FACEBOOK /nobmedia [email protected] … · 2019-07-28 · ments, Bahraini imam Abdul - jaleel...

Libyan rescuers find dozens of bodies Tripoli

Rescue workers yesterday were looking for more bodies from a migrant

boat capsize off Libya that a UN official has called “the worst Mediterranean tragedy of this year”, with at least 62 confirmed deaths so far.

About 145 migrants were res-cued by the Libyan coastguard after their overloaded boat went down east of the capital near the port city of Khoms on Thursday. Aid agencies fear that scores of others had drowned, with the number of missing estimated at more than 110 by the Inter-national Organisation for Mi-gration (IOM), and fishermen reported the waters were full of floating bodies.

The head of Libya’s Red Cres-

cent rescue unit said 62 bodies had been recovered by Friday.

“The bodies are still floating onto the shore continuously, it’s not possible to give a total number,” Abdelmoneim Abu Sbeih said.

Survivors reported there were

about 400 people aboard when it went down, according to glob-al charity Doctors Without Bor-ders (MSF).

One of the fishermen who was the first on the scene to save the survivors recounted finding “bodies floating on the

surface of the water where the boat went down”.

The head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi called the wreck “the worst Mediter-ranean tragedy of this year”.

Libyan navy spokesman Gen-eral Ayoub Kacem said most of the rescued migrants were from Eritrea, although Palestinians and Sudanese were also among the group waiting to be taken on to reception centres.

03BD53,000 ‘goes missing’ from expat resident’s bank account

04Oman’s top diplomat in Iran amid mounting Gulf tensions

07Tear gas, rubber bullets fired at Hong Kongers

8

State funeral for Essebsi as new polls loom 5WORLD

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• Sources said that the suspect plotted to murder the imam and he hid an iron bar inside the mosque.

• The Attorney General requested the execution of these sentences as required by law.

TDT | Manama

The main convict in imam murder case was execut-ed yesterday following

the rejection of his appeal by the Court of Cassation.

Earlier, the High Court of Appeals had also rejected his appeal, upholding the death sen-tence issued by the High Crim-inal Court.

The Public Prosecution had referred the main convict along with the second defendant on charges of deliberate, premed-itated murder, desecrating and concealing the victim’s body.

The jury unanimously agreed on issuing the death sentence against the first and one year in jail and deportation against the second defendant.

According to court docu-ments, Bahraini imam Abdul-jaleel Hamood went missing in the early hours of August 5 last year after he performed the Al Fajr prayer (dawn prayer).

Police were notified about his absence by his family after they lost contact with him, while search efforts went at full swing as his photos and missing in-

formation went viral on social media platform.

Putting an end to the mys-tery, the Ministry of Interior announced on its official Twitter account that Hamood’s body was found cut into pieces inside plastic bags in Al Mazra area near the scrapyard in Askar.

A 35-year-old Asian man was later arrested in connection with his murder. The suspect, a Bangladeshi national, was working as a prayer reciter at the same mosque.

It’s believed that the suspect committed the crime following differences that arose after the victim reported the main con-vict to the Ministry of Justice for illegal trading of visas.

Sources said that the suspect plotted to murder the imam and he hid an iron bar inside the mosque, awaiting the right opportunity to pounce on him.

He was driven by the fact that

he was suspended from carrying out his duties and was asked to leave Bahrain.

It was revealed that he had hit his victim’s head and back mul-tiple times using an iron bar that would have caused death.

He then decided to cut the imam’s body into pieces af-ter purchasing a knife and two big plastic boxes.

The other defendant in-volved with him is said to have helped him in getting rid of the

body pieces. The 35-year-old defendant

told prosecutors that he had informed his wife of killing the imam, sources had told Trib-une.

Terror convicts executed

The Attorney-General of the Criminal Crimes Commission in Bahrain, Counsellor Dr Ahmed Al Hammadi announced that two other convicts were sen-tenced to death as well yester-day.

The case included charges of joining a terrorist group, mur-ders, and possession of explo-sives and firearms to carry out terror acts.

The defendants were referred to the High Criminal Court where the judges heard the pleadings of the lawyers of the accused and the Public Prose-cutor. The prosecution called

for the maximum sentence for the accused individuals.

The court sentenced two de-fendants to death, 19 to life in prison, 17 to 15 years, nine to 10 and five to 11. It acquitted two defendants.

The rulings were upheld by the Court of Appeals and sub-sequently by the Court of Cas-sation.

The Attorney General re-quested the execution of these sentences as required by law.

Imam’s killer put to death

Two other individuals convicted of terror crimes as well executed

Imam Abduljaleel Hamood

19convicts were sentenced

to life in prison in the same terror trial.

Migrants rescued by the Libyan coastguard come ashore in Tripoli.

The bodies are still floating onto the shore continuously, it’s not

possible to give a total number.

ABU SBEIH

Thousand held at Moscow rallyMoscow

Police in Moscow have detained more than

1,000 people at a rally, in one of the biggest crack-downs in years.

Demonstrators were dragged away from the city hall as security forces used batons against the crowd.

People were protesting against the exclusion of op-position candidates from local polls. The opposition say they were barred for po-litical reasons.

02SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa visited the majlis of Abdulla bin Hamad Al Majid Al Nuaimi in Riffa, accompanied by HM the King’s Personal Representative His Highness Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa and HM the King’s Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) President HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. HM the King offered deepest condolences to Abdulla bin Hamad Al Majid Al Nuaimi and to the members of the Al Nuaimi family, on the death of Mubarak bin Hamad bin Abdulla bin Hamad Al Majid Al Nuaimi, praying to Allah the Almighty to lay the deceased’s soul in paradise.

Delegated by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, participated in the funeral held for the late President of the Republic of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi, in the Presidential Palace in Carthage. The Minister of Foreign Affairs conveyed to the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Mohamed Ennaceur the deep condolences of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and those of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, on the demise of President Caid Essebsi, as well as their condolences to his family and the Tunisian people.

The General Directorate of Civil Defence yesterday held the graduation ceremony of the first course for female officers and commissioned officers. Organised by the Civil Defence Schools in co-operation with the Operations Directorate, the course aimed to enable the civil defence female staff to deal with dangerous substances and carry first aid. The training would reinforce the fast response to cases that required the deployment of females at the scene. The course was also part of women empowerment efforts of the Interior Ministry in various security sectors.

The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), in co-operation with the General Directorate of Traffic, organised an activity to spread traffic awareness among the children of employees taking part in the Company’s Annual Summer Camp. A team from the Directorate, during their visit to the company’s headquarters, briefed the children on a set of traffic guidelines that they should observe on the road for their safety. They also learned about road signs that regulate the movement of vehicles and pedestrians.

Bahrain for All (BHR4All) and the Bahrain Institute of Hospitality and Retail (BIHR) have joined hands to organise the first-of-its-kind inclusive summer camp for differently-abled children for five weeks. The camp began on July 1 and will end with a public gathering at the Atrium Mall on August 8, 2019.

Students of Pakistan School clinched excellent results in the Federal Board Result of SSC I 2019.The results are a proof of the exemplary academic planning and goal setting of all the stake holders, the school management said. “This is definitely the outcome of the constant support of the parents, relentless hard work of our beloved students, dedicated, focused and professional teaching of teachers, comprehensive academic planning of Principal Attiq ur Rehman and the incessant support and guidance of the Chairman Board of Management, Sami ur Rehman.” Nineteen students clinched ‘A+’ positions, with an equal number fetching ‘A’ grades followed by 33 students with ‘B’ grades.

The Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF) distributed bottled water and fruits to around 180 construction workers at a worksite near Central Market yesterday. This is the fifth of a series that has been added to ICRF’s programme for the summer. ICRF Thirst-Quenchers intend to continue this weekly event for 8 to 10 weeks at various worksites.


BD53,000 ‘goes missing’ from expat resident’s bank account

Bank employee suspected of withdrawing money using forged signature

• The victim said that the bank is now trying to locate where the suspect is.

• The victim has also filed a complaint with the local police.

TDT | ManamaMohammed Zafran

An expat resident in the Kingdom was shocked af-ter coming to know that

BD53,000 has gone missing from his account.

The victim of bank fraud, a Pakistani national, who doesn’t want to be named, said he re-alised he was defrauded after

coming back spending one-and-a-half month in his home country.

“I had gone to Pakistan for 90 days to meet my family there. All my bank documents were secured. Yet, somehow all the money in my account was taken.

“The fraud was committed by withdrawing BD400 every day from my account until it became empty. It may have even started before my trip to Pakistan.

“I have a joint account with my wife. And my wife has never gone to the bank without me.

“No-one else is aware of my ac-count details as I haven’t shared them with any.”

The victim told Tribune that this was his primary savings ac-count and the money amounted to his lifelong savings.

“This is something I can’t af-ford to lose,” he lamented.

A probe has been launched after the victim filed a complaint.

Initial investigations revealed that the fraudster had used a

forged signature and fraudulent documents to commit the crime.

“In the beginning the bank denied any responsibility. They

were saying that the amount is not there because I withdrew it.

“But I would dispute with them. Later, I was told that it was a bank employee who com-mitted the fraud and he has now stopped showing up for work.”

The victim said that the bank is now trying to locate where he is. “It is believed that he has left the country.”

“Apparently, I am only one of the victims. There are many oth-ers, who have as well lost their

savings to the fraudulent act. “The bank has assured that an

investigation is ongoing.” The victim has also filed a

complaint with the local police. Many banking fraud cases are

being reported, of late, across the region.

Last week, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) warned the public against dealing with a financial institution, which is accused of fraud.

The financial institution named ‘National Investment Bank’ has been targeting resi-dents of the Kingdom, according to CBB authorities.

Despite having no licence is-sued by the CBB to operate as a financial institution, it has been undertaking trading services, post trade services, depositing certificate of shares and market information services.

Forged signatures were allegedly used to steal money from the victim’s account.

I was told that it was a bank employee who committed the fraud

and he has now stopped showing up for work.

VICTIM

Man climbs Bahrain Embassy in London, held • Diplomatic premises are protected under both international and the UK laws.

London

An individual was arrested yesterday for trespassing into Bahrain Embassy

premises in London. He climbed onto the roof of the

embassy building in a clear viola-tion of law.

Police were called by the em-bassy officials and subsequently the offender was arrested and taken to the Westminster Police Station.

The same individual was ar-rested and convicted for the same offence in 2012, Bahrain News Agency reported yesterday.

The individual trespassed onto the roof of the embassy in support of known members of terrorist organisations, it is learnt.

The Individual was threatening to jump off the roof and embassy staff stepped in to restrain him for his own safety until the police arrived.

Diplomatic premises are pro-tected under both international and the United Kingdom Laws, and this individual’s actions clear-ly go far beyond any legitimate peaceful protest, the report said.

Earlier, many supporters of ter-ror organisations, who staged a protest in front of the embassy, were accused of blocking visitors to the embassy as well as bothering passers-by.

The embassy had also asked the British Government to keep the protesters under control.

Many parliamentarians then observed that such protests should be termed as acts of ‘road terrorism’.

“Many Bahraini citizens in Lon-don including students, patients and others have complained of harassment they were subjected to by these protesters while vis-iting embassy for various needs.

“This act is absolutely against international conventions, norms and the protection of human rights.”

They had stressed that peaceful protests are allowed both in the Kingdom and in Britain, but such liberal laws should not be subject-ed to exploitation.

The parliamentarians also urged the British authorities to take strict action against these protesters who are not allowing visitors to enter the embassy.

“Both nations share over 200 years of friendship and love. Such protests are against our bilateral ties.

“This should not be allowed as many Bahrainis in the UK are getting affected while visiting the embassy for various reasons.”Protesters outside the Bahrain mission in the UK are often accused of bothering visitors to the embassy.

Renowned voluntary award distribution ceremony set for SeptemberManama

A ceremony will be held in Sep-tember to honour the winners of His Highness Shaikh Isa bin

Ali Award for Voluntary Work. Registration for the fifth edition of

the prize opened officially by the end of last June, attracting a large number

of participants who vied for the 2019 prize.

Individuals, voluntary work associa-tions and the expatriate communities living in Bahrain are showing a big interest, said HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali Award for Voluntary Work Organising Committee Secretary-General Yacoub Bouhazaa.

He paid tribute to Bahrain Basket-ball Association Chairman and Hon-orary President of the Good Word Society Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa for his keenness on sup-porting different voluntary work in the Kingdom.

In a statement yesterday, he said that the organising committee had received

entries in the economic, social and health fields on its electronic website.

Good Word Society board member and Award Marketing and Media Com-mittee chairperson Samia Hussein stressed the importance of the prize, which reflects keenness on keeping abreast of global developments in the field of voluntary work.

She commended the expatriate communities living in the Kingdom for their keenness on participating in the second edition of the voluntary work award, reflecting Bahrain’s drive to embrace all community through peaceful co-existence and the values that long marked the Bahraini society all along its history.

SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019

04 middle eastOman’s top diplomat in Iran

amid mounting Gulf tensions Visit ‘conducted in the framework of bilateral relations, continuous consultations’

• Oman maintains friendly ties with both the United States and Iran and has previously been a go-between for the two countries.

• Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, state television reported, without giving details of the talks.

Dubai

Oman’s minister respon-sible for foreign affairs held talks with Iran’s for-

eign minister yesterday, Iranian state media reported, as tensions mount in the Gulf between Teh-ran and Washington.

Oman maintains friendly ties with both the United States and

Iran and has previously been a go-between for the two coun-tries, which severed diplomatic relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Washington and Tehran are in a protracted stand-off over Iran’s nuclear and missile pro-grammes, and tensions have flared after Iran downed a US drone over the Gulf and the United States said it brought down at least one Iranian drone, which Tehran denied.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mo-hammad Javad Zarif met Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, state tel-evision reported, without giving details of the talks.

“The visit was conducted in the framework of bilateral relations and continuous consultations of the two countries with the aim of exchanging views on recent regional developments, bilater-al relations ... and international issues,” state television reported.

Meanwhile, Iran has freed nine of 12 Indian crew members of MT Riah, a Panama-flagged tanker it seized this month as

part of a growing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East, the

Indian foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The MT Riah was detained by the Iranian coastguard on 13

July, with 12 Indian crew mem-bers on board, the Indian for-eign ministry said, and appealed for the release of the remaining crew. No reason has been pro-vided as to why the three are being held.

“Nine crew members have been released and they will be on their way to India soon,” foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said. “Our mission in Iran has requested the release of re-maining crew members from the Iranian authorities concerned.”

Dozens of Indian sailors on ships in the Gulf have been caught up in rising tensions be-tween Iran and the West.

Iranian state TV aired footage of the vessel a few days after it was seized, saying it had been de-tained by Iran’s elite Revolution-ary Guards for smuggling fuel.

Indian and Iranian authorities said this week Iran had grant-ed India consular access to 18 Indian crew seized on another ship, the British-flagged Stena Impero, that Iran seized in the Strait of Hormuz on 19 July.

Oman’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah (L) shakes hands with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.

New UAE work permits to allow firms hire sons, husbandsAbu Dhabi

New work permits will allow companies to hire men who are sponsored

by their family, The National reported yesterday.

Sons who are on visas spon-sored by their parents - includ-ing those leaving school or at university - will be among the main beneficiaries.

Husbands sponsored by their wives will also benefit as could older fathers living with their

adult children.Unti l now only women,

typically wives and daugh-ters sponsored by a parent or spouse, have been eligible.

Work permits exist to allow companies to hire people who are already legal residents.

They enable firms to save on visa costs and medical insur-ance, which would be covered by the spouse or usually, their spouse’s employer.

The Labour Ministry said the move will make it cheaper

for businesses to take on staff - work permits cost less than

visas - and allow families to bring in more earnings.

“The resolution aims to pro-vide stability to families by en-abling them to increase their source of monthly income,” Saif Ahmed Al Suwaidi, un-dersecretary at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emi-ratisation, was quoted by the paper.

The new fee for a two-year work permit for a skilled or limited skilled worker is 300 dirhams for all categories of

companies, he said.Previously, a work permit

cost up to 5,000 dirhams, though the costs vary depend-ing on the position and the type of company.

All work permit fees must be paid by the company and not the employee, the undersecre-tary said.

Last month, the UAE govern-ment said parents will be able to sponsor their sons for up to two consecutive years once they reach the age of 18.

UAE grants $50 million to UNRWAAbu Dhabi

The UAE yesterday an-nounced a $50 million

donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refu-gees in the Near East (UNR-WA), as part of its commit-ment to supporting the Pal-estinian people, UAE news agency (WAM) reported.

With this donation, UN-RWA will provide health services to Palestinian ref-ugees - namely mothers and children - implement educational programmes to ensure the youth have access to education, and deliver other services to more than five million Pal-estinians living in dire hu-manitarian conditions.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the UAE also praised the efforts of Pierre Krahenbuhl,

Commissioner-General of UNRWA, and agency em-ployees who are working hard to ensure the provi-sion of services, especial-ly in light of the financial challenges the agency is facing. The ministry also praised international do-nors for supporting the agency and ensuring the continuation of its vital work.

The ministry noted that the provision of education-al services is a top priority for the UAE, and is in line with the country’s foreign aid policy which views ed-ucation as the main driving engine to the development and prosperity of people.

Abha airport expansion project launchedRiyadh

Emir of Asir Prince Turki Bin Talal has launched a project for the expansion

of Abha International Airport within the numerous develop-ment projects carried out by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) as part of its strategy in compliance with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision.

It is aimed at achieving the sustainable development of the Saudi national economy, pro-moting the basic infrastructure and upgrading the services be-ing provided for the passengers.

The airport’s development projects consisted of expand-ing the arrival and departure lounges and rehabilitating and improving the main runway with a view to increasing the operational capacity of the air-port.

The departure lounge is pro-posed to be expanded to reach 805 sq meters accommodating about 309 passengers and the expansion of the arrival lounge

is set at 1,030 sq meters accom-modating 340 passengers.

There will be two gates for departure and two others for arrival, a carousel for luggage and 12 passport counters.

The parking area for the air-craft has been expanded to ac-commodate 13 planes at a time while the runway has been ex-panded to accommodate wide-body aircraft.

The emir lauded the projects being established by GACA and said the authority is building new airports for the welfare and comfort of the citizens and expatriates.

The resolution aims to provide stability to families by enabling

them to increase their source of monthly

income. MR AL SUWAIDI

Emir of Asir Prince Turki Bin Talal at the launch of new new projects at Abha airport.

12passport counters will

be opened at the airport along with two gates for

departure.

05

world


US teens arrested over killing of police officerRome, Italy

Two US teenagers ap-peared at a court hear-ing in Rome on Saturday

after being arrested over the murder of an Italian police of-ficer whose death has sparked a national outcry.

Officer Mario Rega Cerciello died after being stabbed eight times as he and a colleague tried to arrest two men following a complaint for theft. Cerciello, 35, had only recently returned from his honeymoon.

His killing took on a political aspect when the country’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, responding to initial reports that the suspects were North African, denounced the killers as “bastards”.

Police said they arrested the two American teens on Fri-day as they were preparing to check out of their Rome ho-tel and fly home. Prosecutors have charged them over the killing, which occurred in the small hours of Friday morning in Rome’s city centre.

Media reports citing the po-lice have named the two sus-pects as Christian Gabriel Na-tale Hjorth and Elder Finnegan Lee, both aged 19.

One of them has confessed to the killing but said that he did not realise that Cerciello was a police officer because both the officers involved were in plain clothes, according to Italian media reports, citing the police.

The incident happened in an up-market neighbourhood near

Vatican City.A statement from Italian po-

lice said that the two Americans had confessed to stealing a bag from an Italian. They were de-manding 100 euros ($111) and a gramme of cocaine for its re-turn.

The victim of the theft tipped off the police, but when the two officers went to arrest the pair, one of them pulled a knife.

Italian media reports, citing investigators, said that the two US teenagers told police that the man they had stolen from had sold them aspirin powder instead of cocaine.

The suspect who confessed to stabbing Cerciello said he had taken the officers for friends of the alleged dealer and had panicked.

Police said surveillance cam-eras helped them track the pair to their four-star hotel where

they arrested them. Their bags were packed and they had been planning to fly home that same evening.

Floral tributesOfficers found a large knife

hidden in the false ceiling of their hotel room and seized clothing that the pair were thought to have been wearing on the night of the murder.

Prosecutors in Rome are holding them on suspicion of aggravated homicide and at-tempted extortion.

The American who confessed to killing remained silent dur-ing a court hearing in front of a judge on Saturday afternoon, his lawyer told local media.

The killing has made front-page headlines in Italy. Many people have left floral tributes left at the spot where Cerciello died.

A man who was allegedly questioned in the case of a slain Carabinieri policeman is seen on a Carabinieri car in Rome (Bloomberg)

State funeral for Essebsi as new polls loom• Thousands of Tunisians mourners lined the 20-kilometre (12-mile) road from the presidential palace in Carthage

• Essebsi’s widow and tearful family members were flanked by Macron, Spain’s King Felipe VI, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and other regional and European leaders.

Tunis, Tunisia

Thousands of Tunisians yesterday attended the funeral of president Beji

Caid Essebsi as the North Af-rican nation gears up for snap elections as early as September to defend the democratic gains of the Arab Spring.

Essebsi, the country’s first head of state elected in nation-wide polls, died Thursday at the

age of 92, triggering fears of po-litical unrest in a country seen as a rare success story following the Arab Spring uprisings.

French President Emmanuel Macron and other foreign lead-ers also travelled to Tunisia to

pay their last respects.Thousands of Tunisians

mourners lined the 20-kilo-metre (12-mile) road from the presidential palace in Carthage, where the body was laid in state, to the Djellaz cemetery in south-

ern Tunis where Essebsi was buried.

Officers in full uniform carried the coffin draped in the Tunisian flag into a ceremonial room at the Carthage palace packed with dignitaries, placing it on a dais.

Parliament speaker Mohamed Ennaceur, who was sworn in as interim president hours after Essebsi’s death, paid tribute to the late leader describing him as “the architect of national recon-ciliation”.

“He was determined to suc-cessfully achieve democratic transition,” in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Essebsi’s widow and tearful family members were flanked by Macron, Spain’s King Felipe VI, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and other regional and European leaders.

Macron hailed a leader who “in these times of threatening obscurantism... was keen on keeping Tunisia enlightened, tolerant and committed to uni-versal values”.

Mourner Amira was among large crowds who packed the cemetery for the final farewell to Essebsi.

“It is a sad day. I feel deep pain at losing a dear person who unit-ed us. History will remember him,” she said.

Unprecedented state funeralFarah, an architect, said she

came “to pay tribute to his work

on behalf of women”.The interior ministry said it

was deploying a large number of security forces to guarantee a smooth ceremony, adding how-ever that it would respect “spon-taneous gatherings by citizens”.

“President Beji Caid Essebsi belongs to the Tunisian people and each Tunisian has the right to attend his funeral,” the late leader’s son Hafedh Essebsi said in a Facebook message on Friday.

Essebsi is the first president to receive a state funeral since Tunisia gained its independence from France in 1956 and the gov-ernment has declared seven days of mourning.

Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba was buried in a hasty ceremony in 2000, under the reign of now ousted autocratic president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Tunisians unable to attend the burial packed cafes in the capital to watch a live television broadcast.

A military band preceded the funeral procession as it wound its way to the cemetery while air force jets flew overhead letting off red and white smoke trails -- the colours of the national flag.

Military officers carry the coffin of late Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi during his state funeral at the presidential palace in the capital’s eastern suburb of Carthage


The size of the piano and length of strings

do not set records for a record’s sake: the idea is to create the best imaginable

sound for all the performers and

listeners who come to this particular

hallKLAVINS

World’s largest concert piano strikes chord in LatviaVentspils, Latvia

Soaring to new musical heights, a German-born in-novator has crafted what is

believed to be the world’s largest grand piano.

It is without question one of a kind: attached high on the wall of a concert hall in Latvia, the steel-framed vertical grand pi-ano hangs as if in mid-air some three storeys above the audi-ence.

To play it, pianists must climb a steep flight of steel stairs to a balcony.

Although the Guinness Book of World Records has not yet measured the new instrument, it was made by David Klavins whose Model 370 piano unveiled in 1987 is currently regarded as being among the world’s largest.

Klavins’ standard new model, the 470i Vertical Concert Grand piano, has strings that are 4.7 metres long.

The custom-built 450i piano installed at a new concert hall in the Baltic seaside port and resort town of Ventspils is even larger; its imposing navy blue-painted steel frame is six metres high.

With some strings measur-ing almost five metres, the in-strument emits bold, sonorous music.

“The most suitable music for this in-

s t r u m e n t would be a l l t h e very ex-pressive

works, for example Rach-maninoff, Scriabin but also Bee-thoven’s sonatas would sound totally different on this instru-ment,” Klavins said.

The innovator, who has Latvi-an roots, has worked on pianos nearly all his life, driven by a desire to push the boundaries of the instrument first created by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700.

High school dropout“Since I was 16 years old and

dropped out of school to become a piano restoration apprentice, I have been trying to explore new designs and principles, which deviate from the 140-year-old construction of the traditional grand piano,” Klavins, now 65, said while sitting at the 450i.

He crafted his first vertical piano in 1985. Now at his work-shop, the Klavins Piano Man-ufaktura based in the town of Vac just north of the Hungarian capital Budapest, he dreams up his signature v e r t i c a l

designs. It is not just his new instru-

ment ’s mammoth size that makes it stand out; having no wooden casing means that audi-ences seated in the concert hall can see its long, steely strings.

Laying them bare in this way lets music lovers “hear every sound nuance unmuted,” Kla-vins said.

Opening this Friday in Vent-spils, the Latvija venue where the piano is installed, boasts two concert halls with a combined seating capacity of 1,000. It is also home to a music academy for emerging young talent.

“Traditional pianos are meant to be transported in and out of the concert venues, but my verti-cal design has to be mounted on the building’s structure,” Klavins said.

Size matters“The size of the piano and

length of strings do not set re-cords for a record’s sake: the idea is to create the best imaginable sound for all the performers and listeners who come to this par-ticular hall,” he added.

On display to the public for the first time on Friday, the in-strument has already created a buzz among piano enthusiasts.

“Composers and performers from all around are interested in playing the new Klavins piano, which will open new avenues of artistic expression for them,” said Miks Magone, the creative head of the new concert venue.

Pianist Lubomyr Melnyk from Canada, known for a technique using an extremely rapid succes-sion of notes, will be among the

first to play the 450i next week, Magone said.

One of six Ger-man pianists will

also use it in a per-formance of “Six

Pianos” by Steve Reich, he added.

Ventspils May-or Aivars Lembergs

has his fingers crossed that the record-break-

ing piano will help the in-dustrial port city of 40,000

rebrand itself into a fami-ly-friendly tourist destina-tion.

“We’re hoping to attract foreign music lovers as well,” he said.

Setting new musical heights, German-born innovator David Klavins has crafted what is believed to be the world’s largest vertical piano that sits in a concert hall in Latvia. The piano is around three storeys above the audience. To reach the keys, pianists face a long uphill climb up a steep flight of steel stairs.

Villagers beat tigress to deathNew Delhi, India

Indian police made four ar-rests on Friday after a mob of

villagers brutally beat to death a tigress that had attacked local people.

As a mobile phone video of the bloody incident went viral on social media, officials said one of nine people injured by the tigress earlier had died in hospital.

It is the latest in a growing number of man-versus-beast showdowns in India, which experts blame on shrinking habitat and food shortages for wildlife. The tigress attacked people after straying out of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve park in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, district magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava told AFP.

Dozens of armed people surrounded the animal after it entered their village, chased it and bludgeoned it to death

with wooden batons and spears, he said.

Thirty-three people were wanted over the killing of the tigress and four had been ar-rested so far, the magistrate added, saying the villagers were scared and angry after the at-tacks on humans. The phone video showed people battering the animal as it lay nearly mo-tionless on the ground.

Its corpse was cremated so

the animal’s organs did not get into the hands of smugglers, officials said.

Around 30 people were killed by tigers in India in 2018, and more than 60 tigers have died or been killed so far this year across the country.

In one case last month a ti-gress and her two cubs died after villagers poisoned the car-cass of a cow the animals had hunted a day earlier.

Tiger “Dasha” cools off in her pool at the zoo in Duisburg, western Germany

WHO says e-cigarettes ‘undoubtedly harmful’Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Electronic cigarettes are “un-doubtedly harmful” and

should be regulated, the WHO said Friday as it warned against the use of vaping products by smokers trying to quit their deadly habit.

The growing popularity of e-cigarettes, battery-powered devices that enable users to in-hale addictive nicotine liquids, has raised fears among poli-cymakers worldwide of a new gateway addiction for young people.

While vaping exposes users to lower levels of toxins than smoking, the World Health Or-ganization said the devices still pose “health risks” to users.

“Although the specific level of risk associated with ENDS

(electronic nicotine delivery systems) has not yet been conclusively estimated, ENDS are undoubtedly harmful and should therefore be subject to regulation,” the WHO said in a new report on the global smok-ing epidemic.

There was also “insufficient evidence” to support claims of their effectiveness in assisting

smokers trying to quit conven-tional cigarettes, it said.

“In most countries where they are available, the majority of e-cigarette users continue to use e-cigarettes and ciga-rettes concurrently, which has little to no beneficial impact on health risk and effects,” the report said.

Big tobacco companies have been aggressively marketing e-cigarette and heated tobacco products in recent years as they seek new customers.

They argue such products are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes and can help some smokers completely switch to “safer” alternatives.

But the WHO warned misin-formation spread by the tobac-co industry about e-cigarettes was “a present and real threat.”

Myst P series e-cigarettes. (Bloomberg)


Tear gas, rubber bullets fired at Hong Kongers Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and rubber bullets yesterday at pro-

testers holding a banned rally against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators near the Chinese border last weekend, tipping the finance hub further into chaos.

Riot police used tear gas throughout the afternoon and evening in Yuen Long, a town close to the border, after tense standoffs with protesters, some of whom were throwing pro-jectiles and had surrounded a police van.

Hospital authorities said nine people were injured, with five in a serious condition, as rubber bullets were fired later in the evening to disperse remaining protesters.

Public anger has been raging since last Sunday when a gang of men in white T-shirts, armed with poles and batons, set upon anti-government protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long station.

That brazen assault -- which hospitalised at least 45 people -- marked an escalation of seven weeks of unprecedented politi-cal violence that shows little sign of abating as the city’s pro-Bei-jing leaders refuse to budge.

Police have been heavily criticised for being too slow to respond to Sunday’s violence, fueling accusations of collusion

or turning a blind eye to the pro-government mob -- allega-tions the force has denied.

Hong Kong has been plunged into its worst crisis in recent history after millions of demon-strators took to the streets and

sporadic violent confrontations erupted between police and pockets of hardcore protesters.

The demonstrations were triggered by a controversial bill which would have allowed ex-traditions to mainland China,

but have evolved into a call for wider democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms.

Saturday’s violence com-pounds the political crisis with the city’s leadership seemingly unable, or unwilling, to end the

chaos.

Triad linksYuen Long is in Hong Kong’s

New Territories, a rural area where many of the surround-ing villages are known for triad

connections and their staunch support for the pro-Beijing es-tablishment.

Police say they have arrested 12 people so far in connection with Sunday’s violence, nine of whom have known triad links.

The white shirt mob ran into two villages near Yuen Long sta-tion after their attack and later left without police making any arrests despite a large presence of officers. These two villages became the focus of protester anger on Saturday.

The rally began peacefully. But small groups of more hardcore protesters, many in helmets and carrying shields, confronted po-lice outside the villages and ac-cused them of protecting triads.

Tensions soon rose with pro-jectiles hurled and a police van containing officers surrounded and daubed in graffiti.

Soon tear gas rounds were arcing through the air and a now-familiar pattern of running battles between police and pro-testers began. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening protesters formed shield walls of umbrellas, scattering each time new volleys of tear gas came their way. Some hurled bricks and stones at police.

On one road, a parked Lexus that was found to have wooden sticks and clubs similar to those used in Sunday’s attacks inside it -- as well as a Samurai-style sword -- had been trashed.

A protester throws back a round of tear gas fired by the police during a demonstration in the district of Yuen Long in Hong Kong

An aerial view of a stranded Indian train in a flooded area between Badlapur and Vangani following heavy monsoon rains, some 70 kms from Mumbai

Indian navy rescues hundreds stranded on train in floods

• The train was stuck for about 12 hours in Thane district

New Delhi, India

Indian navy helicopters and emergency service boats came to the rescue of more

than 800 people stranded on a train in floods near Mumbai yesterday.

The Mahalaxmi Express left Mumbai late Friday for Kol-hapur but travelled only 60 kilometres (37 miles) before it became stranded after a river burst its banks in torrential rain, covering the tracks.

The train was stuck for about

12 hours in Thane district before authorities called in the Indian navy and the National Disas-ter Response Force (NDRF) who deployed helicopters, boats, and divers.

Indian Railways said the train was emptied in about five hours after the operation started. Nine pregnant women were among those taken off.

Aerial images showed boats taking people wearing life jack-ets away from the stricken train, trapped in a sea of muddy brown water that covered surrounding fields. Ambulances and at least 37 doctors were sent to treat passengers, who were also given food and water, Indian Railways said. A spokesman for the state company added that a “special relief train” would take people

onwards on their journeys.Heavy monsoon rains battered

Mumbai forcing the cancellation of 11 flights from the financial capital’s international airport on Saturday. Nine incoming planes were diverted to other airports.

The main highway from Mumbai to the resort of Goa was closed because of rising waters.

At least 20 centimetres (eight inches) of rain fell in some parts of Mumbai over 24 hours.

More than 250 people have died in flooding across India in the past two weeks, with Assam and Bihar states in the north the worst hit. The army said it had rescued more than 150 people stranded in their homes in As-sam’s Nalbari district in recent days. An Indian boy sits on the corpse of a whale shark that washed ashore at Kasimedu fishing harbour in Chennai

An aerial view of a flooded area following heavy monsoon rains, in Badlapur some 70 kms from Mumbai


Hon. Chairman Najeb Yacob Alhamer | Editor-in-Chief Mahmood AI Mahmood | Chairman & Managing Director P Unnikrishnan | Advertisement: Update Media W.L.L | Tel: 38444692, Email: [email protected] | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: [email protected] & circulation: Tel: 38444698/17579877 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

TIM MARSHALL

Nato is unsure of itself, the EU is divided as never be-fore, Russia is on the front

foot, and the myriad disputes in the Balkans remain unresolved. And yet, 20 years after the Kosovo War, western powers are not paying attention to a region that remains a powder keg.

In the summer of 1999, 50,000 Nato troops entered the Serbian province of Kosovo following a 78-day aerial bombing campaign. The Serbian military had been forced to retreat after Nato sided with the Kosovo Liberation Army.

They were heady days. The Americans and British, led by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, saw the outcome as a victory for human-itarian intervention, as outlined in Mr Blair’s famous “Chicago speech” a few days after the bomb-ing started. It was a theme he re-turned to in the lead-up to the Iraq War of 2003.

I was in Kosovo on the swelter-ingly hot day British troops crossed the border from Macedonia. But, the night before, I had watched a Russian armoured column rumble through the capital, Pristina, on its way to take the Slatina military air-base before Nato could get there. It had travelled 600 kilometres from Bosnia, using a training exercise as cover for its movement.

I drew different conclusions from Mr Clinton and Mr Blair. I saw a rare example of air power alone achieving a military victory, and was relieved at the Serbian surrender, as a ground war would have been devastating for both sides. I also was convinced that I had just witnessed the moment when, after a decade of the tide of Russian power rolling out, it began to roll back in.

For the Americans and British, the success of Kosovo was followed in 2001 by a well-executed Nato peacekeeping deployment in Mace-donia, and the British intervention

in Sierra Leone. But then came Iraq and Libya. With their fingers, and two countries horribly burnt, so-called humanitarian intervention was off the table, and most Nato powers remain cautious when it comes to committing to action.

At the same time, the EU is at-tempting to flex its limited military muscles and to forget its hapless response as the war in Bosnia was about to break out in 1992.

Jacques Poos, the then prime minister of Luxembourg, said: “This is the hour of Europe.” Jacques Delors, the EU Commis-sion chairman, added: “We do not interfere in American affairs. We hope they will have enough respect not to interfere in ours.”

They then dithered for three years, amid a huge loss of life until the US stepped in. Now, Moscow may have concluded that the de-gree of delusion about EU’s military and diplomatic powers remains intact.

To Moscow, Kosovo marked 10 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the diminishing of Rus-sian power. Moscow was helpless to come to Serbia’s aid. It was also determined that humiliation would be its last. Getting to the airport first, and making itself a player in what happened next, was a small victory, but one upon which Russia built.

The Second Chechen War was launched in October to avenge the ignominy of the first, then, two months later, Vladimir Putin came to power and the military budget grew rapidly. Military success in Chechnya in 2002 was followed by Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014 and Syria since 2015.

Two decades on, Nato is war-wea-ry and Russia is back on the world stage. But Moscow knows that, with a declining population and an economy reliant on energy sources that are slowly running down, it will struggle to maintain its current level of strength. Hence, it may be tempted to achieve some foreign

policy goals relatively quickly. If that is the case, the Balkans pre-sents a stage on which it can still play.

The politics of this was not on the minds of Kosovan-Albanians’ minds this summer, as they marked the 20th anniversary of the war. Mr Clinton was the most high-profile guest, and it is a fair bet that some of the young men in the crowds were named ‘Tonibler’ after the former British prime minister.

There is much to celebrate in Kosovo and indeed Serbia – an end to the mass killing, and the birth of democracy. However, the ongoing tensions between the two, and in-deed their neighbours, mean that the situation is never more than an “incident” away from escalating.

This is why 3,500 troops remain on the ground even though several Nato members, including the US,

are mulling a drawdown. Western attention is at best fitful, and this is a mistake. When Europe takes its eye off the Balkans, things rarely go well.

Serbia and Kosovo remain hos-

SUCCESS DEPENDS UPON PREVIOUS PREPARATION, AND WITHOUT SUCH PREPARATION THERE IS SURE TO BE FAILURE.CONFUCIUS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The world must not abandon

the Balkans There is a need to safeguard

peace in the region; it is time for the West to shift the focus

back on the Balkans

Kosovan-Albanian children walk near by a destroyed Serbian military tank in the village of Fushtica in Kosovo.

Losing Kosovo led to the revolution in Serbia, which

overthrew President Slobodan Milosevic the

following year.

SHELINA JANMOHAMMED

In 1966, American singer-song-writer James Brown released one of his biggest hits, It’s a

Man’s Man’s Man’s World. And when it came to finances, this idea was particularly true. He even made a point of writing “Man makes money to buy from other man”.

It is hard to imagine that when the song was released more than 50 years ago, a woman could not hold a bank account or mortgage without a man’s signature – even in countries such as the US and UK. In fact, there was no such thing as a woman’s financial in-dependence. A man was always required. And that’s no kind of independence at all.

Half a century on, things are changing. But globally, women still need to focus on their finan-cial lives in order to achieve the security and freedom that money promises. Whether they are rich or poor, and at every stage in their lives, women face a financial pen-alty. Just because a woman lives a comparatively comfortable life in a comparatively wealthy country, it does not mean she has secured her financial well-being.

According to Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud, self-suffi-ciency is a “solvable” problem. Speaking to the Rockefeller Foun-dation this month, the Saudi Am-bassador to the US explained that it is a low-tech problem that re-quires a low-tech solution – but one that must have a lasting im-pact.

“I truly believe that liberty for a woman comes from the ability to make financial decisions for her life,” she said.

Globally, women are less likely than men to have bank accounts. According to a 2018 World Bank report, the gender gap stood at nine per cent, despite an extra 1.2 billion people joining the finan-cial system over a period of seven years prior to that report.

This gender gap is persistent across every stage of a woman’s financial life. Moneybox, a finance app available in the UK, states that seven out of 10 millennial women admit they have never been taught to manage money – compared to 42 per cent of men. A study by UBS investment bank indicates that 58 per cent of women globally leave long-term financial decision-mak-ing to men. It is worth noting that this rises to 69 per cent among

the UK’s millennial women, which suggests that women – whether in developing or developed econo-

mies – need to take more control over their money.

Some women are forced to live

in extremely vulnerable situa-tions, simply because they do not have the freedom to leave. Women

Whether they are rich or

poor, and at every stage

in their lives, women face

a financial penalty

Financial independence still remains a challenge for women



TIM MARSHALL

Nato is unsure of itself, the EU is divided as never be-fore, Russia is on the front

foot, and the myriad disputes in the Balkans remain unresolved. And yet, 20 years after the Kosovo War, western powers are not paying attention to a region that remains a powder keg.

In the summer of 1999, 50,000 Nato troops entered the Serbian province of Kosovo following a 78-day aerial bombing campaign. The Serbian military had been forced to retreat after Nato sided with the Kosovo Liberation Army.

They were heady days. The Americans and British, led by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, saw the outcome as a victory for human-itarian intervention, as outlined in Mr Blair’s famous “Chicago speech” a few days after the bomb-ing started. It was a theme he re-turned to in the lead-up to the Iraq War of 2003.

I was in Kosovo on the swelter-ingly hot day British troops crossed the border from Macedonia. But, the night before, I had watched a Russian armoured column rumble through the capital, Pristina, on its way to take the Slatina military air-base before Nato could get there. It had travelled 600 kilometres from Bosnia, using a training exercise as cover for its movement.

I drew different conclusions from Mr Clinton and Mr Blair. I saw a rare example of air power alone achieving a military victory, and was relieved at the Serbian surrender, as a ground war would have been devastating for both sides. I also was convinced that I had just witnessed the moment when, after a decade of the tide of Russian power rolling out, it began to roll back in.

For the Americans and British, the success of Kosovo was followed in 2001 by a well-executed Nato peacekeeping deployment in Mace-donia, and the British intervention

in Sierra Leone. But then came Iraq and Libya. With their fingers, and two countries horribly burnt, so-called humanitarian intervention was off the table, and most Nato powers remain cautious when it comes to committing to action.

At the same time, the EU is at-tempting to flex its limited military muscles and to forget its hapless response as the war in Bosnia was about to break out in 1992.

Jacques Poos, the then prime minister of Luxembourg, said: “This is the hour of Europe.” Jacques Delors, the EU Commis-sion chairman, added: “We do not interfere in American affairs. We hope they will have enough respect not to interfere in ours.”

They then dithered for three years, amid a huge loss of life until the US stepped in. Now, Moscow may have concluded that the de-gree of delusion about EU’s military and diplomatic powers remains intact.

To Moscow, Kosovo marked 10 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the diminishing of Rus-sian power. Moscow was helpless to come to Serbia’s aid. It was also determined that humiliation would be its last. Getting to the airport first, and making itself a player in what happened next, was a small victory, but one upon which Russia built.

The Second Chechen War was launched in October to avenge the ignominy of the first, then, two months later, Vladimir Putin came to power and the military budget grew rapidly. Military success in Chechnya in 2002 was followed by Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014 and Syria since 2015.

Two decades on, Nato is war-wea-ry and Russia is back on the world stage. But Moscow knows that, with a declining population and an economy reliant on energy sources that are slowly running down, it will struggle to maintain its current level of strength. Hence, it may be tempted to achieve some foreign

policy goals relatively quickly. If that is the case, the Balkans pre-sents a stage on which it can still play.

The politics of this was not on the minds of Kosovan-Albanians’ minds this summer, as they marked the 20th anniversary of the war. Mr Clinton was the most high-profile guest, and it is a fair bet that some of the young men in the crowds were named ‘Tonibler’ after the former British prime minister.

There is much to celebrate in Kosovo and indeed Serbia – an end to the mass killing, and the birth of democracy. However, the ongoing tensions between the two, and in-deed their neighbours, mean that the situation is never more than an “incident” away from escalating.

This is why 3,500 troops remain on the ground even though several Nato members, including the US,



SUCCESS DEPENDS UPON PREVIOUS PREPARATION, AND WITHOUT SUCH PREPARATION THERE IS SURE TO BE FAILURE.CONFUCIUS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The world must not abandon

the Balkans There is a need to safeguard

peace in the region; it is time for the West to shift the focus

back on the Balkans




following year.

SHELINA JANMOHAMMED

In 1966, American singer-song-writer James Brown released one of his biggest hits, It’s a

Man’s Man’s Man’s World. And when it came to finances, this idea was particularly true. He even made a point of writing “Man makes money to buy from other man”.

It is hard to imagine that when the song was released more than 50 years ago, a woman could not hold a bank account or mortgage without a man’s signature – even in countries such as the US and UK. In fact, there was no such thing as a woman’s financial in-dependence. A man was always required. And that’s no kind of independence at all.

Half a century on, things are changing. But globally, women still need to focus on their finan-cial lives in order to achieve the security and freedom that money promises. Whether they are rich or poor, and at every stage in their lives, women face a financial pen-alty. Just because a woman lives a comparatively comfortable life in a comparatively wealthy country, it does not mean she has secured her financial well-being.

According to Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud, self-suffi-ciency is a “solvable” problem. Speaking to the Rockefeller Foun-dation this month, the Saudi Am-bassador to the US explained that it is a low-tech problem that re-quires a low-tech solution – but one that must have a lasting im-pact.

“I truly believe that liberty for a woman comes from the ability to make financial decisions for her life,” she said.

Globally, women are less likely than men to have bank accounts. According to a 2018 World Bank report, the gender gap stood at nine per cent, despite an extra 1.2 billion people joining the finan-cial system over a period of seven years prior to that report.

This gender gap is persistent across every stage of a woman’s financial life. Moneybox, a finance app available in the UK, states that seven out of 10 millennial women admit they have never been taught to manage money – compared to 42 per cent of men. A study by UBS investment bank indicates that 58 per cent of women globally leave long-term financial decision-mak-ing to men. It is worth noting that this rises to 69 per cent among

the UK’s millennial women, which suggests that women – whether in developing or developed econo-

mies – need to take more control over their money.

Some women are forced to live


Whether they are rich or

poor, and at every stage

in their lives, women face

a financial penalty

Financial independence still remains a challenge for women


TOP

4TWEETS

04

02

03

01

President Trump: “I want Apple to build

their plants in the US, I don’t want them to build them in China so when I heard they were going to build in China I said, ‘Oh it’s okay you can build in China but when you send your product in to the US, we’re going to tariff you.’”

@thehill

Tributes to our former President, Bharat Rat-

na Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam ji on his punyatithi. He was an outstanding scientist and a great motivator whose teachings has inspired mil-lions of lives. Nation can never forget his monumen-tal contribution in the field of science & technology.

@AmitShah

The Puerto Rican is-land of Vieques was

heavily polluted by dec-ades of US military bomb-ing exercises. That’s why @RepAOC & I have led our colleagues in urging funding for safer cleanup there. We owe it to our fellow citizens in Vieques & across Puerto Rico.

@SenWarren

The work of diplomacy takes me around the

world, but there’s noth-ing better than coming home to work alongside the fine people of @Stat-eDept. Looking forward to celebrating the 230th anniversary of our insti-tution this week. We are the Department of State. #OneTeamOneMission

@SecPompeo

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

editorial stances)



tile to one another, to the extent that the 2018 announcement of plans for a Kosovan army brought the threat of war from Belgrade. Several times in the past two years, the Serbian army has been put on full alert, and moved elite forces to the border.

It could have been different. Losing Kosovo led to the revolu-tion in Serbia, which overthrew President Slobodan Milosevic the following year. In came a genuine liberal, Zoran Djindjic, who had called the EU “Serbia’s fresh air”.

He announced complete co-op-eration with the International Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and swore to root out organised crime from government and big business. This ensured re-taliation. In March 2003, Mr Djind-jic was shot and killed by a sniper in Belgrade. A bullet hit him in

the back, went through his heart, exited his abdomen, and hit a bod-yguard. He was 51 and left behind a wife, two young children, and a divided nation.

The outside world barely no-ticed. There was already a war in Afghanistan, and it was just eight days before the invasion of Iraq began. The news channels men-tioned Mr Djindjic’s death, and moved on. Meanwhile, in Serbia, corruption came back strongly, democratisation slowed, and the gangs running guns, drugs, and illegal immigration into western Europe flourished.

Today, a former ultra-nationalist, Aleksandar Vucic, is president of Serbia. Mr Vucic seeks a peaceful solution to the issues between Bel-grade and Pristina, even if his past gives some hope to the hardliners who still want to “freeze” the Koso-

vo question in the hope that even-tually the EU will fall apart, Nato will disband, and Russia will ride to the nation’s rescue and help re-build a shattered dream of “Greater Serbia”.

That is unlikely and President Vucic is not pushing this agenda, but those who dream of that sce-nario are still players in the game. That includes President Putin. In January, he showed up in Serbia for his third visit in eight years to shore up both countries’ non-recognition of an independent Kosovo.

The situation needs a solution. One proposal to draw a line under the past involves a land swap in which Kosovo gives up territory in its north, which has a Serb-majori-ty population, and Serbia gives land with a Kosovan majority.

This sounds attractive, but is problematic, as any land swap would attract the envious atten-tion of others in the region. The Serbs in Bosnia might step up ef-forts to integrate their territory, known as Republika Srpska, into Serbia proper. Then the Albanians of Macedonia, kindred spirits of the Kosovans, could reignite their 2001 military effort to create a sep-arate state. This, in turn, means that both Kosovan and Macedonian Albanians might wish to merge into a “Greater Albania”.

These are, indeed “mights”, but given the region’s history over the past 120 years, they are plausible. It follows that if the above sce-narios came to pass, what was left of Macedonia would fall prey to division as Serbia, Greece and Bul-garia scrambled to protect their interests.

The outside world remains busy elsewhere, but, after the drawdown from Afghanistan, the retreat from Iraq, and a partial recovery from the financial crash, there is enough diplomatic bandwidth for the Bal-kans to come back onto the radar. And a glance at the screen shows how much work remains to be done.

2010Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.

2011While flying from Seoul to Shanghai, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island.

2017Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.

2018Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

Getting a piece of the tech cake

In a move that we all should study, the French Senate has passed a bill that will see tech companies with

more than €750 million in global reve-nue and €25 million in French revenue pay a three per cent tax on total annual revenue generated by providing services to French users.

The move will affect major players like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, and was made as plans for EU-wide tax changes seemed to stall.

Obviously the legislation, which countries like the UK are already mak-ing plans to emulate, has not pleased the US, because almost all the tech giants are American companies.

Till now, these companies were of-fering services and pocketing revenue globally but paying taxes only in Amer-ica. Naturally, the revenue came to US coffers as did the taxes but the con-sumer countries saw major outflow of money with no returns.

Will this trend of taxing foreign tech companies benefit GCC countries? I think we should seriously examine it through the lens of our gains.

In Bahrain, we are seeing ambitious plans unfold, as the Kingdom seeks to position itself as the MENA Leader for fintech; the investment success sig-nalled by Amazon Web Services which is a central narrative in the transfor-

mation of Bahrain into a digital economy; the Gov-ernment-wide Cloud First policy; and the C5 Cloud Scalerator.

All this means that we are riding the wave of technology, R and D that these large companies have invested and man-aged to leapfrog into a far advanced trajectory of tech growth.

Much of this would not be possible if we were to emulate Europe and tax big companies for their partnership because, we may be geographically

significant but right now we represent too small a slice of the cake to warrant taxing these companies and we might be going against the co-operative spirit we are currently enjoying with the Ameri-can companies.

Moreover, despite very bright minds, the GCC still does not have world-class R and D facilities.

We depend on ‘borrowed’ technology and not original tech.

Still, according to a report released by PwC in 2018, the economic impact of AI adoption on GCC economies is estimated to reach roughly $277 billion by 2030.

The average annual growth rate of AI’s contribution to the GCC is expected to range between 29-34 per cent.

What we must do, is create a Depart-ment of IT Industry in our government and urge these companies that are doing business in Bahrain to invest in our fu-ture through R and D units and training of Bahrainis in technology-related ca-reers or follow the European countries plans of taxation.

(Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Tribune and the President of the Arab-African Unity

Organisation for Relief, Human Rights and Counterterrorism)

CAPT. MAHMOOD AL MAHMOOD

The economic impact of AI

adoption on GCC economies is

estimated to reach roughly $277 billion

by 2030.




following year.


are also too often burdened by men’s debt and, owing to structur-al issues in the financial industry,

have to spend more time paying back their own debt.

Women’s finances are affected by a variety of factors such as later marriage; rising rates of divorce, especially in later life; women holding greater responsibility for financially maintaining children; the often pressing need to have a two-income household; and ris-ing life expectancy, especially for women.

As a result, women today are in less control of their finances than men. Studies show this is a matter of nurture rather than nature, and the prevalence of social structures

that are rigged against them.Financial independence is nat-

urally linked to the ability to get a job with fair and equal pay. It is also affected by pregnancy, child-care and the disproportionate burden of household and elderly care on women.

It quickly becomes clear that this is a matter of collective ur-gency that women themselves need to take ownership of. Wom-en recognise this.

Recently, Bayt.com published a survey titled ‘Working Women in the Middle East and North Af-rica’. Of the 600 women polled, 57 per cent said that they want to work in order to achieve financial independence.

Becoming financially liberated is about more than just having a job. It is about understanding how our financial lives work and being in control of them.

So, while talking about financial management might sound dull, we have to remember that for all of us – especially women who globally still do not have control over their own finances – money provides security and freedom to manage one’s own life, and there is nothing more exciting than that.

Financial independence still remains a challenge for women Becoming financially

liberated is about more than just having a job. It is about understanding how

our financial lives work and being in control of them.

10

business


Inovest reports H1 profit TDT | Manama

Inovest reported first half 2019 consolidated net profit attributable to parent share-

holders of US$4.29 million, rep-resenting a 58 per cent decrease as compared to US$10.16m for the same period of last year.

The dip in net profit, CEO of Inovest, Yasser Al Jar said, stems in principle from the extraordi-nary profit attained from con-tracting agreements and invest-ment exits accounted for during this time last year.

“Accordingly, our results dur-ing the first half of the year fol-low a very natural and expected curve, especially in relation to the normal fluctuations that we, and our counterparts, are ex-posed to within the investment industry.”

Earnings Per Share attributa-ble to the equity shareholders of the parent company amounted to US cents 1.52 as compared to US cents 3.59 a year ago.

Consolidated net operating profit declined by 65pc from US$9.82m to US$3.40m due to an increase in the Group’s op-erating expenses as well as an expected decrease in revenue from the Group’s contracting activities and the capital gain from one of the investment dis-posal that has been taken place in the same period of last year. Consequently, the operating

income decreased by 34pc in the first half of this year, reach-ing US$9.89m in comparison to US$14.90m for the same period of 2018.

Commenting on the results, Inovest’s Chairman Dr Omar Al Mutawa said, “Despite a challenging regional economic

climate, and a specifically chal-lenging investment atmosphere, we are pleased to see Inovest sustaining its profitability; a con-dition it has upheld quarter on quarter from 2016 to date. The Group performance for the first half of 2019 is a clear indication of our commitment to achiev-

ing the goals of our recently ap-proved strategy. In accordance with it, we have taken some nec-essary steps towards improving the efficiency of investments held by the Group; God will-ing we hope to quickly see the realization of these efforts and actions.”

Operating expenses saw an increase of 28pc, standing at US$6.49m in the first half of 2019 in comparison to US$5.07m for the same period of 2018. This increase continues to stem, as it did in the first quarter of the year, from the reclassification of labour expenses within the

Group’s contracting arm from a project level to an operating level due to the completion of a large Government contract.

From financial position per-spective, the Equity Attributa-ble to Parent Shareholders de-clined slightly by 1pc to stand at US$135.12m in comparison to US$136.53m at the end of 2018 as a result of Inovest’s recent dividend payout.

Second-quarter resultsInovest’s recorded a consol-

idated net profit attributable to the parent shareholders of US$ 1.27m in comparison to US$ 7.18m for the same quarter of last year, representing 82pc decrease. Earnings Per Share attributable to the equity share-holders of the parent company amounted to US cents 0.45 as compared to US cents 2.53 for the same period in 2018.

Consolidated operating prof-it decreasing by 57pc to reach US$4.15m in comparison to US$9.69m for the second quarter of 2018. The net operating profit decreases from US$0.930m from US$6.84m recorded in the same quarter a year ago.

Looking ahead, Dr Al Mutawa said the company is in the pro-cess of “undertaking an invest-ment opportunity prospect that has been under review by the executive team and which will be announced in due course.”

CEO of Inovest, Yasser Al JarInovest’s Chairman Dr Omar Salem Al Mutawa

KHCB receives students for annual training programmeTDT | Manama

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), one of the leading

Islamic banks in Bahrain, re-cently received university stu-dent trainees in different de-partments of the bank as part of requirements to complete their academic programmes.

The two-month training pro-gramme grants students the opportunity to familiarize with the Islamic Banking System and Work Environment by working closely with KHCB employees.

Fatema Ahmed Al Bin Ali,

Head of Human Resources, affirmed that the training pro-gramme is suitable for student studying requirements in the fields of Islamic banking and other specializations, as it contributes to enriching their knowledge and gives them new skills in this area.

She added: “This university students training project is con-sidered as one of the pillars of partnership and integration be-tween local institutions, through which we look forward to de-veloping the Bahraini human element.” Officials and trainees during a photocall

BisB trims payment rate for “Mazaya” schemeTDT | Manama

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has reduced the

down payment rate from 10 per cent to 1pc for the Bank’s Social Housing Fi-nance Scheme “Mazaya” launched in 2014 with the Ministry of Housing.

Commenting on the move, General Manager of Retail Banking, Dalal AlQais said: “By introducing a re-duced down payment rate of 1pc for “Mazaya”, it will become easier for potential customers to acquire hous-ing units.”

General Manager of Retail Banking, Dalal AlQais

BCCI holds workshop on “SMEs Registration System”

• The workshop will be conducted in Arabic

TDT | Manama

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(BCCI) in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Com-merce, and Tourism is holding a workshop on the “SMEs Reg-istration System” on Tuesday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in Al Majlis Hall in BCCI’s main premises in Sanabis.

The workshop, which will be conducted in Arabic, will centre on the registration process and

benefits for SMEs. The system was launched by

the Ministry of Industry, Com-merce, and Tourism in April 2019 following Cabinet Res-olution (06-2416) on allocat-ing 20 per cent of government procurement and tenders to small and medium-sized enter-prises, in addition to giving a 10pc advantage in the auctions of public utilities held within the establishments of govern-ment departments. Register-ing will allow entities to apply for classification certificates, benefit from the implications of the cabinet’s resolution, and gain access to an array of pro-grammes and initiatives.Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry


Apple will face tariffs on imports from China: TrumpWashington, United States

President Donald Trump warned Friday that he

would snub Apple’s requests for tariff exemptions on device components imported from China, as he put pressure on the tech company to shift pro-duction to the United States.

“Apple will not be given Tariff wavers, or relief, for Mac Pro parts that are made in China. Make them in the USA, no Tariffs!” Trump said on Twitter.

Later, Trump told reporters that he wanted Apple to make the parts in the United States.

“When I heard they were going to build in China, I said when you send your product to the United States, we’re going to tariff you.”

Last week, Apple filed a re-quest with the US trade repre-

sentative, saying certain com-ponents for its $6,000 Mac Pro desktop computer could only be sourced from China and should be exempt from US tariffs.

The move comes amid fric-tions between the two eco-nomic powers, which are try-ing to restart failed negotia-tions on ending a trade war.

Trump has threatened to slap punitive tariffs on more goods to press Beijing to ac-cept more imports and im-prove protections for US intel-lectual property.

Trump praised Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying he was someone “I have a lot of liking for and respect.”

“We’ll work it out. I think they’ll announce they’ll build a plant in Texas. If they do that, I’m starting to get very happy,” he said.

France aims for US digital tax deal by late August: ministerParis, France

France wants to reach a deal with the US on taxing tech

giants by a G7 meeting in late August, Economy Minister Bru-no Le Maire said yesterday.

He was responding to US Pres-ident Donald Trump, who on Friday vowed “substantial” re-taliation against France for a law passed this month on taxing digital companies even if their headquarters are elsewhere.

The law would affect US-based global giants like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, among

others.Trump denounced French

President Emmanuel Macron’s “foolishness”, though they dis-cussed the issue by phone on Friday, according to the White House.

Le Maire told a news con-ference Saturday: “We wish to work closely with our American friends on a universal tax on digital activities.

“We hope between now and the end of August -- the G7 heads of state meeting in Biarritz -- to reach an agreement.”

Leaders of the Group of Seven highly industrialised countries are to meet in the southwestern French city on August 24-26.

Le Maire emphasised that “there is no desire to specifi-cally target American compa-nies,” since the three-percent tax would be levied on reve-nues generated from services to French consumers by all of the world’s largest tech firms, including Chinese and European ones.

The law aims to plug a tax-ation gap that has seen some

internet heavyweights paying next to nothing in European countries where they make huge profits as their legal base is in smaller EU states.

France has said it would with-draw the tax if an internation-al agreement was reached, and Paris hopes to include all of the OECD countries by the end of 2020.

The Organisation for Econom-ic Co-operation and Develop-ment is a Paris-based forum that advises the world’s advanced economies.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire addresses journalists at his ministry in Paris

India cuts tax on electric vehicles to boost uptakeReuters | New Delhi

India yesterday slashed tax-es on electric vehicles and chargers, as it looks to en-

courage the use of more envi-ronmentally friendly cars.

The goods and services tax (GST) on electric vehicles and chargers was reduced to 5 per cent from a previous 12pc and 18pc respectively, India’s fi-nance ministry said in a state-ment.

The government had earlier this month given tax breaks in the federal budget for consum-ers buying electric vehicles. Sat-urday’s decision to slash the tax was taken at a meeting of the GST council chaired by India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sith-raman in New Delhi.

India, the world’s third-big-gest emitter of greenhouse gases and home to 14 of the world’s most polluted cities, is aiming for electric vehicles to account for 30pc of all passenger vehicle sales in the country by 2030. They currently make up less than 1pc, largely due to a lack of charging infrastructure and the

high cost of batteries.Sitharaman said during the

budget announcement that the government’s plans was to make India a hub of electric vehicle

manufacturing, with large man-ufacturing plants for lithium storage batteries and solar elec-tric charging infrastructure.

The government also removed

import taxes earlier this month on some auto components to help boost electric vehicle sales and reduce the country’s de-pendence on fossil fuels.

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K. Palanisami (2R) poses before taking a ride during the launch of Hyundai’s India’s first electric SUV ‘KONA’ at the Secretariat Park in Chennai

US approves sales to support Pakistan’s F-16s, India’s C-17s

Washington, United States

Washington on Friday approved $125 million

worth of support for Pakistan’s F-16 warplanes, and also $670 worth of support for India’s C-17 transport planes.

Approval to support US-built aircraft for the two south Asian rivals were approved by the US State Department, and an-nounced simultaneously by the US Defence Security Co-operation Agency.

The approval for technical and logistics support for Pa-kistan’s F-16s comes just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan met with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

The potential sale will sup-port US foreign policy and national security “by protect-ing US technology through the continued presence of US

personnel that provide 24/7 end-use monitoring,” the state-ment announcing the Pakistan approval read.

Separately, the DSCA said that India asked to buy spare parts and test equipment for their Boeing C-17 transport planes, and is seeking per-sonnel training, among other things, “for an estimated cost of $670 million.”

“India needs this follow-on support to maintain its opera-tional readiness and ability to provide Humanitarian Assis-tance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) assistance in the region.

“India will have no difficulty absorbing this support into its armed forces,” the statement announcing the approval read.

Both statements added that the proposed sales of equip-ment and support “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

Representative picture

US approves merger of operators T-Mobile, SprintWashington, United States

US antitrust authorities on Friday approved the

$26 billion merger of T-Mo-bile and Sprint in a deal that brings together the third- and fourth-largest wireless opera-tors as the industry moves to-ward deployment of superfast 5G networks.

The tie-up aims to create a strong number three US oper-ator to compete against sector leaders Verizon and AT&T and expedite 5G deployment, but consumer groups have com-plained it would mean reduced competition and higher prices.

The deal calls for Sprint to sell some of its prepaid wire-less operations to satellite TV operator Dish Network, which would create its own telecom service. “With this merger and accompanying divestiture, we are expanding output signifi-cantly by ensuring that large amounts of currently unused or underused spectrum are made available to American consumers in the form of high quality 5G networks,” said

Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.

Delrahim added that the agreement would provide Dish with the resources needed to “provide a full range of mobile wireless services nationwide.”

T-Mobile, whose parent is German-based Deutsche Tel-ekom, and Sprint, controlled by Japan’s SoftBank, say the merger will be good for con-sumers.

Sprint executive chairman Marcelo Claure said the tie-up “will allow the US to fiercely compete for 5G leadership”.

The tie-up aims to create a strong number three US operator

Trump announces asylum deal with GuatemalaWashington, United States

President Donald Trump announced Friday that a

“landmark” asylum agreement has been reached with Gua-temala, as the United States ratchets up pressure on its southern neighbors to stem the flow of migrants towards its border.

The White House said Gua-temala would now be consid-ered a “safe third country,” meaning that US-bound mi-grants who enter Guatemala would be required to seek asy-lum there instead.

But the US Department of Homeland Security said the term did not appear in the text agreed on Friday, of which few details were initially known.

Trump said the deal will “provide safety to legitimate asylum seekers and stop asy-lum fraud” in the region.

“This landmark agree-ment will put the coyotes and smugglers out of business,” the president said, referring to the “bad people” who have trafficked thousands of mi-

grants through Mexico to the southern US border.

In another immigration-re-lated triumph for Trump, the Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling allowing the president to proceed with plans to divert $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds toward con-struction of a border wall with Mexico.

“Big VICTORY on the Wall,” Trump tweeted after the rul-ing. “Big WIN for Border Se-curity and the Rule of Law!”

Donald Trump


Leaving the EU is a massive economic opportunity to do

things we’ve not been allowed to do for

decadesBRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS

JOHNSON

The WTO is BROKEN when the world’s RICHEST countries claim

to be developing countries to avoid WTO rules and get special treatment. NO more!!! Today I directed the U.S.

Trade Representative to take action so

that countries stop CHEATING the system at the expense of the

USA!

TRUMP SAID ON TWITTER

Brexit is a ‘massive economic opportunity’Manchester, United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Brexit was a “massive

economic opportunity” but had been treated under his prede-cessor Theresa May as “an im-pending adverse weather event”.

In a speech in Manchester where he pledged new invest-ment in Leave-voting areas, Johnson promised to step up ne-gotiations on post-Brexit trade deals and set up free ports to boost the economy.

“When people voted to leave the European Union, they were not just voting against Brussels, they were voting against London too,” he said.

He promised a £3.6 billion ($4.5 billion, 4 billion euros) “Towns’ Fund” to support a 100 struggling towns, “so that they will get the improved transport and the improved broadband connectivity that they need.

“Taking back control doesn’t just apply to Westminster re-gaining sovereignty from the EU, it means our cities and counties and towns becoming more self governing,” he said.

“Leaving the EU is a massive economic opportunity to do things we’ve not been allowed to do for decades,” he said.

Asked about the prospect of Brexit negotiations, Johnson said he was willing to engage with EU partners but only if the backstop clause was removed from the current divorce agree-ment struck by May.

The backstop seeks to ensure a free-flowing post-Brexit bor-der between British Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire-land, an EU member state, in all eventualities.

“The approach of the UK gov-ernment is not going to be dis-engaged or aloof or waiting for

them to come to us, we are going to try to solve this problem,” he said.

“We can’t do it as long as that anti-democratic backstop, that backstop that seeks to divide our country, divide the UK, remains in place. We need to get it out and then we can make progress.”

‘Absolutely’ rules out election The new leader earlier tried

to dampen speculation he could call an early election.

The former mayor of Lon-don, who only took charge on Wednesday, has promised to take Britain out of the EU by the

latest deadline of October 31 -- deal or no deal.

But he has focused on domes-tic priorities in his first few days in office, including a pledge on Friday to reverse drastic cuts to the police force made under May.

Commentators have speculat-ed that he could be preparing to call a general election, hoping to regain the Conservative majority that May lost at the polls in 2017.

Johnson on Friday “absolute-ly” ruled out initiating such a poll before Britain leaves the bloc. “The British people voted

in 2015, in 2016, in 2017,” he said during a visit to the central Eng-lish city of Birmingham.

“What they want us to do is deliver on their mandate, come out of the EU on October 31.

“They don’t want another electoral event, they don’t want a referendum, they don’t want a general election.”

However, Britons could be headed to the polls if MPs bring down Johnson’s new govern-ment in a no-confidence vote to try and prevent a no-deal Brexit from happening.

Britain voted 52 percent in

favour of leaving the European Union in a shock 2016 referen-dum that partially reflected deep resentment over economic ine-quality.

Johnson said speech intended to “set out his vision to rebalance power, growth and productivity across the UK”.

May also came to power prom-ising to fight Britain’s “burn-ing injustices” but her domes-tic agenda was overwhelmed by Brexit negotiations and her failed attempts to persuade par-liament to vote in favour of her exit deal.

Main developments in 2019Brexit timeline

Source: AFP bureaus/AFP Photo: Niklas Halle’n

Oct 17-18EU summit

Jul 24Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister

Oct 31New UKdeadline to leave EU

Jan 15, Mar 12,Mar 29

UK MPsreject Prime

Minister TheresaMay’s deal

3 times

Mar 29Original Brexit

deadline (delayed)

Apr 12Second Brexit deadline

(delayed)

May 23UK votes

in EuropeanParliament

election

Jun 7May stepsdown as ConservativeParty leader

"We're going to get Brexit done on

October 31"

Jul 26UK parliament begins summer recess

Sept 3UK parliament reconvenes

Trump threatens not to recognise China’s special WTO status• Developing country status in the WTO allows governments longer timelines for implementing free trade commitments

Washington, United States

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to with-

draw recognition of the special “developing nation” status of China and other relatively rich countries at the World Trade Organization unless changes are made to the body’s rules.

The salvo fell the week before top US trade officials are due to return to China to rekindle trade talks that acrimoniously collapsed in May.

“The WTO is BROKEN when the world’s RICHEST countries claim to be developing coun-tries to avoid WTO rules and get special treatment. NO more!!! Today I directed the U.S. Trade Representative to take action so that countries stop CHEATING the system at the expense of the USA!,” Trump said on Twitter.

In a memo to Robert Ligh-thizer, the US trade represent-ative, Trump said the global trade body uses “an outdated dichotomy between developed and developing countries that has allowed some WTO members

to gain unfair advantages.”Without “substantial pro-

gress” to reform WTO rules within 90 days, Washington will no longer treat as a developing country any WTO member “im-properly declaring itself a de-veloping country and inappro-priately seeking the benefit of flexibilities in WTO rules and ne-gotiations,” the statement said.

It was another unilateral at-tack on the multilateral trade body, which was created to set-tle disputes and prevent all-out trade wars but which Trump has

repeatedly criticized the WTO since taking office.

Trump’s order directs Ligh-thizer’s office to “use all availa-ble means to secure changes at the WTO,” with the cooperation of other countries where pos-sible.

Lighthizer applauded the move“This unfairness disadvantag-

es Americans who play by the rules, undermines negotiations at the WTO and creates an un-level playing field,” he said in a

statement.While Trump’s statement

points to multiple countries that benefit from the develop-ing nation designation, it focuses mostly on China.

The statement notes that sev-en of the 10 wealthiest econo-mies in the world claim develop-ing country status, as do Mexico, South Korea, and Turkey, which are members of the Group of 20 leading economies.

It is unclear how the measure would change US policy in prac-

tice though it likely could open the door to even more retaliatory tariffs against Beijing.

‘Cannot go unchecked’Jennifer Hillman, a former top

US trade official who served at the WTO, questioned the ration-ale since the benefits granted to countries with the special status in most cases has long passed.

“Therefore even self-declared developing countries are now obliged to meet most of the same legal requirements that the US

and other developed countries must meet,” she said.

Any new tariffs Trump wants to impose still would have to be justified under current US law, which requires an investigation into whether developing coun-try status harms US companies.

And she said Trump’s unilat-eral approach already has an-gered countries like India and South Africa.

But Trump said allowing wealthy economies to claim developing country status will harm “economies that truly re-quire special and differential treatment,” and that “cannot continue to go unchecked.”

Developing country status in the WTO allows governments longer timelines for implement-ing free trade commitments, as well as the ability to protect some domestic industry and maintain subsidies.

The Trump administration has long complained that WTO rules are unfair to the United States, and has nearly throttled key WTO proceedings by refus-ing to name new members of the appellate body for the dis-pute settlement system, which will cease to function later this year.

Hillman said that is a much more pressing threat to the world’s trade referee since it will block the ability to enforce rules or for countries to comply with decisions.

JUDGEMENTALL HAI KYA (PG-15)(HINDI/THRILLER) OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PMCITY CENTRE: 12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 + 9.15 + 11.30 PMSEEF (I): 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL: 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PM SAAR: 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PM

KANGANA RANAUT, RAJKUMMAR RAO, R. BHAKTI KLEIN

BLUE ELEPHANT 2 (15+)(ARABIC/THRILLER/HORROR) CITY CENTRE: 12.15 + 3.00 + 5.45 + 8.30 + 11.15 PMSEEF (I): 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMWADI AL SAIL: 12.30 + 6.00 + 11.30 PMSAAR: 12.15 + 3.00 + 5.45 + 8.30 + 11.15 PMKARIM ABDULAZIZ, HIND SABRY, NELLY KARIM SKIN (18+)(DRAMA/THRILLER/BIOGRAPHI) ااااا (NEW)SEEF (I): 10.30 AM + 3.45 + 9.00 PM

JAMIE BELL, DANIELLE MACDONALD, DANIEL HENSHALL

RIVER RUNS RED (PG-15)(CRIME/DRAMA) SEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 2.30 + 6.30 + 10.30 PM

TAYE DIGGS, GEORGE LOPEZ, JOHN CUSACK

LYING AND STEALING (15+)(THRILLER/CRIME) SEEF (II): 12.30 + 4.30 + 8.30 PM

THEO JAMES, EMILY RATAJKOWSKI, FRED MELAMED

ARJUN PATIALA (PG-13)(HINDI/COMEDY) أ OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.15 AM + 4.15 + 9.15 PMSEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 + 12.00 MN

DILJIT DOSANJH, KRITI SANON AMIT MEHRA

AXEL 2: ADVENTURES OF THE SPACE KIDS (G)(ANIMATION

SEEF (I): 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 3.00 PM

KATE HIGGINS, COLLEEN O’SHAUGHNESSEY, ALYSON LEIGH ROSENFELD

THE LION KING (PG)(ADVENTURE/DRAMA/FAMILY) أأأأأ OASIS JUFFAIR (ATMOS): 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (KIDS CINEMA): 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.30 + 6.00 + 8.30 +11.00 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (VIP): 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PMCITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)CITY CENTRE (ATMOS): 11.30 AM + 2.00 + 4.30 + 7.00 + 9.30 PM + 12.00 MNCITY CENTER (IMAX 2D): 10.30 AM + 3.30 + 8.30 PMCITY CENTER (IMAX 3D): 1.00 + 6.00 + 11.00 PMCITY CENTRE VIP (I): 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PMCITY CENTRE VIP (II): 11.30 AM + 4.45 + 10.00 PMSEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 11.00 AM + 11.30 AM + 1.00 + 1.30 + 2.00 + 3.30 + 4.00 + 4.30 + 6.00 + 6.30 + 7.00 + 8.30 + 9.00 + 9.30 + 11.00 + 11.30 PM + 12.00 MN + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL: 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.00 + 11.30 PM WADI AL SAIL (3D): 10.30 AM + 3.30 + 8.30 PMSAAR: 10.30 AM + 11.00 AM + 1.00 + 1.30 + 3.30 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 6.30 + 8.30 + 9.00 + 11.00 + 11.30 PM

DONALD GLOVER, SETH ROGEN, CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (PG-15)(ACTION)أأ أأأ OASIS JUFFAIR : 1.30 + 6.30 + 11.30 PMCITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.45 + 6.30 + 9.15 + 12.00 MN + (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)CITY CENTRE VIP (II): 2.00 + 7.15 + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)SEEF (II): 12.45 + 3.30 + 6.15 + 9.00 + 11.45 PMWADI AL SAIL: 11.00 AM + 3.15 + 8.45 PMTOM HOLLAND, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ZENDAYACRAWL (18+)(THRILLER/HORROR) ااااا OASIS JUFFAIR: 1.45 + 6.30 + 11.15 PMCITY CENTRE: 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 + 12.00 MNSEEF (II): 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PMWADI AL SAIL: 1.45 + 3.45 + 5.45 + 7.45 + 9.45 + 11.45 PM

KAYA SCODELARIO, BARRY PEPPER, ROSS ANDERSON

ALADDIN (PG)(ADVENTURE) أأأأأ أأأأOASIS JUFFAIR : 11.00 AM + 3.45 + 8.30 PMCITY CENTRE: 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II): 12.00 + 2.45 + 5.30 + 8.15 + 11.00 PMWADI AL SAIL: 1.30 + 6.15 + 11.00 PM

WILL SMITH, NAOMI SCOTT, MENA MASSOUD

TOY STORY 4 (G)(ANIMATION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY) أأأأأ 4 أأأأ

CITY CENTRE: 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 11.15 PMSEEF (I): 11.00 AM + 1.15 + 3.30 + 5.45 + 8.00 + 10.15 PMWADI AL SAIL: 11.15 AM + 4.00 + 8.45 PM

TOM HANKS, TIM ALLEN, JOAN CUSACK

MOHAMMED HUSSAIN (PG-15)(ARABIC/COMEDY) أأأأ أأأأ

CITY CENTRE: 10.45 AM + 12.45 + 2.45 + 4.45 + 6.45 + 8.45 + 10.45 PMSEEF (II): 12.00 + 2.00 + 4.00 + 6.00 + 8.00 + 10.00 PM + 12.00 MNMOHAMED SAAD, MAI SALEEM, MOHHAMED THARWATTHE EXTRACTORS (15+)(ACTION/THRILLER) اااااااا CITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 12.30 + 2.30 + 4.30 + 6.30 + 8.30 + 10.30 PMSEEF (II): 11.45 AM + 1.45 + 3.45 + 5.45 + 7.45 + 9.45 + 11.45 PM

SYLVESTER STALLONE, DAVE BAUTISTA, 50 CENT

JOHN WICK 3 PARABELLUM (15+)(ACTION/THRILLER/CRIME) أأأأأأأأأ - 3 أأأ أأأ

CITY CENTRE: 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PMKEANU REEVES, HALLE BERRY, IAN MCSHANE

SUPER 30 (PG-13)(HINDI/DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY) أأأأ OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.15 AM + 2.15 + 5.15 + 8.15 + 11.15 PMCITY CENTRE: 2.15 + 8.30 PMSEEF (I): 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PM

HRITHIK ROSHAN, MRUNAL THAKUR, PANKAJ TRIPATHI

ANNABELLE COMES HOME (15+) (HORROR) أأأأ أأأأأأ أأأأأ أأأ

CITY CENTRE: 11.15 AM + 3.30 + 7.45 + 12.00 MNVERA FARMIGA, MCKENNA GRACE, MADISON ISEMAN

THE HUSTLE (PG-15) (COMEDY/CRIME) أأأأأ CITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 3.00 + 7.30 + 12.00 MN

ANNE HATHAWAY, REBEL WILSON, ALEX SHARP

STUBER (15+)(ACTION/COMEDY) CITY CENTRE: 1.30 + 5.45 + 10.00 PM

KAREN GILLAN, DAVE BAUTISTA, BETTY GILPIN

MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL (PG-13)(ACTION) اااااااااا ااااااا اا اااا CITY CENTRE : 12.30 + 5.00 + 9.30 PM

TESSA THOMPSON, CHRIS HEMSWORTH, REBECCA FERGUSON

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (PG-15)(ACTION/ADVENTURE) أأأأأأ أأأأأ :أأأأأأ

CITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 5.15 + 11.30 PMBRIE LARSON, ROBERT DOWNEY JR., KAREN GILLAN

KADARAM KONDAN (PG-15) (TAMIL) OASIS JUFFAIR: 10.30 AM + 3.45 + 9.00 PM

VIKRAM, AKSHARA HAASAN,YOGI BABU

SACHIN (PG-13) (MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR: 1.00 + 6.15 + 11.30 PMSEEF (I): 1.00 + 6.15 + 11.30 PMALHAMRA: 3.00 PM

DHYAN SREENIVASAN, RESHMA RAJAN, AJU VARGHESE, RAMESH PISHARODY

LUCA (PG-15) (MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PMSEEF (I): 11.45 AM + 5.45 + 11.45 PMALHAMRA: 9.00 PM + (12.00 MN THURS/FRI)

TOVINOTHOMAS, SHALU RAHIM, SRIKANT MURALI

DEAR COMRADE () (TELUGU) FROM FRIDAY 26thOASIS JUFFAIR: 11.00 AM + 2.00 + 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PMSEEF (I): 2.45 + 8.45 PMALHAMRA: 6.00 PM

VIJAY DEVERAKONDA, RASHMIKA MANDANNA, SHRUTI RAMACHANDRAN

A1 (PG-13) (TAMIL) FROM FRIDAY 26thALHAMRA: 12.00 NOON

SANTHANAM,TARA ALISHA BERRY,MOTTA RAJENDRAN,MANOHAR,SWAMI-NATHAN,SAIKUMAR

River Runs Red: A captivating thriller with late identity issues‘River Runs Red’ is a crime drama about racially motivated police violence with a controversial twist

• The flm balks at being a socially relevant movie in favor of a typical action revenge plot

When a judge’s son is killed in an unjustified police officer killing, Judge Charles Cole-

man (Taye Diggs) becomes conflicted in trying to get justice for his deceased son from the same men he works with. Charles goes after those that are re-sponsible with the help from a veteran detective (John Cusack) and another father (George Lopez) mourning his son’s murder.

River Runs Red covers a very serious issue going on in America which is officer brutality and shooting deaths of unarmed victims. The film takes the controversial subject and turns it into a dramatic thriller, one that feels like two different films.

For the first two acts of the film, the story is heavy on set up. It’s filled with dramatics and conflicts with just about every character in the film. After Charles’s son gets killed by two officers, his relationship with his wife begins to crumble under the stress of finding justice. Charles is then forced to choose between his family or his career of be-ing a judge. When Charles chooses his

family, his co-workers go against him by attempting to cover up the murder.

Charles has a couple of run-ins with the mayor (Jou Jou Papailler), and these run-ins feel cheesy. On two dif-ferent occasions, Charles confronts the

mayor in which things get a little heat-ed. After both confrontations, Charles leaves the room, and the mayor will say something a villain from an 80s flick would say.

The film attempts an intimate mon-

tage that just feels out of place. Charles and his wife are showing some affec-tion, which had been absent for a while in their relationship, and it’s backed up by some R & B music that puts the icing on the cake.

In the third act, the film takes a huge turn in going from pure drama to an all-out thriller. The third act is Charles and Javier hunting down the cops that killed their son which involves violence, police chases, and shootouts. It kind of comes out of nowhere even though Charles hints at doing everything he can to find justice for his son. He ap-parently will do everything.

Despite some questionable scenes and dialogue, it does have some good acting. River Runs Red’s star-studded cast adds a whole lot to the film, as it should. It’s been a while since Diggs had a role as the main character in a project, but Diggs held the film to-gether.

13 SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019

M O V I E R E V I E W

A scene from ‘River Runs Red’

KNOW WHAT

‘River Runs Red’ is a brutal exploration of systematic

racism, and the powerless-ness individuals have with-in large systems of power

14 SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019

Caitlyn Jenner proud of daughter Kylie’s successLos Angeles

Reality star Caitlyn Jen-ner praised her daugh-

ter Kylie Jenner on the success of her cosmetic business.

Showering all the love, Caitlyn shared a photo of Kylie Cosmetics headquar-ters lobby on Instagram with a caption: “20 years ago, when your mom and I were changing diapers, teaching you to walk, and putting you to sleep, we had no idea this was coming. So proud.”

Kylie responded to her dad’s sweet post, comment-ing, “I love you [?][?][?].”

In addition to the upcom-ing nail care, Kylie is also reported to be coming out with her own fragrances and perfumes. She also filed a trademark for ‘Kylie Baby’, back in May, complete with furniture, cribs, bouncers and more.

It’s official: Kylie Jenner no more friends with Jordyn WoodsLos Angeles

Reality star and makeup mo-gul Kylie Jenner has offi-cially parted ways with best

friend Jordyn Woods by unfollowing her on Instagram.

This comes almost five months after Kardashian family got to know about Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods

cheating scandal.However, the American model still

follows the makeup mogul on the pho-to-sharing platform.

The whole drama was aired on the recent season of ‘Keeping Up with the Kar-dashians,’ where Jenner opened up about

the demise of their years-long friendship.“I called her and she didn’t really say

anything. She was just like; you know crying the whole time. And I was just telling her, ‘I’m like scared of you now. Like, you’re capable of waking up the next morning with a smile on your face,” Kylie recalled of confronting her with the hookup rumour.

Marvel drops heartbreaking deleted scene from ‘Avengers: Endgame’Los Angeles

Fans have not gotten over the void that ‘Avengers:

Endgame’ left in their life, and the creators released one scene that did not make it to the final movie.

Ahead of ‘Avengers: End-game’ digital release Mar-vel Cinematic Universe released a deleted scene which will surely make you cry.

The heartbreaking scene shared by USA Today shows what happened right after Tony Stark sacrificed him-self to defeat Thanos.

In the scene, Stark is tak-ing his last breath after hav-ing a mammoth fight with the movie’s villain Thanos.

The one-minute-36-sec-ond scene starts with teary-eyed Pepper Potts plant-ing one last kiss on Tony’s Cheek. Then in an unseen moment, Hawkeye bends a knee as a mark of respect followed by other Avengers who too take a knee. Black Panther and Captain Mar-vel can be seen paying their respects too, followed by Peter Quill, Valkyrie and Nebula.

Camila Morrone hits back at trolls criticising her and Leonardo DiCapro’s age difference

Los Angeles

Actress Camila Morrone, who has been linked

to actor Leonardo Di-Caprio for over a year now, has hit back at trolls for pointing out the 22 years age gap between the couple.

This comes after the 22-year-old actress posted photos of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart on her Instagram last week, reported E! News

“A love like this,” Morrone wrote alongside the pictures.

Bacall and Bogart--like Mor-rone, 22, and DiCaprio, 44, had over a 20-year age gap between them. Defying their critics, Bacall and Bogart tied the knots in 1945.

After Morrone’s post, many so-cial media users left hateful com-ments on her Instagram.

“I can’t believe what a dork she is posting something like this,” one user commented. “It’s obv a com-parison to herself and Leo. Girl,

where are your friends?? Somebody stop her.”

“Leo only cares about your body,” the second user wrote while another

declares that the mod-el’s relation-ship with Di-Caprio will

be “over when you’re 25.”

After see-i n g t h e comments, Morrone took to her Instagram Story to sound off on her haters.

“Good morning people and happy Fri-day,” Morrone said in the Instagram Story video. “I just read some of the comments on my Insta-gram and...my God, peo-ple are so mean and full of anger with people that they know nothing about.”

‘Aladdin’ becomes Will Smith’s first biggest hit to cross $ 1 billion

Los Angeles

Disney’s live-action ‘Aladdin’ has crossed USD 1 billion mark making it Will Smith’s

biggest hit to enter USD 1 billion club.The film which had hit the thea-

tres in May finished Thursday with a North American total of USD 343.1 million and USD 656.2 million over-seas for a global haul of USD 999.3 million, according to The Holly-wood Reporter.

Sharing her excitement, Mena

Massoud told fans that he’d predicted the film would gross USD 1 billion despite being “dismissed” for believing so.

Kim Kardashian considers daughter Chicago her ‘twin’Los Angeles

American television host and supermodel Kim Kardashian feels that there is a strong resemblance between her daughter Chicago

and her.Kim shared a series of adorable pictures of her-

self spending some quality time with her younger daughter Chicago, 18 months.

In the clicks, the ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star can be seen wearing matching

white off-the-shoulder dresses as they sat together on a white

couch.Ever the doting mother, the

38-year-old star appeared to tie two tiny bows on her daughter’s ballet shoes as she gazed up at

her face.Referencing the strong family re-

semblance between the pair, the reality star commented on the images, writing, “My twin.”

Flaunting some more family pictures earlier this week, Kim posted numerous photos from her grandmother Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell’s 85th birthday party.

Making a bold fashion statement, the reality star’s older daughter North showed off a new nose ring at the bash, which her mother quickly pointed out wasn’t actually real.

“Fake nose ring alert!!!” the KKW beauty mogul wrote over a pic-ture of North posing alongside her cousins Penelope, 7, and True, 15 months, and aunts Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian.

Kim Kardashian

Alex Rodriguez reveals he got ill while dancing at Jennifer Lopez’s birthday bash

Los Angeles

Former professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez made a shocking revelation that he suf-

fered from immense pain following the birthday bash of Jennifer Lopez in Miami on Wednesday.

In an Instagram video uploaded by the sportsperson on Friday, he said that he was in great pain after the bash.

“Jennifer’s done 28 shows in about 58 days. She has two more here do-mestically here in Miami. Last night for her birthday, it was a big one, it was 50. I danced for about an hour and seven minutes,” Alex said in the video.

Even two days after the party – which took place at Gloria and Emil-io Estefan’s sprawling estate in Star Island – the sportsperson had a cold body temperature, even after a variety of remedies.

Continuing, he said, “I couldn’t get out of my bed tonight,” he ex-plained. “I’ve iced. I’ve done cryo. I got stretched. I got a massage. Steam.

Sauna. I’ve been drinking coffee all day. I’m a mess. She went out there and destroyed it in Miami. Killed it, like if she slept ten hours. Am I the only one that can’t recover anymore? Does it suck to get old or what?”

I am so sore from one night of danc-ing, I don’t know how Jennifer does it!” he captioned the video.

The birthday party of the ‘On the Floor’ featured a number of celebrity guests, including LA Reid, Ryan Sea-crest, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and Ashanti.

According to People, the famous couple also brought their blended family out to party -- including Alex’s children, Natasha, 14, and Ella, 11, as well as Lopez’s twins, Max and Emme, 11.

“It was actually epic – it was a real friends and family thing,” a source inside the party told PEOPLE. “It was like the closest people in her life and you could tell by the way she said hello to everyone that it didn’t work.”

According to the source, the duo was also spotted busting their moves out on the dance floor until around 3 a.m.

Bella Thorne

starrer ‘Southland’ begins shooting

Los Angeles

The production of Bella Thorne starrer ‘Southland’ has be-gun in Oklahoma.

The film helmed and written by Joshua Caldwell also stars Jake

Manley, Amber Riley and Michael Sirow, reported Variety.

The film follows two young lovers who got robbed on their way to southland. The lovers posted their exploits on social media and gained fame and followers along the way.

“I could not have shot ‘South-land’ anywhere but in Oklahoma,” said Caldwell.

“Its geographical diversity allows it to stand in for a multitude of other locations, including Florida and Texas, and the land

on which this state rests is both haunting and beautiful,” Caldwell added.

‘Southland’ began principal pho-tography in Guthrie and will con-

tinue throughout the month filming in multiple commu-

nities in the central Okla-homa region.

Jordyn Woods and Kylie Jenner

Chicago

Leonardo DiCapro

Bella Thorne

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer

Lopez

15

sports


Bernal set for Tour title Egan Bernal wraps up ‘incredible’ Tour de France after retaining yellow for ride to Paris

• Bernal remains in overall lead following penultimate stage

• Team Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas second in standings

• Bahrain Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali wins stage 20 of Tour de France

AFP | Val Thorens, France

Eg a n B e r n a l a l l b u t clinched victory in the Tour de France defend-

ing his overnight lead in the penultimate stage which left the Colombian only needing to cross the finish line in today’s parade into Paris to win the 2019 edition.

The champion in waiting said he was so nervous on the climb he counted down the kilometres on the way up as defending champion Welshman Geraint Thomas ended the day in second overall, with Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk in third.

The stage itself was won by 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali who broke from the main con-tenders late in the final climb to win by 17sec at the line where

he raised his finger to his lips, kissed it and raised it to the sky.

“I still have to get Paris but it’s incredible,” said the rider who is set to become the Tour’s youngest winner since Francois Faber in 1909.

“I’m a little calmer now,” add-ed the modest Colombian.

“It’ll take a few days to realise what I have achieved.

“To be honest I was feeling good today, I kept thinking 5km, 4km, 3km one less, one less to go each time.

“When we got to the finish and Geraint held out his hand I realised it was over and I was go-ing to win the Tour de France.”

Bernal and Thomas, co-cap-tains at Team Ineos, crossed the winning line a few seconds ahead of their key rivals and smiled broadly at each other as they held hands in unity to mark the moment.

Ineos principal Dave Brails-ford appears to have master-minded seven tour wins from the last eight editions with Brad-ley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Thomas having taken six and Bernal within a parade of the latest triumph.

F r e n c h m a n Ju l i a n A l -aphilippe, who led for 14 days before cracking on Friday’s weather neutralised stage fin-

ished down the field to drop to fifth place overall.

Bernal, who is set to become Colombia’s first Tour winner, now leads Thomas by 1min 11sec and Jumbo-Visma’s Kruijswijk by 1min 31sec ahead of the pro-cessionary day of racing ending in the French capital.

Nibali, who won in 2014, came second on this year’s Giro d’Ita-lia and while he looked wiped out early in the Tour was radiant when picking up a stage win late in the game.

“To win here is a great joy,” said Bahrain Merida’s Italian captain.

Yesterday’s race embarked in

cool conditions in 12 Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) atop the Val Thorens ski resort at 2,356m altitude.

Green jersey wearer Peter Sa-gan said he was delighted the race had been shortened today.

“Tomorrow is Paris and one for the sprinters, so let’s see, a win in Paris would be great,” said the Slovak gunning for the sprinter’s jersey for a record sev-enth time.

“It’s been a beautiful Tour,” he said.

Frenchman Romain Bardet redeemed what had looked like a disastrous three weeks for him by rallying to win the ‘King of the Mountains’ polka dot jersey with two fine performances in th Alps.

Today’s final parade to Paris embarks late and is due to finish beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Egan Bernal is congratulated by his Team Ineos teammate and last year’s winner Geraint Thomas as they finish stage 20

KNOW WHAT

22-year-old Egan Bernal is set to

become the Tour’s youngest winner

since Francois Faber in 1909

Perez double as Barcelona beat Iniesta’s KobeAFP | Kobe, Japan

Carles Perez scored his first two goals for Barcelona

as the Spanish giants won 2-0 against a Vissel Kobe side fea-turing Andres Iniesta, a legend of the Catalan club.

As Kobe’s Iniesta, David Villa and Sergi Samper were all reu-nited with their former team, it was Perez who stole the lime-light with a top-class double.

The 21-year-old, a product of Barcelona’s academy, played a one-two inside the box and nut-megged the goalkeeper for his first goal, and fired a stunning left-footer for his second in the dying minutes.

Iniesta had his chances and 28,000 fans sighed their frus-tration as he put a fierce shot just wide.

“It was my first goal for Bar-celona and I’m glad to score even two,” Perez said.

“It’s been my dream to score goals for this great team since

my childhood,” he added.Iniesta said: “I am glad Bar-

celona were able to come here and play. It was a good game honestly as we played well.”

The World Cup-winner, who lifted 32 major trophies with Barcelona, signed for Kobe last May in a deal worth a reported $30 million a year. Iniesta, 34, became team captain in April.

Kobe also announced the signing of Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen, after the 33-year-old reportedly turned down an offer to join country-man Vincent Kompany at An-derlecht.

Yesterday’s win wrapped up Barcelona’s pre-season friend-lies in Japan following their 2-1 loss to Chelsea earlier this week.

World Cup-winning French striker Antoine Griezmann and former Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who both made their unofficial debuts in the Chelsea match, played again yesterday with no goals

Barcelona’s forward Carles Perez shoots to score

Ayyad is a hero in the making: DaleyTDT | Manama

British MMA pioneer and combat sports star Paul

Daley was just one of many VIP guests at the historic BRAVE 24: London event, which shook up the mixed martial arts world by connecting the sport to the highest level of personalities from around the world. Da-ley was full of praise for the event, but left with one certain thought: Bahrain’s Hussain Ayyad will be a star.

Daley was impressed with Ayyad’s performance, as “Iron” only needed a few minutes to submit Mitchell Johnson in the first round of their BRAVE 24 bout, which opened the high-ly-anticipated fight card last Thursday.

“When I was invited to BRAVE 24, I started watch-ing the guys on the card be-cause I love MMA and want to know some of these guys. I was already impressed with Hussain, and one of my team-mates talked to me about him too, so I came in early to catch him in action. I was not dis-appointed, as he just walked through a very tough Mitchell Johnson. I really think he will be a star, and I know the whole Kingdom of Bahrain is already proud of him. Bahrain needs

to support him because he can become a superstar, I’ll tell you that right now”, said Daley be-fore meeting Ayyad himself for a picture.

Meanwhile, Hussain was very proud of his own perfor-mance and called Daley one of his heroes. He couldn’t believe when he heard that “Semtex” had high hopes for him.

“He said that? Wow, that is awesome. I train really hard and it’s great to reap the re-wards of my hard work. I couldn’t do this without the support of KHK MMA, my head coach Eldar Eldarov and the support of BRAVE CF and HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa”.

Hussain Ayyad during his fight

Global media celebrates Shaikh Khalid’s visionTDT | Manama

Worldwide media was in attendance at the

Copper Box Arena for BRAVE 24: London and left the are-na with the impression they had witnessed history in the making. That was the over-all sentiment from media row, as members from web-sites and newspapers from England, Ireland, and Brazil were treated to an unfor-gettable night of fights and entertainment.

Before and after BRAVE 24, media members were con-nected to BRAVE president Mohammed Shahid through special interviews in which they were presented with HH Shaikh Khalid bin Ham-ad Al Khalifa’s vision for the sport, and were impressed to see it all unfold on fight night.

The goal of connecting the world through MMA was achieved with astounding success, as 350 VIP personal-ities from around the world were treated to a night they will never forget, and the media was there to witness it all.

The overall impression was that BRAVE CF is, indeed, developing a global ecosys-tem for mixed martial arts, which will take MMA from the event business to the sports business, focusing on the development of the sport instead of brands develop-ing at the cost of the sport itself.

De Bruyne, Sterling on target in Man City winAFP | Yokohama, Japan

Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Lukas Nmecha

were all on target as Premier League champions Manchester City wrapped up their Asian tour with a 3-1 win over Japan’s Yokohama Marinos yesterday.

Bernardo Silva fed De Bruyne for the game’s opener in front of 65,000 fans at Nissan Stadium,

just outside Tokyo, as the Bel-gian cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot.

Keita Endo scored a surprise equaliser for Yokohama before De Bruyne released the pace of Sterling, who made no mistake as he slotted past the goalkeeper with two defenders in pursuit.

The fast-paced first half gave way to a slower second period, with a few missed chances for

both sides including an attempt by Sterling in the 58th minute that was ruled out for offside.

Kazaki Nakagawa was de-nied by City goalkeeper Clau-dio Bravo before Nmecha, 20, bundled in the visitors’ third goal in the final minute after a cross from 18-year-old Adrian Bernabe.

The victory ended a some-times difficult Asian tour for Pep

Guardiola’s City, who kicked it off by arriving two days in China and faced criticism in Chinese state media for their treatment of fans.

“It was an incredible test, preparation for the next games in the future,” Guardiola said.

“It was perfect for us to play this kind of game” before the season, he added. “We made mistakes but that’s good.”

Iran clinch FIVB U21 World title • Iran break Italian hearts to win FIVB U21 World Championship in Bahrain

TDT | Manama

Iran were crowned champions of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship 2019, which came

to a thrilling close yesterday night at Shaikh Isa Sports City in Riffa.

The Iranians clinched the coveted title after breaking the hearts of previ-ously undefeated Italy 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12) in an epic and hotly contested final that could have gone either way.

The match lasted two-and-a-quarter hours as neither team would budge un-til Iran managed to execute the decisive plays in the end.

The result earned the Iranians their first-ever gold medals in the history of the biennial Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) junior competi-tion. They had previously won a single bronze medal once in the past in 2007.

Yesterday’s result was Italy’s first and only loss in the global event. They had to settle for the silver medals, which was their fourth in this competition. They have yet to win the gold.

Meanwhile, Brazil captured the bronze medals after overcoming Russia 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-12). The Brazilians claimed the last step on the winners’ podium and took third place for the fifth time.

Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) President Shaikh Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa was in attendance in the final, as were Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) Board Member and Women’s Sport Committee Chairwoman Shaikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa and other high-ranking officials.

Hosts Bahrain finished eighth overall after losing to Korea 1-3 (19-25, 23-25, 25-13, 23-25) in their final classification

game. Argentina claimed fifth place after

beating China, while finishing the competition ranked ninth to 16th, re-spectively, were the Czech Republic, Cuba, Poland, Canada, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Puerto Rico.

In yesterday night’s final, the Italians had a brilliant start with their first-set win, but Iran were able to turn things around quickly and claim the next two sets for the match advantage. The fourth set saw Italy fighting for their lives and they were able to send things into the tie-breaker, which turned out to be a heart-stopping, see-saw affair.

The two teams were deadlocked at 11-apiece but then Iran took the next three points to take a 14-11 advantage. They then closed things out in the next two plays for the superb win.

The trio of Porya Yali, team captain Amirhossein Esfandiar and Morteza Sharifi were the stars of the match. They brilliantly spearheaded the Irani-ans’ attack, with Yali scoring 22 points, Esfandiar adding 20 and Sharifi con-tributing 15. Kristian Gamba and Dan-iele Lavia had 17 apiece for Italy in the loss.

The two teams split the main scoring categories, with Iran superior in attack (60-57) and serve (10-3). Italy were better in block (12-9) and opponents’ errors (30-25).

In the match for third place, Brazil were in fine form from start to finish as they needed just three sets to overcome their European rivals.

The Brazilians took control in all categories, winning 41-35 on attack and 10-4 on block, while taking 22 points on their opponents’ errors and giving

up just 15. Guilherme Voss Messias Dos Santos

put in a 13-point performance for the winners whereas Victor Aleksander Almeida Cardoso added 11. Maksim Sapozhkov paced Russia with 16 points. He was their only player in double-fig-ures.

Brazil captain Rhendrick Resley Rosa commented: “We’re very happy with this victory and this medal. It’s a lot better to win third place than lose the first place, so we were all for it.”

In Bahrain’s loss, the Koreans domi-nated attack (55-40), but the home side were superior in block (15-5). Korea also had a slight advantage in serve (8-6), while Bahrain had 29 points on their opponents’ errors while giving away 20.

Skipper Donghyeok Im and Sungjin Lim provided the one-two punch for

the winners, combining for 47 points. Donghyeok was their top scorer with 25. For Bahrain, Hasan Mohamed had a fine performance with 21 markers. Sayed Mohamed Alabbar was their only other player in double-figures with 14.

Donghyeok commented after the game: “Every moment here is a good memory. It wasn’t all about our wins or losses. Every moment mattered for us. I am happy with this championship that we got the seventh place.”

Bahrain captain Mahmood Abdul-husain said: “We are always doing our best to play well. The other teams have more experience so we need to take our experience in this championship. We had hoped to do a better job in this championship, but being in the top eight teams is a good memory for us.”

Argentina claimed fifth place after rallying from a set down to defeat China 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19).

In the fight for ninth place, the Czech Republic surprised Cuba in a 3-0 (28-26, 26-24, 25-20) sweep; while playing for 11th, Poland rallied after losing the first set to beat Canada 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 28-26, 23-25, 15-12).

In the battle for 13th, Egypt were able to overcome fellow-African side Tunisia 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22); while in the fight for 15th place overall, Morocco defeated Puerto Rico in an exciting five-setter (25-22, 25-22, 32-34, 19-25, 15-12).

Y E S T E R D A Y ’ S R E S U L T S

Iran bt Italy 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12)Brazil bt Russia 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-12)

Argentina bt China 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19)

Korea bt Bahrain 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 13-25, 25-23)Czech Republic bt Cuba 3-0 (28-26, 26-24,

25-20)Poland bt Canada 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 28-26,

23-25, 15-12)Egypt bt Tunisia 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22)

Morocco bt Puerto Rico 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 32-34, 19-25, 15-12)


Iran’s Amirhossein Esfandiar looks to score against Italy’s blockers

Hamilton grabs German GP pole• Disaster for Ferrari as Sebastian Vettel starts from back

• Ferrari suffer mechanical failures

• Max Verstappen qualifies second, Valtteri Bottas is third

AFP | Hockenheim, Germany

Lewis Hamilton secured a gift-wrapped record-ex-

tending 87th pole position of his career yesterday when he made the most of a double dis-aster for Ferrari in qualifying at the German Grand Prix.

The defending five-time world champion, who had struggled for pace and consist-ency in his Mercedes in prac-tice, improved to clock a best lap in one minute and 11.767 and outpace Max Verstappen of Red Bull by 0.346 seconds.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third ahead of Pierre Gasly in the sec-ond Red Bull while Charles Le-clerc, who had been fastest for Ferrari in final practice, failed to run in the Q3 top-10 shootout due to a fuel systems problem with his car.

The Moneqasque will start 10th, 10 places ahead of his luck-less Ferrari team-mate Sebas-tian Vettel who was unable to take part in qualifying due to a turbo problem and will start at the back of the grid for his home race.

Kimi Raikkonen was fifth for Alfa Romeo ahead of Romain Grosjean of Haas, Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Sergio Perez of Racing Point and Nico Hulken-berg of Renault.

“Congratulations Lewis – you never stop amazing us,” said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff as the Briton drove his slow-down lap. “Thanks, Toto,” he replied. “A great job guys – I don’t know how we did that.”

Hamilton’s lap was the only

one in the 1:11’s all weekend at the Hockenheimring, where he last took pole in 2008, and gave his team a perfect cause for celebration on the anniversary of 125 years of motorsport and their 200th Formula One race start.

”My first lap was spot-on and the second lap was better in places,” said Hamilton.

Verstappen said: “We could have been closer, but went a bit wide and bottomed out and I lost the rear end, but this is a good result.”

Bottas said: “I think the weather is going to play a big part tomorrow. I’m a bit dis-appointed, especially with the pace in Q3. Ferrari had been very quick here… so we’re in a good place.”

On an overcast and much cooler day after heavy overnight rain, the Williams team were first on track for Q1, in front of an enthusiastic crowd boosted by Verstappen’s ‘orange army’ and many local supporters for Vettel in Ferrari red.

Luckless Vettel Leclerc was soon on top for

the ‘scarlet scuderia’ ahead of Verstappen, but it was bad news again for the luckless Vettel.

After sitting in his car, strand-ed under repair in the Ferrari garage, he climbed out, con-demned to start from the back of the grid.

“I don’t know exactly what happened, but we lost the turbo and the car would not run. I feel bitter, of course, as the car is great and it’s a big chance lost – but we have another chance tomorrow.

“I am looking forward to the race, of course, but I would pre-fer to be right up at the front than at the back.”

After struggling with their own problems, Hamilton and Bottas qualified third and sixth for Mercedes with Gasly and Raikkonen between them, while British rookies Lando Norris of McLaren and Alex Albon of Toro Rosso joined the Williams men George Russell and Robert Kubica with Vettel in taking an early exit.

Lewis Hamilton waves to fans after the qualifying session of the German GP

Inter edge Neymar-less PSG on penalties

AFP | Macau, China

Portuguese midfielder Joao Mario scored the final

spot-kick as Inter Milan beat Neymar-less Paris Saint-Ger-main on penalties in Macau yesterday.

With their want-away Bra-zilian superstar left out of the trip to the former Portuguese colony, PSG were seconds from victory before Samuele Longo’s injury-time equaliser made it 1-1.

Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic saved from Adil Aouchiche and then Arthur Zagre before Mario stepped up to slot the winner for Inter, who edged the penalties 6-5.

The win for Antonio Conte’s

side comes just days after they lost to Italian rivals Juventus on penalties in a friendly in China.

Neymar, linked with a move back to his former club Bar-celona, remained in China’s Shenzhen, PSG’s previous stop on their Asian tour, while his team-mates flew to gambling enclave Macau.

In a scrappy game in Macau, Inter were quicker out of the blocks forcing three fine stops from PSG’s Alphonse Areola in the first 10 minutes.

New signing Stefano Sensi and Ivan Perisic were instru-mental in the early Inter at-tack, producing quick probing passes and causing problems behind the PSG defence.

Paris St. Germain’s Marco Verratti (L) vies for the ball with Inter Milan’s Danilo D’Ambrosio (front)

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