found cracking in one 737 that had completed

just less than 27,000 cycles, and that the plane had been removed from service and sent for repairs.

On Thursday, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, the body representing the workers who carry out the checks, said another Qantas 737 had been found with “a cracked primary wing struc-ture,” and urged the airline to ground its fl eet of the planes until they are all checked.

“These aircraft should be kept safe on the ground until urgent inspections are completed,” association secretary Steve

Purvinas said in a statement.However, Qantas’ head of engineering

Chris Snook said the call to ground the fl eet was “completely irresponsible,” saying the airline would never operate a plane un-less it was “completely safe to do so.”

“Even when a crack is present, it does not immediately compromise the safety of the aircraft,” Snook added.

Earlier this month, Brazilian carrier Gol said it had grounded 11 Boeing 737 NG planes, while US-based Southwest Airlines grounded two. (AP)

In this fi le photo, a Qantas 737 plane

maneuvers behind an-other 737 parked at a

gate at Sydney Airport in Sydney. Qantas on

Oct 31, 2019, said it had found cracking

in one 737, following calls from the US Fed-eral Aviation Adminis-

tration for all airlines to check their fl eets of

the aircraft. (AP)

People pass by a closed bank in Beirut, Lebanon on Oct 30, 2019. Leba-nese banks have been closed for the last two weeks as the government grapples with mass demonstrations that have paralyzed the country, but an

even greater crisis may set in when they reopen Friday. (AP)

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct 31, (AP): Lewis Hamilton has a certain love affair with the rolling hills and scrub land in the heart of Texas.

It’s easy to see why. The Mercedes driver has been almost invincible here, with fi ve wins at the United States Grand Prix since 2012, including a season championship secured in 2015.That makes it an almost perfect spot for more.

Win another race and another championship on Sunday and the Mercedes driver will sit all alone in second in Formula One history, with only a short step left to reach the top.

The British driver is on the cusp of securing a sixth career championship that would move him past Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio, the “Godfa-ther” of F1 drivers, and within one of the record

seven won by Germany’s Michael Schumacher, who is still regarded as the sport’s greatest cham-pion.

Hamilton should have little trouble doing it. All he needs to do is fi nish eighth or higher on Sunday.

“It’s been a good hunting ground for me, so very excited to go there and who knows whether we can get the job done?,” Hamilton said. “We’ll hopefully have a good race there.” He’s almost downplaying his chances. There’s not much reason to do that at this point.

Hamilton nearly closed out the championship last week with his surprising win in Mexico City , but teammate Valtteri Bottas’ third-place fi nish pushed the title chase into another week. Bottas is the only driver still mathematically in the champi-onship, but just barely.

“I don’t mind,” Hamilton said after not quite closing it out last week. “I love racing.”

Hamilton didn’t win the Texas race last year, fi n-ishing a third as Kimi Raikkonen took the check-ered fl ag with Ferrari.

But he was in spectacular form last week in Mex-ico City, getting his 10th win of the season on a track that favored rivals Red Bull and Ferrari.

Hamilton is a defacto spokesman for growing Formula One in the US Still young and stylish at 34, an environmental activist on social media , Hamilton is a valuable face and force for promoting the series in America, which hasn’t been as easy as F1 offi cials hoped when they returned to American soil with the Texas track and race in 2012.

Efforts to start other races haven’t been so easy. A dream race in Miami couldn’t take hold in the downtown venue on Biscayne Bay the series want-ed and the current idea of racing around the parking lot of the stadium where the NFL’s Miami Dolphins play has run into fi erce opposition from locals.

The Texas race has been a stronghold and Ham-ilton still does his part. He was in New York City with an event in Times Square before coming to Austin. Hamilton sees himself – the fi rst and still only black driver in Formula One who comes from

a middle class family – as a story that can be inspir-ing to an American audience.

“I think my story and my family’s story is some-thing that a lot of people in different countries can relate to,” Hamilton said.

Ferrari and Red Bull could still put up a fi ght Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas.

Ferrari has started on pole the last six races and the US Grand Prix winner has come from the front row every year since the Texas track opened. The recent runs from pole have produced just three victories however, and none since Singapore on Sept 22. The team is partly to blame for not win-ning through a series of blunders or being outma-neuvered by Mercedes. In Mexico City, Ferrari put drivers Sebastian Vettel on different pit strategies and both surrendered the lead to change tires at dif-ferent times.

“We certainly want to do better than that,” Fer-rari Team Principal Mario Binotto said.

Verstappen will be looking to put a bad race in Mexico behind him. He was stripped of pole posi-tion in Mexico City because of a penalty for not slowing down while under a yellow fl ag in quali-fying. He then punctured a tire on the fourth lap. A car and driver that had the pace to win fi nished sixth.

Verstappen fi nished second in Texas last year and won his late-lap duel with Hamilton for the position.

“A lot is possible at this track as there are so many good overtaking opportunities, which makes things interesting in the race,” said Verstappen, who will be racing his 100th career grand prix at just age 22.

Hamilton, who is driving his 248th, may be wary of talk like that from Verstappen. Their cars touched on the opening lap in Mexico City, and Hamilton said he’s learned to give Verstappen a lot of room to race.

“It’s the smartest thing you can do,” Hamilton said.

SPORTSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

21

DENVER, Oct 31, (AP): Jona-than Huberdeau scored 29 sec-onds into overtime after he tied the game late in regulation, and the Florida Panthers rallied from a two-goal defi cit to beat the injury-riddled Colorado Avalanche 4-3.

Huberdeau sent a backhanded shot between the pads of Avalanche goal-tender Philipp Grubauer for the win. He tied the game with 1:30 remaining.

Colton Sceviour and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers, who went 2-1-1 on a four-game trip. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots, including a glove save at the end of the third period.

Matt Nieto and Joonas Donskoi scored first-period goals, and Nathan MacKinnon added another in the third to make it 3-1. The Avs were without two big offensive pieces in Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog due to lower-body injuries.

Lightning 7, Devils 6, OTIn Newark, New Jersey, Tyler Johnson

scored 1:16 into overtime, and Tampa Bay avoided its first three-game losing streak since late March 2018.

Ondrej Palat scored twice for the banged-up Lightning, who surrendered a tying goal to Kyle Palmieri in the waning seconds. Alex Killorn, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Mathieu Joseph also scored, and Curtis McElhinney made 36 saves.

Palmieri scored three goals and Jesper Bratt had two for the Devils. Sami Vatanen scored early in the third period for a 5-3 lead and Cory Schneider had 16 saves.

Johnson’s fourth of the season came from the inside of the right circle.

Blues 2, Wild 1In St Louis, Jordan Binnington made 35

saves and Alex Pietrangelo snapped a tie in the third period, sending the Blues to the vic-tory.

Sammy Blais also scored for St Louis, which won for the fourth time in five games.

It was the first game for the Stanley Cup Champions since star forward Vladimir Tarasenko had reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder.

Binnington was busy all night, facing 12 shots in every period. He improved to 6-2-3 this season.

Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild, who dropped to 1-8-0 on the road. Devan Dubnyk made 24 stops.

Canucks 5, Kings 3In Los Angeles, Brock Boeser scored

three times, and the Canucks improved to 8-1-1 in their past 10 games.

Elias Pettersson had a goal and three as-sists for Vancouver. Bo Horvat added a pow-er-play goal, and Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves.

Anze Kopitar had two assists and passed 900 career points, but the Kings lost their fourth straight game. Jeff Carter scored twice and Jonathan Quick made 44 saves.

Canadiens 4, Coyotes 1In Glendale, Arizona, Carey Price stopped

33 shots for Montreal, and Brendan Galla-gher and Shea Weber scored in the opening minute of the first two periods.

Montreal arrived in the desert early for an extra day of practice and acclimation after beating Toronto 5-2 on Saturday.

The Canadiens had an extra jump early, scoring on their first shift in each of the first two periods. Jonathan Drouin added his third goal in two games, Nick Cousins also scored and Price was superb as usual against Ari-zona, improving to 12-1 all-time.

Jakob Chychrun scored for the Coyotes and Antti Raanta made 32 saves, giving up one goal when his skate blade fell off.

Oilers 4, Blue Jackets 1In Columbus, Ohio, Leon Draisaitl had

two goals and an assist, powering Edmonton to the road win.

James Neal and Jujhar Khaira also scored for the Oilers, who had dropped two in a row. Mike Smith stopped 23 shots.

Draisaitl’s second goal, his team-leading 12th of the season, chased Joonas Korpisalo, who had his second lackluster outing in a row. He allowed four goals on Edmonton’s first 12 shots before he was replaced by Elvis Merlikins, who finished with 19 saves.

Zach Werenski scored for the Blue Jackets in their second consecutive loss.

Huberdeau scores early in OT asPanthers rally to beat Avalanche

Johnson sends Lightning past Devils 7-6

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (right), drives past Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov with the puck during the fi rst period of an NHL hockey game on Oct 30, 2019 in Denver. (AP)

Mahomes limited again

Egypt plays host as women’s championto earn more ‘prize money’ than men’s

Mayfi eld storms outof news conference

CAIRO, Oct 31, (RTRS): The female world squash champion will receive more prize money than the male equivalent for the fi rst time at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship in Egypt this month as the sport takes gender equality to a new level.

The tournament, taking place against the backdrop of the pyramids of Giza, is awarding the women’s champion $48,640 out of a purse of $430,000. The men’s champion will get $45,600 from a pot of $335,000 in their concurrent event in Qatar.

“With the prize money of the wom-

en’s being so high, even higher than the men’s world champs this year, it is great for our sport to actually have the women appreciated,” said Raneem El Welily, the female world number one.

“As a player, I feel very lucky to be part of such a strong era in squash his-tory.”

El Welily is one of four Egyptian women vying for the record fund, as she takes on Nouran Gohar in the semifi nals while Hania El Hammamy faces Nour El Sherbini for a place in Friday’s fi nal.

CLEVELAND, Oct 31, (RTRS): Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfi eld stormed out of his news conference on Wednesday after getting testy with a local reporter.

Tony Grossi, a reporter for 850 ESPN in Cleve-land, asked Mayfi eld about the team’s urgency dur-ing the fi nal drive of the fi rst half Sunday in a 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots.

With 2:19 left in the fi rst half, down 17-7, the Browns regained possession at their 16-yard line.

With 32 seconds left at their 39, Mayfi eld was sacked for a loss of 10 yards. A false-start penalty moved the Browns back even further before the Browns elected to run down the clock.

❑ ❑ ❑

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Ma-homes was offi cially limited again at practice as he con-tinues to work back from a dislocated right kneecap

sustained Oct 17 in Denver.Coach Andy Reid said before practice Mahomes

would “do a little more” than he did during last week’s practices, and the quarterback appeared to be moving more freely. During the portion of prac-tice open to the media, Mahomes worked in as the second quarterback behind Matt Moore.

Meanwhile, defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) returned to a limited practice after missing the past three games.

❑ ❑ ❑

Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Wil-liams failed his physical due to discomfort when putting on his helmet.

Coach Bill Callahan said after practice that Wil-liams wasn’t present because of the failed physical. Williams had surgery in the offseason to remove a cyst from his head.

❑ ❑ ❑

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith appears on track to play on Sunday for the fi rst time since getting injured in the season opener.

Smith sprained the MCL in his knee after just six snaps into Week 1 in Miami and has been out since. He practiced on a limited basis Wednesday.

❑ ❑ ❑

New York Jets safety Jamal Adams explained to reporters why he’s upset that his name was involved in trade discussions before the Tuesday deadline.

NFL Roundup

ICE HOCKEY

MOTOR RACINGIn this, Oct 27, 2019 fi le photo, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, of Britain, dons a Mexican Char-ro hat as he celebrates his victory in the Formula One Mexico Grand Prix auto race at the Herma-

nos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico City. (AP)

British driver is on the cusp of securing 6th career championship

Hamilton on ‘good hunting ground’ at US Grand Prix

Li Haotong of China lines up his shot for the HSBC Champions golf tournament at the Sheshan Interna-tional Golf Club in Shanghai on Oct

31, 2019. (AP)

huizen had a hole-in-one from 197 yards at the sixth on the way to a 68.

Li, twice a winner on the Euro-pean Tour, has been ranked as high as 32nd in the world but is currently outside the top 50 after a disap-

Frenchman Perez one-shot behind as American Schauffele shares 3rd place

Local favourite Li earns one-shot lead at HSBC ChampionsSHANGHAI, Oct 31, (RTRS): Lo-cal favourite Li Haotong returned to form and rode a wave of home sup-port to grab the fi rst-round lead at the WGC-HSBC Champions tour-nament in Shanghai on Thursday.

Li, one of seven Chinese players in the fi eld, carded an eight-under-par 64, capping off his day by sink-ing a 12-foot par-saving putt at his

fi nal hole as the gallery roared in ap-proval at Sheshan International.

He holds a one-shot advantage over Frenchman Victor Perez, while American defending champion Xan-der Schauffele, Australian Adam Scott, South Korean Im Sung-jae and Englishman Matthew Fitzpat-rick are two behind in the World Golf Championships event.

Rory McIlroy recovered from a bogey at his fi rst hole to shoot 67, while South African Louis Oost-

Korda, Hur share 1st-round lead in Taiwan

pointing year. He is coming off two straight missed cuts and was as sur-prised as anyone with Thursday’s score.

“In my previous tournament I wasn’t really playing that well (so) I never expected today, that I (would have) such a great round,” the Tour’s website quoted him as saying.

“Obviously it would be a great joy for Chinese golfers and Chinese golf fans to have a Chinese player winning a WGC-HSBC Champions here in China but for the next three days, anything could happen,” said the 24-year-old.

“So I don’t want to think too much about it. I just want to focus

and concentrate on the upcoming three days.”

Second-placed Perez has seen his stock rise recently thanks to a vic-tory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews four weeks ago.

Another shot behind, 2013 Mas-ters champion Scott said the course

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct 31, (AP): Defending champion Nelly Korda and Mi Jung Hur each shot 6-under 66 to share the fi rst-round lead at the Swinging Skirts on Thursday.

Korda, who earned her fi rst US LPGA Tour victory here last year, had three bogeys but made up for it with seven birdies and an eagle.

Despite strong gusts at Miramar Golf Country Club, 28 players managed to shoot under par.

“It was a tough one out there,” Korda said. “The wind was really strong.”

Minjee Lee of Australia, who was the runner-up a year ago, was a stroke off the pace after a 67.

Four more players were another stroke behind –

Amy Olson, Caroline Masson, Angel Yin, Su Oh – and six others were three off the lead.

Korda’s eagle on the par-4, 15th made the difference.“I’ve been so close and it’s lipped out a couple of

times,” she said, explaining her 8-iron shot. “Finally, when it went in it felt really good.”

Hur could have a slight edge in the tournament. Her husband, Kevin Wang, is in the gallery. He doesn’t al-ways get to see her play, although he’s seen her win tour events in Scotland and Indianapolis. Her parents were also in attendance.

When the South Korean was asked if her husband was a lucky charm, she replied: “Yes.”

GOLF

was demanding, despite the glut of low scores.

“It plays tough if you’re not in the fairway,” said the Australian. “The rough is really nasty this year and it’s fi rmer than I remember it.”

Scott fi nished off his round with a bogey but it could have been worse after his approach shot from a fair-way bunker drifted into a pond right of the green. After taking a penalty stroke, he hit a deft pitch that trick-led down to tap-in distance.

One of the best drivers of the ball on Tour throughout his career, Scott has struggled with his swing of late but sounds happier now that he has switched to a new driver and wid-ened his stance.

“I just haven’t had any good feel-ings of where the golf club is in the downswing and that’s never a nice thing,” he said.

“I’ve been trying to trust it as best I can. I fi nally found it last week, though my scoring didn’t indicate it. Everything’s looking good.”

Tampa Bay 7 New Jersey (OT) 6Edmonton 4 Columbus 1St Louis 2 Minnesota 1

Montreal 4 Arizona 1Florida 4 Colorado (OT) 3Vancouver 5 Los Angeles 3

WASHINGTON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Results and standings from the NHL games on Wednesday.

Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Eastern ConferenceAtlantic Division

W L OTL GF GA PtsBoston 9 1 2 41 25 20Buffalo 9 2 2 44 33 20Florida 6 3 4 47 51 16Toronto 6 5 3 49 49 15Montreal 6 4 2 45 37 14Tampa Bay 6 4 2 42 42 14Detroit 4 8 1 30 46 9Ottawa 3 7 1 29 37 7

Metropolitan Division W L OTL GF GA PtsWashington 9 2 3 54 46 21Carolina 8 3 1 39 30 17NY Islanders 8 3 0 34 27 16Pittsburgh 8 5 0 46 31 16Columbus 5 5 2 31 43 12Philadelphia 5 5 1 36 38 11NY Rangers 4 5 1 33 35 9New Jersey 2 5 3 28 43 7

Western ConferenceCentral Division

W L OTL GF GA PtsColorado 8 2 2 47 34 18Nashville 8 3 1 48 34 17St Louis 7 3 3 39 40 17Winnipeg 6 7 0 36 44 12Dallas 5 8 1 31 39 11Chicago 3 6 2 25 34 8Minnesota 4 9 0 30 45 8

Pacific Division W L OTL GF GA PtsEdmonton 9 4 1 42 37 19Vancouver 8 3 1 47 30 17Las Vegas 8 5 0 42 36 16Anaheim 8 6 0 39 35 16Arizona 7 4 1 35 28 15Calgary 6 6 2 37 41 14San Jose 4 8 1 32 48 9Los Angeles 4 9 0 34 54 8

NHL Results/Standings

Mayfield

SPORTSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

22

Barty advances to semis at WTA FinalsDjokovic reaches last 8 in Paris

Kuwaiti athletes celebrate after winning third place in the 6th Gulf Women Sports Tournament held in Kuwait.

Kuwait claim 3rd place in 6th Gulf Women Sports TournamentKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Bahrain, with a total of 77 medals, topped the medal table in the 6th Gulf Women Sports Tournament, which was hosted by Kuwait from Oct 20-Oct 30.

According to a press release, the team won 36 gold, 28 silver and 13 bronze medals in the tournament.

The United Arab Emirates clinched the second position with 50 medals – 22 gold, 14 silver and 18 bronze. Kuwait followed in the third position with 50 med-als – 17 gold, 10 silver and 23 bronze.

Six teams competed in the 11 group and individual games such as handball, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, taekwondo, shooting, bowling, and athletics, as well as para-athletics.

Secretary General of Bahrain Olympic Committee Mohammad Al-Nisf lauded the spirit of perseverance and challenge displayed by the athletes from Bahrain.

He said the women made sure they represented the country well in the sport-ing circle, affi rming that the scintillating performances by the women was a clear proof that Bahraini women sport is fast improving.

The UAE will host the next edition of the tournament, and the organizing com-mittee offi ce will be moved from Kuwait to Bahrain within the next four years. This agreement was reached during a meeting presided over by the Chairperson of the Gulf Women Sport Organizing Committee Na’eemah Al-Ahmad in the presence of all members and the representative of the GCC Secretariat General Mohammad Al-Morri.

SHENZHEN, China, Oct 31, (AP): Top-ranked Ash Barty reached the semifi -nals in her debut appear-ance at the WTA Finals, beating Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-2 Thursday to fi nish with a 2-1 record in the Red Group.

Barty, the fi rst Australian wom-an to earn year-end No. 1 ranking, won her fi rst Grand Slam trophy at the French Open in June and then reached the top of the rankings.

“I feel like I executed really well to-night,” Barty said on court. “Overall, I knew I had to come out here and play aggressively, and play to win.

“I’m really excited to have another chance to come out and play here on this beautiful court.”

Belinda Bencic joined Barty in the semifi nals after Kiki Bertens retired in their match with the Swiss player lead-ing 7-5, 1-0.

Prior to Kenin’s inclusion, it was the fi rst women’s year-end fi nal in the 49-year history of the tournament not to feature an American in either sin-gles or doubles.

In Paris, world number one Novak Djokovic had to dig deep in the open-ing set as he reached the quarter-fi nals of the Paris Masters with a 7-6(7), 6-1 win against Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Thursday.

The 16-times Grand Slam cham-pion, who has been slightly ill lately, was kept on his toes before racing to victory to set up a meeting with sev-enth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek beat Australian Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4.

Serbian Djokovic bagged the fi rst set on his seventh opportunity and he did not look back after breaking for 2-1 in the second with a booming fore-hand winner.

Fifth seed Dominic Thiem was knocked out in the third round when he lost 6-3, 6-2 to Bulgarian Grig-or Dimitrov who will play his fi rst quarter-fi nal at a Masters event since Canada 2018.

Dimitrov, who had been struggling since reaching the semifi nals at the US Open, played brilliantly throughout, taking advantage of Thiem’s fading condition after the Austrian won the title in Vienna last Sunday.

Dimitrov next takes on Chile’s Cris-tian Garin, who beat local favourite Jeremy Chardy in three sets.

TENNIS

President of the World and Asian Bowling Federation Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah with the winners celebrate on the podium during the 25th Asian Bowling Championship awarding ceremony.

BOWLING

Malaysia take top place in medals standings

25th Asian Bowling Championship ends on a high noteKUWAIT CITY, Oct 31: Malaysia have put an end to South Korea’s domination of the top place in the Asian Bowling Championship since 2008.

According to a press release, Malaysia managed to take the top place towards the end of the 25th Asian Bowling Championship, which was held in Kuwait for almost ten days, winning a total of 11 medals – six gold, one silver and four bronze.

South Korea came second with three gold, four sil-ver and one bronze, followed by China in third place with two gold, one silver and one bronze, then Hong Kong with one gold, Taiwan with two silver and one bronze, Indonesia with two silver, India and Kuwait with one silver each, and Japan with two bronze.

Do Jian Chaw from China won gold on the last day of the championship by defeating Len Bai Fing from Taiwan by 455-491 in the second round.

Japan’s Sho Sako Astaw was defeated by China’s player Chaw by 256-234.

In the women’s competition, Malaysia’s Ethar Tch-ia won the gold after defeating South Korea’s Gong

Da Woon by 445-452.South Korea’s Baik Seong Ga won the bronze med-

al after she was defeated by Woon by 245-244.The audience in the closing ceremony was limited

to President of World and Asian bowling federations and Head of Kuwait Bowling Sporting Club Sheikh

Talal Al-Mohammad, heads of delegations and play-ers, as well as the invited guests.

The ceremony included a folklore show presented by Kuwait TV band followed by handing over of the fl ag of the competition from the Head of Kuwait Na-tional Team Bassel Al-Anzi to Sheikh Talal Al-Mo-hammad who then handed it to the representative of Hong Kong Frankly John, as the 26th Asian Bowling Federation will be held in Hong Kong.

Sheikh Talal honored the top three male and female

bowlers of 2016. The best male player award went to Michael Mack from Hong Kong, followed by Rafi q Ismael from Malaysia and Kem Pobly from Thailand.

The top three female bowlers are Gong Da Woon from South Korea, Baik Seuong Ga from South Korea and Ethar Techia from Malaysia

He also honored the best three male and female players of 2017 – Wo Haw Meing from Taiwan fol-lowed by Rafi q Ismael and Ahmed Muaz from Malay-sia among the men, and Seeti Safi ya Amira from Ma-laysia followed by Sein Lee Geen from Malaysia and Gong Da Woon from South Korea among the women.

Sheikh Talal gave a speech in which he praised the advanced level of performance of the participat-ing teams. He said the competition provided a good opportunity for Kuwait and Arab countries to acquire experience and develop their levels.

Sheikh Talal congratulated the winners and praised the efforts exerted in organizing the competition, and he also thanked the participating countries for their ac-tive participation.

The champions of the 25th Asian Bowling Championship receiving their trophies from the President of the World and Asian Bowling Federation Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah.

First Runners up of the 25th Asian Bowling Championship

First Runners up of the 25th Asian Bowling Championship

Bencic, like Barty, is making her WTA Finals singles debut.

Barty will next play either Karolina Pliskova or Simona Halep in the semi-fi nals, while Bencic will face defending champion Elina Svitolina. Barty saved all four break points she faced in the fi rst set and broke Kvitova’s serve in the fi fth game. The Czech player posted 20 unforced errors in the opening set.

In the fi rst game of the second set, Barty broke Kvitova’s serve on her third break point and quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead.

Kvitova, who won the season-end-ing title in her debut in 2011, fi nished the round robin 0-3 for the second consecutive year. Bertens entered the tournament as an alternate after Naomi Osaka withdrew on Tuesday with a right shoulder injury.

The Dutchwoman, who would have moved onto the semifi nals if she had beaten Bencic in the match, had her blood pressure taken on the court. She was teary-eyed when she decided to stop.

Also Thursday, Bianca Andreescu withdrew from the tournament with a left knee injury. She will be replaced by Sofi a Kenin for the fi nal round rob-in match on Friday against Svitolina.

Kenin, who was guaranteed $125,000 as an alternate, will now earn at least $165,000 as a participant. If she wins her match against Svitolina, she will earn an additional $305,000.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia hits a return shot against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during the WTA Finals Tennis Tournament at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Shenzhen, China’s Guangdong

province on Oct 31, 2019. (AP)

SPORTSARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots over Boston Celtics’ Daniel Theis during the fi rst quarter of an NBA basketball game on Oct 30, 2019 in Boston. (AP)

Marotta admits concern legitimate

Conte on warpath over ‘very strange’ fi xture congestionMILAN, Oct 31, (RTRS): Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte has only been in charge for 13 games and the famously fi ery coach is already on the warpath over his team’s crowded fi xture list, though whether his anger is justifi ed is another matter.

Inter will visit Bologna on Saturday in the latest stage of a marathon which sees them play seven matches – fi ve in Serie A and two in the Champions League – in a 21-day period, something Conte described as “very strange.”

He did not enlarge on why he thought that, however, and at fi rst glance the complaint appeared unjustifi ed as other Serie A teams involved in European competition are facing a similar predica-ment, as are other teams around Europe.

It may, however, have been a quiet reference to the fact that Inter’s se-quence began on Sunday Oct 20 and will end on Saturday Nov 9, while Serie A leaders Juventus began a similar run a day earlier and will end a day later.

“We’re only halfway there, as we have another game with Bologna, then Borussia Dortmund,” said Conte after the 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday.

“It’s an anomaly and I haven’t seen any other side with a fi xture list like that, so it seemed very strange to me.”

Conte’s complaint also appeared to be aimed at his own club, suggesting that his squad is too thin to be able to battle on two fronts.

“We are using the same players,” he said. “All I can do is thank the lads for the spirit that they showed.”

He was particularly worried about his strike-force of Romelu Lukaku and Lau-taro Martinez.

“They have played practically every game this season and the risk is that some-one gets hurt because they aren’t given any rest,” he said. “If that happens, it be-comes a genuinely big problem.”

Again, those may seem like crocodile tears when considering that Inter spent more than 150 million euros ($167.28 million) on new signings but, on the oth-er hand, Alexis Sanchez is out injured and Valentino Lazaro has simply failed to live up to expectations.

Conte got some sympathy from the club with chief executive Giuseppe Marotta admitting his concern was le-gitimate.

“We’ll see what the January transfer market offers,” he said.

The Trail Blazers never led by more than nine points in a competitive game, but Lillard’s hot fourth quarter provid-ed them just enough breathing room to hold off the Thunder.

Portland closed its three-game road swing through Texas and Oklahoma 2-1, book-ending a loss at San Antonio with victories over the Dallas Mavericks and Thunder. C.J. McCollum capped a high-scoring road trip with his lowest output of the three games, 22 points. Chris Paul led the Thunder with 21 points.

Jazz 110, Clippers 96Mike Conley scored 29 points and

Donovan Mitchell added 24 to lead Utah past Los Angeles, which played without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in Salt Lake City.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 14 points and Rudy Gobert chipped in 13 to help the Jazz improve to 3-0 at home. Utah shot 11-for-24 (45.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Thrust into the starting lineup in-stead of his usual sixth man role, Lou Williams scored 24 points to lead the Clippers. JaMychal Green added 23 points and Montrezl Harrell chipped in 10 off the bench. Los Angeles shot 47.6 percent from the fi eld but ended up with 20 turnovers.

Magic 95, Knicks 83Nikola Vucevic scored 21 points as

hosts Orlando overcame squandering a 13-point lead to record its fi fth win in its last six meetings against New York.

Vucevic shot 8 of 17 from the fi eld and added 13 rebounds, two days re-moved from a nightmarish 1-for-13 performance in Orlando’s 104-95 set-back to Toronto.

Aaron Gordon collected 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Evan Fournier added 14 points for Orlando. Julius Randle had 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Knicks, who failed in their bid to win two in a row for the fi rst

“It will be a hot game in Frank-furt,” Kovac said after their lacklustre win in Bochum.

“I know what it is like in Frank-furt. There you have the best fans in the league, this has to be said. They have proved that in the past few years.”

Kovac coached Frankfurt from 2016-18 and won the German Cup win them in 2018 before joining the Bavarians.

Bayern fans vented their anger on

social media and many called for his departure over the comments.

It is not the fi rst time in recent weeks that the 48-year-old Croat has raised eyebrows.

He called World Cup winner Thomas Mueller “an emergency op-tion” two weeks ago. This week, when asked about Liverpool’s im-pressive pressing ability, Kovac said: “You cannot drive on the motorway at 200kph when your car can only reach 100. You have to adapt to what you have.”

Despite the unease in the dugout, a win at Frankfurt could move them back to the top of the table as they seek an eighth straight league crown.

“Frankfurt are a team that will step on the gas from the start. So we have to act accordingly. Not react but act,” Kovac said.

Any result other than victory will likely see them drop further behind in what is the tightest title race in years, and would pile even more pressure on embattled Kovac.

Leaders Borussia Moenchengla-dbach, on 19 points, will be keen to return to league action against Bayer Leverkusen after suffering a 2-1 Ger-man Cup loss to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.

Dortmund, three points behind in fi fth place, entertain unbeaten VfL Wolfsburg, a point ahead in fourth, while Freiburg in third on 17, take on Werder Bremen.

time this season after managing the feat just three times in all of 2018-19.

Raptors 125, Pistons 113Pascal Siakam scored 30 points,

grabbed fi ve rebounds and added fi ve assists as Toronto defeated visiting Detroit.

It was the third 30-point game in fi ve games this season for Siakam. Kyle Lowry added 20 points and eight assists for Toronto, Norman Powell and Serge Ibaka had 19 each, Fred VanVleet contributed 13 points and 11 assists, and O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points with eight rebounds.

76ers 117, Timberwolves 95Joel Embiid scored 19 points in 20

minutes before being ejected for a third-quarter brawl with Karl-Anthony Towns as hosts Philadelphia beat Min-nesota.

Embiid led six Philadelphia players in double fi gures. Tobias Harris scored 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 17 and Ben Simmons added 16. Al Horford scored 12 points and grabbed 16 re-bounds and the Sixers improved to 4-0, joining only the San Antonio Spurs as

the league’s undefeated teams.Cavaliers 117, Bulls 111

Tristan Thompson scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 re-bounds, and Kevin Love fi nished with 17 points and 20 rebounds to lift host Cleveland past Chicago.

Collin Sexton added 18 points and Jordan Clarkson 17 for the Cavaliers, who had six players score in double fi gures. Cleveland has alternated loss-es and wins through its fi rst four games of the season.

Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine scored 16 points to pace Chicago, who lost their third straight game.

Hornets 118, Kings 111Rookie P.J. Washington recorded 23

points and eight rebounds, and Terry Rozier added 22 points as Charlotte won at Sacramento.

Malik Monk added 18 points off the bench and Miles Bridges scored 17 as Charlotte snapped a three-game los-ing streak. Cody Zeller contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds, and Devonte’ Graham added 12 points and nine as-sists.

Curry breaks hand in Warriors lossHarden has 59 points, Rockets pip Wizards

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 31, (RTRS): Ricky Rubio hit two of Phoenix’s fi ve 3-point-ers in a 21-0, fi rst-quarter run Wednesday as the Suns ran away from Golden State 121-110 in San Francisco on a night when the Warriors lost Stephen Curry to a bro-ken left hand.

With the Warriors already down 83-54 in the fourth minute of the third period, Curry collided with Suns center Aron Baynes on a drive to the hoop and fell hard on his left arm. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was taken immediately to the locker room, and the Warriors later announced he had broken his hand in the in-cident.

The Warriors have now endured major injuries to Kevin Durant (rup-tured Achilles tendon), Klay Thomp-son (torn ACL) and Curry in their past six non-exhibition games, dating back to last spring’s NBA Finals. Durant left in the summer as a free agent, sign-ing with the Brooklyn Nets.

Rockets 159, Wizards 158James Harden scored 59 points and

hit a free throw with 2.4 seconds left to lift Houston to a wild win over hosts Washington.

After Bradley Beal sank three free throws to tie it with 7.7 seconds left, Harden drove, got the foul call and made the fi rst free throw. He missed the second, and Washington was un-able to get off a shot.

Harden was 18 of 32 from the fi eld. Russell Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and Clint Capela added 21 points for the Rock-ets, who shot 53.4 percent from the fi eld. Beal led the Wizards with 46 points on 14-of-20 shooting. Rookie Rui Hachimura had 23 points and Da-vis Bertans 21. Washington shot 62.6 percent from the fi eld.

Celtics 116, Bucks 105Jayson Tatum had 25 points, includ-

ing 11 during a third-quarter come-back, as hosts Boston overcame a 19-point defi cit to beat Milwaukee and win its third game in four tries to open the season.

Kemba Walker led all scorers with 32 points, Gordon Hayward had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Marcus Smart hit fi ve 3-point-ers and scored 19 for the Celtics, who played without swingman Jaylen Brown, scratched hours before the game with an illness. Giannis Ante-tokounmpo had 22 points and 14 re-bounds, and Khris Middleton scored 26 for the Bucks, who have dropped two of four. Milwaukee hit just 15 of 24 at the free-throw line.

Pacers 118, Nets 108Domantas Sabonis scored 29 points,

Jeremy Lamb added 25 points and Indiana picked up its fi rst win of the season by pulling away in the fourth quarter to defeat host Brooklyn.

The Pacers avoided their fi rst 0-4 start since the 1988-89 season and did so on a night in which they lost center Myles Turner to a sprained right ankle late in the fi rst quarter.

Sabonis constantly dominated in-side and fi nished a point shy of his career high set Oct 31, 2018, against the New York Knicks. He shot 11 of 18 and scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter when the Pacers out-scored the Nets 28-25.

Trail Blazers 102, Thunder 99Damian Lillard scored 23 points, in-

cluding three consecutive 3-pointers in a fourth-quarter stretch, to lead visiting Portland past Oklahoma City.

Hoffenheim vs Paderborn beIN SPORTS 5HD

22:30 local

Frankfurt vs Bayern beIN SPORTS 5HD

17:30 local (Saturday)

Dortmund vs Wolfsburg beIN SPORTS 7HD

17:30 local (Saturday)

Union vs Hertha beIN SPORTS 5HD

20:30 local (Saturday)

Düsseldorf vs Koln beIN SPORTS 5HD

17:30 local (Sunday)

Augsburg vs Schalke beIN SPORTS 5HD

20:00 local (Sunday)

Roma vs Napoli beIN SPORTS 4HD

17:00 local (Saturday)

Bologna vs Inter beIN SPORTS 4HD

20:00 local (Saturday)

Torino vs Juventus beIN SPORTS 4HD

22:45 local (Saturday)

Atalanta vs Cagliari beIN SPORTS 4HD

14:30 local (Sunday)

Fiorentina vs Parma beIN SPORTS 4HD

20:00 local (Sunday)

Milan vs Lazio beIN SPORTS 4HD22:45 local (Sunday)

SPAL vs Sampdoria beIN SPORTS 4HD

22:45 local (Monday)

Lazio’s Danilo Cataldi (left), and Torino’s Sasa Lukic vie for the ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Torino at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on Oct

30, 2019. (AP)

NBA Results/Standings

WASHINGTON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Results and standings from the NBA games on Wednesday.Cleveland 117 Chicago 111Orlando 95 New York 83Philadelphia 117 Minnesota 95Boston 116 Milwaukee 105Indiana 118 Brooklyn 108Toronto 125 Detroit 113

Houston 159 Washington 158Portland 102 Oklahoma 99Utah 110 LA Clippers 96Charlotte 118 Sacramento 111Phoenix 121 Golden State 110

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division W L PCT GBPhiladelphia 4 0 1.000 –Toronto 4 1 .800 0-1/2Boston 3 1 .750 1Brooklyn 1 3 .250 3New York 1 4 .200 3-1/2

Central Division W L PCT GBMilwaukee 2 2 .500 –Cleveland 2 2 .500 –Detroit 2 3 .400 0-1/2Indiana 1 3 .250 1Chicago 1 4 .200 1-1/2

Southeast Division W L PCT GBMiami 3 1 .750 –Atlanta 2 2 .500 1Orlando 2 2 .500 1Charlotte 2 3 .400 1-1/2Washington 1 3 .250 2

Western Conference

Northwest Division W L PCT GBUtah 4 1 .800 –Denver 3 1 .750 0-1/2Minnesota 3 1 .750 0-1/2Portland 3 2 .600 1Oklahoma 1 4 .200 3

Pacific Division W L PCT GBLA Lakers 3 1 .750 –Phoenix 3 2 .600 0-1/2LA Clippers 3 2 .600 0-1/2Golden State 1 3 .250 2Sacramento 0 5 .000 3-1/2

Southwest Division W L PCT GBSan Antonio 3 0 1.000 –Houston 3 1 .750 0-1/2Dallas 3 1 .750 0-1/2Memphis 1 3 .250 2-1/2New Orleans 0 4 .000 3-1/2

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball against Wash-ington Wizards guard Troy Brown Jr (6) during the fi rst half of an NBA

basketball game on Oct 30, 2019 in Washington. (AP)

Moenchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi (left), fi ghts for the ball with Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard during the German Soccer Cup, DFB Pokal, second round match between Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Moenchengladbach in

Dortmund, Germany on Oct 30, 2019. (AP)

Moenchengladbach keen to return to league action after Cup loss

Kovac future in doubt as Bayern face FrankfurtBERLIN, Oct 31, (RTRS): Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac is feeling the heat as the German champions prepare to travel to Eintracht Frank-furt on Saturday and his praise of his former club’s fans has fanned the fl ames even more.

Kovac’s future at the club has

been in doubt in recent weeks with Bayern, leaking goals and relying almost exclusively on the scoring prowess of Robert Lewandowski, far from dominant in the current campaign and sitting only second in the Bundesliga.

Their late 2-1 win over second-tier

VfL Bochum in the German Cup on Tuesday did little to improve Ko-vac’s standing as media speculation about a possible successor continues to churn.

And his praise of Frankfurt fans has turned even more Bayern sup-porters against him.

BASKETBALL

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ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1-2, 2019 24

PR

IME

TIM

E friday — (all times are kuwait local)

Sports11:00 cricket .................................... bein sports 11hd12:30 cricket .................................... bein sports 12hd 15:00 football .................................. bein sports 13hd 16:00 tennis ..................................... bein sports 12hd18:00 basketball ............................... bein sports 9hd19:15 soccer ........................................ bein sports hd19:55 basketball ................................ bein sports 7hd22:30 hoffenheim vs paderborn .......... bein sports 5hd

HOUSTON, Oct 31, (RTRS): The Washington Nationals stunned the Hou-ston Astros 6-2 in a winner-take-all Game Seven on Wednesday to secure their maiden Major League Baseball World Series title in a Fall Classic unlike any other.

The Astros got a dominant out-ing from starting pitcher Zack Greinke and took a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning but that was where the visiting Nationals fi nally struck back, grabbing a lead they would not relinquish.

When the fi nal out was recorded, Nationals players streamed onto the fi eld from the dugout and bullpen, tossing their gloves into the air with arms raised in celebration while the orange-clad crowd inside Houston’s Minute Maid Park watched in si-lence.

For the Nationals, who began playing in the US capital in 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved there and changed their name, the

win put the fi nishing touches to a stunning turnaround after they began the season with a miserable 19-31 record.

“I believe in these guys and they believe in each other. The biggest thing for us is never quit,” said Na-tionals manager Dave Martinez. “We were 19 and 31 – we didn’t quit then and we weren’t going to quit now.” Anthony Rendon kicked off the Na-tionals rally in the seventh with a solo shot off Greinke, and Howie Kendrick came up with a go-ahead two-run blast off Astros reliever Will Harris two batters later.

The Nationals, who faced elimina-tion fi ve times during the postseason, added another run in the eighth and then put the game out of reach with a two-run ninth inning before closer Daniel Hudson retired the side.

“We stuck together – I know that. We had nothing left to lose, people had written us off,” said Rendon. “We just kept fi ghting and were hap-py to come out on top.” The victory set off celebrations in Washington, a city whose last World Series victory came in 1924 when the Senators de-feated the New York Giants.

In the fi rst World Series Game Seven to feature former Cy Young winners as opposing starters, it was the Astros who struck fi rst when Cu-ban fi rst baseman Yuli Gurriel belted a solo home run off Nationals starter Max Scherzer in the second inning.

Greinke, who Houston acquired in a July trade, faced the minimum 13 batters through 4-1/3 innings before fi nally surrendering a walk to Howie Kendrick.

Right-hander Greinke, who show-cased incredible control of every as-pect of his game for most of the night and even chipped in with fi ve fi eld-

ATLANTA, Oct 31, (AP): Toronto FC have turned into the Road Warriors in the MLS playoffs.

One more victory in a tough environment will bring home the championship.

Nick DeLeon scored the tie-breaking goal in the 78th minute, Quentin Westberg swatted away a penalty kick and Toronto advanced to the MLS Cup title game with a 2-1 victory over defending champions Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night.

Next up: A trip to Seattle to face the Sounders on Nov 10.“We’re not intimidated at all,” said Nick DeLeon, who

came off the bench early in the second half and came through with the shot of his life. “It’ll be just the same as here. Turf field in a football stadium with a massive crowd. So, it’ll be the same. We’re looking forward to it.”

Nicolas Benezet also scored for Toronto, which knocked off the top teams in the East – New York City FC and Atlanta – to earn a shot at the championship. Seattle reached the title game by upsetting Supporters’ Shield winners Los Angeles FC 3-1 in the Western final.

Atlanta jumped ahead just 4 minutes into the game on Ju-lian Gressel’s goal and had a chance to increase the margin on a penalty. But Westberg got a hand on Josef Martinez’s kick from the spot, which kept Toronto in the game.

“That save, honestly, made the difference,” DeLeon said. “If they score there, it’s a different game. Q kept us in the game.”

DeLeon won it with a brilliant shot from 25 yards out. Sur-rounded by Atlanta defenders, he found just enough room to unleash a right-footed blast that beat goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the top left corner.

“When I turned, I had an intent to play it back out,” DeLeon said. “But when nobody stepped, I said, ‘OK, I’m going to have a shot.’ Fortunate enough to go in.”

Toronto FC returns to the title game just two seasons after winning the title with one of the greatest years in MLS history. The Canadian team slumped badly in 2018, missing the playoffs, but now finds itself playing for an-other championship after taking out a pair of powerhouse teams on the road.

It was a bitter ending for Atlanta, which would have hosted the MLS Cup title game for the second year in a row with a victory. United won the Campeones Cup and the US Cup, but this was the title they really wanted – especially in the final season for captain Michael Parkhurst, who is retiring.

The longtime MLS stalwart came up two wins short of an-other championship. “It was frustrating, for sure, especially

after the great start we had,” Parkhurst said.The winning goal came after Darlington Nagbe was

dumped in the Toronto end of the field. While the United play-ers called for a foul, the referee allowed the teams to play on.

Atlanta got back in plenty of time, but simply gave DeLeon too much room.

“We had a few guys around him. I don’t know what hap-pens. Everybody probably thinks someone else is going to stay with the ball,” Parkhurst said. “For a half a second, we left him free and he takes a great shot.”

United grabbed a quick lead, catching Toronto with a long pass while the back line was lingering in the midfield. Pity Martinez broke in all alone and, with two defenders trying desperately to run him down, spotted Gressel streaking down the right wing. Martinez dumped a pass to Gressel, who eas-ily flicked the ball into an open net for his first career playoff goal.

LONDON, Oct 31, (RTRS): Juergen Klopp is earning weekly plaudits for Liverpool’s stunning start to the Premier League season but two of the club’s for-mer managers, Brendan Rodgers and Roy Hodgson, are busy polishing their reputations.

Under Rodgers, Leicester City are looking serious contenders for a top-four spot after taking 20 points from their first 10 games, culminating in a 9-0 victory away to Southampton last week – matching the Premier League record winning margin.

Third-placed Leicester go to Hodg-son’s sixth-placed Crystal Palace on Sunday in a clash between two clubs ap-pearing capable of taking advantage of cracks in the established order.

Leaders Liverpool will be odds-on to continue their title charge away to As-ton Villa on Saturday while champions Manchester City, six points adrift, face troubled Southampton at home having beaten them in the League Cup on Tues-day. Fourth-placed Chelsea seek a fifth successive Premier League win as they take on bottom club Watford while on Sunday, two teams expected to be chal-lenging for the top four but way off the pace, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, meet at Goodison Park.

If any more proof were required that Leicester City should be taken seriously this season it was provided in spades last

Friday when they tore sorry Southamp-ton to shreds.

They are a point better off at the same stage compared to their miraculous title-winning season of 2015-16 and playing a more sophisticated brand of football.

Leicester have scored more goals than Liverpool and share the best defen-sive record in the Premier League.

Jamie Vardy, as he did in 2015-16, is terrorising defences and leads the scoring charts with nine, one more than City’s Sergio Aguero and Chelsea’s

Tammy Abraham. Only three teams have completed

more passes than Leicester – Liver-pool, City and Chelsea – while Ricardo Pereira and Wilfred Ndidi top the tack-ling charts.

In terms of attacking depth too, Leicester appear ready for the long haul with the likes of Demarai Gray and Kel-echi Iheanacho given rare starts in the midweek League Cup win over Burton Albion which put the Foxes into the quarter-finals.

SOCCER

BASEBALL

Nationals stun Astros to win fi rst WS titleWashington pitcher Strasburg named Most Valuable Player

The Washington Nationals celebrate with the trophy after Game 7 of the baseball World Series against the Houston Astros on Oct 30, 2019 in Houston. The Nationals won 6-2 to win the series. (AP)

ing assists, walked one batter after surrendering the Rendon homer and then left the game.

Scherzer, who had a cortisone shot to help alleviate the neck and back spasms that caused him to miss his scheduled start on Sunday’s Game Five, gave up seven hits and two runs over fi ve innings.

By clinching the title in Houston, the result marked the fi rst time in any American professional sport where all seven games in a best-of-seven series were won on the road.

The game also brought an end to a World Series that early on saw the Astros deal with controversy over a since-fi red front offi ce member who taunted a group of female journalists in the team’s clubhouse.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Stras-burg, who gave up a combined four runs over 14-1/3 innings during his two starts, was named the Most Val-uable Player of the World Series.

“It’s just surreal – and to be able to do it with this group of guys is some-thing special,” said Strasburg, who earned wins on the road in both his

Washington Nationals start-ing pitcher Max Scherzer throws against the Houston Astros during the first inning of Game 7 of the baseball World Series on Oct 30,

2019 in Houston. (AP)

DeLeon breaks Atlanta United hearts

Liverpool travel to Villa

Road Warriors Toronto head to MLS Cup

Foxes host Palace with top-4 ambitions soaringMan City vs Southampton beIN

SPORTS 11HD 18:00 local (Saturday)

Sheff Utd vs Burley beIN SPORTS 13HD

18:00 local (Saturday)

Watford vs Chelsea beIN SPORTS 2HD, 11HD

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Palace vs Leicester beIN SPORTS 2HD, 11HD

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Everton vs Spurs beIN SPORTS 2HD, 11HD

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Bournemouth vs Man Utd beIN SPORTS 2HD, 11HD

15:30 local (Saturday)

Arsenal vs Wolves beIN SPORTS 1HD

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Villa vs Liverpool beIN SPORTS 2HD

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Brighton vs Norwich beIN SPORTS 8HD

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West Ham vs Newcastle beIN SPORTS 10HD

18:00 local (Saturday)

Toronto FC players react during the trophy presentation after defeating Atlanta United 2-1 in their MLS Eastern Conference fi nal soccer match on Oct 30, 2019 in Atlanta. (AP)

starts, including a do-or-die Game Six. “Guys went out there and scored some runs for me. It was a big team win.”