Attempts to blackmail, starve Palestinians will backfire Fame is

Syria Idlib offensive displaces 30,000 people

Beirut

More than 30,000 peo-ple have so far fled their homes in north-

west Syria since Syrian govern-ment and allied forces resumed air and ground bombardments there last week, the UN agency coordinating relief efforts said yesterday.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an all-out military assault on the last ma-jor stronghold of active op-position to President Bashar Assad could set 800,000 peo-ple to flight. The OCHA chief, Mark Lowcock, warned that this risked provoking the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st Century.

Damascus, backed by Russia

and Iran, has been preparing a major assault to recover Idlib and adjacent areas of north-west Syria from rebels.

Russian and Syrian war-planes resumed their bomb-ing campaign last week and the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Friday failed to agree on a cease-fire that would forestall the offensive.

03 Non-affordable skies!

04More women than menin government services

05Deadlock still persists over pension reform proposals

10

Gunmen storm Libya oil firm HQ12WORLD

OP-EDC E L E B S

Denise Richards marries Aaron PhypersActors Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers have got married. The wedding took place Saturday in Malibu, with the couple’s closest family and friends in attendance, reports People magazine. P16

TUESDAYSEPTEMBER 2018

200 FILS

ISSUE NO. 7866

Attempts to blackmail, starve Palestinians will backfire

Fame is unnatural, says Lady Gaga 16 SHOW

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President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, receives former president of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta at the Shaikh Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Research in Muharraq. Mr Ramos-Horta is part of the delegation of Nobel Peace Prize winners, which is on a visit to the Kingdom.

Red-carpet welcome

Fair elections vowHis Majesty renews unwavering resolve to safeguard the national democratic gains

His Majesty chairs the Cabinet in the presence of HRH the Premier and HRH the Crown Prince.

• HM King Hamad gave directives to the government to provide all success requirements for the elections, calling for concerted efforts by all government departments to ensure free, fair and transparent parliamentary elections.

• HM King Hamad expressed satisfaction with the citizens’ enthusiasm to take part in the electoral process, thus reflecting their high confidence in the constitutional and official institutions.

Manama

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yes-terday chaired the Cab-

inet session in the presence of His Royal Highness Prime Min-ister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal High-ness Prince Salman bin Hamad

Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, at Al Sakhir Palace.

HM King Hamad stressed keenness to continue develop-ing the political and democratic life in Bahrain, highlighting the importance of the next phase of national work, in which the kingdom will hold elections to elect the members of the Council of Representatives for the Fifth Legislative Term.

The upcoming parliamenta-ry elections will provide an op-portunity for Bahrain to write a new chapter in its democratic process whose cornerstone were laid down by the National Ac-tion Charter and spearheaded by HM the King’s Reform Project, a post-session statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr Yasser Al Nasser, said.

HM King Hamad renewed un-wavering resolve to safeguard the national democratic gains, and to increase them through building on the achievements that had been attained under the constitutional establishments.

HM the King expressed deep pride in the contributions of the Legislative Branch to the king-dom’s comprehensive develop-ment march, noting that 16 years

of parliamentary work constitute a major national gain and an im-portant asset in improving the democratic practices and con-solidating popular participation.

The King also reiterated strong resolve to carry on the contin-uous Reform Project. HM King Hamad gave directives to the gov-ernment to provide all success requirements for the elections, calling for concerted efforts by all government departments to ensure free, fair and transparent parliamentary elections.

HM the King praised the citizens’ responsible patriot-ic awareness through massive participation in the forthcom-ing elections to select the most competent candidates who are capable of serving them and rep-resenting them at the Council of Representatives, urging to place

the national interests above everything else.

HM King Hamad expressed satisfaction with the citizens’ enthusiasm to take part in the electoral process, thus reflect-ing their high confidence in the constitutional and official insti-tutions, and satisfaction with the gains attained under parliamen-tary work.

HM the King stressed the need to continue the comprehensive development march in the king-dom through joining ranks to turn challenges into opportuni-ties whose results would benefit the nation and the citizens.

The optimal use of the nation-al resources requires enhancing the efficiency of government spending, reducing the opera-tional expenses and increasing non-oil revenues to keep pace with the kingdom’s continuous positive economic growth, the King said.

His Majesty gave instructions to put forward executive pro-grammes aimed at ensuring the continuity of the development process, increasing investments, consolidating investment oppor-tunities and streamlining gov-ernment procedures in order to create quality opportunities for the citizens.

The upcoming parliamentary

elections will provide an opportunity for Bahrain to write a new chapter in its

democratic process. CABINET

Polls on Nov 24Manama

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al

Khalifa yesterday issued a Royal order to hold the national elections on No-vember 24.

The order stated that the parliament and mu-nicipal elections will be held from 8am to 8pm.

The second round, which is conducted if a candidate did not win over 50 per cent of the votes, will be held on De-cember 1.

The order also said that overseas elections will be held on November 20 while the second round will be held on Novem-ber 27.

Eligible candidates can file their nominations between October 17 and October 21 at the main su-pervision centres in Bah-rain’s four governorates.

The King also issued a Royal decree to form the High Elections Commit-tee and directed HRH the Premier and concerned ministers to work towards the successful conducting of the elections.

Leaders exchange Hijri Year greetingsManama

His Majesty King Ham-ad bin Isa Al Khalifa

yesterday received two ca-bles of congratulations from His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa 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, mark-ing the advent of the new Hijri Year 1440.

2.9million people live in the

opposition-held area, which comprises most of Idlib province and

adjacent small parts of Latakia, Hama and Aleppo

provinces.

Kosovo suspends activities of Qatar Charity FoundationDubai

Authorities in Kosovo have suspended the ac-

tivities of the Qatar Charity Foundation in a move that serves as a new proof of Do-ha’s use of the “charity” front to cover its illegal activities and its financing of terrorism.

The Kosovo NGO Depart-ment has taken the decision to suspend the activities of the Organization, as the al-leged activities of the foun-dation are in conflict with the security interests of the Republic of Kosovo, accord-ing to the French site Salut.

Qatar claims its charity is committed to the laws of the countries it operates in, es-pecially poor or armed con-flicts, but has long used such institutions to launder mon-ey and finance terrorism.

UNRWA seeking more fund from Gulf, Europe Cairo

A UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees

will target additional fund-ing from Gulf states and Eu-ropean partners as it seeks to make up a $200 million shortfall caused by a US aid cutoff, the agency’s head said on Monday.

“We face an unprecedent-ed financial crisis,” said Pierre Krahenbuhl, Commission-er-General of the United Na-tions Relief and Works Agen-cy (UNRWA), in Cairo to try to drum up support at an Arab League meeting on Tuesday.

“We have decided that it is essential for us to close the historic shortfall that we faced of $446 million, by reaching out to many other countries and among them member states of the League of Arab States.”

02TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

Bahraini scholar recounts his Iranian ordeal• The prominent scholar extended deepest thanks to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for following up his case while in detention in Iran.

• The Iranian authorities released Shaikh Al Toublani last Saturday after keeping him six days in detention.

Manama

Supreme Islamic Affairs Council (SIAC) member Shaikh Moham-mad Mullah Ahmad Al Toublani

recounted his ordeal yesterday after being released from the Iranian de-tention.

In a statement to Bahrain News Agency (BNA), he said that he was assaulted by a group of Bahraini fugi-tives as he was on a visit to the shrine of Imam Ali bin Musa Reza, on the fourth day of his visit to the city of Mashhad.

“I was walking outside the shrine, along with other Bahraini scholars, when four people started insulting me. Showering abuses over my stances, ideas and membership in the council,” he said.

Shaikh Al Toublani arrived in the city of Mashhad on a trip organized by a Bahraini contractor. He said that he had left the site after the four assail-ants attempted to aggress him.

However, on the last day of his visit to the city of Mashhad, six people as-saulted him as he was walking alone in the street until he fell on ground. The police then intervened and arrested him for investigation.

The police interrogated Shaikh Al Toublani and asked him about the reasons of his visit to Iran and his re-lations with Bahrain, before showing him pictures of him attending events in Bahrain.

The police brought fake documents, claiming that Shaikh Al Toublani had signed statements defaming the Ira-nian leadership. However, the scholar managed to debunk the charges and

expose the fake documents, defend-ing his personal stances which stem from his religious and intellectual convictions.

Shaikh Al Toublani, who suffers from diabetes and blood pressure, was detained for six days in a small cell with an Iranian national who could not speak Arabic. On returning to the hotel after his release, Shaikh Al Tou-blani realized that his room had been searched upside down as he was kept in bad health condition in detention.

The prominent scholar extended deepest thanks to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for follow-ing up his case while in detention in Iran. He hailed the royal directives issued to all concerned authorities to follow-up his case and spare no efforts to ensure he is released quickly from detention.

He also expressed thanks to SIAC President Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa for his follow-up, paying tribute to all government departments and all those who supported him during his ordeal in Iran, praying to Allah the Almighty to protect Bahrain, its leadership and people from any harm.

The Iranian authorities released Shaikh Al Toublani last Saturday after spending six days in detention. He was assaulted twice by a group of terrorists and fugitives as he was on he was on visit to the City of Mashhad.

Chairman of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khalifa yesterday receives SCIA member Shaikh Al Tublani.

I was walking outside the shrine, along with other Bahraini scholars, when

four people started insulting me, showering abuses

over my stances, ideas and membership in the council.

SHAIKH AL TOUBLANI

Premier’s development vision laudedThe delegation of Nobel Peace Prize winners hails Bahrain’s values of coexistence and openness

• President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa hosted a dinner banquet in honor of the delegation.

• The delegation stressed the kingdom’s rich civilisational heritage, praising Bahrain’s tremendous contribution to promoting peace and co-existence worldwide.

Manama

A delegation of the Nobel Peace Prize laureates, accompanied by Shaikh Hussam bin Isa Al

Khalifa, yesterday visited a number of historical places across the Kingdom.

The delegation expressed delight in visiting the historical places and herit-age houses in Muharraq that reflect the historical significance of the city that

deserves more international attention. Former President of East Timor Jose

Ramos-Horta, in his speech at a lecture held at the Shaikh Ibrahim bin Moham-med Al Khalifa Centre for Culture and Researches, extended congratulations to HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa

bin Salman Al Khalifa and the Bah-raini government on the development achievements seen in various fields, welcoming the atmosphere of coexist-ence and tolerance that have made the Bahraini community living in peace and security.

He praised HRH the Premier’s vision for promoting peace and stability nec-essary for development and progress, which also contributed to bringing many successes in various fields, in-cluding economic and human devel-opment.

He reviewed his country’s political, economic and social history and the factors on which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Former UN Under-Secretary-General also former Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), Anna Tibajuka, expressed appreciation of the warm welcome of HRH the Prime Minister, noting his efforts in the field of sustain-able development.

Tibajuka praised Bahrain’s promotion of values of coexistence and openness, recalling the royal pride in the Bahrain people’s adoption of values of coexist-ence, tolerance throughout history.

She said HRH the Premier’s support for efforts of organizations and indi-viduals in the field of sustainable devel-opment and allocating a prize carrying his name for pilot development pro-jects, which reflects his keen interest to stimulate efforts at the sustainable development level.

President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa hosted a dinner banquet in honor of the dele-gation.

The delegation also visited Bahrain National Museum.

The delegation comprised former President of South Africa Frederick William de Klerk, former President of Poland Lech Walesa, Ramos-Horta and Tibajuka. They were received by Shaikha Mai.

The delegation toured the museum and listened to a briefing by Shaikha Mai on its sections which contain a col-lection of artefacts and artistic models depicting the civilisations known by Bahrain throughout its history.

They praised the outstanding level of the museum and its content which em-body the civilisational depth of Bahrain and its people, lauding the museum’s architectural design reflecting the Bah-raini identity.

They stressed the kingdom’s rich civilisational heritage, praising Bah-rain’s tremendous contribution to promoting peace and co-existence worldwide.

Shaikha Mai receives the delegation of Nobel Peace Prize winners at Bahrain National Museum.

The delegation tours the museum.

03

big story

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

Non-affordable skies! The increase in airfares remained high in the Kingdom compared to other countries in the region

• While Kuwait and the UAE have seen an increase in the ticket prices, Saudi Arabia and Oman saw a decrease.

• According to the report, the travel industry has seen pronounced changes during the first six months of 2018. The changes include rise in online transactions for air travel.

TDT | ManamaMohammed Zafran

The average air-ticket fare in Bahrain has increased by 12 per cent in the first

half of this year when compared to the same period last year, ac-cording to a study.

Bahrain recorded the high-est increase in the average air ticket prices in the GCC region, according to Cleartrip’s recently released ‘H1 and Summer 2018 Travel Insights Report’.

The increase in average ticket prices in Bahrain is greater than all other countries in the region combined.

While Kuwait and the UAE have seen an increase in the ticket prices, Saudi Arabia and Oman saw a decrease.

Saudi Arabia fared the best as average ticket prices decreased by 13pc for its domestic flights while it decreased 9pc overall and Oman saw a decrease of 7pc. The UAE saw an increase by 5pc and Kuwait saw an increase of 2pc.

“In a diverse region, the mar-ket dynamics differ considera-bly. During the first half of 2018, Saudi Arabia experienced a 13pc decrease in average ticket pric-es due to the introduction of new competitors, while Bahrain witnessed a 12pc increase,” the report stated.

Despite the fluctuation, Bah-rain’s ‘average fare per booking’ remained much lower than the

UAE which has the highest av-erage fare in the region.

Bahrain’s average fare per booking was 126$, Kuwait’s is 128$, Saudi Arabia’s at 124$, UAE at 157$ and Oman has the lowest at 110$.

According to the report, the

travel industry has seen pro-nounced changes during the first six months of 2018. The changes include rise in online transac-tions for air travel.

“Travellers’ payment prefer-ences are evolving too. While credit cards still account for the majority of online bookings, debit cards are increasingly be-coming the payment method of choice among the region’s consumers Saudi Arabia regis-tered a staggering 536pc rise in debit card usage to reach 38pc of total transactions, as MADA cards were enabled for online transactions.”

“Desktop is still king when it comes to online bookings in the GCC. However, travellers in the region, which has some of the world’s highest smartphone penetration rates, are increas-ingly using their mobile devices to book tickets online.”

Bahrain’s air travel industry grew by 3pc in H1, according to the report. “Rising dispos-able income, more competitive airfares, easier visa regulations and heightened marketing efforts by destinations have all contributed to the steady growth of the GCC’s online air travel industry in H1 2018.

“Kuwait experienced the strongest growth at 13pc, while other markets grew by 2–3 pc.”

Stuart Crighton, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cleartrip, said “Competitive airfares, easier visa regulations and heightened marketing ef-forts by destinations have all

contributed to the steady growth of the GCC’s online air travel in-dustry.

“The fresh insights contained in our report further equip us to develop travel and accommo-

dation solutions that meet and exceed the expectations of the region’s travellers.”

The fresh insights contained in our

report further equip us to

develop travel and accommodation

solutions that meet and exceed the expectations

of the region’s travellers.

MR CRIGHTON

Air travel market growth recorded in the region. The average fare per flight.

Changes in average ticket price.

12per cent is the increase

in the airfares in Bahrain during the first half of this

year.


More women than men in government services

Women constitute 52pc of public workforce, says minister

The panel discussion in progress.A segment of the attendees at the event.

• The event was organised by C5 Accelerate and its Executive Director Hadyah Fathalla hosted the panel discussion.

• While discrimination may exist, it is not particularly high in Bahrain when compared to developed countries, the panelists observed.

TDT|ManamaMohammed Zafran

Amidst the achievements of Bahraini women re-ceiving global spotlight,

it emerged that women consti-tute a majority of the govern-ment workforce.

Fifty-three per cent of the public sector employees are women although they lag be-hind men in the private sector, it is learnt.

The statistics and opinions were shared by a panel con-sisting of Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Political and Economic Advisor to HRH the Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of Tamkeen, Zayed Al Zayani, Minister of Com-merce, Industry and Tourism, and Khalid Al Rumaihi, CE of the Economic Development Board (EDB) during an event held at Ritz Carlton Bahrain yesterday.

The event was organised by C5 Accelerate and its Executive Director Hadyah Fathalla host-ed the panel discussion.

According to the panel, achievements of Bahraini wom-en are commendable and all gov-ernment initiatives to empower women have borne fruits.

They said the lower participa-tion of women in the workforce had been because of various rea-sons, such as cultural reasons and personal choice.

While discrimination may exist, it is not particularly high in Bahrain when compared to developed countries, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Al Zayani encouraged women to take full advantage of the op-portunities that exist in Bahrain.

“Women should not be con-sidered inferior to men; they have the same opportunities and education. In Bahrain they have equal opportunities as with men.

“In government today 53pc of the workforce are women, in the private sector it is about 35pc if I am not wrong. So there is quite an effective participa-tion of women in our economy. There are a lot of women who by choice do not participate in the workforce, so we have to factor that in as well,” the min-ister said.

Mr Al Rumaihi said, “If you look at our education sector, the highest academic scores are earned by women. The fact that women are growing as a work-force is because they are some of the best and brightest coming out of our schools right now.”

Shaikh Mohammed added that nobody including women should be denied opportuni-ties for discriminatory reasons, however, he emphasised that meritocracy should be followed to ensure efficiency.

The event is part of C5 Ac-celerate’s Nebula initiative for women’s empowerment. Previ-ously, as part of Nebula, an essay competition that invited female students and professionals to explore technology’s potential for greater gender equality and women’s empowerment was held.

In government today 53pc of the workforce

are women. In the private sector it is about 35pc if I am not wrong.

So there is quite an effective participation

of women in our economy.

MR AL ZAYANI

Man relieved from settling BD6,690 debt

TDT|Manama Ali Tarif

A Bahraini man has been relieved from settling a

debt worth BD6,690 by the High Civil Court.

This came after the heirs of the creditor filed a case against the defendant, 30 years after he allegedly re-ceived the money.

According to court files, the defendant was an owner of a jewellery shop and he took money from the heirs’ father, who is no longer alive.

However, he failed to re-turn the amount and a case was filed against him.

“The Bahraini man was or-dered by the court to pay the money in BD100 installments, but he could not to adhere to it due to financial crisis.

“After the father died, his heirs demanded the de-fendant to settle the amount which he owed to their fa-ther on top of a whopping BD20,000 in interest for the delayed payment,” the de-fendant’s lawyer Hassan Al Ajooz said.

The High Civil Court reject-ed the heirs’ case because it was filed after the allowed period of time to report a case.

The Bahraini man was ordered

by the court to pay the

money in BD100 installments,

but he could not adhere to it due to

financial crisis.MR AL AJOOZ

Physical literacy influence stressed at forum• The convention also featured a symposium on anti-doping, which was presented by head of Awareness and Information Section at the Kuwait Anti-Doping Committee Dr Mohammed Al Dosari.

TDT|Manama

The influence of physical literacy as a learning construct was highly noted yesterday on the second

and concluding day of the International Physical Literacy Convention (IPLC).

The Crowne Plaza Hotel hosted three main sessions as the convention came to a close amidst a packed turnout of partic-ipants from national sports federations, ministries and the private sector.

Speaking at the opening session, Dr Dean Dudley explained the process used with the Australian Sports Commission and Sport in New Zealand in establishing physical literacy as a learning construct in sports agencies.

“This operation explores the concepts of learning domains, observable learning

and the influence of Mendeleev,” said Dr Dudley, a senior lecturer and researcher of health and physical education in the Faculty of Human Sciences at Macquarie University, in Sydney.

“My research is currently focused on the assessment and reporting of phys-ical education and the development of observed learning outcomes pertaining to physical literacy”.

Dr Dudley is also the World Regional Vice President of International Federa-tion of Physical Education, Chief Exam-iner for the New South Wales Board of Studies and Teacher Education Stand-ards and Honorary Chair of Learning and Development for Surf Life Saving Australia.

Dr Dudley is also a researcher of evi-dence-based approaches to health and physical education that yield large learn-ing effects in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning domains.

Late on, Chief Executive Officer of the Sport for Life Society in Canada Richard Way presented the second session of the day on improving the quality of sport and developing physical literacy.

“At its essence, quality sport and phys-ical literacy is achieved when the right people do the right things at the right times which leads to positive experienc-es for the participant,” said Way.

This session walked through a number of elements that lead to quality of sport and physical literacy experiences. It outlined a number of factors and char-acteristics to consider when delivering programs.

“The quality of physical literacy pro-gramme must be consistent with each child’s stage, and the behavior of the coach, teacher, and parents should be supportive, while the creation of these projects must be measurable to ensure its effectiveness,” added Way.

The day third and concluding sympo-sium was a panel session, featuring MBA Olympian moderator Tom Jones, along with Dr Dudley, Way and director of

Bahrain Olympic Academy Nabeel Taha.They spoke about building quality

sport and physical activity is achieved when the right people do the right things at the right times, which leads to positive experiences for participants.

The panel also discussed with dele-gates a number of elements that lead to quality sport and physical literacy experiences.

The attendees learnt on how to create a quality pathway to support individuals in becoming physically literate, develop-ing sporting excellence, and being active for life.

The convention also featured a sympo-sium on anti-doping, which was present-

ed by head of Awareness and Informa-tion Section at the Kuwait Anti-Doping Committee Dr Mohammed Al Dosari.

Al Dosari warned of the use of some of these substances, which can result in dire health consequences such as organ failure or even death. He noted that some hormones may also cause kidney failure and sexual impotence in both males and females.

He added that sometimes there is in-stant damage to the health, as Injecting these hormones causes the body’s hor-mone-producing glands to stop produc-ing because of elevated levels.

Fawaz Albinmohammed, director of Winners Football Center, director Fawaz Albinmohammed, then made a pres-entation on the road to professionalism in sport, in which he stressed on profes-sionalism and sports missions project in Bahrain as a way to develop sports and transform national athletes into future heroes.

The convention concluded with Su-preme Council for Youth and Sports assistant secretary general and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) secretary general Abdulrahman Askar present-ing mementos to all speakers as well as participants, representing national sports federations, ministries as well as the private sector.

A session in progress at the event.


Deadlock still persists over pension reform proposalsMPs continue to seek amendments to proposals placed on talks table by government representatives

• The sources confirmed that the vision presented to the deputies last Tuesday, was not reached following a consensus among the members of the parliamentary group.

• The impression amongst members of the House of Representatives is that the new proposals are the same as the ones submitted by the government at the end of the session, the sources said.

TDT|ManamaThamer Tayfoor

The deadlock between lawmakers and the government over pension reforms remains unsolved with

the MPs threatening to reject the bill if an extraordinary session is convened.

According to parliament sources, there are plans to convene a special session during the end of this month to vote on the draft pension law proposed by the parliamentary committee on retirement.

Speaking to Tribune, MP Adel Humaid said, “We will reject any proposal that de-prives the legislative authority of its consti-tutional right to adopt laws or legislation.”

Our sister paper Al Ayam quoted sourc-es as saying that strong efforts are on to obtain written views from the part of MPs regarding the vision presented by the parliamentary delegation in the joint committee to discuss the new pension

amendments. The sources confirmed that the vision

presented to the deputies last Tuesday, was not reached following a consensus among the members of the parliamentary group, represented in the Joint Commit-tee itself, consisting of the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the heads of three main committees, as well as the rest of the deputies.

The impression amongst members of the House of Representatives is that the new proposals are the same as the ones submitted by the government at the end of the session, the sources said.

The Parliamentary Committee of the House of Representatives had sent a set of documents on the issue of retire-ment before proposing steps towards reforms.

MPs are under the impression that the government is unwilling to amend its proposals, say sources.

We reject any new legislative proposal

that deprives the legislative authority of its

constitutional right. MR HUMAID

Saudi artist seeking reconciliation with ex-wife ‘to get child back’

• The child is still in Saudi Arabia and her mother has filed a kidnapping case against Al Shoaibi, according to sources.

• The Saudi man tried to get a ruling from Saudi courts to keep daughter in his custody but failed in his efforts.


The family court is set to hear the case filed by a Saudi artist who is seeking reconciliation with his divorced wife.

Mohammed Al Shoaibi, who divorced his Bahraini wife, now wants her back, according to court details.

However, the woman’s lawyer Abdulla Bader Al Nashri said that the plaintiff is attempting to get his child back by this move after he exhausted all his op-tions to win her custody.

The plaintiff reportedly divorced his wife and he took their child, aged one year, to Saudi with him without the approval of his ex-wife, according to sources.

The Saudi man tried to get a ruling from Saudi courts to keep her in his custody but failed in his efforts, after similar attempts were made in Bah-rain-based courts, which gave the custody of the child to her mother.

“He is now trying to get the wife back instead of try-ing for the child. He is trying to bend the ruling to get the child into his custody,” the lawyer said.

The child is still in Saudi Arabia and her mother has filed a kidnapping case against Al Shoaibi, according to sources.

The woman had told prosecutors that her ex-hus-band barged into her house with strangers and he abducted the child and took her to Saudi Arabia.

He is now trying to get the wife back instead of trying for the child. He is trying to bend the ruling to get the

child under his custody.MR ABDULLA

881 illegal taxi drivers arrestedTDT|Manama

The Director of Traffic Operations and Control

of the General Directorate of Traffic, Lt-Col Adel Al Dossari said yesterday that 881 illegal taxi drivers be-longing to various nation-alities were arrested.

Legal proceedings were taken and they were re-ferred to the Public Prose-cution, he added.

He said the department would continue to monitor such violations that hurt the livelihood of registered Bahraini taxi drivers.

It will also continue to or-ganise campaigns against the violators in cooperation with security directorates and the authorities concerned.

He urged people to pro-mote community partner-ship by not dealing with illegal taxi drivers.

Legal proceedings were taken and they were referred to the Public Prosecution.

LT-COL ADEL AL DOSSARI

Man held for stealing vehiclesTDT|Manama

The Director-General of Northern Governorate

Police announced yester-day the arrest of a man sus-pected of stealing two cars in Hamad Town.

He said an investigation was launched after two thefts were reported.

In the f irst case, he robbed the car after the driver parked it near a shop and in the second case he forcibly stopped the car, kicked the driver out and snatched his wal-let before making off with the car.

The Director-General said that legal proceedings were being taken and the case was referred to the Public Prosecution.

Supreme Judicial Council forms supervisory body• The decision to form the new body aims to improve the performance of the judicial system in cooperation with the judges of the courts.


The Supreme Judicial Council issued a decision to form a Judicial Supervisory Authority to oversee operations in courts for the judicial

year 2018/2019.The new body will be chaired by Mohammed

Hassan Al Boaineen, a judge at the Cassation Court, and its members include Ibrahim Al Zayed, Jassim Al Jubin and Isa Al Manae.

The third provision of the de-cision states that the authori-ty will hold periodic meetings among the president of the Cas-sation Court and the supervising judges who have been assigned to follow-up on the judicial op-erations in courts.

The decision to form the new body aims to improve the perfor-mance of the judicial system in

cooperation with the judges of the courts.

The members of the new au-thority will be following up the leave, attendance and absence of judges and appoint other judges to oversee hearings in the event the appointed judge is on leave.

They will also be handling complaints and they will bring them to the attention of the judges.

Moreover, they will work on setting a timeframe to fast-track the disbursement of justice.

The decision to form the new body aims to

improve the performance of the judicial system

in cooperation with the judges of courts.

KNOW

DID

Saudi King thanks PremierManama

His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince

Khalifa bin Salman Al Khal-ifa yesterday received a cable of thanks from Cus-todian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in re-ply to His Royal Highness’s congratulations to him fol-lowing the successful Hajj season, wishing HRH the Premier lasting good health and happiness.

HRH the Premier also re-ceived a similar thanks ca-ble from HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia.


Labour Ministry official faces trial in BD23,000 graft caseAccused pleads not guilty in court; court grants her bail

• The woman official reportedly returned BD14,675 when she was put under probe. Nevertheless, her case was reported to the Public Prosecution, and she was put on trial over embezzlement charges.

• The defendant appeared before the High Criminal Court for her hearing, where she pleaded not guilty. And she was granted bail with her residence as the guarantee.


A senior official in the Ministry of Labour faces trial before the High Criminal Court over accusations of pocketing around

BD23,000 earmarked for social aid, it is learnt.

The ministry was distributing social aid to many citizens between 2014 and 2016 and it was later discovered that those who obtained money were ineligible to receive support.

Subsequently, the ministry asked them to return the money and the accused official was put in charge to collect the amount from them.

It is alleged that the woman official embezzled the money instead of depositing it into the min-istry’s account.

The defendant appeared before the High Crim-inal Court for her hearing, where she pleaded not guilty. And she was granted bail with her residence as the guarantee. According to court files, the woman was referred to prosecutors after she failed to hand over the money to the finance department of the ministry.

Subsequently, the employees in the department crossed check received amounts, but suspicions were raised after a big portion of it was found to be missing.

“Some of the citizens were paid the financial support between the years 2014-2016, although they weren’t eligible to receive it. They were asked to return the funds, and the defendant was responsible for taking the money from them,” a source close to the case said.

“The ministry was supposed to receive BD38,065, but there was a missing amount of BD23,390.”

The woman official reportedly returned BD14,675 when she was put under probe. Nev-ertheless, her case was reported to the Public Prosecution, and she was put on trial over embez-zlement charges.

Some of the citizens were paid the financial support between the years

2014-2016, although they weren’t eligible to receive it. They were

asked to return the funds, and the defendant was responsible for taking

the money from them.SOURCE

Who will make the best coffee?TDT|ManamaHarpreet Kaur

Sayyar Hospitality Solutions will be hosting the 2018 AeroPress Compe-

tition for the first time in Bahrain on September 29th at Black 22-Specialty Coffee Bar.

The winner of this competition will be fully sponsored to represent Bahrain in the World’s Championship in Sydney, Australia.

Speaking to Tribune, the marketing manager of Sara Sayyar, said, “The Aer-oPress championship brings people and communities together in a fun and light-hearted environment. The chal-lenge is simple. The competitors have seven minutes to create a yummy cup of coffee, which will be judged by a panel of three judges, who will taste the different coffee cups while they are blindfolded. The winners of the competition will be appointed based on the judges’ preferred coffee cup.”

“The competition is open to all, profes-sional world champion baristas, coffee enthusiasts, or anyone capable of brewing a cup of coffee using an AeroPress, water and coffee. The winner will hold the official 2018 Bahrain AeroPress Cham-pion and will be flown to compete in the World AeroPress Championships in Syd-ney in November this year to represent the country.”

Festival spotlight on promoting theatreTDT|ManamaHarpreet Kaur

The 12th Al Sawari Inter-national Youth Theatre Festival, which conclud-

ed yesterday at the Cultural Hall, was an effort to revitalise the theatre industry.

Held under the patronage of Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and An-tiquities, the festival featured 10 plays from Syria, Germany, Egypt, Algeria, Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Bahrain and Tunisia.

The concluding ceremo-ny was held in the presence of Culture and Arts Director Shaikha Hala Al Khalifa. The sponsors were appreciated for the support while the partici-pants were awarded for their performance.

Speaking to Tribune, Hus-sein Oraibi, Media Committee Chairman said, “The festival which is organised in support with Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) in partnership with Tamkeen, comes as our initiative to pro-mote the theatre artists and in-dividuals in theatre industry in the kingdom.

“The festival was started in 1993 as a way to provide the youth with a chance to showcase their talent as previously the theatre industry was monopo-lized by professional actors.

“It was a modern way to show-

case theatre in the country, and thus through the years the fes-tival has achieved a milestone

and put its mark on the industry in the Gulf region. The festival offered a lot of actors, directors,

cinematographer, and all sectors of theatre artists the chance to showcase their talent and be

important figures in their field.“Following the festival, an

international conference was

organized on sidelines to discuss the various aspects of theatre. It aimed at dissecting the crucial and philosophical issue which is the effect of technology on individuals and how it affects the human interaction.

“The festival served as a plat-form to gather individuals and experts, artists, writers, novel-ists, philosopher to discuss the issue.”

The conference which was held under the theme of ‘Thea-tre And Beyond Humanity’ saw a group of researchers, play writ-ers and critics coming together and highlighting the need for establishing a research centre to promote Arab theatre.

The 10 plays which were showcased during this year’s event were Hadra Hura from Syria, Germany, Ta’a Sakena from Egypt, Sarkhat Alam from Algeria, Flying Over the City from Armenia, Time for Roam-ing from Russia, Yellow Days from Georgia, Al Muftah and In the Good and Bad from Bah-rain, Laysa Ba’ad from Tunisia and Sa’amoot Fy Al Manfa, for the Festival from the Palestinian Theatre. The theatre festival also witnessed two book launches.

Scenes from some of the plays that were performed as part of the festival.

07

business


The goals of sustainable

development are equally important for both developed

and developing countries until 2030. These goals provide

an opportunity to respond to the

aspirations of all the peoples of the world

for a more prosperous and sustainable

energy futureAMIN AL-SHARQAWI

UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR

BSE forms panels for training, conferences and exhibitions

TDT| Manama

The Bahrain Society of Engineers (BSE) has

formed advisory commit-tees for its training center, conferences and exhibi-tions. The initiative comes as part of BSE’s plan to pro-vide a base for services for the benefit of its members and affiliates and to ensure that the BSE acts as an incu-bator for engineers and all those engaged in the engi-neering sector.

“We are working in line with the work plan of the current board of directors, which aims to strengthen the position of the BSE, be-ing the oldest professional society in the Kingdom of Bahrain and also to shed light on needs of engineer-ing profession and also the labour market,” said Eng. Huda sultan, Director of Information and media at BSE.

“The BSE endevours, as part of its ambitious work plan for this term, to en-hance relations with its members by inviting them to take part in the commit-tees. The BSE has decided to form an advisory committee for the Training Center by laying down a 5-year plan for organizing a variety of training courses and pro-grammes in all engineering spheres for the engineers in line with the requirements of the labour market,” she said.

Eng. Huda sultan

Al Salam Bank opens branchThe newly opened branch is strategically located on Tubli’s service road and it is reachable through Shaikh Isa bin Salman highway

TDT| Manama

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, one of the pioneer-ing Shari’a-compliant

banks in the Kingdom, yester-day opened a new branch in the growing commercial and resi-dential area in Tubli.

Khalid Hamad Abdulrahman, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), Anwar Murad, First Deputy CEO of Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, and senior CBB and Al Salam Bank officials at-tended the opening ceremony.

The new branch is strategi-cally located on Tubli’s service road and it is reachable through Shaikh Isa bin Salman highway that enjoys close proximity to being conveniently accessible for customers residing in Tub-li, Jidali, Zinj, Um Al Hussam, Adhari, A’Ali, and Sehla.

“Growing demand for fi-

nancial products and quality services both in Tubli and its surrounding areas made it a pri-ority for us to launch a larger full-service branch within close proximity to the Shaikh Isa bin

Salman highway,” said Anwar Murad, First Deputy CEO of Al Salam Bank.

“The new branch is an ideal location to offer our customers a suite of unique Shari’a-com-

pliant banking products. The branch is better-equipped with a 24 hours ATM and iBANK self-service channel, allowing customers to apply for bank-ing products, open accounts,

print statements, view accounts, transactions and balances, make card payments in real-time and make requests to receive new ATM PIN or cheque book,” he said. “We would like to sincere-ly express our gratitude to the Central Bank of Bahrain and our stakeholders for their constant support and trust in Al Salam Bank,” he added.

“I would like to congratu-late Al Salam Bank on launching their new full-service branch in Tubli. We appreciate Al Salam Bank’s commitment to strength-en the banking and financial sector,” said Khalid Hamad Ab-dulrahman, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain.

The branch will be open from Sunday to Thursday. A 24x7 dedicated cash deposit ATM, and iBANK self-service workstation will be available for customers at the branch.

(From left): Fahad Yateem, Director of Islamic Financial Institutions Supervision, CBB, Khalid Hamad Abdulrahman, Executive Director of Banking Supervision, CBB, Anwar Murad, First Deputy CEO of Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, Mohammed Buhijji, Head of Retail Banking at Al Salam Bank-Bahrain and senior officials during the inauguration

National energy efficiency panel meeting heldTDT| Manama

Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Dr. Abdulhussain

Mirza chaired the eighth meet-ing of the National Committee for Energy Efficiency and Re-newable Energy.

Senior officials in ministries and government bodies, resi-dent coordinator of the United Nations and the Resident Repre-sentative of the United Nations Development Programme were present.

The minister thanked the gov-ernment for its keenness in en-couraging the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency to achieve sustainable develop-ment in Bahrain. The meeting reviewed existing air condition-

ing systems in investment pro-jects and draft regulations that are being prepared to give great-er opportunity to central coolin as well as the initiative to use the roofs of 550 government build-ings to install solar energy sys-tems. He said a consultant has

been appointed to determine space available on the roofs of government buildings, such as schools, for installing solar en-ergy systems. The first phase is expected to produce about 25 megawatts.The committee also reviewed the report on ef-

ficiency standards for electrical appliances, like air conditioners and other initiatives currently being implemented on large-size air conditioners exceeding 7 tonnes. It also discussed car specifications and future plans to encourage their use.

Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza with panel members during the meeting

42 BAS employees honoured

TDT| Manama

Bahrain Airport Services Company (BAS) has felici-

tated 42 employees from vari-ous departments as part of its Employees of the Month pro-gramme.

The staff honoured were: Pandi Alagu, Hasanin merza, Ranjeet sunghm Pradeep ku-mara, Hadi hashim, Moham-

med Mahdi, Jawad mirza, Saleh Ebrahim, Richard d’costa, Sreedharan Parakash, Moham-med Hussain, Hussain Abbas, Kalimoorthi, Faris Hussain, Ali Ahmed, Yousif Almutawa, Ali Mohammed, Khalid Alzayani, Adel A.Rahim, Suebsak, Mo-hamed Altamimi, Khalid Nai-rooz, Hamad Aman, Sayed Mahmood hussain, Taher Ali, Mahmood ali, Essa Juma,

Ebrahim Hassan, A.Hakim mo-hamed, Nooh taqi, Anoop an-tony, Jijo, Fazal, Firoz Osman, Ebrahum ali, Khadija Adel, Ab-dulrahman Saad, Aysha Saleh, Zainab Ali, Hussain ali, Hussain adel, and Jassim Mohamed.

“This recognition is the larg-est in the past years and it is a testament to BAS’s commitment to recognize its staff,” Salman Al-Mahmeed, CEO of BAS, said.

Bahrain Airport Services Company comployees during the felicitation ceremony

Goldman, BAML to manage Sabic saleReuters| Dubai

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has chosen

Goldman Sachs, Bank of Amer-ica Merrill Lynch and Michael Klein as advisers on its planned sale of a stake in petrochemicals firm SABIC to Saudi Aramco, sources familiar with the pro-cess said.

Citigroup Inc has won the mandate to advise Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), two of the sources said on Mon-day, while Reuters previously reported that JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are advising Aramco.

Goldman, Citigroup and BAML declined to comment. Mi-chael Klein, whose firm is also known as M. Klein & Company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State-owned oil company Ar-amco plans to buy a controlling

stake in SABIC, possibly taking the sovereign Public Invest-ment Fund’s (PIF) entire 70 per-cent holding.

The deal mandate is a major win for Goldman Sachs, which like other Western investment banks has built up its Saudi business to capitalise on the government’s plans to priva-

tise assets and diversify the oil-dominated economy.

Klein was previously picked to advise Saudi Arabia on its planned flotation of Saudi Ara-mco and has experience work-ing on big chemicals deals, in-cluding acting for Dow Chem-ical on its $130 billion merger with DuPont in 2015.

The headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp in Riyadh. - REUTERS


Singapore to return $11 million of 1MDB money to MalaysiaAFP| Singapore

A Singapore court has ordered the return of

millions of dollars misap-propriated from Malay-sian state fund 1MDB in a cross-border financial scan-dal that helped topple for-mer leader Najib Razak.

Tan Rajah and Cheah, a Singapore-based law firm acting for 1MDB and the Malaysian government, said Monday the Singapore State Courts “have granted dis-posal orders” in respect to the money totalling Sg$15.3 million ($11.1 million).

“These monies are being transferred to the special 1MDB recovery bank ac-count in Kuala Lumpur. Efforts to recover other un-lawfully misappropriated assets are ongoing,” it said in a statement.

Malaysia’s new govern-ment under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 93, has launched investigations into allegations that Najib and his cronies looted billions of dollars from the fund while he was in office.

Last month, a yacht worth around a quarter of a billion dollars, allegedly bought by Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho using mon-ey taken from 1MDB, was returned to Malaysia from Indonesia.

Mahathir said authorities are also seeking to repossess a $35 million jet allegedly belonging to Low, a flam-boyant international finan-cier who is at the centre of the scandal, but whose whereabouts outside Ma-laysia remain unknown.

The Singapore police last month confirmed the jet is in the city-state.

US, Saudi energy ministers to meet in Washington: DOEReuters| Washington

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry will meet Saudi

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday morn-ing in Washington, the De-partment of Energy said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-produc-ing countries to keep output high ahead of Washington’s renewed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports.

Perry will also meet with Russian Energy Minister Al-exander Novak, on Thurs-day in Moscow, a U.S. source and a diplomatic source said Sunday night.High oil pric-es are a risk for President Donald Trump and his fel-low Republicans in Nov. 6 congressional elections. Global oil prices have al-ready risen sharply to more than $76 a barrel in recent weeks on concerns about sanctions on Iran’s oil ex-ports that Washington will renew on Nov. 4.

Trump withdrew the US in May from the nucle-ar deal with Iran, and he is pushing countries to cut their purchases of Iranian oil to zero.It is unclear what the United States may offer big oil producers in return for higher oil production.

Turkish GDP growth dips, lira crisis darkens outlook• Turkish economy is now facing challenges after a sharp decline in the lira, triggered partly by concerns about Erdogan’s influence over monetary policy

Reuters| Istanbul

Turkish economic growth slowed to 5.2 percent year-

on-year in the second quarter, data showed yesterday, in what officials described as an “eco-nomic rebalancing” before an expected second-half slowdown as Turkey grapples with a cur-rency crisis.

President Tayyip Erdogan has overseen strong growth during his 15 years in power but the economy is now facing challeng-

es after a sharp decline in the lira, triggered partly by concerns about his influence over mone-tary policy.In a Reuters poll, the

economy had been expected to grow 5.3 percent in the second quarter. The lira firmed to 6.4581 against the dollar after the data

from 6.4850 beforehand.Second quarter gross domes-

tic product (GDP) expanded a seasonally and calendar adjust-ed 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed. Last year the economy grew 7.4 percent.

Growth was driven by domes-tic demand despite a moder-ate slowdown in consumption and investments in the second quarter but the slowdown will become more visible from the third quarter, said Finance Min-ister Berat Albayrak.

Rabobank emerging markets forex strategist Piotr Matys said that, given concerns over the economy overheating, the slow-down from 7.3 percent in the first quarter could be seen as encouraging.

“The Turkish economy is widely expected to lose even

more momentum in the coming quarters as a result of significant lira depreciation,” he said, add-ing that attention was focused on the central bank’s rate-set-ting meeting on Thursday.

Rte hike?Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates, but the size of the hike will be cru-cial, Matys added. The bank left rates on hold at its last meeting in July, defying expectations of a hike.

Data last week showed infla-tion surged to 17.9 percent year-on-year in August, its highest level since late 2003, prompt-ing the central bank to signal it would take action against “sig-nificant risks” to price stability.

In the second quarter, the ag-ricultural sector shrank 1.5 per-cent year-on-year while the in-dustry sector grew 4.3 percent.

A money changer counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Istanbul.- Reuters (File photo)

EU, US trade reps meet but rift remains wide

AFP| Brussels

Top trade officials from the US and EU met yesterday to begin efforts to turn a

much heralded deal to avert a trade war into a concrete long-term agreement.

After the meeting, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malm-strom said she would meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer again by the end of the month.

But neither side announced any immediate breakthrough.

“We discussed how to move forward and identify priorities on both sides,” Malmstrom wrote on Twitter, “and how to achieve concrete results in the short to medium term.”

Lighthizer’s office called it a “constructive meeting”.

The negotiators’ cautious re-sponse to this first chance to “operationalise” plans for a lim-ited trans-Atlantic trade pact came in stark contrast to the en-thusiasm surrounding its birth.

In July, US President Donald

Trump and European Commis-sion head Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to hold off from further tit-for-tat tariffs and to work to-wards scrapping customs duties on all goods.

Both sides hailed the deal as a major breakthrough, but sub-sequent statements showed that disputes persist, especially over

agriculture, which Washington insists will be a key part of any agreement.

“Lots of work remains this autumn, our services will be in close contact in the coming weeks,” Malmstrom said, prom-ising that technical teams will meet in October.

Under pressure from France,

Europe refuses to allow farm goods be included in trade nego-tiations, creating a sticking point that Malmstrom and Lighthizer must get past.

“The idea is that the commis-sion and the United States agree on a framework document, per-haps by the end of the year,” a European source told AFP.

“Trump and Juncker have an agreement, but in reality, we didn’t completely agree on the scope of the discussions,” she added.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told AFP that agriculture remains a “red line” and that there is no question that it be included in the talks -- despite US insistence.

“The meeting between pres-idents Juncker and Trump al-lowed a return to dialogue, and that’s positive,” he said. “Beyond that, we have no illusions. We’re a long way from a lasting solu-tion.” The US delegation did not explicitly mention the farm dispute.

But its statement appeared to nod towards the agricultural issue by saying: “Specifically, we hope for an early harvest in the area of technical barriers to trade.”Officials had set very low expectations for the meet-ing, which is the first of several anticipated sit-downs to map out sectors in which common ground might be found.

Robert Lighthizer and Cecilia Malmstrom.- Reuters

Neither side has an-nounced any imme-diate breakthrough

in the talks

KNOW WHAT

China vows to respond if US takes new trade steps Reuters| Beijing

China will respond if the United States takes any

new steps on trade, the for-eign ministry said yesterday, after President Donald Trump warned he was ready to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States.

On Friday, Trump said he was ready to levy additional taxes on practically all Chinese imports, threatening duties on $267 billion of goods over and above planned tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products.

“If the U.S. side obstinate-ly clings to its course and takes any new tariff measures against China, then the Chi-nese side will inevitably take countermeasures to resolutely

protect our legitimate rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular briefing, when asked about Trump’s warning he did not elaborate.

The United States and China have activated additional tar-iffs on $50 billion of each oth-er’s goods since July, as trade friction between the world’s two biggest economies wors-ened, despite several rounds of negotiations.Trump has criticized China’s record trade surplus with the United States, and has demanded that Beijing cut it immediately. Tension has also persisted over limits on U.S. firms’ access to Chinese markets, intellectual property protection, technology trans-fers and investment.

Turkey’s power firms struggling for survivalReuters| Istanbul

When Austrian energy company OMV started

operating its power plant in Turkey in 2013, the country’s electricity sector was the dar-ling of foreign investors, lured by promises of market liberal-ization and the highest growth forecasts outside China.

Five years later, OMV has sold off its Turkish plant for barely half of the 600 million euros it initially invested and Turkey’s power companies are in debt restructuring talks with banks, amid a tumbling lira and rising energy costs. With the promised liberalization only partly deliv-

ered, and state-owned plants at times undercutting market prices, private sector firms found their margins squeezed even before the lira crisis drove up repayment costs on foreign

currency loans. “Turkey no longer fits our product portfo-lio,” said an OMV spokesperson in Vienna. OMV also sold off its wholly owned fuel retailer Petrol Ofisi in 2017.

A worker checks the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan run by Petroleum Pipeline Corporation), some 70 km from Adana, Turkey. - REUTERS (File photo)


$77.73was the price of a

barrel of Brent crude yesterday, 90 cents

higher than the previous day

Snap chief to step down amid controversyNew York| Reuters

Snap Inc the parent of Snapchat messaging,

said yesterday Chief Strat-egy Officer Imran Khan will step down, the latest top-level exit amid pres-sure to stem user declines following a controversial redesign of the app.

The company’s shares were down nearly 2 percent at $9.75 in early trading.

Khan, 41, whose last day has not been determined, was named the chief strate-gy officer in 2015 and played a key role in taking Snap public in March last year.

A former investment banker with Credit Suisse and a top-paid Snap exec-utive, Khan received stock worth about $145 million at the time of joining, accord-ing to media reports.

Snap in August reported its first-ever drop in dai-ly users, largely due to the redesign, but beat quarter-ly revenue estimates on a shift to primarily selling ads through self-service.

UK economy on track for best quarter since late 2016: NIESR

Reuters| London

Britain’s economy looks on track for its best

quarter since late 2016, the National Institute of Eco-nomic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated yester-day.

Gross domestic product looks likely to expand at a quarterly rate of 0.6 per-cent during the current July-September period, NIESR said, which would be its best showing since the fourth quarter of 2016.

Earlier on Monday, offi-cial data showed the econ-omy expanded 0.6 percent during the three months to July thanks to strong con-sumer spending, lifted by the World Cup and unusu-ally warm weather.

Volvo Cars drops IPO plans on trade tensions Reuters| Paris

Volvo Cars and its Chi-nese owner Geely have

postponed plans to float shares in the Swedish car-maker, blaming trade ten-sions and a downturn in automotive stocks.

But while Volvo’s plans for a Stockholm listing were delayed indefinitely, Brit-ain’s Aston Martin vowed to push ahead with its own initial public offering.

“We’ve come to the con-clusion that the timing is not optimal for an IPO right now,” Volvo Chief Execu-tive Hakan Samuelsson told Reuters. Volvo and its Chinese parent had been discussing an IPO to value the carmaker at between $16 billion and $30 billion, sources previously said.

Euro, Sterling rise on hopes for Brexit dealReuters| New York

The euro and sterling rose against the dollar yesterday

after the European Union’s top negotiator said an agreement for Britain to leave the economic bloc might be reached in the coming weeks.

The pound in particular had been under pressure in recent weeks on anxiety that Britain would exit from the EU without any formal trading arrangement.

“Sterling bears have been caught off side. The euro is also getting a bump as people are jumping on a ‘risk-on’ senti-ment,” said Dean Popplewell, vice president of market analysis at OANDA, in Toronto.

EU chief negotiator Michel

Barnier told a forum in Slovenia a Brexit deal was “realistic in six to eight weeks.”

The sterling was up as much as 1 percent versus the dollar.

It was last up 0.8 percent at $1.3025, Reuters data showed.

The euro rose nearly 0.5 percent at $1.16090, but was down 0.4 percent EURGBP=D4

at 89.105 pence.Positive view on Brexit re-

duced safe-haven holdings of the dollar whose decline was limited by an upbeat U.S. jobs report released on Friday and lingering worries about emerg-ing market currencies, analysts said.

An index that tracks the dollar against euro, sterling, yen and three other currencies .DXY was 0.3 percent lower at 95.059.

Speculators’ net long bets on the U.S. dollar fell to a five-week low, worth $20.60 billion in the week ended Sept. 4, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.

An index for emerging market currencies .MIEM00000CUS fell

0.4 percent to near one-week lows. The Indian rupee fell to a record low while the Hong Kong dollar hit the lower end of a trading band.

“We have had strong U.S. jobs data which has cement-ed market expectations of at least 2 more rate hikes this year and that doesn’t bode well for emerging markets,” said Piotr Matys, a markets strategist at Rabobank in London.

Meanwhile, the Swedish crown, which has been the worst performing currency among the majors, rose 0.2 percent ver-sus the dollar after gains for the far right in Sunday’s vote were smaller than some polls had pre-dicted - even though the country faces weeks of uncertainty as it ties to form a government.

Euro, Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, Japanese yen, pound and Chinese 100 yuan banknotes. – Reuters (File photo)

Gulf markets mostly up; Late sell-off hits Saudi

• Weak debut for Saudi Arabia’s Leejam Sports; Deyaar jumps above 100-day average in Dubai

• Big banks boost Abu Dhabi and Qatar; Inflation data weighs on Egypt

Reuters| Dubai

Gulf stock markets mostly rose yesterday, outper-forming emerging mar-

kets globally, though Saudi Ara-bia closed lower because of a wave of selling in the final hour.

MSCI’s emerging market index was down 0.9 percent. Gulf mar-kets have been weakened by the global downturn but many fund managers think that with Brent oil above $75 a barrel and given the region’s currency pegs, they can ride out instability relatively comfortably.

Vrajesh Bhandari, portfolio manager at Al Mal in Dubai, called last week’s losses in Gulf markets a technical correction.

The fundamental case for most stocks in Al Mal’s portfolio had not changed.

The Saudi index spent much of the day higher but closed down 0.3 percent. Exchange data released late on Sunday showed foreign investors sold a net $67.7 million of Sau-di stocks last week; it was the third straight week of selling, but outflows remain moderate compared to heavy inflows early this year.Much of the index’s

decline was due to a late drop by top petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries, which ended 1.0 percent lower.

Saudi Arabian Fertilizers gained 6.2 percent to 78.60 ri-yals. It has been rising strong-ly since late August, when EFG Hermes upgraded the stock to a “buy” and lifted its price target to 77.0 riyals from 60.5.

Retailer Fawaz Alhokair dropped 3.5 percent after the company said Atul Singh had

been dismissed with immediate effect, to be replaced by board member Faissal al-Jedaie. Its statement did not give a reason for the change.

Leejam Sports, which con-ducted this year’s first initial public offer of shares on the main market, fell 1.9 percent from its IPO price to 51.0 riyals.

IPO stocks in Saudi Arabia tra-ditionally jump their 10 percent daily limits on their debuts, but Saudi individual investors — of-ten responsible for chasing new issues higher — were heavy net sellers of stocks last week.

Trading volume in Leejam, which offered 15.715 million shares to institutional investors, was moderate at 1.92 million.

In Dubai, the index rose 0.2 percent as second-tier real es-tate developer Deyaar jumped 5.9 percent to 0.447 dirham in its heaviest trade since March. It rose above the 100-day av-erage of 0.443 dirham for the first time since March, and is up 15 percent in the past three trading days.

Abu Dhabi’s stock index rose 1.4 percent as First Abu Dhabi Bank surged 3.2 percent. It fell last week as some investors sold to invest in Abu Dhabi Commer-cial Bank and Union National Bank following news that the two were in merger talks.

The two banks continued ris-ing on Monday, with ADCB up 2.2 percent and UNB climbing 4.8 percent.Qatar’s index rose 0.7 percent, also boosted by banks. Qatar National Bank surged 1.7 percent and Qatar Islamic Bank added 1.5 percent.

In Egypt, the index slipped 0.7 percent. The government said annual urban consumer in-flation rose to 14.2 percent in August from 13.5 percent in July. London-based Capital Econom-ics said this meant the central bank would probably leave in-terest rates unchanged.

European stocks climb on Swedish vote reliefAFP| London

European equities rose Mon-day as the far-right failed to

make as large gains as expect-ed in Swedish elections, with investors appearing relieved about the dampening prospect of a “Swexit”.

Stockholm’s benchmark OMX 30 index of major compa-nies added 0.6 percent in val-ue, while the Swedish krona steadied. There were similar gains for the Frankfurt and Paris indices after the Swedish vote, which once again exposed simmering tensions over immi-gration in the European Union.

“The election... once again

serves as a reminder to the EU that free movement may be fun-damental to its ideals -- but it’s

also contributing to the rise of nationalist parties,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

A Saudi trader at Falcom stock exchange agency in Riyadh.- REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (File photo)

Closing BellSAUDI 0.3% » 7,706

DUBAI 0.2% » 2,849

ABU DHABI 1.4% » 4,986

QATAR 1.2% » 9,890

EGYPT 0.7% » 15,628

KUWAIT 0.2% » 5,337

BAHRAIN 0.1% » 1,343

OMAN 0.7% » 4,486

Stockholm’s OMX 30 index of major companies added 0.6pc in value yesterday

Oil jumps as US drilling growth stallsReuters| New York

Oil prices rose yesterday as growth of US drilling

braked and investors anticipat-ed lower supply once new US sanctions against Iran’s crude exports kick in from Novem-ber. “The low rig count set the stage for us to move higher,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chica-go. “At the end of the day you also have storms that could impact inventories for some time to come.”

Brent crude oil jumped 90 cents to $77.73 a barrel by 10:30 EDT (1430 GMT). U.S. light crude was 67 cents higher at $68.42 a barrel. U.S. drillers cut two oil rigs last week, reducing

the total count to 860, Baker Hughes said on Friday.

Growth of the number of rigs drilling for oil in the Unit-ed States has stalled since May, reflecting increases in well productivity but also bottle-necks and infrastructure con-straints.

THE SUPREME ART OF WAR IS TO SUBDUE THE ENEMY WITHOUT FIGHTINGSUN TZU

QUOTE OF THE DAY


Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ahdeya Ahmed | Chairman & Managing Editor 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

VINOD KRISHNAN

The words “fast”, “afforda-ble”, and “hassle-free” are seldom used in con-

junction with financial products. However, broader trends are revolutionizing how companies deliver new experiences and en-gage with customers across the industry.

Today’s business differentia-tors, such as the use of chatbots to automate interactions with customers, are possible due to the advances in technology pro-vided by cloud. By reducing bar-riers to innovation such as cost, time-to-market, and security, the cloud is enabling financial services providers to rethink – and transform the way the in-dustry works, and the value that it provides.

The accelerants driving the industry’s transformation are the proliferation of mobile de-vices for the completion of tasks that were previously driven by human-to-human interactions, changing consumer preferences based on generational demo-graphics, and continually evolv-

ing regulatory environments. In response, established financial services providers are facing urgent pressure to adapt their business models, organizational structures, and technology infra-structure to innovate with agility while their FinTech challengers grapple with common startup issues including scalability and capital constraints. The current shift underway to cloud as the “new normal” for technology deployments for financial ap-plications is leveling the play-ing field for financial services organizations of all sizes as they rush to meet the challenges and opportunities that exist in the market today.

While large scale and signifi-cant size can provide advantag-es—including access to abun-dant customer data—they can also contribute to established organizations being less agile than newer market entrants. Es-tablished banks, insurers, and asset managers must balance their large scale with the need to react nimbly to market con-ditions and quickly address cus-tomer demands for faster, easier, and better services. Complicat-ed legacy IT infrastructure and processes tend to isolate data in silos, leading organizations to miss opportunities to capitalize on data-led decision-making for

trading, risk management, fraud surveillance, and even potential mergers and acquisitions.

Leveraging data effectively requires resources that many organizations, both large and

small, cannot afford to maintain – namely, the capacity and tools needed to effectively and effi-ciently collect, store, and pro-cess massive amounts of data.

Using the cloud, organiza-

tions of all sizes can more eas-ily and more effectively make evidence-based decisions re-garding customer segmentation, pricing, product development, and cross-selling using analytics,

visualization, storage, and other management tools. The cloud also provides the tools compa-nies need to develop applica-tions and deliver new solutions to market at the speed demand-

Cloud is enabling limitless innovation in financial services industryThe advent of cloud as the “new normal” in the industry has levelled the playing field for players of all sizes.

BARIA ALAMUDDIN

Every US administration has had significant fall-ings-out with Palestinian

leaders. This happens whenever Palestinians refuse to give Isra-el everything it demands as the price for a peace deal. Never-theless, such disputes mostly remain within the constraints of civilized political debate — until now.

Donald Trump took personal offense that Mahmoud Abbas didn’t shower him with praise for the decision to hand Jerusa-lem to the Israelis. His UN envoy, Nikki Haley, was unleashed to make ominous threats against any government not voting with the US on this issue; threats which were largely ignored, apart from by the usual suspects and a smattering of Pacific Is-land states. Indeed, Paraguay’s embassy has been relocated back to Tel Aviv three months after opening in Jerusalem, with the nation’s leaders having re-alized how toxic the issue was for the peace process. Benjamin Netanyahu petulantly retaliated

by shutting Israel’s embassy in Asuncion.

A piqued US administration has embarked on a succession of petty, mean-spirited measures against the Palestinians and any global bodies that don’t whole-heartedly endorse Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing agenda. UN programs for supporting Pales-tinians have been progressive-ly defunded, until the White House simply halted payments for the Palestinians altogether.

Let’s call this what it is: Black-mail — starving the Palestinians into subservient capitulation. The US wants to humiliate Pal-estinian leaders by terrorizing them into grovelling public dis-plays of gratitude and contrition toward those who are stripping them of their rights and their funding; begging for mercy for their past insubordination.

With the US abandoning its $350m UNRWA contributions — one-third of its budget — let’s remember why this organiza-tion matters. UNRWA has re-sponsibility for about 5.4 million Palestinian refugees, primar-ily in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank. It is currently putting half a million children through school, with around 9 million visits per year to its health centers. Does the US administration know or care

what happens when it pulls the plug? Does the US seriously want to bear the consequences of hundreds of thousands of un-employable young people who have missed out on education altogether?

Far-right voices whispering in Trump’s ear know full well that, when desperate people are deprived of a future, they resort to desperate measures — fall-ing prey to radical influences. Just as Bashar Assad cultivated extremist elements in Syria to subvert the popular uprising, pro-Israel hawks never miss an opportunity to radicalize and undermine the Palestinian cause.

This isn’t just about the mon-ey — although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Trump ad-ministration defunding good causes, forcing Europeans and Gulf states to pick up the tab. This president may have a large empty space in regions of the brain where normal people’s consciences can be found — but there are other nations that will step in and do the right thing. For example, Germany — al-ready a leading donor — last week promised to substantially increase its $76m UNRWA contri-bution. The most revolting thing about the US administration’s decision is its petty, small-mind-

ed desire to collectively punish an entire nation because of its

leadership’s courageous stance.Trump delegated his son-in-


It is time for action by European, Arab and other states to turn sympathetic aspirations into action

THE SUPREME ART OF WAR IS TO SUBDUE THE ENEMY WITHOUT FIGHTINGSUN TZU

QUOTE OF THE DAY



VINOD KRISHNAN

The words “fast”, “afforda-ble”, and “hassle-free” are seldom used in con-

junction with financial products. However, broader trends are revolutionizing how companies deliver new experiences and en-gage with customers across the industry.

Today’s business differentia-tors, such as the use of chatbots to automate interactions with customers, are possible due to the advances in technology pro-vided by cloud. By reducing bar-riers to innovation such as cost, time-to-market, and security, the cloud is enabling financial services providers to rethink – and transform the way the in-dustry works, and the value that it provides.

The accelerants driving the industry’s transformation are the proliferation of mobile de-vices for the completion of tasks that were previously driven by human-to-human interactions, changing consumer preferences based on generational demo-graphics, and continually evolv-

ing regulatory environments. In response, established financial services providers are facing urgent pressure to adapt their business models, organizational structures, and technology infra-structure to innovate with agility while their FinTech challengers grapple with common startup issues including scalability and capital constraints. The current shift underway to cloud as the “new normal” for technology deployments for financial ap-plications is leveling the play-ing field for financial services organizations of all sizes as they rush to meet the challenges and opportunities that exist in the market today.

While large scale and signifi-cant size can provide advantag-es—including access to abun-dant customer data—they can also contribute to established organizations being less agile than newer market entrants. Es-tablished banks, insurers, and asset managers must balance their large scale with the need to react nimbly to market con-ditions and quickly address cus-tomer demands for faster, easier, and better services. Complicat-ed legacy IT infrastructure and processes tend to isolate data in silos, leading organizations to miss opportunities to capitalize on data-led decision-making for

trading, risk management, fraud surveillance, and even potential mergers and acquisitions.

Leveraging data effectively requires resources that many organizations, both large and

small, cannot afford to maintain – namely, the capacity and tools needed to effectively and effi-ciently collect, store, and pro-cess massive amounts of data.

Using the cloud, organiza-

tions of all sizes can more eas-ily and more effectively make evidence-based decisions re-garding customer segmentation, pricing, product development, and cross-selling using analytics,

visualization, storage, and other management tools. The cloud also provides the tools compa-nies need to develop applica-tions and deliver new solutions to market at the speed demand-


BARIA ALAMUDDIN

Every US administration has had significant fall-ings-out with Palestinian

leaders. This happens whenever Palestinians refuse to give Isra-el everything it demands as the price for a peace deal. Never-theless, such disputes mostly remain within the constraints of civilized political debate — until now.

Donald Trump took personal offense that Mahmoud Abbas didn’t shower him with praise for the decision to hand Jerusa-lem to the Israelis. His UN envoy, Nikki Haley, was unleashed to make ominous threats against any government not voting with the US on this issue; threats which were largely ignored, apart from by the usual suspects and a smattering of Pacific Is-land states. Indeed, Paraguay’s embassy has been relocated back to Tel Aviv three months after opening in Jerusalem, with the nation’s leaders having re-alized how toxic the issue was for the peace process. Benjamin Netanyahu petulantly retaliated

by shutting Israel’s embassy in Asuncion.

A piqued US administration has embarked on a succession of petty, mean-spirited measures against the Palestinians and any global bodies that don’t whole-heartedly endorse Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing agenda. UN programs for supporting Pales-tinians have been progressive-ly defunded, until the White House simply halted payments for the Palestinians altogether.

Let’s call this what it is: Black-mail — starving the Palestinians into subservient capitulation. The US wants to humiliate Pal-estinian leaders by terrorizing them into grovelling public dis-plays of gratitude and contrition toward those who are stripping them of their rights and their funding; begging for mercy for their past insubordination.

With the US abandoning its $350m UNRWA contributions — one-third of its budget — let’s remember why this organiza-tion matters. UNRWA has re-sponsibility for about 5.4 million Palestinian refugees, primar-ily in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank. It is currently putting half a million children through school, with around 9 million visits per year to its health centers. Does the US administration know or care

what happens when it pulls the plug? Does the US seriously want to bear the consequences of hundreds of thousands of un-employable young people who have missed out on education altogether?

Far-right voices whispering in Trump’s ear know full well that, when desperate people are deprived of a future, they resort to desperate measures — fall-ing prey to radical influences. Just as Bashar Assad cultivated extremist elements in Syria to subvert the popular uprising, pro-Israel hawks never miss an opportunity to radicalize and undermine the Palestinian cause.

This isn’t just about the mon-ey — although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Trump ad-ministration defunding good causes, forcing Europeans and Gulf states to pick up the tab. This president may have a large empty space in regions of the brain where normal people’s consciences can be found — but there are other nations that will step in and do the right thing. For example, Germany — al-ready a leading donor — last week promised to substantially increase its $76m UNRWA contri-bution. The most revolting thing about the US administration’s decision is its petty, small-mind-

ed desire to collectively punish an entire nation because of its

leadership’s courageous stance.Trump delegated his son-in-


It is time for action by European, Arab and other states to turn sympathetic aspirations into action

1980Voters approve a new Constitution of Chile, later amended after the departure of President Pinochet.

1997After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom.

2001The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated suicide attacks killing 2,996 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of Al Qaeda.

2012The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths.

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

C I V I L I A N ’ S T R I B U N E


TOP

4TWEETS

01

Trump and Repub-licans in Washing-

ton will stop at nothing until the Affordable Care Act is complete-ly demolished and the protections of 130 mil-lion people with pre-ex-isting conditions from across the country are eliminated. #Protec-tOurCare

@TeamPelosi

03

After a long period of silence, Barack

Obama expressed his ex-asperation. “When you hear how great the econ-omy’s doing right now, let’s just remember when this recovery started.”

@nytimes

04

Democrats: A bunch of rich people con-

vincing poor people to vote for rich people by telling poor people that other rich people are the reason they are poor

@charliekirk11

02

Florence is about to become a major hur-

ricane and will have huge impacts on the Carolinas and Virginia. Extreme winds, then horrible flooding likely. NO im-pact on #ARWX ,but it will impact Arkansans traveling to the east coast. Expect delays and cancelations.

@KATVToddYak

Disclaimer: (Views expressed by columnists are personal and need not necessarily reflect our

editorial stances)

The cloud is providing the answer to many regulatory issues for both incumbent

financial providers and FinTech startups, as all

require the most robust security and compliance

capabilities to meet regulatory obligations,

protect themselves from threat actors, and instill

confidence in stakeholders.

ed by today’s consumer.Union Insurance, a leading

UAE based insurance company that provides a comprehensive range of retail and commercial insurance products, migrated its complete IT infrastructure and workload to the AWS Cloud. As a result, the Union Insurance team now spends more time on things that matter to their cus-tomers - creating and supplying world-class insurance products. Moreover, by migrating to AWS, Union Insurance saved more than 84% of their IT infrastruc-ture costs while accelerating time to market of new products and undertaking aggressive ge-ographical expansion.

To accelerate its own digital transformation, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) recently announced the successful com-pletion of the first phase of its cloud adoption with the migra-tion of its website (nbbonline.com) to Amazon Web Servic-es (AWS), with plans underway to migrate the bank’s intranet and online banking platform to the cloud. The move forms part of NBB’s strategic approach to cloud adoption and a broader digital transformation at the bank that aims to drive change, achieve greater operational efficiencies, and enhance cus-tomer satisfaction. By operating

on AWS, NBB can greatly reduce time-to-market and ensure it is always moving at the fast-pace that customers require.

The cloud is providing the an-swer to many regulatory issues for both incumbent financial providers and FinTech start-ups, as all require the most ro-bust security and compliance capabilities to meet regulatory obligations, protect themselves from threat actors, and instill confidence in stakeholders.

Operating comprehensive gov-ernance, risk, and compliance programs can pose a significant challenge to financial institu-tions due to the need to manage risk across business lines, global regulatory regimes, and large

employee populations. By pro-viding virtually unlimited com-puting and storage capacity and enabling integration of disparate data sources, the cloud can miti-gate many of these issues. More-over, extensive security certifi-cations and accreditations, data encryption, and strong physical security all contribute to a more secure IT infrastructure, while automation decreases the chanc-es of human error and saves time and capital.

For both incumbents and Fin-Techs, cloud is the new normal. The industry has evolved in the way it thinks about this technol-ogy, and cloud is now ingrained in daily business operations and is ushering in a new wave of in-novative solutions from players of all sizes.

Today, the opportunities that exist in financial markets are no longer only available to large organizations with deep balance sheets who can afford capital-in-tensive projects; rather, the ad-vent of cloud as the “new nor-mal” in the industry has leveled the playing field for players of all sizes, enabling them to compete on the merits and value prop-ositions of their products and services.

(Vinod Krishnan is the head of Commercial Sector, Middle East and

North Africa at Amazon Web Services.)


law, Jared Kushner, to draft a “deal of the century” for the

Israelis and Palestinians. Yet, through illegal land seizures,

the loss of Jerusalem, attempts to legalize the settlement move-ment, and demotion of non-Jews to second-class citizens, the US and Israel have emptied a deal of any possible meaningful content. Given that US officials have stressed that both sides must make further “painful” concessions as part of this deal, what more can they demand, other than Palestinians pack their suitcases and depart Pal-estine altogether?

The latest reported US-driv-en proposal for a Jordan-West Bank confederation is a new scam for killing off prospects of Palestinian statehood and severing connections between Gaza and the West Bank. This doesn’t mean a sovereign and viable Palestinian state, but rather grafting the few remain-ing cantons of Palestinian land on to Jordanian territory — lands which can be gradually squeezed out of existence as the illegal Zionist settlement movement inexorably expands.

In recent weeks, the Pales-tinian “right of return” has also come under fire. The right of Palestinian refugees to go home has always been a fundamen-tal tenet of any just peace deal. However, Haley and Trump re-portedly now insist the num-ber of refugees is actually about

500,000, as they believe refugee status should not be inherit-ed. Thus, 5 million Palestinians have ceased to exist, and these non-existent Palestinians don’t require funding for food or ed-ucation — or a homeland.

In the Palestinians, Trump sees all his favorite targets in one convenient package: They are refugees, they are Muslims (he is clearly ignorant of the rich Christian Palestinian heritage), they are poor — and punishing them wins him points with the Israel lobby and his rabid, brain-washed grassroots supporters.

Israel may be the prima-ry victim of suddenly halting Palestinian funding. It is a long time since the world witnessed

a mass Palestinian intifada; this time it would be triggered by the collapse of the Palestinian Au-thority and the local economy, with millions losing access to food, medicine and education. Israel is in no way prepared for such a popular tsunami.

With the UN General Assem-bly meetings approaching, Pal-estine’s friends are already plan-ning to force the issue to the top of the agenda. This is good, but we have heard enough mean-ingless statements of condem-nation. It is time for action by European, Arab and other states to turn sympathetic aspirations into action, to renew impartial efforts toward Palestinian state-hood and achievement of their rights.

However, the ultimate rejec-tion of Trump’s Middle East pol-icies will manifest itself through all Palestinians and millions of justice-loving allies around the world standing with dignity and demonstrating that attempts to starve, blackmail and humiliate them into submission will only make the Palestinian nation 100 times more determined.

(Baria Alamuddin is an award-win-ning journalist and broadcaster in the

Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of

state.)

Attempts to blackmail, starve Palestinians will backfireIt is time for action by

European, Arab and other states to turn sympathetic aspirations into action, to

renew impartial efforts toward Palestinian

statehood and achievement of their rights.

We talk in thousands tongues about the health issues faced by adults and the need to regiment lifestyle in order to lead a healthy life. Internet and social me-

dia are full of literatures to reduce weight, tackle diabetes and cholesterol, uric acid and other dangerous unhealthy things. But we don’t see any awareness reports on maintaining the health of our children, which is, in fact, something to be seriously dis-cussed. I could see, a good number of children in the Kingdom are obese, which is something to be taken very seriously as the country’s future depends on the younger generation. Un-healthy eating habits and lifestyle among parents are the main reasons behind children’s obesity. I appreciate the organisers of International Physical Literacy Convention, where children’s health and fight against child obesity was discussed at length. We need more such awareness programmes and campaigns to ensure that the future generation takes their health as the most serious matter in their lives.

Ramshankar Maheshwaran

Care for children too!

Letters to editor can be sent at [email protected].

12

world


Cambodia opposition leader released from prison on bail

AFP | Phnom Penh, Cam-bodia

Cambodia’s opposition leader Kem Sokha was

released from jail early yes-terday a year after he was detained on treason charg-es, as the country’s strong-man ruler loosens his grip on opponents after sweep-ing one-sided elections.

Over a 33-year rule, the wily Hun Sen has tightened and relaxed his chokehold on opponents at will, most recently launching a broad crackdown in the run-up to July elections that gifted his ruling party an uncontested victory.

As part of that action Kem Sokha, the head of the only serious opposition the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested on September 3, 2017, and accused of treason.

Thousands demand Bangladesh opposition leader’s releaseAFP | Dhaka, Bangladesh

Thousands of opposition supporters staged pro-

tests across Bangladesh yes-terday demanding imme-diate release of their lead-er and three-time former premier Khaleda Zia, jailed early this year for graft.

Zia, 73, is currently on trial on more corruption charges in a makeshift courtroom inside a 19th-century Brit-ish-built prison where she is the only inmate and in failing health, her lawye rs say.

A police official told AFP that some 4,000 activists of the main opposition Bangla-desh Nationalist Party (BNP) joined protests outside the National Press Club at the heart of capital Dhaka.

Indian opposition protests high petrol, diesel pricesAFP | New Delhi, India

Indians set tyres on fire, vandalised petrol stations

and blocked roads and rail-ways yesterday as opposi-tion parties led nationwide demonstrations against ris-ing fuel prices.

The protests were called by the opposition Con-gress party led by Rahul Gandhi, who is looking to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in general elections expected in early 2019.

“Ever since the BJP came to power (in 2014) fuel pric-es have been going up. Prime Minister Modi has failed to deliver on his promises to the people,” Gandhi, 48, told a crowd in Delhi.

Gunmen storm Libya oil firm HQAt least two dead in attack that deals blow to attempts to instil confidence in Libyan oil industry

AFP | Tripoli, Libya

Armed men yesterday stormed the headquar-ters of Libya’s National

Oil Company in Tripoli killing at least two people, officials said, as witnesses spoke of hearing a blast and gunfire.

The attack targeted the coun-try’s vital oil sector, repeatedly disrupted by violence since a 2011 uprising against toppled late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Witnesses said the building near the city centre had caught fire and was rapidly surrounded by security services, who evacu-ated its staff, including the NOC chairman Mustafa Sanallah.

Two people were killed and 10 wounded, the health minis-try said. Sanallah confirmed to the Libya 218 news channel that staff members had been killed and others wounded, some of whom were in a “serious con-dition”.

“The security services are looking for gunmen in the building, but our priority is to evacuate the civilians stuck in-side,” said Ahmed Ben Salem, a spokesman for the Deterrence Force, a militia that operates as

Tripoli’s police force.“The situation is under con-

trol,” he added.He was not able to provide

details on the identity of the at-tackers.

The Deterrence Force labelled

the incident a “terrorist” attack and posted on its Facebook page photos it said showed the re-mains of suicide bombers.

An oil company official, who asked not to be named, said masked gunmen had exchanged

fire with guards and attacked the firm’s headquarters.

“I jumped out of the window with other colleagues, and then we heard an explosion,” the of-ficial said.

No group has so far claimed

the attack.Early this month, days of

clashes between rival armed groups in Tripoli left at least 63 people dead before a fragile UN-backed ceasefire took hold.

The attack on the NOC head-quarters comes four months af-ter suicide bombers struck the headquarters of Libya’s electoral commission, killing 14 in an at-tack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The group overran Sirte, Kadhafi’s hometown, 600 kilo-metres (370 miles) east of Trip-oli, in 2015. IS was ousted by government forces and allied militias in December 2016, but has continued to carry out at-tacks.

Firefighters and onlookers gather in front of the NOC HQ after the siege

The security services are looking

for gunmen in the building, but

our priority is to evacuate the civilians stuck

inside. The situation is under control

China shuts down prominent Christian churchAFP | Beijing

Beijing officials have shut down one of China’s larg-

est “underground” Protestant churches for operating with-out a licence, the Communist government’s latest move to ramp up control over religious worship.

Around 70 officials stormed into the Zion Church -- housed on the third floor of a nonde-script office building in the north of the capital -- after its Sunday afternoon service, said church pastor Jin Mingri.

“They chased everyone out and sealed off the place, even tearing down our signage on the wall,” Jin told AFP yesterday.

“All our things have been confiscated and we have not been allowed to re-enter the building.”

Local authorities said the church and its affiliates have been banned.

“After investigation, (we found) the ‘Zion Church in Bei-jing’ was not registered and car-

ried out activities in the name of social organisations without authorisation,” the Chaoyang district civil affairs bureau said in a statement.

Yesterday, at least a dozen marked police vehicles and scores of officers both in uni-form and plainclothes guarded the building where the congre-gation held its services.

AFP journalists were barred from entering the building. The officers said the third floor was

sealed off.China’s officially atheist

government is wary of any or-ganised movements outside its own control, including religious ones, and analysts say oversight of such groups has tightened under President Xi Jinping.

The country’s Christians are split between those who attend unofficial “house” or “under-ground” churches and those who go to government-sanc-tioned places of worship.

Catholic religious paintings and Bibles are displayed behind bars at an underground Catholic church in Jiexi county in south China

Iraqi Premier visits Basra

AFP | Basra, Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi tried to ease ten-

sions in the country’s oil-rich south with a visit yesterday to Basra, rocked by deadly pro-tests over alleged corruption and government neglect.

After 12 demonstrators were killed and many of Basra’s in-stitutions torched, calm re-turned to the city late Saturday as Abadi’s rivals in Baghdad said they wanted to form Iraq’s next government without him.

For five days last week pro-testers had flooded the streets, clashing with security forces and torching the provincial headquarters, the Iranian con-sulate and the offices of armed groups.

Organisers have attempted to dissociate themselves from the violence and called for a halt in demonstrations.

Yesterday, Abadi met with officials in Basra who have ac-cused Baghdad of neglecting the southern province and fail-ing to redistribute oil wealth.

Iraqi vendors in the city of Basra are seen through a broken window

Saudi royal says jewels stolen at Paris Ritz HotelAFP | Paris, France

A member of the Saudi roy-al family has reported the

theft of hundreds of thousands of euros’ worth of jewellery from her hotel room at the Ritz ho-tel in Paris, police sources said

yesterday.The person, who was not

identified by name, said the theft -- which would be the second reported jewel heist at the five-star hotel on Place Vendome this year -- took place on Friday afternoon.

The jewels, worth an estimat-ed 800,000 euros ($930,000), were not in a safe when they were taken and there was no sign of forced entry, the source said, confirming a report on France Info radio.

France Info said the victim

was a Saudi princess staying in one of the hotel’s suites.

An investigation has been opened by France’s anti-or-ganised crime brigade, a legal source said.

In January, an armed gang swiped an estimated four mil-

lion euros’ worth of jewels from shops inside the Ritz after bursting into the hotel and using hatchets to smash display cases.

All of the loot, some of which the robbers dropped while try-ing to make their escape, was recovered.


Sweden faces government deadlock as far-right gainsAFP | Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden faced political deadlock yesterday af-

ter the far-right made gains in legislative elections that left the question of who will form the next government up in the air.

The prime minister is usually the leader of the par-ty with the most votes, but Sweden’s fragmented politi-cal landscape after Sunday’s vote makes it impossible to predict who will build the next government, a process likely to take weeks.

As expected, neither Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s centre-left bloc nor the centre-right opposition gar-nered a majority.

The far-right Sweden Democrats, with roots in the neo-Nazi movement, solidified their position as third-biggest party, though they have yet to shake their pariah status.

South Sudan plane crash toll rises to 20

AFP | Juba, South Sudan

A plane crash in South Sudan killed 20 people,

including an Anglican bish-op and four foreigners, a re-gional official said, updating the toll.

Regional spokesman Taban Abel Aguek said 20 people died and three sur-vived when a small plane crashed into a lake close to Yirol in the centre of the country on Sunday morn-ing.

“Among the dead, 16 are South Sudanese nationals while four are foreigners including the pilot and the co-pilot, who are Suda-nese. One Ugandan and an Ethiopian... also died in the crash,” Abel said.

The Anglican Bishop of Yirol, Simon Adut, was among those killed as was a staff member of the South Sudanese Red Cross, while an Italian doctor and two children were among the survivors.

7 wounded in Paris knife attack, including British, Egyptian tourists

AFP | Paris, France

A man wielding a knife and an iron bar injured

seven people, including three tourists, in Paris, in an attack that bystanders tried to stop by throw-ing petanque balls at the assailant.

Four of the victims were in a critical condition, police said, after the man, believed to be an Afghan national, went on the rampage next to a canal in the northeast of the capital on Sunday evening.

Two British tourists, an Egyptian tourist and a local man were among the in-jured, police added.

US braces for FlorenceThe Hurricane could strike from Carolinas to Mid-Atlantic

• Forecasters say storm will become extremely dangerous

• Hurricane Isaac, further out to sea, not yet threat to land

AFP | Miami, United States

The eastern United States braced yesterday for the impact of “major” hurri-

cane Florence as it threatened catastrophic flooding in areas already soaked by heavy rain.

The storm was 625 miles (1,005 kilometres) southeast of the British North Atlantic island territory of Bermuda at 0900 GMT yesterday, and was forecast “to become a major hurricane” yesterday morning, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Florence “is expected to re-main an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thurs-day,” the NHC in Miami said.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s office described Flor-ence as possibly the state’s “most significant hurricane event in decades,” and warned of “cata-strophic inland flooding, high winds and possible widespread power outages.”

It added: “The largest threat to life from hurricanes is not the high winds. Flooding is the deadliest result of these storms.”

The US Navy ordered ships at its major base in Hampton

Roads, Virginia, to put to sea, saying “the forecasted destruc-tive winds and tidal surge are too great to keep the ships in port.”

Heavy rain in the Washington area over the weekend had al-ready led to flooding in historic Alexandria, Virginia, local me-dia reported, and the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for part of the Potomac River.

F l o r e n c e w a s “ r a p i d l y strengthening,” with maximum sustained winds increased to 105 miles per hour, making it a Category 2 storm, the sec-

ond-weakest on the five-level Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

“The centre of Florence will move over the southwestern At-lantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the southeastern coast of the Unit-ed Sates on Thursday,” the NHC said.

The storm was moving west-northwest at around nine miles per hour, and was forecast to drench a large swath of the US East Coast running from north-ern Florida to New Jersey.

On its current track Florence is expected to slam the Caro-

linas and Virginia the hardest -- and all three states have issued emergency declarations to speed preparations.

Two more hurricanes North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s office said Florence is already being felt along the state’s coast, with large sea swells resulting in life-threat-ening rip currents and surf.

“Everyone in North Caroli-na needs to keep a close eye on Florence and take steps now to get ready for impacts later this week,” Cooper said.

The storm “is too powerful

and its path is too uncertain to take any chances,” South Caro-lina Governor Henry McMaster said, issuing his state’s emergen-cy declaration.

Florence was producing large swells expected to reach from the northern Caribbean to the southern coasts of Canada’s Maritime provinces.

At this height of the Atlantic hurricane season, Florence was being trailed on east-to-west paths by two other hurricanes, Helene and Isaac.

Helene -- 305 miles west of the Cape Verde islands off the African coast -- had winds up to 85 miles per hour, and was expected to continue moving west-northwest for another cou-ple of days, the NHC said in its 0900 GMT bulletin.

Hurricane Isaac -- which late Sunday became the fifth hurri-cane of the season -- is heading west towards the Caribbean.

At 0500 GMT Isaac, which the NHC called a small hurricane, was about 1,200 miles east of the Windward Islands -- a region still recovering from last year’s powerful Hurricane Maria -- with maximum sustained winds near 75 miles per hour.

Isaac is expected to gain strength in the next day or two before beginning to weaken mid-week when it approaches the Lesser Antilles.

Maria -- which killed at least 3,057 people, most in Puer-to Rico -- is believed to be the third-costliest tropical cyclone on record.

US satellite image taken on September 9, 2018, shows (L-R) hurricanes Florence, Isaac and Helene in the Atantic Ocean

Tanzanian president seeks end to contraceptionAFP | Nairobi, Kenya

President John Magufuli has urged Tanzanian women to

“give up contraceptive methods” insisting his country needs more people, local media reported yesterday.

“You have cattle. You are big farmers. You can feed your children. Why then resort to birth control? This is my opin-ion, I see no reason to control births in Tanzania,” Magufu-

li said in a speech on Sunday, according to The Citizen daily newspaper.

“I have travelled to Europe and elsewhere and have seen the harmful effects of birth control. Some countries are now facing declining popula-tion growth. They are short of manpower.”

The president urged Tanza-nian people to ignore bad ad-vice disseminated by outsiders saying: “It is important to re-

produce.”“Women can now give up con-

traceptive methods,” he added.Tanzania has a population of

around 60 million people, up from 10 million at independence in 1961.

The UN predicts Africa’s pop-ulation will double to around 2.5 billion by 2050, leading to warnings of a demograph-ic time bomb if economic growth and job creation cannot keep up.Tanzanian President John Magufuli

Egypt security forces kill 11 suspected jihadists AFP | Cairo, Egypt

Egyptian security forces have killed 11 suspected

jihadists in the Sinai Penin-sula as they press a campaign against Islamist militants in the area, a security source said yesterday.

The military launched a sweeping operation in Feb-ruary focused on the Sinai in eastern Egypt aimed at wiping out jihadists, including from the Islamic State group, who have been waging a bloody in-surgency.

“Eleven terrorist elements were killed in an exchange of fire” with security forces in El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, the security source said.

The jihadists were in an

abandoned petrol station “pre-paring terrorist acts” against security forces, the source added.

Jihadists launched an insur-gency in Egypt after the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, forced out by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule.

Hundreds of police and sol-diers have since been killed in jihadist attacks.

The military says around 300 suspected jihadists and at least 35 soldiers have been killed since the February launch of the “Sinai 2018” op-eration.

The press is not allowed to travel freely in the area al-though the military organised a rare visit to El-Arish for for-eign media in July.

Driver rams French airport terminal before runway chaseAFP | Lyon, France

French police arrested a man yesterday following a high-

speed chase on the runway at Lyon airport after the driver rammed his car into the ter-minal and drove through the building.

Police said they began pursu-ing the white Mercedes when it was spotted speeding the wrong way down a nearby highway.

The driver first smashed through a security barrier at the Lyon-Bron business air-port before changing direction and heading to Lyon’s main Saint-Exupery airport about 20 kilometres away.

There he rammed into au-tomatic glass doors near the

main entrance to Terminal 1 and drove through the building, smashing through another set of doors before emerging onto the runway, chased by about a dozen police vehicles as well as

a helicopter.A video posted online showed

the car smashing into the build-ing with a bang and showed the view afterwards of the smashed doors on either side.

A French gendarmes vehicle speeds on the tarmac of Lyon’s Saint-Exupery airport

14

features


AFP| Kabul, Afghanistan

In the alley winding be-tween the earthen walls of Old Kabul, Wakil Mo-hammad Saddeq insists on honouring his visitors

with a cup of tea. “You are the first to offer us help without ask-ing for money!” he says.

Wakil’s home is one of thou-sands of unregulated houses stuffed into the Afghan capital, whose boundaries have long overflowed as refugees fleeing war are added to a surging young population.

Now Kabul authorities are try-ing to bring order to the snarl of informal housing, as President Ashraf Ghani seeks to equip the city with a cadastre, or land registry, for the first time in its history.

“Here, urbanisation has been guided by conflicts and humani-tarian crises,” says Koussay Bou-laich, head of communication at UN-Habitat, which is running the project in partnership with the Kabul government.

“The only attempt at ur-ban planning dates from the Soviets” in the late 1970s, he notes.

Today, Kabul has more than four million inhabitants. Nearly 40 years of conflict have driven hundreds of thousands of people from rural areas into the shelter of the capital, creating entire new neighbourhoods without plans or records.

The majority of their inhab-itants live with no safety net, at the mercy of an overnight evic-tion.

And the influx shows no sign of slowing down. Since early 2015, cities across Afghanistan including Kabul have received a total of more than 2.5 million people displaced by war.

“Of the 255,000 properties already assessed in Kabul by UN-Habitat, only 15 percent have a valid title deed, 41 percent have

documents without legal value and 44 percent have no docu-ments at all,” says Boulaich.

Neighbourhood watchMost of the fragile houses that

tumble up the dusty foothills surrounding Kabul are unreg-ulated. Many are built of mud and lack electricity and running water.

But informal housing also en-compasses ancient houses such as Wakil’s, and the opulent, ex-pensive villas on clean, paved streets in Kabul’s wealthy areas.

In the absence of any owner, residents who can prove they have been in a property for at least 15 years are granted a cer-tificate of occupation.

To find owners, the UN-Hab-itat team first checks with the municipality and its archives, then with neighbours, explains Sayed Sadullah Wahab, coordi-nator for the “City for All” pro-gramme.

If no owner is found, they post a certificate of occupancy that is valid for five years at the local mosque.

“After five years, if nobody claims it the tenant will get the full property,” he said.

Once the neighbours are questioned, any existing own-er usually pops up within days, even if he is as far away as the United States or Germany, he adds.

“The neighbours call him,” he explains with a smile.

No name for streetsAFP accompanied Wahab’s

team of investigators to another house. Salim Ahmad, the owner, was killed last year by the Tal-iban, so it is his father-in-law who comes to justify the family’s right to the land.

But their acquisition has never been validated, and titles lam-inated with care have no legal value.

The UN-Habitat team records the documents, the electricity bills, the identity of the occu-pants, and takes measurements of the land and the house. This

data will be used to establish the occupancy certificate and the amount of house tax, or safayi.

President Ghani has already distributed the first certificates in Kabul, as well as in the west-ern city of Herat and the eastern city of Jalalabad.

For the first time in Afghan-istan’s history they are being awarded to women as well as men. Currently, the UN says, women account for just five percent of the recognised land-owners in the country.

UN-Habitat has 1,200 employ-ees on the project and a budget of $63 million until 2020, funded by the European Union and the US development agency, USAID.

After so many years of conflict and lawlessness, the project is encountering challenges from residents who do not trust that paying safayi will benefit them, says Hellay Ishaqzai, 25, one of the team’s investigators.

However, an awareness cam-paign to illustrate how the funds are being used in each neigh-bourhood is paying off.

Through it, women, the elder-ly, even children can vote for the money to be used in different ways, such as maintaining roads or schools.

The programme will also see the confusing mass of thor-oughfares clearly named, an innovation set to revolutionise navigation in a city where most directions are given by way of landmarks: behind the super-market, second right after the mosque, left of the blue door, and so on.

Wahab says that $1.4 million has been collected since Novem-ber. Back in Kabul’s old quarter, Saddeq’s family have paid their sayafi -- 800 afghanis, or $12 -- for the first time in 90 years.

He rejoiced in the payment. “They will come and clean our streets, they will remove the dirty water, and we also wish to have a clinic,” he says hopefully.

Regulating the urban

anarchy of war-torn

KabulThe thousands of houses stuffed into Kabul are to be regulated for the first time under a programme

designed to bring order to a snarl of informal housing in a city whose boundaries have long overflowed with refugees fleeing war

Afghan men work on a construction site on their roof on a hillside in Kabul.-AFP

Afghan surveyors from the UN-Habitat team check documents during the registration of unregulated houses in Kabul.- AFP

Here, urbanisation has been guided by conflicts and

humanitarian crises. The only attempt at

urban planning dates from the Soviets

KOUSSAY BOULAICH

HEAD OF COMMUNICATION, UN-HABITAT

15

entertainment


C R O S S W O R D

S U D O K U

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

How to playPlace a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Y O U R S T A R T O D A Y

B E E T L E B A I L E Y

AriesYou’re focused and attentive to detail. Some longstand-ing projects benefit from this sudden spurt of energy and get completed in record time. Children figure prominently in your life. Is there one child in particu-lar who needs some extra attention from you? Your love and support mean a lot more than you realize.

TaurusDon’t let others’ bad moods get you down. And don’t feel it’s your responsibility to cheer them up. Their moodiness is their business, not yours. You could be a little bit anxious today, and allowing yourself to be negatively influenced by others will do you no good at all. The general atmosphere will improve in a few days.

GeminiIt’s time to let go of the past and focus only on the future. A new person may come into your life who can help you do just that. Communication with close friends and relatives is highlighted, and you may find yourself spending more time on the phone than usual.

CancerThere’s definitely a downside to home ownership! Much as you love projects, the joy is tempered when the chores never end. While your home is structurally sound, it may be in need of cosmetic enhancement. Try adding plants and flowers indoors. Outside, a few stra-tegically placed pots can act as attractive focal points.

LeoThe glass may look half empty, but only at first glance. Keep looking at it, or perhaps change the way you look at it, and you’ll see that it indeed is half full. You may be experiencing some frustration. Computers could be down or communication hindered in some way. Don’t get stressed.

VirgoThere are lots of personal and financial issues to resolve today. You may hear from your bank or see some alarming numbers on an ATM receipt. Don’t get upset. Ultimately, these matters will be resolved to your benefit. As for personal matters, you may learn some new information about someone you thought you knew well.

LibraA rising tide lifts all boats. When someone close experiences a windfall or especially good luck, the ripple effect reaches you. Change is in the air. While everything happening is positive, sometimes it feels like it’s going too quickly. You feel a bit off balance, with little or no time to adjust. Even windfalls take some getting used to.

ScorpioIt looks as though change is on the horizon at work. You’ve just recently completed some long-term pro-jects and are being recognized for your efforts. Perhaps a bonus or promotion is in store. Your affinity for tech-nology and ability to quickly absorb new information makes you a prime candidate for a new position.

SagittariusCrazy as it seems, why not take that impromptu trip you’ve been eager to go on? Adventure calls, and there’s nothing to stop you from answering. You’ll meet some fascinating new people, and one may wind up having a strong influence on your life.

CapricornProsperity is just around the corner. With it comes change. Change in your job, career, or environment figures prominently today. However this change manifests, it’s bound to be positive. You’re lucky, and you’re about to hit the road to even greater success.

AquariusYour world is changing, both internally and externally. You feel a need to broaden your horizons. You may be contemplating a move to a new neighbourhood or trip to a faraway land. The people in your life will change as a result of this. You’re about to embark on a new phase of life.

W O R D O F T H E D A Y

FathomDefinition:1 : probe2 : to take soundings : to measure by a sounding line3 : to penetrate and come to understand

Did You Know

Today’s word comes to us from Old English fæthm, meaning “outstretched arms.” The noun fathom, which now commonly refers to a measure (especially of depth) of six feet, was originally used for the distance, fingertip to fingertip, created by stretching one’s arms straight out from the sides of the body. In one of its earliest uses, the verb fathom meant to encircle something with

the arms as if for measuring and was also a synonym of embrace. In the 1600s, how-ever, fathom took on the meaning of using a sounding line to measure depth. At the same time, the verb also developed senses synonymous with probe or investigate, and is now frequently used to refer to the act of getting to the bottom of something, figuratively speaking.

Across

1- Sacred song; 6- Japanese beer brand; 11- Appomattox figure; 14- Up ___ (trapped); 15- Golf gimme; 16- The Altar; 17- Re-voke; 19- ___ King Cole; 20- Barley bristle; 21- I cannot tell ___; 22- Widen; 24- ___ well...; 25- Public sale; 26- Capital of Utah; 30- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame architect; 31- Apr. addressee; 32- Broccoli ___ (leafy vegetable); 36- Excavate; 37- Censure; 41- Mauna ___; 42- Mild cheese; 44- Future fish; 45- Collect; 47- Article of underwear; 51- Teachings; 54- A single time; 55- Midday nap; 56- Dorothy’s dog; 57- Wander about; 60- ___

Lingus (Irish carrier); 61- Occupancy; 64- Acapulco aunt; 65- Carol start; 66- Silly; 67- ___-disant (self-styled); 68- More current; 69- Gave a hoot;

Down1- Tailless rodent; 2- Pack away; 3- Make ___ for it; 4- Author Deighton; 5- Like chrome, nickel, or steel; 6- In danger; 7- Ditto; 8- Therapists’ org.; 9- Religion of India; 10- Charge with a crime; 11- Polynesian porch; 12- Muse of poetry; 13- Devoured; 18- First name in scat; 23- Interstellar dist.; 24- Corroded; 25- Land unit; 26- Pro or con; 27- In the middle of; 28- Annika Sorenstam’s org.; 29- Down source; 33- Wings; 34- Cap’n’s underling; 35- Sunrise direction; 38- Artillery; 39- Denials; 40- Addictive substance; 43- Rumple; 46- Marseille Mrs.; 48- Idea; 49- Peanut; 50- Dissenter; 51- Atty.-to-be exams; 52- Refrain in a children’s song; 53- Caravan-sary; 56- Domesticated; 57- Growl; 58- Teen spots?; 59- Colored; 62- In what way; 63- Santa ___;

PiscesRomance is in the air today. It’s likely that your re-lationship with your loved ones will see a dramatic improvement. Perhaps some flowers will arrive un-expectedly or you’ll be paid a sincere compliment. Harmony reigns in the work environment as well.

Denise Richards marries Aaron PhypersIANS | Los Angeles

Actors Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers have got

married.The wedding took place Sat-

urday in Malibu, with the cou-ple’s closest family and friends in attendance, reports People magazine.

In its next season, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” will include footage of the wedding, some of which Bravo TV released on Saturday.

“Hi, I’m Denise Richards, and yep, the rumors are true: This is my husband Aaron, and we just got married,” said the actress, 47, who joined the show’s upcoming ninth sea-son.

Richards beamed as Phypers added: “We’re married. Love you, baby.”

Then the couple leaned in for a kiss in front of a large flo-ral arrangement and the ocean.

“I am so happy to official-ly be married to the love of my life,” Richards told Bra-vo’s “The Daily Dish” of the nuptials.

“I can’t wait for everyone to go on this incredible journey with me this season on ‘The

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’. It has been a wild ride so far,” she added.

The couple began dating in December 2017. Phypers finalised his divorce from “Desperate Housewives” star Nicollette Sheridan last month - two years after they separat-ed following just six months of marriage.

Richards was married to Charlie Sheen from 2002-2006, and they share two daughters: Sam, 14, and Lola, 13. She is also mother to daugh-ter Eloise, 7.

16 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

THE NUN(18+) (HORROR/THRILLER) NEW

TAISSA FARMIGA, DEMIAN BICHIR, BONNIE AARONS

CINECO (20) (IMAX 2D): 12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 + 9.15 + 11.30 PM (1.00 AM THURS/FRI) (ATMOS): 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 PM + 12.00 MN (VIP I): 11.45 AM + 2.00 + 4.15 + 6.30 + 8.45 + 11.00 PM SEEF (II) (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)SEEF (I) 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PM SAAR 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + (11.15 PM THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.15 PM + 11.30 PM

ALPHA (PG-13) (ADVENTURE) NEW

KODI SMIT-MCPHEE, JOHANNES HAUKUR JOHANNESSON

CINECO (20) 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PM + (12.45 MN THUR/FRI) DAILY AT (VIP II): 11.30 AM + 1.45 + 4.00 + 6.15 + 8.30 + 10.45 PM DAILY AT (3D): 11.15 AM + 1.15 + 3.15 + 5.15 + 7.15 + 9.15 + 11.15 PM SEEF (I) 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 PM + 12.00 MN + (1.00 AM THUR/FRI) SAAR 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + (11.15 PM THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PM

PEPPERMINT (PG-15) (ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER/DRAMA) NEW

JENNIFER GARNER, RICHARD CABRAL, JOHN GALLAGHER JR.

CINECO (20) 12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 + 9.15 + 11.30 PM + (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)SEEF (II) 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 PM + 12.00 MN + (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)SAAR 11.45 AM + 2.00 + 4.15 + 6.30 + 8.45 + (11.00 PM THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 11.15 PM

ENCHANTED PRINCESS (G) (ANIMATION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY) NEW

CINECO (20) 11.15 AM + 1.00 + 2.45 + 4.30 PM SEEF (II) 12.45 + 2.30 + 4.15 + 6.00 + 7.45 + 9.30 + 11.15 PM

THE MERCY (PG-13) (ADVENTURE/DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY) NEW

RACHEL WEISZ, DAVID THEWLIS, COLIN FIRTH

CINECO (20) 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 6.00 + 11.15 SEEF (I) 11.30 AM + 1.45 + 4.00 + 6.15 + 8.30 + 10.45 PM

PALTAN (PG-15) (HINDI/DRAMA/WAR) NEW

ARJUN RAMPAL, JACKIE SHROFF, ABDUL QUADIR AMIN

CINECO (20) 3.00 + 8.15 PM

SEEF (I) 11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 WADI AL SAIL 3.15+ 8.15 PM

THE MEG (PG-15) (ACTION/THRILLER)

JASON STATHAM, RUBY ROSE, BINGBING LI

CINECO (20) 11.30 AM + 2.00 + 4.30 + 7.00 + 9.30 PM + 12.00 MNSEEF (II) 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM WADI AL SAIL 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PM

EL BADLAH (PG-13) (ARABIC/COMEDY)

TAMER HOSNY, AKRAM HOSNI, MAJED EL MASRY, AMINA KHALIL

CINECO (20) 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 PM + 12.00 MN SEEF (II) (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)SEEF (I) 11.15 AM + 1.15 + 3.15 + 5.15 + 7.15 + 9.15 + 11.15 PMSAAR 11.30 AM + 3.30 + 7.30 + (11.30 PM THURS/FRI) WADI AL SAIL 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PM

REPRISAL (PG-15) (ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER)

BRUCE WILLIS, FRANK GRILLO, JOHNATHON SCHAECH

CINECO (20) 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PM SEEF (II) 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 3.00 + 5.00 + 7.00 + 9.00 + 11.00 PM SAAR 1.30 + 5.30 + 9.30 PMWADI AL SAIL 11.15 AM + 1.15 + 6.15 + 11.15 PM

THE EQUALIZER- 2 (15+) (ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER)

DENZEL WASHINGTON, PEDRO PASCAL, ASHTON SANDERS

CINECO (20) 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM SEEF (II) 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.30 + 6.00 + 8.30 + 11.00 PM

MILE 22(15+) (ACTION/THRILLER)

MARK WAHLBERG, LAUREN COHAN, IKO UWAIS

CINECO (20) 10.45 AM + 12.45 + 2.45 + 4.45 + 6.45 + 8.45 + 10.45 PM SEEF (II) 11.15 AM + 1.15 + 3.15 + 5.15 + 7.15 + 9.15 + 11.15 PM

HOTELTRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER (PG) (ANIMATION/COMEDY/DRAMA)

ADAM SANDLER, ANDY SAMBERG, FRAN DRESCHER

CINECO (20) 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 3.00 + 5.00 + 7.00 + 9.00 + 11.00 PM SEEF (II) 10.45 AM + 12.45 + 2.45 + 4.45 + 6.45 + 8.45 + 10.45 PM

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FALLOUT (PG-15) (ACTION/THRILLER/CRIME)

TOM CRUISE, HENRY CAVILL, VING RHAMES

CINECO (20) 11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PM SEEF (II) 12.00 + 6.00 PM + 12.00 MN

SKYSCRAPER (PG-13) (ACTION/THRILLERA/DRAMA)

DWAYNE JOHNSON, NEVE CAMPBELL, PABLO SCHREIBER

CINECO (20) 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 11.15 PM

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN(PG) (FAMILY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY)

EWAN MCGREFOR, HAYLEY ATWELL, BRONTE CARMICHAEL

CINECO (20) 11.30 AM + 4.15 + 9.00 PM SEEF (II) 11.45 AM + 2.00 + 4.15 + 6.30 PM

THE INCREDIBLES 2 (PG) (ANIMATION/ACTION/ADVENTURE)

CRAIG T. NELSON, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, CATHERINE KEENER

CINECO (20) 1.45 + 6.30 + 11.15 PM

OCEAN’S EIGHT (PG-15) (COMEDY/CRIME)

SANDRA BULLOCK, CATE BLANCHETT, ANNE HATHAWAY

CINECO (20) 6.15 + 8.30 + 10.45 PM

STREE (15+) (HINDI/COMEDY/HORROR)

RAJKUMMAR RAO, SHRADDHA KAPOOR, PANKAJ TRIPATHI

SEEF (II) 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM

JAWANI PHIR NAHI ANI 2 (PG-13) (URDU/COMEDY/ROMANTIC)

MAWRA HOCANE, KANWALJIT SINGH, HUMAYUN SAEED

SEEF (II) 3.00 + 9.00 PM

SATYAMEVA JAYATE (PG-15) (HINDI/ACTION/THRILLER)

JOHN ABRAHAM, MANOJ BAJPAYEE, AISHA SHARMA

SEEF (II) 8.45 + 11.30 PM

AL KHROG AN AL NAS (15+) (ARABIC/DRAMA/THRILLER) NEW

MOHAMED NAGATY, TARA EMAD, RANDA EL BEHIRY, NERMIN MAHER SABRI

SEEF (I) 2.15 + 7.00 + 11.45 PM

LAILA MAJNU (PG-15) (HINDI/ROMANTIC/DRAMA) NEW

TRIPTI DIMRI, MIR SARWAR, AVINASH TIWARY

SEEF (I) 11.30 AM + 4.15 + 9.00 PM

MARADONA (MALAYALAM) NEW

TOVINO THOMAS, LEONA LISHOY, CHEMBAN VINOD JOSE, SHALU RAHIM

AL HAMRA 12.00 + 3.00 + 6.00 + 9.00 PM + (12.00 MN THURS/FRI)

Affleck steps out for haircut between rehab

IANS | Malibu

Actor Ben Affleck, who is going through rehab treatment, stepped out

of for a haircutThe “Gone Girl” star was

seen coming out from the Mal-ibu Wave Salon looking sharp with his new haircut, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Affleck was spotted wear-ing blue jeans and a tight gray T-shirt. He represented his roots with a Boston Red Socks cap.

As per sources, Affleck has been allowed to take a break only if his sober coach is around him at all times.

In August, the “Batman vs Superman” star was admitted to the rehabilitation centre for the third time in order to get rid of his alcohol addiction. He went to rehab for the first time back in 2001 and then in 2017.

Guetta wants to make life changesIANS | London

A DJ-record producer David Guetta is determined to

make lifestyle changes follow-ing world-renowned Swedish DJ and electronic music pro-ducer Avicii’s death earlier this year.

Guetta, 50, said everyone in the EDM world was “incredibly shocked” when the 28-year-old star passed away in an apparent suicide in April. It was a wake-up call for him to “reorganise” his own career and personal life to avoid slipping into a depres-sion, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He said: “We were all incred-ibly shocked by what happened. It’s forced me to make some hard decisions, to change my life. I could see it coming in myself, this depression. And I’m a happy person, I’m really not a depressive type.

“But I realised I needed to reorganise my life to stay like this. I remember Avicii telling

me how many shows he was doing a year and thinking, ‘This is horrible. It’s torture.’

“But it’s hard to say no. You want to do what’s right for your career. But if you keep saying yes, one day you’ll fall.”

The “When Love Takes Over” said the “deeply strange

lifestyle” that people live in his industry can be damaging.

“In our world, we all have one thing in common, which is this deeply strange lifestyle that puts you in a weak place emotionally.

“If you’re an artiste, in my opinion, it means you feel you have something to say, and you look at the world in a slightly different way. And the fact that we can do that is probably be-cause we’re hypersensitive.

David Guetta

We were all incredibly shocked by what happened.

It’s forced me to make some hard

decisions, to change my life. I could see it coming in myself,

this depressionDAVID GUETTA

Denise Richards Fame is unnatural, says Lady GagaIANS | Toronto

Singer-songwriter Lady Gaga, who finds fame un-

natural, has urged Hollywood and the global entertainment industry to rescue artistes struggling with substance abuse and other mental health issues in their pursuit of stardom.

Gaga spoke at a press confer-ence at the Toronto Interna-tional Film Festival (TIFF), re-ports The Hollywood Reporter.

“I think that would be won-

derful, not just for artistes, but the whole world, if we inter-vene early in life when we see people struggling,” said Gaga, who was here to promote Warner Bros’ “A Star is Born” remake.

Gaga, who goes by her legal name Stefani Germanotta in the film’s credits, plays an up-and-coming starlet, Ally, who strug-gles to break into the entertain-ment world with guidance from an industry veteran, Jackson, played by Bradley Cooper, on the way down.Lady Gaga

Ben Affleck

Alfonso Cuaron wins Golden LionIANS | Venice

Filmmaker Alfonso Cua-ron took home the Gold-

en Lion for “Roma” at the 75th Venice Film Festival.

The prize was given to him by jury president and friend Guillermo del Toro here on Saturday.

“Roma” is a semi-autobi-ographical black-and-white film on Cuaron’s early up-bringing in 1970s Mexico City, seen through the eyes of his housekeeper Cleo.

17

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Cook finishes in styleAFP | London

Alastair Cook marked his final England innings with a storybook hun-

dred before James Anderson became the joint most success-ful fast bowler in Test history by sparking an India collapse at the Oval yesterday.

Cook made 147 and Joe Root, his successor as England cap-tain, 125 as the hosts piled up 423 for eight declared in their second innings of the fifth Test.

Anderson then had both Shi-khar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara plumb lbw as India, needing 464 for an unlikely win, slumped to one for two in reply.

That double strike meant An-derson had equalled Australia great Glenn McGrath’s mark for the most Test wickets taken by any fast bowler of 563.

India captain Virat Kohli, a thorn in England’s side with 593 runs this series, was then caught behind for a golden duck off Stuart Broad to leave the tourists reeling.

At stumps, India -- already 3-1 down in this five-match series -- were heading for defeat at 58 for three, despite KL Rahul’s gutsy 46 not out, with no side having made more in the fourth innings to win a Test than the West In-dies’ 418 for seven against Aus-tralia at St John’s, Antigua in 2002/03.

The day belonged to the 33-year-old Cook, who is retir-ing from international cricket after this match.

The Essex left-handed open-

er, who made 104 not out on debut against India at Nagpur in 2006, became just the fifth player to score a hundred in both their first and last Tests after Australia’s Reggie Duff, Bill Ponsford and Greg Chappell and India’s Mohammad Azha-ruddin.

Standings ovations England resumed on 114 for

two, 154 runs ahead, with Cook 43 not out and Root unbeaten

on 29.A capacity crowd, willing

Cook to score a hundred fol-lowing his first-innings 71, gave him the first of several standing ovations as he walked out to bat on a sunny morning.

And he soon had another when Cook, from his second ball of the bay, turned fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah legside for four to go to fifty.

Cook later cut left-arm spin-ner Ravindra Jadeja for another

well-struck boundary.But Root was reprived on 46

when an edge off Jadeja was dropped by Ajinkya Rahane at slip.

It was another blow to an In-dia side handicapped by the loss of fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who bowled just eight overs in the innings before succumbing to an ankle injury.

When Cook squirted a single off Mohammed Shami he moved past Sri Lanka great Kumar San-gakkara’s tally of 12,400 runs and into fifth place in the list of all-time leading Test run-scor-ers.

Meanwhile Root drove Jadeja for six.

Cook, about to become a fa-ther for the third time, was al-ready England’s leading Test run scorer and century maker, with this match seeing him ex-tend his national appearance record to 161 Tests.

He completed his 33rd Test century in unusual fashion when, having run a single to go to 97, a wild overthrow from Bumrah gave him four bonus runs.

Alastair Cook walks off after his dismissal after getting a century in his final test innings before retirement

147Cook made 147 and Root, his successor as England captain, 125, with the pair

putting on 259 for the third wicket

Elias Boudegzdame with HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Algerian National Icon to defend championshipTDT | Manama

Elias Boudegzdame will be-come the first champion in

Brave Combat Federation to defend his championship title for the second time.

Boudegzdame is the cham-pion at the featherweight di-vision and had been crowned the champion by HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa during Brave 4 hosted in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Boudegzdame claimed the championship af-ter submitting ex-UFC fighter, Masio Fullen in the first round.

Boudegzdame became the first champion in the organi-sation to defend the champi-onship when he faced Jakub Kowalewicz in Amman, Jor-

dan during Brave 10. Elias was honoured in his

home country of Algeria by the country’s Ministry of Sports, El Hadi Ould Ali. Elias was invited to the headquarters of the Ministerial Department of Youth and Sports to declare his victory a matter of national achievement for representing Algeria at a global level.

Elias Boudegzdame will be defending his championship against 2011 NCAA Wrestling Champion, Bubba Jenkins at Brave 16 hosted in Abu Dha-bi, UAE on 21st September at the Mubadala Arena. The title defence marks Boudegzdame as the only champion in Brave Combat Federation to have de-fended his title multiple times.

Sri Lanka’s Chandimal out of Asia CupReuters | Colombo

Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chan-dimal has been ruled out of their

Asia Cup campaign after failing to overcome a finger injury, the coun-try’s cricket board said in Colombo yesterday.

Test captain Chandimal, 28, frac-tured his right middle finger while playing for Colombo in a domestic Twenty20 league match and was withdrawn from their 16-member squad as he needed more time to re-cover, Sri Lanka Cricket added.

He has been replaced by reserve

wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella for the 50-over tournament scheduled to start in the United Arab Emirates this weekend.

Sri Lanka play Bangladesh in their opener on Sept. 15, before meeting Afghanistan two days later.

Sri Lanka squad: Angelo Mathews (Captain), Kusal Perera, Kusal Men-dis, Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dick-wella, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Dhanajaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera, Amila Aponso, Kasun Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Cha-meera and Lasith Malinga.

Dinesh Chandimal

Schneiderlin credits wife for turnaroundAFP | London

France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin says his wife

Camille helped him revive his career at Premier League side Everton after his populari-ty with the fans plumbed the depths last season.

The 28-year- old -- who joined Everton from Manches-ter United in 2017 for a report-ed £20 million ($25.8 million) -- became a focal point for fans’ anger as despite millions being spent under manager Ronald Koeman they failed to spark.

Howe ve r, S c h n e i d e r l i n

-- who had flourished under Koeman at his first English club, Southampton -- told The Times yesterday that Camille gave him some sound advice after he was roundly booed by the Everton fans when he was sent on as a substitute against Crystal Palace in February this year.

His image with them had been tarnished by a nightmare few days in November.

He was sent off in a Europa League match with Lyon and then dropped for the following game against Watford by inter-im manager David Unsworth, who had filled the breach when

Koeman was sacked, with ru-mours that he had walked off the training ground in a huff when he was omitted from the matchday squad.

“My wife is very supportive of me,” Schneiderlin said.

“She said: ‘You have to show them who you are.’

“Maybe it was a time to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Why? Why did this happen?’.”

Schneiderlin, capped 15 times, said it helped him also talking to his inner circle as they pulled no punches either.

“As well as my wife, I had a long chat with my best friends, my parents, my agent,” he said.

Police probe fraud of England tour cashAFP | Colombo

Criminal investigators were called in yesterday to in-

vestigate an alleged $5.5 mil-lion fraud at Sri Lanka Cricket involving money from a loom-ing England tour, officials said.

Detectives from the police Criminal Investigation De-partment went to the offices of the national governing body in Colombo to begin a probe, a police source said.

Official sources said the $5.5 million was for television rights for the upcoming Eng-land tour of Sri Lanka involv-ing five ODI matches, a lone

T20 and three Tests between October 10 and November 27.

The board said it had lodged a complaint with the police over an attempt to siphon off money, but managed to pre-vent the fraud.

“The fraudulent act was found, before it was execut-ed through bogus means,” the board said in a statement, add-ing that it had begun an audit of accounts following the dis-covery.

Police said they have taken documents from the financial section of Sri Lanka Cricket and further investigations were under way.

Morgan Schneiderlin

WTA chief backs Serena AFP | New York

Serena Williams’s claim that the code violations that sparked her meltdown in

the US Open final were sexist stirred debate, with WTA Tour chief executive Steve Simon backing her on Sunday.

Williams was handed three code violations -- and docked a point and then a game -- in her 6-2, 6-4 loss to Naomi Osaka in the Flushing Meadows final.

Osaka out-played her child-hood hero to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam, but her accomplishment was swamped in the controver-sy surrounding 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams.

The American superstar claimed that chair umpire Car-los Ramos meted out penalties for infractions that male players could have gotten away with, specifically a violation for ver-bal abuse after she called him a “thief” and a “liar” for warn-ing her for coaching from her players’ box, then docking her a point when a racquet abuse violation followed.

Eventually she was docked a game -- putting Osaka on the brink of victory.

Simon said the affair brought to the forefront the question of whether different standards are applied to men and women in the officiating of matches.

“The WTA believes that there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs. women and is commit-ted to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treat-ed the same,” he said.

“We do not believe that this was done last night.”

Williams was most incensed by the first code violation she

received -- for coaching from her box.

It’s not clear if she even saw the hand gestures by coach Pat-rick Mouratoglou sitting her box, although he admitted in an interview with ESPN that he was trying to advise her -- and said all coaches do it.

Coaching ‘hypocrisy’ “Yes, I was coaching just like everybody else. We have to stop this hypocrisy. Furthermore, Serena didn’t even see my ges-tures. She felt humiliated by the warning,” said the Frenchman.

Simon said the sport as a whole should examine the rules on coaching, noting that the WTA already allows on-court coach-ing during regular tour events -- if a player requests it.

US great Billie Jean King ad-dressed both issues, also seeing things Williams’s way.

“When a woman is emotion-al, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it,” King tweeted.

“When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ & and there are no repercussions. Thank you, @ser-enawilliams, for calling out this

double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.”

National Organization of Women president Toni Van Pelt weighed in with a statement calling for the USTA to sever any ties to Ramos for “a blatantly racist and sexist move”.

Williams’s pleas to referee Brian Earley and a Grand Slam supervisor -- called to the court after she failed to get satisfaction from Ramos -- were to no avail.

The USTA said in a statement after the match that the decision to hand out the final code viola-tion and game penalty was “not reviewable”.

“Because I’m a woman you’re going to do this to me,” she fumed on court and after the match Williams didn’t walk back that charge.

“I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things,” she said. “I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff.”

Men’s champion Novak Djok-

ovic treaded warily when asked to weigh in on matter.

Djokovic noted that it was an “awkward situation” for both competitors and “tough” for the umpire.

“I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should not have pushed Serena to the limit, especially in a Grand Slam final,” he said.

“He did change the course of the match. It was, in my opinion, maybe unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you’re fighting for a Grand Slam trophy.

However, he said he wasn’t sure sexism was at the root of Ramos’s decisions.

“It’s hard to generalize things,” he said.


The WTA believes that there should

be no difference in the standards of

tolerance provided to the emotions

expressed by men vs. women and is committed to

working with the sport to ensure

that all players are treated the same

STEVE SIMON

Serena Williams pleads her case with tournament referee Brian Earley

Aussie Open chief urges coaching clarity after Serena row

AFP | Melbourne, Australia

World tennis chiefs need to clarify their position

on in-match coaching to pre-vent another incident after Ser-ena Williams’ meltdown, the head of the Australian Open said yesterday.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said coach-ing, which is allowed a Wom-en’s Tennis Association events but not at men’s or Grand Slam

tournaments, remained a grey area.

“It all centred around coach-ing... the sport has to really get itself sorted out on what it does with coaching,” he said.

“Are we going to have coach-ing? Are we not going to have coaching? What is it going to look like?

“The sport needs to get to-gether and sort it out. Once that’s sorted out, we don’t have the issue.”

Serena Williams takes a break during a changeover

US Open champion Djokovic: ‘I owe Federer, Nadal’AFP | New York

Novak Djokovic was thrilled to match Pete Sampras with

a 14th Grand Slam title, but he said it’s Roger Federer and Ra-fael Nadal who have made him the player he is.

“Pete Sampras is one of the biggest legends ever to play the game,” Djokovic said after earn-ing the crown.

“He was my childhood idol. He was someone I was looking up to. The first actual thing I saw related to tennis on the TV was his first or second Wimbledon championship. That inspired me to start playing tennis.

“There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder in terms of Grand Slam wins with him.”

The victory puts Djokovic three Slam wins away from Na-dal’s 17 and six behind Federer’s record 20.

It will also see him rise to number three in the world be-hind Nadal and Federer -- the rankings again reflecting the “Big Three” status they have shared for so long.

Djokovic had tumbled down the rankings, slowed last year by an elbow injury and a loss of confidence that accompanied a 54-week title drought.

Since bursting out of the

slump with an unexpected Wim-bledon title he has gone from strength to strength, adding a long-awaited Cincinnati Masters title to his resume before adding the US Open title to those he won in 2011 and 2015.

Djokovic faced neither of his greatest rivals en route to the title in Flushing Meadows.

Seeded to face Federer in the quarter-finals, he found himself instead across the net from John Millman after the unheralded

Australian stunned the Swiss great.

Nadal hobbled out of a semi-fi-nal match against Del Potro after two sets. Djokovic would have relished taking on either -- or both, although he admits that

early in his career that wasn’t always the case.

“Maybe 10 years ago I would say I’m not so happy to be part of this era with Nadal and Federer,” he said.

“Today I really am. I feel like

these guys, rivalries with these guys, matches with Federer and Nadal, have made me the player I am, have shaped me into the player I am today.

“I owe it to them.”Although he was riding high

coming into the Open, Djokovic was among the many struggling with crushing heat and humidity in the first week.

He needed four sets to get past 41st-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the first round and another to get past 61st-ranked American Tennys Sandgren in the second.

He picked up the pace with straight-sets victories over France’s Richard Gasquet, Por-tugal’s Joao Sousa, Millman and 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori to arrive at a title tilt with good friend Del Potro.

After seizing an early break in the second set, Djokovic sud-denly found himself on the run, dropping three straight games before he dug in to salvage a service hold in a 20-minute mar-athon game that went to deuce eight times.

The crowd was roaring for sentimental favourite Del Potro -- shut out of Grand Slam finals since his 2009 US Open triumph.

Djokovic said it was the kind of heavyweight clash he’s learned to embrace.

US Open Men’s Singles Champion Novak Djokovic with his trophy

Zidane wants to get back to coaching

AFP | Madrid

Zinedine Zidane has paved the way for a return to

management by admitting he expects to take another coach-ing job soon.

Zidane made the surprise decision to leave Real Madrid at the end of last season, five days after leading the club to a third consecutive Champions League title.

The Frenchman said he be-lieved change was needed for the team to “keep winning” but, despite a disappointing final La Liga campaign, he left with his reputation sky-high.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Zidane, with Jose Mourinho’s position at Old Trafford in-creasingly uncertain.

“Surely I am going to return

to coaching soon,” Zidane told Spanish broadcaster RTVE on Sunday.

“Because I like it and (foot-ball) is what I have done my whole life.”

Zidane began coaching for Castilla, Real Madrid’s B team, in 2014 before taking charge of first team in January 2016 after Rafael Benitez was sacked.

Sacked Fenati apologises for grabbing rival rider’s brakeAFP | Milan

Italian Moto2 rider Roma-no Fenati yesterday apol-ogised for his “impulsive”

behaviour after being sacked by his Marinelli Snipers Team for grabbing rival Stefano Manzi’s brake while riding at a speed of over 200kph during the San Ma-rino motorcycling Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old -- who has also been banned for two Grand Prix and could face criminal proceedings -- apologised for his “disgraceful gesture”.

Both riders were speeding around the Misano track on Sunday when Fenati -- aboard a Marinelli Snipers-run Kalex bike -- leaned over and pressed Manzi’s brake lever. Manzi briefly lost his balance before regaining control of his Suter bike.

Fenati’s actions followed Manzi’s attempt to overtake him a few laps earlier, with both rid-ers running off the track.

“I apologise to the world of sport. This morning, with a lucid mind, I wish it had just been a bad dream,” Fenati said in a statement.

“I made a disgraceful gesture, I was not a man! A man would have finished the race and then he would have gone to race di-rection to try and get some jus-tice for the preceding incident.

“I shouldn’t have reacted to provocation,” continued Fenati.

“A horrible image of me and of the sport has come out. I’m not like that, people who know me

well know that! “In my career, I’ve always been

a fair rider. Last year I was one of the few who was not penalised, I have never put someone else’s life in jeopardy, on the contrary, I have always maintained that there are riders on the track who are dangerous because of their riding style.”

He added: “It’s true, unfor-tunately I have an impulsive character, but my intention was certainly not to hurt a rider like me, rather I wanted to make him understand that what he was doing was dangerous and how I could also have done something

similar to what he did to me!“I just want to apologise to

everyone. Now I will have time to reflect and clear my head.”

Fenati’s team had early con-firmed they were severing his contract “for his unsporting, dangerous and damaging con-duct for the image of all”.

“With extreme regret, we have to note that his irresponsible act endangered the life of another rider and can’t be apologised for in any way,” the team said.

“The rider, from this moment, will not participate in any more races with the Marinelli Snipers team.”

‘Couldn’t handle’ Fenati had been set to leave his current team at the end of the year for Manzi’s Forward Racing team, which will run in partner-ship with Italian manufacturer MV Agusta.

But that deal is now also in se-rious doubt, as MV Agusta presi-dent Giovanni Castiglioni vowed to block his arrival.

“This has been the worst and saddest thing I have ever seen in a bike race,” Castiglioni wrote in a social media post.

“True sportsmen would never act this way. If I would be (series promoter) Dorna, I would ban

him from world racing.”Fenati also made headlines

for kicking out at Finnish rider Niklas Ajo during the Moto3 warm-up at the 2015 Argentini-an Grand Prix.

He was dropped for discipli-nary reasons during the 2016 season by the Sky Racing Team VR46, owned by Italian motorcy-cling star Valentino Rossi.

“I’m sorry,” said Rossi. “We had focused a lot on Romano, but we couldn’t handle him. It ended in failure.”

Manzi was also penalised and will start six places back on the grid for the next Grand Prix in Aragon, Spain on September 23.

“I don’t know how I managed to stay up,” said Manzi.

“It’s difficult to forgive a ges-ture like that, where an oppo-nent tries to kill a rival at over 200km per hour.”

Fenati was 19th in the Moto2 standings with 14 points.


Surely I am going to return to

coaching soon. Because I like it and (football) is what I have done

my whole lifeZINEDINE ZIDANE

Romano Fenati grabs the brake lever of rival Stefano Manzi mid-race

I apologise to the world of sport. This morning,

with a lucid mind, I wish it had

just been a bad dream. I shouldn’t

have reacted to provocation

ROMANO FENATI

Injured Alli out of England friendly with SwissAFP | London

England midfielder Dele Alli will miss Tuesday’s

friendly in Leicester with Switzerland because of a minor muscle strain, the Football Association an-nounced yesterday.

The 22-year-old Totten-ham Hotspur star suffered the injury in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Na-tions League.

Alli may not have played for the World Cup semi-fi-nalists in any case as Eng-land manager Gareth South-gate is believed to be set on making radical changes to the starting line-up against a side that reached the last 16 of the World Cup.

Southgate -- who would become the first England manager to suffer four suc-cessive defeats if the Swiss prevail -- is not calling up a replacement for Alli hav-ing already bolstered his squad with uncapped young Leicester City duo, defender Ben Chilwell and winger Demerai Gray.

Adidas extends Germany football sponsorship to 2026AFP | Frankfurt, Germany

Ad i d a s s a i d ye st e r-day it will extend its

long-running sponsorship of the Germany Football Association until 2026, in a boost to the organisa-tion’s attempts to recover from a disastrous World Cup.

“The timing highlights Adidas’ unique sponsor-ship philosophy: we stick by our partners of many years -- especially when it’s im-portant,” said Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted in a statement announcing the four-year extension with the DFB.

Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for the Bavar-ia-based firm declined to comment on the amount of Adidas’ annual sponsorship in the coming years.

It had previously been set at 50 million euros ($58 mil-lion) per year.

Loath to lose its link to the DFB after more than 60 years, the brand with the three stripes at the time had to double its previous offer to fend off rival Nike.

World sailing rows back on Tokyo 2020 criticismAFP | Fujisawa, Japan

After issuing sharp crit-icism of preparations

for the Tokyo Olympics, the world sailing federation said yesterday that organ-isers had made much pro-gress as it held a test event at the 2020 venue.

In April, World Sailing said Tokyo 2020 was well behind schedule in terms of its preparations, with concerns over fishing fleets operating on the course, and over security.

Balotelli dropped for Italy’s Nations League game in LisbonAFP | Lisbon, Portugal

Forward Mario Balotelli has been dropped by Italy coach

Roberto Mancini for yester-day’s Nations League game against European champions Portugal in Lisbon.

Nice striker Balotelli came under fire for his performance in their Nations League opener against Poland on Friday, where the Azzurri were held 1-1.

The 28-year-old was substi-tuted with a muscular problem, with Mancini conceding his fitness level was a problem.

It will be the first game which Balotelli has not played since Mancini took over last May af-ter the four-time winners’ dev-astating failure to qualify for the World Cup.

But Balotelli has made the trip to Portugal with the squad as Mancini considers him to be

a central figure in the team he is trying to rebuild.

Balotelli had played in all four games so far under Mancini, scoring in a 2-1 friendly win over Saudi Arabia.

Mancini’s other two friend-lies were a 3-1 defeat to World Cup winners France and 1-1 draw with the Netherlands.

Lorenzo Pellegrini has also been left out along with Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno, Ju-ventus defender Daniele Ru-gani and Roma midfielder Nico-lo Zaniolo.

Mancini confirmed that Fiorentina forward Federico Chiesa would start after the 20-year-old proved pivotal when he came on last Friday, along with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Balotelli’s place could be tak-en by either Andrea Belotti or Ciro Immobile.

Mancini defended Balotelli from criticism.

“A player knows when he has played well or badly,” he said.

“I think Mario knows full well what his performance against Poland was like. Criti-cism is part of the game.

“We are only at the beginning of this journey and will change several players from the Poland game, also to look after the lads.

“We are ready and know it can be a very important match. I won’t say it’s decisive, as there are another two to go, but we are facing the reigning Europe-an champions.”

Italy’s have won six games to four for Portugal in previous meetings, but the Azzurri have not won a game in Lisbon in 31 years.Mario Balotelli

Balotelli is nick-named “Super

Mario” after the Italian video

game character Mario from the iconic Nintendo

series

KNOW WHAT

Zinedine Zidane


Djokovic seals crownThe Serb powers past del Potro to win third

US Open title

Del Potro backs Djokovic to break Federer’s 20-Slam recordAFP | New York

Juan Martin del Potro believes Novak Djokovic can end his

career as the most successful Grand Slam title winner, sur-passing Roger Federer’s current mark of 20.

The Serb is now just three be-hind Rafael Nadal and six back from Federer.

“Of course he can,” said Del Potro when asked if Djokovic can claim the record over Feder-er who is almost six years his senior.

“He has 14 already. He won two Grand Slams in one year. He’s healthy. He has a great team working with him.

“Hopefully him, Rafa, Roger will still fight for Grand Slams, because it is so nice to watch them fighting for the history.

“We just do what we can

against them. But Novak has everything to make records in this sport.”

Del Potro was playing in his first Grand Slam final since lift-ing the US Open title in 2009 at the age of 20, beating Nadal and Federer back-to-back.

But instead of that victory proving a launchpad for a sus-tained challenge at the Grand Slams, Del Potro battled wrist injuries which required four surgeries.

By the end of 2015, his ranking was at 581, he was deeply de-pressed and he was on the verge of quitting after having to sit out at least 10 Grand Slam events.

However, when fit he is a for-midable force.

He owns 10 wins over world number one players -- the most by anyone who has never reached the top ranking them-

selves.This year he defeated Feder-

er in the Indian Wells Masters final while in 2016 he was a key figure as Argentina won a first Davis Cup.

Playing at a career high three in the world, Del Potro insists he is happy to be playing in the era of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.

“Of course, it is a big challenge to take these kind of tourna-

ments to them. But also I think we are proud to be close to these legends,” said the 29-year-old.

“I’ve been during all my ca-reer learning with Novak, Roger, Rafa, seeing them winning these events very often. It’s amazing.

“I don’t feel sad that I couldn’t win Grand Slams because of them. I am just one of the guys that have lucky to be in the same era as them, and it’s great.”

Del Potro went into Sunday’s final buoyed by seeing off de-fending champion and world number one Nadal who was forced to quit their semi-final with injury.

But he had a 4-14 losing record against Djokovic, including four at the Slams -- two of them at the US Open in 2007 and 2012.

“When you see a friend hold-ing the trophy, it’s good. I’m glad that Novak is the champion.”

AFP | New York

Novak Djokovic clinched his third US Open title on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 triumph over Juan

Martin del Potro, taking him level with Pete Sampras’s mark of 14 Grand Slams.

Djokovic, playing in his eighth final in New York and already the champion in 2011 and 2015, is now just three Slams behind Rafael Nadal and six back from the all-time record 20 held by Roger Federer.

It was also the third time the 31-year-old Serb -- who missed last year’s tournament with an elbow injury which sent his career into a mini-crisis -- completed the Wim-bledon-US Open double.

“I want to say Pete, I love you, you’re my idol,” said Djokovic of Sampras.

“To the support of the loved ones, my kids, my wife, my small team of people that has been there with me through difficult times as well,” added the Serb who underwent el-bow surgery after the Australian Open in Jan-uary.

For world number three Del Potro, it was a heartbreaking expe-rience coming in just his second Slam final, nine years after he was crowned US Open cham-pion before a long bat-tle with wrist injuries pushed him into depres-sion and to the brink of retirement.

“When I had my sur-gery I could truly un-derstand what Juan Martin was going through when he had surgeries that kept him away form the tour for two or three years,” added Djokovic.

It was Djokovic’s 15th win over the Del Potro and fifth in five at the Slams.

It came in a final which was busi-ness-like rather than thrilling, a relief for a tournament still reeling from the controversial women’s final on Saturday.

The result also means that 50 of the last 55 majors have been won by the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy

Murray.Del Potro backed Djok-

ovic to surpass Federer’s mark of 20 Slams.

“Of course he can. Novak has everything to make re-cords in this sport,” said the Argentine.

‘My idol’ Djokovic “I was so happy to be playing the final against this magnificent idol,” a d d e d Del Potro of his close friend Djokovic.

“He knows that he’s one of my friends on tour and he knows he’s one player I want to watch win on tour. Of course I’m sad to lose but I’m happy for Novak as well. You deserve to win.”

With the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof closed as heavy rain swept New York, conditions were slow and sluggish.

A f t e r t a k i n g j u s t two points off Del Po-tro’s first three service games, Djokovic, in his 23rd final at the majors, pounced to break for 5-3.

The key was his suc-cess with a lung-bust-ing 22-shot rally and he pocketed the set when the 29-year-old del Potro netted a forehand.

It was only the sec-ond set dropped by the Argentine at the tour-nament.

For Djokovic, it was an illustration of him grow-ing into the champion-

ships as he took his run of consecutive sets won to 14, stretching back to the second round against Tennys Sandgren.

Djokovic was soon 3-1 up in the second set before Del Potro carved out his first break point of the match to level at 3-3.

He had three more chances in the eighth, all saved by Djokovic in a marathon 20-minute game which left even Holly-wood superstar Meryl Streep clasping her head in astonishment.

The effort took its toll on a suddenly weary-looking Del Potro as a 95-minute

set was claimed by Djokovic in the tiebreak.

Del Potro was looking at having to become the first man since Pancho Gonzales in 1949 to win the US title from two sets down.

Djokovic sprinted into a 3-1 lead in the third set before a battling Del Potro clung on, hitting back for 3-3.

But off the back of a 24-shot rally, Djokovic broke again for 5-3 and he was within tantalising touching dis-tance of his 14th Grand Slam title, just three months after he had left Roland Garros in despair after a shattering quarter-final exit.

I want to say Pete, I love you, you’re my idol. To the support of the loved ones,

my kids, my wife, my small team of people that has been there

with me through difficult times as well

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

15It was Djokovic’s 15th win

over the Del Potro and fifth in five at the Slams

Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro

Del Potro was playing in his first Grand

Slam final since lift-ing the US Open title

in 2009 at the age of 20, beating Nadal and Federer back-to-

back

Novak Djokovic

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