Page 16

Page 15

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT basketball ice hockey Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com

SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 / RAMADAN 27, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17684 16 PAGES 150 FILS OVER 200 PALESTINIANS HURT IN CLASHES WITH POLICE Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa mosque

Kuwait condemns Israeli action

JERUSALEM, May 8, (Agencies): A night of heavy clashes between Palestinians and bers as thousands of Muslim worshippers were holding evening prayers at the sprawling hilltop esplanade. Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and elsewhere in Jerusalem left more Throughout the night large groups of protesters could be seen hurling rocks as Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades. At one point, the police entered one of the buildings in the complex, which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the than 200 Palestinians wounded, medics said Saturday, as the city braced for even more iconic golden Dome of the Rock. violence after weeks of unrest. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said 88 of the wounded were hospitalized. The Palestinian Health Min- Nightly protests broke out at the start of the holy month of Ramadan over police restrictions at a popular gath- istry said 83 people were wounded by rubber-coated bullets, including three who were shot in the eye, two with serious head ering place and have reignited in recent days over threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinians from their homes injuries and two with broken jaws. in east Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides in the decades-old conflict. The Israeli police said protesters hurled stones, fireworks and other objects at them, wounding 17 officers, half of whom It was unclear what set off the violence at Al-Aqsa, which erupted when Israeli police in riot gear deployed in large num- were hospitalized. “We will respond with a heavy hand to all violent disturbances, riots and attacks on our forces,” it said in a statement late Friday. The Al-Aqsa mosque compound is the Security on agenda third holiest site in Islam. It is also the ho- liest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the loca- tion of the biblical temples. It has long Mossad chief in Bahrain been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was the epicenter of the 2000 MANAMA, May 8, (AP): The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence Palestinian intifada, or uprising. agency visited Bahrain for talks with officials on Thursday, the Bahrain Some 70,000 worshippers had attended state-run news agency reported. the final midday Friday prayers of Rama- The trip came amid heightened tensions in the region over Iran and fol- dan at Al-Aqsa, the Islamic endowment lowed Israel’s recent deal to normalize relations with the island kingdom. that oversees the site said. Thousands The brief statement carried by the news agency said only that Yossi protested afterwards, waving the green Cohen met with Bahrain’s heads of national intelligence and strategic flags of the Islamic militant group Hamas security to discuss “the most prominent security topics, regional devel- and chanting pro-Hamas slogans. opments and issues of common interest.” It did not elaborate. At the beginning of Ramadan in mid- The two countries opened diplomatic ties last fall in a US-brokered April, Israel blocked off a popular gather- deal under the Trump administration and following the United Arab ing spot where Palestinians traditionally Emirates’ decision to normalize relations. The pacts, rejected by the socialize at the end of their daylong fast. Palestinians as a betrayal of their cause for statehood, signaled an in- The move set off two weeks of clashes creasingly explicit alliance between Gulf Arab states and Israel against before Israel lifted the restrictions. mutual archenemy Iran. But in recent days, protests have Indirect talks between the US and Iran over a return to Tehran’s grown over Israel’s threatened eviction in 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which former President Donald Sheikh Jarrah in east Jerusalem of dozens Trump abandoned, are now gaining traction in Vienna. of Palestinians embroiled in a long legal Israel and Gulf Arab countries previously have voiced concern over battle with Israeli settlers trying to ac- a generous American rapprochement with Iran that doesn’t address the Palestinians react to stun grenades fired by Israeli police to clear the Damascus Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem after quire property in the neighborhood. Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program and support for regional clashes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, May 7. Palestinian worshippers clashed with Israeli police late Friday at the Evictions proxies, in addition to its nuclear program. holy site sacred to Muslims and Jews, in an escalation of weeks of violence in Jerusalem that has reverberated across the region. (AP) The United States said it was “deeply concerned” about both the violence and the threatened evictions, and was in con- tact with leaders on both sides to try and de-escalate tensions. MPs hit international community “It is critical to avoid steps that exacer- bate tensions or take us farther away from peace,” the US State Department said in By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh a statement. “This includes evictions in Arab Times Staff East Jerusalem, settlement activity, home N-pact fate KUWAIT CITY, May 8: Many MPs have condemned the Newswatch demolitions, and acts of terrorism.” Israelis for breaking into the Al Aqsa mosque and attack- The European Union also urged calm. ing Palestinians residing in Jerusalem. It said the potential evictions were of “se- rious concern,” adding that such actions ‘up to Iran’ MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari criticized the attitude of the KABUL: A bomb exploded near international community which blames Islam due to the iso- are “illegal under international humani- a school in west Kabul on Sat- tarian law and only serve to fuel tensions WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): lated crimes committed by a Muslim or an Arab, yet it turns a urday, killing at least 25 people, The Biden administration is signal- deaf ear and blind eye to the systematic war and crimes against many them young students, Af- on the ground. ing that Iran shouldn’t expect ma- humanity committed by the Zionist entity targeting the Pales- ghan government spokesmen Neighboring Jordan, which made jor new concessions from the Unit- tinians. He also condemned the official Arab response -- push- said. peace with Israel in 1994 and is the cus- ed States as a new round of indirect ing the train to speed up normalizing relations with Israel. Interior Ministry spokesman todian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, nuclear talks is set to resume. Other MPs including Musaed Al-Ardi and Abdulaziz Tariq Arian said ambulances has also condemned Israel’s actions, as A senior administration offi- Al-Saqaabi criticized the statement of Kuwait’s Ministry were rushing to the scene of has the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, which cial told reporters that the US has of Foreign Affairs as it violated the decree issued in 1967 the blast near Syed Al-Shahda normalized relations with Israel last year laid out the concessions it’s pre- stating that Kuwait is in a defensive war with Israel and school, in the Shiite major- in a US-brokered deal. pared to make in order to rejoin referring to the latter as a ‘Zionist entity’. He pointed out ity neighborhood of Dasht-e- Kuwait Foreign Ministry denounced the ministry’s statement is totally different from the stipu- Barchi. Friday the Israeli displacement of the the landmark 2015 nuclear deal Angry crowds attacked the that former President Donald lation of the decree. Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood residents in These MPs voiced objection as well to the term ‘East ambulances and even beat health East Jerusalem. Trump withdrew from in 2018. workers, said Health Ministry The official said success or fail- Jerusalem’, stressing that Jerusalem is an undivided city. In a statement, the ministry condemned spokesman Ghulam Dastigar the Israeli settlement expansion process, ure now depends on Iran making They rejected the use of the term ‘settlements’ for the ar- Nazari. He implored residents to the political decision to accept eas constructed by Israel, asserting these areas should be saying that these measures violate the cooperate and allow ambulances international law principles and disrupt those concessions and to return called ‘colonies’. free access to the site. (AP) to compliance with the accord. MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji said the Zionist colonization of ❑ ❑ ❑ global efforts aimed at reaching a final KUNA photo solution to the ongoing conflict in the His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- The official spoke to reporters Palestinians in Jerusalem is a shameful mark on the fore- Sabah sent a written letter to King of Morocco Mohammad VI, in a State Department-organized head of the international community which has not taken UNITED NATIONS: The U.N. Middle East and threaten the region’s which touched on the strong relations linking the two countries conference call on the eve of the any action so far. He urged the government to coordinate disarmament chief reported stability. and means to develop them. Kuwaiti Minister for Cabinet Affairs with other countries in launching a diplomatic campaign to the discovery of an undeclared Moreover, the ministry welcomed the negotiations’ resumption in Vi- chemical warfare agent at a Syr- and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad enna. The official spoke on con- support the Palestinians and stop the attempts of the Zion- statement issued by Britain, Germany, ian site to a Security Council France, Italy, and Spain, in which it Al-Sabah, who is currently in Rabat, handed over the letter to dition of anonymity to discuss the ist entity to push for the ‘Judaization’ of Jerusalem. meeting Thursday where the called on Israel to suspend its decision Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco. — See Page 6 US position going into the fourth Based on the position of Kuwait to reject attempts to normalize relations with Israel, MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf United States and its Western to proceed with the expansion of the round of closed-door talks at allies clashed with Russia over settlements and to stop the displacement which the remaining participants forwarded queries to Minister of Health Dr Basel Al-Sa- bah as he obtained information that the medical attaché for international fi ndings that Syria measures in East Jerusalem, especially in Kuwait reports 1,209 new infections in the nuclear deal are passing has used chemical weapons. Sheikh Jarrah. messages between the American Kuwaiti students in London intends to sign a contract with Izumi Nakamitsu didn’t name the French health insurance company AXA that invested in Is- and Iranian delegations. agent detected in samples by the in- Decisions raeli banks and financed illegal activities such as establish- ternational chemical weapons watch- The comments came after Sec- ing colonies on land stolen from the Palestinian people. The ministry urged the international COVID vaccination status retary of State Antony Blinken dog, but said its presence “inside He asked if any of the Kuwaiti health offices abroad storage containers of large volume at community to compel Israel to stop such complained of Iranian intransi- signed contracts with the abovementioned company. If unilateral decisions and to resume peace gence in the talks during a visit a previously declared chemical weap- added on ‘Mobile ID’ app yes, he wants to know the rationale behind signing a con- ons facility may imply undeclared talks, in order to reach a final solution to Ukraine. tract with the company. production activities.” (AP) based on international legitimacy deci- “What we don’t know is In another development, MP Hesham Al-Saleh submit- ❑ ❑ ❑ sions, the Arab peace initiative and the KUWAIT CITY, May 8, (Agen- 1,387 patients recovered from whether Iran is actually prepared ted a bill on granting Kuwaiti nationality to Bedouns in- two-state solution. cies): Kuwait Public Authority coronavirus today making the re- to make the decisions necessary to cluded in the 1965 census, as well as about 1,000 to 3,000 BEIRUT: The leader of Leba- Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for for Civil Information (PACI) has covery rate 94.3 percent out of the return to full compliance with the Bedouns who are highly qualified and have vast experi- non’s militant Hezbollah group more unrest in the coming days. nuclear agreement,” Blinken said on Friday indicated his support launched a new update for the Mo- conducted tests. ence in various fields. for a dialogue between Iran one Saturday night is “Laylat al-Qadr” or bile ID application to include some Moreover, 14,436 patients in in an interview with NBC News Meanwhile, MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa asked Minister the “Night of Destiny,” the most sacred in Kyiv. “They unfortunately one side and the US and Saudi important modifications, such as total are receiving health care, of Oil and Higher Education Muhammad Abdullatif Al- Arabia on the other. in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. the COVID-19 vaccination status. including 206 at intensive care have been continuing to take steps Fares about the plan of the ministry to transfer certain fa- Worshippers will gather for intense night- that are restarting dangerous parts Hassan Nasrallah said in a tele- This came under the directives units, he said. cilities and buildings from Kuwait University to Abdul- vised speech that such talks could time prayers at Al-Aqsa. of the Minister of Public Works Meanwhile, over the past 24 of their program that the nuclear lah Al-Salem University as per Law No. 76/ 2019. He benefi t Tehran and its allies and Sunday night is the start of Jerusalem and the Minister of State for hours 9,604 tests were conduct- agreement stopped. And the jury wants to know if a committee was formed to carry out calm tensions in the region. Iran Day, a national holiday in which Israel Communications and Informa- ed, with infection rate 12.6 per- is out on whether they’re prepared this task. If yes, he requested for a copy of the decision is a top backer of Hezbollah. celebrates its annexation of east Jerusa- tion Technology, the Chairman cent, making the total conducted to do what’s necessary.” in this regard. The US and Iran recently re- lem and religious nationalists hold pa- of the Board of Directors of the tests 2,388,785, he added. World powers, meanwhile, sumed indirect talks about getting rades and other celebrations in the city. Public Authority for Civil Infor- Al-Sanad renewed his call held a fourth round of high-level Tehran and Washington to return On Monday, an Israeli court is expected mation, Dr. Rana Al-Faris, and on the public to maintain social talks Friday aimed at bringing the to the nuclear deal. Meanwhile, to issue a verdict on the evictions. the Director General of the Au- distancing, and to abide with all United States back into the nucle- Iraq is hosting talks between Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with thority, Musaed Al-Asousi. health regulations that would ar deal with Iran, with both sides Saudi Arabia and Iran, as Riyadh the West Bank and Gaza - territories the Pal- Al-Asousi noted that the app help in stopping the virus spread. signaling a willingness to work seeks to end its years-long war in Yemen where the kingdom is estinians want for their future state - in the works on all smart device systems The Supreme Ministerial Com- out the major stumbling blocks. 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jeru- The talks began in Austria in fi ghting Iran-backed rebels. (AP) (Android, IOS, and Huawei), add- mittee for Coronavirus Emergen- ❑ ❑ ❑ salem in a move not recognized internation- ing that all COVID-19 vaccina- cies will most likely recommend early April. Russian delegate ally and views the entire city as its capital. tion data will appear directly once lifting the partial curfew in its Mikhail Ulyanov tweeted fol- RABAT: Morocco’s ambassador The Palestinians view east Jerusalem - the application is updated. meeting on Sunday, reports Al-Rai lowing Friday’s meeting that to Germany has been recalled which includes major holy sites for Jews, The Mobile ID app was daily quoting a reliable source who “the participants agreed on the to Rabat for “consultations,” the Christians and Muslims - as their capital, launched in accordance with the said there is 99 percent chance that need to intensify the process.” Moroccan Foreign Ministry said and its fate is one of the most sensitive Cabinet decision to be used as a the committee will take this step. “The delegations seem to be Thursday. issues in the conflict. In a call to Palestine digital civil card, and the num- The source said this is in ad- ready to stay in Vienna as long The North African kingdom’s TV late Friday, President Mahmoud Ab- ber of its users has exceeded dition to taking measures aimed as necessary to achieve the goal,” move comes amid rising tensions bas praised the “courageous stand” of the 1,700,000 so far. at starting the return to normal he wrote. with Germany, notably related protesters and said Israel bore full respon- to the disputed Western Sahara. Kuwait’s Ministry of Health life and granting privileges to The US pulled out of the land- sibility for the violence. on Friday reported seven new those who got vaccinated against mark 2015 deal in 2018 after The ministry also cited concerns about the two countries’ coopera- Israel’s Foreign Ministry had earlier COVID-19 deaths, and 1,209 in- coronavirus, describing such de- then-President Donald Trump accused the Palestinians of seizing on the said the pact needed to be rene- tion against terrorism and in set- fections in the past 24 hours. velopment as the beginning of a tling Libya’s confl ict. threatened evictions, which it described The Ministry’s spokesman Dr. breakthrough after Eid Al-Fitr. gotiated. The deal had promised Raslan Haddad, the presenter of the local TV prank In March, Morocco suspended as a “real-estate dispute between private Abdullah Al-Sanad told KUNA According to the source, the in- Iran economic incentives in ex- show, Tannab Raslan, stands in front of a map of Iraq ties with the German Embassy parties,” in order to incite violence. that the total fatalities increased dicators of the current health situ- change for curbs on its nuclear during an interview with The Associated Press in Bagh- due to “deep misunderstandings” to 1,628, and the caseload to ation are relatively stable; hence, program, and the Trump admin- dad, Iraq, May 5. Responding to viewer outrage, Iraq’s following then-US President 282,981 since the beginning of the possibility of implementing istration reimposed heavy sanc- media regulator canceled the show that lured guests Donald Trump’s controversial Ramadan Timings the pandemic. new procedures for vaccinated tions on the Islamic republic in into simulated ambushes by militants, forcing par- decision in December to recog- He added that the total recov- people to enter commercial com- an unsuccessful attempt to bring ticipants and viewers to relive the fear that was wide- nize Morocco’s sovereignty over Iftar ...... Sunday ...... 18:30 eries have reached 266,917 after plexes, cinemas and other places. Tehran into new talks. spread under the rule of the Islamic State group. (AP) the territory. (AP) Imsak ...... Monday ...... 03:21 ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 2

Weather Expected weather for the next By Night: Rather hot to fair Abdaly 43 25 Prayer Timings 24 hours: with light to moderate north west- Jahra 42 27 Fajr ...... 03:32 Asr ...... 15:20 By Day: Hot with light to mod- erly wind to light variable wind Salmiyah 36 28 Sunrise .. 05:00 Maghrib ...18:29 erate freshening at times north with speeds of 08-30 km/h. Ahmadi 35 30 Zohr ...... 11:45 Isha ...... 19:53 westerly wind with speeds of Station Max Exp Min Rec Nuwaisib 48 26 12-40 km/h and some scattered Kuwait City 39 29 Wafra 43 26 clouds will appear. Kuwait Airport 42 28 Salmy 42 21

VACCINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE: https://cov19vaccine.moh.gov.kw/SPCMS/CVD_19_Vaccine_Registration.aspx

Vaccination certificate after update of ‘Mana’a’ App to make travel easier

By Marwa Al-Bahrawi it will be listed in the green box. Al-Seyassah Staff He explained there are some people whose certificates are listed in the application under KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The ‘green’ despite not being infected with the virus or have received the second dose, and Director of the Information they are the people who received the first Systems Department at the dose more than five weeks ago but they have Ministry of Health, Eng. not been issued a vaccine certificate. Ahmad Al-Gharib, revealed Al-Gharib pointed out that the application ‘Immune’ will be activated internationally that the ‘Mana’a’ (Immune ) during the next week, so that the new data and application will be updated information will be added within the applica- within the next few days to tion to reduce manipulation or forgery, as the swabs and vaccination certificates will be activate the digital vaccination added with the addition of the batch number certificate and will include that the person received from the vaccine, the most of the information related site, and the passport number as well. The Supervisor of Information to travel inside and outside the Management Systems Development and the country such as vaccination Center for Technological Advancement, certificates and PCR swabs. Musaed Al-Huwaishel, indicated the activa- tion and updating of the Mana’a (Immune) MoI photo In a press conference, Al-Gharib said Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah poses for picture with the officers. once a person receives the second dose of application will facilitate the travel, students the vaccine or gets the first dose after infec- and others, so that they do not have an tion, he/she can obtain a digital certificate of obstacle either in leaving or entering the vaccination through an immune application, country, noting the importance of the appli- ‘Apply law to everyone, show commitment’ and this certificate will remain in ‘red’ for cation to facilitate the movement of resi- 14 days after receiving the vaccine, and then dents and not to be subjected to quarantine. ‘Back after Covid’ Man avoiding jab dies of virus

KUWAIT CITY, May 8: Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali received in the presence of the Undersecretary of the Ministry Lieutenant-General Kuwait ranks 4th among GCC Essam Al-Naham and the Director-General of the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences Major- General Nasser Bursli, five officers with the rank of nations in Covid recovery rate Lieutenant from Batch 46. The five were absent when the Batch 46 took the oath KUWAIT CITY, May 8: A survey con- She added, “I was informed a few days because they were infected with the COVID-19 virus. ducted by the Gulf Arab Health Council ago, he had changed his mind and said the State of Kuwait among the Gulf expressed his desire to register for the Statement Cooperation Council countries ranks fourth vaccination, but the Corona virus preced- A press statement issued by the Ministry’s Directorate- in terms of recovery from Covid infection at ed him and ended his life ... God have General of Public Relations and Security Media the rate of 94.2 percent, reports Al-Anba mercy on him and forgive him.” Department the Minister of Interior congratulated the daily. In another development, about 75 per- ‘graduating children’ who have joined their colleagues. The statistics show the United Arab cent of the total employees in the General He called on the graduates to apply the law to every- Emirates tops the Gulf region with 96.3 Office of the Ministry of Education have one and to show commitment, discipline, effort and percent recovery rates, followed by the been vaccinated, reports Al-Rai daily generosity in the service of the country, stressing that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 96%, then quoting educational sources. their involvement in security work is a great responsibil- comes Qatar comes in third place with The daily said the ministry did not ity on their shoulders. 94.9, the Kingdom of Bahrain ranks fifth force any employee to receive the vac- On the other hand, Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer with a rate of 93.1%, and the Sultanate of cination and that the joint higher com- Al-Ali met, separately, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Oman sixth with a rate of 91.1%. mittee comprising members from the Mongolia, Muhammad Al-Mutairi, and the Ambassador Meanwhile, Dr. Munira Badr ministries of Education and Health did of the Republic of Armenia to Kuwait, Sarmen Bourashed, a specialist in periodontal not set any priorities for the office Baghdasaryan. surgery and dental implantology said a employees and educational districts The Minister of Interior discussed with Ambassador 27-year-old man died of Covid-19 except for educational staff including Al-Mutairi the mechanism of coordination between the because he took the advice of one of his the administrators. security establishment and the Kuwaiti embassy in relatives and refused to take the vaccine, The source revealed the ministry “will Mongolia, in a way that would contribute to strengthen- reports Al-Qabas daily. ask the Civil Service Commission to ing relations between the two countries. Dr. Munira said on her Twitter account: approve the attendance level in some of “A 27-year-old man, who did not com- the ministry sectors to 100 percent imme- Stressed plain of any disease, who was not con- diately after the Eid Al-Fitr holidays,” Ambassador Al-Mutairi is said to have stressed the vinced about the benefits of the vaccina- indicating the work movement is some- importance of the efforts of the security establishment in tion and was not vaccinated, following what slow and “we fear the accumulation strengthening Kuwait’s relations with all countries of the the advice of one of his relatives, who is of transactions during the coming peri- world. a doctor, died today of Covid-19 disease.” od.” The meeting of the Minister with the Ambassador of Armenia dealt with issues of common interest, especially those related to the security issue and ways to enhance ‘Bil Salama’ adds new locations Photos by Mohammad Morsi cooperation between the two countries. Food unfit for human consumption is sold near garbage dumpsters. The Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia expressed his country’s appreciation for the vital role Kuwait plays Workers can come from five places Team monitors violations in enhancing security and peace in the region. KUWAIT CITY, May 8: According to subject to increase or decrease, three official sources from Kuwait International PCR tests, meals and equipped locations Airport, five new destinations have been for institutional quarantine before han- Municipality to terminate added to the “Bil Salama” platform for dling the domestic workers to their 1,396 mosques, charities visited facilitating the return of domestic work- sponsors. By Faris Al-Abdan the controls related to the advertisements 50 ‘non-Kuwaiti’ workers ers (Article 20 visa holders) to the State ❑ ❑ ❑ Al-Seyassah Staff and called upon the owners to amend the of Kuwait from five different cities, situation. KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The Civil Service Commission has The government’s new economic requested the Kuwait Municipality to terminate the services reports Al-Qabas daily. KUWAIT CITY, May 8 : The Assistant Al-Hajri stated the work of the committee They said sponsors and travel offices reform plan will be ready for submission Undersecretary for Social Development at included checks on 59 restaurants which of 50 non-Kuwaiti employees working on the second con- to the National Assembly before the end the Ministry of Social Affairs, Hana promoted collection of money for Ramadan tract clause on lump-sum salary, in implementation of the can book packages with flight tickets for CSC’s decision on government job appointments rules and the return of domestic workers from of May, reports Annahar daily quoting Al-Hajri, revealed that the field inspection breakfast meals via the social media and sources. teams formed by the ministry to monitor informed the Ministry of Commerce and procedures (replacement policy) for the fiscal year 2021- Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, and remove the violations related to col- Industry to take necessary action. 2022, reports Al-Qabas daily. Dubai and Sharjah. The daily had earlier published reports lecting funds during Ramadan conducted This is in addition to monitoring cash An informed source said the administrative affairs The sources indicated that the instruc- on the most important features of the 1,396 field trips to the mosques and the donations boxes in one mosque and two oth- sector in the Municipality has addressed the heads of tions issued recently by the health plan, which focuses on realistic reforms headquarters of the charity societies from ers caught collecting cash. The issue has sectors to implement the decision of the CSC and asked authorities to stop the entry of passen- to address structural imbalances in the the beginning of the holy month until last been referred to the Ministry of Awqaf and the administrative affairs department to provide the gers from India into Kuwait, except after economy. It includes the implementa- Saturday. Islamic Affairs stressing that such activities names of non-Kuwaiti employees who can be dispensed they stay for a period of 14 days in a tion of a plausible mechanism for diver- Al-Hajri explained, in a statement that cannot be tolerated and that everyone must with. transit country that is not banned, open sifying sources of income, supporting these tours resulted in the detection of a adhere to the laws which are in force during Vice-Chairman of the Kuwait Cinema Company, Hisham the way for the return of domestic work- the private sector, gradually removing variety of violations, including 133 which Ramadan. Al-Ghanem, said the cinemas in Kuwait will open doors for ers from multiple destinations without the hand of the public sector from the had been built to collect clothes in violation The source added special inspection the public on the first day of the blessed Eid Al-Fitr only for being restricted to their countries but economy, and setting a clear methodol- of the law and 110 other stall stalls which teams monitor various social media sites those who have taken the Covid-19 vaccine, reports Annahar ogy for spending the loaned amount in were dismantled in coordination with the such as Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, daily. with the implementation of health Kuwait Municipality and the Committee for Facebook and also monitor the unauthor- Al-Ghanem told the daily the working hours inside the requirements. case the Public Debt Bill is approved. Follow-up of Field Activity for Charity ized ads which call for collection of money theaters will be determined after receiving the health proto- They highlighted that the “Bil Salama” Sources said the plan excludes taxes Work of Ministry of Interior. from individuals or entities.’ col from the Ministry of Health which is expected within a platform, established by the National as the current economic situation is not The committee also monitored 143 bill- Twelve people who called for donations week. Aviation Services Company (NAS), is conducive for imposing taxes, hinting boards of charity societies and other related have been referred to the Cyber Crime He explained even those who have received even a single concerned with providing direct flights on the possibility of taking such a step institutions because they did not adhere to Department of the Ministry of Interior. dose can enter the cinemas. to Kuwait at a fixed price that is not later. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 LOCAL 3 diwaniya A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION ‘Economy and education real victims of Corona pandemic spread’ “EDUCATION and economy are the real victims of the consequences of the every test room? And if so, how many companies have provided them? of the manpower. It continues to do so without any employment goal and with- Corona pandemic. The health effects will most likely disappear with the end “This is a question ‘To whom it may concern’.” out taking into consideration the need to assign an employee to a job according of the pandemic, God willing. As for the destruction of education and some of to his specialization for which he spent most of his life to study,” columnist the economic sectors, their effects will remain for many years and a whole gen- Also: Hamed Al-Saif wrote for Annahar daily. eration may pay this destruction. Yes, all countries of the world were affected “Kuwait is a country whose only source of income is oil, which constitutes “The State is obligated to appoint citizens even it does need them. This cre- by this pandemic, but its direct and indirect effects differed according to each more than 90 percent of the state’s revenue, so the state or the successive gov- ates continuous unemployment without thinking about such a devastating situ- country’s management of the crisis and dealing with it,” columnist Dr Anwar ernments have paid special attention and shown special interest in the oil sec- ation while productivity is unusually low. International regulatory authorities Al-Shra’ian wrote for Al-Shahed daily. tor,” columnist Talal Al-Enezi wrote for Al-Rai daily. also described such productivity as not exceeding 22 minutes a day. This is “The health system collapsed in some countries and others lost tens of thou- “Just as oil is the only source of income, the human being is the real wealth of what we have in Kuwait, starting from the spread of the outrageous disguised sands of lives, and less and more than that in others, but many countries suc- any country, therefore countries are interested in human resources and qualify- unemployment phenomenon. All of us fell into such a trap. ceeded in reducing the effects and its consequences and containing the pan- ing and training them to benefi t from their expertise in the service of country. “There are no signs of a plan to get out of the trap. The urgent question is: demic within months or weeks. Unfortunately, Kuwait may be or is an exception. What should be done? The solution to this phenomenon has foundations ap- “A year ago, we found thousands of excuses for managing the health crisis in “It is assumed that a country whose only source is oil production, refi ning plied by many countries that succeeded in absorbing the workforce and guid- Kuwait, so there were no models other than the Chinese and selling it for decades and has a college specializing in petroleum engi- ing them towards productive work for their economy and the stability of their model to deal with Corona, but after more than a year neering, its graduates in the hundreds per course, and technical colleges in the society through several scientifi c and studied concepts. has passed, many countries have succeeded in combat- Public Authority for Applied Education that graduate thousands of holders of “Therefore, our solutions include replacing foreign marginal labor with ing the epidemic and we are still in Kuwait making mis- diplomas in petroleum engineering and technicians qualifi ed to work in the oil trained workers, correcting the lopsided demographic structure, and processing takes after mistakes. sector and after all this, the Minister of Oil comes out to us with a statement in educational outputs to match the actual manpower needs by laying the founda- “Despite the imposition of the partial curfew, nothing which he speaks of the shortage of expertise among the Kuwaitis and this has tions and standards for these outputs.” changed signifi cantly. I am taken by surprise with what led to the renewal of contracts of expatriate workers. ❑ ❑ ❑ the Ministry of Health and the government has to say “Oh Minister, does this statement make sense, is it rational that we a country because different parties interpret the health situation “In the last 10 days of Ramadan, Kuwaiti people usually meet their leader, which only depends on oil as the sole source of income and with an army of His Highness the Amir. It is a special kind of family meeting in which there is differently. graduates holding various types of degrees in the petroleum fi eld fail to fi nd Hind Al-Choumar Al-Anba “The health measures that were imposed in aptitude heart-to-heart conversation,” columnist wrote for expertise and resources therefore we have to resort to foreign workers? daily. tests at the Kuwait University for high school students “This statement sounds the alarm about our oil policy. Do we have clear “This year, the speech of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad which were held before Ramadan and will be held after Dr Al-Shra’ian plans to develop this vital sector? Do we have a real investment in our youth embodies the wisdom, sophistication and vision of the father and the leader. Eid Al-Fitr differ from those demanded by the Health and develop their experiences and their capabilities? I wish His Excellency the It stressed the need to remain committed to democracy and peaceful dialogue, Ministry of the Ministry of Education to hold paper tests for the Grade 12 stu- Minister and the senior offi cials in the oil sector will take care of the Kuwaiti so as not to give a chance to those waiting to destabilize national security. dents, so the strange strictness with the Ministry of Education and leniency with human element, qualify them, train them and give them a chance. This is in addition to praising the endurance of diffi culties, patience and loy- aptitude tests at the university is a matter that raises concern. Does the Ministry “These days, the acceptance results have been announced in the oil sector. alty to His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, may God have of Health not want to hold these tests? If the answer is yes, it must declare this Everyone complains about the diffi culty of passing the exam, as if there was a mercy on him. explicitly. deliberate policy against the sons and daughters of Kuwait, and not giving them “His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad, may God Almighty pro- “As an academician and a father, I fi nd that holding paper exams is a step an opportunity to work in this vital sector. tect and care for him, did not forget the frontliners in his paternal speech. He towards saving what can be saved to help raise the level of students from the “All neighboring sisterly countries pay utmost attention to real human wealth praised them as they deserve it, considering they put their lives at risk to protect academic point of view at least it will push our dear children to study and try to by believing in the capabilities of their children and giving them the opportu- everyone from the pandemic. This sublime gesture is a badge of honor for eve- increase their educational attainment, which is defi nitely more important than nity for creativity and distinction. ryone who works on the front line. opening cinemas with 50 percent occupancy. “Some oil-producing countries are ready for the post-oil phase and we are “His Highness’s talk about social media is important due to fear of its reper- “Does the Ministry of Health consider the occupancy of cinemas is 50% not even ready for the oil phase and its good revenues, so how about after oil?” cussions, especially in spreading rumors and incorrect information from un- in closed halls, safer in terms of health than the requirements provided by the ❑ ❑ ❑ reliable sources, in addition to the need to ensure the accuracy of information Ministry of Education, which are open halls with occupancy of less than 30%? which should be obtained from credible sources.” “In conclusion, a question to the Ministry of Health offi cials: ‘Is it true that “The workforce composition in Kuwait is strange as it that does not exist in the Ministry of Education has been asked to provide a mobile washroom at many countries around the world. Here, the State employs more than 80 percent — Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli Call for urgent action as public bodies warn violent crime rise ‘Women, children vulnerable groups’

KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The public benefi t associations have warned of the increase in Other Voices the rate of violent crimes in Kuwait, reports Al-Qabas daily. They stressed the need for urgent action by the con- cerned authorities to address this phenomenon and provide security and protection for all members of the ‘Heavy dose of ethics needed’ society. Ahmad alsarraf Most of them did not return the Benefi t stolen money until after they were re- In this fi le photo the public is staging a protest after the recent spike in crimes, in- e overtook me on a road at a very In a press statement, the public benefi t associations ferred to the prosecution ... No com- said, “Kuwait has recently been going through a very cluding murder. Hhigh speed, maneuvering be- ment! tween lanes, breaking all traffi c laws dangerous turning point on various walks, the negative After the liberation, the government repercussions of which have affl icted every category of and driving ethics, causing harm to decided to buy a high percentage of Lawyer declared innocent those around him, and endangering bank debts of citizens and compa- society. This renders us to stop and refl ect on the spread life of others and in the end he was nies, and considered these amounts of crimes in their ugliest forms beyond description and forced to stop at the red traffi c light as a debt owed by the state, provided imagination. Not a day passes without us being shocked and we hap- that the state would pay interest to the by news of a crime that is more cruel than the one that Man sentenced to 3 years jail pened to be side banks on these debts. occurred before. by side, I low- An Islamic fi nancial institution, There is now an overwhelming concern that every- ered the side controlled by the Brotherhood, re- one feels about the lack of safety and full protection for for offending ruler on Twitter window glass jected the idea of receiving pre-de- every individual or group of society. Perhaps the most and asked the termined interest on their debts, con- severe harm falls on the most vulnerable groups, which By Jaber Al-Hamoud ‘Member of UNCAC’: Kuwait Transparency reason for this sidering that under the rule of usury, are women and children. Hence, everyone should feel the Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies Society announced that it is now a member strange and dan- of the United Nations Convention against and its decision almost caused serious high responsibility for all of this by addressing this dan- KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The Court of Ap- gerous behavior. material harm to it, but its Sharia com- Corruption (UNCAC) Coalition during He smiled and ‘I gerous phenomenon that prevails in our society, which is peals, headed by Judge Nasr Salem Al-Haid, the membership accreditation meeting on mittee, with a Machiavellian initiative blessed with peace and stability. sentenced an individual to three years in am sorry uncle, decided to consider these benefi ts a Thursday, reports Al-Rai daily. prison for committing State security crimes Board Chairman of the society Majed Mu- I am in a hurry. alsarraf gift from the Guardian, then it was ac- Responsibility I want to reach when he posted statements on a fake Twitter farraj Al-Mutairi pointed out this member- cepted, and the crisis was overcome ... The fi rst party that should perhaps bear the largest account as these statements are deemed of- ship to an international coalition is a positive home before the call to prayer and for No comment. breakfast ...’ No comment. part of this heavy responsibility is the Ministry of Inte- fensive to the Amiri entity, and touched on development in the fi eld of exchanging inter- From all these examples and hun- rior. However, other institutions are not excluded from the rights of HH the Amir and the integrity national experiences between civil society The lists of the so-called front line dreds of others, we fi nd that our Arab workers include the names of more bearing the brunt of this phenomenon. They must work of the judiciary. organizations in monitoring and qualifying peoples, Kuwaitis in particular, prac- together to ensure - The court affi rmed the validity of the government agencies in implementing the than 200,000 Kuwaitis and residents. tice ritual worship, and do not prac- charges fi led against the accused and de- I am certain that a majority of these 1. Concerted and united efforts to address these crimes laws of UNCAC – the most important of tice daily life rituals such as the writer before they occur. clared him guilty. which is the Freedom of Access Act. This are believers, but a large percentage of Mohammad Nabulsi. In addition, the court confi rmed the in- them know with certainty that they do 2. Speedy issuance of judgments and the implementa- is in addition to the issuance of the executive The likes of the above and most nocence of Attorney Hani Hussein who regulations in March and the society’s con- not deserve a reward, but they chose tion of the harshest punishments against the perpetrators has been accused of broadcasting false practitioners of rituals do so to win of these crimes, so that they serve as an example to others. tribution to strengthening the law on confl ict to remain silent, knowing that their the afterlife. In their pursuit of per- news, harming Kuwait’s interests and its of interests, which is currently in the hands of names are among those honored ... No forming these rituals, they do not care 3. Expediting the opening of shelter homes with spe- relations with Saudi Arabia through media the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee comment. much about the harm that their pursuit cialized cadres and issuing the executive regulations for campaigns, and expressing contempt for in the National Assembly, he revealed. During the despicable Saddam oc- causes to others. For example, stop- the domestic violence law. a tribe when he posted statements on his “The coalition was established in 2006 in cupation, I was in charge of the com- ping a car on the road and obstructing 4. Training of the Ministry of Interior’s cadres, espe- personal Twitter account about the divided Vienna, Austria. It consists of many interna- mittee for disbursing funds to support traffi c in order to perform prayer is a cially those working in police stations and receiving com- zone agreement between Kuwait and Saudi tional non-governmental organizations and Kuwaiti refugees in Riyadh. plaints, working to take them with great seriousness and Arabia. a member of the International Civilian Anti- very normal thing for these people. ❑ ❑ ❑ From the list of names of those who From all this we fi nd that we need attention and not being complacent or lax in following up Corruption Alliance,” Al-Mutairi added. received the fi rst batch of subsidies, heavy doses of ethical lessons. Reli- their procedures. which is the largest, it was up to two gion and its teachings have been in thousand dinars per family, I discov- and around us for 14 centuries, and we ered that thousands of pious citizens learn about them every day. had received support more than once. As for ethical issues, they need re- Asian expat kills himself; I previously wrote in detail about search, thinking, teaching, and setting this crime of stealing public money in good examples. If we visit Scandina- Bedoun caught for fraud a previous article, and therefore … No via, people are the least committed to comment. going to the churches, but they are the By Munif Nayef After liberation, a high percentage highest in commitment to morals. of good citizens, who did not hesi- Hence we must strive to get rid of Al-Seyassah Staff tate to receive the 500 dinars reward, describing ourselves as the most pious which was allocated to every citizen KUWAIT CITY, May 8: An unidentifi ed Asian committed people while we are the most corrupt. suicide by hanging in the suburb of Farwaniya. who remained in Kuwait, circumvent- ❑ ❑ ❑ ed and received the reward more than According to a security source, when the Ministry of once. email: [email protected] Interior operations room received a notifi cation about the Asian who had apparently hanged himself by tying a rope of a building in Farwaniya, securitymen and paramedics went to the site and referred the corpse to forensic medi- cine. Cemetery to be opened on Eid day ❑ ❑ ❑ KUWAIT CITY, May 8: MP Dr Ali Al- In a statement during the meeting of the Fake Twitter accounts: The cybercrime management Qattan said, after communicating with Board of Directors, Al-Sultan indicated personnel in the criminal security sector have arrested a the Minister of Interior and the Minister what has been accomplished in prepar- bedoun who was operating several fake accounts on Twit- of Municipality, we are grateful that the ing the examination committees and the ter to insult well-known personalities. doors of the Ja’afari cemetery will be extent of schools’ readiness in each edu- The security source said the electronic crimes department, opened during Eid Al-Fitr from 5:00 am cational district were discussed and fol- after receiving several complaints about fake accounts be- until 10:00 am, reports Al-Rai daily. lowed up, stressing the role of the work ing used to offend well-known people the accounts were Meanwhile, the Assistant Undersecre- teams formed in each district to follow up monitored and the suspect was taken into custody. tary for Public Education, Osama Al-Sul- the achievement ratios. He was seized and his cell phone was confi scated. He tan stressed on the need for school prin- He praised the efforts made by school allegedly received money from unknown sources to abuse cipals (committee heads) to daily update districts and school administrations to people. the status of the school readiness status make preparations for second semester Police are in the process of fi nding out who paid him through the electronic link. exams 2020/2021. money to do the ‘dirty laundry’. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 LOCAL 4

43 govt agencies to implement projects through 9 major programs KD1.8 bn worth 132 projects in annual plan for 2021/’22 KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The annual ponents, 29 legislative requirements legislative requirement. ects worth KD 206.9 million. This development of a coherent and transpar- dential areas. development plan for Kuwait for the and 35 targeted policies should be The second program is related to would require two new legislation. ent governance through 16 projects. The eighth program is aimed to current fiscal year 2021/2022 reveals implemented, reports Al-Anba daily. general privatization which requires The fourth program is aimed to The sixth program, which aims to enhance the health and well-being of that the state is targeting the imple- The detailed development plan for two new legislation through the imple- strengthen the capacities of citizens build a coherent infrastructure, will be all. It will be implemented through 22 mentation of 132 projects worth KD the 2021/2022 fiscal year highlights mentation of seven projects. Its cost and institutions through 12 projects implemented through 41 projects projects of an estimated value of KD 1.8 billion. These projects will be the fact that the annual plan programs has also not yet been determined. which would cost a sum of about KD worth one billion dinars. 306.7 million. The ninth program, implemented by 43 government agen- include building a special international As for the third program, which is 166.1 million. The seventh program, which is which concerns effective participation cies through nine major programs. For economic zone. The estimated cost has aimed at strengthening the private sec- The fifth program, which is estimated worth KD 18.3 million, is aimed to in the global community, has an esti- the success of the annual plan’s com- not yet been determined, but it has a tor, it will take place through 13 proj- to cost KD 39.1 million, will target the create environmentally friendly resi- mated cost of KD 4.9 million. Traffic Dept to start procedures for exportation of ‘vehicles’ this week ‘Process to happen round the clock at borders’

KUWAIT CITY, May Project to include rare collections of Al-Balushi 8: The General Traffic Department affiliated to the Ministry of NCCAL signs agreement to set up historical Interior announced that procedures for sports museum showcasing Kuwaiti football exporting vehicles will KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The be facilitated starting Antiquities and Museums Sector and this week, as the export Lieut-Col Hussein Asad and Captain Badriya Aman at a checkpoint. the Engineering Affairs Department at transactions will be the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) signed an agree- completed through ment with Kuwaiti sports media man technical inspection and researcher Hussain Al-Balushi to offices located at bor- establish a historical sports museum showcasing Kuwaiti football in der checkpoints with Rumaithiya, reports Al-Jarida daily. the cooperation of the In a press statement Wednesday, Land Customs official spokesman of NCCAL Dr Issa Department of the Al-Ansari confirmed the presentation Dr Issa Al-Ansari Kamel Al-Jalil of designs for the project in their last General Administra- meeting; pointing out the project repre- affirmed all these items will be shown first of its kind in Kuwait. tion of Customs, sents an important part of the history of to the public, especially the sports and The project takes into account the reports Al-Qabas daily. Kuwaiti sports and its achievements in football fans. environmental aspects in the restora- In a press statement, the minis- the football field, particularly its honor- Also, General Secretary of NCCAL tion of the building by recycling some try affirmed its keenness to find able history locally and internationally. Kamel Al-Abd Al-Jalil and Assistant parts, especially the metal parts; as the best solutions for overcoming He said the project includes the rare Secretary-General of the Antiquities and well as putting plants found in the obstacles that vehicle owners collections of Al-Balushi like cups, Museums Sector Dr Tahani Al-Adwani Kuwaiti desert environment on the face during the process of export- medals and certificates of appreciation thanked and appreciated the initiative of rooftop and to activate NCCAL’s role ing vehicles outside the country Photos by Rizk Taufiq awarded to Kuwaiti football players; the researcher who embraces and spon- in supporting the owners of small through border ports. It also Lieut-Col Asad poses for a picture with policewomen at the security point in in addition to interactive materials. He sors the project, which is considered the enterprises. strives to activate the important Mishref. role shared by the Ministry of Interior represented by the ‘Beneficiaries to get social assistance before Eid’ General Traffic Department’s ‘Female police ... a great support’ Technical Inspection Department KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The Assistant the beneficiaries to buy their needs 15 percent of the salary to the employ- and the General Administration Undersecretary for the Social before the Eid, reports Al-Anba daily. ees of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), of Customs’ Land Customs Policewomen man checkpoints Development Sector at the Ministry of In a statement to the daily, she explained reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. Department. Social Affairs, Hana Al-Hajri, said upon 20,080,643 dinars will be deposited in the In its ruling, the tribunal stated that The ministry explained that directives of the Minister of Social accounts of 43,990 beneficiaries. KOC employees are entitled to housing the process will happen round along with their male colleagues Affairs Dr Mashaan Al-Otaibi, social Meanwhile, the arbitration tribunal allowance equal to 15 percent of the the clock based on the official assistance will be disbursed to the bene- recently issued an unprecedented rul- salary in accordance with Ministerial procedures and steps followed By Munif Nayef to verify the barcodes and permits during ficiaries before the Eid Al-Fitr to help ing – grant housing allowance equal to Resolution 199 P for the year 2010. for the vehicle export through Al-Seyassah Staff the curfew period. border checkpoints. The policewomen said they are proud These procedures include the KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The female to support their male counterparts who following: police in the public security sector work around the clock to implement 1. Acquire insurance papers embody the true picture of women work- laws, maintain security and safety, and with vehicle data, and the type of ing alongside their male counterparts in serve the country. insurance transaction should be the area of implementing the decisions of In the same context, the head of the “export only”. the Council of Ministers related to partial Special Tasks patrols department 2. Visit the technical inspec- curfew. Lieutenant-Colonel Hussein Badr tion office at border checkpoints Policewomen are seen manning the Asad, told Al-Seyassah the presence of to inspect the vehicle and remove checkpoints at the security points to female police in the public security the vehicle’s metal plates. The check the permits of motorists and others sector is a great support for their fel- office will issue an export certifi- who are permitted to be on the streets low security men. In shopping malls cate, clearance certificate and during the curfew period. also and on pedestrian streets they are first owner’s certificate (upon During a tour of some areas undertak- very active in ensuring people abide request of the vehicle’s owner or en by the Al-Seyassah daily, policewom- by the decisions issued by the health his legal representative), and pay en were seen busy at security checkpoints authorities. the fees due (as per Article No. 202 of the executive regulations of the Traffic Law). 55 chalet contracts signed in 100 days 3. Go to the customs office at the border ports to extract the customs declaration to determine 5,796 chemical shipments for the data, including the sender and the addressee by the customs office. imports and exports ‘cleared’ 4. The traffic office at the bor- der checkpoint will not accept KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The Chemical tainers at Shuwaikh port, 792 in insurance transactions related to Safety Department of the Environment Al-Shuaiba, 1510 in Al-Nuwaiseeb, 112 converting, changing color or Public Authority last month completed in Sulaibiya, and 110 in Doha. changing the shape, etc. Such the procedures for releasing 5,796 ship- Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and transactions should be referred to ments of chemical imports and exports Minister of State for Economic Affairs respective departments in -- 3,893 imports and 1,903 exports -- and Investment Khalifa Musaed Hamada Amghara in Jahra Governorate to from various outlets in the country, revealed that 55 chalet contracts were complete the legal procedures. reports Al-Anba daily. signed during a period of 100 days from 5. A vehicle missing one or A big number of import shipments are January 1 to April 11 this year, reports both of the metal plates shall not for cleaning materials, sterilizers and Al-Rai daily. be received. An abstract report materials used in medical applications. In response to a parliamentary question must be brought from the police According to the monthly statistics submitted by MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa station about the loss of the metal prepared by the administration, during regarding chalet contracts, Hamada indi- plate, in accordance with Article the past month 15 new licenses were cated that it is not permissible to mention 9 of the Traffic Law. issued for the import of chemicals, as the names of the beneficiaries of those 6. In the event of a legal well as 30 licenses for listing new materi- chalets in order to preserve the privacy of impediment to the vehicle or its als on licenses to import chemicals, in others. owner such as violations, judicial addition to the renewal of 6 licenses. He attached his response with a list of or administrative seizure, or It is noteworthy to mention several the chalets’ numbers, the location, area, required installments, etc), the procedures preceded the process of and date it was obtained, and it included concerned person needs to releasing shipments, whether for export the contracts of chalets that are located in address the issue and ensure such or import, including analytical tests on several areas such as Nuwaiseeb, impediment has been lifted materials for compliance with the regula- Al-Dubaiya, Zour, Bneider, Khairan, before initiating the export pro- tions, standards, and licensing granted to Mina Abdullah, Subiya and Doha. The cess. companies. areas varied from 290 meters up to 4,000 The chemical tests section of the meters. The reasons varied between Analytical Laboratories Center at the acquisition and relinquishment of the Indian man commits authority conducted checks on 1,582 con- chalet. suicide in Al-Firdous By Munif Nayef MoH facing limited options regarding Al-Seyassah Staff KUWAIT CITY, May 8: An Indian committed suicide at his vaccination campaign over shortage sponsor’s house in Al-Firdous. KUWAIT CITY, May 8: Due to vaccine shipments are delayed longer than His corpse has been referred to shipment delays and vaccine shortage, expected. the Forensic Medicine the Ministry of Health (MoH) is now fac- Sources said the option of combining Department. ing limited options in terms of continuing vaccines will be officially approved with- The Operations Room of the the corona vaccination campaign at the in days, adding that the most suitable Ministry of Interior was informed current pace to achieve herd immunity vaccines to be administered in combina- of the incident police by the and curb the spread of the virus, reports tion with the Oxford vaccine are Pfizer man’s sponsor. Al-Qabas daily. and Moderna. The Indian reportedly hanged The ministry is developing a protocol ❑ ❑ ❑ himself in the outhouse of the to seriously deal with vaccine shipment Kuwaiti’s home. delays; hence, the possibility of combin- Personnel from the Criminal ❑ ❑ ❑ ing two different vaccines and extending Investigation Department (CID) have Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti has vaccination duration between two doses arrested an unidentified person after a filed a case with the Yarmouk by giving a booster dose after a certain clip was posted in the social media show- Police Station against an uniden- period. ing the person attacking an Asian, reports tified person accusing the man of Government sources informed the Al-Anba daily. intentionally colliding with his daily that a study will be concluded The security authorities immediately vehicle, reports Al-Anba daily. soon on the possibility of administering moved to the site and found the badly The complainant said this hap- Pfizer vaccine as a second dose for beaten victim who said the suspect pened due to a dispute over right those who took Oxford vaccine as the assaulted him because he refused to work of way. first dose, in case the Oxford vaccine for him. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 LOCAL 5 Farmer Saleh continues to grow wheat despite corona pandemic

‘Cultivation disrupted during Iraqi invasion’

KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The agricul- tural area in the far northern part of the country under the The Kuwait Red Crescent Society provides aid to needy families inside Kuwait, in- supervision of the cluding widows, orphans, divorced women, people with special needs, the sick, the eldest son of farmer elderly and people with limited income. Badr Saud Abdu- ‘Keen to meet humanitarian needs’ laziz Al-Saleh made them realize the im- portance of growing Kuwait continues distributing wheat in Abdally as wheat is a strategic crop that is impor- aid as ‘Eid Al-Fitr’ approaches tant for the entire KUWAIT CITY, May 8, (KUNA): The the State of Kuwait provided to the brotherly population, reports State of Kuwait, through its various agen- Lebanese people under the slogan “Kuwait is cies and bodies, continued to provide relief by your side”. Al-Rai daily. aid with the approach of Eid Al-Fitr, in or- For his part, the Director General of the The father – ‘Abu Badr’ der to be keen to meet humanitarian needs Zakat Fund, Sheikh Zuhair Kabbi, in a – was one of the founders and an effective response to them. similar statement to KUNA thanked Kuwait of Abdally Agricultural In this context, while the Covid-19 crisis for its continuous support to the Lebanese Area and one of the first to is exacerbating in India, with record num- people, especially in diffi cult circumstances plant in the area. In the ear- bers of deaths and injuries recorded, the in which Kuwait provides various assistance ly 1980s, he responded to State of Kuwait provided urgent aid to India in various fi elds, especially to the poor and the call of Sheikh Ibrahim as a show of solidarity following the spread needy. of a new mutated strain of the coronavirus He pointed out that the Iftar Project pre- Al-Duaij Al-Sabah to culti- and the failure of the health system to absorb sented by the General Secretariat of the Ku- vate wheat on a large scale the large numbers of injured. waiti Endowments is a food basket that will in his big farm in Abdally Photo by Sameer Shiqer Kuwaiti Ambassador to India Jassim Al- be distributed to 1,400 families and has been like many of his agricultur- Cancer Aware Nation (CAN) officials distributing Iftar parcels in front of the Arab Times building to laborers and Najem said that 215 metric tons of oxygen allocated to orphans who are sponsored by al companions at the time other expatriate workers in the area. and more than a thousand oxygen cylinders the Kuwaiti Zakat House and to locally and founders of Abdally are on their way to India to fi ll the defi cit sponsored orphans. He indicated that the Agricultural Area includ- Kuwait Airways tops cos in passenger traffic witnessed by hospitals there as part of the distribution will continue until the end of the ing Sheikh Mubarak Sabah efforts made to combat the outbreak of the holy month of Ramadan in the capital Bei- Al-Nasser; farmers Abdul coronavirus. Ambassador Al-Najem said in rut and in the regions of Qalamoun, Tripoli, Rahman Al-Safran, Fahd a statement to KUNA that the Kuwaiti re- Minya, Danniyeh and Akkar in the north. Thunayan Al-Ghanim, lief campaign is continuing after a ship from For its part, the Kuwaiti embassy in Tur- Commercial aviation traffic records the Indian Navy left the port of Shuwaikh key announced the implementation of the Jassim Al-Muhaisen Al- last Tuesday, loaded with 40 metric tons of Iftar Project under the auspices of the Gen- Habashi, Muhammad Ab- liquid oxygen through two tanks of 20 met- eral Secretariat of Kuwaiti Endowments in dul-Karim Al-Hamidan, 4,350 flights during Q1 of ’21: DGCA ric tons each in addition to a number large several Turkish cities. Chargé d’Affairs to Khalifa Al-Banwan, Jas- oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrates. the embassy, Imad Kharraz, said in a state- sem Al-Amir, Abdullah KUWAIT CITY, May 8: The transit fl ights de- clock to direct passengers and to prevent non-Kuwaitis He added that a merchant ship left Al- ment that KUNA received a copy of it that Al-Khalaf, Abd Al-Latif The Directorate General creased by 82 percent facilitate their smooth move- from entering the country Shuaiba port last Wednesday with 75 met- the project included distributing about three Al-Hattanfal, Muhammad of Civil Aviation (DGCA) compared to 2019, and air ment from the time they enter is still in effect, highlight- ric tons of liquid oxygen and 1,000 cylin- thousand food baskets to needy families for Habib Al-Badr, Lafi Al- revealed that the commer- freight decreased by 20 per- Kuwait International Airport ing that only Kuwaitis and ders packed with oxygen gas on board. On the second year in a row as part of the em- Lafi, Sayah Abu Shaiba, cial aviation traffi c, during cent. until the time they board the their fi rst-degree relatives Thursday, two ships of the Indian Navy left bassy’s charitable activity during the holy Ali Al Khalaf; the farmer the fi rst quarter of 2021, Al-Taher stressed that Ku- plane. and the domestic workers Shuwaikh port carrying 100 metric tons of month of Ramadan. recorded 4,350 fl ights, of wait International Airport has Meanwhile, Al-Taher accompanying them are al- liquid oxygen through fi ve tanks, each tank He explained that in previous years the behind Al-Janafawi; sons of the late Khaled Al- which 2,179 fl ights had cadres that work around the affi rmed that the decision lowed to enter. with a capacity of 20 metric tons, in order to embassy had been holding Iftar banquets departed from and 2,171 contribute to mitigating the large impacts of instead of distributing Ramadan food bas- Masoud and many others. fl ights arrived at Kuwait In- the spread of the coronavirus. kets, but the outbreak of the Covid-19 has He helped them grow and ternational Airport, reports ‘UNSC pays additional 380 million dollars to Kuwait’ Al-Najem pointed out that work is underway brought about preventive measures. He re- harvest wheat using the ma- Al-Qabas daily. to ensure the supply of oxygen to India, adding ferred to the appreciation and gratitude of chineries provided by the of- In a press statement, the KUWAIT CITY, May 8: In a step towards filed by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation that the State of Kuwait is among the countries Turkish city mayors for this Kuwaiti chari- ficials of the Public Authority Supervisor for Aviation closing the compensation file for the Iraqi inva- (KPC) in lost oil production and sales as a for Agriculture Affairs and in the world that supply India the most oxygen. table work, and to all families who received Operations Raed Al-Taher sion of Kuwait, the United Nations Settlement result of damage done to the oil fields. In this context, he affi rmed the keenness of the food baskets thanked the State of Kuwait for Fish Resources (PAAAFR), Committee paid an additional 380 million dol- The total amount paid to the citizens of especially the modern har- explained that there is a State of Kuwait to alleviate the suffering of the this generous gesture. noticeable decline in the air lars to Kuwait, reports Al-Seyassah daily. various countries who had filed for compen- Indian people regarding this “health disaster” In the same context, the Kuwaiti embassy vesting and gathering tools. The daily quoting the same sources said sation due to the invasion rose to $50.7 bil- However, this wonder- traffi c due to the COVID-19 and in light of the exceptional circumstances in China announced the implementation of the pandemic when compared the Kuwaiti government is left with only 1.7 lion, since the payments come from Iraqi oil the country is going through. Iftar Project under the auspices of the General ful Kuwaiti experience in billion dollars – the compensation amount revenues and are paid every three months. growing wheat in Abdally to commercial fl ight move- Appreciated Secretariat of the Kuwaiti Endowments in the ment in 2019. city Guoyuan in the northwestern province of and the corners of abun- He also appreciated the rapid response of dance was discontinued due The total number of pas- Qinghai China. The embassy stated in a state- sengers who went through the various Kuwaiti institutions by harness- ment to KUNA that the humanitarian project to the brutal Iraqi invasion ing all the capabilities in order to reach this in 1990. After the blessed the airport during the came at the expense of the philanthropists of fi rst quarter of 2021 was aid as soon as possible, praising the role of the good people in the State of Kuwait and liberation in 1991, most of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense the farmers in Abdally and 323,582, including 220,648 under the supervision of the embassy advisor, departures and 102,934 ar- and Trade, Kuwait Port Authority, Kuwait Badr Al-Adwani, and under the implementa- Wafra were reluctant to Red Crescent Society and Public Authority grow wheat due to the dis- rivals. This means the total tion of the Charitable Association in Qoyuan number of departures from for Industry in providing many of the medi- City, Qinghai province. appearance, theft or damage cal supplies the Indian hospitals need. This of harvesting machineries. the country during the fi rst She added that during the past few days, quarter exceeded the arriv- came after last Tuesday, the fi rst Kuwaiti 717 Ramadan food baskets have been com- Importance military plane arrived in India loaded with als by 47 percent. Statistics pleted for the needy individuals and families show that the difference urgent medical aid from the Kuwaiti Red residing in the city of Guoyuan and villages Nevertheless, farmer Crescent Society to confront the spread of Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saleh between departures and ar- within Qinghai province, 1630 km from rivals is about 117,000 pas- the pandemic in the country. the Chinese capital Beijing. She explained continued to grow wheat The ambassador told KUNA that this ur- in his farm as he believes sengers. that the Ramadan food basket contains rice, Kuwait Airways topped gent support comes based on the directives fl our, oil, tea and sugar, noting that the peo- in the importance of wheat, of the political leadership, headed by His barley and dates production the companies in passenger ple of Kuwait have been embodied since an- traffi c, carrying 101,714 Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ah- cient times to love, goodness and giving and to achieve an important part mad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in order to alleviate of the food security that Ku- passengers on 1,441 depart- extending a helping hand, especially in the ing and arriving fl ights. This the suffering of the Indian people regarding holy month of Ramadan. wait is aspiring for; consid- this health disaster. Ambassador Al-Najem, ering that wheat and dates was followed by Jazeera who was receiving the military plane that Concluded are food for humans, and Airways with 79,388 pas- landed at Indira Gandhi International Air- In Yemen, Kuwaiti charitable and relief barley is food for animals. sengers on board 1,191 port in New Delhi, said that the plane was societies have concluded projects of distrib- ‘Abu Badr’ continued to fl ights, then Turkish Air- carrying 40 tons of urgent aid from the Ku- uting food baskets that have benefi ted more grow wheat for family use lines with 25,291 passen- wait Red Crescent Society, which is needed than 700 Yemeni families in the Governor- and give to his acquaintanc- gers on board 561 fl ights, by the health sector in India. He pointed out ates of Ma’rib, Hadramout and Al-Hodeidah. es and friends until illness followed by Qatar Airways that the military plane includes respirators, The Yemeni Humanitarian Access Associa- crippled him. His children with 23,741 passengers on a large number of oxygen concentrators, tion said in a statement that 1,656 individu- remained loyal to him, so board 354 fl ights. about 300 oxygen cylinders of various sizes als within 276 displaced families in Ma’rib they continued the journey Regarding the commer- ready for use, medicines, sterile corridors, benefi ted from the food baskets project with of growing wheat on a small cial aviation traffi c statistics sterilization tools, personal protection, in the support of the Balad Al-Khair Associa- part of their farm. in 2020, Al-Taher indicated addition to many different medical supplies. tion in the State of Kuwait. The association Regarding the experi- that the total aircraft move- He stressed that this relief aid expresses the added that 1,320 individuals within 220 af- ence of cultivating wheat at ment through Kuwait In- solidarity of the leadership, government and fected Yemeni families benefi ted from food Al-Saleh Farm during the ternational Airport reached people of the State of Kuwait with India in baskets that were distributed in the Governor- 2020/2021 planting season 46,062 aircraft, of which light of these diffi cult circumstances. ates of Hadramout and Al-Hudaydah with the supervisor of the farm Awad 23,025 departed and 23,037 For his part, the Assistant Undersecretary support of the International Charitable Asso- Al-Samahi said: “We spread arrived. for the Indian Foreign Ministry, thanked ciation for Development and Development wheat from the previous sea- He went on to explain Kuwait, HH the Amir, the government and in the State of Kuwait. She indicated that the son’s production on a small that commercial aviation the people for helping India in its ordeal food baskets that were distributed benefi ted land measuring about 2,400 traffi c decreased by 62 while praising the pioneering role of the about 1,200 individuals representing 200 square meters. We used well- percent during 2020 when State of Kuwait in providing a helping hand poor and affected families in the Hadramawt mixed organic fertilizer in compared to 2019. The to- in various adversities. He also praised the Governorate, with generous support from the late October and we started tal number of passengers role of the Kuwaiti embassy in New Delhi in Association for Humanitarian Excellence in harvesting the yellow ears departing from and arriv- the speedy coordination with the competent the State of Kuwait. in mid-April. Production is ing in the country last year Kuwaiti authorities, including the Kuwaiti The head of the Humanitarian Access As- abundant and the quality is amounted to 3,875,061. Red Crescent Society, and the speed of their sociation, Yahya Al-Dabaa, explained that good.” response to the relief call, stressing that this this support aims to alleviate the suffering of Al-Samahi added “the cul- pandemic demonstrated the importance of displaced, affected and poor families during tivation of wheat in the fertile joint international cooperation to work to- the holy month of Ramadan, indicating that land of Abdally has been suc- gether to face serious challenges. these baskets consist of fl our, rice, sugar, oil cessful, although we irrigate The Kuwaiti Council of Ministers had and dates. Al-Dabaa pointed out that this it with water that has little recently decided to send oxygen and other support will contribute to providing urgent salinity. However, the prob- relief components to India urgently in soli- food needs to help hundreds of families, lem is in harvesting it. Man- darity with the friendly Indian people and thus relieving their members of part of the ual harvesting is tiring and in appreciation of the exceptional circum- brunt of the harsh conditions they are going painstaking, especially since stances that friends are going through in In- through. He expressed his deep thanks and it requires many laborers. dia, based on the distinguished friendly rela- appreciation on behalf of the benefi ciaries to We miss many of these la- tions existing between the State of Kuwait the Kuwaiti associations for their permanent borers in these difficult days. and the Republic of India and the State of and rapid response and their humanitarian Corona, God is transgressing Kuwait’s keenness to alleviate the suffering commitment to the Yemeni people and alle- against us, and you are well of the people. viating their suffering, appreciating the con- and at peace.” On the level of aid, the General Secretariat tinued Kuwaiti support for various relief, “We will continue to grow of the Kuwaiti Endowments, through its fi - development and service projects in various wheat every season, even nancing of Iftar Project, provided Ramadan Yemeni Governorates. in small quantities. Wheat food baskets for about 1,400 orphan families In turn, the Al-Safa Humanitarian Chari- is used to make flour from in Lebanon. In a statement to Kuwait News table Society in the State of Kuwait con- which delicious bread is pro- Agency and Kuwait TV, the First Secretary of cluded the fi rst phase of the urgent medical duced at Kuwait Flour Mills the Kuwaiti Embassy in Lebanon, Abdul Aziz convoy project for the children of Yemen, Company, which kindly Al-Oumi, said during the distribution of aid, which targeted about 1,600 children in Taiz grinds whatever farmer Badr which took place in cooperation between the Governorate to reduce febrile diseases and Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saleh embassy and the Zakat Fund in Dar Al Fatwa malnutrition. sends. Then, this farmer and in Lebanon, that the project was made with a The “Al-Yatamah Charitable Founda- his brothers take the flour for generous donation from the General Secretariat tion”, which implemented the project, stated personal consumption and of Awqaf, where the distribution will be made. in a statement that the project, which lasted give some to their acquain- Ramadan baskets, which contain various food for six days, was implemented in three hos- tances and friends to make items for families will be distributed in differ- pitals in Taiz, with generous support from bread, bulgur, freekeh, other ent regions of Lebanon. He said that the project the good people in the State of Kuwait nutritious foods and useful “comes as a continuation of the aid convoy that through Al-Safa Association. materials,” he concluded. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 LOCAL 6

This year marks anniversary of 60 years since beginning of diplomatic relations: FM Amir letter to Moroccan King highlights solid, strong bilateral ties KUWAIT CITY, May 8, (KUNA): turning point” in which all matters are strengthening the health systems in the Foreign Minister and State Minister discussed with the aim of strengthen- two countries, enhancing food security, for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Dr. Ahmad ing and consolidating relations at all exchanging experiences, in addition to Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah said levels and in all fields. discussing all issues and developments Friday “the written letter to Moroccan On the meeting with Moroccan on the Arab and regional arenas, as well King, which was delivered during a counterpart, Nasser Bourita, the as international affairs. meeting with Prince Moulay Rashid Foreign Minister said that discussion The Kuwaiti minister recalled “his- bin Hassan II, included praise for the focused on the ongoing preparations torical and honorable” Moroccan solid, strong, and historical relations for the work of the Moroccan-Kuwaiti stands, whether through Kuwaiti- between the two countries.” Joint Higher Committee, which is sup- Moroccan relations, and various his- In a press conference, Sheikh Dr. posed to convene this year in the torical visits of the leaders from both Ahmad pointed out that this year Moroccan capital, Rabat. countries. marks the anniversary of 60 years He emphasized that the Higher Joint Sheikh Dr. Ahmad also mentioned since the beginning of diplomatic rela- Committee, which includes different Morocco as being was the first sup- tions between the State of Kuwait and sectors, would give a new spirit and a porter of Kuwait membership in the the Kingdom of Morocco. doubling of momentum in which inter- Arab League, in addition to the firm He added that there are common ests would be expanded and common- stance of the late Moroccan King visions and approaches for the politi- alities maximized. Hassan II towards the Iraqi invasion of cal leadership in the two nations to Sheikh Dr. Ahmad added that the Kuwait in 1990, and the support for launch another platform for deeper KUNA photos meeting also delved into lessons learned Kuwaiti legitimacy in a firm position relations and more fertile prospects Foreign Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah during by the two countries in combating the with the conscience of the entire this year, hoping for another “positive a press conference in Rabat. Coronavirus pandemic, including Kuwaiti people.

Envoy greets nation, citizens Chinese ambassador all ‘praise’ for HH the Amir By Shawqi Mahmoud Al-Seyassah Staff KUWAIT CITY, May 8: Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait Li Minggang said he listened with admiration the important speech delivered by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad on Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait the occasion of the last ten days of Li Minggang the holy month of Ramadan, urg- make contributions to fighting the ing everyone to united in solidarity pandemic in Kuwait and accelerate and work together to combat the its development. I would also like epidemic and maintain the process to seize this opportunity and offer of development in the country. my best wishes to Kuwait, and to He said the speech of HH the win over the epidemic early and Amir shows how much he cares achieve more prosperity and prog- for the people and to fulfill their ress under the leadership of HH Ambassador with embassy staff. aspirations for the development of the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad, the homeland. I also extend my sincere congratu- “As the Chinese ambassador to lations to the Kuwaiti people on Kuwait, I am ready to make joint the occasion of Ramadan and the India thanks Kuwait, nations efforts with Kuwaiti friends to approaching Eid al-Fitr.” Kuwait Consulate in Hong Kong and Macau begins ‘Iftar Project’ for help during hour of need KUWAIT CITY, May 8, (KUNA): The Consulate General of the State of Kuwait in Hong Kong and Macau announced Thursday, that it has imple- Kuwait one of first countries to come forward mented the ‘Iftar Project’ under the supervision of the General Secretariat of Kuwait Endowments, in a number KUWAIT CITY, May 8: “I sent by Kuwait including Ventilators of mosques in the Hong Kong and thank our Indian doctors, (11), Oxygen Cylinders (282), Macau administrative regions. Oxygen Concentrator (60) and medi- The consulate added, in a statement nurses and medical profes- cines and other medical equipment; to Kuwait News Agency, that the Iftar sionals who are making INS Kolkata, departed Kuwait on project, which will continue until the KUNA photo many sacrifices here in May 4 with Kuwait govt assistance of last day of the blessed month of Food baskets on the occasion of Liquid Medical Oxygen; Donation by Ramadan, came with a generous dona- the holy month of Ramadan. Kuwait, in India and across Indian community in Kuwait through tion from the philanthropists of the globe. It is their hard Indian Community Support Group Kuwait, who have made good deeds in region. work and sacrifice that include Oxygen Cylinders Oxygen various countries. The consulate explained that the concentrators; Kuwaiti merchant Ship It indicated that it also today deliv- State of Kuwait and its people are continue to save lives,” said departed on May 5 with Kuwait govt ered eight tons of food baskets to the accustomed to lending a helping hand, the Indian Ambassador to assistance of Liquid Medical Oxygen Islamic Union in Hong Kong on the giving and helping others in various Kuwait HE Sibi George as (Three 25 MT semi-trailers totaling occasion of the blessed month of parts of the world because of this role he focused on the evolving 75 MT LMO) and 1000 Oxygen cyl- Ramadan, with a generous donation and its positive impact on Kuwait’s inders; INS Kochi, departed Kuwait from the Kuwaiti “Jood Association” march, especially in the charitable and Covid 19 situation in India on 6 May with Kuwait Govt assis- to be distributed to the Muslims of the humanitarian fields. and the assistance being tance of Liquid Medical Oxygen received from abroad. (Three 20 MT ISO cryo tankers total- He was speaking at the Embassy ing 60 MT LMO); Donation by Indian Auditorium to highlight the topic Somber-looking Indian Ambassador delivers his speech. Community Oxygen Cylinders (800) & Oxygen concentrators (2); INS of Indian community in Kuwait; past and people know that. I had ous meetings with the community Tabar, departed Kuwait on 6 May on the Covid 19 situation in India Foreign Minister saying this I would groups and associations I have been with Kuwait Govt assistance of and highlight the assistance India like to do this. There are people who briefing them on this, and I am happy Liquid Medical Oxygen (Two 20 MT has received from abroad. say at least I am morally with you, I to see the ongoing drive to mobilize ISO cryo tankers totaling 40 MT The ambassador said, “We are now feel I like to do something, I have support for India on these lines. In the LMO); Donation by Indian suddenly faced with a new evolving limitations ... For me, I have one meantime, I am getting a series of Community in Kuwait through Indian situation due to spike in Covid 19 objective; my people are going queries from the community and from Community Support Group - Oxygen cases in India in recent weeks. I through a very difficult phase of our various associations on what Cylinders (600). would not like to get into the scien- Covid in the second wave. As Foreign more can be done, what should be A streamlined and systematic tific and medical aspects of the pan- Minister, as someone heading a done. I thought it is important to mechanism for allocation of the sup- demic which is for scientists and Ministry which has relationships address the community and brief you port supplies received has been put medical experts to address. The fact is around the world, I will do everything on the situation and update you on the into place by India for effective distri- that the second wave of Covid 19 which I have accumulated in many, assistance from abroad and particu- bution of the medical and other relief pandemic has now hit our motherland many years to help my people, its larly from our friendly State of and support material. All donations hard and us here in Kuwait too as the natural.” Kuwait. are addressed to the Red Cross travel to and from India has been Referring to what the Indian Support Society of India. A dedicated completely stopped. All flights embassies can do abroad to support India and Kuwait have always Coordination Cell has been created in including the air bubble which helped India, the Minister of External Affairs the Health Ministry to coordinate the the Vande Bharat mission where stood with each other in times of dif- said, “Your job is to ensure that the ficulties. Kuwait was one of the first receipt and distribution of foreign Indians in Kuwait could return direct- key requirements -- today oxygen is COVID relief material as grants, aid ly to India has also been stopped.” countries to come forward and offer the major requirement, pharmaceuti- support to India. The Kuwaiti Council and donations. Expands cals, Remdesivir, other medicines are of Ministers in a statement on April The Ministry of External Affairs is As new single day infections on a requirement, vaccine supply chain 26, expressed solidarity and extended operating a 24x7 Covid Cell which May 7 showed 400,000+ cases ten is a requirement, so logistics for all of support to India. was created to manage a global effort states including Maharashtra, Uttar this is a requirement. I have embas- The official statement read: “Based to assist millions of Indians stranded Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, sies which are working with shipping on the distinguished friendship by successive lockdowns, in the wake Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, lines, with airlines, different countries between the State of Kuwait and the of the second wave of the pandemic, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan creating hubs, you know how big the Republic of India and the keenness of is coordinating and channelizing accounted for 71.81% of the new oxygen challenge is, so we are getting the State of Kuwait to alleviate the global efforts to source raw materials cases. At the same time, the cumula- liquid medical oxygen, we are getting suffering of the friendly Indian people for our vaccines, pharma and medical tive number of Covid-19 vaccine cryogenic tankers, we are getting in the face of this health disaster, the industries, to source oxygen and oxy- doses administered has crossed over oxygen tanks, oxygen cylinders, you Council of Ministers has decided to gen producing equipment, and for 164,900,000 as the Phase-3 of the have to locate them, organize them, send oxygen and other relief compo- coordinating the delivery of essential nationwide drive expands further. send them and you have seen now nents to the Republic of India urgent- and relief supplies to India. It is On the assistance from abroad that support is flying in from different ly in solidarity with the friendly important that we continue to support when India is faced with the second countries, all of that requires coordi- Indian people and in recognition of each other and remain alert. wave, the world has come forward to nation.” the exceptional circumstances experi- “I conclude by thanking HH the help India. External Affairs Minister The Government of India has been enced by friends in India.” Foreign Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Dr. S. Jaishankar said in his interview receiving international donations of Minister His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown to ANI in London this week, “The Covid-19 relief medical supplies and Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber kind of situation which I am seeing equipment since April 27 from differ- Al-Sabah, in a phone call with Al-Sabah, HH Sheikh Sabah and you are seeing in Delhi, I will do ent countries including the United External Affairs Minister S. Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, everything in my power to get help to Kingdom, Ireland, Romania, Russia, Jaishankar reiterated the keenness of Prime Minister and the Government our people. So I will leverage all my UAE, USA, Taiwan, Kuwait, France, the Government of Kuwait to provide and the people of the friendly State of relationships, I will call in every ‘I Thailand, Germany, Uzbekistan, emergency relief and support to India. Kuwait for their support in this hour owe you’ I have and I have many Belgium, Italy, etc. The ongoing assistance from of need for India,” the Ambassador because I have done my shift in the The ambassador said, “In my vari- Kuwait include 40 tons of assistance said. ‘Postpone installments of recipients for a period of 6 months’ KUWAIT CITY, May 8, (KUNA): The ministerial decision issued by public aid. appreciation of the financial condi- Minister of Electricity, Water, Al-Otaibi falls within the framework The decision added, according to a tions facing them as a result of the Renewable Energy, Social Affairs, of the societal role of the Ministry of statement of the Ministry of Social repercussions of the corona pandem- Labor and Community Development, Social Affairs and the necessary pro- Affairs that “in line with the state’s ic,” explaining that in the event that Dr Mashaan Al-Otaibi, issued a minis- cedures and measures required in light policy to reduce the burden of citizens the recipient of the aid does not want terial decision to postpone the install- of the current circumstances, with the and their obligations, it has been to postpone he informs the concerned KUNA photos ments of recipients of public social aid need to take into account the status of decided to postpone the financial debts department with effect from next ‘Iftar Project’ in Hong Kong and Macau under the supervision of the for a period of 6 months. Kuwaiti families who are recipients of due for public aid for 6 months in month’s salary. General Secretariat of Kuwait Endowments. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 INTERNATIONAL 7

America EU

Stefanik’s ‘leadership’ Face to face 1st time EU chiefs take rise irks conservatives part in summit WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): picked replacement whose voting Conservatives in and out of Con- record does not refl ect the views PORTO, Portugal, May 8, (AP): gress are expressing opposition to of the conference,” fi rst-term con- European Union leaders and their Rep. Elise Stefanik’s rise toward servative Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., large following of diplomats and House Republicans’ No. 3 leader- said in a statement. “We must advisers met Friday in Portu- ship job, grumbling that’s unlikely select someone who will whole- gal for two days of in-person to derail her but serves notice that heartedly support the conservative talks, signaling their belief that the right wing is battling again to membership.” the threat from COVID-19 on affect the party’s future. Good said Republicans should the continent is waning amid a House Republicans plan to meet be allowed to “work through the quickening vaccine rollout. privately next week, probably process” of replacing Cheney. The The pandemic was a constant Wednesday, and seem certain to conservative Club for Growth, presence, however. Meeting oust Rep. Liz wary of Stefanik’s past opposition face-to-face for the fi rst time this Cheney, R- to tax cuts and easing environ- year, the leaders converged on a Wyo., from mental regulations, is also push- 19th-century riverside Customs that top post. ing for time so a Stefanik rival can building in the picturesque At- House Mi- emerge, a view Republicans say lantic coast city of Porto. Face nority Leader is widely shared among conserva- masks concealed their smiles but Kevin Mc- tives. they enthusiastically bumped el- US President Joe Biden speaks about the April jobs report in the East Room of the White House, May 7, in Wash- bows and fi sts and chatted. They Carthy, R- The hard-right House Freedom ington. (AP) Calif., seems Caucus has taken no public position sat apart, without a table, in a likely to post- on Stefanik. But its members, said large hall and balanced sheaves pone a vote to number around 40, are known to Bid to restore trust in govt of paper on their laps, a small on replacing be uncomfortable with her. plastic water bottle at their feet. “The (pandemic) recovery is Cheney until Stefanik As she works to secure her elec- sometime lat- tion, Stefanik has told colleagues still in an early stage,” EU Com- er, according to two House GOP she’d serve as No. 3 leader only WH releases logs of visitors to Biden mission President Ursula von der aides who discussed the delay on through the 2022 election year, Leyen conceded. “We’re still condition of anonymity, giving said a GOP lawmaker and an aide WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): The on Jan. 25, including Charlene Aus- tial picture of exactly who has been to having a diffi cult time with all restive conservatives a chance to speaking on condition of anonym- White House on Friday began volun- tin, wife of Defense Secretary Lloyd the White House. the negative impact of the pan- demic.” coalesce behind an alternative. ity to discuss internal conversa- tarily identifying people who visited Austin. Biden signed an executive or- Certain types of information will be It’s unlikely any challenger tions. She’s said she’d take the top Scores of police, staff and with President Joe Biden or his aides, der on Jan. 25 reversing Trump’s ban withheld before the logs are released, journalists at the summit wore would defeat Stefanik, who has GOP slot on the House Education reinstating a practice put in place by on transgender individuals serving in the White House said, including per- the backing of former President and Labor Committee the follow- masks and had to undergo PCR Democrat Barack Obama but later the U.S. military. Secretary Austin at- sonal information such as dates of tests before being allowed to at- Donald Trump, McCarthy and No. ing year. The scenario was fi rst dropped by Republican Donald Trump. tended the Oval Offi ce signing. The birth and Social Security numbers. 2 House GOP leader Steve Scalise reported by Politico. tend. of Louisiana. That triumvirate — Delaying the Stefanik vote “This release was made in accord- seventh person saw Biden on Jan. 21, Information bearing on national se- The summit hopes to repair especially the former president, could also help McCarthy, who ance with the reinstated policy to vol- the president’s fi rst full day in offi ce. curity interests, related to “purely per- some of the economic damage whose grip on the party seems as hopes to be elected speaker should untarily disclose White House visitor The White House said Biden’s ad- sonal guests” of the Biden and Harris the pandemic has wreaked in the fi rm as ever — virtually assures Republicans win House control logs,” the White House said. “These ministration will be the fi rst to release families or about staff members who bloc. In a late addition, EU lead- victory for Stefanik, 36, a onetime in the 2022 elections. There’s no logs give the public a look into the visitor logs from its fi rst full year in of- were processed through the visitor ers will also discuss proposals to Trump critic who evolved into his need for him to risk support from visitors entering and exiting the White fi ce. The logs will be posted monthly system before they received access share COVID-19 vaccine tech- strident ally. conservatives, long skeptical of House campus for appointments, tours, and include appointment information badges also will not be released. nology to help speed the end of But with the hard right distrust- him, by denying them a chance to and offi cial business — making good for people who were processed to enter The White House said it also will not the pandemic for all the world. ful of Stefanik, owner of one of advance a Stefanik challenger. on President Biden’s commitment to the White House complex, including release records of particularly sensitive On Saturday, the leaders will the House GOP’s most moderate The dustup is underscoring the restore integrity, transparency, and the White House, the Eisenhower Ex- meetings — and offered the example take part in an unprecedented voting records, conservatives say disconnect that sometimes exists trust in government.” ecutive Offi ce Building and the New of a visit with a potential Supreme meeting, via videoconference, forcing her to face a challenge between Trump and the party’s Nearly 400 names appear in the Executive Offi ce Building. Court nominee — until that informa- with Indian Prime Minister would signal she’s not universally ideological right wing. It also records released Friday, covering the Records from the Naval Observa- tion is no longer deemed sensitive. Narendra Modi, whose country accepted and will have to contend poses a test of conservatives’ clout period from Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, tory — where Vice President Kamala Also not being released are names needs more help amid a devastat- with them moving forward. when they don’t have the former to Jan. 31. Seven individuals met with Harris’ offi cial residence is located of people who attend virtual meetings, ing virus surge — and who can “We must not rush into a de- president behind them — a battle Biden, who is identifi ed as “POTUS” — will also be released when they are which is how the White House has smooth the path toward an elu- facto coronation of any hand- they seem likely to lose this time. — for “President of the United States.” generated, the White House said. been conducting a lot of its business sive bilateral trade deal. Six of the seven saw the president But the logs will provide just a par- during the coronavirus pandemic. streaming revenue boosts ViacomCBS Q1 results

ViacomCBS’s first-quarter net income jected that those services will reach 65 ketball tournament, UEFA Champions beat expectations on strong streaming million subscribers by 2024, with most League, its Oprah interview with Meghan revenue during a quarter when the com- of the growth coming from Paramount+. and Harry and the Grammy Awards. pany aired the Super Bowl and intro- Paramount+ costs $6 a month with The New York-based company said In this file photo, the Viacom duced its rebranded streaming service. ads and $10 a month without. It joins it earned net income of $911 million, or logo adorns the mass media ViacomCBS rebranded its streaming an increasingly crowded fray of services $1.44 per share. Earnings, adjusted for company’s headquarters, in service formerly called CBS All Access from Netflix, Hulu, Disney, AT&T and one-time gains and costs, were $1.52 New York. (AP) to Paramount+ in March. NBCUniversal, among others. per share. ViacomCBS added 6 million global ViacomCBS said sign-ups for its The results topped Wall Street ex- streaming subscribers in the quarter, streaming services were driven by live pectations. The average estimate of six for a total of 36 million across all of its sports and specials, including the Super analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment streaming services, Paramount+, Show- Bowl (which aired on CBS All Access be- Research was for earnings of $1.22 per time and BET+. ViacomCBS has pro- fore it was rebranded), the NCAA bas- share. (AP)

Market Movements 07-05-2021 Change Closing pts Change Closing pts AUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries +19.18 7,325.22 PHILIPPINES - PSEi -24.07 6,258.71 JAPAN - Nikkei +26.45 29,357.82 CHINA - Shanghai SE -22.41 3,418.87 GERMANY - DAX +202.91 15,399.65 FRANCE - CAC 40 +28.42 6,385.51 EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 +34.81 4,034.25 S. KOREA - KRX 100 +29.77 6,745.56 INDIA - Sensex +256.71 49,206.47 Business Dubai luxury home market soars

Deadline looms Tax guide for US business owners By Kelsey Sheely NerdWallet he tax filing deadline is quickly Tapproaching. Due to the pandemic, most businesses have until May 17 to file their returns this year. In a perfect world, you’d be think- ing about tax prep year-round, keeping records organized to help ease your burden, mentally and financially, come tax time. But 2020 wasn’t a perfect year. Whether the pandemic forced you to rethink your business model, start a new business or borrow from the Paycheck Protection Program, here are some tips for filing this year. Tax prep basics 1. Know your deadlines Tax filing deadlines vary depending on business entity type. This year, for example, the deadline for corporations was April 15, while sole proprietors have until May 17 to file. Other tax deadlines include esti- mated tax payments, which are due quarterly, and payroll taxes, which are deposited monthly or semiweekly. 2. Gather your financial records Pull together your financial records before starting your taxes. That in- cludes payroll documents, income statements, depreciation schedules, bank and credit card statements, and receipts for large purchases. You’ll need this information to complete your business tax returns. 3. Complete the proper tax forms Prepare the proper tax forms to re- port any business income or loss, legit- imate deductions and estimated taxes. These forms will be filed along with Luxury towers dominate the skyline in the Marina district, center, and the new Dubai Harbour development, right, are seen from the observation deck of ‘The View at The Palm Jumeirah’ in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 6. Foreign buyers flush with cash have flooded the high-end property market in Dubai even as coronavirus vaccines roll out unevenly across the world and waves of or in addition to your personal 1040. infections force countries to extend restrictions. It’s one of the few places in the world where they can dine, shop and do business in person. (AP) Common tax forms include: • Schedule C: Report profit and loss (sole proprietor). • Form 1120 or 1120S: Report in- World’s rich flee pandemic to start new life in Dubai come, gains, losses, deductions and credits (corporations). DUBAI, May 8, (AP): Af- A record-breaking 90 properties ies like New York and Paris decamp to • Schedule K-1: Report business worth 10 million dirhams each ($2.7 suburban mansions. But there are other expenses, income and losses (partner- Govt seems clueless on what to do ter nearly three decades in million) changed hands last month, on factors at play in the glitzy emirate, ships). Typically filed along with Form London, Christophe Reech top of 84 in March, surpassing heights home to the long-haul carrier Emirates 1065. was fed up with the city’s hit eight years ago, according to real and tallest tower on Earth. You may also need to file specific ‘How can we overcome estate consultancy Property Monitor. Since fi rst reopening to tourists last forms for depreciation, home-based pandemic lockdowns. This For comparison, there were 54 such summer, Dubai has pitched itself as businesses, self-employment taxes and spring, he sold his luxury transactions in all of 2020. the world’s pandemic-friendly vaca- estimated taxes. our pending challenges’ townhouse and jetted off “Tons of people are coming in and tion spot. With no mandatory dayslong 4. Lean on a tax professional buying multimillion dollar properties quarantines, foreign visitors now party If your business model is straight- to the desert sheikhdom forward and your records are orga- By Kamel Al-Harami refer to social media and the various on the spot, with no due diligence time in Dubai’s bustling bars and on its of Dubai to start a new life whatsoever,” said Matthew Cooke, a beaches, their selfi es at hotel-resorts nized, you may not need the help of a speculations as our source of news. tax professional. Independent Oil Analyst Life in the United Arab Emir- with his family. partner at consultancy Knight Frank, and helicopter pads stirring resentment who manages penthouse sales on back home. But if you’re just starting out or your UR country seems to be the only ates, Bahrain and Qatar seems There was no turning back, he business has changed, they can help one in the region that is facing normal, and in Saudi Arabia, the Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah artifi cial archi- The tourist infl ux helped drive the O said. The French business magnate’s pelago. country’s dramatic surge in corona- you identify deductions, determine the some hard curfew hours are lesser in com- super wealthy foreign friends were best structure for your business and problems for parison to us. There is no way we As with previous cycles, cash buy- virus cases in January, prompting the doing the same, driving an unprec- ers started snatching up homes at U.K. to suspend fl ights. But the United head off future tax headaches. which there can compare ourselves as much as Most importantly, they can make seems to be we try to fi nd a single excuse as to edented surge in sales of Dubai’s bargain prices and fl ipping them for Arab Emirates, with its young popula- most-exclusive properties. profi ts. Analysts say that will continue tion and low mortality rates, has fared sure you don’t pay too much or too no solutions why we are behind these countries. little. other than For how long will this last? What “Here in Dubai, there’s only one strat- until prices rise too high and returns relatively well during the pandemic. egy: Business as usual,” said Reech, the diminish. The country of over 9 million, which “One of the primary benefits of leaving them wrong did we do as a nation to be small-business ownership is to strate- to time. This behind to this extent? chairman of an eponymous group that How long the craze lasts and what relied heavily on the Chinese state- owns real estate and fi nancial technology awaits the skyscraper-studded city backed Sinopharm vaccine for its in- gically claim write-offs to reduce your is the pattern Is it lack of governmental guid- potential tax exposure,” says Joseph that Kuwait ance, lack of objectives or the companies. The philosophy is simple: then remains unclear. Home prices oculation campaign, has administered “Let’s make sure everyone’s vaccinated are still falling in the middle tiers of 10.6 million vaccine doses. Gutierrez, a certified public accountant has been trend of letting each department with the Tax Group Center . “This can practicing for in the government do as it wishes? and keep everything open.” the city’s saturated property market, A global fi nancial center known as Al-Harami “Of course that attracts people like which has seen values drop sharply an oasis in the volatile Middle East, require a sophisticated understanding more than ten The ministers know they cannot of the tax code and the percentages and years. It has been ignoring important last for more than two years due me,” he said. since peaks reached seven years ago Dubai long has benefi tted from capital As vaccines roll out unevenly world- due to overbuilding. Average resi- type of deductions other businesses of matters that touch our basic daily to which their priority becomes fl ight. Homeowners on the Palm Ju- similar stature claim.” lives, eventually leading to the col- meeting the needs and require- wide and waves of infections force coun- dence sale prices in the Burj Khalifa, meirah - which saw 43% of all April tries to extend restrictions, foreign buy- the world’s tallest building, collapsed Additional considerations lapse of our infrastructure. ments of their relatives, friends transactions - include Afghan warlords Did you start freelancing? We are trying to compare our and members of the parliament. ers fl ush with cash have fl ooded Dubai’s to $400 per square foot this month and the political elite from countries high-end property market, one of the few from $1,300 in 2013. If you started a side hustle or turned country’s performance to that of our Lack of coordinated objectives like Nigeria, Syria and Lebanon, all to freelancing full time, “every dol- Gulf neighbors and our partners in in our government led us to be- places in the world where they can dine, “The market is going through a searching for a safe place to park their shop and do business in person. They’re boom time ... but people are very lar you earn is taxable,” says Lawron the Arab council. Such examples come as we are now - lost in every savings. DeLisser, a CPA and business coach. are live and occurring currently in fi eld and unable to compete and be snapping up record numbers of luxury aware that Dubai can run too quickly Now, a big share of wealthy buyers villas and penthouses, sending prices and it all falls apart,” said Jackie Johns, “Yes, even if you make less than other GCC countries, which are Qa- like the rest of the GCC countries. on this man-made archipelago, popularly $600.” tar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, In fact, we are far behind them. rocketing in this boom-and-bust market. partner at Premier Estates, an affi liate known as the Palm, and in other exclu- Sales of Dubai’s upscale proper- of Christie’s International Real Estate, That’s because the IRS considers Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Lastly, we must highlight the sive villa communities in Dubai come you a small business. And small-busi- Let us take education as an ex- mess we put ourselves in regard- ties, once slow, soared 230% in the referring to the debt-driven crisis that from Europe, India, China and Russia, fi rst quarter of 2021, compared to the brought the city to its knees in 2008. ness owners need to pay income taxes ample. In the Davos Quality of ing the reward for the frontline seeking a better quality of life as the pan- and self-employment taxes. (When Education Index for 2021, the top workers and the way to reward same period last year. Prices in some The hot streak in the luxury mar- demic rages. In March, the Palm logged top-end areas rose as much as 40%, ac- ket isn’t unique to Dubai, as ultra-low you work a W-2 job, your employer four countries in the Arab world them. its second-highest residential sale ever automatically withholds these taxes.) are Qatar, the United Arab Emir- In this regard, the government has cording to Property Finder, the coun- interest rates and families’ desire for when a Swiss family bought a waterfront try’s largest real-estate website. more space has seen the wealthy in cit- Plan on paying around 30% of any in- ates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. put itself in a real mess. It is reward- mansion for $30.2 million. Last month, come earned after you’ve deducted any Kuwait is ranked eighth after ing more than 200,000 employees an unidentifi ed European family bought applicable business expenses. The IRS Egypt, Mauritania, and Algeria. with about KD 500,000 million or the city’s third-most expensive home requires you to estimate these taxes and Our schools are still closed, and half a billion dinars at a time when ever for $28.6 million. pay them quarterly. You’ll be hit with in- there is no sign or indication from we are running short of cash. Can Plentiful vaccines underpin that de- terest and penalties if you don’t. the government about the opening anyone imagine such a huge amount mand. Although questions surround Did you receive a loan through the dates. On the other hand, the schools of cash when we are short of it and the effi cacy of the Sinopharm shot, paycheck protection program? in our neighboring countries are have to borrow from outside? Dubai offers other options, including The IRS rules regarding PPP loans open and running as usual. Both par- The government just did not Pfi zer-BioNtech and Oxford-Astra- were a bit fuzzy, but came into focus ents and pupils seem lost, while the know what to do and left the issue zeneca. To get a jab, all one needs is a late last year. The more important government is not offering any com- of rewarding the frontline workers residence visa - which the city already things to know are: munication or direction. to each minister to do as they wish. extends to high-end property buyers • Forgiven PPP loans do not count as The other issue in which we are Here is our fault ... there is and investors. taxable income. behind is not knowing yet how to simply no clear objective and no Reech, who plans to buy land in Dubai • Business expenses paid with a PPP handle the COVID-19 crisis other defi nite fi gure in terms of the total to build his dream home, booked a Pfi zer loan are deductible, even if the loan is than imposing curfew and increas- amount of the reward. appointment immediately after he re- forgiven. ing its hours. There is no sign of Our government wants to survive ceived his residency. In the U.K., he said, These rules apply to federal taxes, any improvements in the number and does not care what it takes, even he’d have to wait another four months. but some states deviate from the tax of COVID-19 cases which is al- if we rank at the bottom in every New initiatives to lure affl uent for- code on this issue. most constant on a daily basis. fi eld and for years to come... as long eigners include remote work visas, Florida, for example, considers for- Daily statistics are being an- as it survives year after year. retirement visas and long-term, re- given PPP loans taxable income for nounced but without a single com- ❑ ❑ ❑ newable “golden” visas. In an unprec- state taxes. And California does not ment about when the curfew will be edented move, authorities are even allow businesses to deduct expenses lifted. So we all have no choice but to email: [email protected] Sales people from two major real estate developers wait for customers at offering Emirati citizenship to a select paid with forgiven PPP loans on their their shopping mall stands, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 5. (AP) group of foreigners. state taxes. (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 BUSINESS 9

China propels BMW to strong profits, Germany lags

Booming sales in China helped propel German was the company’s home market in Germany, cars that have been leased to customers. In this file luxury carmaker BMW to stronger profits in the first where sales dropped 5%. The earnings un- BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said that the quarter photo, visitors three months of the year even as its home market derscored the German auto industry’s strong showed “our business model is a successful gather near Germany trailed the ongoing recovery in global car connections with China; competitor Volkswa- one, even in times of crisis.” He said the com- a BMW M8 markets from the worst of the pandemic shutdowns. gen said Wednesday that it recorded a 61% in- pany’s focus is on developing digitally connect- model on BMW said that its sales in China nearly dou- crease in first-quarter unit sales there, helping ed, electric cars. The company more than dou- display at the bled in the quarter to 230,120 vehicles, partly it sharply increase profits. bled its sales of battery and electric vehicles in Auto China reflecting the shutdowns in early 2020 as China The company said higher sales volume the quarter over the year earlier, to 70,200. 2020 show in was hit first by the pandemic. Sales in the over- across key global markets as they rebound Zipse said that the fall in sales in Germany Beijing, China. all Asia region however exceeded even pre- from the pandemic recession was accompa- was less than that for the total market, mean- (AP) pandemic levels. nied by improved prices. Earnings were also ing market share had increased, and said that Sales were up by double-digit percentages in supported by better used car prices in the US, sales in April, the first month of the new quarter, most of Europe and in the US. An exception which increases revenues from the sales of had been “significantly better.” (AP)

Central bank voices optimism on recovery Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold

LONDON, May 8, (AP): The Bank of Eng- and keep unemployment higher than it oth- land has kept interest rates on hold as it erwise would have been. forecast the fastest annual pace of growth “Let’s not get carried away,” he told re- for the British economy since early on in porters in a conference call. “It still means World War II, largely as a result of the rapid that two years of output growth have been US job growth slows sharply rollout of coronavirus vaccines. lost to date.” In a prepared statement Thursday, the If pre-pandemic trends persisted, that nine-member Monetary Policy Committee would equate to around 3% of output lost said it will maintain the bank’s main inter- during the pandemic. est rate at 0.1%. The unanimous and widely “So there will still be a big gap between anticipated decision means that interest where the economy is and where it should in a sign of hiring ‘struggles’ rates will remain at the lowest level in the be at that point,” said Luke Bartholomew, bank’s 327-year history. senior economist at Aberdeen Standard In- Alongside its decision, the bank’s rate- vestments. setting panel said growth is likely to be “It is this gap that will keep monetary greater than it previously thought as lock- policy very accommodative over the next Optimism about economic recovery growing down restrictions ease, vaccinations grow few years even as the economy posts common, and people feeling more at ease some extremely strong growth numbers, begin to ramp up spending. and inflation picks-up somewhat in the WASHINGTON, May The bank is now projecting U.K. eco- short run.” 8, (AP): The recovery of nomic growth of 7.25% in 2021, up from Though few expect the bank to raise in- its previous forecast of 5%. That would be terest rates anytime soon, it signaled Thurs- America’s job market the greatest economic rebound since 1941 day that it is willing to ease its quantitative hit a pause last month as when the U.K. was on a war footing, ac- easing program by slowing the rate of its many businesses - from cording to Bank of England statistics that monthly bond purchases, though the total date back to 1700. remains unchanged. restaurants and hotels Because it anticipates growth being The bank’s brighter outlook comes to factories and con- brought forward, it has revised down its despite a tough winter period when lock- struction companies - forecasts for next year. It is now expects down restrictions were reimposed in the 5.75% growth in 2022, instead of the 7.25% face of a particularly acute second wave struggled to find enough previously predicted. of the virus. workers to catch up with If growth returns as quickly as the central Though the U.K. had Europe’s high- a rapidly strengthening bank expects, the British economy should est virus-related death toll at more than make up all the ground lost during the pan- 127,500, new cases are now at their low- economic rebound. demic by the end of this year. est levels since last summer and the vaccine Employers added just 266,000 Bailey cautioned against euphoria, not- rollout has been lauded. By Wednesday, jobs in April, sharply lower than ing that the pandemic will still leave a around 52% of the British population had in March and far fewer than long-term “scarring” effect on the British received at least one dose of vaccine with economists had expected. With economy that will stretch public finances around a quarter getting two. viral cases declining and states and localities easing restrictions, the recovery from the pandemic recession has been so fast that many businesses have been caught fl at-footed in the face of surging consumer demand. In this file photo, a man walks out of a Marc’s Store in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. With viral cases declining, Last month’s hiring slowdown consumers spending again and more businesses easing restrictions, America’s employers likely delivered appears to reflect a host of factors. another month of robust hiring in April, reinforcing the economy’s steady rebound from the pandemic reces- Nearly 3 million people are reluctant sion. (AP) to look for work because they fear “That’s something that is occurring trying to get it back on track after a travel, entertainment and dining out catching the virus, according to gov- across the economy, in semiconduc- pandemic in which there are a lot of over the past year. Millions of con- ernment surveys. More women also tors to lumber, and we’re seeing a supply bottlenecks is going to be, I sumers have begun spending their dropped out of the workforce last similar crunch in the labor market.” think, a bumpy process,” Yellen told extra cash on restaurant meals, air- month, likely to care for children, Steven Tamasi, CEO of Boston reporters at the White House. line tickets, road trips and new cars after many had returned in the previ- Centerless, which manufactures Some economists note, too, and homes. ous two months. parts for medical device makers and that the $300-a-week federal job- Most economists expect job In addition, construction compa- aerospace companies, said his cli- less benefit, available until Sep- growth to strengthen as more vac- nies and manufacturers, especially ents had estimated in January that tember, has come on top of state cinations are administered and tril- automakers, have been left short it would take nine months to regain payments that average about $320. lions in government aid spreads of parts because of clogged sup- pre-pandemic sales levels. The combined unemployment ben- through the economy. Even if anoth- ply chains and have had to slow “Well, it only took three months,” efits mean that anyone earning less er uptick in COVID-19 cases were production for now. Both sectors he said. “It happened so fast, people than $32,000 a year can poten- to occur, analysts don’t expect most pulled back on hiring in April. And were caught off guard.” tially receive more income from states and cities to reimpose tough some businesses say they believe Tamasi wants to add 10 workers to unemployment aid than from their business restrictions. From month to that a $300-a-week jobless benefit, his staff of about 114, which would previous jobs, according to econo- month, though, the gains in the job paid for by the federal government, give him a larger workforce than he mists at Bank of America. market could prove choppy, as Fri- is discouraging some of the unem- had before the viral outbreak. He Marie M., who asked that her full day’s jobs report suggested. ployed from taking new jobs. is quickly dusting off old contacts name not be used so her comments The job losses by industry sug- Still, companies have added jobs at state labor agencies and commu- wouldn’t affect her job prospects, gest that the economy is starting to for four straight months, the Labor nity colleges. But some candidates said she had been juggling shifts at rotate out of a pandemic economy. Department said Friday, though the disappear after an interview or even two restaurants in Los Angeles in Transportation and warehousing, government lowered its estimate of after accepting a job. To attract more the fall of 2019. Once the pandemic which had hired rapidly in the past job growth for February and March applicants, he is considering raising hit, she lost both jobs. year amid a burst of e-commerce, by a combined 78,000. April’s to- entry-level pay and accelerating pay Last year, she collected around cut 74,000 jobs. Temporary work- tal is far below March’s gain of raises for new workers. $30,000 in unemployment aid - ers, who are often added when 770,000. The drop in hiring suggests that about the same amount she had companies are unsure of the future, The resumption of hiring has en- the Federal Reserve is still months earned working in 2019. In July, dropped by more than 111,000. couraged some Americans to start away from slowing its purchases of she plans to start looking for res- By contrast, restaurants, hotels, looking for jobs, which means they Treasurys and other bonds, which taurant work again. This time, she and entertainment venues - busi- are newly counted as unemployed if are intended to keep long-term inter- feels more confident that she’ll get nesses that have complained the they don’t immediately find work. est rates low. Chair Jerome Powell the hours she needs. Restaurants are loudest about a shortage of workers This is what happened in April, has said that it would take “a string” already reaching out to her about - added 331,000 jobs in April, even when the unemployment rate ticked of reports like the one for March to jobs, so she can afford to be more more than their 206,000 increase in up from 6% to 6.1%. show that the economy was on track selective. March. Employers are now posting far for a full recovery. Fed officials “Unemployment benefits have But other industries that are also more jobs than they did before the have signaled that they don’t intend been like collective bargaining,” she facing worker shortages cut back. pandemic, and “help wanted” signs to raise their short-term benchmark said. “They made a union out of all Construction companies added no dot many restaurant windows. Other rate until after 2023. of us.” jobs in April after having added telltale signs of labor shortages have On Friday, the prospect of ongo- On Friday, the U.S. Chamber of 97,000 in March. Manufacturing emerged as well: Average hourly ing Fed stimulus helped fuel a stock Commerce responded to the April lost 18,000 positions after hiring pay rose 0.7% in April to $30.17, market rally, with the S&P 500 and jobs report by calling for an end to 54,000 the previous month. which the government said suggests Dow Jones Industrial Average both the $300-a-week federal unemploy- As Americans release pent-up that the fast reopening of the econo- closing at record highs. ment supplement, saying it was giv- demand for entertainment, business my “may have put upward pressure At a news conference, Treasury ing some recipients less incentive to is soaring at amusement parks and on wages.” The average workweek Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned look for work. other venues. On Tuesday, at the also rose, evidence that companies that a swift recovery from an event Still, optimism about the eco- Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, are asking their employees to work as catastrophic as a pandemic isn’t nomic recovery is growing. Many Virginia, customers for the indoor more. likely to be free of disruptions. She Americans are flush with cash after water park and hotel were plentiful. “Demand is outpacing supply,” cited shortages of lumber, computer having received $1,400 federal re- Yet job-seekers for the company’s said Daniel Zhao, senior economist chips and other goods. lief checks, along with savings they hiring open house were relatively at Glassdoor, a job listings website. “Starting up an economy again, have built up after cutting back on scarce.

Aid still available through SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Small business relief program runs out of money

NEW YORK, May 8, (AP): The government’s ness if the money is used for payroll and other es- banking system,” said John Arensmeyer, CEO key COVID-19 relief program for small business- sentials. of Small Business Majority, an advocacy group. es has run out of money. But, while the PPP helped save many compa- Congress should consider more grants to help The Small Business Administration said nies devastated by the pandemic, the Biden ad- companies still struggling due to the pandemic, Wednesday that the Paycheck Protection Program ministration has estimated that more than 400,000 he said. has been exhausted. As of Sunday, the PPP had U.S. businesses have permanently closed due to Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Busi- given out nearly 10.8 million loans worth more the virus. ness & Entrepreneur Council, said she was “get- than $780 billion since April of last year. More aid is still available to small businesses ting a sense from conversations on Capitol Hill The program, which has run out of cash and re- through SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans, that PPP has run its course.” She said private- funded by Congress twice before, was scheduled and restaurants with no more than 20 locations sector investment and lending is needed to help to expire May 31. It’s not yet known if lawmakers can apply for grants through the Restaurant Revi- small businesses recover, and to help new com- will approve another round of funding. talization Fund that began accepting applications panies launch. The SBA said in a statement it will still fund on Monday. Help is also available to owners of The PPP was also criticized because it imposed applications that have been approved. New ap- theaters and other entertainment companies under restrictions on sole proprietors without employ- plications made through Community Financial the Shuttered Venues Operator Grants. ees. For example, they could not apply for loans Institutions, which are financial lenders that serve The PPP has been criticized because many very until a week after the program began on April 4, underserved communities, would also be funded. small companies, including those owned by mi- 2020. Many also found it difficult to meet the pa- More than half the loans and nearly a third of norities, struggled to have their applications ac- perwork requirements for loans. the loan money were distributed this year. The cepted by banks. Many of these companies had Keith Hall, president of the advocacy group average loan size was $46,000, less than half the to wait weeks or months until community banks, National Association for the Self-Employed, said $101,000 average loan in 2020. That is a sign that credit unions and online lenders were added to the any companies whose applications were delayed smaller companies unable to get loans last year SBA’s roster of financial institutions. because of restrictions should still get their loans, were now getting funding. Companies have been “The program was always fundamentally even if it means Congress needs to allocate more drawn to the loans because they promised forgive- flawed as it was based on an unequal traditional funds to the PPP. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 BUSINESS 10

Zynga enters deal to acquire Chartboost

Zynga Inc, a global leader in interactive entertain- Zynga’s game portfolio and Chartboost’s advertis- could not be more excited to welcome their talented boost. “Together, we share a vision of the future ment, announced it has entered into a defi nitive ing partners. team to our company,” said Frank Gibeau, Chief where a combined advertising, analytics and con- agreement to acquire Chartboost, a leading mo- Chartboost is a unifi ed advertising platform that Executive Offi cer of Zynga. “By combining Zynga’s tent platform will accelerate growth across both of bile programmatic advertising and monetization includes a Demand Side Platform (DSP) as well as high-quality games portfolio and fi rst-party data our companies. Zynga already feels like family and platform. Along with its talented team, Chartboost Supply Side Platform (SSP) and mediation capabili- with Chartboost’s proven advertising and monetiza- an extension of our own company culture.” brings a global audience of more than 700 million ties delivered through an SDK solution.By leveraging tion platform, we will create a new level of audience Zynga will acquire 100% of Chartboost for approxi- monthly users and more than 90 billion monthly advanced machine learning and data science capa- scale and meaningfully enhance our competitive mately $250 million in cash. The fi nal upfront trans- advertising auctions. Together, Zynga and Chart- bilities, Chartboost brings together premium inven- advantage in the mobile ecosystem.” action consideration will also include customary clos- boost possess all the elements of a complete, next tory, global scale and audience-based targeting to “We are thrilled to join with Zynga to further build ing adjustments and is expected to close in the third generation platform: high-quality content, direct optimize programmatic advertising and yields. and expand our full stack advertising platform that quarter of 2021. UBS Investment Bank acted as the player relationships, massive reach and full-stack “Chartboost is one of the most dynamic moneti- will serve Zynga and the entire mobile ecosystem,” exclusive fi nancial advisor and Orrick served as legal advertising technology that can be applied across zation and discovery platforms in mobile, and we said Rich Izzo, Chief Executive Offi cer of Chart- advisor to Zynga in this transaction. (Agencies) Stocks rally after data undercuts rates S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average record fresh highs

NEW YORK, May 8, (AP): Federal Reserve will raise rates soon. Now they see just a 7% chance of an Stocks rallied to more re- increase in the federal funds rate by the cords on Wall Street Friday end of the year, down from the 15% as a stunningly disappoint- probability they were seeing a month ago, according to CME Group. ing report on the nation’s The April jobs data also decreases job market signaled to in- the likelihood that the consumer price vestors that interest rates index will have much impact on the Fed’s interest rate policy, even if the will likely stay low. report shows a strong pickup in infl a- The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, topping tion, as economists expect, said Jay the previous all-time high set last Hatfi eld, CEO of InfraCap Funds. month. The Dow Jones Industrial “We were pretty nervous about this Average set a record high for the report and the infl ation report next third straight day. week,” he said. “The Fed is probably Technology companies account- on hold through the end of the sum- ed for a big share of the broad rally, mer, and that’s extremely bullish.” which included solid gains by stocks Stocks that have benefi ted most in the energy, industrial, and consumer from low rates, including high-growth discretionary sectors. The gains helped tech companies, helped lead the mar- the S&P 500 notch its eighth weekly ket on Friday. Microsoft rose 1.1%, gain in the last 10 weeks. and Nvidia gained 2% as the tech sec- Voices up and down Wall Street tor alone accounted for more than 25% acknowledged that Friday morning’s of the S&P 500’s gain. jobs report was a massive disappoint- Strong earnings reports also helped ment. It’s usually the market’s most to boost the market, as companies con- anticipated economic data of each tinue to turn in blockbuster growth for month, and it showed employers added the fi rst three months of the year. just 266,000 jobs in April. That was far Expedia rose 5.2% after reporting a fewer than the 975,000 jobs that econ- loss for the fi rst quarter that wasn’t as omists expected and a steep slowdown bad as Wall Street expected, and it had from March’s hiring pace of 770,000. better revenue than forecast. “It was a bit of a shock when that While the sharp slowdown in hiring headline number hit, but you realize could calm infl ation fears, one meas- most of, if not all of it, is the result not ure in the jobs report also showed that necessarily of demand, but supply,” wages rose more than economists ex- said Peter Essele, head of portfolio pected last month. management for Commonwealth Fi- In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders Gregory Rowe, (center), and Robert Charmak, (right), confer on the trading fl oor, Friday, In European stock markets, France’s nancial Network. ”There seems to be a May 7, 2021. Stocks rallies to records on Wall Street Friday despite a stunningly disappointing report on the nation’s job market, as investors see it helping CAC 40 rose 0.5%, while Germany’s bit of a labor shortage at the moment.” to keep interest rates low. (AP) DAX returned 1.3%. The FTSE 100 in The weak report jolted the bond to put too much emphasis on just one The S&P 500 index rose 30.98 bump. The Russell 2000 index outgained economy could lead to higher, persis- London gained 0.8%. market and initially sent yields tum- month of discouraging data. They points to 4,232.60, its third straight the major stock indexes, climbing 30.21 tent infl ation and force the Federal Re- In Asia, stocks in Shanghai fell 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bling. The yield on the 10-year Treas- still expect the economy to strength- gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Av- points, or 1.4%, to 2,271.63. serve to raise rates. The central bank ury briefl y dropped below 1.49%, slipped 0.1%. toward its lowest level in two months en mightily as coronavirus vaccina- erage gained 229.23 points, or 0.7%, Low rates have been a huge reason has been holding short-term rates at a China reported its trade with the before recovering. By the market’s tions roll out. The weak jobs number to 34,777.76. The Nasdaq composite for the stock market’s recovery from record low and buying $120 billion in United States and the rest of the world close it was unchanged from 1.56% also bolsters the case for the Federal picked up 119.39 points, or 0.9%, to its pandemic low in March 2020. One bonds every month. surged by double digits in April as late Thursday. Reserve to keep interest rates low in 13,752.24. of the market’s biggest fears in recent After Friday morning’s jobs report, consumer demand recovered, but Many analysts said they don’t want hopes of boosting the jobs market. Small company stocks also got a solid months has been that a supercharged investors pared back bets that the growth appeared to be slowing. Sales rebound in China Volkswagen Q1 profi t jumps to 3.4b euros FRANKFURT, Germany, May 8, (AP): Volkswagen Group’s after-tax profi t rebounded strongly to 3.4 bil- lion euros ($4.1 billion) in the fi rst Peloton expects $165 million three months of the year as sales re- bounded in China, the company’s largest single market, and as custom- drop in revenue from ‘recall’ ers went for the more profi table mod- els in the company’s lineup. Sales of NEW YORK, May 8, (AP): Pelo- Peloton said the $165 million electrifi ed cars more than doubled. ton said Thursday that the recall of hit to its revenue this quarter in- The fi rst-quarter profi t fi gure im- its treadmills will shrink its rev- cludes $105 million in missed proved from 517 million euros in the enue by $165 million in the cur- sales of the treadmills, and $50 same period of 2020, when the pan- rent quarter. The company agreed million that will go to paying full demic caused dealerships and facto- on Wednesday to recall about refunds to those who want to return ries to close. 125,000 of its Tread+ treadmills, the recalled treadmills, which cost Sales revenues in the fi rst quarter of 2021 rose by 13% to 62.3 billion after refusing to do so for weeks $4,200 each. euros, boosted by a strong rebound even though the machine was The company estimates about of 61.4 percent in unit sales as China linked to the death of one child 10% of the recalled treadmills will reopened after being hard-hit by the and the injuries of 29 others. Pelo- be returned between now and the pandemic in the fi rst quarter of 2020. ton also agreed to stop selling the end of June, but said others may The Wolfsburg, Germany-based treadmills. be returned later since people have group raised its outlook for profi t- In a call with Wall Street ana- until November of next year to get ability for the year, saying operating lysts Thursday, CEO John Foley a full refund. returns on sales would reach 5.5% to again apologized for not working Peloton, best known for its sta- 7.0%. The company said it expected with the safety commission soon- tionary bikes, has seen its sales sales to customers would be “signifi - er. He acknowledged that there is explode during the pandemic as cantly up” from the previous year, as- suming successful containment of the work to do to repair Peloton’s im- virus-wary people have avoided COVID-19 pandemic. age. gyms and worked out at home. The outlook was raised despite on- Last month, the US Consum- On Thursday, the company said going shortages of semi-conductors er Product Safety Commission its sales soared 141% to $1.26 from suppliers that cost the company warned people with children and billion in the quarter that ended 100,000 vehicles in lost production in pets to immediately stop using the March 31, compared to the same the fi rst quarter. The shortage would Peloton Tread+ treadmill after a period a year ago. It posted a loss “substantially burden” earnings in the 6-year-old child was pulled under of $8.6 million in the quarter, or 3 second quarter, the company said. the rear of the treadmill and died. cents per share, which was better CEO Herbert Diess said in a con- Injuries to the other children, who than the loss of 11 cents per share ference call with journalists that the were also pulled under the Tread+, that Wall Street analysts expected, company was limiting the impact of included broken bones and cuts. according to Zacks Investment Re- the shortage on earnings by steering scarce semiconductor supplies to ve- The safety commission, which is search. hicles that carry higher per-vehicle still studying the Peloton Tread+ Shares of New York-based profi ts. Semiconductors are electronic treadmill, said it appears that its Peloton Interactive Inc, which are components used for a wide range of design, including the band and its down 45% since the beginning of functions including battery manage- height off the fl oor, made it more the year, rose nearly 6% in after- ment, in-car entertainment and driver dangerous than other brands. hours trading Thursday. (AP) assistance and warning systems. Chief Financial Offi cer Arno Ant- litz said on the call that an expected strong second half would help make up for production lost earlier, saying the company saw “a good chance to recover the vehicles lost in the second half of the year.” The company said Thursday its cash position improved to 29.6 billion euros, money it can use to invest in new technologies and drive its push into electric vehicles and transporta- tion-related services. Sales of electric cars, both battery-only and battery-in- ternal combustion hybrids, more than doubled in the fi rst three months over the previous year period, to 133,000 vehicles. Overall, Volkswagen sold 2.4 million vehicles in the quarter, up 21%. In addition to its namesake brand, This fi le photo shows a Peloton logo on the company’s stationary bicycle Volkswagen Group includes luxury in San Francisco. Peloton is recalling its treadmills after one child died and automakers Porsche and Audi, as well 29 other children suffered from cuts, broken bones and other injuries from as SEAT and Skoda. being pulled under the rear of the treadmill. (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 SCIENCE 11

Space

NASA chief big on climate NASA shares sounds of the Mars chopper CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 8, (AP): First came the amaz- ing pictures, then the video. Now NASA is sharing sounds of its little helicopter humming through the thin Martian air. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California released this fi rst-ever audio Friday, just before Ingenuity made its fi fth test fl ight, a short one-way trip to a new airfi eld. During the fourth fl ight a week earlier, the low hum from the helicopter blades spinning at more than 2,500 revolutions per minute is barely audible. It almost sounds like a low-pitched, faraway mosquito or other fl ying insect. That’s because the 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) helicopter was more than 260 feet (80 meters) from the microphone on the Perseverance rover. The rumbling wind gusts also obscured the chopper’s sound. Scientists isolated the sound of the whirring blades and magnifi ed it, making it easier to hear. Ingenuity - the fi rst powered aircraft to fl y at another planet - arrived at Mars on Feb. 18, clinging to Perseverance’s belly. Its fi rst fl ight was April 19; NASA named the takeoff and landing area Wright Brothers Field in honor of Wilbur and Orrville, who made the world’s fi rst airplane fl ights in 1903. A stamp-size piece of wing fabric from the original Wright Flyer is aboard In- genuity. The $85 million tech demo was sup- Nelson posed to end a few days ago, but NASA extended the mission by at least a month to get more fl ying time. A medical worker collects swab sample from a woman during coronavirus testing at a COVID-19 testing center in Kajang, outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 8. For Friday afternoon’s 108-second test fl ight, the helicopter Kuala Lumpur and a few other cities will be placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO) as the number of COVID-19 cases and clusters continue to rise. (AP) traveled southward in the same direction the rover is heading. Once over its new airfi eld, the chopper soared to twice its pre- vious altitude - 33 feet (10 meters) - took pictures, then landed. The two airfi elds are 423 feet (129 meters) apart. With the helicopter’s fi rst phase complete, the rover can Coronavirus now start hunting for rocks that might contain signs of past microscopic life. Core samples will be collected for eventual return to Earth. Diversifying Countries wrestle with new COVID surges Meanwhile, NASA’s new administrator is big on tackling climate and diversifying the agency’s workforce, but hedging on whether the US can put astronauts on the moon by 2024. In his fi rst interview since becoming NASA’s top offi cial India’s disaster hangs over nations this week, former Sen. Bill Nelson told The Associated Press on Friday that tracking climate change is a top issue. He also SOHAG, Egypt, May 8, (AP): Coun- wants to diversify the space agency’s workforce so it refl ects tries worldwide wrestling with new America. coronavirus surges are trying to ensure India’s virus surge hits southern His underlying vision for NASA: “to explore the heavens they aren’t hit by an India-style disas- with humans and machines.” ter. They face many of the same risks, For landing astronauts on the moon, Nelson said the goal including large populations that have states, prompts more lockdowns remains 2024, a deadline set by the Trump administration. But shirked restrictions and fragile health systems shaken under the strain. he said he needs more time to review the matter, especially BENGALURU, India, May 8, million confirmed infections and with challenges to the contract for the astronauts’ lunar lander. In a province along the Nile in (AP): Two southern states in In- nearly 240,000 deaths. Experts say “That is the intended schedule, but I think we have to put a southern Egypt, hospitals have been dia became the latest to declare even those dramatic tolls are un- dose of sobering reality into our analysis,” he said from NASA fl ooded with COVID-19 patients, a lockdowns, as coronavirus cases dercounts. headquarters in Washington. main hot spot in a third spike swelling surge at breakneck speed across One doctor in Bengaluru said In this Jan 19, 2021 file photo, a medi- across the country. Doctors in Sohag the country and pressure mounts he’s had to reject patients “left, The lunar expeditions will benefit the Martian crews, ac- cal worker poses with a vial of the cording to Nelson. Whether the 2030s is still feasible for province warn the health system there on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right and center” as his hospital Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine in could collapse, even as the government government to implement a nation- struggled to find more oxygen. human Mars missions, “all of that is being discussed,” he Belgrade, Serbia. The World Health said. rushes in new supplies. wide shutdown. “The problem is the demand is Organization has approved the Sino- At over 300,000, Karnataka’s so high that we need constant oxy- Nelson commended Elon Musk’s SpaceX for its achieve- pharm Covid-19 vaccine for emer- “My estimate is that there is no fam- ily in Sohag that does not have a co- capital of Bengaluru has the high- gen,” said Dr. Sanjay Gururaj, the ments over the past year - flying astronauts to and from gency use, the first Chinese jab to est active caseload of any Indian medical director at Shanti Hospital the International Space Station for NASA, and just this receive the WHO’s green light. WHO rona case,” said Dr. Mahmoud Fahmy Mansour, head of the province’s doc- city. But experts warn the worst is and Research Center. The hospi- week successfully launching and landing a full-scale Star- said that the Sinopharm vaccine does still ahead as India’s third-largest tal is sending a truck twice a day ship prototype for the first time. Starship is what NASA not require complicated storage con- tors’ union. “We lost fi ve physicians in one week.” city buckles under oxygen shortag- to oxygen plants on the outskirts of intends to use to land astronauts on the moon; that $3 bil- ditions, which makes it very suitable es, overrun hospitals and crowded the city to bring back 12 jumbo oxy- lion contract, however, is being protested by the two losing in low-resource areas designated for He said a scenario like India was a possibility, but “God willing, it is a crematoriums. In Tamil Nadu state, gen cylinders. “In normal times, this companies. storage under specific temperature the lockdown announcement fol- would have lasted over two weeks He’s also in support of all the private fl ights coming up, fi rst conditions. (AP) very far possibility.” lowed a daily record of more than - now, it lasts just over a day,” he by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to the fringes of space in July and Long reluctant to impose new 26,000 cases on Friday. added. then by SpaceX all the way to orbit in September. lockdowns, Egypt’s government an- Infections have swelled in India The state’s oxygen short- Might the 78-year-old Nelson - who fl ew on space shuttle nounced its strictest restrictions in since February in a disastrous turn ages prompted the high court on months on Wednesday. It ordered Columbia in 1986 - be interested in a commercial space ride? Discovery blamed on more contagious vari- Wednesday to order the federal cafés, restaurants, stores and malls to ants as well as government deci- government to increase the daily “I double-dare them to offer me the opportunity,” he said, close at 9 p.m. and banned large gath- laughing. He quickly clarified, “It’s time for the young sions to allow massive crowds to liquid medical oxygen supplied to erings for two weeks, as well as shut- gather for religious festivals and Karnataka. The ruling came after ones.” Amazon deforestation up: Prelimi- ting down beaches and parks during political rallies. 24 virus patients died in a govern- But he noted: “I’m still doing my pushups and I’m still do- nary data released Friday signaled de- On Saturday, India reported ment hospital on Monday. It’s un- forestation of Brazil’s Amazon in April the upcoming Eid el-Fitr holiday at the ing my pullups and I’m still jogging - so don’t tempt me.” end of the holy month of Ramadan. 401,078 confirmed cases, includ- clear how many of them died due Recommended was the highest for that month in at least ing a record high of 4,187 deaths. to the lack of oxygen, but an inves- Nelson said he did not seek the NASA administrator job, fi ve years, a report that comes two weeks Infections Overall, India has more than 21.8 tigation is ongoing. and had recommended three women. He said he told the Biden after Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said his government would dedicate more Egypt isn’t alone in seeing mount- administration he would accept the nomination only if one of ing new infections. Worldwide, more the women could serve as his deputy. Selected for the job: for- energy and resources toward curbing de- forestation. cases have been reported in the past Bulut, secretary-general of the inde- paid ward.” mer space shuttle commander Pam Melroy. two weeks than in the entire fi rst six Nelson is NASA’s 14th administrator, the third to fl y in Deforestation rose 43% over the same pendent Turkish Medical Association. After two weeks in isolation at a month in 2020, to 581 square kilom- months of the pandemic, World Health In Egypt, average daily new cases hospital, Abdullah died last week. space. He was sworn in Monday by Vice President Kamala eters (224 square miles), according to the Organization director general Tedros Harris, who will head the National Space Council. In a show have doubled since early February The Health Ministry has beefed government’s Deter monitoring system, Adhanom said. to just over 1,000 a day and continue up facilities in the province, sending of bipartisan space support, the two previous administrators which provides daily deforestation alerts India and Brazil accounted for a took part in the ceremony, representing the Obama and Trump to rise, compared to earlier peaks of oxygen generators and ventilators and based on satellite images. large part of that, “but there are many 1,400 to 1,600 a day last summer and increasing the number of ICUs. It de- administrations. At the US-led climate summit on April other countries all over the world that Nelson steps into NASA’s top job after 44 years of public 22, Bolsonaro shifted his tone on Amazon in December, according to offi cial ployed more physicians and doubled face a very fragile situation,” he said. numbers. medical teams to follow up with those service, 42 of them in an elected public offi ce. preservation and exhibited willingness to “What is happening in India and Brazil Nelson grew up near Cape Canaveral, graduating from high step up commitment, even though many The scope of the pandemic has been isolated at home. Two vaccination could happen elsewhere unless we all diffi cult to judge in the country of 100 centers have been set up and more are school a year before Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became critics remain doubtful of his credibility. take these public health precautions.” the fi rst American in space 60 years ago this week. He also said Brazil requires outside funds million, most of whom live in densely planned, and 100 teams mobilized to India has been hit by a catastrophic packed cities along the Nile. Offi cial raise awareness. His paternal grandparents were homesteaders on what is to curb deforestation of the world’s larg- surge of COVID-19 infections after its est tropical rainforest. The Health Ministry listed Sohag now Kennedy Space Center property. He has a copy of the prime minister boasted of vanquishing fi gures report 234,015 cases, includ- deed signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917. The 160 His environment minister this year ing 13,714 dead - considered a signifi - among fi ve hot spots in the country -- began talks with offi cials from the ad- the pandemic and following multiple acres were located at the north end of the runway used for shut- massive crowding events. New cases cant undercount like elsewhere in the including Cairo, a metropolis of some tle landings. ministration of US President Joe Biden, world. 20 million people. who has directly called on Brazil to take and deaths skyrocketed nearly 30-fold Nelson went to law school and served in the U.S. Army Re- during March and April. The health Health offi cials attribute the new serve during the Vietnam War. After a few terms in the Florida stronger action. Offi cials and activists are Desperate spike to widespread ignoring of pre- watching closely for signs whether Bol- system has been overwhelmed, leav- legislature, Nelson, a Democrat, won election to Congress, ing patients desperate for oxygen and In Sohag province, health work- cautions. Throughout Egypt, mask sonaro’s shift in tone amounts to more ers have grown desperate. One doctor fi rst in the House and then the Senate, before a 2018 defeat than empty promises. other supplies. wearing and social distancing are rare. ended his political career. Bolsonaro has previously exalted the Wealthier nations, as they immu- who chairs a major hospital there said Some cafes still serve waterpipes, It was while Nelson was a congressman that he rode on the need to tap the Amazon’s resources, cast nize more of their populations, are the real fi gures are likely 10 times the shared among customers, despite gov- shuttle - just two weeks before Challenger’s astronauts per- aspersions on environmental activists fi nding room to open up. But coun- Health Ministry rate of 400-450 new ernment bans. Wedding parties and ished during liftoff. who defend the rainforest and snarled at tries where vaccination has been slow cases a week. funerals still take place, and people Following the shuttles’ retirement in 2011, NASA had to European leaders who decried its destruc- or minimal face grimmer prospects. “The ministry is like an ostrich crowd into marketplaces. rely on Russia to ferry its astronauts to and from the space sta- tion. In the 12 months through mid-2020, They must grapple with whether to burying its head in the sand,” he said, In Islamic Cairo, the capital’s his- tion - until the fi rst SpaceX crew fl ight last year. deforestation reached its worst level in lock down to thwart new surges and speaking on condition of anonymity toric center, families go to commu- “Despite the differences of the political governments, we’ve more than a decade. (AP) risk damaging their economies - all for fear of reprisals. nal prayers during the holy month of always had that space cooperation,” Nelson said. “And it is my ❑ ❑ ❑ with the possibility of an India-style Mustafa Salem, a Sohag lawmaker, Ramadan. Tens of thousands gather fervent hope that that will continue.” said he has received dozens of calls at night in the bazaar’s narrow streets, 826 turtles rescued: They’re lean, tragedy looming. from people desperate to fi nd ventila- Also: they’re mean and they’re green. Teenage In Turkey, new cases surged nearly shopping or sitting in cafes. Few wear Mutant Ninja turtles? Not exactly, but six-fold from the beginning of March, tors or intensive care unit beds. face masks. LONG BEACH, Calif.: Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch com- hundreds of diamondback terrapin hatch- reaching a peak of more than 60,000 a When Ismail Abdallah fell ill last Hajah Fatima, 57, came from the pany founded by Richard Branson, is targeting June for its lings have been rescued from subterra- day. The government imposed a three- month, his family rushed him to a clin- southern province of Beni Sueif with next mission. nean storm drains along the Jersey Shore. week national lockdown on April 29 ic, where without being tested he was her family and had “iftar,” the meal The Long Beach, California-based company, which con- According to a Stockton University Fa- but exempted many sectors, allowing told it was pneumonia. ending the daytime fast, in a café next ducted its fi rst successful launch last January, said last Thurs- cebook post, the turtles were hiding from millions to keep going to work. Two days later, the 50-year-old to the revered Al-Hussein Shrine. day it will launch satellites into orbit for the US Defense the cold temperatures over the winter and Numbers have fallen, but medical farmer and father of seven had trouble “It’s a custom,” she said. “Corona? Department, the Netherlands’ air force and Poland’s SatRevo- surviving off yolk sacks in drains in Mar- experts are calling for a 28-day full breathing. At the hospital, he was con- Nothing will happen to us except what lution. gate, Ventnor and Ocean City. closure of all non-essential services, fi rmed with COVID-19, and his fam- God has decreed.” The Defense Department payloads are small satellites called Volunteers who rescued 826 of the ani- while only some 10 million of its more ily scrambled to fi nd a bed in packed So far, more than 1 million people, CubeSats. The launch was awarded to Virgin under a program mals turned them over to Stockton Uni- than 80 million people have been fully ICUs. or just 1% of Egypt’s population, intended speed up use of commercial technology by the US versity’s “Head Start” program, where vaccinated. “There were no available beds in the have been vaccinated, Prime Minis- military. staff will care for and rehabilitate the “These restrictions were not the re- free ward,” said a relative, Amr Mah- ter Mustafa Madbouly said Wednes- The Netherlands’ payload is also a CubeSat and is that na- creatures for about a year before placing strictions we called for,” said Vedat rous. “We struggled to fi nd a bed in the day. tion’s fi rst military satellite. them back in the wild, NJ Advance Media Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket will also carry the fi rst reported. two optical satellites for a 14-satellite constellation planned by There are 1,108 terrapins receiving care from the program, which has reached SatRevolution. capacity. Virgin Orbit uses a modifi ed Boeing 747-400 jet to carry If you fi nd a hatchling, Stockton rec- the rocket to high altitude, where it is released from beneath a ommends placing the animal in room- are also discussing contingencies due to said Alok Sharma, who was appointed by wing and its motor is ignited. temperature water up to the shell with a the coronavirus pandemic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to The company reached space for the fi rst time on Jan. 17 on rock it can climb on. Healthy turtles can The global gathering was postponed preside over the summit. its Demo 2 mission, which carried a cluster of small satellites be released at dusk into a tidal creek or last year because of the pandemic, ham- “In fact, last year was the warmest year built as part of a NASA educational program involving US bay area. (AP) pering progress on a range of issues that on record, the last decade was the warmest universities. ❑ ❑ ❑ have divided nations in their effort to curb decade on record, and we’re seen the dev- Virgin Orbit attempted its fi rst demonstration launch in May climate change. The 2021 meeting is set astating effects of climate change around 2020, but a problem caused the rocket to stop thrusting after ‘Talks must be COVID-safe’: The only a brief period of powered fl ight. chair of this year’s UN climate talks said to take place Nov 1-12 in Glasgow, Scot- the world,” he added. “So we are going to Friday that he is planning for a physical land. be proceeding on the basis that this event meeting in November but that organizers “The climate crisis has not abated,” Bolsonaro Johnson is happening in November.” (AP) Entertainment SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 FFeatureseatures suicide byhanging. Testsshowed Michigan 2017 atage52. man beforehisdeathin havior fromtheSoundgardenfront Robert Koblin drug lorazepam,prescribedby cation, especiallytheanti-anxiety Angeles SuperiorCourtthatmedi- to asettlelawsuit. drugs beforehediedhaveagreed they allegedover-prescribedhim the lawsuitfi them Thursday. City NewsServicereportedon they hadgoneunnoticedbefore documents werefi tlement hadbeenreached.The Cornell Toni Vicky Cornell neys fortherocksinger’swidow, Chris Cornell and Recreation.” on theNBCcomedyseries“Parks April Ludgatefrom2009to2015 ema Toast,”whichhecreated. Showtime anthologyseries“Cin- couple. Plaza saidalongsideaphotoofthe italia tocausesomemoretrouble,” up anotherfi husband @jeffbaenafordreaming post. was thesubjectofherInstagram coming “SpinMeRound,”which and isslatedtoappearinhisforth- and 2017’s“TheLittleHours,” fi She hasappearedintwoofhis been acoupleforaboutdecade. gave nodetails. confi in anInstagrampost.Herpublicist for thefi actor calledBaena“myhusband” Jeff Baena friend, directorandscreenwriter has marriedherlongtimeboy- will co-starwithPlaza.(AP) “Spin MeRound”withBaenaand Alison Brie Netfl Plaza, Baenadirectedthe2020 lms, 2014’s“LifeAfterBeth” LOS ANGELES: LOS ANGELES: or depression. tive impactontheirmentalhealth,withincreasedfeelingsofanxiety Fund, saidtoTheAssociatedPress. involved inliveentertainment,”JoeBenincasa,CEOofTheActors forming artistsandentertainmentprofessionals,especiallypeople such asahouseorcar. change housing.Tenpercentofrespondentshadtosellalargeasset, reduced foodsecurity. Riffel —foundthat76%ofrespondentslostincomeand40%reported ship, foodinsecurityandlosthousing. in theartscommunity.ReleasedThursday,itrevealsfi that illustratesthedepthsofneedcreatedbyCOVID-19pandemic no hope.There’sopportunity.” everything shutdown,formyselfandeveryoneelse,there’sreally said. ”It’slikeanebbandfl dried up. needed helpwithrent,utilitiesandcounsellingwhenjobssuddenly for actoranddancerRenaRiffel.TheLosAngeles-basedperformer NEW YORK,May8,(AP):Likesomany,thepandemicupendedlife workers In theshadowofCOVID-19,atollonentertainment Coroner’s investigators in Court documentsfi The Cornellfamilyallegedin In additiontohisfi Plaza isbestknownforplaying She alsoappearsinthenew “So proudofmydarling Plaza, 36,andBaena,43,have The “ParksandRecreation” “For peopleworkinginthegigeconomy,notalwaysknowingwhen A massive79%ofrespondentsreportedthatCOVID-19hadanega- “We seethepandemicashavingalongtailonitsimpactper- Some 28%fellbehindinrentormortgageand20%wereforcedto The surveyof7,163peoplehelpedbytheorganization—including Riffel’s experienceisechoedinanewsurveybyTheActorsFund “Being anartist,wearealreadyveryfragilewithourfi rmed thetwohadmarriedbut ix drama“HorseGirl”with and rst timepubliclyFriday , saidaconfi ❑ Christopher Nicholas ruledCornell’sdeath a . lm thattakesusto , whoalsoco-wrote led in2018Los andadoctorwho , andtheirchildren, ledtoerraticbe- The familyof Aubrey Plaza led inApril,but dential set- lms with led byattor- Detroit ow. Sowhenthepandemichappenedand Dr in

79% ofrespondentssayCOVIDhadanegativeimpactontheirmentalhealth prescribed “dangerous mind- offi his them asafactorinhisdeath. drug naloxone,butdidnotcite barbiturates andtheanti-opioid in Cornell’ssystemalongwith known byitsbrandnameAtivan, the presenceoflorazepam,better The lawsuitsaidKoblinand ce “negligentlyandrepeatedly” chael Koryta’s2014book.)LikeSheridan’sprevi- made byamajorstudio.(Thefi fi anomaly forotherreasons,too.It’sastar-ledgenre May 14openintheatersandonHBOMax,isan Jolie. move forward.” feel it,butalsotopushyoufi aware ofthehumanexperience,togothereand ation andhaveadirectorthatisbothsensitive hadn’t donethisinalongtime.Tobesitu- a partofherthatdidn’tfeelshecoulddolot,and Zoom fromLosAngeles.“Iidentifi anything leftinus,”Joliesaidaninterviewby broken. Andwegrieveandwe’renotsurehave ma andguilt,waspotentiallycathartic. part ofaMontanansmokejumperhauntedbytrau- interested inaquicker,simplerroleonset.Andthe through apainfulandprotracteddivorce,wasmore alongside then-husbandBradPitt. and “BytheSea,”whichshedirectedstarredin performances havebeentwo“Malefi in sixyears.Overthelastdecade,heronlyleading work andfamily,hasn’tstarredinalive-actionfi orities havecenteredonfi ecutives waswarranted.AngelinaJolie,whosepri- You’ll nevergetAngie.’” direct itforyou,”Sheridansays.“Theysaid,‘Great. studio withanoffer. When anotherfi Dead,” graduallygotmoreinvestedinthemovie. T Jolie letsSheridandragherthruhell This imagereleasedbyWarnerBros.EntertainmentshowsAngelinaJolieinascenefrom‘ThoseWhoWishMeDead.’(AP) Beverly Hills,California, lm notbasedonwell-knownintellectual property “ThoseWhoWishMeDead,”whichwillon “It wasreallywhatIneededatthattime,”says “We allhavetimesinourliveswhereweare But Sheridan’stimingwasright.Jolie,going The skepticismonthepartofWarnerBros.ex- “I saidifIcangetAngietodothiswithme,I’ll the mountainthriller“ThoseWhoWishMe aylor Sheridan,initiallybroughtontorewrite Variety lmmaker droppedout,hecalledthe nancial hard- nancial nances,”she By JakeCoyle

‘ThoseWhoWishMeDead,’ataleofbloodandjustice lmmaking, international lmmaking, Film one reasontheratewaslow,aswellFund’strainedcounselors health insuranceandhavenothaditreplaced. lower thananticipated.Only10%ofrespondentsreportedthattheylost pandemic forkeepingthelossofhealthinsurancecoveragesrelatively among allrespondentswas$34,186. conducted byMoreyConsulting.Themedianhouseholdincome nd yourstrengthand lm isbasedon Mi- He saidthemarketplaceprovidedbyAffordableCareActwas Benincasa creditedtheworkdonebyFundinyearsbefore The survey,whichhasamarginoferrorplus/minus1.2%,was arts andentertainmentprofessionalsinthefi said Benincasa.TheFundprovidesanationalsafetynetforperforming they’re goingtoworkagain—thatstresstheimpactistremendous,” going togetbetter.” hopeful. Ithinkthatwasthekeytoitall:Justknowthingsare self asanartistandbeingcreative,”shesaid.“Andjustreallyremain counselling. and offeredworkshopstobroadenherskillsetsuppliedwellness fi 15,000 individuals. from 2019.Itdistributedmorethan$19millionindirectcashtoabout sion, music,opera,radioanddance. lz Cornell Plaza nancial advice,pointedhertomoreschoolingandhowpayforit, “It justreallyhelpedmestayfocusedandcontinuetoworkonmy- The FundhelpedRiffelgetagranttocoverlivingexpenses,gaveher Last year,itservedmorethan40,000individuals,a71%increase ed morewith cent” movies cent” lm accustomed tomakingfi Raider,” performedmanyofherstunts.Sheridan, & Mrs.Smith,”“Salt”and“LaraCroft:Tomb forest andsetitafl from thenaturalenvirons,Sheridanerectedafaux is ongoing.) by acourt.(Acustodybattleovertheirsixchildren month afterJolieandPittwereruledlegallysingle shot inNewMexicoMayandJune2019—a the wildernesswho’sfl Faber encountersa12-year-oldboy(FinnLittle)in tiers. It’sbeenanunexpectedbreakfromdirecting maker drawntofreshtalesonoldAmericanfron- “Nomadland” directorChloéZhao—anotherfi ing. the movie.” side quarantineinOntario.“That’showwemade physical hell,”Sheridansaysfromaremotelake- through emotionalhell,andthenIdrugher recalls theexperienceasmiserable. and lavish,overbudgetcraftservices.Hecheerfully little luxurytoofferbeyondspaceheatersintents Snow wasstillfallinginthemountains.Aside In “ThoseWhoWishMeDead,”Jolie’sHannah Jolie willnextbeseeninMarvel’s“Eternals,”by “And Ilovedeveryminuteofit,”Joliesays,smil- “You know,thecharactersortofdragsAngie that you’llbeabletostreamitorgothetheater.” movie. Thebiggest21stcenturyelementisthefact it likea’70smovie.Theypromoted dio fi unique iswemadethisatastudio.Thisstu- for me,”saysSheridan,chuckling.“Butwhat’s tice acrossavastandviolentAmericanlandscape. dan wroteanddirected),it’sataleofbloodjus- of whichhewrote)and“WindRiver”(whichSheri- ous fi Income “To soundlikeamillennial,it’sveryon-brand lm andtheytrustedustogodothis.Wemade lms -”ToHellorHighWater,”“Sicario”(both history ofsubstance abuse. this knowingCornell hadaserious control, costinghimhislife.” behaviors thathewasunableto engage indangerousimpulsive his judgment,andcausedhimto Mr Cornell’scognition,clouded Chris Cornell altering controlledsubstancesto The lawsuitsaidthe doctordid ame. Jolie,anactionstarin“Mr. Emotional elds offi eeing twoassassins.Itwas lms closetotheland,had whichimpaired lm theater,televi- to staywithit.” help people,”hesaid.AsfortheFund’swork,said:“We’regoing have stagedconcertsandeventstoraisemoneyfortheFund. ing homeinEnglewood,NewJersey.Healsothankedthepeoplewho helping somany,especiallyattheirresidences,whichincludesanurs- that we’llseeanuptick.” mortgage, Ithinkthatcouldhaveaseriousimpactonpeople’slivesand to catchupon,”hesaid. debt. They’vemaxedoutcreditcards.Theyhaverentandmortgages around housing. Fund ispreparingforasurgeinrequestsdirectfi bad numbersarelikelytobegeneratedinthecomingmonths.The community is“onestepclosertothesafereopening”ofBroadway. tors andstagemanagersinlivetheater,saidthenewsmeanttheater Association, thenationallaborunionrepresentingmorethan51,000ac- are expectedtocirclereturndatesinthecomingweeks.Actors’Equity performances Oct.22,withticketsgoingonsaleFriday.Moreshows longest-running show,announcedWednesdaythatitwouldresume theaters canreopenSept.14.“PhantomoftheOpera,”Broadway’s who wereabletofi lm- “We’re proudofthecommunity,howtheysteppeduptohelpus Benincasa creditedhisgroup’ssocialworkersandfront-linestafffor “My senseisthatthefall,whenmoratoriumliftedonrentand “People willbeslowtogetbackontheirfeet.They’veaccumulated But Benincasawarnedthatforthoseintheartscommunity,more New YorkGov.AndrewCuomosaidWednesdaythatBroadway returned. both sideswerenot immediately Thursday nighttoattorneysfor death. or responsibilityforCornell’s attorney deniedanywrongdoing ing tothelawsuit,Koblinandhis “After yearsoflitigation and Emails seekingcommentsent In courtdocumentsrespond- getting intheriver.’”(AP) like, ‘Getintheriver’andshe’dbe‘OK,I’m says Sheridan.“Shewasgame.Itcold.I’dbe lels theemotionaljourneythey’regoingthrough,” appeal toJolie. demands of“ThoseWhoWishMeDead”would it’s easytoseehowthestraightforward,physical be theturningpointwhereweallpulltogether.” some manythingsforsopeople.Orthiscan ously, we’regoingtoseeacompletebreakdownof keep changing,”saysJolie.“Ifwedon’ttakeitseri- and thewaythat’schanging,goingto of thosepeoplearedisplacedbecausetheclimate We’re lookingat80milliondisplacedpeople.Alot foreign aid. tries strugglingfromthepandemicpullbackon global crisisonlyworsening,especiallyascoun- expansion ofUSrefugeeadmissionsbutseesa 2012. SheapplaudsPresidentJoeBiden’srecent Nations HighCommissionerforRefugeessince in mylife.” Jolie. “I’vementallyshiftingintoadifferenttime work. Notquittinganythingbutalotless,”says my timeonthisotherwork.I’llbedoinglessfi tional work,IthinkI’llnowbespending80%of I wasbeforespendinghalfmytimeoninterna- gardless becauseofdifferentfamilyreasons.Butif — andmoviesareadiminishingpriority. 45-year-old Jolie,hasbeenatimeofreevaluation es aregettingslimmer.Thepandemic,saysthe at home,”saysJolie.“It’slessofacommitment.” cide drama“FirstTheyKilledMyFather.” for Jolie,wholasthelmed2017’sCambodiangeno- “I likecharacterswhosephysicaljourneyparal- In jugglingglobalinequityandpersonalturmoil, “In thelastdecade,wesawnumbersdouble. Jolie hasbeenaspecialenvoytotheUnited “I waskindofspendingmoretimeathomere- Yet, ifanything,thechancesofsuchperformanc- “I preferdirectingbutactinggivesmemoretime nd clientsaffordablehealthcare. keep thetermsconfi ment tominimize publicity and the compromisewas theagree- court fi family attorneyssaidintheApril2 to resolveallclaims,”theCornell confi and Defendants...havereacheda settlement negotiations,Plaintiffs The documentsaidessentialto dential settlementagreement ling. nancial assistance dential. (AP) lm ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Television

Hungry for adaptations TV’s growth a boon for ‘diverse voices’

LOS ANGELES, May 8, (AP): Growing up an avid reader, Kwana Jackson knew where to look for ro- mance novels with Black characters: Segregated in the “African American interest” section where only deter- mined shoppers would fi nd them. When Jackson became a published author she saw other ways in which writers of color were obscured, potentially affecting both book sales and the odds their work would catch the entertainment industry’s atten- tion. “That’s why, after 10 novels, I was surprised and thrilled when my agent came to me and said, ‘We’ve had interest in ‘Real Men Knit,’” Jackson said of her 2020 novel about four broth- ers in New York’s Harlem, optioned by a production com- pany for a potential TV series. What she calls a dream come true is a pragmatic re- fl ection of the unprecedented number of TV outlets in need of shows and growing pressure for inclusive fare - a one-two punch creating opportunities for overlooked writers and ig- Jackson nored perspectives. “There’s a huge appetite for diverse voices and for almost forgotten voices,” said Steve Fisher, head of intellectual property and a part- ner at the APA talent agency. While the entertainment industry was born hun- gry for adaptations - a 1908 version of “The Count Glenn Close, nominated for an Oscar for best actress for her role in ‘The Wife,’ poses at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif, on of Monte Cristo” is early proof - today’s benefi ciaries Feb 4, 2019. Close released an album with Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist-composer Ted Nash on Friday. ‘Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Ac include writers of color, those in the LGBTQ com- ceptance, and Evolution,’ is an 11-track spoken word jazz album that tackles heavy topics like race, politics and identity. (AP) munity and women. When Jason Bateman’s fi lm and TV produc- tion company sought the rights to APA client Tess Sharpe’s novel “The Girls I’ve Been,” Fisher met with Film executive Tracey Nyberg, who explained the com- pany’s keen interest: Sharpe represents both a female and LGBTQ point of view “and we want to be part of the vanguard of new voices out there,” Fisher recalled Nyberg saying. ‘The Wife’ actress on 8 Oscar nods with no wins Science fi ction and young-adult author M.K. Eng- land’s debut novel was quickly snapped up. England identifi es as nonbinary and queer, and their characters refl ect varied ethnic and religious backgrounds along with LGBTQ diversity. I am not a loser: Glenn Close Developed NEW YORK, May 8, (AP): Though Globe and Tony Awards. She’s other people, changed by (the pan- England’s space adventure “The Disasters” was op- Glenn Close has been nominated for earned three Grammy nominations demic) and still disturbed by it. I tioned before its late 2018 hard-cover publication and eight Oscars without any wins, the and competed at the Oscars with think we have to really take time is in development for the CW network. While Eng- distinguished actor wants to make the fi lms “The World According to to know that you don’t come out of land knows adaptations differ from source material, one thing clear: she is not a loser. Garp,” “The Big Chill,” “The Natu- something like this easily. You have they will take the win if the series comes to fruition - which, they realistically note, isn’t guaranteed. Close has been nominated for best ral,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous to really pay attention to where you “I just love the work so much, I love the characters actress four times and she competed Liaisons,” “Albert Nobbs,” “The are. It was not easy. I think all of us so much,” England said. “Just the chance of those get- for her fourth best supporting ac- Wife” and “Hillbilly Elegy.” came out with an experience and I ting out to more people means a lot, even though I tress honor at last month’s Academy The actor said a year after being think a lot of stories will come from know they will not be the same versions I wrote.” Awards. When “Minari” star Youn homebound because of the pan- this time,” Close said from Mon- Payment for screen rights is a welcome addition Yuh-jung won the prize, the Los An- demic, she really enjoyed seeing her tana, where she’s been living since to a writer’s income, but “nobody’s getting wealthy geles Times published an article with peers at the socially distanced Acad- late 2019. “I certainly value getting over here,” England said. “All I want is a sustainable the headline, “After 8 Oscar losses, emy Awards. together with other people. I value career. I’m not looking for Scrooge McDuck’ing it.” Rosario Dawson arrives at the Los An- Glenn Close is now tied as the most “It was wonderful. I mean, they community more. I mean, I was Jackson, who said she strives to write stories that por- geles premiere of ‘Krystal’ on April 5, 2018. Dawson turns 42 on May 9. (AP) nominated actor without a win.” It were very strict,” Close said. “We lucky to be near my family through tray Black and other ethnic characters fully, both in con- prompted Emmy winner Sarah Paul- were tested up the wazoo as we had the whole thing.” fl ict and love, believes such depictions on TV have the son to tweet in Close’s defense, “I to be. But I’ll tell you what I loved During the pandemic she was power to chip away at stereotypes and build empathy. wish this conversation would cease. about the Oscars ... you got to talk to able to fi lm “Swan Song” in Canada “We need to change that perception of how we’ve She’s brilliant and continues to have people whose work you had seen and alongside Oscar-winning actor Ma- been shown. We are just like anyone else, with real an extraordinary and enviable career. loved. I got to talk to the wonder- hershala Ali. The Apple TV+ fi lm stories, real love, real joy, real problems,” she said. Nighty night to this click bait convo does not have a release date. Sean Berard, literary manager with the Grandview man- ful Korean woman who won in my agement agency, credits publishers for making the effort to to nowheresville.” category; got to meet Maria (Baka- “If it’s half as beautiful as the ex- fi nd stories that are “coming from authentic places” and for Close, 74, told The Associated lova), who was also in my category, perience of making it, it’s going to bringing deserved attention to their authors. Press said she didn’t see the article the wonderful young actress from be a fantastic movie for people to “We hear from time to time a (rights) scramble for or Paulson’s tweet, but she quickly Bulgaria. see,” she said. responded with: “First of all, I don’t “I noticed when I was up there, a certain project, a certain book, that’s not even pub- Appreciation lished,” Berard said. think I’m a loser.” the whole crew was always like Such fi erce competition was inevitable. Within a “Who in that category is a loser? “And that’s what we need to do. this,” Close added as she put hand year’s time, Netfl ix, Amazon and Hulu were joined by Sponheim Gustavo You’re there, you’re fi ve people You need to be able to mix with your over nose and mouth. “You never new streaming services including Disney+, Apple TV+, honored for the work that you’ve own kind and ... be able to express saw somebody’s whole face. You HBO Max and Peacock, all jockeying for viewers and done by your peers. What’s better your appreciation and how much just saw their eyes. And I as an ac- justifying their subscription fees alongside premium ca- Variety than that?,” she said. “And I honestly you’ve been inspired by them. And tor, I hang on people’s eyes, right. ble channels including HBO and Showtime. feel that the press likes to have win- that meant a lot, I think, to every- So I thought, ‘Oh, the eyes are the Overall demand by the entertainment industry for ners and losers. And then they say, body,” she said. most important thing.’ But when I content has “increased exponentially” in the last few GREAT FALLS, Mont: Patricia Spon- ‘Who is the worst dressed?’ And, One of the last projects Close would go and I’d say, ‘OK, I’m six years, said Michael Cader, founder of the Publish- heim, known as “Piano Pat,” who enter- you know, ‘Who made the worst worked on before the pandemic hit feet away, can I just see your face for ers Marketplace newsletter. Streaming services are tained crowds at a Tiki bar in downtown speech?’ Forget it. It’s not what it’s was a spoken word jazz album with fi ve seconds?’ And it would be a rev- among the neediest outlets, and book-related content Great Falls, Montana, for more than 50 about.” Grammy-winning musician Ted elation every single time.” “often brings a built-in audience and respect,” he said. years, has died. She was 86. Looking directly in the camera, Nash. It was released Friday and re- Most of the time you had no They industry has also become acutely aware of de- Sponheim died Tuesday, according to mands for change, facing organized criticism in the a notice by Schnider Funeral Home. she passionately ended with: “I say, corded in New York City at Jazz at idea what that person really looked form of #OscarsSoWhite and the #MeToo movement, “It is with tremendously sad hearts that (expletive) them!” Lincoln Center. like. And I really feel that we need among others, and within the context of the country’s we tell you that our beloved Piano Pat Close’s illustrious and revered She said she’s fi nally returning to our whole faces. And I’m so happy rising social and political tensions. passed away peacefully last night,” the career includes wins at mostly ever New York this week for the fi rst time that now we can get into a situation Established writers are among the benefi ciaries of Sip ’n Dip Lounge posted Wednesday on major awards show. She is a three- in over a year. where we could see our faces in real the scramble for content, including those whose liter- its Facebook page. “We loved her very, time winner at the Emmy, Golden “I feel, I think like millions of time. That means a lot to me.” ary novels make for a more challenging transfer to the very much. Our hearts are broken. Rest screen. Colson Whitehead, for example, has been “a In Peace beautiful music girl.” Sponheim played organ and sang fabulous writer for decades and now he’s fi nally get- Conservative President Jair Bolson- dent’s handling of the pandemic, which Thales Bretas, and two 1-year-old ting his adaptation,” Cader said. with guests as they drank tropical drinks out of fi sh bowls and watched women aro, who tends to shrug off COVID-19 has killed more than 400,000 Brazilians. children, Romeu and Galel, who were Fantasy dressed as mermaids swimming in a pool deaths and has downplayed the disease, Offi cials now say a more-contagious born in the United States to surrogate through a glass wall behind the bar on tweeted his regret at the death of Gus- variant of the virus is spreading across mothers. (AP) Whitehead’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel the second fl oor of the O’Haire Motor tavo, “who with his talent and charisma the South American nation. ❑ ❑ ❑ “The Underground Railroad” is the African American conquered the affection of all Brazil.” Gustavo’s death at 42 highlighted Inn. LOS ANGELES: Rachel Zoll, who for 17 writer’s inaugural work brought to the screen, the ba- “We’ve got winners and losers, chain- His leftist archrival, former president how the disease is increasingly affecting sis of an Amazon series debuting May 14. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, mourned younger Brazilians. The country is bit- years as religion writer for The Associ- smokers,” she would sing while playing ated Press endeared herself to colleagues, Sci-fi and fantasy author N.K. Jemisin became the Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar.” Gustavo as “a great Brazilian, who cel- terly split between those urging stepped- competitors and sources with her warm fi rst Black writer to win the prestigious Hugo Award “Sweet Caroline,” “Tiny Bubbles” and ebrated our country with so much joy.” up vaccination campaigns and lockdown for best novel, for 2015’s “The Fifth Season,” then Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” were also Brazil’s Senate held a moment of measures and followers of Bolsonaro, heart and world-class reporting skills, Amherst Massachusetts made it three in a row. Jemisin’s work has yet to be favorites. silence in Gustavo’s memory Wednesday who has denounced such restrictions. died Friday in , , adapted, but her “The Inheritance Trilogy” reportedly Sponheim began performing at the Sip before resuming a hearing into the presi- He is survived by his husband, Dr after a three-year bout with brain cancer. was optioned earlier this year. ‘n Dip in 1963 — a year after it opened She was 55. — and entertained generations of locals Zoll covered religion in all its aspects, Despite the signs of change, M.K. England, for one, from the spiritual to the political, and her isn’t ready to sit back and applaud. and tourists. She was one of the reasons GQ magazine in 2003 named the Sip ’n stories reached a global audience. But her “People say, ‘Everything’s fi ne now, we have infl uence was far greater than that. Other achieved equality here, the industry is no longer racist Dip the No. 1 bar on earth worth fl ying for. publications often followed her lead, and or homophobic because, see, we have these things,’” AP staffers around the world depended England said. “It’s just not the case. There’s still lots Sandi Thares, owner and manager of the bar, told the Independent Record she on her generosity and guidance. and lots of work to be done, especially in terms of race “Rachel was one of the most univer- representation and having people of color actually in would remember Sponheim for “how much love she had for us and for every- sally beloved colleagues we had,” said the industry, calling the shots.” one she played for.” AP’s managing editor, Brian Carovil- lano. “She was also one of the best Also: Hundreds of people responded to the Sip ‘n Dip’s Facebook post about Spon- reporters, on any beat. ... She had a knack LOS ANGELES: PBS’ “American Masters” series heim’s death with sympathy, memories for fi nding the story or angle that no one profi les Amy Tan, who has steadily built on the and tributes, some with photos and else considered but is packed with insight foundation of her acclaimed 1989 debut novel “The videos of “Piano Pat.” (AP) and surprises.” Joy Luck Club” with works including “The Kitchen ❑ ❑ ❑ “Most importantly,” he added, “she God’s Wife” and “The Valley of Amazement.” The was always the best kind of colleague, fi lm recounts Tan’s life and career with archival foot- RIO DE JANEIRO: Paulo Gustavo, a always available for help or consultation. age, animation and original interviews, including with popular comedian whose character Dona ... She always had time for everyone.” Tan and fellow authors, among them Isabel Allende, Herminia dealt with everyday family She often broke news, as in 2014, Kevin Kwan and Dave Barry. James Redford, son in some of Brazil’s biggest-box offi ce when she was the fi rst to report Pope of actor Robert Redford, directed the fi lm, complet- movies and television shows, died of Francis’ appointment of Blase Cupich to ing it shortly before the documentarian’s 2020 death COVID-19, sparking an outpouring of become the new archbishop of Chicago. grief across a country polarized by the But she also told stories in depth: a of cancer at age 58. “Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir” pandemic. He was 42. 2016 election-year piece examining how airs Monday on PBS stations (check local listings for Gustavo died Tuesday evening in a Rio conservative Christians felt under siege in time) and will be available on PBS.org and on the PBS de Janeiro hospital after spending more Comedian Maz Jobrani performs at the re-opening of the Laugh Factory comedy a changing nation. A series about Christian app. (AP) than a month in intensive care. Fans had club, May 6, in Los Angeles. The club has been closed to live audiences since missionaries from Africa launching initia- begun a vigil for him outside the hospital. March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP) tives in the United States. (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 SPORTS 14

Australian Oly Committee ensures Indigenous inclusion Tokyo Olympic head says Bach visit to Japan could be ‘tough’

TOKYO, May 8, (AP): The president that would be a very diffi cult thing for tists have suggested otherwise, and an true for residents of Japan, where less of the Tokyo Olympic organizing com- him.” editorial last month in the British Med- than 2% of the population has been mittee said Friday that a visit to Japan Bach said recently he hoped to go ical Journal said the Olympics should vaccinated. this month by IOC President Thomas to Hiroshima to meet the torch relay – be “reconsidered.” Also: Bach seemed unlikely with a state of and presumably to Tokyo – on May 17 Tokyo organizers are talking up a emergency order being extended by and 18. But he has said his plans were six-day diving test event that ended SYDNEY: The Australian Olympic the government to Tokyo and other ar- not fi nalized. Friday. There was only one positive Committee amended its constitution eas until May 31. Coincidentally, powerful IOC mem- COVID-19 test among 438 partici- at its annual general meeting on Sat- Canceling the trip could be embar- ber Sebastian Coe is in Tokyo for a pants - including 224 divers from 46 urday to ensure there’s a permanent rassing for the International Olympic track and fi eld test event on Sunday at countries and territories. The positive Indigenous representation on the AOC Committee and local organizers who the new $1.4 billion national stadium. test was for a team offi cial, who was Athletes’ Commission. say they can hold a “safe and secure” placed in quarantine, offi cials said. The AGM passed an amendment Olympics in the middle of a pandemic “Feedback from the competitors has that will require at least one Aborigi- as cases surge in Japan – particularly in OLYMPICS been very positive,” the organizing nal and one Torres Strait Island rep- Tokyo and Japan’s second metropolis committee and FINA, the governing resentative on the Commission. of Osaka. Coe is the president of World Ath- body of swimming and diving, said in These members may be elected by The postponed Olympics are to letics, the governing body of track a statement. athletes competing at a Summer or open in only 11 weeks, on July 23, fol- and fi eld, and was also the head of the The statement quoted Canadian Winter Games – or directly appointed lowed by the Paralympics on Aug 24. 2012 London Olympics. He is seen as diver Jennifer Abel saying: “The main by the AOC Executive following ad- “Frankly speaking, I personally a potential successor to Bach when the goal for everyone is to be and feel safe, vice from the AOC Indigenous Ad- think it would be quite tough for him German’s term ends in 2025, and is Toshiaki Endo, (left), vice-president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Commit- and we are very safe here. We cannot visory Committee (IAC), if no Indig- to come now,” organizing committee also a two-time Olympic gold medalist tee, Seiko Hashimoto, (second left), president of the Tokyo 2020 Organiz- ask for better conditions with the CO- enous athletes were elected. president Seiko Hashimoto said at a in the 1,500 meters. ing Committee, Sebastian Coe, (third from left), president of World Athletics VID situation.” AOC President John Coates says weekly briefi ng, adding that “nothing Coe has been laudatory about a half and John Ridgeon, World Athletics CEO, pose for a photograph ahead of a Hashimoto said a donation by vac- the AOC’s commitment to reconcilia- had been decided.” marathon test event run earlier this meeting on May 7, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP) cine developers Pfi zer and BioNTech tion has gained signifi cant momentum “But the extension of the state of week in Sapporo. He’s also sympa- to inoculate athletes and offi cials since the Constitution was amended in emergency and having him visit dur- thetic with Hashimoto trying to pull mercifully in London, we didn’t have tier of complexity.” preparing for Tokyo would make the 2015 to recognize the heritage, culture ing that time will mean that president off the Olympics. the added complexity of worrying Coe also met with Tokyo Governor games safer. The agreement was an- and history of Australia’s fi rst peoples Bach will be visiting in a quite a dif- “I know the pressure that you are about protocols around a pandemic. Yuriko Koike as both try to assure that nounced Thursday by the IOC. and to give practical support to Indig- fi cult time,” Hashimoto said. “I think under,” Coe said to Hashimoto. “But So you have our sympathy in that extra the Olympics will be safe. Some scien- Hashimoto said this was particularly enous reconciliation through sport. Christchurch-based team bag 5th title Reigning champion Creed wins Crusaders top Chiefs to win Super Rugby Aotearoa final Truck Series race at Darlington CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, peared at times to be just hanging on. May 8, (AP): Flyhalf Richie Mo’unga The Chiefs were more competi- kicked 14 points including a rare tive in the second half when they dropped goal and steered the Christ- kicked deep and played more often Rhodes settles for 2nd, Nemechek rallies to finish 8th church-based Crusaders to a 24-13 in the Crusaders’ half. But the match win over Hamilton-based Chiefs in slipped away when they were unable the fi nal of Super Rugby Aotearoa on to exploit a period of more than fi ve DARLINGTON, S.C., May 8, (AP): Reigning NASCAR He wasn’t much of a factor until the final laps as crashes – including a 17-car Saturday and to a fi fth Super Rugby minutes when the Crusaders were Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed won for the first pileup with 30 laps left – knocked out several stronger cars including points leader title in as many years. down to 13 men with hooker Codie John Hunter Nemechek. The Crusaders, who have now won Taylor and winger Sevu Reece were time this season, moving past Ben Rhodes on a restart “I don’t want to call it a relief,” Creed said about his first win of the season. “But 12 Super Rugby titles since the tour- in the sin-bin. three laps from the end and holding on for victory at Dar- I think it’s a return to the right direction.” nament’s inception in 1996, won the Taylor received a yellow card for lington Raceway. Creed was best at Darlington when it counted. full, fi ve-nation tournament in 2017, tackling Chiefs fullback Damian He passed Rhodes on a restart seven laps from the end and had some separation ‘18 and ’19 and have now won the McKenzie in the air and Reece for Creed raced to his sixth career victory. He’d been shutout since he won until a spinout by Danny Bohn brought out the last of 12 cautions. New Zealand a high tackle on replacement Ace the close the 2020 season at Phoenix and capture the truck championship. Creed took the outside slot and stayed in front of Rhodes for the victory. domestic tourna- Tiatia. The second offense was only “I was really aggressive on restarts,” ment in each of brought to the referee’s attention by a Creed said. “I’m sure I didn’t make the last two sea- captain’s referral. many friends tonight. But that’s what sons. it takes.” The Chiefs Rhodes was second followed by pulled off one RUGBY Carson Hocevar, Matt Crafton and of the great form Johnny Sauter. Nemechek, who fell reversals in Su- In total, the Crusaders were under- from first to 21st after the wreck, ral- per Rugby his- strength for almost 15 minutes, but lied to end in eighth. tory to reach the the Chiefs managed only a penalty Rhodes called it a bizarre race, es- fi nal. They lost Mo’unga in that period while Mo’unga kicked pecially and contenders dropped out their fi rst two a penalty for the home team and his and caution laps increased in the final matches this season to stretch their fi rst-ever dropped goal in Super Rug- stage. But it was up to those remaining record Super Rugby losing streak to by. to overcome the problems and push on 11 games which included all eight Mo’unga was hugely infl uential in to end. matches in Super Rugby Aotearoa that period, staging several breakouts “This is a challenging track,” he last year under British and Irish Lions as the Chiefs persisted in kicking to said. “Step up or step out. That’s what coach Warren Gatland. him and the Crusaders’ dangerous I think.” But they turned that around to back three. reach the fi nal on the back of fi ve That back three had already made TRUCK RACING straight victories this year, including their mark on the game as winger Re- a 26-25 win over the Crusaders in ece and fullback Will Jordan scored Nemechek had the strongest vehicle round eight of the regular season. fi rst half tries which gave the Crusad- on the track, winning the second stage The fi nal hurdle was too much for ers the upper hand. and leading 66 of the first 117 laps. But the Chiefs, who won their latest of their Reece scored in the eighth minute he got caught up in a restart wreck - it two Super Rugby titles in 2013 and who when, after a lineout from a pen- appeared that Stewart Friesen turned faced a Crusaders team unbeaten in 25 alty, the Crusaders worked the ball Corey Heim to begin things – that Super Rugby playoff matches at home, quickly back to his right wing and he caused a 12-minute, red-flag stoppage including seven fi nals. stretched out in tackles to just ground to sort out and clean up. “I think it’s been a challenging 12 the ball on the line. “What the heck, I was just pushed months and this season hasn’t been Jordan then scored in the 15th Sheldon Creed stands with his trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Truck Series auto race at Darling- too hard” by Austin Hill, Nemechek smooth sailing,” Crusaders captain minute, dashing onto a rolling kick ton Raceway, on May 7, in Darlington, S.C. (AP) told his KBM team on the radio. Scott Barrett said. “But we’ve hung from center David Havili to claim the Hill countered that leader Nemechek tough and it was an awesome effort bounce and the try. spun his tires on the restart to clog tonight. McKenzie, playing mostly at fi rst Van der Poel, Ferrand-Prevot win MTB races things up. “We got down to 13 men tonight receiver, scored a try in the 20th min- No matter. The multi-truck accident for a while and it was tough.” ute that kept the Chiefs in the match. ALBSTADT, Germany, May 8, (AP): which riders are trending upward ahead Alpecin-Fenix team. He has acknowl- that collected 17 vehicles also caught The Crusaders led 15-13 after a The Crusaders defense swarmed the Mathieu van der Poel and Pauline Fer- of the Summer Games, which start in edged that he may be forced to leave up two of the three KBM drivers in fi rst half which typifi ed contemporary ball carrier and center Alex Nankiv- rand-Prevot confirmed their status as the July. the three-week grand tour early to prep Nemechek and Chad Smith, ending New Zealand rugby. It was frantic ell was able to draw Reece off his favorites in mountain biking at the Tokyo for Tokyo. the team’s try at a record-setting sixth and contained moments of great skill wing before his back-handed pass Olympics by winning the first World Cup CYCLING The Dutch rider attacked early on consecutive series win. but there was a lack of control and of put McKenzie on a long, angled run race of the season in Germany. Friday night and finished in 20 minutes, Team owner Kyle Busch won the discipline from both sides. Neither to the line. The two won 20-minute short track 39 seconds. Victor Koretzky of France truck race at Kansas last week to match team was able to retain possession or All of the points in a muddled sec- races and will be on the front row for Van der Poel is one of the top cy- was second, followed by Swiss rider the record accomplished by Roush establish a substantial territorial ad- ond half came from kicks and from Sunday’s cross country race, which clocross racers in the world and also Nino Schurter, the three-time Olympic Racing in 1999 and 2000 and Kevin vantage, though the Crusaders domi- Mo’unga’s ability to dictate the game should be an even better barometer of plans to ride the Tour de France for his medalist and reigning gold medalist. Harvick Inc. in 2009. nated set pieces and the Chiefs ap- at crucial moments. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 SPORTS 15

Nationals use 6-run inning to beat Yankees 11-4 Reds’ Miley pitches 4th no-hitter of season, 2nd in 3 days CLEVELAND, May 8, (AP): Wade Miley pitched baseball’s second no- MLB Results/Standings hitter in three days - and fourth already this season - leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 win over the Cleveland Indians, who were no-hit for the second WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): Results and standings from the MLB games time in a month. on Friday. Miley (4-2) relied on breaking pitch- Washington 11 NY Yankees 4 es and his experience of 11-plus major Boston 6 Baltimore 2 league seasons to baffl e the Indians and Minnesota 7 Detroit 3 Seattle 5 Texas 4 throw Cincinnati’s fi rst no-hitter since Cincinnati 3 Cleveland 0 Homer Bailey in 2013. Chic. Wht. Sox 3 Kansas City 0 The left-hander shook off an Houston 10 Toronto 4 83-minute rain delay to start the game Oakland 2 Tampa Bay 1 LA Angels 9 LA Dodgers 2 and followed Baltimore’s John Means, Chicago Cubs 3 Pittsburgh 2 who no-hit Seattle on Wednesday,. Miami 6 Milwaukee 1 Joe Musgrove threw San Diego’s fi rst Philadelphia 12 Atlanta 2 no-hotter on April 9. Five days later, St Louis 5 Colorado 0 NY Mets 5 Arizona (10 innings) 4 Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos San Francisco 5 San Diego 4 Rodón blanked the Indians. American League Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner East Division pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against W L Pct GB Boston 20 13 .606 _ Atlanta on April 25, but that one isn’t Tampa Bay 18 16 .529 2-1/2 recognized as offi cial because it didn’t Toronto 16 15 .516 3 go nine innings. New York 16 16 .500 3-1/2 This is the earliest in a calendar year Baltimore 15 17 .469 4-1/2 Central Division there have been four no-hitters since W L Pct GB 1917, when the fourth was thrown on Chicago 17 13 .567 _ May 5 and the fi fth on May 6. Cleveland 17 14 .548 -1/2 Miley walked one and struck out Kansas City 16 15 .516 1-1/2 Minnesota 12 19 .387 5-1/2 eight on 114 pitches. Detroit 9 24 .273 9-1/2 Cincinnati pushed three runs across West Division in the ninth, when Emmanuel Clase (2- W L Pct GB 1) had a run-scoring throwing error and Oakland 20 14 .588 _ Seattle 18 15 .545 1-1/2 a run-scoring balk, and Mike Mousta- Houston 17 15 .531 2 kas singled in a run. Texas 16 18 .471 4 Mets 5, Diamondbacks 4, 10 innings Los Angeles 14 17 .452 4-1/2 In New York, Francisco Lindor hit National League East Division a tying, two-run homer in the seventh W L Pct GB inning after an apparently heated ex- Philadelphia 18 15 .545 _ change with teammate Jeff McNeil in New York 14 13 .519 1 the dugout tunnel, and New York ral- Miami 15 16 .484 2 Atlanta 15 17 .469 2-1/2 lied to beat Arizona. Washington 13 15 .464 2-1/2 New York walked off with a victory Central Division when designated runner Pete Alonso W L Pct GB scored on pinch-hitter Patrick Mazei- St Louis 19 14 .576 _ Milwaukee 17 16 .515 2 ka’s fi elder’s choice. Chicago 16 16 .500 2-1/2 Lindor’s drive came a half-inning af- Cincinnati 15 15 .500 2-1/2 ter he and second baseman McNeil com- Pittsburgh 13 18 .419 5 Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin (35) makes a save as Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Pat Maroon (14) looks for a rebound during the second West Division bined to misplay a popup. Following the period of an NHL hockey game, on May 7, in Tampa, Florida. (AP) top of the seventh, Mets players rushed W L Pct GB San Francisco 19 13 .594 _ into the tunnel adjacent to their dugout to San Diego 18 15 .545 1-1/2 address some sort of commotion. Los Angeles 17 16 .515 2-1/2 Lindor acknowledged after the game Arizona 15 17 .469 4 that he and McNeil were having a disa- Colorado 12 20 .375 7 greement - he claimed the pair saw a rat in the tunnel, and he was objecting Rookie Allison nets twice, to McNeil’s suggestion that it was a raccoon. Mazeika softly hit a 2-2 pitch from Stefan Crichton (0-1) to the fi rst base- side of the mound to score Alonso, who dived head-fi rst across the plate. Aaron Loup (1-0) tossed a scoreless helps Flyers beat Capitals 10th for the win. Giants 5, Padres 4 In San Francisco, Austin Slater hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning Stars keep playoff hopes alive with 5-2 win over Lightning and San Francisco beat San Diego. WASHINGTON, May 8, BASEBALL (AP): Rookie Wade Allison NHL Results/Standings scored twice, Brian Elli- Slater led off the inning with an op- ott made 28 saves and the posite-fi eld drive to right against right- WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): Results and standings from the NHL games on Friday. Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Philadelphia Flyers beat hander Keone Kela (2-2). Slater scored Detroit 5 Columbus 2 Colorado 3 Los Angeles 2 three runs despite entering the game in Wade Miley delivers in the ninth the Capitals 4-2 to prevent Philadelphia 4 Washington 2 Vegas 4 St Louis OT 3 a 3-for-25 slide, including 11 straight inning of a baseball game against Washington from reclaim- Dallas 5 Tampa Bay 2 Arizona 5 San Jose 2 hitless at-bats before the homer. Buster the Cleveland Indians, on May 7, in Minnesota 4 Anaheim OT 3 Posey hit a two-run homer and Evan Cleveland. (AP) ing fi rst place in the East East Division West Division Longoria had a two-run single for the GP W L OT Pts GF GA GP W L OT Pts GF GA fi rst game against the Rockies since Division. x-Pittsburgh 55 36 16 3 75 195 156 x-Vegas 53 38 13 2 78 180 121 Giants, who improved to 11-3 at Oracle Colorado traded the fi ve-time All-Star The Capitals trail the Pittsburgh x-Washington 54 34 15 5 73 187 161 x-Colorado 52 35 13 4 74 181 129 Park this season. to St. Louis on Feb. 1. Arenado dou- Penguins by two points with two x-Boston 53 32 14 7 71 160 127 x-Minnesota 53 34 14 5 73 174 146 San Francisco moved 1 1/2 games x-NY Islanders 54 31 17 6 68 149 124 St Louis 52 24 19 9 57 155 162 bled against Austin Gomber (2-4), one games left on their regular-season NY Rangers 55 26 23 6 58 172 153 Arizona 55 23 26 6 52 148 172 ahead of San Diego for the NL West of the players he was traded for. Philadelphia 54 24 23 7 55 158 197 lead on a night they celebrated Hall of schedule. A Penguins victory in Los Angeles 52 21 25 6 48 139 154 Harrison Bader hit a go-ahead, two- New Jersey 54 19 28 7 45 142 185 San Jose 54 21 27 6 48 147 188 their regular-season fi nale against Buffalo 55 15 33 7 37 138 198 Famer Willie Mays a day after his 90th run homer in the third. Anaheim 55 17 30 8 42 123 175 birthday. last-place Buffalo on Saturday and Central Division Nationals 11, Yankees 4 GP W L OT Pts GF GA North Division Camilo Doval (1-1) pitched a score- another Washington loss to Phila- y-Carolina 54 36 10 8 80 178 128 GP W L OT Pts GF GA In New York, Washington burst x-Toronto 53 34 13 6 74 179 138 less seventh for the win, and Jake Mc- ahead in a six-run eighth inning that in- delphia hours later would clinch x-Tampa Bay 54 36 15 3 75 180 138 Gee closed out his eighth save with x-Florida 54 35 14 5 75 180 152 x-Edmonton 52 32 18 2 66 170 141 cluded three errors and Josh Harrison’s the division for Pittsburgh. Nashville 54 29 23 2 60 148 153 x-Winnipeg 52 28 21 3 59 158 145 three strikeouts in the ninth. three-run homer, and the Nationals Long since eliminated from play- Dallas 54 22 18 14 58 151 146 Montreal 53 24 20 9 57 151 157 Athletics 2, Rays 1 stopped a three-game skid. off contention, the Flyers neverthe- Chicago 54 23 25 6 52 153 179 Calgary 51 22 26 3 47 132 148 In Oakland, California, Sean Ma- less outplayed the Capitals, who were Detroit 55 19 27 9 47 123 166 Ottawa 53 21 27 5 47 148 179 With the score tied at 3, Yadiel Columbus 55 17 26 12 46 132 183 Vancouver 48 20 25 3 43 129 159 naea’s bid to pitch baseball’s second Hernández lined a single against Jona- again without captain Alex Ovechkin no-hitter of the night ended on a lead- Note: Two points for a win one point for overtime loss. The top four teams in each division will qualify for playoffs under this than Loaisiga (3-2) that right fi elder and defenseman Justin Schultz because season’s temporary realignment. off double in the eighth inning by high Aaron Judge allowed to bounced off of lower-body injuries and top center x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division school teammate Mike Brosseau, then his glove for his fi rst error since Sept. Evgeny Kuznetsov, who’s on the NHL Seth Brown hit a game-ending homer 30, 2018. Third baseman DJ LeMa- COVID protocol list. Rookie goal- as Oakland beat Tampa Bay . hieu made a throwing error on Victor tender Vitek Vanecek allowed three Golden Knights also inched closer to Tyson Jost also scored, Philipp Gru- Gibson, but drove the net and found the Manaea and Brosseau played to- Robles’ sacrifi ce, Trea Turner hit a go- goals on 28 shots in his third consecu- winning their third division title in four bauer made 15 saves and the Avalanche puck on a rebound and easily scored gether at Andrean High in Merrillville, ahead single and Harrison homered for tive start with Ilya Samsonov also out seasons since joining the NHL in 2017. remained four points behind fi rst-place with Gibson unable to recover. Indiana. a 7-3 lead. for protocol reasons. Robin Lehner stopped 22 shots. Vegas in the West Division. Victor Rask, Nico Sturm and Joel Brown’s pinch-hit RBI single broke Kyle Schwarber hit a run-scoring Daniel Sprong scored his 13th goal Brendan Lemieux and Gabriel Vilar- Eriksson Ek also scored for Minnesota, up a scoreless game in the bottom of single off Luis Cessa and shortstop of the season and sixth in his past six di scored for Los Angeles. Cal Petersen and Kaapo Kahkonen made 22 saves. the seventh then Tampa Bay chased Gleyber Torres allowed Yan Gomes’ games mostly in Ovechkin’s usual spot ICE HOCKEY made 34 saves as the Kings were elimi- Max Comtois, Adam Henrique and Manaea. Brown delivered again facing grounder to bounced past his glove for in the lineup. T.J. Oshie added his fourth nated from playoff contention. Derek Grant scored for Anaheim. The Jeffrey Springs (2-1). a run-scoring error. in the past two games since the death of Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, and Wild 4, Ducks 3, OT teams fi nish their season series Satur- Jake Diekman (2-0) recorded two Angels 9, Dodgers 2 his father, but the Capitals’ comeback Jaden Schwartz scored for St. Louis. In St. Paul, Minnesota, Kirill Kapr- day in Minnesota. outs in the ninth for the win. In Anaheim, California, David bid from a 3-1 defi cit fell short. Avalnache 3, Kings 2 izov scored 17 seconds into overtime to Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 2 Red Sox 6, Orioles 2 Fletcher drove in three runs on three Joel Farabee took advantage of a In Los Angeles, Mikko Rantanen lift Minnesota past Anaheim. In Columbus, Ohio, Thomas Greiss In Baltimore, Bobby Dalbec snapped hits, Shohei Ohtani had two RBI dou- defensive-zone miscue by Washington scored his 30th goal of the season, Cale Kaprizov, the rookie sensation with made 22 saves and Detroit scored three an 0-for-27 skid with a single and a bles and the Angels snapped their fi ve- to open the scoring 1:44 into the game, Makar had a goal and an assist and 27 goals this season, snapped a quick goals in the second period to beat Co- three-run homer, powering the Boston game losing streak. and Sean Couturier sealed it for Phila- Colorado beat Los Angeles. shot that was stopped by goalie John lumbus. over Baltimore. Justin Upton and Taylor Ward delphia with an empty-net goal with Jakub Vrana had a goal and an assist, Eduardo Rodriguez (5-0) allowed homered in the Angels’ four-run sec- 30.1 seconds left. and Joe Veleno and Danny DeKeyser one run and seven hits with two ond inning, and Mike Trout had a late Stars 5, Lightning 2 also scored in the second period for the strikeouts and three walks over fi ve in- RBI triple as the Halos opened the In Tampa, Florida, Joe Pavelski had Red Wings, who are dueling with the nings to help the Red Sox improve to a Freeway Series with only their fi fth two goals and two assists to help and Blue Jackets to stay out of the Central major league-best 20-13. win in 16 games. Griffi n Canning (3- Dallas beat Tampa Bay to keep its post- Division basement as they play out the Ryan Mountcastle had three hits, 2) pitched six-hit ball into the sixth in- season hopes alive. fi nal weekend. Detroit leads Columbus including his fi rst homer since the ning, and Patrick Sandoval pitched 3 Dallas within two points of Nash- by one point in the standings ahead of Orloles’ home opener on April 8. The 1/3 innings of relief for his fi rst save. ville heading into the fi nal weekend of Saturday’s fi nale. game was delayed 1 hour, 38 minutes Mookie Betts homered in the ninth the regular season. The Stars play Chi- Gavin Bayreuther and Nathan Gerbe because of rain. for the Dodgers, who have lost four cago on Sunday and Monday, while the scored for the Blue Jackets. They have Cardinals 5, Rockies 0 straight. Julio Urías (4-1) had his least Predators host Carolina on Saturday lost 12 of their last 14. In St. Louis, Jack Flaherty (6-0) hit impressive start in a strong season for and Monday. Coyotes 5, Sharks 2 his fi rst career home run in his 117th at- the Dodgers, yielding eight hits and Roope Hintz added a goal and two In San Jose, California, Phil Kessel bat and became the major leagues’ fi rst fi ve runs over fi ve innings in his Angel assists for Dallas. Joel Kiviranta and scored the go-ahead goal for his 900th six-game winner, allowing three hits in Stadium debut. Jamie Oleksiak also scored, and Anton career point and Victor Soderstrom seven innings. Phillies 12, Braves 2 Khudobin made 26 saves. scored his fi rst NHL goal to lead Ari- Nolan Arenado went 2-for-4 in his In Atlanta, Odúbel Herrera hit a Blake Coleman and Alex Barre- zona. three-run homer in Philadelphia’s six- Boulet scored for Tampa Bay. Conor Garland added a goal and two run fi rst inning and the Phillies set sea- Golden Knights 4, Blues 3, OT assists for the Coyotes, who also ben- son highs for runs and hits (16) as they In Las Vegas, Jonathan Marches- efi ted from an overturned San Jose goal won their fi fth straight. sault scored with 17 seconds left in that would have tied it in the third. Mi- J.T. Realmuto had three hits, includ- overtime to lift Vegas past St. Louis. Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) and Philadelphia Flyers chael Bunting and Jan Jenik also scored ing a two-run homer, and Jean Segura Reilly Smith, Alec Martinez, and Nic right wing Travis Konecny (11) go for the puck during the third period of an for Arizona, and Darcy Kuemper had drove in two runs with four hits. Roy scored in regulation for Vegas. The NHL hockey game, on May 7, in Washington. (AP) 26 saves. Attendance was 38,952 as the Braves allowed 100% capacity for the fi rst time since before the coronavirus nings, and Rex Brothers retired Bryan Ross Stripling (0-2) gave up three the loss. Tigers, passing Babe Ruth on the ca- pandemic. Reynolds on a bases-loaded fl yout for runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Twins 7, Tigers 3 reer list. Marlins 6, Brewers 1 his fi rst save since Sept. 29, 2013. Mariners 5, Rangers 4 In Detroit, Matt Shoemaker (2-3) White Sox 3, Royals 0 In Miami, Isan Díaz hit his fi rst ca- Joc Pederson had three hits and an In Arlington, Texas, Mitch Haniger pitched fi ve scoreless innings and Kyle In Kansas City, Mo., Carlos Rodón reer grand slam, a third-inning drive off RBI for Chicago, which has won four had a tiebreaking RBI single in the Garlick, Jorge Polanco and Max Ke- (5-0) struck out eight and allowed fi ve Patrick Weigel. straight. seventh inning and Seattle bounced pler homered to lift Minnesota over hits in six innings. Miguel Rojas had two hits and Pittsburgh has lost seven of eight back from being no-hit in its last game. Detroit. Relievers Codi Heuer, Aaron Bum- scored three times for the Marlins, who and is last in the NL Central at 13-18. Dylan Moore and J.P. Crawford The game was delayed by rain for mer and Liam Hendriks worked the fi - have won four straight. Astros 10, Blue Jays 4 both hit tying two-run homers for the 35 minutes in the middle of the fourth nal three innings to complete the shut- Milwaukee lost its sixth straight and In Houston, Yuli Gurriel homered Mariners, who two days earlier at and for 69 minutes at the start of the out. Hendriks earned with sixth save. fell to 0-5 on its seven-game trip. and tied a career high with four hits home were held without a hit when seventh. The second delay came short- Kansas City was shut out for the Washington Nationals’ Josh Harrison Trevor Rogers (4-2) gave up one run while driving in four runs. Baltimore’s John Means faced the ly after Willi Castro hit a three-run second straight game as part of a six- hits a three-run home run during the and four hits in fi ve innings. Carlos Correa added a two-run hom- minimum 27 batters. homer in the sixth to cut Detroit’s defi - game losing streak, all to division op- eighth inning of the team’s baseball Cubs 3, Pirates 2 er and José Urquidy (3-2) allowed two Nate Lowe homered for the Rang- cit to one, but Minnesota added three ponents. Zack Collins homered. Brad game against the New York Yankees In Chicago, Zach Davies (2-2) al- runs and four hits in seven to win his ers, who had their three-game winning more runs after play resumed. Keller (2-4) gave up three runs and fi ve on May 7, in New York. (AP) lowed fi ve hits in seven scoreless in- third straight decision. streak snapped. Josh Sborz (3-2) took Miguel Cabrera had two hits for the hits in six innings. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 16

Augsburg’s Marco Richter (left), and Stuttgart’s Kon- stantinos Mavropanos in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and FC Augsburg at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany. Stuttgart won 2-1. (AP) Sports Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Barcelona, Real and Juventus face CL bans 9 Super League clubs accept fi nes

LONDON, May 8, (AP): Only ciplinary bodies for sanctions after to a settlement with UEFA to partici- sacrifi ced. nine of the 12 European clubs who backing the new largely closed com- pate only in the existing open Euro- The nine clubs will also make a launched an ill-fated bid to form a petition. pean competitions and accepted giv- combined payment of 15 million Super League have agreed to a peace The Super League project im- ing up 5% of revenue for one season euros for what UEFA called a “ges- deal with UEFA and accepted being ploded three weeks ago after the playing in Europe. It wasn’t specifi ed ture of goodwill” to benefi t children, fi ned millions of dollars. English clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, if that would be this or a future sea- youth and grassroots football. The remaining trio of rebels are Liverpool, Manchester United, In a move to prevent them deploy- at risk of being banned from the Manchester City and Tottenham - SOCCER ing the Super League threat again, Champions League for not renounc- backed out inside 48 hours after a the clubs have also agreed to be fi ned ing the breakaway. Barcelona, Real backlash from the fans and British 100 million euros if they seek again to Madrid and Juventus have refused government. son. Teams from England and Spain play in an unauthorized competition to approve what UEFA on Friday The Premier League clubs along reaching the fi nal can earn more than or 50 million euros if they breach any Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard shoots against the Los Ange- called “reintegration measures,” and with Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and 100 million pounds ($122 million), other commitments to UEFA as part les Lakers during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, they will be referred to UEFA dis- Inter Milan have offi cially signed up meaning 5 million euros would be of the settlement. Oregon. (AP)

NBA Results/Standings

WASHINGTON, May 8, (AP): NBA results and standings on Friday. Philadelphia 109 New Orleans 107 Blazers get key tiebreaker Chicago 121 Boston 99 Milwaukee 141 Houston 133 Charlotte 122 Orlando 112 Miami 121 Minnesota 112 Dallas 110 Cleveland 90 Utah 127 Denver 120 San Antonio 113 Sacramento 104 Phoenix 128 New York 105 Portland 106 LA Lakers 101 Eastern Conference Atlantic Division with victory over LA Lakers W L Pct GB x-Philadelphia 46 21 .687 - x-Brooklyn 43 24 .642 3 New York 37 30 .552 9 Boston 35 32 .522 11 Jazz edge Nuggets as Suns stay in hunt for top record in NBA Toronto 27 40 .403 19 Southeast Division W L Pct GB SALT LAKE CITY, May Atlanta 37 31 .544 - Miami 36 31 .537 1/2 8, (AP): Bojan Bogdanovic Charlotte 33 34 .493 3-1/2 scored a career-high 48 points Washington 31 36 .463 5-1/2 Orlando 21 46 .313 15-1/2 to rally the Utah Jazz past the Central Division Denver Nuggets 127-120 on W L Pct GB x-Milwaukee 43 24 .642 - Friday night. Indiana 31 35 .470 11-1/2 Bogdanovic went 16 of 23 Chicago 28 39 .418 15 Cleveland 21 46 .313 22 from the fi eld – making a career- Detroit 20 47 .299 23 high eight 3-pointers – to lead the Western Conference Southwest Division NBA-leading Jazz to their fourth W L Pct GB straight victory. He also had eight Dallas 39 28 .582 - rebounds. Memphis 33 33 .500 5-1/2 San Antonio 32 34 .485 6-1/2 Jordan Clarkson added 21 points and New Orleans 30 37 .448 9 eight assists. Rudy Gobert had 14 Houston 16 51 .239 23 points and nine rebounds, and Georges Northwest Division Niang chipped in 13 points - all in the W L Pct GB x-Utah 49 18 .731 - second half. x-Denver 44 23 .657 5 Michael Porter, Jr scored 31 points Portland 38 29 .567 11 for Denver. Nikola Jokic added 24 Oklahoma City 21 46 .313 28 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds, Minnesota 20 47 .299 29 Pacifi c Division Paul Millsap had 20 points and Austin W L Pct GB Rivers 18. x-Phoenix 48 19 .716 - Utah did not trail over the final 11:22 x-LA Clippers 45 22 .672 3 of the fourth quarter after Niang hit LA Lakers 37 30 .552 11 Golden State 34 33 .507 14 back-to-back shots to give the Jazz a Sacramento 29 38 .433 19 103-99 lead. Denver scored just one x denotes clinched playoff spot basket over a six-minute stretch and couldn’t quite erase the resulting defi- cit. Trail Blazers 106, Lakers 101 In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard England ‘could’ had 38 points to lead Portland past Los Angeles for the tiebreaker over its host fi nal of CL Western Conference foe as the season winds to a close. LONDON, May 8, (AP): The all- English Champions League final could be played at home after Tur- BASKETBALL key was added to England’s “red list” of countries where all but es- Lillard had five 3-pointers for the sential travel is banned due to se- Blazers, who were back at home after vere coronavirus outbreaks. going 5-1 on a six-game trip. They Chelsea and Manchester City were welcomed back to Portland with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio (9) and Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) battle for the ball during the fi rst half of an NBA basketball are due to meet on May 29 in Is- fans allowed at the Moda Center for the game in Miami. (AP) tanbul and UEFA was hoping to first time this season. allow around 10,000 fans into the Suns 128, Knicks 105 biggest club game of the European In Phoenix, Deandre Ayton scored With their playoff hopes fading and Newcastle inch closer to EPL safety football season. 26 points, a feisty Chris Paul added 17 fans at the United Center for the first But the British government points and 11 assists and Phoenix beat time this season, the Bulls led by 21 in warned supporters not to travel New York to stay in the hunt for the top the third quarter and put this one away to Turkey after imposing the new record in the NBA. after Boston got within eight in the travel restrictions, and said the The Suns stunned the Knicks by tak- fourth, scoring 12 straight. Spurs CL bid fades further with loss English Football Association was ing a 90-88 lead into the fourth quarter Heat 121, Timberwolves 112 in talks with Champions League after scoring four points in less than a In Miami, Tyler Herro returned after LEEDS, England, May 8, (AP): Totten- years. Marcelo Bielsa’s side have also spot. organizer UEFA about staging the second. Torrey Craig tipped in Devin a six-game absence and scored 27 ham are facing another season out of the drawn with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liver- Leeds were rewarded for taking the game in Britain, instead. Booker’s miss with 0.8 seconds left and points, Jimmy Butler had 25 and Miami Champions League after losing at Leeds pool, Manchester United and Manches- game to Tottenham in the 13th minute. Cameron Payne stole the in-bounds beat Minnesota to move back into the two years to the day after reaching the ter City, and sit in ninth place. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris pass and made a layup. No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. fi nal of Europe’s elite competition. Leeds are on the rise again. It was saved brilliantly after Jack Harrison’s SOCCER 76ers 109, Pelicans 107 Goran Dragic added 23 points for Being beaten 3-1 by Leeds on Sat- exactly 20 years ago that Leeds lost a low cross had defl ected off Sergio In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had 37 Miami. Herro, who had been out with urday left Tottenham fi ve points from Champions League semifi nal – on May Reguilon and Stuart Dallas fi red the re- points and 13 rebounds to the tune of right foot soreness, was 10 of 13 from fourth place with three games to go. 8, the same day in 2019 that Tottenham bound into the roof of the net. The most logical English venue “MVP! MVP!” chants and Philadelphia the field and 6 of 8 from 3-point range Dropping points at Elland Road was beat Ajax to reach the fi nal for the fi rst Tottenham hit back to equalize with to move the game to is Wembley beat New Orleans to inch closer toward for Miami (36-31). perhaps no surprise for a team under the time. their fi rst shot on target on the counter- with the London stadium stag- securing the top spot in the East. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 of interim coaching of Ryan Mason fol- Mauricio Pochettino has long depart- attack in the 25th minute. Dele Alli’s ing eight games of the European The 76ers won their season-high sev- his 27 points in the fourth quarter for lowing Jose Mourinho’s fi ring. Leeds ed Tottenham – he went months after clever through ball carved Leeds open Championship across June and enth straight game and have a three- Minnesota. have now gone unbeaten against the the loss in the fi nal to Liverpool – and and Son Heung-min raced clear to side- July, so it has UEFA’s required lo- game lead over Brooklyn and Hornets 122, Magic 112 “Big Six” at home in their fi rst season the north London club will now just foot home. gistics and broadcasting infrastruc- Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte, N.C., Terry Rozier scored back in the Premier League after 16 have to try to clinch a Europa League Harrison’s drive forced Lloris into ture already in place. Wembley 28 points, LaMelo Ball added 27 points was also already due to stage the Bucks 141, Rockets 133 another save before Harry Kane thought In Milwaukee, Brook Lopez had 24 and Charlotte beat Orlando to inch 2024 Champions League final so it closer to a spot in the play-in tourna- he had given the visitors the lead. could be moved up three years. points and Khris Middleton scored 21 Meanwhile, Newcastle stunned of his 23 in the second half to help ment. While Villa Park in the central Milwaukee beat short-handed Houston The Hornets needed a win and a loss England city of Birmingham has for its fifth consecutive victory. by Chicago to Boston to clinch a berth, SOCCER been floated as an option, it is an The Bucks tied Brooklyn for second but the Bulls beat the Celtics. Charlotte older stadium that would require can clinch a spot in the play-in tourna- significant infrastructure being place in the Eastern Conference stand- Leicester 4-2 to inch closer to survival ings. The Bucks also have the tiebreak- ment with a victory Sunday over New installed to reach UEFA require- er advantage over Brooklyn because Orleans. in the English Premier League and deal ments. they won two of their their three regu- Dwayne Bacon had a career-high 28 a potentially damaging blow to the Fox- “We are very open to hosting lar-season meetings. points for Orlando. es’ Champions League hopes. the final but it is ultimately a deci- Mavericks 110, Cavaliers 90 Spurs 113, Kings 104 Callum Wilson struck twice to all but sion for UEFA,” British Transport In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 24 In Sacramento , Calif., Dejounte secure the Magpies’ Premier League Secretary Grant Shapps said. “The points in 23 minutes and Dallas kept Murray scored 10 of his 22 points in the status. They are one point from safety. U.K. has already got a successful the prime spot in a tight race to avoid fourth quarter and San Antonio beat Caglar Soyuncu’s error gifted Joe track record of football matches the Western Conference play-in tourna- Sacramento to end a five-game losing Willock the opener, then Paul Dum- with spectators, so we are well ment with a breezy victory over streak and strengthen their hold on the mett’s fi rst goal in more than fi ve years placed to do it. Cleveland. final playoff spot in the West. doubled the visitors’ lead. “Given there are two English Dallas guaranteed it would remain in DeMar DeRozan had 25 points, and Wilson’s second-half brace lifted the clubs in that final, we look forward fifth place in the West, a game ahead of Murray added seven assists and six Magpies to 13th place, while Marc Al- to what they have to say.” either the Los Angeles Lakers or rebounds. The Spurs were coming off brighton and Kelechi Iheanacho scored Turkey is in the second week of Portland with five games remaining. back-to-back losses to Utah in a skid late for Leicester. a three-week national lockdown Bulls 121, Celtics 99 that knocked coach Gregg Popovich’s They will be safe if Fulham fail to and government figures show In Chicago, Zach LaVine and Coby team down to 10th place in the West - Newcastle’s Isaac Hayden, (left), and Leicester’s Wesley Fofana chal- beat Burnley on Monday, but can go coronavirus cases are declining White each scored 25 points and the final spot for the play-in tournament lenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match be- down only on goal difference as they but 20,107 new infections were an- Chicago overcame a big effort by - before holding off a Kings team that tween Leicester City and Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium in face the Cottagers on the fi nal day of nounced on Friday and 278 deaths. Kemba Walker to beat Boston. won its last four. Leicester, England. (AP) the season.

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Published by: Arab Times Publishing House

Editor-in-Chief Editorial Office: Telephone: 24813566 & 24849144 Advertising: Tel: 55633481 Annual Subscriptions: Airport Road, Shuwaikh Fax: 24818267 Fax: 24911307 Individuals KD 45/- Companies and Offi cial Tel: 24849144 AHMED AL JARALLAH Departments KD 75 Airmail charges extra for Fax: 24839487 P.O. Box 2270, 13023 Safat, Kuwait E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] overseas