alarming escalation · al-sayed hashim al-sada was appointed as director of exter-nal tax...

02HRH Crown Prince issues edicts to appoint new officials

03Rising power bills forcing shops to close down: MP

04Parliament praises Royal pardon for jailed convicts

8

At least 28 dead in Indonesia bus plunge 5WORLD

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Riffa survive Al Najma scare Riffa survived a late scare to escape with a narrow 78-71 victory over Al Na-jma last night in the Top Six Division of the Zain Bahrain Basketball League, currently being played at Zain Arena in Um Al Has-sam. P16

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Israeli army admits error over attack Jerusalem

The Israeli army said Tuesday that a strike in Gaza that killed nine

members of the same family had been due to a faulty assess-ment of the risk to civilians.

The November 14 air strike targeted the home of Rasmi Abu Malhous, described by Is-rael as a commander in Islamic Jihad, the militant Palestinian movement against which Is-rael had launched a three-day campaign.

He and eight members of his family were killed by the attack, including five children.

A statement from the army said that intelligence collected ahead of the attack had indi-cated that the residence “was designated as an Islamic Jihad terror organisation military compound”.

The army had “estimated” that “civilians would not be harmed as a result of an at-tack” on the site, which was not believed to be accessible to

members of the public.An army inquiry later found

“that even though military activity was conducted in the compound, it was not a closed compound, and in reality civil-ians were present there,” it said.

The army said it would learn from its “mistakes” to reduce “the recurrence of similar ir-regular events.”

It stressed it had made “con-siderable efforts... to reduce the damage to non-combatants”.

Palestinian officials said 35 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded. There were no Israeli fatalities.

Anti-government protesters and the less fortunate attend a Christmas dinner to celebrate in Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut. Parts of Lebanon were expected to wake up to a white Christmas this year, but in a country that is home to more than a million refugees wintry weather was unlikely to be universally welcomed. Storm Loulou was expected to bring snow to parts of Lebanon above 1,400 metres overnight, but lower areas will only have rain and high winds, the meteorological department at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport said. The officials said the storm could lead to wind speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour and a raging sea.

Special Christmas

35Palestinians were killed

and more than 100 wounded in the attack.

Nation in crisis

Alarming escalation Aid agencies stop work in Yemen town after attacks

• Yemen has suffered from almost five years of conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi militants ousted President.

• Around 80 per cent of the population needs humanitarian assistance after the war pushed millions to the brink of famine.

Sana’a

Twelve aid agencies in the Yemeni town of Al Dhale have stopped work af-

ter attacks on their buildings that the United Nations called an “alarming escalation” amid media campaigns against aid or-ganisations.

The majority of attacks oc-curred overnight Saturday. One more occurred on an unoccupied

Oxfam office on Tuesday morn-ing, aid agencies said.

Among the agencies hit over-night on Saturday by rocket-pro-pelled grenades (RPGs) fired by unknown individuals were Ox-fam and the International Res-cue Committee (IRC).

The attacks on Saturday wounded one person, damaged property and caused 12 organisa-tions to suspend aid programmes in Al Dhale, affecting 217,000 residents, United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock said on Monday.

Oxfam said their office was hit by two RPGs, but nobody was injured. Tuesday’s attack used an improvised explosive device (IED).

IRC said its office and a wom-en’s centre were hit by RPGs on Saturday, injuring one security guard. “Aid workers are not a target. Those who will suffer the most are innocent Yemenis who benefit from IRC’s... work,” IRC said.

Yemen has suffered from al-

most five years of conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi mili-tants ousted President Abd-Rab-bu Mansour Hadi’s government in late 2014.

The southwestern province of Al Dhale lies on the main south-to-north road linking the south-ern port of Aden — controlled by Hadi’s government — to the Houthi-controlled capital, Sanaa.

A contested frontline runs across the province.

“I urge a thorough investiga-tion, and I express my appre-ciation to the Government of Yemen for the work they have begun in this regard.

“I also remain gravely con-cerned by the continuation of media campaigns in parts of Yemen that spread rumours and incitement against aid opera-tions,” Lowcock said.

Meanwhile, in the country’s north, the Houthi-run health ministry declared that a bout of fast-spreading swine flu had killed 94 people in October alone. Thousands of reported cases have overwhelmed health care facilities already crippled by constant violence, said Moham-med Al Mansour, a senior health official, warning the death toll would likely rise.A new outbreak of dengue fever has also swept across the country, killing 68 people, including 16 children under five, so far this month, he added.

A boy waits for food supplies provided by the World Food Programme at a school in Sana’a.

Aid workers are not a target. Those who will

suffer the most are innocent Yemenis who

benefit from IRC. IRC

Fee exemption cancelled Manama

Bahraini citizens wishing to travel to the Republic

of Turkey are now required to pay for an electronic visa fee of $60 for a maximum visit period of 30 days.

Bahraini citizens wish-ing to visit the country for a longer period must apply for a visa in person through the Turkish Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The visit visa fees for a pe-riod that exceeds 30 to 60 days is determined to be $135, while it is $270 for a period that exceeds 60 to 90 days.

More deaths in Idlib Damascus

At least eight people in-cluding five children

were killed yesterday in Russian air strikes on north-west Syria, as France and Turkey appealed for an end to violence that has forced tens of thousands to flee.

Heightened regime and Russian bombardment has hit the militant-held prov-ince of Idlib since mid-De-cember, as regime forces make steady advances on the ground despite an Au-gust cease-fire and UN calls for a de-escalation.

Nearly 80 civilians have been killed by air strikes and artillery attacks over the same period, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which estimates that more than 40,000 people have been displaced in recent weeks.

“These attacks should come to an end immediate-ly,” Turkey said Tuesday after sending a delegation to Mos-cow to discuss the flare-up.

02WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

HRH Crown Prince issues edicts to appoint new officials Manama

Hi s Ro ya l H i g h n e s s Pr ince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the

Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday is-sued Edict 35/2019, appointing Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as the Director of International Co-op-eration and Development at the Interior Ministry’s Office of the Ombudsman.

The Interior Minister shall implement the edict, which takes immediate effect and will be promulgated in the Official Gazette.

HRH the Crown Prince also issued Edict 36/2019, appointing the current Director of Avia-tion Safety and Security at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, as Aero-nautical Licensing Director at the same ministry.

The current Director of Land Transportation Planning and Studies, Shams Rashid Khalfan, was appointed as Director of Land Transportation Monitor-ing and Inspection at the same ministry.

Under the edict, Latifa Motlaq Jumaa Al Thawadi was appoint-ed as Director of Post Offices, Hussain Ali Yacoub as Director of Land Transportation Plan-

ning and Studies, Mohammed Abdulla Zainal Mohammed as Director of Aviation Safety and Security, Bassim Salman Al-As-foor as Director of Meteorolo-gy and Yassen Hassan Al Sayed Ali as Director of Air Naviga-tion Systems at the Ministry of

Transportation and Telecom-munications.

The Minister of Transporta-tion and Telecommunications shall implement the edict, which takes immediate effect and will be promulgated in the Official Gazette.

HRH the Crown Prince also issued Edict 37/2019, appoint-ing directors at the Information Affairs Ministry.

Under the edict, Mariam Isa Bukamal was appointed as Di-rector of Creativity and Elec-tronic Media, Qais Hassan Al Dossary as Director of Televi-sion and Abdulrahman Khalid Al-Madfai as Director of News at the Information Affairs Ministry.

The Information Affairs Min-ister shall implement the edict, which takes immediate effect and will be promulgated in the Official Gazette.

In another edict (38/2019), HRH Crown Prince appointed Yasser Mubarak Al Rumaithi as Director of Human Resources at the Electricity and Water Affairs Authority (EWA).

The Electricity and Water Af-fairs Minister shall implement the edict, which takes immedi-ate effect and will be promulgat-ed in the Official Gazette.

HRH the Crown Prince also issued Edict 39/2019, appointing the current Director of Central Internal Auditing at the Min-

istry of Finance and National Economy as Director of Risk Analysis at the National Bureau for Revenues (NBR).

Under the same edict, Nawaf Al-Sayed Hashim Al-Sada was appointed as Director of Exter-nal Tax Relations, Yusuf Adel Mohammed Mattar as Director of Tax Policies, Noor Hafidh Bu-Ali as Director of Operations and Auditing and Nada Alawi Al-Ala-wi as Director of Communica-tion and Customer Service at the National Bureau for Revenues.

The Minister of Finance and National Economy shall imple-ment the edict, which takes im-mediate effect and will be prom-ulgated in the Official Gazette.

HRH the Crown Prince

Egypt expo highlights Kingdom’s educational strides Cairo

Bahrain’s educational strides over the past century have been showcased during

the 17th conference of the Arab ministers in charge of higher ed-ucation and scientific research, hosted by Egypt.

During an exhibition on the centenary of formal education in Bahrain, held on the sidelines of the conference, Minister of Edu-cation, Dr Majid Al Nuaimi, and Assistant Undersecretary for Cur-ricula and Educational Supervi-sion, Ahlam Al Amer, briefed the ministers, heads of delegations and invitees about the history of formal education in the Kingdom,

which dates back to 1919, when the first government school, the “Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifiya” School, was established.

They also highlighted the quan-tum leaps made by the Kingdom in the field of education during the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, citing Bahrain’s success in rank-ing among developed countries in this field in international reports.

The visitors expressed their ad-miration for Bahrain’s deep-root-ed experience in education, and hailed its landmark achievements and honourable results.

The Education Ministry has been providing educational op-

portunities for every citizen to develop his/her mental, physi-cal and emotional potentials and skills through drawing up

development plans, their im-plementation and evaluation to achieve the requirements of qual-ity to enhance the quality and effectiveness of education in line with the international

standards as stated in the Education Law, Higher Edu-cation Law and Private Edu-cation Institutions Law in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom now hosts many universities, colleges, schools and professional institutions of international repute.Dr Al Nuaimi along with other officials tours the expo.

Bahrain Indian School celebrated Christmas with great exhilaration and ardour. The entire school vibrated with the echoes of Christmas carols. Principal Saji Jacob urged students to extend their help to all those around them. He also motivated students to express their gratitude to Almighty and spread the message of peace and love. Special Assemblies by tiny tots and senior students were conducted highlighting the birth of Jesus Christ, importance of giving gifts, and the importance of the festival as a whole. Students enjoyed the day as they shared food with their friends, played various games and sang Christmas carols. Directors Himanshu Verma and Ritu Verma extended their best wishes to all on the festive occasion of Christmas and New Year.

The New Millennium School, DPS Bahrain celebrated Christmas on December 22 and 23, 2019, with great fervour and enthusiasm. The entire school reverberated with the echoes of Christmas carols and wore a festive look with bells, streamers and beautifully decorated Christmas trees. Several activities such as decorating Christmas Trees and Stockings, making Christmas Cards and hand-crafted bells were organised for the students. The special assemblies highlighted the spirit of giving and sharing during Christmas. The tale about the birth of Lord Jesus and the legend of Santa Claus was enacted by the students. Speaking on the occasion, the Principal, Arun Kuumar Sharma, motivated the students to follow the true spirit and message of Christmas and emerge as better human beings. Chairman, Dr Ravi Pillai and the Managing Director, Geetha Pillai, extended their warm wishes and blessings on the occasion. The celebration at school was the best way to end a meritorious and eventful year and welcome another fruitful one with outstretched arms.


9:30 AM to 1:30 PM 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Rising power bills forcing shops to close down: MP

Commerce Ministry urged to find a remedy

• There are no official numbers from the part of authorities or market research firms as to how many shops have been closed down owing to high power bills.

TDT | Manama

The increase in electric-ity and water prices is forcing many shops and

businesses to close down, a parliamentarian observed.

MP Abdullah Al Thawadi said that the increase in elec-tricity and water prices came at a time when the economy has taken a downturn.

He urged the Ministry of In-dustry, Commerce and Trade to study the issue and find a remedy.

However, there are no offi-cial numbers from the part of

authorities or market research firms as to how many shops have been closed down owing to high power bills.

Meanwhile, a source from the ministry said that it is ready to carry out a study in co-operation with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry to determine the rea-sons for the closure of some shops.

In another development, parliamentarians are in their best efforts to reduce the pow-er bill burden from societies that support differently-abled.

According to a proposal by a group of MPs, the societies should be completely exempt-ed from paying the utility bills.

“The welfare of the special needs population of the coun-

try is of great interest to the Kingdom. Enabling their care could mean supporting the societies that support the dis-abled,” the explanatory note of the proposal stated.

“Exemption from electricity and water bills for these soci-eties will directly benefit the people with special needs,” the note stated.

Reportedly, senior MPs in-cluding Parliament Speaker Fawzia Zainal have signed the proposal.

A number of societies sup-porting special needs citizens have welcomed the move, stating the such a step would greatly help them.

The burden of high electric-ity and water bills have been the hot topic of discussion in recent weeks.

Citizens and residents have complained that the utility bills this year have been ex-tremely high in the past few months.

‘Deepest eclipse’ event held TDT | Manama

The Capital Governo-rate yesterday organ-

ised an event on the deepest eclipse in the history of the Kingdom in co-operation with the Bahraini Astronom-ical Society.

Hassan Abdullah Al Madani, Deputy Governor of the Capital Governorate and Dr Waheeb Al Nasser, society president and many dignitaries as well as space enthusiasts attended.

The event included a lec-ture given by Dr Waheeb Al Nasser in which, he stated that the Kingdom will today witness an annular eclipse of the sun, which is a rare phe-nomenon in 100 years.

The eclipse will begin around 6.32 am and will end by 7.49 am, the expert said.

Warning has been issued against seeing the eclipse with naked eyes as this could lead to eye damage or perma-nent blindness.

The attendees observed planets and stars through the Telescope, where Dr Waheeb Al Nasser briefed explanation on how to monitor the po-sitions of planets, stars and astronomical phenomena.

Mr Al Thawadi

We are ready to carry out a study in co-

operation with the Bahrain Chamber

of Commerce and Industry to determine the reasons for the closure of some

shops. MINISTRY SOURCE

Capital Governorate honours street cleaners

TDT | Manama

In a rare gesture, the Capi-tal Governorate honoured street cleaners whose hard

work and contributions to-wards keeping the Kingdom clean are rarely appreciated.

The event was organised by the Manama Central Market merchants in co-ordination with the Capital Secretariat.

Redha Al Bustani, a trader

from the vegetable market said that sanitation workers play an important role in the country and everyone owes a huge debt to them for their continuous and dedicated efforts.

“Despite many challenges, they continue to work hard and keep the country clean every day,” he said.

“We are so happy to have giv-en them a day to remember. Their efforts are certainly one

that we appreciate greatly. “We are thankful to all for

the amazing work they put in. We look forward to more events in the future,” another trader said.

Last month, a cleaner who re-turned wallet of a Bahraini after he found it on the street was honoured by Southern Munic-ipal Council officials.

A grand ceremony was held to honour the individual.

Council carries out inspections at restaurants in Muharraq

TDT | Manama Pradeep Puravankara

Muharraq Municipal Council has been carrying out many

inspectional visits to restau-rants and cafeterias to find out violations.

This was announced by Dr Hassan Al Dawy, Deputy Chair-man of Muharraq Municipal Council.

The inspectional visits were carried out in co-operation with Health Ministry, Industry, Trade and Commerce Ministry, Labour Market Regulatory Au-thority and Muharraq Police.

Dr Al Dawy confirmed that these campaigns follow the di-rectives of HRH the Premier after growing complaints about cleanliness violations at shops and hotels.

He said that the main goal of the campaign is to educate and guide while some violations demand strict action.

“Workers who are engaged

in serving and preparing food must register with the Health Ministry and they should be subjected to certain medical examinations.”

Governorate officials with street cleaners at the event.

Council inspectors in action at a restaurant kitchen.

Brothers ‘swindled BD1m from 38 people’ TDT | Manama

Two brothers swindled 38 people out of one mil-lion Bahraini dinars after

disguising as forex traders, the High Criminal Court heard.

The duo are said to have cre-ated a fake real estate company and cheated the victims who intended to generate money through forex trading, accord-ing to Prosecutors.

They reportedly collected the money from them and disap-peared, although they promised

the victims they would return the money. Police investigated the case after several victims went forward to lodge complaints against the pair.

And it was found out that they didn’t have the required per-missions to receive money for investment purposes.

According to court files, the duo began their activities in 2015 and continued for two years. A good number of victims are Saudi citizens.

Bringing smiles to little faces

In line with the country’s National Day and Accession Day celebrations, and in a bid to spread joy and happiness to children battling cancer, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry members (BCCI) visited Abdulla Khalil Kanoo Pediatrics Oncology Ward at Salmaniya Medical Complex. The visit included a number of fun activities, and the children were presented with gifts. BCCI treasurer Aref Hejris led the visit organised in co-ordination with ‘Smile Initiative’ by Future Society for Youth.

The duo are said to have created a fake real estate company

and cheated the victims who intended

to generate money through forex trading.

PROSECUTORS


Parliament praises Royal pardon for jailed convicts

House endorses two proposals; refer them to govt Manama

The Council of Represent-atives has decided to is-sue a statement in which

it will extend deepest thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following the issuance of a royal decree, pardoning 269 inmates and replacing the remaining jail sentences with non-custodial penalties for 530 inmates.

This came as the Council of Representatives held here yesterday the 10th meeting of the second session of the Fifth Legislative Term, under the chairmanship of Speaker, Faw-zia Zainal.

The meeting reviewed the correspondence addressed to it by the Shura Council Chair-man, as well as the replies of the Finance and National Econ-omy Minister, and those of the Industry, Commerce and Tour-ism Minister to parliamentary questions.

The council also discussed a report by the Services Com-mittee on amending Article 22 of Decree-Law 25/1998 with respect to Private Educational and Training Institutions, and referred it to the Shura Council.

The meeting endorsed two parliamentary proposals and re-ferred them to the government.

They were related to estab-lishing a health centre in Khalifa Town, acquiring an old house in

Isa Town to make it a historical centre of the town, being the oldest housing project in the GCC region.

The council also endorsed urgent proposals and referred them to the government.

They were related to address-ing the problem of the salaries of the Interior Ministry’s secu-rity guards, and the non-inclu-sion of the Electricity and Water Authority among the entities

obligated to provide customer information to credit informa-tion centres.

It also referred urgent pro-posals to the relevant commit-tees, including the reduction of fees on government services by 50 per cent for the first-degree relatives of the late servicemen, in addition to the disbursement of housing allowances to alter-native penalties’ beneficiaries who are entitled to them, and to work on returning them to their previous jobs.

The Council’s Bureau was re-quested to draft the statements.

Coast Guard maritime drill to test readiness

• Lt-Gen Al Hassan was briefed on the goals and phases of the drill that reflects the capability of the security authorities to work together to protect security and safety and dedication to enhance competency and training efforts.

Manama

On behalf of the Interior Minister, General Shai-kh Rashid bin Abdul-

lah Al Khalifa, Chief of Public Security, Lieutenant-General Tariq Al Hassan inaugurated a maritime exercise of the Coast Guard.

The event is held in associa-tion with various Interior Min-istry Directorates to evaluate readiness to take the necessary precaution measures to protect vital establishments and ensure maritime safety and security.

Lt-Gen Al Hassan was briefed on the goals and phases of the drill that reflects the capability of the security authorities to work together to protect secu-

rity and safety and dedication to enhance competency and training efforts.

He expressed thanks and ap-preciation to the Interior Minis-ter for his dedication to holding the exercise to benefit from its outcomes to achieve the target-ed goals.

He highlighted the directives of the minister to not only set plans but also test and imple-ment them. He emphasised that the exercise had developed over the years in terms of the train-ing and planning phases.

He commended the partic-ipating directorates for their contributions to its success. He hailed co-operation and co-or-dination within joint security work and the disciplined ap-proach in carrying tasks.

He said that an exercise of such level requires profession-alism. He said that the event was an opportunity for all to learn and gain expertise.

Coast Guard Commander, Major-General Alaa Siyadi as-serted the importance of co-ordination between the par-ticipating directorates in the success of the exercise, high-lighting that the organisation process started five months ago.

BAC recycled over 1.2 tonnes of plasticTDT | Manama

In line with government-led efforts to tackle plastic waste pollution in the King-

dom, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and manag-ing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), recycled more than 1.2 tonnes of plastic in 2018.

BAC applies a waste man-agement hierarchy built on the pillars of prevention, re-use, re-cycling, recovery, and disposal. Team members are encouraged to segregate their office wastes and dispose of them in marked bins located around the compa-ny’s headquarters.

BAC Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said: “BAC endeavours to live up to its environmental obligations and sustainability practices start-ing with its internal operations across the organisation. Bahrain is an island with limited space and general waste is disposed of at the government landfill.

“However, most of the wastes that offices produce daily are recyclable and shouldn’t end up there. To safeguard the environ-ment and conserve resources

for future generations, we must all make sure we effectively uti-lise consumables to help Bah-rain achieve the environmental protection goals laid out in the country’s Economic Vision 2030 and the National Strategic Mas-ter Plan.”

As a member of the High En-ergy Consumers Committee of Bahrain, which is comprised of key government and non-gov-ernment institutions, BAC sup-ports the Kingdom’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP).

Set by the Sustainable Energy Unit Authority, the NEEAP leads the Kingdom’s transition to sus-

tainable energy as outlined in its economic Vision 2030.

BAC is also a member of the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific Regional En-vironment Committee and is en-gaged in the Airport Carbon Ac-creditation programme by ACI to ensure that the airport’s Carbon footprint is closely monitored.

This year, BAC also established an Energy and Water Committee to analyse energy and water con-sumption across Bahrain Inter-national Airport operations and set new reduction targets for BIA, which is a major milestone in the airport’s journey towards mini-mising its environmental impact.

A car fell on another car kept at the parking space of Oasis Complex in Riffa yesterday. Sources said the driver mistakenly drove forward instead of reversing, resulting in the fall after hitting a concrete barrier. The driver escaped unhurt. The Ministry of Interior in co-operation with the General Directorate of Traffic has launched a probe into the accident.

Guinness honour for Abu Dhabi Department of Culture, Tourism TDT | Manama

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT - Abu Dhabi) has been award-

ed with the GUINNESS WORLD RE-CORDS™ (GWR) title for the ‘Largest Augmented Reality (AR) Screen’, as part of a pioneering augmented-real-ity advertising campaign to promote the UAE capital as a world-leading holiday destination.

The latest marketing campaign uti-lised the famous 40-foot digital bill-board known as Piccadilly Lights in the heart of London, transforming the screen into an interactive augment-ed-reality (AR) experience, showcas-ing some of Abu Dhabi’s most iconic

landmarks.Ali Al Shaiba, Acting Executive Di-

rector of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “The world-re-cord-breaking augmented-reality ex-perience took over Piccadilly Lights for two weeks, showcasing the UAE capital’s most famous landmarks in a pioneering way. When conceptualising the campaign, we knew we wanted to do more than just bring Abu Dhabi’s famous sights to life at one of London’s most iconic landmarks. We also wanted to capitalise on the scale of the expe-rience by breaking a GWR title for the ‘World’s Largest Augmented Reality (AR) Screen.”

Aside from breaking a GWR title, the augmented reality screen has also

been designed to allow passers-by to play a starring role in the experience. Al Shaiba said: “By standing near the fountain in the square, people are cap-tured by the hi-tech, on-site audience camera - used specifically for advertis-ing for the first time for this campaign – transporting them to some of Abu Dhabi’s most famous attractions - think family-friendly indoor theme park Fer-rari World Abu Dhabi, wildlife haven Sir Bani Yas Island, and the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - on the screen.

“Each one of the capital’s landmarks has been brought vividly to life in Lon-don using innovative 3D augment-ed-reality overlays.”

The House of Representatives in session.

269inmates were pardoned

by His Majesty while 530 inmates had their jail sentences replaced

with non-custodial penalties.

BAC endeavours to live up to its environmental obligations and sustainability practices starting with its internal operations across the organisation. MR AL BINFALAH

Parking lot accident

The latest marketing campaign utilised the famous 40-foot digital billboard known as Piccadilly Lights in the heart of London.

05

world

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

At least 28 dead in Indonesia bus plunge• The accident occurred just before midnight Monday

• The bus plunged into a 80-meter (262-foot) -deep ravine and crashed into a fast-flowing river

• Survivors said the vehicle’s brakes apparently malfunctioned

Palembang | Indonesia

A bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesia’s Sumatra island after its brakes ap-

parently malfunctioned, killing at least 28 people and injuring 13 others, police and rescuers said yesterday.

The accident occurred just before midnight Monday on a winding road in South Sumatra province’s Pagaralam district.

Palembang search and rescue operation chief Berty Kowaas

said the bodies were taken to a hospital for identification, in-cluding that of a young boy who was pulled from a river near the crash site.

One of the injured was in crit-ical condition, local police chief Dolly Gumara said.

Gumara said the bus plunged into a 80-meter (262-foot) -deep ravine and crashed into a fast-flowing river after the driv-er lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of sharp declines.

Survivors told authorities that

the vehicle’s brakes apparently malfunctioned, but police were still investigating the cause of the accident, Gumara said.

The bus was headed for the provincial capital of Palembang from the neighboring city of Bengkulu.

Kowaas said the search for other passengers who might have been dragged away by the river was halted as darkness fell and would be resumed Wednes-day morning.

The capacity of the bus was 52 passengers, but the number of passengers on board was un-clear. The driver and two crew were among those killed.

Television video showed police and rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency evacuating injured vic-tims and carrying the dead in blue body bags. Grieving rel-atives waited for information

about their loved ones at the bus company’s office in Bengku-lu and at Pagaralam’s Besemah hospital.

Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.

Early last year, 27 people were killed when a packed tourist bus plunged from a hill in West Java province. Two months later, two accidents in West Java’s hilly resort region of Puncak killed at least 15 people. In September last year, 21 were killed when a tourist bus plunged into a ravine in Bogor, another hilly area in West Java.

Indonesia bus accident, Indonesia accident, Indonesia road accident, Indonesia bus accident death toll

Russia extends detention of Napoleon expert awaiting trial

Moscow

A Moscow court yesterday extended until April the

pre-trial detention of a histo-rian who confessed to mur-dering and dismembering his ex-student lover, a grisly crime that sent shock waves across Russia.

Oleg Sokolov, a prominent expert on Napoleon based in Saint Petersburg, was hauled out of the icy Moika River in November with a backpack containing a woman’s arms.

The 63-year-old was ar-rested for two months over the murder of his 24-year-old girlfriend and former student Anastasia Yeshchenko.

A Moscow court on Tuesday extended his detention until April.

“The court has ruled to extend the detention for three months, until April 9,” Sokolov’s lawyer Alexander Pochuyev said.

The next court hearing to decide whether to extend Sokolov’s detention past Jan-uary 8 was supposed to take place in the new year but was pushed forward because of the long holiday break in Russia,

The case -- and allegations

that Sokolov had abused at least one other female student -- prompted widespread out-rage in Russia and demands to address reports of domestic violence and harassment in Russian university.

Sokolov was earlier trans-ferred to Moscow where he is undergoing psychiatric as-sessment at the Serbsky State Centre, Russia’s main centre of forensic psychiatry.

Sokolov, a professor at Saint Petersburg State University, is the author of several books on French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and often led his-torical re-enactments of the Napoleonic war in Russia.

He received France’s Legion d’Honneur in 2003.

He and Yeshchenko co-au-thored a number of works and liked to wear period costumes, with Sokolov dressing up as Napoleon.

He allegedly shot and killed her during an argument and then sawed off her head, arms and legs. After disposing of the corpse he reportedly planned to commit suicide at the Peter and Paul Fortress, one of the former imperial capital’s most famous landmarks, dressed as Napoleon.

Sokolov was hauled out of the icy Moika River last month carrying a backpack containing body parts

Prince Philip leaves hospital in time for Xmas

Reuters | London

Britain’s Prince Philip, the 98-year-old hus-

band of Queen Elizabeth, was released from a Lon-don hospital on Tuesday and joined other members of the royal family for their Christmas celebrations.

Philip, whose official title is the Duke of Edinburgh, had been receiving treat-ment at the King Edward VII Hospital since Friday.

He walked out of the hos-pital on Tuesday morning, dressed in a dark suit, and shook hands with a nurse before getting into the front passenger seat of a car and being driven away.

The prince then travelled by helicopter to Sandring-ham estate in eastern Eng-land where the royal fami-ly traditionally gathers for Christmas.

“The Duke of Edinburgh has today left hospital after being discharged by his doc-tor and is now back at San-dringham. His Royal High-ness would like to thank everyone who sent their good wishes,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

Britain’s Prince Philip leaves the King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, Britain

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2018SBI Life Insurance Company Limited - Foreign Branch

SBI Life Insurance Company Limited - Foreign BranchSTATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOMEFOR THE PERIOD FROM 22 NOVEMBER 2017 TO 31 DECEMBER 2018

31 December 2018BD

AssetsNon-current assetsPlant and equipment 56,140Intangible asset 499Statutory deposit 50,000

106,639

Current assetsPrepayments 9,720Bank balance 164,008

173,728Total assets 280,367

Equity and liabilitiesEquityHead office account 274,804

274,804LiabilitiesNon-current liabilitiesEmployees terminal benefits 379

Current liabilitiesAccruals and other payables 5,184

Total liabilities 5,563Total equity and liabilities 280,367

For the period from 22 November 2017 to

31 December 2018

BDExpensesStaff costs (94,703)Pre- operating expense (3,218)General and administrative expense (63,062)Depreciation (14,047)Amortization (166)

Loss for the period transferred to head office account (175,196)

The statement of financial position and statement of comprehensive income have been extracted from the financial statements of SBI Life Insurance Company Limited – Foreign Branch for the period ended 31 December 2018 which were audited by Grant Thornton who expressed an unqualified opinion on 25 April 2019.


Queen admits ‘bumpy’ year in Christmas messageLondon

Queen Elizabeth II described 2019 as “quite bumpy” in a

Christmas Day message at the end of a chaotic year which saw Britain bitterly divided over its split from the European Union and her scandal-plagued son Prince Andrew withdraw from public life.

The 93-year-old monarch’s address -- to be televised in full Wednesday but partially re-leased in advance -- came as her husband Philip was in hospital with an undisclosed illness.

The royal family was swept up in scandals that included a ca-lamitous BBC interview in which the queen’s second son Andrew tried to distance himself from American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew promised to “step back from public duties” after his denial of having sex with one of Epstein’s alleged victims was ridiculed in the UK media and reportedly criticised in Buckingham Palace.

The queen pointed to the life of Jesus as an example of how reconciliation can be achieved and “how small steps taken in faith and in hope can over-come long-held differences and deep-seated divisions.”

The remarks were interpreted by many as a reference to the Brexit debate that has torn Brit-ain apart since it voted to leave

the EU in a referendum in 2016.“The path, of course, is not

always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.”

Royal commentators noted the queen’s use of the word “bumpy”, compared to her headline-grabbing description of 1992 as an “annus horribilis”,

when the marriages of three of her children fell apart and her beloved Windsor Castle nearly went up in flames.

‘He’s alright’The queen found herself

dragged into the tortuous polit-ical drama of Brexit when she approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s request to suspend parliament in August. Critics claimed it was an attempt to silence opponents to his Brexit proposals.

In fact, the Supreme Court subsequently ruled that John-son’s request had been unlawful and many people blamed him for making the queen look bad.

The queen was also rumoured to have been disappointed by her grandson Prince Harry and his American former actress wife Meghan Markle.

The young couple made waves by speaking out about their struggle with living in the public eye and then suing three British newspapers for prying into their

private lives.Their picture was notably

absent from the collection of family photographs on the queen’s desk in her televised address.

It was a difficult year for Philip, too, beginning with a car accident in which two women were injured. The police found the 98-year-old responsible but brought no charges.

Buckingham Palace has re-leased little information about Philip’s condition since his hos-pitalisation on Friday for “treat-ment in relation to a pre-exist-ing condition”.

“He’s alright,” Philip’s son Charles told a reporter during a visit in northern England on Monday.

“Once you get to that age things don’t work as well.”

‘Spirit of reconciliation’The queen has remained one

of Britain’s most popular fig-ures despite the royal family’s travails.

A poll by YouGov in No-vember showed 72 percent of respondents had a positive opin-ion of the monarch.

The queen’s Christmas Day message also reflected on the heroism of British forc-es during the D-Day landings in Normandy that turned the course of World War II in 1944.

Her trips abroad are becoming increasingly rare, but she made one in June to attend the 75th anniversary commemorations in France. “For the 75th anni-versary of that decisive battle, in a true spirit of reconciliation, those who had formerly been sworn enemies came together in friendly commemorations either side of the Channel, put-ting past differences behind them,” the queen said in her message.

“By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost.”

The 93-year-old monarch will use her televised address on Wednesday to reflect on the need for reconciliation

Bethlehem welcomes pilgrims for ChristmasBethlehem | Palestinian Terri-tories

Pilgrims from around the world gathered yesterday in the biblical city of Beth-

lehem, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, to cel-ebrate Christmas in the Holy Land.

Palestinians and foreigners began converging on the “little town” in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from early morning, with Christmas Eve festivities taking place in and around the Church of the Nativity.

Tourists queued to visit the grotto inside the church, be-lieved to be the exact site where Jesus was born, with Ola, a Ni-gerian visitor, saying it was a “special day.”

Outside in the winter sun, hundreds watched as Palestin-ian scouts paraded to the sound of drums.

“I feel really emotional to be here today, it’s wonderful,” said Germana, an Italian travelling with her husband and two chil-dren.

Archbishop Pierbattista Piz-zaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusa-lem and the most senior Roman Catholic official in the Middle East, was due to travel from Je-rusalem to Bethlehem on Tues-day morning.

He will lead midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity, with

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas expected to attend.

Bethlehem is close to Jerusa-lem, but cut off from the holy city by Israel’s separation bar-rier.

The first church was built on the site in the fourth century, though it was replaced after a fire in the sixth century.

This year celebrations were bolstered by the return of a wooden fragment believed to be from the manger of Jesus.

Sent as a gift to Pope The-odore I in

640, the piece had been in Eu-rope for more than 1,300 years before being returned last month, Francesco Patton, chief custodian for the Holy Land, said. “We venerate the relic be-cause (it) reminds us of the mys-tery of incarnation, to the fact that the son of God was born of Mary in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago,” Patton told AFP at the time.

‘Tough Christmas in Gaza’In the square by the church,

Palestinian tourism minister Rula Maaya said it had been a g o o d y e a r, w i t h 3.5 mill ion tour-ists visiting t h e

city.

But fewer Christians from the Gaza Strip were in attendance than in previous years, as Israel granted permits to just around 200 of the some 900 people who applied, said Wadie Abunassar, an adviser to church leaders in the Holy Land.

The Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza are sep-arated by Israeli territory and crossing between them requires hard-to-get permits.

Abunassar said Christmas re-mained a time for hope.

“The Holy Land is not only the site of the birth and crucifixion (of Jesus), it is also the place of

resurrection,” he said.“Despite all challenges,

difficulties, pain and prob-lems we are facing, we keep the hope in God and

people.”

Christian pilgrims visit the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, ahead of the midnight mass

Palestinians in Father Christmas costumes jump off a rock by a barbed-wire section of Israel’s controversial separation barrier near Wallajeh, west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank

Vietnam seizes two tonnes of ivory and pangolin scalesHanoi

Vietnam seized more than two tonnes of ivory tusks

and pangolin scales hidden inside wooden boxes shipped from Nigeria, state media re-ported yesterday.

The bust comes at the end of a year of big wildlife seizures destined for communist Viet-nam, a hotbed of the illicit but lucrative trade in animal parts from elephants, pangolins, ti-gers and rhinos.

Authorities in northern Hai Phong city found 330 kilograms (730 pounds) of ivory and 1.7 tonnes of pangolin scales after

checking three container ship-ments from Nigeria, according to Hai Quan Online, the official mouthpiece of Vietnam’s cus-toms department.

The manifest listed the goods as high-end lumber, the online site said, adding that the haul was hidden in boxes at the back of the containers.

Published photos showed a rectangular wooden box full of pangolin scales, with elephant tusks mixed in.

Both items are highly sought after on the multibillion-dollar illegal wildlife market.

Vietnam outlawed the ivo-ry trade in 1992, but the ille-

gal market still per-sists and shops sell items pre-dat-ing the ban for decorative and medicinal purposes.

The pangolin is consid-ered the most trafficked animal on the planet, and over one million have been snatched from Asian and Afri-can forests in the past decade.

They are destined for markets in China and Vietnam, where their scales are used in tradi-tional medicine and their meat is bought on the black market.

Bolsonaro released from hospital Reuters | Sao Paulo

Brazil’s right-wing Presi-dent Jair Bolsonaro was

discharged from hospital on Tuesday, having spent the night under observation after falling at his official residence in the capital Brasilia, his of-fice said in a statement.

Bolsonaro, 64, was given a brain scan at the hospital that detected no abnormalities, the president’s office said on Mon-day shortly after the fall.

The president’s health has been cause for concern after he was stabbed on the campaign trail in late 2018, requiring him to undergo several surgeries

and spend two extended stints in hospital this year.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro was seriously injured in a knife attack while campaigning for election last year


Not a single country has hypersonic

weapons, let alone hypersonic weapons of intercontinental

rangeVLADIMIR PUTIN

Just steps from the US Capitol, the Newseum’s gleaming glass-and-steel structure has for over a decade been a shining symbol for the press and free expression. But in a reflection of the woes facing the US media industry -- which is itself struggling financially while also facing repeated attacks from political leaders -- the Newseum will be closing its doors on December 31.

Glittering symbol of press, Newseum set to close doors

Japan could release radioactive water into environment• The plant suffered a meltdown about nine years ago

AFP | Tokyo

A Japanese government agency has proposed re-leasing radioactive water

from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the environ-ment, as storage space runs out.

The plant suffered a melt-down about nine years ago after it was hit by an earthquake-trig-gered tsunami. About a million tonnes of contaminated water has built up since then and the tanks that hold it are almost full.

The government’s Agency for Natural Resources and Ener-gy on Monday proposed three ways to deal with the water -- releasing it into the sea, into the air using vaporisation or a combination of the two.

“There is no option (any

longer) of simply storing the water for a long period of time,” an agency official said yesterday.

An extensive pumping and fil-tration system is in place at the plant, which each day brings up tonnes of newly contaminated water and filters out almost all radioactive elements.

The process leaves only trit-ium, which experts say is only harmful to humans in very large doses.

No decision was taken at Monday’s meeting but “no members voiced opposition to the view that a technically re-alistic way is discharging the water into the sea or the air,”

according to the agency official.The panel has been discuss-

ing how to dispose of the liquid for years and no deadline has been set for it to report to the government.

The radioactive water comes from several different sources, including water used for cooling at the plant groundwater that seeps into the plant daily and rainwater.

Properly filtered Fukushima water could be diluted with seawater and safely released into the ocean without causing environmental problems, the International Atomic Energy Agency argues.

Discharging it into the envi-ronment could trigger protests however -- not only from local fishermen and farmers but also from neighbouring countries.

The treated water is currently kept in a thousand huge tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi site.

Plant operator TEPCO is build-ing more tanks but all will be full by the summer of 2022.

Storage tanks holding radioactive water at Japan’s crippled Fukushima power plant

Rome’s ‘Geppetto’ fixes broken toys for underprivileged children

Rome

Frayed teddy bears and broken toy cars resurrect under the magic touch of Guido Pacelli, a modern-day Geppetto who

works overtime so that Rome’s poor and sick children wake up to a gift on Christmas morning.

Armed with a screwdriver, a microscope and a small weld-er, “Guido Aggiustagiocattoli”, a.k.a Guido the Toy Fixer, has mended between 50 and 70 toys a day these past two months, in preparation for the festive season.

“The best present for me is when these children who have been through so much smile at me,” said Pacelli, a 68-year-old retired aviation technician from Italy’s flagship airline Alitalia.

Once up and running, the repaired toys are meticulously disinfected, carefully wrapped and labelled for the families.

Salvamamme (Save Mothers), which hosts Pacelli’s workshop in premises lent by the Italian Red Cross, then distribute the gifts to poor, migrant or sick children.

Pacelli remembers a Caterpillar tractor he repaired for a little boy. “He called me every day until I managed to repair it,” said Pacelli, a volunteer for the charity since an early retirement in 2011.

“People leave batteries in and they oxidate,” he said, as he changes those of a green plastic electric guitar, extracted from a pile of soft toys, mini computers and wind-chimes for children.

Nicknamed Geppetto -- the creator of Pinocchio in Carlo Collodi’s novel -- because of his blue overalls and glasses, Pacelli plays an essential role in the charity.

“This toy was even sent by the manufacturer because it was faulty. I’ve mended it and now it will go to a child in a hospital,” said Pacelli.

20,000 toys a year“We distribute more than 20,000 toys a year,” said Maria

Grazia Passeri, head of Salvamamme which also hands out food, nappies and clothes to families with very little means. The products come from official organisations, hospitals or local parishes.

Passeri, wrapped in a red shawl, said that she founded the charity 20 years ago to help “all these women who give birth in secret or go through horrible experiences”.

On distribution day at Salvamamme, mothers fill out forms and children amuse themselves amongst the piles of parcels ready to be sent and play with toys awaiting Pacelli’s interven-tion, stacked in heaving piles.

Many former beneficiaries who manage to lift themselves out of poverty become volunteers at Salvamamme.

Jonathan, a 29-year-old Argentinian, arrived in Italy 12 years ago without work or a family to start a new life.

“I am very grateful, I will never forget the help I received. All my free time I give it to the association,” he said.

Anna Moticala has a family of five to feed, three of whom are children. She arrived from Moldova to Rome eight years ago and is unemployed.

She is also grateful for the charity. “I asked for a little help and they helped me enormously,” she said, above the sound of children’s laughter as they play and gobble down a slice of Pandoro, a typical Italian Christmas dessert.

The best present for me is when these children who have been through so much smile at me,” said Pacelli

Maria Gravia Passeri says she founded the charity 20 years ago to help “all these women who give birth in secret or go through horrible experiences”

Russia is leading world in hypersonic weapons: PutinAP | Moscow

President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia has got

a strong edge in designing new weapons and that it has become the only country in the world to deploy hypersonic weapons.

Speaking at a meeting with top military brass, Putin said that for the first time in his-tory Russia is now leading the world in developing an entire new class of weapons unlike in the past when it was catching up with the United States.

The Russian leader noted that during Cold War times, the So-viet Union was behind the Unit-ed States in designing the atom-ic bomb and building strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“Now we have a situation that is unique in modern history when they are trying to catch up to us,” he said. “Not a single country has hypersonic weap-ons, let alone hypersonic weap-ons of intercontinental range.”

He said that the first unit equipped with the Avangard

hypersonic glide vehicle is set to go on duty this month, while the air-launched Kinzhal hy-personic missiles already have entered service.

Putin first mentioned the Avangard and the Kinzhal among other prospective weap-ons systems in his state-of-the-nation address in March 2018.

Putin said then that the Avan-gard has an intercontinental

range and can fly in the atmos-phere at a speed 20 times the speed of sound. He noted that the weapon’s ability to change both its course and its altitude en route to a target makes it immune to interception by the the enemy.

“It’s a weapon of the future, capable of penetrating both ex-isting and prospective missile defense systems.” the Russian

president said Tuesday.The Kinzhal, which is carried

by MiG-31 fighter jets, entered service with the Russian air force last year. Putin has said that the missile flies 10 times faster than the speed of sound, has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and can carry a nuclear or a convention-al warhead. The military said it’s capable of hitting both land targets and navy ships.

The United States and other countries also have worked on designing hypersonic weapons, but they haven’t entered service yet.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend an annual meeting with top military officials in the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, Russia

Latvian govt invites all to cut down a free Christmas treeRiga

Just in time for Christ-mas, the Latvian govern-

ment has invited all to head to the forest to cut down their own tree, in an annual tradition spanning a quarter of a century.

“Everyone is invited to grab an axe and cut down one fir tree of up to three metres (10 feet) in height and a stem diameter of no more than 12 centimetres and bring it home,” the government-owned forest management and logging company Latvian State For-ests said on its website.


Such a negative suspicion of interfaith activity is always fuelled by fear. This has not been my

experience. In fact, the more I open myself to

learning about other faiths, the deeper my friendship are with them, the more I

cherish my own faith.

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: 36458394 | Email:[email protected] | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

REVEREND CANON ANDREW THOMPSON

By any standards, 2019 has been an extraordi-nary year for the region.

It began with the dedication of the year to promoting the value of tolerance, the first time that any government anywhere in the world has intentionally structured its whole policy, both domestic and foreign, around promoting tolerance.

In February, Pope Francis made a three-day visit to the UAE, the first ever tour of the Gulf region by a pontiff. The papal visit culminated in a Christian act of worship attended by an estimated 180,000 Catholics. It was an historic event and an incred-ible statement of welcome to the Christian community residing in the UAE. During the visit, Pope Francis signed, along with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed Al Tayeb, a document known as the Hu-man Fraternity Declaration.

This document called on Roman Catholics and Mus-lims to commit to living out the teachings of faith that em-phasise love and fraternity. It acknowledged that religion was both a cause of, and also a solution to, global trends of in-tolerance. It is a doctrine that has captured the imagination of countries outside the UAE.

Earlier this month I was in Brussels speaking to a group of politicians from the European Parliament, who were asking how the message coming from the UAE could be adapted to counteract a disturbing rise of prejudice and hate crime across Europe.

That meeting in Brussels was followed by the Forum for Peace hosted in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, in which 500 religious leaders, mainly from the Abrahamic religions, expressed their commitment to supporting religious free-dom across the Middle East. It is hoped that this commitment will impact domestic policies across the region.

It is noteworthy that at this moment in global history, good news is coming out of the Middle East. Set against a backdrop of resurgent nation-alism, terrorism informed by extreme political and religious ideologies, a massive rise in the number of refugees, his-tory has taught us that in dark times, hope emerges from de-sert lands.

Think of the messages of Moses, Jesus and the prophet Mohammed. In such a neg-ative climate of division and suspicion between nations and religious communities, the UAE announced its in-tention to build a mosque, a church and a synagogue side by side under the umbrella of

the Abrahamic Family House as an iconic statement of a bet-ter way to live. I am so proud to live in a country which is offering hope, not just as a political or religious ideal but as a lived reality.

For this reason, I was deep-ly honoured this year to re-ceive a UAE Pioneer award from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

The significance of this award was an affirmation for the whole Christian com-munity who live in the UAE.

Christians in all seven of the emirates seek to be faithful followers of Jesus by blessing the nation through their dili-gent work and witness. It was also an affirmation of my work as an interfaith activist.

The goal of good interfaith dialogue is reconciliation. Reconciliation should lead to deeper understanding of the other, a means to confront in-justice and prejudice, and ul-timately to see, know and love the other in response to the divine imperative embedded in all religions, which is to love

NOTHING IN LIFE IS TO BE FEARED, IT IS ONLY TO BE UNDERSTOOD. NOW IS THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND MORE, SO THAT WE MAY FEAR LESS.MARIE CURIE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Let’s reflect on the promise

communities make to one

anotherThe antidote to fear is

knowledge and love, and the more you learn

about other faiths, the deeper friendships grow

JONATHAN COOK

Gaza’s minuscule community of Christians will spend this Christmas feeling even more

under siege than normal. The Israe-li military authorities have denied the vast majority of the enclave’s 1,100 Christians a permit to exit the Palestinian territory for the holiday season.

Unlike previous years, none will be allowed to join relatives in Beth-lehem, Jerusalem or Nazareth, or visit their holy places in the West Bank and Israeli cities. Alongside the enclave’s nearly two million Mus-lims, they will be forced to celebrate Christmas in what is dubbed by lo-cals as “the world’s largest open-air prison”.

Israel has issued 100 permits for travel abroad, via Jordan, but even those are mostly useless because only one or two members of each family have been approved. No parent is likely to choose to enjoy Christmas away from their children.

As ever, Israeli authorities have justified their decision on security grounds. But no one really believes this tiny, vulnerable minority pos-es any kind of threat to their giant military and intelligence-gathering machine.

For decades Israel has pointed to the steady decline of the Palestinian Christian community as proof of a supposed clash of civilisations in which it is on the right side. The gradual exodus of Christians, it ar-gues, is evidence of the oppression they suffer at the hands of the Pal-estinians’ Muslim majority. Claiming to represent Judeo-Christian values,

it supposedly stands as their sole protector.

In fact, the fall in Palestinian Christian numbers relates chiefly to other factors.

A lower fertility rate than Muslims means Christians have been shrink-ing as a proportion of the overall population. More significantly, how-ever, Christians have been fleeing oppression – not by Muslims, but by Israel.

That began with the country’s cre-ation in 1948 and the events Palestin-ians call their Nakba, or Catastrophe. Christians, who lived historically in Palestine’s main cities, were among the first targets of the new Israeli army’s ethnic cleansing operations.

Since then, those in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza have sought to escape from decades of occupation, while those belonging to a Palestin-ian minority living as citizens in Is-rael have tried to break free from the institutionalised discrimination they face in a self-declared Jewish state.

Christians have enjoyed greater success than Muslims in bolting the region because of their historic con-nections to international churches. The legacy of missionary activity – church-founded schools and hos-pitals in the region – have offered a gateway to the West and a new life.

The current treatment of Gaza’s Christians hints at the lie in Israel’s claim that it protects Christians. It has denied them permits for two reasons unrelated to security.

First, in violation of its commit-ments under the Oslo accords, it has been reinforcing the complete physical separation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Christians of Gaza, with fam-ily ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel, are a reminder that all belong to the same Palestinian people, forcibly dispersed by Israel 71 years ago and then imprisoned in different ghettos. Rather than view Gaza and the West Bank as two terri-tories integral to an emerging Pales-tinian state, Israel has been carefully fashioning a narrative of division that dominates in the West.

Gaza is presented as an abhorrent, Islamic terrorist entity on Israel’s doorstep, which would exterminate its Jewish neighbours given half the chance. The occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, meanwhile,

have been depicted as the epicen-tre of the Jewish people’s national revival.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanya-hu and the settler-right are gripped by a fear that their chauvinist, exclu-sivist approach might be subverted by a Christian counter-narrative. That is, in part, why the West Bank’s Christians and holy sites in East Je-rusalem and Bethlehem are as be-sieged – by concrete walls – as Gaza’s own Christians. Far from respecting and nurturing Palestinian Christians, Israel has treated them as a grave threat to its self-serving, contorted narrative of a clash of civilisations.

Second, the blanket denial of per-

mits is a reaction to previous years in which a proportion of Christians failed to return to Gaza at the end of the holiday break. They disappeared into the West Bank cities, given shel-ter by relatives. From there, some left for a new life in the US, Latin America or Europe.

In other words, Christians have taken advantage of the chance to es-cape Gaza for the West Bank, where Israel’s chokehold is a little looser and its military footprint a little less menacing and lethal.

The family members denied per-mits this year are being held ransom, an insurance policy ensuring that those few allowed out return.

Its decision to trap the

minority group in

Gaza this Christmas is a prelude to a seemingly

contradictory plan to sap the people of the will

to stay and struggle for

what is theirs

Bit by bit Israel aims to squeeze out the Palestinian Christians


Such a negative suspicion of interfaith activity is always fuelled by fear. This has not been my

experience. In fact, the more I open myself to

learning about other faiths, the deeper my friendship are with them, the more I

cherish my own faith.


REVEREND CANON ANDREW THOMPSON

By any standards, 2019 has been an extraordi-nary year for the region.

It began with the dedication of the year to promoting the value of tolerance, the first time that any government anywhere in the world has intentionally structured its whole policy, both domestic and foreign, around promoting tolerance.

In February, Pope Francis made a three-day visit to the UAE, the first ever tour of the Gulf region by a pontiff. The papal visit culminated in a Christian act of worship attended by an estimated 180,000 Catholics. It was an historic event and an incred-ible statement of welcome to the Christian community residing in the UAE. During the visit, Pope Francis signed, along with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed Al Tayeb, a document known as the Hu-man Fraternity Declaration.

This document called on Roman Catholics and Mus-lims to commit to living out the teachings of faith that em-phasise love and fraternity. It acknowledged that religion was both a cause of, and also a solution to, global trends of in-tolerance. It is a doctrine that has captured the imagination of countries outside the UAE.

Earlier this month I was in Brussels speaking to a group of politicians from the European Parliament, who were asking how the message coming from the UAE could be adapted to counteract a disturbing rise of prejudice and hate crime across Europe.

That meeting in Brussels was followed by the Forum for Peace hosted in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, in which 500 religious leaders, mainly from the Abrahamic religions, expressed their commitment to supporting religious free-dom across the Middle East. It is hoped that this commitment will impact domestic policies across the region.

It is noteworthy that at this moment in global history, good news is coming out of the Middle East. Set against a backdrop of resurgent nation-alism, terrorism informed by extreme political and religious ideologies, a massive rise in the number of refugees, his-tory has taught us that in dark times, hope emerges from de-sert lands.

Think of the messages of Moses, Jesus and the prophet Mohammed. In such a neg-ative climate of division and suspicion between nations and religious communities, the UAE announced its in-tention to build a mosque, a church and a synagogue side by side under the umbrella of

the Abrahamic Family House as an iconic statement of a bet-ter way to live. I am so proud to live in a country which is offering hope, not just as a political or religious ideal but as a lived reality.

For this reason, I was deep-ly honoured this year to re-ceive a UAE Pioneer award from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

The significance of this award was an affirmation for the whole Christian com-munity who live in the UAE.



NOTHING IN LIFE IS TO BE FEARED, IT IS ONLY TO BE UNDERSTOOD. NOW IS THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND MORE, SO THAT WE MAY FEAR LESS.MARIE CURIE

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Let’s reflect on the promise

communities make to one

anotherThe antidote to fear is

knowledge and love, and the more you learn

about other faiths, the deeper friendships grow

JONATHAN COOK

Gaza’s minuscule community of Christians will spend this Christmas feeling even more

under siege than normal. The Israe-li military authorities have denied the vast majority of the enclave’s 1,100 Christians a permit to exit the Palestinian territory for the holiday season.

Unlike previous years, none will be allowed to join relatives in Beth-lehem, Jerusalem or Nazareth, or visit their holy places in the West Bank and Israeli cities. Alongside the enclave’s nearly two million Mus-lims, they will be forced to celebrate Christmas in what is dubbed by lo-cals as “the world’s largest open-air prison”.

Israel has issued 100 permits for travel abroad, via Jordan, but even those are mostly useless because only one or two members of each family have been approved. No parent is likely to choose to enjoy Christmas away from their children.

As ever, Israeli authorities have justified their decision on security grounds. But no one really believes this tiny, vulnerable minority pos-es any kind of threat to their giant military and intelligence-gathering machine.

For decades Israel has pointed to the steady decline of the Palestinian Christian community as proof of a supposed clash of civilisations in which it is on the right side. The gradual exodus of Christians, it ar-gues, is evidence of the oppression they suffer at the hands of the Pal-estinians’ Muslim majority. Claiming to represent Judeo-Christian values,

it supposedly stands as their sole protector.

In fact, the fall in Palestinian Christian numbers relates chiefly to other factors.

A lower fertility rate than Muslims means Christians have been shrink-ing as a proportion of the overall population. More significantly, how-ever, Christians have been fleeing oppression – not by Muslims, but by Israel.

That began with the country’s cre-ation in 1948 and the events Palestin-ians call their Nakba, or Catastrophe. Christians, who lived historically in Palestine’s main cities, were among the first targets of the new Israeli army’s ethnic cleansing operations.

Since then, those in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza have sought to escape from decades of occupation, while those belonging to a Palestin-ian minority living as citizens in Is-rael have tried to break free from the institutionalised discrimination they face in a self-declared Jewish state.

Christians have enjoyed greater success than Muslims in bolting the region because of their historic con-nections to international churches. The legacy of missionary activity – church-founded schools and hos-pitals in the region – have offered a gateway to the West and a new life.

The current treatment of Gaza’s Christians hints at the lie in Israel’s claim that it protects Christians. It has denied them permits for two reasons unrelated to security.

First, in violation of its commit-ments under the Oslo accords, it has been reinforcing the complete physical separation of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Christians of Gaza, with fam-ily ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel, are a reminder that all belong to the same Palestinian people, forcibly dispersed by Israel 71 years ago and then imprisoned in different ghettos. Rather than view Gaza and the West Bank as two terri-tories integral to an emerging Pales-tinian state, Israel has been carefully fashioning a narrative of division that dominates in the West.

Gaza is presented as an abhorrent, Islamic terrorist entity on Israel’s doorstep, which would exterminate its Jewish neighbours given half the chance. The occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, meanwhile,

have been depicted as the epicen-tre of the Jewish people’s national revival.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanya-hu and the settler-right are gripped by a fear that their chauvinist, exclu-sivist approach might be subverted by a Christian counter-narrative. That is, in part, why the West Bank’s Christians and holy sites in East Je-rusalem and Bethlehem are as be-sieged – by concrete walls – as Gaza’s own Christians. Far from respecting and nurturing Palestinian Christians, Israel has treated them as a grave threat to its self-serving, contorted narrative of a clash of civilisations.

Second, the blanket denial of per-




Its decision to trap the

minority group in

Gaza this Christmas is a prelude to a seemingly

contradictory plan to sap the people of the will

to stay and struggle for

what is theirs

Bit by bit Israel aims to squeeze out the Palestinian Christians


TOP

4TWEETS

04

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The ONLY reason we were able to get our

great USMCA Trade Deal approved was because the Do Nothing Democrats wanted to show that they could approve something productive in light of the fact that all they even think about is impeach-ment. She knows nothing about the USMCA Deal!

@realDonaldTrump

We support and are committed to a

democratic, stable and developed Afghanistan. I appreciated the Prime Minister on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, not only for being a good neighbor and friend, but also for India’s strategic partnership.

@ashrafghani

Pr e s i d e n t T r u m p d o w n p l a y e d t h e

threat of an unspecified “Christmas present ” from North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. “Maybe it’s a nice present. Maybe it’s a present where he sends me a beautiful vase, as opposed to a missile test,” Trump told reporters.

@NPR

India will always sup-port Afghanistan in

their developmental needs and to fulfil the as-pirations of Afghanistan’s people. Close strategic partnership between our people benefits our na-tions. @ashrafghani

@narendramodi

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

editorial stances)



God and neighbour.For the last decade, inter-

faith initiatives in the Middle East have been largely spo-radic, focused mainly on com-monalities, and have largely been the domain of intellec-tuals and academics. While this seems a limitation of the movement so far, at least it is a starting place and things are beginning to change.

Relationships are morphing into deep friendships, trust is being established and from there I can see the next decade evolving into interfaith dia-logue, which will be translated into grassroots action in the form of communities mutually rejecting any unacceptable and harmful ideologies and behaviour.

I would want religious com-munities around the world to examine the Human Fraterni-ty Declaration and allow it to speak to them as an invitation to join in by living out their faiths with authenticity and faithfulness. There is mile-age in getting this document discussed in a wider setting, involving local communities and seeing it not only as a dec-laration of ideals but as the ba-sis for an agreement between communities in which, like a marriage covenant, we are invited to say: “I do”. There is great power released when individuals and groups make a promise to one another.

This is one action that can be taken to counter the suspi-cion held by fundamentalists in all religions that interfaith dialogue means compromise, a loosening of deeply held re-ligious convictions in order to accommodate the other.

Such a negative suspicion of interfaith activity is always fuelled by fear. This has not been my experience. In fact, the more I open myself to learning about other faiths, the deeper my friendship are with them, the more I cherish my own faith. The antidote to fear is knowledge and love.

Effective interfaith activism is very simple. It starts with education. We need to encour-age people, including children, to learn about the great world faiths. The best attitude for learning is that one is open and generous to study not for the sake of criticising the other but rather, to cultivate what has come to be termed a “holy envy”, in which we learn to value that which is good, true and honourable in the beliefs of others.

On Christmas Day, as Chris-tians around the world cele-brate the birth of Jesus, we are reminded again of the message of the Christmas angels who thronged the skies of the Mid-dle East and declared: “Glory to God in the highest and on Earth, peace to all his favour rests upon”.

1130Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.

1261Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.

1462The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haitidue to an improper watch.

1593Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

The recently concluded Conference of Parties 25th event (COP25) at Madrid, Spain was a mega congregation with nearly 27000 participants from all over the world. The

event also saw the presence of Ms. Greta Thunberg, the teenage Swedish environmental activist who avoided air travel citing pollution as the reason and arrived for the conference in a sail-boat. Post Thunberg’s address to the COP25 she was adjudged the Time magazine’s 2019 person of the year.

The original venue for COP25 was at Santiago, Chile but ow-ing to disturbances in Chile the event was shifted to Madrid at the last moment but the change of venue did not dampen the spirits of the participants as debates lasted well into the night between the delegates and environment ministers from across the world. The direction of COP25 was set with the opening address by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres who stressed on the significance of ambition and commitment in achieving environmental goals. The delicate position of ecology and nature across the world was seen as the rallying point for the conference with the intention to make the much needed difference in combating climate change.

The worsening climatic conditions today need urgent in-tervention. The countries in high temperature belt such as Bahrain and middle east countries stand to be hit hard due to rapidly changing climate conditions. As per the COP25 agenda, the foremost aim is to limit the increase in global temperatures to below 1.5 degree Celsius level and also bring down the global greenhouse gas emissions to 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030. These measures have been highlighted at

the COP25 as the most important steps to take in year 2020 in order to not only rein in climate change but also bring about carbon neutrality. Keeping the projected rising temperatures of the future, Bahrain must take immediate action to control the emissions and carbon footprint.

One of the major debates on which the pro-ceedings at COP25 got bogged down was regard-ing the matter of Loss and Damage. Loss and damage referred to those geographical areas in the world where climate change induced damage and loss was so heavy that neither mit-igation measures nor climate change adaptation helped salvage the areas. Bahrain must draw inference from this debate at COP25 and realize that if allowed to continue climate change can irreversibly and irretrievably damage the very fabric of a country’s ecology and then there is no redemption from the same. Bahrain must focus on evaluating and assessing the adverse impact of fossil fuel usage and resultant emissions on the ecology of the nation, once this impact is

effectively quantified and dynamically updated periodically it will become easier to control and mitigate the same.

The COP25 also became a venue for vociferous protests that underlined the growing expecta-tions of the world human community from the

UNFCC and COP events. In near future and upcoming COP events it will become very important that not only the agenda but also the outcomes of these events matches the expecta-tions of the world, as the human race is becoming acutely aware of the gap between discussions, debates and actual achievements at these COP events.

The COP25 this year also proved to be an important chapter in the fight against climate change as it enabled the nations to prioritize their goals ahead of the most crucial COP26 at Glasgow in UK in 2020 when the nations are supposed to have achieved their committed targets in the form Nationally De-termined Contributions (NDC’s). The COP25 also reminded the developed nations to be prepared for next year’s COP26 with a climate adaptation finance support corpus of $ 100 billion for the developing nations. The finance support is supposed to help developing nations build capacity to not only fight envi-ronmental pollution and degradation but also develop suitable methodologies and technologies to fight climate change.

The annual COP event of the United Nations serves as a wakeup call to the world and reminds the member nations about the impending consequences of climate change and urges them to take immediate measures. This year’s COP25 event emphasized on the importance of ambition and commit-ment in fighting global warming and climate change, Bahrain has what is needed in the form of both the will and resolve to make an ambitious and committed effort to combat climate change, this it must utilize in the New Year 2020 to protect and conserve the environment.

KOTA SRIRAJ

The annual COP event of the

United Nations serves a wakeup call to the world

and reminds the member

nations about the impending

consequences of climate change

and urges them to take immediate

measures.

COP25 sets agenda for Bahrain in Year 2020




The reasons why Gaza’s Christians would want to flee are manifold. Like their Muslims neighbours, most are desperate to find release from a blockade entering its 14th year.

We are only days away from the year 2020, which the United Na-tions warned several years ago would mark the moment when Gaza would become “uninhabitable” – were Isra-el not to change course.

That prediction was not wrong. Unemployment and poverty are rife; schools overcrowded to bursting point; hospitals lack medicines and equipment is failing; power supplies are intermittent; rivers of sewage bubble up into the streets after heavy winter rains; and drinking water is so polluted as to be dangerous to human health.

Infrastructure and many homes are in ruins or crumbling after waves of Israeli military attacks.

For Gaza’s unemployed young, Christian and Muslim alike, the future looks bleaker still. Families

unable to raise a dowry or build a home have little hope of persuading another family to give their daugh-ter’s hand away. Most of the next generation are unlikely ever to be in a position to support a family of their own.

Back in 2006, an adviser to former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon explained that the aim of the block-ade – a policy then being formulated – was to engineer the population’s chronic starvation. “The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won’t die,” Dov Weissglass said.

Nearly 14 years later, Gaza’s pop-ulation is increasingly emaciated – physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually. It is the outcome of a policy devised by army generals and politicians to immiserate Pal-estinians, to inject into their lives a gnawing fear and to force them to focus exclusively on daily survival.

The decision to trap Christians in Gaza this Christmas is only a prelude to a larger, seemingly contradictory longer-term plan.

The choking blockade is designed to sap the people of the will to stay and struggle for what is theirs. Ru-mours in the media and elsewhere have suggested for some time that both Israel and the US ultimately want to push the Palestinians into the neighbouring Sinai peninsula, if Egypt can be arm-twisted into agreeing.

By keeping all of Gaza’s population under siege this Christmas, Israel hopes that a few Christmases hence it will receive the gift it craves most: the permanent exodus of most of the enclave’s Palestinians, to make them someone else’s problem.

Bit by bit Israel aims to squeeze out the Palestinian ChristiansRather than view Gaza

and the West Bank as two territories integral to an

emerging Palestinian state, Israel has been carefully fashioning a narrative of

division that dominates in the West.

Goldman may stabilise Saudi Aramco shares following IPO

Reuters | Dubai

Saudi Aramco said that Goldman Sachs may stabilise its shares after a record initial public offering earlier this month.

Stabilization agents support the share price by purchasing additional shares on the market.

The stabilisation period will end on Jan. 9, but so far no trans-actions have been executed, it said in a statement.

Aramco shares ended nearly 0.6 per cent lower at 35.40 riyals ($9.44), above its IPO price of 32 riyals per share, valuing the oil giant at about $1.9 trillion.

10

business


Gulf shares decline

• Aramco ends lower at 35.4 riyals

• Dana Gas rises on one-off dividend pay

• 25 of thirty Egyptian stocks slide

Reuters

Gulf stocks mostly fell yesterday, with finan-cials pulling down Qa-

tar, while Saudi Arabia’s stock index traded flat as energy and property shares moved side-ways.

The Qatari index declined 0.8 per cent with all its finan-cial stocks retreating. Qatar National Bank, the Gulf ’s largest lender, dropped 1.6pc and Qatar Islamic Bank eased 1.2pc.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was little changed.

Samba Financial Group shed 2.2pc and Saudi Aramco end-ed 0.6pc lower. Dar Al Arkan gained 1.5pc and Makkah Con-struction was up 1.7pc.

Saudi Industrial Services rose 2.8pc after its Red Sea Gateway Terminal unit signed

a new 30-year concession with the Saudi ports authority to develop the northern part of Jeddah port.

The Dubai index slipped 0.2pc as Mashreq Bank plunged 7.8% and Air Arabia fell 1.3pc.

Emaar Properties was flat. The developer said that it was considering raising capital against cash flows generated by the observation decks on its Burj Khalifa skyscraper, but was not looking at selling them.

In Abu Dhabi, the index lost 0.6pc. First Abu Dhabi Bank fell 1pc and National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain dropped 9.5pc.

The head of global mar-kets at First Abu Dhabi Bank has resigned, Reuters report-ed on Monday, citing two sources.

Dana Gas gained 0.7pc after getting a one-off $42 million dividend payment from Pearl Petroleum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt’s blue-chip index traded 0.7pc lower with 25 of its 30 stocks in the red. Commercial

International bank was down 0.6pc and El Sewedy Electric down 2pc.

An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) following the debut of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Riyadh’s stock market, in Riyadh

A trader working on the floor of Saudi Stock market (Courtesy of Business Insider)

Kuwait, Saudi sign deal on Neutral Zone oilfields• The two fields were pumping some 500,000 barrels per day before production was halted

• Riyadh said at the time that the decision was due to environmental issues

Reuters | Dubai/Kuwait

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia yesterday agreed to di-vide their shared Neu-

tral Zone and resume up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production from two joint oilfields there.

Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser al-Mo-hammad al-Sabah and Sau-di Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed agreements in Kuwait, state news agency KUNA said.

The two countries halted pro-duction from the Khafji and Wa-fra fields, which produce some 500,000 bpd, in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

US oil major Chevron, which on behalf of Saudi Arabia jointly operates the Wafra field with the Kuwait Gulf Oil Compa-ny (KGOC), said it expects the

field to return to full production within 12 months.

“The most important point is the final demarcation of the entire border .... in addition to defining sovereignty on both sides of the divided zone which translates into a real achieve-ment,” Saudi economist Fadl Alboainain.

Prince Abdulaziz said in an interview with Reuters in December that resuming pro-duction from the joint oilfields would not affect their OPEC+ commitments to reduce oil out-put.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have

been reducing oil supply as part of a broader pact between OPEC and non-OPEC members aimed at supporting oil prices. The current deal expires in March.

A source familiar with the negotiations said that the talks had turned serious in October and the breakthrough came at a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council countries in Riyadh this month.

“During the latest GCC meet-ing in Riyadh there were very clear signs that Kuwait and Sau-di Arabia had reached a solu-tion.. And the Emir of Kuwait himself was pushing to resolve

this issue bluntly and firmly,” the source said.

The agreement was reached after a lengthy process in which a large team of politi-cal, technical and legal repre-sentatives from both sides were involved.

“The two countries are not in a rush to resume production from the neutral zone oilfields due to the production cuts agreement so it will take easi-ly up to six months to resume production,” Kuwaiti oil mar-ket analyst Kamel al-Haramy said.

OPEC+ countries committed in their latest meeting in De-cember to some of the sector’s deepest output cuts in a decade aiming to avert oversupply and support prices.

A former senior official in Ku-wait’s Gulf Oil Company, which operates the Khafji oil field alongside AGOC, a subsidiary of Saudi state oil firm Saudi Aram-co, said he expects production to resume there first.

“The Khafji oilfield will most likely be the first to resume pro-duction as its equipment is far better maintained than Wafra,” he said.

Oil output in the Neutral Zone, which dates back to 1920s treaties establishing regional borders, is divided equally be-tween Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel attends a meeting of members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) in Kuwait City earlier this week

KNOW WHAT

Khafji, an offshore field, was jointly operated by Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. and Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations, while the onshore Wafra field was operated by KGOC and Saudi Arabian Chevron.

OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia pumps just under 10 million barrels per day (bpd), while Kuwait produces around 2.7 million bpd.

Onshore Wafra field

Khafji

New Boeing boss faces EU pressure over Embraer tie-up: sourcesReuters | Paris

As Boeing’s new boss tackles the immediate crisis over

its grounded 737 MAX jet, he also faces pressing questions from European regulators over a deal to buy the commercial arm of Brazil’s Embraer - seen as key to its longer-term strategy.

European Union regulators investigating the $4.2 billion tie-up have asked for more than 1.5 million pages of information and data on over 20 years of sales campaigns, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The volume of requests high-lights the European Commis-sion’s concerns over a deal it suspects would reduce the num-ber of major participants in the global jet market from three to two, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Any delay or derailing of the transaction would be a further setback for Boeing, which on Monday named David Calhoun as its new CEO amid a crisis over the grounding of its top-sell-ing 737 MAX following two fatal crashes.

Calhoun knows Embraer from his former senior role at engine maker General Electric and is expected to push hard for the tie-up, one industry source said.

Boeing has agreed to buy 80% of Embraer’s commercial jets division which competes with Europe’s Airbus in the market for planes below 150 seats.

Airbus had earlier bought the main competitor to Embraer’s 80-120-seat E2 jet family from Canada’s Bombardier and is racking up sales of the renamed A220 while its U.S. rival’s take-over of Embraer makes slow progress.

Originally set for 2019, the Boeing-Embraer deal was de-layed after the Commission de-cided in October to deepen a competition probe, now sched-uled to end in late February.

The sources said the Com-

mission had requested the extra data on top of the hundreds of thousands of pieces of informa-tion shared by other regulators, and that it was examining data on over 1,000 actual or poten-tial sales campaigns over two decades.

U.S. sources deny the deal would reduce the market from three to two players, saying the mainline and regional markets are separate, even though Air-bus has a foot in both camps.

Lawyers on all sides are now waiting to see whether the Commission launches a “state-ment of objections,” a step that can lead to a request for conces-sions to secure approval.

The Commission and compa-nies all declined to comment.

The United States, Japan and China have approved the deal and Brazil is expected to con-firm preliminary backing soon.

David Calhoun


Through wars, economic recessions,

disasters natural or manmade, and various industry

upheavals, Tim has ably steered and

grown Emirates to its standing today as

the world’s largest international airline,

and an eminent player in the global

airline industrySHEIKH AHMED

Emirates Airline president Clark to retire in June 2020Reuters | Dubai/Paris

Tim Clark will retire as the president of Emir-ates Airline at the end

of June 2020 after more than three decades at the state-con-trolled business that has helped to transform Dubai into one of the world’s major travel cross-roads.

Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said on Tuesday in an internal memo to staff, reviewed by Reu-ters, that Clark would stay on as an adviser to the company.

“Through wars, economic re-cessions, disasters natural or manmade, and various industry upheavals, Tim has ably steered and grown Emirates to its stand-ing today as the world’s largest international airline, and an em-inent player in the global airline industry,” Sheikh Ahmed said in the memo.

Clark, 70, joined the airline as a founding member in 1985, hav-ing previously worked at Gulf Air and Caledonian Airways.

The British national became Emirates’ president in 2003.

“Tim is a giant of the indus-try. He had the vision behind

Emirates and has cultivated the airline to where it is today,” said independent aviation consult-ant John Strickland.

Knighted in 2014 for his ser-vices to British prosperity and the aviation industry, Clark has since been referred to by many in the industry, including those at Emirates, as “Sir Tim”.

Sheikh Ahmed, a member of Dubai’s ruling family who has been the airline’s chairman since inception, praised Clark as being central to Emirates suc-cess and Dubai’s emergence as a global aviation hub.

“His achievements are too

many to recount individually, but they will all be remem-bered,” he said in the memo.

Emirates, profitable for the past 31 years, has been crucial to putting Dubai on the map and its transformation into a global financial and tourism hub.

Emirates, launched in 1985 with aircraft leased from Pa-kistan International Airlines, today operates a fleet of 270 aircraft to 159 destinations, ac-cording to its website.

It carried close to 60 million passengers in its last financial year, and operates the single largest fleet of Airbus A380 su-

perjumbo jets.Emirates hub, Dubai Inter-

national Airport, has been the world’s busiest for international passengers since 2014 when it overtook London’s Heathrow airport.

Clark departs as the major airline sets upon a new growth strategy as it retires older A380 jets and starts receiving smaller Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s ordered this year.

Emirates Airline President Tim Clark

Nissan top executive Seki to resign in blow to turnaround planReuters | Yokohama, Japan

The executive tasked with leading a recovery at Nissan

Motor Co Ltd said he had de-cided to resign just weeks into his new job, a move that could disrupt the automaker’s push to turn the corner on scandal and slumping sales.

Jun Seki, Nissan’s vice chief operating officer and a former contender for chief executive, told Reuters he was leaving to become the president of Nidec Corp, a Kyoto-based manufac-turer of automotive components and precision motors.

He will likely depart in Janu-ary after three decades at Nissan,

including a stint heading its Chi-na business.

“I love Nissan and I feel bad about leaving the turnaround work unfinished, but I am 58 years old, and this is an offer I could not refuse. It’s probably my last chance to lead a com-pany too,” he said in a brief in-terview.

“It’s not about money. In fact, I will take a financial hit since Nissan pays us well,” Seki said. He declined to elaborate further.

Nissan and Nidec declined to comment.

Seeking to roll back some of the costly expansion under oust-ed chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nis-

san has embarked on wide-rang-ing turnaround plan.

That plan, which began in April, is now on track to gen-erate a cumulative few hun-dred billion yen in cost cuts and operational efficiency gains by the year to March 2022, ac-cording to two Nissan sources who spoke on condition of an-onymity. One hundred billion yen is roughly equal to $915 million.

Adding to concerns about disruption among Nissan’s top management, the sources said that Seki, Chief Operating Of-ficer Ashwani Gupta and Chief Executive Makoto Uchida have

so far failed to gel as a team after being named to their posts in October.

They officially took over on Dec. 1.

“There was no instant, co-hesive chemistry achieved by those appointments,” one of the sources said.

Gupta and Uchida were not immediately available for com-ment.

Seki’s resignation could fur-ther complicate Nissan’s rela-tionship with top shareholder Renault SA. Seki recently worked in Paris for a year and was seen as relatively close to the French automaker. Nissan Motor executive officer and vice-COO Jun Seki

Global stock markets face subdued Christmas Eve tradeLondon

Asian and European stock markets turned flat in quiet

Christmas Eve trade yesterday, running out of fizz before the festive break despite fresh re-cord gains on Wall Street over-night.

In holiday-shortened deals, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 shares index rose 0.1 per cent to end at 7,632.24 points, while the Paris CAC 40 finished flat at 6,029.55 points.

“In true Christmas tradition, financial markets saw low trad-ing volumes and volatility,”said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 had al-ready shut for Christmas on Monday, closing down 0.1 pc at 13,300.98 points.

Trading volumes are typical-ly light at this stage with many investors away for extended Christmas and New Year holiday celebrations.

‘Santa Rally’ fades

Investors were pausing for breath after a bumper run over the last two weeks or so.

Global equities have already enjoyed a “Santa Rally” as deal-ers welcomed news over the US-China trade war and Brexit, having been on a roller-coaster ride for the last 12 months.

Britain’s pro-Brexit Prime

Minister Boris Johnson won a landslide election on December 12, boosting investor sentiment.

Last week, Johnson clinched parliamentary approval for the nation to depart from the Euro-pean Union on January 31, dis-pelling Brexit uncertainty that had plagued markets for more than three years.

The rally gathered pace at widespread investor relief over the China-US trade pact, with

the two economic superpowers set to sign off the deal early next month.

“The UK election result and the US-China trade deal was the Santa Rally -- it’s been quiet since then,” added Madden on Tuesday.

Wall Street had enjoyed an-other blistering record-breaking performance overnight, buoyed by relief at burgeoning hopes over the China-US trade deal.

‘Calm’ holiday periodOanda analyst Edward Moya

added that he did not expect a repeat of last year’s losses the day before Christmas.

Markets had been hammered in 2018 by tighter monetary pol-icy -- from both the US Federal Reserve and also the European Central Bank.

“This Christmas Eve will not mimic last year, when we saw US stocks collapse with the S&P 500 falling into bear market territo-ry,” Moya said.

“This holiday period should be rather calm as trade up-dates appear very constructive as we near the finalisation of the phase-one trade deal next month.

“The reason we won’t see a repeat of last year is because there are no fears of any of the major central banks tightening policy anytime soon.”

Asian markets were mixed in thin business Tuesday as Wall Street failed to spur another rally, while many bourses also closed early ahead of the holiday.

The Santa rally has passed Asia and Europe by, but Wall Street has enjoyed the gains often seen in lacklustre holiday trading at the end of the year

Key figures around 1300 GMTLondon - FTSE 100: 0.1 pc at 7,632.24 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: n at 6,029.55 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: closed for holiday

EURO STOXX 50: 0.1 pc at 3,774.29

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: n at 23,830.58 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: 0.2 pc at 27,864.21 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: 0.7 pc at 2,982.68 (close)

New York - Dow: 0.3 pc at 28,551.53 (close)

Pound/dollar: at $1.2958 from $1.2936 at 2200 GMT

Euro/pound: at 85.54 pence from 85.73 pence

Euro/dollar: at $1.1082 from $1.1079

Dollar/yen: at 109.40 yen from 109.44 yen

Brent North Sea crude: 0.6 pc at $66.77 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: 0.4 pc at $60.78

Uber founder Kalanick leaves board of directors

Reuters

Uber Technologies Inc’s founder and former CEO

Travis Kalanick will resign from its board of directors by the end of the year, the compa-ny said yesterday.

Kalanick, who helped found Uber in 2009, stepped down from the company’s helm in June 2017 under pressure from investors after a string of set-backs.

Kalanick turned Uber into the world’s largest ride-ser-vices company that revolu-tionized the taxi industry and challenged transportation reg-ulations worldwide.

“Very few entrepreneurs

have built something as pro-found as Travis Kalanick did with Uber. I’m enormously grateful for Travis’ vision and tenacity while building Uber, and for his expertise as a board member,” Uber Chief Execu-tive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

Kalanick said in a statement that now Uber was a public company, he wanted to focus on his current business and philanthropic pursuits. He is currently working on a food delivery startup.

Kalanick has sold of more than $2.5 billion worth of shares since Uber went public in May, according to regulatory filings.

Former Uber Technologies Inc. CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick stands on a balcony above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during the company’s IPO in New York, U.S


KNOW WHAT

W.African opinion divided over CFA franc reform• CFA franc will be renamed the “eco”

• The currency will retain parity with the euro

• France will quit its managerial institutions

Dakar

Plans to overhaul the CFA franc, a France-backed currency used by former

colonies in West Africa, have drawn reactions ranging from scepticism to cautious optimism.

Some experts in the region questioned whether the change amounts to much but others thought it a step forward, al-though vital issues remain to be tackled.

The deal provides currency stability -- and a dampener on inflation -- for the eight coun-tries in the West African Mone-tary Union (WAMU).

They comprise Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, which are former French colonies, as well as Guinea-Bissau, a former Por-tuguese colony.

But the dependence on France, and even the name of the curren-cy itself, are under fire.

Critics have directed wither-ing fire, describing the CFA franc as a symbol of colonialism and past French meddling and an affront to economic sovereignty.

On Saturday, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major shift.

Under it, the CFA franc will be renamed the “eco” and its member countries will no longer be required to keep reserves in France.

The currency will retain parity with the euro, and France will quit its managerial institutions.

However, France will provide backup, in the form of a line of credit, if WAMU countries hit a currency crisis.

Divided opinionsThe description of the change

as “historic” ran into immediate flak.

“It’s six of one and half a doz-en of the other,” the Ivorian op-

position newspaper Notre Voie (“Our Way”) said, while the Quotidien de Dakar daily in the Senegalese capital said: “The outside has changed, but inside, nothing has moved.”

Some economists agreed.Senegalese expert Makhtar

Diouf said the announcement was a “non-event” while Ivorian economist Mamadou Koulibaly, an opposition candidate in next year’s elections, said, “there are reasons for feeling confused.”

Donaldine Amangbedji, a re-searcher at the Abomey Cala-

vi University in Benin, saw no tangible benefit for the public except for “stirring debate on possible alternatives”.

But Togolese economist Kako Nubukpo, a key figure in the at-tacks on the CFA franc, said the announcement was “marvelous

news... (a) historic moment.”He cautioned, however: “We

will however remain vigilant about the currency regime, which should be sorted out soon -- the fixed parity (with the euro) is transitional.”

Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr, writing on Facebook, said the change was “a step forward, but not a revolution nor a funda-mental break.”

“At the present time, this re-form... only concerns the most symbolic aspects, but leaves ma-jor components of the former relationship unchanged,” Sarr said.

Pressing questionsSeveral important questions

will have to be answered in the coming months.

Perhaps the most pressing is when the new currency will be launched in real terms -- a task with many political and techni-cal challenges.

Macron on Saturday said: “The eco will see the light of day in 2020, and I welcome it.”

Also unknown is whether other members of the region-al bloc ECOWAS -- which has also planned to launch a single currency -- will team up with the eco.

Eight WAMU countries are members of ECOWAS, although the bloc’s economy is dominated by Nigeria, the regional power-house.

Participating countries in ECOWAS will need to narrow their differences, on debt and inflation and other macro-eco-nomic essentials, to make the eco a success.

“Many ECOWAS countries are not ready,” warned Amangbedji.

“If a currency is created in

these conditions, it will be com-pletely devalued. Some say that the risk is worthwhile, others say it will lead to wild ride.”

A third question is the re-sponse of six other African countries that also use a central African version of the CFA franc.

On the streets of the capital Dakar, many Senegalese said they were cautious.

T-shirt seller Mamadou Ab-doulaye Ndiaye said “it’s im-portant to free ourselves from France, provided there’s no trap.”

Shoe trader Mamadou Ndiaye said he feared “ulterior motives” by France.

He pointed to France’s 50-per-cent devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994, a sudden move that sought to spur agricultural exports in WAMU countries but at the cost of hiking the price of imported goods.

Handshake: Macron and Ouattara at their press conference in Abidjan last Saturday

Eight countries in West Africa use the CFA franc. Six other countries use a Central African version of the French-backed currency.

Introduced in 1945 during colonial

times, the CFA is linked to the euro under an arrange-ment that requires African members to lodge half their

reserves in the Bank of France.

China signals stepping up economic support in 2020Beijing

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signalled plans to free up

more cash for the country’s banking system in a bid to boost lending to small busi-nesses as leaders look to kick-start the world’s number two economy.

Li flagged a fresh cut to the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve, according to state news agency Xinhua, in the latest move to ramp up stuttering growth.

The comments from Li came as he visited a bank in Cheng-du a day before Tuesday’s tri-lateral summit with the lead-ers of South Korea and Japan in the southwestern city.

Li said he was “very con-cerned about the financing of small and micro businesses” and the government will “in-

crease support for small and medium-sized banks” that di-rectly serve these businesses, Xinhua reported.

The government “will fur-ther study measures” such as reducing the reserve require-ment ratio and ways to reduce financing costs and interest rates “to significantly ease the financing difficulty and high cost”.

Premier Li Keqiang

Emaar says may raise funds against Burj Khalifa viewing decks, not selling themReuters | Dubai

Dubai’s Emaar Properties said yesterday it was con-

sidering raising capital against cash flows generated by the observation decks on its Burj Khalifa skyscraper, but was not looking at selling them.

Reuters on Monday, citing sources, said that Emaar was planning to sell the “At The Top” observation decks on the world’s tallest building and had hired Standard Chartered to advise on the process.

Emaar “would like to confirm that it is not selling the At The Top business” and is “currently considering a structured trans-action wherein financing is be-ing raised against cashflows of At The Top,” it said in a bourse

statement on Tuesday.At The Top overlooks the Du-

bai Fountains, another popular tourist attraction, with views

of the city, the coast, and the desert.

Reuters cited two sources on Monday as saying the sale pro-cess began in November. The sources requested anonymity as the details were not public.

The viewing decks make about 600-700 million dirhams ($163-$191 million) a year, one source said.

The Burj Khalifa is lit up during New Year celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 1, 2019.

At over 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa is

twice as tall as New York’s Empire State Building and nearly

three times the height of the Eiffel

Tower in Paris.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (PG-13)OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.00 AM + 2.00 + 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (VIP): 10.45 AM + 4.30 + 10.15 PMCITY CENTRE: 12.00 + 3.00 + 6.00 + 9..00 PM + 12.00 MN CITY CENTRE (IMAX 2D) :11.00 AM + 2.00 + 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PM CITY CENTRE (3D) :12.30 + 3.30 + 6.30 + 9.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)CITY CENTRE (VIP I) :11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II) :11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PM WADI AL SAIL: 10.30 AM + 3.45 + 9.00 PM

DAISY RIDLEY, MARK HAMILL, ADAM DRIVER

DABANGG 3 (PG-15)(HINDI/ACTION/COMEDY)OASIS JUFFAIR : 10.30 AM + 1.45 + 5.00 + 8.15 + 11.30 PM CITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 11.30 AM + 1.45 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 6.00 + 8.15 + 9.15 + 11.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)SEEF (I): 10.30 AM + 11.30 +1.45 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 6.00 + 8.15 + 9.15 + 11.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)SEEF (II): 10.30 PM WADI AL SAIL: 10.30 AM + 1.45 + 5.00 + 8.15 + 11.30 PM

SALMAN KHAN, SONAKSHI SINHA, WARINA HUSSAIN

BOMBSHELL (18+)(DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY) OASIS JUFFAIR : 10.30 AM + 3.30 + 8.45 PM CITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM SEEF (II): 11.30 AM + 2.00 + 4.30 + 7.00 + 9.30 PM + 12.00 MN WADI AL SAIL: 2.00 + 6.45 + 11.30 PM

CHARLIZE THERON, NICOLE KIDMAN, MARGOT ROBBIE

INTO THE ASHES (PG-15)(DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER) SEEF (II):11.00 AM + 3.15 + 7.30 + 11.45 PM

LUKE GRIMES, ROBERT TAYLOR (VII), JAMES BADGE DALE

GO FISH (G)(ANIMATION/ADVENTURE) SEEF (II): 1.15 + 5.00 + 8.45 PM

ELIJAH DHAVVAN, JUSTINE EZARIK, MARK HAMILL

I SEE YOU (PG-15)(THRILLER/CRIME/DRAMA) CITY CENTRE: 12.00 + 2.15 + 4.30 + 6.45 + 9.00 + 11.15 PM SEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 PM + 12.00 MNWADI AL SAIL:1.30 + 6.45 PM + 12.00 MN

HELEN HUNT, JON TENNEY, JUDAH LEWIS

BOONIE BEARS: BLAST INTO THE PAST (G)SEEF (II): 11.15 AM + 3.00 + 6.45 PM

CHRIS BOIKE, JOSEPH S. LAMBERT, SIOBHAN LUMSDEN

THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS WITCH (PG)SEEF (II): 1.15 + 5.30 + 9.45 PM

PAOLA CORTELLESI, STEFANO FRESI, FAUSTO MARIA SCIARAPPA

JUMANJI THE NEXT LEVEL (PG-15)ممممممم ممممم OASIS JUFFAIR: 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (VIP): 1.45 + 7.30 PM CITY CENTRE: 12.00 + 2.45 + 5.30 + 8.15 + 11.00 PM + (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)CITY CENTRE (ATMOS):10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.45 + 6.30 + 9.15 + 12.00 MNCITY CENTRE (3D) : 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PM CITY CENTRE (VIP II) : 12.45 + 3.30 + 6.15 + 9.00 + 11.45 PMSEEF (I) : 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.45 + 6.30 + 9.15 + 12.00 MNSEEF (II)12.00 + 2.45 + 5.30 + 8.15 + 11.00 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL: 12.45 + 3.30 + 6.15 + 9.00 + 11.45 PM

DWAYNE JOHNSON, JACK BLACK, KEVIN HART

FROZEN 2 (PG)(ANIMATION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY) مOASIS JUFFAIR (KIDS CINEMA): 10.45 AM + 1.00 + 3.15 + 5.30 + 7.45 + 10.00 PMCITY CENTRE: 11.15 AM + 12.15 + 1.30 + 2.30 + 3.45 + 4.45 + 6.00 + 7.00 + 8.15 + 9.15 + 10.30 + 11.30PMSEEF (II):11.00 AM + 1.15 + 3.30 + 5.45 + 8.00 + 10.15 PM WADI AL SAIL: 11.45 AM + 4.30 + 9.15 PM

KRISTEN BELL, IDINA MENZEL, JOSH GAD

21 BRIDGES (PG-15)(CRIME/ACTION/THRILLER) م CITY CENTRE: 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PM SEEF (II):11.00 AM + 4.15 + 9.30 PM

CHADWICK BOSEMAN, SIENNA MILLER, STEPHAN JAMES

MARDAANI 2 (PG-15)(HINDI/CRIME/THRILLER DRAMA) مOASIS JUFFAIR :12.45 + 6.15 + 11.45 PM

RANI MUKERJI, SHRUTI BAPNA, RAJESH SHARMA

KNIVES OUT (PG-15)(CRIME/COMEDY/THRILLER) مCITY CENTRE: 12.45 + 3.30 + 6.15 + 9.00 + 11.45 PM

DANIEL CRAIG, CHRIS EVANS, ANA DE ARMAS

MALEFICENT 2: MISTRESS OF EVIL (PG)(ADVENTURECITY CENTRE:10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.30 + 6.00 + 8.30 + 11.00 PM

ANGELINA JOLIE, TERESA MAHONEY, MICHELLE PFEIFFER

JOKER (15+)(THRILLER/CRIME/DRAMA) مممممم CITY CENTRE: 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PM

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ZAZIE BEETZ, ROBERT DE NIRO

LE MANS ‘66 (PG-13)(DRAMA/SPORT/BIOGRAPHY) CITY CENTRE: 2.45 + 8.30 PM SEEF (II):1.15 + 6.30 + 11.45 PM

MATT DAMON, CHRISTIAN BALE, JON BERNTHAL

MIRACLE IN CELL NO . 7 (PG-15)(TURKISH/DRAMA) CITY CENTRE:12.00 + 5.45 + 11.30 PM

ARAS BULUT İYNEMLİ, NİSA SOFİYA AKSONGUR, İLKER AKSUM

PATI PATNI AUR WOH (PG-15)(HINDI/COMEDY/ROMANTIC) OASIS JUFFAIR : 3.15 + 8.30 PM

KARTIK AARYAN, BHUMI PEDNEKAR, ANANYA PANDAY

MAMANGAM (PG-13)(MALAYALAM)OASIS JUFFAIR :10.30 AM + 1.30 + 4.30 + 7.30 + 10.30 PMSEEF (II): 11.00 AM + 2.00 + 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PM AL HAMRA:11.45 AM + (12.00 MN THURS./FRI)

MAMMOOTTY, UNNI MUKUNDAN, NEERAJ MADHAV, PRACHI TEHIAN

KETYOLANU ENTE MALAKHA (PG-15)(MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR : 12.30 + 5.45 + 11.00 PM

ASIF ALI, VEENA NANDAKUMAR

RULER (TELUGU) From Friday 20th onwardsSEEF (I): 12.15 + 5.45 PM

BALAKRISHNA, SONAL CHAUHAN

HERO (PG-15)(TAMIL) From Thursday 8.30 pm onwardsOASIS JUFFAIR :3.00 + 8.30 PM SEEF (I): 10.45 AM + 2.00 + 5.15 + 8.30 + 11.45 PMWADI AL SAIL: 11.00 AM + 5.00 + 11.00 PM AL HAMRA:2.45 + 8.45 PM

SIVAKARTHIKEYAN, ARJUN, ABHAY DEOL, KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN

THAMBI (PG-13)(TAMIL) From Thursday at 7.30 pm onwardsOASIS JUFFAIR: 12.45 + 6.00 + 11.15 PMSEEF (I): 12.15 + 3.00 + 5.45 + 8.30 + 11.15 PM WADI AL SAIL: 2.15 + 8.15 PM AL HAMRA: 6.00 PM

KARTHI, JYOTHIKA, SATHYARAJ

PRATI ROJU PANDAAGE (TELUGU) From Friday 20th onwardsSEEF (I): 3.00 PM

RAASHI KHANNA, SATHYARAJ, SAI DHARAM TEJ

13 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

Dabangg 3: The Salman Khan-starrer is three times too muchAlmost ten years down the line, the Chulbul Pandey franchise is feeling weak and worn out

• Prabhudheva paints a visual delight with Salman Khan aka Chulbul Pandey at the centre

Dabangg 3 is the story of a badass cop. Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan)

is now the SP of a town named Tundla.

As soon as he arrives, he nabs a bandman-turned-goon Gud-du (Nawab Shah) and reforms him. He then busts a human trafficking racket under Chinti Valia (Dolly Bindra). The king-pin of this business is Bali Singh (Kichcha Sudeepa). As soon as Chulbul finds out about this as-pect, he goes into a shock. Some repressed traumatic memories come alive in front of his eyes. The story then goes in a flash-back mode.

This is a time when Chul-bul’s name was Dhaakar. He comes across the picture of Khushi (Saiee M Manjrekar). She was selected as the bride for

Dhaakar’s brother Makkhi (Ar-baaz Khan). But Dhaakar falls for her. He meets her and wins her heart with his progressive thoughts and of course, style. At the insistence of Khushi, he changes his name to Chulbul. The alliance was fixed and all was going well. One day Bali Singh bumps into Khushi and he falls for her. But when he learns that Khushi is madly in love with

Dhaakar, he gets enraged and kills her in front of Dhaakar. On top of that, Dhaakar is jailed for the murder of Khushi and her parents. In the prison, he comes across a large hearted police of-ficer Satyendra Singh (Sharat Saxena). He helps him get ac-quitted and also motivates him to join the police force. As soon as he turns cop under the name of Chulbul Pandey, the first thing

he does is to throw Bali Singh down a cliff. He is presumed to be dead. Hence, Chulbul is shocked that Bali survived and is now back to challenge him. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Salman Khan’s story is weak and beaten to death. He has such great characters at his disposal but he makes good use of them only partially. Salman Khan,

Prabhu Deva, Dilip Shukla and Aloke Upadhyaya’s screenplay is effective but only in parts. The film keeps one engaged but again, the script suffers because of outdated storyline. What’s praiseworthy is how they have joined the dots. Audiences get to learn a lot about why Chulbul and other characters behave the way they do. Dilip Shukla and Aloke Upadhyaya’s dialogues pack a punch in most places. A

few jokes however fall flat, espe-cially the toilet humour.

Prabhudheva’s direction is average and again, the story is to blame. He tries to add some-thing new but doesn’t succeed in all scenes. Also, there are far too many songs that hamper the film’s pace. And shockingly, an important mystery, with regards to Bali Singh, remains unsolved till the very end. It’s bewildering why the makers chose to do that

Dabangg 3 starts off on a fine note. The entry scene of Salman Khan as expected is whistle and clap worthy and in many ways, it’s the best part of the film. The manner in which Chulbul frees the trafficked girls and even teaches Chinti Valia a lesson will also be loved. The flashback por-tion too commences well and is also funny. But the Bali Singh track here looks very clichéd and outdated. Post interval, the film gets a bit better as Chulbul out-smarts Bali Singh. Again, most of the parts are predictable and of convenience. The climax fight will be liked by masses, particu-lar the shirtless sequence bit of Salman Khan.

M O V I E R E V I E W

DON’T MISS IT

Dabangg 3, which has a long back-story of

how Chulbul came to be called Chulbul, is

not just a dreary mish-mash of the previous

ones, it is also a cringe-fest

Salman Khan (L) and Sonakshi Sinha in ‘Dabangg 3’

14 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

C L A S S I F I E D S

DINE OUT

PEKING TOKYO-Um Al Hassam invite you

to join us for DUCK & TURKEY

Festival until 04 January 2020. Tel: 17472345 /

33725117.

When Deepika Padukone wanted a paparazzo’s phone coverMumbai

Not only on-screen, actress Deepika Padukone is quite an entertainer in real life

too. Her recent encounter with photographers in Mumbai at a promotion event of her upcoming show “Chhapaak” is a proof of that.

A video is doing the rounds on the internet in which Deepika is seen having a fun conversation with a pa-parazzi member, taking his phone and asking him if she can use the cover of his mobile phone.

“Main use kar sakti hoon kya ?” Deepika joked.

On listening to Deepika’s response, the bystanders started laughing.

The shutterbug immediately allowed Deepika to take the phone cover. To that, Deepika said: “arey nahi nahin”.

A few days ago, Deepika was seen addressing a sutterbug as “Panduji” after the latter called her “Deepuji”.

On the work front, Deepika is await-ing the release of “Chhap- a a k ” , which is based on the life of acid attack victim Laxmi Agarwal. The film is scheduled to release on January 10. In April, she will s h a r e screen space with hubby Ranveer Singh in Kabir Khan’s “83”.

Janhvi Kapoor: Getting papped is weird

Mumbai

Actress Janhvi Ka-poor says it is weird b e i n g f o l l owe d

by the paparazzi and the weirdest part of it all is that

she is getting used to the at-tention now.

“It’s weird. It really is. I was just thinking about

it today while I had egg on my hair and honey on my face at a pilates

studios. I was like if they’ve seen me enter the

gym today, they are going to see me leave with wet hair, they are going to photograph me enter-ing your studio, your show and they are going to photograph me leaving, they are going to photograph me at Dr Agarw-als. So, it’s kind of weird but I think the weirdest part of it is that I have kind of gotta used to it now,” Janhvi said.

“As much as people might crib about it, at the end of the day, you are getting atten-tion and how phony does it sound to be like “Oh my

g o d , I

am getting so much attention’’, she added. The “Dhadak” star says she struggled with being papped.

“Honestly, I have my days and I’ve had a long phase where I really struggled with it, when I was very bothered by I don’t know I felt like it was taking away my credibility. It was like a weird deviation and just an interference and people com-menting and me reading that

and I was getting too caught up. But, then I think the past 7-8 months, touch-wood, the work has been so back-to-back, I have re-alised that it doesn’t mat-

ter,” she said.

Mariah Carey sued by former nannyLos Angeles

Pop superstar Mariah Carey was sued on Monday by a former

nanny Maria Burgues.Maria Burgues filed a

suit in the Los Angeles Superior Court, claim-ing that she was fired in April 2018 after com-plaining about her pay and working condi-tions, reports variety.com.

Burgues says she was paid $25 an hour to babysit Carey’s children. She was obliged to travel with Car-ey and the children when Carey went on tour, but says she was not paid for her travel time.

According to the suit, Carey’s children had a bodyguard Marcio Moto, who routinely screamed at Burgues and made her feel threatened. In December 2017, Bur-gues says that they were all driving to Las Vegas together, and Moto started yelling at Burgues and threatened to kick her out of the car and leave her by the road.

Ariana Grande, manager express mutual appreciation on Instagram

Los Angeles

After an im-mensely success-ful season that saw

the release of two albums and a 100 stop world tour, Ariana Grande has shown her tender and vulnerable side in a candid Instagram clip where she is seen hugging her manager Scooter Braun after the end of her ‘Sweet- ener World Tour’, reported Fox News.

Her manager appreciates Grande’s ‘strength’ and work ethic in the Instagram post, to which Grande expresses her gratitude.

“Wait this video. i’m crying. i can’t really put into words how i feel yet. But thank you for all that you and @allisonjamiekaye have done/dealt with to help me make it to the finish line, as a manager and friend i appreciate you so very much”, replied Grande to the post.

Jennifer Aniston shares holiday

picture with Rita Wilson

Los An-geles

Je n -nifer

A n i s t o n shared a festive picture

celebrating the holidays with her celebrity

friends, on Mon-day (local time).

The 50-year-old actor shared

the picture on Instagram and captioned the post, “Say CHEESE!! Lotta love in

that room Happy Holidays!” She ended it with a heart smi-ley and a bottle of c h a m -pagne.

I n t h e post, Anis-ton tagged her fellow actress-es Laura Dern, Rita Wilson and her longtime hairstylist and friend Chris McMillan.

On the post, McMillan commented, “Party of the year.”

Chris Hemsworth to take break to spend time with familyLos Angeles

“Avengers” star Chris Hemsworth is planning

to take a six to eight-month break from the spotlight to spend time at home in Australia with his family.

The 36-year-old “Thor” star, who has kids India, sev-en, and five-year-old twins Sasha and Tristan with wife Elsa Pataky, said he just wants to live in the moment.

“I’m going to take some time off now - proba-

bly six to eight months - and just be at home. I had a real, sort of, come down off the back of that press tour for

‘Avengers: Endgame’ and it was the most intense three weeks.

“I realised that for so long I’d been sort of looking to the future and chasing what next ... and then it hit me that, well, this is it. The thing that I’ve worked for and dreamt of doing, and I’ve just got to enjoy this moment,” Hemsworth said during an ap-pearance on Australian break-fast show “Sunrise”.

Idina Menzel up for more ‘Frozen’ moviesLos Angeles

Actor Idina Menzel says she is open to starring in more “Frozen” films.

The actor, who voice stars Elsa in the Disney films, said going for sequels depends on the studio.

“I can see a ‘Frozen 3’. I

can see a’ Frozen 3’, ‘4’, and ‘5’, it’s whether they want to make them. I’m happy to be involved,” Menzel told Parade magazine.

She revealed in November that she would be prepared to star in a third film at the Euro-pean premiere of “Frozen 2”.

Cardi B buys toys worth $5K

for poor kidsLos Angeles

Rapper Cardi B gave needy children an early Christmas by giv-

ing them a “truck full of” toys and gifts.

According to tmz.com, the “Bodak Yel-low” hitmaker visited a store in Miami on December 20 and bought over $5,000 worth of goodies, in-cluding games, dolls, and play things, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Cardi also hired a rent-al truck and called on some aides t o h e l p

l o a d

the toys and ship them off to children.

E a r l i e r t h i s month, Cardi played Santa to an orphan-age in Lagos, Nigeria on December 7 when she dropped off sup-plies and hung out with the kids looking for

homes.Prior to her per-

formance at the Livespot X Festival, she spread a little cheer, handing out gifts, water and food, and chat-ting to or-phanage staff.

Chris Hemsworth

Idina Menzel

Jennifer Aniston

Mariah Carey

15

sports


Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has labelled Paul Pogba the ‘best all-round midfielder in the world’ upon his return from injury

AFP | London

Paul Pogba has been hailed as the “best midfielder in the world” by Manchester

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Frenchman returned from a long injury lay-off.

The World Cup winner was in action for United for the first time since late September as a substitute in their chasten-ing 2-0 defeat at Watford on Sunday.

He could be in the starting team against Newcastle on Thursday as Solskjaer desper-ately seeks the creativity the team needs to break down stub-born opposition defences.

“Let’s see how he reacts to this, how he feels,” said Solsk-jaer. “He did really well when he came on. Big, big plus and

it might be that we do get him in from the start.”

Pogba, who had only played twice since the end of August due to an ankle injury, was introduced on Sunday with United already trailing by two goals and went close to scoring during a late attacking flurry from the visitors.

“He can play anywhere, he can play the whole midfield,” said Solskjaer.

“He’s a box-to-box midfielder. He can drop deep, get it, play long passes. He can get it high-er up and combine like he did today.”

“That’s the beauty of having Paul, because he is the best all-round midfielder in the world,” added United boss, who has said the 26-year-old will not be leav-ing in January transfer window despite links with Real Madrid.

Reaction Solskjaer said he was

looking for a reaction from his players against Newcastle after United again failed to turn dominance of possession into a positive result at Watford.

“One of the good things about the team this year, we have re-acted after bad results,” he said.

“We haven’t kept the consist-ency as we would have liked the other way but we’ve never gone on a big (bad) run like we did towards the end of last sea-son so there will be a reaction, definitely.”

United are struggling in eighth place in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea despite recent morale-boosting wins

a g a i n s t Tottenham and Manches-ter City.

Solskjaer admitted progress had been slower than expected but said he was focused on developing a team that could dominate and break sides down.

“It’s taken Liverpool a few years to get to that stage and we need to keep on building be-cause that’s what we want to get to,” he said.

Pogba is best midfielder in the world: Solskjaer

BCC A team members celebrate after winning the Div A ETS Cup organized by Cricket Bahrain Association. BCC A defeated AbuSaad Climax CC by 53 runs in the final match

Bahrain National Football team players along with officials of Bahrain Gas including Rawwaf Alhasan- Director, Bashar Alhasan- Managing Director and Talal Alhasan- Senior Management Executive. Bahrain Gas has rewarded the players for winning the 24th Gulf Cup in Doha at Bahrain Gas Headquarters in Salmabad

LuLu CC edge Riffa Stars TDT | Manama

LuLu CC defeated Riffa Stars by 24 runs in CBA Division

C 25 overs League.LuLu won the toss and elect-

ed to bat first. Opener Suneer (109) scored a brilliant century to help his team to score 191 runs at the end of 25 overs. Waqas took five wickets in-cluding a hat-trick for Stars. In second innings Bilal and Snoop took three wickets each that helped LuLu to restrict Riffa Stars for 167 runs and win the match by 24 runs.

LuLu CC 191/10 (Suneer 109, Renju 25, Waqas 5/10) beat Rif-fa Stars 167/10 (Bilal 35, Ha-dayat 29, Anoop 3/25) by 24 runs

Z-XI 189/9 in 25 overs (Afzal

69, Ibrar 25, Omar 2/32) beat TISCA Stars 163/10 (Sameer 30, Bharani 29, Qaisar 3/21) by 26 runs

Waqas Pak 150/6 in 20 overs (Waqas 42, Mudabar 22) beat FOG CC 149/9 (Jayakumar 35, Basil 2/11) by 4 wickets

Mumbai Riders 185/4 in 25 overs (Chamila 57, Burhan 52, Waleed 38, Zafar 2/35) beat Sprite CC 86/10 (Wasim 24, Rahul 5/11) by 99 runs

Shahzad Zafar 131/5 in 19 overs (Hamid 41, Khalid 33, Veer 2/14) beat Awali Gents 128/10 (Mahaveer 29, Sanito 28, Farhan 5/18) by 5 wickets

CBA Division B T-20Indian Lions 107/2 in 13.1

overs (Ranjith 42, Ameer 34, Enammul 2/21) beat Mud-abbar CC 106/8 (Ihtsham 27, Sathya 2/20) by 8 wickets

Strikers 132/8 in 20 overs (Juby 23, Sadish 23) beat Ustad XI 111/10 (Ashraf 37, Joby 3/10, Sugapathi 3/23) by 21 runs

T-25 oversSrilankan Club 164/4 in

20.4 overs (Roshan 84, Gam-ini 22, Irfan 2/22) beat Ewan Blues 161/10 (Danny 42, Nurul 41, Rahim 3/20) by 6 wickets

Afsal - Z XI

Farhan - Shahzad Zafar

Rahul - Mumbai Riders

Suneer LuLu

Liverpool’s Klopp turns cricket’s Du Plessis into fanAFP | Centurion, South Africa

South African cricket cap-tain Faf du Plessis said on

Tuesday that a chance meet-ing with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had turned him into a fan.

Du Plessis was having din-ner with Springbok rugby captain Siya Kolisi in a Cape Town restaurant in No-vember when Klopp, on a private visit to South Africa, walked in.

Kolisi has been a long-time Liverpool fan and Du Plessis posted a picture on both In-stagram and Twit-ter showing the two captains and Klopp, commenting that Kolisi had a “man-crush moment”.

Klopp recognised Kolisi after watching the Springboks win the

Rugby World Cup final in Japan some 10 days earlier and came across to congratulate him.

“Did he recognise you?” asked a journalist at Du Ples-sis’ press conference ahead of the first Test against England,

starting on Thursday. “No,” admitted the cricket captain to laughter. “But he said he watches cricket. The Liverpool guys watched the Cricket World Cup and saw

how well England did.”

Du Plessis said he had

never be-c o m e a

c l o s e follow-e r o f f o o t -b a l l

but said meeting Klopp

had changed that. “For some-one to be that famous, he is a great guy and that’s what I be-lieve real leadership is about. It’s about connecting with peo-ple, having great relationships with people, so I became a mas-sive fan.”

For someone to be that famous, he

is a great guy and that’s what I believe

real leadership is about. It’s about connecting with

people, having great relationships with

people, so I became a massive fan

FAF DU PLESSIS

Faf du Plessis

Paul Pogba


Riffa survive Al Najma scareRiffa make late rally to claim narrow victory over Al Najma in Top Six Division of the Zain Bahrain Basketball League

TDT | Manama

Riffa survived a late scare to escape with a narrow 78-71 victory over Al Na-

jma last night in the Top Six Di-vision of the Zain Bahrain Bas-ketball League, currently being played at Zain Arena in Um Al Hassam.

After leading for virtually the entire game, Riffa lost the advantage briefly early in the fourth quarter as Najma valiant-ly fought their way back.

But the victors were then able to make a decisive 7-0 run in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the contest to break a 69-all tie and seal the hard-earned victory.

American professional Joseph Jones scored four points in the rally to help steer Riffa to the result.

The win was their first in the Top Six after opening this stage with a loss. Najma, on the oth-er hand, suffered their second straight defeat.

League action continues to-night with a titanic match-up in the Top Six between defending champions Muharraq and per-ennial contenders Al Ahli. It is scheduled for a 7.30pm tip-off at the same venue.

Jones finished the game with

17 points coming off the bench for Riffa. He also had a monster 18 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes of work.

C a p t a i n a t t h e r e c e n t-ly held All-Star Game Subah Hussain was their top scorer with 20 points, including two three-pointers, before fouling out of the contest with just sec-onds remaining.

Younes Kuwayed nearly con-tributed a triple-double for Riffa with 18 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He was their only other player to score in dou-ble-figures.

Riffa once again took to the hard court without star forward Mohammed Kuwayed, but he is expected to return to action soon following a lengthy recov-ery from injury.

Ali Jaber paced Najma in the loss with 18 points. He also had 13 rebounds and flirted with an unconventional triple-double after committing nine turnovers in the game.

Fadalallah Abbas added 16 while Qassim Hassan had 14. Import Lester Ferguson from the US chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds for Najma.

Riffa went ahead 20-14 at the end of the opening quarter, and then extended their advantage to 43-30 at the half. But a poor third quarter allowed Najma back into the game and Riffa had only a 58-53 lead heading into the final canto.

Najma continued to claw their way back into the game and took a 64-63 lead ov a Has-san lay-up with still over six minutes remaining. But Riffa’s Hussain was able to reply and the teams continued to trade blows until a 69-all tie. That set the stage for Riffa’s crucial 7-0 run.

Jones scored the first four points and then a free-throw from Ali Abbas and another Hussain basket sent them on their way to the win.Riffa’s Jones attempts a jump shot against the defence of Najma’s Ferguson

The win was Riffa’s first in the Top Six af-ter opening this stage

with a loss. Najma, on the other hand,

suffered their second straight defeat

KNOW WHAT

Gulf Cup champions honoured in school visitTDT | Manama

Al Bilad Alqadeem Interme-diate Boys School hosted

Bahrain’s national football team players in recognition of their historic triumph in the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup.

The players met school ad-ministration and then in a pro-gramme were introduced indi-vidually.

The students then had an op-portunity to meet the players and take photos with them, as well as get their autographs. The school administration offered the team many thanks to the team.

This initiative comes from the school in the framework of com-municating with the national team, as the school is keen to participate in the sports celebra-tions taking place in the King-dom. It is also an opportunity for the students to meet the stars. The honouring ceremony was prepared and coordinated by the school’s physical education department. Bahrain’s national football team players during school visit

Mourinho’s criticism of Chelsea’s Rudiger is ‘disappointing’ - Lampard

Reuters

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard spoke up for

Antonio Rudiger on Tues-day after the defender was criticised by Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourin-ho for his part in the send-ing off of Son Heung-min in Sunday’s 2-0 derby win.

Son kicked out in retali-ation at Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger as they challenged for the ball, and referee Anthony Taylor pro-duced a straight red after a VAR review, leaving Spurs with 10 men for the last half hour.

Mourinho had taken a dig at Rudiger, who was also allegedly racially abused after the incident, for going down too easily, telling him to “stand up and play”, but Lampard said the red card was the correct decision.

“With Toni and this inci-dent, when he’s having to post after the game about something that we know is a huge deal, I think to ques-tion his integrity in that time is disappointing,” Lam-pard told reporters ahead of Thursday’s game against Southampton.

“What I heard on the commentary and post-match reflection is that the Son incident was a red card... It wasn’t a brutal red card but it was an instinc-tive one that warrants a red card in the modern day.

“I wouldn’t question To-ni’s integrity on that.”

Rudiger had urged Tot-tenham on Twitter to find and punish the individuals

who allegedly directed racist abuse at him dur-

ing the match, and the club confirmed they were investigat-

ing the incident with the help of CCTV footage.

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sidelined with ankle injuryReuters | London

Li v e r p o o l ’ s A l e x O x -lade-Chamberlain is set for

a spell on the sidelines after sus-taining an ankle ligament injury in Saturday’s Club World Cup final, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday.

The midfielder landed awk-wardly on his ankle during the 1-0 win over Flamengo and was substituted in the 75th minute. Klopp confirmed the 26-year-old would not play during the busy festive period when Liv-erpool play three times in eight days.

“You have three ligaments on the outside of the ankle, one of them is damaged,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Thursday’s top-of-the-table clash at Leices-ter City.

“Now we have to see how quickly we can fix that. I don’t know exactly. I had that inju-

ry myself, but it was years ago and it can take a while or can be quick.

“No chance for Thursday and no chance for this year. Oxlade will not play anymore (in 2019), that’s clear.”

Klopp also said midfielder Fabinho and centre backs De-

jan Lovren and Joel Matip were re-covering well but not fit for the upcoming games.

“There is no news on anyone else, which is good news,” Klopp added.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

alarming escalation · al-sayed hashim al-sada was appointed as director of exter-nal tax...

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