WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017

Don’t want to associate with politics: SRK

CAMPUS | 3 HEALTH | 9 BOLLYWOOD | 11Birla Public School

receives Eco School Award

Novel method to fix genes in living

organisms

Email: dohatoday@pen.com.qa

Birrec

Mani is one of the many humble faces of street vendors in Doha. There are several other newspaper vendors, cobblers, watch makers, vegetable and fruit sellers who have been in to the trade for decades.

P | 4-5

LIFE, IN MYRIAD COLOURS

CAMPUSWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 03

The Peninsula

Birlasphere, the eco club of Birla Public School, members received the Eco School

award 2016, for their year long project Swachchta Abhiyaan - Cleanliness Mission.

Eco-School programme is an initiative of Doha Bank as part of its corporate social responsibility t o w a r d s e n v i r o n m e n t a l consideration.

The in-charge of Eco Club, Rakesh Verma, along with mem-bers of the project committee were awarded certificates along with the Trophy. The members are Nikhil Kaleb, Aravind Kannan, Inderpaal Singh, Sifarath Parakot, Mukesh,

Syed Multazim and Niranjan. The school principal and vice-principal felicitated them on this achieve-ment. The theme of the project was

‘Cleanliness Mission’ which pro-moted the concept of 3 R’s : Reduce, Rescue & Recycle. The eco club members took pledges.

Not to buy things they don’t need or items that come in waste-ful packaging or that cannot be recycled. To reuse and recycle whatever they can.

Some ways to reduce the envi-ronmental damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the bus, or riding our bike instead of driving. They agreed that wastage of paper can be reduced by using a computer! .

Birla Public School receives Eco School Award

Shantiniketan Indian School has conducted ‘Makeover Phase 9’, it’s staff develop-

ment programme. The one-day training pro-

gramme started with a keynote address by the Principal,

Dr. Subhash Nair, on ‘Teacher Ethics’. It was followed by a ses-sion on Digital tools of teaching and ICT training on PowerPoint Presentations and Photoshop.

The highlight of the session was the Teachers’ Discussion

Forum where the panelists dis-cussed how Life Skills are developed through CBSE curricu-lum. Later, the school administrative staff have attended a training programme on Time management lead by the Principal.

Dr. Subhash Nair congratulated and appreciated the efforts of the resource persons Bilkees, Shobi, Muktha, Jyothi Lakshmi, Syam Krishna, Najeeba , Nasar P and. Shamsudheen for their diligent role in the session.

SIS conducts ‘Makeover Phase 9’ programme

COVER STORY WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 201704

Fazeena Saleem The Peninsula

Mani is a very active newspaper vendor with a never fading smile on his face, whom you can meet

in the streets of Doha during the morning hours. It has been more than 20 years since he came from a small village in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu to Qatar. Since then Mani has been selling news-papers and takes pride in helping news reach readers.

Unlike many in Doha, his day starts around midnight where he goes to the printing press, help in gathering newspapers and reaches his selling point by 5 am.

“I’m doing this job for the past 20 years. Arabic newspapers has a high demand than the English newspapers. But business is not like old days, now many people read the newspapers on the mobile phones, yet I sell around 80

newspapers a day,” said Mani while busy running across the road sell-ing newspapers.

According to him the peak time for newspaper selling is until 8 am, while Al Sharq has a high demand among Arabic language newspa-pers and The Peninsula among the English. Newspaper vendors get an approximate monthly salary of QR1200 from the newspaper com-pany under which they work and an extra of QR40 for every 100 newspapers they sell.

Every month Mani sends money to his family — two children and spouse. He plans to work here for another two years until his daugh-ter completes her engineering degree.

Besides his family, authentic food from his home town is some-thing Mani misses here badly is the authentic Chettinad Cuisine origi-nated in the areas around Karaikudi, a district in the Tamil Nadu State in India.

He says his regular customers

are kind and genuine, “They pass by this road daily and see us every morning, some days if they don’t see , the next day will enquire if everything is fine. Some will give extra money, especially ladies will offer us food like sandwiches and fruits.”

Mani is one of the many hum-ble faces of street vendors in Doha. There are several other newspaper vendors, cobblers, watch makers, vegetable and fruit sellers who have been in to the trade for decades. Recently The Peninsula met with several vendors during the morn-ing hours of a Wednesday on the streets of Doha to know a glimpse of their life.

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has specified general licensing conditions for street ven-dors. The applicant should be least 18 years old, obtain a written approval from the employer in case he is a foreigner, have a health cer-tificate from the Ministry of Public Health, and a certificate of good

conduct (clean criminal record), in addition to the approval of compe-tent authorities depending on the business activity.

A street vendor’s activity should be restricted to a specific geograph-ical area in case of using a vendor trolley. The annual licensing fee for the vendor is fixed at QR500 and at QR1,000 for the trolley. The ven-dor using small trolleys should not obstruct the flow of traffic or move-ment of pedestrians. The trolleys should meet the health and envi-ronment specifications.

Unlike the other street vendors, newspaper sellers are full time staff of the newspaper company, and they benefit all facilities provided by the employer including allow-ances and air tickets to the home country once in two years.

Nayeem another vendor from Eastern Sri Lankan district of Ampara is selling newspapers near The Mall is here for the past two years. His routine is also similar to his colleague Mani.

A glimpse into the lives of street vendors

Pics: Salim Matramkot

COVER STORYWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 05“Many buy Arabic newspapers and they ask

for the Al Sharq. Business is bit slow during the school holidays, but other days most papers are sold between 6am and 8am,” he said. He says there is also a considerable demand for English and Malayalam newspapers.

While speaking Nayeem was running across the road between vehicles deliver newspapers to customers, at some situations traffic was moving.

“We are now used to this and know how to cross the roads safe. Most times vehicles slow down and let us cross the road,” he said.

Nayeem sells around 50 newspapers a day and manages to send a savings of QR 500 (LKR 20,000) to his family back home.

Daily life of a cobbler and watch maker is much different from newspaper vendors. They are not employed under any company, but have a sponger and obtained a license from the ministry.

Prabodh is a watch maker in Old Airport area for more than eight years and claims that his daily earning is less as QR 20 on certain days.

He has two children and spouse in Bangla-desh depending on his earning. Most of Prabodh’s earnings are spent on his three year old son, who is in need of a liver transplant due to a birth defect.

“My son needs a liver transplant, it has to be done in India and will cost more than QR 200,000. Until now have spent more than QR 50,000 by borrowing from brother, friends and selling everything I had,” says Prabodh who is clues about saving his son’s life.

He starts his work around 9 in the morning and sits in the trolley until 10pm, but only a few customers come to him as many chose to buy a new watch instead of rearing.

“There are watches sold at very cheap prices, so people don’t like to repair but buy a new one,” said Prabodh while repairing a ‘duplicate’ Rolex

watch. Another watch maker Akram from Ker-ala, South Indian State in India is repairing watches on the Old Airport road for the past 15 years. His trolley was moved recently to his cur-rent location by the authorities as it was previously blocking the entrance of a retail shop.

“We will charge maximum of QR50 to QR60 to repair a watch. But not many customers come for such major repairs. Although we get less cus-tomers compared to previous years, the earning is enough to manage daily life but don’t get to save,” said Akram. A cobbler from Pakistan sitting comfortably in his trolley, opposite to Akram, is repairing shoes for more than two decades. Admiring the fast growth and changes of his neighborhoods and Doha he says, “I have seen the city change and new buildings com-ing up, it’s something happy to see.”

Been for a long time in the area he is called

as ‘chacha’ (meaning uncle in Urudu) by his customers and nearby shop keepers. “Every-one calls me as chacha, so you too call me the same,” he said laughing. AS he said so, a young a man passing by greeting him “Assalamu Alai-kum chacha, how are you?”

‘Chacha’ works in two shifts, from 9am to 1pm and then between 4pm and 8pm. He cooks his dinner and have lunch from a restaurant. He gets to speaks to his family in Pakistan only once a week, as he uses a old model cellular phone which has doesn’t have the features to make free calls over the top services.

“I have some regular customers, even if they don’t have a shoe . But there are many who use us as a place to dump their broken shoes. They give shoes for repair but never come back to collect, it becomes a problem when the authorities come for inspection, they tell us to keep the trolley tidy. Shoes keep inside plastic bags makes the place look untidy. So now I tell the customers that if they don’t come back within three days, will throw away the shoes,” he said.

Another cobbler Omar is also from Paki-stan and in Doha for 20 years. He charges from QR 2 to QR 20 to repair any type of a footwear and it takes a short time to finish the job.

“We can’t charge too much form the custom-ers. If we ask for more to repair, it’s cheaper for them to buy a new one as footwear is sold for even for QR 30. I charge only QR 2 to fix the sole of a shoe with glue,” he said.

Omar is once a football player and a fan of the game, has posters of Qatar winning the 2022 bid and several others related to football pasted around his trolley.

“I love playing and watching football, hope I will be able to watch the 2022 world cup in Doha,” he said.

MARKETPLACE WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 201706

AL Jaber Opticians celebrated employees year-end party on January 26 at Oryx Rotana Hotel. This event was headed by the

company’s Managing Director Fahad Jassim Hassen Al Jaber. All employees and family members participated. Al Jaber Opticians

handed over loyalty awards to employees who completed 10 year-service in the company. Out of the 24 branches, 3 were chosen

as top performing branches and the staffs received incentives for their hard work for the year 2016.

The Peninsula

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Qatar Mixed Open’s major sponsor, has raised an

impressive QR10,000 for the Qatar Cancer Society (QCS).

Every year, InterContinental Doha Hotel & Residences, Crowne Plaza Doha the Business Park, and InterContinental Doha the City jointly raise funds for the Qatar Cancer Society. During the 2016 Mixed Open, the 15th year of the event, the annual gala dinner auc-tion took place at the Doha Golf Club on October 22, 2016.

“This year and as part of our ‘responsible business’ strategic vision, we continued with our charity auction on the awards night of the IHG Qatar Mixed Open, where we successfully raised QR10,000 for Qatar Cancer Soci-ety. The Society is one of the leading humanitarian organisa-tions in Qatar which pledges to work towards increasing public awareness about cancer and can-cer prevention”, commented Cyril

Mouawad, Resident Manager at InterContinental Doha Hotel & Residences, during his speech at the awards night.

Mouawad, proudly presented the cheque to Ammar Al Mashh-dani, Public Relations Manager and to Omar Al Twaissi, Marketing Coordinator of the Qatar Cancer Society at the InterContinental Doha Hotel & Residences on Jan-uary 26. Ammar and Omar showed their gratitude for IHG’s initiative by presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to InterContinental Doha Hotel & Residences and to the major sponsor of IHG Qatar Mixed Open 2016, Mitsubishi Motors.

To support and contribute towards local charities is key. As we know, every amount is a big help to our local charities. Qatar Cancer Society’s main goal is to increase public awareness about cancer whilst continuously striv-ing to find cures and preventative measures to eradicate the disease. Every effort made can and does make a difference.

InterContinental raises

QR10,000 for QCS

Al Jaber Opticians celebrates employees year-end party

MARKET PLACEWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 07

On the sidelines of the recent ly held Pravasi Bharatiya

Divas conference hosted by Govt. of India in Bengaluru, key members of IBPN, the apex body of Indian busi-nessmen and professionals, held strategic meetings and discussions with various Minsters and other govern-ment officials. The team led by its Vice-President Kala

Gopalakrishnan included other executive board members and many prom-inent Indian businessmen from Qatar. “Our meetings with Indian institutions like CII, FICCI, Export Promo-tion Councils, ASSOCHAM etc focused on opportuni-ties in investing in India and at the same time attracting these institutions to do busi-ness in Qatar.”

Lexus International yester-day announced the 12 finalists for the Lexus Design Award 2017. First launched in 2013 to help

stimulate the ideas necessary to build a better tomorrow, Lexus is celebrating the 5th anniversary of this international design competi-tion that supports up-and-coming designers and creators worldwide. Lexus Design Award 2017 drew 1,152 entries from 63 countries under the theme of ‘Yet.’

As the philosophical soul of Lexus innovation, ‘Yet’ is partic-ularly appropriate for the 5th anniversary of this Lexus event. ‘Yet’ inspires us to find synergy effects by fusing seemingly incom-patible goals – spacious yet aerodynamic design, for example. By harmonizing contradictory ele-ments, ‘Yet’ opens up visionary frontiers of progressive design and technology to deliver amazing, new experiences to the world.

In November 2016, a panel of world-renowned designers and creative mentors gathered to judge the entries. After rigorous evaluation and extensive discus-sion, the judges chose 12 finalists.

According to Takayuki Yoshit-sugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa

Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, “Each year, the Lexus Design Award inspires a group of talented creators to cre-ate some of the most brilliant, unique and creative concepts the world of design has ever seen. We are proud to be giving these gifted individuals the global platform to showcase their creativity and imagination.”

Yoshitsugu added: “It has been fascinating to see this year’s par-ticipants draw upon Lexus’ ‘Yet’ philosophy, and simultaneously harmonize two or more contrast-ing yet striking aspects that make

their designs stand out. Their themes mirror the new and emerging trends shaping the auto-motive industry, while also representing the approach Lexus continues to embrace.

Yoshitsugu also thanked Lexus customers for their continued sup-port in making the award a successful initiative year after year.

Out of these 12 finalists, the following four were selected to prototype their designs, mentored by globally recognized creators.

Having nothing, and yet possessing

everything, Ahran Won, KoreaA capsule for mobile living – Having Nothing YET Everything.

Pixel, Hiroto Yoshizoe, JapanA structure to experience the exist-ence of Light YET Shadow.

Player’s Pflute, Jia Wu, ChinaVegetable YET a Musical instrument providing fun and learning experience.

Structural Color - Static Yet Chang-ing, Jessica Fügler, USAStatic YET Changeable structure depending on viewpoint.

Finalists for Lexus Design Award announced

IBPN delegation meets ministers

FOOD WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 201708Ellie Krieger The Washington Post

Most resolutions fall into two big categories: eat-ing better and saving money. This dish can

help you do both in a way that is a luxurious treat rather than a pen-ance. Eating more fish and vegetables ranks high on the health-ful “to-do” list; here, you get both: in a savoury layer of chopped arti-choke hearts (mixed with sun-dried tomatoes, capers, parsley and gar-lic and bound with creamy ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses) piled high atop a gorgeous fillet of salmon.

The recipe’s weeknight ease and under-30-minute start-to-fin-ish time might just tip the scales in favour of cooking instead of more expensive takeout, but the big money-saving (and convenience) feature here is that the fish (and artichokes, for that matter) can be pulled directly from your freezer. Frozen fish is more economical than fresh; it’s often “fresher,” because it is flash-frozen right after being caught, and it is handier than you might realize, because, as I recently learned, it can be cooked without being defrosted.

It was a “Wow! Really?!” moment for me when I came across the “Cook It Frozen” campaign on the Alaska Seafood Marketing Insti-tute website. Then I noticed that Deputy Food Editor Bonnie S. Ben-wick suggested the method for a #DinnerInMinutes Creamy Halibut a few weeks ago. The technique works remarkably well, and in the accompanying recipe, it can be put to good use toward a delicious dou-ble-decker weapon in your arsenal to keep those resolutions.

Roasted Salmon With Artichoke Topping

4 servingsFrom nutritionist and cookbook

author Ellie Krieger.

IngredientsFour 6-ounce salmon fillets,

fresh or frozen (not defrosted)

1 teaspoon olive oilOne 12-ounce package frozen

artichoke hearts, defrosted and finely chopped

1/2 cup part-skim or whole-milk ricotta cheese

1/4 cup packed chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmi-giano-Reggiano cheese

6 vacuum-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon capers, drained1 teaspoon minced garlic1/2 teaspoon sea salt1/4 teaspoon freshly ground

black pepper1/4 teaspoon crushed red pep-

per flakes

StepsPreheat the oven to 400

degrees. If you’re using frozen fish, rinse it under cool water to remove any ice, then pat dry. Brush with the oil on all sides, place in a bak-ing dish and roast for 8 minutes. If you’re using fresh salmon, just brush it with oil and place it in the baking dish (either skinned or skin side down).

Meanwhile, combine the chopped artichoke hearts, ricotta cheese, parsley, Parmigiano-Reg-giano, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, garlic, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium bowl, stirring until combined.

Use your hands (be careful if the

baking dish is hot) to pack the arti-choke mixture on top of each salmon fillet so that it conforms to the shape of the fish; there will be a lot on each portion. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes per 1-inch thickness of fish if using frozen, and 9 to 12 minutes per 1-inch thickness of fish if using fresh, depending on your desired degree of doneness.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition | Per serving (using part-skim ricotta): 390 calories, 44 g protein, 15 g carbohydrates, 17 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 110 mg cho-lesterol, 550 mg sodium, 6 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar

It came from the freezer – and it’s easy

HEALTHWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 09

IANS

A novel gene-editing method has been found to partially restore sight in rats bred with a hereditary condition

called retinitis pigmentosa -- a con-dition that causes blindness in humans. The researchers believe that the method could lead to new therapies for diseases of the eye, brain and heart.

Despite recent advances in edit-ing targeted genes within cultured cells, editing genes within living organisms has remained elusive because current tools are inefficient. This is especially the case for non-dividing cells, which make up most

adult tissues, including those of the brain, the pancreas, the eyes and the ears. “For the first time, we have a method to edit the genome of non-dividing cells in the body. This

could mean revolutionary new therapies for diseases of the eye, brain and heart,” said study co-author Mo Li, Assistant Professor of Bioscience at King Abdullah

University of Science and Technol-ogy (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

Current gene-editing tech-niques typically use a natural DNA repair pathway, called homology-directed repair (HDR), to insert genetic material.

However, this pathway is inef-ficient and not readily accessible in non-dividing cells. Another natu-ral DNA repair pathway, called non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), is more efficient in higher organisms and is active in non-dividing cells.

Studies have shown that NHEJ is error prone when used to turn off targeted genes but highly pre-cise when used to insert DNA sequences into a gene.

Novel method to fix genes in living organisms

There has been no improve-ment since 1998 in survival rates for heart failure patients,

a new study has found.Researchers from the Univer-

sity of Oxford looked at routinely collected medical records from 54,313 patients with heart failure and found 81.3 percent survived for one year, 51.5 percent survived for

two years, and 29.5 percent sur-vived for 10 years, following diagnosis with the condition. “Get-ting an accurate estimate of heart failure prognosis is vital for those who commission healthcare serv-ices, so resources can be allocated appropriately,” said Clare Taylor, a primary care researcher at the Uni-versity of Oxford. Survival rates,

between 1998 and 2012, for people aged over 45 with heart failure showed no improvement though, in contrast to cancer survival rates in the Britain which have doubled in the last 40 years.

“Perhaps more importantly, this allows patients to make more informed choices about treatments and possible end-of-life care. While

the survival rates were better than other studies, we disappointingly did not see any improvement over time,” added Taylor.

Heart failure is a common long-term condition affecting around nine lakh in the Britain and repre-sents the second highest cost to the National Health Service for any dis-ease after stroke.

No improvement in heart failure survival rates in two decades

If you thought bursting balloons at a birthday party is plain fun, think again! Researchers have

found that popping balloons can be louder than shotgun blasts -- and can lead to permanent hearing loss.

“We are not saying don’t play with balloons and don’t have fun, just try to guard against popping them. Hearing loss is insidious -- every loud noise that occurs has a potential lifelong impact,” said one of the researchers Bill Hodgetts from University of Alberta in Can-ada. The researchers measured the noise generated by bursting bal-loons and were startled to find that

Popping balloons can

cause hearing loss

the impact, at its highest level, was comparable to a high-pow-ered shotgun going off next to someone’s ear.

The loudest bang was made by the ruptured balloon at almost 168 decibels, four deci-bels louder than a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the study published in the journal Cana-dian Audiologist.

A major risk factor for development of heart diseases, strokes and diabetes is lower in people who live at higher altitudes, says a new study that suggests that something as simple as the geo-

graphic area in which you live contribute to your risk of developing these diseases. “We found that those people living between 457 to 2,297 metres, had a lower risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome than those living at sea level (zero to 121 metres),” said Amaya Lopez-Pascual, who conducted this research. “Living or training at high altitudes or under a simulated hypoxic (oxygen deficient) environment seems to help with heart and lung function, losing weight, and improves insu-lin sensitivity,” co-senior author of this study Pedro Gonzalez-Muniesa, Associate Professor at University of Navarra, noted. The researchers used data from a Spanish project, where participants have been vol-untarily submitting information.

High-altitude living cuts diabetes risk

LIFE STYLE WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 201710

AFP

Humans’ earliest known rel-ative was likely an egg-shaped creature that ate and expelled from the

same gaping orifice some 540 mil-lion years ago, scientists reported Monday. Startlingly well-preserved fossils of the tiny beast, dubbed Sac-corhytus, were discovered in central China’s Shaanxi province, they reported in the journal Nature.

Several major branches of evo-lution -- one of them eventually leading to humans -- began from this inconspicuous, sea-dwelling organism, they speculated.

“This may represent the primi-tive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including our-selves,” said co-author Simon Conway Morris, a professor at Brit-ain’s University of Cambridge.

Saccorhytus belongs to a broad category of organisms called

deuterostomes, and is the most ancient specimen unearthed so far. Indeed, all deuterostomes -- ver-tebrates (animals with backbones), echinoderms (starfish and sea urchins) and other distinct groups

-- are thought to have derived from this common ancestor, the study concluded.

To the naked eye, the fossils look like black grains of sand. “But under the microscope, the level of detail is jaw dropping,” Morris said.

The sack-like animal’s most dis-tinctive feature is a large -- relative to the rest of its body -- mouth ringed by concentric circles of raised bumps.

It probably ate by engulfing food particles and microscopic creatures. Intriguingly, the researchers did not find anything corresponding to an anus, leading them to conclude that waste was expelled through the same hole. The tiny beast also featured eight

cone-like structures on its body that may have allowed the water it swal-lowed to escape -- probably

“precursors to gill slits,” Morris said. “But we have no evidence for eyes.”

The researchers also suspect Saccorhytus had thin, flexible skin, along with a primitive musculature that allowed it to move around by wriggling. Finding the creatures was not easy. “We had to process enormous volumes of limestone -- about three tonnes -- to get to the fossils,” said lead author Jian Han, a professor at Northwestern Uni-versity in the city of Xian who made

the discovery. Once isolated, the samples were analysed with an electron microscope and a CT scan, allowing the team to build up an image of how the animal looked and lived. The fossils date from the beginning of the 53-million year Cambrian period, which witnessed a dramatic burst of evolution and biological diversity known as the

“Cambrian Explosion”.The period -- during which all

life existed in the oceans -- ended with the first of five major extinc-tion events over the next half billion years.

Study: Human forebear an egg-shaped creature

Nearly 2,000 people joined hands in a salty lake in Argentina on Monday,

setting a new Guinness world record for the most people floating while connected. Experts from the Guinness Book of Records certified that 1,941 people free-floated in a l ine simultaneously for 30 seconds in Lake Epecuen, southeast of

Buenos Aires, according to a video published by local authorities.

The previous record was set in 2014 in Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan, when 650 people linked up using flotation aids. In Lake Epecuen, participants broke the record completely unaided since the water’s high saltiness made floats unnecessary, organizers said.

2,000 set Guinness floating record

To keep a nice balance of moisture and get flawless skin naturally, facial oils work wonders, but you need to know how.

* Brightening primer: Winter can make your skin look dull and lustreless, hence a primer is a must. It’s imperative to choose the right base for an instant glow. A facial oil can be your new primer this sea-son. Pump two-three drops of this product rich in vitamins A, C and E to your face as a primer and help your makeup stay in place all day.

* Massage mask: For more supple and radiant skin, it’s best to mas-sage your skin twice a month. Homemade face mask mixtures or facial sheet masks, adding face oils only multiplies the effect. Add two drops to the mixture for a smoother, hydrated and firm skin. You can also smear the oil prior to using a sheet mask.

* Treatment: To help reduce fine lines and wrinkles or to even skin tone and reduce hyper-pigmentation, add a drop or two of your face oil to your moisturising regime. After cleansing and toning, nicely mois-turise your skin and see magical results in a few days.

* Foundation or BB Cream: Add two drops of face oil to your foun-dation or BB cream for a smoother coverage. Oil helps restore skin and mixed with foundation, the antioxidants make the complexion brighter.

* Booster: Our skin absorbs all the essential nutrients when we are asleep is not a myth. Hence, teaming two-three drops of face oil with a night cream can twofold the results. Apply the mixture evenly on your face, dab a little under your eyes and see how well it works.

Tips to use facial oil

BOLLYWOODWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 11

Mumbai IANS

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who has played a bootlegger-turned-MLA in “Raees”, says he

would never associate with politics in his life.

“I love to do the acting only. I don’t know anything or have any interest in politics. I don’t want to associate with politics ever in my life. I am a hero... I would like to remain a hero and an actor always,” Shah Rukh said at a success party of

“Raees” here on Monday night.“Every film has its own place,

own business. So it is weird to eval-uate one film’s business with another

(‘Kaabil’) on the same criterion.” “Having said that, we knew we

would have a limited business. At this point of time, we are little beyond that also. The film has done fair business than what we expected.” Asked about comparison with last year’s big hits “Sultan” and “Dan-gal”, the “Dilwale” star said: “It is nice to know everything is going well. If we start comparing, then sky is the limit. Why should we compare only the last big hits like ‘Dangal’ and ‘Sultan’ which are much bigger hits than perhaps this film can ever be?

“Therefore, that comparison from outside very is good but from inside we know the truth. ‘Raees’ has a limit and we are happy if the film

reaches that.” Directed by Rahul Dholakia, “Raees” also stars

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Don’t want to associate with politics: SRK

Misunderstandings regarding the con-tent of “Padmavati” have been clarified with Shree Rajput Sabha, a statement

by Bhansali Productions said yesterday. The statement read: “Representatives of Bhansali Productions Private Limited, including Shobha Sant (CEO) and Chetan Deolekar (Associate Pro-ducer) met with the office bearers of all the social organisations under the Shree Rajput Sabha in Jaipur.

“The misunderstanding they had on the con-tent of the film has been cleared and clarified. We have clearly stated that there is no roman-tic scene or song or dream sequence between Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji.”

Bhansali Productions has reached a truce with Giriraj Singh Lotwara, President, Shree Rajput Sabha, Jaipur, regarding the latter’s objection to possible distortion of facts in “Pad-mavati”. The film’s makers have said they have been carefully researching and making the film, which they feel Mewar will be proud of. “Shri Giriraj ji Lotwara, President of Shree Rajput Sabha has been extremely helpful in bringing the various Rajput organisations including the Karni Sena, Sangh Shakti, Pratap Foundation, Bhawani Niketan together to clarify this.” .

“Padmavati” tells the story of Alauddin Khilji, the medieval-era Delhi ruler, who fell in love with Rajput queen Padmavati.

Misunderstandings over ‘Padmavati’

clarified: Bhansali Productions

Actor Sanjay Suri, who has also produced award winning films like “My Brother... Nikhil”, “Sorry Bhai!” and “I Am”, finds it

a demanding job as a producer has to look after every process related to a project.

“It makes a huge difference when you are pro-ducing a film because as an actor, you just do your job and leave. But as a producer, you are involved in everything, especially in independ-ent productions,” Sanjay said.

“It’s far more demanding when you are pro-ducing and acting in the same project,” he added.

Sanjay, who was last seen on screen in “Shorgul”, will next play a college Dean in upcom-ing film “Mona_Darling”. “I was looking forward to doing a thriller and Anshuman (Jha) and I had worked together in ‘Chauranga’. So during the shooting of that film, one day he brought Shashi Sudigala (director of ‘Mona_Darling’) to my office to talk about ‘Mona_Darling’,” Sanjay said.

Sanjay: Being producer is a demanding job

Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan (left), Sunny Leone (centre) and

Nawazuddin Siddiqui during a promotional event for the Hindi film

‘Raees’ in Mumbai.

HOLLYWOOD WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 201712

Paris AFP

New tax breaks have brought a rush of Hollywood pro-ductions to France in the last

year, with the World War II epic “Dunkirk” among a slew of big-budget movies made there.

Director Christopher Nolan’s epic about the evacuation of Brit-ish and Allied troops from northern France was shot this summer on some of the same beaches where the action took place in 1940.

The five-week shoot -- which involved 1,500 extras -- was one of 36 foreign productions drawn to France in 2016 after tax breaks jumped from 20 percent to 30 per-cent of the cost of the film.

Parts of the Oscar-nominated

“Jackie”, starring Natalie Portman as the late US First Lady Jackie Kennedy, were made in Luc Bes-son’s Cite du Cinema studios in Paris, and several scenes in “Fifty Shades Darker”, the sequel to the erotic blockbuster “Fifty Shades of Grey” were also shot in the city.

France also hosted the eight-week shoot of the Bollywood romance “Befikre”, and industry insiders have high hopes that it will also capture “Mission Impossible 6”, the next episode in the Tom Cruise vehicle.

Valerie Lepine, of the French film commission, Film France, said spending by foreign film compa-nies “almost tripled” to ¤152m ($162m) from 57m in 2015. “We have made massive progress this year,” she added. But some of the

most spectacular coups have been in animation, a sector in which France is already a world leader.

DreamWorks forthcoming fea-ture version of the children’s classic

“Captain Underpants” -- about two children who transform their nasty school principal into a Y-fronted

superhero -- was made by Mikros Animation in France.

The same studio is making “Sherlock Gnomes” for Paramount, a London-based whodunnit about the mysterious disappearance of garden gnomes voiced by Johnny Depp.

Tax breaks bring boom in Hollywood films

Actresses Viola Davis and Julia Roberts are set to star in a movie version of Jodi Picoults novel “Small Great Things”. “La La Land” producer Marc Platt is on board through his Marc Platt Prods,

along with Adam Siegel, reports variety.com. “Small Great Things” revolves around a delivery nurse who takes care of newborns at a Connecticut hospital who’s ordered not to touch the baby of a white supremacist couple. When the baby dies in her care, she’s taken to court by the couple. Actor-filmmaker Ben Affleck

has decided to step down as director of “The Batman”

but he will continue to produce the film as well as star in it.

“There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions. Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I can-not do both jobs to the level they require,” variety.com quotes Affleck as saying.

“Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director. I remain extremely com-mitted to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world.”

The decision was solely made

based on what’s best for the project and had nothing to do with the disappointment of Affleck’s recent direction job “Live by Night”.

Affleck and Warner Bros will now begin searching for a new director. Sources say there is a shortlist and that “War for the Planet of the Apes” helmer Matt Reeves is among those on the list.

Affleck has completed work as the superhero in “Justice League”.

Ben Affleck won’t direct ‘The Batman’

Paris Jackson, the daughter of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, will make

her acting debut on TV show “Star”. According to the official casting announcement, the 18-year-old will play Rachel Wells, a young, chic and intimi-dating social media guru. The cast of “Star” also includes Queen Lat-ifah, Benjamin Bratt, Jude Demorest, Brittany O’Grady, Ryan Destiny, Amiyah Scott and Quincy Brown. Other guest stars in the first season are singers Lenny Kravitz and Tyrese Gibson as well as supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Davis & Julia to star in drama movie

Paris Jackson to make acting debut

SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGYWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 13

New York

IANS

Nasa scientists have devel-oped a simple method that could aid search for signs of

life on other planets by analysing amino acids, the structural build-ing blocks of all life on Earth.

The test uses a liquid-based technique known as capillary elec-trophoresis to separate a mixture of organic molecules into its com-ponents. The method is 10,000 times more sensitive than current methods employed by spacecraft like Nasa’s Mars Curiosity rover, according to a study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

While capillary electrophoresis has been around since the early 1980s, this is the first time it has been tailored specifically to detect extraterrestrial life on an ocean world, said lead author Jessica

Creamer, a postdoctoral scholar at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California.

“Our method improves on pre-vious attempts by increasing the number of amino acids that can be

detected in a single run,” Creamer noted.

“Additionally, it allows us to detect these amino acids at very low concentrations, even in highly salty samples, with a very simple ‘mix

and analyse’ process,” Creamer said.The researchers used the tech-

nique to analyse amino acids present in the salt-rich waters of Mono Lake in California. The lake’s exceptionally high alkaline content makes it a challenging habitat for life, and an excellent stand-in for salty waters believed to be on Mars, or the ocean worlds of Saturn’s moon Enceladus and Jupiter’s moon Europa.

The researchers were able to simultaneously analyse 17 differ-ent amino acids. These amino acids were chosen for study because they are the most commonly found on Earth or elsewhere.

“Using our method, we are able to tell the difference between amino acids that come from non-living sources like meteorites versus amino acids that come from living organisms,” said the project’s prin-cipal investigator Peter Willis of JPL.

Nasa’s new method to detect life beyond earth

With am aim to bring together people, conversations, con-tent and the tools that teams need to collaborate in offices, Microsoft yesterday demostrated a new chat-based work-

space called “Microsoft Teams”. “Microsoft Teams” provides persistent, threaded chat to keep everyone engaged and informed and packs a library of emojis, GIFs, custom stickers and memes that gives people a fun way to express personality within their digital workspace.

“People can start voice and video meeting as well as work with Microsoft Office documents directly within the ‘Microsoft Teams’ experience,” Alok B Lall, Director, Office Business Group, Microsoft India, told reporters here. “Microsoft Teams” is also built on Office 365 Groups, the cross-application membership service that makes it easy for people to move naturally from one collaboration tool to another.

The workspace offers the ability for teams to customise the expe-rience to meet their specific needs and team members can create channels to organise conversations by topic.

In an addition to its Slide series, domestic consumer electronics company iBall unveiled ‘iBall Slide Brisk 4G2’ tablet featuring a 7-inch HD display. The device comes with 3GB RAM, 16GB on-

board memory that can be extended up to 32GB, powered by 64-bit Quad Core Processor and runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow oper-ating system. An extension to the iBall Slide Snap 4G2, the device sports a 2MP front camera and 5MP rear camera with LED Flash. With its 3500mAh battery, the device runs for long hours. Available in Cobalt Blue colour, the device supports 21 regional languages.

A week after Face-book launched Universal 2nd Fac-

tor (U2F) Security Keys to secure accounts with sec-ond-factor authentication feature “login approvals”, the social media giant has unveiled a new tool that adds an extra security layer when you go for password recovery. The new tool will ask Facebook account users to provide additional authen-tication as part of the recovery process at GitHub -- a software development platform that hosts some of the most popular software in the world.

“We need something better -- a way to recover access, using identi-ties and services you trust, regardless of whether they are associated with an email address or a phone number. This process needs to be easy, secure, and respectful of your privacy,” Brad Hill, a Security Engineer at Facebook, wrote in a post. The easiest way to hack all of your accounts at once is through your email. Suppose you have linked all your social media and other accounts with a single email ID. If a hacker gets access to that account, he/she can compromise it because once hackers have access to your account, they can go to your other linked accounts, enter your email address and press that link that says, “Forgot your password?”

Microsoft’s chat-based workspace

iBall unveils tablet with 7-inch HD display

New Facebook tool adds

extra security to account

BABY BLUES

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

When they get hitched, visually-impaired couple Rohan Bhatnagar (Hrithik)

and Supriya Sharma (Yami) light up each other’s lives. Unfortunately their

dark world goes topsy-turvy when Supriya is raped and Rohan finds the

policemen playing blind’s man’s buff. Leaving him with no choice, but to

take the law into his own hands.

Note: Programme is subject to change without prior notice.

KAABIL

NOVO ROYAL PLAZA

ASIAN TOWN

MALL

LANDMARK

Raees (2D/Hindi) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 9:00 & 11:00pmResident Evil: The Final Chapter (2D/Action) 10:00am, 12:00noon, 12:45, 2:00, 4:00, 5:15, 6:00, 8:00, 9:45, 10:00pm & 12:00midnight Monster Trucks (Animation) 3D 10:30am, 2:50 & 7:50pm 2D 12:40, 5:00, 9:20 & 11:30pmKaabil (2D/Hindi) 10:00am, 12:40, 3:30, 6:20, 9:10pm & 12:00midnight Robo-Dog (2D/Family) 10:00, 11:50am, 1:40, 3:30, 5:20 & 7:15pmWeapoinzed (2D/Action) 9:10 & 11:15pm Ballerina (2D/Animation) 10:00am & 2:25pm La La Land (2D/Musical) 11:50am, 6:15, 8:50 & 11:25pm Sing (2D/Animation) 4:15pm Singham 3 (2D/Tamil) 11:00am, 2:10, 5:20 & 8:30 Passengers (2D/Adventure) 9:30pm Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (3D IMAX/Action) 10:30am, 2:45, 7:00 & 11:15pmXXX: The Return of Xander Cage (3D IMAX/Action) 12:30, 4:45 & 9:00pm XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 3:00, 7:30pm & 12:00midnight

Raees (2D/Hindi) 2:00, 6:30 & 10:45pm Monster Trucks (2D/Animation) 2:00 & 6:30pm Kaabil (2D/Hindi) 4:00, 8:30 & 11:00pm Weapoinzed (2D/Action) 4:30 & 9:00pmRobo-Dog (2D/Family) 2:00 & 3:45pm XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 5:30pmResident Evil: The Final Chapter (2D/Action) 7:15, 9:15 & 11:15pm

Moana (2D/Animation) 2:00pmRaees (2D/Hindi) 2:00, 8:30 & 11:00pm Robo-Dog (2D/Family) 2:00 & 3:45pm Kaabil (2D/Hindi) 4:00, 6:30 & 10:45pm Monster Trucks (2D/Animation) 4:30 & 6:30pm Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2D/Action) 5:30, 9:30 & 11:30pmXXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 7:30pm Weapoinzed (2D/Action) 9:00pm

Robo-Dog (2D/Family) 2:30 & 4:15pm Monster Trucks (2D/Animation) 2:15 & 7:00pm Kaabil (2D/Hindi) 2:30, 9:00 & 11:00pm Raees (2D/Hindi) 4:15, 8:00 & 10:30pm Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2D/Action) 5:00, 7:00 & 9:00pmXXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 6:00pm Weapoinzed (2D/Action) 11:30pm

Kaabil (Hindi) 5:00, 6:30, 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00pmRaees (Hindi) 5:00, 6:30, 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00pm

WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017

VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

CINEMA PLUS14

AL KHORRaees (Hindi) 11:00am, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 & 11:00pm Kaabil (Hindi) 12:15, 3:00, 5:45, 8:30

& 11:15pm Resident Evil(2D/Action) 12:00noon, 12:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9:00 & 11:15pm

ROXYRobo Dog 2:00, 4:00 & 6:00pm Raees (Hindi) 2:00, 5:00, 7:45, 8:00, 10:45 & 11:00pm XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (2D/Action) 2:00, 4:20, 6:45 & 9:00pm

CROSSWORD CONCEPTIS SUDOKU

ALL IN THE MIND

08:00 News08:30 The Listening

Post09:00 The Caliph10:00 News10:30 Inside Story11:30 The Stream12:00 News12:30 Rewind13:00 NEWSHOUR14:00 News14:30 Inside Story15:00 Al Jazeera World16:00 NEWSHOUR17:00 News17:30 The Stream18:00 Newsgrid19:00 News19:30 Witness20:00 News20:30 Inside Story21:00 NEWSHOUR22:00 News22:30 The Stream23:00 Witness

13:00 Welcome To The Ronks

13:15 Gravity Falls

15:00 Jessie 15:50 Rolling To

The Ronks 16:15 Sunny

Bunnies 16:45 Elena Of

Avalor 17:40 Girl Meets

World 18:05 Bizaardvark 18:30 Liv And

Maddie 20:45 Backstage 21:10 Liv And

Maddie 21:35 Cracke 21:40 The Next Step22:05 Best Friends

Whenever 22:30 Mako

Mermaids

13:20 Bondi Vet14:45 Gator Boys15:40 O’shea’s Big

Adventure16:35 Tanked17:30 River

Monsters (Best Of Series 1-5)

18:25 Australia Doesn’t Just Want To Kill You

19:20 The Pool Master

20:15 Tanked21:10 O’shea’s Big

Adventure22:05 Australia

Doesn’t Just Want To Kill You

23:00 The Pool Master

23:55 Gator Boys

13:14 Weird Or What?

14:02 How Do They Do It?

14:26 Food Factory

15:14 Origins15:38 Future

Weapons16:26 Weird Or

What?18:02 Origins19:40 Mythbusters20:30 How Things

Work21:20 How Do

They Do It?21:45 Food

Factory22:10 Prototype

This23:00 How Things

Work23:50 Weird Or

What?

King Features Syndicate, Inc.

BRAIN TEASERSWEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2017 15

Yesterday’s answer

Conceptis Sudoku: Conceptis Sudoku is

a number-placing puzzle based on a

9×9 grid. The object is to place the

numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so

that each row, each column and each

3×3 box contains the same number only

once.

ASSAIL, ATTACK, BATTLE,

CHALLENGE, CHAMPION,

CLASH, COMBAT, COMPETITION,

CONFLICT, CONQUEST,

CONTENDER, CONTEST,

DEFEAT, DEFEND, DRAW,

ENEMY, FIGHT, GAME,

MATCH, OFFENSIVE,

OPPOSITION, OUTDO,

OUTFLANK, OVERCOME,

OVERPOWER, PARRY, PLAYER,

PROTECT, EPEL, RESIST, RIVAL,

SPORT, STRUGGLE, TRIUMPH,

VANQUISH, VICTORY, WARRIOR,

WITHSTAND.