CELEBS 8 @newsofbahrain FRIDAY Jennifer Aniston · 2019. 8. 2. · Saudi team ready to treat conjoined Yemeni twins Riyadh, Saudi Arabia A Saudi medical team has offered to treat

Saudi team ready to treat conjoined Yemeni twinsRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

A Saudi medical team has offered to treat Yemeni conjoined twins follow-

ing a plea from doctors in Yem-en’s blockaded capital for the newborns to receive specialist care abroad.

Abdelkhaleq and Abdelkarim were born outside Sanaa around 10 days ago and share a kidney and a pair of legs but have sepa-rate hearts and lungs.

The head of paediatrics at Sa-

naa’s Al-Thawra hospital, Dr Faisal al-Babili, said his depart-ment lacked the facilities to treat or separate the newborns and appealed on Wednesday for help

from abroad.Late on Wednesday, the head

of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Aid and Relief Centre, Abdullah al-Rabeeah, said he had a team that was prepared to treat them.

He said arrangements were being made to transport Ab-delkhaleq and Abdelkarim from Sanaa to the kingdom “as soon as possible”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Rabeeah said the team would study the possibility of separat-ing them.

03 Concerted efforts to end terrorism

04 Warmest January since 1902

06Body recovered from wreck of Sala plane

8

US boyfriend of ‘Russian agent’ charged with fraud7WORLD

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Jennifer Aniston Isn’t Worried About Turning 50While most women dread the thought of turning 50, Jennifer Aniston is an excep-tion to the rule.| P14

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Dwayne Johnson tells why he’s not hosting Oscars 2019 14 CELEBS

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White House speaks to Palestinians by TwitterWashington, United States

The United States and the Palestinian Au-

thority are not officially on talking terms, but President Donald Trump’s adminis-tration has found a way to communicate nonetheless -- Twitter.

Jason Greenblatt, the Twitter-loving US leader’s special representative for international negotiations, has taken to social media over several days in an in-direct, if also plainly visible, dialogue with the Palestini-an leadership.

Greenblatt and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, have been handed the herculean task of coming up with a plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians after decades of failed initiatives.

In his latest tweets on Wednesday, Greenblatt re-sponded to Abbas spokes-man Nabil Abu Rudeineh who warned that no peace wa s p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t the Palestinian people’s assent.

“Well, Mr. Nabil, we agree on something -- there is no peace without an agree-ment. We are working hard on that. You’re doing noth-ing,” Greenblatt tweeted.

“You can’t claim to want peace and also try to sab-otage the potential for an agreement. It can’t go both ways,” he wrote.

Arrangements are be-ing made to transport Abdelkhaleq and Ab-delkarim from Sanaa to the kingdom “as

soon as possible

Ensure e�ective implementation of VATwww.nbr.gov.bh

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IS down to less than 1pc of ‘caliphate’: coalitionBeirut, Lebanon

Recent gains by Kurdish-led forces in Syria have shrunk the Islamic State group’s “caliphate” to less

than one percent of its original size, the US-led coalition said yesterday.

Major General Christopher Ghika, the coalition’s deputy commander, described the size of the last patch of land held by the jihadists as “now less than one per-cent of the original caliphate”.

The coalition and allied Kurdish forces have captured “approximately 99.5 per cent” of IS-controlled territory, he said in a statement.

At its height, the jihadist proto-state proclaimed by IS in Syria and Iraq in June 2014 was roughly the size of Britain.

But it has since lost most of that terri-tory to various offensives.

The jihadists are now clinging on to a small sliver of land near the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria and many resi-dents are fleeing and turning themselves in ahead of a final offensive.

Jihadists “are attempting to escape through intermixing with the innocent women and children attempting to flee the fighting”, coalition deputy com-manding general Christopher Ghika was quoted as saying.

“These tactics won’t succeed, our Syr-ian partners are focused on finding ISIS wherever they hide, and our Iraqi part-ners have secured their borders,” he said, using another acronym for IS.

More than 37,000 people, mostly wives and children of jihadist fighters, have fled IS territory since the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US-led coalition, intensified its of-fensive in December, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based war monitor has said that figure includes some 3,200 suspected jihadists.

Crown Prince Centre for Training & Medical Research opens TDT | Manama

Supriya Reginald

The inauguration of the Crown Prince Centre for Training & Medical Re-

search, under the patronage of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Com-mander, and First Deputy Pre-mier, took place yesterday.

The centre was inaugurated by the President of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), Lieu-tenant-General Dr Shaikh Mo-hammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

12 years in the making, the Crown Prince Centre for Train-ing & Medical Research was es-tablished in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Bahrain Defence Force Royal Medical

Services.Speaking to Tribune, Lt Col

(Dr) Nayef A.Rahman Louri-Consultant, Head of Contin-uous Medical Education and Chief Coordinator at the Crown Prince Centre for Training & Medical Research, revealed the vision of the establishment.

“This centre took five years to build and it is the vision of Major General Prof Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa, Director of Royal Medical Service, to establish the centre for the training of the undergraduate as well as post-graduates,” he said.

“It is a very sophisticated cen-

tre which is around 6000 square meters. Equipped with facilities to train health service providers from doctors, nurses and par-amedics to those dealing with trauma and military medicine as well. It has cutting edge tech-nology which will help health service providers to improve the

quality of healthcare,” he added.The centre was inspired by

the belief that human resource developmental training is the cornerstone for a success-ful medical institution and is therefore equipped with Simu-lation-Based Education.

(Continues on page 2)

Lieutenant-General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa during the inauguration

Major General Christopher Ghika

Conjoined twin boys, Abdelkhaleq and Abdelkarim, who were born around 10 days ago are pictured in an incubator at a hospital near the Yemeni capital Sanaa

02FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019

First of its kind centre in Kingdom

(Continues from page 1)

The first of its kind in Bah-rain and one of the few in the region, the state

of the art simulation technology is similar to those used in the aviation industry to effectively improve skills and knowledge of health care professionals.

Guest speaker Dr Karl Miller, Associate Professor of Surgery at the Centre of Bariatric and Metabolism Surgery, told Trib-une: “Simulation is absolutely necessary; it improves and en-hances the skill of the surgeons and physicians. It also provides the simulation of difficult cases to help professionals have a bet-ter understanding. Simulation caters to challenging cases that are not routinely performed which is a great benefit for the patient.”

“Studies prove that profes-sionals trained in a simulator showcase better performance which results in better skill. In addition, we should utilise new technology that is used in other professions such as aviation and sports, a technology that can measure your improvement. C-SATS is a technology that connects the operating room with the world and other ex-

perts. When performing sur-gery you get immediate feed-back as well as simultaneously record your procedure. This permanent record provides data on your performance,” he added.

The record of Medical his-tory is clear on the power of research and training and its ul-timately transformative impact of progress in human health.

The 500 person capacity cen-tre is dedicated to incorporat-ing the right balance between basic science and science that makes an improvement in the health of the people of Bahrain.

“I first came to Bahrain in 2007, over a decade later I have witnessed tremendous im-

provement in technology and enhancement in skill training. The quality of surgery is out-standing, from the procedures to the equipment, it is world class,” stated Dr Miller

“This is an outstanding train-ing centre, I am a faculty mem-ber of many training centres in Europe and India and I can say that I have never seen this standard of training at the mo-ment,” he added

Crown Prince Centre for Training & Medical Research emphasises the management of health economy and devel-opment in medical informatics which will substantially in-crease the standard of health care in the region.

Dr Karl Miller Lt Col (Dr) Nayef A.Rahman

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister bids farewell to Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II of Jordan at Sakhir Air Base following an official visit to Bahrain. HH Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and a number of senior officials were present

Holy Quran Grand Prix begins on SaturdayManama

The 24th edition of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s

Holy Quran Grand Prix preliminary competitions begins on Saturday under the patronage of His Maj-esty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Organised by the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments in coop-eration with the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the competition will contin-ue until February 19.

Road closureManama

Works on Bahrain In-ternational Airport

Expansion Project neces-sitate full closure of Road 2403 between Airport Roundabout and Depar-tures Roundabout, Work Minister announced.

Traffic from Airport Avenue towards Airport roundabout will be divert-ed to Khalifa Al Kabeer Highway, to take a U-Turn at Falcon junction and then a right turn to the road leading to Movenpick Hotel.

The expansion works also necessitate the closure of the entrance and exit to the parking area in front of the airport. Alternative entrance and exit will be provided.

The closure will be effec-tive today will continue for seven months, according to the ministry.

Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal participating in a Majlis held by Northern Governorate in the presence of Governor, Ali Abdulhussain Al-Asfoor, MPs and other officials and guests. The meeting discussed ways to consolidate effective cooperation between the Northern Governorate’s MPs and the local municipal council and governorate. The speaker described the Majlises as “value-added” platforms for enhancing social and institutional work.

A Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) official receiving a medal during a celebration held by BDF)’s weaponry and units on the occasion of BDF’s 51st anniversary. The festivities featured functions, including distribution of medals to BDF personnel as well as honouring outstanding soldiers and retirees.

Minister of Interior General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa receiving US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, Vice Admiral James Malloy. The meeting was attended by US Ambassador to Bahrain, Justin Siberell and Chief of Public Security Major-General Tariq Al Hassan. They reviewed bilateral relations, security cooperation and issues of common interest.

Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa with Japanese Ambassador to Bahrain, Hideki Ito. The minister lauded the advanced level of the Bahraini-Japanese relations and the steady progress of bilateral cooperation. They discussed issues of common interest related to judicial cooperation.

Head of the Survey and Land Registration Bureau and Board Chairman of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Shaikh Salman bin Adullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa inaugurating Bahrain Real Estate Investment Expo 2019 (BREIX19). The exhibition which began yesterday at the City Centre will continue until Sunday with the participation of major properties development companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

21pc Bahrainis earn more than BD1,000 TDT | Manama

Take-home pay for 21 per cent of the Bahraini workforce in

the Kingdom’s public and pri-vate sector establishments are BD1,000, a new report has said.

The report by Social Insur-ance Organisation (SIO) also finds that the majority of the highest-paid Bahrainis are working in the private sector.

As per the data, of the total 31,537 highest paid Bahrainis, 17,004 are working in private sector companies, while 14,533 are in government bodies.

Pay scale for 14, 413 Bahrainis are in the BD800 to BD999 range, of which 4,833 are in the private sector and 9,580 in the public sector.

Another 22,491 employees are in BD600 to BD799 salary class of

which 8,625 are in the private sector and 13,866 in the public sector.

The report also reveals that a total of 33,590 Bahrainis are paid between BD400 to BD599 a month, which includes 19,929 in the private sector and 13,661 in the public sector.

45,427 employees are earning less than BD400 a month, which is a total of 37pc of national em-

ployment in both sectors. The report also points out that

there are 3,015 Bahraini employ-ees, both in private and public sectors, who are earning less than BD200.

In total, there are 147,458 Bahrainis employed in both sectors out of which 88,293 are males, and 59,165 are fe-males. BD853 is the average wage.

The report by Social Insurance

Organisation (SIO) finds that the ma-jority of the high-

paid Bahrainis are working in the

private sector

Bahrain calls for concerted efforts to eliminate terrorism

Foreign Affairs Minister participates in a Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in Washington

• Kingdom urged more efforts to dry up financing sources of Daesh

• US promises to keep IS fight, assures 100pc defeat of caliphate

• The one-day event did not immediately produce major announcements

• Pompeo described Trump’s troop pullout as a “tactical change”

TDT | Manama

Foreign Affairs Minister yesterday pledged Bah-rain’s full support to the

Global Alliance Against Daesh calling for “concerted efforts and intensified work” among global nations to root out terrorism.

Bahrain, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khal-ifa said, is keen to play its full role as a founding member of the alliance towards categorical elimination of terrorist organ-isations.

However, to uproot Daesh ex-istence in Iraq and Syria and to reinstate stability, security and development in the liberated areas, the minister said, requires concerted efforts and intensified work.

The minister was speaking during a Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in Washington held in the presence of US President Donald J. Trump and senior officials from more than 70 countries around the world.

The Global Coalition against ISIS was formed in September 2014 and has 79 members.

Shaikh Khalid citing the sig-nificant successes and substan-tial progress the alliance has made across the world told the

US President Donald and Sec-retary of State, Mike Pompeo that enhanced efforts are needed to dry up the financing sourc-es of Daesh and other terrorist groups.

In this regard, the minister stressed the need to eliminate all forms of terrorism in the region by countering the Iranian inter-ference in the internal affairs of the countries and ending its sup-port for terrorism, extremism and sectarianism, emphasising the need for reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause.

Saudi Arabia was represented at the meeting by a delegation led by Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir.

Speaking at the meeting, Al Jubeir said: “My country’s gov-ernment will continue its fight against terrorism and its spon-soring countries, and pledges to support all international and regional efforts to eliminate terrorist organizations and the

activities of destabilizing states in the region.”

According to the coalition, it has taken back more than 99pc of the territory once held by ISIS, but the threat that ISIS poses to the region and the globe re-mains.

President Donald Trump in his speech promised to stay fo-cused on permanently destroy-ing the Islamic State group but asked concerned allies to con-tribute more.

He said he expects the Islamic State group to lose all remaining territory in Syria in a week as he pledged to stay focused on fighting the extremists.

“It should be formally an-nounced sometime next week that we will have 100 per cent of the caliphate,” he said.

Trump said that the United States would remain “very, very tough” and encouraged efforts, including financial support, from other countries.

“Remnants -- that’s all they have, remnants -- but remnants can be very dangerous,” he said.

“Rest assured, we’ll do what it takes to defeat every ounce and every last person within the ISIS madness and defend our people from radical Islamic ter-rorism,” he said.

‘Tactical change’Opening the conference, Pom-

peo described Trump’s troop pullout from Syria as a “tacti-cal change” with extremists in-creasingly scattered around the world.

“It is not a change in the mis-sion,” Pompeo said, adding “our fight will not necessarily always

be military-led.”“We are entering an era of de-

centralized jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well,” he said.

Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelli-gence-sharing and to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq.

“Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is,” Pompeo said.

Eyes on TurkeyGerman Foreign Minister

Heiko Maas voiced approval that Trump made clear that his troop withdrawal from Syria as well as from Afghanistan “doesn’t mean that the United States will no longer take on its leading role in the fight against ISIS.”

“Now it is important that in the upcoming weeks that we talk about how this will be organ-ized and who will take on which tasks,” Maas told reporters.

One key item under discus-sion is whether to set up a buffer zone along the Syrian border with Turkey.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Dem-ocratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State, have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing jihadists from France, Britain and other foreign countries af-ter the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks.

03

big story

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019

22nd February 2019

A Family photo at the Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at the Department of State in Washington, DC

US President Donald Trump speaks to the Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at the US State Department in Washington, DC

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (L) attends the meetingShaikh Khalid during the meeting

Warmest January since 1902TDT |Manama

As concerns mount all over the world with global temperatures setting the

stage for a long-term change, here in Bahrain also tempera-ture remained red-hot with Jan-uary turning out as the warm-est ever January experienced in Bahrain since 1902.

The highest temperature re-corded during the month was 28.5 C which occurred on the 28th of January at Bahrain In-ternational Airport and this goes on record as the fourth highest maximum temperature day for January since 1946 and exceed-ed by 23rd January 1953 with a record of 31.7 C, 31st January 2015 with a record of 29.7 C and 21st January 1978 with a record of 29.0 C.

Meanwhile, according to a latest UN report, the last four years were the hottest since global temperature records be-gan globally, which according to analysts is a “clear sign of continuing long-term climate

change.”The UN’s World Meteorolog-

ical Organisation said in No-vember that 2018 was set to be the fourth warmest year in recorded history, stressing the urgent need for action to rein in runaway planetary warming.

On Wednesday it incorporat-ed the final weeks of last year into its climate models and con-cluded that average global sur-face temperature in 2018 was 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial baseline levels.

2016, boosted by a strong El Nino that normally tips the mer-cury northwards, remains the hottest year on record.

The 20 warmest years in his-tory all occurred within the last 22 years.

“The long-term temperature trend is far more important than the ranking of individual years, and that trend is an upward one,” said WMO Secretary-Gen-eral Petteri Taalas.

“The degree of warming dur-

ing the past four years has been exceptional, both on land and in the ocean.”

The WMO said heightened temperatures also contributed to a number of extreme weath-er events such as hurricanes, droughts and flash flooding.

The UN body also said that 2019 had picked up where 2018 left off, with Australia experi-encing its warmest January on record. It warned that intense heatwaves “are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.”

Shatters Bahrain’s old record According to Bahrain’s Mete-

orological Directorate, the mean temperature of January was 19.7 C which is 2.7 C above the long-term normal and this goes on record as the highest mean tem-peratures for the month of Jan-uary since 1902. The old record was 19.6 C in January 2004.

The mean maximum temper-ature of the month was 23.0 C which is 3.0 C above the long-

term normal and this goes on re-cord as the second highest mean maximum temperatures for the month of January since 1946 and only exceeded by January 2004 with a record of 23.1 C.

The mean minimum temper-ature of the month was 17.2 C which is 3.1 C above the long-term normal and this goes on record as the highest mean minimum temperatures for the month of January since 1946. The old record was 16.9 C in January 2004.

During the month Bahrain had 8 days with minimum tem-perature below 15 C.

Lowest temperature 13.2 cThe lowest temperature re-

corded was 13.2 C set on the 21st of January at Bahrain Inter-national Airport. Note that the lowest temperature ever record-ed in Bahrain in January was 2.7 C which occurred on 20th January 1964 at Bahrain Inter-national Airport. But reached lower than zero degrees Celsius

at Southern areas during the same day.

The lowest temperature re-corded at Durrat Al Bahrain was 10.8 C, at King Fahd Causeway 11.2 C and at Sitra Island 11.6 C on the 21st of January. The mean relative humidity for January was 65pc whereas the mean maximum relative humidity was 78pc and the mean minimum relative humidity was 47pc.

A total of 1.8 mm of precipi-tation was reported in January 2019 at Bahrain International Airport. Trace amounts of pre-cipitation were recorded on the 30th of January, the long-term mean total precipitation for the month of January is 14.5 mm. The highest monthly total pre-cipitation ever recorded during January was 135.9 mm recorded on January 1959.

The total precipitation record-ed for January 2019 at Durrat Al Bahrain was 1.6 mm whereas the total precipitation at King Fahd Causeway was 1.2 mm and at Sitra Island was 0.6 mm.

Dust storm with strong to near gale winds affected the King-dom on the 17th of January reducing the visibility to 350 meters at Bahrain International Airport with maximum wind speed reached 30 knots and gust 38 knots.


‘Naked Woman’ to learn fate on February 27TDT | Manama

A woman who walked na-ked on one of the main

highways in the Kingdom while high on drugs will learn her fate on February 27, the High Criminal Court announced yesterday.

The court ordered to keep the woman, who also attacked two policemen, in custody.

The case dates back to last November when the defendant was seen walk-ing naked on Shaikh Salman Highway near Tubli.

A policeman and a by-stander who approached the woman to convince her to move out of the highway was punched, kicked and spat by the woman as she attempted to get away.

The footage of the inci-dent in which the lady was found walking in the middle lane of the highway causing traffic jam later went viral on the internet.

She was later arrested. Her boyfriend, who was

later arrested by investiga-tors, told prosecutors that he along with the woman, a manager at one of the re-sorts in the Kingdom con-sumed alcohol and Hashish together in Sakheer camp-ing area on that night.

He, however, claimed that the woman upon reach-ing home acted strangely and talked in a language he couldn’t comprehend. “She then walked out of the house naked, acting hyster-ically.”

Man in dock for consuming drug TDT | Manama

An Asian man landed in police net after testing

positive to drugs at Salmani-ya Medical Complex.

The incident occurred, when the man fell ill and decided to approach Sal-maniya Medical Complex for consultation.

However, tests showed that he was on drugs, fol-lowing which the hospital reported him to police.

He was arrested and was put on trial before the Low-er Criminal Court.

“His condition wasn’t sta-ble, so we took blood sam-ples which showed that he was on drugs,” a nurse at the hospital told prosecutors.

The court handed him a suspended 6-month-in-prison sentence and a fine of BD500. He will be deported.

The court said explained that he handed out a sus-pended-sentence as he had never committed any crime before.

A controversial 2016 study suggested the continent’s ice cliffs

-- exposed by the disintegration of ice shelves that jut out from glaciers over

ocean water -- were highly vulnerable to collapse, and could

lead to sea level rise of a metre by centu-

ry’s end.

Bahrain had 8 days with minimum tem-perature below 15 C. The lowest temper-ature recorded at

Durrat Al Bahrain was 10.8 C

CISCO India honours Bahrain for All, All for Bahrain• The conference was attended by 190+ partners from over five countries including former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly

TDT/Manama

Harpreet Kaur

Bahrain for All, All for Bah-rain (BHR4All) team was

honoured yesterday for its social responsibility activities during a three-day Cisco India & SAARC Partner Confluence 2019 (CIPC 2019) held at Sofitel Hotel, Zal-laq.

The conference which was held under the central theme ‘Leading Together’ witnessed Cisco India and SAARC’s leader-ship team network with some of its top partners to strengthen ties of their valued partnerships and pave the way for a brighter future.

BHR4All team, which has the vision to promote the successes of the country and its people, showcased the abilities of some of the differently abled youths from Bahrain during the event.

A poem ‘My body is handi-capped, but my soul is free’ writ-ten by Mansour Mirza Mah-fouz, Arabic teacher at the Saudi Bahraini Institute for the blind was recited by 13-year-old Abdul Rahman.

Following which, a team of boys from the Hidd Rehabili-tation Centre for Special needs performed Ardha. BHR4All mo-tivational speaker Ali Moham-med Moussa gave an inspiring speech about the differently abled community, who spoke on behalf of his friends.

In a surprise move, Cisco an-nounced two customised wheel-chairs and an Apple Mac Desk-top computer for Ali and his

friend Fadhel.“We are deeply honoured to

have been invited by CISCO India and to be offered such an influ-ential platform to showcase the abilities of Bahrain’s differently abled youth. The surprise with wheelchairs and a computer has left us speechless. These are very much appreciated and will be life changing for Ali and Fadhel,” Nivedita Dhadphale, founder of BHR4All told Trib-une.

BHR4All, Nivedita said, is an opportunity to mobilise social groups in Bahrain to engage with one another, to showcase the culture and highlight strength of ‘unity in diversity’ with a fo-cus on inclusivity. BHR4All now works with over 40 communi-ties in Bahrain which include social groups, NGOs, special cen-tres, societies, women’s groups and senior citizens.

The three-day event wit-nessed the participation from some of Cisco’s most senior leaders such as Nirav Sheth, Vice President Global Partner Organization, Sameer Garde,

President for the India & SAARC theatre and B. Raghavendran, Managing Director, Partner Organization Cisco India and SAARC along with other senior executives.

BHr4All team with former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national team, Sourav Ganguly

Sameer Garde, President for the India & SAARC theatre and B. Raghavendran, Managing Director, Partner Organization Cisco India with Nivedita, Ali , Maria, Salman and Mohammed.

Group of students from Hidd Rehabilitation Centre perform Ardha


CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION At 31 December 20182018 2017

BD ‘000 BD ‘000ASSETSNon-current assetsProperty, plant and equipment 1,702,117 1,242,073 Other asset 3,936 4,128 Derivative financial instruments 1,725 - Deferred tax asset 34 19

1,707,812 1,246,220 Current assetsInventories 266,229 198,577 Trade and other receivables 130,522 163,924 Derivative financial instruments 471 - Bank balances and cash 103,684 77,459

500,906 439,960 TOTAL ASSETS 2,208,718 1,686,180

EQUITY AND LIABILITIESEquityShare capital 142,000 142,000 Treasury shares (4,800) (2,690)Statutory reserve 71,000 71,000 Capital reserve 249 249 Retained earnings 865,021 805,029 Proposed dividend - 36,806 Total equity 1,073,470 1,052,394 Non-current liabilitiesBorrowings 785,877 453,611 Employees’ end of service benefits 1,677 1,564 Trade and other payables 47,000 - Derivative financial instruments - 412

834,554 455,587 Current liabilitiesBorrowings 74,504 22,050

Trade and other payables 225,332 156,058

Derivative financial instruments 858 91

300,694 178,199

Total liabilities 1,135,248 633,786

TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 2,208,718 1,686,180

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS Year ended 31 December 2018 2018 2017

BD '000 BD '000

OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Profit for the year before tax 60,283 93,372

Adjustments for:

Depreciation 64,633 67,654

Amortisation of other asset 192 192

Provision for employees’ end of service benefits 1,556 1,420

Provision for slow moving inventories 52 28

Provision for impairment of receivables - net 4,081 (164)

(Gain)/Loss on revaluation of derivative financial instruments (2,699) 503

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment 1,043 2,519

Interest income (537) (573)

Interest paid on borrowings 2,135 1,927

130,739 166,878

Working capital changes:

Inventories (67,704) (35,183)

Trade and other receivables 29,306 (71,704)

Trade and other payables 112,305 18,677

Cash from operations 204,646 78,668

Employees’ end of service benefits paid (1,443) (1,410)

Income tax paid (528) (915)

Net cash flows from operating activities 202,675 76,343

INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Purchase of property, plant and equipment (525,845) (464,835)

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment 125 89

Interest received 537 573

Net cash flows used in investing activities (525,183) (464,173)

FINANCING ACTIVITIES

Borrowings availed 506,409 615,290

Borrowings repaid (121,691) (191,353)

Interest on borrowings 2,694 3,099

Dividends paid (36,720) (29,658)

Purchase of treasury shares (5,769) (5,281)

Proceeds from resale of treasury shares 3,810 6,779

Net cash flows from financing activities 348,733 398,876

INCREASE IN BANK BALANCES AND CASH 26,225 11,046

Bank balance and cash at 1 January 77,459 66,413

BANK BALANCES AND CASH AT 31 DECEMBER 103,684 77,459

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY Year ended 31 December 2018Share Treasury Statutory Capital Retained Proposed

capital shares reserve reserve earnings dividend TotalBD ‘000 BD ‘000 BD ‘000 BD ‘000 BD ‘000 BD ‘000 BD ‘000

Balance at 31 December 2016 142,000 (4,965) 71,000 249 779,813 - 988,097

Total comprehensive income for the year - - - - 92,457 - 92,457

Net movement in treasury shares - 2,275 - - - - 2,275

Loss on resale of treasury shares - - - - (777) - (777)

Final dividend for 2016 approved and paid - - - - (29,658) - (29,658)

Proposed dividend for 2017 - - - - (36,806) 36,806 -

Balance at 31 December 2017 142,000 (2,690) 71,000 249 805,029 36,806 1,052,394

Total comprehensive income for the year - - - - 59,755 - 59,755

Net movement in treasury shares - (2,110) - - - - (2,110)

Gain on resale of treasury shares - - - - 151 - 151

Final dividend for 2017 approved and paid - - - - - (36,720) (36,720)

Excess of final dividend for 2017 reversed - - - - 86 (86) -

Balance at 31 December 2018 142,000 (4,800) 71,000 249 865,021 - 1,073,470

These consolidated Financial Statements were audited by Ernst & Young and authorized to be issued in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Company on 7 February 2019 and signed on their behalf by:

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Year ended 31 December 2018

2018 2017BD’000 BD’000

Revenue from contracts with customers 911,317 857,762

Cost of sales (825,335) (723,114)

GROSS PROFIT 85,982 134,648

Other income (net) 12,831 7,451

Gain/(Loss) on foreign exchange 11,665 (1,837)

General and Administrative expenses (26,927) (27,120)

Selling and distribution expenses (23,622) (16,908)

Finance costs (2,135) (2,149)

Directors' fees (210) (210)

Changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments 2,699 (503)

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR BEFORE TAX 60,283 93,372

Tax expense (528) (915)

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR 59,755 92,457

Other comprehensive income for the year - -

PROFIT AND TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR 59,755 92,457

Basic and diluted earnings per share (fils) 42 65

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C.Consolidated Financial Statements For the Year ended 31 December 2018 albasmelter.com

Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al KhalifaChairman

Yousif TaqiDirector

Tim MurrayChief Executive Officer

06

world


Injuries pile up with e-scooter crazeWashington, United States

More than 1,500 people have been treated for injuries from using bat-

tery-powered electric scooters in the Unit-ed States since the craze began in late 2017, a Consumer Reports survey showed.

The nonprofit consumer magazine said its tally, based on reports from hos-pitals and emergency officials, is incomplete and does not include four reported fatalities linked to e-scooters.

Still, it counted 1,542 cases of emergency treatment for scooter-related injuries after contacting 110 hospitals and five agencies in 47 cities where the two biggest scooter compa-nies operate.

The scooter rideshare craze, which enables con-sumers to rent and drop the two-wheeled devices for short trips, has been hailed as a potential revo-lution for urban transport.

But a number of media reports have highlight-ed the potential dangers of scoot-er use either on sidewalks on

city streets and roads. This week a 21-year-old Irish exchange student died after being struck by a car on his scooter in Austin, Texas, according to media.

Consumer Reports, which released its re-port Tuesday, said hospitals treated people for concussions, nasal fractures, forearm fractures, and other injuries, some requir-

ing surgery.While major e-scooter firms encourage

users to wear helmets, there are few regulations requiring them.

The magazine said more than half of those contact in the survey had no de-tailed data for scooter injuries and that

it was not possible to calculate the rate of incidents for distance traveled.

It said many medical pro-f e s s i o n a l s suggested the

total number of injuries is higher that the reported figure because hospitals don’t have the capability yet to accurately track specific scooter-related injuries.

“Electric scooters are a promising new transportation option, but safety always must come first,” William Wallace, a senior policy analyst for Consumer Reports, was quoted as saying.

Two US-based startups, Bird and Lime, have been growing rapidly, including inter-nationally, and have reached valuations of more than $1 billion. Others in the segment include ridesharing group Lyft, Ford-back Spin and Skip.

Canadian diplomats hit by mystery symptoms in Cuba sue Ottawa: report

Ottawa, Canada

Canadian diplomats who suffered from mysterious

health complaints while they were posted to Cuba in 2017 are suing Ottawa for taking too long to evacuate them and pro-vide them treatment, reports said Wednesday. Fourteen people, including current and former diplomats and their families, are seeking Can$28 million ($21 million) in dam-ages from the federal govern-ment.

All of them have been back in Canada for a year but still suffer from what has become known as “Havana syndrome,” a mystery illness with symp-toms including strong mi-graines as well as visual and auditory disorders.

According to CBC, which interviewed five of those af-fected, the first symptoms ap-peared in the spring of 2017 -- but they say that Ottawa waited more than a year before helping everyone.

Questioned on the subject on Wednesday while she was in Washington, foreign minis-ter Chrystia Freeland said the safety of diplomats remained a top priority. “I am not going to comment on the specifics, but I do want to reiterate that I have met with some of these diplomats and, as I said to them, their health and safety needs to be our priority and they have my true sympathy and concern,” she said.

Canadian public broad-caster CBC said just eight officials would be left at the embassy.

A man walks outside Canada’s embassy in Havana, Cuba (Courtesy of Time)

Firefighters work the scene as flames shoot into the air at an intersection in San Francisco, California. A gas line explosion in the Richmond District sent flames and smoke tearing through multiple buildings as crews struggle to get control of the situation. San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White reported there are no injuries and all persons are accounted.

F l a m e s o f d e s t r u c t i o n

Body recovered from wreck of Sala planeLondon, United Kingdom

Investigators recovered a body from the wreckage of a plane carrying Argentine

footballer Emiliano Sala in the Channel and transported it to Britain yesterday for identifi-cation.

Britain’s Air Accidents Inves-tigation Branch (AAIB) also said that bad weather meant they were not able to recover the plane and it was therefore clos-ing down the operation.

The light aircraft was car-rying the 28-year-old football-er to his new Premier League team Cardiff City when it disap-peared near the British island of Guernsey on January 21, along with 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson.

Sala’s disappearance prompt-ed outpourings of grief across the footballing world, includ-ing at his former club Nantes in France where the plane was flying from.

After search operations were suspended, a shipwreck hunter hired by Sala’s family with funds donated by football stars such as Lionel Messi found the wreck-age on Sunday.

The AAIB, who then took over the operation, revealed on Mon-day that an unidentified body

had been found at the site.“In challenging conditions,

the AAIB and its specialist con-tractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage,” the AAIB said Wednesday.

“The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as pos-sible and the families were kept informed of progress.”

But it added: “The weather forecast is poor for the foresee-able future and so the difficult

decision was taken to bring the overall operation to a close”.

It said that extensive video footage captured by a remotely operated vehicle is expected to “provide valuable evidence for our safety investigation,” add-ing that it intends to publish an interim report on the accident later this month.

The recovered body was taken to the Isle of Port-land in southern England on board the Geo Ocean III off-

shore supply ship and will be now be passed to the coroner in the county of Dorset for identification.

Sala was flying to join up with Cardiff City in what was the most expensive signing in the Welsh club’s history.

Nantes have consulted law-yers to explore legal options to ensure Cardiff pay the trans-fer fee for Sala, a source close to the French club revealed on Wednesday.

A display of Cardiff City scarves and jerseys, flowers, messages and other tributes to the football club’s new signing Emiliano Sala

Representative picture


KNOW WHAT

KNOW WHAT

Suicide rate falls by a third globally, data shows Paris, France

Suicides have fallen glob-ally by more than a third since 1990, according to a

far-reaching analysis released yesterday that highlighted pro-found differences in the number of men and women taking their own lives.

The World Health Organi-zation lists suicide as a criti-cal public health issue and estimates at least 800,000 p e o p l e k i l l t h e m s e l v e s every year.

Although reporting of deaths from self-harm varies between nations, data models devised by the team behind the Global Bur-den of Disease -- which tracks all known causes of death by country -- show a clear down-ward trend in global suicide rates.

In results published in the BMJ journal, the study estimated that 817,000 people killed them-selves in 2016 -- a slight increase of 6.7 percent since 1990.

However, as the global pop-ulation has boomed over the last three decades, the team found that the rate of sui-cide adjust-

ed for age and population size fell from 16.6 to 11.2 deaths per 100,000 people -- a plunge of 32.7 percent.

“Suicide is considered a pre-ventable cause of death and this study shows that we should continue in our efforts towards suicide prevention,” said Heath-er Orpana, research scientist with the Public Health Agency of Canada and a collaborator on the study.

“With further efforts we could take further reductions in sui-cide mortality.”

The Global Burden of Dis-ease analysis, conducted each year by the Institute for Health and Metrics Evaluation, a think tank partly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, estimates mortality by cause, location, age and gender extrapolat-ed from hun-

dreds of data sources. While welcoming the overall

downwards trend, the team be-hind Thursday’s paper warned that in several regions of the world suicide was still among the leading causes of years of lives lost.

In 2016, 34.6 million years of life were lost globally from su-icide -- that is, the age when suicide deaths occur compared with average life expectancy in a given region or nation.

In addition, men were still more likely to kill themselves than women in all regions and age groups, apart from 15-19 year-olds, though the analysis did not speculate why.

“Mortality rates were gen-erally higher for men but

there was considerable varia-bility between men and women depending on the age, and even the country,” Orpana said.

Globally, men hugely outpaced women for suicides, suffering 15.6 deaths per 100,000 com-pared with 7.0 for women.

‘Important reduction’

T h e s t u d y found that the

overall global mor-tality rate, including

all causes of deaths, had fallen by more

than 30 percent since 1990, something often at-tributed to having fewer people living in absolute poverty and better ac-

cess to healthcare.Orpana said the

fact that both suicide deaths and overall

mortality fell in close prox-

imity sug-g e s t e d

t h a t

suicide might be better tack-led if treated as just another illness.

“Sometimes we might look at suicide as a different kind of health outcome than, say, cardiovascular disease or cancer, which are consid-ered more traditional,” she said.

“But what the similar rate (fall) may be telling us is that suicide may be similar to other health outcomes and in some ways may be driven by similar factors.”

The WHO has targeted a 10 per cent cut in global suicide rates by 2020.

But the study authors high-lighted huge variations in suicide trends on a coun-try-by-country basis.

Whereas in China the aver-age rate of suicide deaths fell 64.1 percent since 1990, in plac-es such as Zimbabwe the rate had almost doubled in the same time-span.

“We are seeing what is an important reduction in glob-al suicide mortality. But those reductions have not been con-

sistent across regions, coun-tries, sex or ages,” said

Orpana.

In 2016, 34.6 million years of life were lost globally from suicide

-- that is, the age when suicide deaths occur

compared with average life expectancy in a given

region or nation.

US boyfriend of ‘Russian agent’ charged with fraud• Republican and National Rifle Association operative Paul Erickson was charged with one count of fraud

• Butina worked to “establish unofficial lines of communications with Americans who having power and influence over US politics.”

Washington, United States

An American who was dating jailed alleged Russian agent Maria

Butina was charged with fraud Tuesday, adding a new twist in the sprawling investigations into Moscow’s meddling in US politics.

Republican and National Ri-fle Association operative Paul Erickson was charged with one count of fraud for cheat-ing investors in companies he controlled that purported to be running assisted living facilities and building homes in North Dakota. He also allegedly cheat-ed investors in a wheelchair de-sign and production company, according to the indictment.

In all three cases, he took hun-dreds of thousands of dollars from investors and used some of it for his personal needs, the indictment said.

In addition, he was charged with seven accounts of mon-ey laundering for transfers he made using the fraudulently raised funds.

Erickson opened the door to conservative circles for Butina,

who built a network of high-lev-el Republican and NRA contacts between 2013 and 2017 before her arrest last year.

With her, he arranged for a high-level delegation from the NRA to visit Russia in Decem-ber 2015, where they met with senior Russian officials.

That visit has come under scrutiny in investigations into possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s elec-tion campaign and Russia.

In Washington, Erickson

helped Butina gain admission to American University’s graduate school and they lived together while she studied and wove her way through Washington’s Re-publican circles.

According to the charges against her and her guilty plea last December, Butina worked for powerful Russian central banker and Vladimir Putin cro-ny Alexander Torshin on an explicit mission to “establish unofficial lines of communica-tions with Americans who hav-

ing power and influence over US politics.” “Butina sought to use those unofficial lines of commu-nication for the benefit of the Russian Federation,” the Justice Department said.

Meanwhile, based on the Russian connections he made through Butina, in 2016 Erick-son offered to set up contacts between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

According to US media re-ports, those actions have raised the possibility that he could be charged with illegally acting as an agent for Moscow, and with conspiracy for his work with Butina.

The indictment Wednesday made no direct mention of his relationship to Butina, who is in jail awaiting sentencing.

But there were hints of a connection: money transfers to American University, and to “M.B.”, which could be her in-itials.

Butina, a 29-year-old gun-rights activist, served as a covert

Russian agent while living in Washington,

gathering intelli-gence on American

officials and political organizations and

working to establish back-channel lines of communications for

the Kremlin

Maria Butina, Alleged Russian spy in US. (Courtesy of N1)

India’s ‘granny’ elephant dies aged 88

Thiruvananthapuram, India

An Asian elephant believed to be the oldest ever in

captivity has died aged 88 in the southern Indian state of Kerala, officials said yesterday.

Awarded the title of “Gaja Muthassi” (elephant granny), Dakshayani took part in tem-ple rituals and processions for decades, but breathed her last on Tuesday after becoming reluctant to eat, her veterinary surgeon said.

“At 3 pm, a sudden shiv-er passed through her large frame beginning from the head region. After a few minutes she bent her forelimbs and lay down. And that was it,” T. Ra-jeev said.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, which owned Dak-shayani, gave her age as 88.

The oldest elephant in cap-tivity recognised by Guinness

World Records was aged 86 -- Lin Wang, another Asian elephant which died in 2003 in a Taiwan zoo. Captive ele-phants have a life expectancy of 40-plus years.

Pineapples and carrots had been introduced to Dak-shayani’s diet in recent years to improve her metabolism after she began to have dif-f i c u l t y m o v i n g a r o u n d , probably due to reduced eyesight.

“For the past three years she did not take part in any temple programme or public func-tion,” Rajeev said.

“And a couple of months back, we had even moved her to a better tethering place at an elephant farm in Thiruvanan-thapuram.”

Wildlife conservationists such as P.S. Easa have criti-cised the practice of keeping elephants in captivity, regard-less of their conditions.

Elderly Indian elephant Dakshayani, awarded the title ‘Gaja Muthassi’, or elephant granny, with her keeper on the grounds of the Chengalloor Mahadeva temple in Thiruvananthapuram in India’s southern Kerala state.

Saudi girl turns amateur hobby into professional photographyMajida al-Saeed found an opportunity to specialize, which ultimately resulted in her winning the confidence of families

Al Arabiya | Riyadh

A Saudi girl has made the best use of her unique access into the traditional Saudi

society by transforming her amateur hobby into a professional career.

In happy occasions of wedding parties, Majida al-Saeed found an opportunity to specialize, which ultimately resulted in her winning the confidence of families.

This gave Majida the opportunity to im-mortalize their special moments. Today, thousands follow her on social networking platform Instagram and she is among the most sought-after on family occasions and festivities.

Starting earlyMajida al-Saeed said that her relation with

filming began at an early age when she start-ed picturing her family. Then she drew the attention of families around hers.

She then moved on to filming events of her friends and later decided to learn professional photography techniques until she mastered the craft.

Within a couple of years, Majida’s skills became a must for every bride in the Saudi eastern region. She, however, believes that

taking pictures is not an arbitrary exercise.“People try to perpetuate what they consid-

er extraordinary moments in their lives. The bride has the right to live a happy moment during her wedding in a way that she likes and adheres to the couple’s dreams”, Majida says.

Arab News | Riyadh

Nozomi, a high-end Japanese restau-rant in Riyadh, was turned into a mini runway, complete with models,

emerging and well-known local and interna-tional fashion designers, when the founder of the Saudi fashion community, Princess Noura bint Faisal Al-Saud, held a private trunk show in November.

The participating designers showcased

TRUTH IS EVER TO BE FOUND IN SIM-PLICITY, AND NOT IN THE MULTIPLICITY AND CONFUSION OF THINGSISAAC NEWTON

QUOTE OF THE DAY

C L I C K

T R E N D S E T T E R

FRIDAY

Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ahdeya Ahmed | Chairman & Managing Director P Unnikrishnan | Advertisement: Update Media W.L.L | Tel: 38444692, Email: [email protected] | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: [email protected] & circulation: Tel: 38444698/17579877 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

Saudi princess’ trunk show lights up restaurant

Princess Noura, who is also the founder of Global Fashion House, and whose vision is to enable Saudi designers to

emerge, aims to support them and had

their work displayed at a high-end

Japanese restaurant in Riyadh

Majida al-Saeed said that her rela-tion with filming began at an early age when she started picturing her

family. Then she drew the attention of families around hers.

She then moved on to filming events of her friends and later decided to learn professional

photography techniques until she mastered the craft.

An image captured by Majida al-Saeed during a weding ceremony

An image captured by Majida al-Saeed

A model with a white gown during the show

Saudi girl turns amateur hobby into professional photographyMajida al-Saeed found an opportunity to specialize, which ultimately resulted in her winning the confidence of families

their latest fashion at Nozomi in a private and exclusive show. The princess, who is also the founder of Global Fashion House, and whose vision is to enable Saudi designers to emerge, aims to support them and had their work displayed.

With background music play-ing loud and sushi and fancy drinks being served, the five emerging local designers opened the show. Shams hit the run-way first with her designs. The one that stood out was a floor-length black chiffon dress that was short at the front and hit the floor with a meter-long train in the back, buckled securely by a red chiffon belt with a large flower at the back.

Khawla Al-Harbi was second, with eclectic designs, and each one different. Her first design was white pants also supporting a top with a train and massive

earrings and hold boots. Her designs were dominantly white, the last a long dress adorned in large silver fish scales.

Mashael Al-Nassar’s designs were a unique blend of see-through fabrics, which was very modern and elegant. Ashwag Al-Mutairi’s collection featured white high-waisted pants and a sequined black top.

Saja Yousef stood out with her all-white attire collection. The first was an ankle-length white dress and jacket which was the same colour and length of the dress. But she has designed not only clothes but also bags, which the models showcased during the event. The invitees were im-pressed by the emerging Saudi designers. One exclaimed that they had the potential to be rec-ognized worldwide, with a little more work and experience.

Even at an all-female event, the guests were immaculate-ly dressed, wearing exquisite abayas of different colours and designs. It was a fashion trunk show, after all. But most nota-ble was an abaya by designer Nouf G, who was draped in a red Shomakh (red Saudi head cloth) abaya, with the other half of a light grey tribal design. “Each

one of my abayas has a story. A unique story. I make one of each design only,” Nouf G said.

After the top Saudi emerging designers finished, the Saudi favorites took over, with names such as Lum by Lama Taher, RE:UNITE, Hindamme and

Mashael Al-Rajhi. Each of the designers had a unique and sig-nature look.

The Lum ball gowns were the essence of sophistication and femininity. RE: UNITE by Noora Al-Harthi was trendy and stylish. Hindamme by Moham-med Khoja featured the famous bomber jackets and cool attire galore. Al-Rajhi was a unique blend of tribal, colour and artis-tic designs. The night concluded with fashion international stars Lama Askari and Tony Miranda.

Askari spoke to Arab News about the inspiration behind her beautiful pastel gowns: “The inspiration behind the collec-tion was the butterfly effect, the transformation from the cater-pillar to the butterfly. Most of the colours I used had two to three combinations, even in the embroideries. Because butter-flies inspired me, I tried to stick to the colour scheme I found in

real butterflies.”Princess Noura ended the

night energetically as she said: “The attendance was more than we expected. We were getting last-minute calls to attend (the show was private and by invi-tation only). Everyone was so positive, in a good mood and very proud to show their work.

“I am proud of these Saudi designers. Everyone was so stunned by their work. It was exciting and hectic.” After the show, many of the attendees asked to meet the emerging local designers to buy their designs.

Asked which of the emerging designers was her favourite, the princess said: “Each one of them has their own style. Whatever is inside them came out today, I saw it.

“The event was better than I expected. I want aspiring or emerging designers to come out and show what they really are.”

1807 Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon’s forces and Rus-sian Empire - 1st battle Napoleon isn’t victorious

1672 Isaac Newton reads 1st op-tics paper before Royal So-ciety in London

1960 Queen Elizabeth II issued an Or-der-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor.

1971Nasdaq Composite stock market index debuts with 50 companies and a starting value of 100

TODAY IN HISTORY

C L I C K

Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ahdeya Ahmed | Chairman & Managing Director P Unnikrishnan | Advertisement: Update Media W.L.L | Tel: 38444692, Email: [email protected] | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: [email protected] & circulation: Tel: 38444698/17579877 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

I am proud of these Saudi designers. Everyone was so stunned by their

work. It was exciting and hectic. Each one

of them has their own style. Whatever is

inside them came out today, I saw it. The

event was better than I expected. I want

aspiring or emerging designers to come out

and show what they really are

PRINCESS NOURA BINT FAISAL AL-SAUD

People try to perpetuate what

they consider extraordinary

moments in their lives. The bride has

the right to live a happy moment during

her wedding in a way that she likes and adheres to the

couple’s dreamsMAJIDA AL-SAEED

Even at an all-female event, the guests were immaculately dressed,

wearing exquisite abayas of different colours and designs. It was a fashion

trunk show, after all. But most notable was an

abaya by designer Nouf G, who was draped in a red

Shomakh (red Saudi head cloth) abaya, with the

other half of a light grey tribal design

Princess Noura bint Faisal Al-Saud, founder of Global Fashion House

Models with desinew wears during the event

An image captured by Majida al-Saeed

Majida al-Saeed checks her equipments during a workshop

Majida al-Saeed explains about photography during a workshopMajida al-Saeed shows an album to a client

10

business


India central bank cuts rates

Mumbai, India

India’s central bank cut interest rates yesterday

ahead of general elections due this year.

The Reserve Bank of In-dia (RBI) said the bench-mark repo rate -- the level at which it lends to com-mercial banks -- would be reduced by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent.

It marked the first inter-est rate decision under new bank chief Shaktikanta Das, who was appointed in De-cember after his predeces-sor, Urjit Patel, quit follow-ing a public spat with the administration.

On Wednesday, a key economic advisor to Modi called on the RBI to slice rates to help boost con-sumption and investment.

Rajiv Kumar, vice chair-man of government think-tank NITI Aayog, said the bank should act to help spur “higher growth rates”.

Data showed the econo-my expanded 7.1pc on-year in July-September, down from 8.2pc in the previous quarter.

The RBI raised rates twice last year over concerns about inflation.

Shaktikanta Das

Gulf Air adds Malaga Costa del Sol to its destinations for 2019Manama

Gulf Air has announced Mala-ga - Costa del Sol in Spain as

its first destination in the series of new upcoming destinations for 2019. Commencing 14 June and operating until 15 Septem-ber 2019, Malaga will be add-

ed as a seasonal summer desti-nation, the airline announced in a statement.

“In line with our 5-year strat-egy to become the airline of choice, and in light of the recent adaptation of the new boutique

business model, we are adding a seasonal destination to cater to summer’s peak travel demand,” said Gulf Air’s Chief Executive Officer Krešimir Kucko.

Earlier in 2019, Gulf Air an-

nounced its new boutique busi-ness model concept which will reinforce its focus on product and customer experience.

With the new business model concept, Gulf Air aims to grow

strategically in size, expand to more boutique destinations in 2019 and continue its fleet modernization programme by receiving ad-

ditional 2 Boeing 787-9 Dream-liner’s and 4 Airbus A320neos this year.

Bahrain foodies welcomed Masterchef India winner Nikita Gandhi, who holds the unbeaten record for being the youngest and only vegetarian winner of the popular TV cookery competition (in 2015). Nikita gave a public demo of recipes, food tips and tricks at the Oasis Mall in Juffair, which was attended by over 120 persons. She was felicitated by ARG Group COO, Shumalan Naicker. Above, Shumalan Naicker, Chief Operating Officer of the Al Rashid Group handing over an award to Masterchef India winner Nikita Gandhi.

Brazil central bank keeps key rate at 6.5pc, cautious under BolsonaroBrasília, Brazil

Br a z i l ’s c e n t r a l b a n k Wednesday kept its key

rate steady at a historically low 6.5 per cent, showing caution as President Jair Bolsonaro’s government readied structural reforms meant to boost the economy.

The decision adopted unani-mously by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee aligned with forecasts by most analysts.

In a statement, the commit-tee said that it has seen a “re-duction of inflationary risks” since its last meeting in De-cember.

But it said international con-text remained “challenging” and that obstacles to the antic-ipated reforms could “elevate the inflationary trajectory.”

It said it intended to act with “prudence, serenity and perseverance” with the aim of keeping inflation within its target range. The central bank has kept is key Selic rate un-changed at 6.5pc since March 2018.

Economic growth last year

was estimated to have been 1.3pc. Inflation was 3.75pc

The market projected infla-tion this year reaching 3.94pc.

Wednesday’s meeting was the last for outgoing central bank chief Ilan Goldfajn. The next, on March 20, is to be un-der his successor named by Bolsonaro, Roberto Campos Neto, who is yet to be con-firmed by the Brazilian Senate.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro

Trump taps fierce World Bank critic to take its helmWashington, United States

President Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped a well-known World Bank

critic to lead one of the world’s primary development lending institutions.

David Malpass, a senior of-ficial in the Treasury Depart-ment, is a controversial choice but if Trump wins the support of a majority the bank’s share-holders, especially European nations, he will have the op-portunity to reshape the bank.

Trump called Malpass “an extraordinary man” who and “the right person to take this incredibly important job.”

“America is the largest con-tributor to the World Bank,” he said. “My administration has made it a top priority to insure that US taxpayer’s dollars are

spent effectively and wisely.”Trump and his team have at-

tacked multilateral institutions in the two years he has been in office, and Malpass has led the charge against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Malpass has called the inter-national financial institutions’ lending practices “corrupt” and complained about financing to China and other relatively more well-off countries that he says should have graduated from the institutions.

David Malpass speaks after US President Donald Trump announced his candidacy to lead the World Bank during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

Two top executives leave Facebook

San Francisco, United States

Two of Facebook’s top ex-ecutives in its public re-

lations team are leaving the company, stepping away after the most tumultuous period in the history of the social net-

working giant.Caryn Marooney put out

word on Wednesday that she is quitting her job as leader of Facebook’s communications group after eight years at the social network and is work-ing with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on finding a re-placement.

Marooney wrote on her Facebook page that “it’s time to get back to my roots” but also noted that “I have more faith in Facebook than ever.”

Meanwhile, vice president of global communications and public affairs Debbie Frost confirmed that she told the company a while ago she was resigning, with plans to leave Facebook in March after near-ly 11 years on the team.

Marooney wrote however: “There is so much good hap-pening on Facebook and the entire family of apps every day. And for our challenges -- we have plans in place and the right people working on them.”

Departing Facebook PR head Caryn Marooney with her soon-to-be-ex boss Mark Zuckerberg

World food prices rise in Jan: UN FAOReuters | Rome

World food prices rose in January, buoyed by

a rebound in dairy prices and stronger showings for vegetable oils and sugar, the United Nations food agency said. Food price index aver-aged 164.8 points last month against 161.8 in December.


Renault reports Ghosn’s wedding to investigatorsParis, France

Renault said yesterday it would inform investiga-

tors that its former chief Car-los Ghosn, who is being held in Japan on allegations of fi-nancial misconduct, person-ally benefited from a corporate sponsorship deal.

The latest allegations con-cern Ghosn’s lavish marriage at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris in October 2016.

According to a report in the Figaro newspaper, the opera-tors of the palace waived the usual 50,000-euro ($57,000) fee for the reception at the 17th-century Grand Trianon complex as part of a sponsor-ship deal between Versailles and Renault.

The firm’s internal audits “identified that a contribution of 50,000 euros, under a spon-sorship agreement signed with the Chateau de Versailles, was allocated to Mr. Ghosn’s per-sonal benefit”, Renault said in its statement.

Ghosn threw an extrava-gant Marie Antoinette-themed wedding party at Versailles to celebrate his second mar-riage which featured actors in 18th-century clothing.

Ghosn’s arrest in November in Japan and subsequent in-dictment on three charges has led to renewed scrutiny of his lifestyle and allegations from his Japanese partners that he was greedy.

It has also exposed rifts be-tween Nissan and French car-maker Renault which, together with Mitsubishi Motors, make up the world’s top-selling auto manufacturing group.

The Japanese firms jetti-soned Ghosn almost immedi-ately but Renault waited much longer and the tycoon even-tually resigned as chairman and CEO.

In an interview with AFP last week, Ghosn said Nissan’s probe into his alleged miscon-duct was a “trap”, “plot” and a “story of betrayal”.

ArcelorMittal builds profits even as steel shipments slipParis, France

The world’s top steelmak-er, ArcelorMittal, said

Thursday it boosted profit last year even though shipments dipped, before adding that it expects demand to rise this year.

The company’s net profit rose by 12.7 percent to $5.1 bil-lion (4.5 billion euros).

While sales climbed 10.7 percent to $76 billion, that was largely due to an increase in steel prices as the company’s shipments dipped 1.6 percent by volume.

Chief executive Lakshmi Mittal called 2018 “a year of

positive momentum for Arce-lorMittal” as it made a couple of acquisitions and regained its investment grade rating from credit agencies.

He noted the company also improved its profitability, with its operating earnings per tonne of steel rising to $107 from $82 in 2017.

“We expect further, mod-erate global steel demand growth this year,” added Mittal.

ArcelorMittal has made con-siderable efforts to reduce its debt in recent years, and the company plans to reduce it to less than $6 billion from $10.2 at the end of December 2018.

Qantas cancels Airbus orderSydney, Australia

Australian flag carrier Qan-tas yesterday confirmed it

would not take up eight Airbus A380s already ordered -- the latest blow for the European airspace firm.

In a statement, Sydney-based Qantas said it would focus in-stead on refurbishing its ex-isting 12 Airbus super-jumbo

planes.“Following discussions

with Airbus, Qantas has now formalised its decision not to take eight additional A380s that were ordered in 2006,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“These aircraft have not been part of the airline’s fleet and network plans for some time.”

European airport passenger number hits 2.34 bn: ACIParis, France

The number of people using European airports set a

record last year but growth slowed compared with 2017, the Airports Council Inter-national Europe (ACI) said Wednesday.

The total number of pas-sengers at European airports reached 2.34 billion according to the group, which represents

more than 500 airports in 45 countries.

The number of passengers grew by 6.1 per cent, down from an 8.5-percent rise in 2017, a statement said.

Europe’s five biggest air-ports added 16.5 million pas-sengers, but faced “capacity limitations, intensifying hub competition and hub by-pass developments as well as airline strikes,” the ACI said.

Italy’s policies likely to hurt the poorest: IMFRome, Italy

The economic policies of Rome’s populist govern-

ment make Italy vulnerable to a crisis of market confidence, with the poorest likely to suf-fer the most, the IMF warned Wednesday.

“The authorities’ policies could leave Italy vulnerable to a renewed loss of market confi-dence,” an International Mone-tary Fund annual report on the country said.

“Italy could then be forced into a notable fiscal contraction, pushing a weakening economy into a recession. The burden would fall disproportionately on the vulnerable,” the IMF added.

Deputy Prime Minister Mat-teo Salvini, head of the far-right League party, scoffed at the report, saying it would “bring happiness” to Italy because the IMF has “always predicted the opposite of what happens”.

On January 31, official data showed that the Italian econo-

my, the eurozone’s third largest, contracted in the fourth quarter of 2018, which meant the coun-try was in a technical recession.

The fund expects the Italian economy to grow by no more than 0.6 percent this year, well below the government’s own

estimate of 1.0 percentThe European Commission

is tipped to lower its Italian growth forecast on Thursday, and slower growth could spell trouble for Italy, where around 20 per cent of national output is swallowed up each year by

payments on the public debt, the second biggest in the eurozone.

The IMF report praised the coalition government’s “objec-tive to improve economic and social outcomes (as) welcome”.

But it added that the only sus-tainable way of achieving such goals was through “faster poten-tial growth” that would require structural reforms, “a credible fiscal consolidation” and strong-er bank balance sheets.

The coalition government of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League party was forced to wa-ter down its ambitious and cost-ly budget in December to avoid being punished by the EU Com-mission and financial markets.

The IMF report emphasised Wednesday that Italy “needs to tackle long-standing structural impediments to productivity growth.

“This includes decentralising the wage bargaining regime, lib-eralising service markets, and improving the business climate.”

Italy’s Interior Minister and deputy PM Matteo Salvini (C) delivers a speech in the tunnel of the TAV high-speed train line between Italy and France, during a visit to the building site in Chiomonte, northwestern Italy

Thomas Cook launches review of airline divisionLondon, United Kingdom

British travel firm Thomas Cook yesterday launched a

review of its airline after post-ing a worsening quarterly loss on challenging trade.

The company, which offers package holidays to northern Europeans looking for summer sunshine, has decided to focus more on hotels.

“We are today announcing a strategic review of our group airline,” said chief executive Peter Fankhauser in a results statement.

“We are at an early stage in this review process which will consider all options to enhance value to shareholders and in-tensify our strategic focus.

“We will provide an update on this process in due course.”

Thomas Cook’s airline busi-ness operates a fleet of 103 aircraft, about one quarter of which serve long-haul des-tinations. It has however re-duced 2019 capacity in the face of challenging conditions, as holidaymakers eye economic uncertainty arising from Brexit.Peter Fankhauser

Britain’s Labour party signals shift on BrexitLondon, United Kingdom

Britain’s main opposi-tion Labour party has signalled it could back

Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal if she commits to closer future ties with the EU after leaving the bloc.

In a letter sent to May as she meets EU leaders in Brussels yesterday, Labour leader Jer-emy Corbyn suggested her ef-forts to modify the deal itself to amend or remove the contro-versial “backstop” arrangement on the Irish border would fail.

But he said that if she secured changes to an accompanying political declaration on future ties before Britain leaves the EU on March 29, then his party could support the agreement.

The changes include a com-mitment to a “permanent and comprehensive” UK-EU cus-toms union, in which Britain has a “say” on future EU trade deals. May has repeatedly re-jected this idea, saying a cus-toms union would stop Britain signing its own trade deals, one of the advantages of Brexit.

Labour also wants “close alignment” with the EU’s single market, underpinned by shared institutions and obligations.

Corbyn said there should also be “dynamic alignment on rights and protections”, com-

mitments to maintain Britain’s participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, and continued access to security databases and the European Arrest Warrant.

“My colleagues and I look forward to discussing these proposals with you further, in the constructive manner in which they are intended, with the aim of securing a sensible agreement that can win the support of parliament and bring the country together,” he wrote.

May’s Brexit deal was re-jected by MPs in the House of Commons last month, but a ma-jority then voted to send her back to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop. Corbyn noted the

EU’s determination to keep the backstop, but said that a rela-tionship along the lines he has suggested “would make it far less likely that any backstop arrangements would ever be needed”.

Labour MPs who oppose Brexit responded with fury to the plan. “Seriously? Offering to help Tory govt enable Brexit?” tweeted Chris Leslie.

“When the jobs go and rev-enues for services dry up as a result, Labour’s leadership will have zero right to complain.”

Another, Chuka Umunna, added: “This is not opposition, it is the facilitation of a deal which will make this country poorer.”

Britain’s opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn listening at the begining of a debate in the House of Commons

May back in Brussels for latest Brexit showdownBrussels, Belgium

Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May returned

to Brussels yesterday for a showdown with EU leaders.

May is to demand that Brussels agree on the need to change the so-called “backstop” for the Irish border in the withdrawal agreement, so that Britain cannot be “trapped” in the bloc against its will.

Juncker, the president of the European Commission, told reporters that May al-ready knows and accepts that the Union will not reo-pen talks on the deal.

Amazon changes biz structures in IndiaReuters | New Delhi

Amazon.com Inc’s India website has returned

after the online retail gi-ant changed its business structures to comply with new federal e-commerce curbs.

Amazon was forced to remove hundreds of thou-sands of items sold by top vendors Cloudtail and Ap-pario as it indirectly held 49 percent equity stakes in both firms.

Bank of England slashes UK outlookLondon United Kingdom

The Bank of England slashed its forecast for

UK growth this year to 1.2 percent from 1.7pc, blam-ing the downgrade on a global economic slowdown and Brexit. “UK economic growth slowed in late 2018 and appears to have weak-ened further in early 2019,” the central bank said after the BoE said after keeping its main interest rate at 0.75pc.


Germany sets new limits on Facebook data collectionFrankfurt am Main, Germany

Germany’s Federal Com-petition Office (FCO) said

yesterday it would impose new limits on how Facebook collects data from subsidiaries Whatsapp and Instagram, as well as third-party websites with embedded Facebook fea-tures such as “Like” buttons.

Rather than requiring users to accept that such data can be folded into their Fa c e b o o k a c -counts under a

one-off agree-ment to the so-cial network’s t e r m s a n d c o n d i t i o n s , users must in future be

asked for their specific consent in both cases, the authority said.

“In future, Facebook will no longer be allowed to force its users to agree to the practically unrestricted collection and as-signing of non-Facebook data to their Facebook user accounts,” FCO chief Andreas Mundt said in a statement.

“If users do not consent, Face-book may not exclude them from its services and must refrain from collecting and merging data from different sources.”

The FCO found that Face-book has a “dominant” po-

sition in social networking in Germany, with its 23 million dai-ly active users representing 95 percent of the market -- meaning there is no viable alternative ser-vice for most people.

That meant that “Facebook’s conduct represents above all a so-called exploitative abuse,” the authority argued.

“The only choice the user has is either to accept the compre-hensive combination of data or to refrain from using the social network,” Mundt said.

“In such a difficult situation the user’s choice cannot be re-

ferred to as voluntary consent.”In its own statement, Face-

book said it would appeal the FCO’s decision.

“The Bundeskartellamt’s de-cision misapplies German com-petition law to set different rules that apply to only one company,” the California firm said, adding that “we face fierce competition in Germany” from the likes of YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter.

Rather than the FCO, the Irish Commission should be oversee-ing Facebook’s use of data as the company’s European HQ is based in Dublin.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Total makes ‘significant’ offshore S.Africa gas findCape Town, South Africa

French energy giant To-tal announced yesterday

it had found “significant” gas off the southern coast of South Africa, a discovery expected to boost the na-tion’s struggling economy.

“Total has made a signifi-cant gas condensate discov-ery on the Brulpadda pros-pects,... in the Outeniqua Basin, 175 kilometres off the southern coast of South Af-rica,” it said in a statement.

Total’s CEO Patrick Pouy-anne said the potential quantities “could be around one billion barrels of global resources, gas and conden-sate light oil”.

German industrial production disappoints in DecemberFrankfurt am Main, Ger-many

Industrial production in Germany fell back in De-

cember, official data showed yesterday, in the latest of a series of signs pointing to slowdown in Europe’s larg-est economy.

Output fell 0.4 per cent month-on-month, federal statistics authority Desta-tis said in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects -- well short of a 0.9 percent rebound forecast by analysts.

Looking to different areas of manufacturing, only cap-ital goods makers increased production, with a boost of 0.9pc.

Meanwhile producer goods firms shed 0.4pc and consumer goods makers 0.5 pc.

Elsewhere in industry, energy suppliers’ output was flat, while construction companies reported 4.1 per-cent lower production.

The index showing lower industrial activity follows up a Wednesday release re-vealing falling orders among manufacturing firms, the backbone of the German economy.

“Given lower orders and restrained confidence in-dicators, industrial perfor-mance is likely to remain muted,” the economy min-istry commented in a state-ment.

EU cuts eurozone growth forecast• Now expecting growth of 1.3pc

• A significant cut from 1.9pc predicted in November

• Full European Union would grow by 1.5pc instead of the earlier 1.9pc.

Brussels, Belgium

The European Commis-sion sharply cut its euro-zone growth forecast for

2019 yesterday as an unexpect-ed slowdown in Germany and protests in France weigh on the economy in Europe.

The EU also cut Italy’s growth rate to a five-year low, a situation that risks reopening bitter dif-

ferences between Brussels and Rome about the government’s spending plans this year.

The commission, the EU’s ex-ecutive arm, is now expecting growth of 1.3 per cent in the eu-rozone this year, a significant cut from 1.9pc predicted in No-vember.

It said the full European Un-ion would grow by 1.5pc instead of the earlier 1.9pc.

The health of the German economy is fast emerging as a worry for the EU as slumping de-mand for foreign cars in China takes a toll on Europe’s export powerhouse.

The commission said Europe is facing international head-winds that have now taken the steam out of a post-crisis recov-ery in the eurozone.

The slowdown “reflects ex-ternal factors, such as trade tensions and the slowdown in emerging markets, notably in China,” said European Com-

mission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.

“The possibility of a disrup-tive Brexit creates additional uncertainty,” he added.

Another problem is Italy, which the commission said would grow by a paltry 0.2pc this year, still better than a re-

cession, but a huge cut from the 1.2pc forecast late last year.

Slower growth spells big trou-ble for populist-led Italy, where huge amounts of government money are swallowed up each year to help pay down about two trillion euros in public debt.

Rome’s coalition government

of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League party was already forced to water down its ambitious budget in December to avoid being punished by the EU Com-mission and financial markets.

The latest growth forecast may force Italy to again review its spending plans for 2019 in order to satisfy Brussels and as-suage investors.

“The commission will contin-ue to monitor closely the situa-tion in Italy,” said EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who handles the fraught negotiations with Rome.

Moscovici, a former French finance minister, warned that France was also caught in the cooldown, especially after a wave of “yellow jacket” protests hit the country in December.

In France, the European ex-ecutive now expects growth of 1.3pc in 2019, compared to 1.6pc in its autumn forecasts.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis

Twitter profit soars as user base shrinksWashington, United States

Twitter said yesterday profits rose sharply in

the fourth quarter, lifted by gains in advertising despite a drop in its global user base.

The short-messaging platform said it posted a $255 million profit in the final three months of 2018, compared with $91 million a year earlier, as revenues rose 24 percent to $909 million.

But Twitter’s base of monthly active users de-clined to 321 million -- a drop of nine million from a year earlier and five million from the prior quarter.

Twitter said it would stop using the monthly user base metric and instead report “monetizable” daily active users in the US and world-wide. Using that measure, Twitter showed a base of 126 million worldwide, up nine percent over the year.

“Our efforts to improve health have delivered im-portant results, and new product features like a sin-gle switch to move between latest and most relevant tweets have been embraced by the people who use Twit-ter,” said chief executive Jack Dorsey.

Italy denies it will ban Huawei, ZTE from its 5G plansReuters | Milan

Italy has denied a report it will ban China’s Hua-

wei Technologies and ZTE Corp from playing a role in building its fifth-gen-erat ion mobi le phone network.

“We have no intention of adopting any such initia-tives,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday Ital-ian daily La Stampa cited senior government sources as saying Rome was ready to use special powers to termi-nate contracts involving the Chinese operators.

Alba reports Q4 results • Improved safety performance by recording a 50pc drop in Lost Time Injuries YoY

• Production topped 1,011,101 MT (+3pc YoY)

• Sales volume reached 1,012,548 MT (+3.5pc YoY)

TDT | Manama

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) yesterday announced financial results for its

fourth quarter saying that its top-line and bottom-line for 2018 quarter were impacted pri-marily by lower sales’ revenue and higher Alumina prices.

The company reported a net loss of BD 17.5 million (US$ 47m) in the fourth quarter of 2018 versus a net income of BD 23.4m (US$ 62.4m) for the same period in 2017, down by 175pc YoY.

Gross Loss for the quarter was BD 7.4m (US$ 20m) versus a Gross Profit of BD 37.3m (US$ 99.2m) in the same quarter of 2017, down by 120pc YoY.

With regards to Q4 total sales/revenues, Alba reported BD 211.5m (US$ 562.6m) in 2018,

versus BD252.7m (US$ 672.2m) in Q4 2017, a drop of 16pc YoY.

Loss per Share in the fourth quarter was fils 13 versus earn-ing per share fils 16 in Q4 2017.

For the full year of 2018, Alba’s net income stood at BD 59.8m (US$ 158.9m), down by 35pc YoY, compared to BD 92.5m (US$ 245.9m) in 2017. Earnings per share were fils 42 versus fils 65 for 2017.

Alba’s top-line and bot-tom-line performances were attributed to higher sales vol-ume, higher LME price (+7pc Year-over-Year (YoY)) and par-tially offset by higher Alumina Prices (+34pc YoY).

Gross Profit was BD 85.9m (US$ 228.6m) versus BD 134.6m

(US$ 358.1m) a decrease of 36pc YoY.

Total sales/revenues reached BD 911.3m (US$ 2.4 billion), up by 6pc YoY, compared to BD 857.8m (US$ 2.3bn) in 2017.

Commenting on the results, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, Chairman of Alba’s Board of Directors, said “De-spite the significant volatility in the financial markets, Alba had a strong finish in both Safety and Production where Alba exceed-ed the 1-million metric tonnes production mark for the 1st time in its history. In addition, our flagship Line 6 project was com-missioned ahead of schedule on 13 December 2018”.

“2018 was a challenging year with the unprecedented spike in Alumina prices which sig-nificantly impacted our bot-tom-line. Despite the impact of higher Alumina prices, Alba was able to deliver solid results on the back of our Project Ti-tan Cost Improvement Pro-gramme,” he added.

Looking ahead, Shaikh Daij said that the company will con-tinue to focus to improve safety, Production and Cost along with commitment to the Safe start-up of Line 6.

Alba Management will be holding a conference call on Monday 11 February 2019 to discuss Alba’s performance for the 2018 Full-Year Results.

Alba board meeting

M o v i e R e v i e w

13 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019

OASIS JUFFAIR1-COLD PURSUIT (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA) NEW

LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERNDAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM DAILY AT (VIP): 12.45 + 3.15 + 5.45 + 8.15 + 10.45 PM

2-THE LEGO MOVIE 2 (G) (ANIMATION/ACTION/AD-VENTURE/COMEDY) NEW

CHRIS PRATT, ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETTDAILY AT (KIDS CINEMA): 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 PM

3-THE PRODIGY (18+) (THRILLER/HORROR) NEW JTAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT, PETER

MOONEYDAILY AT: 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 PM + 12.00 MN

4-AMAVAS (15+) (HINDI/HORROR/ROMANTIC/THRILLER) NEW

NARGIS FAKHRI, SACHIN JOSHI, MONA SINGH, VIVAN BHATENA

DAILY AT: 1.15 + 11.30 PM

5-THE DEBT COLLECTOR (15+) (ACTION/THRILLER) NEW SCOTT ADKINS, LOUIS MANDYLOR, VLADIMIR KULICH

DAILY AT: 11.45 AM + 4.30 + 9.15 PM

6- KUMBALANGI NIGHT (PG-13) (MALAYALAM) NEW FAHADH FAASIL, SHANE NIGAM, SOUBIN SHAHIR

FROM THURSDAY 07TH 7.30 PM ONWARDS: 11.15 AM + 2.15 + 5.15 + 8.15 + 11.15 PM

7-NJHAN PRAKASHAN (PG) (MALAYALAM) FAHAD FAZIL, NIKHILA VIMAL

DAILY AT: 11.30 AM + 2.00 + 4.30 + 7.00 + 9.30 PM + 12.00 MN

8-YATRA (PG-13) (TELGU/ MALAYALAM) NEW MAMMOOTTY, MAHESH ACHANTA, RAJSEKHAR ANING

FROM THURSDAY 07TH 10.30 PM ONWARDS:DAILY AT (TELGU):1.30 + 6.30 + 11.30 PM FROM THURSDAY 07TH 10.30 PM ONWARDS: DAILY AT (MALAYALAM): 11.00 AM + 4.00 + 9.00 PM

9-9 (PG-15) (MALAYALAM) NEW PRITHVIRAJ SUKUMARAN, PRAKASH RAJ, MAMTA

MOHANDASDAILY AT: 3.00 + 8.15 + 11.00 PM

10-DHILLUKU DHUDDU 2 (PG-15) (TAMIL) NEW SANTHANAM, DEEPTI, SHRITHA SIVADAS

DAILY AT: 12.30 + 5.45 PM

11-SPIDER MAN INTO THE SPIDER VERSE (PG) (ANI-MATION/ACTION/ADVENTURE)

HAILEE STEINFELD, NICOLAS CAGE, MAHERSHALA ALIDAILY AT (KIDS CINEMA): 11.45 PM

12-MANIKARNIKA: THE QUEEN OF JHANSI (PG-15) (DRAMA/ACTION/BIOGRAPHY)

KANGANA RANAUT, DANNY DENZONGPA, SURESH OBEROIDAILY AT: 1.45 + 6.30 + 11.15 PM

13-URI: THE SURGICAL STRIKE (15+) (HINDI/ACTION/DRAMA)

VICKY KAUSHAL, KIRTI KULHARI, PARESH RAWALDAILY AT: 10.45 AM + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 PM

CITYCENTRE1-COLD PURSUIT (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA) NEW

LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERNDAILY AT: 10.30 AM + 11.30 + 1.00 + 2.00 + 3.30 + 4.30 + 6.00 + 7.00 + 8.30 + 9.30 + 11.00 PM + 12.00 MN + (12.30 MN + 1.00 AM THURS/FRI)DAILY AT (VIP I): 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PMDAILY AT (VIP II): 12.30 + 3.00 + 5.30 + 8.00 + 10.30 PM


CHRIS PRATT, ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETTDAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 1.15 + 3.30 + 5.45 + 8.00 + 10.15 PM DAILY AT (IMAX 2D): 12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 PM DAILY AT (3D): 11.30 AM + 1.45 + 4.00 + 6.15 + 8.30 + 10.45 PM

3-THE PRODIGY (18+) (THRILLER/HORROR) NEW TAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT, PETER MOONEY

DAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 3.00 + 5.00 + 7.00 + 9.00 + 11.00 PM + (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)


DAILY AT: 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 PM + 12.00 MN

5-GLASS (PG-15) (THRILLER) JAMES MCAVOY, BRUCE WILLIS, SAMUEL L. JACKSON

DAILY AT: 12.15 + 2.45 + 5.15 + 7.45 + 10.15 PM + (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)DAILY AT (IMAX 2D): 9.15 + 11.45 PM

6-THE UPSIDE (PG-15) (COMEDY/DRAMA) KEVIN HART, BRYAN CRANSTON, NICOLE KIDMAN

DAILY AT: 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM

7-NADI ELREGAL EL SERI (PG-15) (ARABIC/COMEDY) KARIM ABDULAZIZ, GHADA ADEL, MAJDE ALKIDDAWI

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8-AQUAMAN (PG-15) (ACTION/ADVENTURE) JASON MOMOA, AMBER HEARD, NICOLE KIDMAN

DAILY AT: 11.45 AM + 2.45 + 5.45 + 8.45 + 11.45 PM

9-HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (PG) (ANIMATION/ACTION/ADVENTURE)

JCATE BLANCHETT, JONAH HILL, GERARD BUTLERDAILY AT: 2.15 + 6.45 + 11.15 PM

10-REPLICAS (PG-15) (SCI-FICTION/THRILLER) KEANU REEVES, ALICE EVE, THOMAS MIDDLEDITCH

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11-DESTROYER (15+) (CRIME/THRILLER/DRAMA)NICOLE KIDMAN, SEBASTIAN STAN, LUKE PASQUALINO

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12-JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN (PG) (COMEDY/ACTION/ADVENTURE)

ROWAN ATKINSON, OLGA KURYLENKO, EMMA THOMPSONDAILY AT: 10.30 AM + 12.30 + 2.30 + 4.30 + 6.30 + 8.30 + 10.30 PM

13-RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (PG) (ANIMATION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY)

JOHN C. REILLY, SARAH SILVARMAN, GAL GADOT DAILY AT: 12.00 + 4.30 + 9.00 PM

14-THE MULE (PG-15) (CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER) CLINT EASTWOOD, BRADLEY COOPER, TAISSA FARMIGA

DAILY AT: 10.30 AM + 3.00 + 7.30 PM + 12.00 MN

15-SPIDER MAN INTO THE SPIDER VERSE (PG) (ANI-MATION/ACTION/ADVENTURE)

HAILEE STEINFELD, NICOLAS CAGE, MAHERSHALA ALIDAILY AT: 12.45 + 5.15 + 9.45 PM

SEEF (II)1-THE LEGO MOVIE 2 (G) (ANIMATION/ACTION/ADVEN-TURE/COMEDY) NEW

CHRIS PRATT, ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETTDAILY AT: 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PMDAILY AT (3D): 11.15 AM + 1.30 + 3.45 + 6.00 + 8.15 + 10.30 PM

2-THE PRODIGY (18+) (THRILLER/HORROR) NEW *- TAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT, PETER MOONEY

DAILY AT: 10.30 AM + 12.30 + 2.30 + 4.30 + 6.30 + 8.30 + 10.30 PM + (12.30 MN THUR/FRI)

3-THE DEBT COLLECTOR (15+) (ACTION/THRILLER) NEW

SCOTT ADKINS, LOUIS MANDYLOR, VLADIMIR KULICHDAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 3.00 + 5.00 + 7.00 + 9.00 + 11.00 PM + (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)

4-VS. (15+) (DRAMA/MUSICAL) NEW CONNOR SWINDELLS

DAILY AT: 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 PM + 12.00 MN

5-AT ETERNITY’S GATE (PG-13) (DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY) NEW

WILLEM DAFOE, RUPERT FRIEND, OSCAR ISAACDAILY AT: 10.45 AM + 1.00 + 6.15 + 11.30 PM

6-AMAVAS (15+) (HINDI/HORROR/ROMANTIC/

THRILLER) NEW NARGIS FAKHRI, SACHIN JOSHI, MONA SINGH, VIVAN BHATENA

DAILY AT: 12.30 + 6.00 + 11.30 PM

7- KUMBALANGI NIGHT ( ) (MALAYALAM) NEW FAHADH FAASIL, SHANE NIGAM, SOUBIN SHAHIR

FROM THURSDAY 07TH: (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)

8-GLASS (PG-15) (THRILLER) JJAMES MCAVOY, BRUCE WILLIS, SAMUEL L. JACKSON

DAILY AT: 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PM


DAILY AT: 2.00 + 6.45 + 11.30 PM

10-NADI ELREGAL EL SERI (PG-15) (ARABIC/COMEDY) JKARIM ABDULAZIZ, GHADA ADEL, MAJDE ALKIDDAWI

DAILY AT: 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 PM + 12.00 MN

11-AQUAMAN (PG-15) (ACTION/ADVENTURE) JASON MOMOA, AMBER HEARD, NICOLE KIDMAN

DAILY AT: 3.15 + 8.30 PM


CATE BLANCHETT, JONAH HILL, GERARD BUTLERDAILY AT: 11.45 AM + 4.30 + 9.15 PM

13-MANIKARNIKA: THE QUEEN OF JHANSI (PG-15) (DRAMA/ACTION/BIOGRAPHY)

KANGANA RANAUT, DANNY DENZONGPA, SURESH OBEROIDAILY AT: 3.15 + 8.45 PM

SEEF (I) 1-COLD PURSUIT (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA) NEW

LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERNDAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 12.00 + 1.30 + 2.30 + 4.00 + 5.00 + 6.30 + 7.30 + 9.00 + 10.00 + 11.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)

2-YATRA (PG-13) (TELGU) NEW MAMMOOTTY, MAHESH ACHANTA, RAJSEKHAR ANING

FROM THURSDAY 07TH 10.30 PM ONWARDS:DAILY AT (TELGU):11.30 AM + 4.30 + 9.30 PMFROM THURSDAY 07TH 10.30 PM ONWARDS: DAILY AT (MALAYALAM): 2.00 + 7.00 PM + 12.00 MN

3- KUMBALANGI NIGHT (PG-13) (MALAYALAM) NEW FAHADH FAASIL, SHANE NIGAM, SOUBIN SHAHIR

FROM THURSDAY 07TH 7.30 PM ONWARDS: 11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PM

4- 9 (PG-15) (MALAYALAM) NEW PRITHVIRAJ SUKUMARAN, PRAKASH RAJ, MAMTA MOHANDAS

DAILY AT: 1.15 + 6.30 + 11.45 PM

5-DHILLUKU DHUDDU 2 (PG-15) (TAMIL) NEW SANTHANAM, DEEPTI, SHRITHA SIVADAS

DAILY AT: 10.45 AM + 4.00 + 9.15 PM


DAILY AT: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM

SAAR

1-COLD PURSUIT (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA) NEW LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERN

DAILY AT: 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 PM + (11.15 PM THURS/FRI)


CHRIS PRATT, ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETTDAILY AT: 11.45 AM + 2.00 + 4.15 + 6.30 + 8.45 + (11.00 PM THURS/FRI)

3-THE PRODIGY (18+) (THRILLER/HORROR) NEW TAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT, PETER

MOONEYDAILY AT: 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + (11.30 PM THURS/FRI)

4-THE DEBT COLLECTOR (15+) (ACTION/THRILLER) NEW

SCOTT ADKINS, LOUIS MANDYLOR, VLADIMIR KULICHDAILY AT: 9.15 + (11.15 PM THURS/FRI)


CATE BLANCHETT, JONAH HILL, GERARD BUTLERDAILY AT: 12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 PM

AL HAMRA1- KUMBALANGI NIGHT (PG-13) (MALAYALAM) NEW

FAHADH FAASIL, SHANE NIGAM, SOUBIN SHAHIRFROM THURSDAY 07TH 7.30 PM ONWARDS: 3.00 + 9.00 PM + (12.00 MN THURS/FRI)


DAILY AT: 12.00 + 6.00 PM

WADI AL SAIL1-COLD PURSUIT (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA) NEW

LIAM NEESON, EMMY ROSSUM, LAURA DERNDAILY AT: 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 9.15 + 9.30 + 11.30 + 11.45 PM + 12.00 MN


CHRIS PRATT, ELIZABETH BANKS, WILL ARNETTDAILY AT: 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 PMDAILY AT (3D): 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 PM

3-THE PRODIGY (18+) (THRILLER/HORROR) NEW TAYLOR SCHILLING, JACKSON ROBERT SCOTT, PETER MOONEY

DAILY AT: 11.45 AM + 1.45 + 3.45 + 5.45 + 7.45 + 9.45 + 11.45 PM


DAILY AT: 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PM


DAILY AT: 11.30 AM + 4.15 + 9.00 PM

6-NADI ELREGAL EL SERI (PG-15) (ARABIC/COMEDY) KARIM ABDULAZIZ, GHADA ADEL, MAJDE ALKIDDAWI

DAILY AT: 2.00 + 6.45 + 11.30 PM

KOKI - Rosy-faced Lovebird (small), 3+ yrs, face/ throat pink/body green/rump blue, hand trained-loves to land on shoulder, very friendly, no leg tag, got loose from cage when cleaning, Aali (Jari Al Shakh-Rd 4506),26/1/19. BD100 REWARD for safe return. 39970316

BEBO - Female, 1 yr, tan in colour, she is friendly if someone is soft with her she may come to them, no ID, ran out of garden when someone left door open, may have been picked up, Saar (block 527, Road 2730, House 1876), 1/2/19. 33080518

BROOK - Female German Shepherd mix, 1 yr, medium size, big ears, two black dots on both her cheeks and under chin, wearing collar - no ID,gate left open, may have been picked up or stolen, Jerdab/Jidali in Isa Town, 2/2/19. 39300680

MACY - Female Siberian Husky, 2 yrs, brown w blue eyes, maller size, bit thin, blue collar - no ID, gate left open, last seen Hajiyat/Albuhair - new area close to houses by the valley in road, 30/1/19, BD100 REWARD for safe return. 33451110 or 39651115

SNOWY - Female Labrador mix, 2 yrs, spayed, wearing red collar - no ID tag, well-loved and cared for by many people in her neighbourhood, if you have given her a good home - please let us know, Janussan area, 17/12/18. 39693765

LILY - Female Persian, 2yrs, just had kittens 4 wks ago (tummy shaved), mostly black w grey tones, not wearing collar or ID tag, escaped door, Wadi-AlsailRiffa (area behind BDF Hospital), REWARD for safe return. 18/11/18. 33507272 or 33040214

Cold Pursuit is a 2019 Amer-ican black comedy action film directed by Hans Petter

Moland from a screenplay by Frank Baldwin.

It stars Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Emmy Rossum, William Forsythe, and Tom Bateman. It is a remake of the 2014 Norwegian vigilante film ‘In Order of Disappearance’, also directed by Moland.

On review aggregator Rotten To-matoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Cold Pursuit delivers the action audiences expect from a Liam Neeson thriller -- along with humour and a sophisticated streak that make this an uncommonly ef-fective remake.

“On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating “generally favourable reviews”.

Chris Nashawaty, writing for Entertainment Weekly, delivered a positive review, grading it with a “B+”, saying: “If [Cold Pursuit] sounds like murder-by-numbers Liam Neeson Mad Libs, well, it kind of is. But what sets Cold Pursuit apart from its predecessors is its tone. It has the jokey, self-amused vibe of an Elmore Leonard novel or

one of those arch, wannabe Taran-tino knock-offs that sprouted up like toadstools in the wake of Res-ervoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and were quickly forgotten. It knows exactly what kind of movie it is, but that doesn’t stand in the way of it goosing its bloodbath set pieces with irreverent, off-kilter gallows humour.”

Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, praised the film, awarding it 3.5 out of 4 stars,

saying, “As characters with nick-names such as Sly and Mustang and Smoke and War Dog and Shiv and Drayno enter and often quick-ly exit the picture, Cold Pursuit moves forward with the assured and deliberate force of Nels’ mas-sive snowplow. And with Neeson/Nels at the wheel, Cold Pursuit is one fantastically hot mess of a movie.”

Liam Neeson plows through ‘Cold Pursuit’

I LAKSMY RAMA SHARMA Mother of NANDINI BHAGAVATHY holder of Indian Passport No K0772126 issued at Kingdom Of Bahrain on 11th Jan 2012, permanent resident of NO 20 , MONALISA C.H.S, FATEHALI ROAD , BHANU NAGAR DOMBIVLI (E)THANE DIST MAHARASHTRA, INDIA, and presently residing at BUILDING 1189, ROAD 5637 , BLOCK 356, SALIHIYA , MANAMA, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN do hereby change my daughter name as (Given name) NANDINI BHAGAVATHY (Surname) SHARMA, objection(s), if and may be forwarded to Embassy Of India , P.O Box 26106 AL-SEEF, KINDOM OF BAHRAIN.

CHANGE OF NAME

MISSING PETS

Liam Neeson in ‘Cold Pursuit’

14 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019

For Reservations, Call:Umm Al Hassam 17728699 Seef District 17364999

celebs

Jennifer Aniston isn’t worried about

turning 50Los Angeles

While most women dread the thought of turning 50,

Jennifer Aniston is an excep-tion to the rule.

Hollywood’s sweetheart will mark a half century since her birth on February 11, and the former Friends star has been vocal about how much she’s looking forward to it.

In an interview with US Week-ly, Jen said: “I don’t think life

stops after 50 - if anything, it gets more and more exciting.”

The A-list actress went on to say she dislikes the way aging is dis-cussed, particularly in the enter-tainment industry, and believes we should celebrate the process with

honour and respect.After cementing her name in the Hol-

lywood hall of fame as Rachel Green on Friends, Jen went from professional strength to strength appearing in hit movies including Horrible Bosses, The Bounty Hunter, Bruce Almighty and We’re the Millers.

Her recent project, the Netflix fea-ture film Dumplin’, will be followed by a further two Netflix movies as well as a 10-part TV comedy with Reese With-erspoon and Steve Carrell.

According to Forbes, the Los Ange-les native is worth an estimated $200 million and has consistently ranked on the list of 100 Most Powerful Ac-tresses in Hollywood for the past decade.

But despite her incredible success, movie star looks and flawless physique, life hasn’t always been straight forward

for Jen-nifer.

The California girl has endured her fair share of heartache and personal sadness in the sharp glare of the public eye, trials which started with her very pub-lic divorce from Brad Pitt in 2005.

A decade later the world wished Jen-An well on her relationship with Justin Theroux but their seeming-ly happily ever after crum-bled in another divorce in 2017.

Jennifer has spoken can-didly about her romance woes, slamming the media for repeatedly shaming her single status.

Cardi B says Offset suggested marriage counsellingLos Angeles

Cardi B and Offset may be “working things out,”

but the rapper has made it clear that was her de-cision — and hers alone.

In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar for their March issue, the “Money” rapper opened up about her choice to leave her husband late last year.

“I decided on my own,” she says. “No-body makes my de-cisions about my life but me. I didn’t want to go to marriage counsel l ing. He suggested it, but it ’s like, ‘I don’t want to go.’ There’s no counsellor or nothing that could make me change my mind.”

After the pair split in early December amid rumours of the Migos star’s infidelity, fans began to speculate

about who Cardi’s next love con-nection would be. It turns out she wasn’t exactly looking to jump into a new relationship.

“If you think Imma auto-matically hop onto you after

a marriage, that just means you think I’m a sleaze. And I’m not. I

have a kid — I have to show an exam-ple…Just because I’m out there doesn’t

mean that I have to be whorish,” she explains.

“I feel like my life is a fairy tale and I’m a princess — rags to riches, people try-ing to sabotage. Before, I cared about everything — relationship, gossip,” she admits.

“Now I don’t feel like I have the time to please people. I don’t care about anything anymore—just my career and

m y k i d . Well, I care

about my career because of my money.” Dwayne Johnson tells why he’s

not hosting Oscars 2019IANS | Los Angeles

Actor Dwayne Johnson says he was approached to host the

Oscars this year, but his shooting schedule of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” interfered with the plan.

In response to a fan on Twitter, the actor explained that he was the Academy’s first choice to host the show this year, but due to filming commitments for his upcoming “Jumanji” sequel, he was unable to follow through with the gig, reports

variety.com.“Ah mahalo dude, I was their first choice to host

this year, and my goal was to make it the most fun and entertaining Oscars ever. We all tried hard, but couldn’t make it work since I’m shooting ‘Jumanji’. Academy and I were super bummed but maybe one day down the road,” he wrote.

The Oscars will presumably rely more heavily on presenters this year as the show is without a host for the first time in 30 years. This comes after the Academy’s pick - Kevin Hart - became embroiled in a controversy due to past homophobic tweets.

The 91st Academy Awards will be held on Feb-ruary 24 here and will air in India on Star Movies.

Let me live: Kendall on being shamed for acneIANS | Los Angeles

Reality television star and model Kendall Jenner is still feeling the pain from

the abuse she received online for acne break-out during the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.

Kendall told Allure magazine that she felt she had to attend the 2018 Golden Globe Awards and did not want to stay at home. But she did not expect her com-plexion issues to become a talking point, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“I mean, it’s something that I look at my-self in the mirror every day and see. I don’t want it there, but you have to deal with what you have right in front of you, and I had to deal with it,” the 23-year-old said.

She added: “It was probably a once in a lifetime thing for me to go to the Golden Globes. I don’t know if I’ll ever go again ‘cause that’s not usually my event to go to. And so I went and I was super excited about

it, and I’m not gonna let some-thing so little as acne stop me.

“I was feeling good about myself, and then when people say mean things

I’m like, ‘I know I have a zit. I know

I’m breaking out. You guys don’t h av e t o k e e p

pointing it out. I obviously see that,

but let me live!”.Kendall said she is

not as thick skinned as people think she is and “cries endlessly for days” when critics are mean to her.

“I have had to become stronger through it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am not superhuman.

Nick Jonas to return for ‘Jumanji’ sequel

IANS | Los Angeles

Pop singer Nick Jonas is returning to the se-quel of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”,

reprising his role as Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough.

The plot of the film is being kept under wraps.

Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan are also set to return and Awkwafina is in final negotiations for a significant role, reports variety.com.

Danny DeVito and Danny Glov-er have also joined the cast, and the four teens from the first film (Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Ise-man, Morgan Turner, Alex Wolff ) are also returning.

Jake Kasdan returns to direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner. The yet-untitled mov-ie will open on December 13, a week before “Star Wars: Epi-sode IX” launches.

“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was a sequel to the 1995 hit “Jumanji”, starring Robin Williams. Set in the pres-ent day, the reboot follows four high school students placed in detention together. The quar-tet is assigned to the school’s basement and then transported into the Jumanji board game after they activate the discard-ed game.

Nick Jonas

Jennifer Aniston

Cardi B

Kendall Jenner

Dwayne Johnson

Deaf federation formedTDT | Manama

Shaikh Nasser bin Ham-ad Al Khalifa, repre-

sentative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Su-preme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, and Bahrain Olympic Commit-tee President, has issued a decision, forming a board of directors for the recent-ly-announced Bahrain Deaf Federation.

The new federation will be responsible for oversee-ing the plans, programmes and activities dedicated for people with hearing impair-ment.

This decision was as per reviewing the associations and social, cultural clubs and private bodies in the field of youth and sports promulgated by legislative decree No. 21 of 1989, as amended.

Health Ministry sets up program on Sports DayTDT | Manama

The Ministry of Health has joined other par-

ties in supporting the high-ly-anticipated 2019 Bahrain Sports Day, scheduled for February 12.

The event is organized for the third successive year by the Bahrain Olympic Com-mittee (BOC) in an attempt to promote sport among the society as a healthy lifestyle.

Representative of the Ministry of Health in the Organising Committee of the event Dr Wafaa Sharbatly said the minis-try is currently preparing its own programe to be presented on the sports day.

She said the ministry’s de-cision was in line with the initiative of His Royal High-ness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa that employees in all ministries and govern-ment authorities are given a half-day off on the Sports Day to promote the Bahrain Sports Day festivities and its objectives.

Awareness leaflet issuedTDT | Manama

The Olympic Academy, in cooperation with the

Media, Public Relations and Marketing Directorate of the Bahrain Olympic Com-mittee (BOC), has issued an awareness campaign fold-ed leaflet on the benefits of walking marking the 2019 Bahrain Sports Day, scheduled for February 12.

Dr. Abdulrahman Sad-eq Askar, chairman of the organizing committee, has given the green light to print 10,000 copies of the leaflet, 8,000 of which will be distributed to Al Ayam Newspaper, the sports vil-lage at Isa Town Sports City, ministries and government entities, and at awareness lectures to be held by the Olympic Academy on the day.

City can retain title: GuardiolaAymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus put Manchester City back on top

• Man City sink Everton to knock Liverpool off the top spot

AFP | London

Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City’s 2-0 victory at Everton proved

they are determined to win their title fight with Liverpool as the champions returned to the top of the table on Wednesday.

It was a far from inspired per-formance from City at Goodison Park, but goals from Aymeric Laporte and Gabriel Jesus en-sured they knocked Liverpool out of pole position on goal dif-ference.

Liverpool had occupied first place since December 8, but now the pressure is on Jurgen Klopp’s side just five weeks after they could have moved 10 points clear of City.

With Liverpool showing signs of nerves after two successive draws damaged their bid for a first English title since 1990, City took advantage in a fixture which was brought forward due to their League Cup final date with Chelsea later this month.

It was a crucial victory and City manager Guardiola claimed his players have no intention of letting Liverpool off the hook now.

“We come from champions and we are in a situation where we could have given up but it

didn’t happen,” Guardiola said. “We gave an incredible game

against Liverpool. These players have shown incredible desire and performances for the last two years. How could I question them?

“We have played one more game. but it’s the best we can do. The reality is one month ago we could have been 10 points be-hind when we played Liverpool.

“A few days ago we could have been seven points behind. Now we are top of the league. That is the best advice, the lesson is – never give up.

“That is a lesson for all ath-letes. Try to win the games, because life can change imme-diately.”

City struck at the best possible time when Laporte headed them in front in the second minute of first half stoppage-time.

The opening goal came from

a free-kick, needlessly conceded by Idrissa Gueye as he slid in late on Fernandinho, and taken by David Silva.

The Spanish midfielder curled in a perfect delivery which found Laporte unmarked, and only eight yards from goal, for a solid finish.

It was the 16th consecutive league and cup game in which Guardiola’s side has scored a first half goal, a run dating back to their first league defeat of the season at Chelsea in early December.

And in the context of the ti-tle race, it may yet prove to be one of the more important al-though it took until deep into stoppage-time of the second half

for City to claim their second.

Title intrigue Kevin De Bruyne played in

Jesus, whose initial run was blocked by Jordan Pickford, only for the ball to sit up kindly for the Brazilian to head into an open goal.

That was enough to stretch City’s goal advantage to seven over Liverpool and set up an in-triguing weekend, when Klopp’s team must face Bournemouth 24 hours before the leaders host Chelsea on Sunday.

“We have started the week well, (beating) Arsenal and here, now comes a big, big test, a big goal,” Guardiola said.

“Chelsea are an exceptional team who have had seven days to prepare. We have to prepare well.

“It really is a final for us this weekend. If we are able to take these points, it is a huge step forward.”

Having survived a test of their nerve at Everton, City have no time to rest on their laurels.

But Guardiola insisted he won’t complain about the hec-tic schedule.

“I used to listen to what old-er managers – Sir Alex Fergu-son, Rafa Benitez – what they said and complained about the schedules and nothing hap-pened,” he said.

“I arrived here so I under-stand the situation. If we played just one competition, the sched-ule would be better but when you have to play four you have to adapt.


We gave an incredible game

against Liverpool. These players have shown incredible

desire and performances for

the last two years. How could I question

them?PEP GUARDIOLA

Aymeric Laporte scores Manchester City’s opener past Jordan Pickford in first-half stoppage-time

PSG need extra time to beat minnows Villefranche in French CupAFP | Paris

Paris Saint-Germain required extra time to overcome

third-tier Villefranche 3-0 in the last 16 of the French Cup on Wednesday.

Holders and record 12-time champions PSG were held in check at Lyon’s Groupama Sta-dium until Julian Draxler bun-dled in a cross from substitute Edinson Cavani on 102 minutes.

Moussa Diaby and Cavani sealed victory late on after both were set up for simple tap-ins by Kylian Mbappe, who came on for Angel Di Maria with an hour gone.

PSG will host Dijon in the quarter-finals as they bid to win

the competition for a fifth time in a row.

Thomas Tuchel’s side face Bordeaux at home in the league

this weekend before travelling to Old Trafford on February 12 for the first leg of their Champi-ons League tie with Manchester United.

“It’s normal to have the match against Manchester United in one corner of your head even if we’re trying to go step by step,” said PSG defender Marquinhos.

“You saw the coach looked to rest some players to best man-age the squad. We’re thinking about the important dates com-ing up.”

Argentine midfielder Lean-dro Paredes made his first start for PSG after his arrival from Zenit Saint Petersburg for a re-ported 47 million euros ($54 million).

PSG’s Moussa Diaby celebrates after scoring a goal with Kylian Mbappe

BIC Open track and passenger experiences set for tomorrowTDT | Manama

A sensational Saturday of non-stop thrills awaits

motorsport enthusiasts at Bah-rain International Circuit.

One of the most popular ac-tivities on offer at BIC, Open Track is a non-competitive event that allows drivers to explore their very own car’s or motorbike’s performance within a safe, controlled envi-ronment. Driver etiquette is of ultimate importance, so there is no close or aggressive over-taking. Overtaking is by invita-tion between corners and driv-ing is monitored, with poor or dangerous driving dealt with

swiftly by officials.Saturday’s Open Track will

be held from 12noon to 7pm around BIC’s 4.512-kilometre Grand Prix track, the same raced on annually by Formula 1’s biggest stars.

Many exclusive sports cars and bikes that are rarely ever seen on the streets are set to hit the tarmac, many coming from outside Bahrain, includ-ing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE. All vehicles must first go through scruti-neering before being allowed to take to the track. Partici-pants must also be wearing the appropriate clothing, which includes closed-toe footwear.

Colts rally past Bulls in CBA T25 leagueTDT | Manama

Sumith’s all-round perfor-mance helped Colts beat

Bulls by 2 wickets in CBA Divi-sion D 25 overs league.

Bulls won the toss and elect-ed to bat. Sumith removed the top three batsmen of Bulls in his 5 over spell that helped his team to restrict Bulls for 174 runs. Chandrasekar (39) became the top scorer for Bulls.

Chasing the target, Colts opener Sumit scored a brilliant 92 runs and was well supported by Antoney (44) that helped

their team to reach the target in 24th over. Binoy took three wickets for Bulls.

Brief Score: Colts CC 177/8 in 23.2 overs (Sumith 92, An-toney 44, Binoy 3/29) beat Bulls 174/10 (Chandraseka-ran 39, Murugesh 35, Sebas-tian 32, Sumith 3/34) by 2 wickets

Other Match ResultsHempel Paints 96/6 in 15.1

overs (Rashid 26, Arun 3/25) beat Matrix CC 91/10 (Sahfeer 24, Tayyab 3/13) by 4 wickets

Suha Travels 202/6in 25 overs (Tabrez 84, Adnan 38)

beat Bahrain Hawks 147/10 (Satinder 38, Nabeel 4/22, Anand 3/19) by 55 runs

TISCA Stars 131/7 in 20.4 overs (Sameer 42, Jahangeer 3/13) beat Spartan 130/9 (Far-han 27, Shanmugam 2/21) by 3 wickets

Challengers 147/10 (Vidun 44, Rishabh 4/26) beat Young Blasters 96/10 (Thirumal 20, Aneesh 3/14) by 51 runs

Lantern Lions 155/10 (Anup 31, Yogi 29, Sham 2/25) beat B h a ra t h L e g e n d s 1 1 8/ 1 0 (Praveen 26, Yojesh 3/13, Anan-ya 3/23) by 37 runs

Asian Shooting Federation presidenShaikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Khalifa receives a commemorative gift during the closing ceremony of the seventh youth pistol shooting camp at Shaikh Zayed Al Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex, Kuwait. Shaikh Ali distributed the prizes and certificates to the participants in the camp, which was held under the auspices of Asian Shooting Federation in cooperation with Kuwait Shooting Club

Lingard says ‘old school’ Man Utd back under Solskjaer

AFP | London

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has helped bring back “the old

school Manchester United” and persuaded Jesse Lingard that they can mount a Premier League title challenge next season.

Jose Mourinho’s Decem-ber sacking was followed by the surprise appointment of Solskjaer until the end of the campaign.

The Norwegian has won nine of his 10 matches in charge in all competitions, with that unbeaten start to life in the dugout seeing United close the gap on the top four and excite the fans.

“Solskjaer and (assistant) Mike Phelan have brought back the old school Manches-ter United,” the England mid-fielder told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.

“They know the league and the club inside out, so to pass that on and get us playing how we are has been perfect. Solskjaer is doing very well, nobody can fault him.

“He got the players backing him straight away. He told us there are big expectations and pressure at this club but we have to deal with it and play like a real United team.”

Lingard said United, cur-rently two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea in the race for Champions League places, were setting their sights higher for next season.

“We will challenge for the title next season if we carry on how we are now,” said the 26-year-old. “We’re back to ba-sics and win-ning games by grinding out results or scoring a lot of goals.

“ A s long as w e ’ r e winning g a m e s , that’s all that mat-ters.”

Vinales blazes to first, Marquez feels painAFP | Sepang, Malaysia

Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales made a late charge to finish

first on day two of the MotoGP pre-season test in Malaysia yes-terday, while champion Marc

Marquez slipped to eighth af-ter suffering with an injured shoulder.

Vinales of Spain, who rode 63 laps in Sepang, pulled off an incredible performance in the closing

moments to post the fastest time of 1min 58.897sec.

Rival Alex Rins, on a Suzuki, main-tained his overnight

position and was 0.527 seconds behind

his countryman.Jack Miller made

a b i g i m p rove m e n t on his Ducati to finish

third with 1min 59.517sec. The Australian had ended 11th on Wednesday.

Meanwhile MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez slipped from first to eighth, complaining of pain from his left shoulder after surgery in December.

The 25-year-old reigning and five-time champion completed only 37 laps, fewer than half the number of laps completed by some riders. He underwent a four-hour shoulder operation in December.

“In the beginning, I felt better than yesterday. Then immedi-ately in the 2nd and 3rd runs

I started to feel the energy go down on the shoulder and start-ed to lose power and more pain,” he said after ending his test runs much earlier than planned.

But Marquez quickly down-played concerns about not being ready for the opening Qatar race in March.

“I will not be 100 percent in Qatar... but it will not be a big problem. My target is to arrive in Argentina 100 percent,” he said, referring to the season’s second race on March 31.

Marquez also said he was not prepared to push hard during the Sepang test due to fears that it could cause inflammation to

his shoulder muscles.“I can keep riding and riding

in pain but problem is if I have a big inflamation ... I lose one week of my recovery,” he said.

Ducati rider Italian Andrea Dovizioso set the early pace on day two but finished fourth, 0.665sec off the fastest rider.

Englishman Cal Crutchlow, returning from the ankle injury that ended his 2018 season early, put up a strong performance on his LCR Honda to end fifth.

Valentino Rossi, in his 24th year of motorcycle grand prix, was sixth.

The official first pre-season test runs ends today.

Messi unable to inspire Barca winner

Barcelona’s Malcom scores against Real Madrid to leave semi-final in the balance

• Lucas Vazquez and Malcom got the goals as the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final ended with honours very much even

• Lionel Messi came on for the final half-hour at the Camp Nou

AFP | Barcelona

Real Madrid gained a measure of redemption at the Camp Nou by hold-

ing Barcelona to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday and taking the up-per-hand in the semi-final of Copa del Rey.

Neither Lionel Messi nor Ga-reth Bale were named in the starting line-ups for this first leg but their replacements filled the void as Malcom’s curling shot cancelled out an early opener from Lucas Vazquez.

After an impressive opening 20 minutes, Madrid were largely second best in a compelling, if unspectacular, Clasico but the result leaves them well-placed heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Feb-ruary 27.

For Santiago Solari’s side, a resilient, gutsy display will also help erase the memory of their

humiliation here in October, when they were thrashed 5-1, a result that caused Julen Lo-petegui to be sacked the follow-ing day.

“Comparisons are unhelp-ful,” said Solari. “But this re-sult shows how hard the team is working.”

Messi, who had been strug-gling with a thigh problem, and Bale, who faces a fight for place after recovering from a calf

injury, both came on after the hour but neither could inspire a winner.

Instead, it was Vazquez, and two youthful Brazilians that took centre stage. Vazquez scored but Vinicius Junior, the youngest Real Madrid player to feature in a Clasico this century, was his team’s greatest threat until the 18-year-old departed in the second half.

“I’m not surprised by how he

plays because I’ve known him since he arrived,” said Solari. “But an 18-year-old boy playing and developing in this way, that is a surprise.”

Malcom was just as unpredict-able and in the end, it was the 21-year-old’s intervention that keeps Barca on level terms.

“The tie is in the balance,” coach Ernesto Valverde said. “A draw is a fair reflection,” said Sergio Busquets.

Barely 10 seconds had passed before Toni Kroos snapped into Ivan Rakitic, setting the tone for what was a dominant opening spell from Madrid.

Vinicius led the way. He was fearless, full of imperfections and erratic decisions but de-livering moments of clarity too when Madrid were at their most threatening.

Benzema sets up Vazquez He jinked inside Nelson Se-

medo and teed up Kroos before producing the cross that created the goal, an arching ball over the head of Jordi Alba, which Karim Benzema tucked back for Vazquez to poke in.

Rakitic and Philippe Coutinho were both careless in possession but Vinicius lacked precision to capitalise, first scuttling into Benzema and then misreading

the Frenchman’s run. Barca had been just as frantic,

with Luis Suarez even tripping over his own feet. But they im-proved and after half an hour, were in the ascendancy.

Malcom missed a one-on-one and then became their best player for a period, crossing for Rakitic to head against the bar and teeing up Suarez to sting the hands of Keylor Navas.

The home fans called Messi’s name at the start of the second half and when he jogged up the touchline shortly before the hour, they roared as if for a goal.

They did that soon after too, after an equaliser of chaos and quality in equal measure. Na-vas rushed out to block Alba before Suarez curled a brilliant shot that beat the diving Sergio Ramos but not the post.

It spilled to Malcom and he still had work to do, 20 yards out with white shirts in front. He found a gap.

Messi came on, along with Ar-turo Vidal, Bale and Casemiro. Vinicius was among those to make way, his bright start fading with fatigue.

Neither side seemed sure how much to commit for a winner. Messi twice weaved through but the best chance fell to Bale, who received from Benzema after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s skewed clearance. The goal was open but Bale’s touch was heavy and Semedo made a crucial block.


In the beginning, I felt better than yesterday. Then immediately in

the 2nd and 3rd runs I started to feel the

energy go down on the shoulder and started

to lose power and more pain

MARC MARQUEZ

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) vies for the ball with Real Madrid’s Brazilian midfielder Casemiro

Maverick Vinales of Spain and Yamaha Factory Racing heads down a straight during the MotoGP Tests

KNOW WHAT

Barcelona’s Argen-tinian forward Lionel

Messi (C) vies for the ball with Real Madrid’s Brazilian

midfielder Casemiro

Jesse Lingard

CELEBS 8 @newsofbahrain FRIDAY Jennifer Aniston · 2019. 8. 2. · Saudi team ready to treat conjoined Yemeni twins Riyadh, Saudi Arabia A Saudi medical team has offered to treat

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