Nod for downsizing four ministries Manama

The Cabinet chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy

Prime Minister, yesterday approved a recommendation submitted by the Civil Service Council, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, on downsizing the organisational structures of four ministries and government authorities by cancelling and merging departments, changing their names and cancelling administrative positions.

The recommendation is in line with government directives to reduce administrative positions and ad-ministrative support units.

The changes outlined within the recommendation

focused on changes in the organisational structures of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Electricity and Water Authority.

Among other things, HRH the Crown Prince praised the constructive efforts made by the Ministry of In-terior and the Judicial Authority to implement of the provisions of the Penal Code on Alternative Sentenc-ing, noting the positive impact it has had on Bahraini society.

The Cabinet then commended the joint efforts made between various entities taking the necessary precau-tionary measures to safeguard the Kingdom from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

8

UAE issues reactor licence for first Arab nuclear power plant 10WORLD

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Bahrain come up short against Morocco in Arab Cup U20 Bahrain’s junior national football team suffered a 2-4 defeat to Morocco yesterday in their opening game of the Arab Cup U20, being played in Riyadh.

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• His Majesty hailed the celebrations, which marks a defining historic national anniversary, in which the loyal people of Bahrain showed their cohesion and solidarity.

Manama

His Majesty King Ham-ad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday patronised a

ceremony celebrating the 19th anniversary of the National Ac-

tion Charter (NAC).The Ministry of Education and

the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs co-organised the ceremo-ny at the National Action Monu-ment under the theme “Charter of Gold”.

HM the King was received on arrival by HM the King’s Repre-sentative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Affairs (SCYS) Chairman His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and SCYS First Deputy Chair-man, Bahrain Olympic Commit-tee (BOC) President HH Shaikh

Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.  Also present were Education

Minister Dr Majid Al Nuaimi, Youth and Sports Affairs Min-ister Ayman Almoayyed, senior officials, along with over 4,000 students who saluted HM the King, the architect of Bahrain’s development and progress.

HM the King inaugurated the Gold Bank website, which show-cases all details about sports and youth achievers, along with their photos and achievements. He seized this patriotic occasion to thank all the participants in the celebration.

The King hailed the celebra-

tion which marks a defining historic national anniversary, in which the loyal people of Bah-rain showed their cohesion and solidarity, ushering in a new phase  for the nation.

His Majesty praised the cere-mony which celebrates authentic national values which have long marked the Kingdom of Bahrain and its people.

At the conclusion of the cer-emony, HH Shaikh Nasser pre-sented HM the King with a com-memorative gift on this national occasion which marked the 19th NAC milestone.

Commemorative photos were

also taken on this occasion, showcasing HM the King with Bahrain champions who hon-oured the Kingdom with 390 achievements in 2019 – the Year of Gold.

Dr Al Nuaimi expressed deep-est thanks to HM the King for gracing the ceremony, which embodies loyalty to the nation and allegiance and gratitude to HM the King.

The celebration included sports contests and other events, while thousands of students took part in a massive march from the University of Bahrain to the Na-tional Action Monument.

HRH the Crown Prince chairs the Cabinet.

‘Charter of Gold’

‘NAC anniversary an occasion to celebrate authentic national values’

His Majesty arrives at the National Action Monument. His Majesty receives a commemorative gift from HH Shaikh Nasser.

F1 Countdown TDT | Manama

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) will kick

start its 30-day countdown today to the start of the weekend’s events in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020.

The four-day event fea-tures the very best of global motorsport and non-stop family entertainment.

It is scheduled to LIGHT IT UP! from March 19 to 22 at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in Sakhir.

Fans are urged not to miss out on this epic occasion.

Full Story Page 16

Bezos pledges $10bn to fight climate changeSeattle

Amazon boss Jeff Bez-os has pledged $10bn

(£7.7bn) to help fight climate change.

The world’s richest man said the money would fi-nance work by scientists, ac-tivists and other groups.

He said: “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fight-ing the devastating impact of climate change.”

Writing on his Instagram account, Mr Bezos said the fund would begin distribut-ing money this summer.

Mr Bezos has an estimat-ed net worth of more than $130bn, so the pledge repre-sents almost 8 per cent of his fortune.

Some Amazon’s employees have urged him to do more to fight climate change. There have been walkouts and some staff have spoken publicly.

Also, Mr Bezos is financ-ing the Blue Origin space programme, criticised for its carbon footprint.

02TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received, in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), Dr Nayef Al Hajraf. HM the King congratulated the GCC Secretary-General on his appointment to his post, wishing him and all the staff of the GCC Secretariat-General every success. HM King Hamad lauded the important achievements attained by GCC to meet the aspirations of GCC brotherly peoples, and strengthen the pillars of regional and global security, peace and stability. HM King Hamad thanked Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Minister and former GCC Secretary-General, Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, for the tremendous and outstanding efforts he had exerted to enhance the joint GCC march.

His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday received Fawzia Zainal, Council of Representatives Speaker, and Ali Al Saleh, Shura Council Chairman, at HRH’s majlis at Gudaibiya Palace. HRH stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen cooperation between the Executive and Legislative Authorities, in order to further realise the Kingdom’s wide-ranging development goals and meet the needs of Bahraini citizens, under the leadership of HM King Hamad. HRH the Crown Prince highlighted that the Kingdom continues to implement forward-looking citizen-centric development strategies, that ensure wider diversification across the Kingdom’s sectors and the provision of quality opportunities for Bahrainis.

Indian Ladies Association (ILA) has named its new Executive Committee for the year 2020-2021. The new panel will be headed by the President Reena Sreedhar and includes Vice-President Sarada Ajith, General Secretary Trupti Supali , Treasurer Sunanda Gaikwad , Public Relations Secretary Neelam Gupta. Other members are Membership Secretary Komal Talreja, Entertainment Secretary Raka Mukhopadhyay , Operation Secretary Ekta Mehta, and Activities Secretary Anjana Mishra. The ILA was established in 1956 and is among the active and charitable organisations in Bahrain. Its most valued project is ‘Sneha’, a free recreation place for children with special needs, for all nationalities. The other projects/activities of ILA include organising free medical camps, adult literacy classes for low income workers, gift of knowledge scholarships, providing meals and provisions to labor camps, visiting geriatric centres, childcare homes, hospitals etc.

Sisters share unique ACCA success journey TDT | Manama

Three siblings, who are res-idents of the Kingdom, have set a rare milestone

among accountancy professionals by earning the membership of the Association of Chartered Certi-fied Accountants (ACCA) “at an almost unbelievable age”.     

While Aruna Suresh and Anika Suresh attained success at the age of 17, their sibling Anusha Suresh broke all records to emerge suc-cessful at the age of 15. And they attribute their success to their father Mr Suresh, who is also a Chartered Accountant by pro-fession.  

“After finishing IGCSE and A

Level, we were in a dilemma on whether to pursue a profession-al qualification or an academic degree. We would say, the two most important factors were ded-ication and proper guidance. We were like any other student, fac-ing difficulties and failures. How-ever, we were taught to never give up and keep working towards our

goal,” they told Tribune.  The sisters agree to the fact that

any great dream demand great sacrifice. “We spent those two years of our lives dedicated to our studies and put aside our personal interests.” 

They also have an advice for those who wait to complete their graduation or attain work

experience before pur-suing such serious pro-fessional lines. “A com-mon misconception is that these professional qualifications require ex-perience and vast prior knowledge. 

“However our journey has proven that you do not require such great skill or knowledge to at-tain Chartered status. So, our advice would be that if you are determined and willing to put the effort, you can definite-ly pursue a professional qualification.” 

The sisters, who are currently lecturers for Cambridge assessment international education, LCCI, ACCA, CMA and other professional qual-ifications, say the success

has had a great impact on their personal lives. “We definitely benefited since it enhanced our knowledge and gave us the con-fidence to take up any challenge. It also nurtured the qualities of the will power and perseverance, which is essential for working towards our dreams.

“Since we gained immense knowledge from our ACCA, we have completed CMA qualifica-tion as well. We chose the CMA since it diversifies us into the American accounting standards. We also plan to complete our CPA, CFA, CIMA and ACA.” 

ACCA qualification is one of

the best options for youngsters who want to make big in the ac-counting field, according to them. “Being a professional qualifica-tion, the ACCA is a key asset to any candidate that is looking for a job in the business field. It tells the employer that the candidate has been trained to tackle real world situations in his/her field of work.” 

Looking forward, the sisters have great plans in the store. “We have always desired to work in one of the big four audit firms. We also want to start up businesses in the education and accounting sector.” 

From left, Anika, Anusha and Aruna

03TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

• The 18 MPs were spearheaded by Ibrahim Al Nafee’ee and include First Deputy Speaker of the House Abdulnabi Salman.

• MPs claimed that most high and middle level posts in the private sector is going to expatriates.

TDT | Manama

A group of lawmakers is planning to quiz several ministers with regard to

the existing low Bahrainisation rates in public and private sectors, Tribune has learnt.

Starting this chain of interpel-lations, 18 MPs yesterday submit-ted a request to the presidency of the Council of Representatives, to interpellate Labour and Social Development Minister Jameel Humaidan.

The move comes few weeks after a special parliamentary com-mittee, which was earlier formed to investigate the rates of Bah-rainisation in both sectors, rec-ommended the interpellation of several ministers for their alleged “unsatisfying” performance with regards to the matter.

A copy of the interpellation request form was leaked to the Internet and showed that the min-ister will be questioned about the ministry’s violations regarding setting a national plan for the la-bour market and on the flexible work permits (Flexi Permits).

The 18 MPs were spearheaded

by Ibrahim Al Nafee’ee and in-clude First Deputy Speaker of the House Abdulnabi Salman, Mo-hammed Al Abbasi, Zainab Abdu-lameer, Hamad Al Kooheji, Khalid Buanq, Mohammed Buhamood, Ahmed Al Damistani, Sayed Fa-lah Hashim, Abdulla Al Thawadi, Yousif Al Thawady, Ammar Ab-bas, Bassim Al Maliki, Hesham Al Asheeri, Isa Al Qady, Ammar Al Bannai and Adel Al Assoomy.     

The Parliamentarians believe that the Flexi Visa System and Par-allel Bahrainisation have made it difficult for Bahrainis to find jobs.

A Parliamentary committee is of the view that Bahrainisation in the private sector and public sector has not reached adequate levels.

The Flexi Permit, a Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) initiative allowing foreign workers to sponsor themselves, has come under severe criticism from MPs.

According to sources, the com-mittee may submit the final report on Bahrainisation on December 28. 

Recently, a proposal was ap-

proved in the Parliament that aims to limit certain professions in the private sector to only

Bahrainis. MPs claimed that most high and

middle level posts in the private sector is going to expatriates, causing Bahrainis to miss out on lucrative opportunities.

They called for a law to be enacted, which would restrict certain private sector jobs to just Bahrainis. 

The lawmakers stated that ma-jority of the jobs in the private sector are going to expatriates, while Bahrainis are struggling to get jobs.

According to them, the exist-ing initiatives to reduce unem-ployment among Bahrainis is not enough.    

The MPs pointed out experi-ence of Oman in implementing such a restriction.

Oman has stopped issuing visa for expats for 87 jobs since past two years. Information and Tech-nology, Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Sales, Adminis-tration and Human Resources, Insurance, Information/Media Professions, Medical Professions, Airport Professions, Engineering Professions, Technical Profes-sions were some of the areas af-fected in Oman.

The number of Bahrainis in the Kingdom reached 677,000 this year, constituting 45 per cent of the population, while there are 823,000 expatriates living here (55pc of total population).

The data reveals that the num-ber of expatriates has been grow-ing substantially with over 64,000 foreigners arriving last year alone.

The number of Bahrainis rose only by 12,000 last year when compared to 2016 numbers.

Bribery trial begins today TDT | Manama

An employee at the General Directorate

of Civil Defence with-in the Interior Ministry, who is accused of bribery, will stand trial before the Fourth High Criminal Court today.

The man was arrest-ed red-handed receiving BD2,000 in bribe to pro-vide services to a private company.

As per the orders of the Public Prosecution, the suspect remained behind bars since October 31, 2019, until the Prosecutors completed its investiga-tions in the case.

The civilian employee was initially arrested by the General Directorate of Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security.

According to a statement issued by Interior Ministry back then, the suspect was arrested red-handed while receiving bribe money for providing services related to his job.

“The department re-ceived a tip-off that the suspect asked for money from a company for a cer-tain service, in which the investigation led to his arrest while taking the money,” the statement added.

BTEA launches annual Bahrain Food FestivalManama

The Bahrain Tourism and Ex-hibitions Authority (BTEA) is set to launch the fifth edi-

tion of its annual Bahrain Food Festival, which will be held over two periods, with the first starting from February 20th to February 29th, and the second from March 5th to March 14th at Bahrain Bay.

The event comes in line with BTEA’s vision to develop the tour-ism sector by organising a series of events and activities which would enhance the Kingdom’s position as a leading regional gastronomy destination.

There will be 100 restaurants taking part over the course of the two period of the festival bringing the total number of participants this year to over 200.

The restaurants will be offering a wide range of delicious cuisines, and this year’s edition is especially distinguished since it will be held in an even large space which will be divided into several sections.

The food festival, which will take place every Sunday to Wednesday from 4pm to 11pm and Thursday to Saturday from 4pm to 12am; will also feature a long line of entertainment, including a children’s play area, a traditional

village, which will offer local food and live cooking stations, as well as fun competitions and live musical

performances on stage.“We are delighted to be hosting

the 5th edition of the Bahrain Food

Festival, which is easily one of the most anticipated events favoured by tourists and locals alike, as it continues to witness an increase of the number of visitors year after year.

“The festival also provides an ideal opportunity for participat-ing restaurants to showcase their products in front of a wide audi-ence and gain popularity. With the overall aim of drawing more visitors from across the region, this event comes in line with BTEA’s strategy to continuously expand its calendar and variety of events and festivals held in the Kingdom,” said Chief Executive Officer of BTEA,

Nader Al Moayyed.  The festival will offer a variety

of F and B options, and feature a creative and diverse selection of vendors, ranging from healthy and organic food, to street food and gastronomic delicacies; and will also include fun activities and en-tertainment suitable for the whole family.

Hosting the event comes in line with the BTEA’s strategy which aims to develop and strength-en the tourism sector under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours’, thereby contributing towards the King-dom’s economy and to achieving the 2030 Economic Vision. 

18 lawmakers ‘seek nod’ to quiz Labour Minister

‘Flexi Visa System and parallel Bahrainisation making it difficult for Bahrainis to obtain jobs’

The House of Representatives in session.

45per cent of the Kingdom’s population are Bahrainis,

according to recent surveys.

The festival provides an ideal opportunity for participating restaurants to showcase their products in front of a wide audience and gain popularity. MR AL MOAYYED

Bahrain, China discuss measures, plans to prevent Covid-19Manama

Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health and Chairman of the National

Medical Team to prevent coro-navirus Lieutenant-General Dr Shaikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa yesterday received China’s Ambassador to Bahrain Anwaer. 

The meeting reviewed the lat-est developments on the corona-virus (Covid-19), and the precau-tionary and preventive measures being implemented in this regard in the Kingdom.

The ambassador praised the efforts exerted by Bahrain and the support extended by the gov-ernment and people to China.

The supervisory, preventive and precautionary measures taken by Bahrain, based on the evidence, guidelines and recom-mendations of the World Health Organisation, and the importance of continued close communica-tion between the two sides was also emphasised.

The two sides stressed the sig-

nificance of open and prompt communication between them to keep abreast with all devel-opments within the framework of their coordination and coop-eration to protect the health of citizens and residents.

Shaikh Mohammed expressed his appreciation of the efforts exerted by China in tackling the disease and of the precautionary measures that it had taken based on international regulations and rules in close cooperation with the World Health Organisation.

The Chinese diplomat ex-pressed his understanding of the measures taken by Bahrain to reduce risks of Covid -19 reaching the Kingdom.

Shaikh Mohammed briefed the ambassador about the meas-ures and procedures taken by the National Medical team in tackling the coronavirus. He also informed him about the plans and the possibilities to deal with any case of suspected infection and with those came in contact with them.Lt-General Dr Shaikh Mohamed holds discussion with Mr Anwaer in the presence of senior Health Ministry officials.

04TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Bahraini women’s economic achievements praised

Manama

Her Royal Highness Prin-cess Sabeeka bint Ibra-him Al Khalifa, Wife of

His Majesty the King and Pres-ident of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), yesterday re-ceived Board Chairperson and

members, former Heads and founders of Bahrain Business-women Society marking the so-ciety’s 20th anniversary.

She praised the outstanding economic achievements of Bah-raini women and their remark-able role in the business sector.

She underscored SCW’s keen-

ness on backing the national ef-forts to carry out strategies aimed at further engaging women in a productive and competitive economy.

HRH Princess Sabeeka lauded the role of the founders of Bah-rain Businesswomen Society in laying the foundation stone of

the first specialised society at the Gulf level concerned with women’s affairs in the commer-cial field.

She praised the society’s role in boosting economic and so-cial relations between Bahraini businesswomen and enhancing their contribution to economic

activities.HRH Princess Sabeeka listened

to a briefing by Bahrain Busi-nesswomen Society Chairperson Ahlam Janahi on the society’s activities and programmes.

Ms Janahi expressed sin-cerest thanks and gratitude to HRH Princess Sabeeka for her

unflinching support to Bahraini women, recalling her contribu-tion as Honorary President of the Society when it was set up in 2000.

The meeting also cast light on figures confirming the numer-ous accomplishments of Bahraini women in the economic field.

HRH Princess Sabeeka being briefed on society’s activities by Ms Janahi.

HRH Princess Sabeeka receives Bahrain Businesswomen Society members.

Exports touch BD2.3bnSaudi ranked first among countries receiving exports from the Kingdom

• The top 10 countries in terms of the value of exports of national origin purchased from Bahrain accounted for 77pc of the total value.

TDT | Manama

The Information and eGov-ernment Authority (iGA) issued its foreign trade

report of year 2019, encompass-ing data on the balance of trade,

imports, exports (national ori-gin), and re-exports.

The value of imports de-creased by 11 per cent, reaching BD 4.984 billion during year 2019 compared to BD 5.594 billion for the same previous year.

The top 10 countries account-ed for 68 per cent of the value of imports, with the remaining countries accounting for just 32pc.

According to the report, Chi-na ranked first when it came to imports to Bahrain, with a total of BD777 million, Australia was second with BD352m, and the

United Arab Emirates was third with BD349m.

Non-agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top product imported into Bahrain with a total value of BD380m, while aluminium ox-ide was second with BD340m, and four-wheel drive cars third with BD206m.

The value of exports of nation-al origin increased by .52pc to BD2.298 billion during year 2019, compared to BD2.286 billion for the same previous year.

The top 10 countries in terms of the value of exports of nation-

al origin purchased from Bah-rain accounted for 77pc of the total value, with the remaining countries accounting for 23pc.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first among countries receiving Bahraini exports of na-tional origin, importing BD534m from Bahrain. Meanwhile, the United States of America was second with BD284m and Unit-ed Arab Emirates third with BD272m.

Agglomerated iron ores and concentrates emerged as the top products exported during year 2019 with BD421m, aluminium

wire was second with a value of BD201m, and unwrought aluminium alloyed third with BD191m.

The total value of re-exports increased by 54pc to reach BD795m fourth quarter 2019, compared to BD515m for the same previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 87pc of the re-exported value, while the remaining countries accounted for the 13pc.

The United Arab Emirates ranked first with BD268m, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia second with BD229m, and China third

with BD70m.Fo u r- w h e e l d r i v e c a r s

emerged as the top product re-exported from Bahrain with BD103m, gold ingots came in second place with BD95m, and agglomerated iron ores and concentrates came third with BD79m.

The trade balance, the dif-ference between exports and imports, recorded a deficit total-ling BD1.892bn during year 2019 compared to BD2.793bn for the same quarter the previous year, an improvement of the trade balance by 32pc.

BIC holds two-day electrical safety course with Electricity and Water AuthorityTDT | Manama

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, held a two-

day training course on electrical safety last week at the circuit premises in Sakhir.

 The programme was organised by BIC’s Safety and Security Department in co-operation with the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA). Members of BIC’s facilities management team took part.

It was arranged to further devel-op the participants’ knowledge and practical skills, which are required to professionally perform operations on electrical circuits during everyday operations.

The training also aimed to create a greater understanding of the electri-cal network, with a related increased

awareness of electrical safety associat-ed with the operation and maintenance

of the network at BIC.Moreover, the programme was de-

signed to give increased knowledge of the limitations of electrical switching devices, a review electrical definitions, an understanding of basic protection schemes, help to develop a culture of safety, an understanding of how Arc flashes can occur, and the knowledge of how to safely use basic test instruments, among other goals.

At the end of the training course, BIC Safety and Security Senior Manager and Government Affairs Beshara Abdu Beshara along with EWA Chief of Train-ing Dr Raed Al Mubarak presented the participants with certificates.

BIC periodically puts together similar training courses for its staff to help fur-ther their expertise in their respective fields, which helps maintain the high standards of operations within the or-ganisation.

BIC Safety and Security Department staff with EWA officials.

05 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

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0

BBK B.S.C- Consolidated Financial Statements 31 December 2019

Murad Ali Murad Jassem Hasan Zainal Reyadh Yousif Sater

Chairman Deputy Chairman Group Chief ExecutiveAbove information available on www.bbkonline.com Audited by Ernst & Young

The consolidated statement of financial position, consolidated statement of profit or loss, consolidated statement of other comprehensive income, consolidated statement of changes in equity, consolidated statement of cash flows and segmental information have been extracted from the consolidated financial statements of BBK B.S.C. for the year ended 31 December 2019 which were audited by Ernst & Young who expressed an unqualified opinion on 17 February 2020.

Licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional retail bank www.bbkonline.com

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS For the year ended 31 December 2019 BD millions

2019 2018Net cash from / (used in) operating activities 118.1 (92.1)Net cash used in investing activities (51.6) (69.7)Net cash from / (used in) financing activities 125.2 (103.6)NET CHANGE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 191.7 (265.4)Foreign currency translation adjustments - net (0.3) (2.2)Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 345.4 613.0 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF THE YEAR 536.8 345.4

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONAs at 31 December 2019BD millions

2019 2018ASSETSCash and balances with central banks 376.4 191.0 Treasury bills 484.4 410.4 Deposits and amounts due from banks and other financial institutions 278.3 239.2 Loans and advances to customers 1,670.9 1,772.5 Investment securities 875.0 800.3 Investments in associated companies and joint ventures 70.6 62.9 Interest receivable and other assets 74.2 77.9 Premises and equipment 35.2 27.5 TOTAL ASSETS 3,865.0 3,581.7 LIABILITIES AND EQUITYLiabilitiesDeposits and amounts due to banks and other financial institutions 363.1 258.7 Borrowings under repurchase agreement 313.4 199.0 Term borrowings 333.0 144.5 Customers' current, savings and other deposits 2,169.5 2,374.5 Interest payable and other liabilities 139.0 104.6 Total liabilities 3,318.0 3,081.3 EquityShare capital 129.7 108.2

Treasury stock (5.2) (2.5)

Perpetual tier 1 convertible capital securities - 86.1

Share premium 105.6 41.0

Statutory reserve 61.6 54.1

General reserve 54.1 54.1

Cumulative changes in fair values 11.2 (25.1)

Foreign currency translation adjustments (12.2) (11.7)

Retained earnings 144.6 148.9

Proposed appropriations 54.5 44.6

Attributable to the owners of the Bank 543.9 497.7

Non-controlling interest 3.1 2.7

Total equity 547.0 500.4

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 3,865.0 3,581.7

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSSFor the year ended 31 December 2019BD millions

2019 2018

Interest and similar income 176.4 165.8

Interest and similar expense (69.1) (55.9)

Net interest and similar income 107.3 109.9

Fee and commission income - net 26.6 28.2

Other income 17.6 18.9

Total operating income 151.5 157.0

Staff costs (38.1) (36.4)

Other expenses (25.1) (21.3)

Total operating expenses (63.2) (57.7)

Total provisions - net (18.9) (35.3)

Net operating income 69.4 64.0

Share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures 6.8 4.1

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR BEFORE TAX 76.2 68.1

Tax expense (0.2) (0.4)

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR AFTER TAX 76.0 67.7

Attributable to:

Owners of the Bank 75.4 67.1

Non-controlling interest 0.6 0.6

76.0 67.7

Basic earnings per share (BD) 0.059 0.056

Diluted earnings per share (BD) 0.059 0.052

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOMEFor the year ended 31 December 2019BD millions

2019 2018

Profit for the year 76.0 67.7

Other comprehensive income / (loss):

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or lossFair value through other comprehensive income reserve

(equity instruments) 7.6 6.5 Items that are or may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss

Movement in translation reserve:

Foreign currency translation adjustments (0.5) (2.4)

Movement in hedging reserve:

Effective portion of changes in fair value (1.1) 0.4

Movement in fair value reserve:

Net change in fair value 30.6 (21.3)

Net amount transferred to profit or loss (2.7) (2.9)

Other comprehensive income / (loss) for the year 33.9 (19.7)

Total comprehensive income for the year 109.9 48.0

Attributable to:

Owners of the Bank 109.3 47.4

Non-controlling interest 0.6 0.6 109.9 48.0

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY For the year ended 31 December 2019BD millions

Attributable to the owners of the Bank and capital securities’ holdersNon-

Share Retained Proposed controlling Total capital Others earnings Appropriations Total interest equity

Balance at 1 January 2018 108.2 216.7 134.6 39.2 498.7 2.2 500.9

Profit for the year - - 67.1 - 67.1 0.6 67.7

Other comprehensive loss - (19.2) (0.5) - (19.7) - (19.7)

Total comprehensive income - (19.2) 66.6 - 47.4 0.6 48.0

Share - based payments - - (0.6) - (0.6) - (0.6)Distribution on perpetual tier 1 convertible capital securities - - (7.1) - (7.1) - (7.1)

Dividends paid - - - (37.8) (37.8) (0.2) (38.0)

Donations - - - (1.4) (1.4) - (1.4)

Movement in treasury stock - (1.5) - - (1.5) - (1.5)

Movement in non-controlling interest - - - - - 0.1 0.1

Proposed appropriations - - (44.6) 44.6 - - -

Balance at 31 December 2018 108.2 196.0 148.9 44.6 497.7 2.7 500.4

Profit for the year - - 75.4 - 75.4 0.6 76.0

Other comprehensive income/loss - 35.8 (1.9) - 33.9 - 33.9

Total comprehensive income - 35.8 73.5 - 109.3 0.6 109.9

Share-based payments - - 0.6 - 0.6 - 0.6

Distribution on perpetual tier 1 convertible capital securities - - (3.6) - (3.6) - (3.6)

Conversion of perpetual tier 1 convertible capital securities 21.5 (21.5) - - - - -

Dividends paid - - (12.8) (43.0) (55.8) (0.2) (56.0)

Donations - - - (1.6) (1.6) - (1.6)

Movement in treasury stock - (2.7) - - (2.7) - (2.7)

Transfer to statutory reserve - 7.5 (7.5) - - - -

Proposed appropriations - - (54.5) 54.5 - - -

Balance at 31 December 2019 129.7 215.1 144.6 54.5 543.9 3.1 547.0

SEGMENTAL INFORMATIONFor the year ended 31 December 2019BD millions

31 December 2019 Retail bankingCorporate

bankingInternational

banking

Investment, treasury and

other activities Total

Operating income before share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures 53.5 31.7 25.9 40.4 151.5

Segment result 25.6 17.7 (9.0) 34.9 69.2

Share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures 5.7 - - 1.1 6.8

Profit for the year 76.0

Profit attributable to non-controlling interest (0.6)

Profit for the year attributable to the owners of the Bank 75.4

31 December 2018 Retail banking Corporate banking

International banking

Investment, treasury and

other activitiesTotal

Operating income before share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures 53.2 31.9 26.1 45.8 157.0

Segment result 26.2 (9.2) 1.8 44.8 63.6

Share of profit from associated companies and joint ventures 4.4 - - (0.3) 4.1

Profit for the year 67.7

Profit attributable to non-controlling interest (0.6)

Profit for the year attributable to the owners of the Bank 67.1

4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

3,646

73

361

3,703

86

4743,763

91

5013,5823,865

107110

500547

75

Total Assets (BD Millions)

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Net Interest Income (BD Millions)80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

5356

59 67

Net Profit (BD Millions)

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Equity (BD Millions)

06

business

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

BBK is proud to announce another year of record

results, thus maintaining our commitment towards

increasing profitability and building shareholder value. Notable progress was made

in implementing digital innovation in line with the

Kingdom of Bahrain’s adoption of FinTech based technological

advancementsREYADH SATER, BBK’S GROUP CHIEF

EXECUTIVE

Pars International Hotel elected Marydoll Garcia as their employee of the month for January 2020. Above, Shaker Al Sayed, Human Resources Manager, presenting Garcia with a certificate and cash award

Pars International HotelEmployee of the month

BBK reports Q4, FY19 profit TDT | Manama

BBK (BBKB.BH) reported a 6.4 per cent increase in its fourth-quarter net prof-

it attributable to the owners of the bank to BD 19.9 million helped mainly by a decrease in net provision requirements. In the prior year quarter, net profit was BD 18.7m.

BBK board recommended pay-ing annual cash dividends of 40 fils per share (including 10 fils interim dividends that were declared and paid in July 2019) and stock dividends of 5pc per share equivalent to 5 share for every 100 shares for the share-holders registered with the bank on the date of the Ordinary General Assembly “AGM”.

Earnings per share was 16 fils, compared to 14 fils in the year ago quarter.

Total comprehensive income attributable to owners of the bank stood at BD 44.2m com-pared to BD 2.7m last year. The increase in the comprehensive income resulted from the high-er net profit achieved from a core operating performance, as well as the positive valua-tion of investment securities compared to last year due to the outstanding performance of various financial markets and increase in valuations of invest-ment securities globally.

Full year 2019 net profit at-tributable to the owners of the

bank was BD 75.4m compared to BD 67.1m in the previous year, registering a growth of 12.4pc. Earnings per share was 59 fils, compared to 52 fils in the pre-vious year.

BBK attributed the increase in the 2019 net profit mainly to the decrease in net provi-sions requirements by 46.5pc to BD 18.9m (BD 35.3m dur-ing 2018) as a result of active management of distressed ex-posures and higher recovery efforts.

Total comprehensive income attributable to owners of the bank amounted to BD 109.3m compared to BD 47.4m report-ed in the previous year, repre-senting an increase of 130.6pc, mainly driven by the increase in profits from operating activ-

ities, as well as the significant increase in valuation of invest-ment securities.

Investment securities port-folio registered an increase of 9.3pc to stand at BD 875.0m com-pared to BD 800.3m as end of December 2018.

Net loans and advances stood at BD 1,670.9m compared to BD 1,772.5m, a decrease of 5.7pc.

Customer deposits portfolio stood at BD 2,169.5m compared to BD 2,374.5m, registering a decrease of 8.6pc.

Loans to customer deposits ratio stood at 77.0pc compared to 74.6pc reported at the year-end of 2018.

Total operating income stood at BD 151.5m; lower by 3.5pc

from BD 157.0m reported at end of 2018 due to lower interest and non-interest income, and higher operating expenses by 9.5pc mainly due to investments in improving delivery channels, implementation of new strate-gic and business initiatives and VAT implementation during the year.

Reyadh Sater, BBK’s Group Chief Executive added “BBK is proud to announce anoth-er year of record results, thus maintaining our commitment towards increasing profitability and building shareholder value. Notable progress was made in implementing digital innova-tion in line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s adoption of FinTech based technological advance-ments.”

Murad Ali Murad, BBK Chairman

INJAZ Bahrain hosts ‘Young CEO’ programme at GPIC ClubTDT | Manama

For the fifth consecutive year, The Young CEO programme,

an initiative by INJAZ Bahrain where young student CEOs meet top-notch executives, was host-ed yesterday at the GPIC club.

The one-day programme wit-nessed more than 60 partici-pants, 35 of whom where stu-dents from 22 schools and 14 universities.

The programme hosted 40 young student CEOs who held discussions with twelve INJAZ Bahrain’s board members on how to manage companies, fi-nancial developments, invest-ments in the human capital, market challenges and the up-coming business challenges and opportunities.

The activity-packed agenda

commenced with INJAZ Bah-rain’s annual board meeting, the ‘Young CEO’ programme and a recognition ceremony for the Regional Company Competition

“Best Product” winning team ‘Al Fazaa’ and mentors.

Hana Sarwani, Executive Di-rector of INJAZ Bahrain com-mented on the programme

saying: “We strive to empower students to fully unleash their boundless potentials through our programs and workshops. We are devoted to pave the way

for our students to become the business leaders and entrepre-neurs of tomorrow.”

In cooperation with the minis-try of education, INJAZ Bahrain

implemented its flagship pro-grammes in public and private schools, reaching 200,000 num-ber of students through 8,000 volunteers.

Participants and officials during a group photo opportunity during Injaz Bahrain’s Young CEO programme

BCCI workshop on “Industrial Services System” TDT | Manama

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(BCCI), in cooperation with the Industrial Development Directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Tourism, is holding a work-shop on the “Industrial Ser-vices System” tomorrow at 10 am in Al Majlis Hall of Bait Al Tijjar.

The workshop will explain the features of the system and how to use it. It will also un-derline the services it offers which include the amendment of Industrial licenses, regis-tration for existing and new factories, and duty exemption for existing and new factories.

The workshop will also high-light the importance of the system in supporting ‘Made in Bahrain’ initiative, and will touch upon ill-practices in in-ternational trade.

The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Thailand raises $3.2 billion in 5G licence auctionBangkok

Thailand has raised more than $3.2 billion in an auc-

tion of 5G licences, as operators race to snap up high-frequency spectrums needed for a com-mercial rollout of the next-gen-eration technology.

A subsidiary of Advanced Info Services, the country’s top mo-bile operator, dominated Sun-day’s bidding, securing 23 of the nearly 50 licences up for grabs.

Governments around the world are rolling out 5G net-works, which offer vastly faster

mobile internet speeds.Washington has been pressing

countries to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from providing equipment for the networks, saying it is a security risk.

Key US allies in Europe, nota-bly Britain and France, have said they will not ban Huawei but will impose restrictions.

Thailand, like other Southeast Asian countries with close ties to China, has mostly shied away from the issue.

Thailand’s National Broad-

casting and Telecommunica-tions Commission (NBTC) hailed the auction as a “good day” for the country.

“We are becoming a 5G coun-try, which will help Thailand to lead in (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” NBTC secretary general Thako-rn Tantasit said in a statement.

It is not clear when the 5G network will be rolled out, but Fitch Ratings said Advanced Info Services was clearly aiming for this year.

A subsidiary of Advanced Info

Services, Thailand’s top mobile oper-ator, dominated

Sunday’s auction, securing 23 of the 5G licences up for

grabs

07TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

It enhances the airport’s potential, especially in light of the significant growth in transit

passenger traffic

MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION & TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND GFG CHAIRMAN KAMAL BIN AHMED MOHAMMED

With an authentic Bahraini character

and intimate atmosphere, the

new Bahrain Airport Hotel is sure to be

one of the warmest and most welcoming transit hotels in the

region

GHG CHAIRMAN FAROUK ALMOAYYED

Gulf Air Group Holding, Gulf Hotels Group form JV for new airport hotel

• JV named Bahrain Airport Hotel Company (BAHC)

• The new hotel offers 17 family rooms, 24 standard rooms, and 17 compact rooms

TDT | Manama

Gulf Air Group Holding (GFG) and Gulf Hotels Group (GHG) announced

joining hands to form the Bah-rain Airport Hotel Company (BAHC) to manage and operate the upcoming Bahrain Airport Hotel at Bahrain International Airport’s (BIA) new Passenger Terminal Building.

The Minister of Transpor-tation & Telecommunications and GFG Chairman Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed welcomed the partnership.

The move is in line with GFG’s strategy to bring private invest-ment into the aviation sector and the group’s overall develop-ment plan to support Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.

The Minister also noted the ability of Bahraini companies to

compete with the best interna-tional institutions.

Elaborating, the minister said

the airport hotel is an important element of the new terminal, especially for transit passen-

gers. “It enhances the airport’s potential, especially in light of the significant growth in transit passenger traffic.”

The project’s contractor has made significant advancements in the construction of the hotel, the minister said.

Kamal Ahmed added: “We are proud to reach this agreement with Gulf Hotels Group, which is one of the leading institutions in the Kingdom’s hospitality sec-tor. With its expertise and pro-fessionalism, we are confident it will support our efforts to en-hance the facilities for travellers at the new terminal.”

GHG Chairman Farouk Al-moayyed said he is looking for-ward look forward to combin-ing the extensive expertise of “our two institutions to provide high-quality services that en-sure all guests enjoy a comfort-able and effortless travel expe-rience.”

“With an authentic Bahraini character and intimate atmos-phere, the new Bahrain Airport Hotel is sure to be one of the warmest and most welcoming transit hotels in the region,” he added.

Bahrain Airport Hotel will offer passengers a variety of ac-commodation types and facili-ties, including 17 family rooms,

24 standard rooms, and 17 com-pact rooms. There will also be a dedicated gym for men and women separately which will include various other services.

Most Middle Eastern stocks gain

• Aramco snaps five-session losing streak

• Union Properties soars on project financing

• DP World jumps on going private

Reuters

Most Middle Eastern markets closed higher

yesterday, with Saudi Arabia gaining on support from Saudi Aramco, while Qatar bucked the trend on news it had de-layed choosing partners for the world’s largest liquefied natural gas project.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was up 0.5 per cent sup-ported by state-owned Saudi Aramco, which was up 0.9pc at 33.1 riyals ($8.83), snapping a five-day losing streak.

Saudi British Bank rose 2.1pc, while Al Rjahi Bank edged up 0.3pc.

Qatar’s index was down 0.4pc for its seventh straight session of declines. State-run Qatar Petroleum’s units Me-saieed Petrochemicals and In-dustries Qatar weighed most on the index, falling 4.6pc and 1.4pc, respectively.

Qatar has delayed choos-ing Western partners for the world’s largest liquefied nat-ural gas project by several months.

Last year, Qatar Petroleum’s chief executive officer said that Qatar had shortlisted in-ternational oil firms for a stake in its expanded North Field megaproject.

However, the fall was cush-ioned by Qatar Electricity and Water, which ended 1.3pc higher. The firm reported an annual profit of 1.41 billion ri-yals ($387.36 million), down from 1.54 billion riyals a year earlier.

Dubai’s index added 0.5pc. Emaar Properties and its unit Emaar Malls were up 0.8pc and 2.4pc, respectively.

Union Properties soared 14.7pc, its biggest intra-day surge since December 2014. The company said on Sun-day that a financing process of about 200 million dirhams ($54.45 million) for expansion of the Autodrome project was nearing its completion.

Nasdaq Dubai-listed DP World leapt 10pc after an-nouncing that it would delist and return to full state own-ership in a deal valuing the company at $13.9 billion.

In Egypt, the blue-chip in-dex was up 0.5pc with its big-gest lender Commercial In-ternational Bank Egypt rising 0.6pc.

The Abu Dhabi index gained 0.4pc as the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank edged up 0.3pc and the tele-com service provider Etisalat added 0.4pc.

Closing BellSAUDI 0.5pc to 7,873 pts

ABU DHABI 0.4pc to 5,082 pts

DUBAI 0.5pc to 2,749 pts

QATAR 0.4pc to 9,709 pts

EGYPT 0.5pc to 13,800 pts

BAHRAIN 0.1pc to 1,663 pts

OMAN 0.1pc to 4,165 pts

KUWAIT 0.4pc to 6,874 pts

Oyo says annual loss grew over six-fold on China expansionReuters | Bengaluru

SoftBank-backed Oyo Hotels and Homes said

yesterday losses widened more than six-fold in the year to March 2019, as the India-based hotel chain spent heavi-ly to expand into China.

The news comes weeks a f t e r O y o began laying off roughly 2 , 0 0 0 e m -p l o y e e s i n India, as it inches toward profitabili-ty, and days after its major investor SoftBank Group reported dismal quarterly results. The Japanese firm owns about 46 per cent of Oyo.

Quarterly profit at Soft-Bank Group was almost wiped out as it faced loss-es at its $100 billion Vi-sion Fund, its results last week showed, which came months after its bailout of loss-making startup We-Work. Oyo’s consolidated net loss after tax widened to $335 million in the year ended March 31, 2019, the company said in a state-ment. Its loss a year earlier was about $50m, according to data from business intel-ligence firm Tofler.

The move will “enable the company to focus on implementing our

mid-to-long-term strategy to build

the world’s leading logistics provider” backed by a global network including

ports, economic zones, industrial parks and inland transportation

SULTAN AHMED BIN SULAYEM

DP WORLD’S CHAIRMAN AND CEO

DP World to return to full state ownership• Port and Free Zone World has offered to acquire the 19.55 percent of DP World’s shares

• The parent company offered to buy each share of DP World for $16.75

• New deal puts the market value of DP World at $14 billion

Reuters | Dubai

Dubai’s DP World, one of the world’s largest port operator’s, said yester-

day it would delist and return to full state ownership in a deal valuing the company at $13.9 billion.

DP World operates ports around the world, from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires, and is headquartered at its flagship Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, the Mid-dle East’s biggest transhipment hub.

Port and Free Zone World, a wholly-owned subsidiary of state investment vehicle Dubai World, is to acquire the 19.55 per cent of shares listed on the Nasdaq Dubai, according to a stock filing.

Port and Free Zone World al-ready owns 80.45pc of ordinary share capital of DP World.

Each listed share will be ac-quired for $16.75, a 28.8pc pre-mium on Sunday’s closing price of $13 a share.

Port and Free Zone World will finance the transaction in

new facilities arranged by Cit-ibank and Deutsche Bank, the filing said.

Port and Free Zone World will also provide $5.15 billion in funds to Dubai World, helping it meet outstanding obligations to lenders so that DP World can implement its strategy without restrictions, it said.

Dubai World subsidiaries face certain restrictions due to agreements it has with credi-tors. DP World had been exempt from those restrictions as long as it was listed.

Proceeds will also be used to allow DP World to fund the potential redemption of its con-vertible bonds, the filing said.

DP World is delisting to fo-cus on its medium-to-long-term strategy of becoming “the world’s leading logistics pro-vider,” said Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

The port operator, which list-ed on the Nasdaq Dubai in 2007,

has diversified its operations in recent years to include indus-trial parks, transportation, and other logistic services assets.

“The demands of the public market for short term returns ... are incompatible with this industry,” said bin Sulayem.

Port and Free Zone World intends to maintain DP World’s governance structure, the filing said.

DP World shares surged 9.62pc after it announced it would delist, but they had lost more than a quarter of value over the past year.

The port operator blamed the U.S.-China trade war and re-gional geopolitics for causing uncertainty last year, with gross container volumes through its ports contracting 0.2pc.

The operator was valued at $4.96 billion when it listed in 2007. It was also listed on the London Stock Exchange be-tween 2011 and 2015.

Picture courtesy of the Middle East Monitor

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

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: sales@newsofbahrain.com | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: news@newsofbahrain.comSubscription & circulation: Tel: 36458394 | Email:subscription@newsofbahrain.com | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

HUSSEIN IBISH .

Along with an apparently sound economy, Donald Trump’s greatest advan-

tage going into November’s US presidential election will be his near-total grip on the Republican Party. Except for one senator – Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted to remove him from office at his impeachment trial – and one gov-ernor – Phil Scott of Vermont, who has endorsed one of his marginal rivals – Mr Trump indisputably dominates his party.

Regarding the Democratic Par-ty, there are two competing nar-ratives.

The first holds that, if you com-bine their aggregate numbers both during the 2018 midterms and the primaries thus far, Demo-cratic centrists are emerging as the dominant force in the party. That would greatly distinguish the Democrats from the Repub-licans, who largely swung to the extreme right in the aftermath of Barack Obama’s sweeping presi-dential and congressional victo-ries in 2008.

The second narrative holds that the hard-left Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has himself already become the dominant fig-ure due to his close second-place

finish in Iowa and a narrow victo-ry in New Hampshire. Whether or not he wins the nomination, some argue, Mr Sanders has already transformed the Democratic con-versation.

We may have seen this film be-fore.

Mr Sanders commands the un-dying loyalty of approximately 25 per cent of his party’s base vot-ers. In hotly contested primaries, he faces a divided field of largely mainstream rivals. He is opposed by the party establishment. In-deed, he has never even been a formal member of the party. And he is noted for radical views formed in the 1980s, if not the 1970s.

If that sounds familiar, that is because it precisely describes Mr Trump’s own position in the early stages of the Republican primaries four years ago.

Mr Sanders and Mr Trump share other characteristics.

Both are given to magical think-ing and wild promises. Both have long histories of being suspicious of foreigners and trade. And both tend to appeal to the emotion-al and tribal sentiments of their base. These are not uniters, but rather finger-pointing and griev-ance-driven dividers – though one champions race and the other

class.There is another suggestive

parallel in their mutual lack of transparency. Mr Trump has de-nied Americans the customary courtesy of releasing his tax re-turns though it is unclear exactly what he is hiding. Meanwhile, Mr Sanders has refused to divulge his health records, even though he is a 78-year-old man who in October returned to the campaign trail a few days after suffering a myo-

cardial infarction, which damages and heart muscles, and mandates weeks of rest. Americans have no idea what his likely longevity might be.

Even without seeing his actual medical records, one might ques-tion whether his decision to re-sume campaigning was reckless in the extreme. It raises the issue of his overall judgment and perhaps a willingness to court disaster – even to his continued existence –

in order to pursue political goals. The implications for the country are not reassuring.

Aside from sharing an attach-ment to Russia, Mr Trump and Mr Sanders are two of the more pas-sionate proponents of the neo-iso-lationism that has gripped the imagination of the Democratic left as well as the Republican right, as typically defined by now-cliched diatribes against “endless wars”.

This is crucial because, if he is

THE SIGN OF AN INTELLIGENT PEOPLE IS THEIR ABILITY TO CONTROL THEIR EMOTIONS BY THE APPLICATION OF REASON.MARYA MANNES

QUOTE OF THE DAY

‘President Bernie Sanders’ will pose problems for Arab countries

In the unlikely

event the Democratic

Party contender

beats Donald Trump in this year’s

election, his policies

will not serve the US

well, either domestically

or abroad

JONATHAN COOK

After lengthy delays, the United Nations finally published a database last

week of businesses that have been profiting from Israel’s il-legal annexation and settlement activity in the West Bank.

The UN High Commission-er for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, announced that 112 major companies had been iden-tified as operating in Israeli set-tlements in ways that violate human rights.

Aside from major Israeli banks, transport services, ca-fes, supermarkets, and energy, building and telecoms firms, prominent international busi-nesses include Airbnb, booking.com, Motorola, Trip Advisor, JCB, Expedia and General Mills.

Human Rights Watch, a global watchdog, noted in response to the list’s publication that the settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. It argued that the firms’ activities mean they have aided “in the commis-sion of war crimes”.

The companies’ presence in the settlements has helped to blur the distinction between Israel and the occupied Pales-tinian territories. That in turn has normalised the erosion of international law and subverted a long-held international con-sensus on establishing a viable Palestinian state alongside Is-rael.

Work on compiling the da-tabase began four years ago. But both Israel and the United

States put strong pressure on the UN in the hope of prevent-ing the list from ever seeing the light of day.

The UN body’s belated asser-tiveness looks suspiciously like a rebuke to the Trump adminis-tration for releasing this month its Middle East “peace” plan. It green-lights Israel’s annexation of the settlements and the most fertile and water-rich areas of the West Bank.

In response to the database, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to inten-sify his country’s interference in US politics. He noted that his officials had already “promoted laws in most US states, which determine that strong action is to be taken against whoever tries to boycott Israel.”

He was backed by all Isra-el’s main Jewish parties. Amir Peretz, leader of the centre-left Labour party, vowed to “work in every forum to repeal this deci-sion”. And Yair Lapid, a leader of Blue and White, the main ri-val to Mr Netanyahu, called Ms Bachelet the “commissioner for terrorists’ rights”.

Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, accused the UN of “unrelenting anti-Is-rael bias” and of aiding the in-ternational boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

In fact, the UN is not taking any meaningful action against the 112 companies, nor is it en-couraging others to do so. The list is intended as a shaming tool – highlighting that these firms have condoned, through their

commercial activities, Israel’s land and resource theft from Palestinians.

The UN has even taken an ex-tremely narrow view of what constitutes involvement with the settlements. For example, it excluded organisations like FIFA, the international football asso-ciation, whose Israeli subsidiary includes six settlement teams.

One of the identified compa-nies, Airbnb, announced in late 2018 that it would remove from its accommodation bookings website all settlement proper-ties – presumably to avoid being publicly embarrassed.

But a short time later Airbnb backed down. It is hard to im-agine the decision was taken on strictly commercial grounds: the firm has only 200 settlement properties on its site.

A more realistic conclusion is that Airbnb feared the back-lash from Washington and was intimated by a barrage of accu-sations from pro-Israel groups that its new policy was anti-Se-mitic.

In fact, the UN’s timing could not be more tragic. The list looks more like the last gasp of those who – through their negligence over nearly three decades – have

How business in illegal Israeli settlements continues unchecked?

Germany does not appear to deny that the settlements are war crimes. Instead, it hopes to block the case on dubious technical grounds:

that despite Palestine signing up to the Rome

Statute, which established the Hague court, it is not yet a fully fledged state. So far Austria, Hungary, Australia

and Brazil appear to be following suit.

UN efforts to protect

Palestinian land from economic

exploitation are failing

The US should encourage an investment boom focused on new infrastructure and transportation linkages. Such innovations must consider simultaneously both their speed and risk effects.

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: sales@newsofbahrain.com | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: news@newsofbahrain.comSubscription & circulation: Tel: 36458394 | Email:subscription@newsofbahrain.com | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

TOP

4TWEETS

04

02

03

01

The purpose of life is to be happy. This is

what all human beings have in common—the wish to lead a happy life. Many think that happi-ness is to be found outside us in material things, but actually it’s something that comes from within, from warm-heartedness and concern for others

@DalaiLama

We alone cannot satisfy ourselves.

We need to unmask our self-sufficiency, overcome our closures, go back to being small within, be simple and enthusiastic, filled with fervor for God and love for others.

@Pontifex

“They tried to Im-peach the President

eight times before this last Impeachment trial that we went through. In Arizona, people are tired of their obstruction, their investigations, and their Impeachments. They want them to get to work.”

@realDonaldTrump

I wholeheartedly welcome Honble Supreme Court’s

judgement on giving the Women officers perma-nent commission in the Armed Forces. PM Shri @narendramodi has support-ed the idea of permanent commission for women & announced the change in policy in his Independence Day speech in 2018.

@rajnathsingh

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

editorial stances)

elected, Mr Sanders’ far-reach-ing policy goals on the economy and climate change, among other things, are very unlikely to pass even a Democratic-controlled Congress. However, foreign pol-icy is an area in which presidents have wide – at times, almost un-fettered – power.

Both Democrats and Repub-licans have, since the end of the Cold War – and particularly since the debacle of the 2003 invasion of Iraq – debated the usefulness of international engagement and leadership to ordinary Americans.

Mr Trump’s impulse is to op-pose such engagement but his evident desire to look tough to

his base sometimes prompts him in a different direction. Mr Sand-ers shares the disengagement impulse, although he appears to have no attachment to macho pos-turing. Mr Trump leads a party that is deeply divided between isolationists and hawks, and he continuously tacks between the two. It is not clear that a Sand-ers-led Democratic Party will be similarly split.

A President Sanders could pose serious problems for Arab countries. He played a significant role in the extraordinary vote last April, eventually vetoed by Mr Trump, through which Congress sought to use the War Powers Act to end all US support for the Arab intervention in Yemen.

Mr Sanders says he wants to withdraw all US forces from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria by the end of his first term, and redirect spending away from internation-al engagement, particularly mili-tary outlays, and towards domes-tic investments. He is likely to prioritise re-engaging with Iran by unilaterally lifting sanctions.

Under either Mr Trump or Mr Sanders, the US is likely to con-tinue to withdraw from interna-tional leadership and especially the use of force.

Mr Sanders is popular among

many Arab and Muslim Amer-icans because he is perceived as a forthright critic of Israel. Compared to Mr Trump, he cer-tainly is. And he is one of the few leading American politicians to suggest using aid to Israel as lev-erage on peace. But his essential position would return the US to a traditional two-state approach.

Mr Sanders has a long history of supporting far left-wing au-thoritarians, including the Sand-inista government in Nicaragua, the Castro regime in Cuba, the now-defunct Soviet Union and others. His Democratic rivals have been circumspect on such issues, and Mr Trump – obviously delighted by the prospect of run-ning against him and not a more formidable challenger – has kept his powder dry as well.

However, when and if Mr Trump and the Republican media machine unleash on Mr Sanders’ domestic and interna-tional views, the consequences could be devastating. Think Jere-my Corbyn – times 10 (under Mr Corbyn, Britain’s Labour party last year suffered their worst parliamentary election defeat since 1935).

In a battle of fabulist dema-gogues, it would be foolish to bet against Mr Trump.

1878John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.

1885Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.

1900Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.

1906Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

Mr Trump’s impulse is to oppose such engagement but his evident desire to

look tough to his base sometimes prompts him in a different direction. Mr Sanders shares the

disengagement impulse, al-though he appears to have

no attachment to macho posturing.

‘President Bernie Sanders’ will pose problems for Arab countries

enabled the two-state solution to wither to nothing.

Mr Trump’s so-called peace plan could afford to be so one-sided only because western powers had already allowed Is-rael to void any hope of Palestin-ian statehood through decades of unremitting settlement ex-pansion. Today, nearly 700,000 Israeli Jews are housed on occu-pied Palestinian territory.

On Monday European Union foreign ministers are due to meet to discuss their response to the plan. Tepid criticism is the most that can be expected.

The actions of several Euro-

pean states continue to speak much louder than any words.

On Friday, Germany followed the Czech Republic in filing a petition to the International Criminal Court at The Hague siding with Israel as the court deliberates whether to pros-ecute Israeli officials for war crimes, including over the estab-lishment of settlements.

Germany does not appear to deny that the settlements are war crimes. Instead, it hopes to block the case on dubious technical grounds: that despite Palestine signing up to the Rome Statute, which established the Hague court, it is not yet a ful-ly fledged state. So far Austria, Hungary, Australia and Brazil appear to be following suit.

But if Palestine lacks the prop-er attributes of statehood, it is because the US and Europe, in-cluding Germany, have consist-ently broken promises to the Palestinians.

They not only refused to in-tervene to save the two-state solution, but rewarded Israel with trade deals and diplomatic and financial incentives, even as Israel eroded the institutional and territorial integrity neces-sary for Palestinian self-rule.

Germany’s stance, like that of the rest of Europe, is hyp-ocritical. They have claimed opposition to Israel’s endless settlement expansion, and now to Mr Trump’s plan, but their actions have paved the way to the annexation of the West Bank the plan condones.

Back in November the Euro-

pean Court of Justice finally ruled that products made in West Bank settlements – using illegally seized Palestinian re-sources on illegally seized Pal-estinian land – should not be labelled deceptively as “Made in Israel”.

And yet European countries are still postponing implemen-tation of the decision. Instead, some of them are legislating against their citizens’ right to express support for a settlement boycott.

Similarly, Europe and North America continue to afford the Jewish National Fund, an entity that finances settlement-build-ing, “charitable status”, giving it tax breaks as it raises funds inside their jurisdictions.

The Israeli media is full of stories of how the JNF actively assists extremist settler groups in evicting Palestinians from homes in East Jerusalem. But Britain and other states are blocking legal efforts to chal-lenge the JNF’s special status.

Soon, it seems, Europe will no longer have to worry about its hypocrisy being so visible. Once the settlements have been annexed, as the Trump admin-istration intends, the EU can set aside its ineffectual agonising and treat the settlements as ir-revocably Israeli – just as it has done in practice with the Israeli “neighbourhoods” of occupied East Jerusalem.

Then, the UN’s list of shame can join decades’ worth of con-demnatory resolutions that have been quietly gathering dust.

How business in illegal Israeli settlements continues unchecked?

A new risk of trade 

Over the past three generations, analyses of trade have indicated that speed of innovation and change is supportive of improved living

standards. Growth of a country’s international trade has

typically been more rapid than growth of the do-mestic economy. 

There is a strong historic support for the benefit of speed. The Roman empire’s impact on thought and development can still be felt today.

Its territories were expanded less through armed conflicts, but rather through the speed and improve-ments offered to its international collaborators.

The Pax Romana insured that merchants could travel safely on the roads that were built, main-tained, and protected by Roman legions.

The common coinage facilitated the speed of business transactions throughout the empire.

Central market locations through the foundation of cities and excellent communication systems enabled the development and distribution of in-novations. 

But conditions change. On February 2, the US State Department placed

China on a travel advisory of ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. 

As of now, the death toll from the virus has crossed 1,000, surpassing the 349 people who died

from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002 and 2003. 

Not only does it matter how quickly something can be provided to a specific location.

There also needs to be control of the speed of distribution combined with the capability to plan for the “what if” question in case a disrup-tion of shipment is required. 

We need to discover and sys-tematically assess the weaknesses of globalisation and highlight the consequences of dependence.

It is vital for the formulation of strategic visions to understand the need and capacity for disruption.

In the 1970s, Professor Bernard LaLonde of the Ohio State Univer-

sity expanded his analysis of inventory carrying cost to include the expense of capital tied up in the storage of goods.

With interest rates of 17 per cent and higher during the Carter presidency, his innovative as-sessment of expense and risk changed corporate inventory management substantially.  

One major activity consists of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to link regions together.

Improvements of transportations and infra-structure can greatly enhance long-term change in Chinese competitiveness.

It can set China apart for centuries and can be equivalent to the European building of enormous cathedrals, far larger than required by the pop-ulation at the time but affirming the strength of churches for centuries.

When it comes to Chinese logistics and speed, the most visible linkage is the Hong Kong – Zhu-hai – Macao Bridge which reduces transportation time from four hours to 45 minutes, according to the South China Morning Post. But one also must plan for management of disruption in emergencies.

The US should encourage an investment boom focused on new infrastructure and transportation linkages. Such innovations must consider simulta-neously both their speed and risk effects.

The time may have come to add both speed of supply as well as the braking power of distribution.

Rapid distribution outwards and inwards can be deteriorating and distracting. The coronavirus outbreak is our wakeup call to be alert, not just to the benefits but also the risks encountered in outflows and inflows of services, ideas, thoughts, and goods. The virus might be the Notre Dame bell ringing while the fire has begun. 

(Professor Michael Czinkota teaches international marketing and business at Georgetown University.)

MICHAEL CZINKOTA

The US should encourage an investment boom focused on new infrastructure and transportation linkages. Such innovations must consider simultaneously both their speed and risk effects.

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: sales@newsofbahrain.com | Newsroom: Tel: 38444680, Email: news@newsofbahrain.comSubscription & circulation: Tel: 36458394 | Email:subscription@newsofbahrain.com | Website: www.newsofbahrain.com | Printed and published by Al Ayam Publishing

TOP

4TWEETS

04

02

03

01

The purpose of life is to be happy. This is

what all human beings have in common—the wish to lead a happy life. Many think that happi-ness is to be found outside us in material things, but actually it’s something that comes from within, from warm-heartedness and concern for others

@DalaiLama

We alone cannot satisfy ourselves.

We need to unmask our self-sufficiency, overcome our closures, go back to being small within, be simple and enthusiastic, filled with fervor for God and love for others.

@Pontifex

“They tried to Im-peach the President

eight times before this last Impeachment trial that we went through. In Arizona, people are tired of their obstruction, their investigations, and their Impeachments. They want them to get to work.”

@realDonaldTrump

I wholeheartedly welcome Honble Supreme Court’s

judgement on giving the Women officers perma-nent commission in the Armed Forces. PM Shri @narendramodi has support-ed the idea of permanent commission for women & announced the change in policy in his Independence Day speech in 2018.

@rajnathsingh

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

editorial stances)

elected, Mr Sanders’ far-reach-ing policy goals on the economy and climate change, among other things, are very unlikely to pass even a Democratic-controlled Congress. However, foreign pol-icy is an area in which presidents have wide – at times, almost un-fettered – power.

Both Democrats and Repub-licans have, since the end of the Cold War – and particularly since the debacle of the 2003 invasion of Iraq – debated the usefulness of international engagement and leadership to ordinary Americans.

Mr Trump’s impulse is to op-pose such engagement but his evident desire to look tough to

his base sometimes prompts him in a different direction. Mr Sand-ers shares the disengagement impulse, although he appears to have no attachment to macho pos-turing. Mr Trump leads a party that is deeply divided between isolationists and hawks, and he continuously tacks between the two. It is not clear that a Sand-ers-led Democratic Party will be similarly split.

A President Sanders could pose serious problems for Arab countries. He played a significant role in the extraordinary vote last April, eventually vetoed by Mr Trump, through which Congress sought to use the War Powers Act to end all US support for the Arab intervention in Yemen.

Mr Sanders says he wants to withdraw all US forces from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria by the end of his first term, and redirect spending away from internation-al engagement, particularly mili-tary outlays, and towards domes-tic investments. He is likely to prioritise re-engaging with Iran by unilaterally lifting sanctions.

Under either Mr Trump or Mr Sanders, the US is likely to con-tinue to withdraw from interna-tional leadership and especially the use of force.

Mr Sanders is popular among

many Arab and Muslim Amer-icans because he is perceived as a forthright critic of Israel. Compared to Mr Trump, he cer-tainly is. And he is one of the few leading American politicians to suggest using aid to Israel as lev-erage on peace. But his essential position would return the US to a traditional two-state approach.

Mr Sanders has a long history of supporting far left-wing au-thoritarians, including the Sand-inista government in Nicaragua, the Castro regime in Cuba, the now-defunct Soviet Union and others. His Democratic rivals have been circumspect on such issues, and Mr Trump – obviously delighted by the prospect of run-ning against him and not a more formidable challenger – has kept his powder dry as well.

However, when and if Mr Trump and the Republican media machine unleash on Mr Sanders’ domestic and interna-tional views, the consequences could be devastating. Think Jere-my Corbyn – times 10 (under Mr Corbyn, Britain’s Labour party last year suffered their worst parliamentary election defeat since 1935).

In a battle of fabulist dema-gogues, it would be foolish to bet against Mr Trump.

1878John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.

1885Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.

1900Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.

1906Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.

TODAY DAY IN

HISTORY

Mr Trump’s impulse is to oppose such engagement but his evident desire to

look tough to his base sometimes prompts him in a different direction. Mr Sanders shares the

disengagement impulse, al-though he appears to have

no attachment to macho posturing.

‘President Bernie Sanders’ will pose problems for Arab countries

enabled the two-state solution to wither to nothing.

Mr Trump’s so-called peace plan could afford to be so one-sided only because western powers had already allowed Is-rael to void any hope of Palestin-ian statehood through decades of unremitting settlement ex-pansion. Today, nearly 700,000 Israeli Jews are housed on occu-pied Palestinian territory.

On Monday European Union foreign ministers are due to meet to discuss their response to the plan. Tepid criticism is the most that can be expected.

The actions of several Euro-

pean states continue to speak much louder than any words.

On Friday, Germany followed the Czech Republic in filing a petition to the International Criminal Court at The Hague siding with Israel as the court deliberates whether to pros-ecute Israeli officials for war crimes, including over the estab-lishment of settlements.

Germany does not appear to deny that the settlements are war crimes. Instead, it hopes to block the case on dubious technical grounds: that despite Palestine signing up to the Rome Statute, which established the Hague court, it is not yet a ful-ly fledged state. So far Austria, Hungary, Australia and Brazil appear to be following suit.

But if Palestine lacks the prop-er attributes of statehood, it is because the US and Europe, in-cluding Germany, have consist-ently broken promises to the Palestinians.

They not only refused to in-tervene to save the two-state solution, but rewarded Israel with trade deals and diplomatic and financial incentives, even as Israel eroded the institutional and territorial integrity neces-sary for Palestinian self-rule.

Germany’s stance, like that of the rest of Europe, is hyp-ocritical. They have claimed opposition to Israel’s endless settlement expansion, and now to Mr Trump’s plan, but their actions have paved the way to the annexation of the West Bank the plan condones.

Back in November the Euro-

pean Court of Justice finally ruled that products made in West Bank settlements – using illegally seized Palestinian re-sources on illegally seized Pal-estinian land – should not be labelled deceptively as “Made in Israel”.

And yet European countries are still postponing implemen-tation of the decision. Instead, some of them are legislating against their citizens’ right to express support for a settlement boycott.

Similarly, Europe and North America continue to afford the Jewish National Fund, an entity that finances settlement-build-ing, “charitable status”, giving it tax breaks as it raises funds inside their jurisdictions.

The Israeli media is full of stories of how the JNF actively assists extremist settler groups in evicting Palestinians from homes in East Jerusalem. But Britain and other states are blocking legal efforts to chal-lenge the JNF’s special status.

Soon, it seems, Europe will no longer have to worry about its hypocrisy being so visible. Once the settlements have been annexed, as the Trump admin-istration intends, the EU can set aside its ineffectual agonising and treat the settlements as ir-revocably Israeli – just as it has done in practice with the Israeli “neighbourhoods” of occupied East Jerusalem.

Then, the UN’s list of shame can join decades’ worth of con-demnatory resolutions that have been quietly gathering dust.

How business in illegal Israeli settlements continues unchecked?

A new risk of trade 

Over the past three generations, analyses of trade have indicated that speed of innovation and change is supportive of improved living

standards. Growth of a country’s international trade has

typically been more rapid than growth of the do-mestic economy. 

There is a strong historic support for the benefit of speed. The Roman empire’s impact on thought and development can still be felt today.

Its territories were expanded less through armed conflicts, but rather through the speed and improve-ments offered to its international collaborators.

The Pax Romana insured that merchants could travel safely on the roads that were built, main-tained, and protected by Roman legions.

The common coinage facilitated the speed of business transactions throughout the empire.

Central market locations through the foundation of cities and excellent communication systems enabled the development and distribution of in-novations. 

But conditions change. On February 2, the US State Department placed

China on a travel advisory of ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. 

As of now, the death toll from the virus has crossed 1,000, surpassing the 349 people who died

from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002 and 2003. 

Not only does it matter how quickly something can be provided to a specific location.

There also needs to be control of the speed of distribution combined with the capability to plan for the “what if” question in case a disrup-tion of shipment is required. 

We need to discover and sys-tematically assess the weaknesses of globalisation and highlight the consequences of dependence.

It is vital for the formulation of strategic visions to understand the need and capacity for disruption.

In the 1970s, Professor Bernard LaLonde of the Ohio State Univer-

sity expanded his analysis of inventory carrying cost to include the expense of capital tied up in the storage of goods.

With interest rates of 17 per cent and higher during the Carter presidency, his innovative as-sessment of expense and risk changed corporate inventory management substantially.  

One major activity consists of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to link regions together.

Improvements of transportations and infra-structure can greatly enhance long-term change in Chinese competitiveness.

It can set China apart for centuries and can be equivalent to the European building of enormous cathedrals, far larger than required by the pop-ulation at the time but affirming the strength of churches for centuries.

When it comes to Chinese logistics and speed, the most visible linkage is the Hong Kong – Zhu-hai – Macao Bridge which reduces transportation time from four hours to 45 minutes, according to the South China Morning Post. But one also must plan for management of disruption in emergencies.

The US should encourage an investment boom focused on new infrastructure and transportation linkages. Such innovations must consider simulta-neously both their speed and risk effects.

The time may have come to add both speed of supply as well as the braking power of distribution.

Rapid distribution outwards and inwards can be deteriorating and distracting. The coronavirus outbreak is our wakeup call to be alert, not just to the benefits but also the risks encountered in outflows and inflows of services, ideas, thoughts, and goods. The virus might be the Notre Dame bell ringing while the fire has begun. 

(Professor Michael Czinkota teaches international marketing and business at Georgetown University.)

MICHAEL CZINKOTA

10

world

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Kambala and track events are different and those who have

done well in one cannot replicate

in the other. Many who have achieved

in track events have tried Kambala and have not been

successful. In Kambala we run on

heels whereas in track it is on toes

SRINIVAS GOWDA

This milestone was achieved due to the UAE’s vision

and its leadership to build a peaceful

nuclear energy programme to cater for the future needs

of energy in the country

HAMAD AL-KAABI, THE UAE REPRE-SENTATIVE TO THE INTERNATIONAL

ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

India’s ‘Usain Bolt’ buffalo runner turns down sprint trial• Srinivas Gowda and his buffaloes ran 142.5 metres in 13.62 seconds

New Delhi

A buffalo jockey in India has refused to take part in a

track and field trial after his re-cord-setting performance in a traditional footrace drew com-parisons with Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt.

Srinivas Gowda and his buf-faloes ran 142.5 metres in 13.62 seconds, setting a record in the annual race known as Kambala in the southern state of Karna-taka.

With a time that equates to running 100m in 9.55 seconds, compared to the retired Bolt’s world record of 9.58sec, social media buzz erupted over the chiselled construction worker.

But with the Tokyo Olympics

looming in July, Gowda politely declined an invitation from In-dia’s sports minister to try out at the Sports Authority of India in Bangalore.

“I will not be attending trials at Sports Authority of India. I want to achieve more in Kam-bala,” Gowda, 28, told Indian media.

“Kambala and track events are different and those who have done well in one cannot repli-cate in the other.

“Many who have achieved in track events have tried Kambala and have not been successful. In Kambala we run on heels where-as in track it is on toes.”

Kambala is an annual race where racers splash 142m through paddy fields holding a rope attached to two buffaloes, who run ahead of them.

Many users have noted that the runners are pulled along by the buffaloes, who are lashed together.

“Never in my dream did I think that I would be so famous. The credit should go to my buf-faloes,” said Gowda.

“I could achieve this only be-cause they cooperated with me.”Srinivas Gowda’s performances drew wide attention in India

UAE issues reactor licence for first Arab nuclear power plant• The Barakah plant is located on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi

• The plant is being built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of some $24.4 billion

AFP | Abu Dhabi

The United Arab Emir-ates said yesterday it has issued a licence for

a reactor at its Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world, hailing it as a “historic moment”.

The UAE has substantial en-ergy reserves, but with a pow-er-hungry population of 10 mil-lion it has made huge invest-ments in developing alternative power sources including solar.

The Barakah plant, located on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi, had been due to come online in late 2017 but faced a number of delays that officials attributed to safety and regula-tory requirements.

But the national nuclear reg-ulator has now approved the operating licence for the first of four reactors at the plant, said Hamad al-Kaabi, the UAE rep-resentative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“This is a historic moment for the UAE, making it the first Arab country in the region to operate a nuclear power plant,” Kaabi told a press conference.

“This milestone was achieved due to the UAE’s vision and its leadership to build a peaceful nuclear energy programme to cater for the future needs of energy in the country.”

The plant is a regional first -- Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has said it plans to build up to 16 nuclear reactors, but the project has yet to ma-terialise.

Abu Dhabi authorities said in January that the plant would start operating within a few months. No new date was given on Monday but Kaabi indicated it would happen soon.

“The full operation of Bar-akah plant in the near future will contribute to the UAE’s ef-forts for development and sus-tainability,” he said, adding that the operator would “undertake a period of commissioning to prepare for commercial oper-ation”.

The plant is being built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of some $24.4 billion.

When fully operational, the four reactors have the capacity to generate 5,600 megawatts of electricity, around 25 percent of the nation’s needs. The remain-ing three reactors are almost ready for operation.

No enrichment programmeThe Barakah plant is situated

on the Emirates coast, separated from Iran by the troubled Gulf waters. It is just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border of Saudi Arabia, and is closer to the Qatari capital Doha than it is to Abu Dhabi.

The UAE has said it will not be developing an urani-um enrichment programme o r n u c l e a r r e p r o c e s s i n g technologies.

The UAE has repeatedly said its nuclear ambitions were for “peaceful purposes” and moved to dispel any concerns over safe-ty.

It says it has welcomed more than 40 international missions and reviews from the IAEA and World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) since 2010, as proof of its commitment to transparency.

Residents living within a 50-kilometre (30-mile) radius of the Barakah plant have been instructed on emergency pro-cedures in case of an accident.

The Arab world’s first nuclear power plant is being built by a South Korean-led consortium at a cost of around $24 billion

Pakistan no longer a militant safe haven: PM Imran Khan

AFP | Islamabad

Pakistani Prime Minis-ter Imran Khan insisted

Monday that his country is no longer a militant safe haven, and said his administration fully supports the Afghan peace process.

Khan’s comments come as the US and the Taliban appear on the brink of a deal that would see US forces begin to pull out of Afghanistan.

In return, the Taliban would enter talks with the Afghan government, stick to various security guarantees and work toward an eventual, compre-hensive ceasefire.

“I can tell you that there are no safe havens here,” Khan said at a conference in the cap-ital Islamabad.

“Whatever the situation might have been in the past, right now, I can tell you... there is one thing we want: peace in Afghanistan.”

Khan’s comments came after Sarwar Danish, Afghanistan’s second vice president, accused Pakistan of allowing the Tal-iban to recruit new fighters from Afghan refugee camps in

Pakistan.Khan was addressing a con-

ference marking 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees in his country.

While Pakistan cannot “completely guarantee” that no Taliban are hiding among the estimated 2.7 million Af-ghans living in Pakistan, Khan said his government had done all it can to prevent attacks in Afghanistan, including by building a border fence.

US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who has for more than a year led talks between the Taliban and Washington, also attended the conference. He said he was “cautiously optimistic” about progress to-ward an eventual deal.

The US has “commitments from the Talibs on security issues,” he said.

The Taliban, Afghanistan’s security forces and the US are supposed to be launching a seven-day “reduction in vi-olence”, officials announced last week. The move is part of a confidence-building measure ahead of the announcement of a fuller deal.

But bloodshed continued over the weekend, including a Taliban attack in Kunduz province.

Refugees began flowing into Pakistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and continued to come during the Taliban regime.

UN Secretary General An-tonio Guterres, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, credited the nation for sup-porting Afghan refugees.

“For 40 years, the people of Afghanistan have faced suc-cessive crises, for 40 years, the people of Pakistan have re-sponded with solidarity,” Gu-terres said, while calling on the international community to do more.

“As we look to the challenges ahead, the global community must step up,” he said.

Imran Khan’s comments come as the US and the Taliban appear on the brink of a deal

11TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Unchained melody: Traditional music revived as security improves

Peshawar | Pakistan

For years the distinctive twang of Pashtun music was

drowned out by rattling gunfire and deafening explosions as mu-sicians in Pakistan’s northwest were targeted by militants. But, as security improves, a centu-ries-old tribal tradition is staging a comeback.

Performances that once took

place in secret are returning. Shops selling instruments are open and thriving again, while local broadcasters frequently feature rising Pashto pop singers in their programming.

And new, up and coming bands like Peshawar’s Khu-mariyaan have reached rare, nationwide acclaim after ap-pearing on the popular Coke Studios broadcast, where they fused traditional sounds with modern tastes -- spreading Pa-shtun music far from its native homeland.

“Music is the spice of life... it has been a part of our cul-ture from time immemorial,” says Farman Ali Shah, a village elder and Pashto poet in War-sak village near Pakistan’s tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pashtun music is character-

ised by the rabab, a Central Asian stringed instru-ment, played to the beat from tablas drums, with songs salted with florid lyrics describing the pain of unre-quited love or calls for politcial revo-lution.

“For centuries we were a liberal society,” explains rabab player and member of the Na-tional Assembly Haider Ali Khan from Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

“We love our religion but at the same time we love our tra-ditional music.”

Yet the slow creep of extrem-ism had been threatening that tradition for decades.

Beginning in the 1970s more hardline Islamist movements started gaining influence in the Pashtun areas along the border with Afghanistan, promoting strict interpretations of the reli-gion including dismissive takes toward music.

The shift towards violent ex-tremism intensified with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghani-stan and the later Taliban regime

of the 1990s.After the US invasion of 2001

toppled the Taliban, militan-cy erupted across the border in Pakistan also. A Pakistani Talib-an movement formed and took control of the country’s tribal areas and swathes of Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa.“The extremists were killing

artists and singers in the society to create fear,” explains singer Gulzar Alam, who was attacked three separate times and lat-er left Pakistan, fearing for his life.

“If you remove the culture from a community, tribe, or eth-nic group the community will be eliminated.”

Public performances were all but halted as waves of suicide bombers unleashed havoc.

CD markets were bombed, in-strument shops destroyed, and musicians were intimidated or either outright targeted.

Singers and musicians fled en masse, while others were gunned down.

A brave few continued to in-vite musicians to play in private shows at hujras and weddings, albeit without large sound sys-tems that could possibly attract militants.

“They were asking people to stop music but villagers nev-er accepted them,” says Noor Sher from Sufaid Sang village, where his family has been making rababs by hand for 25 years.

Amid the chaos the art form was also maintained thanks to increasing numbers of Afghan musicians also fleeing violence in their own country who re-settled in places like Peshawar, opening music schools that kept the tradition alive.

Roots of violenceThe Pakistani military began

intensifying efforts to push the militants out in 2014, and secu-rity has dramatically improved in the years since.

“Now the situation is good,

very good. We can play any-where, whenever people invite us,” says rabab player Akhtar Gul during a performance at a hujra -- a traditional Pashtun community space.

As music has returned to its traditional settings in the coun-try’s northwest, slick broad-casts like Coke Studio have helped introduce Pashtun acts to millions of music fans across South Asia.

Many still remain cautious in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however, fearing the gains are tenuous at best. Some interviewed by AFP refused to criticise militants, fearing their eventual return.

And while the insurgents might have been pushed back, conservative attitudes toward music continues to resonate in the area.

For Abdul Latif, 24, his love of playing the rabab is largely kept secret from his family who consider such instruments to be out of sync with Islam.

“This is a part of Pashtun cul-ture but I think my family lacks awareness,” he says.

For musicians like Alam who were forced to flee their h o m e s, t h e d a m a g e r u n s deeper.

“It takes a lot of time, to set the mind or brain of the art-ists free from fear,” says Alam from Kabul where he is wait-ing for a response to an asy-lum request with the United Nations.

“You can change the policy of a government with a stroke of a pen, it doesn’t take much time,” adds the the lawmaker Khan.

“But to change the mindset you’ve created in two or three decades it’s not easy for that mindset to change.”

For years the distinctive twang of Pashtun music was drowned out by rattling gunfire and deafening explosions as musicians in Pakistan’s northwest were targeted by militants but, as security improves, a centuries-old tradition is staging a comeback

Pashtun music is characterised by the rabab, a Central Asian stringed instrument, played to the beat from tablas drums, with songs salted with florid lyrics describing the pain of unrequited love or calls for politcial revolution

As music has returned to its traditional settings in the country’s northwest, slick broadcasts like Coke Studio have helped introduce Pashtun acts to millions of music fans across South Asia

Twenty-four killed in Burkina Faso church attack: governor

Ouagadougou

Gunmen have killed 24 people and wounded 18

in an attack on a Protestant church in a village in north-ern Burkina Faso, officials said yesterday.

In a separate incident, five Burkinabe soldiers in the trou-bled region were killed by a roadside, security sources said.

A group of “armed terror-ists” raided the village of Pan-si, in Yagha province “and at-tacked the peaceful local pop-ulation after having identified them and separated them from non-residents”, the governor, Colonel Salfo Kabore, said in a statement sent.

The assault occurred on Sunday during a weekly ser-vice at a Protestant church, security officials said.

“The provisional toll is 24 killed, including the pastor... 18 wounded and individuals who were kidnapped,” Kabore said.

A resident of the nearby town of Sebba said Pansi vil-lagers had fled there for safety.

Christians and churches in northern provinces have become frequent targets by armed Islamists.

On February 10, suspected jihadists in Sebba seized seven people at the home of a pas-tor. Five bodies were found three days later, including the pastor, according to the local governor.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is on the front line of a jihadist insurgency advancing in the Sahel.

Since 2015, around 750 peo-ple have been killed in Burkina and around 600,000 people have fled their homes.

Also in the north of the country, five soldiers were killed on Sunday when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device near Banh, in Loroum province, security sources said.

A government soldier on patrol in Dori next to refugees who had fled from attacks in northern Burkina Faso

France seizure attacked E. Guinea’s ‘dignity’, top UN court toldThe Hague

Equatorial Guinea yester-day accused France of an “attack on its digni-

ty” when it seized an upmarket Paris property in a 2012 raid, insisting the luxury home was protected under international law.

On the first day of hearings before the International Court of Justice, Malabo’s lawyers in-sisted the six-storey mansion at 42 Avenue Foch was a diplomat-ic mission and not the home of Equatorial Guinea’s vice presi-dent Teodorin Obiang.

Obiang, 51, the son of the cen-tral African nation’s veteran leader, has been accused by the French justice system of embez-zlement and the misuse of tens of millions of public funds.

“France wishes to continue... the attacks against the dignity of my country which started almost 10 years ago before the French courts,” Malabo’s am-bassador Carmelo Nvono Nca told the court based in The Hague.

Paris “has submitted my country to treatment which is totally arbitrary, discriminatory and consequently contrary to international law,” he said.

The French foreign ministry “merely repeated the mantra that the building falls under

the private domain -- which is patently false,” Malabo lawyer Michael Wood added.xThe UN’s highest court in June 2018 handed down a complicated le-gal ruling in which it partially threw out Malabo’s case against Paris, triggered after a French court convicted Equatorial Guinea’s vice president of em-bezzlement.

In the long-running corrup-tion case, a Paris court tried Obiang in absentia and hand-ed him a three-year suspended sentence for corruption in Oc-tober 2017.

He was found to have embez-zled 150 million euros ($162 mil-

lion) to fund his lavish lifestyle, and was also given a suspended fine of 30 million euros for mon-ey laundering, corruption and abuse (of power?).

Malabo had contended that under the Palermo Convention, Obiang had diplomatic immuni-ty from prosecution.

But the ICJ’s judges agreed with objections raised by France that the court lacked jurisdic-tion in that matter under the UN’s convention against trans-national organised crime.

However, the ICJ’s judg-es agreed they could rule on whether Obiang’s Paris mansion was a diplomatic mission.

French authorities in 2012 seized the property on one of the French capital’s poshest streets, along with a fleet of luxury cars including two Bugatti Veyrons -- one of the world’s most ex-pensive and fastest supercars -- and a Rolls Royce Phantom.

Malabo contends the man-sion, which boasts a cinema, spa and gold-leafed taps, acted as its embassy in Paris, and as such was off-limits to French raids under the Vienna Convention.

But France said the Avenue Foch address was never regis-tered as the embassy of Equa-torial Guinea, and was instead Obiang’s private home.

Obiang’s property on one of the French capital’s poshest streets was seized in 2012 along with a fleet of luxury cars including two Bugatti Veyrons and a Rolls Royce Phantom

12TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Do I make money from it? Sure. Am I getting rich and making $300,000 a year? No

CHRISTOPHER BLAIR

Meet the master of fake news Christopher Blair gives right-wing Americans headlines they believe

AFP | Washington

Christopher Blair produces false stories he insists are

easily identifiable as satire rath-er than news. His pages can rack up millions of views, and at least part of that audience believes the material is true.

Blair, 48, runs eight websites and five Facebook pages from his home in the northeastern US state of Maine. He says the claims his articles make are “ri-diculous,” such as that Presi-dent Donald Trump’s current term could be extended by three years.

But his content is widely shared by people who take it as fact, contributing to the spread of false information online.

Blair -- a self-described “lib-eral troll” and political activist -- says he knows what to write for his right-wing “target audi-ence” through years of “being embedded in their world.”

He does not hold that audi-ence in high regard.

“They live on... fear and hate and misinformation and very specific storylines that every-body knows aren’t true except for them,” he said.

His content is rife with dis-claimers: Satire. Fake news fact-check. Nothing on this page is real.

If someone clicks through to

Blair’s articles, instead of in-stantly sharing them based on a headline, the warnings are visible.

But often, it appears that peo-ple do not.

Asked why people believe and share the articles, Blair answers: “Confirmation bias.”

“These people are told that they’re sharing satire, and it doesn’t matter,” he says. “The truth is no longer important to them. All they care about is holding on to their hate and fear.”

The spread of false informa-

tion is a significant problem in the run-up to the 2020 US elec-tions, but Blair says his readers’ minds are already made up, and that his content is “not going to impact the vote.”

‘Hate-filled lies’Blair says he previously tried

to debate conservatives online, with little success.

“You just get called names and told that you hate America,” he says.

So he turned to his current ap-proach. It started out as “trolling for a good laugh,” but evolved into an effort to “to teach the truth to those who are other-wise unteachable.”

“The people who share our content don’t care about the truth. They share 500 things a day, most of which are hate-filled lies. When they share something of ours, there’s a chance at accountability,” he says.

According to Blair, this takes the form of “a group of a cou-ple hundred trolls” who “patrol the pages,” make sure there is “accountability for the people commenting” and tell people they are sharing satire.

“These people, they absolute-ly do not respond to logic and

reason, but they do respond to shame if they’re embarrassed by what they’ve done, by the fact that they’ve shared” it, he says.

Not everyone agrees that ap-proach is helpful, or harmless.

“This type of content has a pervasive and eroding effect on our shared set of facts, and without that, it’s hard to remain a society that can come together and make collective decisions,” says Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which focuses on identifying and ex-posing disinformation.

Of Blair’s tactics, Brookie says: “It is a pretty big assump-tion and risk when much of the

audience shares based on head-lines and even a highly engaged minority of his audience starts to believe him.”

‘I sleep just fine’Blair started “America’s Last

Line of Defense” -- which now has two regular contributors in addition to him -- in 2016. He was a political blogger at the time, after previously working in home remodeling.

He earns ad revenue from what has become a network of sites -- which he says had 26 million pages views in 2019 -- but declined to specify how much.

“Do I make money from it? Sure,” he says. “Am I getting rich and making $300,000 a year? No.”

“It’s a full-time job.”Enough sites steal and repost

Blair’s articles without the orig-inal satire disclaimers that he now has a system set up with a fact-checker to identify and report them -- another opportu-nity for accountability, he says.

The process can eventually lead to those copying the con-tent losing their ability to go viral.

Despite the contentious na-ture of the product, he says there are lines he will not cross, such as saying that the day of an election was changed.

Blair -- who has been dubbed the “godfather of fake news” -- has pulled several articles, in-cluding one that said the brother of Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is Muslim, was a “9/11 terrorist, or something like that.”

“That was a bridge too far,” he says.

But other fake claims -- in-cluding Omar walking out of a 9/11 memorial service, or for-mer president Barack Obama fleeing to Kenya to avoid prose-cution -- are fair game.

Blair’s message to critics of his work appears in the “About US” section on his websites.

“If you can seriously read this stuff and think it can be passed off as real to reasonable people, you need to go out, right now, and buy a sense of humour and a clue,” it says.

“Keep your poutrage to your-self,” it adds, employing a port-manteau of “pouting” and “out-rage.”

“I sleep just fine.”

His fingers rhythmically tap the keys. Letters form into words, words into sentences and sentences into a blog of about 200 words. (BBC)

“These people are told that they’re sharing satire, and it doesn’t matter,” he says. “The truth is no longer important to them. All they care about is holding on to their hate and fear.”

Sites from “America’s Last Line of Defense” network set up by Christopher Blair who says he knows what to write for his right-wing “target audience” through years of “being embedded in their world”

N.Korea imported purebred horses from Russia

Reuters | Moscow/Seoul

North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Un was filmed

riding through the snow on a white stallion last year, has spent tens of thousands of dollars on 12 purebred horses from Russia, according to Rus-sian customs data.

Accompanied by senior North Korean figures, Kim took two well-publicized rides on the snowy slopes of the sa-cred Paektu Mountain in Oc-tober and December.

State media heralded the jaunts as important displays of strength in the face of inter-national pressure and the pho-tos of Kim astride a galloping white steed were seen around the world.

North Korea has a long his-tory of buying pricey horses from Russia and customs data first reported by Seoul-based NK News suggests that North

Korea may have bolstered its herd in October.

According to customs data reviewed by Reuters, Russia exported 12 horses worth a total of $75,509 to North Korea last year.

It was the biggest buy since 2015, when North Korea spent $192,204 on 61 horses from Russia. Altogether, North Ko-rea has imported at least 138 horses between 2010 and 2019, at a cost of $584,302, according to the Russian data.

The imagery of Kim astride a white stallion was designed to instil confidence in North Koreans that they have a man of strength and destiny holding the reins of power, analysts said.

The horse puchases also came as North Korea is un-der strict international sanc-tions imposed over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu

Yosemite’s rare firefall too beautiful for its own good?

The Guardian

Aaron Meyer vividly re-members his first firefall.

The spectacle of Yosemite’s famous Horsetail Fall lit up by the setting sun, which lasts for just a few minutes per night for a few weeks in late Febru-ary, is sought out obsessively by photographers like him.

“The clouds opened up just before sunset and it looked like someone had taken a match to the waterfall, you watched it go light up from top to bot-tom,” he says of his first visit in 2011. “Everyone erupted in cheers; it was the most amaz-ing thing I’d ever seen.”

Back then, photographing

the natural phenomenon was a guessing game. The firefall requires a convergence of forc-es: enough moisture to fuel the falls, skies clear enough for the light to shine through, and the right angle for the sun’s light to hit the 1000ft waterfall, east of El Capitan, for a dazzling display of colour.

Photographers are one of the reasons why the firefall has gotten so much buzz – from the time Ansel Adams cap-tured the falls in 1940 up to now. But  in recent years  the firefall’s popularity has soared, boosted by social media and enthusiasts such as Meyers who have made capturing the phenomenon more accessible.

Sunlight hits the Horsetail Fall

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (PG) OASIS JUFFAIR:11.45 AM + 2.00 + 4.15 + 6.30 + 8.45 + 11.00 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (VIP): 11.30 AM + 4.15 + 9.00 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (KIDS CINEMA): 1.00 + 3.15 + 5.30 + 7.45 + 10.00 PMCITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 + 12.00 MN + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI.)CITY CENTRE (VIP II) : 11.30 AM + 4.15 + 9.00 PMSEEF (I):12.15 + 2.30 + 4.45 + 7.00 + 9.15 + 11.30 PMWADI AL SAIL: 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PM

JIM CARREY, BEN SCHWARTZ, JAMES MARSDEN

FANTASY ISLAND (15+)(THRILLER/HORROR) OASIS JUFFAIR:1.00 + 6.15 + 11.30 PMOASIS JUFFAIR (VIP): 1.45 + 6.30 + 11.15 PMCITY CENTRE: 11.30 AM + 2.00 + 4.30 + 7.00 + 9.30 + 12.00 MN + (12.45 MN THRS/FRI)CITY CENTRE (VIP II) :1.45 + 6.30 + 11.15 PMSEEF (II):11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM + (12.30 MN THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL: 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM

LUCY HALE, MAGGIE Q, PORTIA DOUBLEDAY

LOVE AAJ KAL (15+)(HINDI/ROMANTIC) OASIS JUFFAIR:11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PMCITY CENTRE: 11.30 AM + 2.30 + 5.30 + 8.30 + 11.30 PMSEEF (I):12.00 + 3.00 + 6.00 + 9.00 + 12.00 MNWADI AL SAIL: 12.45 + 6.00 + 11.15 PM

KARTIK AARYAN, SARA ALI KHAN, RANDEEP HOODA

BLOODLINE (18+)(CRIME/THRILLER) CITY CENTRE: 1.30 + 6.30 + 10.30 PMSEEF (II):10.30 AM + 12.45 + 3.00 + 5.15 + 7.30 + 9.45 + 12.00 MN

SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT, MARIELA GARRIGA, DALE DICKEY

ORDINARY LOVE (PG-15)(DRAMA/ROMANTIC) CITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 12.30 + 2.30 + 4.30 + 6.30 + 8.30 PMSEEF (I): 11.30 AM + 1.30 + 3.30 + 5.30 + 7.30 + 9.30 + 11.30 PM

LIAM NEESON, LESLEY MANVILLE, AMIT SHAH

SUFNA (PG)(PUNJABI/ROMANTIC) SEEF (II): 12.30 + 6.00 + 11.30 PM

AMMY VIRK, TANIA, JASMIN BAJWA

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (PG-15)(ACTION/COMEDY/CRIME)OASIS JUFFAIR:12.15 + 3.00 + 5.45 + 8.30 + 11.15 PMCITY CENTRE: (1.00 AM THURS/FRI)CITY CENTRE:(ATMOS): 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.45 + 6.30 + 9.15 + 12.00 MNCITY CENTRE (IMAX 2D): 12.00 + 2.45 + 5.30 + 8.15 + 11.00 PMCITY CENTRE (VIP I) : 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 1.00 + 3.45 + 6.30 + 9.15 + 12.00 MN WADI AL SAIL: 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PM

WILL SMITH, MARTIN LAWRENCE, VANESSA HUDGENS

BIRD OF PREY (15+)(ACTION/ADVENTURE/CRIME) CITY CENTRE:(DISTRACTION FREE SCREEN): 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PMCITY CENTRE : 11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM + (12.45 MN THURS/FRI)SEEF (II): 10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PMWADI AL SAIL: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM

MARGOT ROBBIE, MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD, EWAN MCGREGOR

DOLITTLE (PG)(ADVENTURE/COMEDY/FAMILY) CITY CENTRE:11.30 AM + 1.45 + 4.00 + 6.15 + 8.30 + 10.45 PMSEEF (II): 11.00 AM + 1.15 + 3.30 + 5.45 + 8.00 + 10.15 PMWADI AL SAIL: 10.30 AM + 3.45 + 9.00 PM

ROBERT DOWNEY JR., ANTONIO BANDERAS, MICHAEL SHEEN

JUMANJI THE NEXT LEVEL (PG-15)CITY CENTRE: 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II): 12.00 + 2.45 + 5.30 + 8.15 + 11.00 PM

DWAYNE JOHNSON, JACK BLACK, KEVIN HART

1917 (PG-15)(WAR/ACTION/DRAMA) 1917 Winner of 3 Oscar AwardsCITY CENTRE:10.45 AM + 1.15 + 3.45 + 6.15 + 8.45 + 11.15 PMSEEF (II):11.15 AM + 1.45 + 4.15 + 6.45 + 9.15 + 11.45 PM

GEORGE MACKAY, DEAN-CHARLES CHAPMAN, MARK STRONG

MALANG (PG-15)(HINDI/ACTION/ROMANTIC/THRILLER)OASIS JUFFAIR:10.30 AM + 3.30 + 8.45 PMSEEF (II): 10.30 AM + 3.30 + 8.45 PM

ADITYA ROY KAPOOR, ANIL KAPOOR, DISHA PATANI

THIEF OF BAGHDAD (PG-13)CITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 12.30 + 2.45 + 5.00 + 7.15 + 9.30 + 11.45 PMSEEF (II): 1.15 + 6.30 + 11.45 PM

MOHAMMED EMAM, YASMINE RAEIS, AMINA KHALIL

THE GENTLEMEN (15+)(CRIME/ACTION) CITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PM

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, CHARLIE HUNNAM, HENRY GOLDING

AL FELOUS (THE MONEY) (PG-15)(ARABIC/COMEDY/CRIME)CITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 1.30 + 4.00 + 6.30 + 9.00 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II): 1.30 + 6.15 + 11.00 PM

TAMER HOSNY, ZEINA, KHALID EL-SAWI

SPIES IN DISGUISE (PG)CITY CENTRE: 11.00 AM + 1.15 + 3.30 + 5.45 + 8.00 + 10.15 PM

WILL SMITH, TOM HOLLAND, KAREN GILLAN

FROZEN 2 (PG)(ANIMATION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY)CITY CENTRE: 11.15 AM + 1.30 + 3.45 + 6.00 + 8.15 + 10.30 PMSEEF (II): 11.15 AM + 4.00 + 8.45 PM

KRISTEN BELL, IDINA MENZEL, JOSH GAD

MASAMEER: THE MOVIE (PG)(ANIMATION/COMEDY) CITY CENTRE:1.30 + 4.00 PM

ABDULAZIZ AL-MUZAINI, ABDULAZIZ AL-SHEHRI, MAZROA AL-MAZROA

LITTLE WOMEN (PG)(DRAMA/ROMANTIC) Winner of 1 Oscar AwardCITY CENTRE: 10.30 AM + 6.30 PM

SAOIRSE RONAN, EMMA WATSON, FLORENCE PUGH

MIRACLE IN CELL NO . 7 (PG-15)(TURKISH/DRAMA) CITY CENTRE:10.45 AM + 3.45 + 8.45 + 11.30 PM

ARAS BULUT İYNEMLİ, NİSA SOFİYA AKSONGUR, İLKER AKSUM

LATTE AND THE MAGIC WATERSTONEOASIS JUFFAIR (KIDS CINEMA): 11.00 AM

ASHLEY BORNANCIN, DANNY FEHSENFELD, LESLIE L. MILLER

THE ROOM (15+)(THRILLER) CITY CENTRE: 9.30 + 11.45 PM

OLGA KURYLENKO, KEVIN JANSSENS, JOSHUA WILSON

ANJAAM PATHIRA (PG-15 )(MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR: 11.45 AM + 2.30 + 5.15 + 8.00 + 10.45 PM

KUNCHACKO BOBAN, SHARAFUDHEEN, INDRANS

VARANE AVASHYAMUND (PG-13)(MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR: 12.30 + 3.15 + 6.00 + 8.45 + 11.30 PMSEEF (II): 3.15 + 8.45 PM

SURESH GOPI, SHOBANA, DULQUER SALMAAN, KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN, URVASHI

AYYAPPANUM KOSHIYUM (PG-15)(MALAYALAM) OASIS JUFFAIR:10.30 AM + 1.45 + 5.00 + 8.15 + 11.30 PMSEEF (I):10.45 AM + 2.00 + 5.15 + 8.30 + 11.45 PMAL HAMRA : 11.00 AM + 2.15 + 5.30 + 8.45 + (12.00 MN THURS/FRI)WADI AL SAIL: 12.45 + 4.00 + 7.15 + 10.30 PM

PRITHVIRAJ, BIJU MENON, RENJITH, SABUMON

WORLD FAMOUS LOVER (PG-15)(TELUGU) From Friday 14thOASIS JUFFAIR: 11.00 AM + 5.00 + 8.00 PMSEEF (I): 11.00 AM + 2.00 + 5.00 + 8.00 + 11.00 PM

VIJAY DEVERAKONDA, RAASHI KHANNA, AISHWARYA RAJESH

OH MY KADAVULE (PG-13)(TAMIL)From Thurs. 13th 7:30 PM Onwards OASIS JUFFAIR: 2.00 PMSEEF (I): 2.30 + 8.30 PM

ASHOK SELVAN, RITIKA SINGH, VANI BHOJAN

NAAN SIRITHAL (PG-13)(TAMIL) From Friday 14thOASIS JUFFAIR: 11.00 PMSEEF (I): 11.30 AM + 5.30 + 11.30 PM

HIPHOP TAMIZHA ADHI, ISWARYA MENON

13 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 202014 TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2020

C R O S S W O R DAcross1- Exclamation to express sorrow; 5- Bear up there; 9- Western Native Americans; 13- “Goldberg Variations” composer; 14- Freedom from war; 16- Swabbies; 17- Reflected sound; 18- Appropriate; 19- Split; 20- Antlered animal; 21- Single unit; 22- Brings out; 24- Furniture wood; 26- Faucet problem; 27- Like some bears and icecaps; 29- Unselfish; 33- Lustful deity; 34- “David Copperfield” wife; 35- Neighbor of Sask.; 36- Singer Garfunkel; 37- Experiment; 38- Skid row woe; 39- Will of “The Waltons”; 41- ___ She Sweet; 42- Weeps; 44- Incoming; 46- Less outgoing; 47- Tyler’s successor; 48- Pass the breaking point; 49- Ring combo; 52- Loss leader?; 53- Portfolio; 57- Actress Moore; 58- Summarize; 60- Minerals; 61- “Ars Amatoria” poet; 62- Brazilian ballroom dance; 63- Tears; 64- Network of nerves; 65- Exam used to measure aptitude or intelligence; 66- Go out with;Down1- In the sack; 2- Ornamental fabric; 3- Dull pain, often in the head or back; 4- Soon; 5- Turmoil; 6- Freshen, as a stamp pad; 7- Saltimbocca seasoning; 8- Essen exclamation; 9- As above; 10- Baby powder; 11- HOMES part; 12- Fast fliers; 15- Endless; 23- Decease; 25- Musical ability; 26- Clear of vermin; 27- Kitchen gadget; 28- Sleek swimmer; 29- Departing; 30- Blast from the past; 31- Say; 32- Cheek; 33- Narrative of heroic exploits; 34- Imbibe; 37- Suit makers; 40- Swimmer’s fear; 42- Chinese tea; 43- It opens your parachute; 45- Pledge; 46- Be short with; 48- Runs through; 49- Scent; 50- Campbell of “Scream”; 51- Send forth; 52- Pinnacle; 54- La Scala solo; 55- Equinox mo.; 56- “___ quam videri” (North Carolina’s motto); 59- Absorb, as a cost;

Yesterday’s solution

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

Yesterday’s solution

S U D O K UAcross1- Coup d’___; 5- Shelter; 8- Arthur Ashe’s alma mater; 12- Classic soda; 13- School-books; 15- Dirty; 16- Jutting rock; 17- Blessed ___; 18- Pentathlon need; 19- Needed to borrow books; 22- Compass pt.; 23- Neighbor of Leb.; 24- Algerian seaport; 26- Purify; 29- Cochise, for one; 31- Honshu honorific; 32- Under way; 34- ___ Amore; 36- Assortment; 38- Gossipmonger; 40- Mild oath; 41- Extremely; 43- Sharp pain; 45- Center starter; 46- Cedes; 48- Like a dog; 50- Jai ___; 51- Paving material; 52- Feline; 54- Do the deal again; 61- Put down; 63- Emblem; 64- Croat, e.g.; 65- Buck follower; 66- Rocklike; 67- Outer limit; 68- Took off; 69- Pantry pest; 70- Cheek;

Down 1- Business letter abbr.; 2- Polo of “Meet the Parents”; 3- Gregory Peck role of 1956; 4- River in SW Asia; 5- Tax; 6- Corp. VIP, briefly; 7- Europe’s highest volca-no; 8- Exploit; 9- Capital of Denmark; 10- Falsehoods; 11- Sheltered, nautically; 13- Scare; 14- Razor sharpener; 20- Nick and Nora’s pooch; 21- Fiddlesticks!; 25- Twinge; 26- Loiter; 27- Formal admission into society; 28- Silt deposit; 29- Room at the top; 30- Military camp; 31- Former coin of France; 33- N.Y. neighbor; 35- Star Wars letters; 37- Hurler Hershiser; 39- Animal structure science; 42- Chemical used on trees; 44- Midge; 47- Eats to a plan; 49- Van Gogh masterpiece; 52- Cat’s nail; 53- Swiss river; 55- ___ bene; 56- Kind of collar; 57- Lady’s man; 58- Pierce portrayer; 59- License plates; 60- Nights before; 62- Morse “E”;

Bloodline: family drama turns shady when the sun goes downEvan Cole (Seann William

Scott) has a perfect life. He has a loving wife,

a fulfilling job helping at-risk youth as a school counselor, and a brand-new baby boy at home. But like most folks with seem-ingly perfect lives, Evan has a secret: he kills people. Specifi-cally: people who fail to meet his high standards of personal and family values. Bloodline follows Evan’s story as a serial killer with a heart, as he attempts to protect both his own family and the children in his charge.

After being typecast in goofy

comedy roles for the majority of his career, Seann William Scott gets to play with his role a little bit more than he usually would as Evan. He shifts from caring family man to a violent sociopath with ease, and shines brightest when he’s with the children he works with at his high school. Evan gets just a touch too dead behind the eyes when he has to fake humanity for anyone he doesn’t love, but that fits into the unrelenting murderer package.

At just over 90 minutes, Blood-line is a quick trip that manages to be enjoyable the majority of

the way through the film. As you might expect, there are a lot of Dexter vibes, and some truly awful people get to meet satisfying ends. But Evan’s serial killer methodology isn’t perfect, and soon things begin to unravel. While he might think death is the best answer for his wards’ abusive relatives, it turns out that some of his students end up hurt by the disappearance of their family members. Their questions, coupled with police discovery of Evan’s burial site, push things to a boiling point, and result in his wife Lauren

(Mariela Garriga) having to ask herself some difficult questions.

Bloodline delivers a lot of bloody fun. Who doesn’t want to watch Nazis and rapists meet stab-filled endings? It’s pretty to look at, too, the cinematog-raphy playing with contrasting colors to complement the dual sides of Evan, and it doesn’t shy away from depicting his victims’ (mostly deserved) wounds. Un-fortunately, things close out with a truly “yikes”-worthy ending, sliding a little too far down the slippery moral slope to maintain audience sympathy.

M O V I E R E V I E W

A scene from ‘Bloodline’

Kareena Kapoor celebrates 20 years in Bollywood at Lakme

Fashion Week grand finaleMumbai

Kareena Kapoor Khan celebrated 20 years in Bollywood by turning showstopper for the grand finale

of the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Re-sort 2020 fashion extravaganza.

The ‘Good Newwz’ actor walked the ramp in an Amit Aggarwal cre-ation from his AXIL collection. The line is inspired by Lakme’s theme for Summer/Resort ‘20 - Better in 3D.

Kareena’s ensemble was a dark forest green off-shoulder sequined dress with a plunging neckline and accentuated waist. “No better way to celebrate it than with a brand that is synon-ymous with me, a brand that has added tremendous value to my career, my brand, and name,” the actor said of celebrating 20 years in the industry.

The 39-year-old ac-tor further added, “As everyone knows that there is no Lakme fashion w e e k f i n a l e c o m p l e t e w i t h o u t me.”

14 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

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Hrithik Roshan on one thing he learned from dad Rakesh Roshan

Mumbai

Actor Hrithik Roshan has opened up about what his father, film-maker Rakesh Roshan, told him

he should keep in mind while work-ing with different directors. The fa-ther-son duo has worked together the blockbusters “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai”,

“Koi Mil Gaya”, “Krrish” and “Krrish 3” as director and actor.

“People often ask, ‘you work with different directors’.

My father said that ‘you must have four things — mutual respect, a strong head, courage and tolerance’. My re-sponsibility lies till choosing the director. After that, I have to only listen (to the director),” said Hrithik, who has worked with

directors like San-jay Leela Bhansa-

l i , Zoya Akhtar, Ashutosh Gowariker, Karan Johar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and

Siddharth Anand among others.

Is there a dream role? “There is no favourite dream role in my life. My favourite is what I do,” he replied.

Kartik-Sara’s ‘Love Aaj Kal’ fizzles out at BOMumbai

Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khans onscreen

chemistry in “Love Aaj Kal” has failed to create sparks at the box office.

The Imtiaz Ali’s film managed a mere Rs 28.51-crore haul at the domestic market after the first day of over Rs 12 crore.

“‘Love AajKal’ is reject-ed… Dips on Day 2, falls flat on Day 3… Advantage #ValentinesDay (Day 1), else *3-day total* would be lower… Tough road ahead (week-d a y s ) … F r i d a y Rs 12.40 c r o r e , S a t u r d a y Rs 8.01 crore, Sunday Rs 8.10 crore. Total: Rs 28.51 crore. #India business,” post-ed trade expert Taran Adarsh.

Trade Analyst Komal Nahta also tweeted: “As against ‘Love Aaj Kal’ first day of Rs 12 crore, the second day witness-es a drop in collections rather than a jump. Will the second day close at Rs 8 crore or 7 crore or 6.5 crore? Probably Rs 6.5 crore! That would be a big drop!”

Reliance-backed ‘1917’ rakes in over $300m at global box-office

Mumbai

Di r e c -tor Sam

Mendes’ war drama “1917”, which has Re-

liance Entertain-ment and Amblin

Partners among the ban-ners associated with the film’s production, contin-ues to perform exceedingly well at the global box-of-fice. The film has grossed over $300 million (Rs 2,100 crore) all over t h e world so far, and count-ing.

Starting out at the number one slot at the US box office in its wide opening weekend, the film has gar-nered commercial as well as critical acclaim.

The war drama tells the story of two young Brit-ish soldiers at the height of the war. It stars George MacKay as Lance Corpo-ral Schofield and Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Blake who are given an impossible task to deliver a message deep in the heart of enemy ter-ritory that, if successful, would save the lives of 1,600 British soldiers.

Kangana Ranaut’s first look as Air Force pilot in ‘Tejas’ revealedMumbai

The Bollywood actor is currently shooting for the Jayalalithaa biopic ‘Thalaivi’, after which ‘Tejas’ will go on floors

Kangana Ranaut’s first look as an Air Force pilot in her upcoming flick Tejas has been revealed.

On Monday morning, Ronnie Screwvala’s pro-duction house RSVP movies shared Kangana Ranaut’s first look from Tejas on Twitter where she can be seen posing in front of a fighter jet. In the movie, Kangana will be seen in the avatar of an Air Force pilot.

The tweet reads: “Soaring high into the sky! Presenting the first look of #KanganaRanaut as an Air force Pilot in #Tejas. @KanganaTeam @Ron-

nieScrewvala #SarveshMewara @nonabains.”Directed by Sarvesh Mewara, Tejas will be

RSVP’s second film which pays a tribute to the Indian military after the immensely success Uri: The Surgical Strike which released in January last year.

Megan Fox, Bruce Willis

join ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass’

Los Angeles

Hollywood stars Megan Fox and Bruce Willis are set to star in FBI drama feature “Midnight in the Switchgrass”.

The film marks the direc-torial debut of producer Randall Emmett, who has backed films such as “The Irishman”, “ 2 G u n s ” , a n d

“Silence”, reported Deadline.The movie, penned by

Alan Horsnail, also stars Emile Hirsch.

Set in 2004, the film centres around an FBI agent (Fox) and a Florida State officer

(Hirsch) who team up to investigate a string of unsolved murder cases. Willis will play

Fox’s FBI agent partner.Furla and EFF’s Tim Sullivan and Alex Eckert are producing with

Luillo Ruiz. Lydia Hull is attached to executive

produce.

Elton John says he’s ‘deeply upset’ after cutting short NZ concertWellington

Br i t i s h s i n g -

e r - s o n g -writer Elton Jo h n a p o l o -gized to his fans in New Zealand late on Sun-day after he lost his voice due to walking pneumonia and was forced to cut short a concert in Auckland.

John broke down in tears at Auckland’s Mt Smart Sta-dium after he was unable to sing despite receiving medi-cal attention.

He took to his Instagram page on Sunday night to apologize to fans who had turned up for the show.

Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali

Khan

Elton John

Bruce Willis

Bieber admits to being ‘reckless’ in previous relationship

Los Angeles

Singer Justin Bieber, who dated singer-actress Sele-na Gomez on-and-off for

years, has spoken about his past mistakes.

During an interview , while talking about his new album, ‘Changes’, and a song that’s about true love, Bieber was asked about knowing he needed time to work on himself before he took things further with Hailey Bieber.

“I’d let her know prior to the tour when we were hanging a lot. I said, ‘Listen, I’m still real-ly hurt and still trying to figure

out my way, and I’m not ready to make a commitment to you in a way that... I just don’t want to say something and do the opposite’,” he recalled telling Hailey.

“Because I was at the point where I’d done that in the past. And I just was honest with her, I was like, ‘I’m not in a place to be faithful’, and all this sort of stuff, that I wanted to be, but I just wasn’t there yet.”

When Lowe asked what was hurting Bieber at the time, he re-plied without naming Gomez: “I think I was just hurt from my previous relationship”.

Megan Fox

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez

15

sports

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Guram relishes bout against home country hero Guram Kutateladze is set to meet Cleiton “Predator” at BRAVE CF 35 in BrazilTDT | Manama

Guram Kutateladze is weeks away from the fight of his life, as the

BRAVE CF Lightweight contend-er gets ready to take off to Brazil for BRAVE CF 35, where he will have the chance to dethrone reigning world champion Clei-ton “Predator” in the champ’s own backyard on March 28th.

And “The Georgian Viking” is eager to make an impression and get out of Brazil with his win streak intact and a shiny new world title belt of his own. Through his social media, Ku-tateladze has pledged all respect for the country of Brazil but claimed he was the “hungriest fighter” and deserved to walk away with the belt.

“Always going to be an under-dog, the hungriest animal, the hungriest lion, the hungriest wolf, the hungriest warrior, call it whatever you want. I love this challenge, fighting a Brazilian on his own soil in Brazil. With all the respect to Brazilian peo-ple, but I’m coming for that belt, I deserve it more than anyone, I

worked for it more than anyone, I sacrifice more than anyone, I got a stronger purpose and I got bigger why”, cried out Guram.

The challenger became a top

contender by beating two of Brazil’s biggest fighters inside the BRAVE CF roster. He made his debut and beat Erick “Indio Brabo”, back at BRAVE CF 16, in

Abu Dhabi, and then creden-tialed himself for a title shot by brutally knocking out Felipe Silva at BRAVE CF 29, in Bahrain.

Now, he faces Cleiton “Pred-ator” for the title in the main event of BRAVE CF 35, which is the fifth trip of the fastest-grow-ing organization in the world to the spiritual home of MMA, after two shows each in Curitiba and Belo Horizonte.

Guram Kutateladze reacts after a bout (file photo)

Always going to be an underdog, the hungriest animal, the hungriest lion, the hungriest wolf,

the hungriest warrior, call it

whatever you want. I love this challenge, fighting a Brazilian

on his own soil in Brazil

GURAM KUTATELADZE

Players in action during the match

Bahrain come up short against Morocco in Arab Cup U20TDT | Manama

Bahrain’s junior national football football team suf-

fered a 2-4 defeat to Moroc-co yesterday in their opening game of the Arab Cup U20, being played in Riyadh.

The Bahrainis fell behind 0-2 to their opponents at the half but roared back into the match to equalise with goals just seven minutes apart.

But the Moroccans regained control and scored twice in the final 20 minutes to seal the win.

On target for Bahrain were Sayed Jawad Alawi in the 56th minute and Salem Salem from the penalty spot in the 63rd.

The game was the first for both sides in the competition,

which features 12 teams in all. Bahrain are in Group B with Morocco, Madagascar and Djibouti. They dropped to the bottom of their division stand-ings with yesterday’s result, while the Moroccans rose to first place.

Group A includes Tunisia, Mauritania, Kuwait and Iraq; Group C features hosts Saudi, Palestine, Algeria and Egypt; while Groupd D is comprised of Sudan, Libya, the UAE and Senegal.

Bahrain are back in action against Madagascar on Thurs-day, after which they play their final group game on Sunday against Djibouti. Only the top two teams from each group following a single round-robin move on to the quarter-finals.

RCB rally past Black Feather in CBA Div DTDT | Manama

Nowfal’s all-round perfor-mance helped RCB to beat

Black Feather by 74 runs in CBA Division D 25 overs League.

RCB won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Shan scored a quick 48 runs in 27 balls to give a good start to RCB. The middle order batmen return to pavilion with low runs, then the bot-tom order batsman Nowfal (60) scored a brilliant half century that helped RCB to put a total of 223 runs at the end of 25 overs. In the second innings, Nowfal’s four wickets for 28 runs in his four overs spell helped RCB to restrict Black Feather for 149 runs and win the match by 74 runs.

RCB 223/10 (Nowfal 60, Shan 48, Ahsan 3/47) beat Black Feather 149/10 (Shami 33,Now-fal 4/28, Pradeep 2/33) by 74 runs

Spartans CC 157/7 in 24.1

overs (Zeeshan 51, Abbas 5/15) beat Shafiq XI 156/8 (Murtaa 59, Zeeshan 2/32) by 3 wickets

Indian Delights 303/3 (Vipin 81, Shyju 50, Shiju 46, Sadakath 47) beat Salmaniya Eagles 149/8 (Mirshad 36, Liju 2/17) by 154 runs

Gladiators 149/6 in 22.5 overs (Anu 43, Akhin 30, Majeed 4/29) beat Masters CC145/8 (Majeed 41, Shuihab 30, Akhin 3/27, Anup 3/30) by 4 wickets

AF Bahrain 156/7 in 21 overs

(Ruvinda 44, Kumara 38, Sal-man 3/25) beat Santy Excava-tion 155/8 (Satheesh 38, Lalith 4/26) by 3 wickets

Hyderabad Boys 165/10 (Tohid 34, Ali 3/30) beat Koth-ambawala 42/10 (Naim 12, Sami 5/9) by 123 runs

Super Kings 140/7 in 23.4 overs (Prashanth 55, Deepu 24, Umar 4/16) beat Jinnah CC137/7 (Ateeq 30, Anis 3/26) by 3 wick-ets

Karnataka Strikers 228/4 (Anil 73, Jilani 47, Osman 37)

beat RUCT CC155/7 (Faizal 44, Sohaib 2/10) by 73 runs

Tornado A 188/8 in 24.5 overs (Nithin 50, Naveen 43, Rishabh 3/36) beat Young Blasters 187/7 (Thirumal 58, Uzair 34, Athul 4/25) by 2 wickets

Falcon CC 159/0 in 19.4 overs (Arjun 80, Sujeendran 67) beat Bahrain Hawks 157/8 (Sohail 49, Shubham 33, Harshad 4/23) by 10 wickets

Nelofar Events 202/5 (Saeed 77, Ali 59, Shiji 3/38) beat Kerala XI 148/9 (Ravi 48) by 54 runs

Ali - Nelofar Events Noufal - RCB Prasanth - Super Kings

Du Plessis steps down as South Africa captain in all formatsAFP | Johannesburg

Faf du Plessis announced yesterday that he was

stepping down as South Afri-ca’s cricket captain with im-mediate effect.

Du Plessis, 35, said he need-ed to take “a step back” from the captaincy in order to help the emergence of the next generation of leaders under Quinton de Kock.

De Kock led the team in re-cent one-day and Twenty20 internationals against Eng-land while Du Plessis was be-ing rested.

It was announced last month that De Kock would be South Africa’s long-term one-day captain but in yes-terday’s statement, Du Ples-sis said he was also relin-quishing the Test and T20 captaincy.

The announcement clears the way for De Kock to lead South Africa at the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November and possibly to lead the Test team in a two-match series in the West Indies in July and August.

In a statement issued by Cricket South Africa, Du Ples-sis said he wanted to concen-trate on contributing to the

team as a batsman and senior player.

Du Plessis captained South Africa in 112 matches across all formats, including 36 Tests.

He said his time away from cricket since the end of the Test series against England last month had given him “a lot of perspective”.

Du Plessis added, “It has been a rewarding, sometimes

tough and other times a lonely road, but I would not replace the experience for anything, because it has made me the man that I am proud to be to-day.”

He said the decision to step down was one of the toughest decisions he had made but he said he was committed to supporting De Kock, coach Mark Boucher and the rest of his team-mates.Faf du Plessis plays a shot (file photo)

Langer backs Warner, Smith to cope with baiting South AfricaReuters | Johannesburg

Australia coach Justin Langer bel ieves dis-

graced David Warner and Steve Smith are ready for a hostile reception from South African supporters when they play in a three-match Twen-ty20 International series starting in Johannesburg on Friday.

The duo were central to the ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal where, along with batsman Cameron Bancroft, they were found guilty of conspiring to cheat by altering the state of the ball in a test match in Cape

Town in March 2018.Cricket Australia banned

Warner and former captain Smith from taking part in domestic and international matches for a year, though they have since made a successful return to the team and remain key figures in the batting line-up.

Langer says the players, and the team, have “moved on” from the scandal, but acknowl-edges that South African fans might have not.

“There was a brilliant re-integration before they came back into the team,” Langer told reporters yesterday.

Neymar back from injury for Dortmund clashAFP | Dortmund, Germany

Neymar has been named in the Paris Saint-Germain

squad for today’s Champi-ons League last-16 first leg at Borussia Dortmund, despite missing the French club’s last four games through injury.

The world’s most expensive player has been struggling with a rib problem, but was

expected to be fit in time for the game at Signal Iduna

Park.T h e

B r a -z i l i a n m i s s e d last sea-s o n ’ s

s u r p r i s e last-16 loss to M a n c h e s t e r United with

a foot injury, while he also

sat out the second leg of the de-

feat at the

same stage of the competition by Real Madrid in 2018.

Neymar was rested, along with Kylian Mbappe, for PSG’s remarkable 4-4 draw at Ami-ens in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

“He will be in Dortmund, I’m sure of it, but without be-ing in the best shape he was in two weeks ago,” Tuchel said before the Amiens game.

“But he will help us. I am sure and convinced of that.”

PSG are yet to reach the Champions League semi-finals since being bought by their Qa-tari owners in 2011, with their run to the last four in 1994-95 still the closest they have come to lifting the European Cup.

16TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

He (Neymar) will be in Dortmund,

I’m sure of it, but without being in the best shape he was in

two weeks agoTHOMAS TUCHEL

BIC kick starts F1 countdown

BIC begins 30-day countdown to F1 Bahrain Grand Prix weekend todayTDT | Manama

Bahrain International Cir-cuit (BIC) kick starts its 30-day countdown today

to the start of the weekend’s events in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020.

The four-day event features the very best of global motor-sport and non-stop family en-tertainment. It is scheduled to LIGHT IT UP! from March 19 to 22 at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in Sakhir.

Fans are urged not to miss out on this epic occasion. Tickets to the Grand Prix have been selling fast but are still available. They can be bought online at BIC’s official website www.bahraingp.com, through the BIC Hotline on +973-17450000, or at BIC’s City Centre Bahrain stand located on the ground floor near gate number three in the West Court.

A four-day Main Grandstand seat costs BD150. A Batelco Grandstand ticket for all four days is BD120, while there are also Batelco Grandstand tickets for only Saturday and Sunday priced at BD100 apiece; and also Friday-only tickets at BD60 each. Furthermore, a four-day tick-et to the Turn One Grandstand costs BD100; whereas University

and Victory Grandstand four-day tickets are BD60 apiece.

It is worth noting that Bahrain Grand Prix tickets are among the most affordable on the For-mula 1 season calendar. BIC has also covered the Value Added Tax (VAT) on all event tickets, saving fans from any additional

expense. This year’s Bahrain Grand

Prix is the second of a record 22 rounds on the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. It will be the first night race of the season and BIC will be joining Formula 1 and national carrier Gulf Air in commemorating their 70th

anniversaries. The 57-lap sprint is the 16th

edition of the desert race and it is the seventh time it is being held under BIC’s state-of-the-art floodlights.

The weekend’s Formula 1 ac-tion will be complemented by three highly competitive sup-

port series. These include the returning FIA Formula 2 Cham-pionship and the Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East, plus the FIA Formula 3 Championship, which will be making its Bahrain Grand Prix debut. Both Formula 2 and Formula 3 will be hold-ing the first round of their 2020 seasons at BIC, while Porsche will be staging its championship finale.

Off the track, headlining the attractions will be the series of fantastic concerts by globally renowned superstars in music.

Kicking off the live per-

formances will be Grammy Award-winning producer, song-writer and DJ Afrojack, who will be taking to the stage for his live show on the Friday (March 20) night of the race weekend. Then, on Saturday (March 21), global Top 10 DJ and producer Don Di-ablo will perform in the second of two concerts that evening. The first artist on Saturday will be announced by BIC soon.

Also as a part of the entertain-ment, BIC is bringing back one of the crowd-favourites from last year’s race, which is also literally the biggest attraction at BIC’s F1 Village vending area. The 42-metre high giant Ferris Wheel, with 27 gondolas, will once again tower over the cir-cuit, while there will also be a carousel-like Ghost Rider speed ride to enjoy.

Amongst the loads of other attractions are carnival games, kids’ play areas, stage acts and roaming acts such as renowned street performer Abraham Thill, a life-sized Toy Brigade, a Hot Air Balloons travelling parade, Funky Style Band from Italy, Jam Batucada musical show from Spain, long-time favourites at BIC events Dr. Bubbles and Pop the Balloonman, and so much more.

BIC will be ready to light it up at this year’s Grand Prix

KNOW WHAT

The 57-lap sprint is the 16th edition of the desert race and

it is the seventh time it is being held under BIC’s state-of-the-art

floodlights

Qualifiers of Strongest GCC Man held in KuwaitTDT | Manama

The Organising Committee of the Strongest GCC Man

has held the second round of the qualifiers in Kuwait. This comes after the qualifiers took place in Bahrain and Sau-di with Kuwait was the third stop. Kuwait’s qualifiers were organised at Platinum Health Club in Kuwait city and wit-nessed wide-scale participa-tion from sportspeople in the country.

The event featured three competitions including torso lifting, farmer walk and car lift-ing. It’s worth noting that the finals will take place in Bahrain

in April under the patronage of HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad

Al Khalifa, First Deputy Presi-dent of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, and Bahrain Olympic Committee President. The championship is part of HH Shaikh Khalid’s sport and humanitarian initiatives. The funds that will be raised in the event will be dedicated to sup-porting cancer patients.

“We have designed a plan to make the event a huge success in line with the vision of HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. This is the first time we expand this prestigious champi-onship by covering other GCC

countries as we aim to bolster the friendly ties among the people of this region,” Moham-med Mashalla, Vice President of the Organising Committee said.

“We want to form meaningful partnerships in bodybuilding and fitness sports and contrib-ute to supporting young GCC sportspeople who are practicing these sports,” he added.

The next stop for the qualifi-ers will be in UAE on February 22, 2020, while Oman will be the last destination on March 7, 2020.Participants in action during qualifiers

Participants in action during the qualifiers

Neymar