OMAN DAILY

Editor-in-chiefAbdullah bin Salim al Shueili

Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and AdvertisingPO Box 974, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.om

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 7, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 29, 1440 AH VOL. 38 NO. 23 | PAGES 16 | BAISAS 200

FIVE MARINES MISSING AFTER TWO US MILITARY PLANES COLLIDE

1,000 MORE SYRIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN HOME FROM LEBANON P4

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INSIDESTORIES

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has made boosting ties between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in February, the Vatican said on Thursday.

The pontiff was invited to the majority-Muslim country by both Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan and the local Catholic church. Francis will take part in an international “interfaith” meeting during the trip, which will run from February 3 to 5.

The 81-year-old has already visited several Muslim countries, including Turkey in 2014, Azerbaijan in 2016 and Egypt in 2017.

The Vatican said the theme for the Abu Dhabi trip was summed up in the phrase “make me a channel of your peace”. The hope was the visit would “spread in a special way the peace of God within the hearts of all people of good will,” it said. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Fitch Ratings said on Thursday it expects the Indian currency to weaken to Rs75 against the US dollar by the end of next year on a widening current account deficit and tighter global financing conditions.

Despite a few recent advances, the rupee is on track for its worst yearly performance in five years in 2018 and a Reuters poll had forecast it to weaken further as uncertainty builds, heading into national elections due by May.

The currency fell to a two-week low of 71.04 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday, mimicking most Asian currencies. — Reuters

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WEATHER TODAY

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REGION

ASIA

Pope Francis to visit UAE in February

Rupee may weaken to 75 against dollar

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FANJA REACH HM CUP SEMIS

Nine-time champions Fanja moved into the semifinals of the His Majesty’s Cup football championship despite a 1-0 defeat to Sohar in the second leg of the quarterfinals late on Wednesday. Fanja, who last won the title in 2014, join Sur, Majees and Mirbat in the semifinals. — Picture by Mohammed Mahjoub DETAILS ON P16

Migrants live healthier, longer lives than residentsLONDON: Migrants tend to be

healthier than the residents of wealthy

countries they travel to, such as the

United States, and often help fight

diseases by becoming healthcare

workers in those nations, according to

a study.

Populist arguments that migrants

pose a health risk and a burden to

health systems are myths used to drive

anti-immigrant sentiment, the report

published by University College

London and the Lancet medical

journal concluded.

The two-year study found that

migrants, in general, have a greater

life expectancy than residents of host

countries and were less likely to die

of illnesses such as cancer and heart

disease.

They were, however, more prone

to diseases such as hepatitis, HIV and

tuberculosis, but tended to spread

those infections among immigrant

communities rather than the general

population, the study found.

“Our analysis suggests that

migrants are healthier, migrants

contribute positively to the economies

of host countries, and in wealthy

countries like the United Kingdom

and United States, migrants constitute

a large portion of the health

workforce,” said Ibrahim Abubakar,

chair of the UCL-Lancet Commission

on Migration and Health that carried

out the study.

The report, which looked at 96

studies and 5,464 mortality estimates

for more than 15 million migrants,

found inconsistencies between

migrant groups.

Mortality was lower, for instance,

among migrants from east Asia

and Latin America than the general

population of six European host

countries studied. However, it was

higher among migrants from north

Africa and eastern Europe.

“In too many countries, the issue

of migration is used to divide societies

and advance a populist agenda,”

Lancet Editor Richard Horton said

in a statement. “Migrants commonly

contribute more to the economy than

they cost.”

The results were based mainly on

studies of migrant health in wealthier

countries, due to a lack of data on

low-income and middle-income

countries. As a result, the study may

not reflect the health of immigrants

in those poorer countries that are the

most popular destinations globally for

migrants, the report cautioned.

— Reuters

HM RECEIVES THANKS FROM MALDIVES PRESIDENTMUSCAT: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has received a cable of thanks from President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of Maldives in reply to His Majesty’s congratulatory cable on the occasion of him being inaugurated as a new President of the Republic. In his cable, President Solih expressed his utmost thanks and appreciations for His Majesty’s sincere congratulations, wishing His Majesty good health and happiness, and the friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries further progress. — ONA

STOCKHOLM: Yemen’s warring sides

agreed to free thousands of prisoners

on Thursday, in what a UN mediator

called a hopeful start to the first peace

talks in years to end a war that has

pushed millions of people on the verge

of starvation.

UN mediator Martin Griffiths told

a news conference in a renovated castle

outside Stockholm that just getting

the warring sides to the table was an

important milestone.

The war has killed tens of thousands

of people and spawned what the

United Nations calls the world’s

direst humanitarian crisis, since Arab

coalition intervened in 2015 to restore

the government.

No talks have been held since

2016, and the last attempt in Geneva

in September failed when the Ansar

Allah did not attend.

Griffiths said the prisoner swap

agreed at the start of the talks would

reunite thousands of families. The

International Committee of the Red

Cross said at least 5,000 would be

freed.

The war has been stalemated for

years, threatening supply lines to feed

nearly 30 million inhabitants.

The Ansar Allah control the capital

Sanaa and most populated areas, while

the government based in the southern

city of Aden has struggled to advance.

Humanitarian suffering has added

to pressure on the parties to end the

conflict.

Diplomats are expected to shuttle

between the warring parties to discuss

other confidence-building steps

and the formation of a transitional

governing body, a UN source said.

The Swedish hosts called for

constructive talks to end what Foreign

Minister Margot Wallstrom called

a “catastrophe”. Griffiths, flanked by

the two delegations, told them not to

waiver.

Griffiths wants a deal on reopening

Sanaa airport, shoring up the

central bank and securing a truce in

Hodeidah, the country’s main port,

held by the Ansar Allah and a focus of

the war after the coalition launched a

campaign to capture it this year.

A UN source said that the two sides

were still far from agreement on the

three issues, especially on who should

manage Hodeidah port and whether

the Ansar Allah should entirely quit

the city. “Hodeidah is very complex,”

the source said.

The United Nations is trying to

avert a full-scale assault on Hodeidah,

the entry point for most of Yemen’s

commercial goods and aid. Both sides

have reinforced positions in the Red

Sea city.

The head of the Ansar Allah’s

Supreme Revolutionary Committee,

Mohammed Ali al Houthi, said in a

Twitter post that if no deal is reached

to re-open the airport, the movement

could close it on the ground to all

traffic including UN flights. — Reuters

Hopeful start to Yemen talks

P11HUAWEI FOUNDER’S DAUGHTER HELD IN CANADA ON US REQUEST

P15PUJARA RESCUES INDIA WITH FIGHTING TON IN TEST

P13A MAGICAL PUPPET SHOW FOR ALL AGES

A Central American migrant looks on from inside her tent while camping near a closed temporary shelter a few metres from the US-Mexico border. — AFP

French authorities predict ‘great violence’ in ParisPARIS: French authorities warned

another wave of “great violence” and

rioting could be unleashed in Paris

this weekend by a hard core of ‘yellow

vest’ protesters, as senior ministers

sought to defuse public anger with

conciliatory languages on taxes.

Despite capitulating this week

over plans for higher fuel taxes

that inspired the nationwide revolt,

President Emmanuel Macron has

struggled to quell the anger that led to

the worst street unrest in central Paris

since 1968.

Rioters torched cars, vandalised

cafes, looted shops and sprayed anti-

Macron graffiti across some of Paris’s

most affluent districts, even defacing

the Arc de Triomphe. Scores of people

were hurt and hundreds arrested in

battles with police.

An official in Macron’s office said

intelligence suggested that some

protesters would come to the capital

on Saturday “to vandalise and to kill.”

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe

said 65,000 security personnel would

be deployed across the country on

that day to keep the peace.

In a bid to defuse the three-week

crisis, Philippe had told parliament

that he was scrapping the fuel-tax

increases planned for 2019, having

announced a six-month suspension

the day before.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire

told a conference he was prepared to

bring forward tax cutting plans and

that he wanted workers’ bonuses to

be tax-free. But he added: “In this

case, it must go hand-in-hand with a

decrease in spending.” — Reuters

VIENNA: Opec tentatively

agreed an oil-output cut on

Thursday but was waiting

to hear from non-Opec

heavyweight Russia before

deciding the exact volumes

for a production reduction

aimed at propping up crude

prices.

Russian Energy Minister

Alexander Novak flew home

from Vienna earlier for talks

with President Vladimir

Putin in St Petersburg. Novak

returns to the Austrian capital

on Friday for discussions

among Saudi-led Opec and

the group’s allies.

“We hope to conclude

something by the end of the

day tomorrow... We have to

get the non-Opec countries

on board,” Saudi Energy

Minister Khalid al Falih said

before the Opec meeting

started. “If everybody is not

willing to join and contribute

equally, we will wait until

they are.” — Reuters

Opec agrees tentative oil output cut

UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths welcomes Yemeni delegates to talks. — Reuters

SMALL VICTORY: Peace talks open with prisoner swap that will set 5,000 people free

The prisoner swap agreed at the start of the talks would reunite thousands of families MARTIN GRIFFITHS

UN envoy to Yemen

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insideoman

Seminar on medical malpractice held in Nizwa

NIZWA: A seminar on ‘the medical malpractice

from judicial perspective’ was organised at the

Higher Judicial Institute on Thursday under the

auspices of Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi,

Minister of Health, in the presence of Shaikh

Abdulmalik bin Abdullah al Khalili, Minister of

Justice, Chairman of the Higher Judicial Institute.

The seminar targeted judges, prosecutors,

academics, doctors, members of the Supreme

Medical Committee of the Sultanate, the Oman

Medical Association and the medical support

groups.

It aimed at introducing the Sharia and legal rules

for practising the medical profession, defining

the concept of medical malpractice, focusing on

obligations in medical work, determining the

legal nature of medical obligations, clarifying the

legal responsibility for medical malpractice and

highlighting the role of non-judicial parties in

medical liability cases.

The seminar included six working papers on

three main themes.

The first theme dealt with the concept of

medical malpractice in Islamic Sharia.

The second theme entitled medical malpractice

from the perspective of medical scientists. The

third theme addressed the legal liability for

medical malpractice. — ONA

Bayan College honours best performing studentsMUSCAT: Bayan College honoured best

performing students from the faculties of Media

Studies and English Literature and Professional

Writing in a ceremony held in the Deanship

Office at Hallban campus in the Sultanate.

The students received the certificates of

recognition for best performing students.

Samuel Mundua, Head of Department of

Media Studies, in his speech said the students

honoured are a testimony to the collaborative

efforts, commitment and perseverance of the

academic staff and students.

He further noted the distinction achieved by

the students doesn’t only enable them to get better

jobs but also acts as a springboard to pursuing

their future ambitions of an advanced degree.

Over the years, Bayan College has been

honouring students with very high CGPA by

inscribing their names with golden letters on

the ‘Honour List’ and ‘The Dean’s List’ which is

displayed at the entrance.

Students of Bayan College Photography Club

were also recognised for their dedication towards

producing excellent photographs during the

exhibition of the College Induction day for 2018-

2019.

Bayan College is the first private media

college affiliated to Purdue University Northwest.

The College offers majors in Public Relations,

Journalism, Broadcasting and Advertising under

the faculty of media while the faculty of English

Literature offers majors in English Literature and

Professional Writing.

Efforts of voluntary activities laudedSALALAH: The activities of the Omani Volunteering Day

2018 concluded on Thursday at Crowne Plaza Salalah Hotel.

The closing ceremony was organised by the Directorate

General for Social Development in the Governorate of

Dhofar under the auspices of Shaikh Salem bin Oufit al

Shanfari, Head of Dhofar Municipality.

The ceremony included a presentation on the activities

of the Omani Volunteering Day, as well as a lecture entitled

‘Volunteering from a Sharia Perspective’ presented by

Abdullah bin Ali al Shehri, Imam and preacher at the Sultan

Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science.

At the end of the ceremony, the chief guest honoured

the participants, volunteers, contributors and supporters of

voluntary efforts. — ONA

THAI EMBASSY MARKS NATIONAL DAY

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand hosted a reception at the Kempinski Hotel Muscat on the occasion of the birthday of King Bhumibol and the National Day of the Kingdom of Thailand. — ONA

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l D E C E M B E R 7 l 2 0 1 8 3omanlatenews

Strategic plan for joint statistical work presentedMUSCAT: The GCC Statistical Centre

(GCC-SAT) held its second meeting

this year in the presence of more than

15 Gulf institutions and organisations.

The meeting was chaired by Saber

bin Said al Harbi, Director-General of

the Center.

During the meeting, a presentation

was given on the goals and objectives of

the strategic plan for the joint statistical

work 2015-2020 adopted by the

Ministerial Council, as well as the most

important achievements accomplished

by the Center in 2018 and its future

aspirations.

The meeting reviewed the follow-up

report to the recommendations of the

first meeting of the GCC institutions

and the recommendations of the

preparatory committee, which held

its meeting last July. The meeting also

reviewed the adoption of the decision to

form a technical statistical committee,

exchange statistics among the Gulf

institutions and discuss prospects for

future cooperation between them.

The Director General said: “The

meeting aims to review the work of the

GCC institutions in terms of indicators

of sustainable development and their

programme of work to consolidate

efforts, prepare joint work programmes

related to following these indicators

and unifying efforts in relation to

statistical databases of the GCC system

under the supervision of the GCC

Statistics Center.”

The meeting dealt with the draft

statistics indicators of sustainable

development goals, which the centre

is currently working on in cooperation

with the national centres in the GCC

countries since its adoption in 2015

by the United Nations, and came into

force during the period 2016-2030.

— ONA

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS BIOGRAPHY OF AL MASKARI

A seminar on the biography of Shaikh Jaber bin Ali al Maskari was organised in Ibra in the Governorate of North Al Sharqiyah under the patronage of Habib bin Mohammed al Riyami, Secretary-General of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science (SQHCCS). The seminar was organised by Ibra Cultural Center. — ONA

Bangladesh seeks action against Myanmar ministerDHAKA: Bangladesh summoned the

Myanmar ambassador on Wednesday

to condemn “irresponsible remarks”

made by Myanmar’s religion minister

about Rohingyas, and called for

action against him, senior officials at

the Bangladesh foreign ministry said.

Rohingyas living as refugees

in Bangladesh after escaping

Myanmar are being “brainwashed”

into “marching” on the Buddhist-

majority nation, Myanmar’s religion

minister Thura Aung Ko said in a

video released by the news website

NewsWatch.

“We strongly protest their

minister’s provocative remarks. It

also hurt their sentiments,” a senior

official in the Bangladesh foreign

ministry said on Thursday.

Condemning the comments

about “marching on Myanmar”, he

said: “We have zero tolerance towards

militancy. We have never encouraged

radicalism.”

“If you give them citizenship and

their property back, they will run for

Myanmar. Instead of doing that, you

are making provocative statements?

This is unfortunate,” the official said.

More than 730,000 Rohingya

fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state in the

wake of a brutal army crackdown

last August, UN agencies say, and are

now living in crowded Bangladeshi

refugee camps.

UN investigators have accused

Myanmar soldiers of carrying out

mass killings, and burning hundreds

of villages with “genocidal intent”.

Myanmar denies most of the

allegations.

When Bangladesh summoned

Myanmar Ambassador U Lwin Oo,

he “tried to dilute the comments

by saying they were the religion

minister’s personal opinion,” said

an official at the Bangladesh foreign

ministry who was present at the

meeting. “But we asked for action

against the minister.”

The religion minister’s comments

come as both countries have been

engaged in negotiations for more

than a year to repatriate the Rohingya

to Myanmar, often blaming each

other for delays in the process.

The latest plan was scuppered

last month after no refugees agreed

to return, saying they wouldn’t go

back unless Myanmar met a series

of demands, chiefly granting them

citizenship rights. — Reuters

Forum to exchange expertise between Municipalities of Muscat, Sohar endsMUSCAT: The second forum for the

exchange of experiences and expertise

between Muscat Municipality and

Sohar Municipality under the theme

‘Innovative Solutions for Sustainable

Municipal Work’ concluded under the

patronage of Mohsen bin Mohammed

al Shaikh, Chairman of Muscat

Municipality.

The forum discussed a number of

working papers reviewing local and

international experiences in various

fields of municipal and service work

with the participation of about 200

officials and specialists.

The forum came up with a number

of recommendations, including the

importance of following the correct

scientific method in study, analysis

and coming up with sustainable

solutions to the municipality, with the

establishment of a set of sub-strategies

that stems from the basic strategy of

the municipality and accelerating the

application of quality systems (ISO) and

other modern quality means. — ONA

DIGGING THE PAST

Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, views archive material of actor Peter Sellers during his visit to the BFI Southbank in central London. The Prince has been Patron of the BFI (British Film Institute) for 40 years. — AFP

Armenia’s acting PM hopes to clip wings of ex-ruling party in pollsYEREVAN: Armenia’s acting prime minister, Nikol

Pashinyan, who swept to power this year in a peaceful

revolution, expects to tighten his grip in a parliamentary

election on Sunday which he has brought about to reduce

the clout of the ex-ruling party.

Pashinyan, who was elected prime minister in May after

weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism in

the ex-Soviet republic, stepped down in October to allow

parliament to be dissolved and an early election to be held.

Pashinyan is a former newspaper editor who spent time

in prison for fomenting unrest in 2008. When he came to

power in May, it marked a dramatic break with the cadre of

rulers who have run Armenia since the late 1990s.

But the former ruling Republican Party still dominates

the parliament, elected in 2017, and Pashinyan has made

it clear he expects a new legislature to emerge that better

reflects the new political realities in the country.

Nine parties and two blocs are taking part in the election

and opinion polls suggest that the My Step Alliance, which

includes Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party, will easily win a

majority of the seats.

After he swept to power, Pashinyan promised no big

shifts in Armenian foreign policy and has offered assurances

he will not break with Russia. Armenia hosts a Russian

military base and is a member of Russia-led military and

economic alliances.

Pashinyan also suggested he would stick with existing

policies on the long-running issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A mountainous part of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh

is run by ethnic Armenians who declared independence

from Baku during a conflict that broke out as the Soviet

Union crumbled in 1991. — Reuters

Sultanate at Beirut Intl Arab Book FairMUSCAT: The Sultanate represented by the Ministries of Information, Heritage and Culture are taking part at the Beirut International Arab Book Fair 62nd session, which is being held in Lebanon from December 6 to 17.

The participation comes within the framework of cultural relations between the two countries, and to establish communication and cultural and professional ties among various publishing houses to promote the authors and publishing agencies. The Oman’s pavilion, which has been specially decorated this year, is based on Omani architecture

Publications from the two ministries and publications of the private governmental bodies are taking part. The Beirut Arab International Book Fair is one of the most important and oldest Arab exhibitions.

— ONA

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region

Bomber kills three in southeast IranTEHRAN: A car bombing followed

by an armed assault killed at least

three people and wounded many

more outside police headquarters in

the port city of Chabahar in restive

southeastern Iran on Thursday.

Chabahar lies in Sistan-Baluchistan

province which has long been a

flashpoint, with Baluchi separatists

and fighters carrying out cross-border

attacks targeting the minorities.

“This terrorist act led to the

martyrdom of three members of the

police force,” the province’s deputy

governor in charge of security,

Mohammad Hadi Marashi, told state

television.

Immediately after the bomber

detonated the car bomb, gunmen

attempted to storm the police

headquarters but were killed by

security forces, Iranian media

reported.

Chabahar City Governor Rahmdel

Bameri said many people were also

wounded in the 10 am attack.

“The explosion was very strong

and broke the glass of many buildings

close by,” Bameri told state television.

Many nearby shop owners and

civilian passers-by, including women

and children, were seriously wounded,

he added.

Chabahar lies some 100 kilometres

west of the Pakistan border and

is home to a large ethnic Baluchi

community which straddles the two

countries.

Immediately after the bomber

detonated the car bomb, gunmen

attempted to storm the police

headquarters but were killed by

security forces, Iranian media

reported.

The number of assailants was not

immediately clear. “The fighters tried

to enter Chabahar police headquarters

but they were prevented by the guards

and they detonated the car bomb,”

Marashi said without elaborating on

how many assailants took part.

A resident contacted by AFP

who said he was inside the police

headquarters at the time of the attack

said the assailants had attacked the

building after blowing up the vehicle.

“There was an exchange of gunfire

right after the explosion,” the resident

said, adding that it lasted about 10

minutes.

The police headquarters lies in a

busy commercial district with many

shops and banks around it.

The commander of the Revolution

Guards Corps ground forces, Brigadier

General Mohammad Pakpour, who

has overseen counter-insurgency

operations in the southeast, visited the

police base after the attack, the ultra-

conservative Tasnim news website

reported.

The news agency carried pictures

of the remains of the vehicle used by

the attackers which is believe to have

been a blue Nissan van.

It said 27 people were wounded in

the attack.

There was no immediate claim of

responsibility.

In October, the group claimed the

capture of 12 Iranian security force

personnel who were conducting an

operation near the Pakistan border.

A state television-run news

agency reported that the unit

included intelligence agents of the

Revolutionary Guards. Five of those

captured were released and flown

home last month following Pakistani

intervention.

Chabahar is a strategically

important city for Iran. It has a

deep-water port which with Indian

assistance, Iran has been developing

it as a major energy and freight hub

between Central Asia and India,

bypassing Pakistan. — AFP

Iraq needs 2 years to wean itself off Iranian gas: OfficialBASRA: Iraq needs at least two years

to boost the country’s gas production

to stop importing Iranian gas used to

feed its power stations, a senior Iraqi

energy official said on Thursday.

Hayan Abdul Ghani, head of

state-run South Gas Co (SGC), told

reporters that Iraq’s gas output is

expected to reach 1.3 million cubic feet

per day by the end of 2020, an increase

of 400 mcf/d from current levels.

“Iraq’s current production of gas

is not enough to meet our power

stations’ demand and therefore we are

still importing gas from Iran. We need

at least 24 months to operate new gas

projects and start production,” he said.

The United States said last month

that Iraq can continue to import

natural gas and energy supplies from

Iran for a period of 45 days as long as

Iraq does not pay Iran in US dollars.

Sanctions on Tehran’s oil sector took

effect on November 5.

Baghdad is seeking to renew and

extend the exemption as it needs more

time to find an alternative source, Iraqi

officials said.

Abdul Ghani said the expected rise

in gas production would come from

two new projects, including a $367

million deal with General Electric

reached in April to process natural gas

extracted alongside crude oil at two

fields in southern Iraq.

The project is expected to start

producing 160 mcf/d in two years,

Abdul Ghani said.

Iraq is expected to sign another

deal in early 2019 to build the Artawi

gas plant in the south which is planned

to produce around 300 mcf/d by end

2019.

“We are close to signing the

Artawi gas project deal with one of the

foreign companies in January 2019 to

maximise our gas production,” Abdul

Ghani said.

Iraq’s gas development plans have

long focused on BGC, a $17 billion

joint venture between Royal Dutch

Shell, state-run South Gas Company

and Mitsubishi.

Abdul Ghani said Iraq is seeking to

reach gas production of around 2000

mcf/d by the end of 2023, including

1.43 mcf/d from the Basra Gas Co

and additional 500 mcf/d from other

future projects in the south.

State-run South Gas Co is still in

talks with US energy company Orion

Gas Processors over the economic

and technical aspects of a final deal to

capture and process 100 million to 150

mcf/d of natural gas extracted from

Nahr Bin Omar southern oilfield, the

SGC chief said.

On January 22, Iraq signed a

memorandum of understanding with

the US company to build facilities to

capture the gas from the field located

in southern Iraq and to transform it

into usable fuels. — Reuters

Over 1,000 more Syrian refugees to return home from LebanonBEIRUT: At least 1,000 Syrian

refugees who were forced to flee

their war-torn country are due on

Thursday to return home as part

of a repatriation process, Lebanese

security sources and state media said.

The figure includes around 600

Syrian refugees who had been

residing in the Lebanese northern

port city of Tripoli, Lebanon’s state

news agency, NNA, reported.

Some 250 others will leave

Lebanon’s north-eastern border town

of Arsal, according to the agency.

The rest are refugees in southern

Lebanon as well as the capital Beirut.

Syria’s civil war of more than

seven years has recently wound down

after government forces, supported

by Russia, regained large swathes of

the country’s territory from fighters

backed by Western powers and

fighters.

Liza Abu Khaled, a spokeswoman

for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)

in Beirut, citing figures from

the Lebanese General Security

Department, said that 8,467 Syrians

have already returned home in

groups as part of the repatriation

efforts from neighbouring Lebanon

this year.

She said that some Syrian refugees

chose to return home individually,

rather than in organised groups.

“In 2017, the UNHCR recorded

around 11,000 (individual)

spontaneous returnees. This year, we

are aware of 4,400 such returnees,”

Abu Khaled said. Some 900,000

Syrians fled to neighbouring Lebanon

from the war that erupted in their

country in 2011.

Lebanese officials have repeatedly

said that the influx of refugees from

Syria placed a massive burden on the

country’s economy.

Most of the Syrian refugees

live in informal camps scattered

across Lebanon under miserable

conditions. — dpa

RIMBO: The World Food

Programme (WFP) plans to scale

up food distribution to help more

than four million people in Yemen

by the end of January, increasing

its outreach to 12 million Yemenis.

At the end of December,

“WFP is aiming to scale up from

7/8 million people that we are

supporting today to 10 million

people. An increase of more than

2 million,” a statement by Herve

Verhoosel, WFP spokesman, said.

At the end of next month, the

agency hopes to reach 12 million

people, among them “some three

million women and children who

need special support to treat and

prevent malnutrition.”

Verhoosel said the goals will

require “massive resources both

logistical and financial.” — dpa

IN BRIEF

Pope to visit UAE in February

Exiled scribe calls govt crackdown a ‘witch hunt’

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has made boosting ties between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, will visit Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in Febru-ary, the Vatican said on Thursday. The pontiff was invited to the UAE by both Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the local Catholic church.

Francis will take part in an inter-national “interfaith” meeting during the trip, which will run from Febru-ary 3 to 5.

The 81-year-old has already vis-ited several Muslim countries, in-cluding Turkey in 2014, Azerbaijan in 2016 and Egypt in 2017.

The Vatican said the theme for the Abu Dhabi trip was summed up in the phrase “make me a channel of your peace” — a quote from Saint Francis of Assisi, the pope’s name-sake.

The hope was the visit would “spread in a special way the peace of God within the hearts of all people of good will,” it said.

“This visit, like the one to Egypt, shows the fundamental importance the Holy Father gives to inter-reli-gious dialogue,” spokesman Greg Burke said.

“Pope Francis visiting the Arab world is a perfect example of the cul-ture of encounter,” he added.

Many of the Catholics are work-ers from Africa, Bangladesh, In-dia, Pakistan and the Philippines, though some are locals.

The UAE trip will come head of a visit in March to Morocco. — AFP

ISTANBUL: Exiled Turkish jour-nalist Can Dundar on Thursday called Turkey’s probe into anti-gov-ernment protests in 2013 a “witch-hunt,” hours after Turkey said it was seeking Dundar’s arrest for his alleged involvement in the demon-strations.

“People who were at the forefront of Gezi [Park protests] are being de-tained over absurd claims,” Dundar said in a written statement posted on Twitter.

On Wednesday, an Istanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Dundar, accusing him of working with al-leged local and foreign conspirators to “incite chaos” and encourage “ter-rorists” during the 2013 Gezi Park protests, according to state news agency Anadolu.

Dundar rejected the charges against him as “threats and slan-der.” He said he is proud to have supported the “peaceful” Gezi pro-tests. Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily, fled to Germany in 2016 after being con-victed of disclosing state secrets on Turkish arms shipments to fighters in Syria. He is currently facing a re-trial in absentia.

The Gezi protests started as a peaceful environmental movement, but quickly morphed into country-wide protests against the govern-ment under then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. — dpa

A general view of the scene of a car bombing in front of a police station in the city of Chabahar in southern Iran. — AFP

Five-year-old Masar Mohammed Saleh is seen at a malnutrition treatment centre in Sanaa. — Reuters

Baghdad is seeking to renew and extend the exemption as it needs more time to find an alternative source, say Iraqi officials

Syrian refugees gather as they prepare to leave Beirut before their journey to return home to Syria. — AFP

WFP to increase food assistance to Yemen

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asia

CRISIS: Two aircraft collide during air-to-air refuelling exercise

PAKISTAN PROTEST

Five Marines missing after two US military planes crash off Japan

Afghan commission declares votes cast in Kabul invalid

Lanka crisis spurs tourists to cancel in peak season

Growing split in Seoul over N Korea threatens nuclear talks

TOKYO/WASHINGTON: Five US

Marines were missing after two Marine

Corps aircraft collided in mid-air and

crashed into the sea off the coast of

Japan during an air-to-air refuelling

exercise on Thursday, Japanese and

American officials said.

Japan’s defence ministry said its

maritime forces had so far found two of

the seven Marines who were aboard the

aircraft — an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet

and a KC-130 Hercules — at the time of

the incident.

One was in a stable condition at

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni,

while the second had been found about

10 hours after the collision and brought

aboard a Japanese military vessel, the

ministry said. No other details about

the second Marine were known, a

ministry spokesman said.

Search-and-rescue efforts for the

remaining five continued, Japan’s

highest-ranking military officer said.

“We plan to keep at it all through

the night,” Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of

the Japanese Self-Defence Forces’ Joint

Staff, told a news conference.

The incident adds to a growing list of

US military aviation accidents around

the world in recent years, prompting

hearings in Congress to address the

rise.

The Military Times reported

earlier this year that aviation accidents

jumped nearly 40 per cent from fiscal

years 2013 to 2017. At least 133 service

members were killed in those incidents,

it said.

Congressional leaders have called

the rash of accidents a “crisis” and

blamed it on continuous combat

operations, deferred modernisation,

lack of training and ageing equipment.

US military accidents are a sensitive

topic in Japan, particularly for residents

of the southern prefecture of Okinawa,

which is home to the bulk of the US

presence in the country. A series

of emergency landings and parts

falling from US military aircraft have

highlighted safety concerns.

People in a Tokyo hospital waiting

room fell silent as news of the crash

came on television, with one woman

whispering to another, “This is so scary.”

“The incident is regrettable, but our

focus at the moment is on search and

rescue,” Japanese Defence Minister

Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference.

“Japan will respond appropriately

once the details of the incident are

uncovered.” US Ambassador William

Hagerty thanked Japan’s military for

their search-and-rescue efforts and

confirmed the incident occurred

during a refuelling exercise.

“My heart goes out to the families

and colleagues of Marines involved in

this tragedy,” Hagerty said at an event at

Waseda University in Tokyo.

“They risk their lives every day to

protect Japan and to protect this region

and sometimes they pay the greatest

costs. So I want to emphasise this

security alliance that we have is critical

and it is moving forward to the right

direction,” he said. — Reuters

KABUL: All votes cast in Kabul

during the October parliamentary

election are invalid, Afghanistan’s

Independent Electoral

Complaints Commission (IECC)

said on Thursday.

Major fraud and

mismanagement on the part of

the Afghan Independent Election

Commission (IEC) were two of

more than two dozen reasons

why the decision was taken,

IECC spokesman Alireza Rohani

said.

The election commission

must now hold new elections

in Kabul within the next seven

days, according to Afghan voting

legislation.

Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed,

the head of the Free and Fair

Election Forum of Afghanistan

(FEFA), an independent election

monitoring agency, said he

does not believe the election

commission has the capacity

to hold a new election within

the next week as stated under the

law.

It is possible that votes in

other provinces will also be

declared invalid, and if that

occurs, the election commission

will face a “serious technical and

operational challenge,” Rasheed

said.

Baqi Samandar, a candidate

from Kabul, said that generally

speaking, the decision to declare

the election invalid was “the right

decision,” since so many things

went wrong during the vote.

Parliamentary elections took

place in 32 of Afghanistan’s

34 provinces on October 20.

Due to security problems and

organisational difficulties, voting

took place in 400 constituencies

a day later.

In the province of Kandahar,

voting was delayed by a week

after a deadly attack on the

provincial chief of police.

In Kabul, 1.6 million people

were registered to vote and

around one million people cast

their ballots across 558 polling

stations on election day. — dpa

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s travel industry is starting to suffer the fallout of a political crisis in the middle of its peak tourist season, as uncertainty prompts cancellations by both business and leisure visitors.

Tourism makes up about 5 per cent of the Indian Ocean island’s $87-billion economy, but the president’s sacking of the prime minister late in October triggered a crisis that credit rating agencies say has already hit economic prospects.

“We have cancellations in the region of about 20 per cent,” said Chandra Mohotti, a manager at the luxury Galle Face Hotel in the capital, Colombo, which has about 200 rooms.

“Normally our hotel would be full. We are offering discounts because of the fear that allocations will not be utilised.” Peak season for holidaymakers from Europe, a major source of tourists, along with India and China, typically runs from December to March.

But numerous flight bookings have been cancelled, especially from Europe,

a source at national carrier SriLankan Airlines said.

“The crisis started just when tourists take a decision where to go,” said the source, who declined to be named. “(It) has discouraged many of them.” Mahinda Rajapakse, who replaced Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, lacks a parliamentary majority and has been prevented by a court from holding office, delaying the 2019 budget and leading to violent scenes in parliament.

It may be a while before the cancellations show up in arrivals figures, however. Tourist numbers were up 16.8 per cent in November on the year, official data showed on Thursday, with visitors from Europe up 37 per cent, although numbers from China, Japan, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia all fell.

Last year, more than 2.1 million people visited Sri Lanka, tourism authorities say. Business travel has also been hit by the crisis, with firms moving meetings to elsewhere in Southeast Asia. — Reuters

SEOUL: When Seoul was preparing

to open a liaison office in the North

Korean city of Kaesong this summer

after a decade of virtually no contact

with its longtime enemy, South Korean

officials had heated debates over

whether they should seek approval

from Washington.

Some top aides to President Moon

Jae-In stressed it was an issue for the

two Koreas alone and there was no

need to involve their US ally, two

people with knowledge of the situation

said.

But to the surprise of several

officials at the meeting, Unification

Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon argued

Washington must be consulted

because Seoul’s plans might run afoul

of sanctions imposed on North Korea

over its nuclear weapons programme.

Two dozen countries including the

Britain, Germany and Sweden already

have embassies in Pyongyang, and

other officials saw the proposed liaison

office as a far lower-level of contact

with the North.

And they certainly did not expect

Cho to be a leading advocate of strict

enforcement of sanctions. Cho was

Moon’s personal choice to head the

ministry, whose prime mission is to

foster reconciliation, cooperation and

eventual reunification with the North.

Cho, whose 30 year public service

history has been inextricably linked to

reunification, was even sacked from

the ministry in 2008 over his “dovish”

stance towards Pyongyang.

At the suggestion of Cho and senior

diplomats, Seoul ultimately sought US

consent before opening the office in

September, one of the sources said.

All the sources spoke to condition

of anonymity due to sensitivity of the

matter.

Cho declined to comment for

this article, but a senior official at the

Unification Ministry said it was aware

of criticisms of Cho.

“Inter-Korean ties are unique in

their nature, but it’s been difficult,

and there’s North Korea’s duplicity.

It’s a dilemma we face, or our fate,”

the official said, asking not to be

named because of the sensitivity of

the issue.

CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, OR

ROADBLOCK?

The previously unreported debate

among Moon’s top officials illustrates

a growing divide within South Korea

over how to progress relations with the

North while keeping Washington on

side.

Some corners of the administration

argue Seoul can’t afford to be seen

veering from the US-led sanctions and

pressure campaign until Pyongyang

gives up its nuclear weapons

programme, while others feel closer

inter-Korean ties can help expedite

the stalled diplomatic process, several

officials close to the situation say.

“If the internal rift leads to moving

too quickly with the North without

sufficient US consultations, it could

pose a setback to not only the nuclear

talks but also the alliance and inter-

Korean relations,” said Shin Beom-

Chul, a senior fellow at the Asan

Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.

After the inter-Korean thaw gave

way to reconciliation efforts between

North Korean leader Kim Jong

Un and US President Donald Trump

earlier this year, Trump asked Moon

to be “chief negotiator” between the

two.

That task has become increasingly

difficult as Washington and

Pyongyang blame each other for the

faltering nuclear talks.

US officials insist punishing

sanctions must remain until North

Korea completely denuclearises.

North Korea says it has already

made concessions by dismantling

key facilities and Washington must

reciprocate by easing sanctions and

declaring an end to the 1950-53

Korean War. — Reuters

South Korean university students welcoming North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Seoul hold a protest

near the Presidential Blue House in Seoul. — Reuters

A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel and US Navy airplane conduct search and rescue operation at the area where two US Marine Corps aircraft have been involved in a mishap in the skies. — Reuters

Tourists leave the Independence Square after a visit in Colombo. — Reuters

Police in Pakistan used batons and water cannons to disperse hundreds of activists from the main opposition party who were protesting the arrest of their leader on Thursday, leaving dozens wounded. The protest erupted in the eastern city of Lahore when the country’s corruption watchdog took opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to a court for a pre-trial hearing on graft charges. — AFP

The incident adds to a growing list of US military aviation accidents around the world in recent years, prompting hearings in Congress to address the rise

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india

TIRADE: Congress rakes up Jaitley daughter’s law firm being engaged by fraudster Mehul Choksi

British High Commission seeks consular access to Michel

Nation records 12.4 lakh deaths in 2017 owing to air pollution: Study

President, PM join nation in paying homage to Ambedkar

Heavy security in Ayodhya on Babri demolition’s 26th anniversary

KCR, son, nephew among 1,821 candidates in fray

NEW DELHI: The British High

Commission on Thursday sought

consular access to Christian Michel,

who was extradited from the United

Arab Emirates. The CBI said it had

received the request.

The agency said Michel was being

questioned “round the clock.” “The

CBI has a lot of material to confront

him (Michel),” an official source said.

Michel is a British national who

was wanted for his role in the Rs 3,600

crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper

deal case.

On Wednesday, a Delhi court sent

him to five days custody of CBI. Michel

is also under medical observation.

India followed due process in

securing the extradition of Michel

from the UAE, a senior official said on

Thursday.

At a media briefing here, External

Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson

Raveesh Kumar said the Ministry

had two requests from the Central

Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the

Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the

extradition of Michel from the UAE

which were then forwarded to the

Indian mission in the Gulf nation.

“After following due process

and exhaustion of judicial process,

Christian Michel was extradited to

India,” Kumar said. “The matter is

being handled by the CBI.”

Meanwhile, retaliating to the BJPs

allegations of “links” with Michel,

the Congress on Thursday raked

up Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

daughter’s law firm being engaged by

fraudster Mehul Choksi and alleged

a “BJP-Agusta nexus” claiming it

promoted the controversial Italian

defence company.

Shortly after BJP spokesperson

Sambit Patra accused the Congress

of trying to save Michel by providing

“three Congress lawyers”, Congress

leader Jaiveer Shergill hit back citing

instances of Jaitley providing legal

services to scamster Ketan Parekh and

his daughter’s law firm being engaged

by now absconding Choksi, a prime

accused in the Punjab National Bank

fraud case.

Questioning the Modi

government’s intention behind

allowing “blacklisted AgustaWestland

to be part of Make in India and bid

for 100 Naval Utility Helicopters, the

Congress questioned why the Modi

government did not appeal against

Italian courts acquitting two prime

accused in the bribery scandal.

“Will the CBI probe the BJP-

Agusta nexus of quid pro quo, of

accommodating and welcoming

AgustaWestland in India and

aggressively promoting a blacklisted

company? The CBI will never

investigate this angle because it is a

remote-controlled hawk of the Modi

government,” Shergill told the media

here.

Shergill ridiculed the BJP for

trying to establish Congress’ links

with Agusta through the now expelled

youth Congress leader and advocate

Aljo K Joseph who represented Michel

in a Delhi court after he was extradited

to India on Tuesday.

“The BJP bid to link Congress with

Agusta on the basis of an expelled

advocate (Joseph) is a classic case of

the pot calling the kettle black.”

— IANS

NEW DELHI: Air pollution

has emerged as a leading factor

for premature mortality in

India as 12.4 lakh deaths have

been reported in 2017 owing to

it, according to a latest report

released on Thursday.

Published by Indian Council

of Medical Research (ICMR),

Public Health Foundation of

India (PHFI), Ministry of Health

and Family Welfare and The Lancet, the report suggests that

out of 12.4 lakh deaths, 6.7 lakh

deaths have been due to outdoor

particulate matter air pollution

while 4.8 lakh deaths were due

to household air pollution.

The finding, which is a

part of the Global Burden of

Disease Study 2017, is based

on comparisons of health loss

caused by different diseases and

risk factors between different

geographies, sexes, and age

groups, and over time in a

unified framework.

The study also found that

one in eight deaths in India

was attributed to air pollution

in India in 2017, making it a

leading risk factor for deaths in

India. Globally, India suffered 26

per cent of premature mortality

and health loss attributable to air

pollution.

According to the study, “77

per cent population was exposed

to ambient particulate matter

PM 2.5 above 40 milligram. The

highest PM 2.5 exposure level

was in Delhi, followed by other

north Indian states of Uttar

Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana.”

The Disability-Adjusted Life

Year (DALYs) attributable to

air pollution for major non-

communicable diseases, which

included chronic obstructive

lung disease, ischemic heart

disease, stroke, diabetes and

even lung cancer, were as high

as those compared to tobacco

consumption.

According to the study, the

average life expectancy in India

would have been 1.7 years higher

if air pollution level was less

than the minimal level, with the

highest increases in the northern

states of Rajasthan (2.5 years),

Uttar Pradesh (2.2 years) and

Haryana (2.1 years). — IANS

NEW DELHI: Led by President Ram

Nath Kovind, the nation on Thursday

paid tribute to the architect of the

Indian Constitution, Bharat Ratna

Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, on his

63rd death anniversary.

Kovind, Vice President M

Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister

Narendra Modi paid floral tributes

to the Dalit icon at a function in

Parliament House Lawns here.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra

Mahajan, along with MPs and

ministers, also paid their homage to

the Father of the Indian Constitution,

who championed the causes of Dalits,

women and labourers.

“He championed the cause of

marginalised and strove for creating

a casteless society. We will be paying

a real tribute to Baba Sahebji by

establishing a truly egalitarian

society and by upholding values

and ethics in public life,” tweeted

Naidu.

Modi shared an audio highlighting

the works and contribution of

Ambedkar on Twitter along with his

message.

“Those who forget history do not

make history,” tweeted Congress

President Rahul Gandhi paying his

respects. “Today, we honour a man

whose legacy lives in the form of our

Constitution. He fought for a just and

equal society and left behind him an

idea that we will always continue to

uphold.

“B R Ambedkar was the

embodiment of respect, dignity and

equality,” the Congress tweeted.

—IANS

AYODHYA: Heavy security

deployment has been made in this

temple town in Uttar Pradesh on

the 26th anniversary of the razing of

the 16th century Babri mosque by a

Hindu mob. Major roads have been

barricaded and vigil has been stepped

up around the disputed site. People

visiting the temple of Ram Lalla, that

was set up hurriedly on the ruins of the

mosque, are being frisked thoroughly.

Checking of vehicles at all entry

points has been enhanced. Special

teams are monitoring entry of outsiders

into the town.

Police teams are patrolling sensitive

areas and prohibitory orders have been

clamped barring the assembly of five

or more people. A district official said

that while the ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla is

allowed like all days, crowds have been

asked not to raise any slogans.

Bomb disposal and dog squads have

been spotted at major thoroughfares.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Iqbal

Ansari, the lone Muslim litigant in the

Ayodhya dispute, has said that he has

received a threatening letter.

According to him, the letter writer

has asked him to withdraw his claim in

the court or else he will be eliminated.

Police have increased security at

Ansari’s house. — IANS

HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief

Minister and TRS President K

Chandrashekhar Rao (pictured), his

14 cabinet colleagues including a son

and a nephew and state presidents of

the Congress and the BJP are among

1,821 candidates in the fray for

Friday’s Assembly elections.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader

Akbaruddin Owaisi, state Congress

working President A Revanth

Reddy and Telugu Desam Party

(TDP) founder N T Rama Rao’s

granddaughter N Suhasini are among

the other key candidates whose

political fortunes will be decided in

the polling on Friday.

KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra

Samithi (TRS) chief is popularly

known, is seeking re-election from

Gajwel constituency in Siddipet

district. The 64-year-old, who never

lost an Assembly or Lok Sabha

elections since making his debut

in 1985, is confident of yet another

victory.

KCR’s son K T Rama Rao, who

is number two in both party and

government, is aiming for a third term

from Sircilla constituency.

KCR’s nephew and cabinet minister

T Harish Rao appears set to retain

Siddipet seat for the fourth term in a

row. Considered a powerful leader in

the ruling party, he also won two by-

elections from the same seat.

Among the other ministers, Etela

Rajender, who holds finance portfolio,

is testing his fortunes once again from

Huzurabad.

Congress party’s Telangana unit

chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who

may emerge as a strong contender for

the Chief Minister’s post in the event

of Congress-led People’s Front coming

to power, is contesting for a third

consecutive term.

Revanth Reddy is another key

contestant. Revanth, whose midnight

arrest on Tuesday triggered a storm,

is contesting again from Kodangal,

considered a politically sensitive

constituency.

Another Working President of

Congress Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

is the party candidate from Madhira

(SC). Former Central Minister Sarve

Satyanarayana is contesting on

Congress ticket from Secunderabad

Cantonment (SC).

Suhasini is trying her luck from

Kukatpally, a constituency in Greater

Hyderabad. Suhasini, whose father N

Harikrishna died in a road accident

recently, is banking on voters who

have their roots in Andhra Pradesh.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s state

President K Laxman is contesting

from Musheerabad in Hyderabad,

while AIMIM’s firebrand leader

Akbaruddin Owaisi is seeking

election from Chandrayangutta, also

in Hyderabad, for a fifth consecutive

term. — IANS

After following due process and exhaustion of judicial process, Christian Michel was extradited to India RAVEESH KUMAR External Affairs Ministry

spokesperson

People light candles in a formation to pay homage to B R Ambedkar in Ahmedabad, on Thursday. — Reuters

Activists take part in a protest in Mumbai on Thursday to mark the 26th anniversary of the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid located in Ayodhya. — AFP

IN BRIEFRs 3,719 cr aid for Kerala, Nagaland and AndhraNEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday approved additional assistance of Rs 3,719.07 crore to Kerala, Nagaland and Andhra Pradesh that were affected by floods, landslides and cyclone over the past few months.

From the National Disaster Response Fund, Rs 3,048.39 crore will be provided to Kerala, Rs 131.16 crore to Nagaland and Rs 539.52 crore to Andhra Pradesh, said a Home Ministry statement.

The decision was taken in a committee meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

SC reserves order on Alok Verma’s pleaNEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Verma and NGO Common Cause challenging the government’s decision to divest him of his charges.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi reserved the order on the conclusion of arguments by the Centre, Central Vigilance Commission and CBI on one hand, and petitioner Verma, the NGO and others on the other hand.

Verma’s petition had challenged the Centre’s October 23 decision divesting him of his powers as the head of the premier investigating body in the country.

Slain UP cop’s family meets chief ministerLUCKNOW: The family of slain Uttar Pradesh Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was killed allegedly by cow vigilantes in Bulandshahr, met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Thursday and was promised all help for his sons to pursue their education.

Adityanath met Sunita, the officer’s widow, and her two sons Shreya and Abhishek at his residence here. The elder son, Shreya, is studying MBA and Abhishek engineering.

Delhi girl kills self, blames teacherNEW DELHI: Relentless humiliation and rebuke from her science teacher over the last few months forced a Class 7 student here to commit suicide by hanging herself, police said on Thursday.

Daisy Rathore, 12, who hanged herself from a ceiling fan at her home on December 1, wrote the teacher’s name on her palms and hands and also left behind a note stating the reason for her extreme step. — IANS

Christian Michel

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europe

OPTIONS: May has said that if lawmakers reject her deal with Brussels, the only alternatives are leaving without a deal or reversing Brexit

AFTER A SNOWING NIGHT

No delay to Brexit vote despite ‘warning’ to May

Tensions grip Merkel’s party ahead of succession vote

146 arrested outside French school as students join protests

LONDON: Parliament’s vote on

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s

Brexit deal will go ahead on December

11, her office said on Thursday, despite

a newspaper report ministers had

sought a delay to prevent a defeat so big

it might bring down the government.

May has repeatedly said that if

lawmakers reject her deal with Brussels,

which would see Britain exit the EU on

March 29 with continued close ties, the

only alternatives are leaving without a

deal or reversing Brexit.

The British parliament is mid-way

through a five-day debate on the Brexit

deal, ahead of the crunch vote which

will define Britain’s departure from the

EU and could determine May’s own

future as leader. She currently looks set

to lose that vote.

The Times newspaper reported that

senior ministers were urging the prime

minister to delay it for fear of a rout.

“The vote will take place on Tuesday

as planned,” May’s spokeswoman

said. The House of Commons leader,

Andrea Leadsom, also told parliament

the vote would go ahead on December

11.

The day before the vote, on

December 10, the European Union’s

top court will deliver a judgment on

whether Britain can unilaterally halt

Brexit.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier said

on Thursday that the only deal available

was the one agreed with Brussels.

“The agreement that is on the table

— the withdrawal agreement and the

agreement on the future relationship

— are, in our view, the only and

best possible to organise an orderly

withdrawal,” Barnier said.

May used an interview on BBC

radio on Thursday to press on with her

bid to persuade lawmakers to back her

deal.

“There are three options: one is to

leave the European Union with a deal ...

the other two are that we leave without

a deal or that we have no Brexit at all,”

she said.

In one small potential change, May

said she was speaking to lawmakers

about giving parliament a bigger role

in deciding whether to trigger a so-

called Northern Irish backstop.

CHARM OFFENSIVE?: Concerns

about the backstop are a key driver

of opposition to the deal among both

May’s own Conservative lawmakers

and the Northern Irish Democratic

Unionist Party (DUP), which props up

her minority government.

Supporters of a clean break with

the EU say the backstop, intended

to ensure no hard border between

British-ruled Northern Ireland and

the EU-member Irish Republic, could

leave Britain forced to accept EU

regulations indefinitely, or Northern

Ireland treated differently from the rest

of Britain.

In legal advice the government

was forced to publish on Wednesday,

the government’s top lawyer warned

there was a risk Britain could get stuck

in “protracted and repeating rounds

of negotiations” to reach a deal to

supersede the backstop.

May’s critics, including both

supporters and opponents of Brexit,

say that means Britain could be subject

to EU laws long after it has given up

any influence over determining them.

May hinted she might give

parliament a greater role in deciding

whether to start the backstop or extend

a transition period under which more

EU membership terms would apply.

“There are questions about how

decisions are taken as to whether we

go into the backstop, because that isn’t

an automatic,” May said. “The question

is: do we go into the backstop? Do we

extend... the implementation period?”

— Reuters

BERLIN: Tensions mounted in

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s

centre-right party on Thursday a

day before a vote to decide who

succeeds her as party chief, with splits

deepening among party heavyweights.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier

rapped former finance minister

Wolfgang Schaeuble for openly voicing

support for corporate lawyer Friedrich

Merz to succeed Merkel as chair of the

Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

In contrast, Altmaier has plumped

for Merz’s rival and Merkel’s preferred

choice, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer,

who is now general secretary of the

party.

“Since Wolfgang Schaeuble has now

opened the floodgates, I can say that I

am convinced that Annegret Kramp-

Karrenbauer has the best chance to

unite the CDU and win elections,”

Altmaier told regional newspaper

Rheinische Post on Thursday.

“She has done that several times

under difficult conditions,” he said

about the former premier of the small

state of Saarland.

Although Merkel herself has

shied away from publicly naming

her preference, 56-year-old Kramp-

Karrenbauer is widely seen as her

anointed crown princess.

Merz, who had quit politics 15

years ago after losing a power struggle

against Merkel, has for long nursed a

grudge against the chancellor and is

regarded by many as her nemesis.

His experience in the corporate

world and his economically liberal

position have secured him support

from Germany’s business giants.

Those party faithful who complain

that Merkel has shifted the party too

far left — on issues from immigration

to green energy — are also looking

to Merz to bring the CDU back to its

conservative roots.

Schaeuble, the parliamentary

speaker, on Wednesday said he was

“certain that it would be best for the

country” if Merz won Friday’s vote

at the party congress gathering 1,001

delegates. —AFP

PARIS: Some 146 people, apparently

secondary school students, were

arrested near a school in a town outside

Paris on Thursday, a police source said.

The arrests were made after acts of

vandalism in the town of Mantes-la-

Jolie, the source said.

Other secondary schools in the

Paris region and elsewhere around

France also saw gatherings of students

and blockades, local media reported.

The students’ grievances include

education reforms and a new online

platform for allocating university

places that has come under criticism,

newspaper Le Parisien reported.

Some also wished to show support

for the Yellow Vests movement against

fuel tax rises, the newspaper said.

Almost 100 schools in Paris and

the surrounding region were affected

by the protests, broadcaster BFMTV

reported.

President Emmanuel Macron late

on Wednesday called off the petrol

and diesel tax rises that sparked the

Yellow Vests protests, which have seen

blockades and protests around France

since mid-November.

But prominent protesters say they

still intend to take to the streets of Paris

on Saturday, even though protests in

the capital degenerated into rioting for

the last two weekends. The government

scrapped all planned fuel tax hikes for

2019 and appealed for calm.

An increase scheduled for January

1, was “scrapped for the year 2019”

in its entirety, Environment Minister

Francois de Rugy announced on

BFM TV, in an about-turn for the

government.

The presidency, meanwhile, warned

of possible violence during a new

round of protests planned for Saturday

in Paris and elsewhere in the country.

“We have reasons to fear major

violence,” a source in the Elysee Palace

said amid calls for fresh mobilisation

of the “yellow vests” movement

already linked to four deaths and

hundreds of injuries in often violent

demonstrations. — dpa/AFP

Johnson apologises for failing to publish earningsLONDON: Britain’s former foreign secretary Boris Johnson was ordered by parliament’s standards watchdog on Thursday to apologise for failing to declare almost £53,000 ($67,495) earnings on time.

An investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that Johnson failed to register nine payments, totalling £52,722.80, within the 28-day deadline.

In her report, the commissioner, Kathryn Stone, concluded that Johnson was in breach of the rules of the House of Commons, parliament’s lower chamber, for a failure to fulfil his responsibilities, saying it was neither “inadvertent” nor “minor”.

Since resigning as foreign secretary in July over Theresa May’s Brexit plans, Johnson has been writing a weekly column for Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, on a yearly salary of £275,000.

Most of the payments that were declared late came from royalties from books he has written.

Johnson, regularly touted as a possible contender to replace May as Conservative Party leader should she fall over Brexit, told lawmakers

on Thursday he was very sorry and was grateful it had been accepted that he had not intended to mislead parliament.

“I fully accept that the delay was a breach of the House’s rules,” he said. “I therefore offer the House a full and unreserved apology.”

In his response to the commissioner’s investigation, he said he had now employed a dedicated member of staff to handle his declarations, saying the late payments were due to delays in processing his financial statements. He confirmed the nine payments had now been declared. — Reuters

Workers carry voting boxes during the final preparations for the upcoming Christian Democratic Union party congress in Hamburg, on Thursday. — Reuters

An anti-Brexit demonstrator eats his lunch as he takes a break from protesting opposite the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday. — AFP

A man runs in front of a burning garbage on Thursday in Marseille, southern France, on the sideline of a demonstration of high school students protesting against education reforms. — AFP

A woman with an umbrella walks on Red Square past the Kremlin after a night of heavy snowfall in Moscow on Thursday. — AFP

Boris Johnson

Barnier says UK future at stake in Brexit voteBRUSSELS: The British parliament’s vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal will determine the future of the country, the chief EU Brexit negotiator said on Thursday, insisting that the deal was the only route to secure an orderly withdrawal from the EU.

“If there is no withdrawal treaty, there is no transition, no basis of confidence that we need with the British regarding the future relationship,” Michel Barnier told representatives from cities and regions in the European

Union.Barnier told the gathering of the

European Committee of the Regions that it was key now that the withdrawal treaty agreed between Brussels and London be ratified.

“Now is the moment for everyone to bear their responsibilities. You know the British parliament will give its verdict on this text and on the future relationship in the coming days. It is a vote in which the future of their country is at stake.”

— Reuters

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world

SWEEPING POWERS: Canberra can compel providers to remove electronic protections

Australia passes cyber snooping laws with global implications

NZ military braces for climate change battle

Ukraine asks West to ramp up Russia curbs

Polish court orders Walesa to apologise over crash claims

SYDNEY: Australia on Thursday

passed controversial laws allowing

spies and police to snoop on the

encrypted communications of

suspected terrorists and criminals, as

experts warned the “unprecedented

powers” had far-reaching implications

for global cybersecurity.

There has been extensive debate

about the laws and their reach beyond

Australia’s shores in what is seen

as the latest salvo between global

governments and tech firms over

national security and privacy.

Under the legislation, Canberra

can compel local and international

providers — including overseas

communication giants such as

Facebook and WhatsApp — to remove

electronic protections, conceal covert

operations by government agencies,

and help with access to devices or

services.

Australian authorities can also

require that those demands be kept

secret.

The conservative government had

pushed for the bill to be passed before

parliament rises for the year this week,

saying the new powers were needed to

thwart terror attacks during the festive

period.

A last-minute deal was struck

with the opposition Labor Party over

its demands for more oversight and

safeguards when the laws are used,

with a review of the legislation to take

place in 18 months.

The government also agreed to

consider further amendments to the

bill early next year. National cyber

security adviser Alastair MacGibbon

said police have been “going blind

or going deaf because of encryption”

used by suspects.

Brushing off warnings from tech

giants that the laws would undermine

Internet security, MacGibbon said

they would be similar to traditional

telecommunications intercepts,

just updated to take in modern

technologies.

Global communications firms,

including Google and Twitter, have

repeatedly said the legislation would

force them to create vulnerabilities in

their products, such as by decrypting

messages on apps, which could then

by exploited by bad actors.

A central protection in the laws

to block authorities from forcing

companies to build a “systemic

weakness” into their product remains

poorly defined, critics say.

The Law Council of Australia, the

peak body for the legal profession,

said it had “serious concerns” about

the changes.

“We now have a situation where

unprecedented powers to access

encrypted communications are now

law, even though parliament knows

serious problems exist,” it said in a

statement.

Experts such as the UN special

rapporteur on the right to privacy

Joseph Cannataci have described the

bill as “poorly conceived” and “equally

as likely to endanger security as not.”

“Encryption underpins the

foundations of a secure Internet and

the Internet pervades everything

that we do in a modern society,” Tim

de Sousa, a principal at privacy and

cybersecurity consultancy elevenM,

said.

“If you require encryption to be

undermined to help law enforcement

investigations, then you are ultimately

undermining that encryption in all

circumstances. Those backdoors will

be found and exploited by others,

making everyone less secure,” he said.

— AFP

WELLINGTON: The New Zealand

Defence Force identified climate

change as one of its biggest security

challenges on Thursday, warning that

responding to global warming will

increasingly stretch its resources.

The NZDF said the impact of

climate change in the neighbouring

Pacific islands promised to be so

extreme that providing humanitarian

assistance could limit its ability to

perform its traditional defence roles.

“With the intensifying impacts of

climate change... New Zealand may

be faced with concurrent operational

commitments, which could stretch

resources and reduce readiness for

other requirements,” it said in a report

examining climate’s impact on the

military.

The NZDF has already played a

major part in helping Pacific island

nations such as Vanuatu and Fiji

following devastating cyclones blamed

on man-made global warming.

The report said problems in the

Pacific would only worsen, bringing

the potential for food and water

shortages, land disputes arising from

climate migration and more violent

storm disasters.

“When the effects of climate

change intersect with a complex array

of environmental and social issues,

they can be a significant contributor

to both low-level and more violent

conflict,” it said.

“The security implications of

climate change are further magnified

in areas dealing with weak governance

or corruption.”

Climate Change Minister James

Shaw said the military’s role was

changing.

“More and more, their battles seem

to be about fighting the aftermath of

extreme weather events, which fewer

and fewer people these days are trying

to argue are not part of the impact of

climate change,” he said.

New Zealand has lifted its presence

in the Pacific this year, partly in

response to China’s growing role in

the region, which Wellington sees as

falling within its sphere of influence.

— AFP

MILAN: Ukraine urged a gathering

of dozens of foreign ministers on

Thursday to increase sanctions

against Russia, accusing Moscow

of ramping up aggression against

Kiev and sowing “instability and

insecurity” across the West.

Speaking at a meeting of the

Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),

the foreign minister of Ukraine

denounced the recent seizure of three

Ukrainian naval vessels and their

crew by Russian forces off Crimea,

saying it represented another assault

on international law.

“It is a matter of urgency to

provide a prompt and consolidated

international response to this act

of aggression. Declarations are not

enough. There must be action,” Pavlo

Klimkin told the annual gathering of

OSCE ministers.

“We must raise the cost for Russia

with comprehensive and tailored

sanctions... There can be no business

as usual.”

The 57-nation OSCE, a security

and human rights watchdog, has been

rattled by the military and diplomatic

stand-off between Russia and

Ukraine, both of whom are member

states.

While numerous Western

ministers voiced robust support for

Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei

Lavrov pinned the blame for years of

escalating tensions on Ukraine and its

allies.

“Striving for dominance, a small

group of countries uses blackmail,

pressure and threats,” Lavrov told the

gathering in a cavernous conference

centre in Italy’s financial capital.

“Kiev (is) free from any

punishment, shielded by its Western

sponsors, who justify all its outrageous

actions,” he said.

The United States and the

European Union have imposed

sanctions on Russia since 2014, when

Moscow annexed Crimea, previously

Ukrainian territory, after a pro-

Russian leader was toppled in Kiev.

Fighting between Ukraine and

Moscow-backed separatists in the

Donbass region of eastern Ukraine

has killed more than 10,000 people.

Major fighting ended with a 2015

ceasefire but deadly exchanges of fire

are still frequent.

The unresolved crisis returned

to the fore last month when Russian

patrol boats fired on and seized three

Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea and

captured 23 sailors.

Moscow has accused Kiev of

orchestrating the clash, saying the

Ukrainian boats had entered Russian

waters — something Ukraine denies.

Lavrov said on Thursday the move

was a “provocation” and charged that

Ukraine was seeking to sabotage any

efforts to restore peace in the region.

But US, Canadian and European

ministers lined up on Thursday to

denounce Moscow and pledge their

support to Kiev.

“Russia’s illegal annexation of

Crimea, its direct involvement in the

conflict in the Donbass and now its

illegal actions targeting Ukrainian

sailors and vessels... cannot and must

not be accepted by the international

community,” said Canada’s foreign

minister, Chrystia Freeland. — Reuters

WARSAW: A Polish court on

Thursday ordered anti-communist

icon Lech Walesa to publicly

apologise to arch-rival Jaroslaw

Kaczynski, the powerful leader of

the governing right-wing party, for

saying he was responsible for the

deadly 2010 crash of a presidential

jet in Russia.

Kaczynski lodged a defamation

suit against Walesa over claims that

he had insisted the jet land in heavy

fog on a derelict airstrip and was

therefore responsible for the crash

that killed then president Lech

Kaczynski, his identical twin, and

all 95 others.

The disaster occurred as the

presidential delegation was heading

to a commemoration in Russia’s

Katyn forest for thousands of Polish

army officers killed by Soviet secret

police in 1940 — a massacre the

Kremlin denied until 1990.

Gdansk district court justice

Weronika Klawonn found there

was no evidence for Walesa’s

accusation and ordered him to issue

a public apology to Kaczynski. But

she denied Kaczynski’s request for

30,000 zloty ($7,900) in damages.

“Freedom of speech is not an

absolute freedom, one of its limits

is the protection of one’s own

reputation,” Klawonn said in her

verdict.

The judge also remarked that

Walesa’s accusations came on

the heels of moves by Kaczynski

to politicise the Smolensk crash

and his allegations that Walesa

was a secret communist agent —

something the Nobel Peace Prize

winner has long denied.

Neither Walesa nor Kaczynski

were present for the ruling.

Walesa had previously vowed to

appeal any ruling against him, even

raising the possibility of taking the

case to an international court.

Kaczynski and his Law and

Justice (PiS) party have long

insisted the crash was no accident.

Last year, he accused the liberal

Civic Platform (PO) opposition

party of then prime minister

Donald Tusk — now the EU

president — of being responsible

for the crash in Smolensk, western

Russia.

Tusk’s previous PO government

blamed bad weather and errors by

the Polish pilots and Russian air

traffic controllers for the crash.

Although both Walesa and

Kaczynski fought Poland’s

communist regime, they later

became bitter foes amid power

struggles in the early years of

Poland’s democracy.

More recently, Walesa has been

critical of Kaczynski and the PiS,

which won power in October 2015

and has since pushed through a

string of overhauls that led to mass

protests at home and conflict with

the European Union over rule of

law violations. — AFP

A 3D printed Facebook logo is seen in front of displayed cyber code in this illustration. — Reuters File Photo

Ukrainian paratroopers board IL-76 plane in Ozerne air base, prior to their dispatch to the east of the country, Zhytomyr region in northern Ukraine, on Thursday. — AFP

The NZDF has played a major part in helping Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu following devastating cyclones blamed on man-made global warming. — AFP

In this November 22 file photo, Polish Nobel Peace prize laureate Lech Walesa (L) and the leader of the governing conservative party (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski meet for the first time in years, at court in Gdansk. — AFP

KACZYNSKI LODGED A DEFAMATION SUIT

AGAINST WALESA OVER CLAIMS THAT HE HAD

INSISTED THE JET LAND IN HEAVY FOG ON A DERELICT AIRSTRIP

AND WAS THEREFORE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRASH THAT

KILLED THEN PRESIDENT LECH KACZYNSKI, HIS IDENTICAL TWIN, AND

ALL 95 OTHERS

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l D E C E M B E R 7 l 2 0 1 8 9

analysis

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.

PASCALE TROUILLAUD

n her Rio de Janeiro lab, biologist Michelle Klautau paid for the $1,400

photo machine, two air-conditioning units, most of the chairs and

even the paint and tiles from her own pocket. The professor is one

of several Brazilian scientists who warn the sector is teetering on a

precipice after losing two-thirds of state funding between 2010 and

2017.

“We are reaching a point where it’s becoming impossible,” said

Klautau, who specializes in marine sponges at the Federal University

of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

“Researchers can’t continue financing research with their salaries,”

she said. The rapid decline in funding parallels de-funding in other

areas, notably culture.

“When I saw the National Museum in Rio in flames on the

TV I started to cry,” said Professor Luiz Davidovich, a respected

physicist and president of the country’s Science Academy, referring

to a September 2 blaze that gutted South America’s most important

natural history museum. In UFRJ labs, he said “researchers are paying

out of their pocket to buy material or genetically modified mice to do

their research into Zika.”

“We are already cutting the number of students in our laboratories,

the number of projects, and often the scale of them,” Klautau added.

One of her student assistants, Marcio Franca, pointed out a petty-

cash box the team pays into to buy water, coffee and toilet paper.

Brazil has traditionally been a significant player in the science

world. It recently inaugurated one of the world’s most powerful

particle accelerators, and regularly sees research published in science

journals.

“Brazilian science is under threat from lack of funds,” warned

Professor Marcos Farina, at the UFRJ’s biomedical sciences

department. He says that when it rains, water pools in the ceiling over

his lab. “Then water starts dripping on our equipment,” Farina said.

Klautau said things have become so bad that she thinks regularly

about resigning and moving to a post abroad, “like many colleagues.”

But a Brazil brain-drain is a growing phenomenon. Farina said

his lab has already lost a teacher and a post-doctoral student, both of

whom went to the United States.

Many Brazilian scientists view with trepidation the nomination

of Marcos Pontes, an astronaut, as science minister in the incoming

government of president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. “One of his (Pontes’)

first sentences was, ‘I’m going to fight internal enemies,’” said Farina.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen.” — AFP

Brazil researchers hit as science spending drops

Dream to nightmare: ‘Little Messi’ forced to fleeUSMAN SHARIFI

urtaza Ahmadi moved the world with his

love for footballer Lionel Messi in 2016.

His dream of meeting the Argentinian

came true, but now the seven-year-

old boy is living a nightmare as one of

thousands of Afghans displaced by war.

Murtaza and his family abandoned

their home in southeastern Ghazni

province in November, along with

hundreds of others fleeing intense

fighting after the Taliban launched an

offensive in the previously safe area.

Now they are among the thousands of

similarly uprooted people struggling to

get by in Kabul, and also living with the

fear that the Taliban are hunting for their

famous son.

The image of Murtaza sporting a

makeshift Messi jersey — made of a

blue and white striped plastic bag and

with Messi’s name and famous number

10 written on the back in felt-tip pen —

flooded media and social networks in

2016.

The media hype drew the football

superstar’s attention, and that year

Murtaza met his idol in Qatar, where

he walked out onto the pitch clutching

Messi’s hand as a mascot for a Barcelona

friendly.

Messi, a Unicef goodwill ambassador,

also gave his tiny fan an autographed

jersey and a football.

But the moment of happiness has

quickly dissipated.

AFP met with the family recently

in the cramped room in Kabul they are

renting from another impoverished

family, where Murtaza’s mother Shafiqa

told how they had fled their home district

of Jaghori in the night after hearing

gunshots.

The UN says up to 4,000 families

fled. Hundreds of civilians, soldiers, and

insurgents were killed in the fighting.

The fear felt by the Ahmadi family

was ratcheted up when they learned that

the Taliban were searching for the small

Murtaza by name.

“(They) said if they capture him, they

will cut him into pieces,” Shafiqa said, her

eyes horrified.

Sports were rarely tolerated under the

1996-2001 Taliban regime, and the Kabul

football stadium was a well-known venue

for stonings and executions.

Shafiqa said she hid her famous son’s

face with a scarf to prevent him from

being recognised as they fled.

They took refuge first in a mosque in

Bamiyan, before arriving in Kabul six

days later. Among their belongings left

behind are the football and jersey signed

by Messi.

Although Afghan security forces have

beaten back the Taliban in Jaghori, the

family says it no longer feels safe.

“The danger of the Taliban coming

back is high, going back is not an option,”

Shafiqa said.

The attention they received as a result

of Murtaza’s fame has added to their fears,

she continued.

“Local strongmen were calling and

saying, ‘You have become rich, pay the

money you have received from Messi or

we will take your son’,” she said.

The family have already fled once

before, to Pakistan in 2016, where they

sought asylum in “any safe country.”

They returned reluctantly to Jaghori

after their money ran out, Shafiqa said.

Murtaza’s father Arif remains in

Jaghori working as a farmer while his

family lives in Kabul under precarious

conditions, with inadequate shelter,

food, water or sanitation available to the

refugees.

They are among the more than

300,000 Afghans — 58 per cent of whom

are under the age of 18 — who have fled

their homes due to violence, according to

the UN’s agency for humanitarian affairs.

Homayoun, Murtaza’s eldest brother,

says even in Kabul he is afraid. “We are

worried something bad will happen if

they know who Murtaza is,” he said.

Little Murtaza, meanwhile, says he

misses his football and his jersey from

Messi.

“I want them back so I can play,” he

said.

“I miss Messi,” he added.

“When I meet him, I will say, ‘Salaam’

and ‘How are you?’ Then he will reply

saying thank you and be safe.” — AFP

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Welcoming refugees ushered in Merkel’s final act?

O

M

I

YANNICK PASQUET

pening Germany’s doors to more than

a million refugees may come to define

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s legacy, a

landmark moment in her career that

sparked a backlash which could hasten

her political exit.

It was “the decision of her life,” weekly

Die Zeit judged recently, ahead of a vote

on Friday that will crown a new head of

the centre-right Christian Democratic

Union (CDU) party Merkel has led since

2000.

Late summer 2015 saw hundreds of

thousands of refugees attempt to reach

Europe in often appalling conditions —

prompting Merkel to welcome those who

found themselves stuck in Hungary.

After completing the journey to

the Austrian-German border by coach

or train or even on foot, many were

welcomed by Germans with bouquets of

flowers, food and other supplies.

Syrians and Iraqis fleeing conflict in

the Middle East dubbed the chancellor

“Mama Merkel”, the compassionate

European who had offered them shelter.

The nickname is “just a joke, it

oversimplifies things,” says Rami Rihawi,

a 22-year-old Syrian from Aleppo who

arrived in Berlin in late 2015, spending

seven months living with 300 other

people in a gym.

“But she will go down in history”

for the choices she made back then, he

predicted. Rihawi met Merkel in 2017

when she visited a training centre for

young computer programmers where he

was studying, before he was hired as a

software developer at a start-up.

“We can do it!” — the phrase Merkel

repeatedly used back then to reassure

her fellow citizens they were up to the

mammoth integration challenge — has

since disappeared from her lexicon,

after becoming a weapon flung at her by

political opponents.

Germans’ initial openness quickly

gave way to doubt over the mass

arrivals, especially in eastern states

already aggrieved by their economic

disadvantages compared to the wealthier

west.

At routine events or on the campaign

trail, Merkel was met with masses of

people whistling and heckling.

The CDU’s traditional Bavarian allies

— the more conservative CSU — have

insisted on annual quotas for the number

of migrants allowed into the country.

Merkel long resisted such calls before

finally giving in, in all but name.

Parliamentarians quickly passed

tougher asylum laws that contributed to

a sharp reduction in the number of new

requests, from a peak of 750,000 in 2016

to 158,000 between January and October

this year.

Endless calls to be tougher about

deporting rejected asylum seekers have

seen charter flights take Afghans back

to Kabul. With migration dominating

the airwaves, the far-right Alternative

for Germany (AfD) party began

notching up electoral wins after years of

stagnation.

It has become the strongest party

in certain regions, winning 92 seats

in the Bundestag (lower house) 2017

parliamentary election, promising to

“hunt” Merkel. Such a major presence

for the far-right in parliament has not

been seen in Germany since 1945, as the

country’s strong memory of the Nazi past

restricted xenophobia’s appeal.

Meanwhile, the CDU’s record low in

2017 prompted the party’s conservative

wing, which had always bridled at

Merkel’s centrist leadership, to turn up

the volume on its complaints.

It took six months for the chancellor

to form her fourth government, and the

shaky alliance has been riven by repeated

clashes over migration.

After a string of setbacks in regional

elections, Merkel announced in October

that she would not stand for reelection

as party chief this month — nor for

reelection as chancellor in 2021. “Maybe

it’s a good thing that she’s leaving, so that

a new generation can emerge,” said Syrian

refugee Rihawi. — AFP

Murtaza and his family abandoned

their home in southeastern

Ghazni province in November, along

with hundreds of others fleeing intense fighting after the Taliban

launched an offensive

Germans’ initial openness quickly gave way to doubt

over the mass arrivals, especially in eastern states

already aggrieved by their economic

disadvantages compared to the wealthier west

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l D E C E M B E R 7 l 2 0 1 810

panorama

PAYING HOMAGE: Devotees light oil lamps in memory of deceased family members during the Bala Chaturdashi festival at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Thursday. — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Jingling amid

a Kuala Lumpur skyline, nearly a

dozen people sit in a hanging sleigh-

like restaurant as it is raised by a

crane some 45 metres above the

street below.

Strapped into rollercoaster-like

seats, the Santa in the Sky patrons

dine next to prancing reindeer

models and a mannequin of jolly

St Nicholas far above the city’s busy

traffic.

“We have all of our guests having

their dinner in the sky (up) 45 metres

on Santa’s sleigh,” restaurant manager

Gurjit Singh said.

“We have the whole Christmas

mood going on, Christmas carols...

and warm food.”

The Christmas-themed eatery is a

holiday edition of the Belgian-based

novelty restaurant, which has lifted

dinner guests in over 40 countries

around the world.

Malaysia, a tropical country

which rarely sees temperatures dip

below 24 degrees Celsius, is also the

second country after Belgium to host

the Yuletide concept.

As a team of chefs and safety

officers serve dinner to up to 16

guests, a small team down below pulls

on cables attached to the platform,

turning it slowly for patrons to take

in the urban skyline.

“When the table is up, we need to

get great pictures of KLCC,” Singh

said, referring to the Petronas Twin

Towers skyscrapers.

“We have the table turning around

180 degrees both ways.”

The restaurant’s dinner menu

is priced upwards of $119, with a

Christmas-period seating available

until December 31. — AFP

LINE CREATIONS: A man wearing a storm trooper costume holds a sketchbook belonging to costume designer John Mollo, and showing illustrations for Star Wars costumes, during a photo-call ahead of an auction at Bonhams in central London, Britain, on Thursday. — Reuters

BIKES’ PILE-UP: Urban management officers transport a bicycle next to piled-up bicycles of bike-sharing services in Hefei, Anhui province, China. — ReutersCLOWN PARADE: Salvadorean clowns participate in a parade during Salvadoran Clown Day celebrations in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, on Wednesday. — Reuters

MARKING NEW YEAR: Kindergarten children wearing traditional headwear use wooden hammers to pound steamed rice into a mochi rice cake during the annual mochi-tsuki event to celebrate the New Year at a kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday. — AFP

Christmas sleigh restaurant rides into tropical Malaysia

A hanging restaurant being raised by a crane in Kuala Lumpur

inspired by Santa Claus travelling on a sleigh with reindeers. — AFP

BIZ BUZZ

Bjorn Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Group, presents Norwegian Air’s first low-cost transatlantic flight service from Argentina at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. — Reuters

OSLO: Budget carrier Norwegian Air struggled to fill its aircraft in November as capacity growth far outpaced demand, its monthly traffic report showed, sending its shares down 6 per cent in early trade.

The company, which has been courted by British Airways owner IAG, has ramped up its transatlantic business but has also said that growth will slow as it prioritises profitability over expansion.

“Several of our summer routes have been extended into November, which has affected the load factor,” Chief Executive Bjoern Kjos said in a statement.

“A full transition into the winter programme will take place early next year, once the busy holiday season is behind us.”

While the airline’s capacity grew 34 per cent year-on-year in November, revenue-generating passenger kilometres increased by 26 per cent, lagging a forecast of 33.7 per cent in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The load factor, a measure of how many seats are sold on each flight, fell to 78.8 per cent for the month, the lowest since May 2014. — Reuters

A woman using a mobile phone walks past the logo of SoftBank Corp in Tokyo. — Reuters

TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp’s mobile phone services were disrupted in some parts of Japan on Thursday, ahead of an initial public offering (IPO) of its domestic telecoms unit later this month that will potentially raise $21 billion.

Shares of the group fell as much as 6 per cent after the news, pressured also by a broader sell off in stocks following the arrest of a senior executive at Huawei Technologies . The two companies have partnered on 5G trials.

A SoftBank spokeswoman said connection problems started around 1:39 pm (04:39 GMT). Other details, including when full service will be restored, are not yet known, she added.

Strong retail demand saw SoftBank Group last week forgo a price range for the bumper IPO of its domestic telco, SoftBank Corp, setting a single indicative rate of 1,500 yen ($13.30). SoftBank will set a final offering price on December 10 with shares set to begin trading on December 19.

Shares of the group closed down 5 per cent on Thursday, in a broader market that skidded to a two-week low after Canada arrested Huawei’s global chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States, threatening a new spike in Sino-US tensions. — Reuters

SoftBank mobile services disrupted ahead of IPO

Norwegian Air struggles to fill planes as fleet grows

Tariff effects broaden across US, wage growth higher: Fed

WASHINGTON: Tariff-driven price increases

have spread more broadly through the US

economy, though on balance inflation has risen

at a modest pace in most parts of the country,

the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its

latest report on the economy.

The US central bank’s “Beige Book” report,

a snapshot of the economy gleaned from

discussions with business contacts in the Fed’s

12 districts in the weeks through November

26, also said that the economy appeared to be

growing modestly to moderately.

While a wide range of businesses cited

concerns about the effects of a trade war

between the United States and China, firms

continued to hire and reported bumping up

benefits and pay to compete for an increasingly

scarce labour pool.

Labour markets tightened across a broad

range of industries, and wage growth “tended

to the higher side of a modest to moderate

pace,” the Fed said.

In the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank’s

district, “labour availability was widely seen

as the biggest obstacle to short-term growth,”

according to the Beige Book.

The dollar held onto slim gains after the

report was released.

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest

rates at the close of its December 18-19 policy

meeting. Policymakers have said the United

States’ strong economy could stoke higher

inflation if they do not raise borrowing costs

further.

At the same time, Fed Chairman Jerome

Powell has signalled the Fed’s three-year

tightening cycle is drawing to a close and

central bankers are looking for signs a global

growth slowdown and a US-China trade war

might be weighing on the US economy.

The Beige Book report highlighted the

developing risks that Fed officials have begun

citing more frequently as they plan how far to

continue their rate increase cycle.

“Reports of tariff-induced cost increases

have spread more broadly from manufacturers

and contractors to retailers and restaurants,”

the Fed said.

President Donald Trump has slapped tariffs

on hundreds of Chinese imports, prompting

retaliation against US exports.

The Fed said incomes and conditions in the

agricultural sector, which has born the brunt of

Chinese retaliatory tariffs, were “mixed,” hit by

tariffs and excessive rainfall.

Chinese tariffs have disrupted America’s

massive soybean industry, with large shipments

of beans wandering US waterways instead of

heading for China. In the St. Louis Federal

Reserve Bank’s district, “local contacts note

that barge activity has increased due to the large

number of storage barges for soybeans affected

by recent tariffs.” — Reuters

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 7, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 29, 1440 AH

VANCOUVER/WASHINGTON:

The daughter of Chinese tech giant

Huawei’s founder has been arrested

in Canada and is facing extradition

to the United States, dealing a blow to

hopes of an easing of Sino-US trade

tensions and rocking global stock

markets.

The shock arrest of Meng

Wanzhou, who is also Huawei

Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial

officer, raises fresh doubts over a 90-

day truce on trade struck between

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi

Jinping on Saturday — the day she

was detained.

The arrest is related to violations

of US sanctions, a person familiar

with the matter said. Reuters was

unable to determine the precise

nature of the violations.

The arrest and any potential

sanctions on the world’s second

biggest smartphone maker could

have major repercussions on the

global technology supply chain.

Shares in Asian suppliers to Huawei,

which also counts Qualcomm Inc

and Intel among its major suppliers,

tumbled on Thursday.

Meng, one of the vice chairs on the

company’s board and the daughter of

company founder Ren Zhengfei, was

arrested on December 1 at the request

of US authorities and a court hearing

has been set for Friday, a Canadian

Justice Department spokesman said.

Trump and Xi had dined in Argentina

on Dec. 1 at the G20 summit.

Sources said in April that US

authorities have been probing

Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms

equipment maker, since at least 2016

for allegedly shipping US-origin

products to Iran and other countries

in violation of US export and

sanctions laws.

Huawei confirmed the arrest in

a statement and said that it has been

provided little information of the

charges, adding that it was “not aware

of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng”.

She was detained when she was

transferring flights in Canada, it

added.

China’s embassy in Canada said

it resolutely opposed the arrest and

called for Meng’s immediate release.

In April, the sources said the US

Justice Department probe was being

handled by the US attorney’s office in

Brooklyn.

The US Justice Department on

Wednesday declined to comment.

A spokesman for the US attorney’s

office in Brooklyn also declined to

comment.

The arrest drew a sharp response

on Chinese social media.

A user of China’s Twitter-like

Weibo platform said Chinese should

boycott products made by US tech

giant Apple Inc and instead buy

Huawei products to show support for

one of China’s national champions.

Jia Wenshan, a professor at

Chapman University in California,

said the arrest was part of a broader

geo-political strategy from the Trump

administration to counter China and

it “runs a huge risk of derailing the

US-China trade talks”.

Mei Xinyu, a researcher at a

think tank run by the Ministry of

Commerce, wrote in an article on

the official People’s Daily Overseas

Edition’s WeChat account that the

arrest was a warning that the Trump

administration might abandon its

deal with China.— Reuters

Huawei founder’s daughter held in Canada on US request

VIENNA: OPEC has made a planned cut

in oil output effectively conditional on the

contribution from non-OPEC producer

Russia, delegates said on Thursday as the

group gathered in Vienna for a meeting aimed

at supporting battered oil prices.

Five delegates said the group was waiting

for news from Russia as Energy Minister

Alexander Novak had flown back from

Vienna for a possible meeting with President

Vladimir Putin. Novak returns to Vienna on

Friday for talks between OPEC and its allies,

following discussions among OPEC producers

on Thursday.

“I am optimistic. There will be a deal, but

it is unclear how much OPEC and how much

non-OPEC will contribute. It is still under

discussion,” one delegate said.

Three delegates said OPEC and its allies

could cut output by 1 million barrels per

day if Russia contributed 150,000 bpd of

that reduction. If Russia contributed around

250,000 bpd, the overall cut could exceed 1.3

million bpd.

“The cut will be between 1.0 and 1.3

million bpd. We just have to see how it will be

distributed,” another delegate said.

OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, has

indicated it wants the organisation and its

allies to curb output by at least 1.3 million bpd,

or 1.3 per cent of global production.

Riyadh wants Moscow to contribute at

least 250,000-300,000 bpd to the cut but Russia

insists the amount should be only half of that,

OPEC and non-OPEC sources said.

Oil prices have crashed by almost a third

since October to around $61 per barrel as

Saudi Arabia, Russia and the UAE have raised

output since June after Trump called for

higher production to compensate for lower

Iranian exports.

Iranian exports have plummeted after

Washington imposed fresh sanctions on

Tehran in November. — Reuters

OPEC waiting for Russia before deciding how much oil to cut

A US flag flies at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. — Reuters

Huawei executive faces extradition to US * Arrest throws trade war truce in doubt * China calls for Meng’s immediate release

The company logo is seen at the office of Huawei in Beijing. — Reuters

The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. — Reuters

Labour markets tightened across a broad range of industries, and wage growth tended to the higher side of a modest to moderate pace

TESLA SEEKS BIDS FOR CHINA GIGAFACTORY P12 CLUES IN MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL HACK IMPLICATE CHINA P12 WORLD’S BIGGEST OIL TRADERS PAID BRIBES IN BRAZIL SCANDAL P12

business editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.omfollow us @oman_biz

MUSCAT STOCK

MARKET

CRUDE OIL PRICE

4,548.720Oman Crude $ 60.14 Brent Crude $ 58.91Light Crude $ 50.63

businessOMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l D E C E M B E R 7 l 2 0 1 812

international

Tesla, smarting from trade war, seeks bids for China Gigafactory

SHANGHAI: Tesla Inc has opened a

tender process to build its Shanghai

Gigafactory and at least one contractor

has started buying materials, according

to sources and documents reviewed

by Reuters, the clearest indication that

construction is imminent.

The details, previously unreported,

reveal that state-owned Shanghai

Construction Group Co Ltd is

taking part in the bidding while a

unit of China Minmetals Corp Ltd

is preparing materials for the plant’s

foundations.

The $2 billion factory, Tesla’s first

in China, is a major bet for the US

electric vehicle (EV) maker as it looks

to bolster its presence in the world’s

biggest auto market where its earnings

have been hit by increased tariffs on

US imports.

The so-called Gigafactory would

also be China’s first wholly foreign-

owned car plant, whose progress is

widely seen as a reflection of Sino-US

relations and also the degree to which

China is opening up its markets.

Tesla, led by billionaire Chief

Executive Elon Musk, has begun

seeking bids from companies looking

to build the plant, according to two

people with knowledge of the matter

and a construction document on an

official local bidding platform.

Shanghai Construction Group is

among several firms bidding, the two

people said, declining to be identified

because the information was not

public.

Shanghai Baoye Group Co Ltd,

a China Minmetals subsidiary, is

preparing for the delivery of a large

amount of concrete pipe piles and

steel pile tips in the second half of

December, showed a document on the

metals giant’s website.

Tesla declined to comment.

Shanghai Construction Group did

not respond to a request for comment.

An official at Baoye parent China

Metallurgical Group Corp [CNMET.

UL], a Minmetals firm, confirmed

involvement.

WORKING LATE: Tesla is facing

rising competition in China from

a swathe of domestic EV makers.

Its sales tumbled after China raised

tariffs on US-built cars, prompting

the automaker to cut prices to keep its

models affordable.

In moves which would further

lower prices, the automaker has

said it aims to produce its Model 3

mass-market car from 2019 at the

new plant — Tesla’s first Gigafactory

outside of the United States — and

localise its manufacturing and supply

chain.

Shanghai’s government, in a

statement on its official WeChat late

on Wednesday, said Mayor Ying Yong

had visited the site of the Gigafactory

and that preparation work was nearly

complete and construction would

start soon.

Ying urged the firm to “accelerate”

work on the factory and said

production would start to some

degree in the second half of next year,

the statement showed.

A member of the community

at Lingang near the plant’s 860,000

square meter site, which Tesla secured

in October, said work on ground

preparation and fencing appeared

nearly complete.

“Workers work very hard on this,”

the person said. “Sometimes they

work until 10 pm at night.” — Reuters

WASHINGTON: Marriott said last week that

a hack that began four years ago had exposed

the records of up to 500 million customers in its

Starwood hotels reservation system.

Private investigators looking into the breach

have found hacking tools, techniques and

procedures previously used in attacks attributed to

Chinese hackers, said three sources who were not

authorised to discuss the company’s private probe

into the attack.

That suggests that Chinese hackers may have

been behind a campaign designed to collect

information for use in Beijing’s espionage efforts

and not for financial gain, two of the sources said.

While China has emerged as the lead suspect

in the case, the sources cautioned it was possible

somebody else was behind the hack because other

parties had access to the same hacking tools, some

of which have previously been posted online.

Identifying the culprit is further complicated by

the fact that investigators suspect multiple hacking

groups may have simultaneously been inside

Starwood’s computer networks since 2014, said

one of the sources. Speaking in Beijing, Chinese

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang

declined to comment directly on the issue, but said

China strongly opposed any form of hacking.

“If the relevant side has any evidence, they

can provide it to the Chinese side, and relevant

authorities will investigate in accordance with

the law,” he told a daily news briefing. “But we

resolutely oppose gratuitous accusations when it

comes to Internet security,” he added.

If investigators confirm that China was behind

the attack, that could complicate already tense

relations between Washington and Beijing, amid

an ongoing tariff dispute and US accusations of

Chinese espionage and the theft of trade secrets.

Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim declined

to comment, saying “We’ve got nothing to share,”

when asked about involvement of Chinese hackers.

Marriott disclosed the hack on Friday, prompting

US and UK regulators to quickly launch probes

into the case. Compromised customer data

included names, passport numbers, addresses,

phone numbers, birth dates and email addresses. A

small percentage of accounts included scrambled

payment card data, said Kim. — Reuters

Clues in Marriott International hack implicate China

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO:

Leading global oil traders Vitol,

Trafigura and Glencore paid more than

$30 million in bribes to employees

at state-owned Brazilian company

Petrobras in a scheme that may still be

going on, prosecutors said.

Top executives of the international

companies had “total and unequivocal”

knowledge of the graft involving

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as

Petrobras, investigators said at a news

conference. The bribes took place

between 2011 and 2014, investigators

said.

The details being made public were

just the “tip of the iceberg” investigators

said, and the latest revelations were

the strongest international links yet

announced to the sweeping “Car

Wash” probe centred on political

corruption at Petrobras.

Petrobras employees offered the

trading companies lower prices for oil

and its derivatives as well as storage

tanks in more than 160 separate

operations then shared in the savings,

authorities said.

Those involved, e-mails obtained by

Brazil’s federal police showed, would

use nicknames such as Tiger, Flipper

or Mr M and discuss below-market

prices for oil or tanks, while invoicing

their companies at the market rate.

The differences could range from 10

cents to a dollar per barrel and the

term of art for the bribes was “delta.”

Prosecutors also obtained

spreadsheets mentioning oil trades

involving Vitol, Glencore and

Trafigura that they said represent the

bribes paid.

“Evidence shows that there was

a scheme in which the companies

investigated paid bribes to Petrobras

employees to obtain ... more

advantageous prices and sign contracts

more frequently,” prosecutors said in a

statement.

The bribes moved through bank

accounts in the United States, Britain,

Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay,

among others, raising questions of

whether those countries would open

investigations.

Brazilian police alerted Interpol,

seeking the arrest of a Petrobras

employee in Houston, whom the

company said it has now fired. The

employee, Rodrigo Garcia Berkowitz,

worked as an oil trader, and

prosecutors say he used the nickname

Batman.

Petrobras said it was cooperating

with authorities and viewed itself as a

victim of corruption.

“We are the most interested party

in seeing all the facts come to light,”

the company said in a statement. “We

will continue adopting all necessary

measures to obtain a proper reparation

for damages caused (to Petrobras).”

Spokesmen for Glencore and

Trafigura declined to comment. A

Vitol spokesman said the firm “has

a zero tolerance policy in respect of

bribery and corruption and will always

cooperate fully with the relevant

authorities in any jurisdiction in which

it operates.”

More than 130 businessmen and

politicians have been convicted in

the case in Brazil, including former

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,

who is serving a 12-year prison

sentence.

The latest developments hit just as

Petrobras was hoping to turn the page

on corruption.

In September, Petrobras settled

corruption charges for $850 million

with Brazilian and US authorities.

Separately on Wednesday it launched

a new business plan saying its goal is to

“strengthen the credibility, pride and

reputation of Petrobras.” — Reuters

World’s biggest oil traders paid bribes in Brazil scandal: Prosecutors

SINGAPORE: Oil prices dipped

on Thursday as stock markets

slid and as traders eyed an OPEC

meeting expected to result in a

supply cut aimed at draining a glut

that has pulled down crude by 30

per cent since October.

International Brent crude oil

futures LCOc1 were at $61.35 per

barrel at 07:47 GMT, down 21

cents, or 0.3 per cent from their last

close. US West Texas Intermediate

(WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at

$53.17 per barrel, down 28 cents,

or 0.5 per cent.

The Organisation of

the Petroleum Exporting

Countries (OPEC) is meeting

at its headquarters in Vienna,

Austria, on Thursday to

decide its production policy in

coordination with non-OPEC

producer Russia.

Expectations are for a supply

cut between OPEC and Russia

to be agreed between 1 and 1.4

million barrels per day (bpd).

Led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s

crude oil production has risen by

4.1 per cent since mid-2018, to

33.31 million bpd.

Oil output from the world’s

biggest producers — OPEC,

Russia and the United States —

has increased by a 3.3 million bpd

since the end of 2017, to 56.38

million bpd, meeting almost 60

per cent of global consumption.

The increase alone is equivalent

to the output of major OPEC

producer United Arab Emirates.

Traders said oil prices were

also being weighed down by weak

global financial markets, which

saw stock markets tumble on

Thursday.

World stocks hit by Wall Street,

US yield curve double whammy

Barclays bank said in its Global

Outlook published on Thursday

that “investors need to lower

their expectations” and that “2019

should be a period of lower returns

and higher volatility”. — Reuters

Oil dips amid stock market slide, traders await OPEC meeting

Picture shows export oil pipelines at an oil facility in the Khark Island, on the shore of the Gulf. — AFP

Logo of Marriott hotel is seen in Vienna. — Reuters

Brazil’s state-run Petrobras oil company headquarters is pictured in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — Reuters

A Tesla sign is seen during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China. — Reuters

BT to strip China’s Huawei from core networks, limit 5G accessLONDON: Britain’s BT Group said it

was removing Huawei Technologies’

equipment from the core of its existing

3G and 4G mobile operations and

would not use the Chinese company

in central parts of the next network.

New Zealand and Australia have

stopped telecom operators using

Huawei’s equipment in new 5G

networks because they are concerned

about possible Chinese government

involvement in their communications

infrastructure.

Huawei, the world’s biggest

network equipment maker ahead of

Ericsson and Nokia, has said Beijing

has no influence over its operations.

BT said Huawei’s equipment had

not been used in the core of its fixed-

line network, and it was removing it

from the core of the mobile networks

it acquired when it bought operator

EE. It said the process was to bring

the EE networks into line with the rest

of its business rather than a change

of policy. “In 2016, following the

acquisition of EE, we began a process

to remove Huawei equipment from

the core of our 3G and 4G networks,

as part of network architecture

principles in place since 2006,” a BT

spokesman said. — Reuters

People walk past a sign board of Huawei at Consumer Electronics Show Asia 2018 in Shanghai.—Reuters

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 7, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 29, 1440 AH

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On Wednesday morning pupils from

schools all over the Sultanate

poured into the Royal Opera

House Muscat for the first of five

performances of ‘The Sleeping

Beauty’ by the Carlo Colla Puppet Theatre. Thanks

to the insight and imagination of the Education

and Outreach team at ROHM to share different

genres of musical presentation with Oman’s

young people, the Milanese puppet company

were brought over from Italy. Together with the

43-strong, ‘Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra’,

they came to entrance and delight children of all

ages in a fantasy production of Charles Perrault’s

17th century legendary tale.

In the auditorium there was a stage-within-a-

stage, a magical story-book theatre, beloved by

children throughout the world of ages past, and

many excited youngsters sat with baited breath

as the half-sized curtain emblazoned with, ‘Once

Upon a Time’ was set to rise. The conductor

of Tchaikovsky’s iconic ballet score, ‘Sleeping

Beauty’, was the versatile young Russian star,

Alevtina Ioffe, who was here in Muscat just a month

ago for the State Ballet of Georgia’s presentation

of the same score. When she appeared to great

applause the show was set to begin. An amazing

3D theatre, reproducing the visual impact of the

great opera houses, was revealed behind the

diminutive front drop and a beautiful scene of

the ‘Palace Hall’ was ready for Princess Aurora’s

baptism. The story was narrated in Arabic or

English for different audiences on pre-recorded

soundtracks, and the English presentation at

11am each day had clearly spoken dialogue with

quaintly appropriate regional accents. Cantilena,

the Court’s Nurse, had an endearing London

lilt, just right for a Royal Nursery! The actors

were string puppets about two feet tall, operated

from a manoeuvre bridge three metres high,

by the thirteen puppeteers of the ‘Compagnia

Marrionettistica Carlo Colla & Figli’. The figures

were sculptured and wood-carved with incredibly

expressive faces, and dressed in elaborately

tailored period costumes. The children had been

taught many aspects of puppeteering and how to

waltz in school in preparation for their visit.

The seven coloured fairies of the folktale

performed, gliding and dancing in clever

synchronisation to some beautiful woodwind

playing from the pit, while each spoke in rhyme

as they offered gifts, finishing with a familiar

Tchaikovsky Waltz. The thunder forewarning

the entrance of the wicked fairy, Misery,

was anticipated by huge gestures from the

conductor visible in the pit, lighting effects and

a double-headed dragon. Misery herself was

brilliantly created with an ugly expression and

dark violet costume, while Fairy Harmony was

serene in silver and white, accompanied by her

helper-Sylphs. The curtain fell to some famous

Tchaikovsky melodies and rose again to reveal

the lush Palace Garden where the sixteen-year-

old princess, with long blond hair and golden robe,

was playing with her spaniel dog, Puff — much to

everyone’s delight. Some new characters in the

show were enlightening to those who did not

know the full story. Puff barked at the intrusion

of an “Old Lady” to smoke and red lighting, aware

that this was really Misery in disguise.

The curtain dropped again and an entr’acte

of timps and trumpet fanfare with full brass

and bass drums heralded a visit to Harmony’s

Kingdom where her squeaky, cute Sylphs were

sewing a long wedding veil in gold thread for

Princess Aurora. They left in a flying puppet-

chariot on a sky backdrop, to gasps of amazement

from the young viewers.

The children were not expected to grasp the

finer points of Tchaikovsky’s legendary skill in

orchestration, but there is no doubt that they

appreciated the splendour of his brass fanfares

and timpani rolls, even on a subconscious level,

as it underpinned the drama of dragons, storms

and evil fairies.

The curtain rose again, showing the full

depth of the proscenium, where Princess

Aurora’s Bedroom was draped in an evocative

blue haze. The following scene brought all the

magic of a visual fantasy to the ‘Woods next to

the Castle’. The Sylphs were looking for herbs

to break the evil spell, and Duffy’s character

was delightfully emphasised with a less-than-

bright tone of voice, opposite a distinctly wise

Northern (English) helper! As Harmony put

everyone to sleep, the Palace became like a

Doll’s House, its front wall opened to reveal

the inhabitants asleep. Brambles and trees

grew up in front of the eyes, layer by layer, to

hide and protect those inside for a hundred

years. Prince Désiré arrived as predicted by

a hunting fanfare, and after a convoluted new

twist in the story (to allow for new characters

to entertain) the evil Misery was doomed to live

forever trapped in a tree trunk. The theatrical

effect in reverse allowed the brambles to peal

away and the bushes gradually opened up to

reveal the Castle facade. The Grand Finale

took on a Fairy Tale Book quality. A parade of

Perrault’s famous folktale characters – true to

the ballet score – paraded across the stage in

celebration of the wedding, for the children to

identify. They were also the stories in the Carlo

Colla repertoire: Snow White and her Seven

darling Dwarfs, Cinderella and her Handsome

Prince, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood,

her undressed grandmother, the Wolf in

grandma’s clothing pursued by the Hunter

who shot the interloper, Bluebeard and others.

The young audience was entranced and

fascinated by the optical illusion of the Teatro delle

Marionette and the live orchestra playing in the

pit. They were more attentive and focused than

ever at a ROHM children’s programme, and their

exemplary behaviour put some adults at other

performances to shame! There will be a public

performance at 4pm on Saturday, but those lucky

enough to have enjoyed the experience already

must be wondering when they will next be treated

to a production of Eugenio Monti Colla’s Magical

Puppet Shows.

A magical puppet show for all ages

On Wednesday, young audience were entranced and fascinated by the optical illusion of the Teatro delle Marionette bringing to life some of children’s most beloved magical stories

STORY BY GEORGINA BENISONPHOTO BY KHALID AL BUSAIDY

ISRAELI RESEARCHERS SAY an inscription on an

ancient ring discovered

near Jerusalem may

include the name of Pontius

Pilate, the Roman official

who Biblical accounts say

sentenced Jesus to death.

It would be a rare example

still in existence of an

inscription with the name of

the man believed to have sent

Jesus to his crucifixion.

The researchers recently

announced their analysis of

the inscription on the ring

— which was actually found

some 50 years ago — in Israel Exploration Journal.

The journal is published by the

Israel Exploration Society and

the Institute of Archaeology at

Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.

They say the copper-alloy

ring, dated to around 2,000

years ago and used to apply a

seal, was found at Herodium,

an ancient palace built by King

Herod near Jerusalem and

Bethlehem, today located in the

occupied West Bank.

The palace later became

a fortress for Jewish rebels

fighting the Romans.

An inscription in Greek

letters reads “of Pilatus”, while

the ring also depicts a wine

vessel known as a krater.

The researchers say it is

unlikely that the ring belonged to

Pilate himself, though possibly to

a member of his administration

or someone else entirely.

“Since the inscription on the

ring reads ‘of Pilatus’, the first

association that comes to mind is

Pontius Pilatus, the prefect of the

Roman province of Judaea 26-

36 CE, under Emperor Tiberius

Caesar,” they write.

It adds however: “Since the

name Pilatus is rare, it is not

inconceivable that this ring

belonged to Pontius Pilatus

himself. However, we think

it implausible that a prefect

would have used a simple, all-

metal, copper-alloy personal

sealing ring with a motif that

was already a well-known

Jewish motif in Judaea before

and during his rule.”

The Israel Museum says the

only other object from Pilate’s

time bearing his name is a stone

with an inscription found in

Caesarea, today located in Israel

along the Mediterranean coast.

The stone is part of the

museum’s collection.

The authors of the journal

article on the ring are Malka

Hershkovitz, Gideon Forster,

Yakov Kalman, Rachel Chachy

and Roi Porat of Hebrew

University as well as Shua

Amorai-Stark of Kaye College of

Education in the Israeli city of

Beersheba. — AFP

Researchers say ancient ring may bear Pontius Pilate name

F R O M A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

KENYA

Members of Dance Centre Kenya (DCK)

make their final costume checks in the

stage wing during a production of the

‘Nutcracker’, a ballet primarily performed

during the Christmas period. — AFP

GERMANY

A swan stands at the banks of the

Kuechengraben canal as wafts of

mist hang over the Karlsaue park

in Kassel. — AFP

CZECH REPUBLIC

A street performer dressed in Aladdin

costume performs near the Christmas

market at the Old Town Square in

Prague. — AFP

JAPAN

A man is walking in a street of Shinjuku

in Tokyo. — AFP

FRANCE

A farmer harvests a sugar beet field in

Tilloy-lez-Cambrai. — Reuters

BRITAIN

A staff member poses for a photograph

next to the Museum of Architecture’s

Gingerbread City at the V&A Museum,

in London. — Reuters

featuresOMANDAILYOBSERVER14oman/world

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TRAVEL TALES Get full stories online at www.omanobserver.om

Thailand’s popular Phi Phi island fac-es a severe lack of clean water due to poor management of the local tour-ism industry, a re-

searcher said on Thursday.Best known as the filming lo-

cation for the 2000 Hollywood blockbuster”The Beach,” Phi Phi island is visited by up to 10,000 tourists each day. But the environ-mental damage caused by tourism has led to an indefinite closure of the island’s Maya Bay since June.

The bay’s previously dam-aged coral reefs have recuper-

ated, with videos of dozens of reef sharks in the area being circulat-ed on social media last week.

However, the island is fac-ing another environmental and health hazard, according to Si-tang Pilailar, a leading researcher on water resources at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University.

The island’s non-drinking wa-ter supply has been contaminated with heavy metals such as cad-mium and manganese as well as E colibacteria, Sitang said.

“I’ve heard of complaints about bad water quality and skin rashes as a result. But there could be more serious health problems

if the water is used to wash the dishes and food ingredients,” the researcher said.

According to Sitang, the is-land’s entire water supply is mo-nopolised by a single tourism op-erator who has allegedly released water with a high concentration of salt back to the sea and inland as part of its drinking water produc-tion.

“This can cause seawater in-trusion. If the situation is left un-changed, there might not be any clean water left on the island in the next five years,” she said.

The high number of tourists on the island has also led to 2,500

cubic metres of waste water be-ing generated per day, six times higher than the amount the island can manage, the researcher said.

“There is no need to reduce the number of tourists on the island at the moment, but more tourist arrivals would definitely create more problems,” she added.

Thailand’s booming tourism industry, which contributes to more than 20 per cent of the country’s gross domestic prod-uct, has seen a constant rise in tourist numbers, from 32 million visitors in 2016 to 35 million in 2017, and an estimated 38 million this year. — dpa

Thailand’s famed Phi Phi

island faces severe lack of

clean water

HOLISTIC WELLNESSDR MARYANN ROBERTAobserverwellness@gmail.com

Sounds lovely, does it not? “A pure wonder and oh so sweet!”

And so it is, in every aspect — the magic potion! Are you curious of what I’m talking about?

It beautifies the body, enhances the figure, controls the weight, has therapeutic, medici-

nal and healing qualities; and how? ‘Oh so sweetly’!The influencing factor for my topic this week, over my

Christmas eclectic selection, are the sore throats, coughs, and congestions that have overtaken every nook and cranny, with the seasonal change.

Just a quick update on Oman’s exceptional globally renowned honey, and tips to ensure that you are getting the best for your money’s worth.

1. While pouring pure honey, the thread never breaks — it goes on forever

2. Pure honey does not dissolve in liquid easily — it takes quite a bit of stirring and time to dissolve.

Apiculture and its powers have been known to our ancestors for millennia. Apiaries dot Oman, particularly prominent is Wadi Bani Awf in the Al Hajar Mountains.

This gift comes from the ‘nahlat’, Arabic name for the honey bee. Most popular are the “domesticated bees” [bees that can be reared in fabricated hollowed-out palm tree logs or, more recently, the modern ‘bee-hive boxes’].

The other being the “wild, tiny bees” [they live in rocky caves and mountain in the winter months and migrate to the flower gardens and farmlands during spring.

Oman is renowned for and harvests some of the best honey globally. Geographically, it is blessed with the perfect flora, fauna, mountainous altitudes, and climatic condi-tions. Prominent in popularity besides innumerable other varieties, for their exceptional powers and fine quality are ‘SUMAR’ honey, very deep brownish black in colour, and ‘SIDR’ honey, a lighter brown in colour. The finest being harvested during the months from March to May.

BACK TO OUR TOPIC.1. For that nagging cough spasm – dissolve a teaspoon of

honey in fairly warm water, and sip when a coughing fit overtakes. Ideal for young children and adults alike. Its benefits? It works wonders for a coughing fit – magical for that night coughing spasm.

2. To soothe a sore, hurting throat? Mix till dissolved a teaspoon each of honey and extra virgin olive oil. Sip and feel its soothing and healing properties. Benefits: heals & soothes a sore throat & cough. It is an expectorant [thins the mucous in the bronchial/lungs — the thick phlegmy/snotty stuff that blocks your nose & causes your cough]. To be taken SOS

3. Congested lungs — Mix till dissolved a teaspoon each of honey, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh juice of lemon. Enjoy each delicious teaspoonful. Best taken on an empty stomach early morning. Follow up with a warm glass of lemon water 20 minutes later. [Benefits – besides the men-tioned benefits, it relieves and heals hurting lungs; helps clear the Colon; mobilises fat]

It has innumerable health-giving and rejuvenating prop-erties. It helps to strengthen the immune system, regulate the digestive system, cleanse the blood vessels, improve the functioning of the liver, and to improve the complexion and reduce wrinkles [spread a teaspoon of the mixture over the face and neck, leave for 20 minutes, wash off with luke-warm water — I will leave you to admire your reflection!]

And so the list of benefits goes on in its never-ending magical properties. It also helps to slim, beautify, and heal the face and body.

Take number 3. For a month, and watch the magic unfurl. A firm toned body, beautiful skin, and that never-ending energy in a healthy body! Repeat whenever you require some ‘tender loving care’!

A pure wonder and oh so sweet!

DR MARY ANN is the director of marketing and development of Al Nahda Hotels and Resorts. She is a 2018 Middle East Women in Leadership Awardee specialising in holistic wellness. She pioneered the said industry in the country. Her clients include the who’s who of the region and the Sultanate.

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FOLLOW THE LIGHT

A PLEASANT VISITOR

CHANEL HAS BECOME THE first luxury fashion house to turn its back on exotic animal pelts such as lizard, crocodile and snake skin, in a move hailed by animal rights groups on Tuesday.

Its head of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky declared that it “would no longer use ex-

otic skins in our future creations”, saying it was becoming more difficult to source high-quality pelts ethically.

Handbags, coats and shoes made from snake, alligator and stingray skin command premium prices, with Chanel handbags made from them reportedly selling for up to 9,000 euros ($10,300).

Python skin bags were removed from Chanel’s website on Tuesday, al-though secondhand bags were still on sale from more than 5,500 euros from online resale sites.

Animals rights groups cheered the move, with the PETA and the Humane Society International (HSI) claiming that the iconic house founded by Coco Chanel was also renouncing the use of fur.

But in a statement Chanel did not mention fur, saying it would no longer use crocodile, lizard, snake and stingray to make coats, bags and shoes.

Its veteran designer Karl Lagerfeld

had earlier told the industry bible Wom-en’s Wear Daily that Chanel used fur so rarely that he could not remember the last time it featured on the catwalk.

He said the brand had chosen to drop exotic skins rather than having it “imposed on us. We did it because it’s in the air.

“It’s a free choice,” he added.

‘ETHICAL FASHION’ - Animal rights groups hailed Chanel

as giving a lead to other luxury brands.By turning its back on exotic skins,

“Chanel is saving countless crocodiles, lizards, snakes and stingrays from suf-fering,” said HSI director Claire Bass.

“The growth in fabulous luxury and eco-friendly fibres that don’t involve animals suffering and dying is helping to drive forward this new era of ethical fashion.

“Fur-using brands such as Fendi (for

which Lagerfeld also designs), Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton need to take heed and embrace this fur-free future,” she added.

PETA also piled the pressure on Vuitton, which is owned by fashion giant LVMH.

“It’s clear that the time is now for all companies, like Louis Vuitton, to follow Chanel’s lead and move to innovative materials that spare countless animals a miserable life and a violent, painful death,” it said.

Although top fashion brands have been under heavy pressure to renounce fur, with Gucci, Armani, Versace and John Galliano all deciding to go fur free, Chanel’s decision to stop using exotic skins came out of the blue.

It said that it was now concentrating on developing a new generation of “ul-tra luxurious” products to replace them from its famous design studios.— AFP

Chanel sheds crocodile andsnake skin

F A S H I O N

OMANDAILYOBSERVERF R I D A Y l D E C E M B E R 7 l 2 0 1 8 15

cricket/nba

Curry carries Warriors over Cavs, Thunder roar back

No talks to share World Cup with other countries, says Qatar

River join Boca in Madrid for Libertadores decider

LOS ANGELES: Stephen Curry scored

42 points to lead the Golden State

Warriors to a 129-105 victory over the

Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in

an NBA Finals rematch in name only.

Curry drained nine three-pointers

and Kevin Durant added 25 points on

nine of 16 shooting as the Warriors

pulled away in the second half against

a Cleveland team that bears little

resemblance to the LeBron James-led

Cavs that battled the Warriors in the

last four championship series.

Curry, looking fully recovered

in his third game back from a groin

injury that sidelined him for 11 games,

added nine rebounds and seven assists.

Durant pulled down 10 rebounds and

handed out nine assists. The Warriors

were back in Cleveland for the first

time since June, when they beat the

Cavs to win their second straight NBA

title and third in four years.

Since then the Cavs have seen

James depart as a free agent to the Los

Angeles Lakers. Forward J R Smith was

also absent from the team, Kevin Love

was nursing a foot injury and Kyle

Korver was recently traded to Utah.

Tristan Thompson, one of the only

holdovers from the Cavaliers teams

that challenged the Warriors — and

beat them for the crown in 2016 —

scored 14 points with 19 rebounds.

Rookie Collin Sexton led the

Cavaliers with 21 points. “It just

felt quiet, from what we’re used to,”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the

atmosphere in Cleveland. “For obvious

reasons — it’s not the same out there.”

Despite Curry’s 25 first-half points,

Cleveland led at the break, closing the

half on a 19-5 scoring run.

“I thought they competed really

hard,” Kerr said of the Cavaliers. “First

half, they knocked down shots, they

controlled the whole half. Our talent

took over in the second half.”

The Warriors improved to 17-9 —

still fourth in a Western Conference

led by the Denver Nuggets, who

edged the Orlando Magic 124-118 in

overtime for a seventh straight victory

that pushed their record to 17-7.

‘SPECIAL NIGHT’

They finished the night half a game

in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder,

who erased a 23-point deficit with less

than five minutes to play to beat the

Brooklyn Nets 114-112.

“This is a special night,” said

Thunder forward Paul George, who

scored 25 of his 47 points in the fourth

quarter. “We came together when we

were down — our backs against the

wall. We showed who we are tonight.”

George drained the game-winning

three-pointer with three-seconds

remaining, taking a feed from Russell

Westbrook who drew two defenders

then passed to George on the perimeter.

—AFPNBA RESULTSGolden State bt Cleveland 129-105Denver bt Orlando 124-118 (OT)Washington bt Atlanta 131-117Oklahoma City bt Brooklyn 114-112Toronto bt Philadelphia 113-102Memphis bt LA Clippers 96-86Milwaukee bt Detroit 115-92Minnesota bt Charlotte 121-104New Orleans bt Dallas 132-106LA Lakers bt San Antonio 121-113

DOHA: Qatar has not held talks

with any other countries to share

football matches at the 2022 World

Cup, a senior tournament organiser

in Doha said on Wednesday.

Despite coming under pressure

from Fifa president Gianni Infantino

to expand the World Cup from 32 to

48 teams — which could mean some

matches being played elsewhere

in the Middle East — Nasser al

Khater said no such negotiations

had taken place. “We haven’t had

any discussions of sharing,” said the

assistant secretary-general of Qatar’s

World Cup organising body, the

Supreme Committee for Delivery &

Legacy.

Governing body Fifa is currently

carrying out a feasibility study to see

if the first World Cup in the region

could be expanded.

Infantino has said that if any

tournament enlargement is agreed,

it would likely mean matches being

played in neighbouring countries, as

it would increase the total number of

tournament games from 64 to 80.

He has even suggested that could

help Middle East peace, at a time

when Qatar is at the centre of the

worst Gulf diplomatic crisis in years.

For the past 18 months Doha has

been isolated by countries including

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

and Bahrain, states which could

potentially benefit from any World

Cup expansion, in a bitter regional

power struggle.

Khater said that whatever Fifa

decides, any changes would have to

be agreed by Qatar.

“There will be nothing that is

forced upon anybody,” he said.

“It’s a feasibility study, then a

consultation process. And based on

the feasibility study and based on

the discussions an agreement will be

made. There will be nothing that will

be decided unilaterally.”

The country is being transformed

in readiness for the World Cup

and is spending some $500 million

each week on major infrastructure

projects for football’s biggest

tournament. —AFP

ADELAIDE: Cheteshwar Pujara

struck a defiant century in an Adelaide

Oval furnace to rescue India after

Australia’s pacemen threatened to

dominate day one of the series-opening

Test on Thursday.

The India number three battled a

hamstring strain late in the day but was

a rock even as his partners crumbled

around him, pushing India to 250 for

nine at the close with a brutal assault

on the second new ball.

Unbroken by dogged and often

fierce pace bowling, Pujara was

dismissed for 123 by a piece of brilliant

fielding, with Pat Cummins swooping

in to throw down the stumps. That was

the last play on a day of scorching heat,

leaving tail-ender Mohammed Shami

on six, with Jasprit Bumrah the final

batsman to resume on day two.

Pujara’s 16th Test century saved

India after a disastrous start that saw

them slump to 86 for five after lunch,

falling to a combination of dreadful

shot-making and quality Australian

pace after captain Virat Kohli won the

toss.

“To be honest, we should have

batted better but they also bowled well

in those first two sessions,” Pujara told

reporters. “I can’t rate it but it was one

of (my) best (centuries).

“It was hot but I was set and I knew

I could play my shots.

“Once we lost Ashwin, I thought I

had to accelerate. I knew what shots I

could play on that wicket.”

Pujara anchored vital partnerships

with young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant

and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin

before completing his century with

a flick off his pads after scoring his

5,000th run in Tests.

Having crawled to his half-century,

Pujara ramped up as he ran out of

partners, slogging a couple of sixes as

shadows crept across the ground.

India had resumed on 143 for six

after tea with seamer Cummins having

Ashwin edge to the slips for 25 and

Mitchell Starc bowling Ishant Sharma

for four.

Spinner Nathan Lyon struck twice

to expose India’s tail after lunch, having

the recalled Rohit Sharma slog-sweep

to a fielder for 37 before Pant fell for 25

feathering an edge behind.

Five of India’s top six were out to

loose shots, including captain Kohli,

who fell for three to a stunning one-

handed catch in the gully by a leaping

Usman Khawaja.

“Stuck my hand out and it stuck.

It’s nice when they do stick,” said the

Australian number three.

“It was a good little momentum-

goer too, because we got a couple of

early (wickets).”

Seamer Josh Hazlewood grabbed

two wickets in the morning session,

removing Ajinkya Rahane (13) and the

out-of-form Lokesh Rahul (two).

Starc removed Murali Vijay for a

streaky 11, the recalled batsman edging

another rash shot behind to Tim Paine.

“For the most part we were

exceptional with the ball today,” said

Starc. “If you said we’d be 250 for nine

after losing the toss... I think we’d bite

your arm off.” — Reuters

SCOREBOARDIndia first inningsM Vijay c Paine b Starc -----------------------------------------11KL Rahul c Finch b Hazlewood ------------------------------- 2C Pujara run out (Cummins) ------------------------------123V Kohli c Khawaja b Cummins ------------------------------- 3A Rahane c Handscomb b Hazlewood -----------------13 R Sharma c Harris b Lyon -------------------------------------37 R Pant c Paine b Lyon ------------------------------------------25R Ashwin c Handscomb b Cummins -------------------25I Sharma b Starc ---------------------------------------------------- 4M Shami not out --------------------------------------------------- 6Extras -----------------------------------------------------------(lb1) 1Total (9 wickets, 87.5 overs) ----------------------250Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-15, 3-19, 4-41, 5-86, 6-127, 7-189, 8-210, 9-250Bowling: Starc 19-4-63-2, Hazlewood 19.5-3-52-2, Cummins 19-3-49-2, Lyon 28-2-83-2, Head 2-1-2-0

MADRID: Argentinian giants River Plate landed in Madrid on Thursday ahead of their long-anticipated Libertadores Cup decider against bitter rivals Boca Juniors.

The first leg of the two-leg final — the first to pit the Buenos Aires rivals against each other — ended 2-2 at Boca’s Bombonera ground last month.

River were set to host the return at their El Monumental stadium on November 24 but it was postponed after River Plate fans attacked the Boca Juniors team bus.

As punishment, South America’s football federation Conmebol ruled that

River would lose home advantage, and fears over further fan violence meant the game would be played outside Argentina.

The second leg is scheduled to be held at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday. Boca arrived on Wednesday and with River joining them in the Spanish capital, both teams are expected to train on Thursday.

River, who arrived early on Thursday morning, are scheduled to train at 1800 (1700 GMT) at Madrid’s Valdebebas training base.

Boca will train at the Spanish football

federation’s training base at Las Rozas, north-west of the capital.

The south American giants were initially opposed to proposals to play their decisive second leg in Spain.

Former Boca idol Juan Roman Riquelme lashed out at the decision earlier this week, saying it would make it “the most expensive friendly in history”.

“It won’t be the same. No matter how much I want Boca to win it, I think the final has to be played in our country,” he said.

“The way it is, makes it the most expensive friendly in history.” — AFP

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) shoots a lay-up against Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jordan Clarkson (8) at Quicken Loans Arena. — USA Today Sports

River Plate players arrive in Madrid Airport ahead of Copa Libertadores final. — Reuters

Nasser al Khater, Assistant Secretary-General for the Qatar World Cup organising body, speaks during a press conference in Doha. — AFP

India’s Cheteshwar Pujara celebrates after scoring his century during day one of the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia. — Reuters

PUJARA rescues India with

fighting ton

FRIDAY | DECEMBER 7, 2018 | RABEE AL AWWAL 29, 1440 AH

editor@omanobserver.om www.omanobserver.om

follow us @observersportz

SPORTS REPORTERMUSCAT, DEC 6

Nine-time champions Fanja moved

into the semifinals of the His

Majesty’s Cup football championship

despite a 1-0 defeat to Sohar in the

second leg of the quarterfinals late on

Wednesday.

Fanja, who had won the first-leg

away match in Sur 3-2, progressed on

scoring more away goals than Sur after

the aggregate result of 3-3.

At the ROP Stadium, Said Obaid

netted the sole goal of the match in the

44th minute for the last year’s runner-

ups Sohar.

Obaid scored from a judgement

error by Fanja goalkeeper to raise the

hopes for Sur, who needed to win the

match 2-0 to advance. However, Fanja

defended their goal till the end of the

match to deny Sohar.

Fanja, who last won the title in

2014, join Sur, Majees and Mirbat in

the semifinals.

Three-time champions Sur held

Seeb goalless in the second-leg of

quarterfinals to reach the semifinals

on Wednesday.

Hosts Sur prevailed after they had

scored an away goal against three-time

champions Seeb in their 1-1 draw in

the first leg of the quarterfinal.

In a late match on Tuesday, there

was another goalless draw between

Majees and Al Oruba at the Sur Sports

Complex.

Majees, who were holding a 1-0

first-leg advantage, moved into the last

four with the result.

In the first match on Tuesday,

Mirbat held Al Musannah 1-1 at the

Youth Complex in Salalah to progress

to the semifinals.

Mirbat who won the first-leg

through a Yousuf al Saadi goal at Seeb

Stadium claimed the last-four spot

with a 2-1 aggregate result.

A Sohar player shoots the ball past Fanja goalkeeper. — Mohammed Mahjoub

Seeb, Dhofar begin HM Cup campaign with thrilling winsSPORTS REPORTERMUSCAT, DEC 6

Eleven-time champions Seeb began

their His Majesty’s Cup hockey

campaign with a brilliant 7-4 win

against 10-time champions Ahli

Sidab in a high-voltage start to the

2018 edition of the tournament on

Wednesday.

In the second match, Dhofar

edged Al Salam 3-2 in a closely

fought encounter.

Seeb, runner-ups of the last

edition, staged a comeback into the

match after Ahli Sidab went ahead

2-0 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports

Complex in Bausher.

Mohammed Raheel put Ahli-

Sidab, coached by former Oman

coach K K Poonacha, in lead in the

third minute and India international

Rupinder Pal Singh netted the

second for them in the 11th minute.

Seeb, coached by Egyptian

Osama Hasnain, pulled one back

through Ismail Omar ahead of the

half-time break.

In the third quarter, Seeb went all-

out on attack and made it 2-2 when

Mohammed Dilber hit the target.

Qasim Moosa’s then hit a brace

that put Seeb 4-2 ahead before the

last quarter. In the fourth quarter,

Rupinder reduced the margin for

Ahli Sidab and Rashad Salim made

it 4-4 in the 50th minute.

In the final minutes, Seeb pushed

hard and Ahli Sidab went down with

Dilber putting Seeb in lead again 5-4.

Moosa and Owais Ahmed stunned

Ahli Sidab with two goals within a

minute to complete a 7-4 victory.

DHOFAR EDGE AL SALAM

In the late match of the day, Waqas

Choudhary opened the scoring for

Dhofar in the fourth minute.

However, Al Salam came back

strongly to take the lead 2-1 as

Mohammed Munir (26th) and Shan

Irshad (32nd minute) hit the target.

Dhofar could not muster any

more moves that could result in

goals in the next 20 minutes of play.

The former champions finally

found an equaliser in the 54th minute

through Abdullah Mohammed.

Mohammad Ahmed netted

the all-important winner in the

56th minute to hand full points to

Dhofar in their first match of the

tournament. Eight teams are taking

part in the tournament, which will

conclude on December 17.

FANJA edge fighting SOHAR to enter semis

sport

Seeb and Ahli Sidab players in action during the HM Cup match. — Mohammed Mahjoub