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Muharraq wins hearts ‘Revitalisation of Muharraq project’ wins 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture

• The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards

• Winners of the yearly honour will share US$ 1 million between them

TDT | Kazan, Russia

Bahrain’s ‘Revitalisation of Muharraq project’ yesterday won the 2019

Aga Khan Award for Architec-ture, which celebrates the pro-jects that respond particularly to their context and the cul-tural needs of the inhabitants

Bangladesh (Arcadia Edu-cation Project, in South Kan-archor), Palestine (Palestinian Museum, in Birzeit), Russia (Public Spaces Development Programme, in Kazan, the Republic of Tatarstan), Sene-gal (Alioune Diop University Teaching and Research Unit, in Bambey) and the United Arab Emirates (Wasit Wetland

Centre, in Sharjah) are the oth-er winners.

The Aga Khan Award for Ar-chitecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in ar-chitecture, planning practices, historic preservation and land-scape architecture.

The winners of the yearly honour will share US$ 1 million between them, which recog-nises all parties involved in the conception, design, and realization of a built project.

The award, His Royal High-ness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Command-er, and First Deputy Prime Minister said, reflects Bah-rain Authority for Culture and Antiquities’s (BACA) relentless efforts in preserving Bahrain’s historical heritage and marks another successful achieve-ment under the Kingdom’s comprehensive development, led by HM the King.

During a meeting with Shai-kha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), HRH CP highlighted the Kingdom’s rich authentic cultural her-itage, commenting how its legacy and inspirational role contributes so importantly to

the cultural development of Bahrain.

HRH the Crown Prince praised the efforts of Sheikh Mai which led to Bahrain re-ceiving winning the award.

The Revitalisation of Mu-harraq, which highlights the World Heritage site’s pearling history, was the first initiated as a series of restoration and reuse projects.

“The project evolved into

a comprehensive programme that aimed at rebalancing the city’s demographic makeup by creating public spaces, com-munity and cultural venues and improving the overall en-vironment,” the jury said in a statement.

S h e i k h a Ma i s a i d t h e achievements reflect the gen-erous support of the wise lead-ership of Bahrain, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa

Al Khalifa“Yesterday, it was the capital

of Islamic Culture. Today, it has achieved a new cultural banner,” she said.

The success also reflects the continuous work and close co-operation between the civil in-stitutions represented by Shai-kh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research and the official governmental institutions represented by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and An-tiquities, she added.

The work of reviving the cultural and urban heritage of Muharraq is ongoing with the support of the private sector.

Now a UNESCO World Herit-age Site, all new planning ap-plications are reviewed by the project team to ensure further developments are in line with the scheme’s overarching ob-jectives.

Founded in 1977 by Aga Khan IV, the award aims spe-cifically to highlight projects of relevance or significance to primarily Islamic societies.

02 Private sector to play big role: CP

04iGA to receive birth, death registration requests

08Saudi Aramco eyes Tokyo for two-stage IPO

8

Oceans turning from friend to foe, warns UN5WORLD

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The award reflects Bahrain Authority

for Culture and Antiquities’s (BACA) relentless efforts in

preserving Bahrain’s historical heritage and marks another achievement under

the Kingdom’s comprehensive

development, led by HM the King

HRH CROWN PRINCE

DON’T MISS IT

210 fils (includes VAT)

HRH the Crown Prince with Shaikha Mai at Gudaibiya Palace yesterday

Revitalisation of Muharraq highlights the World Heritage site’s pearling history

The inauguration of Athena Private School for Special Education (Full report on page 3)

US suggests won’t prosecute Venezuela’s Maduro if he leavesWashington, United States

A US envoy suggested yesterday that Vene-

zuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be safe from US prosecution if he quits but acknowledged that his departure remained elusive despite a half-year pressure campaign by Washington.

Elliott Abrams, the US pointman on Venezuela, renewed demands that Ma-duro cede power to opposi-tion chief Juan Guaido but said there was no “personal edge” to the position.

“We are not trying to go after him,” Abrams told re-porters.

“We are not after punish-ment or vengeance; we are after political change,” he said.

The United States blames Maduro for the econom-ic collapse of Venezuela, from which millions have fled due to basic shortages, and considers him illegiti-mate after wide reports of irregularities in last year’s election.

Lane closure TDT | Manama

Electrical cable instal-lation works on the

slip lane leading from Si-tra Causeway to Sh. Isa Bin Salman Highway leading to Mina Salman necessitate the closure of one lane on stages at the highway. One lane will remain open for traffic movement.

The closure effective yes-terday will continue until Sunday at 5 am, said the Ministry of Works, Mu-nicipality Affairs & Urban Planning.

Athena opens doors in Bahrain Canadian wins jackpot, but kept it a secret for 10 monthsOttawa, Canada

A Vietnamese refugee who played the same lottery

numbers since resettling in Canada 36 years ago won a Can$60 million jackpot, but kept it secret for 10 months.

Bon Truong, 55, finally claimed his prize on Wednes-day in Edmonton, Alberta.

“I started to think about what this win would mean for my family,” he told a press conference. “I realized it’s go-ing to change a lot of things and I wanted to make sure we

were all ready and prepared for those changes.”

So he signed his name a n d p h o n e n u m b e r o n the ticket and put it in a safe.

Truong told reporters he now planned to use his win-nings to pay off his mortgage, take a family vacation and then continue working as a garden-er.

He also quipped that did not intend to reveal his newfound fortune to his children because he wanted them to still work hard.

02FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

National Guard President His Highness General Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa with Ambassador of Pakistan to Bahrain Afzal Mahmoud. His Highness praised the amicable ties between the two countries and peoples and the cooperation, especially in the military field. The ambassador expressed his gratitude and appreciation of His Highness’s efforts in bolstering the cooperation.

Private sector to play big role in economic development: HRH CP TDT | Manama

Bahrain is committed to creating quality opportu-nities for citizens by en-

hancing the role of the private sector as the main driver of the economy, said His Royal High-ness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.

Highlighting Kingdom’s commitment to boost econom-ic growth, the Crown Prince Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Min-ister said the move falls in line with the vision of His Maj-esty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

In this regard, HRH the Crown Prince noted BCCI’s role in sup-porting the Kingdom’s com-mercial and industrial sectors, which serve the country’s econ-omy and its citizens.

The Crown Prince Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister was re-ceiving Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry (BCCI), Sameer Abdullah Nass, at Gudaibiya Palace.

HRH the Crown Prince

stressed the importance of at-tracting new investment, ex-panding diversification, and continuing to support the or-ganisation of world-class events that enhance local expertise and portray the Kingdom’s advances globally.

T h e C h a i r m a n o f t h e BCCI hailed HRH the Crown Prince’s commitment to fur-ther strengthening the role of the BCCI within the Kingdom’s comprehensive development and for his support to the pri-vate sector.

HRH the Crown Prince with BCCI Chairman Sameer Abdullah Nass at Gudaibiya Palace, yesterday

Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza with a delegation from the US-Arab Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, led by its Chairman, David Phillips, currently on a visit to Bahrain. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Chinese company JNG specialised in engineering fields, including the development of electricity production projects, headed by Chairman of the Board of Directors Junsheng Xu. The minister praised the depth of relations between Bahrain and the United States and appreciated the efforts exerted by the US-Arab Chamber of Commerce to enhance international relations with Bahrain in all fields, especially electricity, water and renewable energy. Dr Mirza gave the visitors a presentation on renewable energy projects, achievements in this field and investment opportunities available to international companies to participate in those projects.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, and the Minister of State for African Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Qattan. They reviewed bilateral relations and held coordination and consultation on regional and international issues and ways to face regional challenges

Shura Chairman pays tribute to voluntary retireesTDT | Manama

Shura Council Chairman, Ali bin Saleh Al-Saleh,

yesterday commended the efforts exerted by the affil-iates of the Shura Council’s Secretariat-General who have joined the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.

He stressed that they have contributed to attain-ing many achievements, and will remain as examples of commitment, perseverance and sincerity in the perfor-mance of the tasks assigned to them.

Al-Saleh was speaking during a ceremony held by the Secretariat-Gen-eral in honour Voluntary Retirement Scheme’s ben-eficiaries in the presence o f S e c re t a r y- G e n e ra l , Chancellor Osama Ahmed Al-Asfoor.

The Shura Chairman ex-pressed sincere thanks and appreciation to the volun-tary retirees, wishing them further success.

Lane closureManama

Improvement works of King Hamad Intersection

(ALBA Junction) necessitate the closure of one and two lanes on Estiqlal Highway for southbound direction to the Intersection, said the Ministry of Works.

The closure will be effec-tive until Sunday at 5 am.

03

big story

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

The initiative of building a school for students with special needs stemmed from a vision

to serve this category of people and provide them with an educational environment that helps tap on their potentials and boost their

role in the communityDR AMABLE AGUILUZ

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT’S ENVOY TO THE GCC COUNTRIES, THE SCHOOL’S BOARD CHAIR-MAN

Special care for Special child Athena Private School for Special Education opens doors in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

Athena Private School for Special Education yes-terday opened its doors

in Bahrain offering kids with special needs a “conducive and supportive learning environ-ment” to nurture their abilities meeting international standards.

Built on a sprawling 6000 square meter area in Buquwah, the facility was inaugurated by Shaikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al Khalifa as deputised by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The mission, according to Athena, is to provide a happy, secure, and stimulating learning environment in which all mem-bers of the school community learn, care, and achieve success together.

Philippine President’s Envoy to the GCC countries Dr Ama-ble Aguiluz, the school’s board Chairman, Education Minis-ter Dr Majid Al Nuaimi, senior officials and academics were

present. Shaikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al

Khalifa conveyed the greetings and respect of HRH the Premier to the officials in charge of the school and his best wishes for every success in serving students with special needs.

He stressed the great care ac-corded by the government to the education sector, being a key player in sustainable devel-opment.

“Providing modern education to people with special needs and integrating them into the com-munity represents one of the

bright aspects of the Kingdom’s educational march which spans for around 100 years,” said Shai-kh Khalifa.

He praised Athena Private School for students with spe-cial needs, describing it as an added value to the educational sector in Bahrain given its mod-ern educational facilities and highly qualified administrative and educational staff.

The Education Minister ex-tended sincere thanks and re-spect to HRH the Premier for patronising the ceremony, laud-ing his continuous support to

the educational sector as one of the main contributors to the kingdom’s comprehensive de-velopment.

The Minister praised the edu-cational accomplishments since the launching of the regular edu-cation 100 years ago, commend-ing the unflinching support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khali-fa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Sal-man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.

The Education Minister shed light on the ministry’s initiatives and procedures to serve students with special needs who proved their capability to stand out, ex-cel and take part actively in the Kingdom’s development pro-cess.

Dr Aguiluz extended thanks and respect to HRH the Premier for his support to education and keenness to provide all facilities to the private sector to invest in this vital sector.

A b o u t A t h e n a

Athena provides full-time and resource educa-tional services to students with special needs such as:

• Dyslexia

• Autism Spectrum Disorder/Asperger’s Syndrome/PDD/PDD-NOS

• Language Delay/Disorders

• Developmental/Physical Disability

• Specific Learning Disability/Others

• Down Syndrome

• Academic and Non-Academic Giftedness

In pictures, the inauguration ceremony held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

03

big story


The initiative of building a school for students with special needs stemmed from a vision

to serve this category of people and provide them with an educational environment that helps tap on their potentials and boost their

role in the communityDR AMABLE AGUILUZ

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT’S ENVOY TO THE GCC COUNTRIES, THE SCHOOL’S BOARD CHAIR-MAN

Special care for Special child Athena Private School for Special Education opens doors in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

Athena Private School for Special Education yes-terday opened its doors

in Bahrain offering kids with special needs a “conducive and supportive learning environ-ment” to nurture their abilities meeting international standards.

Built on a sprawling 6000 square meter area in Buquwah, the facility was inaugurated by Shaikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al Khalifa as deputised by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The mission, according to Athena, is to provide a happy, secure, and stimulating learning environment in which all mem-bers of the school community learn, care, and achieve success together.

Philippine President’s Envoy to the GCC countries Dr Ama-ble Aguiluz, the school’s board Chairman, Education Minis-ter Dr Majid Al Nuaimi, senior officials and academics were

present. Shaikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al

Khalifa conveyed the greetings and respect of HRH the Premier to the officials in charge of the school and his best wishes for every success in serving students with special needs.

He stressed the great care ac-corded by the government to the education sector, being a key player in sustainable devel-opment.

“Providing modern education to people with special needs and integrating them into the com-munity represents one of the

bright aspects of the Kingdom’s educational march which spans for around 100 years,” said Shai-kh Khalifa.

He praised Athena Private School for students with spe-cial needs, describing it as an added value to the educational sector in Bahrain given its mod-ern educational facilities and highly qualified administrative and educational staff.

The Education Minister ex-tended sincere thanks and re-spect to HRH the Premier for patronising the ceremony, laud-ing his continuous support to

the educational sector as one of the main contributors to the kingdom’s comprehensive de-velopment.

The Minister praised the edu-cational accomplishments since the launching of the regular edu-cation 100 years ago, commend-ing the unflinching support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khali-fa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Sal-man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.

The Education Minister shed light on the ministry’s initiatives and procedures to serve students with special needs who proved their capability to stand out, ex-cel and take part actively in the Kingdom’s development pro-cess.

Dr Aguiluz extended thanks and respect to HRH the Premier for his support to education and keenness to provide all facilities to the private sector to invest in this vital sector.

A b o u t A t h e n a

Athena provides full-time and resource educa-tional services to students with special needs such as:

• Dyslexia

• Autism Spectrum Disorder/Asperger’s Syndrome/PDD/PDD-NOS

• Language Delay/Disorders

• Developmental/Physical Disability

• Specific Learning Disability/Others

• Down Syndrome

• Academic and Non-Academic Giftedness

In pictures, the inauguration ceremony held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa


CONDENSED INTERIM FINANCIAL INFORMATION for the six months ended 30 June 2019Retail Bank, Bahrain

sc.com/bh

Licensed by the CBB as a Conventional Retail Bank and a Wholesale Bank

Abdulla Bukhowa Chief Executive Officer, Bahrain

Shaikha TareefChief Financial Officer, Bahrain

Reviewed by: KPMGPublic Accountants

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

as at 30 June 2019

Bahraini Dinars 000’s30 June 2019

(reviewed)31 December 2018

(audited)

AssetsCash and balances at central banks 42,899 62,018 Due from other entities of the Head Office 8,971 58,988Deposits and amounts due from banks 53,999 12,720Loans and advances to customers 506,506 452,162Investment securities 153,893 138,104 Property, equipment and software 4,003 4,088Interest receivable and other assets 9,061 23,097

Total assets 779,332 751,177

LiabilitiesDue to other entities of the Head Office 51,308 21,459 Deposits and amounts due to banks 13,594 6,903 Customers accounts 642,520 637,573 Interest payable and other liabilities 21,444 37,095

Total liabilities 728,866 703,030

Head Office funds Capital 10,743 10,743 Retained earnings 4,162 2,726 Other reserves 35,561 34,678

Total Head Office funds 50,466 48,147

Total liabilities and Head Office funds 779,332 751,177

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS

for the six months ended 30 June 2019


(reviewed)30 June 2018

(reviewed)

Interest income 18,030 16,756Interest expense (3,881) (3,029)Net interest income 14,149 13,727

Fee and commission income 5,795 6,294Fee and commission expense (1,463) (1,284)Net fee and commission income 4,332 5,010

Net trading income 1,657 1,893Other income 177 235

Total operating income 20,315 20,865

Staff costs 5,671 6,211 Depreciation and amortisation 336 215 Premises and equipment costs 266 320 Other expenses 7,678 7,431

Total operating expenses 13,951 14,177

Profit before impairment losses 6,364 6,688

Net impairment losses (2,173) (2,258)

Profit for the period 4,191 4,430

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME




(reviewed)

Profit for the period 4,191 4,430

Other comprehensive incomeItems that may be reclassified to profit or loss:

Net fair value movement during the period 883 (187)

Total other comprehensive income for the period 883 (187)

Total comprehensive income for the period 5,074 4,243

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS




(reviewed)

Net cash used in operating activities (24,777) (11,703)

Net cash (used in) / generated from investing activities (33,761) 10,589

Net cash used in financing activities (2,755) (913)

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents during the period (61,293) (2,027)

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 109,185 72,022

Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 47,892 69,995

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN HEAD OFFICE FUNDS


Bahraini Dinars 000’s

Capital Retained earnings

Other reserves

Total2019 (reviewed) General reserve Fair value reserve

At 1 January 2019 10,743 2,726 34,056 622 48,147 Comprehensive income for the periodProfit for the period - 4,191 - - 4,191Other comprehensive incomeFair value reserve:Net fair value movement during the period - - - 883 883

Total comprehensive income for the period - 4,191 - 883 5,074Amounts remitted to Head Office during the period - (2,755) - - (2,755)

At 30 June 2019 10,743 4,162 34,056 1,505 50,466

Capital Retained earnings

Other reserves

Total2018 (reviewed) General reserve Fair value reserve

At 1 January 2018 10,743 5,622 34,056 1,430 51,851

Transition adjustment on adoption of IFRS 9 - (4,709) - 730 (3,979)

At 1 January 2018 - restated 10,743 913 34,056 2,160 47,872Comprehensive income for the periodProfit for the period - 4,430 - - 4,430 Other comprehensive incomeFair value reserve:Net fair value movement during the period - - - (187) (187) Total comprehensive income for the period - 4,430 - (187) 4,243 Amounts remitted to Head Office during the period - (913) - - (913)

At 30 June 2018 10,743 4,430 34,056 1,973 51,202

Man gets a year in jail for identity theft TDT | Manama

The High C r i m i -nal court

aw a r d e d t w o separate sen-tences to a man on charges re-lated to identity theft and illegal stay in the King-dom.

The man, an Asian nation-al, will have to spend one year in jail for ID card misappropria-tion and another 10-days for stay-ing in the King-dom illegally.

East Riffa police arrested him following a complaint filed by a company against him saying that the suspect pre-sented to them someone else’s ID along with a job application.

The suspect, during interro-gation, confessed to police that he obtained the ID card by tak-ing advantage of his roommate who was fast asleep at the time of asking.

Case files say the suspect,

understanding that his room-mate is tired and in deep slumber, asked him permis-sion to take his ID card.

The victim, not fathom-ing the conse-quence of his a ct i on h a l f-awake, gave his Id to the suspect.

The suspect then used the ID card to ob-tain a job from a company that was conduct-

ing a recruitment drive. However, the officials there

while verifying ID cards re-alised that the suspect hand-ed them someone else’s Id card.

The company officials re-ported the incident to police.

On May 29, 2019, the Public Prosecution accused the de-fendant of ID card misappro-priation and staying illegally in the Kingdom after the expi-ration of his residency permit.

The suspect, during interrogation,

confessed to police that he obtained

the ID card by taking advantage of his roommate who was fast asleep at the time of asking.

iGA to receive birth, death registration requests• Working hours are from 7.30am to 1 pm from Sunday to Thursday

• Guidelines issued for obtaining various certificates

• New office is at iGA’s main branch in Isa Town

TDT | Manama

The office of the Births & Deaths Registration Cen-tre will function from

the premises of Information & eGovernment Authority’s (iGA) main branch in Isa Town start-ing September 1, announced iGA yesterday.

Thursday was the last working day for the department at its former premises at the Ministry of Health.

Working hours of the new office are from 7.30am to 1 pm from Sunday to Thursday.

A directive issued earlier au-thorised the shifting of the of-

fice from the Ministry of the Health to iGA.

iGA has also issued specif-ic guidelines, which require personal attendance of appli-cant’s relatives, for obtaining certificates in certain cases.

For obtaining birth cer-tificates of individuals born before 1994, iGA says per-sonal assistance by relatives is required.

Certificate printing re-quests for citizens born abroad, for citizens or resi-dents who passed away with-in Bahrain or abroad requires personal assistance. Death or birth certificate issuances in cases involving Bahraini court orders or rulings also call for personal assistance.

Report deaths within 72 hours

iGA requires reporting deaths within 72 hours, but a 60-day extension is available for deaths occurred outside the Kingdom.

Births in 15 days The law specifies to report

new births within 15 days and 60 days if abroad.

For births occurred out-side Bahrain, a relative must bring the original birth certificate attested in the country of birth, along with passport and ID card copies

of both parents. Also required are a copy of the marriage con-tract (Bahraini) and a copy of the passport or identity card of the applicant.

Bahrain.bhHospitals in Bahrain report

births and issue personal num-bers so that guardians can com-plete the birth certificate and identity card issuance process electronically through the na-tional portal bahrain.bh.

If in one of the above cases, personal attendance applies, the applicant must bring copies of the passport or identity card of the newborn, father and moth-er, and a copy of the lost birth certificate (if any), along with a copy of the marriage contract.

Deaths abroad In cases of deaths outside the

Kingdom, relatives of the de-ceased up to the third degree must bring the original and a copy of the death certificate is-sued by the country in which the death occurred, along with the original passport or identity card of the deceased, and the original passport or identity card of the applicant.

In cases of deaths within Bah-rain, relatives of the deceased up to the third degree must bring medical notification of the cause of death from the hospital or the Public Security Directorate at the Ministry of Interior, along with the original passport or identity card of the deceased, in addition to the original identity card of the applicant.

Births & Deaths Registration Centre will function from the premises of Information & eGovernment Authority’s (iGA) main branch in Isa Town starting September 1

iGA has issued specific guidelines, which require per-

sonal attendance of applicant’s relatives,

for obtaining cer-tificates in certain

cases

05

world


Oceans turning from friend to foe, warns UNParis, France

The same oceans that nour-ished human evolution are poised to unleash

misery on a global scale unless the carbon pollution destabilis-ing Earth’s marine environment is brought to heel, warns a draft UN report.

Destructive changes already set in motion could see a steady decline in fish stocks, a hun-dred-fold or more increase in the damages caused by super-storms, and hundreds of mil-lions of people displaced by rising seas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “spe-cial report” on oceans and Earth’s frozen zones, known as t he cryosphere.

As the 21st century unfolds, melting glaciers will first give too much and then too little to billions who depend on them for fresh water, it finds.

Without deep cuts to man-made emissions, at least 30 per cent of the northern hem-isphere’s surface permafrost could melt by century’s end, unleashing billions of tonnes of carbon and accelerating global warming even more.

The 900-page scientific as-

sessment is the fourth such tome from the UN in less than a year, with others focused on a 1.5-Cel-sius (2.6-Farenheit) cap on glob-al warming, the state of biodiver-sity, and how to manage forests

and the global food system.The final advice to policymak-

ers will be released on Septem-ber 25, too late to be considered by world leaders gathering two days earlier for a summit con-

vened by UN Secretary-Gener-al Antonio Guterres to extract stronger national commitments in confronting the climate crisis.

The Big Four -- accounting

for nearly 60 percent of glob-al fossil fuel-based emissions -- all face devastating ocean- and ice-related impacts, but none seem prepared just an-nounce more ambitious goals

f o r p u rg i n g c a r b o n f ro m their economies.

By 2050, many low-lying meg-acities and small island nations will experience “extreme sea level events” every year, even under the most optimistic emis-sions reduction scenarios, the report concludes.

By 2100, “annual flood dam-ages are expected to increase by two to three orders of mag-nitude,” or 100 to 1,000 fold, the draft summary for policymakers says.

Even if the world manages to cap global warming at two de-grees Celsius, the global ocean waterline will rise enough to displace more than a quarter of a billion people.

Earth’s average surface tem-perature has gone up 1C since the late 19th century, and is on track -- at current rates of CO2 emissions -- to warm another two or three degrees by centu-ry’s end.

The Paris Agreement calls for capping global warming at “well below” 2C.

“If we warm the planet by 2C, by 2100 we will only be at the be-ginning of a runaway train ride of sea level rise,” said Strauss, whose research informs the re-port’s conclusions.

Areas of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans are still flooded after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

In United States Dollars (‘USD’) Share Statutory Foreign Accumulated Investment Total Non- Total capital reserve currency losses fair value controlling equity translation reserve interest reserve 2019Balance at 1 January 58,000,000 1,324,137 (844,795) (9,209,322) 934,484 50,204,504 7,398,343 57,602,847 Foreign currency translation reserve - - 62,541 - - 62,541 21,967 84,508 Investment fair value reserve - - - - (133,449) (133,449) (60,310) (193,759)Net profit for the period - - - 268,610 - 268,610 21,704 290,314 Balance at 30 June 58,000,000 1,324,137 (782,254) (8,940,712) 801,035 50,402,206 7,381,704 57,783,910

2018 Balance at 1 January 58,000,000 1,314,688 (748,181) (9,256,561) 1,883,085 51,193,031 7,816,245 59,009,276 Foreign currency translation reserve - - (54,446) - - (54,446) 60,909 6,463 Investment fair value reserve - - - - (941,329) (941,329) (487,671) (1,429,000)Net profit for the period - - - 1,098,427 - 1,098,427 28,208 1,126,635 Balance at 30 June 58,000,000 1,314,688 (802,627) (8,158,134) 941,756 51,295,683 7,417,691 58,713,374

In United States Dollars (‘USD’) Accumulated Foreign currency deficit translationreserve Total2019Balance at 1 January (42,172,208) 375,698 (41,796,510)Deficit for the period (3,458,912) - (3,458,912)Foreign currency translation reserve - (41,718) (41,718)Balance at 30 June (45,631,120) 333,980 (45,297,140)

2018 Balance at 1 January (41,325,088) 281,682 (41,043,406)Deficit for the period (5,668,548) - (5,668,548)Foreign currency translation reserve - 69,626 69,626 Balance at 30 June (46,993,636) 351,308 (46,642,328)

In United States Dollars (‘USD’) Six months ended 30 June 2019 2018Contributions (reviewed) (reviewed)Gross contributions 38,442,415 39,070,872 Retakaful share of gross contributions (6,188,709) (6,972,703)Retained contributions 32,253,706 32,098,169 Unearned contributions adjustment (4,051,656) (9,395,592)Net earned contributions 28,202,050 22,702,577 Policy issuance fee 170,759 177,917 Policy acquisition costs (2,265,413) (1,941,590)Re-takaful discount 1,175,530 1,374,477 Net acquisition costs/ discount income (919,124) (389,196)Unearned acquisition costs / discount income adjustment- net (21,401) 278,722 Net earned acquisition costs / discount income (940,525) (110,474)Net earned revenue 27,261,525 22,592,103 Claims Gross claims paid 24,794,333 21,621,956 Retakaful share of claims paid (2,766,710) (1,658,742)Change in Outstanding claims - gross 7,539,460 2,847,065 Change in Outstanding claims - retakaful share (5,569,757) (1,319,104)Net claims 23,997,326 21,491,175 Net earned revenue over net claims incurred 3,264,199 1,100,928 Wakala fee (5,076,540) (5,588,954)General and administrative expenses under mudarib model (1,718,625) (1,366,027)Deficitfromtakafuloperations (3,530,966) (5,854,053)Profit income 202,916 297,127 Mudarib share (46,894) (30,999)Other expense (83,968) (80,623)DEFICIT FOR THE PERIOD (3,458,912) (5,668,548)

CONDENSEDCONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTOFCHANGESINPARTICIPANTS’EQUITY

CONDENSEDCONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTOFCHANGESINSHAREHOLDERS’EQUITY

CONDENSEDCONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTOFPARTICIPANTS’REVENUEANDEXPENSES

In United States Dollars (‘USD’) 30 Jun 2019 31 Dec 2018 (reviewed) (audited)ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents 3,915,620 4,864,943 Statutory deposits 6,764,854 7,945,851 Deposits more than 3 months 9,521,918 9,318,965 Investments 12,793,896 12,831,105 Contributions receivable 26,680,388 20,124,145 Receivable from takaful and retakaful companies 3,114,356 2,752,499 Deferred acquisition cost 4,636,111 4,215,014 Deferred retakaful share of contribution 5,746,662 7,667,100 Retakaful share of outstanding claims 18,784,937 13,175,079 Property and equipment 823,818 575,911 Other assets 6,792,351 6,748,656 Total assets 99,574,911 90,219,268

LIABILITIES,PARTICIPANTS’FUND ANDSHAREHODERSEQUITY Liabilities Technical reserves 69,686,679 58,337,122 Payable to takaful and retakaful companies 3,833,673 4,561,516 Other liabilities 13,567,789 11,515,160 Total liabilities 87,088,141 74,413,798 Participants’fund Accumulated deficit (45,631,120) (42,173,072)Foreign currency translation reserve 333,980 375,696 Totalofparticipants’fund (45,297,140) (41,797,376) Equity Share capital 58,000,000 58,000,000 Statutory reserve 1,324,137 1,324,137 Investment fair value reserve 801,035 934,484 Foreign currency translation reserve (782,254) (844,795)Accumulated losses (8,940,712) (9,209,323) 50,402,206 50,204,503 Non- controlling interest 7,381,704 7,398,343

Totalshareholder’equity 57,783,910 57,602,846

TOTALLIABILITIES,PARTICIPANTS’FUNDAND SHAREHODERSEQUITY 99,574,911 90,219,268

In United States Dollars (‘USD’) Six months ended 30 June 2019 2018Income (reviewed) (reviewed)Wakala fee 5,076,540 5,588,953 Share of surplus from takaful operations under mudarib model - - Investment profit income 184,922 187,102 Mudarib share 46,895 31,000 Other income 166,866 109,472 Total income 5,475,223 5,916,527 Expenses General and administration expenses 5,183,509 4,788,071 Total expenses 5,183,509 4,788,071 Profit for the period before contribution to KFAS 291,714 1,128,456 Contribution to KFAS (662) (864)Zakat (738) (957)NET PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD 290,314 1,126,635

Profitattributableto: Owners of the parent 268,610 1,098,428 Non-controlling interests 21,704 28,207 NET PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD 290,314 1,126,635

CONDENSEDCONSOLIDATEDSTATEMENTOFSHAREHOLDERS’INCOME

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

t’azur Company b.s.c. (c)

‘The Board of directors have approved the condensed consolidated financial statements.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSFORTHESIXMONTHPERIODENDED30JUNE2019

Brazil’s burning ban takes effect

Porto Velho, Brazil

A 60-day ban on burn-ing in Brazil took effect

yesterday after a global out-cry over fires raging in the Amazon and data showing hundreds of new blazes in the rainforest.

The decree issued by President Jair Bolsonaro comes after escalating inter-national pressure over the worst fires in the Amazon in years that have ignited a diplomatic spat between Brazil and Europe.

But activists quickly doused hopes that the ban would work.

Erdogan says won’t allow US to delay Syria ‘safe zone’Ankara, Turkey

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Turkey

would not allow the US to delay the establishment of a ‘safe zone’ in northern Syr-ia, in comments published yesterday.

Ankara and Washington earlier this month agreed after difficult talks to set up a buffer zone between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia.

The NATO allies agreed to set up a joint operations centre which Turkey said at the weekend was at full capacity.

Arab News | Riyadh

Famed Egyptian violinist Mahmoud Sorour taught his first official lessons at Riyadh’s music institute on Satur-

day night. The musician, who gained widespread

attention in Saudi Arabia from his concerts in the Kingdom last year, has performed alongside regional stars such as Mohammed Abdo, Majid Al-Muhandis, and Rashed Al-Majed.

He set up the institute with support and sponsorship from the Saudi government.

Sorour led three classes on Saturday, with 5 students in each. But these 15 are the first of many.

The institute has received hundreds of inquiries about lesson availability, particu-larly from women.

“We have huge plans for the development of the music scene in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “In time, we hope to offer lessons for a va-riety of other instruments, such as the oud and piano. We’re also working on a profes-sional recording studio and an instrument store as well.”

Students learn to handle the violin, as well as receive instruction on music theory and note-reading, in order to get the most out of their lessons with Sorour.

The Egyptian’s main focus will be on Ara-bic music, rather than Western composers.

“Not only is it easier for the students to start with, but it also pays tribute to our own

culture. I myself studied with European or Russian teachers. I want to give my students a more personalized experience than I had.”

Sorour has decades of musical experience and is well-known in the Arab music world. His most recent Saudi performance was at the Winter at Tantora cultural festival, which was held in Al-Ula county and fin-ished last month.

He told Arab News in January that more than 250 people had registered to join the institute and that he expected this number to double.

Classes are available to people of all ages and ability levels, although Sorour is most interested in those aged between 10 and 20.

One of his biggest goals for the institute is to train enough musicians to assemble a Saudi national orchestra.

But he encouraged anyone with the drive and desire to learn to apply.

“You never know whether or not you’re going to be good at something until you try. If you love something, and you have the focus and the drive and the passion, then

that’s all you need to be successful.”Meshal Aldeghiman, a 33-year-old bank

worker, tried to teach himself the violin but his attempts were unsuccessful.

However, this failure did not stop him, and he was one of the first to sign up for

lessons when he heard they were available.“It’s incredible to think that we could

learn from someone like Mahmoud Sorour,” he told Arab News. “He’s such a respected name in the industry.”

Aldeghiman has high hopes for a Saudi

orchestra and, depending on how he fares at the institute, is willing to consider joining it.

“Why not? It would be a wonderful thing to have an all-Saudi orchestra representing the country. This is only the beginning of what could be something amazing.”

AFP | Raqqa

More than a year after Daesh fled, Syrian boys and girls are finally back on stage — bobbing to the rhythm of

drums in the northern city of Raqqa.At the first cultural center to open since

the militants’ draconian rule ended, sunlight floods into the brand new library, while books line shelves along a wall that still smells of wet paint.

After almost four years under Daesh, which banned music and the arts, US-backed forces expelled the last militants from Raqqa in October 2017. But it has taken a bit of time to resuscitate cultural life.

“I can’t describe how happy I am,” said Faw-zia Al-Sheikh during the centre’s opening in May, in the still largely devastated city.

“After all this destruction, and no arts or culture, we finally have a centre where we can listen to song and poetry again,” the Raqqa resident added.

In the Raqqa Centre for Arts and Culture’s brightly lit gallery, paintings hang beside char-coal drawings, near sculptures of human fig-ures.

In the concert hall, Malak Al-Yatim stepped off stage after performing — exhilarated to finally be able to sing in public again.

“I feel like a bird sweeping through the spring sky,” he said.

Yatim added that Daesh smashed his instru-ments and banned him from singing.

“We were like nightingales in a cage,” he lamented.

“If we did anything, they’d chop off our head or whip us.”

Daesh overran Raqqa in 2014, making the city its de facto Syrian capital.

Before Daesh arrived, the city had more than 20 cultural centres, the largest hous-ing 60,000 books. But the extremists forced all these facil-ities to close, burn-ing and destroying books and paintings.

But in the new cen-tre’s library, hundreds of volumes that survived the extremists adorn shelves.

“These books you can see — we saved them from the ruins,” said Ziad Al-Hamad, the center’s director. Dur-ing Daesh rule, “residents hid them wherever they could,” added the 62-year-old, dressed neatly in a brown V-neck jumper over a stripy white shirt.

“When the city was liberated, they gave them back to us,” added Hamad, who also sits on the city council’s culture and antiquities commission.

The Kurdish-led and US backed Syrian Dem-ocratic Forces (SDF) expelled Daesh from the village of Baghouz, its last scrap of Syrian territory, in late March.

While the militants have continued to claim deadly attacks in areas controlled by the SDF —

including Raqqa — local artists have returned to

their easels.In the cultural

centre’s gallery, p a i n t e r A m a l Al-Attar has work on display after returning from exile in Beirut.

A m o n g h e r works is a paint-

ing of a white boat adrift on an ocean,

and another of a home on the shoreline.“It’s like a re-birth,”

the 37-year-old said of the centre’s opening, sunglasses

perched atop her dark shoulder-length hair.

Attar used to run a studio for artists, but when Daesh overran the city they told her art was forbidden.

She left 50 works behind when she fled to neighbouring Lebanon.

Daesh “burned them,” she said.“I can’t forget what happened back then, but

this cultural centre will give us a new drive,” she said.

LIFE IS LIKE A GAME OF CARDS. THE HAND YOU ARE DEALT IS DETERMINISM; THE WAY YOU PLAY IT IS FREE WILLJAWAHARLAL NEHRU

1146 19281682 1941TODAY IN HISTORYQUOTE

OF THE DAYFRIDAY AUGUST 30, 2019

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] & circulation: Tel: 38444698/17579877 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

European leaders out-law crossbow, intend-ing to end war for all time

Jawaharlal Nehru re-quests independence of India

William Penn leaves Eng-land to sail to the New World

Siege of Leningrad by German troops begins during WWII

T H E B I G R E T U R N

R H Y T H M

Egyptian violinist

Mahmoud Sorour aims

to train 50 Saudi

violinists to a level that will

allow them to perform at

a new opera house in

Jeddah

Cultural and entertainment activities banned under Daesh

flourish after group flees

The arts return to northern Syria’s former militant bastion

Top Egypt musician sees bright future for a Saudi national orchestra

Before Daesh arrived, the city had more than 20 cultural centers, the largest

housing 60,000 books

After gaining popularity in the Kingdom with a number of sold-out concerts last year, famed Egyptian violinist,

Mahmoud Sorour, was asked by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to set up the country’s first music insti-

tute in the capital, Riyadh

I can’t describe how happy I am. After all this

destruction, and no arts or culture, we finally have a

centre where we can listen to song and poetry again

FAWZIA AL-SHEIKH

A traditional music and dance group perform at the cultural and arts centre

Amal al-Attar, a 37-year-old Syrian artist, looks at her artworks Amal al-Attar, a 37-year-old Syrian artist, looks at her artworks on display during an exhibition on display during an exhibitionMembers of a traditional music and dance group perform at the first cultural centre to open since ISIS’s rule

ended in the eastern Syrian city of al-Raqa

Ziad al-Hamad, director of the first cultural centre to open in al-Raqa since ISIS was ousted from the city, holds a book as he stands in the centre’s new library

Egyptian violinist Mahmoud Sorour performs during a concert

Egyptian violinist Mahmoud Sorour, left, trains his students

08

business


Air India to stop using single-use plastic on flightsMumbai, India

Air India said yesterday it will stop using single-use

plastic and replace packaging with eco-friendly paper and wooden cutlery, as the govern-ment ramps up its “clean India” mission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech in mid-August said erad-icating single-use plastics was a key goal and called on people to take the “first big step” on Octo-ber 2, the birthday of independ-ence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

The national flag carrier said water bottles with 200ml ca-pacity would be immediately replaced by larger 1,500ml con-

tainers.Single-use plastics such as

cutlery and pouches will then

be removed from flights in two stages from October 2 and re-placed by paper or wooden ver-

sions.“In the first phase it will im-

plement it in all flights of Air India Express and Alliance Air flights,” the airline’s spokesman Dhananjay Kumar told AFP.

The ban will be extended to include all Air India flights in the second phase, he added.

The government is expected to launch a national campaign in mid-September through three phases -- an awareness drive, the collection of single-use plastics, and its recycling.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday also urged shoppers to replace plastic bags with cloth ones -- which could last 10 years -- to protect the envi-

ronment. India generates around 5.6

million tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to govern-ment figures.

The financial capital Mum-bai last year banned the use of disposable plastic items such as bags, cutlery, cups and bottles under a certain size. Local au-thorities implemented fines for first-time offenders.

The bustling coastal city of 20 million people has long been awash with vast mountains of plastic rubbish, like many urban centres in India.

The capital New Del-hi banned

plastic bags in 2009 and later ex-panded it to all plastic packaging and single-use plastic.

But the ban is loosely enforced in both cities and single-use plastic is still being used.

“Single-use plastic has no place in 21st century and it is a welcome move from the gov-ernment,” Mumbai-based envi-ronmental activist Afroz Shah told AFP.

“It is choking our marine life and environment but we need rigid implementation of law.”

Carrefour launches ‘Ready, Steady, Back to School’ campaign

• The campaign is focused on living a healthier lifestyle

• Carrefour has partnered with food blogger Farah Abu Maizar

TDT | Manama

Carrefour operated in Bah-rain by Majid Al Futtaim yesterday announced

launching a comprehensive Back to School campaign by unveiling a range of tailored in-itiatives.

The approach, Carrefour said, for its Ready, Steady, Back to School campaign is based on customer insights and changing shopping trends observed over the past years.

This year, the campaign is fo-cused on one of the key emerg-ing shopping trends of living a

healthier lifestyle. The campaign, Carrefour

said, targets not only kids and their families, but also teen-agers, university students and working adults returning from

summer vacation. Jerome Akel Country Man-

ager at the Carrefour Bahrain at Majid Al Futtaim Retail said: “At Majid Al Futtaim, we are committed to helping transform

the lives of the communities we operate in, by encouraging healthy, fulfilling and sustaina-ble lifestyles. As such, our cam-paign has been designed to help people get back to their daily routines in a way that is conven-ient and better for them.”

Carrefour said it has part-nered with Farah Abu Maizar, a popular local food blogger who runs @Everylittlecrumb, to inspire nutritious recipes that will be posted on Carrefour’s Instagram page. Carrefour has also launched ready-meal box options which include sand-wiches, juices, fruits, and more.

A stand will also be set up for customers who wish to receive a makeover from Maybelline, while MyCLUB members in par-ticular who spend BD10 or more will get a chance to participate in a lucky dip draw and win sev-eral exciting prizes.

Customers can use the hash-tag #ReadySteadyBacktoSchool and #GreatMoments to show how they are preparing for a year to remember.

Apple expected to unveil new iPhone at Sept. 10 eventSan Francisco, United States

Apple sent out invitations yesterday to a September

10 event at its Silicon Valley campus where it is expected to unveil a new-generation iP-hone. In its trademark, tight-lipped style, Apple disclosed

little about what it plans to spotlight in the Steve Jobs Theater at its headquarters in the city of Cupertino.

For years now, Apple has hosted events in the fall to launch new iPhone models ahead of the Christmas holiday shopping season.

Egyptian stock market closes higher• Saudi index sees lowest closing since January

• Egypt stays on 4-month high

Reuters

Saudi Arabian stocks closed at an eight-month low yes-terday as banking shares

continued to weigh on the mar-ket.

On Wednesday, a second batch of Saudi shares was added to the MSCI emerging markets index after the country’s stocks were first included in the index in May.

The inclusion brought Saudi’s share to 2.8 per cent of the in-

dex’s total market capitalisation.However, the event failed to

provide upward momentum for the Saudi stocks as receding fund inflows rattled investor confidence.

The Saudi Arabia index fell 1.9pc, touching its lowest lev-el since January, with all of its banks dropping. Al Rajhi Bank shed 3.4pc and Samba Financial Group

plunged 4.2pc.Qatar’s index closed 2.1pc

higher with most of its blue-chip stocks gaining. Qatar Na-tional Bank, the Middle East and Africa’s largest lender, rose 3.4pc and

Industries Qatar was up 2.7pc.Egypt ’s blue-chip index

closed 1.6pc higher, reaching its highest level since May, with country’s largest lender Com-mercial International Bank ris-

ing 2.9pc andEgypt Kuwait Holding closing

3.1pc higher.Middle Eastern funds plan to

increase their investments in Egypt, according to the Reuters poll.

Earlier this month, Egypt re-ported its lowest headline in-flation rate in nearly four years,

and its central bank cut interest rates by 150 basis pts.

Egypt’s index is up 13.8pc so far this year, beating most re-gional markets.

Back in the Gulf, the Abu Dhabi index gained 0.7pc with Emirates Telecommunications adding 1.6pc and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank advanced 3.5pc.

Some 50pc of fund managers polled said they would increase their investments in the United Arab Emirates, a trend that has continued through most of the year.

However, economists polled by Reuters revised their growth expectations down by 0.8 per-centage pts to 2.2pc for the UAE through to 2021.

In Dubai, the index traded flat as Dubai Islamic Bank increased 0.8pc.

Closing Bell SAUDI q 1.9pc to 8,020 pts

ABU DHABI p 0.7pc to 5,166 pts

DUBAI n at 2,759 pts

QATAR p 2.1pc to 10,233 pts

EGYPT p 1.6pc to 14,835 pts

BAHRAIN q 0.1pc to 1,533 pts

OMAN p 0.8pc to 4,005 pts

KUWAIT q 0.2pc at 6,528 pts

Saudi Aramco eyes Tokyo for two-stage IPO: report

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi oil giant Aramco is considering a two-stage in-

itial public offering (IPO) with a domestic debut and a subse-quent international listing pos-sibly in Tokyo, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Aramco has said it plans to float around five percent of the state-owned company in 2020 or 2021 in what could po-tentially be the world’s biggest stock sale.

The oil giant is now consid-ering a plan to raise as much as $50 billion in a domestic listing, the Journal said citing unnamed sources.

It added that the world’s biggest energy firm favours Tokyo as a possible venue for

the second phase of the pro-posed plan.

If confirmed, that would be a setback for London, New York and Hong Kong, which have all vied for a slice of the much-touted IPO.

Political uncertainty in Brit-ain over its plan to exit the European Union and public protests in Hong Kong had di-minished their prospects, the Journal cited Saudi officials and advisors as saying.

Aramco did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

The planned IPO forms the cornerstone of a reform pro-gramme envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the Saudi economy off its reliance on oil.

Representative picture (Courtesy of Mint)

US growth revised down slightly Washington, United States

The world’s largest econ-omy grew a little more

slowly in the second quarter than previously thought, with new official data released Thursday showing weaker oil exports and local government

spending.GDP expanded 2.0 percent in

the April-June period, down a notch from the initial 2.1 per-cent growth estimate report-ed last month, and well below President Donald Trump’s three percent target, according to the Commerce Department.

Orlando Bloom opens up about early fame

ANI | Los Angeles

Actor Orlando Bloom opened up about achiev-ing fame early on in his

career and how he learned to handle the spotlight.

The 42-year-old actor starred as Legolas in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and later gained recognition as Will Turner in ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’.

“In those huge movies, you can sometimes feel like a cog, part of a giant wheel,” Bloom told the Radio Times, as cited by People.

Reflection upon achieving early fame, the actor said, he was “under a giant magnifying glass at a really young age.”

“I was under a giant magnify-ing glass at a really young age. I was Legolas for three movies and Will Turner for three mov-ies and while I did other things, they were all in between those massive movies,” he said.

“Even if you’re not pigeon-holed, those roles set a really

strong tone,” he added.Despite struggling with the

scrutiny on his life and career, Bloom said he has reached a place where he feels more at home than he ever has.

“Through my 20s and into my early 30s I was never in one place for more than six months. But in my heart, I feel very Brit-ish,” he said.

Bloom added, “I miss the humour, the turn of phrase, the way we i n t e r a c t , the way in which you can be vo-cal about things.”

The ac-t o r w a s m a r r i e d to model M i r a n -da Kerr in 2010 before

the two parted ways in 2013. The two share an 8-year-old son named Flynn. Bloom is now engaged to singer Katy Perry and he opened up about how the two make a long-distance

relationship work in July.“You have to do the

groundwork together, create the feeling of trust and safety so that you can spend time apart and do everything that you need to

do and still feel t e t h e r e d t o that person so that you can go on a jour-ney togeth-er,” Bloom told Peo-p l e a t the TCA P r e s s Tour.

When a s k e d whether he and Perry are

planning a wedding, Bloom told reporters, “In the sense that we are doing all the work necessary to lay a really grounded founda-tion to our relationship.”

Bloom popped the big ques-tion to the Grammy-nominated singer in a romantic Valentine’s Day proposal in February. The much-in-love couple shared their happy news via Instagram later that night, with photos that showed off Perry’s stunning en-gagement ring.

09 FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019

celebs

I was under a giant magnifying glass at a really young age.

I was Legolas for three movies and

Will Turner for three movies and while I

did other things, they were all in between

those massive moviesORLANDO BLOOM

BNP PARIBAS – CONVENTIONAL RETAIL BANK – BAHRAIN BRANCH (Licensed as a Conventional Retail Bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain)

CONDENSED INTERIM FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2019Condensed interim statement of comprehensive income (continued)(Expressed in thousands of Bahraini Dinars)

Condensed interim statement of financial position(Expressed in thousands of Bahraini Dinars)

Condensed interim statement of comprehensive income (Expressed in thousands of Bahraini Dinars)

Six month period ended 30 June

2019(Reviewed)

30 June 2018

(Reviewed)

Cash flows from operating activitiesProfit for the period 1,503 1,283

Adjustments for:Depreciation 9 22Charge for termination indemnity - net 5 18Accretion of discounts on investment securities 385 45Change in expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges, net (42) (38)

1,860 1,330Changes in operating assets and liabilities:Balances with banks and the Central Bank (220) 55Loans and advances to banks (3,626) (5,752)Loans and advances to customers (2,958) (4,830)Due from other offices of the Bank - 772Other assets 488 (688)Deposits from banks 44 (1)Due to other offices of the Bank (4,619) 38,440Due to customers 4,183 (7,781)Other liabilities (105) 719Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities (4,953) 22,264

Cash flows from investing activitiesPurchase of property and equipment (4) (3)Movement in investment securities (5,175) (1,999)Net cash used in investing activities (5,179) (2,002)

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents (10,132) 20,262Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 48,557 34,357Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 38,425 54,619

Non-cash transactionTransfer from available for sale financial assets to financial assets at amortised cost

- 34,932

Condensed interim statement of cash flows (Expressed in thousands of Bahraini Dinars)

Abid Hussain Chief Financial OfficerMEA

Jamal Tartir General Manager


2019(Reviewed)

30 June 2018

(Reviewed)

Interest income 1,667 1,202Interest expense (191) (116)Net interest income 1,476 1,086

Income from securities 610 583Net fees and commissions 517 734Gain/(loss) on derivatives and foreign exchange transactions 1 (4)

Total operating income 2,604 2,399

Staff costs (233) (256)Depreciation (9) (22)Other operating costs (901) (876)Change in expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges, net 42 38Total operating expenses (1,101) (1,116)Profit for the period 1,503 1,283

The above has been extracted from the reviewed condensed interim financial information.The auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers ME Limited, Kingdom of Bahrain, have expressed an unqualified review conclusion on 28/08/2019.

As at 30 June

2019(Reviewed)

31 December2018

(Audited)ASSETSCash and balances with banks and the Central Bank 3,095 3,154Placements with banks 23,700 10,391Due from other offices of the Bank 12,975 36,137Financial assets at amortised cost 34,900 30,118Loans and advances to banks 4,572 939Loans and advances to customers 38,599 35,617Other assets 833 1,320Property and equipment 40 45Total assets 118,714 117,721

LIABILITIES AND HEAD OFFICE FUNDSLIABILITIES Deposits from banks 44 -Due to other offices of the Bank 7,661 3,478Due to customers 50,700 55,319Other liabilities 18,157 18,275Total liabilities 76,562 77,072

HEAD OFFICE FUNDSCapital 2,700 2,700Other reserve 1,431 1,431Unremitted profit 38,021 36,518Total Head Office funds 42,152 40,649Total liabilities and Head Office funds 118,714 117,721


2019(Reviewed)

30 June 2018

(Reviewed)

Profit for the period 1,503 1,283Other comprehensive income for the period - -

Total comprehensive income for the period 1,503 1,283

Lovato returns to acting, shares happy picture from ‘Will & Grace’ setsANI | Music

Singer Demi Lovato is mak-ing a comeback in the field

of acting with the upcoming season of ‘Will & Grace’.

The pop star had suffered a near-fatal o v e r d o s e l a s t y e a r and is now m o v i n g ahead

with full positivity. Sharing the news of her comeback, Lo-vato posted a picture of herself going through a script on the NBC show’s set on Instagram.

“Will & Grace & Demi @nbcwillandgrace #Willand-Grace,” she captioned.

NBC earlier confirmed to Us Weekly that the ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ singer will feature in three episodes when the up-coming and final season of the reboot airs in 2020.

She will be seen essaying the role of Jenny, who is de-scribed as “a guarded woman

who comes into the life of Will [Eric McCormack] in an unexpected way.”

Lovato is also a part of Will Ferrell’s upcoming Netflix comedy ‘Eu-rovision’ which is in-spired by the real-life European singing con-test of the same name.

Post split, Katie spends quality time with daughterANI | Los Angeles

American actor Kat ie Holmes seems to be cop-

ing well after calling it quits with actor Jamie Foxx. Holm-es isn’t letting her split put a damper on the end of her summer and is instead focus-sing on her daughter.

The 40-year-old actor was spotted on Tuesday in New York City with her 13-year-old daughter, Suri, grabbing some-thing to eat before school starts next week, report-ed Fox News.

Sporting a casual look for the day out with her daugh-ter, Holmes wore an oversized beige sweater paired with h i g h - w a i s t e d blue jeans, black san-d a l s , a b l a c k sling bag, and large black sun-glasses.

The moth-er- daughter outing came after the news b r o k e l a s t

week that Holmes ended her relationship with Foxx after six years of being together.

“It ran its course. This in-dustry is very tough on rela-tionships,” a source told Peo-ple.

However, even after break-ing up, seems like there is no bad blood between the former partners.

“Jamie thinks Katie is an in-credible human being. They had a very, very deep connec-

tion. They brought each oth-er a lot of joy and laugh-

ter,” the source added.Rumours of a split

starting doing the rounds after Foxx

was seen leaving a L o s A n g e -

les nightclub holding hands

with 21-year-old singer Sela Vave on August 17.

Ho w e v-er, the Os-

car-winning star, during an Instagram Live, claimed that the two aren’t dating.

Kendall and Hailey are living their best life in JamaicaANI | Los Angeles

Supermodels and best friends Hailey Bieber and Kendall

Jenner are enjoying a summer getaway in Jamaica along with singer Justine Skye.

After a busy few months for the trio, they decided to jet off for a little fun in the sun together to celebrate Justine’s birthday, reported E! News.

The singer, who recently re-

leased her ‘Bare With Me’ EP, turned 24 on August 24.

The three are making the most of the vacation by going on hikes, swimming in water-falls and jumping off rocks.

“They had a tour guide show them around the area and all of the most beautiful coves and view spots. They’ve been going on hikes, swimming in water-falls and jumping off rocks,” a source told E! News.

Orlando Bloom

Demi Lovato

Katie Holmes

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PRABHAS, SHRADDHA KAPOOR, MANDIRA BEDI

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CATE BLANCHETT, JUDY GREER, KRISTEN WIIG

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NOOMI RAPACE, YVONNE STRAHOVSKI, LUKE EVANS

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JULIANNE MOORE, MICHELLE WILLIAMS, BILLY CRUDUP

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DEE BRADLEY BAKER, KEVIN CHAMBERLIN, LUDO LEFEBVRE

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LIN SHAYE, MICHAEL WELCH, MELISSA BOLONA

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MOHAMMED AHMED, SUHAIL ALJNEIBI, DHAEN JUMA

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DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD (PG)(ADVENTURECITY CENTRE:10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 + 12.00 MNSEEF (II): 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 11.15 PM

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Cate Blanchett puts on a show in ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’Director Richard Linklater brings his manifest empathy to Maria Semple’s popular novel

• Cate Blanchett plays a blocked architect who lashes out at the world in the befuddling comedy

Where’d You Go, Ber-nadette is a 2019 American mystery

comedy-drama film, directed by Richard Linklater, from a screenplay by Linklater, Holly Gent, and Vincent Palmo Jr. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Maria Semple.

It stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Emma Nelson, James Urbaniak, Judy Greer, Troian Bellisario, Zoë Chao and Laurence Fishburne.

In the United States and Cana-da, Where’d You Go, Bernadette was released alongside Blinded by the Light, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged and Good Boys, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,404 theatres in its opening weekend.

It made $1.2 million on its opening day, including $200,000 from Thursday night previews.

It went on to debut to $3.5 mil-lion, finishing in 11th.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 47% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 5.59/10.

The website’s critical consen-sus reads, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette offers dispiriting proof that a talented director, bestselling source material, and terrific cast can add up to

far less than the sum of their parts.”

On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating “mixed or

average reviews.”Audiences polled by CinemaS-

core gave the film an average grade of “B” on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars and a 60% “definite recommend.”

Richard Roeper of the Chi-cago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and wrote, “Filmed in a solid but straightforward style, populated by troubled characters who are aggres-sively off-putting, frustrating-ly passive and/or easily lam-pooned clichés, Where’d You Go, Bernadette is one of the most disappointing movies of 2019.”

In his 1/4 star review for The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz said, “There is, buried deep somewhere in Linklater’s film or however many edits it may have undergone – the thing reeks of indecision – an insightful, even invigorating story about what happens to a creative genius once they stop creating. But the actual work presents a good ar-gument that, for some artists, it might be best to quit while you’re ahead.

Cate Blanchett, Emma Nelson, and the other actors in “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” are

forced to do the work that Richard Linklat-er doesn’t devote to developing the film’s story or characters

Cate Blanchett and Emma Nelson in ‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette’

KNOW WHAT

Serena advances to third roundSerena Williams fights off teenager Catherine McNally to reach US Open third round

• Williams dropped the first set to the American wildcard before turning on the afterburners to power to a 5-7, 6-3 6-1 victory

Reuters | New York

Serena Williams survived a second-round scare at the U.S. Open on Wednes-

day with a 5-7 6-3 6-1 win over American wildcard Catherine McNally to keep alive her hopes of securing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title.

World number eight Williams, who captured the first of her six U.S. Open titles two years before her 17-year-old opponent was born, spent the first half of the match trying to find her rhythm but when she did she was off to the races.

“She really came out and played really well, she showed no fear,” said Williams. “She had absolutely nothing to lose and she played like it.”

McNally, competing in only her sixth tour-level event of her career and against the high-est-ranked player she has ever faced, used an old-school serve-and-volley approach along with a lethal slice backhand to unset-tle Williams.

So effective was McNally, who

has tried to model parts of her game after Swiss great Roger Federer, that at one point in the match Williams screamed at her racquet “why are you missing?”.

But Williams, whose earliest U.S. Open exit came in her 1997 debut when she lost in the third round, turned the match around when she finally broke McNal-ly’s serve and then consolidated in a tight service game for a 5-2 lead in the second set.

Williams looked more like herself in the decider - both serving and returning better - as she went up a double break for a quick 3-0 lead before storm-ing home and sealing the match when she broke to love.

“I survived tonight,” said Wil-liams. “I am not too pleased with the way I played at all,” said Wil-liams, whose 28 unforced errors were two fewer than McNally.

“But it’s OK, I’m alive, I’m still here and happy to be on this court. I’ll do better. I promise.”

Williams dropped only one point through her first three ser-vice games but it took her some time to make any inroads on the McNally serve as the American was hitting her targets with pin-point precision.

The match proved a far more gruelling affair for Williams than she had in her opener, where she

dismantled Maria Sharapova with one of her most dominant performances since returning from maternity leave in 2018.

McNally said she did not feel intimated walking onto the big-gest stage in tennis to face one of the game’s all-time best players and left the match feeling be-yond proud of what she accom-plished.

“I got a set off Serena Wil-liams. Had her close in the sec-

ond set, too. Had some chances,” said McNally.

“For me, it just gives me a lot of confidence, shows me that I can compete out on the biggest stages. Just keep my head down, I’m ready to go back to work.”

Up next for Williams will be either Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei or Czech Karolina Muchova, who were unable to get their match in earlier due to rainy conditions.

11

sports


KNOW WHAT

Serena Williams won her maiden Grand Slam two

years before Cath-erine McNally was

born

Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Caty McNally of the US

Bottas to stay on with Hamilton at Mercedes: team

AFP | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Valtteri Bottas will remain as world champion Lewis

Hamilton’s Mercedes partner for the 2020 Formula One sea-son, the team said Thursday, ending speculation about the driver’s future.

“Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport today confirmed that it has exercised its option with Valtteri Bottas for the 2020 Formula One season,” the German team said in a statement.

Since he joined the team in 2017 Finland’s Bottas, aged 30, has won five grand prix and is currently second in the world championship standings be-

hind Hamilton.“I am very happy and proud

to be part of the team for a fourth season and wish to thank every team member and the board of Mercedes for their trust and belief in me,” Bottas said.

“My overall target is to be-come Formula One world champion. I believe that on paper, and from my experience with the team, Mercedes is the best option for me to achieve that goal in 2020.”

Team boss Toto Wolff said 2019 was Bottas’s best ever sea-son, but “he is hungry for more and determined to keep on im-proving and raising his level. That’s the mindset we want from all our team members.”

Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP looks on during Hungarian GP

City to start League Cup defence at PrestonAFP | London

Manchester City will start their defence of the Eng-

lish League Cup with a third-round trip to second-tier side Preston next month, while Wednesday’s draw also pit-ted Liverpool against MK Dons.

Championship outfit Preston will be the first team to attempt to end City’s bid for a second straight domestic treble when they welcome the Premier League champions to Deepdale.

Alex Neil’s men thrashed 2013 runners-up Bradford 4-0

in the second round on Tues-day to progress, but will next face a City team who scored 27 goals in six games against lower-league opposition last season.

European champions Liver-pool were beaten by Chelsea in the third round last term, but will be expected to find life easier at League One outfit MK Dons.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are the record eight-time winners of the competition.

Elsewhere, the draw threw up the first south-coast derby since April 2012 between bitter

rivals Portsmouth and South-ampton.

Third-division Portsmouth will host Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints at Fratton Park following Wednesday’s 2-0 win at Cham-pionship club QPR.

Last season’s runners-up Chelsea host either Grimsby or Macclesfield, whose game was abandoned on Tuesday due to heavy rain, while Arsenal welcome Nottingham Forest to the Emirates Stadium and Tot-tenham visit Colchester.

Manchester United will take on near neighbours Rochdale at Old Trafford.

Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder David Silva (2R) and Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (R) applaud the fans during the match against Bournemouth

Marseille win at Nice as homophobic chants cause stoppageAFP | Paris

Marseille won their first match under new

coach Andre Villas-Boas on Wednesday thanks to a 2-1 derby win at Nice in a match that was suspended in the first half following homophobic abuse from the home side’s hardcore supporters.

Dimitri Payet moved his side up to 13th on four points with a spot-kick with 17 minutes remaining af-ter Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien had levelled Dario Benedetto’s first Marseille goal with his own penalty.

The France internation-al’s strike also ended Nice’s brief perfect start in the new season’s third round of matches, but the clash was dominated by the over 10-minute suspension or-dered by match officials as part of a crackdown on offensive chanting from French football authorities.

Players from both teams were escorted from the pitch in the 28th minute of the contest following re-peated appeals to Nice fans to stop chants of “Marseille are a bunch of queers”.

Fans also unfurled hom-ophobic banners including one which called Marseille an “LGBT club”.

T h e s e c o n d c h a n t , sparked by the French league’s attempt to stamp out homophobic chants from the stands, contin-ued as the players re-turned down the tunnel, where they waited for the still-goalless match to re-commence.

Iwobi fires Everton into League Cup third roundAFP | London

Alex Iwobi’s first Everton goal helped seal a 4-2

win at third-tier side Lin-coln in the League Cup sec-ond round on Wednesday as the top-flight club survived a scare, while Burnley were dumped out by Sunderland.

Everton, who have scored just one goal in three Pre-mier League games this sea-son and lost 2-0 at Aston Villa last week, fell behind after only 20 seconds before fighting back to lead 2-1.

Lincoln’s Bruno An-drade scored a stunning 70th-minute equaliser, but Iwobi nodded in and Richarlison scored late on to send Marco Silva’s men into round three.

“It was a difficult game. Credit to Lincoln. The important thing is we’re through. We showed our fighting spirit,” said Iwobi.

“I’m enjoying this new chapter of my life. Every competition we take seri-ously.”

Neymar trains amid reports of Barcelona deal but out of PSG’s next

AFP | Paris

Ne y m a r t o o k

part in train-ing for Paris S a i n t - G e r -main yester-day afternoon but will again

not play for the French cham-

pions this weekend amid re-ports that an agreement had been

reached that would see the Brazilian return to Barcelona.

The world’s most expensive player was the last to take to the training field in a session attended by a large contingent of journalists and broadcast live on PSG’s own

television channel.However, PSG coach Thomas Tuchel

confirmed later at a press conference that the Brazilian would not play against Metz in Ligue 1 on Friday.

“Neymar is not with the squad because it is the same situation as before Toulouse (last week’s game). Nothing has changed,” said Tuchel, who also has Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani out injured just now.

Earlier on Thursday, Italian broadcaster Sky Sport claimed PSG had finally agreed to sell Neymar back to Barcelona, two years af-ter signing him for 222 million euros ($264 million at the time).

Meanwhile, Catalan radio station RAC1 reported that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was in Monaco -- where the Champions League group stage draw was due to take place on Thursday evening

-- and would take part in negotiations with PSG.

Neymar, scorer of 51 goals in 58 appear-ances in his two years at PSG, has not fea-tured at all for his current club this season amid the uncertainty surrounding his fu-ture.


Neymar is not with the squad because it is the same situation as before Toulouse (last week’s

game). Nothing has changedPSG COACH THOMAS TUCHEL

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner is seeking his first US

Open crown since 2008

Djokovic, Federer advance despite adversity

Novak Djokovic overcomes shoulder complaint to book place in third round alongside Roger Federer at rain-hit US Open

• Roger Federer fights past chuntering Damir Dzumhur in the US Open

• Novak Djokovic battles past Juan Ignacio Londero

AFP | New York

Top-ranked defending champion No-vak Djokovic fought through shoul-der pain to reach the third round of

the rain-hit US Open on Wednesday while Roger Federer shook off another slow start to advance.

Djokovic, winner of four of the past five Slam titles and 16 in all, was treated for a sore left shoulder throughout his 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 victory over Argentina’s 56th-ranked Juan Ignacio Londero.

“It was definitely affecting my serve and backhand,” Djokovic said of his shoulder injury. “I was definitely tested.”

Djokovic next faces 27th-seeded Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic or American Denis Kudla, but the injury casts grave doubts on his bid to be the first US Open repeat winner since Federer won from 2004-2008.

“This is something I’ve been carrying for quite a while now,” Djokovic said. “It wasn’t easy to play with the pain, but you have to hope you will get some opportunities and some lucky shots.

“It’s not the first time I’m facing this kind of adversity or challenge. It is what it is and I’m just grateful to be on the court.”

Djokovic won’t play again until Friday and until then, “I’ll probably freeze my arm for 48 hours, not do anything with it and see what happens.”

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner seeking his first US Open crown since 2008, rallied to beat 99th-ranked Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

The 38-year-old Swiss third seed, who also dropped the first set against Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal in his opener, an-swered the wake-up call after conceding the first set with 17 unforced errors.

“When it happens like this, back-to-back matches, it’s just a bit frustrating more than anything, especially when the level is that low and there is that many errors and the energy is not kind of there,” Federer

said. “But can only do bet-ter, which is a great thing moving forward.

“I didn’t expect to hit 15 to 20 unforced errors,

which is basically the entire set just sort of donated... I clearly have to play better from the get-go.”

US eighth seed Serena Williams, seeking her 24th career Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court’s all-time record, faces 17-year-old US wildcard Caty McNally in a later match under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Only 10 of 32 singles matches were played as rain wiped out play except in enclosed stadiums, with Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka among those postponed to Thursday.

“I definitely profit from everything I did in the game and my ranking to be put on center court on a day like this,” Federer said.

Serbian star Djokovic broke on an errant Londero forehand to close the first set, then was broken twice in falling behind 3-0 in the second set only to win the next five games.

“Somehow I managed to find my way back,” Djokovic said.

Londero broke him, held at love and forced a tie-breaker, but Djokovic won five of the last six points thanks to Lon-dero errors and then dominated the final set.

“I want to congratulate Londero for showing a fighting spirit,” Djokovic said. “It was a real fight.”

Five-time US Open winner Federer, who lost to Djokovic in last month’s epic Wim-bledon final, started poorly but broke early in each of the last three sets and held serve to the end.

“I buckled down and told myself I was going to hang tough and not get broken and that made a big difference,” Federer said.

Next in Federer’s path is either French 25th seed Lucas Pouille or Britain’s 58th-ranked Dan Evans.

Nishikori, Barty win Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, the

2014 US Open runner-up, beat 108th-ranked American Bradley Klahn 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

French Open champion Ashleigh Barty, the second seed from Australia, eliminated 73rd-ranked American Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6 (7/2), saving a set point before domi-nating the tie-breaker.

Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova, seeking her first Grand Slam title, ousted 202nd-ranked Georgian qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze 6-1, 6-4.

Ukraine fifth seed Elina Svitolina defeat-ed seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 and US 10th seed Madison Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, trounced China’s Zhu Lin 6-4, 6-1.

Ajax secure spot in draw for Champions League group stage

AFP | Paris

Summer signing Edson Alvarez and captain Du-

san Tadic scored as last sea-son’s semi-finalists Ajax beat APOEL 2-0 in their Champions League play-off second leg on Wednesday to secure their spot in yesterday’s draw for the group stage.

Mexican international defender Alvarez, a 15 mil-lion-euro ($16.6 million) re-cruit from Club America to replace Juventus-bound Mat-thijs de Ligt, headed home from a set-piece two minutes before half-time as Ajax were rewarded for their first-half domination.

Tadic then controlled a crossfield ball from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on the edge of the area before rifling home on his left foot with 10 minutes left in Amsterdam as Ajax advanced after a goalless draw in the

first leg in Cyprus.There were nervy moments

for Erik ten Hag’s team, who thought they had gone 2-0 up just after half-time when Huntelaar headed in off the underside of the bar.

However, after a VAR re-view, the goal was disallowed for an extremely tight offside against Joel Veltman in the build-up.

Moments later APOEL had the ball in the net at the oth-er end, but this time the off-side was clear for all to see and there would be no pre-cious away goal for the Cypriot champions.

Club Brugge, Slavia through Also on Wednesday, Club

Brugge beat LASK Linz of Aus-tria 2-1 to go through 3-1 on aggregate.

Meanwhile, Czech cham-pions Slavia Prague beat CFR Cluj of Romania 1-0, a Jan Boril goal securing a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return against Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina

KNOW WHAT

Ajax Amsterdam’s Mexican forward Edson Alvarez (front) celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League Group phase football match between Ajax Amsterdam and APOEL FC

Sanchez arrives in Milan ahead of Inter move

AFP | Milan

Manches-ter Unit-

ed forward Alexis Sanchez arrived in

Milan on Wednesday ahead of a reported one-year loan move to Inter, according to multiple

reports.The 30-year-old was

photographed waving to fans at the airport and was whisked away for a medical before signing a contract later in the day,

Sky Sports Italia and Gazzetta Dello Sport reported.

Sanchez will link up with Belgian striker Romelu Luka-ku -- a 65-million-euro ($73 million) close-season signing from Manchester United -- who scored on his debut for Inter on Monday.

Sanchez joined United from Arsenal in January 2018 but has scored just three Premier League goals in 32 appearances.

Antonio Conte’s reign as Inter coach got off to a per-

fect start with a 4-0 win over promoted Lecce on Monday.

Inter last won Serie A in 2010 under Jose Mourinho, and have been remodelled by former Italy and Chelsea boss Conte, who replaced Lu-ciano Spalletti after the Chi-nese-owned club finish fourth last season.

Inter travel to Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday.

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