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10th October 201911th Safar,1441

THURSDAY

Finance Minister to Address Friends of Sudan Meeting on October 21st in Washington

News Report

By: Muawad Mustafa Rashid

In 2017 a study participated by each of the Ministries of Health, Educa-tion, Social Welfare, besides, National Council for Child Welfare, Family Protection Police, UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO revealed tragic image on vi-olation against children in the schools.According to the study 56% of the male pupils are subject to corporal punishment while 45% of the female pupils are subject to that punishment, adding to that the verbal reprimand which ranged between 20% and 28%.The study also revealed the existence of taking drugs among the second-ary schools students besides cases of harassment in both boys’ and girls’ schools added to that the sexual films in the mobile phones.The study also revealed violence by the students against the teaching staff especially in the secondary schools.The study indicated an imminent col-lapse of the education system.Now and after the revolution, the tran-sitional government should start from what the 2017 study revealed by open-ing a broad discussion among the con-cerned human rights entities including the civil society organizations.The discussion should concentrate on including the human rights issues in the syllabuses to enable the children grow with full understanding to the human rights.Needless to say that the ousted regime contributed to a great extent in the col-lapse of the educational system, so we should work together to rescue what can be rescued.Education is the core of building any

nation and the measure of the devel-opment of the nations.It is high time for the Ministry of Edu-cation to work out a plan to boost the educational alternative for corporal punishment in schools and avail con-ducive educational environment for the students.Most of the studies conducted on the issue found that children who experi-enced corporal punishment performed worse in the subject they study.The use of physical punishment, such as smacking, slapping or hitting with a hand or implement, is contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified to protect children from corporal pun-ishment in all settings, including the home and school.I agree with the view that “mild” or “moderate” forms of corporal punish-ment are an effective and non-detri-mental means of instilling discipline and obedience into children. Studies typically rely on cross-sec-tional data where child development measures are collected at the same time as reports of corporal punish-

ment. It is evidenced that children with more highly educated parents have better educational outcomes.The associated negative effect of cor-poral punishment on children’s out-comes was equivalent to the child’s primary caregiver, usually the mother, having between three and six years less education, depending on the country.Corporal punishment not only violates children’s fundamental rights to dig-nity and bodily integrity, but by im-pacting upon their engagement with schooling, hence it has the potential to have long-lasting implications for their life chances and can reinforce inequality.Legislation is an important first step towards eradicating corporal punish-ment, but on its own is not sufficient. Greater attention is required to under-stand why bans are not implemented, to support positive teaching practices and to work to address social norms that sustain the myth that physical violence promotes children’s learning and development.

Corporal Punishment Revisited

A Summit to Join Al Burhan and Putin Will Be Held at the Sushi City of Russia By: Al Sammani Awadalla – Shadia Basheri

The Ambassador of Russia to Khartoum, Vladimir Zhel-tov, reveals that the chairperson of the Sovereign Council, First Lt. Gen. Al Fatah Al Burhan, will participate in a summit and an economic forum to be held at the Sushi city, under the title ‘Russia and Africa’, in October 43 and 24, 2019. He says that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the chairperson of the African Union, Abdul Fatah Al Sisi, will preside the summit, pointing out that meetings with the other leaderships who are to partici-pate in the summit will be held. The ambassador talks to Sudan Vision, affirming that all arrangements pertaining to the summit have been completed, disclosing that on the margins of the summit First Lt. Gen. Al Burhan, is to meet with president Putin to discuss relations bilater-ally, between Khartoum and Moscow and to seek ways and means with the aim of boosting them forward pro-gressively. Zheltov goes further to talk about the Russian investments in Sudan, especially in the sphere of mining, confirming that such a trend will avail opportunities of more Russian investments in the country.It is worth mentioning that the diplomatic relations be-

tween the Soviet Union and Sudan historically dates back to 1956, during which the following have been imple-mented: the Soviet experts help in the establishment of in-dustrial projects. Social facilities including hospitals are executed. More than 15000 Sudanese students have been admitted at the higher educational institutions in both the Soviet Union and the Russian Union. And the sphere of trade bilaterally amounts to US$624 million.Meanwhile, Zheltov affirmed that several Russian oil companies have the desire to invest in Sudan oil services and not the exploration or excavations, adding that Russia has giant companies that work in oil producing countries.

By: Alula Berhe Kidani

The Sudan Minister of Finance will ad-dress the meeting of the Friends of Sudan meeting which will be convened on 21 Oc-tober in Washington DC coinciding with the winter meetings of the IMF (Interna-tional Monitory Fund) and WB (World Bank), the Norwegian Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan HE Ambassador Endre Stinson said to Sudan Vision.Then added, that are very consistent in our approach, we have always been very sup-portive of the Sudanese people and spe-cially to play a role where and when want-ed to bring peace in the country, pointed to that the history of the cooperation be-tween Norway and Sudan goes back to the academic cooperation that started 60 years ago. Further pointing to that it have always been a commitment by Norway to assist the Sudanese according to their pri-

orities and especially in the areas of peace and then in the collaborative relations. Special Envoy Stisnsen mentioned a very important feature of Norway policy to-wards Sudan when he said “What is very interesting and very unique about this col-laboration is not only the length but the consistency from the different Norwegian governments. He pointed as an example that during the CPA negotiation the Chris-tian Democratic Minister of International Cooperation Ms. Hilda Johnson played a very critical role in its success but after that and under the Labour Government the same collaborative policy continued and until today. “ We believe in that what is good for Su-dan is good for us and comes within our slogan for the UN Security Council slo-gan –Our Common Future. Also, there are many areas in which we can collaborate and which belong to the future. The Spe-cial Envoy cited that may two of the most

successful models have been after the CPA in the Oil for Development Project in which Sudanese resources were assisted by Norwegian expertise and the other pro-ject was the Fish for Development project in the Red Sea because it is important for the Sudanese people to benefit from their resources. It should be noted that the Sudan Troika (USA, the UK, and Norway) have meet in the German capital of Berlin on June 21 and the discussed the transfer of power in Sudan to a civilian government. The last meeting of the Sudan Troika took place in Washington DC on May 18 in which the European Union, the African Union, Ger-many, and France participated. It followed the ousting of President Omar Al Bashir by a military coup on April 11. In the Ber-lin meeting, the German government has invited the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to Berlin. Interview in our coming issues.

Juba Announces Readiness to Host Sudan Rivals Negotiations MondayBy: Najat Ahmed

Khartoum – South Sudan President Envoy to Su-dan revealed providing invitations to IGAD offi-cials to attend the opening session of the direct talks between the Sudanese government and the armed groups next Monday.He said in press statements that Juba completed the preparations to host the direct round of negotiations scheduled to convene next Monday to end on or be-fore 14th December.He pointed out that South Sudan Foreign Minister left Juba to Addis Ababa and Uganda to provide the invitations to each of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.Meanwhile, Member of the Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Shams Addin Kabashi said that Salva Kiir’s Security Affairs Advisor will arrive in Khartoum in the coming hours to invite the Sudanese govern-ment represented by 1st Lt. Gen. Abdul Fatah Al-Burhan and Prime Minister He added that the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) nominated the representatives of its compo-nents

UAE: The Visit of the Sudanese Leadership will Lead to Strategic PartnershipBy: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq

Khartoum - The UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar bin Mohamed Gargash, has received the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Asma Mohamed Abdalla, and discussed latest political developments in Sudanese arena and ways to sup-port Sudan in current period.Gargash affirmed during the meeting at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation the concern given by the UAE to Sudan and praised the official visit of the Sovereignty Council Chairman, Lt. Gen, Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, the Prime Minister, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, to the United Arab Emirates.He praised the current managing of the transition-al period and affirmed Sudan ability to surpass all challenges by the will of its people and the sup-port of brothers and the international community.

Council of Ministers Approves Government’ Six-Month Plan, Finance Minister Heads to Washington

By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq

Khartoum -The Council of Ministers in its regular meeting Wednesday approved the government’s plan for the coming six month covering the ministerial sectors of government and administration, economic de-velopment and social and cultural development. Minister of Culture and Information, Faisal Mohamed Salih said in press statements that the Cabinet has put the plan within framework of a full year program but , he explained , the matrix set for six months to ease evaluation and assessment as well as supervision and accountability by the pub-lic opinion. He added that the Council focused on execution of state institutions reform program, review of laws , formation of commis-sions stipulated in the Constitutional Document and emergency plan of ministry of finance. The Minister disclosed that the total number of activities and programs included in the government’s plan and would be carried out by the different ministries was up to 435.

On the nomination of Animal Resources, Infrastructure Ministers be-sides the Chief Justice and Attorney General Faisal said that the nomi-nations were submitted to the Sovereign Council.Faisal added that the Finance Minister, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Badawi travelled after concluding the visit of the Sudanese delegation to Washington to participated in the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank which will take place during the period 14 – 20 October, during which he will meet several officials on the sideline of meetings..The cabinet listened to a report presented by the Minister of Education on the shortcomings in the edu-cational process, after which the cabinet directed providing free educa-tion to any child reaches the age of education.On the issue of Ministry of Youth and Sports, Saleh said that the Cabinet announced its support to the Minister and directed the Justice Ministry to take the necessary measures in the case. He underlined that as of next Sunday the govern-ment’s plan would be ready for Execution.

US Congress Delegation Arrives in KhartoumSudan Vision

Khartoum - A delegation of the US Con-gress arrived in Khartoum to review the political, economic and security devel-opments in the country in addition to overseeing US humanitarian and de-velopment assistance activities in East Africa.The US embassy in Khartoum in a tweet on its page stated that the Congressional delegation is acting on behalf of Sena-tor Corey Booker and Senator Johnny Isaacson.It is noteworthy that Senator Poker from the state of New Jersey is a US Presiden-tial candidate of the Democratic Party, while Isaacson is from the state of Geor-gia and member of the Republican Party.

Medani to Review the Records of Exporters and ImportersBy: Khalda Elyas

Khartoum - Minister of Trade and Industry, Medani Abbas Med-ani confirmed the ministry’s intention to review the records of exporters and importers, and to develop new policies to address the problems of export, pointing out that export revenues do not appear in the annual budget because of smuggling.”We will begin to adopt new measures to combat smuggling, and we will draw up a short plan for the development and doubling of

the export earnings,” Medani said.He stressed that the task of the state is to intervene in the inter-est of the consumer, saying that they will meet with all parties to resolve the chaos in the markets, and activate the laws and control, and oblige merchants to put prices on goods, according to the Consumer protection law, stressing the return of consumer cooperatives and stop the escalation of commodity prices in the markets, and declare war on the greed of traders by law, stressing that the revolution was to address the living conditions.

Workshop on Building Media Capacities in Tackling Environmental IssuesBy: Najat Ahmed

Khartoum- Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Informa-tion Abdalla Jadalla Ahmed has affirmed that the media has an im-portant role to play in the conservation of environment through media messages that contribute to raising public awareness on the issue.This came in his address to a workshop on building capacities of media persons in tackling environmental issues, which is organized by the Environmental Information Department at the ministry un-der the theme “Environment Conservation is the Responsibility of

All.”Jadalla called for stepped up efforts by the media institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector as well as the youth of the revolution for environment conservation.On his part, Director of the project of enhancing national capacities to improve the deci-sion-making process and generalize the international environmental commitments at the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Re-sources Prof. Mighdam Al Shiekh cited Sudan’s international com-mitments in the field of environment, pointing out that there are three agreements on environment, covering desertification, climate change and biodiversity.

Building the New Sudan through Execution of Justice Values: MinisterHOME2

EDITORIAL

Hamdok Affirms Concern to Promote Relations with Eritrea

Building the New Sudan through Execution of Justice Values: MinisterBy: Ahmed Ibrahim

Khartoum - Nasar Al Din Muffarah, minister of religious affairs and endowments, talks about the requirements of the transitional period, numerating them as follows; ‘realization of peace. Ad-ministration of diversity appropriately. Control of the religious address. And prohibition of extremism’.He goes further to cast light on their strategic plans, explaining them like this; ‘introduction of a honor charter to monitor the religious address and enactment of law to regulate and monitor religious practices in the sphere of preaching and guidance’. The minister of religious affairs and endowments stresses that the preachers should not curse and despise the beliefs of the oth-ers, citing in this concern the behavior of the prophet of Islam, Mohamed, who, and while staying at Mecca for 13 years, he has never been noticed to categorize someone as blasphemous or that they are to be destined as ending up in fire, going to praise the Sudanese as the good example of moderation. Mufarrah con-cludes his remarks to indicate that they are after the building of the new Sudan through execution of justice values which are to include fighting of corruption and the returning of rights.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Sudan Participates in Arab Housing Ministers Meeting

What is the Mechanism Taken by the Ministry of Energy to Resolve the Fuel Crisis?

Al-Digair Criticizes the Multiplicity of Inquiry Committees on the Events of the Sit-In

Faisal Welcomes the Return of International Media Institutions to the CountryBy: Najat Ahmed

Khartoum - Minister of Culture and Information, Faisal Mohamed Saleh welcomed the return of the international media to Sudan in the context of freedom and openness in the country.During his meeting with the French Ambassador to Khartoum and the accompanying delegation, Saleh said that the international media that returned to Sudan will convey the new image of the country after the revolution to the outside world, and that the Sudanese media will ben-efit from its expertise and capabilities.The meeting discussed ways to return Radio Monte Carlo to broad-cast from Sudan, in addition to the possibilities of joint cooperation, training for journalists and exchange of experiences between the two parties.The French Ambassador expressed her delight at the reception of the Minister of Information, and his listen to the plan to return the radio in the near future, pointing out that this means to consolidate and build special relations after the exchange of visits between the two countries.

Chairman of Sovereignty Council and His Accompanying Delegation Return Home

SUNA

Khartoum -Chairman of the Sovereign-ty Council, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan , Prime Minister , Dr Abdalla Hamdok and their accompanying dele-gation returned home Tuesday evening after visits to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates(UAE). They were received at Khartoum airport by member of the Sovereignty Council, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, minister of Culture and Infor-mation and Minister of Labor , Lina El-Sheikh Yagoub. Foreign Minister , Asma Mohamed Abdalla said in a press statement at Khartoum airport about the outcome of the visit that the visit came at response to previous invitation , describing the visit as successful and opened horizons for cooperation.

She added that strategic issues focused on financial and economic aspects. The Foreign Minister further added that the Minister of Finance, Dr Ibra-him Al-Badawi and Minister of Trade and Industry, Madani Abbas Madani held meeting with Saudi businessmen during which a host of issues were dis-cussed.She mentioned that a number of meetings were also held with UAE Finance Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.SUNA noted that the delegation ac-companied Chairman of the Sover-eignty Council and the Prime Minis-ter comprised Foreign Minister, Asma Mohamed Abdalla, Minister of Fi-nance, Dr Ibrahim Al-Badawi, Minister of Trade and Industry, Madani Abbas Madani and representatives of General Intelligence Service and Presidency of the Republic.

Sudan to Participate in the 34th Trade Expo Indonesia By: Muawad Mustafa Rashid

Khartoum ñ Within his endeav-ors to boost the bilateral rela-tions between Sudan and Indo-nesia, H.E. the Ambassador of Indonesia in Khartoum, H.E. Mr. Rossalis R. Adenan organized last Thursday a dinner for the Sudanese who will participate in the 34th Trade Expo which will take place in Jakarta during the period 16 ñ 20 October 2019.In his address to the ceremony Mr. Adenan enumerated the op-portunities of establishing a strong trade exchange between Su-dan and Indonesia.He said that Indonesia and Sudan have big potentials to be jointly explored for the benefit of the two countries, particularly in economic sector. He added that the potentials could be explored and taken for ben-efits among others by encourag-ing business contacts between the businessmen of the two friendly countries.He proposed establishing an Indo-nesia /Sudan Business Council as an effective way to strengthen the trade exchange between the two

countries.According to the Ambassador, to the last statistic figures, the trade volume between the two countries in 2018 was recorded as US$ 331.6 million much higher comparing to the one in 2017that was US$ 109,5 millions. Nevertheless, it is still far below the real potential as the two countries still have a big room and huge opportunities to increase and develop.He revealed contacts with the Indo-nesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as with the Suda-neseBusinessmen and Employersí Fed-

eration for encouraging both sides to coordinate for further strength-ening cooperation.For his part, the former Sudanese ambassador in Jakarta, Mr. Hassan Jad Kareem briefed on the endeav-ors of the embassy to make a part-nership with Indonesia during his stay there affirming the possibility of establish an Industrial/Trade/De-velopmental partnership with Indo-nesia.The ceremony was attended by Ministry of Foreign Affairs repre-sentative and several businessmen who will participate in the 34th Trade Expo.

By: Al-Sammani Awadallah

Khartoum - The head of the Su-danese Congress Party, Omer Al-Digair criticized the forma-tion of more than a government committee to follow up the cases of missing persons in the events of breaking up the sit-in in an-ticipation of the announcement of an independent investigation committee that Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok decided to form.Al-Digair said that the constitu-

tional document contained a de-tailed paragraph on the inquiry committee, adding, ìaccord-ingly, the Prime Minister issued a decision to form this commit-tee headed by a judge and rep-resentatives of several parties in addition to independent figures, but nevertheless, in spite of the Prime Minister’s decision to form the committee, it was re-ported that the Attorney General (Designated), Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, issued a decision to form a committee to investigate

the circumstances of the burial of three martyrs of the massacre of the sit-in that took place on the third of last June.He added that there is no clear relationship between these com-mittees, which are supposed to do the same task, saying that this situation needs intervention to rectify it to prevent conflicts of competence and overlapping or distracting efforts to reach the truth about one of the most im-portant issues that concerns the Sudanese people.

Ayesha Pledges to Complete School Seating ProceduresBy: SUNA

Khartoum -Member of the Sovereignty Council, Ayesha Musa Al-Saeed was briefed on challenges detrimental to implementation of some projects of school and university seating as well as hospitals’ furniture in some states of Su-dan. This came when met Wednesday at the republican palace delegation of Wooden

and Metal Furniture Industry.Representative of the Industry Direc-torate, Ala Khalifa Mahdi said in a press statement after the meeting that the member of the Sovereignty Council promised to make contact with con-cerned authorities to bidding procedures of school seating namely ministries of fi-nance and education particularly bidding procedures for school seating in states of West Kordofan, Blue Nile and Central Darfur.

Report by Shadia Basheri

The fuel crisis has re-newed, during these days as dozens of cars stand in line in front of gas sta-tions. A source at the Khar-toum Petroleum Refinery pointed out that one of the main parts of the gasoline processing in the refinery has been disrupted and that the refinery adminis-tration is making efforts to repair it and the refin-ery is maintained annual-ly according to a specified schedule. Ministry of Energy and Mining is facing many challenges in the oil in-dustry in the country in the new transitional period and it has to study the problem so citizen feels that there is a real change. Unloading of three Ships Port Sudan Port Administration confirmed the unloading of 3 vessels for oil derivatives with a tonnage of more than 129 thousand tons including gasoline, cooking gas, besides fernis. Sudan’s oil production declined after the secession of the south in 2011, from 450 thousand barrels to less than 100 thousand; making the government resort to import more than 60% of petroleum materials to meet the needs of the countryMany issues on the table of the oil sector, the sector carries a lot of economic responsibili-ties to make its presence and development is inevitable for the stability of the Sudanese economy during the coming period, , where there were attempts to increase oil produc-tion ,especially after the challenges faced by the industry after the secession of South SudanThe statements made by the Minister of Oil in Juba touched on the important issues in the sector, including the reluctance of oil compa-nies to invest in the country and the accumu-

lation of indebtedness and the drastic decline in oil production. The Minister of Oil and Minerals revealed a sudden withdrawal of international partners from the Sudanese oil project and their de-parture without notifying the government of the reasons for the withdrawal, hinting to the decline in oil production to 70 thousand barrels per day, which exposes companies to heavy losses in light of their reluctance to support explorations to increase production. The minister affirmed that oil sector has been neglected in the past years for mismanage-ment, corruption and policy misconduct, and strongly criticized the decisions of former Prime Minister Mohamed Taher Aila to liq-uidate the Sudanese Petroleum Corporation illegally, vowing to restore the said institu-tion due to its importance, revealing that the priorities of oil in the next phase will be lo-cated in three blocks north of the Red Sea, South Dinder, Blue Nile and the Gezira Basin area south of Khartoum to the city of Wad Medani. On the review of the oil agreements between Sudan and South Sudan especially the issue of transit and processing fees, which expires

at the end of this year, he explained that the money paid by Juba to Khartoum for the transit of oil to world markets is not in line with global bases, pointing out that the next agreement will be according to oil prices in the global market and that the new agreement will benefit the two countries in the imple-mentation of joint investment projects, point-ing out that Juba so far paid $ 2.4 billion and the remaining is less than $ 700 million.Other challenges include the economic em-bargo imposed on the country, which in turn contributed to the weakness of the technol-ogy used in oil extraction, which negatively affected the increase of production, in addi-tion to the security challenges in the oil areas, expecting that the coming period will witness turnout from investors. Economist Haytham Mohamed Fathi said that Sudan was affected by the decline in oil from two sides. First, the decline oil import bill as Sudan is an importer, which led in 2015 to reduction of government payment to subsidize fuel by about $ 256 million, while there is a negative impact because the prices of South Sudan oil exported through Sudan’s pipelines and ports also declined.

Sudan Reaffirms Support for Global Compact on Refugees By: Zuleikha Abdul Raziq

Khartoum- Sudan has reaffirmed its support for the Global Compact on Refugees, noting its long-standing role in receiving and host-ing refugees from neighboring countries in

accordance with the policy of open door in co-operation and coordination with partners at the regional and international levels.The Sudanese Minister of Interior in a statement to the open-ing sitting of the 70th session of the Executive Committee of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva has expressed aspiration for the success of the World Refu-gee Forum according to a vision that combines developmental and humanitarian work, calling on the international community to increase its contribution to providing financial resources and strengthening technical efforts for humani-tarian reform especially refugee protection programs.The Charge d’Affaires of Sudan’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, Ambassador Osman Abu Fatima Adam said in a press state-ment that the Minister of Interior presented the statement of Sudan during the opening session of the Executive Committee meetings, in a high-level segment addressed by a number of ministers of participating countries.He stressed that Sudan has witnessed a politi-cal transformation thanks to the revolution of its great people in order to rebuild and restore the values ??of humanitarian cooperation and turned the page of three decades of oppression, discrimination and warfare among its people that caused a number of citizens to seek refuge

in neighboring countries and the displacement of others from their areas of origin. The Minister thanked all those who contributed to the management of the dialogue between the Sudanese parties to put the foundational struc-tures to manage the transitional period of the rule of Sudan, led by the contributions of the Ethiopian government, the African Union and IGAD in order to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people to achieve justice, freedom and peace. He pointed out that the government has set the priorities of the transitional period, the most important of which are stopping the war, achieving security, peace and stability and ad-dressing the economic crisis, which include addressing the problems of asylum and dis-placement.Meanwhile, the UN High Commis-sioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, addressed in his opening statement before the meeting the efforts being exerted by Sudan in hosting considerable number of refugees, especially from neighboring countries, especially South Sudanese refugees. He indicated that the Politi-cal developments in the country will contrib-ute greatly to the return of many refugees and displaced persons to their places of origin, and urged the international community to support Sudan.The Minister of Interior is expected to hold a meeting with the UN High Commission-er to discuss the existing cooperation between the two sides as well as a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of the United States, the European Union and other friendly and brotherly countries.

by PSC Report

The PSC Report asked Prof. Atta El-Battahani of the University of Khartoum, Sudan about the root causes of the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir and its implications. After four months of non-violent street protests, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was deposed in a coup on 11 April 2019, putting an end to his 30-year rule. The African Union (AU) termed the move a ‘military take-over’. Uncertainty looms over the future of Sudan and the implica-tions for its neighbours. Prof. Atta El-Battahani of the University of Khartoum, Sudan unpacks the situation for the PSC Report.Q: What are the main reasons for the protests that led to the fall of Omar al-Bashir?A: In brief, there are two sets of reasons for the protests: structural reasons, and triggers. Struc-tural factors stem from the 30-year rule of an Is-lamic autocracy that imposed harsh Sharia rule, suppressing civil and political rights, enforcing an archaic code of ethics on women and youth and interfering in the way of life of ordinary Sudanese; transformed civil war into holy war and jihad, leading to the secession of South Sudan in 2011; implemented aggressive structural adjust-ment policies benefiting crony capitalism and the ruling party leadership; and involved the country in foreign policy ad-ventures.‘Sudan’s economy has been struggling over the past decade, with inflation spiking over the past yearThe trigger of the December 2018 protests was a government decision to remove subsidies on wheat and electricity. Sudan’s economy has been struggling over the past decade, with inflation spiking at around 70% over the past year alone. The austerity measures adopted by the govern-ment are part of larger economic reforms pro-posed by the International Monetary Fund. This has caused the price of bread to double, and has led to cash shortages and salaries being left un-paid. All over the country people spend hours in long queues in gas stations, bakeries and banks.Unlike the usual pattern of anti-government protests, this time demonstrations did not begin in Khartoum but in the regions, where people chanted slogans expressing discontent with eco-nomic grievances that soon developed into polit-ical calls for regime change. Protests then gained momentum when the Sudanese Profession-als’ Association organised youth and women’s movements that rapidly turned into larger pro-tests against the rule of the 75-year-old al-Bashir. Q: How can the transitional authorities address the grievances that caused the protests in the first place?A: The transitional authorities’ ability to address the grievances depends on, firstly, credible meas-ures to deal with the deteriorating economy, by shifting from rent-based, speculative interests to productive sectors. This necessarily entails tak-ing drastic measures against corruption, crony capitalists and rent-seeking formal and informal war lordism.Secondly, it depends on transferring power to a

mixed civilian–military govern-ment for an agreed-upon transi-tion period before general elec-tions. And lastly, taking steps to ensure transitional justice and national reconciliation. This is essential if members of the current Military Coun-cil are to prove that they are

not, in any way, a re-invention of the deposed al-Bashir re-gime.‘A lot depends on how the

cur- rent transitional authorities will navigate through the intricate post-al-Bashir context.Given the fluidity of the political situation, each one of these conditions is a formidable chal-lenge. A lot depends on how the current transi-tional authorities will navigate through the intricate and complex post-al-Bashir context, involving various competing power coalitions. Q: What are the potential implications of the unfolding situation in Sudan for the broader Horn of Africa, and for neighboring South Sudan, which is facing its own challenges?A: Recently, the deposed Khartoum government played a leading role, with the Intergovernmental Authority on De-velopment (IGAD) and the AU, in sta-bilizing South Sudan and the Central African Republic; working with the European Union in policing the flow of migrants crossing the Medi-terranean; collaborating with the United States in tracing and combating terrorist networks; sending Sudanese soldiers to fight in Yemen, etc. Thus, Sudan stands as an Achilles’ heel at the centre of a regional geography of violence in East-Central Africa, the collapse of which will threaten the stability of an already security-frag-ile region. Some press reports have already hint-ed that the outgoing regime of al-Bashir poses challenges to South Sudan as a guarantor of the peace agreement signed in 2018.Q: Do you see a role for the AU and/or IGAD in assisting Sudan in the transition? What could it look like?

A: Showing remarkable resilience, the Suda-nese people marched peacefully for about four months, leading to regime change. This poses a test for both the AU and IGAD to rise to the challenge and show viable African agency in endorsing the march of the Sudanese people to overcome the combination of long-running stag-nation and crisis, i.e. ‘stagcrizatoin’ [referring to stagnation and crisis combined in a state of retro-gression], and render the critical support needed to ensure sustainable peace and democratic re-forms. After gaining the trust of the opposition and young change agents (youth and women) and proposing a successful way out of the Sudan conundrum, one hopes that the AU and IGAD interventions in Sudan will have far-reaching consequences and send positive signals for the

c a - pacity of African institutions to challenge and fix authori-tarian state-building. Before the wave of cur-rent events in Sudan, the AU played a facilitat-ing role in mediating between the Khartoum government and rebel groups and the civilian opposition, in what was

known as the ‘roadmap’ from conflict to peace, with a grand objective

to ‘silence the guns and ensure sustainable peace’. However, the last round of talks broke up due to accusations by both rebel groups and civilian organisations that the AU was not an honest broker. It was seen as taking the side of the Sudanese government.Q: What are the prospects/scenarios for the fu-ture of Sudan?A:It is hard to speculate at this point in time, but a lot depends on how the Military Council that deposed al-Bashir deals with four major power coalitions.The first is the armed groups, including the Su-danese Armed Forces (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), National Intelligence and Infor-mation Service, People’s Defence Forces, and other militias that favoured the ruling party. Of

course, there are also the rebel groups fighting the government – the Su-dan People’s L i b e r a t i o n Movemen t -

North – and the Darfur re-bels – the Su-dan Liberation

A r m y ( A b d e l - wahid), Sudan Liberation Army (Mini-Minawi) and Justice and Liberation Movement (Jibriel Ibrahim). The SAF and RSF are leading the transitional authority, but the po-sition of the other groups is not clear.Secondly, there are the civilian political forces, at the top of which stands the Freedom and Change Coalition (FCC) led by the Sudanese Profession-als’ Association and which includes other oppo-sition parties and associations. Though the FCC seems to command the support of the streets, its overarching leadership is becoming increasingly contested by other civilian and political groups, some of which defected recently from the al-Bashir government and are now talking the lan-guage of change. Thirdly, the National Congress Party (NCP), the defunct ruling party, is still in control of eco-nomic and financial institutions, the judiciary, universities, civil service, etc. Whether we call this ‘clientelist’ or ‘deep state’, the NCP cadres are not going to stay idle and will do whatever it takes to disrupt a peaceful transition. Lastly, there are the regional and international actors who have interests in Sudan and regard peace and stability as their top priority, not dem-ocratic transformation.These four power coalitions have divisions in and among them, and it is going to be a tall order to forge a consensus acceptable to all.‘The military authorities can use brutal force, while the civilian opposition commands the streetsEach one of these power coalitions has an edge to use in the process of negotiating political goods. The military authorities can use brutal force, while the civilian opposition commands the streets, the defunct regime has sleeping cad-res and armed cells, and regional and interna-tional actors can use foreign patronage to finance and protect their clients. I feel, as things stand now, actions and choices by outside actors are likely to play a considerable role in shaping the calculus of choice in Khartoum. At this stage, ne-gotiations and mediation are taking place inside and outside the country, but in case of a failure to produce an amicable solution, the law of naked power would set in.David Landes writes in The wealth and poverty of nations that in unsettled conflict situations, three factors cannot coexist: a marked disparity of power; access of one group to the instruments of power; and equality among groups or nations. This means that if one group has access to power and is able to deliver a decisive strike and hold the balance of power, it will do so. While al-Bashir’s rule is over, Sudan’s current political deadlock bears all the hallmarks of an uncertain transition.

3 HOME

Towards a Sustainable Political Transformation in Sudan (1)

course, there are also the rebel groups fighting the government

L i b e r a t i o n Movemen t -

North – and the Darfur re-bels – the Su-dan Liberation

‘One hopes that the AU and

IGAD interventions in Sudan will have far-reaching consequences

tional authorities will navigate through the intricate and complex post-al-Bashir context, involving various competing

the Intergovernmental Authority on De-velopment (IGAD) and the AU, in sta-bilizing South Sudan and the Central African

challenge and fix authori-tarian state-building. Before the wave of cur-rent events in Sudan, the AU played a facilitat-

groups and the civilian opposition, in what was

known as the ‘roadmap’ from conflict to peace, with a grand objective

to ‘silence the guns and ensure

‘Sudan stands as an Achil-

les’ heel at the center of a regional geography of violence in East-Central

Africa.

and interfering in the way of life of ordinary Sudanese; transformed civil war into holy war and jihad,

‘Sudan’s economy has been struggling over the past decade, with inflation spiking over the

mixed civilian–military govern-ment for an agreed-upon transi-tion period before general elec-tions. And lastly, taking steps to ensure transitional justice

cil are to prove that they are not, in any way, a re-invention

of the deposed al-Bashir re-gime.‘A lot depends on how the

‘Unlike the usual pattern

of anti-government protests, this time demon-strations did not begin in

Khartoum but in the regions.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

E-mail: alulakidani@yahoo.comAlula Berhe

Beyond the Horizon

PSC Interview: Sudan’s Uncertain Transition

Unjustifiable DelayThe Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC)have announced that the policies and emergency program for the transitional period are now ready and that they would submit it to the Prime Minister in the com-ing days. Spokesman of the coordination office of FFC Wagdi Saleh affirmed in a statement to Sudan Vision yesterday that the emergency program has been ready before the downfall of Al Bashir’s re-gime, but he indicated that they haven’t submitted it to Prime Minister Dr. Ab-dalla Hamdok because they have been engaged in its updating prior to handing it over to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister stressed on Monday that he had not received an emergency program for the transitional period from FFC and that he did not want to blame any party, not-ing that he wanted work to continue. Dr. Hamdok explained in a meeting with the Sudanese Community in Saudi Arabia Sunday that he had met with the FFC Cen-tral Council last Saturday and asked for an emergency program and the program of policies for the transitional period, but he hasn’t received any response, adding that the Council of Ministers has resorted to mapping out a program from the Con-stitutional document and the Declaration of Freedom and Change.The reality is that the FFC have collected

a number of number of initia-tives which have been formu-lated before the downfall of the authoritarian regime of Omer Al Bashir including ones that

go back as far as Towards a Sustainable Political Transformation in Sudan: Ele-ments of a Roadmap Expert Advisory Group which was formulated last August 2018, the University of Khartoum Initia-tive more than six months ago, and sev-eral many other initiative where in the possession of the FFC months ago. But there was an, Unjustifiable Delay, from the side of the FFC organs because the first intimal workshop on the issue was convened on 4-5 Sept.2019 and the formation of the 12 specialized commit-tees to formulate the programs was not in place before the last of Sept. On the end as the FFC leader have said the program will be presented to the PM on his return from abroad may be on the 9 or 10 Oct. Finance Minister ProgramThe program that the PM said that the government had to rely on because of the delay was based on the aims and targets of the December 2018 Revolution and in our view the PM was actually referring to the program published by the Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed last April un-der the “Freedom, Peace and Justice: The Foundation of the Revolution Economic Policy”.It is apparent, Dr. Al-Badawi said that this program will extend to more than the 200 Days emergency or rescue stage but the

initiatives and policies contained must be launched during this period to be the able to freeze the present detoriation in the economy and utilize the huge volume of good intentions generated by this unique popular revolution.Also, must look at this program as part of a holistic system for institutional reforms in the formulation and implementation of economic policies in the framework of a developmental vision based on the mar-ket economy but with an active role for the public sector especially in the strate-gic planning and creation of the enabling environment for the private sector. In this context priority should be given to the small and medium size enterprises led by youth and within this framework the program will represent the first building blocks for the medium term targets to at-

tain the structural and radical transforma-tion above and which aim to attain the goals of the economic and social.In addition, the macroeconomic stabili-zation program is an essential condition for the success and sustainability for later deployment plans and public policies on the medium and long term and represent an important support for the purchasing power and social welfare for the citi-zens by controlling inflation ,ending the national currency collapse which in turn strengthening the freedom and justice aims. This is because the most painful tax on the power is inflation which is a tax which the ordinary citizen pays to finance the uncontrolled public budgets deficits for the benefit of the power aphoristic class. In addition to that the allocation of large resources for education, health and

other social services will represent a ma-jor transformation in the poverty reduc-tion battle because these sectors consume 70 percent of Sudanese families’ budgets. This make such a program concede with the revolution aims of freedom and social justice. The proposed program has six compo-nents: One: Stabilization of Macroeco-nomic policies: development and initiali-zation of the financial policy; monetary policy and currency rate., Two: Comput-ing and liquidating the gains of the Ingaz parasitical class., Three: Sudanese dias-pora, rehabilitation and capacity building fund., Four: Economic planning council., Five: Economic partnership between the two Sudanese states in the framework of a regional economic integration., Six: Why this rescue program, time priority and how it is funded.The point now is to wait and see how far the FFC programs will concede with this program which we hope will be the focus of our future work.

The Delay in Presenting the 200 Days Program is Unjustifiable

4 AFRICA IN FOCUS Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Dangote Falls out with Tanzanian

Government over Failure to

File ReportsBy: Ajifowoke Michael Gbenga

Dangote Cement is locked in a dispute with the government of Tanzania – its most profitable market in the first half of this year – over the company’s fail-ure to fulfil a regulatory obligation.The Nigerian-based cement maker last week was accused of not filing its oper-ations report with the Tanzania Invest-ment Center (TIC) according to gov-ernment regulations. From September 30, the company was given a seven-day ultimatum to tender the document but reports suggest it has failed to do so.Moreover, Dangote Cement has not submitted its operation reports for the past three years, Angellah Kairuki, the Minister of State in the Prime Minis-ter’s Office in charge of Investment said.In its defense, the firm’s management was reported to have said they were preparing the report but failed to pro-vide an explanation as to why the com-pany had neglected the mandatory re-quirement initially.It is through the report that TIC and the government would get to know of the Dangote Cement’s project history, plans for expansion, taxes paid, profits, challenges, and recommendations, ex-plained Kairuki.During a recent inspection tour of in-dustries and a meeting with investors, the government official asked Dangote to file the report as soon as possible and henceforth every six months.The dispute with Tanzania’s govern-ment comes barely five years after Dangote Cement celebrated expansion

into the eastern African nation. While the company has established itself as a market leader, there have been frequent clashes with authorities.Dangote had previously experienced issues with President John Magufuli’s administration over tax on diesel im-ports to run its plant and a ban on coal import. At some point last year, the firm suspended its operations, citing techni-cal problems and high production costs.The cost factor was due to Dar’s deci-sion to ban the importation of coal from South Africa resulting in the high cost of fuel for its diesel generators which the plant ran on.But in September last year, Dangote Cement started running its plant on gas instead of coal, a significant turna-round in saving costs and uninterrupt-ed production. The company posted a 172 percent rise in cement sales, from 200,000 tonnes in the first half of 2018 to 543,000 tonnes in the same pe-riod this year.With a rise in cement demand, driven by the government’s investments in infrastructural projects and increased construction activity, Dangote tripled its market share in Tanzania to 22 per-cent from seven percent last year.Going forward, experts suggest it is in Dangote’s interest to file appropriate reports with the government in order to ensure smooth relations in the long-term. This is especially significant con-sidering the company’s improvement in the first half of 2019 was only in Tan-zania – it reported slow performance in Nigeria and other key African markets like Ethiopia and South Africa.

By Rael Ombuor NAIROBI, KENYA - The Sengwer, an indigenous hunter-gatherer com-munity in western Kenya, presented a petition Monday morning to the government in Nairobi demanding the return and protection of what they call their ancestral lands. The commu-nity says it faces threats of eviction as Kenya›s government takes over con-servation of the country›s forests and water supplies.Hundreds of members of the Sengw-er, a community that lives in the Em-bobut forest, spent two days marching from their ancestral land in Kenya›s North Rift Valley to Nairobi in hopes of meeting President Uhuru Kenyatta.Dressed in traditional regalia, they sang traditional songs as they arrived in Nairobi with the petition to the gov-ernment.85-year-old Moses Leleu took part in the march.Leleu says, “As a community, we are yet to be recognized as a Kenyan tribe. That›s one of the main reason we are here. The second is that we have been evicted several times from our an-cestral land. We are now living in a small portion in these lands and still face imminent eviction. We want to go back to the areas we have been evicted from and be recognized as the owners of our ancestral land.”Hunter-gatherer communities in Ken-ya are facing threat of eviction as the government takes over management of the country’s forests and water catchment areas.

Embobut forest is listed as one of the five most important water catchment areas in Kenya.Since the 1970’s, Kenya›s govern-ment, through its Forest Service guards, has carried out a series of forceful evictions of the Sengwer in Embobut.An Amnesty international report said that during evictions in 2017, forces burned more than 300 houses, injured hundreds and killed a Sengwer man.Amnesty International›s director in Kenya, Irungu Houghton, walked with the Sengwer in Nairobi Monday.“Their community is not considered by the economists to have economic value to this country nor are they con-sidered to be politically very power-ful. But they are Kenyans and they deserve their rights like other Ken-yans. But in addition, they are in-digenous people, which means they have a responsibility to the Earth that is very different from the rest of us. Their land is ancestral; they have for centuries been responsible for taking care of the forests in places like Em-bobut in Elgeyo Marakwet,” Irungu said.Speaking to VOA, a senior Kenya Forest Service official said Embobut forest was «a government-gazetted forest and not an ancestral land. The official said the Sengwer were not a tribe but a «clan within another com-munity that is not laying claim to the forest.»The Embobut forest is not the only area witnessing disputes between in-digenous people and the government.

In August, the government announced plans to evict thousands they con-sidered «encroachers» in sections of Kenya›s Mau Forest, arguing that the move was to save the Mau ecosystem, which is threatened by heavy defor-estation and encroachment.

In a report last month, Human Rights Watch asked the government to stop the «excessive use of force» during the Mau evictions and uphold proper guidelines in the ongoing process.Kenya›s Ministry of Environment and Forestry set up a task force late last

year to advise the government on how to resolve disputes regarding indig-enous people›s claims to forest lands that are critical to Kenya›s conserva-tion efforts. The task force is set to present its findings to the ministry this month.

People Demand Recognition of Ancestral Land

Africa.com

Five private sector partners today announced new pledges for the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenish-ment during the World Economic Forum on Africa.Goodbye Malaria, which is sup-ported by Nando’s, an interna-tional restaurant group founded in South Africa, as well as other cor-porate partners, has pledged R85 million (about US$5.5 million) to the Global Fund to expand a grant that aims to eliminate cross-border malaria transmission in Mozam-bique, South Africa and Eswatini.Project Last Mile, GBCHealth and Zenysis Technologies announced in-kind support and co-invest-ments to increase the effectiveness of health programs through inno-vations. Africa Health Business has pledged to support the mobi-lization of African business. These co-investments will total more than US$23 million. “We can only succeed in our fight to end AIDS, TB and malaria by working with private sector part-ners,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “We need the private sector’s resourc-es, innovation and know-how to counter the threat of drug resist-ance, to extend our reach and to build stronger health systems – all of which will save more lives.”Today’s announcements represent diverse support for health solu-tions, with the private sector and other essential partners such as the South African Ministry of Health, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Being part of the private sector in countries that live with the devas-tating effects of these three diseas-es, it is with a sense of pride that Goodbye Malaria commits R85 million to the Global Fund, target-ing malaria elimination in South-ern Africa,” said Sherwin Charles, Co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria. “This represents an over-all increase of 55% over our con-tribution in the previous Replen-ishment. Further, our contribution will unlock additional funds from the £100 million malaria match funding of the UK government.”African governments and other donors are investing billions of dollars to strengthen health sys-tems and make affordable medi-cines available. Yet supply chains often struggle to get medicines and supplies to health facilities and people who need them most. To address this challenge, the Global Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined with The Coca-Cola Company in 2010 to form Project Last Mile, and USAID joined in 2014. This public-private partnership leverages Coca-Cola’s logistical, supply chain manage-ment and marketing expertise to support African governments in delivering lifesaving medicines and supplies to the hardest-to-reach communities. In addition, The Coca-Cola Foundation made charitable contributions to Project Last Mile. Following an initial commitment of more than US$21 million by partners in 2014, Pro-ject Last Mile has provided sup-port to 10 countries in Africa.

“I am delighted to announce that Project Last Mile will be renewed for another five years, allowing us to deepen our investment in coun-tries where the partnership is cur-rently active and launch at least five new projects,” said Maserame Mouyeme, Public Affairs, Com-munications and Sustainability Di-rector for Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa. “By removing obsta-cles in delivering medicines and accessing health services, we hope to save more lives faster. To achieve this objective, the partners collectively aspire to invest an ad-ditional US$20 million in finan-cial and in-kind support.” Better data to inform health pro-gram decisions is essential to eliminating the diseases. Howev-er, data fragmentation is a barrier to delivering efficient and equita-ble health care. Zenysis, a data and artificial intelligence company, has built an online platform that can integrate data from any num-ber of systems into a single unified view, providing decision-makers with a nearly real-time view of their health programs. Zenysis has invested more than US$2.5 million in five African countries since it partnered with the Global Fund in 2018.“Zenysis will invest an addi-tional US$3.5 million by the end of 2021 to help five more Global Fund-supported countries har-ness the power of big data and AI to transform their health sys-tems,” said Jonathan Stambolis, CEO of Zenysis. “Our analytics software has the power to trans-form the fight against HIV, TB

and malaria and our partnership with the Global Fund will en-sure that technology benefits the countries that need it most.”Building on the successful model of Project Last Mile, the Global Fund is partnering with GBCHe-alth to leverage its network of companies committed to invest-ing their resources and capabili-ties to strengthen supply chain management across the globe. The new platform, Logistics for Health, will be coordinated by GBCHealth and is intended to grow to include a diverse range of sectors.“The private sector has unparal-leled knowledge and expertise to contribute to supply chain man-agement,” said Nancy Wildfeir-Field, President of GBCHealth. “This new partnership represents GBCHealth’s and the private sec-tor’s continued commitment to supporting the Global Fund in in-novative ways, especially as it en-ters the next Replenishment. We believe this partnership creates new avenues for companies to tap into some of their core competen-cies and step up the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.” Africa Health Business, a health consultancy based in Nairobi, an-nounced it will support the Global Fund by working with businesses to increase their engagement in health. They aim to create public-private partnerships in Africa, build the voice and advocacy of business leaders, mobilize re-sources, and find innovative so-lutions to fight the three diseases.“Africa Health Business is com-mitted to deepen the engagement of private sector leaders to ac-celerate the end of HIV, TB and malaria as epidemics through strategic partnerships,” said Dr. Amit N. Thakker, Chairman and Co-founder of Africa Health Business.France will host the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment pledging conference on 10 Oc-tober 2019 in Lyon, France. The Global Fund seeks to raise at least US$14 billion – US$1 billion from the private sector – for the next three years. The funds will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023.

Private Sector Partners Step Up the Fight against AIDS, TB and Malaria in Africa

5 Thursday, October 10, 2019BUSINESS BUSINESSChina Warns Apple against ëRecklessí Support of HK Protesters

AFP

BEIJING: Chinaís state media accused Apple Wednesday of supporting pro-democracy pro-testers, warning the US tech giant would suf-fer consequences for its …unwise and recklessî decision, in an echo of campaigns against other Western firms.An opinion piece in the Peopleís Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, highlighted a transport app available on Ap-pleís store that it alleged helped protesters iden-tify police in Hong Kong.…Appleís approval for the app obviously helps rioters,î the article said.…Does this mean Apple intended to be an ac-complice to the rioters?…The article then cautioned that: …The map app is just the tip of the iceberg.îIt alleged that a song advocating …Hong Kong independenceî had appeared on the …Apple Music Storeî in the southern Chinese city, then issued an ominous warning.…Nobody wants to drag Apple into the lingering

unrest in Hong Kong. But people have reason to assume that Apple is mixing business with poli-tics, and even illegal acts,î it said.…Apple has to think about the consequences of its unwise and reckless decision,î the article said.As with other campaigns led by state-run press against foreign firms for perceived support of the

democracy movement in Hong Kong, comments on Chinaís strictly controlled Internet echoed those of the media.…It definitely wasnít an accident that Apple al-lowed HKmap.live online,î wrote one commen-tator on Weibo.…(Apple) should know exactly what itís doing...

It seems that there is too little domestic pressure against Apple.îApple, which has a huge presence in China, did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.Hong Kong has endured nearly four months of protests that were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions of criminal suspects to the mainland.They snowballed into a movement calling for more democratic freedoms and police account-ability, in the biggest challenge to Chinaís rule of Hong Kong since its handover from the Brit-ish in 1997.China tolerates no dissent on the highly sensi-tive issue and has in recent weeks increasingly targeted foreign companies and organizations for perceived support of the protesters.The American National Basketball Association was this week targeted after the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, posted a tweet supporting the protesters.US jewelry brand Tiffany and Hong Kongís flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific, have also been heavily criticized in China.

Briefs

Alibaba to Stop Sales of e-Cigarette Components in the USReuters

OCTOBER: Chinese e-com-merce firm Alibaba said on Wednesday it will stop selling e-cigarette components in the Unit-ed States, amid growing regula-tory scrutiny and reports of lung disease and some deaths linked to vaping.The move follows announce-ments by Kroger Co. and Wal-greens Boots Alliance Inc. this week that they would stop sell-ing e-cigarettes at their stores, in line with a similar decision by Walmart.Alibaba said it already had a long-standing policy in place to not sell complete e-cigarette products in the United States.Vaping products have been linked to a mysterious lung illness that is reported to have led to 18 deaths as of last week, with the number of confirmed and probable cases of the condition exceeding 1,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said that listings for products such as box mods, vape pens, herbal va-pors, heat not burn devices, and empty pod cartridges would not be displayed for users located in the United States.While Juul Labs Inc. dominates the North American market for pod e-cigarettes, many reports of death and injury in the United States have been tied to make-shift brands with no identifiable owner.

SIG Shares Plummet as UK Construction Down-turn Hits Profits

PA City Reporter

Shares in building supplies firm SIG have plummeted after the business warned that a deepen-ing downturn in the UK and Ger-man construction markets would hit profits.The Sheffield-based business shed more than a fifth of its share value in early trading after it told investors that annual profits in its core business will be …sig-nificantly lowerî than previously predicted.The company has also separately announced that it has secured agreements to sell its air handling and building solutions divisions in two separate deals for more than #230 million in total.SIG, which supplies specialist building materials to trade cus-tomers across Europe, said it has been impacted by a …deteriora-tion in the level of construction activity in key marketsî due to the turbulent economic back-drop, particularly in the UK and Germany.

Strong Smartphone Sales Raise Hopes of Samsung TurnaroundReuters

SEOUL- Strong sales of Samsung Elec-tronicsí Galaxy Note 10 smartphone series are limiting forecast profit falls at the South Korean tech giant, raising hopes it is getting back on a growth track after years of moribund sales.Samsung, the worldís largest smart-phone maker, is powering ahead with the launch of 5G phones and $2,000 foldable handsets as it heats up competi-tion with rivals US Apple and Chinaís Hua-wei following a battery explosion scandal in 2017 that hurt sales.Analysts said the strategy may be paying off as the company on Tuesday flagged a small-er-than-expected fall in third quarter operat-ing profit, saying at the same time that sales of the Note 10 both at home and in Europe had been strong since the Aug. 23 launch.There are also early signs that the global memory chip business, a key driver of Sam-sungís profit, will stabilize next year after prices were eroded by a weak global econ-omy and slower spending by key data center customers.…With its foldable smartphone that no other competitors have yet launched, Samsung will likely lead the high-end smartphone market as it would mass produce foldable smart-phones next year,î said Song Myung-sup, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.…Also, a growing number of data center customers are ordering more memory chips ... possibly slowing down the drop in prices,î Song added.Samsung said it has sold more than one mil-lion of the 5G Note 10 handsets in South Ko-rea, making it the companyís fastest selling flagship model at home, and sales in Europe were also strong.Analysts credit Samsung with receiving a boost from US sanctions on Huawei that ef-fectively bar US firms from supplying the Chinese competitor.Huaweiís new high-end Mate 30 smartphones are being shipped to Europe this month, but the sanctions mean the product lacks access to a licensed version of US Googleís Android operating system, as well as mobile services that include its Play Store and popular apps like Gmail, Youtube or Maps.

Jene Park, a senior analyst at market tracker Counterpoint Research, said Samsung was also moving in on Huawei at the lower end of the market in Europe and Latin America.Sales of Huaweiís Honor smartphones, which are mainly in the $180-$249 price band and accounted for a large portion of sales outside of China, had dropped significantly since March, allowing Samsung to boost sales vol-umes of its new A series, according to Coun-terpoint.But Huaweiís woes also present problems for Samsung as the as the worldís biggest semi-conductor firm by revenue, with the Chinese firm a major buyer of its memory chips.Some analysts are more cautious about the outlook for the global memory chip business, which remains clouded by US-Sino trade conflict and provides two thirds of Samsungís profit.Samsungís profit has been slumping every quarter since the year-end holiday quarter last year and is expected to fall again in the cur-rent quarter year-on-year.In a limited trading update ahead of full earn-ings later this month, Samsung on Tuesday said operating profit for the July to Septem-ber quarter would likely tumble 56% to 7.7 trillion won ($6.44 billion), slightly better than the 7.1 trillion won forecast by Refinitiv SmartEstimate. It also flagged a revenue fall of 5.3% to 62 trillion won.…The strong smartphone sales has limited ability to fix all Samsungís issues,î said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities. …Data center customers, a major driver for memory chip business, are pursuing conservative investment for the time being, not particularly uplifting news for Samsung.îShares in Samsung were up about 1.5%, just slightly ahead of an 0.8% rise in the wider market in afternoon trade.

Press Release

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - …The ur-ban opportunities far outweigh the challenges,î said Prof. Davis G. Mwamfupe, the Mayor of Dodoma, Tanzania, during his message to the Cities Leadership workshop, launching the City Diagnostics for five pilot cit-ies in Africa, held on the 25th and 26th September 2019 in Abidjan.Five cities were chosen for the pilot phase of the Cities Diagnostics for 2019 -2020: Antananarivo (Madagas-car), Bizerte (Tunisia), Conakry (Re-public of Guinea), Dodoma (Tanzania) and Libreville (Gabon) and were rep-resented by their respective authorities.

The African Development Bank (AfDB.org), the Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF) and the Korea Africa-Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) organized the workshop to review the cities diagnostic method-ologies with city managers and interna-tional urban development experts. Am-adou Oumarou, Director of the Bankís Infrastructure and Urban Development Department said, …The new City Diagnostics tool of the Bank will en-able city managers and development partners to have a clear understanding of the situation in all the various sub-sectors of the city and allow us to pri-oritise our workî.

The diagnostic tool includes key en-vironmental and urban sustainability indicators; two baseline studies cover-ing disaster risk and vulnerability, and urban footprint growth. It also includes a public opinion survey covering ac-cessibility and quality of municipal services for water, sanitation, electric-ity. Drainage, solid waste management, and other measures of quality of life in cities are also included. The tool can measure and assess inclusiveness and resilience parameters, strategies, mu-nicipal resource mobilization, invest-ments, and public accounts administra-tion.

The Mayor of Bizerte, Dr. Ben Amara Kamel stressed the challenge of limited municipal budget resources for capi-tal infrastructure and services invest-ments as well the difficulty of recruit-ing qualified municipal staff to cities, especially given Bizerteís ambitious projects such as 100% clean energy by 2030. Participants from Conakry and Libreville also mentioned problems of city governance, the low level of mu-nicipal tax collection, poor sanitation, and solid waste management.

The five pilot cities exchanged experi-ences at a panel headed by Ellis Juan, Senior Advisor to the Bankís UMDF and former head of the Inter-American Development Bank emerging and sus-tainable cities program (ESC). Juan highlighted some of the key lessons learned in Latin America which in-cluded the following:- An integrated approach to city plan-ning and management yields greater impact;- Climate change should be integrated into city planning and management;- Making cities for the people, or peo-ple-oriented cities;- Order in the fiscal accounts, increased digitalization of city management and strong governance and transparency make for a credible partner;- Efficient management of solid waste, sewerage and drainage systems, and water resources will preserve citiesí environmental assets for future genera-tions while improving quality of life;- Integrating mobility into urban plan-ning and investing in quality public transportation services will drive pro-ductivity and create citizen-friendly cities;The City Diagnostics program is fully funded by the UMDF, which supports African cities and municipalities to improve their resilience and manage urban growth and development bet-ter through planning, governance, and efficient public services as well as im-proving the quality of life in urban en-vironments in Africa.

African Development Bank and Partners Launch Pilot Cities Diagnostics Tool in Five Cities

Investment vs Environment: Armenia Villagers Protest Gold Mine PlansAFP

GNDEVAZ, ARMENIA: Armenian villagers are locked in what they say is a David-and-Goliath style battle for the environment and their livelihoods, stand-ing guard around the clock to protect their land from a multinational mining company.Protesters say planned gold mining in the south will not only pollute drinking water but also damage some of the top tourist spots in the small Caucasus mountain nation.Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, however, insists the project at Mount Amulsar is a vital source of foreign investment and a sign his country is open for business.Pashinyan was brought to power last year on the back of popular protests, but activists’ efforts are now di-rected against him and a perceived preference for in-vestment over the wellbeing of his people.“The mine will pollute water, soil, and air,” said Erazik Stepanyan, a 57-year-old from Gndevaz, a tiny village a few kilometres (miles) from Mount Amulsar.“We don’t want our children to suffer from serious ill-nesses, we will not let anybody defile our nature.”The project is being developed by Armenia’s biggest foreign investor, the British-American company Lyd-ian.Work has been on hold for over a year after activists and locals set up pickets, blocking access to the con-struction site.

“We will fight till the end so that Amulsar never be-comes a mine,” said 18-year-old Suzi Hunanayan, whose family has taken part in the pickets.The sentiment is shared in the spa town of Jermuk, where locals fear the mine would destroy their main source of income.“No tourist will come to Jermuk if such a hazardous mine is being exploited nearby. Our businesses will be destroyed,” said Mkhitar Stepanyan, who sells medici-nal herbs.“Nobody will buy my herbs in fear they are poisoned by the discharges from the mine,” he said, looking anx-iously at sheaves of chamomile, St. John’s wort, and mint piled up at his kiosk.The planned mine is near the sources of rivers which flow into picturesque Lake Sevan, another tourist draw and the country’s main source of drinking water.Demonstrations against the mine have spread to the capital Yerevan, where thousands of people took to the streets last month chanting: “No to ecological disas-ter!”In August, protesters blockaded the country’s presi-dential palace and parliament, demanding the project be ditched.Lydian, which has already spent some $400 million to develop Amulsar’s deposits of gold ore -- which con-tain an estimated 40 tons of pure gold -- has dismissed ecologists’ fears as unsubstantiated.The company denounced an “enormous misinforma-tion around the Amulsar project” as part of a “cam-

paign by rival mining companies.”“Lydian has been fully transparent in its environmental and operating practices. Those practices meet or exceed all applicable international standards,” the company’s man-aging director, Hayk Aloyan, told AFP.But local ecologists have warned of the potential dangers.Karine Danielyan, head of the NGO Association For Sustainable Human Development, said chemi-cals used in the mining process could lead to the oxidation of water in major rivers.This would make them “unusable for irrigation and drinking.”“Water pollution could harm irrep-arably the ecosystem of the Lake Sevan and the min-eral water sources in Jermuk,” the resort which gave its name to Armenia’s most famous mineral water brand, she said.The director of Armenia’s Institute of Chemical Phys-ics, Seyran Minasyan, warned of “unmanageable eco-logical consequences” if the project is given the go-ahead.“All the mines in Armenia are being operated barbari-cally, with no respect of ecological norms,” he added.In a video statement posted when protests broke out in

Yerevan, Pashinyan insisted the project would be com-pleted and downplayed potential ecological risks.He said Armenia’s investment climate will be seriously damaged if the project -- which will boost Armenia’s GDP by $185 million annually and create hundreds of well-paid jobs -- goes under.Political analysts said Pashinyan’s backing of the pro-ject has shaken public trust in the leader, who has en-joyed widespread popularity among Armenians, long frustrated with the corrupt elites he has swept from power.

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Prime Minister, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok has re-vealed Sudan’s intention to hold an imminent Saudi-Sudanese economic conference to pro-

mote bilateral economic integration.Hamdok affirmed that as soon as he returns to Sudan from his current visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, he will work on removing the obstacles facing Saudis’ wanting to invest in his country.The Premier noted the change that has taken place in Sudan, describing it as profound and comprehensive for all aspects of life, including the creation of a fa-vorable investment environment for foreign investors.He vowed to work hard to resolve all obstacles facing Saudi investors in Sudan, stressing that his country is rich in resources.He said he looked forward to co-operating with Saudi Arabia in the fields of agriculture, industry, services, infrastructure, and energy.Hamdok asserted that Saudi investors’ success in Su-dan is a factor that would increase international inves-tors’ confidence in the country’s investment environ-ment.He also highlighted the strategic relations between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, expressing his appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Sal-man bin Abdulaziz and the Saudi government for their keenness to ensure that Saudi-Sudanese relations are at the best levels and are rising to the highest levels of economic cooperation.The invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was timely to discuss with the new government the obsta-cles facing it after the overthrew of Al Bashir’s rule, considering that Saudi Arabia delivered a lot to Sudan without waiting for any gratitude.It is high time to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in all levels.We are in need of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is in need to us, so we should look for the strengthening points and support it and find out the solution for any negative aspects.Sudan is in need of its sisterly countries because the upcoming period requires new diplomatic approaches through entering into alliances to resolve the Sudanese complicated crisis especially that Sudan is still in the list of terrorism.We know that Saudi Arabia is an important ally to the US Administration in the Middle East so it is possible for its leaders to push forward the dossier of lifting Su-dan from the terrorism list.

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While addressing a meeting with a huge crowd of Sudanese ex-patriates at the premises of the

Sudanese embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh the Sudanese Prime Minister Ab-dullah Hamdok «shocked» his audience and the Sudanese citizens everywhere when he said: «I don’t have any plan….yet about how to solve the economic problems!» The statement immediately occupied the number1 position on the social media sites. All the comments about the meeting were negative about

the performance of the Prime Minister of the December revolution. One of the questions following the «catastrophic» statement was: «What do you have then?!» Another embarrassing question was «Why have you asked us to come to meet you?!» Another more embarrass-ing question was: «Since you have no plan…why were you touring the western world from New York, Paris and back to Khartoum?!» One sarcastic citizen twit-ted: What were you telling your «hosts» in those capitals when they asked you about your plan to deal with the chronic economic crisis facing your Sudanese citizens? The Sudanese Prime Minister visited New York and talked before the general assembly of the United Nations. For sure

the members of the international gather-ing wanted to hear scientific plans about how the Sudanese PM was going to solve the economic and security problems in his country. What did Mr. Hamdok tell them? In his meetings with Ameri-can officials, if he had met any, what did he say? Does the PM know that the Americans deal only with plans and only «workable» plans? If the PM doesn’t have «any plan», what did he say to the American officials? In Paris what did he tell Emanuel Macron? Did he tell him: « I don’t have any plan…yet?!» To make matters worse for the Sudanese crowd in the Sudanese embassy in Riyadh, Mr. Hamdok said that he «didn’t blame» any one about this failure. But the last part of the statement was not «convincing»

to anyone in front of him. The man has been in office for quite a long time. The problems facing him are very urgent. They need «emergency plans». We are not talking about long term plans. We are talking about emergency plans, and the Prime Minister says that he doesn’t have those emergency plans. There must be someone to be blamed, because this is a serious setback. Still the Prime Min-ister doesn’t find someone to blame. In this case he has to blame himself. He said he was «waiting» for the freedom and change and that they didn’t provide him with those emergency plans. Still he doesn’t want to blame anyone! If he doesn’t have the «guts» to blame the freedom and change, he should have the «guts» to blame himself!

I don’t have any Plan…Yet…Says the PM!

A new British prime minister has tabled a new Brexit proposal, leading to a new set of nego-

tiations and even, potentially, a new parliamentary vote. He may or may not survive. If this sounds like deja vu after the similar thwarted efforts of his prede-cessor, it is and it isn’t.There are two things that make Brexit devilishly complex. One is what Boris Johnson referred to dismissively in his party conference speech on Wednesday as a “technical discussion” with those tiresome functionaries at the European Union. The other is politics. The techni-cal and the political are, of course, inter-twined, but there can be no Brexit deal unless it threads both needles.Theresa May’s deal with the EU, which established the now-infamous Irish backstop (a guarantee of no hard bor-der between north and south) seemed to solve the technical problem but at the expense of the politics. It kept the crossing between Northern Ireland and Ireland free from any infrastructure and the EU’s single market intact, but it tied the UK into the EU’s customs union. That was a non-starter to nearly every-one, since it made the UK a rule-taker and prevented independent trade deals, a key Brexiter demand.

Johnson’s aim is different: He wants to solve the political conundrum first by stitching together a parliamentary ma-jority, either by bringing the reluctant House of Commons into line to sup-port his own Brexit deal, or by changing Parliament into a more Brexit-friendly place via a general election.His chief strategist Dominic Cummings is fond of talking about “branching his-tories,” the different turn events in the past might have taken. Johnson has built an election strategy that fits multiple possible outcomes.We should take him at his word when he says he wants a deal. A no-deal Brexit would be hugely disruptive, however much Johnson insists the country is ready. If he can do what May failed to achieve and design a deal that wins par-liamentary approval, that might help him win an election as the man who deliv-ered on his promise to “get Brexit done.” His chances look better than May’s were on the current parliamentary arithmetic. He’s much more likely to retain the sup-port of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party and the hard-Brexit wing of his own party, as well as some Labour MPs from leave-voting ares.But he’s also a realist; he knows his pro-posed plan breaks the EU’s red lines and could easily be rejected by Brussels. To summarize, the new UK offer is to keep Northern Ireland in the EU’s regu-latory zone so that food, agriculture and other products could cross the Irish bor-der freely and not be subject to checks. That preserves some 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of yearly border trade and keeps the EU’s single market intact.

But, after a transition period, Northern Ireland would leave the EU’s customs union along with the rest of the UK, al-lowing Britain to negotiate its own trade deals. That creates the need for customs checks on the Irish border with the north, which Johnson proposes will take place not close to the border itself but “on a decentralized basis” using electronic paperwork, with a few physical checks along the supply chain.This approach imposes costs on busi-nesses, inevitably, but it also creates technical challenges, significant data-transfer requirements and the potential for abuse. It requires high levels of pub-lic confidence, something that’s fragile at best in Northern Ireland. There are other sticking points in the Johnson proposal. The Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont would have to consent to these arrangements before they kicked in next year, and then repeat its approval every four years, something the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker suggests is prob-lematic (a fair point given that Stormont is suspended currently). The UK doesn’t say what happens if Northern Ireland decides it doesn’t want regulatory con-vergence with the EU.It would have been surprising if the EU, eager to avoid blame for the collapse of negotiations, rejected Johnson outright. But early indications are that his pro-posals just won’t cut it. While the prime minister has vowed not to seek an exten-sion of the Oct. 31 departure day (saying it would lead to the “extinction” of the Tory Party), a Scottish court will hear a case on Friday about whether he can

be compelled to do so by Parliament. It may well end up back in the UK Su-preme Court.That no longer bothers the Tories as much as it did. Whether or not his Brexit plan flies or crashes, the important thing for Johnson is that he has constructed a compelling story to tell the electorate. A vote for him is a vote to get the Brexit albatross off the country’s neck and then move on to strengthening the National Health Service, getting tougher on crime and building lots of infrastructure. It’s a pretty little fantasy given the years of hard negotiations that lie ahead even after a no-deal exit, but the public are weary of the stalemate.If the negotiations with Brussels break down or can’t get over the line in time, Johnson is prepared. He will blame the EU for a “failure of statecraft” and his current parliament for blocking “the will of the people” by not delivering on the result of the 2016 referendum. Most people I spoke to at the party conference in Manchester seemed to think Johnson will be forced to accept an extension; but that voters wouldn’t blame him for that.Johnson, in other words, is prepared for different outcomes. In his speech on Wednesday, he gave party members a show of bravura, a sense of righteous-ness and plenty of laughs. His Brexit plan may be convoluted and unwork-able, but from the party perspective he’s perhaps done something more impor-tant: devised an election strategy that looks winnable in most scenarios. Vic-tory or defeat in Brussels? That isn’t the battle that matters to him now.

Boris Johnson Won›t Care If He Loses His Fight with Europe

I don›t know which metaphor to use to describe the current crisis in our politics because so many come to mind. Are we

at a tipping point? The edge of a cliff? Or sit-ting on a volcano waiting for it to explode? You can choose one or all, because we are in a place we›ve never been before and it›s dangerous. The problem didn›t start with the election of Donald Trump. Nor did it begin with the Democrats launching an impeachment inquiry against Trump. This is a develop-ing crisis that has been growing like a can-cer within our polity for at least the past 25 years. Its main symptoms are a lack of ci-vility in our political discourse, a «take no prisoners» mindset, and a denial of the very legitimacy of «the other side.» Trump didn›t create this crisis; he was the result of it. When Newt Gingrich took the helm of Con-gress in 1995, unlike previous Republican leaders, he embarked on a campaign not only to obstruct the efforts of then-President Clin-ton, but to destroy him. Congress launched a series of investigations accusing Clinton of everything from corruption to obstruction of justice – with hints of even more nefarious plots to assassinate those who might pose a problem to his presidency. They finally settled on Clinton›s lying about an embarrassing sexual dalliance as the grounds for impeachment. What was most notable about this entire sordid affair was the total contempt demonstrated by this new breed of Republicans for Clinton. It wasn›t political. It was personal. They weren›t out to defeat his proposed legislation. They didn’t see him as a legitimate president and sought to destroy him. Later, during the months› long standoff that accompanied the 2000 election, culminating in the Supreme Court decision that George Bush should was the winner, my brother John Zogby conducted poll in which he asked Democratic and Republican voters whether or not, should the other side win, would they feel that new president be con-

sidered a «legitimate president.» The results were disturbing; despite the fact that Al Gore had won the popular vote and the outcome was still being decided, a significant major-ity of Republicans said they would not ac-cept Gore as a legitimate president. A major-ity of Democrats, on the other hand, said that should Bush be declared the winner, they would respect the outcome. Bush, unlike Clinton, did not face retribu-tion from the Democratic-controlled Sen-ate. They passed his tax cuts, compromised on a series of domestic initiatives, and ral-lied behind him after 9/11, giving him the authorization to make war and unprecedent-ed powers of intrusive domestic surveil-lance. It wasn›t Democrats who sunk Bush›s presidency, it was his failed war in Iraq, his disastrous mishandling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 economic collapse. Within weeks of Barack Obama’s inaugura-tion, Republicans stepped up efforts to ob-struct and delegitimize his presidency. The GOP›s minority leadership in the House and Senate boldly declared that their intention was not to work with him but «to bring him down» by funding outside and organizing outside groups, like the Tea Party and the «birther movement.» Never before had lead-ers in one major party been engaged in such a campaign to question whether the president was even a legal US citizen. And their efforts took a toll. In polling conducted back then, well over 60% of Republicans stated that they believed the Obama was not born in the US - and therefore was not a legitimate president (the same number also said they believed that Obama was secretly a Muslim, therefore lying about being a Christian). While Obama›s presidency was above re-proach in that he was never charged with any wrongdoing, his first Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was hounded by Repub-lican Congressional committees who ac-cusing her of concealing and deleting her private email account hide it from investi-gators. She was subjected to hours of inter-rogation by Congressmen who charged that she failed to protect the US Ambassador to Libya, contributing to his death. While one might say that the email inquiry was a le-gitimate concern – despite the fact that sev-

eral of Clinton’s predecessors also had such personal accounts – the contempt Congress demonstrated in charging her with contrib-uting to the death of the Ambassador was clearly an effort to harass, humiliate, and degrade her service.

This lack of respect and civility brought us to the 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump.

During the primary, Trump demeaned his opponents, railed against the media, in-sulted the courts, preyed on xenophobic fears, and incited his supporters to use vio-lence against protesters. His behavior was so outrageous that pundits declared him to be «unpresidential» and unelectable. They failed to recognize that the political well had been so poisoned that what they found unacceptable was well received by many Republican voters were fed a steady diet of incivility and contempt for «the other» over two decades. The beast spawned by the GOP in the 1990s had come of age and was now devouring them. Those who thought that Trump would act presidential upon entering the Oval Of-fice soon found they were in error. He had honed his skills as an entertainer along the lines of an insulting Don Rickles or a deri-sive Rodney Dangerfield. It served him well on the campaign trail, and he was, therefore, not inclined to change direction. Instead, he became Trump-the-performer on steroids. It has been a difficult two and a half years with this president. He delivered the tax cuts, deregulation, and conservative judges the conservative and religious wings craved. And he kept his supporters agitated and en-tertained. The danger is that, on the fringes of his base, he energized white supremacy movements by inflaming passions of racism and xenophobia. Federal law enforcement now feels that the greatest threat to national security is not from foreign-inspired extrem-ist movements, but domestic extremists. At the same time, President Trump has dem-onstrated contempt for Congress and the rule of law, leading some Democrats to call for his impeachment. His firing of officials who were investigating members of his ad-ministration, his refusal to cooperate with

legitimate requests from Congress into his behavior in office, the lack of transparency surrounding his businesses’ profits made during his time in office, and violations of congressionally approved budget authoriza-tions to fund his pet projects, have all been subjects of concern. In each instance, he has responded with in-sults, derision, and contempt, questioning the very legitimacy of those who oppose him – Congress, the FBI, the media, or the courts. And he has used Twitter and rallies to make his case and inflame his base. At times, it appeared that President Trump was even goading Democrats into taking steps to im-peach him. While the base of the Democratic Party was clamoring for impeachment, the leader-ship hesitated, fearing that it was a trap that Trump wanted them to fall into in order to mobilize his supporters. With the release of a CIA whistleblower’s report claiming that the president sought to suborn Ukraine’s government into investigating the leading Democratic presidential candidate, thereby helping to advance his election prospects, and evidence that he had withheld aid to Ukraine to encourage their support for his request – the tide turned and the Democratic leadership had no choice but to begin im-peachment proceedings. All of this has only further inflamed Trump as his intense Twit-ter rants and his shocking performance in the presence of the President of Finland made all too clear. When earlier this week, Trump tweeted a comment by a right-wing preacher saying that should he be impeached, it would pro-voke a civil war – it was a prediction/threat I believe should be taken seriously. President Trump’s behavior has mimicked that of au-thoritarian leaders. He has demonstrated that he will strike back with fury at opponents. And he has so agitated his base, that I believe there is a real concern for violence. I am even concerned that should he lose the election in 2020, neither he nor many of his most fer-vent followers will accept the outcome. Back to where I began. I’m don’t know which metaphor is most appropriate to de-scribe the very real crisis facing our democ-racy, but what I do know is that it is, to be sure, a crisis.

Our Democracy in Crisis?

Thursday, October 10, 2019

7 Thursday, October 10, 2019OPINION

Brigadier - Dr : Mohammed Saeed Ahmed

Thanks to Allah

Email: muram36666@gmail.com

THURSDAY

Every nation when they get fed up of their leaders, they all revolt against them, us-ing any tools to reach their goals, sacri-fices done by them are like dowry which is given to the bride by the groom, the similarity are not fare, on contrary is very near, so now, sacrifices which are given by youth’s to fulfill this new era is re-spectable by all people all over the world, but internally is another, when our peo-ple revolt in 1964 against government, the folks all had removed ,driven by the sudden turn in the politics, so they pre-fer to be ruled by militaries, by the time circumstances changed in 1969 another regime came to free people from turbu-lences happened at that time, time went in 1989 the third military regime, it came illegally, stayed for thirty years, within it unexpected events had occurred, nobody especially loyalists believe that, those who came holding the Islamic banner are deceivers, harnessing opportunities for themselves and relatives.Within this times ,came a very democratic regime, it was in 1985,when people up-raising against the MAY revolution, re-gime demanding combating corruption, favors, so they gained the round, world respect, rescued the world from its devils, people now are in dire need to represent the move in themselves, every one of us must be a revolution walking, try to set anything feel isn’t okay, not to wait for the local government to come to solve your problem, you had to move first to make things good, when everybody feel the revolutionary spirit in himself, this means the change has come really to every aspect of our life, let us enjoy the climate through perfect work, helping the government by being an eye over any-thing that may harm or derail the march of

the correction. Roles of building trust between people must begin now, clean yourself from ani-mus’s, be the ruler of your own, bear in mind if you don’t succeed other’s may reap the fruit of this change, ball now is on the revo-lution square, understanding the rules of conducting people is the

only way out of our difficulties, learning that if there is no program ready for the stage waiting is no longer good to peo-ple had been waiting for long times to be freed by this Nobel revolution.Overview on the advantage of this social move :is the absolute agreement to it to happen, gathering round from all folks declare the total desire of all to change, then the general duty to all of us is work-ing, people must do their best to free the country from the foreign debt’s, delisting our beloved country from the black list ofsponsoring terrorism, re-place displace people, gather all illegal weapons, solve armed factions matters, if all come true, then our country will be a destination for migrants looking for work, wishing of happy live ,a land where dreams will come true by strong volition, why not?Quick collapse of the defunct regime is unbelievable, so some observers are afraid of the reaction of the sleeping cells, thank to ALLAH, nothing harm-ful has happened all people are safe, but hasten out work is a must, people want to see tangible results, want to feel nothing may stop them from navigating towards their targets, legislations are expected to protect the new baby, having independ-ent judge, beside attorney general is the mainstay for the revolution to continue and fulfill it’s march tranquilly, disman-tling the mechanism of the previous re-gime is a must, otherwise all impedes made by them may stumble the progress.OH YOUYH’S, it high time to do your best stand up snobbery to secure the free revolution, work day and night is the only way out to save the gains of the precious sacrifices you have given to this moment, martyrs are the ones who

deserve to be crowned as champions of the great triumph, they paved the way to free people, gave us their place to live in, their chance to exploit, their soul to live with ,they deserve more and more, the thing we can do is :to take care of their responsibilities(wife’s, parents, chil-dren’s,…)rewarding them to continue the march sincerely, to the bright future they want it to be seeable.Reconciliation with the society is the coming role which should be done by the revolutionist’s, doing this through con-trolling the flow of daily commodities, fuel, medicine, transport, combat smug-gling, stopping existence of aliens within civilian areas, all these things are to be car-ried out urgently, to send message to the SU-DANESE people that their youth are alert to take care of the whole country. We know as officials common things can’t be done with-out law support, specifically fighting corrup-tion, needs evidences, without them accusa-tion are nonsense, even criminals of today are well cultured by the advocates, so arresting

them without proofs is great mistake, finally will harm you, as reporter, or complainer, to this ends layers must scan every case well be-fore tabling it in front of general prosecution, world of today never know law alliteration, beside this the a petition must be correct from A to Z,I mean every word written on it must be wrote by experience clerk knows what to write, because any word has indication, and must bear proof in it ,otherwise the accused person may get benefit from any gap in it and gain the case, so reporting is not an easy thing to be done by every person.Now people are shouting everywhere towards authorities to judge criminals as quickly as possible ignoring that law is not like cheer-ing at stadiums or clapping in celebrations, is a differ thing where all are equal before it, this why all are agreed to separate between au-thorities, and judge council must have the up-per hand in appointing the JUDGE president, beside the attorney general have the authority of the designation of the head of the cham-ber, this an essential think must be tangible, through it the world see the independence of

the SUDANESE JUDGICIARY, here in this point we attract the world attention in respect-ing the world of nation who create the revolu-tion.Building is sever when it comes to spirit’s, to devastate a house is easier than building it, just one push by crane or bulldozer then the whole house collapse, on contrary you need to exert efforts, money, materials, long time may extend to month’s, then contract with an engi-neer, or entrepreneur to build a house, so huge differences are seen when it comes to primary preparation to construct it, now people are in dire need to collect their effort’s to unite their ideas, to forget bitterness which had happened in the past for the sake of accelerating building the home, no place among us to pessimistic, all entrusted works must shouldered and done according to the law.Something must be mentioned here, the government is not everything , they haven’t got MUSE’S stick to turn our dream’s to reality ,oh people wake up face the reality work is the main gate to success.

Revolutionists’ Roles

AL-FANAR MEDIA

Zainab al-Hawari, a third-year phar-macy student at Al-Neelain Univer-sity, a public institution in Khartoum, has not been able to attend classes since last year due to protests that swept the country and a government decision to shut down public uni-versities. Although a new academic year was announced this month, al-Hawari has not yet gone back to her university because of fears about her safety.“The situation at public universi-ties is very fragile and difficult,” she said.Sudan suspended studies at its 36 public universities 10 months ago in the aftermath of popular protests that erupted in mid-December and led to the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir four months later. (See a related article, “Sudan Shutters All Its Universities.”)In September, the Ministry of Higher Education announced the reopening of public universities at the discre-tion of the university presidents. But study at Khartoum’s main universi-ties has not yet resumed for several reasons.One of the main issues is restoring campus security, to alleviate stu-dents’ and professors’ fears.Al-Hawari said some students loyal to the military and the former rul-ing party are stockpiling weapons on campuses, “and the university guards support them.”She also pointed to recent violence at Omdurman Islamic University, where some students were able to enter the campus with bladed weap-ons and clashed with other students, injuring some of them.“I don’t think we can go back to work before all our demands are met. This is essential.”Nashwa Issa An assistant professor at Al-Neelain UniversityBesides the lack of security, students complain of difficult living condi-tions, including the difficulty of getting to campuses, that hinder the continuation of their studies, in ad-dition to the refusal of hundreds of professors to return to teaching until

authorities deal with their demands.Some campuses are also coping with physical damage. The University of Khartoum, the country’s largest and oldest public university, suffered fi-nancial losses estimated at $135 mil-lion due to the looting and vandalism during a violent crackdown on pro-testers in June.Many private universities, however, managed to remain open with few breaks that did not affect students’ education. Professors’ DemandsThe public university professors who are refusing to return to work have drawn up a list of issues they want Sudan’s new government to address. Among other things, they demand:* • The dismissal of university direc-tors and their deputies appointed by al-Bashir’s regime.* • The return of professors and stu-dents who were dismissed for politi-cal reasons.

* • Monitoring of all violations of professors’ and students’ rights, and bringing the perpetrators to justice.* • Dissolving Jihadist units on campuses, evacuating mosques and removing stores of weapons of all kinds.* • Removing police units from cam-puses and returning to the university guards.A demonstration at Omdurman Is-lamic University after clashes be-tween students and security forces (Photo: Students Union). Last week, in a surprise response from the government, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok fired 35 public uni-versities’ leaders and other top execu-tives, and issued a decision to appoint new directors.Some professors, however, said they do not expect to return to teaching “until all the demands of the revolu-tion are met.”“I don’t think we can go back to work

before all our demands are met,” said Nashwa Issa, an assistant professor at Al-Neelain University. “This is es-sential.”Professors want to be sure that “the old situation is over,” said Issa. “A minimum change is necessary.”Mohammed Abdul Majeed al-Musta-fa, a professor of philosophy at the University of Khartoum and a mem-ber of the Sudanese Professionals As-sociation, agreed. “If there is no fun-damental change in the structure and management of universities, the old system will return as it was,” he said.A Lost Academic YearStudents also do not believe that uni-versities will be reopened anytime soon, especially amid worsening eco-nomic conditions.“If transportation is not provided to university students, the resumption of study is not possible,” said al-Hawari. “The lack of transportation and gaso-line was one of the main reasons for the students’ recent demonstrations.”The disruption to the academic cal-endar presents other problems. It has not yet been announced how students will make up the classes they missed last year, whether they will take spe-cial exams to upgrade them or will be asked to repeat the entire academic year.“We’ve lost a whole academic year and we need to figure out how to compensate for this,” said Sarah Ali, a sophomore studying microbiology at the University of Khartoum.Juwayriyya Yacoub Mohammed, a first-year engineering student at the University of Khartoum, seems apprehensive about her academic future, especially since she is still at the beginning. “I don’t like demonstrations or participating in them,” she said. “The revolution wasted a year of my life. I don’t know how to make up for the last year. We are studying in a practi-cal college and the years cannot be combined.”Al-Mustafa, the philosophy pro-fessor at the University of Khar-toum, believes the resumption of the study is not far off, but says “there are a lot of things to be ad-dressed first.”

Afridi - Angell Sudan

On 11 April 2019, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan stepped down, ending almost three decades in power. A Transitional Military Council (TMC) was formed to pave the way for civilian rule. TMC and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) opposition coalition have reached a fi-nal agreement on the rule of the transitional period of 39 months. The agreement provides for the formation of a sovereign council, cabinet and legislative council. After the transitional period, Sudan is to become a democracy.US SanctionsIn January 2017, the Obama administration took steps to lift certain US sanctions, unfreeze assets and remove financial sanctions against Sudan. A full lifting of US sanctions is expected in the short term given the recent occurrences in Sudan. Sudan has significant untapped opportunities which include its strategic location, significant mineral resources, a population of more than 40 million, a favourable climate and some of the most fertile land in the region. Indeed, Su-dan has the potential to be one of the best economic success stories of our time.

OpportunitiesSudan offers multiple investment opportunities:

- Natural Resources/Mining: Sudan has always been known for its abundant natural resources, especially gold, oil, gas, chrome, manganese, zinc, aluminum, cobalt, and nickel. Gold production in Sudan reached 22.3 tons in 2016, rank-ing as one of the top producers in Africa.- Agriculture: With the majestic Nile river running through it, Sudan has more than 150 million hectares of arable land. The climate is suitable for all types of crops, and water irri-gation is readily available and/or natural. Sudan specialises in cereal production (sorghum, millet, wheat, corn and rice), crops (cotton, sugar, peanuts, sesame, and gum Arabic), and tropical fruit and vegetables.- Livestock: Sudan is highly regarded in both the Middle East and Africa with regards to its livestock and animal re-sources. Sudan has national animal resources, which include cattle, camels, sheep, goats, poultry, horses, and an annual stock of more than 110,000 tons of fish.- Transport: As Africa’s third-largest country and bordering seven countries, Sudan offers great opportunities for invest-ment in the transport sector. The weakness in the improve-ment of the transport network remains one of the greatest constraints to the economy.- Industry: Investment opportunities in the industry sector in Sudan include the following sub-sectors: agro-processing, food, spinning and textiles, leather, chemicals, pharmaceu-ticals, oil and soap, engineering, building materials and re-fractories, and printing and packing.Given its recent move towards democracy, Sudan is an emerging market offering access to one of the few interna-tionally untouched markets.

Sudan - New Era Sudan’s Academic Year Begins—But Only for a Few Universities

8 SCIENCE Thursday, October 10, 2019

Francesca Specter

A mum of two fell into a three day long coma after taking just one sip of Diet Coke.Elizabeth Perkins, 30, suffers from a severe allergy to artificial sweeteners aspartame and asphetame, which are found in diet soft drinks as well as a number of foods.The mother, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, ordered a regular Coca Cola drink at her local pub, but was given a diet version instead.ëIíd asked for a full fat coke, and stressed that it had to be full fat as usual to the bartender. But once I took my first sip and straight away, I knew it tasted strange, and I could feel the usual sickness start, like I was going to be sick.îShe claims ìthe room went darkî and she was rushed to hospi-tal, where she fell into a coma for three days.Perkins, whose two sons both share her allergy, says she has struggled since the sugar tax came into place ñ which has seen more low-sugar or sugar-free drinks being produced with arti-ficial sweeteners.She says: ìI donít think people realise what a big difference something like that makes, and since the sugar tax, fewer and fewer places are serving the full fat drinks.ìSome people automatically give you the low-sugar or sugar free versions but for me, that mistake could be fatal.îHer lunch boxes for son Matthew, six, and Jacob, two, have to be entirely homemade ñ because ìalmost everything contains the deadly ingredientsî.She adds: ëIt feels like weíre penalised, for needing the sug-ared versions of things when really, itís a necessity ñ we need it to survive.îWhatís more, her sons have both been in situations where they require medication ñ but struggle to find a version which isnít coated with the sweeteners they are allergic to.“Jacob was diagnosed with a benign tumour and needs medi-cation, and a few months Matthew suffered a water infection,î says Perkins.“They were prescribed medication but I was shocked - most places don’t supply the sugared versions as it’s no longer cost effective for the manufacturers.“I had to drive around for hours to get Matthew the medication he needed, whilst he was shaking violently and had a tempera-ture of 41C. It breaks my heart, especially for the boys.îAllergic-type reaction to aspartame may include ìsevere ede-ma [swelling] of the lips, tongue, and throat; urticaria; other skin eruptions; extensive itching; the aggravation of respira-tory allergies; and even swelling of the salivary glands,î ac-cording to a†review published in the JAMA Internal Medi-cine. It is unknown what percentage of people in the UK have this allergy.Aspartame has been approved as a†safe food ingredient for the general public by regulators in the UK, EU and US, ac-cording to an NHS report.

Mum-of-two Falls into Three-day Coma after Drinking Diet Coke due to Severe Allergy

One Carlo Dia

DUBAI: The regionís top tier oil and gas com-panies are at risk of cyberattack at a rate of up to one every second, an industry expert said.The drone attacks on the Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia on Sept. 14 are well document-ed, but Marcus Josefsson, director for Middle East, Africa and Russia at Nozomi Networks, said cyber criminals were always lurking in the background.Nation-states, terror groups and organized crime circles can shutdown pumping stations with something as basic as a laptop computer with an Internet connection.ìThere is one threat every second ó or every couple of seconds ó but the real question is how many of them are successful,î he said.Josefssonís employer, Nozomi Networks, is a cybersecurity company that works on ensuring industrial control systems are secure.ìWeíve seen them many times in this region be-fore. Thereís a specific malware that gets into these systems, and then they can target the cen-trifuge or they can target the pumps, the valves, and just break things down completely,î he told Arab News on the sidelines of GITEX Technol-ogy Week.In 2012, 30,000 computers were hacked in Ar-amco facilities, but oil production was not af-fected.Josefsson said often the attacks come from ìpeo-ple who are in it for the money.îìOne thinks now that organized crime has al-most the same turnover as the cybersecurity in-dustry, if not bigger.îBut countries ìdefinitely play a big part to it,î Josefsson said. ìImagine you are a nation-state ó you have a number of friends and enemies, no matter what. You have spies and intelligence gathering so when something goes wrong, you want to be able to deploy and do something quickly. Thatís exactly what goes on in oil and gas companies, airports ó all these critical na-tional infrastructures,î he said.

Josefsson said attackers are always lurking in these important systems, ìscanning, finding out informationî for when an attack is called for.ìIf there were a red alert at some point, if it esca-lated between two countries, they would want to be able to play that card ó to take out an oil rig, to take out a pipeline, most importantly to take out electricity or water,î he added.Although the amount of ìinternal and external threats towards these oil and gas companies is staggering,î Josefsson said that the success rate is very low, and that the region is ìcatching up very quicklyî in improving its cyber capabili-ties.He said the region has worked over the years to improve the security of information technology (IT) ñ this involves network firewalls and anti-viruses. However, thereís still a need ìto do a lot moreî in securing operational technology (OT), a collective term that refers to computer-run ma-chines including oil pipelines, power grids, and railway systems.He added the problem with existing OT is that it was not built with cybersecurity in mind.ìThese systems were built 20 years ago ó for

uptime purposes, safety of person-nel, pumping as much oil as pos-sible, thatís how it was built. The same holds for things like the electrical grid system ó cyber-security wasnít even there,î Jo-sefsson said.He noted how Saudi Arabia is ìgetting ready fastî in ensuring it has the sufficient security measures to respond to such

threats.ìThey have a good plan in place. The Kingdom is mobilizing quickly. They are taking all the right steps, and I donít see any other country moving as fast as Saudi Arabia at the moment. Saudi Arabia takes it seriously,î he said.He emphasized how ìsecuring critical national infrastructure is arguably more important here than it is in Sweden or in the UK. Take Aram-co for instance, itís such a massive part of the economy.îIn 2018 alone, Nozomi Networks, which has an office in Dammam and has worked with big oil and gas, utilities, and mining companies, re-corded a customer growth of 500 percent in the region, according to Jossefson, who is predict-ing a whopping 1000 percent increase this year, in light of the recent attacks.ìThey are a hundred percent aware,î he said. ìEspecially after the things that happened very recently, it became even more topical.îAlthough “99 percent (of the threats) are very basic,” Josefsson said: ìItís the one percent that organizations need to look out for.îìAttackers only need to be lucky once.î

Energy Companies at Constant Risk of Cyberattack

SPA

RIYADH: In accordance with the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Libyan conjoined twins will arrive in Riyadh on Mon-day. Ahmed and Mohammed will be transferred to King Abdullah Specialist Childrenís Hospital, where medical teams will study their condition and look into the possibility of separating them.…The twins were born under difficult conditions in Tripoli on June 24, 2019. They are attached at the low-er abdomen and pelvic areas, and share the lower di-gestive, urinary and reproductive systems and pelvis,î said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor of

the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, and head of the medical team.…Each of them has a lower limb in addition to a third deformed limb in between. They were born without an anus, which obliged doctors in Libya to provide them with a temporary one through surgery.îThe case of Ahmed and Mohammed is being studied as part of the Saudi National Siamese Twins Separa-tion Program.In case surgery is approved, they will become the 48th set of twins to undergo the procedure in one of the largest separation programs in the world.…This humanitarian initiative comes as recognition of the difficulties sisterly Libya is facing. It reflects the Kingdomís leading humanitarian role in dozens of affected and needy countries,î Al-Rabeeah said.

Libyan Conjoined Twins will Come to Riyadh for Treatment

Supermassive Black Hole at Centre of Milky Way Exploded as Humans’ Ancestors Walked on Earth, Scientists FindThe Independent

An artist’s impression of the massive bursts of ioniz-ing radiation exploding from the center of the Milky Way and impacting the Magellanic Stream: James Jo-sephides/ASTRO 3D / SWNSThe supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way triggered a “cataclysmic” explosion recently enough to occur as our earliest ancestors walked the Earth, scientists believe.While astronomers have suspected such an event took place for years, new research dates the blast to just 3.5 million years ago – 63 million years after an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.Two cone-shaped nuclear flares sliced through the Milky Way in opposite directions for at least 200,000 light years, bursting out into deep space and impacting the trail of gas partially circling the galaxy known as the Magellanic Stream.Scientists allege such a powerful blast could only have been caused by nuclear activity associated with Sagitta-rius A, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, which is 4.2 million times larger than the sun.“These results dramatically change our understanding of the Milky Way,” said the study’s co-author Dr Mag-da Guglielmo, of the University of Sydney. “We always thought about our galaxy as an inactive galaxy, with a not so bright centre.“These new results instead open the possibility of a complete reinterpretation of its evolution and nature. The flare event ... was so powerful it had consequences on the surrounding of our galaxy. We are the witness to the awakening of the sleeping beauty.”Sagittarius A tends to be a relatively stable “sleeping dragon”, researchers said.

But the study suggests the black hole woke up dramati-cally as our ancient ancestors, the ape-like Australo-pithecines, were already afoot in Africa, releasing a burst known as a Seyfert flare.Study leader Professor Joss Bland-Hawthorn, of the University of Sydney, said: “The flare must have been a bit like a lighthouse beam.“Imagine darkness, and then someone switches on a lighthouse beacon for a brief period of time.”His team at Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) described it as a “titanic, expanding beam of energy”.Professor Lisa Kewley, director of ASTRO 3D, said: “This is a dramatic event that happened a few million years ago in the Milky Way’s history.“A massive blast of energy and radiation came right out of the galactic centre and into the surrounding material.“This shows that the centre of the Milky Way is a much more dynamic place than we had previously thought. It is lucky we’re not residing there.”In 1996, astronomers became aware of a strange glow radiating from the Magellanic Stream. Scientists began to hunt for a cause and Sagittarius A became the prime suspect.The team first described the evidence of this explo-sion in 2013, when they identified the black hole as the cause.Their latest work, published in the Astrophysical Jour-nal, builds upon and reinforces their previous findings.Based on a recent analysis of the data gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope, the researchers calculated the massive explosion took place 3.5 million years ago and lasted around 300,000 years.The question of how black holes evolve, influence and interact with galaxies “is an outstanding problem in as-trophysics”, the researchers added.

‘Zombie Deer’ may be Spreading Deadly Disease to HumansBut Officials Say thereís no way of Knowing YetChris Riotta

Scientists have warned that “zombie deer” are spreading across America and there is nothing that can be done to stop them.Officials monitoring chronic wasting disease, a deadly and severely contagious neurological disorder, in nationwide deer populations, said the illness has now spread to at least 26 states.Known to cause emaciation, loss of bodily func-tions and a lack of fear of humans among deer, elk and moose, it has has been found in deer populations in the US and several Canadian provinces.But the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said chronic wasting disease could pose a threat to humans.ìWe could be having human transmission occur-ring today and we wouldnít even know it,î Dr

Michael Osterholm told The Independent.The director of the CDC centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, added: ìThe key issue here is that unlike the mad cow disease, here we see [chronic wasting disease] in the muscle as well, so itís actually much more present in the meat that youíre eating. Cooking doesnít do anything to destroy it.”Dr Osterholm said that it took nearly 10 years to detect human transmissions of the so-called mad cow disease, otherwise known as the vari-ant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.He also noted that illness does not actually turn deer into ìzombies,î and the term ìzombie deerî is an inaccurate, non-scientific misnomer to de-scribe the confounding disease.Dr Osterholm said federal leadership would be crucial in order to curb the nationwide spread of

the illness and officials have warned there is a lack of state resources when it comes to testing animal populations for chronic wasting disease.Peregrine Wolff, a veterinarian with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, reportedly warned local politicians there was no stopping chronic wast-ing disease from inflicting damage to the stateís deer populations.ìItís not a matter of if, itís a matter of when,î she said during a public testimony over proposals to ban the import of certain animal body parts into the state, according to the Las Vegas Sun. ìWe know that we canít wrap Nevada in a bubble.îThere have been no known human transmis-sions of the disease at this point, according to the CDC.But officials said that the public can take steps to avoid coming in contact with and consuming contaminated meat.

‘Like a Lighthouse Beam’:

WORLD NEWS9 Thursday, October 10 , 2019

Arab News

BAGHDAD: Iraq was spiral-ling into chaos on Sunday as eight more people were killed and 25 injured on a sixth day of protests against corruption, unemployment and failed pub-lic services.The latest violence raised the total number of deaths to 104 people and more than 6,000 wounded in less than a week of unrest, Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan said on Sunday on state TV.Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced a series of reforms after an ìextraordi-naryî overnight Cabinet ses-sion, but politicians and others told Arab News they would not be enough to end the protests.Abdul Mahdiís 17-point plan was the result of an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday night and comes after days of offering only vague reform promises.It includes increased subsi-dized housing for the poor, stipends for the unemployed as well as training programs and small loans initiatives for un-employed youth.ìAbdul Mahdi is floundering,î a prominent Shiite politician said. ìThe problem is clear and the solutions are obvious, but he is too weak to make a bold decision and act.ìWhat he has to do is abandon the net of corrupt people sur-rounding him who actually

govern, but he wonít do that and they will not let him.îAbdul Mahdiís reform plan included granting of plots of land to low-income families, building 100,000 new homes in poor areas, a monthly grant to the unemployed and the disabled, small trading stalls to provide job opportunities, and new training courses for graduates.Analysts said it would not be enough to assuage protesters who accuse the prime minister of turning a blind eye to exces-sive force by Iranian-backed armed factions. ìLive bullets were the first choice of these forces, without hesitation,î an Iraqi human-rights activist told Arab News.

Abdul Mahdiís backers would view the fall of his government as a victory for the US and its allies, observers said. ìThe pressure on Abdul Mah-di from his allies to prevent his resignation or retreat is enormous,î analyst Rahman Al-Jobouri told Arab News.ìWhat is clear is that the pro-tests will not end, but what is clearer is that Abdul Mahdi will not resign.îLatest deathsThe latest deaths on Sunday came in new clashes between protesters and police in the eastern Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, where security forc-es used live rounds and tear gas.Maan said 18 people died over-

night on Saturday, and masked gunmen dressed in black stormed TV channel offices in Baghdad, including Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, where they attacked staff and destroyed equipment.He said eight members of the security forces were among those killed and 51 public buildings and eight political party headquarters had been torched by protesters.At least 18 people were killed in clashes between anti-gov-ernment protesters and police in Baghdad on Saturday night, according to police and medi-cal sources.Protests, the scale of which has taken authorities by surprise, have come as the cabinet has

tried to appease public anger over corruption and unemploy-ment with a new reform plan.Two years after the defeat of Daesh, security is better than it has been in years, but corrup-tion is rampant, wrecked infra-structure has not been rebuilt and jobs remain scarce.The families of those killed during demonstrations this week will also get payouts and care usually granted to members of the security forces killed during war.ìAmid all of this, I swear to God that my only concern is for the casualties,î Prime Min-ister Adel Abdul Mahdi said during the cabinet meeting, ac-cording to state TV.The streets of the capital were quiet so far on Sunday. Protests have tended to gather steam later in the day.The clashes shattered a day of relative calm on Saturday after authorities lifted a curfew and traffic moved normally in the center of Baghdad. Hundreds of security personnel were de-ployed in the streets.The demonstrations began in Baghdad on Tuesday but have spread quickly spread to other cities mainly in the south.In the city of Nasiriya, where at least 18 people were killed during the week, police fired live rounds at demonstrators on Saturday. Twenty-four people were wounded in the clashes overnight, including seven po-licemen, according to security, hospital and morgue sources.

AFPOSLO: Bookmakers seem confident that Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is a shoo-in for the No-bel Peace Prize to be announced this week, but some experts are more cautious.The 16-year-old has already received Amnesty Inter-nationalís top honor and the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes dubbed the ìalternative Nobel,î and online betting sites like Ladbrokes now put her as favorite to win what is perhaps the worldís most prestigious prize.In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS in August, Thunberg stressed that while the award would be ìa recognition for this movement,î she and her supporters werenít ìdoing this to get awards and prizes.îIn August last year, she began sitting alone in front of Swedenís parliament on Fridays with a sign reading ìSchool Strike for the Climate.îIn a little more than a year, she has galvanized mil-lions of young people around the world to take part

in demonstrations to raise awareness for action on cli-mate change.She made global headlines in late September when she lambasted world leaders at the UN climate summit in New York.ìHow dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,î she told them, holding back tears.But is her impassioned wake-up call enough to earn her the Nobel Peace Prize?ìExtremely unlikely,î Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (Prio), told AFP, cit-ing two reasons for his skepticism.He argued that while some say climate change might aggravate conflicts in his view there is still no consen-sus on whether it is actually the cause of armed con-flict. He also said her tender age could make the prize more of a burden than a reward.ìThe only way I could see that happen is that she would be part of a shared prize like Malala,î Urdal said, refer-

ring to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who shared the 2014 prize ó at age 17 ó with Indian childrenís rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.Norwegian historian Asle Sveen echoed that view.ìOf course she is now an international star, in conflict with Donald Trump, and she put the searchlight on cli-mate change better than anyone else,î he said.ìWhatís against her is that she is only 16 years old,î he continued, adding that he would be ìvery surprisedî if she got the award.But Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm Internation-al Peace Research Institute (Sipri), believes Thunberg should be considered a ìserious candidateî and that cli-mate change is linked to conflict.ìFirst of all, I think that what she has done over the past year is extraordinary,î Smith told AFP.ìI think that climate change is an issue which is strong-ly related to security and peace.îExperts think a more likely candidate would be Ethio-pian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who made peace

with bitter foe Eritrea. ìAbiy Ahmed would be a good candidate, as his tenure has had peace-inducing effects in the country and on the region,î said Peter Wallens-teen, professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Swe-denís Uppsala University.Predicting the winner is always a challenge since the Norwegian Nobel Committee never reveals the names of the nominees. All that is known is that a total of 301 individuals and organizations have been nominated this year.Experts also suggest that the five-person committee could this year decide to focus on freedom of expres-sion and information, at a time when such freedoms are under pressure in both democracies and authoritarian regimes.ìIn the age of fake news and information overload... and the lack of transparency, the lack of accountabil-ity in many political processes, this is something that I would hope the committee would take very seriously and consider,î Urdal said.

More Die as Iraq Spirals into Chaos

Odds Favor Greta Thunberg for Peace Prize, but Experts Skeptical

Saudi Arabia Prepared to Cater to Global Oil Demand

SPARIYADH: King Salman chaired the Cabinet ses-sion held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The Cabinet addressed the Kingdomís assertion during its participation in Russian Energy Week .. that it was ready to meet world oil demand follow-ing efforts to restore sup-ply capabilities within 72 hours of last monthís oil field attacks.These efforts strength-ened the Kingdomís position as the most reliable, safe and inde-pendent oil exporter. The king briefed the Cabinet on the results of official talks held with President of the Sudanese Supreme Council Gen. Abdulfat-tah Al-Burhan and Suda-

nese Prime Minister Dr. Abdullah Hamdouk.Media Minister Turki Al-Shabanah, in a statement to SPA, said the Cabinet reviewed reports on the latest regional and inter-national developments.He highlighted the final statement of the 4th ex-traordinary meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Supreme Military Committee, held in Riyadh, to consult on current threats and situations and to achieve

greater GCC military co-ordination.HIGHLIGHTS‘ The Cabinet approved amendments to commer-cial mortgage system.‘ First phase of transport networks in some cities and provinces also ap-proved.‘ Reports on latest regional and international developments reviewed.He stressed the readi-ness of the GCCís armed forces to confront any terrorist threat or attack. He condemned assaults on the Kingdom and the violation of GCC mem-ber airspace.He also condemned at-tacks on oil tankers and threats to maritime navi-gation. The Cabinet drew attention to the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Propertyís nomination to lead the International Un-ion for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Union), and its nomina-tion to be vice president of the International Pat-ent Cooperation Union.

Ex-Colombia President Questioned on Witness Tampering

BOGOTA, Colombia: Powerful former Pres-ident Alvaro Uribe appeared before Colom-biaís Supreme Court on Tuesday for ques-tioning in a case involving alleged witness tampering that could potentially cast a dark shadow over is legacy.A magistrate queried Uribe behind closed doors for over seven hours about accusations that, through a lawyer, he tried to influence and even bribe members of a paramilitary group who had damaging information against him.After the questioning, the court released a brief statement announcing that officials had concluded there were sufficient grounds to continue investigating Uribe, though no charges have been filed.ìI defended my loyalty to the truth,î Uribe said in a lengthy address to supporters that stretched late into the evening. The case stems from allegations raised by Sen.Ivan Cepeda, who claims he has firsthand witness accounts that Uribe was a founding leader of a paramilitary group in his home

province during the decades-long civil con-flict involving government forces, leftist rebels and right-wing bands.The ex-chief of state has denied all accusa-tions of ties to the paramilitaries, who are accused of drug trafficking, killing innocents and driving thousands from their homes or lands while fighting rebels.The case has divided the South American na-tion and set off demonstrations both in favor of and against the ex-president.Political analysts are also watching it as an important test for Colombiaís justice system, which throughout its history has struggled to hold prominent political and military leaders accountable.ìItís crucial that Colombiaís justice system handles this with professional, dispassionate rigor so that it doesnít devolve into a circus,î said Adam Isacson, a Colombia expert with the Washington Office on Latin American think tank.Perhaps no political leader in Colombiaís re-cent history has wielded as much influence as

Uribe, who still has legions of followers.He led the ìnoî campaign that preceded Co-lombian voters rejecting a peace accord with leftist rebels in 2016, though the government later adopted a slightly revised version. Last year, Uribeís support lifted a little-known senator, Ivan Duque, to the presidency.But allegations of ties to drug cartels and par-amilitaries have dogged him since the early 1980s, when the civil aviation agency he led was accused of giving air licenses to drug traffickers. Declassified State Department cables from a decade later show US officials were told the up-and-coming politician had ties to cartels.Uribe has persistently denied those charges and was an unwavering US ally in the war on drugs during his 2002-2010 presidency.He extradited a record number of suspected drug traffickers to the US and aggressively expanded a US program to aerially spray wide swaths of illegal coca crops with chem-ical herbicide.ìI never thought my defense of honor and love for Colombia, with respect for citizens and in accordance with the Constitution, would create legal problems for me,î Uribe said Monday.His court appearance stems from allegations that Cepeda made in 2014 during a debate in Congress over Uribeís alleged paramilitary ties. Cepeda claimed he had accounts from two ex-combatants confirming the associa-tion. Uribe in turn accused Cepeda of slan-der, but the Supreme Court later dismissed the case, instead opening an investigation into the ex-president.The case hinges largely on statements by former paramilitary fighter Juan Guillermo Monsalve, who claims Uribe helped form a branch of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, an umbrella paramilitary group.Monsalve alleges a lawyer for Uribe, Diego Cadena, pressured him to retract his state-ment. A second ex-paramilitary has also al-leged that Cadena paid him to testify in favor of the former president.

ReutersLOS ANGELES: The FBI is asking for the pub-licís help in identifying dozens of victims of a convicted murderer who has confessed to stran-gling 93 people, claims the agency says are cred-ible and make him the most prolific serial killer in US history.Investigators who have interviewed Samuel Lit-tle at a Los Angeles-area prison say they have confirmed 50 of the homicides he admitted to carrying out between 1970 and 2005 and have released videotapes of his jailhouse confessions as they investigate the remaining slayings.ìEven though he is already in prison, the FBI be-lieves it is important to seek justice for each vic-tim ó to close every case possible,î the FBI said in a statement posted to its website, which also includes drawings made by Little, 79, of many of the women he strangled.Little, who is serving life behind bars for his con-viction on three murders committed in the 1980s, began confessing additional killings some 18 months ago to a Texas Ranger who interviewed him in his cell at the state prison in Lancaster, California, according to the FBI.He appears to have targeted mostly vulnerable young black women, many of them prostitutes or drug addicts, whose deaths were not well-publi-cized at the time and in some cases not recorded as homicides.The FBI videotapes show Little, sitting in front of a cinder block wall in blue jail scrubs and a gray knit cap, sometimes appearing bemused or smiling as he recalls the circumstances surround-ing the murders.The FBI has also released sketches made by Lit-tle of victims who remain unident ified in hopes that members of the public might recognize them. The agency cautioned that not all Littleís descriptions may be accurate as his memory is faulty.

Former president Alvaro Uribe arrives to the Supreme Court for questioning in a case an involving witness tampering in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. (AP)

FBI Ask Public to Help Identify Victims as US Serial Killer Confesses

to 93 Murders

SPORTS10 Thursday, October 10, 2019

Andy Murray to Make Grand Slam Return at Australian OpenAFPMELBOURNE: Andy Mur-ray will make his Grand Slam return at the Australian Open in January, a year after career-saving hip surgery, tournament organizers announced Tuesday.The British three-time major winner has been slowly work-ing his way back to fitness and is now ranked 289th, up from 503rd just a week ago.Murray, 32, won his opening match at the Shanghai Masters on Monday, beating Argentine qualifier Juan Ignacio Londero in three sets, following a quar-ter-final appearance in Beijing last week.With his confidence seemingly growing by the day, Australian Open organizers said the former world number one had commit-ted to extending his comeback into the majors in January.‘Confirmed: Andy Murray will return to compete at the #AusO-pen in 2020,’ they tweeted. The official Australian Open web-site said Murray ‘will return to the main draw with a protected ranking of nu mber two and re-stored physical powers.’He has made the final five times at Melbourne Park, losing four times to Novak Djokovic and once to Roger Federer.However, arguably his most

heartbreaking moment at the season-opening Grand Slam came not on the court but at an emotional press conference be-fore this year’s tournament.Murray broke down in tears describing how the pain in his right hip, which had been oper-ated on six months earlier, had become unbearable.‘I can play with limitations. But having the limitations and the pain is not allowing me to en-joy competing or training,’ he said, later revealing that even walking his dog had become a

gruelling ordeal.Tributes flowed for the well-liked Scot, with Billie Jean King called him ‘a champion on and off court.’ Players also farewelled him in an emotional video screened on center court after he lost an epic five-setter to Roberto Bautista Agut, with most believing his Grand Slam career was over.‘It’s very sad that you have to take that position, but some-times life is not perfect,’ Rafael Nadal said. ‘I just want to say thanks for the things that you

gave to our sport.’But the match against Bautista Agut rekindled Murray’s com-petitive spark and he opted to fight on and undergo hip resur-facing surgery.American doubles legend Bob Bryan had endured the proce-dure ó which involves inserting an artificial hip implant with a rod that goes right down to the femur ó and warned Murray there would be no easy road back.‘No one’s ever come back with this surgery on the singles

court,’ he said at the time, add-ing that if anyone could do it a renowned fighter like Murray was prime candidate.Murray said after his win over Londero that his movement on the court felt like it was steadily improving. ‘In the beginning I didn’t necessarily feel good, but last couple of weeks have been I think much improved,’ he said.In 2013, Murray became the first British man to win Wim-bledon for 77 years, ending the nation’s obsession with finding a champion to follow in the footsteps of Fred Perry.He repeated the feat in 2016, adding to a glittering career that also includes the 2012 US Open, two Olympic gold med-als and 45 ATP crowns.Australian Open organizers hope there will be another blast from the past if Belgium’s Kim Clijsters can meet her goal of taking to the court again in Jan-uary after an absence of more than seven years.A crowd favorite in Melbourne, the 36-year-old retired to have a family but made a surprise announcement last month that she was making a comeback in 2020.Clijsters has won four Grand Slams, including the 2011 Aus-

AFPLONDON: Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will be sidelined for the rest of the year after suffering a dislocated elbow in a dismal de-feat at Brighton on Saturday.Lloris was stretchered from the field scream-ing in pain after dropping a cross before falling backwards and landing badly as he conceded Brighton’s opening goal at the Amex.‘Hugo Lloris has undergone further assessment this morning after sustaining a dislocated elbow in our match against Brighton on Saturday,’ Tot-tenham said in a statement on Monday.‘The findings have shown that although surgery will not be required, our club captain has suf-fered ligament damage and is not expected to return to training before the end of 2019.

‘Hugo is currently in a brace and will now un-dergo a period of rest and rehabilitation under the supervision of our medical staff at Hotspur Way.’The news is another hammer blow to Totten-ham’s hopes of turning around a poor start to the season.Mauricio Pochettino’s men have won just three of their opening 11 games in all competitions and were thrashed 7-2 at home by Bayern Mu-nich in the Champions League last week.Argentine stopper Paulo Gazzaniga will now as-sume the role of Pochettino’s first-choice goal-keeper for the forseeable future.Lloris will also miss Euro 2020 qualifiers for France against Iceland, Turkey, Albania and Moldova.

AFPMALM÷, Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic unveiled a bronze statue of himself on Tuesday near the sta-dium where he launched his professional career in his hometown of Malmo.‘No matter where you come from, where you are, no matter what you look like, the statue is the symbol that anything is possible,’ said Sweden’s best-known footballer, visibly moved to see himself permanently represented ‘where it all began.’Ibrahimovic, who had a stint with Paris Saint-Ger-main, already has an effigy at the Grevin wax mu-seum in the French capital.He had been waiting for his statue in Sweden for five years. The work, created by Swedish sculp-tor Peter Linde, is impressive. Ibrahimovic stands 1.95m (6ft 5in) tall. The sculpture is 2.7 meters high and weighs 500kg.Ibrahimovic, whose parents emigrated from the former Yugoslavia, grew up in difficult conditions in Rosengard, a neighborhood in Malmo known for violent clashes between rival gangs.He played for Malmo, then Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG and Manchester United before moving to the LA Galaxy. He devel-oped a reputation as a player who won league titles, collecting 13 in 16 seasons in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, although one, with Juventus, has since been rescinded.His Galaxy team have made the MLS playoffs and face Minnesota in the first round on October 20.Ibrahimovic dominated the Swedish national team from 2001 to 2016, winning 116 caps and scoring 62 goals.He remains an icon in his hometown.‘He is one of us. He comes from Rosengard and has become the king of football,’ said Jaafar, who grew up in the area and came up to approach his idol.Ibrahimovic, who is famous for his bombastic, pos-sibly tongue in cheek, declarations, said before leav-ing PSG that he would stay if the club owners could persuade the city to ‘change the Eiffel Tower for my statue.’‘A World Cup without me is nothing to watch, so it is not worth waiting for the World Cup,’ he said when Sweden failed to qualify for the 2014 finals.

Yahoo SportSir Alex Ferguson has hailed Arsene Wenger as «an absolute legend» at a special tribute night for the former Arsenal boss.The pair crossed swords several times during their careers as they dominated English foot-ball in the late 1990s and early 2000s.The rivalry spilled over into bust-ups several times, includ-ing what became known as <Pizzagate’,†when Ferguson was struck in the face by a slice of pizza in the tunnel after his Manchester United side ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run.

But addressing his old adversary via video at the annual Nordoff Robbins charity award dinner, Ferguson said: «The career you had as a manager at Arsenal was absolutely fantastic - an absolute legend.«I loved the competition against you. We had some great times and it’s wonderful you’re getting this award tonight. So good luck, my blessing with you.»Wenger was named a ëLegend of Football’ at the event which celebrated his career, with the Frenchman enjoying a 21-year tenure with the Gunners, guiding†them to three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups

and seven Community Shields.Ferguson’s caustic jibes to-wards the former Monaco head coach,†who arrived at Arse-nal as a virtual unknown from Nagoya Grampus Eight, also included:†»He’s a novice. He should keep his opinions to Jap-anese football.»Wenger†too had his moments when he lost it with the†former United boss,†insisting once he would «never speak about that man again». But relations have clearly thawed, with Wenger being presented†with a special memento by Sir Alex and Jose Mourinho as he led out the Gun-ners for his†final game against

United in April†2018.Wenger, 69,†has been linked with a number of jobs since leaving Arsenal but has so far stayed away from the limelight and says he is unsure whether he will ever make a return to man-agement.Ferguson himself has been a past recipient of the <Legends of Football’ award, which has been handed out since 1996.Others who have been hon-oured include Sir Kenny Dalglish, Alan Shearer, Eric Cantona,†Mourinho, Ryan Giggs, Pele, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lam-pard.

ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: The first international tennis tour-nament to be held in the Kingdom is a ‘wa-tershed moment’ for the country, Prince Ab-dulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal has said.The Diriyah Tennis Cup is a hardcourt, out-door tournament with a $3 million prize.It will be held from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14 on the outskirts of Riyadh and is attracting lead-ing players, including three-time Grand Slam winner Stanislas Wawrinka and rising Rus-sian star Daniil Medvedev. They have been confirmed alongside Fabio Fognini and Dav-id Goffin.The prince, who is chairman of the Saudi General Sports Authority (GSA), said: ‘Host-ing world class international tennis in Saudi

Arabia for the very first time is another wa-tershed moment for the Kingdom. There’s a deep passion for sport in Saudi Arabia and the Diriyah Tennis Cup will see us reaching new tennis fans, welcome even more inter-national visitors as well as creating amazing memories for all.’Wawrinka’s career highlights include three Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal and Davis Cup victory.Medvedev is enjoying a breakthrough 2019 with three titles to his name and was runner-up to Rafael Nadal in last month’s US Open Final.World number 12 Fognini was the first Ital-ian to win an ATP Masters 1000 title this year in Monte Carlo while Goffin, from Belgium,

is a former world number seven.The remaining four players will be announced later, completing the lineup.†The 15,000-capacity Diriyah Arena will pro-vide an intimate setting for the event, allow-ing tennis fans and newcomers to the sport to get up and close to the world’s very best players.The tournament forms part of Ad Diriyah Season. It includes the Diriyah E-Prix, the ‘Clash On The Dunes’ heavyweight boxing rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua, and the Diriyah Equestrian Festival.There are many other entertainment and cultural activities over a month-long period from Nov. 22 to Dec. 21.Peter-Michael Reichel, co-chairman of Basel Sports Group, said: ‘The eyes of the tennis world will be on Saudi Arabia in December with some of the very biggest names in glo-bal tennis battling for the first-ever Diriyah Tennis Cup. The stunning UNESCO world heritage site in Diriyah will arguably be the most unique venue in tennis.’The Diriyah Tennis Cup will work alongside the Saudi Tennis Federation to use the tour-nament as an opportunity to inspire Saudi players, new fans and followers of the game.Cup tickets will be available at www.diriyah-season.sa while the latest news can be found on†social media platforms: @diriyahseason.International travelers can apply for their tourist visa at www.visitsaudi.com.Ad Diriyah Season is one of 11 festivals aimed at transforming the Kingdom into an important global tourist destination.

Arab NewsJEDDAH:†Defending champion Dustin John-son and world No. 1 Brooks Koepka have confirmed their return to the Saudi International, a European Tour event, which takes place in King Abdullah Econom-ic City at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club Jan. 30 to Feb. 2.†World No. 3 Johnson, raced to a two-shot vic-tory to claim his first regular European Tour title at the inaugural championship earlier this year, using it as a springboard for further dominant displays this season.After winning in Saudi Arabia, the 35-year-old American captured his sixth World Golf Cham-pionship by four strokes at the WGC-Mexico Championship, record-ed runner-up finishes at the Masters and the PGA Championship and chalked up three further top 10 finishes.He will be joined in the Kingdom by Koepka, who will return to Royal Greens Golf & Country Club after another stellar season that has seen him claim a fourth major title at the US PGA Cham-pionship, in addition to a maiden WGC title at the Fed-Ex St. Jude Classic. The tourna-ment, which will feature on the European Tour schedule for the second year in 2020, continues to showcase its intent to become a leading event on the golfing calendar. Johnson and Koepka are the first global stars to

join the field, which will compete for a prize fund of $3.5 million. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Golf Saudi, said: ‘Dustin and Brooks are two of the best play-ers in the world and we are extremely pleased to welcome them back to the Kingdom. Last year was the first step toward realizing our dream of opening Saudi Arabia up to the world and show-casing the beginnings of our vision for the coun-try. Royal Greens Golf & Country Club proved to be an impressive host venue last year and we are excited to be wel-coming back more of the world’s best players to King Abdullah Eco-nomic City in January.’Johnson, who fired a course-record round of 61 en-route to victory, said: ‘I really enjoyed my trip to Saudi Arabia early this year and my game certainly suited the layout at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. I have very good memo-ries from the week and look forward to defend-ing my title next year. It’s great to see how Golf Saudi has strength-

ened its commitment to create a world-class golf event and its plans to grow golf in the region are in full swing. It’s an honor to be a part of it.’Koepka, a four-time major cha mpion, said: ‘I’m excited to be re-turning to Saudi Arabia, after an enjoyable visit early this year. The golf course is one of the best I’ve played in the region, with incredible scenery, including some breath-taking views of the Red Sea. The event is an op-portunity to showcase the work being done to grow the game of golf in the Kingdom, which was evidenced by the enthusiastic fans last year. It is great to be involved with the initia-tive and I look forward to seeing the progress Golf Saudi has made in the past year.’Royal Greens Golf & Country Club lies along the spectacular Red Sea coastline and boasts a championship golf course, state-of-the-art clubhouse and world-class practice facilities, alongside stunning resi-dential and recreational facilities.

Sir Alex Ferguson in Special Tribute to ‘Absolute Legend’ Wenger

International Tennis Tournament ‘Watershed Moment’ for Saudi Arabia Golf Champions Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson to Return for Saudi

International Tournament

Ibrahimovic Unveils Larger than Life Statue in Hometown

Tottenham Confirm Lloris out for Rest of the Year

11HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Edited by: Alula Berhe Kidani

Thursday, October 10, 2019

High-Level Commission Report Makes Case for Carbon Pricing

UN News

September was, if nothing else, a show-stopping call to action. With the world’s leaders heading home, and Greta traveling slowly through North and South America on her way to Santiago, the traffic is mov-ing again past UN Headquarters and we can turn to evaluate if and how last month’s global cries for cli-mate action and equitable development will be met with outcomes on the ground. The October calendar is full of meetings on climate, energy, cities, chemi-cals and the ocean. In addition, the UN General As-sembly (UNGA) Second Committee will also set to work, with the HLPF Review process high on its agenda.ClimateWith the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) adopt-ed in Monaco at the end of September, delegates and policymakers will undertake the technical work that follows from such a report. Perhaps the gravity of September’s developments will spark renewed drive towards concrete achievements. Here are the key op-portunities for doing so this month.Preparations are underway for the last climate mile-stone of the year ñ the Santiago Climate Change Conference. Meetings of UNFCCC constituted bod-ies will take place throughout the month, including the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee on Fi-nance (SCF 21), the 34th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) and the tenth meeting of the Ex-ecutive Committee (ExCom) of the Warsaw Interna-tional Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage. A Pre-COP will convene in San JosÈ, Costa Rica, to pick up on the momentum of the UN Climate Action Summit and give negotiators a head start advancing some of the major issues to be discussed in Santiago such as raising the ambition of Nationally Deter-mined Contributions (NDCs) and climate finance. The Pre-COP will also provide an early forum to discuss the findings of the IPCC SROCC. Countries will have another opportunity to offer concrete cli-mate finance contributions at the GCF Replenish-ment Pledging Conference in Paris, France, at the end of the month.Other meetings will bring the African continent and its vulnerability to climate change into focus. The African Climate Risks Conference 2019 will focus on ëDismantling Barriers to Urgent Climate Adapta-tion Action.’ The ëClimate Chance Summit ñ Africa 2019’ will reinforce the ìoperational roadmapsî for the continent agreed in 2018, including: adaptation; agriculture, food and reforestation; buildings; edu-cation and training; energy; finance; and sustainable

urban development.Academic and stakeholder communities will provide input to global climate policy ahead of the Santiago Climate Change Conference through various fora such as the Chatham House Climate Change Confer-ence and Global Climate Change Week 2019.EnergyWith global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electricity generation sitting at around 40% of the to-tal, and global energy-related emissions on the rise, urgent efforts are needed to decarbonize the sector if the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change are to be met. The month of October offers numerous opportunities for governments and stakeholders to discuss decarbonization pathways towards reaching SDGs 7 (affordable and clean en-ergy) and 13 (climate action), including the Interna-tional Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power, the tenth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, the 12th Inter-national Scientific Conference on Energy and Cli-mate Change and the 2019 International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC).CitiesThe UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Sustainable Cities Week 2019, with a dedi-cated roundtable on SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and the Seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum will advance regional efforts on sustainable urban development in Europe and Asia Pacific.Venice City Solutions 2019 as well as a number of ìfirsts,î such as the Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF) and the First Annual Urban Economy Forum, will convene in the lead up to World Cities Day 2019 cel-ebrated on the last day of the month.ChemicalsThe sound chemicals management is another area that will receive attention in October. The month opened with the third meeting of the Intersessional Process (IP3) Considering the the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste Beyond 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand, which will work towards the 2020 goal of using and produc-ing chemicals in ways that lead to the minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. These efforts also advance SDGs 3 (good health and well-being) and 12 (responsible consumption and production).The 15th meeting of the Persistent Organic Pol-lutants Review Committee to the Stockholm Con-vention (POPRC-15) and the 15th meeting of the Chemical Review Committee (CRC-15) of the Rot-terdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals

and Pesticides in International Trade will take place back-to-back in Rome, Italy.UNGA Second CommitteeIn the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the 74th ses-sion’s general debate has ended, and the work of the six main committees is getting underway. The Second Committee is the forum for consideration of climate change, poverty eradication, biodiversity, financing for development (FfD), countries in spe-cial situations, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at large. The Committee will begin work on 7 October 2019 on the theme, ëInclusive Societies Based on New Economic Models and Sus-tainable Use of Natural Resources.’ The provisional programme of work and timetable for the session are available at the Committee webpage. It includes a joint meeting with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on the topic of ëEcosystem Ap-proaches for Shifting the World onto a Sustainable Pathway.’ The Committee will also address:- On climate, ways to build on the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit that took place on 23 September 2019;- On biological diversity, dealing with the SDG and Aichi targets that have a 2020 deadline;- On small island developing States (SIDS), the monitoring and review framework for the SAMOA Pathway, following the high-level meeting of the UNGA on 27 September 2019;- On landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), ac-counting for the upcoming midterm review of the Vi-enna Programme of Action in December 2019;- On the least developed countries (LDCs), giving early guidance to the Fifth LDC Conference in 2021; and- On UN system operational activities, following up on the funding compact, and giving guidance for the next Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR), including with regard to regional and mul-ti-country office reviews.

The Second Committee also will discuss plans to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary in 2020.Land and SeaOceanThe 2019 Our Ocean Conference will convene know-ing that the IPCC SROCC urges ìtimely, ambitious and coordinated actionî to address ìunprecedentedî and enduring changes. Last year’s meeting resulted in 305 commitments and USD 10.7 billion in pledg-es towards ocean sustainability. We will watch to see how the latest news on ocean health impacts this year’s Conference outcomes. The Conference’s areas of action include protected areas, pollution, climate, sustainable blue economy, sustainable fisheries and maritime security.Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem Services During the UN Summits Week, nature-based solu-tions (NBS) and ecosystem services featured in many high-level discussions on addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development. This month, the tenth anniversary Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) will be held under the theme, ëTen Years Advancing Ecosystem Services Science, Policy and Practice for a Sustainable Fu-ture,’ and feature a ëBusiness Day.’MiningOn land, the 15th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) will con-vene in Geneva, Switzerland. Last year, this meeting focused on issues related to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), and discussed how to transform the ASM ìresource curseî into a ìblessing.îIn close, we draw attention to a virtual summit or-ganized by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA). Will this be the way of the future? The first-ever Vir-tual Island Summit will take place entirely online, seeking to connect global islands to share their com-mon experiences, with a focus on the SDGs, through a digital platform.

Wangu Mwangi

Prepared under the auspices of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), one of the primary objectives of a report published by the High-Lev-el Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness is to address, and as-suage, commonly expressed concerns that putting a price on carbon, whether in the form of a tax or an emissions trading system (ETS), may adversely affect the competitiveness of business-es and economies.Launched on the margins of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, the report highlights key insights and considerations that can guide countries in introducing manda-tory pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including by providing an overview of a large body of existing studies on competitiveness. The re-port emerged from a multi-stakeholder dialogue facilitated by the High-Level Commission that explored the evi-dence base, the concerns of business, and the lessons learned in the design and implementation of carbon pricing policies in the context of competitive-ness.The Commission explored how poli-cies, such as lowering corporate taxes and providing technology innovation assistance to emerging green indus-tries, can support carbon pricing and alleviate competitiveness concerns, especially for energy-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industries. Based on preliminary analysis from advanced economies who have put a price on carbon pollution, the study finds that while there are risks in the short term, carbon pricing does not, in the long term, curtail industrial growth or prompt polluters to move to countries that do not charge such a price.One of the main conclusions of the re-port is that achieving a critical mass of businesses committed to adopting low-carbon strategies, coupled with sup-

portive government policies, can drive the shift to low-emission products and processes. Sweden’s carbon tax ñ which, at approximately USD 127 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), is rated as the highest in the world ñ is highlighted as a successful example of how to decouple emissions from economic growth through comple-mentary policies aimed at delivering ìa significant reduction in the marginal tax rates on energy, capital, and labor.î The report cites data from Sweden’s Minis-try of Finance showing that Sweden’s GDP increased by 75% during the 1990-2015 period, while its GHG emissions went down 26%.Similarly, Canada’s British Columbia is lauded for supporting the emergence of a clean technology sector, comprising over 200 companies that generate around USD 1.7 billion annually, following the introduction of its carbon tax.California’s carbon price is another example highlighted in the report, this time illustrating how to implement a carbon pricing scheme within a broad-er environment of divergent policies. The report explains that although Cali-fornia’s electricity gri d is connected to several US federal states that have not enacted a carbon price, the state uses border adjustment measures that re-quire electricity imported f rom border states to obtain emissions allowances, ìthus leveling the playing field.îDifferences in carbon prices among countries and regions should become smaller, alleviating competitiveness concerns.The report pays particular attention to the current context of international trade and the benefits of carbon pricing in enhancing competitiveness, while highlighting some major concerns, including on ìwho is impacted.î The report cites Sweden and California as examples of jurisdictions that have successfully managed the impact of carbon prices on international compet-itiveness for high-emitting and trade-

exposed sectors. It notes, however, that there will be some losers in the transition, notably firms that currently compete against low-emission sub-stitutes who may be unable to adapt, increase their profitability and develop new business models. Other concerns outlined in the report include the ìcar-bon leakage,î driven, for example, by political push-back that may result from social and economic impacts ex-perienced in some areas.In the context of increased global am-bition to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the report concludes that two counter-vailing effects may be relevant for competitiveness impacts. On the one hand, greater ambition will gener-ally mean higher carbon price levels leading to the potential for more sig-nificant competitiveness impacts for EITE industries. On the other hand, as more countries adopt climate policies and develop linkages between carbon markets, ìdifferences in carbon prices among countries and regions should become smaller, alleviating competi-tiveness concerns.îThe Commission argues that most pre-vailing studies tend to highlight more potential competitiveness impacts than have actually been experienced to date. It explains that: carbon costs are only one of the many factors that influence investment decisions and competitive-ness; carbon price levels in general have been moderate; and existing car-bon pricing programmes include pro-tection for at-risk sectors, which tend to account for only a small proportion of the overall economy. Furthermore, the report notes, large mainstream in-vestors are increasingly factoring in the development and implementation of low-carbon strategies when evaluat-ing their portfolios.The report therefore concludes that concerns about competitiveness im-plications ìshould not preclude carbon pricing or keep regions from increasing

carbon prices or emission targets over time to levels needed to implement the Paris Agreement,î for example at the level of USD 40-80 per tCO2e by 2020 and USD 50-100 per tCO2e by 2030 suggested in the 2017 Stern-Stiglitz report. However, ìpolicy clarity,î with strong governmental commitment to meaningful policy that increases in stringency over time, is identified as a critical factor in spurring innovation and investment for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Policy is also seen as an important element in man-aging potential negative impacts at national or regional level, as it can en-sure the design of locally tailored and complementary measures that protect industry from unfair competition while stimulating innovation and equitable transition to a low-carbon economy.The report has received endorsements from nearly 50 major corporations, as well as business networks such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) Al-liance of CEO Climate Leaders, the World Business Council on Sustain-able Development (WBCSD), We Mean Business, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).Established at the 2018 High-Level Assembly of the CPLC, the High-Lev-el Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder partnership, hosted by the World Bank Group. The Commis-sion is co-chaired by Feike Sijbesma, Chairman and CEO of Royal DSM, and Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group.In 2015, the World Bank Group and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a joint study on the essential principles behind successful carbon pricing initiatives, which they identi-fied as: fairness; alignment of policy and objectives; stability and predict-ability; transparency; efficiency and cost-effectiveness; and reliability and environmental integrity.

Monthly Forecast October 2019: First Opportunities to Act on September Pledges

Escaz˙ Agreement on Rio Principle 10 Gains Signatures, Ratifications

A year after opening for signature, the Es-caz˙ Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Envi-ronmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean has garnered 21 signatory countries and six ratifications. Eleven rati-fications are required for entry into force.The Escaz˙ Agreement, the first regional agreement on Principle 10 of the Rio Dec-laration and LAC’s first environmental treaty, emerged from the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and was opened for signature on 27 September 2018. It was signed by 16 countries in the following days and weeks, and Guyana be-came the first ratifying state in April 2019. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines signed it in July 2019.During a high-level ceremony on the side-lines of the general debate of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA), on 26 Septem-ber 2019, in New York, US, two additional countries signed the Agreement (Grenada and Jamaica) and five countries ratified it (Bolivia, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Uru-guay). The next day, it was also signed by Nicaragua and Saint Kitts and Nevis.The Escaz˙ Agreement seeks to ensure that all people have access to timely and reliable information, and are able to access justice regarding environmental matters. It also aims to: contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs; guarantee environmental rights in the region; provide special protections for environmental human rights defenders; and ensure people can play a part in deci-sions related to environmental challenges, such as climate change, ocean pollution and deforestation.The Agreement was one of the four en-vironmental treaties highlighted by UN Secretary-General AntÛnio Guterres at Treaty Event 2019, which convened from 24-27 September 2019. Treaty Event takes place annually and promotes participation in treaties that support the 2030 Agenda.

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Absolutely, I came at a very historical time for Sudan, DFID Dr. Louise Walker (2-2)

Interview with Dr. Louise Walker, Head of Sudan Office

Q: I understood that you are doing something in the area of information and data col-lection?

A: Although it sounds boring, good data is essential for rel-evant humanitarian and devel-opment support. For example, the availability of a House Hold Survey that provides data from the National Statistics Bureau would enable humanitarian or-ganizations to really understand where the most vulnerable are and where the greatest needs are. It would also mean having the necessary access to reach them. That will be a significant improvement to the way both the international community and the government are able to respond. DFID funded the Simple Spatial Survey (S3M) with the European Union and a number of other international partners. The survey was led by UNICEF under the supervision of the Ministry of Health. The purpose of this is to understand

which areas are most affected by malnutrition and where we need to target our support. That helps us understand what is re-ally happening on the ground so that we can adjust our support accordingly.

Q: Sudan is facing great chal-lenges in the provision of basic and primary education. Does DFID have any contribution in these fields?A: You are right; it is going to be essential for us to look at what we can do with the new government to help in what is essentially a social contract be-tween the government and the people of Sudan. That includes the vulnerable. We are working across the international com-munity to explore how we can better coordinate our work in areas such as health, education and social protection. This is a journey which we need take to-gether. We provide educational sup-port in different parts of Sudan

including South Kordofan, East Darfur and Khartoum. We are proud of our educational sup-port to IDPs and refugees in partnership with UNICEF. This support also extends to host communities for equitable dis-tribution of opportunities.Our Connecting Classrooms programme, managed by the British Council connects class-rooms in the Sudan and the United Kingdom so they can learn from each other. It also gives Sudanese and British children the chance to be global citizens. It also helps teachers in Sudan with curriculum and stay up-to-date with the latest teaching methods. I think that is an innovative way to connect our countries.

Q: You mentioned that you are working also in Khar-toum State?A: We recognize that there are people in need in Khartoumís open area settlements. Vulner-ability takes many forms: chil-dren who are malnourished, people who are displaced with-out access to basic services, people who may have a liveli-hood but are unable to cope be-cause of inflation and are unable to afford their nutritional needs. Poverty and vulnerability differ depending on the circumstances in the community. That is why data availability is very critical. We try to ensure that we do not limit our support to the obvi-ous places by trying to reach the hidden pockets of poverty as well.

Q: Some people think that Khartoum is an urban area but many parts of the state are semi-urban and in some case in term of the Human Development Index are as bad as Darfur or South Ko-rdofan. Also, the conflicts, droughts and climate change have led to mass rural urban migration to Khartoum; al-most 35 percent of the Suda-nese population now lives in Khartoum?A: I think that is actually true and it can be seen all across Africa that people canít cope in

the rural areas and face liveli-hood difficulties and migrate to cities for opportunities. There are the urban poor, the urban vulnerable and the urban dis-placed.

Q: The Transitional Govern-ment is going to review some basic programs linked to the Paris Climate Change Agree-ment and the MDGís. Will DFID provide any technical support in this context be-cause frankly the previous programs were political prop-aganda rather than for the achievement of real goals?A: Climate and Environment is a global priority and is an issue that is discussed at the highest levels[LW1]. There are many climate and environment dimensions to consider in Su-dan and that is why we work on both policy and communi-ty levels. We have had a very fruitful collaboration with the Sudanese Metrological Asso-ciation and the UK Met Office. One of the important aspects of Climate action is having the right information so that you can mitigate climate risks. If for example, farmers and herd-ers know when there is going to be heavy rains or too little rain, this can make a difference to the decisions affecting their livelihoods daily.One story I particularly like from the ADAPT! programme is about a herder who was

able to save his herd from an overflooded ëKhorí in White Nile State. The Sudanese Met-rological Authority was able to send his community early warning messages as a result of ADAPT!ís support for im-proved climate predictability. He was able to take a decision and also warn others in his com-munity to move their flocks and save them. Better predictability means better preparedness and a better ability to cope. Know-ing when there will be water shortages can help mitigate the risks of possible conflicts, support peacebuilding as well as be of assistance local health authorities.

Q: Actually, I agree on the need for information on Cli-mate Change and as a mat-ter of fact on many aspects of life. For example about four years ago the SECS (Suda-nese Environment Conser-vation Society) conducted a study jointly with the Univer-sity of Gedarif on the effects of the changes on the patterns of rainfall on the agriculture in the state, that is in terms of quantities and time patterns. The study was disseminated to the farmers to benefit from and same time recommended further in- depth research to be conducted by others be-cause of the SECS limited re-sources.A: You can also see how this

really changes the long term behaviour of farmers and no-mads when there are agree-ments about grazing lands and so the patterns start to change. So helping these communities understand what these changes are in a way that does not create conflicts is really important.

Q: There is going to be a real massive voluntary return in the coming months of IDPs and the South Sudanese refu-gees once a peace agreement as expected is signed. Does DFID fund any programmes that provide them assistance?A: DFID places a lot of focus on supporting peace in the communities we work with. We always explore how we are able to empower them to be-come more resilient. UK aid support includes better water management, improved ag-ricultural practices and skills and knowledge that commu-nities need to become more resilient and promote peace-ful co-existence. But we must also be aware that reaching a peace agreement does not mean things will magically improve overnight. For that kind of sup-port to be successful, we need to help communities improve their prospects. For example, better agricultural practices can mean a small plot of land can produce enough food for sur-pluses to be sold and delivered to the market for income.

Interviewed by: Alula Berhe KidaniPhotos: Al-Sir Mukhtar