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16 Pages Price 40,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13543 Monday DECEMBER 2, 2019 Azar 11, 1398 Rabi’ Al thani 5, 1441 Leader advises U.S. must stop the win two golds UNESCO to incompetent hopefuls not wrong maximum at Karate1 Premier commemorate Farabi, to run for parliament 2 pressure policy 2 League 15 Attar in 2020, 2021 16

Iran welcomes China’s initiative to

See page 4 revive glory of ancient Silk Road ‘Political pressures TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism minister Iran enables cultural communication be- Ali-Asghar Mounesan has said Iran backs tween the East and the West. China’s initiative for reviving the glory “The BRI tightly connected many of ancient Silk Road, which existed for amicable countries along the Silk Road, thousands of years, passing through many and I am very glad that Iran could join different empires, kingdoms, reigns and in the initiative because it is helping to societies throughout history. restore the glory of the ancient road,” the not to harm As one of the countries under the Chi- Global Times quoted Mounesan as saying na-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), on Friday. 10

Iran investigating cause of Iran-EAEU trade’ unrest-related deaths: general TEHRAN — Commander of the Tehran their lives also diverge from those who division of the Islamic Revolution Guards wanted to damage public property,” Yazdi Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Reza Yazdi, said on Sunday, ISNA reported. He said says investigations are underway to clarify some security forces were shot as well. the cause of death of those who lost their General Yazdi acknowledged that the lives during the recent unrest across Iran. people are entitled to demand better living “In the same way that people diverge conditions, and said wanting better living from rioters, those who innocently lost conditions is a legitimate demand. 3

Iraq protesters burn Hakim shrine entrance in holy city

Iraqi protesters set fire to the entrance ment unrest, which erupted last month. of a shrine in the southern holy city of On Friday, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Najaf and security forces fired tear gas to Mahdi promised to quit to try to stem disperse them, police and a demonstrator the violence and public anger.

at the scene said. Demonstrations continued elsewhere in- The demonstrator sent a video to Reu- cluding the southern city of Nassiriya where ters of a doorway to the Hakim shrine protesters earlier surrounded a police station

Amin Jalali blazing as protesters cheered and filmed and in Baghdad. But there were far fewer re- it on their mobile phones. Reuters could ports of casualties than on the previous two not immediately verify the footage. days, when scores were killed nationwide in IRNA/ The incident took place during one of the Iraqi capital and the south in clashes with Eurasian Economic Commission Trade Minister Veronika Nikishina the bloodiest weeks of ’s anti-govern- security forces. 13 ARTICLE Will Riyadh end its invasion into Yemen? ARTICLE Ebrahim Fallahi By Farzad Farhadi to 2023 from 2021. Houthi political office, put forward the solution Hana Saada Tehran Times journalist TEHRAN – A military coalition, led by Saudi The Saudi war against Yemen has caused a that the Saudis needed. Journalist from Algeria Arabia, the UAE and the U.S., has launched a lot of military, political and economic pressure On September 20, al-Mashat announced a war against Yemen since March 26, 2015. The on Riyadh. According to media reports, due to conditional ceasefire, calling on the coalition to war has so far failed to meet its desired goals. the war, Saudi Arabia has lost all of its cash and halt the war and seize the opportunity of ceasefire. Clash of titans: Is Along with the news about the Yemen war, bor- non-cash reserves. According to military experts, the Yemeni ‘No to foreign rowing a loan from banks around the world by Saudi A way to take Riyadh out of Yemen conditional peace plan was presented at a time OPEC+ deal nearing Arabia has attracted the attention of observers. quagmire when Yemen was at the height of its power, the interference’: In January 2018, Reuters quoted the Saudi Saudi Arabia has been caught in the military, most important proof of which was the strikes its end? debt management office as saying that Riyadh political and economic quagmire of the Yemen on the Aramco oil facilities. Algerians dissipating has asked banks for proposals to refinance its $10 war. The war, which Mohammad bin Salman The strikes were so severe that prompted nly a few days is left before the billion international syndicated loan and to help did not expect to last more than three years, has various reactions internationally. disaccord in face unveiling of a big decision which the sovereign raise funds through other means. been raging for nearly five years and putting un- The important point of the plan is that it was will mostly determine the future of European O The office said the refinancing of the loan, bearable pressure on the Saudi economy. That presented by the Supreme Political Council, which of oil market in the upcoming year. Or- which was raised in 2016, will include a repricing is why Riyadh is looking for a way to take itself is currently the most powerful organization in ganization of the Petroleum Exporting Parliament’s of the facility and the extension of its maturity out of the trouble. Mahdi al-Mashat, chief of the Yemen. Countries and its allies including Russia (known as OPEC+) are going to gather resolution in Vienna during December 5-6 for the 177th Meeting of the OPEC Conference Hadi a spent force as Saudis directly engage Houthis lgeria, “free and sovereign “in its and the 7th OPEC and non-OPEC Minis- decisions, accepts no interference or Yemenis loyal to former president Abd Rabbuh The talks reportedly began in September The Stockholm agreement was between the diktat and submits to no bargaining terial Meeting, to discuss the oil market Mansour Hadi are deeply sidelined by Saudi Ara- after a Houthi attack on the world’s largest Houthis and Hadi, “but now the negotiations A and reach a decision regarding the next whoever the parties,” this is how respond- bia’s direct talks with Houthis. crude oil facility in Saudi Arabia temporarily are between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia,” the ed Algeria’s lieutenant general, chief of step for the OPEC+ cuts deal. According to London-based Middle East Eye impacted nearly six percent of daily global source said. Many experts and analysts expect Staff of the People’s National Army, to (MEE) news portal, Riyadh does not discuss its production. On Tuesday, a statement carried on Saudi state the non-binding resolution, adopted by OPEC+ to decide on extending the current existing engagement of the Houthis with the The Houthis reportedly offered to stop launch- media said the kingdom would ease restrictions pact rather than deepening the cuts, how- the European Parliament, on Thursday, “weak” pro-Hadi regime. ing attacks on Saudi targets if the kingdom ended on Yemeni airspace to allow flights out of the November 28, 2019 on the so-called the ever contrasting signals from the groups’ “Saudi Arabia is trying to find an exit from its airstrikes in Yemen. They later unilaterally Yemeni capital Sana’a, which is administered two major policy-makers indicate that the grim reality of human rights in Algeria, the trap it fell into,” Mohammed Ali, a journalist released hundreds of prisoners, while the Saudis by a coalition including the Houthis. calling on the North African country to situation doesn’t seem to be unwinding and commentator from the southwestern city of freed 128 Yemenis on Thursday. According to MEE, the agreement between toward such a decision. put an end to the criminalization of dis- Ta’izz, told MEE. The Hadi regime is apparently incensed, think- Saudi Arabia and the Houthis and lifting sent, arbitrary arrests, and violations of Saudi Arabia and Aramco IPO Riyadh has admitted having an “open channel” ing that the communication between Saudi Arabia blockade on Yemen was reached in , After two years of postponing and minority rights. with the Yemeni movement to negotiate an end and the Houthis is aimed at ending attacks on but Hadi’s delegates were not involved in MEPs “deeply worried about the state speculation, Saudi Arabia has finally to the conflict. the kingdom. the negotiations. announced that the kingdom is going to of human rights and fundamental free- Last month, the Associated Press reported According to an unnamed Houthi source in Saudi Arabia made the concession after three doms in Algeria,” read a summary of the officially offer 1.5 percent of its oil-giant’s that Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have been Sana’a cited by the Middle East Eye, the current of its border brigades were captured by Yemenis stakes on December 5, allowing institu- EU body’s stance. holding “indirect, behind-the scenes talks” me- talks are not part of the UN-brokered Stockholm in August and the Houthis bombed oil facilities “[MEPs] strongly condemn the arbitrary tional investors to submit their initial diated by by Oman. agreement. in September, the report said. 13 offers. Interestingly, Aramco’s initial and unlawful arrest and detainment of, public offering (IPO) is concurrent with attacks on and intimidations of journal- the 177th gathering of OPEC. ists, trade unionists, lawyers, students, For years, the Saudis have been an- International human rights defenders and civil society nouncing that they will sell about five and all peaceful protesters taking part in percent of Aramco’s stock in foreign the Hirak demonstrations.” and domestic stock exchanges; and since Day of Persons They also “urged the Algerian author- they valued the company at $2 trillion, it ities to desist from judicial and legislative was estimated that Saudi Arabia would with Disabilities harassment, criminalization and arbitrary make $100 billion on its initial offering, arrest and detentions.” and will use the proceeds to build on the celebrated in For its part, the Algerian govern- foundations of the crown prince’s 2030 ment firmly condemned and rejected vision for an oil-free economy. “in substance and form” the European However, in spite of the many years Tehran Parliament’s “blatant” interference in of advertising and effort, Aramco’s IPO its internal affairs and reserves the TEHRAN — A ceremony was held in Tehran on right to conduct an overall review of didn’t receive the attention and praise Sunday to celebrate International Day of Persons that the kingdom expected. Therefore, its relations with all the European with Disabilities, ISNA news agency reported. institutions. they reduced the IPO to 1.5 percent and Annually held on December 3, International it seems that they have even abandoned “Algeria is still deeply committed to Day of Persons with Disabilities was first pro- the rejection in principle of all foreign their dreams of attracting large-cap funds claimed in 1992 by United Nations General As- from foreign exchanges, at least for the interference in its internal affairs, who- sembly resolution 47/3. It aims to promote the ever the instigators and whatever their time being. rights and well-being of persons with disabilities So, Aramco’s initial offering is go- intentions, often, if not always, using Mohammadali Ghasemi in all spheres of society and development, and to human rights as an excuse, an argument ing to be only in their domestic stock increase awareness of the situation of persons exchange, and the IPO is likely to only that is most of the time diabolically po-

ISNA/ with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, generate over $25 billion in revenue for liticized,” pointed out Algeria’s Head of economic and cultural life. 12 State Bensalah. Saudi Arabia. 5 11 I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y POLITICS DECEMBER 2, 2019

Lawmaker terms reduction Larijani says U.S. must stop the of JCPOA undertakings as Tehran’s POLITICAL TEHRAN – Rapporteur for the Parlia- wrong maximum pressure policy deskment’s National Security and Foreign POLITICAL TEHRAN – Iranian Ma- branches of government is “provisional” Policy Committee said on Saturday that Iran’s stance in desk modification of obligations under the Joint Comprehensive jlis Speaker Ali Larijani and refuted claims that it intends to approve Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a correct decision. said on Sunday that maximum pressure legislations or replace the parliament. Touching upon Iran’s 4th step in reducing its commit- is a “wrong policy” and the United States He said the coordination council was ments under the JCPOA, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said, must stop it. formed in a special situation, a reference “The strategy to scale back the nuclear obligations was “There has always been political will to to the abrogation of the nuclear deal and a “correct” one and should have been adopted sooner.” solve issues and there is no dead end… The return of sanctions by the U.S. which re- “The purpose of steps to reduce the JCPOA obligations issue is that policy of maximum pressure is sulted in an economic shock, especially is to change the behavior of the other party, and the reason wrong and must be changed. We have not in the devaluation of national currency. for taking these steps is to protest the other party’s failure closed the door, however, the United States “For example, the foreign currency crisis to fulfill its obligations, (however) it has had no effect on must come to the understanding that this pol- had to be contained and mechanisms should the other party (the European signatories to the deal) so far icy is not right,” he said in a press conference. have been considered,” Larijani stated. as it has fulfilled no commitment (under the deal)” he said. He noted that current U.S. officials should “But this issue (coordination council) is Iran has started to gradually reduce its commitments be “wise” enough to learn from the past ex- provisional and it never wants to replace under the JCPOA in response to the abrogation of the deal periences. Majlis and must never be so.” by United States and a failure by the Europeans to honor U.S. President Donald Trump quit the ‘We consider Iraq as our nat- their commitments 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 and intro- ural ally’ So far, the Atomic Energy duced the harshest ever sanctions on Iran The top lawmaker also said Iran is not Organization of Iran (AEOI) as part of “maximum pressure” campaign worried about the situation in Iraq, noting has taken four steps to cut against Iran. dignified figures like Ayatollah Ali Sistani back commitments in accord- Many analysts and think tanks believe are fully aware of the situation in Iraq and ance with paragraph 36 of that the maximum pressure policy has failed can manage the situation. the JCPOA which “allows one to achieve concrete results. “There are proficient political and reli- side, under certain circum- ‘Iran to respond if Europeans gious figures like Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq elections. stances, to stop complying use snapback mechanism’ riously considering triggering a mechanism who can resolve problems and there is no He also said that he will not seek re-election with the deal if the other side Larijani also said that Iran will respond if within the Iran nuclear deal that could lead need for help,” remarked Larijani who was in the upcoming parliamentary elections. is out of compliance.” the Europeans use the snapback mechanism to UN sanctions. born in the shrine city of Najaf. Parliamentary elections will be held On May 8, exactly one year that returns UN . Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas He said Iran was anxious about the on Feb. 21, 2020 with the approval of the after the U.S. abandoned the “If the European states use the mechanism, Mousavi said on Thursday that Le Drian’s situation in Iraq when Daesh made rapid . deal, Tehran announced that Iran will also revise some of its commitments remarks were “irresponsible”. advances in the country in 2014 and Iran ‘Coordination council of senior its “strategic patience” is over to the International Atomic Energy Agency Larijani says he has no intention helped Iraqi forces in defeating them. official is temporary’ and began to partially reduce (IAEA),” he said. to run for president On whether developments in Iraq has Larijani also said the coordination its commitments to the agree- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Larijani also said that he has no inten- any effect on Iran, he said, “Generally, we council comprised of the heads of the three ment at bi-monthly intervals. Drian said on Wednesday that Paris is se- tion to run for presidential post in the 2021 see Iraq as our natural ally.” In the first stage, Iran announced that it will not limit its stockpile of the nuclear fuel to 300 kilograms allowed under the deal. On that date (May 8) Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said if the remaining parties to Leader advises incompetent hopefuls not to run for parliament the JCPOA, especially Europeans, devise a mechanism to POLITICAL TEHRAN – Leader of people go ahead and register without upcoming parliamentary elections, set of candidates deemed eligible to run by protect Iran from the sanctions’ effect in the two-month desk deadline it will reverse its decision. the Islamic Revolution hesitation. to be held on February 21, 2020. December 18. But since European parties missed the deadline, on July Ayatollah on Sunday advised Every responsibility or position requires Candidates have until December 7 to Disqualified candidates will have four 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium potential parliamentary candidates not certain commitments, Ayatollah Khamenei register, Interior Ministry said on Sunday. days to object to the Guardian Council, after to a higher purity than the 3.67%, thereby starting the to run for the elections “if you don’t have said. The elections will be held in over 200 which the council will study complaints second step. management capabilities.” “You have to see if you can make that constituencies across the country’s 31 and announce the final list on February 11. Again, as Europe missed the second 60-day deadline, The Leader criticized the way many commitment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, provinces. The candidates will have 8 days to Iran moved to take the third step, removing a ban on nu- people register for the elections, saying according to Mehr. The Guardian Council will vet spend on the campaign trail, ending on clear research and development (R&D). now that potential candidates can register On Sunday morning, Iran started parliamentary hopefuls for their February 19, and then the elections will In the latest step, which was done on November 6, Iran for the parliamentary elections, a lot of registering candidates running for the qualifications and will release the names be held on February 21, 2020. started injecting uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear site. It was done at the presence of inspec- tors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). E3 welcomes six European countries World is responsible for implementing This happened again after the Europeans failed to take concrete steps to save the JCPOA. joining INSTEX nuclear deal, Iran says Iran has said lifting ban on its oil export and financial By staff and agency POLITICAL TEHRAN — Iran’s transactions are the main conditions to reverse its decision. France, Germany and the United Kingdom deskDeputy Foreign Minis- have issued a joint statement welcoming ter Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sun- Blocking Iranian officials’ a decision by Belgium, Denmark, Finland, day that the 2015 nuclear deal, officially the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to known as the JCPOA, is an international accounts violates basic join the Instrument in Support of Trade agreement and the world is responsible Exchanges (INSTEX). for implementing it. freedoms, democracy: expert “As founding shareholders of the “The JCPOA is an international achieve- Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges ment and the countries in the world are PRESS TV — Blocking accounts of top Iranian officials is a (INSTEX), France, Germany and the responsible for respecting, implementing violation of freedom of information and freedom of expression, United Kingdom warmly welcome the the agreement and the ongoing efforts and preserving it,” he said during a joint its decision. according to a British expert. decision taken by the governments to implement the economic part of it and press conference with Chinese Vice Foreign But since European parties missed the The U.S. State Department recently ordered major tech of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the to facilitate legitimate trade between Minister Ma Zhaoxu in Beijing. deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it companies with popular media platforms such as Google, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, to Europe and Iran, we are now in the On Iran’s decision to reduce JCPOA has started enriching uranium to a higher Facebook and Twitter to block the accounts of top Iranian join INSTEX as shareholders,” read the process of becoming shareholders of the commitments, Araghchi said that the move purity than the 3.67%, thereby starting government officials. statement published by website of the UK Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges is within the framework of the agreement. the second step. British political journalist and founder and editor of Politics Foreign Ministry on Saturday. (INSTEX) subject to completion of national Iran has started to partially reduce its Again, as Europe missed the second 60- First magazine, Marcus Steven Papadopoulos, told Press TV It added, “This step further strengthens procedures. INSTEX was established by commitments to the JCPOA in response day deadline, Iran moved to take the third in an interview on Saturday that major tech companies with INSTEX and demonstrates European France, Germany and the United Kingdom to the United States which abandoned the step, removing a ban on nuclear research media platforms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter lacked efforts to facilitate legitimate trade between in January 2019.” landmark deal in May 2018 and reinsti- and development (R&D). independence and had very close ties to the U.S. government. Europe and Iran and is a clear expression It added, “The nuclear agreement was tuted sanctions. In the latest step, which started on No- Papadopoulos said the U.S. government as well as the of our continuing commitment to the Joint unanimously endorsed by the UN Security So far, the Atomic Energy Organiza- vember 6, Iran began injecting uranium government of Britain did not really care about “freedom of Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).” Council and is as a key instrument for tion of Iran (AEOI) has taken four steps to gas into 1,044 centrifuges at the Fordow expression and democracy.” The statement also noted that full and the global non-proliferation regime and cut back commitments in accordance with nuclear site. It was done at the presence of “The Americans and the British merely pay lip service to the effective implementation of the JCPOA a major contribution to stability in the paragraph 36 of the JCPOA which “allows inspectors from the International Atomic concepts of freedom of information or freedom of expression,” is of the utmost importance. region.” one side, under certain circumstances, to Energy Agency (IAEA). he said, noting that these concepts were simply tools of western Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the INSTEX has been designed by the stop complying with the deal if the other Chinese official urges Europe hegemony alongside military power and economic influence. Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden issued European Union to facilitate legitimate side is out of compliance.” to implement INSTEX According to Papadopoulos, both countries were very selective a joint statement on Friday announcing trade with Tehran. It was introduced On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. Ma, for his part, urged Europe to imple- about such concepts and there was no way the ruling group becoming shareholders of INSTEX. on January 31 by France, Germany, and abandoned the deal, Tehran announced ment the Instrument in Support of Trade of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) would allow any In a tweet on Friday, French Foreign Britain, the three countries party to the that its “strategic patience” is over and Exchanges (INSTEX). company to threaten its expansionist policy and pursuit of Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed nuclear deal. began to partially reduce its commitments He noted that multilateralism and rule global hegemony. the move. It was introduced long after the U.S. to the agreement at bi-monthly intervals. of law are required to preserve the JCPOA. “Wasp America, and also Britain, proclaim themselves to He said that the six European countries imposed sanctions on Iran and threatened In the first stage, Iran announced that INSTEX has been designed by the Eu- the rest of the world as being guardians of Democracy and made an important decision to join to punish any country or company that it will not limit its stockpile of the nuclear ropean Union to facilitate legitimate trade the Rule of Law, and Freedom of Expression. INSTEX. does business with Iran. fuel to 300 kilograms allowed under the with Tehran. It was introduced on January At the end of the day, all that matters to the Americans The foreign minister also said that On March 20, Iran’s central bank deal. On that date (May 8) Iran’s Supreme 31 by France, Germany, and Britain, the and the British is not just safeguarding the western global the Europeans are strongly committed governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced National Security Council (SNSC) said if three countries party to the nuclear deal. hegemony, but expanding the western global hegemony,” to support the nuclear deal. that a mechanism similar to INSTEX has the remaining parties to the JCPOA, es- It was introduced long after the U.S. Papadopoulos noted. The statement issued by the six been registered in Iran, officially called pecially Europeans, devise a mechanism imposed sanctions on Iran and threatened Papadopoulos said the U.S. will attempt to throttle the European countries says, “In light of the Special Trade and Finance Institute to protect Iran from the sanctions’ effect to punish any country or company that independence of countries like Iran. the continuous European support for (STFI). in the two-month deadline it will reverse does business with Iran. “Shutting down the accounts of Iranian officials ... they will have no moral compulsion in doing so. Because they do not sincerely care about freedom of expression or democracy,” the British expert on politics pointed out. He said Iranian officials who pursue an independent foreign Omani FM due in Tehran to discuss Hormuz peace initiative with Zarif policy, and don’t bow down to the dictates of the Americans, POLITICAL TEHRAN — Omani Foreign Minister In a tweet in September, Zarif said the initiative entails will be targeted. deskYusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah is scheduled “dialogue, confidence-building, freedom of navigation, “The American government will do all in its means to to visit Tehran on Monday to discuss the Hormuz peace energy security, non-aggression, and non-intervention”. stifle the opinions being expressed by those Iranian officials,” initiative with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad In a post on his Twitter account on October 15, Zarif Papadopoulos noted. Zarif, ISNA reported on Sunday. renewed Iran’s call to all countries bordering the Persian Papadopoulos said that the Iranians can counter the U.S. At the United Nations summit in New York in late Sep- Gulf to join Tehran’s initiative to “forge a blueprint for peace, move by gaining self-sufficiency in their sphere of influence. tember, Iran officially unveiled the proposal for regional security, stability, and prosperity” in the region. Countries that want to remain independent from western security, officially called the Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE). In a press briefing on November 25, the Foreign Ministry global hegemony need to become self-sufficient in operating “Based upon the historical responsibility of my country spokesman Abbas Mousavi called on certain Persian Gulf their own global online platforms, the British expert said. in maintaining security, peace, stability and progress in the Arab states to abandon reliance on foreign forces for their Papadopoulos added, given the true face of the West and Persian Gulf region and Strait of Hormuz, I would like to security, saying dependence on foreigners is just an “illusion” its pursuit of imperialistic expansionist policy, there had invite all the countries directly affected by the developments “We called on the countries to respond to Iran’s peace-seek- to be other global online platforms operating in the world. in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the ‘Coalition ing call and abandon illusions. We have stressed that presence He suggested that Iran, Russia or China could create for Hope’, meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” President of foreign countries undermines security and stability. We such platforms that would be protected from the censorship told the UN delegates. hope this initiative of Iran would face with positive response,” imposed by media tech companies like Facebook and Twitter Foreign Minister Zarif has invited all regional states to Mousavi stated. that censure and delete posts or accounts according to U.S. join Iran’s initiative for securing the Persian Gulf and the Mousavi also said so far three regional states have decided hegemonic policy. Strait of Hormuz. to join the peace plan. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 2, 2019 IRAN IN FOCUS 3

Registering candidates for Iran reaffirms support for establishment of independent parliamentary polls begins Palestinian state POLITICAL TEHRAN — Iran has on the campaign trail, ending on February deskstarted registering candi- 19, and then the elections will be held on POLITICAL TEHRAN — Reza Qaebi, the deputy perma- dates running for the upcoming parliamentary February 21, 2020. desk elections, set to be held on February 21, 2020. The Iranian parliament has 290 members nent representative of Iran in the Vienna-based Candidates have until December 7 to who are elected by the people for four-year international organizations, on Saturday laid emphasis on register, Interior Ministry said on Sunday. terms. putting an end to occupation of Palestine by Israel, reiterating Registration began on Sunday morning Ali Larijani, the current speaker of the Tehran’s full support for the establishment of an independent following an order by Interior Minister Ab- parliament, has announced that he will not Palestinian state. dolreza Rahmani Fazli, Mehr reported. run for the parliament. The elections will be held in over 200 con- Jamal Orf, who serves as the head of the stituencies across the country’s 31 provinces. Interior Ministry elections headquarters, The midterm elections of the Assembly of said on Saturday that the elections head- Experts will also be held on the same date in quarters has been trained for registration Tehran, Khorsan Razavi, North Khorasan, and related works. Fars and Qom provinces. “The entire staff, responsible for im- The Guardian Council will vet parliamen- plementation of the elections, including tary hopefuls for their qualifications and will 2,000 governors and district governors, release the names of candidates deemed el- have been trained… as our collogues went igible to run by December 18. to the provinces and trained relevant staff,” Disqualified candidates will have four he explained. days to object to the Guardian Council, af- “On Thursday we staged an online exec- ter which the council will study complaints utive exercise in the Interior Ministry and and announce the final list on February 11. contacted the entire governorships to review The candidates will have 8 days to spend and resolve their problems,” Orf stated. In a ceremony marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Qaebi voiced concern over the hu- U.S. unleashes rage as new NATO members join INSTEX manitarian situation in the occupied territories. He further stressed the need for a comprehensive and dura- POLITICAL TEHRAN — Washington feels angry as mechanism for transferring money in spite of U.S. sanctions ble solution to the crisis created by the Israeli regime including desk some new European nations member to on Iran. Its objective is to facilitate Iran›s transactions with violation of international law and commitment of war crimes NATO have decided to trade with Iran via the Instrument European companies. against the Palestinians. in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX). On March 20, Iran’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Putting an end to the occupation of Palestine, allowing its people Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Hemmati announced that a mechanism similar to INSTEX to return to their homeland, and establishing an independent and Sweden issued a joint statement on Friday announcing has been registered in Iran, officially called the Special Trade Palestinian state with Quds as its capital should be a part of the becoming shareholders of INSTEX. and Finance Institute (STFI). comprehensive solution, the diplomat stated. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway are According to the Guardian, Paris, London and Berlin on Qaebi went on to say that the annual International Day of among NATO members. Saturday welcomed the six new European countries to the Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an opportunity to renew U.S. envoy to Germany Richard Allen Grenell, in a tweet INSTEX barter mechanism. “our commitment” to a comprehensive and durable solution to on Saturday night, criticized the six European nations for “As founding shareholders of the Instrument in Support of the Palestinian issue. deciding to join the financial mechanism. Trade Exchanges (Instex), France, Germany and the United Expressing deep concern over the disturbing situation in INSTEX has been designed by the European Union to Kingdom warmly welcome the decision taken by the gov- the occupied territories, especially in the West Bank and the facilitate legitimate trade with Tehran. It was introduced ernments of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip due to siege and economic on January 31 by France, Germany, and Britain, the three Norway and Sweden, to join INSTEX as shareholders,” the sanctions, widespread Israeli military aggression and demolition countries party to the nuclear deal. three said in a joint statement. of schools and homes, he called for an immediate and uncondi- It was introduced long after the U.S. imposed sanctions The addition of the six new members “further strength- tional removal of the illegal siege of Gaza, reopening all border on Iran and threatened to punish any country or company ens INSTEX and demonstrates European efforts to facili- crossings in the region as well as putting an immediate end to that does business with Iran. tate legitimate trade between Europe and Iran,” the joint mass punishment. INSTEX is supposed to be a financial channel and a special statement said. In relevant remarks in November, Iranian Foreign Minis- ter , in a telephone conversation with Palestinian Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah, denounced Tel Aviv’s aggression against Gaza and praised the MP: 140 terrorist teams disbanded during recent unrest Islamic Jihad for standing against the occupiers. POLITICAL TEHRAN — Iran’s intel- ers clashed with police, using knives Early estimates of an intelligence deskligence forces succeeded and guns. body showed that a sum of nearly 87,000 to disband 140 terrorist teams in Iran Rioters damaged public and private protesters and rioters had taken part in during the protest rallies, an Iranian property and put banks and state build- protest rallies and gatherings when the 26 riot leaders arrested lawmaker has said, hailing the forces ings on fire. price increase went into effect. for ensuring security across the country. The protests just lasted for a few days. A large number of protesters, that in Najafabad and 25 in The Intelligence Ministry and the Is- Meanwhile, the way the price hike over 93% of them were men, had only Kurdistan lamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) implemented has been widely criticized been present in the gathering centers Intelligence Organization busted 140 by many Iranian figures. and avoided joining the rioters. terrorist teams before and during the Head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organ- Nearly 1,000 people were arrested POLITICAL TEHRAN – In separate reports issued on outbreak of the recent riots, Javad Ka- ization said on Saturday that the Intel- across the country while over 100 banks deskSunday, police announced that 26 ring- rimi Qodoosi said, according to Tasnim. ligence Ministry is responsible for an and 57 big stores were set on fire or plun- leaders of the recent riots have been arrested in Najafabad, Karimi Qodoosi, a member of parlia- Abdul Mahdi. investigation into a possible infiltration dered in just one province. a city in Isfahan province, and 25 in the western province ment’s National Security and Foreign He said a number of lawmakers were of enemies into the management system The Intelligence Ministry announced of Kurdistan. Policy Committee, referred to the calls going to resign in response to the protests, regarding the implementation of the rise in a statement last week that it had iden- The police have managed to identify 26 ringleaders and for President Rouhani’s resignation or but Leader of the Islamic Revolution Aya- in gas price. tified several rioters who misused the main culprits behind the riots after a series of sophisticated parliament’s dissolution as a major plot tollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks nipped The general said the plan was con- protest rallies. moves and arrested them in separated operations, Naja- hatched by Iran’s enemies. the enemy’s plot in the bud. ducted very badly. “The main culprits behind the riots… fabad police chief Mohammad Hossein Babakalani said, The same plot was carried out in Iraq, On November 15, protests erupted in “The plan was implemented so badly have been identified and proper measures according to Fars. he said, referring to the recent protests in some cities in Iran against increasing that some people believe that the enemies are being adopted and the honorable Babakalani said the suspects have confessed to damaging and the neighboring Arab country which led gasoline price. In certain cases, the had possibly have infiltrated into the nation will be informed about its result setting fire to public properties and inciting people to disrupt to the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister protests turned violent as some riot- country’s management system.” later,” the statement said. the public order. He added that the arrested individuals have been handed over to the judiciary. General Ali Azadi, commander of the Kurdistan police force, Iran ranks third in the world in producing Oxygen 18 used in radio medicine also said 25 persons who were the main leaders of riots were arrested in the cities of Marivan and Sanandaj. Three guns and POLITICAL TEHRAN — Iran ranks third in the world and return of sanctions. deskin terms of producing Oxygen 18, which Under the JCPOA, the official name for the 2015 nuclear some white arms were confiscated from those arrested, Azadi is utilized in production of radio medicine. agreement, Iran was allowed to keep reserves of its heavy explained. Technically speaking, in the radiopharmaceutical industry, water below 130 tons. However, the Trump administration, The news came a day after the Intelligence Ministry said it enriched water (H2 18 O) is bombarded with hydrogen ions in under its policy of maximum pressure, banned the sale of had arrested those who implemented the Iran International either a cyclotron or linear accelerator, creating fluorine-18. heavy water by Iran. TV’s order to set fire to public and private property in different This is then synthesized into FDG and injected into a patient. According to the JCPOA, Iran exported its heavy water Iranian provinces. “Iran is the third country that has managed to produce and instead imported yellow cake. The heavy water reserves In a statement, the ministry said the individuals were iden- Oxygen 18,” says MP Mohammad Ebrahim Rezayee, chief of have now beyond 130 tons. tified and arrested while trying to set fire to public and private the nuclear sub-committee in the parliament (Majlis). Despite the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, Tehran remained property in order to intensify the unrest. The nuclear sub-committee acts under the leadership fully compliant with the international document for a whole Protests erupted in some cities in Iran against increasing gas- of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. year, giving time to the remaining co-signatories to fulfill oline price. In certain cases, the protests turned violent as some Rezaye visited the Arak heavy water reactor along with their legal undertakings and protect Iran’s economy against rioters clashed with police, using knives and guns. some other senior MPs and advisors to the sub-commit- the reinstated U.S. bans. Rioters damaged public and private property and put banks tee on Wednesday. They were informed about the latest However, on May 8, Iran began to gradually reduce its and state buildings on fire. technical, engineering and productive developments in the jlis national security committee to prepare a report on JCPOA commitments after the European Union, especially facility. They visited research facilities that are relevant to the activities of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran its big three – Germany, France, and Britain – failed to put production of very important isotopes including Oxygen (AEOI) during a six-month period since Iran decided to their verbal support for the deal into action. 18 as well as the process of re-designing the Arak reactor. reduce its commitments to the JCPOA in retaliation for The reciprocal measures are in compliance with para- Over 47,000 liters of The visit took place in line with a mission by the Ma- the abrogation of the deal by the Trump administration graph 36 of the JCPOA. smuggled fuel seized in southeast Iran Iran investigating cause of unrest-related deaths: general 1 But, he continued, there were some about 75 percent of the population. they damaged and/or torched 140 public TEHRAN (MNA) — Some 47,000 liters of smuggled fuel elements among protesters who attended The rationed gasoline, which is 60 places, 70 gas stations, and 9 religious have been seized in Nimruz County in the southeastern the protests just to foment chaos and liters per month, is priced 1500 tomans centers and burned 307 automobiles province of Sistan-Balouchestan, a local police official disrupt security. (35 cents) and any amount beyond that and 1076 motorcycles.” said on Sunday. He explained that protests started is 3000 tomans (70 cents). Jamal Orf, a deputy of the interior The police chief of Nimruz Colonel Ali Mir said that Nimruz peacefully but rioters harnessed the The calculation is based on the official minister, said on Saturday that inter- highway patrol officers suspected two tank-trucks and stopped power of the protests to their benefit rate of 4200 tomans per dollar. However, national statistics about the death toll them at the checkpoint of Nehbandan-Zahedan road. and began damaging and setting fire to the value of the dollar, due to the U.S. of the recent unrest are not valid. The tank-trucks consisted of 47,470 smuggled diesel fuel were public property. president’s strategy of “maximum pres- Orf said respected bodies will an- seized, he said, adding that the smugglers have been also arrested Protests erupted in Iran on November sure” against Iran, is almost 2.5 times nounce the death toll based on forensic in the operation and handed to judiciary officials. 15 after the government announced an higher in the free market. been restored. statistics. Although has experienced depreciation against increase in the price of gasoline, a subsi- Rioters damaged public and private Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani The international statistics are higher international currencies in recent months, fuel prices have re- dized commodity that is still cheaper in property and put banks, gas stations, Fazli said on Tuesday that 731 banks and than the real number of deaths, he added. mained unchanged and this has multiplied the lucrativeness of Iran than other countries in the world. and state buildings on fire. 70 gas stations were set ablaze or dam- Human rights watchdog Amnesty fuel smuggling in Iran. The proceeds from the price increase To control the situation, Iran blocked aged during the unrest in the country. International has updated the number As reported in early June, Iran has launched a border market are paid in the form of cash subsidies access to the internet for days. However, “The rioters torched 731 banks to create of confirmed deaths, putting the number to sell diesel fuel to buyers in and to counter to 60 million Iranians, who account for most of the country’s internet access has problems,” Rahmani Fazli said. “Also, at 161 on November 29. smuggling of fuel ate border areas. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 4 ECONOMY DECEMBER 2, 2019

STOCK MARKET ‘Political pressures not to TEDPIX 318670.5 IFX 4131.36 Sources: tse.ir, Ifb.ir harm Iran-EAEU trade’ ECONOMY TEHRAN — Political Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is CURRENCIES deskpressures and other coun- the chairman of Iran-Russia Joint Economic USD 42,000 rials tries’ interferences will not stop implemen- Committee, said his country is a reliable tation of the trade agreement between Iran trade partner for EAEU, IRNA reported. EUR 46,275 rials and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the The minister mentioned Iran’s location GBP 54,320 rials minister for trade of the Eurasian Economic as a linking path for the Persian Gulf states Commission stressed on Sunday. and the country’s enjoying huge resources AED 11,437 rials Veronika Nikishina made the remarks of energy, and said Iran is the way of access during a seminar on Iran’s trade and cooper- to a large market. Source: cbi.ir ation with Eurasia organized by Iran’s Trade “Iran and EAEU reached the free trade Promotion Organization (TPO) and held at agreement after several years of negotiations Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds and we are planning for the permanent agree- attended by senior officials from the both ment after three years”, the official stressed. COMMODITIES sides, Mehr news agency reported. Dollar should be omitted from Brent $60.49/b The EAEU’s minister of trade further ex- Iran-EAEU trades pressed the willingness of the union’s member Stressing the requirement for deleting WTI $55.17/b states’ businesspeople for trade with Iran dollar from trades between Iran and EAEU OPEC Basket $63.94/b and said, “They were interested in trade with member countries and using the national Iran even when there was not such a trade currencies instead, Iranian deputy industry Gold $1,465.85/oz agreement on reduction of tariffs, in a way EAEU Minister of Trade (2nd R) and TPO Head Hamid Zadboum (3rd R) in a seminar minister said Iran has already started deleting that the exports of Iranian products to these dollar in trade with some countries including Silver on Iran’s trade and cooperation with Eurasia held in Tehran on Sunday $$17.10/oz countries rose 27 percent in 2018.” Russia and it could boost trade transactions Platinium $900.25/oz The temporary free trade agreement be- are reduced and for some commodities tariffs members, the official underscored and said rapidly. tween Iran and EAEU can be turned into a are levied. that signing a free trade agreement between Making the remarks during the seminar Sources: oilprice.com, Moneymetals.com permanent one after three years, she com- “EAEU members are prepared to expand Iran and this union has laid the ground for on Iran’s trade with Eurasia, Hossein mented. economic and trade relations with Iran and the expansion of cooperation. Modares Khiabani also said that the value of The trade agreement between Iran and their cooperation with this country is prom- “We believe that trade ties with Iran should trade between Iran and this union can boost Germany leads the way as EAEU officially came into force on October 27. ising”, Nikishina has previously noted. be increased and all sides should benefit from to over $30 billion through establishment Based on this agreement, about 840 Iran is a very important market in the the created condition”, Nikishina commented. of required infrastructures in banking, banks might embrace crypto commodity items are subject to preferential region and development of ties with this Iran a reliable partner for EAEU , customs and transportation tariffs, which means tariffs on some goods country is of high significance for the EAEU Addressing the same seminar, Iranian sectors. Next year Germany is very likely to accept a law that will make it possible for institutional banks to offer crypto services, including bitcoin custodial wallets. Handelsblatt reported the news earlier last week. This would make Germany the first major European country NIMA supplies over €1.2b for imports Iranian banks to sell over $4b worth to embrace cryptocurrencies at an institutional level, and likely more of goods, services in a month of excess assets countries will follow. Because the Germans have been the leading force behind the European economy for decades. ECONOMY TEHRAN – Iran’s do- ECONOMY TEHRAN – Iran’s Fi- The law is already approved by deskmestic Forex Manage- desknance and Economic the Bundestag, and is now awaiting ment Integrated System (locally known as Affairs Minister Farhad Dejpasand has approval from the sixteen states NIMA) has supplied over €1.258 billion announced that over 170 trillion rials of the Bundesrat. The law would for imports of goods and services during (about $4.04 billion) worth of Iranian implement the 5th Money Laun- the past Iranian calendar month of Aban banks’ excess properties have been put dering Directive of the European (October 23-November 21), IRNA reported. for sale as part of a plan to reform the Union. Members of the EU have Of the mentioned €1.258 billion offered country’s banking sector, IRIB reported. until January 10th 2020 to im- through NIMA, €738 million were bought by Speaking on Saturday in a ceremony plement the directive. the importers of commodities and services. re-inject their foreign currency incomes for unveiling a website designed for that a one-year program is underway for Once the law has been ap- As previously announced, NIMA has into the country’s economy. this purpose, Dejpasand said the plan 10 government-owned banks (including proved, it would allow banks supplied over €20 billion for imports of Based on the new directive, for the pet- is a step toward liberalizing the banks’ the biggest lenders) to relinquish the in Germany to sell bitcoin and goods and services since it was launched rochemical sector, the exporters should resources to provide facilities for the excess assets–mostly real estate – and other crypto. And older version in April 2018 up to October 20, 2019. present at least 60 percent of their for- country’s productive sector and to create increase their cash reserves. of the bill would require banks NIMA, which seeks to boost transparen- eign currency incomes into NIMA, and more jobs. Speaking in a meeting with the CEOs to work with special subsidiaries cy, create competitiveness among exchange a maximum 10 percent could be injected Mentioning the fact that the excess of government-owned banks, he noted or external custodians for crypto shops and a secure environment for traders, into the financial system in the form of assets of the country’s banks are much that the ministry will follow up on the assets. Under the new law this is is a new chance for importers to supply their hard currency and the rest could be used more than what has currently been provided solutions in the program through no longer the case. required foreign currency without specific for importing necessary goods. offered for sale, the official noted that relevant authorities until it reaches a At this moment there’s only one company offering both traditional problems and for exporters to re-inject As for other exporters, at least 50 percent in this phase only 170 trillion rials of conclusion. banking services and cryptocurrency wallets, and that’s fintech startup their earned foreign currency to the do- of the total earnings should be presented such properties will be offered for sale. Iran’s banking industry is suffering, Bitwala. They have integrated banking and crypto trading, and offer mestic forex market. It was inaugurated at the NIMA system and a maximum of “The mentioned assets could also be among other things, from issues such as services to citizens of the European Union. to allow exporters of non-oil commodities 20 percent could be distributed in form auctioned in collaboration with the stock poor balance sheets, capital inadequacy, Germany has the biggest economy in the eurozone. They are to sell their foreign currency earnings to of hard currency and the rest can be used exchange,” he said. inability to recover non-performing responsible for over 25 percent of the continents export. With 83 importers of consumer products. for imports. Some of the mentioned properties loans to the tune of billions of dollars, million citizens they are also the biggest country in Europe, while According to the Governor of Central The instructions aimed to lead the ex- include 1,246 factory units and more arcane rules, and dubious operations many countries consider them their biggest trade partner. But the Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati, port revenues from the non-oil exports than 277 livestock production units which of illegal credit institutions that have German economy isn’t doing so great, as the economy shrank 0.1 establishing direct communication between back into the country’s economy through investors can purchase or manage based been punishing the economy for years. percent in the second quarter. At the same time there’s the trade war importers and exporters has significantly NIMA, mandate all the exporters of goods on their expertise and experience. In late August, Governor of Central with the United States, which hurts export in many ways. increased the volume of exchanges in the and services to guarantee to bring back to According to the official, the proceeds Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati Major German companies NIMA system during the past few months. the country the from this plan will be injected into the said the bank has been working hard to In addition car sales around the world are dropping, and major In late May, CBI unveiled a directive foreign currency amount allocated to banks again and the government won’t reform the banking system long grappling German companies like Siemens, Daimler, and ThyssenKrupp are package that provided the country’s export- them by the government at lower prices be the beneficiary in any case. with mismanagement and financial under-performing. All these events influence the rest of Europe. ers with guidelines about how they should than the free market. Back in October, Dejpasand announced indiscipline. When Germany would start embracing cryptocurrencies on a banking level, it could pave the way for other countries to do the same. Banks want control over the money flow, and they can get Government-private sector fruitful co-op 22nd ACI Iran Chapter Annual that by joining the party. European banks are already struggling with public opinion, as required to tackle sanctions: TCCIMA head Convention slated for late Dec. interest on savings has already become negative at some banks. Many European banks only offer 0.01 percent interest, causing ECONOMY TEHRAN —The head ECONOMY TEHRAN — The 22nd desk desk doubt among their clients. of Tehran Chamber of Edition of American Amidst all talks about banks and cryptocurrencies, there’s an Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agricul- Concrete Institute (ACI) Iran Chapter Annu- important role for the European Central Bank. Not only should the ture (TCCIMA) said that the government al Convention and the national earthquake ECB formulate plans for a digital euro, but also should it create a and private sector should create a fruitful conference are due to be held on Decem- framework for national banks to follow. Accepting services involving and effective cooperation to tackle the ber 25-26, Tasnim news agency reported cryptocurrencies would make sense, especially considering Germany sanctions that have made limitations for quoting an official with Iran’s Concrete already wants a digital euro. The German bank association (Bankenver- the country’s economy. Research Center (ConREC) as saying. band) believes that ‘the economy needs a programmable digital euro’. Masoud Khansari made the remarks According to the head of the center, The digital system should fit within a state-determined system, during a ceremony on Sunday to honor the events are aimed to enforce mandato- 15 exemplary economic units of Tehran ry national regulations and standards in where the state has the responsibility for the monetary system. The new TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari speaking universities competed in nine specialized Province in terms of complying with order to improve the quality of concrete law would have banks in Germany dip their toes into the crypto space, in a ceremony to honor exemplary eco- fields during the event from which one team standards, TCCIMA portal published. and increase the durability of concrete con- and perhaps have them discover it’s not such a scary place after all. nomic units of Tehran Province on Sunday was awarded the wining prize. The ceremony was attended by a structions against natural disasters such as The European Central Bank Founded in 1904 and headquartered On top of that some people within the European Central Bank are number of officials including the head need to receive the viewpoints of the earthquakes, explosions, fires and floods. of Institute of Standards and Industrial private sector. “Given the fact that various regions in in Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA, the already in favor of both a digital euro and cryptocurrencies. American Concrete Institute is a leading Benoît Cœuré emphasized earlier last week that initiatives from Research of Iran, Standards Department “Iran’s economy is in need of the country, especially Tehran, are placed of Tehran Province, and the governor flourishing production with the main on earthquake faults, it is necessary to plan authority and resource worldwide for the central banks in the cryptocurrency space shouldn’t undermine other development, dissemination, and adoption payment solutions. Bitcoin payments and other cryptocurrencies general of Tehran. focus on export-bound products. Boosting carefully for the crisis management in the TCCIMA head further lamented the exports to neighbors are on agenda and it event of an earthquake in such regions,” of its consensus-based standards, technical should be allowed as well, alongside a digital euro. resources, educational and training pro- All over Europe there are initiatives that show that bitcoin pay- government’s approach toward the is something seriously in need of removing Mostafa Ahmadvand said. private sector and said while the sanctions export limitations, and removing these The 21st Edition of the convention was grams, certification programs, and proven ments can coexist together with traditional money. For example, expertise for individuals and organizations Bitpanda is now offering a crypto payment service for utility bills. have impeded trade for Iran, internal limitations requires a good cooperation organized last year, by Iran’s Concrete Re- limitations and problems are another between government and private sector. search Center in cooperation with Aria involved in concrete design, construction, Much more prominent is an example from France, where major and materials, who share a commitment to retailers like Foot Locker, Decathlon and Conforama will start ac- factor harming domestic economy; the In this way the sanctions can be turned University of Sciences and Sustainability. pursuing the best use of concrete. cepting bitcoin in 2020. problem is that the government sees no into opportunity”, Khansari stressed. As reported, 58 teams from different The trend doesn’t stop in France. Also major American brands are moving into crypto. Starbucks and Bakkt are working on a con- sumer-focused bitcoin payment app, allowing people to buy coffee India’s deepening economic slowdown opens the door for more rate cuts using the number one cryptocurrency. The app is scheduled for a release in 2020. At the same time fintech startups have launch debit India’s deepening economic slowdown is likely economy, and last week’s weak data gives them consumption still fairly low key. Rahul Bajoria, a senior economist at Barclays cards that can be topped up with cryptocurrencies. Wirex is one of to throw open the door to more monetary policy added reason to continue pushing for growth. A slew of high-frequency indicators suggest Bank Plc. in Mumbai. He expects the central the leading examples. easing last week. The “weak numbers emphatically under- the slowdown extended into October. The central bank to cut the repurchase rate by 40 basis German banks offering cryptocurrency services will mean a lot The Reserve Bank of India will meet days score the need of policy focus on growth,” said bank may be pushed to lower its growth forecast points over the remainder of the fiscal year. for Germans. It allows mainstream users to get in touch with cryp- after a report showed growth collapsed to 4.5 Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Yes Bank for the fiscal year through March 2020 from In the interest-rate swap market, investors tocurrencies easier than ever before. On top of that the German law percent in the July-September quarter, the Ltd. in Mumbai. “We are expecting the RBI 6.1 percent, with economists in a Bloomberg are betting the repurchase rate -- which is can serve as a blueprint for other European countries, which are all first time it’s been below 5 percent since 2013. to execute another rate cut of 25 basis points survey already predicting expansion of just currently at 5.15 percent -- will be 5 percent following the anti-money laundering directives from the European Led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, the RBI at its next meeting.” 5.6 percent. in the next 12 months, while economists are Union anyway. However, not everybody is happy. Some fear that already has cut interest rates by 135 basis points Last quarter’s growth slump showed a “We expect the central bank to take note forecasting it at 4.75 percent by the end of banks will get greedy, and as a result they might not educate clients in five moves this year, the most by any Asian contraction in manufacturing and subdued of the downward surprises in the data versus March as growth remains subdued in coming well enough. central bank. Policy makers have had their investments. It was only government spend- forecasts and acknowledge a deeper-than-ex- months. (Source: nederob.nl) focus squarely on reviving Asia’s third-largest ing that bolstered the economy, with private pected slowdown in economic activity,” said (Source: business.stanmdard.com) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y NOVEMBERDECEMBER 13, 2, 20192019 ANALYSISENERGY & INTERVIEW 5

Iran indigenizes technology for Greener LNG is vital to Asia’s sustainable development

Asia struggles with the world’s worst air pollution. Delhi hit the 85% of oil industry equipment headlines in November 2019 as levels spiked to such hazardous levels that a emergency was declared. Flights were By Saeed Sobhani diverted, By Brett schools Wilkins were closed, and the images of streets shrouded ENERGY TEHRAN — Chairman of industry has undergone a revolution. in smog filled newsfeeds around the world. deskthe Board of Directors of Earlier in August, National Iranian Oil This wasn’t an isolated incident. Air pollution is a widespread and Iranian Association of Manufacturers of Oil Company (NIOC) announced that many persistent issue across the Asia Pacific region, due to a combination Industry Equipment said nearly 85 percent of the company’s contracts with domestic of dust, agricultural clearance fires and particulates from fuel and of the country’s oil industry equipment are manufacturers of oil industry equipment had coal. A report from the Climate & Clean Air Coalition found that produced based on indigenized knowledge reached over 70 percent of physical progress. 92% of the population are exposed to air pollution that poses a and technology, IRNA reported. NIOC has been signing deals with capable significant risk to health, with the highest numbers living in south Speaking in a press conference on Sun- domestic companies for manufacturing all and east Asia. day, Sirous Talari said 65 percent of the oil kinds of oil industry equipment, including This is, rightly, having an impact on energy policy. Coal-to-gas industry equipment is currently based upon down hole tools and equipment, pumps, types switching continues in China. South Korea is restricting coal use domestic knowledge and technology while of drill bits, all kinds of control and safety in summer, and Gujarat has mandated that the ceramics industry 20 percent is indigenized through reverse valves, and accessory equipment, as well as replace coal with gas. But while gas has earned its place as a transition engineering, that means a total 85 percent various pipe types, explosion-proof electro fuel of choice, there is an important shift in perception underway. of the oil industry’s required technology and motors, turbines, compressors, alloy steels, The switch from coal to gas is a significant step in the battle knowledge is available inside the country. drilling measuring tools, and etc. against air pollution. Gas burns significantly cleaner than coal and The official noted that Iran has a capacity Following the re-imposition of U.S. oil. Meanwhile, LNG’s full life cycle C02 emissions, from production to export over $5 billion worth of oil industry sanctions and the problems caused by high to transportation and final consumption, are significantly lower equipment and knowledge every year and the volatility and rising exchange rates in the than even highly efficient coal plants, or alternative sources of gas government should invest on such a great country’s currency market, Iran’s oil ministry supply such as long-distance pipelines. potential. because industry is like a chain and being raw materials in Iran’s oil industry is below was faced with some problems regarding We’ve already seen what gas can do in China. It may be that Talari further said that there is no country self-sufficient doesn’t mean being able to 30 percent and over 70 percent of the man- the supply of necessary equipment in the coal is still king in Southeast Asia’s power market, but there have all around the world which could be able to produce everything on your own. ufacturers are supplied by domestic sources oil industry, so it applied new strategies to been significant steps taken in recent years to replace coal and supply all its industrial needs on its own, He said that on average the need for foreign and the country’s oil, gas and petrochemical focus more on domestic production. diesel in Beijing. Efforts were stepped up in 2017 with a series of government measures that included replacing coal boilers with gas-fired CHP in Beijing, and 27 other northern Chinese cities. My presentation at the 2019 Wood Mackenzie Energy & Clash of titans: Is OPEC+ deal nearing its end? Commodities Summit included a chart that shows how the city’s 1 So far, and the United Arab and is expected to voice the kingdom’s intoler- ple, was supposed to pump about 4.51 million fine particulate matter (PM2.5) readings improved, while gas Emirates are the only foreign countries that ance regarding the violation of the cuts deal. barrels per day (bpd), but has produced on demand increased. Fill in the form at the top of this page for a are ready to participate in Aramco’s IPO, and Russia and the OPEC average about 4.8 million bpd. Kazakhstan complimentary copy. there are no major investors from Europe or It has been more or less three years since accepted a 1.86-million-bpd limit, however Asia’s total gas demand the United States. Russia and some other oil producers joined it has produced close to 1.95 million barrels Of course, meeting Asia’s expected energy demand growth is With all that said, and considering the fact hands with the 14-member OPEC to balance of oil and finally Nigeria agreed to a quota of crucial to its sustainable economic development. We predict that that after holding the IPO Saudis would not the oversupplied oil market and prevent the 1.68 million bpd, but has regularly pumped Asia’s total gas demand will increase from around 700 billion cubic need high oil prices in the short-run, it seems oil prices from further fall which was costing more than 1.8 million. meters (bcm) in 2018 to 1,200 bcm by 2035. that the kingdom is no longer eager for shoul- their economies a great deal. These constant violations have clearly pushed LNG will meet around 60% of this growth, with demand growing dering other OPEC+ members’ delinquencies Russia, as one of the world’s top oil producers the Saudis to their limit, and now with the Ar- by some 200 million tons per annum. regarding the oil production cuts. and exporters, has been consistently voicing amco IPO going to be no longer a motive for market in the end of this month trades. Gas compares well against other fossil fuel options as Asia Preparing for the IPO in the past year, Saudi its support for a deal reached between OPEC Saudi to offset the excess production by OPEC+ On Friday, which was the last day of No- continues its journey towards decarbonisation. But complacency Arabia turned a blind eye to the OPEC+ group and non-OPEC allies for volunteer production members, Russia seems to be rethinking the vember trades, U.S. crude oil fell by nearly $3, isn’t an option. LNG’s green credentials are under increasing scrutiny members’ violations from the agreed produc- cuts to support the oil prices, however statistics worth of remaining in the OPEC+ pact. or 5 percent, to about $55 a barrel. Brent crude as stakeholders seek to measure and compare its environmental tion levels by major producers like Russia and show that the country itself hasn’t been doing Russian officials have been recently show- also experienced a $2.8 or 4.4 percent drop impact. And, given how quickly the climate debate is moving, it Iraq and shouldered the burden by cutting much in this regard. ing some vague signals, indicating a possible and returned to the $50 range. will almost inevitably come under increased investor pressure. its own output more than agreed to offset the According to Bloomberg, Russia’s shipping abandoning of the OPEC+ deal. Considering the oil markets current status, We’re seeing this pressure already. In November 2019 the over-production. data for 2019 indicates that the second pillar of Tass news agency recently quoted Russia’s it seems that we are going to witness a very European Investment Bank (EIB) launched a new energy lending However, new signals are emerging which the OPEC+ deal has conformed to the agreed oil minister as saying that his country favors tense OPEC+ gathering in Vienna this week. policy that states: the “EIB will no longer consider new financing indicate that the kingdom is no longer willing production levels only for three months, namely postponing any decision-making regarding One can only wait to see how the situation is for unabated, fossil fuel energy projects, including gas, from the to undermine its production for the sake of May, June and July and even the production the new supply caps until April, which is the going to unwind. end of 2021 onwards.” higher oil prices. cuts in those three months doesn’t seem to be pact’s due. However, the most expected outcome would Measuring and understanding the impact of different resource Last week, Bloomberg reported that Prince voluntarily since it was during the disruption The discrepancy between the views of OPEC+ be that Russia and Saudi Arabia will agree to themes is vital. On a full life cycle basis, LNG beats coal. But our Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi’s new oil minister of the key Druzhba oil pipeline. titans has prompted some experts to speculate extend the pact for another few months to buy carbon emissions study highlights that in some cases the emissions who replaced Khalid Al-Falih in September, is Other signatories of the deal haven’t been on the possibility of a breakup of the cuts deal; time in order to assess the market’s situation in intensity of LNG is relatively high. Upstream companies may be not going to follow his predecessor’s footsteps much helpful in this regard, Iraq, for exam- a speculation which seriously affected the oil the New Year and then decide how to proceed. judged on emissions up to the point of sale – so before oil is refined or consumed, and on this metric LNG can look less attractive. LNG’s poor performance here can be partly attributed to it being further along its life cycle than oil. The liquefaction process also Is the world ready to end the coal era and embrace clean energy? plays a key role. It requires that all CO2 is removed before cooling, Access to electricity has transformed the world, helping coun- Sources of funding for coal plants acknowledge that the use of renewable energy is not only the which can result in substantial additional emissions from venting. tries to develop their economies, and lifting millions out of The wealthier Asian countries are also bankrolling coal right thing to do for the planet, it also makes economic sense. With investor pressure growing, companies are looking at how poverty. However, this success has come at a great cost: the beyond their borders: State-owned financial agencies in Chi- Technology already exists to enable the world to transition the emissions intensity of LNG can be reduced. Three approaches energy sector, heavily reliant on fossil fuels, is responsible for na, Japan, and South Korea are now, respectively, the largest away from coal, and other fossil fuels; and also to connect the stand out. some 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions – one of sources of funding for coal plants in other countries: research 840 million people who still don’t have access to electricity to Linking LNG projects with CCS the so-called greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmos- from SEforALL shows that China was the largest international clean, renewable energy sources. And it’s affordable. The high emissions from liquefaction projects can be partly offset phere and warm the Earth – and almost two-thirds of these source international source of finance for coal, committing Renewables the cheapest form by linking LNG projects with CCS. By storing rather than venting emissions come from coal. more than $1.7 billion in 2015/2016. SEforALL research shows that renewables are now the total emissions can be reduced by around 25%, but until there’s But, despite the United Nations calling urgently for an end Nevertheless, the world, as a whole, is slowly moving in cheapest form of new electricity generation across two thirds a global carbon price venting remains the cheapest option. As it to fossil fuels, hundreds of new coal-fired power stations are still the right direction, and the number of plants currently being of the world — cheaper than both new coal and new natural stands, of the 75 LNG projects in existence or under construction, being built, and hundreds more are in the pipeline. Is the world planned is falling. The amount of permits of new coal plants gas power – and, by 2030, wind and solar will undercut coal only Snohvit and Gorgon include CSS. ready for a new era of clean, cheap and accessible energy for all? has dropped to record lows, and over a thousand have been and gas almost everywhere. However, Qatar is making proactive plans to take this approach The UN chief has called for taxes to be placed on carbon cancelled, a reflection of a tougher economic climate for However, even with the decline in coal use, and growth – potentially getting ahead of shifting buyer sentiment. emissions, an end to the trillions of dollars’ worth of estimated coal plant developers, and the growing consensus for the in the use of renewables, the transition to clean energy is not A variety of proposed solutions include the use of renewables subsidies for fossil fuels, and for the construction of coal-fired need to limit global warming, and protect human health. taking place quickly enough, and there is still a big gap between for driving electric turbines in liquefaction plants. power stations to be halted by 2020, if we are to stand a chance In November 2019, four years after the Paris Agreement, countries’ climate commitments, and their planned produc- Shell sold the first carbon-neutral LNG cargoes this year, using of ending the climate crisis. a key UN climate conference at which countries committed to tion of fossil fuels, as demonstrated by the 2019 Production offsets from land management programs. And one buyer, Tokyo Many countries, particularly developed economies, are start- step up efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-in- Gap report, the first of its kind, from the UN Environment Gas, is offering consumers the option of buying carbon-neutral ing to heed the UN’s message. However, Southeast Asia, one dustrial temperatures and boost climate action financing, the Programme (UNEP) and research partners. gas. This type of shift in buyer expectations could have a profound of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world, appears UN Secretary-General convened a Climate Action Summit in The gap is largest when it comes to coal: countries are impact on suppliers, regardless of government policies or the lack to be stuck on fossil fuels as the answer to its energy needs: In New York, where many nations announced beefed-up meas- currently planning to produce 150% more coal in 2030, than of a global carbon price. November, Mr. Guterres told a meeting of the ASEAN (As- ures to combat the climate crisis, including putting limits on would be consistent with limiting warming to 2°C, and al- Buyers, such as European and Japanese utilities, will demand sociation of Southeast Asian Nations) group in Thailand that the amount of electricity produced from coal-based sources. most three times more than would be consistent with limiting more visibility on carbon intensity. Sellers will act to provide it, coal “remains a major threat in relation to climate change”, The UK, for example, is expected to completely phase warming to 1.5°C. either proactively or reactively, as bankers impose more stringent adding that countries in Southeast Asia are some of the most out coal in the next few years, Germany – one of the world’s Governments’ continued support for coal, oil and gas ex- lending criteria. vulnerable to climate change. biggest users of coal – has agreed to stop by 2038, and eight traction is a big part of the problem. We’re in a deep hole, and Industry solutions for existing projects will increase. We’ll see According to studies by the International Energy Agency, other European Union countries have announced that they we need to stop digging. Mans Nilsson, Executive-Director, more carbon offsets, CCS and updated turbines. We may also see the region is expected to become a key driver of world energy will put an end to coal use by 2030. Chile has pledged to Stockholm Environment Institute more rapid decommissioning of carbon-intensive projects before trends over the next 20 years. Millions of people in Southeast close all of its coal-fired power stations by 2040, and South “Despite more than two decades of climate policy making, backfill is considered. Asia have gained access to electricity since 2000, and the region Korea will close 10 plants by 2022. fossil fuel production levels are higher than ever,” Mans Nilsson, (Source: hellenicshippingnews.com) is on the way to achieving universal access by 2030. A “Powering Past Coal Alliance”, made up of 32 countries, head of the Stockholm Environment Institute, one of The UN-backed Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), has 25 regional, provincial and municipal level governments, and the organizations that produced the study, said in a First Announcement compiled data showing that the region has the third-highest 34 business members, announced new members, including press release. “This report shows that governments’ number of coal power plants in the pipeline after China and Germany and Slovakia, at the conference, committed to speeding continued support for coal, oil and gas extraction is Public Call for Qualitative Evaluation of Tenderers India. Indonesia, Viet Nam and the Philippines have the larg- up the transition from coal-based to clean energy, and to lead a big part of the problem. We’re in a deep hole, and to Identify the Contractor for Construction of the est coal plant pipeline of all South East Asian countries, with global efforts to curtail coal use. we need to stop digging.” Malaysia and Thailand not far behind. In addition, more and more countries, and businesses, (Source: news.un.org) Islamic Republic of Iran Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai By virtue of the written authorization No. H 56272T/157382 dated February 16, 2019 by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Islamic Republic of Iran International Exhibitions Company invites companies that have the Crude oil waiting on OPEC necessary external qualifications detailed in call documents (Tenderers Evaluation Enquiry) and are authorized to perform construction work in By Kate Leaman protesters, the Chinese complained, but likely cause major issues for the market. Expect a lot of choppy and sideways Dubai, UAE, for the construction of Islamic Republic of Iran Pavilion at have yet to retaliate. That is a sign that It is because of this that a production cut trading between now and the meeting, and Expo 2020 Dubai. Tenderers may refer the company website or visit the Crude oil markets have pulled back a little perhaps things will continue to progress extension is almost a given. After all, the you should always keep the range between company in person at the address below to read the call documents, and bit during the trading session on Friday, on that front. This could drive up demand market has been struggling to break out $50 on the bottom and $60 on the top in deliver their documents for evaluation to Iran International Exhibitions but they have been in a huge range for some for crude oil, or at least that’s the thought to the upside even with this production your mind, as it has been relatively relia- Company Secretariat at Welfare Bldg. (Bldg. No. 2), Iran International time. Currently, one should keep in mind process. cut, and of course the increased output ble. It is very unlikely that the market will Fairground, Chamran Highway, Tehran, against a receipt. that the volume for the week has been rel- The meeting in Vienna by OPEC plus of crude oil by the United States has not break out of this range between now and Notes: atively light, especially over the last couple will take place on December 5 and 6 and helped the situation. the meeting, but the meeting could cause 1- Evaluation documents are to be presented and submitted no later than of sessions, as traders will have focused will be closely watched by traders around The market in one direction things to happen. December 25, 2019. more on Thanksgiving than anything else. the world. This features all of the OPEC That being said, expect a lot of algorith- If they do not choose to extend the pro- Having the necessary qualifications from the competent authorities in That being said, it’s very likely that Monday 2- members and some of its closest compa- mic trading relatively soon, as headlines duction cuts, oil will almost certainly test Dubai to perform the work will bring in more as we start to focus on triots, including Russia. There is a certain coming out of that meeting will be parsed the $50 level for a potential breakdown. according to the description of the call. the meeting in Vienna. amount of thought that this meeting should by machines, perhaps sending the market On the other hand, if the production cuts Contact Details of the Principal Beyond that, we have the U.S.-China produce some type of continuation of the in one direction suddenly. Alternately, we are not extended, oil could test the $60 Secretariat Address: Welfare Bldg. (Bldg. No. 2), International Fairground, trade talks going on and there is a creep- overall production cuts, and therefore it will could simply see OPEC sit on its hands level above. The same can be said if the Chamran Highway, Tehran ing optimism about that situation. That’s put a little bit of a floor in the commodity. beyond expanding production cuts. That United States and China come together on +98 21 22662473 because even though Donald Trump just If they were to not extend the produc- means that the market will then shift its a trade deal, as it should drive up demand Expo HQ Tel. No.: +98 21 21912501 signed the so-called “Hong Kong Bill”, which tion cuts that are already in place, this focus from OPEC to the U.S.-China trade for petroleum. Secretariat Tel. No.: expressed the U.S. support for Hong Kong would be very negative for crude oil, and situation almost exclusively. (Source: topratedforexbrokers.com) 11-9-8 Namayeshgah daily-4 (L) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 6 INTERNATIONAL DECEMBER 2, 2019

GLOBALTIMES — After US President Donald committed in the “defense” of this process, Trump on Wednesday (US time) signed the enabling an uncontained repression by the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and military against the population. Democracy Act of 2019, some US politicians The “due obedience” is against the law. This who had instigated the act excitedly made East Asia at the glance assault on the democratic process in Latin fanatical remarks on social media, and some America by the military had been common in Western media also participated in the chorus. the 20th century. The support and training to Some people in the US and other Western the militaries by the US is well documented. countries have been deeply caught in an U.S. can not cut off HK from the world These assaults have been interrupting the ideological frenzy. Their goal is not just Hong development process of the region and adding Kong. They try to make Hong Kong a pawn more problems to the already complex situ- for them to contain the Chinese mainland. ation. Most of the heads of the governments Chinese public opinion has generally been were defending foreign interest, leading to tough and calm. Chinese people support the rising foreign debt, and attacking the national central government’s pushback to such serious industry. interference in China’s internal affairs, warning However, in the 21st century a repetition the US that the move only leads to a dead end. seemed a distant possibility. In the early 2000s, The calmness comes from Chinese people’s new forms of intervention were more common clear understanding of Hong Kong’s history in the region as the political impeachments and future and the great strength of China, and the lawfare - the use of the legal system to making it impossible for Hong Kong to be act against the political opponent, combining a pawn of the US or the West. If some US the judicial system and the media directing politicians insist on walking toward a dead public opinion for damaging or delegitimizing end, they will ruin US interests in the city. one’s rivals. Although this may bring some trouble to Nevertheless, it seems that the recent release China’s development, it can never prevent of former Brazilian president Luiz In?cio Lula China from rising. da Silva from jail after a highly questionable The “one country, two systems” principle judicial process, and after electing Alberto is not only in line with the interests of the Fernandez and Cristina Kirchner as president mainland and Hong Kong, but also connects and vice president in Argentina, this “soft-in- China with the West and with the world. It tervention” encountered some limits. Military was an exploration and effort of all parties to repression against the people is increasing in reach a win-win situation under the mainland’s some countries. relatively isolated condition at that time. It seems that the region, once again, will Judging from Hong Kong’s development need to pay attention to the military and their and its current global status, the effort has connection with foreign powers. been successful. The interaction between Hong Kong society needs to jointly the mainland and Hong Kong is closer, and resist US provocation their connection with the world is wider. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday Development of global finance, economy signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and and trade needs such connection. Democracy Act. This amounts to typical US It is extremely irrational for the US to interference in China’s Hong Kong affairs. launch the act. The US will also be a loser, Being part of China, Hong Kong enjoys a and it does not lose any less than the Chinese high degree of autonomy under the country’s mainland. According to the Congressional Kong,” which suggested that he won’t let his not lose the geostrategic advantage in the Foreign specter on Latin America governance. Washington has no jurisdiction Research Service, the US had the largest hands be tied by the Congress in dealing with region and trusted partners, so as to fulfill militaries over Hong Kong, but the legislation tries to trade surplus with Hong Kong in 2018 - $31.1 China. the common aspiration of an economically Exactly one year ago, reputed Professor legitimize its right to affect Beijing’s policies billion. About 290 US companies had regional It is not the first time a US president has prosperous and peaceful region. of international relations Shi Yinhong gave on the city, which is a clear violation of Chinese headquarters in Hong Kong and another 434 given leeway, as some of Congress’ legislations In the political sphere, New Delhi must learn a lecture on China-US relations at Renmin sovereignty. Imagine if China takes action had regional offices. This means the US has were somewhat ultra vires. Trump is no from Beijing the art of engaging in dialogue and University of China’s campus in Suzhou, East to interfere in the US presidential elections real interests in Hong Kong. exception. He has suggested that he will partnership with the government of a country, China’s Jiangsu Province. or adopts a policy regulating how Canberra If the US is unwilling to pursue such exercise discretion in deciding whether rather than a party. A simple study of India’s For some reason, the lecture was also be- should treat its ethnic minority groups, will common interests, Hong Kong may as well and to what extent the bills’ provisions are neighborhood policy reveals that New Delhi is ing attended by several military personnel there be a strong backlash? go another way that leads to prosperity. implemented. more comfortable with a particular party and from all over the world who were in China It is clearly not the time for China to reason Hong Kong’s status today was not given This reflected a phenomenon in US domestic when the opposition forms the government to participate in exchange programs. There with the US, but to be rational in China-US by the US, and the US cannot cut off Hong political struggle — with the Congress and the in a neighboring country, India finds itself in were some military men from Latin America. conflicts. We must prevent more Hongkongers Kong’s connection with the world. China is White House mutually making compromises an embarrassing situation. For example, the Most Latin American people have this feeling from being misled by US craftiness, which will a large economy. Cities in the mainland such and concessions. It cannot be ruled out that the victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka’s of being part of a common identity no matter eventually harm their interests. as Shanghai and Shenzhen have their unique Congress and the president play a double act in on November 16 has made which country we come from. So, when we Washington is determined to turn Hong positions in the global economic and trade the future, which is also a common practice of the Indian establishment cautious as his party come across someone from the region, we Kong into a new front to strategically pressure pattern, and Hong Kong will also have huge Washington. The Congress passes an egregious is believed to tilt toward China. In Bangladesh, always exchange words. Beijing. Some beguiled Hongkongers have room for improvement. law and then administrative departments play India is at ease with Sheikh Hasina’s Awami I struck a conversation with a Bolivian guy. been taken over by the illusion that the law Today’s US politics have somewhat been the card in talks and consultations to coerce League while being hostile to the opposition He was not white, not indigenous, probably a could help their city gain a higher degree of abducted by its extreme ideology. The US the other parties to give in. Bangladesh Nationalist Party. “mestizo” mixed. I was curious about what he autonomy, as they imagine Beijing would be has become increasingly furious as it finds It is a commonly seen trick of Washington Entrusting all its support and confidence in thought of young Bolivian military personnel deterred by the US legislation, and thus make no way to improve its competitiveness. US when it is dealing with foreign affairs and one party or person is not a guarantee of their in China. After over 10 years since Evo Morales major concessions that are not in line with Senator Marco Rubio, for example, is the most China. For instance, during former president favorable treatment or policies toward New assumed office as the president of Bolivia in the Basic Law. extreme nationalist and ideological fanatic. Bill Clinton’s tenure, the US linked so-called Delhi. India’s military intervention to protect 2006, I was expecting him to come out with China’s key countermeasure against the A person like him will not be welcomed by human rights affairs with China’s most- Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of Maldives did not his impression of a more progressive military, law is to further clarify the fundamental rules Chinese public opinion. However, such an favored-nation-treatment. Going back further, oblige him from favoring China. Thereby, considering he was clearly neither white nor of the “one country, two systems” principle, extremist actually becomes a US senator, and the US enacted the Taiwan Relations Act in India must respect the mandate of the people rich, as the major traditional elites in Bolivia completely dispel Hong Kong radical opposi- US policy toward China is led by these people’s 1979 to keep meddling in China’s internal and build a sustainable partnership with the are. But his answer was exactly the opposite, tion’s pipe dream to realize “absolute universal sentiments. Social media is exacerbating such affairs. For years, Washington has mastered government of a neighbor. and I soon realized it was better not to go deeper suffrage,” correct their misunderstanding of the frenzy. US mainstream elites are also becoming the trick to reap maximum gains. The smaller neighbors are interested in into the talk and said a diplomatic goodbye. principle, and firmly repulse US assessments tougher. These may drag China-US relations It is bound to affect China-US relations forging a security partnership with China After reaching home, I wrote to a good friend of the high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong. into a vicious circle. as the US Congress uses a domestic law based on their security assessments. New who was for years the minister of autonomies of We must leave no room for collusion and The current anti-China sentiment in the to intervene in China’s internal affairs, Delhi needs to deeply contemplate over Bolivia and the founder of an anti-imperialistic interaction between Hong Kong’s radical op- US exceeds the anti-US sentiment in China. sanctioning Hong Kong and even threatening changed strategic thinking of neighbors to school for the armed forces, “I found one of position and the US government. They may China knows well that the US is going to to revoke its special customs status. This will reset its policy directions and priorities. No your countrymen from a military exchange act alone and bear the costs, but shall never suppress it and we feel angry on some specific be a setback for Hong Kong as an international amount of economic assistance or aid, which program in China. I was surprised with the dream of jointly coercing Beijing. issues. However, China has not formed a financial hub and affect foreign investment is mostly considered by Indian neighbors as degree of cipayism (the indigenous people It is the Standing Committee of the National comprehensive anti-US sentiment yet, nor in the city, which also hurts US companies. alms, can persuade them to trust the Indian who worked in the military to serve France, People’s Congress that holds the power of has China launched policies to allow bilateral The act will have a far-reaching and harmful establishment. Portugal, and the UK to fight the Spanish em- interpreting the Basic Law of the Hong Kong relations to deteriorate. China is not prepared impact. But how effective the card is for Infrastructure development and economic pire) and his uncritical devotion for the US... I Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Fac- to do so, either. Indeed, China will pay close Washington depends on various factors. If connectivity are new tools in diplomacy. hope that the graduates of the anti-imperialist ing the US’ potential move to cancel Hong attention to how far the US goes in this frenzy. the unrest in Hong Kong calms down in a short South Asian countries are deprived of good school have at least slightly transformed their Kong’s special trade status with this law, Hong This is no longer the world in the early time, US evaluation of “the government of infrastructure and economic growth. Under world views!” Kong society needs to behave in accordance days after the end of the Cold War. The US Hong Kong’s autonomous decision-making” the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, He answered, “Oh, don’t tell me... Surely with the Basic Law on major issues and co- cannot cut off China’s connection with the or “application of sanctions” will lose its Beijing is helping them build new highways, there are still many soldiers who long for the operate with the central government to offer world. Even if the US breaks relations with “legitimacy” and rationality. If China-US railways and other infrastructure necessary for guidelines of the US. If they have a higher no pretext for the US to use this law. If the China, US allies will not follow it and most tensions prevail, the Hong Kong card will economic growth. New Delhi, too, is bargaining degree [of education], they are more pro-US. radical opposition interprets the Basic Law countries will keep developing relations with be repeatedly used. If the China-US relations with Beijing to attract investments. But at the Petty officers and cadets are more oblivious in an unconstitutional manner, mainstream China. If the US insists on unilateralism and can go back to normal, the White House will same time, New Delhi’s push for the Bay of to these imperial influences.” society in Hong Kong must stand up against zero-sum game, it is choosing an irreversible at least think twice before using the card, as it Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical At that time, for most Latin American people, them and stop them. decline for itself. has to weigh the costs and benefits. Otherwise, and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the and for both of us, it was impossible to think If Hong Kong society has force strong enough U.S. has to exercise caution in using relations between the two countries may tank Indo-Pacific Strategy are putting these small of a coup d’etat in the 21st century, and less so to resist constitutional arrangements, thus help- newly minted Hong Kong law and affect the trade consultations. countries in dilemma to choose from multiple in a stable country like Bolivia. The Southern ing the US resort to its law and causing further US President Donald Trump on Wednesday To sum up, Trump has signed another options. Therefore, these countries are now American country was economically growing, damage to the city’s business environment, it signed the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights evil law that intervenes in China’s domestic taking a leaf out of India’s foreign policy during fighting strongly against poverty, and uplifting will be Hong Kong society’s misfortune. The and Democracy Act, another show of US’ nasty affairs and violates the country’s sovereignty the Cold War, which advocated nonalignment indigenous people that were considered, since city will suffer some pain and make necessary long-arm jurisdiction and hegemony. by using Hong Kong as a stick. However, in but hedging to maximize national interests. colonial times, second or third class citizens. adjustments to its economic structure. China and the US are close to a phase one deciding how to use the stick and whether it New Delhi must not push these countries to Morales was the first indigenous leader in Hong Kong’s special trade status is stipu- trade deal with broad consensus having been will take the US where it wishes, Washington choose sides but let them decide what is right Bolivian history to make it to the presidency, lated by the Basic Law, rather than awarded reached. The trade talks could be a driving has to think carefully because the move would for their people and country. which sounds surprising considering that 60 by the US. As long as the society sobers up and factor for the US Congress to promote approval probably backfire. New Delhi’s dwindling commitment to South percent of the country’s population is indige- works hard with the motherland’s support, of the act. They see the legislation as a card to India needs to change neighborhood Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nous. After the coup on November 10, Morales no external forces can truly wield influence further suppress China, intending to make the policy (SAARC) in the backdrop of a tense relationship and former vice president ?lvaro Garc?a Linera over its destiny. country bow to their wishes. In this context, The emergence of China is challenging some with Pakistan further eroded the credibility of went into exile in Mexico. In the meantime, the law also threatens to both US Congress and the White House are of the existing norms of the international India as a genuine and responsible actor in the Recently, Garc?a Linera said that “for me, sanction Hongkongers who do not cooperate pleased to see the act become a pernicious law system. These norms found place in the system region. Thereby, rejuvenating SAARC will go democracy isn’t just elections - I’m talking with the US. This will suppress neutral space against China, although the two sides would during and immediately after the Cold War. a long way in restoring faith and confidence about a deeper conception of democracy. for people with different ideas and further still have divergences on details and to what US political scientist Francis Fukuyama has in the regional leadership of India. Democracy is equality, the broadening of tear the city apart. The only way to maintain extent they should carry it out. been forced to modify his theory of “end of People-to-people exchanges as well as rights, the de-racialization of authority and the solidarity of Hong Kong is to resist US Be it human rights or democracy, Trump history.” South Asia is adapting to the new cultural and geographical proximity have the rights that people enjoy. For this reason, provocation and prevent more people from is not interested in Hong Kong. However as reality. But India is looking backward. their own disadvantages. Speaking the same there can be no transformation process if it joining hands with the opposition for fear of both chambers of US Congress have passed The countries on the Indian subcontinent language quickly disseminates hate messages is not democratic,” in an interview with Jac- US sanctions. Efforts to fight the forces col- the bill by near unanimous margins, by signing are looking at China not only as a facilitator across the border, instilling and deepening obin, a New York-based magazine, adding luding with the US should be stepped up, and on the act, Trump is not likely to peeve any of infrastructure development and economic existing hatred. Therefore, political leaders “What happened is that the traditional middle the corresponding laws need to be improved. anti-China politician on both sides. Given the partnership but more as a security provider and media must desist from provocative classes saw themselves as being ‘invaded’ by There is no way to allow traitors to prevail uncertainties Trump is facing because of the and source of political stability in the region. statements. In case of China-India tensions, popular and indigenous layers who now had and patriots to suffer. impeachment inquiry, it is understandable Much of Indian strategic thinking revolves some messages are lost because of the language university education and savings, and now “One country, two systems” is China’s in- that he will woo, rather than irritate right-wing around winning back estranged neighbors barrier. Translations have a minimal impact had greater capital of various kinds to take dependent constitutional arrangement and anti-China Republican senators like Marco without seriously pondering over the causes unless they are not issued in a common on public posts.” US intervention damages its external environ- Rubio to defend him during the impeachment. of the estrangement. language, English. Right after the coup, the illegitimate “pro- ment. Hong Kong society should be vigilant. Therefore, signing the bill can bring no harm India being alienated by some neighbors is In a nutshell, India’s neighborhood policy visional government” of Jeanine A?ez (a white To maintain “one country, two systems,” the to Trump. not only due to China’s rise, but also because should be independent of any power game congresswoman who comes from a party with Chinese mainland and the HKSAR need to However, in a statement on Wednesday, of New Delhi’s handling of ties. Instead of in the region to win over its neighbors but to less than 4 percent of the votes) and the cipayist work together. Anyone who colludes with Trump said he “signed these bills out of respect engaging in counterbalancing Beijing, New formulate a common strategy under SAARC armed forces came to power. It is worrying that external forces to undermine “one country, for President Xi, China and the people of Hong Delhi must rethink its neighborhood policy, to bring shared prosperity in the region. they exonerated the armed forces of any crime two systems” must pay a heavy price. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 2, 2019 ANALYSIS & INTERVIEW 7 Britain’s chief rabbi is helping to stoke Antisemitism By Jonathan Cook without serious consequence. But in a very real sense, Britain – or at defending Jews. That they, unlike him, un- If there is no perceptible populist tide least the west – never really left Israel. In derstand that Israel was created not out of ANTIWAR — Chief rabbi Ephraim Mir- of white nationalism sweeping Europe and line with the Balfour Declaration, Britain western benevolence towards Jews, but vis has not only misrepresented the known the globe, one that hates immigrants and helped to establish the institutions of a “Jew- out of western malevolence towards “less- facts about Labour and its supposed anti- minorities, then making a fuss about Corbyn ish home” on the Palestinians’ homeland. er peoples”. The real left in Britain speaks semitism crisis. He has not only interfered might seem to make sense for a prominent British troops may have departed in 1948, out against Israel not because it hates Jews in an overtly, politically partisan manner Jewish community leader. In those circum- but waves of European Jewish immigrants but because it holds dear a commitment to in the December 12 election campaign by stances, it might appear to be worth disrupt- were either encouraged or compelled to come justice and a compassion for all. suggesting that Jeremy Corbyn – against ing the national conversation to highlight to the newly created state of Israel by rac- Mirvis, on the other hand, is the Zionist all evidence – is an antisemite. the fact that Corbyn once sat with Hamas ist immigration quotas designed to prevent equivalent of a little Englander. He prefers By speaking out as the voice of British politicians – just as Tony Blair once sat with them fleeing elsewhere, most especially to particularist, short-term interests over uni- Jews – a false claim he has allowed the UK Sinn Fein leaders – and that Corbyn’s party the United States. versalist, long-term ones. media to promote – his unprecedented has promised in the latest manifesto to stop The west helped engineer both the ethnic It was he, remember, who threw his meddling in the election of Britain’s next selling weapons to Israel (and Saudi Arabia) cleansing of Palestine and Israel’s creation full support behind Israel in 2014 as it in- leader has actually made the wider Jewish of the kind that have been used to butch- to solve Europe’s “Jewish problem”. It pro- discriminately bombed Gaza, killing some community in the UK much less safe. Mirvis er children in Gaza. Mirvis might believe vided the components necessary for Israel 550 children – a bombing campaign that is contributing to the very antisemitism he that by wounding Corbyn he can help into to build a nuclear bomb that won it a place came after years of an Israeli blockade on says he wants to eradicate. power a supposedly benevolent, or at least at the international top table and ensured the Palestinian population there. That siege Mirvis’ intervention in the election inoffensive, Tory party. the Palestinians were made Israel’s serfs in has led the United Nations to warn that the campaign makes sense only if he believes CR: “I am delighted to congratulate Boris perpetuity. Ever since, the west has provided enclave will be uninhabitable by next year. in one of two highly improbable scenarios. Johnson on becoming the next leader of the Israel with diplomatic cover, military aid It was Mirvis, along with his predecessor The first requires several demonstrably un- Conservative Party & our next PM. May he to do again for their white compatriots. The even close to being met. and special trading status, even as Israel Jonathan Sacks, who in 2017 endorsed the true things to be true. It needs for Corbyn be blessed with the wisdom to successfully white supremacists’ love of Israel is intimately The left’s anti-imperialism has worked relentlessly to disappear the fanatical Jewish settlers – Israel’s equiva- to be a proven antisemite – and not just of navigate the political uncertainties we face bound up with their hatred and fear of Jews. In fact much worse, all the evidence shows Palestinian people from their homeland. lent of white supremacists – on their an- the variety that occasionally or accidentally & bring healing & prosperity to our great Mirvis has given succor to white nation- the exact reverse. That was neatly summed Even now, our most prized rights, such as nual march through the occupied Old City lets slip an antisemitic trope or is suscepti- country.” pic.twitter.com/0cyuMIhVXd alist discourse both because he has spoken up in a survey this month published by The free speech, are being eroded and subverted of Jerusalem. This is the march where the ble to the unthinking prejudice most of us But if he is wrong about the re-emergence out against Corbyn without offering evidence Economist, a weekly magazine that is no to protect Israel from criticism. In the US, the majority of the participants are recorded occasionally display, including (as we shall of a white nationalism and its growing entry for his claims and because those entirely friend to Corbyn or the Labour party. only infringements on the American public’s every year waving masses of Israeli flags see) Rabbi Mirvis. into the mainstream – and all the evidence unsubstantiated claims have been echoed It showed that those identifying as “very First Amendment rights have been legislated at Palestinians and chanting “Death to the No, for Mirvis to have interfered in the suggests he would be deeply wrong, if this is across the media. left-wing” – the section of the public that to silence those seeking to pressure Israel Arabs”. One Israeli newspaper columnist election campaign he would need to believe what he thinks – then undermining Corbyn There is good reason why the billion- supports Corbyn – were among the least over its crimes against the Palestinians with has described the Jerusalem Day march as that Corbyn intends actively as prime minister and the Labour party is self-destructiveness aire-owned print media and the Establish- likely to express antisemitic attitudes. Those a boycott – similar to the campaign against a “religious carnival of hatred”. to inflame a wider antisemitism in British of the first order. ment-dominated BBC are happy to exploit identifying as “very right-wing”, on the other apartheid South Africa. In the UK, the Con- It was Mirvis and Sacks that encouraged society or implement policies designed to It would amount to self-harm not the antisemitism smears – and it has nothing hand – those likely to support Boris “pic- servative manifesto similarly promises to bar British Jews to join them on this tub-thump- harm the Jewish community. And in addition, only because attacking Corbyn inevitably to do with concern for the safety of Jews. caninnies” Johnson – were three and a half local councils from upholding international ing trip to Israel, which they suggested would the chief rabbi would have to believe that strengthens the electoral chances of Boris The corporate media don’t want a Labour times more likely to express hostile attitudes law and boycotting products from Israel’s provide an opportunity to spend time “danc- Corbyn presides over a Labour party that “watermelon smiles” Johnson. It plays with leader in power who is going to roll back the towards Jews. Other surveys show even worse illegal settlements. ing with our brave soldiers”. Those soldiers will willingly indulge race-hate speeches or fire because Mirvis’ flagrant intervention in corporate free-for-all unleashed by Margaret racism among Conservatives towards more Rewarding war crimes – Israeli, not British – occupy West Bank stand by impassively as Corbyn carries out the election campaign actually bolsters a Thatcher 40 years ago that nearly bankrupted obviously non-white minorities, such as The real left focuses on this continuing cities like Hebron where they have locked racist policies. key part of the antisemitic discourse of the the rest of us in 2008. Muslims and black people. That, after all, colonial crime against the Palestinians not down life for some 200,000 Palestinians If Mirvis really believes any of that, I far right that is rapidly making inroads into But that is not what those flirting with is the very reason Boris “letterbox-looking because it is antisemitic (a claim the Econ- so that a handful of crazed religious Jewish have a bridge to sell him. Corbyn has spent the Conservative party. or embracing white nationalism will take Muslim women” Johnson now heads the omist survey amply refutes), but because bigots can live undisturbed in their midst. his entire political career as an anti-racism Succor to white nationalists away from the relentless media chorus over Tory party. the left treats Israel as emblematic of Brit- What is so appalling is that Mirvis is campaigner, and his anti-racism activism White nationalists are all over social evidence-free antisemitism claims. The Economist findings reveal something ish and western bad faith and hypocrisy. blind to the very obvious parallels between as a backbencher was especially prominent media warning of supposed Jewish global Mirvis’ intervention in the democratic else of relevance in assessing Mirvis’ med- Israel is the imperial west’s Achilles’ heel, the fearful Palestinians who hastily have inside a party that itself has traditionally conspiracies, of supposed Jewish control of process will drive them more quickly and dling. Not only is the real left (as distinguished the proof that war crimes, massacres and to board up their shops as a Jewish mob taken the political lead in tackling racism. the media, of supposed Jewish subversion more deeply into the arms of the far-right. from the phony, centrist left represented by ethnic cleansing are not only not punished parades through their neighborhood and Rising tide of nationalism of “white rights”. It was precisely this kind It will persuade them once again that “the Labour’s Blairites) much less antisemitic but actively rewarded if these crimes accord today’s white supremacists and neo-Nazis The second possibility is that Mirvis of thinking that drove European politics a Jews” are a “problem”. They will conclude than the right, it is also much more critical with western imperial interests. in the west who seek to march provocatively doesn’t really believe that Corbyn is a Goeb- century ago. It was arch-antisemite Arthur that – though the Jews are now helping the of Israel than any other section of the British But ardent friends of Israel such as Mirvis through ethnic minority communities, in- bels in the making. But if that is so, then his Balfour who signed off the Balfour Declaration right by destroying Corbyn – once the left public.That is easily explained. The real left are blind to these arguments. For them, one cluding Jewish neighborhoods, in places decision to intercede in the election campaign of 1917 that sought to end Britain’s “Jewish has been dealt with, those same Jews will has always been anti-imperialist. Israel is western antisemitic crime – the Holocaust like Charlottesville. to influence British voters must be based on problem” by encouraging European Jews to then subvert their white state. Like Balfour a particularly problematic part of Britain’s – entirely obscures another western antise- Mirvis has no lessons to teach Corbyn an equally fanciful notion: that there is no move far away, to a part of the Middle East before them, they will start thinking of how colonial legacy. mitic crime: seeking to rid Europe of Jews by or the Labour party about racism. In fact, significant threat posed by antisemitism from then known as Palestine. to rid Britain and Europe of these supposed Elsewhere, the peoples who gained in- forcing them into the Middle East, serving it is his own, small-minded prejudice that the right or the rapidly emerging far right. That is, of course, why today’s white interlopers. dependence from Britain found themselves as pawns on an imperial chessboard that blinds him to the anti-racist politics of the Because if antisemitism is not an issue on supremacists love Israel, why they see it This is why Mirvis was irresponsible inside ruined, impoverished states, often paid no regard to the Palestinians whose left. His ugly message is now being loudly the right – the same nationalistic right that as a model, why they call themselves “white in the extreme for meddling. Because the with borders imposed out of naked imperial homeland was being sacrificed. amplified by a corporate media keen to use has persecuted Jews throughout modern Zionists”. In creating a tribal democracy, and standard of proof required before making interest that left them divided and feuding. In his state of historical and political any weapon it can, antisemitism included, history, culminating in the Nazi atrocities one heavily fortified, land hungry, belliger- such an intervention – proof either that Co- Internal struggles over the crumbs Britain myopia, Mirvis cannot begin to understand to keep Corbyn and the left out of power – – then Mirvis may feel he can risk playing ent and nuclear-armed, Israel has done for byn is an outright Jew hater, or that white and other imperial powers left behind were that there might be political activists who, in and preserve a status quo that benefits the politics in the name of the Jewish community Jews exactly what white nationalists hope nationalism is no threat to the UK – is not the norm. defending the Palestinian people, are also few at the expense of the many.

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NASA is losing its patience with Europe gives space programs a big boost

European nations have given a green light, and a significant its misbehaving Mars mole funding boost, to almost all of the proposals laid out by the European Space Agency (ESA) for its future program, officials NASA’s InSight lander is really starting to give out of the hole. As NPR reports, the InSight said today at the end of a 2-day budget meeting in Seville, scientists a headache. Most of the lander’s team thinks it knows why that happened, but Spain. The more than 20% rise in the ESA’s 3-year budget is high-tech sensors and systems are working just it didn’t make it any less disappointing. Troy the largest boost the agency has seen in 25 years, one that will fine, and it’s already returned some interesting Hudson, an instrument system engineer on allow it to: concurrently run two major orbiting observatories data on rumbles that researchers suspect InSight, explained that the hole likely filled to look at x-rays and gravitational waves; launch a mission to are “Marsquakes,” but one instrument, in up with loose material after the lander’s Uranus and Neptune; join NASA in returning samples from particular, is failing to meet expectations. robotic arm backed off from its pinning Mars; expand its monitoring of Earth’s environment to help The self-hammering “mole” probe which technique. tackle the climate crisis; and develop a reusable vehicle to take was supposed to dig deep within the planet “When it does that, loose soil in front of astronauts to and from space. to return temperature data has been unable the mole can infiltrate in front of the tip, to dig as deep as it’s designed to. In fact, filling up the space that occurs whenever it hasn’t even gotten close to reaching its it bounces,” Hudson explained. “Then it’s maximum depth of 16 feet, only managing just ‘bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce,’ and to push itself about a foot into the surface more material fills in and it ends up backing before stalling out. out of the ground.” InSight’s mission team initially believed it Hudson, who said he was “very was simply failing to get a grip on the looser- distraught” when he saw that the progress than-expected Martian soil. To solve that the mole made had been undone, says problem, the lander removed a protective the team is now using the lander’s arm shroud from around the mole and used its to physically push the mole into the hole. robotic arm to pin the mole against the side of However, that will only work for so long, and its hole. This gave it a bit more traction and, once the mole’s body is completely beneath for a moment, it appeared to work. the surface they’re going to have to invent Unfortunately, after digging itself about a new way to ensure it continues to dig. “This reaffirms our common ambition for Europe,” France’s an inch deeper, the mole was pushed back (Source: msn) research minister Frédérique Vidal told a press conference after the meeting of ministers from all 22 ESA member states. “You see a happy director general in front of you,” commented Brain scans show our bad dreams might actually help us face fears in real life ESA chief Jan Wörner. ESA managers have often come away disappointed after By Carly Cassella the insula is also triggered by distress and is involved with previous ministerial meetings, which take place roughly every evaluating emotions during wakefulness. Meanwhile, the 3 years, and must cancel or slow down programs that don’t win Even when our dreams are scary or distressing, new research cingulate cortex is a part of our brain that gets our bodies enough support. Wörner says the agency spent 2 years developing suggests they could work like “overnight therapy”, recalibrating ready for the event of a threat. the current proposal and lobbying members for support. “NASA our brains so they cope better with fear the next day. To find out more about these regions and their roles, has one government, we have 22,” he joked. But as the ministers By mapping human brain activity during sleep, the findings neuroscientists gave a week-long dream diary to 89 went through the 47-page list of programs it became clear that reinforce the idea that rehearsing bad events as we dream participants, who were asked each morning upon waking “not a single program had to stop,” he said. prepares us for the real thing. Researchers found those to note how their dreams made them feel. In all, the ministers approved a budget of €12.5 billion for people who reported more bad dreams also had stronger At the end of the week, they were placed in a magnetic the next 3 years, a rise of more than 20% over a €10.3 billion fear inhibition during wakefulness. resonance imaging (MRI) machine and shown emotionally- budget set in 2016. “It was a surprise, more than I proposed, “For the first time, we’ve identified the neural correlates of negative images along with neutral images to see whether which is a very good message,” Wörner said. Ministers also fear when we dream and have observed that similar regions the emotions they experienced in their dreams changed agreed to an additional €1.9 billion to allow ESA’s mandatory are activated when experiencing fear in both sleep and wakeful their response to fear in real life. programs—which all members must contribute to in line with states,” says neuroscientist Lampros Perogamvros from the “We found that the longer a [sic] someone had felt fear their gross domestic product—to continue for another 2 years University of Geneva. in their dreams, the less the insula, cingulate and amygdala if for some reason the next ministerial is delayed. Human sleep is still very much a mystery, but anyone who’s were activated when the same person looked at the negative One of those mandatory programs is science. “Science is the Meanwhile, other models suggest a night of shut-eye woken up on the wrong side of the bed knows from personal pictures,” says neuroscientist Virginie Sterpenich from the backbone of what we do at ESA,” Wörner said. With a stagnant somehow resolves emotional conflict, lessening negative experience that mood and sleep are closely intertwined. University of Geneva. budget over the past couple of decades, the rate of mission launches moods the next day. Exactly how is hard for scientists to say, although the idea “In addition, the activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, had slowed and European space scientists were anxious for more. Both theories agree, on principle, that experiencing fear that shut-eye can regulate our emotions is nothing new. which is known to inhibit the amygdala in the event of fear, One goal was to bring forward the 2034 launch date of the Laser in our dreams leads to better responses in wakefulness; they Similar to when we’re awake, we humans also experience increased in proportion to the number of frightening dreams!” Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a gravitational wave detector, just disagree on the ‘how’ part. emotions in our dreams, and this could impact how we feel The results support theoretical claims that overnight to run at the same time as the Athena x-ray observatory because Now, these new results throw even more weight behind when we wake up. rehearsal can recalibrate the brain through extinction they share some targets, such as black holes. And ESA needs to the simulation theory. Today, it’s tentatively thought that rapid eye learning or other tactics. move fast to join NASA in sending a probe to study Uranus and “Dreams may be considered as a real training for our movement somehow stabilizes our negative emotions and Still, the authors say that probably doesn’t hold for Neptune because there is an alignment of planets that requires future reactions and may potentially prepare us to face real memories. But whether that emotion can seep into our nightmares. Unlike bad dreams, where fear levels are a launch around 2030. The science budget will now ramp up to life dangers,” suggests Perogamvros. dreams is another matter. moderate, nightmares can cause excess distress, which €576 million per year by 2022. Using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) on Already, preliminary evidence suggests emotional centers could actually disrupt sleep and have a negative impact ESA’s Earth observation program was another big winner, 18 participants, researchers tracked brain activity during in our brain, like the amygdala, are active during sleep. And on our emotions when we wake. receiving €1.81 billion over the next 3 years, 29% more than was sleep. Each time the participants were woken up, which when these areas are impaired, they’ve been shown to lessen “We believe that if a certain threshold of fear is exceeded requested. The program develops its own scientific satellites, happened several times throughout the night, they were the emotional intensity of our dreams. in a dream, it loses its beneficial role as an emotional called Earth Explorers, and also builds operational monitoring asked about their dreams and if they felt scared. Still, these could simply be correlations, and all we have regulator,” concludes Perogamvros. satellites called Sentinels for the European Union under the Analysing the results, the researchers noticed two brain so far are theories about the relationship. Under the so-called The authors are now interested in looking at nightmares Copernicus program. ESA’s Earth observation director Josef regions implicated in fear: the insula and the cingulate cortex. ‘threat simulation theory’, our brains are said to deal with and positive emotions in our dreams to see how they affect Aschbacher told the press conference that he had “a very Like the amdygdala, which is involved in fear conditioning, fear in life by ‘rehearsing’ threatening events in our dreams. us when we wake. concrete list of how that money will be used.” Top of the list is building more powerful satellites to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide. Only a few satellites, such as NASA’s Orbiting Launch delayed of satellite from New Missing Neutron star discovered 30 Carbon Observatory-2, are operational, and scientists want to monitor the gas with finer resolution and distinguish between Zealand that creates artificial shooting stars years after major supernova explosion human-generated and natural carbon emissions. In space exploration, which covers the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, and Mars, ESA has committed to keep supporting ISS until 2030, to contribute components to the NASA- led Lunar Gateway space station, and to start building parts of the NASA-ESA Mars sample return mission. It has also adopted a French-German proposal for a lunar lander and rover. Wörner says this is a good example of ESA’s “moon village” concept, a lunar outpost that various space agencies and commercial enterprises can contribute to. “The idea is now 5 years old and finally we’re coming to concrete actions,” he said. (Source: sciencemag.org)

Solving fossil mystery could aid quest for ancient life on Mars

The search for evidence of life on Mars could be helped by fresh Officials on Friday scrubbed launch of a ALE, on its website, says “We aim The remains of a supernova that helped the areas around it, and happens to be insights into ancient rocks on Earth. satellite from New Zealand that spits out to produce artificial shooting stars us understand how stars work have at the location where the neutron star is Research which suggests that structures previously thought artificial shooting stars for expensive light by projecting particles, made out of last been found by scientists. suspected to be. to be fossils may, in fact, be mineral deposits could save future shows in the sky. special materials, from orbiting micro- Astronomers have been hunted “For the very first time we can tell Mars missions valuable time and resources. The satellite, built by Japan-based satellites. When the particles re-enter for the neutron star that was left over that there is a neutron star inside this Microscopic tubes and filaments that resemble the remains Astro Live Experiences, or ALE Co. Ltd., the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn when a massive star exploded and died cloud within the supernova remnant,” of tiny creatures may have been formed by chemical reactions was packed on board an Electron rocket through a process known as plasma for decades. And now, after more than said lead author of the study Dr. Phil involving iron-rich minerals, the study shows. made by a new space company, Rocket Lab. emission, creating the appearance of 30 years of work, scientists from Cardiff Cigan, from Cardiff University’s School Previous research had suggested that such structures were The company tweeted just before the shooting stars on the ground.” University claim to have seen it. of Physics and Astronomy. “Its light among the oldest fossils on Earth. planned launch time that “We’re standing The company hopes to have its The supernova, known as 1987A, is has been veiled by a very thick cloud The new findings could aid the search for extraterrestrial life down ... to conduct further tests on ground shooting star satellite, ALE-2, ready very important to astronomers. It was first of dust, blocking the direct light from during future missions to Mars by making it easier to distinguish systems. ... The window remains open by the opening ceremony of the 2020 seen on 23 February, 1987, and it blazed the neutron star at many wavelengths between fossils and non-biological structures. until 12 December.” Tokyo Olympics in June. for months, shining with the power of 100 like fog masking a spotlight.” The discovery was made by a scientist from the University of This was to be the 10th launch for “With this launch, we are a step closer million suns and being visible on Earth. Now the scientists hope that the world Edinburgh who is developing techniques to seek evidence that Huntington Beach, Calif.-based Rocket to realizing the man-made shooting star,” It gave scientists the opportunity can start looking back at that star, and life once existed on Mars. Lab and its eighth commercial launch. It said ALE’s founder and CEO, Lena Okajima. to examine the life – and death – of an learn yet more about how they die – and Astrobiologist Sean McMahon created tiny formations in the lab also was to be the first time that Rocket The mission has been named “Running extreme star from relatively close-up. what happens after. that closely mimic the shape and chemical composition of iron-rich Lab has tested navigation telemetry on out of Fingers” by Rocket Lab. 1987A is part of a nearby galaxy called “Our new findings will now enable structures commonly found in Mars-like rocks on Earth, where its first-stage booster as it attempts to fly Also on board the Electron rocket will the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is only astronomers to better understand how some examples are thought to be around four billion years old. back to Earth. be six nano-satellites built by Glasgow- 160,000 light years away, relatively nearby massive stars end their lives, leaving Dr. McMahon created the complex structures by mixing iron- The company did not plan to recover based Alba Orbital. at the scale of the universe. behind these extremely dense neutron rich particles with alkaline liquids containing the chemicals silicate the booster, but the data provided by it Alba Orbital provides mission Astronomers have been looking for stars,” said Dr. Mikako Matsuura, another or carbonate. is to be used to help make the Electron management for other customers. The the neutron star – the collapsed core that leading member of the study. This process - known as chemical gardening - is thought to rocket reusable. Rocket Lab intends to catch small satellites represent five countries the giant star left behind – that would “We are confident that this neutron occur naturally where these chemicals abound. It can occur in its boosters, mid-air, using a helicopter and a range of technology demonstrations, have been left over for the last 30 years. star exists behind the cloud and that hydrothermal vents on the seabed and when deep groundwater with a grappling hook that would snag a including a payload built by university It has been hidden behind a huge cloud we know its precise location. Perhaps circulates through pores and fractures in rocks. parachute line. students in Hungary to measure human- of cosmic dust that blocked it out. when the dust cloud begins to clear up His findings suggest that structure alone is not sufficient The company, founded by New Zealand made electromagnetic pollution and a But astronomers say that they have in the future, astronomers will be able to confirm whether or not microscopic life-like formations engineer Peter Beck, launches from its own test of new thermal-isolation material finally been able to spot the potential to directly see the neutron star for the are fossils. More research will be needed to say exactly how private launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula for use in space. location of that missing star. One part very first time.” they were formed. of New Zealand’s North Island. (Source: UPI) of the dust cloud appears brighter than (Source: The Independent) (Source: eurekalert.org) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 10 HERITAGE & TOURISM DECEMBER 2, 2019

Vandalized prehistorical bas- Iran welcomes China’s initiative to relief restored in western Iran

HERITAGE TEHRAN — A 3rd-millioumm-BC bas-relief, deskvandalized on a rock surface in western Iran revive glory of ancient Silk Road earlier in September, has been restored without damaging its 1 The visiting Iranian minister made other undestroyed sections. the remarks on Friday on the sidelines of The relief is carved on the face of a rock cliff in Salas-e Babajani the third ministerial meeting of the Ancient county, Kermanshah province. Civilizations Forum, which was held in Bei- jing, China. The minister voiced hope that more Chi- nese travelers to visit Iran as he pointed at China a huge tourism market. Back in June, the Iranian government approved a proposal for allowing visa-free entry of the Chinese nationals into the country. The law took effect on July 16. The decision came in response to a joint request by the Foreign Ministry and the then Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran (which later transformed into a ministry). Mounesan also noted that apart from tour- “Parts of the bas-relief, which were hurt by vandalizers, were ism, Iran would also welcome cooperation rehabilitated by a team of restorers affiliated with the Ministry of with China in the preservation and restoration Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and in collaboration of cultural relics, the report said. with Kermanshah cultural heritage department, provincial tourism “China and Iran are two countries with chief Omid Qaderi said on Sunday, IRNA reported. ancient civilizations. Both have many rich The department handed over restorers fragments of the [partly] world heritage sites, and we are open to smashed bas-relief, which depicts Iddin-Sin who was a monarch of learning from each other,” Mounesan said, the Kingdom of Simurrum [circa 2000-1900 BC], Qaderi added. noting that preserving traditional culture in The magnificent bas-relief is one of the most important ar- the new era is very important. experts are young people, and they do like background but are trying to create a kind However, we still need more talks to face chaeological findings [in the region] that can reveal some infor- Mounesan also voiced support for China’s their jobs. In fact, Iran has become one of of new culture, which is influencing the the cultural wave.” mation about Zagros-inhabited tribes in the third millennium efforts to enhance its local culture, mentioning the largest exporters of handicrafts in the younger generation and causing traditional UNESCO says that ancient Silk Road has BC, the official noted. the Palace Museum’s attempts to develop crea- world. Last year, exports of handicrafts in culture to be ignored. connected civilizations and brought peoples “By merging epoxy resins with mineral supplements, we came tive cultural industries to attract young people. Iran reached $600 million, and we want to “We have realized the phenomenon of and cultures into contact with each other close to the color of the relief but attempted to make a slight Iran is also trying to keep its traditional culture set a target of $2 billion.” cultural hegemony, but fortunately, more from across the world for thousands of years, difference to the original color so that forthcoming generations alive through various art forms including film, Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian and more young people know their root permitting not only an exchange of goods but would not have trouble for research.” drama, traditional clothes and handicrafts. minister criticized some Western coun- culture. For example, art majors in uni- an interaction of ideas and cultures that has For areas with deep fracture points, stainless steel wires were “I am very happy that some [handicraft] tries that do not have an ancient cultural versities are very popular among students. shaped our world today. used and molded with specific epoxy-filled solution, he said. After a few days, the restored relief will be inspected by the restoration team if it is ready to be covered by a nano-silica coat- ing, he explained. The relief is one of a group of similar rocks carved on the high How to explore the tundra: routes and ideas cliffs of the eastern border of Mesopotamia. This area was marked TOURISM TEHRAN — A trip to the tundra will defi- by numerous battles between the Mesopotamian cities, outstanding desknitely make for an unforgettable once-in-a- among them is Ur, and their opponents, during the last two hundred lifetime experience. We have compiled a list of accessible and years of the third millennium. Despite the long and well-documented interesting places to visit in Russia, where you can explore the rivalry between Ur and Simurrum, these rock relief carvings exhibit real tundra. Let’s get started, or as the Russians say — Poekhali! features typical of the Mesopotamian tradition, namely, the depic- Tundra permafrost underlies Russia’s entire northern coast. tion of an apparently young king trampling his enemy in front of a The Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk Region is the easiest goddess and carrying a scepter surmounted by two volutes. place to reach. The tundra stretches further east through The Simurrum Kingdom was an important city state of the Naryan-Mar, Salekhard, the Yamal Peninsula, Norilsk, Dikson Mesopotamian area from around 2000 BC to 1500 BC, during and on to Kolyma — these vast areas have largely been left the period of the Akkadian Empire down to Ur III. The Simurrun untouched and are the most unspoiled. In the regions around were regularly in conflict with the Akkadian Empire. the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, tundra permafrost covers coastal areas, rolling hills and mountains, and some volcanoes in Magadan Region and the Kamchatka Peninsula. The best ways to see the tundra are hiking, horse riding or ‘World’s oldest chess piece’ off-road. River sports enthusiasts can go rafting or whitewater canoeing on the Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma or on found at a settlement in their calmer tributaries; these tours are often combined with southern Jordan fishing trips. Snowmobile tours or reindeer sledding trips can be organized in winter. You can go skiing on the mountain slopes, and there is even snowkiting for the real thrill-seekers. Autumn on the Kola Peninsula in the far northwest of Russia The world’s oldest chess piece — carved from a piece of sandstone There is something appealing about the tundra’s vast around 1,300 years ago — may have been found in an ancient emptiness, its endless uninhabited expanses, covered with quality of the road varies greatly with the weather. On rainy there is a protected area with a tremendous amount of bird Islamic settlement in south Jordan. colorful mosses, lichens, wild flowers and small shrubs, where days, some areas may be cut off by overflowing rivers or some life. In the warmer months you can spot white-tailed eagles, The chessman is believed to be a rook, which in the game is wild animals and birds stand out against the uniform land- roads may become so muddy that they are impassable. An peregrine falcons, tundra swans, red-breasted geese and permitted to move horizontally and vertically for as many spaces scape. The tundra is still inhabited by the indigenous peoples ideally passable roadway can only be guaranteed in winter, other rare birds. as possible and can ‘castle’ with a king. of the North. If you are looking for an alternative way to but temperatures can drop to -60 degrees Celsius. Travel along the Taymyr Peninsula, starting from Norilsk. Chess is thought to have originated in the north of India in 550 spend a vacation, there are trips you can go on to visit the Prices for tours along the Kolyma Highway start at 100 There are flights to Norilsk Alykel Airport from Moscow, St. CE, before spreading to Persian and from their across Europe Pomors, Nenets, Sami and other indigenous ethnic groups thousand rubles per person and can cost as much as 300 Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg and and Russia by 1000 CE. living in northern arctic Russia. thousand, depending on the level of comfort that you want a number of other cities. There are local regional flights to The carved sandstone piece was found at a 1,300-year-old The Kola Peninsula to receive along the way. There are very few roadside hotels, Khatanga, Dikson and Igarka. Islamic settlement at Humayma — the modern name for the In the Khibiny Mountains and on the Kola Peninsula in camp sites, cafés and restaurants, you often have to pitch a The Kamchatka Peninsula ancient trading post of Hawara — in southern Jordan, in 1991. Murmansk Region, you can go hiking or on an off-road ad- tent for the night, and bring enough food with you in the car. Kamchatka’s mountainous tundra landscape has a special Unlike modern rooks — which are commonly styled to resemble venture. The Kola Peninsula is almost completely flat, with KAMAZ truck tours are almost the most expensive, which charm. There are forests in the lowlands. High mountains a fortified castle tower — the rectangular stone with two horns little variation in elevation, so you do not need to be super are really quite comfortable to spend the night in at truck and volcanoes — a kingdom of lava and stone. In the valleys is believed to represent the silhouette of a horse-drawn chariot. fit to go on a hike there. stops along the way. between them there are colorful mosses, dwarf shrubs and In fact, the name ‘rook’ is derived from ‘rukh’, which is the Adventurous tourists even arrive on bikes that are a little The Nenets Autonomous Okrug green Siberian dwarf pines. The easiest way to access and Persian word for chariot. (Source: Daily Mail) worse for wear, but they are confident because they do not The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is where you will see what admire the Kamchatka tundra is to hike up the mountain need to worry about the terrain. life is really like in the Arctic Circle, you will learn how the passes on foot or drive there in an SUV; the closest trails to But Khibiny is mountainous and fairly rocky in some plac- Nenets reindeer herders live, and spend the night in a tradi- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky start at the foot of the Avachinsky ROUND THE GLOBE es; you need to be prepared for a serious adventure before tional chum (tent) in the Nelmin-Nos settlement. The Pechora and Vilyuchinsky volcanoes. you arrive there. River is a popular place to fish for pike, perch and grayling. In order to take in the vast tundra in all its splendor, You can rent a Jeep on the Kola Peninsula and explore In summer and autumn you can collect wild mushrooms, book a helicopter trip over the picture-postcard Valley of Archaeological site of Russia’s mysterious ancient labyrinths (Babylons) by the White berries and herbs. The main natural attraction is the rocky Geysers, fly over the puffs of smoke emitted by volcanoes Delphi Sea, along with other immensely powerful places. eroded outline of the Timan Ridge. bubbling with lava and sulfur around the Uzon volcanic Check out Cape Korabl if you want to find your own amethyst. If you are planning a hike in the tundra, do make sure you caldera, or hover over the kingdom of the Kamchatka brown Blending harmoniously with the superb landscape and charged On the way there, you will also pass through the well-pre- get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis in advance. bear on Kurile Lake. Helicopter tours last about an hour, with sacred meaning, Delphi in the 6th century BC was indeed the served settlements of Kandalaksha, Umba, Kashkarantsy, The best starting point for hiking trails is Naryan-Mar. You when you will see meandering cobalt-blue rivers, volca- religious center and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world. Kuzomen and Varzuga, where you can learn about Pomor can fly there from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, noes and their craters, and you will see the colors of the Delphi lies between two towering rocks of Mt. Parnassus, folklore, crafts and traditions. Skilled Sami reindeer herders and in the warmer months you can also fly there from Kirov tundra, which change from bright green to fiery red with known as the Phaidriades (Shining) Rocks, in the Regional unit live in the village of Lovozero. and Syktyvkar. the seasons. When the weather is good you will easily be of Phocis in Central Greece. Here lies the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary There is a seemingly bottomless lake in the Khibiny Moun- Yamal Peninsula able to spot bears from the helicopter. Helicopter tours in of Apollo, the Olympian god of light, knowledge and harmony. tains, Lake Imandra, the Aku-Aku Ravine and other places Visit the Yamal Peninsula and immerse yourself in the Kamchatka cost about 40 thousand rubles. of natural gems with names that are difficult to pronounce: culture of the ethnic groups native to arctic Russia — the Ne- Make sure you are prepared for the outdoors. You will the Southern Chorgorr and Northern Rischorr Passes, Mount nets, Khanty and Mansi. Places that are worth a visit include be spending the night at turbazy (tourist camps) and at Takhtarvumchorr and Mount Poachvumchorr, the Chasnayok the Natural-Ethnographic Complex in Gornoknyazevsk at camping sites. The only hotels in the region are in the towns and Poachyok Rivers, the Maliy and Bolshoy Vudjavr Lakes, the Land of Hope Nenets Camp, and the ancient Sikhirtya and some villages. and the Seidjavr and Pingkyaring Lakes. Nomads Camp. You can learn how to make and use a lasso Other ways to explore the tundra The town of Monchegorsk is a good starting point for a for catching deer and participate in traditional games there * Tourists with Schengen visas who like travelling off the hike in the Khibiny Mountains. — sledge jumping, throwing axes and stick tug of war. You beaten track can visit the unique Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Kolyma can also meet real reindeer and learn how to harness them. Ocean, which Russia shares with Norway. Barentsburg is a The best way to experience Russia’s extreme northeast is by Hiking and rafting are also popular activities on the Yamal Russian town on Svalbard, but it is almost impossible to get going on an expensive, but really exciting off-road expedition Peninsula’s calm rivers that meander through the tundra. there without passing through Norwegian territory. from Yakutsk to Magadan. The starting point for all routes is the town of Salekhard, the * The Yaylas — the high Crimean Mountains — are a prime You will be able to stop and visit unique and remote places administrative center of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. example of an Alpine tundra region. At a high elevation where along the Kolyma Highway. You have to take the ferry to cross The Taymyr Peninsula the shrubland ends, there are amazing mosses, growing out of the Lena River and ford across many rivers. You will be able The almost uninhabited Taimyr Peninsula is the northern- rocky and gravelly soils, as well as lichens and many unique The area was inhabited in the 2nd millennium BC, as is to visit the GULAG History Museum in Teply Klyuch and the most part of the Eurasian continent. The main attractions are plants and flowers. evident from Mycenaean remains (1500-1100 BC). The devel- site of the former Dneprovsky Gulag, and will see a monu- the Putorana Plateau and Lama Lake, nominated to be made * Do you want to learn more about the culture of the eth- opment of the sanctuary and oracle began in the 8th century ment with a sign welcoming you to the village of Oymyakon a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site. You can reach them nic groups living in the Far North without making the epic BC, and their religious and political influence over the whole “Polyus Kholoda”, or “the Pole of Cold” in English. You can by boat from Norilsk on the rivers Norilka and Talaya. After a journey? Just off the route M8 or the Yaroslavl Highway, 50 of Greece increased in the 6th century BC. At the same time, also visit Siberian Santa at the “Residence of Chyshaan — Lord hike on the Putorana Plateau, visit the waterfalls of Yuzhniy kilometers from Moscow, you can visit the ethnographic park their fame and prestige spread throughout the whole of the of the Cold”, an igloo and ice tunnel complex filled with ice Neyralakh and then take a walk along the Vitaminka River. “Kochevnik” (Nomad). The owners have built chums (tents) then known world, from which pilgrims came to the site to sculptures and giant crystals on the walls and ceiling. There You can also sail along the Yenisei River in a boat, and visit and yurts there. You can try traditional dishes and teas from receive an oracle from the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. is another place you can visit on this trip which is like no the villages of Ust-Port, Karaul and Nosok — these villages different ethnic groups in arctic Russia, and there are also A place with a rich intangible heritage, Delphi was the other — abandoned mining ghost town of Kadykchan. The played a major role in developing this wild region in the Far shamanic rituals performed there. Yaks, sled dogs, deer and center of the world (omphalos) in the eyes of the ancient city of Yakutsk and the large town Magadan are also very North during the Soviet period. even camels are kept on the territory, and you can try some Greeks: according to myth, it was the meeting point of two interesting places to visit and learn about the history and Dudinka is one of the coldest settlements on the planet. archery and learn to harness deer. On August 9 each year, the eagles released by Zeus, one to the East and one in the West. culture of Russia’s northern regions. It is home to the Taymyr Regional Museum, Russia’s north- Nomad Park hosts a colorful celebration for the International (Source: UNESCO) This is a real extreme tour. It takes a minimum of eight ernmost public museum. Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. days to travel the full length of the Kolyma Highway. The At the mouth of the Yenisei at the Brekhovskiye Lakes, (Based on a research into Russian sources) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 2, 2019 INTERNATIONAL 11

Tulsi Gabbard: Wake Up and “No to foreign interference”: Algerians dissipating disaccord in face of European Smell Our $6.4 Trillion Wars Parliament’s resolution 1 “Everyone should understand that rejection of foreign THEAMERICANCONSERVATIVE — The interference is a principle rooted in the political culture of Algeria, its Democratic establishment is increasingly irritated. people and institutions, and all attempts, in this respect, are doomed Representative Tulsi Gabbard, long-shot candidate for to fail,” he stressed. president, is attacking her own party for promoting “The Algerian people who have said loud and clear that they do the “deeply destructive” policy of “regime change not need any lessons, whatever their origin, know perfectly how to wars.” Gabbard has even called Hillary Clinton “the respond, at the appropriate time, to those who try to interfere in their queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, affairs and hinder the process through which Algeria will shift to a new and personification of the rot that has sickened the era, marked with progress and prosperity in serenity and peace,” the Democratic Party.” lieutenant general Gaid Salah said. Senator Chris Murphy complained: “It’s a little “This valiant people will thwart the attempts of the gang which, hard to figure out what itch she’s trying to scratch in after it has failed in its schemes, is resorting to foreign parties, especially the Democratic Party right now.” Some conservatives those known for their historical deep-rooted hatred and who do not seem equally confused. The Washington Examiner’s want the good for Algeria and its people,” he noted. Eddie Scarry asked: “where is Tulsi distinguishing “The Algerian people, who have managed to overcome the various herself when it really matters?” ordeals and obstacles, are able today to foil the schemes of the gang The answer is that foreign policy “really matters.” and its lackeys.” Gabbard recognizes that George W. Bush is not the They “know very well how to overcome this situation, with wisdom only simpleton warmonger who’s plunged the nation and lucidity, and how to get Algeria out of the crisis and pave the way into conflict, causing enormous harm. In the last for a glowing future,” the chief of the Army Ahmed Gaid Salah stressed. Democratic presidential debate, she explained that For the lieutenant general, the people “alone will define the bench- the issue was “personal to me” since she’d “served marks of a promising future, thanks to their determination and their in a medical unit where every single day, I saw the Army’s commitment to keep Algeria free, independent and sovereign terribly high, human costs of war.” Compare her in its decision, accepting no interference or diktat and submitting to perspective to that of the ivory tower warriors of no bargaining whoever the parties.” Right and Left, ever ready to send others off to fight The Algerian Foreign Ministry, for its part, slammed the resolu- not so grand crusades. costs—4.5 million Iraqi refugees and millions more at home and abroad. In this regard, drone campaigns tion, considering it as a new attempt to bring into Algeria the type of The best estimate of the costs of the post-9/11 wars in other nations, as well as the destruction of Iraq’s are little better than invasions and occupations. “engineered chaos” that had already spread ruin and armed conflict comes from the Watson Institute for International indigenous Christian community and persecution of For instance, when questioned by the presiding elsewhere in the Arab world. and Public Affairs at Brown University. The Institute other religious minorities. There has been widespread judge in his trial, the failed 2010 Times Square bomber, “The European Parliament, at the instigation of a group of deputies says that $6.4 trillion will be spent through 2020. rape and other sexual violence. Civilians, including Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen, cited the drone campaign from diverse partisan affiliations, has arrogantly taken the liberty of They estimate that our wars have killed 801,000 children, suffer from PTSD. in Pakistan. His colloquy with the judge was striking: ruling on the current political process in our country at this moment directly and resulted in a multiple of that number Even stopping the wars won’t end the costs. Explained “I’m going to plead guilty 100 times forward because in time when Algerians are preparing to elect a new president in full dead indirectly. More than 335,000 civilians have Nita Crawford of Boston University and co-director until the hour the U.S. pulls its forces from Iraq and democracy and transparency,” the ministry added in a statement. died—and that’s an extremely conservative guess. of Brown’s Cost of War Project: “the total budgetary Afghanistan and stops the drone strikes in Somalia “With this resolution, the European parliament has above all con- Some 21 million people have been forced from their burden of the post-9/11 wars will continue to rise and Yemen and in Pakistan and stops the occupation firmed, at the initiative of the instigating deputies, that it is henceforth homes. Yet the terrorism risk has only grown, with as the U.S. pays the on-going costs of veterans’ care of Muslim lands and stops Somalia and Yemen and in openly promoting their agenda of engineered chaos which had been the U.S. military involved in counter-terrorism in and for interest no borrowing to pay for the wars.” Pakistan, and stops the occupation of Muslim lands, unfortunately implemented in many brotherly countries,” the ministry 80 nations. People would continue to die. Unexploded shells and stops killing the Muslims.” highlighted. Obviously, without American involvement there and bombs still turn up in Europe from World Wars Ajani Marwat, with the New York City Police EP non-binding resolution provoked strong reactions among Al- would still be conflicts. Some counter-terrorism I and II. In Afghanistan, virtually the entire country Department’s intelligence division, outlined Shahzad’s gerians, who rushed to the streets, reflecting the position of Algeria, activities would be necessary even if the U.S. was is a battlefield, filled with landmines, shells, bombs, perspective to The Guardian: “’It’s American policies which refuses humiliation and submission. not constantly swatting geopolitical wasps’ nests. and improvised explosive devices. Between 2001 and in his country.’ …’We don’t have to do anything to Saturday’s protests are the largest pro-government demonstrations Nevertheless, it was Washington that started or joined 2018, 5,442 Afghans were killed and 14,693 were attract them,’ a terrorist organizer in Lahore told of their kind seen in Algeria, organized by the General Union of Algerian these unnecessary wars (e.g., Iraq, Libya, Syria, and wounded from unexploded ordnance. Some of these me. ‘The Americans and the Pakistani government Workers, or UGTA in support of the government and the presidential Yemen) and expanded necessary wars well beyond explosives predate American involvement, but the do our work for us. With the drone attacks targeting election, slated for December, 12, 2019. Marchers voiced their support their legitimate purposes (Afghanistan). As a result, U.S. has contributed plenty over the last 18 years. the innocents who live in Waziristan and the media for the military and the sovereignty of the country, expressing their American policymakers bear responsibility for much Moreover, the number of indirect deaths often broadcasting this news all the time, the sympathies of indignation and strong condemnation of the European Parliament of the carnage. exceeds battle-related casualties. Journalist and most of the nation are always with us. Then it’s simply resolution. They stressed that this move is a flagrant interference in The Department of Defense is responsible for close activist David Swanson noted an “estimate that to a case of converting these sentiments into action’.” the internal affairs of Algeria and a provocation against the Algerian to half of the estimated expenditures. About $1.4 480,000 direct deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Washington does make an effort to avoid civilian people and a despicable act of propaganda, based on misinformation trillion goes to care for veterans. Homeland security Pakistan, one must add at least one million deaths in casualties, but war will never be pristine. Combatting and malicious intentions serving foreign agendas eager to create chaos and interest on security expenditures take roughly those countries indirectly caused by the recent and insurgencies inevitably harms innocents. Air and drone and undermine the stability of the country. $1 trillion each. And $131 million goes to the State ongoing wars. This is because the wars have caused strikes rely on often unreliable informants. The U.S. “No to foreign interference!” read one placard in response to the Department and the U.S. Agency for International illnesses, injuries, malnutrition, homelessness, poverty, employs “signature” strikes based on supposedly European Parliament resolution. Development, which have overspent on projects that lack of social support, lack of healthcare, trauma, suspicious behavior. And America’s allies, most notably “The December 12 vote will go ahead,” demonstrators chanted have delivered little. depression, suicide, refugee crises, disease epidemics, the Saudis and Emiratis—supplied, armed, guided, against former colonial power France, telling its “children” -- anti-vote More than 7,000 American military personnel the poisoning of the environment, and the spread and until recently refueled by Washington—make protesters -- to “get out”. and nearly 8,000 American contractors have died. of small-scale violence.” Consider Yemen, ravaged little if any effort to avoid killing noncombatants and About 1,500 Western allied troops and 11,000 Syrians by famine and cholera. Most civilian casualties have destroying civilian infrastructure. fighting ISIS have been killed. The Watson Institute resulted not from Saudi and Emirati bombing, but Thus will the cycle of terrorism and war continue. Yet Spy case flip-flop reveals figures that as many as 336,000 civilians have died, from the consequences of the bombing. which leading Democrats have expressed concern? Most but that uses the very conservative numbers provided Only a naif would imagine that these wars will complain that President Donald Trump is negotiating anti-China bias by the Iraq Body Count. The IBC counts 207,000 disappear absent a dramatic change in national with North Korea, leaving Syria, and reducing force levels documented civilian deaths but admits that doubling leadership. Wrote Crawford: “The mission of the in Afghanistan. Congressional Democrats care about Wang Liqiang, a self-claimed high-level Chinese spy who defected the estimate would probably yield a more accurate post-9/11 wars, as originally defined, was to defend Yemen only because it has become Trump’s war; there to Australia, seems to have been having trouble backing up his story. figure. Two other respected surveys put the number of the United States against future terrorist threats from were few complaints under President Barack Obama. According to the latest news, Australian security agencies concluded deaths in Iraq alone at nearly 700,000 and more than al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations. Since 2001, the What has Washington achieved after years of combat? that Wang might be at most “a bit player on the fringes of the espi- a million, though those figures have been contested. wars have expanded from the fighting in Afghanistan, Even the capitals of its client states are unsafe. The State onage community.” Some Australian media outlets even described More than a thousand aid workers and journalists to wars and smaller operations elsewhere, in more Department warns travelers to Iraq that kidnapping is this case as a “spy farce.” have died, as well as up to 260,000 opposition fighters. than 80 countries—becoming a truly ‘global war on a risk and urges businessmen to hire private security. Over a week ago, Wang shocked Australian and Western public Iraq is the costliest conflict overall, with as many as terror’.” In Kabul, embassy officials now travel to the airport opinion. Wang claimed that he had “infiltrated the student movement 308,000 dead (or 515,000 from doubling the IBC Yet every expansion of conflict makes the American via helicopter rather than car. in Hong Kong” and “interfered with .” His words count). Syria cost 180,000 lives, Afghanistan 157,000, homeland more, not less, vulnerable. Contrary to the Tulsi Gabbard is talking about what really matters. seemed customized for the current political situations. Many political Yemen 90,000, and Pakistan 66,000. nonsensical claim that if we don’t occupy Afghanistan The bipartisan War Party has done its best to wreck forces felt as if they had hit the jackpot, and a whirlwind blew up. Roughly 32,000 American military personnel have forever and overthrow Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, al- America and plenty of other nations too. Gabbard How could a 27-year-old participate in a series of espionage activi- been wounded; some 300,000 suffer from PTSD or Qaeda and ISIS will turn Chicago and Omaha into is courageously challenging the Democrats in this ties? It sounded like Wang was a liar. China soon released a courtroom significant depression and even more have endured terrorist abattoirs, intervening in more conflicts and coalition, who have become complicit in Washington’s video of Wang’s conviction for fraud in 2016. Many of his misdeeds traumatic brain injuries. There are other human killing more foreigners creates additional terrorists criminal wars. were exposed. It seems that the farce with which Wang showed his loyalty to Australia’s anti-China forces and the latter utilized him to fuel anti-China opinions could not continue anymore. This case revealed the lack of morality of quite a few Australians in the intelligence community and press circles. They should not have Iran at forefront of push for nuclear-weapons-free middle east been fooled by Wang.However, they fell into the trap willingly, taking TEHRAN (FNA) — Iran continues to be used once in history, the 1945 bombings advantage of Wang regardless of the consequences. behind a longstanding proposal at the United of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Wang’s case helped the Hong Kong opposition win the district Nations for a regional nuclear-weapons- Nagasaki during the Second World War council elections. And Tsai Ing-wen’s authority hyped this case and free zone in the Middle East. attest to their devastation. detained the alleged leaders of a so-called Chinese mainland intel- However, there are lingering questions The United States and Israel decided ligence agency based in Hong Kong as claimed by Wang. However, crying out for answers: how realistic is Iran’s not to participate in this year’s conference, the case collapsed promptly. proposal in the face of implicit opposition however, their absence in the room is not But the Chinese people should by no means believe that the Aus- from the United States and Israel which necessarily a bad thing at this moment as it tralian intelligence community and media outlets will be ashamed have nuclear weapons. allows the other states to have a constructive and restrain themselves from discrediting China. Their mentality has The danger of a nuclear arms race in the discussion to serve as a positive and crucial already been extremely ideological. In terms of throwing mud at China, Middle East shows that business cannot step towards a positive outcome. they only focus on the effects it can produce, rather than whether it is continue as usual. It is a real threat, and Having said that, the civil society should right or wrong. No matter what setbacks they have suffered, they can this threat is further exacerbated by the call on Israel to pay attention that with always be forgiven and continue their smears against China fearlessly. two nuclear weapons regimes that have consensus on all final decisions on the WMD Recent accusations made by Western public opinion against used the Middle East in their power games Free Zone treaty, it has everything to lose China, which were over-exaggerated and full of loopholes, as well and scapegoated Iran in not reaching a by not joining the process and international as their overt double standards, have shocked the Chinese people final document at the annual NPT Review isolation to gain.The US’s stand is that over and over again. Conferences. the time is not right and the states in the Reform and opening-up has offered Chinese more access to Western Like Iran, other states from within the to be a vital priority for every country. For to achieve the zone, instead of using this region are not ready for disarmament. public opinion. We once believed in the “objectivity” and “fairness” of region understand the gravity of the threat this Israel should be held to account too. topic to bash each other for short-term The US should be reminded that there is Western public opinion institutions, but gradually, Chinese people and the need for a comprehensive process This is because the US and Israel behave political points. huge difference between disarmament and have realized that they are far from perfect as we used to believe. In that reduces tensions and serves as a starting as if they want to keep nuclear weapons The main diplomatic challenge is to take dismantlement - there is no such thing the past two years, we have witnessed all kinds of unscrupulous and point for an inclusive discussion in goodwill. and freedom of action for the foreseeable forward a positive process that engages as not being ready for disarmament as ugly performances. The United Nations claims it has been future. That’s a dangerous position to take, positively with the existing treaty regimes disarmament begins with a conversation Some Western media outlets have established standardized pro- working to eliminate nuclear weapons, particularly after Donald Trump unilaterally covering all types of weapons of mass if there is goodwill. Just like Israel, the US duction lines of China reports, which prioritize value and standpoint. including through the?Treaty on the Non- pulled the US out of the JCPOA (2015 nuclear destruction. At a minimum, it would have hasn’t shown that goodwill. For a long time to come, China will be unable to change this paranoia Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well restraint agreement with Iran). been important for the UN to commit to The question is not readiness, wanting of Western public opinion. But fortunately, the Chinese have clearly as the?Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Which is why Iran has been working holding a follow up conference every year or not wanting - as the US and Israel observed the Western media’s serious prejudice and hostility toward Treaty and the?Treaty on the Prohibition with states from within the region and under UN General Assembly auspices. on numerous times have rejected the China. The previous positive image of the Western media among the of Nuclear Weapons, both of which are yet the international community to draw They should also consider what positive establishment of a WMD Free Zone in the Chinese public has collapsed. It is hard for them to affect Chinese to enter into force. The problem is this is attention to the fact that the most important initiatives can be taken to the Non- Middle East. It is time to start this much- society as they did in the past. They are marginalizing themselves all for political points. component missing is the belief that such Proliferation Treaty Conference in 2020, needed discourse - just as it is time for in Chinese society. That said, the stakes for international as a zone is still possible and the goodwill especially in light of the 1995 Resolution on the US, Israel and other nuclear weapons China needs to make efforts to dismantle the influence of the well as regional security could not be higher needed to sustain this process. the Middle East and the failure to hold the states to dismantle their stockpiles based West’s China-related reports worldwide. The work will be tough, still. Ending weapons of mass destruction Iran says there are several possibilities 2012 Conference that was agreed in 2010. on a specific timeline and with no strings but worthwhile to pursue. Only by gradually achieving this task can possession and use in the Middle East has to move forward if only the states want Although nuclear weapons have only been attached. China’s soft power make a necessary breakthrough. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 12 SOCIETY DECEMBER 2, 2019

CO2-eating bacteria made International Day of Persons with in the lab could help tackle climate change, scientists claim Disabilities celebrated in Tehran Bacteria which normally survive on sugar have been genetically 1 This year, the event focuses on the life like other citizens,” he noted. altered to make them capable of surviving through consumption empowerment of persons with disabilities To do so, all the people and responsi- of carbon dioxide and could be harnessed to help produce sus- for inclusive, equitable and sustainable ble organizations should take steps and tainable supplies of food and fuel, scientists claim. development as anticipated in the 2030 provide the necessary conditions for the Over the course of several months, researchers in Israel cre- Agenda for Sustainable Development, which persons with disabilities to be accepted ated an E coli strain which, through genetic manipulation, con- pledges to ‘leave no one behind’ and rec- in the community, he added. sumes CO2 for energy instead of organic compounds. ognizes disability as a cross-cutting issues, Pointing out that families are wor- The team used “metabolic rewiring”, to help transform the E co- to be considered in the implementation ried whether their next child will suffer li’s diet to make it consume CO2 in a similar manner to a plant. of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals a disability, he said that to address this This involved adding genes which metabolise CO2, and re- (SDGs). issue, “We considered genetic screening moving genes which usually process sugar compounds. The event was attended by Coopera- of families with disabled members to be tives, Labour and Social Welfare Minister free of charge.” Mohammad Shariatmadari, Tehran May- Anyone with severe disabilities and in or Pirouz Hanachi, Welfare Organization need of a job should be paid salary, and Director Vahid Qobadi- Dana and some the fund has been provided for this issue, other officials. he stated. Shariatmadari, for his part said that He concluded that day and night care in order to build a more accessible envi- centers will also receive higher subsidies ronment for the persons with disabilities, per patient. culture should be promoted in the society, Over 1.3m persons with disa- and the public should be aware that disa- bilities live in Iran bility is not farfetched and can happen to Hanachi also said that over 1.3 million anyone in anytime of their life. people suffering from disabilities live in “We are very pleased that law on the the country and the figure rises by 50,000 protection of the rights of persons with every year. disabilities was approved which can be an he stated, adding, 1,057 residential units allocated, he said. “So, we have to make urban areas more effective step towards resolving the prob- will be provided to families having mem- Next year, some 150 trillion rials accessible for disabled people and provide “From a basic scientific perspective, we wanted to see if such a lems of those suffering from disabilities.” bers with disabilities within next week. (nearly $3.5 billion) is required to be them with necessary services,” he added. major transformation in the diet of bacteria – from dependence Majlis [the Iranian parliament] approved Shariatmadari said students with dis- provided to the Welfare Organization Disability prevalence worldwide on sugar to the synthesis of all their biomass from CO2 – is pos- both general outlines and details of a bill abilities studying in state universities in this regard, he concluded. About 15 percent of the world’s popula- sible,” said first author Shmuel Gleizer, a Weizmann Institute on rights of persons with disabilities on will receive scholarships for the first Disability genes database to be tion lives with some form of disability, of of Science postdoctoral fellow. January 2018. Development of disabili- time this year. launched within 4 years whom 2-4 percent experience significant “Beyond testing the feasibility of such a transformation in the ty-friendly cities, free transportation, health Although the cities must be adjusted to Qobadi-Dana for his part said that difficulties in functioning. lab, we wanted to know how extreme an adaptation is needed in insurance, free education, job creation, be disability-friendly, the public’s perspec- the Welfare Organization is working on The global disability prevalence is higher terms of the changes to the bacterial DNA blueprint.” housing loans, and less working hours are tive to disabled people must be adjusted, the establishment of the disability genes than previous WHO estimates, which date The team said the results were a significant step in synthetic some of the articles of the law. which requires partnership between related database, which is going to be developed from the 1970s and suggested a figure of biology and highlight the “incredible plasticity of bacterial metab- Since the approval of the law, education bodies, including media, he highlighted. over the next 4 years. around 10 percent. This global estimate for olism” and could provide a framework for future carbon-neutral for students with disabilities have been Last year, a budget of 120 trillion rials “Our main goal is that people with disability is on the rise due to population bioproduction. provided in Azad universities, subsidies for (nearly $2.8 billion) was proposed to disabilities lead an independent life with ageing and the rapid spread of chronic “Our main aim was to create a convenient scientific platform patients with spinal cord injury as well as fully implement the law, however, only effective participation in the community diseases, as well as improvements in the that could enhance CO2 fixation, which can help address challenges disability care centers have been increased, 11 trillion rials (nearly $260 million) was and to be able to work and have a normal methodologies used to measure disability. related to sustainable production of food and fuels and global warming caused by CO2 emissions,” said senior author Ron Milo, a systems biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Polluted air sends over 12,800 No human cases of avian influenza “Converting the carbon source of E coli, the workhorse of , from organic carbon into CO2 is a major step citizens to hospitals reported: health official towards establishing such a platform.” Dr Gleizer said there was no existing precedent for the process. SOCIETY TEHRAN — Air pollu- SOCIETY TEHRAN — No cas- “The study describes, for the first time, a successful trans- desktion has caused respira- deskes of human infec- formation of a bacterium’s mode of growth. Teaching a gut tory and cardiac problems for residents of tion with avian influenza virus have bacterium to do tricks that plants are renowned for was a real big cities of the country over the past few so far been reported in the country, long shot,” he said. days, sending 12,838 people to hospitals, Mohammad Mehdi Gooya, head of “When we started the directed evolutionary process, we Pir-Hossein Kolivand, head of Emergen- infectious diseases management de- had no clue as to our chances of success, and there were no cy Medical Services Organization said. partment at the Ministry of Health precedents in the literature to guide or suggest the feasibility High concentration of particulate has announced. of such an extreme transformation. In addition, seeing in the matter during November 24-29, caused The most common type of influenza end the relatively small number of genetic changes required 12,838 people to refer to medical centers this year in the country is A (H1N1) to make this transition was surprising.” and hospitals, 5,100 of whom were suf- and (H3N2), while H1N1 accounts for The authors say that one major limitation is that the bacteria fering from respiratory problems and about 90 percent of the diagnosed cases currently release more CO2 than is consumed through carbon 7,730 others from cardiovascular diseases, which is the most severe form of the fixation. In addition, more research is needed before it’s possi- he explained. disease, he stated, IRNA reported on ble to discuss the scalability of the approach for industrial use. Isfahan, Alborz and Tehran provinces Sunday. The researchers say their next step will be to aim to supply had the highest number of patients, re- The index categorizes conditions ac- Influenza has been widespread in the energy through renewable electricity to address the problem of spectively, Kolivand stated, IRNA news cording to a measure of polluting mat- country since the past month, which world in yearly outbreaks, resulting CO2 release, and improve their understanding of the conditions agency reported on Saturday. ters into excellent (0-50), good (51-100), killed 15 people so far, he regretted. in about three to five million cases of in which the bacterium can flourish. Polluted air also resulted in closure lightly polluted or unhealthy for sensitive Influenza, commonly known as the severe illness and about 290,000 to “This feat is a powerful proof of concept that opens up a new of schools and universities on Saturday. groups (101-150), moderately polluted flu, is an infectious disease caused by 650,000 deaths. About 20 percent of exciting prospect of using engineered bacteria to transform prod- Tehraners breathe 47 days of (151-200), heavily polluted (201-300) an influenza virus. Symptoms can be unvaccinated children and 10 percent ucts we regard as waste into fuel, food or other compounds of foul air this year and severely polluted (301-500). mild to severe. Three of the four types of unvaccinated adults are infected interest,” said Professor Milo. Tehran air quality index (AQI) During the aforementioned period, of influenza viruses affect humans Type each year. (Source: The Independent) reached an unhealthy level of pollu- 45 days got lightly polluted, while air A, Type B, and Type C. Type D has not Avian influenza refers to the disease tion for 47 days since the beginning quality reached unhealthy levels for 2 been known to infect humans, but is caused by infection with avian (bird) of this year (March 21), according to days which was almost dangerous for believed to have the potential to do so. influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These WORDS IN THE NEWS a report published by the Tehran Air all the residents. Death occurs mostly in poeple in viruses occur naturally among wild Quality Control Company. This is while, last year over the same high risk groups namely, the young, aquatic birds worldwide and can infect World Heart Federation An AQI is used to communicate to the period 34 days were unhealthy for sensitive the old, and those with other health domestic poultry and other bird and public how polluted the air currently is groups, and Tehraners did not breathe a problems. animal species. Avian flu viruses do obesity warning or how polluted it is forecast to become. single day of heavily polluted air. Influenza spreads around the not normally infect humans. (June 05, 2002) The World Heart Federation is warning that obesity will overtake tobacco smoking as the biggest cause of heart disease unless ENGLISH IN USE the current trend of unhealthy lifestyles stops. At least a billion people across the globe are now extremely overweight, putting LEARN NEWS TRANSLATION a massive strain on the world wide healthcare systems. This report from Emma Jane Kirby. Obesity, which can cause heart disease, strokes and diabetes is on 153 دسته از مل خ های صحرایی نابود شدند the increase across the globe. According to the World Heart Iran well rid of 153 swarms of Federation, an estimated twenty-two million children under five desert locusts رئیــس ســازمان مدیریــت بحــران کشــور گفــت: ۱۵۳ دســته از ملــخ هــای صحرایــی کــه بــه اســتان years old are now severely overweight. Nearly one in three children in the United States between the ages of five and fourteen is obese, Some 153 swarms of desert locusts from Saudi Arabia which penetrated into هــای جنــوب شــرقی کشــور حملــه ور شــده بودنــد، نابــود شــده اســت. .compared to one in six, thirty years ago اســماعیل نجــار روز شــنبه در گفــت و گــو بــا خبرنــگار ایرنــا دربــاره آخریــن اقدامــات بــرای مبــارزه بــا But obesity is not a condition which solely affects the Western the southeastern provinces have been controlled, Esmaeil Najjar, head of World. Increasingly, low and middle income countries are Iran’s Crisis Management Organization has said. ملــخ هــای صحرایــی در کشــور، گفــت: از بهمــن ۹۷ تاکنــون در ۵۳۱ هــزار و ۸۸۸ هکتــار مبــارزه بــا suffering from the condition, often due to a change in their diets, as Since the [Iranian calendar] month of Bahman (starting on January 21) we ملـ ـخ هــای صحرایــی انجــام شــده اســت. they substitute fiber intake for a much higher consumption of saturated fats and sugar. In Beijing, for example, one in five fought swarms of desert locust in approximately 532,000 hectares of farming تاکنــون در اســتان هــای خوزســتان ، بوشــهر ، فــارس ، هرمــزگان ، کرمــان، سیســتان و بلوچســتان، .children of school age is now obese. lands, IRNA news agency quoted Najjar as saying on Saturday جنــوب کرمــان، و کهگیلویــه و بویراحمــد اراضــی و باغــات مــورد هجوم ملخ هــای صحرایی و خســارات -The World Heart Federation says obesity can also be blamed Provinces of Bushehr, Fars, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Hormozgan, Ker for spiraling health costs. The US spends almost a tenth of its man, Khuzestan, and Sistan–Baluchestan have been affected by the locusts جبــران ناپذیــری قــرار گرفتــه اند. national healthcare budget on overweight patients, and in Western ایــن مناطــق بــا اســتفاده از هواپیمــا سمپاشــی هوایــی و از طریــق نیــروی انســانی سمپاشــی زمینــی .countries as much as two point eight percent of the total sick care which incurred major losses on farming lands and gardens costs is attributable to obesity. The Federation warns that unless Farm lands in the aforementioned provinces have undergone aerial spraying شــده اســت. وی دربــاره اختصــاص منابــع مــورد نیــاز مبــارزه بــا مل خهــا صحرایــی نیــز توضیــح داد و .the world›s population acts now to eat a healthier diet and to of chemical insecticides and ground pest control operations, he stated گفــت: بــرای مبــارزه بــا ملــخ هــای صحرایــی ۳۰ میلیــارد تومــان بودجــه نیــاز اســت کــه ما ایــن مبلغ take more exercise, obesity will rapidly overtake smoking as He went on to say that a budget of 300 billion rials (around $7 million) is the leading lifestyle risk factor for heart disease and strokes. را بــه دولــت اطــاع داده ایــم کــه تاکنــون یــک ســوم آن یعنــی حــدود ۱۰ میلیــارد تومــان در ایــن Words required to completely eradicate the outbreak, while some 100 billion rials خصــوص اختصــاص یافتــه و اخیــراً نیــز ۲۰ میلیــارد تومــان دیگــر بــرای مبــارزه بــا ملخهــا تخصیــص on the increase: growing (nearly $2.3 million) have so far been allocated, and another budget of 200 condition: medical problem billion rials (nearly $4.6 million) is planned to be allotted in this regard. یافتــه کــه مراحــل آن در حــال انجــام اســت. low and middle income countries: poorer countries substitute: if you substitute something for something else you use it instead of the other thing fiber intake:the amount of fiber they eat PREFIX/SUFFIX PHRASAL VERB IDIOM higher consumption of saturated fats: eating of more fats that are considered bad for you “-plast, -plasty, -plastic” Head something off Nip something in the bud spiraling: here, increasing rapidly attributable to: likely to be caused by Meaning: living cell or particle Meaning: to prevent something from happening, Explanation: to prevent something from becoming overtake: here, becomes a bigger problem than... For example: The next approach is angioplasty, especially something bad a problem by stopping it as soon as it starts lifestyle risk factor: something people choose to do which can in which a catheter is used to balloon open the arrowed For example: The President intervened to head For example: Try to nip this kind of bad behavior badly affect their health part of the artery. off the conflict. in the bud. (Source: BBC) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 2, 2019 WORLD IN FOCUS 13

Iraq parliament approves Abdul Iraq protesters burn Hakim shrine entrance Mahdi’s resignation in holy city

Iraq to prosecute high-ranking officials over corruption 1 Abdul Mahdi’s resignation announcement came hours By staff & agencies corruption, as part of the government’s after a call from Iraq’s top Shia Muslim cleric for the government Iraqi legislators have approved Prime Min- reforms after a wave of protests over to step down to end the unrest. ister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s resignation during unemployment, corruption and lack of Abdul Mahdi’s government, including himself, will stay on in a parliament session held in capital Bagh- public services hit the country. a caretaker capacity following the lawmakers’ vote until a new dad amid weeks of deadly anti-government Iraqi government spokesman Saad government can be chosen, the prime minister said later on Sat- protests in the country. al-Hadithi told the official Iraqi News Agen- urday in a televised cabinet meeting. Referring to Article 76 of the country’s cy on Saturday that a special central court, (Source: agencies) constitution, Speaker Mohammad al-Halbusi formed in coordination between executive on Sunday said President Barham Salih will and judiciary bodies, deals with important now ask the largest political bloc in parlia- corruption cases. ment to nominate the next prime minister Hadithi added that the court has ordered Will Riyadh end its invasion al Jazeera reported. investigative bodies in the courts of appeal On Friday, an embattled Abdul Mah- nationwide to summon, issue arrest warrants into Yemen? di formally submitted his offer to step down. and seize the assets of anyone found guilty 1 The statement by Abdul Mahdi, who as- of corruption. The Saudis slowly seized the opportunity to get out of the sumed office a little over a year ago, came He further highlighted that dozens of Yemen deadlock. In the meanwhile, Muscat became a place for shortly after Iraq’s top Shia leader, Ayatollah subpoenas have been issued, detentions have two sides involved in the war to reach an agreement. Ali al-Sistani, condemned the use of lethal taken place and even prison sentences have Muscat, a host with a positive and effective role force against the protesters and called for been handed down to senior officials at the Officials from both Yemen and Saudi Arabia told the Associated a new government. levels of ministers, governors, lawmakers Press on November 13 that both sides are holding indirect, behind- A cabinet meeting on Saturday had ap- and members of provincial councils. the-scenes talks to end the devastating five-year war in Yemen. proved the statement, which also suggested “Work is underway in this regard, and The news agency said the negotiations are taking place with the resignation of key members of the Iraqi take longer to reach. Instead, he said that acting on the advice of other relevant decisions will be made within Oman, a Persian Gulf Arab country that borders both Yemen government, including Abdul Mahdis’ chief Bylaws of the Council of Ministers stipu- Iraq’s chief Supreme Court judge, he would the next few days,” Hadithi pointed out. and Saudi Arabia, as mediator. of staff. late that the prime minister should send his submit his resignation to parliament. On October 11, the Iraqi Supreme An- It said Oman has positioned itself as a quiet mediator in the past Legal experts say Abdul Mahdi’s gov- resignation to the president. If he does so, the ti-Corruption Council said in a statement Iraq to summon, prosecute and in a possible sign the back-channel talks could be stepping ernment will take on a caretaker role for 30 president would take over until the largest that nine high-ranking officials had been more top officials up, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman days or until the largest bloc in parliament bloc in parliament nominates an alterna- referred to the judiciary to be prosecuted Meanwhile, a high-ranking Iraqi arrived in Muscat on November 11. agrees on a new candidate to replace him. tive, which according to article 81 of Iraq’s on charges of corruption. official says authorities are going to It said the current talks focus on interim goals, such as re-open- But with the question as to who forms constitution, should be within two weeks. The senior officials included former issue arrest warrants for a number of ing Yemen’s main international airport in Sanaa, shut down by the largest political bloc in parliament re- But in a pre-recorded speech on Saturday, ministers and former provincial governors, high-ranking officials and refer them the Saudi-led coalition in 2016. According to AP, also under maining unanswered, that decision may Abdul Mahdi did not mention the president. according to the statement. to the judiciary for trial over charges of discussion is a buffer zone along the Yemen-Saudi border in areas under Houthi control. However, the best solution for Saudi Arabia and the UAE is to take a serious step to stop the war. The release of 200 Yem- Gorbachev reveals danger awaiting World as U.S. troops stay in Afghanistan eni captives by Saudi Arabia and the arrival of 128 of them is a On the day President Trump went on a surprise Thanksgiving trying to topple Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah’s promising move by Riyadh, which, if continued, can prepare the visit to Afghanistan, former Soviet leader Gorbachev shared Soviet-backed government. However, just over two years ground for ending war and easing Yemenis’ pain. his memories of the USSR’s role in the Afghan conflict in later, the USSR itself collapsed and assistance to the Kabul the 1980s and much more. government ground to a halt, leading to the latter’s fall. Sitting down to be interviewed by CNN, the first and only When asked about the landmark arms accord, the 1987 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev commented on Donald INF Treaty, Gorbachev ripped the U.S. move to scrap the Hadi a spent force as Saudis Trump’s intention to withdraw the U.S. contingent from historic deal: directly engage Houthis Afghanistan, arguing the move would be vitally important: “All the agreements that are there are preserved and not “They must be withdrawn. That is the main lesson. You destroyed”, he said. “But these are the first steps towards 1 Hadi’s deputy prime minister Abdulaziz Gubari warned know, it’s like a match. The match is lit, a fire spreads. And the destruction of [that which] must not be destroyed in any Saudi Arabia last month not to sign any bilateral agreement with these clashes, when the leading, largest countries in this case. Therefore, if this path goes further, then everything the Houthis. conflict become ever more involved, they are dangerous for is possible. This must not be allowed”. Abdulghani Rageh, a pro-Hadi military leader in Ta’izz, said the all nations”, the former head of the USSR noted speaking He stressed that the ultimate goal of arms control is talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have sidelined the about the lessons learned from the Soviet troop pullout to dispose of nukes entirely, admitting though there are former Yemeni president. from the region in 1989. persisting tensions in relations between Washington and “The Houthis are the winners of the talks,” he said, claiming At the time, the United States and the Soviets were Moscow. Addressing the nascent multipolar rivalry be- this is the most important thing”, Gorbachev said. that battles have calmed down on the Saudi borders but not on mending fences in relations and trying to come to grips tween states, Gorbachev stressed that “a hot war should be Addressing the Cold War as a recurrent theme in a variety local fronts. with the ongoing political processes around the world. The avoided”. The former Soviet president, however, seems to of pop culture products, and the acclaimed “Chernobyl” TV Mohammed Ali told MEE that Saudi Arabia prioritizes its safety effort resulted in Gorbachev’s meeting with George H.W. view some ongoing developments as positive: series, Gorbachev said the reasons had been studied at length and economy over all other issues. Bush on Malta that officially put an end to the Cold War. “It’s good that already all over the world there is a con- and the conclusions were sent out to all other countries. Hadi and his regime, he said, are “only helpless followers of Back then, Washington supported the mujahideen fighters versation and people are talking, people are reacting, and (Source: Sputnik) Saudi Arabia” and Riyadh prefers to discuss any solution with the Houthis instead of its “weak” proxies. Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen in 2015 in an attempt to reinstate Hadi and eliminate the Houthis. ‘U.S. abuses justice systems to target its enemies’ With those objectives appearing more elusive than ever, the The incarceration and extradition trial of their legal systems to persecute people violations of anti-Iranian sanctions imposed Shipton said it was obvious why his son only way for Hadi seems to also engage the Houthis. Julian Assange is one of many examples of that the U.S. government doesn’t like, by Washington. is wanted by the U.S. After all, his creation, However, Hadi and his high-ranking associates live outside the U.S. abusing the legal systems of other Assange’s father believes. Another example is Ola Bini, a digi- WikiLeaks, continues to expose the nefari- Yemen and “none of them care about Yemenis,” Ali said. countries to target its political enemies, The situation with Assange is simi- tal rights activist and personal friend of ous activities of the American government, “I hope to see Yemenis inside Yemen holding talks with the Hou- said John Shipton, the father of WikiLe- lar to what happened to other people in Assange, who got arrested in Ecuador, even as Assange is kept under lock and key. this and reaching reconciliation internally. Solutions will come aks’ founder. Washington’s crosshairs, Shipton told in a move apparently coordinated with “There [was] a coup in Bolivia two weeks from within Yemen, not from another country,” he added. Assange is currently held at a top an audience at the University of Cologne Assange’s expulsion from the nation’s em- ago. If you wish, you can look up [the WikiL- (Source: Press TV) security UK prison pending a hearing on Saturday. bassy in London. Bini spent 70 days in jail eaks site for] the name[s] of those involved in on extradition to the U.S. An Amer- One similar case he cited is that of Hua- without formal charges being brought, even the coup, and you will see reports describing ican court wants him on espionage wei Chief Financial officer Meng Wanzhou, though Ecuadoran government officials those who are corrupted; those who betray charges that may effectively result in who was arrested in Canada on a request immediately claimed he had been involved their country for money; those who have UAE’s military push likely imprisonment for life. Assange’s case from the U.S. Like Assange, she is fighting in computer intrusion. The Swedish citizen constant contact with the United States to anger Western arms is one of many in which Washington an extradition request by the U.S., which has been released but is forbidden to leave embassy,” he said. puts pressure on other nations to abuse accuses her of financial fraud in relation to the country. (Source: RT) suppliers

The United Arab Emirates has reportedly launched a program to build military weapons on its own, in a move likely to frustrate Royal purge: Prince Charles reportedly plans to slim down Monarchy, kick out some family members the country’s traditional arms suppliers. The news comes following reports that the Prince of Wales with the Queen and persuaded her to sack Prince Andrew. The UAE has established a government-owned conglomerate could become King within the next 10 years. According to The scandal, royal experts said, fuelled the Prince’s desire to spearhead development of advanced weapons for its military, one scenario voiced by royal experts, Queen Elizabeth, 93, to cut out royal outsiders. Reuters reported. may trigger a regency act, which would see Charles taking “Prince Andrew is now out of the picture. I don’t see The new entity, known as EDGE, will take more than 25 state- on all the roles of the King, while the Queen remains the him ever undertaking royal duties again, and any hope that owned companies under its umbrella, employing a combined by title. his daughters would is now gone”, Brittani Barger deputy workforce of approximately 12,000 with annual revenues topping Prince Charles is preparing to slim down the UK mon- editor of Royal Central told the Daily Star. “I think when $5 billion, it said. archy by kicking out some members of the Royal Family, it’s all said and done, the monarchy will be Charles and his Those ambitions were put on display at Dubai Airshow in the Daily Star reported citing royal experts. The Prince of children and grandchildren”. Dubai last month, where the country’s military handed an EDGE Wales is said to have long planned to make the monar- Charlie Proctor, editor of the Royal Central said the subsidiary a $1 billion contract for guided missiles. chy well-run and cost effective when he becomes King, Prince of Wales wants the engagements to be conducted According to Reuters, the UAE’s defense industry now man- but after a recent scandal involving Prince Andrew, the only by members of his immediate family – his sons and ufactures drones and small ammunition under the EDGE. Queen’s second son and reportedly her favorite, Charles, their wives. Later Charles’ grandchildren would also join Observers believe the program is likely to anger long-time whot is firs in line to the throne reportedly jump started “the Firm”. arms suppliers, chiefly the United States, which have traditionally his plans on reforming Britain’s monarchy, royal experts Proctor stressed that there are no chances of Prince looked at the oil-rich Arab states as a source of lucrative ventures. running a sex trafficking network of minors this summer The UAE has recently cultivated military relations with China told the newspaper. and killed himself while awaiting trial in prison. Prince Andrew’s daughters ever becoming working royals and Prince Andrew stepped down from public duties af- conducting engagements one behalf of the Royal Family. and Russia and bought some weapons from them. Andrew admitted that he stayed in Epstein’s mansions, (Source: Press TV) ter his interview with the BBC in which he made several private islands, but categorically denied allegations that At the same time he lamented the fact that the “royal purge” controversial statements that caused a great furor in the he had sexual intercourse with one of Epstein’s sex-slaves, may see some members of the family go, in particular Prince British public. The royal spoke with the BBC after pres- Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was forced to have sex Edward, the Queen’s third son and Princess Anne, who are sure mounted on him to explain his ties with Jeffrey Ep- with the royal when she was 17. considered to be the most hardworking royals. ISIL detainee arrested on stein, the U.S. billionaire who was arrested on charges of After the interview was aired Charles reportedly met (Source: Sputnik) her return to Ireland from Turkey

Thousands in Tel Aviv rally to demand Netanyahu’s resignation An Irish citizen aligned to ISIL deported from Turkey along with Thousands of Israeli protesters have held to send Bibi home,” she said. demonstrators have moved to capitalize on in the two elections this year, called on the her two-year-old daughter was arrested Sunday on her return demonstrations in Tel Aviv to demand Prime A same rally had been held last Saturday the indictment on charges relating to cor- Israeli premier to step down, but still offered to Dublin on suspicion of terrorist offences, Irish police said. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation in Tel Aviv, where hundreds of demonstrators ruption, bribery and breach of trust against to form a coalition administration with his Ireland agreed to repatriate Lisa Smith, 38, and her two-year- over his corruption charges. urged Netanyahu to leave office. him, hoping to strip the weakened 70-year- Likud political party if there are any chances. old daughter after Ankara began deporting foreign citizens linked At least 6,000 people were at the gathering Protesters chanted “Bibi go home,” and old leader of power. “In light of the circumstances, I call to to Islamic State earlier this month. in the Habima Square of Tel Aviv, Israel’s waved signs reading: “Netanyahu, let go al- Netanyahu has vowed to stay in office form a unity administration that is as broad Turkey says it has captured 287 militants in northeast Syria, Channel 12 estimated. ready,” “Netanyahu, you should quit,” and while he fights the criminal charges, which as possible under my leadership,” Gantz said where Turkish troops launched an offensive against the Kurdish Netanyahu is “the most cowardly prime “The corrupt should go home.” include bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in at a press conference in Tel Aviv. YPG militia last month, and has hundreds more jihadist suspects minister we’ve ever had,” a demonstrator “What you see here is absurd. We have a one case, and additional fraud and breach He added, “I will be prime minister for in detention. Dublin has said for months that it has a responsibility told Yedioth Ahronoth (Ynet), adding that man who is charged with three major crimes. of trust charges in another two cases. the first two years while Netanyahu can work to bring Smith back to Ireland and that its main concern was for the premier “needs to resign and go plead And he still believes he wants to be [a] prime Last Saturday, Benny Gantz, the lead- on his legal issues. If he is acquitted, he can the safe repatriation of her daughter. his case in court.” Israel is “sick of the cor- minister. I mean this is crazy,” a protester er of center-left Blue and White political come back and be prime minister.” The girl was now being cared for by relatives, police said. ruption”, another protester said. “We need said. Netanyahu’s political opponents and alliance and Netanyahu’s main challenger (Source: agencies) (Source: Daily Star) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 14 WORLD SPORTS DECEMBER 2, 2019

Monaco vs. PSG postponed Portugal, France and Germany due to bad weather

Sunday’s Ligue 1 game between Monaco and Paris St Germain has been postponed because of bad weather. in Euro 2020 super group “Following a decision by the Monaco authorities, the game between Monaco and Paris St Germain, scheduled today at 2100 Defending champions Portugal and the last Belgium’s opponents in Group B will be (2000GMT), is cancelled and will be played at a later date be- two world champions, France and Germany, Denmark and Russia —who are both host na- cause of the weather conditions,” Monaco said in a statement. were thrown together in what German coach tions — and Finland, who will be making their Torrential rain and the risk of flooding prompted local au- Joachim Loew described as the group of death first appearance in a European Championship thorities to issue a red warning in the region. following a lop-sided and complicated Euro or World Cup. PSG lead the standings with 33 points from 14 games with 2020 draw on Saturday. The Netherlands, who like Italy missed Monaco in 14th place on 18 points. England were drawn against Croatia in a out on the last World Cup, were pitted against (Source: Reuters) repeat of last year’s World Cup semi-final while Ukraine, Austria and playoff winner A or D in other favorites were given a much easier ride in Group C, which will be played in Amsterdam the 24-team tournament which will be played and Bucharest. Watford sack manager in 12 different countries across the region. Under the complex rules, all host nations The clear pick of the six first round pools was will play their group games at home, meaning Flores after 85 days in Group F, to be played in Munich and Budapest, a number of teams had been allocated their charge which pitted France, Portugal and Germany, groups before the draw plus the winners of either playoff A or D. “The rules are clear, they were accepted Watford sacked manager Quique Sanchez Flores on Sunday less However, the sting was slightly taken away by everybody,” said UEFA deputy general than three months into his reign following a poor run of results by the format which allows four of the six third- secretary Giorgio Marchetti. in which the club won only one of their 10 league matches with placed teams to qualify for the round of 16, “Portugal are in pot three because they didn’t the Spaniard in charge, the Premier League club said. UEFA’s decision to rank the teams accord- win their group, and the winner of their group Flores, who was reappointed in September for a second spell in ing to their result in the qualifiers, combined was Ukraine. And Ukraine, thanks to their charge, is the second manager to be sacked by the club this season with Portugal’s performance in their group, results, are in pot one, and everybody accepts after they let go of Javi Gracia four games into the campaign. meant they ended up among the third seeds it because once again we have clear rules.” “With regret, Watford Football Club confirms the departure of while France were one of the second seeds. Full Euro 2020 draw Head Coach Quique Sanchez Flores,” the club, who are bottom of “This is a group of death,” said Loew whose Group A: Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland the standings with eight points from 14 games, said in a statement. side will play all three games at home under up from Germany’s group in the round of 16 Switzerland in Group A, in Rome and Baku. Group B: Denmark, Finland, Belgium, The club have not announced a replacement but British media competition rules. “The expectations will be while the second-placed team will travel to “We have a slight advantage by playing Russia reported that former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris quite high. For our young team, this will be Copenhagen to meet the Group E runners- at home. Maybe some will think we are fa- Group C: Holland, Ukraine, Austria, playoff Hughton was a candidate. huge challenge but also a big motivation.” up — potentially an easier match. vorites but we need to confirm everything winner D Flores was previously in charge of the club during the 2015- England and Croatia, who have met in the The Group will be played in London — host on the pitch, as always,” Italy coach Roberto Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, 16 season, after which he was surprisingly sacked. He took over Nations League since Croatia’s 2-1 win in Mos- for the semi-finals and final — and Glasgow. Mancini said. playoff winner C from Gracia after his fellow Spaniard won only one point in the cow last year, will be joined in Group D by the Other favorites were given a much easier- Euro 2008 and 2012 champions Spain, Group E: Spain, Sweden, Poland, playoff first four matches of the season. Czech Republic and the winners of playoff C looking ride. who will jointly host Group E in Bilbao with winner B Under Flores, Watford’s solitary league win came against — either Scotland, Norway, Serbia or Israel. Italy, who won all 10 qualifying games as Dublin, play Sweden, Poland and playoff win- Group F: Portugal, France, Germany, promoted Norwich City last month while they beat Championship Easier match they bounced back from failing to make the ner B — either Bosnia, Slovakia, Ireland or playoff winner A side Swansea City in the League Cup before being eliminated in The Group D winners will face the runners- last World Cup, will face Turkey, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Source: Reuters) the fourth round by Everton. In the league, he oversaw five defeats — including an 8-0 humbling by champions Manchester City — and his last game Football star Benik Afobe ‘heartbroken’ Lewis Hamilton ends sixth title year in charge was Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Southampton where they let their lead slip in the final 12 minutes. after death of two-year-old daughter in winning style “Quique is a man of great integrity and it was clear how much he wanted to have a positive impact, but ultimately results have dictated our decision,” Watford chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury said. (Source: Mirror) Harden scores 60 points in Rockets win

James Harden scored 60 points for the fourth time in his ca- reer during the Houston Rockets’ 158-111 NBA win over the Atlanta Hawks. He played just 31 minutes of the game and fell one point shy of his career-high points haul of 61 points, which he has achieved twice. Only Wilt Chamberlain (32) and Kobe Bryant (six) have more 60-point hauls and Harden is tied with Michael Jordan. “That’s a great list right there,” said Harden, who also had eight assists. Footballer Benik Afobe says he is “heartbroken” on in our hearts forever. I love you my friend Lewis Hamilton claimed one of the most ping McLaren’s Lando Norris to seventh “Those guys are something that I’m trying to get to. Hope- after the death of his two-year-old daughter. stay strong.” dominant victories of his glittering sixth on the final lap of the season. fully when it is all said and done, I can be mentioned in that The striker, who plays for Championship Bristol City said Afobe’s teammates were title-winning season at the Abu Dhabi GP Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is flat- group forever.” club Bristol City on loan from Stoke, announced informed of the news about Amora’s death to sign off from F1 2019 in ultimate style. tered by Ferrari’s interest, refusing to shut Harden is also the fourth player to score 50 or more points his daughter Amora had died on Friday even- after their 5-2 win over Huddersfield Town The Briton matched his personal-best down a move to the Italian giants. on 20 occasions, after Chamberlain (118), Jordan (31) and Bry- ing after “unexpectedly developing a severe on Saturday. tally of 11 wins in one year - and set a new Ferrari have ramped up their pursuit ant (25). infection”. Head Coach Lee Johnson said: “I’d like to points record for a season - with an im- of Hamilton at the season-concluding race Against the Hawks, he scored 13 points in the first quarter, A statement issued by his family said: dedicate that win to the big man and his fam- maculate performance under the lights in Abu Dhabi by publicly wooing Britain’s 18 in the second and 29 in the third. “It is with an extremely heavy heart that ily - much love to you all.” of the Yas Marina in which he won by 17 six-time world champion. (Source: BBC) the Afobe family have today confirmed the Afobe’s former club Wolverhampton Wan- seconds from Max Verstappen. Italian media have reported that Ham- devastating news that their first child, their derers posted a tribute on Twitter, saying: “Our Verstappen capped his own fine season ilton, who is out of contract with Mercedes beloved daughter Amora, 2, passed away late hearts break for Benik Afobe and his family with a second place after winning a duel at the end of next season, has spoken on Ronaldo ends goal drought on Friday evening. following the tragic news of his daughter’s with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. two occasions with Ferrari chairman John “Amora was taken to hospital for treatment passing this weekend. “The Wolves family Leclerc overtook the Dutchman on Elkann this year. as Juventus slip up vs. after unexpectedly developing a severe infection. are with you, Benik.” the first lap, but Verstappen’s ability to While in a further intriguing twist on Sassuolo “Unfortunately she then suffered a number Stoke City, who signed former Arsenal run longer on his tyres through the first Saturday evening, Mercedes boss Toto of serious complications and despite doctors player Afobe from Wolves for £12m in Janu- stint proved key and he was able to re-pass Wolff – whose own future with Formula Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Juventus goal since October doing absolutely everything they possibly could, ary, also posted a tribute, saying: “We’ll be with the Ferrari on track in a bold but brilliant One’s record-breaking team is also in to rescue a 2-2 Serie A draw against Sassuolo in Turin, as the Amora passed away peacefully with the love you, Benik”. overtake. doubt – revealed he would not stop his Italian champions dropped points for only third time this season. of her family by her side. Afobe, 26, was expected to miss the rest of But Leclerc’s third place is only £40million-a-year driver from entering Leonardo Bonucci fired Juve into the lead in the first half, but “The entire family have been left totally the season after suffering a cruciate ligament provisional owing to a post-race into talks with their Italian rivals. an exquisite finish from Sassuolo winger Jeremie Boga levelled devastated and heartbroken, and would like injury in September following what his coach investigation for an alleged fuel discrepancy Hamilton will start Sunday’s race as the the scores just three minutes later before Francesco Caputo put to ask that their privacy is respected at this called a “freak accident” in training. on his Ferrari. favourite to close out his world champion- the visitors in front after the break following a defensive mix-up incredibly difficult time.” The former England youth player, who On the track, the Ferrari just held off ship year with an 11th victory after putting and an error by keeper Gianluigi Buffon. West Ham star and former England player has represented the Democratic Republic of Valtteri Bottas as the Mercedes driver his Mercedes on pole position. Ronaldo netted from the penalty spot midway through the Jack Wilshire, who Afobe has described as his the Congo at full international level, began his underlined the world champions’ pace But, in the moments after claiming second half to end his four-match goal drought in all competi- “best mate in football”, posted a heartfelt mes- career at Arsenal but did not make a competi- by racing strongly from the back of the grid. the 88th pole of his career, the English- tions and deny Sassuolo their first ever win in this fixture. sage as he described Amora’s “infectious smile”. tive appearance for the club. Sebastian Vettel also made a late move man was asked for his response to Mattia (Source: Soccernet) He wrote: “Benik, my brother, my words He had several loan spells at other clubs on Alex Albon for fifth place, but it proved a Binotto’s comments in which the Ferrari will never mean enough to express how deeply including Huddersfield Town, Reading, Bolton disappointing race to cap a difficult season team principal described Hamilton as sorry I am for your loss, and i know that no Wanderers, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday and for the four-time world champion. an “outstanding driver”, adding that his Guardiola suffering from his words will heal the pain in your hearts right Milton Keynes Dons before signing for Wolves Sergio Perez, meanwhile, produced one potential availability in 2021 could “only now, just know i am here for you.” in 2015 for a reported £2m. of the drives of the day to scythe through make Ferrari happy”. worst ever start to a season He added: “Amora infectious smile will live (Source: Sky Sports) the midfield pack in the closing stages, pip- (Source: Independent) Pep Guardiola is experiencing the worst start to a league season in his entire coaching career. His Manchester City side could only manage a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime as they slipped 11 Messi and Rapinoe expected to take Ballon d’Or honors points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, following the The biggest names in world football will descend on Paris on that is how I see it.” Reds’ 2-1 win over Brighton at Anfield. Monday for the 2019 Ballon d’Or ceremony, with Lionel Messi The value of individual honors in football is debatable, “I’m not thinking about the game we have to win. I know and USA women’s World Cup superstar Megan Rapinoe tipped and the timing unsatisfactory, coming midway through the that we can’t lose any,” Guardiola said. to leave with the honors. European club season. City’s points total of 29 after 14 matches is the lowest of any It would be an enormous shock if Rapinoe did not depart Yet surely nobody could suggest Rapinoe would not be a Guardiola team in history, while the number of losses (three) is the Chatelet Theatre with the women’s prize as she returns to deserving winner of just the second women’s Ballon d’Or, an also the most of his career at this stage of the season. the country where she was the driving force on and off the field award voted for by a panel of 48 journalists. “I’m not a magician. I don’t know if we can catch Liverpool,” for the United States as they retained their title. Norway’s Ada Hegerberg won it in 2018 but will not retain Guardiola said after defeat at Anfield in November. The suspense surrounds the identity of the men’s winner, 12 her title after missing the World Cup. Injuries to the likes of Aymeric Laporte and Oleksandr months after Croatia’s Luka Modric claimed the crown thanks Among the stars of that tournament to be nominated are Zinchenko have left City light at the back. to his exploits in dragging his country to the World Cup final England’s Lucy Bronze, Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema, Fernandinho is having to cover at centre-back, and Guar- and winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. Australia’s Sam Kerr and the USA trio of Alex Morgan, Rose diola’s team have conceded 16 goals in 14 games so far in the That ended a decade in which Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo At one point he looked like the favorite, but Messi already Lavelle and Tobin Heath. Premier League. had won the Ballon d’Or five times each, but the smart money pipped him to FIFA’s The Best title in September. However Rapinoe, the 34-year-old feminist icon and out- This time last season, they’d conceded just six goals, keeping now is on the Barcelona man claiming number six. The 32-year-old top-scored in La Liga last season with 36 spoken critic of US President Donald Trump, should add this clean sheets in eight out of their opening 14 games. There are 30 nominees in total for the prize, organized by goals as Barcelona won the title. He did not have a great Copa honor to those of Golden Boot winner for top scorer and Golden This is despite having scored the most goals (39), had the France Football magazine and voted for by 180 journalists America with Argentina, but his genius is undeniable. Ball for best player at the World Cup. most possession (64 percent on average) and created the most from around the world. “If you give the Ballon d’Or to the best player of this genera- Even her supposed rivals seem to be rooting for her. chances (224) in the league this campaign. The case for Van Dijk tion then you should give it always to Lionel Messi. That’s how “She does lots of things off the pitch, but I think she is the “They scored from their two shots,” Guardiola said after the Among the names is Ronaldo, as well as several of the stars it is,” admitted Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. favorite to win the Ballon d’Or mainly down to her performances draw with Newcastle. of the Liverpool side who won the Champions League, chief “But if you give it to the best player of last season, then it during the World Cup,” Bronze told France Football. (Source: Marca) among them Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. was Virgil van Dijk. I don’t know exactly how it will work but (Source: Eurosport) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y DECEMBER 2, 2019 SPORTS 15

Iran win two golds at Karate1 Premier League Goalball team leave SPORTS TEHRAN — Amir deskMehdizadeh and Sajad Tehran for 2019 IBSA Ganjzadeh claimed two gold medals at the at the Karate 1-Premier League in Madrid, Goalball Asia/Pacific Spain on Sunday. IRNA — Iran’s men’s goalball team traveled to Japan to par- The male kumite -67 Kg final saw Meh- ticipate at the 2019 IBSA Goalball Asia/Pacific Championships. dizadeh tie 0-0 against Ozer Omer Abdur- The competition will be held in Chiba, Japan, from December rahim from Turkey but the Iranian fighter 2 to 11 – just eight months before the country hosts the Tokyo was awarded the victory. 2020 Paralympic Games. Ganjzadeh beat Jacquet Dnylson from It will be one of the most important competitions of the year France 4-0 at the male kumite +84kg. because the winners will qualify for the Paralympics. Earlier on the day, Iranian karate athletes Around eight men’s and six women’s teams will compete as Hamideh Abbasali and Salah Abazari had the Japanese public get a taste of goalball. won two bronze medals in the competition. “We are looking to win the tournament because our team are Abbasali had defeated Saito Ayaka from ready for the event. Unfortunately, we didn’t send our women’s Japan at the female kumite +68 Kg bronze team since the team had little chance of winning a berth in the medal match. competition,” head of Iran Sports Federation for the Blind and In the male kumite +84 Kg, Abazari Partially Sighted Mohammad Reza Mazloumi said. defeated his countryman Mahdi Ashouri Garmjani to win a bronze medal. A total of 737 karate athletes from 89 countries took part at the Karate 1-Premier Shahriari match League in Madrid, Spain. The Karate1-Premier League- is the most commissioner of Beach important league event in the world of Karate. It comprises of a number of the most prom- Soccer World Cup final inent Karate competitions and endeavors to bring together the best Karate athletes TASNIM —Paria Shahriari from Iran was chosen as the match in the world in an open championships of commissioner of the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final match. unprecedented scale and quality. The final will be held between Portugal and Italy. Initiated in 2011 with two tournaments The competition was held in Luque, Paraguay from November held in Paris and Istanbul, the Karate1-Pre- 21 to December 1. mier League- has made exponential pro- Match commissioners are the official representatives of a gress in terms of magnitude and status of governing body at a game and are responsible for ensuring the the tournaments as well as the number of match is properly organized and runs smoothly. participants and countries represented. Shahriari, who is head of Beach Soccer at the Iran Football Association, had also been chosen as match commissioner at IPC President Parsons congratulates Iran Iran fall short against Japan at IWBF the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics for the futsal competitions. on Paralympic Day Asia Oceania Championships Iranian wrestlers collect two medals from Russia’s Alrosa Cup

MNA — Both of the dispatched Iranian freestyle wrestlers to Russia managed to win medals in the 2019 edition of the Alrosa Cup, also known as Moscow Grand Prix. The Iranian wrestling federation had dispatched two wres- tlers namely Ahmad Bazri in 86kg and Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian in 97kg categories. Bazri settled for a silver after conceding a defeat to Russia’s Magomed Eldarovitch Ramazanov in the final bout. And Mohammadian overpowered Anzor Urishev from the host country to win the bronze medal of the event. The competition was held on November 29-30 in Olympics weight categories of both freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines at Moscow’s Luzhniki Sports Complex. SPORTS TEHRAN — Interna- Different activities to raise awareness SPORTS TEHRAN — Iran’s at the competitions, taking place at the All the gold medals of the event, both in freestyle and Gre- desktional Paralympic Com- of the Paralympic Movement were held. deskmen’s team lost to Eastern National Sports Centre and are co-Roman, went to Russian wrestlers expect for the 65kg of mittee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons Workshops were held in schools, univer- Japan 71-51 at the 2019 International scheduled to conclude on December 7. freestyle which was collected by ’s Haji Aliyev. congratulated Iran for celebrating 12th sities and at media houses. There were Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) In the men’s competition, the six top- National Paralympic Day. visits arranged to rehabilitation centers Asia Oceania Championships in Thai city ranked teams - Australia, China, Iran, Around 60,000 people with disabilities and people with disabilities were provided Pattaya on Sunday. Japan, South Korea and Thailand - will attended the day celebrated by the Iran with opportunity to try Para sports. Reo Fujimoto led Japan with 18 play in Division A, which will be a single Guangzhou lift eighth National Paralympic Committee in 31 cities Iran first celebrated the National points while Omid Hadiazhar scored round-robin to determine first to sixth Chinese Super League title between November 7 and 13. “Congratula- Paralympic Day in 2003 and was included 21 points for Iran. place in the ranking. tion on Paralympic Day but I unfortunately in the National Calendar by a Presidential Team Melli will face Australia on The other eight teams - Afghanistan, cannot be with you. I wish you the best for order in 2016, Paralympic.org reported. Monday. Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Guangzhou Evergrande won their eighth Chinese Super League this event. Iran is a powerhouse country in The main goals of the National The IWBF Asia Oceania zone has Malaysia, the Philippines and Saudi Ara- (CSL) title on Sunday, defeating Shanghai Shenhua 3-0 on the Paralympic Movement. It’s very incredible Paralympic Committee are to introduce four spots available for men and three bia - are drawn into two pools of four in final day of the 2019 season to reclaim the crown they lost last year. to see what you’re doing in many different the Paralympic Movement to the Iranian for women at Tokyo 2020, with one spot Division B. With the championship going down to the final day of the sea- sports with so many good athletes. I cannot society, contribute to the inclusion of people in each already allocated to Japan as the The top two teams in Division B will son, Beijing Guoan needed to defeat Shandong Luneng at home wait to see you in Tokyo next year. For now, with disabilities, change attitudes towards host nation. become the seventh- and eighth-ranked and hope that Cannavaro’s side lost to visiting Shanghai Shenhua. I wish all the best Iran for Paralympic Day people with disabilities and provide them Fourteen men’s teams and an event-re- teams in Division A to make up the quar- 2019,” Parsons said in a video message. with social opportunities. cord eight women’s teams will compete ter-final pairings. Evacuations in Philippines as typhoon cancels SEA Games event The Philippines has begun evacuating thousands of people, province said. local officials said Sunday, as a powerful typhoon rumbling Most of them live in coastal areas and low-lying places in from the Pacific forced Southeast Asian Games organizers where flash floods and landslides are possible due to heavy to cancel or reschedule some events. rains that will be brought by the typhoon. Forecasters expect Typhoon Kammuri to make landfall No mandatory evacuation has been ordered yet, the Monday evening or Tuesday morning, packing gusts of 170 disaster management office said. kilometres (105 miles) per hour and maximum sustained School classes and government offices in some towns winds of 140 kph. will be closed Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of the The storm entered Philippine territory Saturday evening, heavy rains. The Philippines, which last hosted the Games Guoan triumphed 3-2 thanks to a stoppage time goal but Ev- shortly before President Rodrigo Duterte and boxing super- in 2005, are aiming to win the most medals, and history ergrande were comfortable 3-0 winners over struggling Shenhua. star Manny Pacquiao launched the Games with a colorful is on their side: seven of the last 11 SEA Games hosts have Winger Wei Shihao made it 1-0 for Guangzhou moments opening ceremony. topped the table, reflecting the tradition of rewriting the before the break when he stabbed in from close range. This year’s Games in Clark, Manila and Subic, which run sporting programme to suit local strengths. Korea Republic international Park Ji-Soo made it 2-0 on 55 through to December 11, are already particularly complex good weather”. The hosts got off to a flying start on Sunday, scooping minutes and celebrated by running over to head coach Fabio with a record 56 sports across dozens of venues that are in Duathlon events scheduled for Tuesday will now take golds at the dancesport competition and triathlon, and Cannavaro, embracing and pointing at the Italian. some cases hours apart by car. place on Monday. topped the table with 17 medals by the afternoon. Brazil-born Chinese international Elkeson clipped in the third. Outdoor events in Subic -- on the west coast of the main Agregado said that venues will not be changed, but in Around 8,750 athletes and team officials are expected Evergrande topped the final CSL table with 72 points, ahead Philippine island of Luzon in the country’s north -- were the event of bad weather the equipment will be taken down at this year’s 30th edition -- the biggest ever -- and there of Guoan with 70. SIPG were third on 66. the first to be affected by Kammuri. and put back together once the events are rescheduled. are some 12,000 volunteers. Organizers hope more than (Source: AFP) “The windsurfing has been cancelled until we have a Evacuation centers 500 million viewers will tune in on TV. more accurate picture of the weather,” Ramon Agregado, Some local government units in central Bicol region In an eclectic programme, Olympic sports like swimming the organizing committee’s head of the Subic cluster of urged people to begin leaing their homes on Saturday night. and athletics sit side-by-side with regional favorites such venues, told AFP. By Sunday afternoon, more than 3,000 people were in as martial arts arnis and wushu, and this year athletes will Cuban wrestling great The women’s triathlon event was brought forward to evacuation centers, mostly in schools and gymnasiums in even battle an obstacle race course in Manila. Sunday, Agregado said, “so we could take advantage of the Camarines Norte, the disaster management office of the (Source: AFP) Gustavo Rolle Fernandez passes away

AFC celebrates Asia’s top performers Cuban wrestling great Gustavo ROLLE FERNANDEZ, an Hon- Asia’s stars from on and off the pitch will achievements in 2019 are China PR’s Li Ying, across the world. dent Recognition Awards for Grassroots orary Member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame, be honored by the Asian Football Con- Indian defender Ashalata Devi Loitongbam “And tomorrow night (Monday), we sa- Football in the Inspiring, Developing and passed away at the age of 78. federation (AFC) on a glittering night at and Japan’s captain Saki Kumagai, who will lute the efforts of our players, coaches and Aspiring categories. Rolle devoted much of his life to the development of wres- the iconic Hong Kong Convention and be vying for top honors in the AFC Player Member Associations, who have displayed The AFC President added: “I would like tling in Cuba. Exhibition Centre on Monday. of the Year – Women’s category. exemplary character and attitude through to extend my sincere appreciation to our After Rolle’s competitive wrestling career was cut short by The AFC Annual Awards Hong Kong Meanwhile, Ali Reza Beiranvand from their performances on the pitch and through wonderful hosts – The Hong Kong Football injury, he served as head coach of Cuba’s freestyle wrestling na- 2019 will be a night to remember after a Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan’s Tomoaki activities and programes aimed at promoting Association Ltd. – for their hospitality and tional team from 1965 until 1982. He then took over as President momentous year for Asian football, fol- Makino and Akram Afif of Qatar are the and developing football. hard work of staging a significant night for of the Cuban Wrestling Federation, a position he held until 2008. lowing the successful staging of the big- frontrunners to clinch the AFC Player of “Asia’s achievements are worthy of all the winners and our guests.” Rolle served as Director of National High Performance (1990- gest-ever AFC Asian Cup in the UAE, the the Year award in the Men’s category. such an occasion and together, we will The following award categories will be 1995), President of the Pan American Wrestling Committee Continent’s ultimate club competition, the Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, celebrate and honor the winners at the announced at the gala event and presented (1990-1995) and UWW Bureau Member & Head of Science & AFC Champions League, alongside the AFC the AFC President, said: “Asia celebrates AFC Annual Awards.” at another special event: Technical Department (1995-2012). He was appointed as UWW Cup and the pilot FIFA/AFC Women’s Club another year of tremendous achievements The AFC Futsal Player of the Year and AFC Youth Player of the Year (Women) Honorary Bureau Member in 2014. Championship as well as other age group – on and off the field – where our competi- AFC Coach of the Year (Men & Women) will AFC Youth Player of the Year (Men) He is the creator of the Granma y Cerro Pelado Tournament, competitions. tions reached new levels and continued to also be awarded as will the AFC Member AFC Asian International Player of the Year an annual international wrestling event held in Havana, Cuba. Leading the Continent’s outstanding engage with fans not only in Asia but also Association of the Year and AFC Presi- (Source: the-afc) (Source: UWW) Prayer Times Noon:11:54 Evening: 17:28 Dawn: 4:11 (tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:57 (tomorrow) DECEMBER 2, 2019 ART&CULTURE I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y www.tehrantimes.com Managing Director: Mohammad Shojaeian Editor-in-Chief: Mohammad Ghaderi Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98 21) 88808214 — 88808895 UNESCO to commemorate Farabi, [email protected] Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051450 Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 Attar in 2020, 2021 www.eshterak.ir Distributor: Padideh Novin Co. Tel: 88911433 CULTURE TEHRAN — UNESCO Webmaster: [email protected] deskwill commemorate Iranian Printed at: Jame Jam Bartar Borna - 44197737 philosopher Abu Nasr Farabi and Persian mystic and poet Farid ud-Din Mohammad Tehrantimes79 Tehrantimesdaily ibn Ebrahim Attar in 2020 and 2021. The organization has registered Farabi’s No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, Iran 1150th birthday and Attar’s 800th death P.o. Box: 14155-4843 anniversary on its 2020 and 2021 calendars Zip Code: 1599814713 of events respectively, Iranian National Commission for UNESCO director Hojjatollah Ayyubi announced in a press release on Sunday. “Countries can propose the birth and death anniversaries of their eminent luminaries to UNESCO in order to hold commemoration programs,” he said. Ayyubi added that a variety of programs will be arranged to commemorate the GUIDE TO luminaries. SPIRITUAL AWAKENING Abu Nasr Farabi was regarded in the Arab world as the greatest philosophical authority Enmity produces rancor and destruction. after Aristotle. Imam Ali (AS) Attar is mostly known for the Mantiq at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds), an allegorical poem describing the quest of the birds for the mythical Simorgh, or Phoenix, whom they wish to make their king. His Elahi-nameh and the Mosibat-nameh Culture minister asks for (“Book of Affliction”) both are mystical allegories similar in structure and form to continuation of artists’ tax exemption the Mantiq at-Tayr. Tomb of Persian poet Attar, Neyshabur. CULTURE TEHRAN — Minister of Culture and Islamic deskGuidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi has asked the government not to eliminate the tax exemption for artists and Audiences like “When the Moon Was Full” cultural activities. at Tallinn Black Nights ARTTEHRAN — Iranian director Narg- “Kontora” by Anshul Chauhan from Japan won the deskes Abyar’s acclaimed drama “When grand prize of the festival and Jun Robles Jana from the the Moon Was Full” received the audience award at Philippines was named best director for his movie “Kalel, 15”. the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which The best actress award went to Alina Serban from is underway in the Estonian capital, the organizers Germany for her role in “Gypsy Queen” by Hüseyin Tabak, announced on Saturday. while Cavan Clerkin from Britain was crowned best actor The film tells the story of a woman from Tehran who for his role in “Muscle” by Gerard Johnson. Director Narges Abyar (R) and cast member Hutan Shakiba marries a man from an Iranian province near the bor- Eight more Iranian films, including “Dance with Me” pose after accepting the audience award for “When the der of Pakistan. Soon after, she discovers that her new by Sorsuh Sehat, “The Warden” by Nima Javidi and “Just Moon Was Full” at the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film brother-in-law is a religious extremist trying to recruit 6.5” by Saeid Rustai, were also screened in various sections Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Festival in Estonia on November 30, 2019. (POFF) her husband for his bloody cause. of the Tallinn festival, which will come to an end today. Salehi in an undated photo. (Tasnim/Masud Shahrestani) In letters sent to President Hassan Rouhani, First Vice President “Magralen” wins Golden Knight Award Iranian films to compete in Chennai Es’haq Jahangiri and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs on Saturday, Salehi asked for a continuation of the tax exemption at Malta Intl. Short Film Festival festival for those people engaged in cultural and artistic activities. The appeal was made in response to some reports that recently announced the government’s plan to eliminate the tax exemption. Base on Article 139, Section L of Iran’s tax law, all publishing, press, Quranic, cultural and artistic activities being performed under the authorization of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have been exempted from paying the tax. “You know well that artistic and cultural activities in the country are not essentially moneymaking and profitable,” Salehi wrote in the letters, pointing out that the culture ministry has always done its best to support these cultural enterprises. In posts and statements published on social networks and Persian news agencies, many Iranian artists, cultural organizations and experts have warned against the elimination of the tax exemption for artists and cultural activities. They emphasized that by the elimination of the tax exemption, artists and others working in the cultural fields would be squeezed by the consequent higher living expenses more than ever. This combination photo shows the posters of the films “Zero Floor”, “The A scene from “Magralen” by Maryam Zarei. Warden”, and “Just 6.5”. Cinéma Vérité announces ARTTEHRAN — Iranian on November 30. ARTTEHRAN — A lineup Khakzad, a major drug trafficker in international lineup deskfilmmaker Maryam Other winners of the Golden Night deskof three Iranian films Tehran. Zarei’s short “Magralen” has won one Awards are “The Bind” by Marie-Elena will be competing in the 17th Chennai “The Warden” tells the story of an ARTTEHRAN — A lineup of 24 movies from of the five Golden Knight Awards at the Dyche from the UK, “Trap” by Kahra Scott- International Film Festival, which Iranian prison warden who is assigned desk21 countries will compete in the various Malta International Short Film Festival. James from New Zealand, “Abe’s Story” by will take place in the Indian city from to transfer prisoners to a new building categories of the international competition of the 13th Cinéma “Magralen” features a family of four Adam Stewart from Ireland and “New York December 12 to 19, the organizers have during the 1960s. Vérité, Iran’s major documentary film festival, the organizers living in a wrecking yard. Nima and four- Rhapsody” by Irwin Suba from the U.S. announced. In the movie “Zero Floor” Vahid announced on Sunday. year-old Tara, suffering from vision loss, One of the longest-running film “Just 6.5” by Saeid Rustai, “The Warden” comes to Tehran to stop an operation spend time playing around the yard— festivals of its kind worldwide, the by Nima Javidi and “Zero Floor” by Ebrahim from being performed on his four-year- especially in an old car they had created Malta International Short Film Festival Ebrahimian will be screened in the official old son Soheil but he finds out he has for themselves. is open to non-professional productions, section of the festival. passed away during surgery. The closing ceremony of the one-day film school students and commercial “Just 6.5” is about a police squad The final list of the official selection festival was held in Valletta, the capital of productions. It is held annually during under the leadership of Samad who of the festival will be announced in the the Southern European country of Malta the last week of November. has been assigned to arrest Nasser near future. Brazil’s president accuses actor DiCaprio of financing Amazon fires, offers no evidence SAO PAULO (Reuters) — Brazilian President Jair and ranchers for setting the fires to clear land for agricultural Bolsonaro claimed on Friday that Hollywood star Leonardo use, saying that deforesters are being emboldened by DiCaprio financed fires being set in the Amazon rainforest, Bolsonaro’s rhetoric of promoting development and farming without presenting any evidence, the right-wing leader’s over preservation. latest broadside in casting blame over forest fires that have The Amazon rainforest is considered a bulwark against generated international concern. global climate change. Bolsonaro appeared to be commenting on social media Bolsonaro has repeatedly lashed out at various factions A scene from Dutch filmmaker Ton van Zantvoort’s postings claiming that the environmental organization the in casting blame for the forest fires. documentary “Sheep Hero”. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had paid for images taken by In a Facebook live post on Aug. 21, he said, “Everything Eight films, including “Kabul, City in the Wind” by Abuzar volunteer firefighters that it then supposedly used to solicit indicates” that NGOs were going to the Amazon to “set fire” Amini from Afghanistan, “Ringside” by Andre Hormann from donations, including a $500,000 contribution from DiCaprio. to the forest. When asked then if he had evidence to back up Germany, “Sheep Hero” by Ton van Zantvoort from the Netherlands The WWF has denied receiving a donation from DiCaprio his claims, Bolsonaro said he had “no written plan,” adding, and “The Kingmaker” by Lauren Greenfield from the U.S., will or obtaining photos from the firefighters. “that’s not how it’s done.” compete in the full-length films section. “This Leonardo DiCaprio is a cool guy, right? Giving One day later he admitted that farmers could be illegally Eight mid-length documentaries, including “Spoon” by Laila money to torch the Amazon,” Bolsonaro said on Friday setting the rainforest ablaze, but roughly a month later he Pakalnina from Latvia, “Symphony of the Ursus Factory” by during brief remarks in front of the presidential residence. Leonardo DiCaprio attends the premiere of “Once Upon a attacked the “lying media” for saying that the rainforest Jasmina Wojcik from Poland, “My Country Till I Return” co- DiCaprio denied having donated to the WWF. In a statement, Time In Hollywood” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July was being devastated by the fires. directed by Erdal Hos and Nuran Ozkan from Turkey and “Scars” the actor lauded “the people of Brazil working to save their 22, 2019. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo) Bolsonaro talked about DiCaprio on Thursday during a by Didier Cros from France will go on screen. natural and cultural heritage.” But, he said, “While worthy of live webcast. The president said the WWF paid the firefighting The short films competition also features eight documentaries. support, we did not fund the organizations targeted.” Alter do Chão Fire Brigade were arrested on Tuesday with NGO to take pictures of forest fires in the Amazon. Among the films are “Pain Is Mine” by Farshid Akhlaqi from DiCaprio has been an outspoken advocate on behalf police accusing them of purposefully setting fires in order “So what did the NGO do? What is the easiest thing? Set Australia, “Women of the Gulag” by Marianna Yarovskaya from of combating climate change, speaking frequently about to document them and drum up more donations. They were fire to the forest. Take pictures, make a video,” the president Russia, “Thursday Fields” by Harry Zernike from the U.S. and environmental issues including the Amazon forest fires. released on Thursday on a judge’s order. said. “(WWF) makes a campaign against Brazil, it contacts “Dandelion Mum” by Barbora Hollan from Norway. His Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which is focused on Politicians and other NGOs fiercely criticized the arrest, Leonardo DiCaprio, he donates $500,000.” The Documentary and Experimental Film Center is the organizer projects that “protect vulnerable wildlife from extinction,” saying it was part of a concerted attempt by Bolsonaro’s “A part of that went to the people that were setting fires. of the Cinéma Vérité festival, which will take place at Tehran’s is part of the Earth Alliance. government to harass environmental groups. Leonardo DiCaprio, you are contributing to the fire in the Charsu Cineplex from December 9 to 16. Four members of the nongovernmental organization Scientists and activists blame land speculators, farmers Amazon, that won’t do,” Bolsonaro said.