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Transcript of the peninsula newspaper @peninsulaqatar @peninsula qatar ... · Games Captain Anuji Senalka. She...
Point Break: A thriller packed with action
CAMPUS | 4 FASHION | 8 ENTERTAINMENT | 10
DeBakey students host event with Best Buddies
Fashion moment for plaid extends to
home decor
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016 the peninsula newspaper @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar
DIGITISINGDIGITISINGHISTORYHISTORY P | -3
Qatar Digital Library portal provides
access to over 650,000 pages from
the British Library’s collections with
descriptions in both Arabic and English.
CAM
DeBhostBest
| 10
COVERSTORY
| 03 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
By Fazeena Saleem
The Peninsula
The Qatar National Library (QNL)’s
Qatar Digital Library (QDL) project
aims to digitise 1,125,000 pages
of rare, historical documents in a
bid to contribute to current un-
derstanding of the Gulf’s regional history
and the Arabic and Islamic World.
Digitalising the pages will be completed
by 2018.
QDL was launched in 2014 and through
its website www.qdl.qa, users can find a
wealth of diverse information relating to the
history of Qatar and the region. There are
digitised letters in English from the 18th to
the 20th century with information about life
in the Gulf region, administration and pe-
troleum companies, as there are important
manuscripts of Arab and Islamic scientists
which were hidden in the British Library.
“Our aim is to make this information and
knowledge about the Gulf freely available
for everyone — from those with a general
interest in the history of the Gulf to the
academic researchers undertaking ground-
breaking historical research. The QDL is an
important contribution to the study of the
Gulf history, improving understanding of
the modern history of the Gulf, the Arabic
cultural heritage and the Islamic world,” Dr
Claudia Lux, Qatar National Library’s Project
Director told this newspaper.
Presently, the online portal provides
access to over 650,000 pages from the
British Library’s collections with descrip-
tions in both Arabic and English. This
includes 625,000 pages from the India Of-
fice Records and 25,000 pages of medieval
Arabic manuscripts digitised and made ac-
cessible online for the first time.
The Heritage Collection of the QNL is
a unique contribution to Qatar’s cultural
landscape.
The Heritage Collection comprises
some of the rarest and most valuable texts
and manuscripts related to Arab-Islamic
civilisation. The growing collection currently
includes books and periodicals about the
Arab world in many European languages.
First books printed with Arabic letters can
be find here as well as Arabic religious and
scientific manuscripts, maps and globes,
as well as instruments and tools related to
travel, and a selection of early photography.
QNL recognises that Qatar’s youth need
to be equipped with the necessary resourc-
es, knowledge, and skills to preserve the
nation’s heritage, while driving their com-
munity into the future.
“QNL provides access to digital re-
sources for young people through its
children and teen collections. There are
picture books and fiction with beautiful
stories and non-fiction for all kind of in-
terests from pyramids to dinosaur and
astronomy. There are music and graphic
novels as animated Arabic learning fea-
tures,” said Dr Lux.
“Additionally, through a range of in-
teractive children and teen events, QNL
aims to create an ambiance conducive
to learning, self-development and crea-
tivity. The skills acquired through these
programmes and events are helpful for
children and teens academic and social
excellence,” she added.
In 2015, in addition to hosting a range
of interactive monthly events for children,
families and the general public in Qatar,
QNL’s successful participation in the 26th
annual Doha International Book Fair where
it received nearly 1,500 new member regis-
trations was a remarkable highlight of the
year.
“It shows, that there is a growing reading
culture in Qatar. Furthermore, throughout
the year, QNL has registered thousands of
users wishing to gain access to the library’s
wealth of learning resources,” said Dr Lux.
Residents of Qatar with valid Qatari IDs
are able to access all databases of QNL free
of charge after registration through QNL’s
website: www.qnl.qa. There is a wide range
of online databases for all kind of inter-
ests from medicine to engineering, from
history to music or with lots of interesting
fiction that can being accessed through the
library’s website.
Digitising thousands of rare historical documents
The Heritage Collection comprises some of the rarest and most valuable texts and manuscripts related to Arab-Islamic civilisation.
Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, along with Qatar National Library’s team during the Heritage Collection Open Day in 2015.
Qatar National Library’s Heritage Collection has some of the most unique historical manuscripts, including one of the oldest copies of the Holy Quran.
Qatar National Library’s team hosted engaging activities for children and families at Qatar Foundation’s tent in Darb El Saai in celebration of Qatar National Day last month.
CAMPUS
04 | MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
DeBakey students host event with Best Buddies
DeBakey High School stu-
dents hosted a social
event at Darb El Saai with
their Best Buddies group
members from Step By Step Cen-
tre. The students toured Darb Al
Sai festivities and participated in
the shooting range games, archery,
fire safety seminar, falcon petting,
and radio voice recordings.
This event was a continuation
of the relationships developed
throughout the school year. The
Step By Step students also received
handmade greeting cards from the
DeBakey students.
DeBakey students are required
to complete a minimum of 100
volunteer hours before gradua-
tion, and such activities help build
character and social responsibility
awareness. The activities are de-
signed with the theme, “They are
just like you and me,” in effort to
break away the thought that chil-
dren with disabilities want to be
dealt with any differently. ACS Doha to hold Open Morning
ACS Doha invited all to attend an informal Open Morning for
prospective families interested in visiting the school and find-
ing out how the IB can enable pupils to gain places at the
best universities. The ACS invited all to meet current families and
students, as well as the Head of School. The open day will be taking
place on January 16, 2016 from 9am till 11am at the school located
in Al Gharaffa. To reserve your place today please register via our
website: http://bit/1meKTSq or to find out more visit: http://www.
acs-schools.com/open-mornings-acs-doha
CAMPUS/COMMUNITY
| 05 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Stafford International holds sports meet
The Annual Senior Sports Meet
of Stafford International School
was held recently at Al Sadd
Sports Grounds.
The Meet opened with the torch be-
ing symbolically carried by the School
Games Captain Anuji Senalka. She was
joined by House and Games captains
from representing three houses. Fol-
lowing the oath by the athletes, the
meet was declared open by the school’s
Chairman Kumudu Fonseka.
The three houses of the School,
Emerald, Garnet and Topaz, competed
against one another to raise the Cham-
pions Trophy. Athletes competed in
individual track events that included
relays in several exciting rounds. The
spectators were treated to thrilling mo-
ments when athletes performed with
vigour and determination to earn points
for their respective Houses.
A group of students from Primary
School and the Western Band added
glamour to the occasion with a drill dis-
play and a Band display respectively.
Thereafter, the squads of all three Hous-
es marched around the track. Chief
Guest SugathThilakaratne, President
of Sri Lanka Athletics Association and
Principal Rienzie Nanayakkara received
the Guard-of-Honour.
Thilakaratne was flown in from Sir
Lanka to be Chief Guest and Sheikha
Zulfa Al Thani, Guest of Honour joined
the events. Secretary of Al Sadd Sports
Club, Ahamed Saiid, also attended.
At the close of the meet, Topaz
House were adjudged Champions
for 2015. Emerald House emerged
first Runner-Up and Garnet second
Runner-Up.
Students from the Topaz House receive the Championship Trophy from Chief Guest
Sugath Thilakaratne, President of Sri Lanka Athletics Association, and Rienzie
Nanayakkara, Principal of Stafford International School.
Filipino Fashion Designers of Qatar members.
IFF winter gathering
The Indonesian Family Forum of
Dukhan or Paguyuban Masyar-
akat Indonesia di Dukhan led
by Bangun Widadi recently organised
the IFF Dukhan Winter Gathering with
the theme ‘Together... We Strong and
Warm’ at Dukhan Water Sports (DWS)
South Beach. Around 500 people at-
tended the gathering. Indonesian
Ambassador,Deddy Saiful Hadi and Mad-
ame Endang Deddy Hadi were Guests of
Honour. Indonesian embassy staff also
attended the event.
The Filipino Fashion Designers of
Qatar (FFDQ) recently launched
“Manika, Dolls Enchanted” , an ex-
hibition of miniature dolls whose
clothing were designed by FFDQ. The dolls
are on display at the Plaza Inn Doha until
January 15 from 8am to 11pm daily. The
exhibition is organised in cooperation with
Plaza Inn, headed by General Manager Jo-
chen A Schmid.
Len Tan, the Marketing and PR Man-
ager of International Hospitality, has been
instrumental for FFDQ to fulfil its dream of
showcasing Filipino creativity in the field of
fashion. FFDQ was established November
23 and was accredited by the Philippine
Embassy on December 8.
The association consists of young and
innovative fashion designers including Mon
Sarmiento, Chairman; Rholand Debuque,
Vice Chairman Internal; Vhong Taasan, Vice
Chairman External; Alain Geli, Secretary
Internal; Rhon Santos, Secretary External;
Mhel Borres, Treasurer; Jamilah Ahmed, Au-
ditor; and PRO’s Zandro De Vera Adriano
and Federico Jorge.
FFD launches Manika Dolls Enchanted
MARKETPLACE
06 | MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Domasco sponsors
Ustad Rahat concert
Doha Marketing Services Com-
pany (Domasco), a leading
multi-brand company, has
signed up as the exclusive
Diamond sponsor for“Ustad Rahat
Fateh Ali Khan” live concert in Doha. The
well-known automotive brands Honda
and GAC are also supporting this event
as Platinum sponsors.
“Domasco’s sponsorship of this
music concert is in line with the com-
pany’s continuing strategy to support
and engage all segments of the local
community” said Faisal Sharif, Manag-
ing Director at Domasco.
He added: “We are thrilled to team
up with Apex Events, the organiser of
the concert. We would like to thank
them for giving us the opportunity
to be part of this most awaited show
that brings so much excitement to
Qatar.”
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will amaze the
audience in Qatar with his impressive
performance, Domasco said.
HDC inaugurates Wafflemeister at Lagoona Mall
Hospitality Development Com-
pany (HDC), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of United Devel-
opment Company (UDC),
celebrated the opening of its latest
offering to the Qatari market, the UK
based chain Wafflemeister at Lagoo-
na Mall.
The opening of the new dining
experience was marked in true fun-
fair style as sky scrapping stilt walkers
enthralled the crowds, eye-popping
balloon artist with one of a kind balloon
sculptures entertained children, and
the ‘Minions’ characters also made an
appearance at the event.
As a popular international brand
and with rapid expansion all over the
globe, Wafflemeister’s arrival has cer-
tainly been eagerly awaited. The chain’s
success to a great extent relates to the
secret recipe of the waffle dough that
dates as far back as the 1950’s, as such
United Development Company is proud
to have brought such an exciting con-
cept to Doha’s diners.
Abdullatif Al Yafei, UDC Executive Director Portfolio Investment (centre);
Abdul Shukoor, HDC General Manager (left); and guests during the opening of
Wafflemeister at Lagoona Mall Doha.
“We are truly excited and honoured
to have joined forces with the Hospi-
tality Development Company to bring
Wafflemeister to Doha,” said CEO &
Founder of Wafflemeister UK, Alex-
ander Troullier. “We could not have
hoped for a better partner who shares
the passion for great tasting waffles,
fantastic customer service and under-
stands the Meister’s promise.”
Although the brand’s main focus is
waffles, it also caters to customers who
wish to indulge in an array of authen-
tic Italian ice cream (gelato), delicious
thick shakes, refreshing sorbets and
gourmet coffee. Servicing its clients in
a casual and fun atmosphere, the café
later on welcomed the general public,
who found it appealing as the ‘go-to
place’ for a true everyday indulgence.Stiltwalkers entertaining children.
Sana Salman, (second left) Director, Marketing Apex events, with Faisal Sharif, Managing Director, Domasco; Greig Roffey,
Sales and Marketing Head of Honda; Santosh, Regional Head of Malabar Gold and Diamond and Farrukh Jamal, Business
Development Manager of Qalco, at a press conference announcing Rahat Fateh Ali Khan show in Doha yesterday.
Pic
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FOOD
| 07 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
To get a party started, a
simple and stylish soup
By Joe Yonan
The Washington Post
As much as I love to eat chunky,
hearty soups as the weather
gets colder, I’m also a suck-
er for the kind of purees that
can be part of a fancy party: as a plat-
ed, sit-down first course or even as a
passed appetiser, served in miniature
glasses.
That kind of soup, in my mind, needs
to be relatively simple but powerfully
flavored. And it never hurts to include
ingredients that get people talking. I
knew that’s what I’d get when I spotted
a recipe for Apple Soup With Juniper
in Darra Goldstein’s recent book Fire (plus) Ice: Classic Nordic Cooking (Ten
Speed Press, 2015), and I was right.
The recipe combines Granny Smith
apples with warming flavours from gin-
ger, juniper berries, cardamom, allspice
and cinnamon. For the liquid, Goldstein
employs a little apple cider but mostly
chicken stock; I went with my home-
made vegetable broth for the latter. The
result is something a little mysterious
— tart but deep — and you wouldn’t
necessarily know that it included ap-
ples unless somebody told you. It’s
barely thicker than freshly squeezed
juice, which makes it good for sipping. I
added an extra touch, saving one of the
apple peels, thinly slicing it and frying
it for a frizzly garnish.
Goldstein designed the soup as
something comforting for when the
weather first gets chilly in Scandinavia.
Apple Soup With Juniper
4 to 6 servings (makes about 5 ½
cups)
This elegant Scandinavian soup,
with its tartness deepened by the
slightly smoky and earthy flavors of
juniper, would make an excellent first
course for a dinner party. Barely thick-
er than juice, it would be perfect for
sipping from demitasse cups or shot
glasses.
You’ll need cheesecloth and kitchen
twine.
MAKE AHEAD: The soup can be refrig-
erated for up to one week or frozen for
up to three months.
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds tart apples, such as Granny Smith (about 3)
2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for optional garnish
2 small ribs celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
2 shallot lobes, chopped (about ¼ cup)
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon dried juniper berries4 green cardamom pods3 allspice berries1 small (3-inch) cinnamon stick8 large sprigs flat-leaf parsley, plus
more for garnish1 sprig thyme4 cups homemade or no-salt-
added vegetable broth (see Scrappy Vegetable Broth at washingtonpost.com/recipes)
1 cup unsweetened apple cider½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more as
needed½ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper, plus more as needed
Steps
Core, peel and chop the apples.
Save and thinly slice the peel of 1 ap-
ple, if you like, for an optional garnish.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a
2-quart or larger soup pot over low
heat. Add the apples, celery, shallot and
ginger, then cover and cook gently until
soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the dried juni-
per berries, cardamom pods, allspice,
cinnamon stick, 8 sprigs of parsley and
the thyme sprig in a piece of cheese-
cloth and it tie closed with kitchen
twine; this is your spice sachet.
Once the apple mixture is soft,
pour the broth and cider into the pot.
Increase the heat to medium-high; add
the spice sachet and bring to a boil,
then reduce the heat to medium, so
the liquid is barely bubbling. Cover and
cook for 40 minutes, until everything is
very soft and the flavors have melded.
Meanwhile, if you want to make the
apple-peel garnish, line a plate with
paper towels. Heat 2 or 3 more table-
spoons of the oil over medium heat in
a small skillet. Once the oil shimmers,
working in batches to avoid overcrowd-
ing, scatter in some of the thinly sliced
peels and cook, stirring frequently, until
they are lightly browned. Use a slotted
spoon to transfer them to the paper-
towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with
the remaining peels.
Remove the soup pot from the
heat. Discard the spice sachet. Use an
immersion (stick) blender to puree the
soup in the pot, then pour it through
a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot,
pressing down on the solids. Add the
salt and pepper, and reheat the soup
gently over low heat. Taste, and adjust
the seasonings as needed.
Divide among individual bowls,
garnishing each portion with the fried
apple peels, if using, and a few parsley
leaves. Nutrition | Per serving (based
on 6): 140 calories, 0 gram protein,
25 gram carbohydrates, 5 gram fat, 0
gram saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol,
210mg sodium, 2 gram dietary fibre,
20 gram sugar.
LIFESTYLE/FASHION
08 | MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Fashion moment for plaid extends to home decorAP
Plaids are having a fashion mo-
ment as retailers and designers
play with the classic pattern. But
the apparel and footwear indus-
tries are sharing the love: Fresh takes on
plaid have made headway in housewares
and home decor, too.
“The great thing about plaid is that you
can take it in so many different directions,”
said Kristen Chalupa, a kitchen and table-
top product manager for Crate & Barrel.
Through scale, colour and application,
plaids can be complex and traditional, or
simplified for a clean, updated look, she
said. “There’s something very recognis-
able and nostalgic about plaid,” Chalupa
said.
Her company went for nostalgia but
also took a more modern approach in
recent offerings, with updated plaids in
table linens and such kitchen items as an
oven mitt, pot holder, apron and dishtowel
in a matching pattern of bright red, green,
yellow and blue.
A wide plaid with a metallic shimmer
was on sale there in Christmas wrapping
paper, a plaid throw in red and green
was called “Cratchit,” and Crate & Barrel
also built a crosshatched plaid into the
handcrafted iron wire front of a mid-cen-
tury-influenced fireplace screen.
Target went “mad for plaid” in a variety
of ways, including a limited-edition collab-
oration with sportswear designer Adam
Lippes in mostly apparel and accessories,
playing on the classic buffalo design. The
retailer also offered some unlikely items
such as special-issue Chapstick sets of
three lip balms and plaid-decorated bot-
tles of Listerine mouthwash in yellow,
green and blue.
“Plaid has been a defining element
of style for every generation,” said Amy
Goetz, a Target spokes-
woman. “Offering it
across different cat-
egories allows our
guests to experience
that element of sur-
prise as they browse
throughout the entire
store.”
Both classic and
contemporary plaids
are plentiful through-
out the retail universe
in couches, curtains
and bedding, but al-
so for Christmas tree
ornaments, in deer
shapes of orange and
black on throw pillows,
and in non-traditional
colour schemes that
include soft pinks.
Ugg Australia sells a
calming glacier plaid
in soft wool, in blue,
white and light tan
with fringe at one hem
just down from a dec-
orative three-button
closure.
Pinterest is awash
with ways to decorate
a home using plaid, including wallpaper in
red to anchor a cozy, book-filled study, and
building a plaid design in contemporary
bathroom or kitchen wall tile.
The design need not scream rustic,
country or all things Scotland. Graham-
brown.com offers a thoroughly modern
take on plaid in a charcoal-and-white wall
covering that lends a more sophisticated
air against a white floor and contemporary
white easy chair.
Other sightings of creative uses for
plaid:
ISAAC MIZRAHI: The designer sells on
QVC, and recently sold out of a ceramic,
pedestal cake plate with a set of matching
plates in bold preppy designs of green
and blue.
TERVIS: A springy plaid called poppy
was used on double-wall Fiesta plastic
wrap tumblers in two sizes: 16 and 24
ounces. A set of highball glasses at Fitz
and Floyd were designed in a contempo-
rary, minimalist take on plaid.
RALPH LAUREN: Plaid is alive and well
for apparel and for the home at Ralph
Lauren. A red tartan was used for a por-
celain cup-and-saucer set trimmed in
gold, along with dinnerware in the same
pattern.
A rustic plaid of red, black and gray
inspired by a vintage Ralph Lauren blanket
was carried over to napkins and placemats
in woven linen. The company also put a
similar vintage-inspired plaid in wool on
a picture frame.
WILLIAMS-SONOMA: Tartan was also
paired here, but in chrome, for picture
frames in red and blue. The tradition-
al plaid also adorns everything from
mugs and tabletop runners to pillow
covers and a Christmas stocking. One
modern take on plaid is a hand-woven,
hair-on cowhide pillow cover in broad
red and black stripes against a white
background.
ED On Air Cotton Berber Reversible FL/Q Quilt Set by Ellen DeGeneres.
A Watershed 2-1 Wavy Plaid shower curtain.
The great thing about plaid is that you can take it in so many different directions. Through scale, colour and application, plaids can be complex and traditional, or simplified for a clean, updated look.
HEALTH & FITNESS
| 09 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
By Lena H Sun
The Washington Post
A new study has found that
watching yourself eat some-
thing unhealthy, like a slice of
chocolate cake, can make that
food seem less tasty. And that, in turn,
might make you eat less.
Ata Jami, a marketing professor
at the University of Central Florida
who studies consumer behaviour and
decision-making, looked at whether
mirrors affected how two groups of
undergraduate students ate.
Under the guise of a taste test,
all were asked to choose between a
piece of chocolate cake (a common
supermarket brand) and a container
of fruit salad (from a can). Half of the
185 students were randomly chosen to
sit in a room facing a mirror. The other
half were put in a space where they
couldn’t see themselves. After sampling
their selection, participants were asked
questions about the food and if they’d
want to have it again.
Those in the room with the mirror
were told it was part of a different ex-
periment about fashion and couldn’t
be moved. “We didn’t want them to
be suspicious of the mirror,” Jami said.
The students eating cake in front
of the mirror, it turned out, liked the
dessert less than those who couldn’t
see their reflection. There was no such
difference for the fruit-salad students.
Something happens when people
view themselves in a mirror, Jami ex-
plained. On appearance, for example,
they compare how their hair looks to
how they think it should look. Same
with behaviour.
“You don’t want to see yourself eat-
ing unhealthy products because that
does not match with standards of
healthy eating,” he said. The disconnect
makes people feel uncomfortable—
even if they don’t realize why.
Here is what’s going on in their
heads: “They are looking for a reason
for why they’re not feeling so good, so
they think, ‘maybe there is something
wrong with the food,’” Jami said. They
look for an external factor to blame,
which makes it easier to “tolerate that
negative feeling.”
So would putting up mirrors in your
own home really help you cut out those
unhealthy snacks?
Jami thinks so. People can add
them in places like the kitchen, where
a glance in the mirror might push them
to reach for an apple instead of a bag
of potato chips.
Restaurants might want to con-
sider more mirror decorations, too, to
encourage a shift in diners’ menu selec-
tions. And if the profit margin is higher
on healthier salads than decadent des-
serts, even better for them.
There is a silver lining for those of
us who really like chocolate cake. Jami
conducted a related experiment with
the students and found that if someone
else picked a less healthy item (brown-
ies instead of fruit salad), the others
didn’t feel any discomfort about eating
the brownies.
“If friends give it to you, it’s guilt-
free,” he said.
The research is to be published in
the January issue of the Journal of the
Association for Consumer Research.
To lose weight, eat that
cake in front of a mirror
Hepatitis C may be tied to risk for Parkinson’s diseaseQNA
Hepatitis C is an infection that
affects the liver, but people
with the virus may also be
at greater risk for Parkin-
son’s disease, a new report shows.
“Many factors clearly play a role
in the development of Parkinson’s
disease, including environmental
factors,” study author Dr Chia-Hung
Kao, of China Medical University in
Taichung, Taiwan, said in a news re-
lease from the American Academy
of Neurology.
“This nationwide study, using the
National Health Insurance Research
Database of Taiwan, suggests that
hepatitis caused specifically by the
hepatitis C virus may increase the risk
of developing Parkinson’s disease,”
Kao said.
However, the association seen in
the study does not prove a cause-
and-effect relationship. And “more
research is needed to investigate this
link,” Kao added.
One expert in Parkinson’s disease
agreed that it’s too soon to draw firm
conclusions from the study.
“While these results are intriguing,
it is too early to suggest that people
living with hepatitis C should be con-
cerned about their risk of developing
Parkinson’s,” Beth Vernaleo, associate
director of research programmes at
the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation,
said in a foundation news release.
“That said, this study highlights
one potential risk factor, which should
be further investigated,” she added.
“If the finding holds up to further
studies, it could have significant pub-
lic health implications for the early
screening and treatment of hepatitis
C.”
For the study, researchers divided
nearly 50,000 people with hepatitis
into three groups: 71 percent were
infected with hepatitis B; 21 percent
had hepatitis C; and eight percent
had both. The study also included
just under 200,000 people without
hepatitis.
The researchers followed the par-
ticipants for an average of 12 years.
Among those with hepatitis, 270 de-
veloped Parkinson’s disease. Of these
patients, 120 had hepatitis C.
ENTERTAINMENT
10 | MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Point Break: A thriller packed with actionBy Troy Ribeiro
IANS
Film: Point Break Director: Ericson CoreCast: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo, Ray Winstone, James Legros and Tobias Santelmann Rating: ***
Director-cinematographer
Ericson Core’s Point Break is
inspired by Kathryn Bigelow’s
cult film of the same name,
starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick
Swayze. But unlike the 1991 release,
this film with its pseudo-philosophical
theme abounding in multidimension-
al, spell-binding action sequences and
stunning cinematography is a visual de-
light sans logic.
The prologue, a daredevil mo-
tor-bike stunt by Johnny Utah (Luke
Bracey) and his best friend on the haz-
ardous mountain path, sets the tempo
of the narration. The tragic death of his
friend alters “the flow” of his life.
Seven years later, Johnny is aspiring
to be in the FBI. But “his resume is un-
impressive”, according to his immediate
senior, FBI Agent Hall (Delroy Lindo).
So, when the FBI is posed with two
strange “modern-day Robin Hood style
heists” that occurred in Mumbai and
Mexico, accompanied by dare devil
stunts, Johnny comes up with a pre-
posterous theory.
His theory does not impress the
seniors in the FBI, but his boss FBI
Agent Hall, against all odds, lets him
pursue the plans by saying, “identify
the individuals and find the motive of
their crime.”
This forms the crux of this adven-
ture sports and crime thriller.
The action scenes cover a wide
range of the extreme sports shot in
mesmerising locales spread across
France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Ven-
ezuela, Canada and the US. Each stunt
is spectacular and marvellously pictur-
ised, but the film is let down by a weak
script and poor storytelling.
Writer Kurt Wimmer’s script sports
an absurdly complex and underdevel-
oped plot that does not comply to its
own logic. The thieves aren’t commit-
ting the crimes for their own benefit but
as a tribute to ‘Mother Earth’ after they
accomplish the mythical “Osaki Eight”, a
series of challenges created by a dead
spiritual guru.
These challenges are made up
of eight extreme sports missions de-
signed to honour the forces of nature.
Complete the eight and the person is
supposed to achieve nirvana (salvation).
The screenplay also lacks the build-
up for a taut tension-packed climax and
inter-personal chemistry.
Luke Bracey as the rookie FBI agent
and the daring Johnny Utah bring
warmth, charm and commitment to the
role, but the latter lacks the magnetism
of a super-hero.
Edgar Ramirez as Bodhi, the un-
disputed leader of the gang, is not
only enigmatic but also charismatic.
Unfortunately, his onscreen chemis-
try with his team members as well as
with Johnny seems perfunctory. Also,
there is a rugged inconsistency to his
philosophy-spouting character that
make him hollow.
Teresa Palmer, as the lone female in
the totally male cast, has her moments
of glory. As the underwritten love at-
tention of Johnny, she evokes interest,
but does not strike an emotional chord.
Delroy Lindo and Ray Winstone as
FBI agents are natural and offer noth-
ing extraordinary.
With good production values,
the visuals of the film are technically
flawless. The stunts supervised by
Ralf Haeger and Michael Rogers, the
production designs by Udo Kramer,
the visual effects supervised by John
Nelson, Tom Holkenborg’s music along
with razor sharp editing by Thom No-
ble, Gerald B. Greenberg and John
Duffy are all worth special mention.
Overall, “Point Break” with its adren-
aline rush, is a decent film to welcome
the New Year.
Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher donate $1m to Syrian refugeesIANS
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen and
his actress wife Isla Fisher
have donated $1m to charity
for Syria.
The star couple have given
$500,000 to NGO Save the Children to
fund measles vaccinations for children in
northern Syria and a further $500,000
to the International Rescue Committee
(IRC) to support families who are victims
of conflict in the country. ”By allowing
us to make their generous donation to
the Syrian children public, Sacha and Isla
are helping highlight the tragedy of the
issue today,” Justin Forsyth, CEO, Save
the Children said, reports femalefirst.
co.uk. ”These are desperate times for
Syrian families facing bombs, bullets,
and torture in Syria. The couple’s dona-
tion will save many thousands of lives
and protect some of the most valuable
children,” he added.
David Miliband, president and CEO of IRC, said: “Now is the time for all of
us to double down on commitments to
civilians caught up in the Syria conflict.
These people are the victims of terror.
As hope for the end of conflict recedes,
it is all the more important to meet the
most basic human needs.
”Sacha and Isla’s donation is a great
expression of humanity, and a challenge
to do more for the most vulnerable. I
hope it is an example to many others
seeking practical ways of making a dif-
ference during the Christmas and New
Year season.”
These are desperate times for Syrian families. The couple’s donation will save many thousands of lives and protect some of the most valuable children
ENTERTAINMENT
| 11 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
A regressive Tamil love
story - Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam
Film: Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (Tamil)Cast: Balakrishna Kola, Wamiqa Gabbi, Parvathy Nair, Kalyani Natarajan;
Director: Gitanjali SelvaraghavanRating: **1/2
By Haricharan Pudipeddi
IANS
An incompatible couple — Prabhu
(Balakrishna) and Manoja (Wa-
miqa) — get into an arranged
marriage courtesy their parents and one’s
expected to believe that they’ve fallen in
love by the end of the film.
While that remains the goal of this
story, we never get the feeling, especially
from Manoja’s side that she’s in love with
Prabhu. So when they finally come togeth-
er in the most intimate, yet romantic and
happy ending, you’re not really convinced.
The only time Manoja realises she
misses Prabhu is when they’re separated
and she has trouble sleeping, so she finds
comfort in listening to his snore, which she
had recorded to irritate him when they
used to stay together.
We get the point that sometimes even
the smallest things about our partners
make us miss them, but this is slightly awk-
ward. Does this brief moment really prove
that Manoja is into Prabhu, particularly
after getting raped by him for not allowing
physical intimacy between them?
It reminds me of those cases in some
Indian villages where, when a man rapes
a woman and is eventually caught, he’s
forced to marry her. How convenient,
right? This is exactly why this is such a
regressive love story, even though there
are some good moments.
Originally written by filmmaker Selvar-
aghavan, and directed by his wife Gitanjali,
one wonders why all his heroes have to be
losers and social outcasts. Prabhu, here,
is an introvert, who dances to the tunes
of his father and absolutely has no clue
about how to behave with women.
He works in a call centre, has a decent
sense of dressing, but makes a mess of
the toilet when he uses the tissue paper.
Although Selvaraghavan had said on sev-
eral occasions that most his stories are a
reflection of the society and we truly ap-
preciate the effort, but mind moving on
to other type of stories? What we get in
Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam is what we’ve
already seen in Selvaraghavan’s films — at
least most of it, like, love, stalking and ad-
ditionally arranged marriage.
We also get to see a variety of men
— a boyfriend who wants to sleep with
his partner to know if she’s worth be-
ing committed to, a husband who wants
to know (with details) the distance his
wife has gone with her ex-partners and
a father-in-law who doesn’t like that his
daughter-in-law conveniently blames her
parents for the way she’s raised — in this
story where the fulcrum revolves around
a heroine.
It’s a shame that we live around such
men who are judgmental, selfish and lack
the minimum trust one needs to have in
their partner. Among some of the film’s
best moments, this one will certainly stay
with you along with the sporadic humour
that’s used, not forcefully, but very smartly
to evoke a chuckle or two.
The film was originally supposed to
feature Dhanush, and with them in the
lead it would’ve worked out extremely
well. Balakrishna Kola, however, doesn’t
rise to the occasion in portraying the
tragedy usually associated with Selvara-
ghavan’s heroes. Debutante Wamiqa,
who has had two back-to-back great
debuts (including last week’s Telugu film
Bhale Manchi Roju), is here to stay and
she’s a talent to watch out for.
Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, if not for
the regressive part, works to an extent
and it’s tough to discard the effort that
has gone into its writing.
Chhota Bheem meets AbRam, Shah Rukh
Bollywood superstar Shah
Rukh Khan’s son AbRam’s
dream of meeting his fa-
vourite cartoon character
Chhota Bheem came true when a
life-sized soft toy of the fictional su-
perhero greeted him at his residence.
Shah Rukh had earlier shared on
Twitter that the two-year-old likes to
watch Chhota Bheem and Mowgli.After getting to know about it,
Rajiv Chilaka, CEO of Green Gold
Animation, who is the creator of
Chhota Bheem and has directed
the forthcoming film Chhota Bheem - Himalayan Adventure, decided to
send his star character to Mannat a
few days ago.
“In 2014, when we met Kajol
she really appreciated our content
because it is clean and parents find
it comfortable when their kids are
watching ‘Chhota Bheem’. Shah
Rukh also said his child loves ‘Chhota
Bheem’. I felt really humbled that our
hard work has paid off,” Chilaka said
in a statement.
“Animation is a very difficult
market because we compete with
international content directly. They
have more muscle power so to keep
afloat with anything Indian is a huge
challenge,” he added.
Chhota Bheem - Himalayan Ad-venture will release on January 8.
Riaan calls father Riteish ‘Baba’
Actor Riteish Deshmukh
has started the New Year
on a “magical” note. He
is elated as his son Riaan
called him ‘Baba’ for the first time.
Riteish, who welcomed his first
child with wife Genelia Deshmukh
in November
2014, took
to Twitter
on Friday,
to share his
“ m a g i c a l ”
m o m e n t
with his fans.
“What a
start to 2016
- My son
looks at me
and calls out ‘Baba’ for the first
time. #magical,” Riteish tweeted.
On the films front, he will be
seen in “Bank Chor”, “Great Grand
Masti” and “Housefull 3”.
Gulshan Grover
Manisha’s ‘most
dependable
friend’
Actress Manisha Koirala,
who has been friends
with Bollywood’s “Bad
Man” Gulshan Grover for
the last two decades, says he is her
“most dependable friend”.
“Gulshan remains the most
dependable
friend over
two decades
of knowing
him,” Mani-
sha, who
has worked
with the ac-
tor in films
like “Sauda-
gar”, “Milan”,
“Sanam”, “Angaaray”, “Kartoos”
and “Lajja”, posted on Twitter on
Saturday.
TECHNOLOGY
12 | MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
By Brian Fung
The Washington Post
Looking back, 2015 was filled with
major moments in technology and
media. Comcast failed to close its
mega-merger with Time Warner
Cable, after regulators effectively spiked
the deal. A European court struck down an
important data-sharing agreement with
the United States. And Google underwent
a major restructuring, setting itself up as
a subsidiary of a new holding company
called Alphabet.
Big as they are, these events aren’t
necessarily the ones we will refer back
to in the months ahead. Instead, I high-
light a few others, some of which may
feel less important by comparison but
collectively represent important turning
points for technology and business. What
unites them is the way they changed the
whole conversation about technology — in
some cases opening consumers’ eyes to
a new way of doing things, in other cases
unmistakably shifting the terms of debate
on a key issue.
We may not feel the effects of these
turning points right away. We might not
even fully grasp the full scope of their im-
pact right now. But recapping the year
this way — looking back in order to look
forward — seems more fruitful than re-
viewing big news moments for their own
sake.
Apple’s support for ad-blocking
When Apple rolled out iOS 9 this year,
it came with a notable new feature: A set-
ting that lets users take greater advantage
of mobile ad blockers. Ad-blocking has
been around for a long time. But Apple’s
move, which led to a surge in downloads
of ad-blocking apps, set off alarm bells
across the Web. Thousands of major
website operators (including, yes, The
Washington Post), depend on advertis-
ing for survival. Apple’s decision, alongside
moves by Facebook to cram more of our
daily Internet usage into siloed apps, could
undermine the open, public Web, critics
such as Mozilla have argued.
The more that tech companies go
down this path, the more changes we’ll
see in the basic economics of the Internet.
Websites will look to new business mod-
els - or die off. All of this will have visible
effects for the average consumer, which
is why we’re going to be talking about this
moment for a long time.
Tesla’s autopilot
The fact that some Tesla drivers were
actually whipping down the freeway with
their hands off the wheel this year was an
important milestone for driver automation.
Google could make a million marketing
videos for its own driverless cars, but none
of them compare to a YouTube video of
a real person testing things out in a real
car, on a real road, for herself. And that’s
exactly what Autopilot gave us.
Footage of Autopilot successfully
slowing down to avoid a crash, along with
other videos showing near-misses with the
technology, gave the public its first taste
of what self-driving cars could feel like.
The videos gave us a visceral sense of the
possibilities and the risks; for the first time,
we could really imagine ourselves sitting in
the driver’s seat and letting the computer
take over. Other car makers are working on
driverless technology, sure. But for many
consumers, it’s still an abstract concept
explained in terms of potential accidents
prevented and traffic jams avoided.
First impressions of a technology often
go a long way toward shaping its fate. In
this case, California is already considering
rules for driverless cars, and some tradi-
tional automakers fear that any mistakes
by newer industry entrants could poison
the well.
Net neutrality
The Federal Communications Com-
mission’s net neutrality rules, which were
approved in February and took effect
months later, opened up a new chapter
in Internet history. Now, Internet provid-
ers have to obey a slew of new rules that
prevent them from blocking or slowing
down Web traffic. But the decision has
also created new questions: What kind
of privacy rules apply? Could some ques-
tionable business practices receive a pass
under the rules while others get blocked?
How should these rules affect providers
of mobile data?
Those questions will have to be an-
swered in the next few months. And
because of the way the rules are set up,
they’ll be answered in ways that look to-
tally different from how the FCC might
have answered them had it gone in a dif-
ferent direction.
Some of these questions are at the
heart of an ongoing industry lawsuit to
overturn the rules. But however that
turns out, the agency’s decision this year
to regulate Internet providers like phone
companies set it down a path with major
implications for the Internet industry. Rest
assured, we’ll be looking back at these
rules again and again.
The Paris attacks
The deadly terrorist attacks in Paris
this year prompted many security officials
to call for greater powers to track suspects’
digital activity. This might seem like an ob-
vious reaction. But in reality, intelligence
and law enforcement had been on the
defensive almost since Edward Snowden
first leaked what he knew about the NSA
in 2013. The Paris attacks turned that dy-
namic around, renewing momentum for
expanding, rather than limiting, govern-
mental surveillance powers.
That pressure has only increased with
the US presidential race, with candidates
trying to one-up each other with fresh
proposals to shut down ISIS online or to
spy on their encrypted communications.
In the future, we’ll likely look back on
this moment as the one when surveillance
began gaining ground once more.
The status of Uber drivers
You could pick any number of events
this year as turning points in what has be-
come a wide-ranging fight over whether
Uber drivers - and other contract workers
- deserve the same workplace benefits as
people who are employed full-time. The
latest came earlier this month, when the
Seattle City Council approved a measure
that recognizes the right of professional
drivers to bargain collectively. Taken to-
gether, these moments represent a shift
in the way Uber is perceived—and has
potentially large consequences for how
it and other sharing economy companies
will operate in the future.
Five turning points for technology in 2015
Websites will look to new business models - or die off. All of this will have visible effects for the average consumer.
We may not feel the effects of these turning points right away. We might not even fully grasp the full scope of their impact right now.
SCIENCE
| 13 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Dogs can copy their pal’s
expressionsIANS
In an indication that dogs could possess basic levels of empathy, researchers
have found that our canine friends, just like humans, are capable of imitat-
ing the expression of their play mates.
For humans, copying each other’s facial expression is important for social
bonding and the sharing of emotions.
Now the researchers from University of Pisa in Italy have found dogs doing
the same, which the researchers believe, may have emerged during their domes-
tication. Previously, the capacity to copy the behaviour of others was detected
only in humans and non-human primates such as chimpanzees and orangutans.
For the latest study, the researchers tested whether body and facial rapid
mimicry is present in domestic dogs.
”We demonstrated that rapid mimicry is present in dogs and it is an involuntary,
automatic and split-second mirroring of other dogs,” lead researcher Elisabetta
Palagi was quoted as saying by telegraph.co.uk.
Moreover, the distribution of rapid mimicry was strongly affected by the
familiarity linking the subjects involved — the stronger the social bonding, the
higher the level of rapid mimicry.
”In conclusion, our results demonstrate the presence of rapid mimicry in dogs,
the involvement of mimicry in sharing playful motivation and the social modula-
tion of the phenomenon,” the researchers wrote.
All these findings concur in supporting the idea that a possible linkage between
rapid mimicry and emotional contagion — a building-block of empathy — exists in
dogs, the study said. The findings appeared in the journal Open Science.
From a rare Florida
tree, genes to regrow
forest of ancient giants
By Barbara Liston
Reuters
An experiment in regrowing
forests of the world’s oldest
trees led environmentalists
this week to climb a nine-sto-
ry tall, 2,000-year-old cypress in central
Florida known as Lady Liberty.
After plucking cuttings from her
crown, climbers packed them on ice
and shipped the specimens overnight
to the nonprofit Archangel Ancient
Tree Archive’s nursery in northern
Michigan.
Organisers hope to root the clip-
pings to grow genetically identical
trees that will be replanted elsewhere
in Florida in an effort to grow a new
forest of giant cypresses.
The organisation is engaged in simi-
lar projects in the US Pacific Northwest,
Ireland and England to preserve the
offspring of the best surviving speci-
mens of ancient trees.
“If you ask any of us why we’re do-
ing it, it’s for our grandchildren,” said
David Milarch, co-founder of the group,
which aims to build new forests of 200
clones and younger trees to promote
cross-pollination and help combat glo-
bal warming.
He said 98 percent of the United
State’s “old growth forest,” or natural
forest which has survived at least 120
years, has been destroyed.
That was nearly the fate of Lady
Liberty and a sister tree, called the
Senator, which was 3,500 years old
and about 118 feet tall when it was
burned to the ground in 2012 by an
arsonist.
Archangel took a cutting from what
remains of the Senator and hopes to
reroot it as well.
Trees bred from the Florida cypress
will be planted north of Lady Liberty’s
home near Orlando, close to the Flor-
ida-Georgia state line, to account for
warming climate patterns.
“It’s a valid attempt. It’s based on
sound science and professional tech-
niques. We have high hopes,” said
Andrew Kittsley, a plant biologist and
the city of Orlando’s forestry manag-
er, who was one of the climbers this
week.
Archangel organisers since 2012
have been planting in Port Orford,
Oregon, what it calls a “super grove”
of cloned coast redwoods and giant
sequoias that were selected from the
best specimens in Oregon and Califor-
nia, Milarch said.
Archangel has provided clones to
the environmental attraction called the
Eden Project in Cornwall, England to
start a redwood forest, Milarch said.
In Ireland, the group has propagat-
ed specimens from ancient oak trees
that have been dying off, he said.
New finding to help grow
plants sans sunlight
IANS
You might not notice it, but plants actually wage war with each other to
outgrow and absorb sunlight! Their weapons? Special sensors that can
detect depletion of red and blue light — wavelengths absorbed by veg-
etation. If a plant is shaded by another, it becomes cut off from essential
sunlight it needs to survive. To escape this deadly shade, plants have light sensors
that can set off an internal alarm when threatened by the shade of other plants.
Their sensors can distinguish between an aggressive nearby plant from a
passing cloud. Scientists at the Salk Institute in the US have discovered a way by
which plants assess the quality of shade to outgrow menacing neighbours—a
finding that could be used to improve the productivity of crops.
The new work shows how the depletion of blue light detected by molecular
sensors in plants triggers accelerated growth to overcome a competing plant.
”With this knowledge and discoveries like it, maybe you could eventually teach
a plant to ignore the fact that it’s in the shade and put out a lot of biomass
anyway,” said study’s senior author Joanne Chory.
However, this is the first time researchers have shown that shade avoidance
can happen through an entirely different mechanism - instead of changing the
levels of auxin, a cellular sensor called cryptochrome responds to diminished blue
light by turning on genes that promote cell growth. This revelation could help
researchers learn how to modify plant genes to optimise growth to grow more
aggressively and give a greater yield even in a crowded, shady field.
The findings appeared in the journal Cell.
Jake Milarch (left) and Andrew Kittsley of the non-profit organisation Archangel
Ancient Tree Archive prepare to climb a 2,000-year-old bald cypress tree in
Longwood, Florida.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (3D/Action) 10:00am, 3:20 & 8:45pm 2D 12:40, 6:00 & 11:30pmExtraction (2D/Thriller) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00 & 11:55pmPoint Break (3D/Action) 11:00am, 4:00 & 9:00pm 2D 1:30, 6:30 & 11:30pmJoy (2D/Comedy) 10:30am, 1:00, 3:30, 6:00, 8:30 & 11:00pmSavva: Heart of The Warrior (2D/Animation) 10:00, 11:50am, 1:40 & 3:30pmBone Tomahawk (Adventure) 5:20, 8:00 &10:45pm Snowtime (2D/Animation) 10:15am, 12:10, 2:00, 3:50 & 5:40pmThe Good, The Bad And The Dead (2D/Action) 7:35, 9:30 & 11:30pmThe Peanuts Movie (2D/Animation) 10:00, 11:50am, 1:40 & 3:30pm Bleeding Heart (2D/Drama) 5:20, 7:10, 9:00 & 11:00pmSanta Claws (2D/Family) 10:10am, 12:00noon, 1:50 & 3:40pmDilwale (2D/Hindi) 5:30, 8:30 & 11:30pmStar Wars: The Force Awakens (3D IMAX/Action) 10:15am, 12:45, 3:30, 6:15, 9:00 & 11:45pmExtraction (2D/Thriller) 10:30am, 3:00, 7:30 & 11:55pm Point Break (3D/Action) 12:30, 5:00 & 9:30pm
Santa Claws (2D/Family) 2:30pm The Big Short (2D/Drama) 4:30 & 8:45pm Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (2D/Action) 6:45pm Extraction (2D/Thriller) 9:00pm Ho Mann Jahaan (2D/Pakistani) 10:30pm Snowtime (2D/Animation) 3:00pmThe Good Dinosaur (2D/Animation) 4:45pm Joy (2D/Comedy) 6:30pm Bone Tomahawk (2D/Adventure) 11:15pm The Peanuts Movie (2D/Animation) 2:30pmSavva, Heart of The Warrior (2D/Comedy) 4:15pmBleeding Heart (2D/Drama) 5:45pmThe Good, The Bad And The Dead (2D/Drama) 7:15pm 9:00pmSu Sudhi Vatmeekam (2D/Malayalam) 9:00pm
Joy (2D/Comedy) 2:30 & 9:15pm Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (2D/Action) 4:45pm The Big Short (2D/Drama) 7:00 & 11:15pmThe Good, The Bad And The Dead (2D/Drama) 11:30pmThe Peanuts Movie (2D/Animation) 3:00pm Savva, Heart of The Warrior (2D/Comedy) 5:00pm Extraction (2D/Thriller) 7:00 & 11:15pm Bone Tomahawk (2D/Adventure) 9:00pmThe Good Dinosaur (2D/Animation) 2:15pm Snowtime (2D/Animation) 3:45pm Santa Claws (2D/Family) 5:15pmBleeding Heart (2D/Drama) 7:00pm Su Sudhi Vatmeekam (2D/Malayalam) 8:45pm
ROYAL PLAZA
Santa Claws (2D/Family) 2:00pm
Snowtime (2D/) 3:45pm Extraction (2D/Thriller) 5:15 & 10:00pm
The Big Short (2D/Drama) 7:00 & 11:30pm
Bone Tomahawk (2D/Adventure) 9:15pm Savva, Heart of The Warrior (2D/Comedy) 2:30pm The Good Dinosaur (2D/Animation) 4:15pm The Good, The Bad And The Dead (2D/Drama) 6:00pm Joy (2D/Comedy) 7:45pm Bleeding Heart (2D/Drama) 11:30pm
Dilwale (Hindi) 4:00pmPasanga 2 (Tamil) 5:45 & 10:45pmThanga Magan (2D/Tamil) 8:15pmBajirao Mastani (2D/Hindi) 6:15pmSu Sudhi Vatmeekam (2D/Malayalam) 5:45, 7:00 & 8:15 9:15 & 10:45pm
ASIAN TOWN
NOVO
MALL
LANDMARKVILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER
DILWALE
BLONDIE
SHERMAN’S LAGOON
The children of two competing families meet again after a 15-year separation.
14 MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
CINEMA PLUS
EASY SUDOKU
15MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016
Yesterday’s answerEasy Sudoku Puzzles: Place a digit from 1
to 9 in each empty cell so every row, every
column and every 3x3 box contains all the
digits 1 to 9.
Yesterday’s answer
How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku Puzzle is solved by filling the numbers from 1 to 9 into the blank cells. A Hyper Sudoku has unlike Sudoku 13 regions (four regions overlap with the nine standard regions). In all regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is solved like a normal Sudoku.
HYPER SUDOKU
Yesterday’s answerHow to play Kakuro:The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers.
However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In
KAKURO
ACROSS
1 Gets paid for prior work
9 Negotiator’s challenge
15 Combined
16 Star close to Venus
17 Jordan was part of it in 1984
18 Part of the chest
19 Miss at a party?
20 1970s-’80s Olds
22 One who’s speechless
23 Sched. B entry
24 TV character who said “I learned that
beneath my goody two shoes lie some very
dark socks”
27 French Christian
29 “Hair,” for example
30 Driver’s convenience
33 Blue ___
34 What may be attached to cortexes?
35 Game for cats
37 Quit lying
39 Marvel’s ___-Man
42 Caesarean section?
44 Alternative to Pantene
48 Hacker’s aid
51 ___ leg
52 “Hmm, let me think about that”
55 What a suit may hold
56 Something people have often been told
not to touch
57 Gambling mecca, with “the”
58 Yossarian’s “Catch-22” tentmate
59 If
62 Had zero effect
64 Brain game
65 16 drams
66 Members of the meddle class?
67 Monthly reading
DOWN
1 Source of the line “If this
is the best of all possible
worlds, what are the
others?”
2 Spanish composer Isaac
3 Sturdy table surface
4 Withheld
5 Put on a list
6 “Same here”
7 Unpleasantly overrun
8 Profit
9 Hit from the ’60s?
10 Key contraction
11 Pop maker?
12 Norman who directed “In the
Heat of the Night”
13 See 60-Down
14 Served with a sauce of
mushrooms, tomatoes, olives,
oil and wine
21 Not inert
25 “Sick”
26 Attorney general between Smith and
Thornburgh
28 Pile driver, basically
31 View 32 Lots
36 French bread
38 Abbr. on a credit card
39 Nonbasic property
40 Ticket name
41 Item in many a cat owner’s pantry
43 Subject of many a neighborhood poster
45 Unspecified quantity
46 Free from tension
47 Official with a pistol
49 Bring up the rear
50 Fancy Feast company
53 Fair offerings
54 British college
60 With 13-Down, water dweller that looks like
a plant but is actually an animal
61 Workplaces with many stats, for short?
63 What’s what south of the border?
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
A R I O N A S S I S P L U SB E E R O C L O C K O I N KR E S O R T A R E A C O M EA F T M I N E D I K N E W
F A N G N T E S T SW A D I N G Q U A R T SA R A B S B U G G Y W H I PA C N E A R I L S A A R EC H A R M C I T Y S T R I P
C O E R C E A C C E S SS N A P T O G R O HH E R T Z S P E E R C F CR A V I C A N T O N O H I OE L E C O R I O L E P A R KK E Y S D I N N E R T I M E
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26
27 28 29
30 31 32 33 34
35 36 37 38
39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
48 49 50 51
52 53 54 55
56 57 58
59 60 61 62 63
64 65
66 67
CROSSWORD
a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number.Within each collection of cells - called a run - any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once.
BRAIN TEASERS
Hoy en la HistoriaJanuary 4, 1958
1936: The first popular music chart based on record sales was published in U.S. Billboard magazine1946: Riots broke out in the French cities of Paris and Rouen over bread shortages1951: North Korean troops captured Seoul during the Korean War2011: The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province was assassinated by one of his security guards over his opposition to blasphemy laws
Sir Edmund Hillary became the first explorer to reach the South Pole overland since 1912. It was the first time that land vehicles had ever reached the Pole
Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS