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• Iran vowed to retaliate to the US air strike at Baghdad airport that killed Qassem Suleimani.

• The Pentagon said Suleimani was killed because he was plotting attacks on US diplomats and forces in Iraq.

Baghdad

Qassem Suleimani, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s foreign operations

branch, the Quds Force was killed in a US rocket strike at Baghdad International Airport on Thurs-day.

The head of the Tehran-backed militia Kataib Hizbollah, Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, was also killed in another strike - ordered by US President Donald Trump.

Their deaths are a potential turning point in the standoff be-tween Washington and Tehran and could draw severe retaliation from Iran and the forces it backs in the Middle East against Israel and US interests.

US President Donald Trump has said in a statement at Mar-a-Lago that the US is not seeking regime change in Iran and is not looking to start a war. Instead, by carrying out yesterday’s strike, the US leader said America had prevented a war.

“Suleimani was plotting im-minent and sinister attacks,” Mr Trump said. “We caught him in the act and terminated him,” he added.

According to the Associated Press, citing a US official, Amer-ican troops are on alert to de-ploy to protect the US embassy in Beirut following the strike on General Suleimani.

The alert has reconfirmed the possibility that Iran may seek revenge against US diplomatic targets.

Iran vowed to retaliate to the US air strike at Baghdad airport that killed Qassem Suleimani, the mastermind behind its inter-ventions across the Middle East.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatol-lah Ali Khamenei declared three days of public mourning for the head of the Quds Force, the over-seas operations arm of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mr Khamenei said the US faced “severe revenge” for Suleimani’s killing, while President Hassan Rouhani called the assassina-tion “an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation” and said the US “bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue ad-venturism”.

Iran’s top security body, the Su-preme National Security Council, met to discuss the attack. Iran also summoned the Swiss charge d’affaires, who represents US interests in Tehran, to lodge a protest.

The Pentagon said Suleimani was killed because he was plot-ting attacks on US diplomats and forces in Iraq and the wider Mid-dle East.

Iraq’s caretaker prime minis-ter Adel Abdul Mahdi said the strike was a “flagrant violation” of the country’s security accord with the US and warned it would “spark a devastating war in Iraq”.

Iraq’s parliament was sched-uled to meet on Saturday to discuss the attack, according to Deputy Speaker Hassan Al Kaa-bi, who said the session would be dedicated to taking “decisive decisions that put an end to US presence inside Iraq”.

The Iran-backed Iraqi mili-tia Asaib Ahl Al Haq urged its fighters to be on high alert while the cleric Moqtada Al Sadr reac-tivated his Mahdi Army, nearly

a decade after dissolving the no-toriously anti-American force.

In Lebanon, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, warned of “punishment for these criminal assassins”.

The US strike has raised fears of a conflict that could engulf the region and divided opinion among politicians in Washington.

In Congress, which was not told in advance of the attack, re-action was split along party lines.

“Wow – the price of killing and injuring Americans has just gone up drastically,” tweeted Republi-can Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of President Donald Trump.

The Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nan-cy Pelosi said killing Suleimani risked provoking a “dangerous escalation of violence”.

“America – and the world – cannot afford to have tensions es-calate to the point of no return,” Ms Pelosi said in a statement.

Big blow to Iran regime Qassem Suleimani, Head of Iran’s Quds Force, killed by US strike in Iraq

Oil workers leave

International oil companies based in Iraq, Opec’s sec-

ond-largest producer are pull-ing out US staff following the assassination of Iran’s top mil-itary commander in Baghdad on Friday.

Washington, which engi-neered the drone strikes that killed Qassem Suleimani, the head of the elite Quds Force - part of the Islamic Revolu-tionary Guard Corps - urged its citizens to depart Iraq “im-mediately”.

A number of American work-ers are deployed across oil sites in Iraq, which has US majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron operating large fields in the country.

A spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil, the lead contractor in West Qurna 1, one of Iraq’s largest oil fields, west of the southern province of Basra said in a statement that production continued “normally”.

“We are closely monitoring the situation. ExxonMobil has programmes and measures in place to provide security to pro-tect its people, operations and facilities,” she said.

The company declined to specify whether its American staff had been evacuated. In May, Exxon withdrew around 60 workers, mostly US nationals, af-ter Washington order non-emer-gency personnel to leave Iraq citing unspecified threats.

Saudi calls for restraint

Saudi Arabia has called for restraint after the kill-

ing of Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani.

The Kingdom said the events in Iraq were the result of pre-vious “terrorist acts” and that Saudi Arabia had warned of their repercussions.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia has followed the events, in fraternal Iraq, which came as a result of the escalation

of tensions and terrorist acts that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has denounced and warned against, in the past, of their re-percussions.

“With knowledge of the op-erations and threats exposing the security of the region and the threats posed by terrorist militias that require their ces-sation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in light of the rapid developments, calls for the

importance of self-restraint to ward off all acts that may lead to aggravating the situa-tion, with unbearable conse-quences.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia reaffirms that the interna-tional community must fulfil its responsibilities to take the necessary measures to ensure the security and stability of such a vital region, to the entire world.”

Suleimani was plotting imminent and sinister

attacks. We caught him in the act and terminated him.

TRUMP

US to send 3,000 troops

The United States is sending approximately 3,000 sol-

diers to the Middle East after thousands of people stormed the compound of the US Em-bassy in Baghdad, three US defence officials and one US military official confirmed to NBC News on Friday.

The news came hours after an American airstrike killed Gen Qassem Soleimani, the

commander of Iran’s secre-tive Quds Force and one of the country’s most powerful fig-ures, but US defence officials said the deployments were not in response to the strike.

The deployment of addition-al soldiers from a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Caroli-na, comes after thousands of people, most of them affiliated

with the Iran-backed Shiite militia group Kataeb Hizbol-

lah, descended on the embassy compound Tuesday.

A burning vehicle near Baghdad International Airport. Suleimani, centre, was one of the Revolutionary Guard officers sent to Lebanon to organise the formation of militia groups during the Lebanese Civil War.

02HRH Premier congratulated on successful medical check-ups

03Warning over posts targeting national unity on social media

04Cabinet nod to cancel fees for 200 govt services hailed

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Bahrain urges joint action

The Kingdom of Bahrain is following up on the development of events in the brotherly Republic of Iraq that came as a

result of the condemned terrorist acts which the Kingdom pre-viously denounced, stressing the need to de-escalate in order to overcome this period, and to address all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism, the Foreign Ministry said last night.

“The Kingdom also stresses the importance of immediate action to be taken by the international community, affirming the need to take all necessary measures to ensure security and stability in the region because of its vital and strategic impor-tance for the whole world.”

Flights suspended

Major airlines includ-ing Gulf Air and Royal

Jordanian have suspended all flights to and from Iraq’s Baghdad and Najaf. “Flights to and from Baghdad and Najaf in the Republic of Iraq have been suspended until further notice due to safe-ty and security issues,” Gulf Air said in a statement issued yesterday.

02SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020

HM King issues decree reforming Tender BoardManama

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yester-day issued Decree 1 of

2020 reforming the Tender Board.Chaired by the Urban Plan-

ning and Development Authority Chief Executive Officer Shaikh Nayef bin Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the new-look board also includes Works, Municipal-ities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry Undersecretary Ahmed

Abdulaziz Al Khayyat as Deputy CEO.

The panel also features as members for a two-year tenure: Supreme Council for the Environ-ment (SCE) CEO Dr Mohammed Mubarak bin Daina, Isa Radhi

Mohammed Al Aradi, Adviser for the Modernisation of Bapco in Electrical and Mechanical En-gineering Said Hussein Abdul-rahman, Walid Youssef Al Sae, Rashid Ahmed Al Jowder and Jassim Abdulla Humood of HRH

the Premier’s Court.The Prime Minister and min-

isters, each in his capacity, shall execute this decree which comes into effect from the day after the date of its publication in the Offi-cial Gazette. His Majesty

Manama

Shura Council President Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh congrat-ulated His Royal Highness

Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on the suc-cess of the medical check-ups he had undergone.

He prayed to Allah the Al-mighty to bless HRH the Pre-mier with abundant health and wellbeing and guide him on the path of success to continue the march of development and serve the nation and citizens in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Mr Al Saleh extended congrat-ulations to the loyal people of Bahrain, paying tribute to HRH the Premier for his support to the legislative branch of government.

He commended the advanced level of legislative-executive co-

operation which yielded land-mark achievements thanks to HRH the Premier’s support to all legislations that serve Bahrain and its loyal people. `

He lauded HRH the Premier’s national standing, hailing his keenness on citizens’ wellbeing as well as his initiatives in sup-port of Bahrain’s development in all fields, which earned him his people’s love.

Council of Representatives Fawzia Zainal congratulated His Royal Highness Prime Minis-ter Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa on the success of the medical check-ups he had un-dergone.

She prayed to Allah the Al-mighty to bless HRH the Pre-mier with abundant health and well-being to continue the march of development in the prosperous era of His Majesty

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.On behalf of the Council of

Representatives, she wished HRH the Premier’s return to the homeland in good health to continue national work and achieve the aspirations of the Government, chaired by HRH the Premier, with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Sal-man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

The Speaker hailed HRH the Premier’ prolific national and international achievements which earned regional and glob-al recognition, lauding his patri-otic standing, that epitomises his role in supporting Bahrain’s development and progress, as well as his contributions to the homeland and citizens, led by HM the King.

One of the new photographs of HRH the Premier released after successful medical check-ups.

HRH Premier congratulated on successful medical check-ups

HRH the Premier’s prolific national and international achievements hailed

Need for advanced training in aquaculture stressed

Manama

Fifteen Bahrainis have graduated from a course on the techniques of aq-

uaculture, implemented by the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry, as part of its strategy to launch marine food security initia-tives.

Minister of Works, Munici-palities Affairs and Urban Plan-ning, Essam Khalaf, patronised the graduation ceremony of the 15 fish farming competencies, in the presence of the Agri-culture and Marine Resourc-es Undersecretary, Dr Nabeel Mohammed Abu Al Fateh, As-sistant Undersecretary for Ag-ricultural Affairs, Dr Abdulaziz Mohammed Abdulkareem, in addition to a number of offi-cials from the Labour Fund

(Tamkeen).During the ceremony, the

participants in the national programme to train Bahraini competencies on fish farming techniques were honoured.

The minister underlined the importance of the aquaculture file, in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to focus on fish farming thanks to its role in achieving sustainable food security in the Kingdom.

He noted that the national strategy to develop aquacul-ture will contribute to bringing about a qualitative leap in fish production over the next five years, which, he said, requires the cooperation of various government departments to remove all potential obstacles.

Agriculture and Marine Re-sources Undersecretary, Dr

Nabeel Mohammed Abu Al Fateh, expressed pride in the existing successful cooperation with Tamkeen to train local fish farmers as a result of the agreement signed between the two sides.

Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ibrahim Moham-med Janahi, stressed Tam-keen’s unwavering support for initiatives aimed at boosting the national economy and pre-paring qualified national com-petencies, as the best means to achieve sustainable develop-ment in the Kingdom.

He lauded the existing coop-eration with the Works Minis-try’s Agriculture and Marine Resources Undersecretariat, affirming Tamkeen’s readiness to carry on its cooperation with it to provide more opportuni-ties for Bahraini youth in the field of fish farming.

Bahrain Training Institute organised a field visit for a number of trainees to Bab Al Bahrain. They were briefed on the historical and cultural significance of the place. The field visit is part of extra-curricular programmes organised by the institute.

Mr Khalaf being briefed on aquaculture projects in the Kingdom.

Kingdom to host 27th ‘Contemporary Zakat Issues’ Symposium

Manama

Bahrain is set to host the 27th “Contemporary Zakat (Almsgiving) Is-

sues” Symposium on January 8-10, under the patronage of the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, Shai-kh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla Al Khalifa.

Organised by the Justice Ministry’s Zakat and Charity Fund, in co-operation with Ku-wait’s Zakat House, the event will be attended by scholars and specialists from across the Islamic world.

The minister asserted that the Zakat and Charity Fund al-ways welcomes cooperation

with Zakat departments in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, praising the awareness-raising and chari-table role played by the Zakat House in Kuwait, as well as

its effective contributions to achieving social solidarity and compassion.

He added that this is the third “Contemporary Zakat Issues” Symposium to be hosted by Bahrain after the 4th in 1994 and the 14th in 2005.

He pointed out that the 27th “Contemporary Zakat Is-sues” Symposium aims to en-courage scientific and sharia re-search, contribute to preparing a new generation of specialised researchers, enrich the Islamic library with more books and researchers on Zakat issues and extending bridges of coopera-tion with financial institutions and zakat funds.

Shaikh Khalid

Bahrain’s support to Palestine reiteratedManama

Foreign Ministry Under-secretary for Regional

and GCC Affairs, Ambassa-dor Waheed Mubarak Say-yar, participated in the cer-emony of lighting the 55th Palestinian torch, which was organised by the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

He extended his deep greeting and appreciation to the brotherly Palestinian people on the anniversary of this celebration, stressing that the Palestinian ques-tion will remain the most important Arab and Islam-ic issue, and comes at the forefront of the priorities and concerns of the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

It is also a supportive at-titude for all regional and international endeavours aimed at finding a just, lasting and comprehensive peace that meets the legiti-mate aspirations and rights of the Palestinian people, and achieves security, peace and stability in the Middle East region.


Warning over posts targeting national unity on social media

Interior Ministry vows strict action against violators of rules

• Legal steps would be taken against any social media account that violates general rules and deals with those accounts and provides them with wrong information from Bahrain, the ministry said.

TDT | Manama

The Interior Ministry yesterday issued a strict warning against posting

comments on all social media networks targeting national uni-ty while promoting hatred in light of latest political develop-ments in the region.

The ministry has vowed strict action against all those who vio-late rules and regulations regard-ing national unity and security.

“A number of social media us-ers were summoned for posting messages that could harm the general order,” the ministry said yesterday.

“Information should be sought from reliable sources, and social media mustn’t be exploited for posting malicious rumours that could harm security and civil peace.

“Citizens and social media us-

ers are urged to be cautious and avoid speeches that promote na-tional disunity. They should seek credibility before publishing any information and avoid reposting allegations.

“Legal steps would be taken against any social media account that violates general rules and deals with those accounts and provides them with wrong infor-mation from Bahrain, along with promoting their suspicious mes-sages,” the ministry pointed out.

The anti-cyber crime wing also issued a special statement, which said: “As part of the recent and rapid regional developments, the social media accounts that aim to promote sedition, and work against civil peace, social fabric and security disturbance in Bah-rain are managed from abroad. They should be avoided.”

In a message to the world marking the International Day of Peace, which is observed on Sep-

tember 21, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had urged to respond to the call of global conscience to lay a solid founda-tion for comprehensive and just peace that enables people to live in harmony and welfare and paves the way for an active international partnership to achieve sustain-able development that secures a more prosperous and reassuring future.

HRH the Premier, underlined the need for the international community to move towards a new forward-looking vision that works in accordance with a com-mon collective will to press ahead with the international peace ef-forts by adhering to the lofty religious principles and values endorsed by international con-ventions. He stressed that peo-ples in the world are yearning for peace and stability to make up for missed life and advancement

opportunities.HRH the Prime Minister af-

firmed that the Kingdom of Bah-rain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, has always supported and will continue to support efforts to achieve peace and promote growth and stability through its active participation in regional and international alliances seek-ing to foster global peace and security and fight all forms of terrorism.

He described peace and sta-bility as a fundamental pillar for development for prosperity can never be achieved in a volatile political, economic, social and en-vironmental situation. “Effective sustainable development is the one that heeds various challeng-es and puts solutions and initi-atives to tackle them,” he said.

HRH the Premier asserted that celebrating the International Day of Peace is an important

occasion to inspire hope and remind the world of its respon-sibilities towards this dire goal for the present and future of mankind. He pointed out that the theme of this year, “Climate Action for Peace”, reflects the growing climate threat faced by mankind due to the catastrophes resulting from it and which af-fect development gains.

He urged the international community to be up to its re-sponsibility and harness efforts in facing one of the biggest chal-lenges in the world. He also un-derscored environmental prob-lems emanating from climate change, describing them as a real threat to the present and future of humanity as well as global security and stability.

HRH the Prime Minister em-phasised the need to tackle those challenges through joint action to preserve human achievements and promote growth and pros-perity. He called to map out an integrated international frame-work to handle climate change and reduce its effects, being a real threat global peace and de-velopment.

He lauded the efforts of the United Nations and its special-ised agencies to promote inter-national peace, expressing hope for a unified will to work out a new reality where peace, co-op-eration and tolerance prevail.

Technocrat, academician and a diplomat • Dr Al Zayani will take over from Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa who has been in charge of the foreign affairs since September 26, 2005.

TDT | Manama

Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, who has been appointed the country’s new for-

eign minister, has had successful careers as a technocrat, acade-mician and a diplomat.

Dr Al Zayani became Secre-tary-General of the GCC on April 1, 2011. Prior to his appointment, he was advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the rank of Minister, chairman of the Joint Steering Committee between Bahrain and the United King-dom and chairman of the min-istry’s Development and Regu-lation committee.

Dr Al Zayani graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in UK. He is also a graduate of the Aeronautical Engineering programme, Perth Scotland in 1978.

He holds a PhD in Operations Research from the Naval Post-

graduate School, Monterey, Cal-ifornia in 1986, and a Master’s Degree in Logistics Manage-ment from the Air Force Insti-tute of Technology, Dayton, Ohio in 1980.

In 1988, he received the sword of honour along with the title of Master Logistician from the US Army after attending the Com-mand and General Staff course, Fort Leavenworth Kansas.

He also attended the Leaders in Development Programme, Harvard University in 2008.

He held several leading po-sitions in the Bahrain Defence Force and in the Ministry of In-terior.

He was also a professor in “Mathematics and Statistics” at the University of Maryland, Bahrain, and in “ Quantitative Methods” at the University of Bahrain.

His teaching career also in-

cluded teaching statistics, quan-titative methods and total qual-ity management at the Arabian Gulf University and supervising students as partial fulfilment for Masters of Science in Technolo-gy Management.

He was awarded several Bah-raini and international decora-tions.

The current secretary-general of Gulf Co-operation Council will become Bahrain’s foreign ministry when his term ends on March 31.

Dr Al Zayani will take over from Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa who has been in charge of the foreign affairs

since September 26, 2005.Shaikh Khalid joined the for-

eign ministry in 1985 and be-came ambassador to the UK in September 2001, to the Nether-lands, Republic of Ireland and Norway in 2002 and to Sweden in 2003.

In his twitter message, Shai-kh Khalid congratulated Dr Al Zayani on the appointment.

“Your Majesty, with all my ef-fort and ability, I will continue to serve the nation as long as I live. I was also honoured to work under HRH the Premier and HRH the Crown Prince. And now I hand over the responsibilities to my dear brother.”

Woman given divorce after hubby rapes her nephew TDT | Manama

The High Shariat Ap-peals Court has grant-

ed divorce to a woman from her husband after he allegedly raped her neph-ew.

The woman, in her twenties, lodged a divorce plea after the High Crimi-nal Court found him guilty of crime.

However, the man was not willing to separate from her, describing her reason as “silly one”.

The woman’s case was earlier rejected by the High Shariat Court, which stated that both matters are different.

Nevertheless, she insist-ed to have her wish met and appealed the ruling.

Her lawyer Fatima bin Rajab proved to the court that the incident caused deep mental harm to the woman and divorce re-mains the only solution to cure psychological damag-es she suffered.

“It’s impossible for her to continue her life with him after he raped her sister’s son 20 times by threatening him. It dam-aged her psychological-ly,” the lawyer told the High Appeals Shariat Court.

The High Appeals Sha-riat Court agreed with the provided reasons and granted her divorce, point-ing out it was impossible for her to continue life with the rape accused.

Woman staff ‘embezzled BD112,000 from public hospital’

TDT | Manama

A public hospital female employee, who was sentenced by the High

Criminal Court to three years imprisonment for embezzle-ment, has lost her appeal.

The woman was sentenced to three years imprisonment earlier for embezzling over BD100,000 from Jidhafs Ma-ternity Hospital, where she worked, by forging documents.

The woman was sentenced by the court, which also or-d e re d h e r t o re t u r n t h e BD111,708 that she took from

the hospital.As reported earlier, the

woman landed in police cus-tody following an investigation

into a complaint filed by the Health Ministry officials.

The ministry, following an audit, found unusual shortages in the institution’s revenues.

The Public Prosecution im-mediately looked into the min-istry’s claims and found that the records and documents were forged. Further investi-gation led to the suspect.

The woman pleaded not guilty. She was convicted by the court of embezzlement and forging official docu-ments, according to Public Prosecutors.

Citizens and social media users

are urged to be cautious and avoid

speeches that promote national

disunity. INTERIOR MINISTRY

Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani

Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan met in his office the Director of the International Organisation for Child Protection office in Bahrain Salman Khalid Sabat Al Sebei. They reviewed Bahrain’s efforts to boost child protection and the programmes carried out by the Labour and Social Development Ministry to develop the children’s creativity and provide children’s with special needs with the needed care. The Labour and Social Development Minister underlined the great importance accorded to the child sector which has known many achievements, including the National Child Strategy which represents a framework to promote children’s rights. Al Sebei hailed the efforts made by the Bahraini government in boosting the children’s rights, expressing keenness on more co-operation to further optimise the services provided to the children.

Child rights strides hailed

The woman pleaded not guilty. She was convicted by the court of

embezzlement and forging official

documents. PUBLIC PROSECUTORS


Cabinet nod to cancel fees for 200 govt services hailed

The move will reduce living costs for many Bahraini families Manama

Members of the Repre-sentatives and Shura councils and citizens

have praised the decision of the recent Cabinet meeting, chaired by His Royal High-ness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Min-ister, to cancel the fees of 200 government services from 11 government agencies, raising the number of government ser-vices that have been exempt-ed from fees during 2019 to 400, praising His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s di-rectives in this regard.

In statements to the Bah-rain News Agency (BNA), they said that the decision was the fruitful outcome of the serious study conducted by the Gov-ernment Executive Committee, led by HRH the Crown Prince, following directives from HM the King to constantly achieve the welfare of the Bahraini families.

Shura Council member, Dr Mansoor Sarhan, and mem-bers of the Council of Repre-sentatives, MPs Dr Abdulla Al

Thawadi, Abdulla Al Dossari and Kalthan Al Hayki stressed that the decision reflects HM King Hamad’s keenness to en-sure the citizens’ comfort and welfare.

They also affirmed that the move will reflect positively on all Bahraini families as it will reduce the burden of living costs on them.

T h e y ex t e n d e d s i n c e re thanks to HRH Crown Prince for his constant keenness to launch development initia-tives aimed at achieving the interests of the nation and the citizens, praising HRH Crown Prince’s great interest in the positive and effective cooper-

ation between the Executive and Legislative branches, being the best means to enhance the kingdom’s progress.

They expressed confidence that HRH the Crown Prince’s vision, keenness to achieve the interests of the citizens and great knowledge of the needs of the national economy would reflect positively on the government’s decisions and contribute to achieving the prosperity of the nation and the citizens.

In the same context, citizens Dr Mohammed Abdulqader Khanji (Majlis owner in Ham-ad Town), Bakhet Humaidan, and Abdulla Baqer (Baqer Ma-

jlis owner in Riffa) welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to cancel the fees of more government services, stressing that the move will increase the gains of Bahrainis, praising the fruit-ful efforts exerted by the Ex-ecutive Committee, chaired by HRH Crown Prince, in this regard.

They affirmed that the move, which filled the hearts of the citizens with joy, proves the credibility of the government and its unwavering efforts to serve the Bahraini society, which, they said, will contrib-ute to achieving social and eco-nomic stability.

They also lauded HRH the Crown Prince’s constant di-rectives aimed at achieving the welfare of the citizens and the Bahraini society.

They pointed out that Bah-rain is moving steadily towards more progress and prosperity thanks to the directives of HM King Hamad, the efforts of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and follow-up of HRH the Crown Prince.

They wished Bahrain ev-er-lasting security, stability, progress and prosperity.

Rights delegation joins UN Geneva training

programme Geneva

Staff from the Saudi Hu-man Rights Commission have been taking part in an

awareness training program in Switzerland.

A number of employees vis-ited the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in Geneva, to participate in field activities in-cluding lectures and training sessions.

The trip was part of a pro-gramme of initiatives, designed by the commission’s training and development department, to introduce its workers to the international human rights sys-tem of operation.

The Saudi delegation was headed by the supervisor of the commission’s international re-sources agency, Waleed Al Yahya, and its director general for hu-man resources, Sameer Batiyah.

Day one saw the party join training sessions on the func-tion of treaty bodies, universal periodic reviewing, the role of civil society organisations in in-teracting with the international human rights system, and na-tional action planning.

On the second day, delegates attended presentations run by the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights titled, “Bridging the governance gap: Lessons learned” and “National human rights institutions and access to remedies.”

The function of the UN Hu-man Rights Council and the role of related national institutions in protecting human rights, formed the basis of awareness training on day three, with the fourth day covering treaty bodies, including the work of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Dis-crimination, and its Committee Against Torture (CAT).

The House in session.

232 civilians killed in Hodeida since Stockholm AgreementAden

Houthi artillery shells and landmines have killed 232 civilians including 68

children and 29 women in Yem-en’s Red Sea province of Hodeida since Stockholm Agreement, the pro-government Giants Brigades said on Thursday.

In a statement carried by its official website and seen by Arab News, the Giant Brigades said the Iran-backed Houthis escalat-ed military attacks and planting landmines since late 2018, killing 232 and injuring 2311 people in different districts in Hodeida.

The internationally-recognised government and Houthis signed

the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement in late 2018 that meant to stop a major military offensive by government forces on the stra-tegic city of Hodeida that hosts the biggest and most important city seaport in Yemen.

Under the agreement, both sides are obliged to halt hostilities by withdrawing forces outside the city in exchange for Houthis hand over key seaports in the province of Hodeida to neutral Yemeni forces under the supervision of the UN.

On Thursday, the Giant Bri-gades said Houthis committed 16000 breaches to the agreement by heavily shelling residential areas and government forces

gatherings in Durihimi, Hays, Khokha, Al Jah and areas on edg-es of Hodeida. From December 2018 to December 2019, Houthi incursions and artillery fire had destroyed 446 public and gov-ernment facilities including farms and houses.

Backed by massive military support from the Saudi-led coali-tion, thousands of Yemeni troops marched towards Hodeida after seizing control of strategic loca-tions in the provinces of Lahj and Taiz including Bab Al Mandab Strait.

The offensive gained momen-tum when hundreds of troops loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh defected from

Houthis after the killing of their leader and began trickling into the west coast battlefield. When the government forces stormed Ho-deida airport in late 2018, the UN brokered a deal that was designed to stop the offensive.

Government say the agreement was largely breached as Houth-is intensified attacks on govern-ment forces in 2019, cashing in infighting in Aden between the government and Southern Tran-sitional Council. Formed from the Giant Brigades, Tehama Resist-ance and the Republic Guard, the Joint Forces have been deployed outside the city of Hodeida and other liberated regions to secure them from Houthi incursions.

The internationally-recognised government and Houthis signed the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement in late 2018.

Works Affairs Undersecretary informed about constituency’s needsManama

Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry’s

Undersecretary for Works Affairs, Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Khayyat, has paid an inspection visit to the Capital Governorate’s third constituency (Al-Daih, Sanabis and Qalaa), where he was informed about the local citizens’ needs.

He was accompanied by the constituency’s representative, MP Mamdooh Al Saleh, Roads Projects and Maintenance Di-rector, Sayed Bader Alawi, and a number of the Works Ministry’s officials.

Mr Al Khayyat lauded the existing cooperation and inter-action between the Council of Representatives and municipal councils, on the one hand, and

the Works Ministry, on the other, which, he said, contributes to achieving public interests and following up on the citizens’ re-marks and suggestions.

He pointed out that the visit is in line with the directives of the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister to follow up on the needs of the cit-izens, and the suggestions of the members of the Representatives Council and municipal councils.

The undersecretary was in-formed about the local citizens’ remarks, including the pavement of some roads in Block 424 in Al-Daih, and Block 422 in Jidhafs, as well as the opening of roads 3805 and 3808 in Block 438 in Al Qalaa village.

The remarks also included establishing road humps in Al Qalaa and Al Daih, in addition to a sanitation project in Block 424.Mr Al Khayyat being briefed on requirements at various villages in the third constituency of the Capital Governorate.

Tobacco prices up at airport duty-free

TDT | Manama

Tobacco prices at the airport duty-free shop have increased by 50

per cent and 100pc, it emerged. The increase that included

all types of tobacco, came fol-

lowing a regulatory decision by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism.

This increased price would only be for those coming into Bahrain, while prices will re-main the same on the depar-ture side, it is learnt.

05

world

SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020

This is the largest Rafflesia tuan-

mudae that has ever been documented

ADE PUTRA AT THE AGAM CONSERVA-TION AGENCY IN SUMATRA

‘World’s largest’ flower spottedAFP | Padang, Indonesia

Indonesian conservationists say they’ve spotted the big-

gest specimen ever of what’s already been billed as one of the world’s largest flowers.

The giant Rafflesia tuan-mu-dae -- a fleshy red flower with white blister-like spots on its enormous petals -- came in at a whopping 111 centimetres (3.6 foot) in diameter.

That’s bigger than the previ-ous record of 107 centimetres on a bloom also found in the jungles of West Sumatra several years ago.

“This is the largest Rafflesia tuan-mudae that has ever been documented,” said Ade Putra at the Agam Conservation Agency in Sumatra.

The flower’s bloom will only last about one week before it will wither and rot, he added.

It was named Rafflesia after British colonialist Sir Stam-ford Raffles who spotted one in Indonesia in the early 19th Century.

The species grows in several Southeast Asian countries, in-cluding the Philippines where

a 100 centimetre specimen was recorded.

The parasitic bloom, some-times referred to as corpse flower, mimics the stench of rotting meat to attract insects.

Sharing that noxious smell is Indonesia’s Amorphophallus ti-tanum, a phallus-shaped flower that can reach heights of up to three metres (10 feet).

The giant Rafflesia tuan-mudae grows in several Southeast Asian countries

British woman in Cyprus rape claim case appeals to PMLondon

A British woman convict-ed of falsely claiming she was gang-raped in

Cyprus has urged Prime Minis-ter Boris Johnson to intervene and bring her home, according to The Sun newspaper yester-day.

“I am 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family,” she was quoted as saying by the daily. “Time is running out for me. Please, please help.”

The teenager, who has not been named, was convicted by a court in Cyprus last week of lying about being attacked by 12 young Israeli tourists at a hotel in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in July.

But she claimed police had pressured her into withdrawing her complaint. The accused Is-raelis were then released while she was charged and later con-victed of “public mischief”.

Britain’s Foreign Office has

said it was “seriously con-cerned” about whether she had received a fair trial, and the case has been taken up by rape sur-vivors and rights groups.

A protest march from the Cyprus high commission in London is set to take place on Monday, a day before the wom-an is due to return to court to be sentenced.

She faces up to a year in pris-on and a fine of about 1,700 eu-ros (1,500 pounds, $1,900).

Her family wants London to secure her release, as she has been unable to leave the Medi-terranean island since the case began.

Her mother told The Sun her daughter was convicted by a “kangaroo court”.

The British teenager, who has not been identified, was convicted by a Cyprus court of lying about being gang-raped

Indonesia rescuers hunt for missing after flood kills 43AFP | Jakarta

Indonesian rescuers mount-ed a desperate search Fri-day for those missing af-

ter flash floods and landslides sparked by torrential rains killed at least 43 people across the Jakarta region while health authorities raced to prevent disease outbreaks.

Around a dozen people were still unaccounted for after record rains that started on New Year’s Eve pounded the capital and left swathes of the megalopolis, home to some 30 million, under water and with thousands homeless.

Around 192,000 residents have been evacuated to tem-porary shelters, according to authorities, with many unable to return to waterlogged homes in neighbourhoods turned into wastelands of debris and over-turned cars.

“We’re encouraging people whose houses are still inun-dated to go to a safer place,” said National Disaster Mitiga-tion Agency spokesman Agus Wibowo.

The agency said 43 people had been confirmed dead in Greater Jakarta and neighbour-ing Lebak regency in the south of Java island.

Waters had receded in many areas and power, which had been shut off across many dis-tricts, was being restored.

In hard-hit Bekasi, on the outskirts of the city, swampy streets were littered with debris and crushed cars lying on top of each other -- with water-line marks reaching as high as buildings’ second floors.

The government said Friday it would start cloud seeding to the west of the capital -- in-ducing rain using chemicals sprayed from planes -- to pre-vent approaching rainfall from pounding the region.

‘Everything’s gone’Using inflatable boats to

evacuate residents trapped in their homes, including children and seniors, rescuers said they were targeting the hardest-hit areas of the city on Friday.

Shelters filled up with many refugees, including infants, resting on thin mats as food and drinking water ran low.

“It’s impossible for me to go back to my home,” said 72-year-old Lumongga Siregar.

“We have no clean water right now ... and we’re hoping for more food because there isn’t much,” she added.

Mother Dewi Puspitasari worried about her one-year-old daughter’s health.

“The blanket and mat I’ve got here aren’t thick enough for her and we’re scared she will get sick,” she told AFP.

Indonesia’s health ministry said it deployed some 11,000 health workers and soldiers to distribute medicine, disinfect-ant hygiene kits and food in a bid to stave off outbreaks of Hepatitis A, mosquito-borne Dengue fever and other illness-es, including infections linked to contact with dead animals.

In hard-hit Lebak outside Ja-karta, residents started the slow process of cleaning up their del-uged homes.

“Everything’s gone,” said shop owner Aminah, who goes by one name. “I couldn’t bring anything ... I left it all because I got scared at how high the water was getting.”

‘Phenomenally bad’Around Jakarta, a family --

including a four and nine-year-old -- died of suspected gas poi-

soning from a portable power generator, while an eight-year-old boy killed in a landslide and an 82-year-old pensioner were also among the victims. Others died from drowning or hypo-thermia, while one 16-year-old boy was electrocuted by a power line. Most services have been restored although some commuter train lines were still suspended Friday.

Jakarta is regularly hit by floods during the rainy season, which started in late November.

But this week’s disaster marked Jakarta’s worst flood-ing since 2013 when dozens were killed after the city was inundated by monsoon rains.

“This year’s flooding was phenomenally bad because of the extremely high rainfall,” said Yayat Supriatna, a Jakar-ta-based urban planning expert.

The floods turned neighbourhoods into wastelands of debris and overturned cars

At least 43 people have been killed in the flooding

Villagers walk past homes damaged by flooding in Lebak, neighbouring Jakarta

Black box of crashed Taiwan military chopper locatedTaipei

The black box from a Tai-wanese helicopter that

crashed killing its military chief has been recovered, the defence ministry said yesterday.

The island is in mourning after the Black Hawk carrying the chief of general staff Shen Yi-ming and seven senior of-ficers smashed into the moun-

tains near Taipei on Thursday, just days ahead of national elections. The general and his entourage were on a routine mission to visit soldiers in the northeast for the upcoming Lu-nar New Year.

Investigators located the mil-itary helicopter’s flight data re-corder on Friday and it will be analysed to help determine the cause of the crash.

Shen, 62, was the high-est-ranking Taiwanese military official to die while on duty.

Flags at all military units have been at half mast since Thurs-day. The UH-60M helicopter was carrying 13 people in total, with five surviving the crash. It disappeared from radar less than 15 minutes after taking off, and did not send a distress call before it perished.

06 SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020

society

In continuation of celebration of 200 years of Shreenathji (Shree Krishna) Hindu Temple, a Blood Donation Camp was held on Friday by The Thattai (Bhatia) Hindu Community (Hindu Temple) at THMC Auditorium, Al Hadrami Avenue, Manama. This event is conducted for more than 30 years, four times a year. On an average around 150 devotees donate blood four times a year. This time it was held on the occasion of Bahrain National Day. Around 170 people including Hindu Temple devotees came forward for blood donation and the event was a grand success.

The Arabian Gulf University (AGU) President Dr Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al Ohaly has patronised the university’s celebrations to mark the Bahraini Women’s Day, which was organised by the Equal Opportunities Committee at AGU in a bid to express its pride at the women’s capabilities in the academic sector and their pioneer experiences in the high education sector and their roles in empowering women.

The Forensic Media Division of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science has held an anti-drug awareness lecture in co-operation with Bahrain Aluminium (Alba). The event highlighted narcotics-related topics, including drug trafficking, how to deal with addicts and reasons that could lead to addiction. Alba officials thanked the lecturers for the event that shed light on the risks of narcotics.

07

society




The 15th Annual Kindergarten Sports Prize Distribution Ceremony was held on Saturday 7th December 2019 at Al Noor International School where Kindergarten students from Nursery and Reception classes were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals on their achievements. In attendance were School Director Dr. Muhammad Mashood, Principal Mr. Ameen Mohammed Hulaiwah as well as other school officials and staff.


Blood Donors Kerala (BDK) Bahrain Chapter in association with the Badminton Section of Indian Club, Bahrain conducted a Blood Donation Camp with the support of King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain. As per the reports given by the organisers, close to 60 members donated their blood. This noble event conducted aims to fulfill the need of King Hamad University Hospital – Blood Bank. BDK – Indian Club Blood Donation Camp was inaugurated by Indian Club president Mr Stalin Joseph. Badminton Section Secretary, Mr Suneesh Kallinkeel addressed the crowd by his welcome speech and BDK Chairman K T Salim rendered the Vote of Thanks.

As part of a series of programmes to reach out to different segments in society, the Community Police Directorate has visited the Bahrain Mobility International as part of the celebrations to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The visit included entertainment activities for children with special needs in association with their parents. Director of Community Police, Col Abdullah Rashid Al Enaizi said that the visit was part of the community responsibility of supporting individuals with special needs.

Head of the Gifted Education Department at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), Dr Ahmed Al Abbasi has participated in the annual Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation Programme which was held at Harvard University. The executive programme included several educational experiences focusing on various topics such as leadership towards innovation, leadership and management of change in institutions and companies, leader as social engineer, construction of safe environment psychologically that encourages executive directors and leaders to make calculated risk in light of the establishments’ constant strive for innovation and effective change.

07

society




The 15th Annual Kindergarten Sports Prize Distribution Ceremony was held on Saturday 7th December 2019 at Al Noor International School where Kindergarten students from Nursery and Reception classes were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals on their achievements. In attendance were School Director Dr. Muhammad Mashood, Principal Mr. Ameen Mohammed Hulaiwah as well as other school officials and staff.


Blood Donors Kerala (BDK) Bahrain Chapter in association with the Badminton Section of Indian Club, Bahrain conducted a Blood Donation Camp with the support of King Hamad University Hospital, Bahrain. As per the reports given by the organisers, close to 60 members donated their blood. This noble event conducted aims to fulfill the need of King Hamad University Hospital – Blood Bank. BDK – Indian Club Blood Donation Camp was inaugurated by Indian Club president Mr Stalin Joseph. Badminton Section Secretary, Mr Suneesh Kallinkeel addressed the crowd by his welcome speech and BDK Chairman K T Salim rendered the Vote of Thanks.

As part of a series of programmes to reach out to different segments in society, the Community Police Directorate has visited the Bahrain Mobility International as part of the celebrations to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The visit included entertainment activities for children with special needs in association with their parents. Director of Community Police, Col Abdullah Rashid Al Enaizi said that the visit was part of the community responsibility of supporting individuals with special needs.

Head of the Gifted Education Department at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), Dr Ahmed Al Abbasi has participated in the annual Leading and Building a Culture of Innovation Programme which was held at Harvard University. The executive programme included several educational experiences focusing on various topics such as leadership towards innovation, leadership and management of change in institutions and companies, leader as social engineer, construction of safe environment psychologically that encourages executive directors and leaders to make calculated risk in light of the establishments’ constant strive for innovation and effective change.

08

business


Uber Completes Acquisition of Careem

Business Wire | San Francisco, Dubai

Uber yesterday confirmed the official close of the

previously announced acquisi-tion of Careem for $3.1 billion. Careem Networks FZ-LLC has become a wholly-owned sub-sidiary of Uber, preserving its brand.

Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha will contin-ue to lead the Careem busi-ness, which will report to a board made up of three repre-sentatives from Uber and two representatives from Careem. Careem and Uber will operate their respective regional ser-vices and independent brands.

With the closing of the deal, Uber has acquired Careem’s mobility, delivery, and pay-ments businesses across the greater Middle East region, with major markets including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,

and the United Arab Emirates. The regulatory approval pro-cess in Pakistan, Qatar, and Morocco is ongoing and the transaction will not close in these territories until approv-als from the legal authorities responsible are obtained.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowsha-hi said: “I’m looking forward to seeing even more innovation from Careem, as they contin-ue to operate independently under their current leadership. Working in parallel, our two platforms will be able to build upon the unique strengths of each, to the benefit of driv-ers, riders, and the cities we serve across the greater Mid-dle East.”

Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha said: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Careem. The jour-ney that we started almost a decade ago to simplify the lives of people in the greater Middle East is far from over.”

Representative picture (Courtesy of Egypt Independent)

UAE fund allocates $200m to support projects in PakistanReuters | Dubai

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, instructed the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Devel-opment to allocate $200 million to support small and medium economic projects in Pakistan, state news agency reported.

The Crown Prince was in Islamabad where he met Prime Minister Imran Khan, and the two discussed “regional and in-ternational issues of mutual interest as well as ways to enhance bilateral ties,” according to Sheikh Mohammed’s tweet.

Indian banks’ loans rise 7.1pc in two weeks to December 20Reuters | Bengaluru

Indian banks’ loans rose 7.1 per cent in the two weeks

to Dec. 20 from a year ago, while deposits rose 10.1pc, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed on Friday.

Outstanding loans rose

125.19 billion rupees to 99.47 trillion rupees in the two weeks to Dec. 20.

No n - f o o d c r e d i t r o s e 520.40bn rupees to 98.62trn rupees, while food credit fell 395.21bn rupees to 851.43bn rupees. Bank deposits fell 974.01bn rupees to 130.09trn in the weeks to Dec. 20

Tesla cuts price for China-made Model 3Reuters | Shanghai

US electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc cut the starting price for its China-made Model 3 sedans by 16 per cent to 299,050

yuan ($42,919) after receiving Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, according to its China website.

Oil, safe havens surge • Gold, the other traditional refuge for risk-averse investors, rose 1pc to a four-month high of $1,543

• Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3, or 4.5pc, to $69.20 a barrel

Reuters | London

Oil prices jumped near-ly $2 a barrel and gold, the yen and safe-haven

bonds surged yesterday, after a US air strike killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq, ratcheting up tensions between the two powers.

Traders were clearly spooked after the death of Iranian Ma-jor-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force. Iranian Supreme Leader Aya-tollah Ali Khamenei vowed re-venge and Iraqi President Bar-ham Salih condemned the move.

Europe’s pan-regional STOXX 600 fell 1 per cent and Wall Street futures were 1.2pc lower. The Japanese yen rose half a percent to the dollar to a two-month high and the Swiss franc hit its highest against the euro since September.

The Middle East-focused oil markets saw the most dramatic moves, with Brent crude futures jumping nearly $3, or 4.5pc, to $69.20 a barrel - also to he high-est since September.

“Geopolitics has come back to the table, and this is something that could have major cross-as-set implications,” said Lombard Odier’s chief investment strate-gist, Salman Ahmed.

“What is critical is how it pans out in the next few days,” Ahmed said. “Whether it turns into a theme depends on Iran’s reaction and then the US re-sponse.”

Soleimani’s Quds Force and

its paramilitary proxies, rang-ing from Lebanon’s Hezbollah to the PMF in Iraq, have ample means to mount a response.

In September, US officials blamed Iran for a missile and drone attack on oil installations of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state energy giant and world’s largest oil exporter.

The Trump administration did not respond, beyond heat-

ed rhetoric and threats, and markets settled down within a week. But Friday’s attacks saw governments, including the US, urging citizens in the region either to return home or to stay away from potential targets and public gatherings.

Scramble to safetyGerman Bunds and US Treas-

uries — the world’s benchmark

government bonds and typi-cally seen as the safest assets — caught a bid, too.

US 10-year yields, which move inversely to prices, fell 5 basis points to a three-week low and German Bund yields dropped away from seven-month highs they touched at the start of the week.

The focus on geopolitics meant markets paid little atten-tion to stronger-than-expected data from France, where infla-tion rose 1.6pc year-on-year in December, beating analyst ex-pectations for a 1.4pc rise.

German inflation figures were also higher although un-employment in Europe’s largest economy also rose more than expected other data showed. Investors also have the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s Dec. 10-11 meeting due at 1900 GMT.

“Markets still remain quite thin after the holidays, but even in a regular session we would have seen a similar re-action,” said Christian Lenk, a rates strategist at DZ Bank in Frankfurt referring to the Middle East-sparked drop in yields.

The air strikes in Iraq also killed top Iraqi militia com-mander Abu Mahdi al-Muhan-dis. They came after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday there were indica-tions Iran or forces it backed might be planning additional attacks, after Iranian-backed demonstrators stormed the US embassy in Baghdad.

Gold, the other traditional refuge for risk-averse investors, rose 1pc to a four-month high of $1,543. For the week, it has gained about 2pc and is heading for a fourth consecutive weekly increase.

“After the recent escalations in geopolitical issues, we see a resistance level near the $1,575 level for the next week,” said Jigar Trivedi, a commodities analyst at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers in Mumbai.

The focus on geopolitics meant markets paid little attention to stronger-than-expected data from France

Key figures around 1110 GMTWest Texas Intermediate: p 4.1 pc at $63.71 per barrel

Brent Crude: p 4.5 pc at $69.23 per barrel

London - FTSE 100: q 0.4 pc at 7,571.26 points

Paris - CAC 40: q 0.5 pc at 6,012.39

Frankfurt - DAX 30: q 1.7 pc at 13,163.64

EURO STOXX 50: q 1.0 pc at 3,756.85

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: q 0.3 pc at 28,451.50 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: q 0.1 pc at 3,083.79 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a public holiday

New York - Dow: p 1.2 pc at 28,868.80 (close)

Pound/dollar: q at $1.3075 from $1.3145 at 2200 GMT

Euro/pound: p at 85.20 pence from 84.99 pence

Euro/dollar: q at $1.1139 from $1.1172

Dollar/yen: q at 108.10 from 108.57 yen

French govt huddles as unions vow to harden strikeAFP | Paris

French officials met yester-day to set out their strategy

ahead of fresh talks with unions furious over planned pension overhauls, with labour leaders warning of new strike actions alongside a gruelling transport strike now in its 30th day.

“The government is at work to try to find a way toward a rap-id compromise,” spokeswom-an Sibeth Ndiaye told France 2 television as Prime Minister Edouard Philippe gathered ministers for the unscheduled meeting.

Unions have roundly rejected plans to scrap France’s 42 sep-arate pension regimes for a sin-gle points-based system, which they say could require millions of people to work beyond the official retirement age of 62.

President Emmanuel Macron made the reform a key plank of

his election campaign, saying it would be more transparent and fairer, in particular to low earners and women.

Yet the government has al-ready announced a series of concessions to certain sectors, such as police officers and mil-itary personnel, pilots and rail employees.

Many other public-sector workers are demanding simi-

lar exceptions to the new rules, which would set a “pivot age” of 64 which people would have to work until to receive a full pension.

The hard-line CGT union has called for a four-day blockade of the country’s fuel refineries and depots starting Tuesday, when talks between unions and the government are to resume.

Two unions representing

pilots and cabin crew at Air France have called a strike for next week, as have lawyers, physiotherapists and other self-employed workers who have separate -- and more ad-vantageous -- pension schemes.

War of wills Macron insisted during his

traditional New Year’s Eve ad-dress that he would push ahead with the reform, which will be presented to his cabinet on Jan-uary 22 ahead of parliamentary debate.

He said the new system is needed because most people are starting their careers later, and are living longer.

But he promised that people with particularly arduous jobs would still be allowed to retire early, a main sticking point in the talks with unions, along with the new “pivot age” of 64 to qualify for a full pension.

Public transport in Paris has been crippled by strike over pension reforms now in its fourth week

09

Tea producers turn over a new leaf as prices stumbleNyeri | Kenya

In a humming factory in Ken-ya’s highlands, tea is hand-plucked from the fields,

cured and shredded into the fine leaves that have sated drinkers from London to Lahore for gen-erations.

But Kenya’s prized black tea isn’t fetching the prices it once did, forcing the top supplier of the world’s most popular drink to try something new.

In the bucolic hills around Nyeri, factory workers are ex-perimenting with a range of boutique teas, deviating from decades of tradition in the quest for new customers and a buffer against unstable prices.

Like the bulk of Kenya’s pro-ducers, they’ve been manufac-turing one way for decades -- the crush, tear and curl (CTC) method, turning out ultra-fine leaves well suited for teabags the world over.

Now however, between con-veyor belts whizzing tonnes of Kenya’s mainstay CTC into heaving sacks, huge rollers also gently and slowly massage green leaves under the watchful eye of workers, all freshly trained in the art of what is known as orthodox tea production.

The end result -- a whole l e a f ,

slow-processed variety, sa-voured for its complex tones and appearance -- is still being perfected at Gitugi, a factory in the foothills of the Aberdare Range that has been trialling these teas since June.

It has been costly shifting into orthodox, and a cultural change for workers and farmers, said Antony Naftali, operations man-ager at Gitugi, in Nyeri some 85 kilometres (52 miles) north of Nairobi.

But the risk was necessary: prices for stalwart CTC at auc-tion nosedived 21 percent in 2018-2019 compared to the prior financial year, underscoring the urgency to diversify and extract more from every tea bush.

“We have relied for so many years on traditional CTC. But the price has dropped. We want to reduce the pressure... but also, to explore this new market,” Nafta-li told AFP.

Market turmoilEven since prices have recov-

ered somewhat, any fluctuations are still keenly felt in Kenya, the world’s biggest exporter of CTC.

Tea is a staple drink in Kenya, though, unlike other major pro-ducing countries, it consumes far less t h a n i t e x -ports.

The humble cuppa is a pillar of the economy: one in 10 Ken-yans depends on the tea indus-try, according to the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which represents 650,000 small-holder farmers by selling and marketing their tea.

The poor returns this year sparked angry protests on es-tates, and tea companies regis-tered losses.

Part of the problem is over-supply.

Higher prices in recent years spurred investment in tea plant-ing, resulting in Kenya’s best-ev-er haul in 2018 -- at 493 million kilos (1,086 pounds).

But Kenya also has long relied on too few buyers, shipping 70 percent of its tea to just four markets.

Its top three customers -- Pa-kistan, Egypt and Britain -- have all seen a weakening of their cur-rencies in recent times, making tea imports pricey.

Other big buyers -- Iran, Su-dan and Yemen, chief among them -- have struggled to make payments.

“Our key markets are in turmoil,” Lerionka Tiam-pati, KTDA chief execu-tive, said.

“When you cannot

control the price, then there’s not very much you can do. But what we are doing is we are try-ing to diversify the product.”

Reading the leavesOrthodox production opens

doors to markets where whole leaf, bespoke teas and custom in-fusions are rewarded with high-er prices, says Grace Mogambi, KTDA’s manager of specialty products, who has travelled the globe to learn what drinkers want.

S t u d y i n g s a m p l e s i n Gitugi’s cup-ping room, Mogam- b i reels off the qualities desired by discerning tea drinkers: Russians like whole leaves, Germans prize tips, Saudis demand jet black and Sri Lan-kans dislike stalks.

“Consumer taste

preferences are changing. Drinkers are becoming more aware of the type of tea they prefer,” said Mogambi, clad in a white laboratory coat, before swirling a mouthful of tea and ejecting it into a spittoon.

“If I’m spending more money on a cup of tea, I prefer given characteristics to be present.”

But orthodox and specialty lines represent only a tiny frac-tion of Kenya’s exports, and

critics say the KTDA -- which accounts

for 60 percent of the country’s tea production -- has been slow to adapt.

The board d e c i d e d in 2000 to l a u n c h a n

o r t h o d o x range but,

b y t h e end of

2019, just 11 of its 69 factories were expected to be producing teas other than CTC.

Some like Kangaita, a factory at the southern flank of Mount Kenya, have been cultivating purple teas -- a rare speciality unique to the region.

Other craft varieties include white premium, a loose leaf packaged in deluxe pyramidal teabags.

These appeal also to younger tea drinkers, a growing market demanding something other than run-of-the-mill black tea.

“Youthful tea drinkers are definitely looking for wellness, and other health benefits in tea,” said Gideon Mugo, chairman of the East African Tea Trade Association.

Major brands outside the KTDA have been targeting the youth segment.

Kericho Gold produces a line of “attitude teas” packaged in bright boxes, including one for “love” and another marketed as

a hangover cure.

After prices plummeted for tea produced in the traditional ‘crush, tear and curl’ way, some have shifted to what is known as orthodox tea production, a gentler, slower way of tea making resulting in a whole leaf

Craft tea varieties also appeal to younger tea drinkers, a growing market

In the hills around Nyeri, in Kenya’s highlands, producers are experimenting with a range of boutique teas

One in 10 Kenyans depends on the tea industry, according to the Kenya Tea Development Agency, which represents smallholder farmers by selling and marketing their tea


Ghosn seen on security camera leaving Tokyo home alone: mediaAFP | Tokyo

Fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was caught on

security camera leaving his To-kyo home by himself on the day he fled to avoid a Japanese trial, local media reported Friday.

Ghosn was not seen returning home after leaving around noon on December 29, public broad-caster NHK said, citing people involved in the investigation.

He is thought to have taken a private jet from Kansai Airport in western Japan on that day, heading for Istanbul. It is be-lieved Ghosn headed from there to Beirut.

The news comes a day after prosecutors raided the residence as part of an initial probe into his flight.

NHK said police were analys-ing other surveillance footage, believing there is a possibility he joined someone to head for the airport.

The camera placed near the

entrance of his Tokyo residence showed no suspicious person around the time that Ghosn left, according to NHK and the busi-ness daily Nikkei.

Ghosn, who faced multiple charges of financial miscon-duct that he denies, won bail in April but with strict con-ditions -- including a ban on overseas travel and living under surveillance.

But the executive, who has French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities, managed to slip out of Japan on Sunday despite having handed over his three passports to his lawyers.

Ghosn said on Thursday through the Paris-based agen-cy handling his public relations that he organised his dramatic escape from bail in Japan alone and that his family had nothing to do with his escape.

The circumstances of Ghosn’s Hollywood-like flight from Ja-pan are still unclear, amid col-

ourful reports that he hid in a musical instrument case -- de-nied by his entourage.

On Thursday, Kyodo News quoted an associate of Ghosn, Imad Ajami, as claiming the ty-coon was helped by two private security operatives who pre-tended to be part of a music band for a Christmas party.

But speaking on Friday, Ajami said this scenario was “specu-lation.”

“I don’t know how he left” Japan, Ajami said in a phone in-terview, adding that he had had no direct contact with Ghosn since he left Japan.

‘Red notice’Interpol, the international po-

lice cooperation body, has issued a “red notice” for Ghosn’s arrest in the wake of him fleeing Ja-pan, while Turkey announced it was holding seven individuals in connection with his escape.

The seven included four pilots

as part of the probe focusing on two flights, a Bombardier labelled TC-TSR flying from Osaka to Istanbul and a private jet to Beiruit , ac-c o r d i n g t o news agency DHA.

Ghosn was able to enter Leba-non on a French passport, ac-cording to airport doc-uments.

A court in Tokyo had allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport as he needed one to travel inside Japan, a source close to the matter said.

According to this source, the Japanese

c o u r t h a d allowed Ghosn to keep the pass-port so long as it was kept “in a locked case” with the key held by his lawyers.

Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition agree-

ment under which Ghosn could be sent back to To-kyo.

A French min-ister mean-w h i l e s a i d

France “will not extradite”

Ghosn if he arrived in the country “because France

never extradites its nationals.”

His home in France was searched in June as

part of a probe into his sumptuous marriage celebra-

tions at the Palace of Versailles in 2016, but has not yet been charged with any crime in the country.

10 SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2020

Pooja Hegde wants to be a Christmas caroller

Mumbai

Bollywood actress Pooja Hegde wouldn’t mind a change in her profession. Well, not seriously, but the actress does wish

she was a Christmas caroller!Pooja is currently vacationing in Vi-enna and actively posting pictures

of the scenic city on social media.The actress took to Instagram

to share a picture where she can be seen standing in front of a beautifully decorated shop selling Christmas pre-sents. Pooja captioned: “Is it too late

to apply as a Christmas caroller? #whyamilikethis #tisthesea-sontobejolly #noalcoholneed-ed”.

Justin Bieber goes from “then and now’’ in his first TikTok postLos Angeles

Singer Justin Bieber has joined the short-video

creation platform Tik-Tok and picked some of his throwback and new photos for his first post. It’s literal-ly like watching him grow just in a few sec-onds.

He captioned it: “Am I doing this right #morph.”

It has already re-ceived 153.5K likes.

Meanwhile, the pop-sensation is

back with “Yum-my” – the first track from his

forthcoming 2020 studio al-

bum.H e

t w e e t -e d o n J a n u a r y 3: “#Yum-myOutNow.”

Last month, the 25-year-old had announced via a YouTube video that he would be releasing his first single, “Yummy”, on Janu-ary 3, before a full stadium album, tour and a docuse-ries.

He began the trailer by coming out of a shack like house and walking around the desert town. He made his way to a gas station where he sat and a voiceo-ver of Bieber talking played.

“As humans, we are im-perfect,” he began in the trailer.

“My past, my mistakes, all the things that I’ve been through, I believe I’m right where I’m supposed to be and God has me right where he wants me.”

Kate Hudson isn’t “impressed’’ with her weight gain

Los Angeles

Actress Kate Hudson has revealed her weight and isn’t too “im-pressed” with her post-holiday

weight gain.Like most people, the actress enjoyed

the numerous sweets and treats that come along with the holiday season, but now it seems like she is regretting eating them, reports eonline.com.

She took to Instagram and wrote: “So post-holiday I’m basically 136... I always round up! Ideal weight for me (is) 125.”

“I’m gonna say 3-5 lbs is mostly water and I’m a muscular frame so I weigh more even though I’m lean... important for people to understand that!”

She added: “Weight in muscle is a happy number!”Nonetheless, she says her slight weight fluctuation is

“okay”, because she “know(s) how to do this”.

‘Twilight’ actor Peter Facinelli, girlfriend Lily Anne Harrison engaged

Los Angeles

“Twilight” star Peter Facinelli is engaged to his actor-writer

girlfriend Lily Anne Harrison.The couple got engaged during

their holiday getaway in Maz-atlan, Mexico, reported People magazine.

“Both are beyond elated and are very much looking forward to all that the New Year will bring,”

Facinelli’s representative told the publication.

Both Harrison and Facinelli also shared the pictures from their engagement dinner on the beach on Instagram.

Facinelli is best known for his role as Carlisle Cullen in the “Twi-light” films, while Harrison’s act-ing credits include guest roles on “One Tree Hill”, “The Craft Store” and “Two Guys One Truck”.

Mumbai

Star couple Genelia Deshmukh and Riteish Deshmukh

are super emotional as their debut film “Tujhe Meri Kasam” complet-ed 17 years on Friday.

The two took t o I n st a -gram and posted a couple of videos in w h i c h they can be seen c e l e -brating their 17

years of together-ness.

“17 years of “Tujhe Meri Kasam’’...My

first film- It has my heart quite literally,” Genelia wrote on so-cial media.

Genelia and Riteish, who met on the sets of

“Tujhe Meri Kasam”, tied the knot in 2012.

They also share two sons Rahyl and Riaan.

The couple also recreated some of the iconic mo-ments of the film,

which was re-leased in 2003.

Cheryl feels ‘mum guilt’ while rejecting kids on a dance showLos Angeles

Singer Cheryl, who is all set to return as a judge on

the second season of “The Greatest Dancer” , feels bad

when she has to eliminate children from the show.

In an interview to thesun.co.uk, Cheryl

admitted that being moth-er to two-year-old son Bear has made her feel guilty about eliminating young contestants on the show.

She said: “I think your natural in-stinct as a moth-er kicks in and I k n ow my chi ld loves d a n c i n g . I think, oh my god, if that was my child, how would I feel?”

C h e r y l m a d e h e r d e b u t a s a judge on the show last year.

Lupita Nyong’o wants to keep personal life privateLos Angeles

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o says she wants to keep her

personal life private.In an interview to British

Vogue, the 36-years-old ac-tress opened up on why she doesn’t discuss her personal life openly, reports eonline.com.

“Privacy is a commodi-ty that is hard to come by,” Nyong’o said.

She found fame when she won an Oscar in Best Actress in a Supporting Role cat-egory for her per-formance in “12 Years a Slave”. She has appeared in major films, including “Us”, “Black Panther” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Sky-walker”. She is set to star in and produce an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adi-chie’s “Americanah”.

The actress says she has given herself “permission to take things slow” and work on projects that leave an im-pression.

Los Angeles

Am e r i c a n s i n g e r B e y o n c e

shared never seen before pictures of her twins Sir

and Rumi in ‘2019 Bey-Cap’ video.According to Fox News, Be-

yonce started off her new year by looking back on wonderful memories of 2019 and also gave a little sneak-peak into her family to her fans.

The 38-year old pop-star shared the video on her social media account that included everything from head-ing Coachella to the birthdays of her three kids, daughter Blue Ivy and Rumi and son Sir, Valentine’s day, her ‘Homecoming’ documentary and much more.

Beyonce captioned the post, ‘2019 Bey-Cap.’The singer included a couple of shots of her twins’ birthday party, which featured them sitting in front

of large letters that spelt out “Two” and Sir walking around in an adorable outfit.

Blue Ivy’s seventh birthday party seemed to be a dress-up costume event with multiple

outfit changes for the young star in the making.

Kylie Jenner’s upcoming collaboration with

daughter StormiLos Angeles

Beauty mogul Kylie Jenner gave a teaser of her new upcoming collec-tion of Kylie Cosmetics along with

a sneak-peak at a product named after her daughter Stormi.

According to People magazine, the 22-year media personality shared a picture of Stormi on Instagram who can be seen looking at a spread of colour swatches labelled ‘Kylie Cosmetics Val-

entine’s Day Collection 2020.’

Kylie captioned the photograph, “coming soon.. [?].”

The photo disclosed a product named after

her daughter with pink packaging covered with col-

ourful butterflies.To which one of her sisters Khloe Kardashian

commented, ‘Cutest.’It’s kind of out there that Stormi would be making

her own lip kit, considered how much she loves playing with makeup which can be seen through Kylie’s social media.

In an ‘Offical Kylie Office Tour’ video posted by Kylie on her youtube channel, revealed that little Stormi spends plenty of time with her mom at her workplace.

Kylie in the youtube video said: “Stormi does spend a lot of time here. She really never leaves my side, so we’re here all the time. She’ll have lunch here, dinner sometimes, breakfast. She is always here.”

Justin Bieber

Lupita Nyong’o

Kylie Jenner

Kate Hudson

Peter Facinelli and Lily Anne Harrison

Beyonce

Labuschagne ton as Australia take advantage of KiwisAFP | Sydney

Marnus Labuschagne hit his fourth century in just

14 Tests to guide Australia into a commanding position against virus-hit New Zealand on the opening day of the third Test in Sydney yesterday.

The rock-solid number three, last year’s leading Test scorer with 1,104 runs at 64.94, again proved the Black Caps’ nemesis with his second ton of the series to continue his remarkable scoring sequence.

Supported by Steve Smith’s 28th Test half-century, Aus-tralia reached stumps at 283 for three with Labuschagne unbeaten on 130 and Matthew Wade a breezy 22 not out.

The South African-born La-buschagne has now scored four centuries in seven Test innings this southern summer against Pakistan and New Zealand.

“Terrific day,” he said. “When you bat on day one you know it can be a real prosper-ous day but if you get off to a shaky start it can be tough work.

“It’s all a bit of a whirlwind at the moment. I haven’t re-ally sat down and completely thought about how amazing this summer has been for me.”

Smith, who took 39 balls to get off the mark, shared in a 156-run stand with Labus-chagne before he again missed out after a lengthy stay and was caught at slip off Colin de Grandhomme for 63 off 182 balls.

David Warner fell again to the leg-side trap on the third ball after lunch when he was

caught by de Grandhomme at leg gully off Neil Wagner for 45.

It was the fourth time in the series left-armer Wagner has snared Warner, who has yet to reach a half-century against New Zealand this summer af-ter scoring an unbeaten 335 and 154 against Pakistan last November.

Opener Joe Burns was dismissed in the 15th over, squared up by de Grandhomme and caught by Taylor at first slip for 18.

11

sports


130runs were scored by

Marnus Labuschagne in 210 balls

C L A S S I F I E D S

17th January, 2020

Please Call / WhatsApp: +973 38862215, 33784481, 33911860

I, GANESH MADIVALA (Name as per Adhar card, Passport) S/O SHEKARA MADIVALA, holding Indian Passport No. R 7677544 dated 17-07-2017 issued at BAHRAIN having permanent residence at HOSOOR HOSAMANE CHARA, KARKALA, TQ, UDUPI – 576112, KARNATAKA - INDIA. presently residing at Flat- 11, Bldg-176, Road- 25, Block-517, Sar - BAHRAIN will henceforth be known as (Given Name) GANESH (Surname) MADIVALA Objection(s), if any, may be forwarded to Embassy of India, P.O. Box No. 26106, Bldg. 1090, Road 2819, Block 428, Al-Seef, Bahrain.

CHANGE OF NAME

Ahli claim big victory Ahli defeat bitter rivals Manama in Top Six Division

TDT | Manama

Al Ahli made a statement last night in a resound-ing 95-86 victory over

Manama in their Top Six Divi-sion clash in the Zain Bahrain Basketball League.

Ahli showed why they must be regarded as a force to be reck-oned with as the season reaches its most crucial stages by de-feating one of their most heated rivals at the Khalifa Sports City arena in Isa Town.

American professional Dexter Pittman, a former NBA player with the Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks and 2012 NBA champion with Miami, spearheaded the victors with a monster 34-point, 17-re-bound effort.

The result earned Ahli their third win in four games, and both teams are now tied on the Top Six standings with Ahli handing Manama their first de-feat.

Action in the same division continues tonight with two games on the cards. At 5.45pm, Al Hala take on Al Najma fol-lowed at 7.30pm by defending

champions Muharraq facing off with Riffa.

In Ahli’s win, the Zinj-based club came bursting out of the gate and took a quick 27-16 lead with three minutes to go in the first quarter. But Manama even-tually got into their groove and managed to get to within five,

24-29, at the end of the period. Ahli maintained their fine

form in the second and enjoyed a slim 51-45 lead at the half.

In the final two quarters, things remained close but start-ing the fourth Ahli were able to stretch their lead once more to double-digits, 85-74, on a Pitt-

man lay-up with three minutes to play in the game.

Manama tried valiantly to mount a late comeback as the minutes winded down, but Ahli had all the right answers in the end as they allowed them no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Ahli’s backcourt tandem of Hesham Sarhan and Maytham Jameel combined for 38 points in the win.

Sarhan had 23 and five assists, while Jameel had 15, includ-ing three three-pointers, to go with six assists. Skipper Mo-hammed Qurban added eight points, five rebounds and sev-en assists while Hasan Ali Al-sayed contributed nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.

For Manama, substitute big man Mohammed Ameer had 22 points to pace his team in the loss. US import Christo-pher McKnight had 13 on just four-for-11, while team captain Mohammed Hussain had 18, including four triples. Former Ahli superstar Hussain Shaker added 11 off the bench to go with five assists.

Ahli’s Sarhan, right, looks to make a play as he drives past Manama big man McKnight

Olympic football team defeat Vietnamese counterparts in friendly

TDT | Manama

Bahrain’s under-23 Olym-pic football team scored a

hard-earned 2-1 victory over their counterparts from Vi-etnam yesterday in a friendly match played in Bangkok.

The tune-up was part of both teams’ preparations for the 2020 AFC U-23 Champi-onship, which is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday in Thailand.

On target for Bahrain in the match were Ahmed Saleh and Abdulrahman Al Ahmadi.

The friendly was the first for Bahrain as part of their final preparations for the upcoming competition.

Bahrain are making their debut in the prestigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC) event, which also acts as the Asian qualifiers for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. The top three teams will book a seat at the Games.

A total of 16 teams are tak-ing part. Bahrain booked their tickets in the event after win-ning their qualification group. The Bahrainis play in Group A of the preliminary round, where they will be facing Aus-tralia, Iraq and hosts Thailand.

The Olympic team open their campaign against the Thais on January 8, and then

play Iraq on January 11 before closing out their group cam-paign against Australia on Jan-uary 14. Bahrain must finish in the top two to advance to the quarter-finals.

Bahrain are in Thailand with a 23-player squad that includes Saleh, Al Ahmadi, Faisal Ibra-him, Hamza Al Jabn, Hassan Alkarani, Ahmed Sherooqi, Hussain Jameel, Mohammed Hardan, Abdulaziz Khalid, Adnan Fawaz, Mohammed Marhoon, Hamad Shamsan, Sayed Hashem Isa, Hassan Madan, Ahmed Fadel, Abbas Alasfoor, Sayed Mohammed Ameen, Jassim Khleef, Yousef Habib, Ahmed Bughammar, Anwar Ahmed, Salem Adel and Ammar Mohammed.

Action from yesterday’s friendly match in Bangkok

Marnus Labuschagne plays a shot

Pope gives England a late liftAFP | Cape Town

Ollie Pope hit a half-cen-tury to give England a

late boost after they struggled against a disciplined South Af-rican bowling attack on the first day of the second Test against South Africa at New-lands yesterday.

Pope made 56 not out as Eng-

land struggled to 262 for nine on a day when the tourists, 1-0 down in the four-match se-ries, failed to take advantage of what looked like a good batting pitch.

Before Pope prospered in a unbeaten last wicket stand of 28 with James Anderson after six England batsmen perished for scores between 29 and 47.

KNOW WHAT

Bahrain are making their debut in the pres-tigious Asian Football Confederation (AFC)

event, which also acts as the Asian qualifiers for next year’s Tokyo

Olympics


Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Chairman & Managing Director P Unnikrishnan Advertisement: Update Media W.L.L | Tel: 38444692, Email: [email protected] | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: [email protected]

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New Show triumphs in feature raceNew Show clinches Alba Cup in feature race at REHC

TDT | Manama

New Show clinched the Al-uminium Bahrain (Alba) Cup yesterday in the fea-

ture race of the day at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC) in Riffa.

Owned by Victorious, trained by Hesham Al Haddad and rid-den by Adrie De Vries, New Show made a late charge to claim the narrowest of victories.

The 89-rated four-year-old completed the 12-furlong event in two minutes 32.109 seconds, securing the lion’s share of the BD5,000 total prize.

The hotly contested race for imported horses was one of the most exciting yesterday at REHC. In attendance enjoying all the action and awarding some of the day’s winners was Deputy Chairman of the High Commit-tee at REHC, His Highness Shai-kh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, along with several other high-ranking officials.

HH Shaikh Isa watched as New Show won by two lengths ahead of top challenger Rus-tang, owned by Al Adiyat Rac-ing, trained by Alan Smith and ridden by James Doyle. In third place was Port Douglas for Al Hassanain Syndicate, Mohamed Al Sammak and Abdulla Faisal.

A total of six horses compet-ed in the event. Pressure Point was fourth for Al Mohamediya Racing, Nigel came fifth for Vic-torious and Lugano was sixth for Al Mallah Syndicate.

In the day’s sixth race, also for

an Alba Cup, Thorkhill Star won for Al Adiyat Racing, Alan Smith and James Doyle.

Thorkhill Star completed the eight-furlong race carrying a BD5,000 total prize in 1:36.540. Trailing behind by just one-and-a-quarter-lengths was Austin Powers, owned by Ramadhan Stable, trained by Jaber Rama-dhan and ridden by Robert Tart; while taking third was Baltic Knight for Al Afoo Racing Sta-ble, Mohammed Saeed and Lee Newman.

Finishing fourth and fifth, re-spectively, were Balestra and Laidback Romeo.

Meanwhile, Pulsar won the Alba Cup in the first race of the day while Regular did the same in the fourth race.

In the 11-furlong first race for local horses, Pulsar triumphed for Abdulla Fawzi Nass, Hesh-am Al Haddad and Ali Moosa in 2:22.412. Antar was second for

Haitham Salah Abdullatef, Ebra-him Nader and A Kuwaiti; while taking third was Al Aghar for Feras Awn Hasan Mubarak, Awn Mubarak and Hasan Al Mawali.

In the five-furlong fourth race for imported horses, Regular took first place in 59.031 sec-onds. Regular is owned by Al Mohamediya Racing, trained by Osama Hashim and ridden by Osama Hashim. In second place was Don Armado for Al Afoo Racing Stable, Mohammed Saeed and Lee Newman; while in third was World Order for Al Mohamediya Racing, Jaber Ramadhan and Robert Tart.

Meanwhile, the third race of the day for the Al Raffa Cup held over five furlongs was claimed by Krayaan 1706, owned by Vic-torious, trained by Yousif Taher and ridden by Anas Al Siyabi. Kuheilan Umm Zorayr 1766 and Tuwaisaan 1762 were second and third, respectively.

Elsewhere on the day, Pulp Fiction won the six-furlong sec-ond race for local breeds with a total prize of BD2,000; and Waridat claimed the eight-fur-long fifth race with a prize of BD2,000.

Horses in action during yesterday’s race

HH Shaikh Isa presents one of yesterday’s trophies to the winners

HH Shaikh Isa with one of the competing horses yesterday after a race

Winners and officials during an awardingREHC Executive Director Shaikh Salman bin Rashed Al Khalifa, left, presents a trophy

The hotly contested race for imported

horses was one of the most exciting yester-

day at REHC

Zverev, Tsitsipas crash to defeat at ATP CupAFP | Sydney

Al ex a n d e r Zv e r e v a n d Stefanos Tsitsipas both

crashed to defeat in their first matches of the year yesterday as day one of the inaugural ATP Cup sprung some big upsets.

The German world number seven was stunned by Australia’s fast-improving Alex de Minaur, who rallied from a set and 4-2 down to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

Greek star Tsitsipas, who won the 2019 season-ending ATP Finals in London and is now

ranked six, slumped to a 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7/4) loss to young Cana-dian Denis Shapovalov.

It led to both Germany and Greece being defeated in their opening ties at the 24-nation event, where the countries are split into six groups across Syd-ney, Brisbane and Perth.

The top eight from the round robin go onto the knockout phase in Sydney before one is eventually crowned the winner.

Along with Australia and Can-ada, Belgium also won, sweep-

ing Moldova 3-0, while tennis minnows Norway pulled off a big 2-1 upset against the United States.

Drawcards Rafael Nadal and

Novak Djokovic make their de-but on Saturday, for Spain in Perth and Serbia in Brisbane respectively.

“It’s definitely up there,” said de Minaur in Brisbane, when asked how the victory ranked in his career. “This one feels very, very good.

“I have a great team. My cap-tain, my coach were all making sure I stayed in the moment and told me I would have chances.”

Earlier, Nick Kyrgios beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

Australia’s Alex de Minaur hits a return to Germany’s Alexander Zverev

Hazard to miss Spanish Super CupAFP | Madrid

Ed e n H a z a r d ’s i n j u -ry-plagued start at Real

Madrid will continue this month after Zinedine Zidane said yesterday the Belgian will not play in the Spanish Super Cup next week.

Hazard suffered an ankle fracture during Madrid’s draw against Paris Saint-Germain on November 26 and was expect-ed to be out for around four to six weeks.

But Zidane has confirmed Hazard will miss Madrid’s La

Liga game against Getafe on Saturday and will not travel to Saudi Arabia, where his team face Valencia in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals on Wednesday before a potential final against either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid four days later.

“He is 100 per cent out of the Super Cup,” said Zidane in a press conference. “He is not travelling, he is recovering and we hope that just after the Super Cup, little by lit-tle, we could see him with us again.”

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