THULQADA 11, 1442 AH MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021

16 Pages Max 48º Min 29º 150 Fils Established 1961

ISSUE NO: 18465 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net

KRCS opens three wards at Women migrants reduced Jordan battles to save Fever clinic, COVID kits: Tokyo 3 Wardieh Hospital in Beirut 5 to sex slaves in Libya ‘hell’ 11 rare tiny Dead Sea carp 13 2020 shows off Olympic Village

Opposition, Cabinet, pro-govt MPs set for major showdown Speaker calls for special Assembly session to approve state budget

By B Izzak of 31 MPs, for a meeting late yesterday to dis- essential for citizens. He added it will also block approve the budget, giving the government the cuss the situation regarding the invitation to hold any increase in the budget for the year. Deputy right to spend billions of dinars, and still not be KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq the special sessions. Opposition MPs have been speaker Ahmad Al-Shuhoumi said citizens should able to question ministers?” Al-Ghanem yesterday invited MPs for special refusing to allow sessions to be held in protest not be made to pay for the ongoing political MP Mohammad Al-Mutair said: “We will not sessions to approve the state budget for the against a decision by the house to postpone wrangling. He also warned that HH the Amir and approve the budget for a government that we 2021/2022 fiscal year, but opposition lawmakers grillings against the prime minister until the end HH the Crown Prince are aware of the develop- cannot hold accountable. What if they steal the vowed not to allow the sessions to be convened of 2022. The opposition insists that the decision ments “and those who think they will remain qui- budget?” MP Obaid Al-Wasmi accused the gov- before the prime minister accepts to be grilled, is illegal and not in line with the constitution. et are mistaken”, without elaborating. ernment and its supporters of misleading the setting the stage for a major showdown. Opposition MPs have resorted to sitting in MP Hamad Al-Harashani launched a scathing public, adding that preventing the session aims at Ghanem said he received a motion by 15 MPs, seats reserved for Cabinet ministers, prompting attack on opposition lawmakers, accusing them not allowing the government to control a budget all of them pro-government, requesting special the ministers to boycott the sessions and forcing of plotting against the regime and the constitu- without accountability. sessions to debate and approve the state budget, the speaker to call off those sessions. The tion. But a number of opposition MPs insisted Frequent rows between the Cabinet and adding that he set the sessions for tomorrow and Assembly has effectively held only a handful of they will not allow the session to take place Assembly have led to successive government Wednesday. Opposition MPs immediately sessions since its election in December due to unless the prime minister is grilled, and refuted reshuffles and dissolutions of parliament over responded by rejecting the invitation, insisting lingering disputes between the government - claims by pro-government MPs that not approv- the decades, hampering investment and reforms they will not allow any sessions to be convened backed by the speaker and around 16 MPs - and ing the budget will block spending. in the state. Dissolution of the Assembly could unless HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- the opposition bloc. MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari recalled previous also be difficult, as according to the Kuwaiti Khaled Al-Sabah accepts to be grilled. Ghanem warned yesterday that failure to statements by the government that new jobs and constitution, parliament must approve the state Leading opposition lawmaker Shuaib Al- approve the budget will block new jobs and wages will not be affected by not approving the budget for the current term to end before the Muwaizri invited the opposition bloc, consisting cause a delay in housing projects, which are very budget. MP Saud Al-Mutairi asked: “How can we summer break.

News in brief China gives Emirates to fly from India again billionth jab, DUBAI: Aviation giant Emirates said yesterday it will resume flights from India from next week, Brazil reels after Dubai lifted a ban imposed when coron- avirus cases spiked. The UAE suspended all BEIJING: China yesterday announced it had admin- flights from India - including for transit passen- istered its one-billionth shot in the world’s biggest gers - in April in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus inoculation drive as Brazil’s death toll the novel coronavirus. “We will resume carrying from the pandemic passed 500,000. The global passengers from South Africa, Nigeria and death toll from COVID-19 is now more than 3.8 mil- India... from June 23,” Emirates said. — AFP lion and many nations are still battling outbreaks, but vaccine drives in some countries are allowing activi- ties that were unthinkable a few months ago. Lanka troops ‘humiliate’ Muslims China’s vaccine milestone comes after the number of shots administered globally passed 2.5 billion on Friday, COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s military launched an according to an AFP count from official sources. investigation yesterday after social media posts But the Asian giant’s vaccination efforts initially got RIO DE JANEIRO: A protestor secures a Brazilian flag next to roses placed by an NGO on Copacabana beach showed armed soldiers forcing Muslim civilians off to a slow start after a successful fight against the in memory of Brazil’s half a million COVID-19 victims yesterday. — AFP to raise their hands in the air while kneeling on Continued on Page 2 a road in the town of Eravur as a punishment for flouting lockdown rules. Local residents said they considered the order to be degrading Clutching a bag of clothes as she and humiliating, while officials acknowledged Indians throng shopped with her new husband at that troops had no power to mete out such Delhi’s busy Select City Walk mall, punishments. — AFP Surili Gupta said she was “fed up markets after being cooped up inside”. “I needed this break, for how long you can Rocket targets Iraq base COVID surge remain locked up?” the 26-year-old sales executive told AFP as she waited BAGHDAD: A rocket yesterday targeted an NEW DELHI: A few weeks ago, for a table at the mall’s packed food Iraqi airbase hosting American troops, a security New Delhi’s crematoriums were oper- hall. “The coronavirus is not going any source told AFP, the latest in a series of attacks ating around the clock dealing with time soon, so one has to learn to live the US blames on Iran-linked militias. The COVID-19 victims. Now the Indian with it. I am sure with the vaccinations assault on the Ain Al-Assad base came as pro- capital’s shopping malls and markets and all, we will be fine.” Tehran groups hailed the election of ultracon- are buzzing again. But doctors are Behind her, a big weekend crowd servative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as the new Iranian worried that India is letting its guard chatted and laughed over Indian president, with some saying it reflected the “fail- down again, just like in January and dosas and Chinese noodles, paying ure” of America’s “pawns” in the region. — AFP February before a devastating coron- scant regard to public announcements avirus surge that led to a near-col- reminding them about social NEW DELHI: People throng Sarojini Nagar market for shopping after authorities lapse of the healthcare system. Continued on Page 2 eased a lockdown on Saturday. — AFP Saudi intercepts 10 drones

RIYADH: Saudi air defenses on Saturday inter- conservatism. cepted and destroyed 10 drones fired at the Clerical power But the role of religion faces the kingdom by Houthi rebels in Yemen, state media biggest reset in modern times as reported. The official Saudi Press Agency Crown Prince Mohammed bin reported that seven of the drones targeted wanes in Saudi Salman, spurred by the need to regions in southern Saudi Arabia. Three targeted diversify the oil-reliant economy, the Khamis Mushait region, also in the south and religious reset pursues a liberalization drive. home to military installations, it said. — AFP Chipping away at a key pillar of its RIYADH: Muezzins issuing high- Islamic identity, the government last decibel calls to prayer have long been month ordered that mosque loud- 5 dead in Belgium school collapse part of Saudi identity, but a crack- speakers limit their volume to one- down on mosque loudspeakers is third of their maximum capacity and ANTWERP: Five building workers were con- among contentious reforms seeking to not broadcast full sermons, citing firmed dead Saturday a day after a school con- shake off the kingdom’s austere concerns over noise pollution. struction site partially collapsed in the Belgian image. Saudi Arabia, home to the holi- In a country home to tens of thou- city of Antwerp. The last two bodies were pulled est Muslim sites, has long been asso- sands of mosques, the move triggered out the rubble on Saturday afternoon, Antwerp’s ciated with a rigid strain of Islam an online backlash with the hashtag fire department said, meaning that all the miss- known as Wahhabism that inspired “We demand the return of mosque ing victims were now accounted for. — AFP generations of global extremists and speakers” gaining traction. JEDDAH: In this file photo taken on April 28, 2020, Imam Mohammed, muezzin of left the oil-rich kingdom steeped in Continued on Page 2 the Jaffali Mosque, calls for prayer. — AFP 2 Established 1961 Monday, June 21, 2021 Local Amir receives top state officials at Bayan Palace

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah meets His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos meets National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem. His Highness the Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad meets Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Minister of State His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah. for Nazaha Enhancement Abdullah Al-Roumi. Sabah meets National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Ghanem and His Highness the Prime Minister for Nazaha Enhancement Abdullah Youssef Al- a cable of condolence from Lebanese President Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received His Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Roumi. In the meantime, His Highness the Crown Michel Aoun over the demise of Sheikh Mansour Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al- Furthermore, His Highness received Deputy Prime Prince received Ghanem and His Highness Sheikh Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. His Highness the Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Bayan Palace yes- Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Sabah Al-Khaled yesterday at Bayan Palace. In Amir replied with sincere appreciation for the terday. His Highness the Amir also received Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime other news, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf President’s honest sentiments, wishing him further National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al- Minister, Minister of Justice and Minister of State Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received yesterday health and wellbeing. — KUNA

they once vehemently opposed - including allow- from a county-run “girls ranch” that included foster Clerical power ing women to drive, the reopening of cinemas and 9 children among children, local media reported. “This was probably an outreach to Jews. the most horrific accident in Butler County history,” Saudi Arabia is revising school textbooks to Sheriff Danny Bond told the al.com website. wanes in Saudi... scrub well-known references denigrating non- 10 killed in fiery He said at least two of the vehicles involved were Muslims. The practice of non-Muslim religions 18-wheel trucks, and that four or five other people Continued from Page 1 remains banned in the kingdom, but government Alabama crash had suffered nonfatal injuries. Northbound and advisor Ali Shihabi recently told US media outlet southbound traffic on busy Interstate 65 were halt- It also sparked calls to ban loud music in restau- Insider that allowing a church was on “the to-do list MIAMI: Nine children and an adult were killed in ed for hours, but both had reopened by yesterday, rants, once taboo in the kingdom but now common of the leadership”. Authorities have publicly ruled a fiery multi-vehicle crash on an Alabama high- the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency tweeted. amid liberalization efforts, and to fill mosques in out lifting an absolute ban on alcohol, forbidden in way as heavy storms lashed the southeastern US “Our hearts are heavy today. Our ranch has suffered such large numbers that authorities are forced to Islam. But multiple sources including a Gulf-based state, a county coroner confirmed yesterday. great loss... Please send prayers our way,” tweeted permit loudspeakers for those gathering outside. diplomat quoted Saudi officials as saying in closed- Saturday’s crash on an interstate highway near the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch. But authorities are unlikely to budge, as eco- door meetings that “it will gradually happen”. the city of Greenville involved at least 15 vehicles The van in the accident was one of two bringing nomic reforms for a post-oil era take precedence “It’s not an exaggeration to say that Saudi Arabia and may have been caused by aquaplaning under children, none older than 17, back from a Girls over religion, observers say. “The country is re- has entered a post-Wahhabi era, though the exact heavy rains, Butler County coroner Wayne Ranch outing to nearby Gulf Shores, al.com report- establishing its foundations,” Aziz Alghashian, a religious contours of the state are still in flux,” Kristin Garlock told AFP. ed. The other van was unscathed. The girls ranch politics lecturer at the University of Essex, told Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, The dead included a father and daughter in an serves as a foster home for children abandoned or AFP. “It’s becoming an economically driven coun- told AFP. “Religion no longer has veto power over the SUV, and eight occupants of a van carrying children from abusive families. — AFP try that is investing substantial effort in trying to economy, social life and foreign policy.” appear more appealing - or less intimidating - to In another shift, observers say Saudi Arabia investors and tourists.” appears to be turning its back on global issues dous scenes in April and May when coronavirus cases In the most significant change that began even affecting fellow Muslims, in what could weaken its Indians throng went through the roof, as they did across the country. before the rise of Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia image as the leader of the Islamic world. “In the Crematoriums ran out of space, burning bodies day neutered its once-feared religious police, who past its foreign policy was driven by the Islamic markets after... and night, as gasping patients died outside hospitals, once chased people out of malls to go and pray doctrine that Muslims are like one body - when one unable to get beds, oxygen and drugs. India’s death toll and berated anyone seen mingling with the oppo- more than doubled to more than 330,000, according limb suffers the whole body responds to it,” another Continued from Page 1 site sex. In what was once unthinkable, some shops to official figures. Many experts suspect the true toll is Gulf-based diplomat told AFP. “Now it is based on and restaurants now remain open during the five over a million. mutual non-interference: ‘We (Saudi) won’t talk distancing and wearing masks. A couple queueing The surge was blamed on new virus variants but daily Muslim prayers. As clerical power wanes, about Kashmir or the Uyghurs, you don’t talk about at a popular burger joint squabbled, masks hanging preachers are endorsing government decisions also on the government having allowed massive reli- Khashoggi’.” — AFP from their faces. Mall staff performed perfunctory gious festivals, state elections and crowds at cricket temperature checks and reminded people to sanitize matches. Now, the surge is over and Indian authorities mon sense,” said Robert Almeida, a 50-year-old their hands. are loosening lockdowns, letting people work and shop China gives photographer marching in Rio. “There is no explain- Not far away, shoppers thronged the open-air war- again. On some days in Delhi now, there are no funer- ing this, it is surreal.” ren of shops and stalls at Lajpat Nagar market, bar- als for COVID-19 victims, down from 700 a day during In India, there were also fears that people were gaining for scarves, bangles and cheap cosmetics. the recent peak. billionth jab... not taking the COVID threat seriously enough, just There was lively trade for food vendors, who sold Sandeep Budhiraja, medical director at Max a few weeks after crematoriums were operating kulchey-chholey - flatbread served with spicy chick- Healthcare in the capital, said he was surprised at peo- Continued from Page 1 around the clock dealing with virus victims. Doctors peas - and other favorites to punters, masks dangling ple’s short memories. “People are just behaving as if are worried that India is letting its guard down as they ate. “I would not have come today but it was nothing happened just about two, three weeks back. virus left little sense of urgency to get jabbed. A again too early as shopping malls and markets buzz very urgent,” Prerna Jain, 21, a college student who And this is... amazing,” Budhiraja told AFP. But while lack of transparency and previous vaccine scandals with customers once more. had come with her mother, told AFP. “My cousin is this will likely lead to a sharp rise in cases, for a new have also led to resistance among many residents. The pandemic is also casting a shadow over the getting married and I needed to buy some stuff. I know “explosion” a new virus variant would have to take Authorities have set an ambitious target of fully Tokyo Olympics, which will start in just over a it’s not yet safe but what can I do? This (event) is hold, he said. A new variant, “Delta-plus”, has been vaccinating 40 percent of China’s nearly 1.4 billion month. A member of the Uganda Olympic team test- equally important.” identified, which appears more transmissible and more people by the end of this month. Some provinces ed positive for coronavirus on arrival in Japan Delhi, a megacity of 20 million people, saw horren- resistant to treatment, he added. — AFP are offering vaccines for free to encourage people Saturday, officials said. The nine-strong party, to roll up their sleeves. Residents in central Anhui including boxers, coaches and officials, are just the province have been given free eggs, while some liv- second team to arrive in Japan after the Australian ing in Beijing have received shopping coupons. women’s softball squad on June 1. China’s success against the virus stands in stark It was the first positive COVID test among contrast to Brazil, which on Saturday became the Olympic arrivals from overseas, according to second nation after the United States to surpass Japanese media. “I heard the person has been iso- half a million COVID-19 deaths. Vaccination efforts lated based on regulations,” Hidemasa Nakamura, have been slow with only 11 percent of the Brazilian the Tokyo 2020 Games delivery officer, told population inoculated, as a third wave of infections reporters, renewing a pledge to take strict measures spreads through the nation. against infections. Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who previous- Authorities in many countries continue to wrestle ly hit out at vaccines, has promised to immunize the with crowds flouting coronavirus rules on social dis- entire population by the end of the year - some- tancing and mask-wearing. In France, five police offi- thing specialists consider unlikely. He has been criti- cers were injured as they broke up a 1,500-strong ille- cized for downplaying the illness from the outset, gal rave, authorities said, with one partygoer losing a opposing lockdown measures and plugging hand. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, who unproven medical treatments. defied an 11 pm coronavirus curfew on Friday in an On Saturday, thousands of Brazilians again took area around a race course in Brittany. There were “very to the streets to protest against his handling of the violent clashes” when 400 police intervened that lasted pandemic. “His position on COVID and his denial- more than seven hours through the night. “It was war,” ism are absurd. He has abandoned reality and com- said Flo, a 22-year-old who attended. — AFP NEW DELHI: People eat at a food court at a mall after authorities eased a lockdown on Saturday. —AFP Established 1961 3 Local Monday, June 21, 2021 Kuwait calls for supporting refugees around the world

This handout photo released by Kuwait Red Crescent Society shows This handout photo released by Kuwait Red Crescent people collecting aid during a campaign organized by KRCS to aid This handout photo released by Kuwait Red Crescent Society shows Society shows KRCS Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer (left) Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. refugees collecting aid during a campaign organized by KRCS. during a campaign to aid Syrian refugees.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) around the world, the human suffering they are forefront in executing humanitarian initiatives to said it funded a UNHCR project to improve infra- called yesterday for supporting refugees around the experiencing exacerbated, Sayer added, as he provide quality assistance to refugees, offering 106 structure of housing facilities of Syrian refugees in world, providing them with protection, health, edu- called organizations and authorities in the world to grants with a total of $1.304 million up until fiscal Iraq’s Kurdistan region and in Lebanon. It also cational and social care. In a statement to the press quickly establish a specialized body to spread year 2019-20. financed projects of UN Palestinian refugees marking World Refugee Day, KRCS Chairman Dr awareness among the refugees. Sayer stressed The fund, in a report marking the 50th World agency (UNRWA) in Gaza Strip, which included Hilal Al-Sayer, said Kuwait’s contribution to helping KRCS, through its partners in Kuwait Fund for Refugee Day, said the humanitarian contribution was construction of schools. It co-financed a campaign refugees around the world was clear by responding Economic Development, is ready to provide support part of Kuwait government’s international obligations to raise awareness against coronavirus inside Syria. to humanitarian crises in various parts of the world for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and to continue to help refugees who were forced to flee their homes KFAED, it added, contributed to cancer treat- to alleviate the suffering of millions of refugees. providing support to the displaced Rohingya in because of wars and conflicts. It said it offered assis- ment centers in Lebanon and Jordan. It joined hands Assistance provided by Kuwait via governmental Bangladesh. tance to Palestinian, Iraqi, Syrian, Yemeni and with Kuwait Red Crescent Society to offer logistical and non-governmental institutions confirms the Myanmar’s refugees in host countries, in addition to assistance to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. importance of its role in international humanitarian Kuwait fund’s contributions Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Bangladesh. The The aid included building 1,200 housing units and work to serve refugees all over the world, he added The State of Kuwait has been a major contribu- fund, it said, initiated solid partnerships with UN 1,200 packages, which included blankets, kitchen- in a statement. KRCS works with the refugees for tor to humanitarian aid, coordinating with UN agencies and national organizations to improve living ware and solar power lights, in addition to con- better living and future, especially for the Syrian agencies and organizations working in humanitari- and health conditions of people in need. structing schools, mosques and health centers. refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Rohingya in an, refugees and human rights affairs to help those Kuwait also hosted international conferences to Bangladesh, Sayer said. in need around the globe. Kuwait Fund for Arab Housing and education help people in Syria and Iraq, during which donors With the increase in the number of refugees Economic Development (KFAED) has been at the Citing examples of the contributions, KFAED pledged billions of US dollars. — KUNA KRCS opens Increasing refugee numbers wards at Hospital require int’l support: GCC Wardieh in Beirut RIAYDH: The unusual increase in are looking forward to spreading BEIRUT: Kuwait Red Crescent Society the number of refugees due to peace all over the globe, so that (KRCS) Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer wars and conflicts requires sup- refugees would be able to go back opened yesterday wards at Wardieh port of the internation- to their homelands, Hospital in Beirut, which KRCS helped al community, Gulf Hajraf said. He praised restore after it was damaged by a massive Cooperation Council efforts exerted by the explosion of Beirut Port in August 2020. (GCC) Secretary Office of the United Sayer opened three wards 10 months after General Dr Nayef Al- Nations High the start of renovation work. Hajrf said. The GCC Commissioner for Representative of the People’s Committee countries’ distinguished Human Rights for Fundraising in Kuwait Tareq Al-Salem BEIRUT: Dr Hilal Al-Sayer (left) and Tareq Al-Mutawa cut a cake during a ceremony to stances are always (OHCHR), as well as by Al-Mutawa and Head of KRCS’s mission in celebrate the reopening of wards at Wardieh Hospital in Beirut. — KUNA photos supportive to the hosting and donors’ Lebanon Dr Musa’ad Al-Enezi participat- regional and interna- countries, he affirmed. ed in the ceremony. At the ceremony, a tional peace, he added Hajref stressed on Dr Nayef Al-Hajrf documentary was shown about the support, he said. that the wards that are restored returned to in a speech marking GCC countries’ com- moment of the explosion and what the Meanwhile, Mutawa said that KRCS the best of what they were, re-equipped World Refugee Day, mitment in offering the hospital was exposed to. Sayer affirmed immediately took the initiative to collect with good technology. The affected hospi- which falls on June 20 every year. required protection and basic life KRCS’ keenness to pay great attention to donations from philanthropists to complete tals also delivered medical equipment and He emphasized GCC’s support to needs to refugees, especially dur- the health sector, because it constitutes this humanitarian work. In turn, Nicola Al- health materials that were transported alleviate the suffering of refugees, ing the coronavirus (COVID-19) the primary need in crises and disasters. Aqiqi, head of the hospital, said that after through an air bridge that Kuwait began to indicating that Gulf nations are the pandemic time, which only wors- After the explosion, many hospitals in the explosion, they were in a state of loss set up the day after the explosion, which highest ranked in offering humani- ened their life and deepened their Beirut lost their ability to treat the injured and confusion, then witnessed Kuwait transported through 18 Kuwaiti Air Force tarian and rescue aid. GCC nations suffering. — KUNA and provide medical services to others, standing by Lebanon’s side which gave planes more than 820 tons of needs to which rushed them to provide them with them hope and strength. She pointed out Lebanon. — KUNA stc recognizes Tarahom Volunteer Kuwait reports Team for their 25 COVID deaths contributions in three days KUWAIT: Chief Executive Officer of stc Maziad KUWAIT: Kuwait has announced 25 deaths Al-Harbi on behalf of stc, honored the members of related to the novel coronavirus over a three- the Tarahom Volunteer Team in appreciation of their day period, while the daily infected cases’ rate vital role and continuous contribution to the com- Chief Executive Officer of stc Maziad Al-Harbi and Danah Faisal Al-Jasem, General Manager of Corporate continued to register high numbers. The munity. The recognition came in a message of grati- Communications at stc in a group photo with the public relations team at stc and the Tarahom Volunteer Team. Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 11 tude during a recognition ceremony, highlighting new COVID-19 deaths and 1,497 infections the team’s successful achievements over different Volunteer Team in the “Let’s Clean” campaign. The over the previous 24 hours, putting total fatali- initiatives that brought the two organizations initiative was marked as the largest of its kind ties at 1,862 and the caseload at 337,371. together over the past years. desert clean-up in Kuwait and took place in the Kuwait had reported nine and five deaths, in On this joyous occasion, Harbi commended the Subiya area during the beginning of the winter addition to 1,658 and 1,646 new cases on actions taken by the Tarahom Volunteer Team’s man- camping season. The event was considered a signif- Friday and Thursday, respectively. agement through a heartfelt speech in which he icant one as the Subiya area serves as a prime des- Total recoveries have reached 318,419 after acknowledged the series of campaigns and teams that tination for families for camping and experiencing a 1,388 patients recovered during the same peri- stc collaborated with. The collaborative partnership range of leisure activities. od, the ministry said on Saturday. Recoveries aided in successfully implementing stc’s Ramadan stc, as well as several small to medium sized on Friday and Thursday reached 1,386 and campaigns in 2020 and 2021, as well as the Kuwait enterprises, governmental institutions, private com- 1,427 respectively. Moreover, 17,090 patients desert clean-up ‘Subiya’ initiative. To commemorate panies, and volunteers, participated in the Tarahom in total were receiving healthcare, including the volunteers for their humanitarian acts during the Volunteer Team’s Subiya initiative to properly dis- 209 at intensive care units as of Saturday, the special occasion, stc distributed certificates to pose of all waste materials left in the desert. ministry added. This is up from 16,992 patients, acknowledge all their hard work and dedication. Collectively, 1,375 participants managed to collect including 202 in ICUs announced on Friday, stc released a statement indicating that this step over 10 tons of matter that was placed in over 2,500 KUWAIT: Chief Executive Officer of stc Maziad Al- and 16,729 patients, including 196 in ICUs stems from the Company’s commitment and strate- waste disposal bags. Harbi honors the Tarahom Volunteer Team. announced on Thursday. gy to support the Kuwaiti society through various Meanwhile, Danah Faisal Al-Jasem, General In a measure to curb the spread of the humanitarian and goodwill initiatives. This also Manager of Corporate Communications at stc, said, tive set out under stc’s Ramadan campaign. virus, the Cabinet had announced Thursday reflects the strong and successful relationship “While leisure activities are essential to achieving a Additionally, she thanked the team for their leading that unvaccinated people will not be allowed shared between the two organizations in driving the healthy lifestyle balance, we must not lose sight of role in organizing the desert clean-up initiative, and to dine at restaurants and cafes, enter huge community and preserving the local environment. the importance of preserving our environment and for their resilient dedication towards making the malls exceeding 6,000 square meters in area, In this regard, stc stated that it had recently reducing the output of harmful waste. Having said local community a better place. health clubs and salons. Entry is allowed to launched a community-based campaign titled, that, we are determined to support our society Jasem concluded that the recognition ceremony, people who have received two doses or at “Today_We_Can”, in collaboration with the through various humanitarian initiatives, which is attended by stc’s CEO, reflects the core values that least 14 days after taking one dose. Kuwait had Tarahom Volunteer Team, for the second year in a where the Tarahom Volunteer Team’s role comes stc stands by with the aim of achieving sustainable last week announced the detection of an row. The campaign consisted of two different initia- into play by organizing and implementing such and effective results. stc will continue to organize unspecified number of the delta variant of the tives that focused on spreading joy and happiness activities in collaboration with stc.” initiatives, participate in activities, and launch cam- coronavirus. Kuwait has been witnessing a to the hearts of various members in the local com- Jasem extended stc’s gratitude and appreciation paigns that empower the community and support a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases munity throughout the holy month of Ramadan. towards the Tarahom Volunteer Team for the effort sustainable lifestyle despite the unprecedented cir- which exceeded 1,300 for over a week. The company also partnered with the Tarahom they placed forth to successfully achieve the objec- cumstances faced today. 4 Established 1961 Local Monday, June 21, 2021

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Established 1961 The First Daily in The Arabian Gulf

THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961 Founder and Publisher YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24833199 Extn. 125 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait. Email: [email protected] Website: www.kuwaittimes.net

Kuwait Airways KUWAIT: A picture showing Al-Maqsab Gate, one of five remaining gates of Kuwait’s old ‘Soor’ or wall, in Kuwait City. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh resumes flights to Paris, Malaga, Sarajevo V4 integration an example KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) announced yesterday resuming flights to Paris, Malaga and Sarajevo as part of a strategy for grad- ual restoration of regular operations. The KAC said of successful cooperation in a press statement it would organize three flights to Paris per week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays as of July 7. There will be two flights per week to Malaga on Sundays and Thursdays effec- tive July 4 and two flights per week to Sarajevo on Saturdays and Wednesdays starting June 30. The corporation had announced last week relaunching flights to London with a single trip a week. On June 15, it started staging three flights per week to Bodrum on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. And on June 18, it began organizing three flights a week to Trabzon on Sundays, Mondays and Fridays, in addition to the regular KUWAIT: Ambassadors of the V4 (Visegrad Group) countries are seen during a cere- mony at the Polish embassy in Kuwait to mark the 30th anniversary of the founda- flights to Istanbul. tion of the grouping. Visitors at an exhibition showcasing the history of the V4 nations. Moreover, the national carrier announced two flights per week to Tbilisi on Mondays and Fridays, in addition to several summer tourism destinations. KUWAIT: Ambassador of Poland to furthering their European integration Dialogue is essential in these difficult Christianity (Roman Catholicism), The corporation has affirmed its readiness to Kuwait Pawel Lechowicz held a gath- as well as advancing their military, eco- times. Gestures of solidarity and good- experience of II World War and post restore full operations of commercial flights in line ering of V4 (Visegrad Group) ambas- nomic and energy cooperation with will also count. The next country to war communist regimes in V4 Group. with approval of the health authorities and resump- sadors at the Polish embassy in Kuwait one another. The Visegrad Group hold the presidency in the V4 Group is Arab-Islamic roots of GCC states, as tion of air navigation in other countries. — KUNA last week to mark the 30th anniversary reflects the efforts of the four Central Hungary.” well as balancing influence between of the foundation of the grouping. On European countries - the Czech Ambassador Pawel further elaborat- colonial powers (Ottoman Empire, UK). February 15, 1991, the presidents of Republic, Hungary, Poland, and ed that the V4 countries exchange • Social and economic level of Czechoslovakia and Poland and the Slovakia - to work together in a num- information and develop priority pro- development: GCC economies are prime minister of Hungary signed the ber of fields of common interest within grams in order to better cooperate in based on oil extraction and exports. Visegrad Declaration, which marked the all-European integration. an increasing number of areas. An V4 countries transitioned from social- the beginning of the V4 cooperation. Addressing the gathering important basic principle is that, within istic methods of centrally controlled The Visegrad Group Jubilee took Ambassador Pawel said that the annual the EU, the V4 carry more weight as economies to the ideas of free market place during the Polish Presidency, presidency coincided with an unprece- an alliance than they would as individ- and freedom of entrepreneurship. which began on July 1, 2020. A short dented crisis in the world caused by ual countries. • Goals: GCC seek new, other than and impressive video presentation of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The pan- oil-based development route for their each of the four countries was made to demic has put the functioning of soci- V4 and GCC comparison economies. V4 Group states, as a major the select gathering at the Polish eties to a severe test,” he said. In spite of the differences of the manufacturer of goods in Europe chancery and guests were able to see “The motto of V4 cooperation dur- countries’ economic potential and (heavy industry, automotive, agricul- the great progress made by the V4 ing the Polish Presidency was ‘Back on geographical differences, there are ture) seek advancement to the high nations during the past 30 years. track’, and our goal of building the certain similarities in the cooperation income - high productivity categories. The Visegrad Group was estab- image of the Central European region between V4 countries and GCC states: An exhibition was also on display lished as an alliance of originally three, and V4 as a flexible and constructive • Shared cultural and historic back- showcasing the history of the V4 later four countries for the purpose of partner remains an ongoing task. grounds: Influence of Western nations.

Flames spread to five houses in Jaber Al-Ahmad KUWAIT: Four fire teams battled a blaze that erupted in a house under construction in Jaber Al- Ahmad yesterday. Strong winds also helped flames spread to four other nearby homes, Kuwait Fire Force said. No injuries were reported as firemen managed to evacuate the buildings before success- fully extinguishing the fire, KFF explained. An inves- tigation was opened to reveal the cause of the fire.

Drugs found in rice container KUWAIT: Customs officers at Shuwaikh Port foiled an attempt to smuggle nearly 17 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine) hidden in rice sacks in a food supplies’ container arriving from Iran yesterday. The operation came less than 24 hours after a similar case in which customs officers foiled an attempt to smuggle 5.4 kilograms of shabu in a shipment of candy bars. International MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021 Downtown Chicago emerges from Taleban: ‘Islamic system’ only way to Afghan peace, women’s rights Page 7 pandemic — hobbled by crime wave Page 6

TEHRAN: A woman holds a poster of Iran’s newly-elected president Ebrahim Raisi, with text in reading “government of the people, strong Iran”, as supporters celebrate his victory in Imam Hussein square in the capital late Saturday. —AFP Iran’s ultraconservatives hail Raisi win Media in Iran welcomes ‘the dawn of a new era’

TEHRAN: Iran’s ultraconservatives yesterday hailed the Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah COVID pandemic and the “enemy’s propaganda”, refer- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — have election victory of their candidate Ebrahim Raisi, after and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. ring to boycott calls from Iranian opposition groups resumed in Vienna, with the US taking part indirectly. Washington charged the vote was unfair. Raisi’s victory had been widely anticipated after the abroad. The Resalat daily welcomed the change from the Raisi, 60, won Friday’s election in which more than Guardian Council, made up of 12 clerics and jurists, had Rouhani administration which it said has been dogged by ‘Anti-Western views’ half the voters stayed away after many political heavy- approved just seven candidates, all men, out of a field of political infighting and occupied with “fruitless domestic Raisi has said Iran should keep negotiating with the aim weights had been barred from running and as an eco- almost 600 hopefuls. Iran’s moderate Jomhouri-e Eslami and foreign challenges”. of ending the punishing sanctions that have largely cut the nomic crisis driven by US sanctions has battered the daily highlighted that conservatives had now cemented Rouhani’s landmark achievement was the 2015 deal country of 83 million off from global markets and financial country. An austere figure from the clerical establish- their hold on power, from parliament and the Guardian with world powers under which Iran agreed to limit its systems. The US State Department said after Raisi’s elec- ment, Raisi takes over from the moderate incumbent Council to the court system and armed forces. nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. That deal tion win that Washington would continue talks over Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, who must leave office in August after Using a touch of irony, its editorial said that “we, the has however been hanging by a thread since then-US nuclear program, working with its allies and partners. eight years in power. people of Iran, owed the conservative faction a homoge- president Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and A spokesperson charged however that “Iranians were Rais is seen as close to the 81-year-old supreme neous government” and “the people have delivered”. launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to diplomati- denied their right to choose their own leaders in a free leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate politi- cally and economically isolate Iran. and fair electoral process”. Analysts for think-thank the cal power in Iran. ‘Epic’ turnout While Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear Eurasia Group said Raisi’s election win would likely not “The Dawn of a New Era,” read the jubilant front- Turnout reached 48.8 percent, a record low for a weapon, Trump charged it was still planning to build the derail the ongoing Vienna talks to salvage the nuclear page headline of the conservative Resalat daily, welcom- presidential poll since Iran’s 1979 revolution ousted the bomb and was destabilizing the Middle East through deal. But they warned that “his hardline, anti-Western ing the 62 percent win by Raisi, the head of Iran’s judici- US-backed monarchy. armed proxy groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. views are a sharp break from the more moderate stances ary. Raisi was congratulated by Russia, Turkey and sev- The ultraconservative Kayhan daily argued the voter Since US President Joe Biden took office this year, talks of Rouhani and will have a significant impact on Tehran’s eral Gulf states, and by Iran’s regional allies including participation was “epic” considering the economic crisis, involving Iran and the remaining parties to the accord — relationship with the outside world”. —AFP Women migrants reduced to sex slaves in Libya ‘hell’ TRIPOLI: For Aisha, sexual slavery was something you only heard about happening to others in televi- sion reports, until she found herself locked in a liv- ing “hell” in Libya. “I had left a nightmare only to fall into hell,” said the migrant from Guinea, lured to the North African FORT LAUDERDALE: Police officers and others assist- country that criminal gangs have turned into a den of ing two people lying on the ground after being hit by a racketeering. Aisha fled her home country after five pickup truck during a Pride parade in Wilton Manors, miscarriages: for her in-laws and the neighborhood, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida Saturday. —AFP she was either sterile or a witch. But the young woman was simply diabetic. “I just wanted to disappear from my country,” said Aisha, a graduate in hotel management. One killed as truck She contacted a former classmate who appeared to have made a life for herself in neighboring Libya and hits crowd at who lent Aisha money to join her. “I didn’t even see the country. As soon as I arrived, I was locked up, I was a slave. She brought men to me and she got the Florida Pride parade money.” Locked in a room with a toilet, she only saw the FORT LAUDERDALE: The driver of a pickup truck “friend” who had duped her when she was brought in slammed into a crowd gathering for a Pride parade food, “like a dog”. “The men came drunk. I’d rather not Saturday in south Florida, killing one man and injuring remember it,” said Aisha, still trembling. “I thought my another, authorities said. While the truck appeared to life was over.” be taking part in the procession, it was not immedi- After three months, a Libyan man took pity on her, ately clear if the crash was a deliberate assault or an threatened her captor and put Aisha on a bus to accident. Police detective Ali Adamson said officials Tunisia with 300 Libyan dinars ($65) in her pocket. were evaluating all possibilities. After her diabetes was treated, she even gave birth to The incident happened at the start of the Wilton a baby girl late last year. She now dreams of Europe, Manors Stonewall Pride Parade and festival, an but returning to Libya is out of the question. —AFP LGBTQ celebration in a town near Fort Lauderdale. The white pickup truck was lined up with other floats for the parade when it accelerated and ran into pedes- trians before crashing into a plant nursery, Local 10 News said. The driver was later taken into custody. Two adult men were transported to a medical center where one later died, Adamson told reporters in a tel- evised press briefing. The other remains hospitalized but is expected to survive, she added. The driver and the victims are members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, according to a statement from the group’s president Justin Knight, who called the incident an “unfortunate accident”. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the unfortunate accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started,” he Aisha, a migrant from Guinea plays with her daughter at a said in the statement. —AFP park in the southeastern Tunisian town of Medenine. —AFP 6 Established 1961 International Monday, June 21, 2021 Downtown Chicago emerges from pandemic - hobbled by crime wave Businesses ecstatic with reopening of America’s third-largest city

CHICAGO: Businesses in downtown Chicago trians and committing assaults-incidents that that survived the pandemic-related economic business owners say are keeping customers slump and two spasms of looting last summer away. should be ecstatic with the reopening of Yet Mayor Lori Lightfoot is optimistic. On America’s third-largest city. Yet, many are bat- Tuesday, a day Chicago experienced its third ting a new hardship-a surge in crime that is mass shooting in three days, she called for more keeping customers, and their money, away. federal help to stem the flow of illegal guns but “I’ve never felt more unsafe than I do now,” also struck a positive tone. “The reality is our said Steve Burrows, a 48-year-old attorney who city is safe. I stand by that,” said Lightfoot. has called Chicago home his entire life. “I work City Council member Raymond Lopez, a fre- downtown so I’m here every day during the day quent Lightfoot critic, said she’s living in “fairy- but I won’t come down here at night or on the land” and blasted her recent changes that weekend.” If people like Burrows, suburbanites banned most police car chases and limited foot and the millions of tourists who normally visit chases of suspects. “The police need to catch the lakefront city stay away, Chicago businesses criminals. They need to stop planting flowers will feel the impact as many are still trying to and building community gardens and start emerge from the tumult of the last 16 months. catching people committing crimes. No longer Roseanna Ander, founder and executive allowing them to run after criminals-they already director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, can’t drive after them. What’s next, no longer stresses that the uptick concerns gun crimes and being allowed to handcuff them?” other types of violent crime-also experienced by Lopez also said Chicago is getting a bad rep- other cities around the United States. “The truth utation that is detrimental to its economic is nobody knows exactly what is driving the recovery, with a quarter of the city’s budget increase,” Ander said. based on revenue from tourism and hospitality. But it’s clear the pandemic added to many “When the national mood at the mere mention of existing social problems. “It exacerbated every- our name that Chicago is too dangerous to go thing, it magnified everything,” she said. to, no one will want to come here.” CHICAGO: Beachgoers walk by a Chicago Police officer monitoring the beach from his car in the North The city’s police department has asked the Avenue Beach area in Chicago, Illinois, Friday. —AFP ‘Our city is safe’ University of Chicago Crime Lab to analyze the Chicago is experiencing crime in areas that violent crime wave. Crime over the Memorial had generally been considered safe, like the Day weekend in May, the traditional start of the a mother and daughter who own three Kilwins issue we should be focused on because it’s all Magnificent Mile commercial district and tony US summer, was down significantly this year-as ice cream shops in Chicago, including one on about guests in beds and diners in seats. We Oak Street, where last August rapper FBG Duck the police department ordered officers to work Michigan Avenue that was looted last summer in want people feeling safe when they come to visit was shot dead in broad daylight. Violent crime is 12-hour shifts, cancelled days off and stepped violence stemming from protests against police our great city,” said Sam Toia, head of the up in the city in every category. Carjackings, up patrols downtown. abuses, the crime downtown is causing shops to Illinois Restaurant Association. Although Jackie about half committed by juveniles, are happen- But offenses surged again after officers close early in prime summer season. “People Jackson believes in Chicago’s business potential, ing all over Chicago, while expressway shootings returned to normal shifts, prompting the police want to go out and have fun at 7 pm but safety crime has her making a five-year plan to get out. are at levels never seen before with 93 so far department to return this weekend to the comes first,” Janel Jackson said. “Having to close “I don’t carry a purse anymore... I don’t go this year versus 39 at the same time last year, stepped-up presence. It’s not clear how long up so early because no one is downtown affects into any parking lots. I can’t go through a according to police. that policy will stay in place, police spokesman us tremendously.” drive-thru because I’m so afraid. I don’t wear In downtown, much of the lawlessness has Russ Rosenoff said. With people wary of going for something jewelry. I can’t live. “I can’t wait to get me a lit- been blamed on youths who have come to the like an after-dinner ice cream, it’s hitting the tle lake house and sit on the front porch and sip area on weekends the last two months, causing ‘Scary’ bottom line. iced tea someplace and live happily ever after havoc by tipping over planters, robbing pedes- For Jackie Jackson, 49, and Janel Jackson, 27, “Everyone is concerned, it’s definitely an because this is scary.” —AFP

and greeted by hospital staff singing South Africa’s Surgeons to national anthem. Many wore white T-shirts printed with “Team reconstruct face of Rodwell” and a drawing of the boy. They clapped Body found in and cheered as he was wheeled into the building, a boy after hyena attack green hooded sweater pulled over his head and his Belgium is likely face covered in white bandages. A peephole had SANDTON, South Africa: Plastic surgeons in South been cut over his right eye, through which he missing rogue soldier Africa are preparing to reconstruct the face of a watched cartoons on a smart tablet. nine-year-old Zimbabwean boy mauled by a hyena BRUSSELS: A body in an attack last month. Rodwell Khomazana lost his ‘Huge injury’ found yesterday in east- nose, left eye, most of his upper lip, bits of his fore- Mia and his team will perform exploratory sur- ern Belgium is probably head and other parts of his face when he was gery today, after which they will schedule a com- that of a soldier sus- plex operation expected to last around 20 hours. attacked during a night-time church service outside SANDTON, South Africa: Rodwell Khomazana (center), 9, pected of extreme-right Harare on May 2. They will use tissue from other parts of his body to reconstruct his jaw, nose, mouth and cheeks. He will is taken out of an ambulance on a gurney at the views who went missing Doctors in one of the city’s main public hospitals Mediclinic Sandton Hospital in Sandton Saturday. —AFP after stealing arms from did the best they could to patch him up and stabilize also be fitted with a prostatic eye. a military base and his condition, but lacked the resources to fully “Unfortunately he will have multiple scars on threatening public repair his ravaged face. his face,” said Mia. “What we are hoping to do is eral touch up procedures. A hotel has offered to figures, prosecutors Unable to afford specialized surgery only avail- a procedure where we minimize... the scarring,” he accommodate the child’s mother during that time. said. “According to able abroad, his mother contacted medics in neigh- explained. Rodwell “will never have a completely Mia said left over money would be used for ther- the first elements of boring South Africa, who agreed to operate on him normal, unscarred face”, he warned. “But we want apy to help Rodwell overcome trauma. He noted the investigation, it is for free in a private Johannesburg clinic. to give him something that will at least allow him psychological support would be particularly impor- Jurgen Conings,” a Jurgen Conings “When she mentioned the story of this poor child to be functional and enjoy the things that other tant for him to accept his new eye. Doctors hope statement said. mauled by a hyena I couldn’t say no,” plastic sur- kids do.” Rodwell will eventually “feel like a normal boy “The cause of death is probably, according to geon Ridwan Mia told AFP earlier this week. Donations will cover the costs of hospitalization, again”, Mia said. “Unfortunately the harsh reality is initial findings, attributable to suicide by firearm,” Rodwell was flown to Johannesburg on Saturday which is expected to last at least a month with sev- we are dealing with a huge injury.” —AFP the statement added, though this would be con- firmed at a later date. Hundreds of police and army personnel were deployed last month on the Former UK speaker Bercow insisted his decision was “not hunt for Conings, 46, after his abandoned vehicle personal against Boris Johnson”. But in was found in the area near the Dutch border with Bercow slams PM, scathing comments, he said Johnson had four rocket launchers inside. “only a nodding acquaintance with the Conings, who reportedly served in Kosovo, defects to Labour truth in a leap year” and the way he Iraq and Afghanistan, was believed to remain treated parliament “with contempt” was armed and dangerous after he was suspected LONDON: The colorful former speaker “lamentable”. of stealing weapons from a military base where of Britain’s House of Commons John Bercow also told The Observer the he worked as an instructor. The discovery was Bercow said he has left the Conservatives prime minister was “a successful cam- first reported after a town mayor yesterday to join the opposition Labour Party, say- paigner but a lousy governor”, criticiz- said he had found the body during a bike ride ing the country is “sick of lies” under ing policies such as cutting the interna- in a forest near where Conings’s car had been Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In an inter- tional aid budget. found last month. view with the Observer newspaper pub- “During my mountain bike tour this morning, in lished on Sunday, the former MP said the ‘Sick of lies’ a part where few people come, I smelled a strong Conservative Party under Johnson was “I don’t think he has any vision of a corpse odor,” Johan Tollenaere of the eastern “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and more equitable society, any thirst for town of Maaseik, told VRT news. “I immediately sometimes even xenophobic”. social mobility or any passion to better thought of Jurgen Conings and notified the police. Bercow, who stepped down as speaker the lot of people less fortunate than he is. I They found the body,” he said. in October 2019 after 10 years, said he think increasingly people are sick of lies, The manhunt dominated newspaper headlines joined the Labour Party a few weeks ago sick of empty slogans, sick of a failure to in the country, with some labelling Conings the because he shared its values. “I am moti- deliver,” he told the Observer. Bercow LONDON: In this file photo, UK Parliament Speaker John Bercow speaks in “Belgian Rambo” after the 1980s action film star- vated by support for equality, social jus- also directed a jibe at health minister Matt the House of Commons in London on the European Union (EU) Withdrawal ring Sylvester Stallone. Among the people tice and internationalism. That is the Hancock, widely criticized for his handling Act 2018 Motion. —AFP Conings had threatened is Marc Van Ranst, a Labour brand,” he told the Observer. of the pandemic, telling Sky: “I would buy leading virologist who has become a target for “The conclusion I have reached is that him at my valuation and sell him at his and Labour after the Tories denied him this. youngest person to hold the role for 100 conspiracy theorists, COVID-skeptics and the this government needs to be replaced. The realise a healthy profit in the process”. “There has been no barter, no trade, no years. The post of speaker is politically Flemish far-right in Belgium during the coron- reality is that the Labour Party is the only On the other hand he described deal whatsoever,” he told Sky News. impartial and the holder is expected to avirus crisis. With Conings still at large, Van Ranst vehicle that can achieve that objective. Labour leader Keir Starmer as “an honest, Bercow served as a Conservative MP for resign from their party on appointment. and his family had been moved to an undisclosed There is no other credible option.” decent person”. He denied suggestions Buckingham for 12 years before being Bercow told Sky News he did not rejoin location. In an interview with Sky News, that he was angling for a peerage from elected speaker in 2009, becoming the the Conservative Party afterwards. —AFP “My thoughts go out to the relatives and chil- dren of Jurgen Conings. For them this is very sad news, because they lose a father, a relative or a on the Brandywine church in Wilmington. They also vis- the sacrament to politicians who support abortion rights. friend,” Van Ranst tweeted. The affair has been an Biden goes to ited the church graveyard where the president’s first Biden on Friday seemed to dismiss the possibility embarrassment for the government as it was later wife Neilia, son Beau and infant daughter Naomi are that he could be denied communion. “That’s a private revealed that Conings was on a watch list for his buried. Biden, 78, is a devout Catholic who attends mass matter and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he told far-right views and had access to weapons. church after at least once a week, and he supports the landmark 1973 reporters. It is up to each local bishop to decide who He also drew support online with Facebook US Supreme Court decision affirming a woman’s right to receives communion in their diocese. In 2019, a priest at shutting down a page supporting Conings, which abortion challenge an abortion. a Catholic church in South Carolina refused holy com- had garnered 45,000 members in just a few days. On Friday US bishops agreed to draft a statement on munion to Biden because of his stance on abortion. The Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder decried WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden went to church the meaning of holy communion which could potentially be Catholic News Service reported in May that the Vatican the online backing for the fugitive-condemning in Saturday in his hometown a day after US Roman used to deny that sacrament to the American leader. The had warned US bishops to proceed cautiously with particular support coming from within Belgium’s Catholic bishops issued a challenge to him over his sup- eucharist, also known as holy communion, is among the policies designed “to address the situation of Catholics armed forces. —AFP port for abortion rights. most sacred rituals in the Catholic Church and there have in public office who support legislation allowing abor- Biden and first lady Jill Biden spent time at St. Joseph been calls from some conservative church leaders to deny tion, euthanasia or other moral evils.” —AFP Established 1961 7 International Monday, June 21, 2021 Taleban: ‘Islamic system’ only way to Afghan peace, women’s rights Mullah Baradar insists group is committed to peace talks KABUL: The Taleban said yesterday they remain tiations”. Baradar also assured that the rights of all committed to peace talks but insisted a “genuine Afghans including women would be accommodated Islamic system” in Afghanistan was the only way to in that system, according to “the glorious religion of end the war and ensure rights-including for women. Islam” and Afghan traditions. Talks between the militants and the Afghan gov- ernment have been deadlocked for months and vio- ‘Taleban destroying Afghanistan’ lence has surged across the country since May But many fear that the Taleban’s interpretation of when the US military began its final withdrawal. rights will clash with the changes that have hap- Fears are also growing that if the Taleban pened in Afghan society since 2001. In May, a US return to power they will reimpose their harsh intelligence report said the gains made over the version of Islamic law, under which girls were past two decades on women’s rights would be rolled banned from school and women accused of crimes back if the militants returned to power. As the US such as adultery were stoned to death in stadiums. military presses ahead to meet the September 11 Despite the rise in violence, Taleban co-founder deadline to complete the troop withdrawal, the and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Taleban have fought daily battles with government said yesterday that the group was committed to forces and claim to have captured 40 districts. The the peace talks. “Our very participation in the growing fear and uncertainty about the future have negotiations... indicates openly that we believe in forced many Afghans to try and leave, including resolving issues through (mutual) understanding,” thousands of men and women who fear reprisals Baradar said in a statement. because they worked with foreign forces. Baradar He said the only way to end the conflict in called on Afghan youths to not leave the country, Afghanistan was to establish an Islamic system after and also stressed that the Taleban would ensure KABUL: A street vendor waits for customers along a road in Kabul yesterday. — AFP the departure of all foreign forces. “A genuine that minorities, humanitarian organizations and Islamic system is the best mean for solution of all diplomats had nothing to fear. issues of the Afghans,” Baradar said. The recent losses faced by government troops government. “If they choose enmity then the people plan to establish peace. “As officials of a legiti- His statement acknowledged the fears in have forced President Ashraf Ghani to change his will respond to them decisively,” he said late on mate government, we are committed to all the Afghanistan and abroad about the kind of system defense and interior ministers. On Saturday, he Saturday in a statement issued by the palace. humanitarian laws in the war, but the Taleban are that would emerge-and its impact on women-saying announced the changes and called on the Taleban to Ghani blamed the Taleban for starting the war violating these laws and are destroying that fell “within the ambit of the intra-Afghan nego- make a choice between peace and enmity with the and accused them of failing to come up with a Afghanistan,” he said. — AFP Ethiopia’s election board News in brief ‘confident’ despite vote worry Eswatini youth stage rare protest MANZINI, Swaziland: Police in Eswatini on ADDIS ABABA: Twice delayed, hob- more than any previous ballot. “We Saturday clashed with a rural demonstration bled by the coronavirus pandemic, hope this is going to be a better one, demanding democratic reforms in Africa’s last violent insecurity, and planning chaos, a participatory one, and a credible absolute monarchy, an AFP reporter said. Ethiopia’s electoral board says it is one,” she said. Around 500 youth gathered in a village in the ready for today’s crucial vote and kingdom’s Manzini district to demand the right assures it will be credible. “We’re Setbacks to vote for their own prime minister, currently actually very confident about it,” the NEBE was overhauled when Abiy appointed by King Mswati III. They burned National Election Board of Ethiopia rose to power in 2018 on the back of tyres, blocked roads and chanted political slo- (NEBE) spokeswoman Solyana anti-government protests, vowing to gans as they marched through the village, calling Shimeles said. open up political space after years of on the king to lift a longstanding ban on political It is not optimism shared by all, iron-fisted rule. The appointment of parties. An AFP reporter at the scene said police with serious doubts remaining over Birtukan Mideska-a high-profile for- fired stun grenades and live bullets at the the vote Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed mer judge and exiled opposition protest-a rare event in rural areas, which tend to promised would be the most competi- leader-to head a revived, independent ADDIS ABABA: Electoral officials carry voting material at a polling station in Addis Ababa support the monarchy. In 2019, the country was tive yet in Africa’s second-most popu- board was seen as evidence of Abiy’s yesterday. — AFP rocked by a series of strikes by civil servants lous nation. Voting will not proceed commitment to democratic reform. who accused the monarch of draining public on June 21 in about one-fifth of the Nationwide elections were delayed asked to remain anonymous, said: EU will not send a team after a dis- coffers at the expense of his subjects. — AFP country’s 547 constituencies due to almost year due to the coronavirus “NEBE is committed and willing, but agreement with the government over unrest and logistical problems. pandemic, and rescheduled for June 5. it is challenging. Whether this trans- the terms. Those constituencies will mostly But organizing a smooth election is a lates into being ready for sound elec- And the Ethiopian Humans Rights Italy’s Berlusconi combative vote in September, but no ballot is tall order at the best of times in tions is another matter.” Commission, a government-affiliated scheduled in Tigray, a war-torn region Ethiopia, a vast and rugged country but independent body that has inves- ROME: Former Italian prime minister Silvio of six million. In some areas where of 110 million hamstrung by poor Doubts tigated state excesses, was barred Berlusconi said yesterday that he was doing bet- voting will proceed, opposition boy- infrastructure. NEBE lacked resources Analysts say the logistical prob- from observing the vote. “Our man- ter after repeated hospital stays in recent months cotts have further undermined claims and needed tens of thousands of staff. lems that have dogged preparations date enables us to deploy and moni- and would remain active in politics. “Fortunately of inclusivity and competition. The timetable fell behind and a new could prove troubling when it comes tor the human rights aspect of the I’m doing better, but the doctors won’t let me The majority of national parlia- date was scheduled for June 21. to counting the ballot. “The NEBE elections,” the commission’s director take part in public events yet. Nevertheless, I mentary seats up for grabs in Abiy’s But problems still linger just days leadership is trying really hard to do of communications Aaron Maasho promise to be with you soon,” the 84-year-old native Oromia-the country’s most before the vote, observers say. On what they can but they’re working in told AFP, adding talks with NEBE told a meeting of his Forza Italia party by phone, populous region-are being contest- Friday, Birtukan wrote to Abiy saying a difficult environment and have huge were ongoing. according to media reports. Berlusconi’s four ed by a single candidate, election federal assistance with transport and delivery challenges”, said an election Endalkachew Girma, a 35-year-old hospital stays this year-most recently in May- data shows. Solyana said just three other logistics would be needed to expert in Addis Ababa who asked to voter in Addis Ababa, recognized were prompted by complications from his coron- of Ethiopia’s 49 registered parties ensure the election went off without a remain anonymous. NEBE had tried to make this vote avirus infection in 2020. — AFP were not contesting the poll, and hitch. “NEBE is working 24 hours in The vote will be monitored by five fairer. “But like past ballots, I do not about 9,500 candidates were run- full capacity,” she wrote. foreign observer missions and thou- think this election will be historic or ning at a national and regional level- One diplomat in Addis Ababa, who sands of civil society workers. The credible” he said. — AFP Separatists kill 2 soldiers in Cameroon

DOUALA, Cameroon: Two soldiers and a Scholar speaking out French far-right civil servant were killed in separate attacks in Southwest Cameroon, officials said Saturday, on China’s crackdown the latest violence in a bloody independence eyes gains in struggle by English-speaking rebels. Two sol- diers were killed in one incident, in Nguti com- on intellectuals regional polls mune on Friday, the prefect of Koupe- BEIJING: In a small, book-strewn apartment in Manengouba, Jean-Marie Tchakui, told AFP. PARIS: France went to the polls for the first round of “There were three soldiers. Two were killed on Beijing’s outskirts lives one of the last Chinese aca- regional elections yesterday that could see Marine demics who refuses to be silenced by the ruling the spot,” said Tchakui. “And one was able to Le Pen’s far-right party make gains and step further escape although he was wounded”, “Our two Communist Party’s relentless crackdown on intel- into the political mainstream. The election will see soldiers died while on their way back from lectuals. Wu Qiang, 50, once had an enviable new assemblies elected for mainland France’s 13 guarding a factory shut down due to threats by career as political science lecturer at the elite regions and 96 departments, with Le Pen’s National secessionists,” he added. — AFP Tsinghua University. Rally (RN) tipped to win at least one region for the But he was dismissed in 2015 after conducting first time in what would be a major coup. fieldwork at the Occupy Central movement in Hong Le Pen is not standing as a candidate, but she has Kong a year earlier. “This caused shockwaves at been campaigning hard ahead of presidential elec- War crimes trial of ex-Kosovo rebel Tsinghua. I was cut off and they thought I was a tions next year that surveys show could end up being Former Tsinghua University lecturer Wu Qiang lost his troublemaker,” he said, adding that the university a close race between her and centrist President THE HAGUE: The war crimes trial of former instead gave an “obscure technical reason” for his job after doing fieldwork on the Occupy Central move- Kosovo rebel leader Salih Mustafa will take place ment in Hong Kong. — AFP Emmanuel Macron. “What would be great for her (Le dismissal. Since then, Wu continues to speak to for- Pen), and would spark some momentum in the pre- in September, the court trying him announced eign media despite a nationalistic climate that is presidential campaign, would be if the National Rally Saturday. Mustafa, a former commander with the increasingly hostile towards outside views. “false ideological trends” such as constitutional won a region,” Stephane Zumsteeg from the Ipsos Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), will be the first He also filed a labor lawsuit against Tsinghua democracy, civil society and press freedom. polling firm told AFP. person tried by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, earlier this year. “I am still protesting against It has been likened to a gag order for universi- Though far-right politicians preside over a handful which has also charged the former president of Tsinghua’s illegal dismissal, just like how I am still ties. Intellectuals, NGOs, civil rights lawyers and of towns, running a region with a budget of billions of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci. Mustafa has been charged resisting in my thoughts and my comments on pol- liberal media were the first in line to be targeted euros and powers over schools, transport and eco- with the murder of a prisoner, the torture and itics,” says Wu, a stocky, energetic man who rat- by successive state-backed purges of dissent, nomic development would lend it the sort of legitima- cruel treatment of at least six imprisoned civil- tles through Chinese Communist Party history as which reached a peak in the 2015 nationwide “709 cy that Le Pen craves, analysts say. The one most ians, as well as arbitrary detention during the his cats weave between his feet. “It is very impor- crackdown” when over 300 lawyers and human likely to tip is the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Cote 1998-99 conflict. — AFP tant not to stop speaking out. You need to com- rights activists were arrested. In the past year d’Azur-home to Marseille, Saint-Tropez and Cannes ment on politics and society; that’s how you par- alone, influential business tycoon Ren Zhiqiang — where the RN is fronted by Thierry Mariani, a ticipate in it,” he said. was jailed for 18 years and legal scholar Xu former minister who defected from the centre-right W Africa states to keep watch on Mali He remains an anomaly. Since President Xi Zhangrun was detained and sacked from Tsinghua Republicans party. Voting began at 08:00 am (0600 Jinping came to power in 2012, China’s vibrant intel- after writings that criticised Xi’s response to the GMT), with polls set to close between 06:00-08:00 ACCRA, Ghana: West African states said on lectual circles gradually fell silent as Party critics coronavirus outbreak. pm nationally. The election will be held over two con- Saturday they will carry on monitoring events were arrested, fired from their institutions or forced Meanwhile, former Central Party School profes- secutive Sundays, with a second run-off vote on June in Mali following a coup before lifting its sus- to flee abroad. “Ten years ago, perhaps every sor Cai Xia fled to the US and was expelled from 27 necessary unless parties win more than 50 per- pension from a regional bloc. Bamako has weekend in every corner there would be a large the Party last summer, after a recording of a lecture cent in the first round. announced a new civilian government and number of salons and meetings (in Beijing),” he said. surfaced in which she likened Xi to a “mafia boss”. Analysts say that results in many regions will be promised to adhere to a roadmap to elections “But now, this wonderful scene does not exist The silencing of dissent comes as China, having driven by local dynamics and a high abstention rate, early next year, after the coup in May led by anymore... everyone always talks about one issue successfully tamed the coronavirus, flaunts an limiting how much they should be seen as indicators for Colonel Assimi Goita. He had already led a when we meet: who’s disappeared or been detained unprecedented level of confidence on the global the larger political picture in France. But the outcome coup last August with other army officers to recently. Everyone is waiting to see who will be stage, sparring with Western countries who view it will inevitably shape the narrative in the coming weeks, oust elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita next.” In a sign of the sweeping changes to come, a as a strategic threat. The ruling Chinese Communist particularly with regard to the strength and electability after weeks of mass protests over corruption leaked 2013 internal communique-known as Party is also about to celebrate 100 years since its of Le Pen, as well as the state of Macron’s enfeebled and the long-running jihadist conflict. — AFP Document No. 9 — warned against promoting founding with triumph. — AFP party, the Republic on the Move (LREM). — AFP Established 1961

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021 Boursa Kuwait rings the bell in support of refugees on World Refugee Day 2021 Initiative in collaboration with UNHCR

KUWAIT: Boursa Kuwait rang the bell to support Commenting on the event, Naser M Al-Sanousi, refugees during World Refugee Day 2021, in collabo- Director of Marketing and Communication at Boursa ration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The Kuwait, said, “The number of refugees and forcibly stock exchange also lighted up its building in blue, displaced persons around the world at the end of 2020 which are the colors of the UNHCR logo, to raise has exceeded 80 million, a large percentage of which awareness of the plight of refugees and the forcibly are under the age of 18, which is a record number, displaced and shed light on the role that the private especially in light of this pandemic stricken time. sector can play to accomplish goal 17 of the UN Boursa Kuwait joins UNHCR today, ringing the bell for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). World Refugee Day in support of every person who has been displaced by wars and conflicts across the world.” Dr Samer Haddadin, Representative of the UNHCR Office in Kuwait, also spoke on this occasion, saying: “World Refugee Day recognizes the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of refugees who have been forced to flee often struggle to access the most basic of needs, such as food, shelter, education and medical facilities. We work together with refugees, partners and communities every day to help them access these services and look towards brighter futures.” Considered to be one of the key contributors to the UNHCR around the world, Kuwait has donated over $430 million to the UN Refugee Agency over the past Naser M Al-Sanousi Dr Samer Haddadin ten years. Dr Haddadin added, “We have often used the exam- ple of Kuwait as a role model other countries can emu- The compassionate initiative forms part of Boursa late, as it has long been a contributor to the UNHCR. I KUWAIT: The stock exchange building is lighted up in blue to raise awareness of the plight of refugees yesterday. Kuwait’s efforts to create a lasting meaningful impact would like to extend my gratitude to the State of on the communities where it operates as part of its Kuwait, its institutions and its people for their support Corporate Sustainability strategy. over the years, which has undoubtedly helped improve Environment, Education and Community as well as panies or organizations that have experience in differ- An international day designated by the United the lives of millions of refugees around the world.” Goal 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals ent fields, and integrating sustainability efforts with the Nations to honor refugees around the globe, World Boursa Kuwait’s partnership with the UNHCR to (SDGs), to strengthen the means of implementation company culture, in order to achieve longevity and an Refugee Day has been commemorated each year on ring the bell on World Refugee Day is the embodiment and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable ongoing impact that is carried on and instilled in the June 20 since 2001. The day celebrates the strength of the company’s sincere desire to raise awareness to development. day-to-day operations of the stock exchange. As part and courage of people who have been forced to flee the importance of helping those who are in need and Boursa Kuwait’s Corporate Sustainability strategy of the strategy, Boursa Kuwait has launched many ini- their home country to escape conflict or persecution, have been deprived of their right to live with dignity. stipulates ensuring initiatives apply and fall in line with tiatives in partnership with local and international and shines a light on the rights, needs and dreams of This initiative will contribute to greater awareness of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), organizations, focusing on support for nongovernmen- refugees, helping to build empathy and understanding the importance of helping the victims of wars, conflicts industry best practice standards and investor expecta- tal organizations and charity programs, financial litera- for their plight and mobilize resources to enable them and persecution build better futures for themselves, tions, creating strong and sustainable partnerships that cy and capital market awareness, the empowerment of to thrive. This year, World Refugee Day is marked and is in line with Boursa Kuwait’s Corporate ultimately achieve success and allow Boursa Kuwait to women, environmental protection as well as safety and under the theme, ‘Together we heal, learn and shine.’ Sustainability initiatives among the three pillars of the leverage the capabilities and strengths of other com- preventive measures against COVID-19.

return of the Boeing aircraft, which was grounded for 20 Airbus-Boeing months in the US following two fatal crashes. ‘Diplomatic and commercial tool’ truce and a While China remains dependent on Airbus and Boeing aircraft for now, the country’s ambitions to have common rival its own fleet are clear. “The aeronautics industry is both an instrument of growth and a diplomatic and commer- WASHINGTON: While the United States and Europe cial tool that allows them to have a very comprehensive waged a 17-year trade battle over subsidies to Boeing foreign policy in foreign markets,” said Michel and Airbus, China poured money into its own commer- Merluzeau, analyst at AIR, an industry consultancy. cial aircraft to take on the Western aviation duopoly. It “The Chinese have the technological and industrial took a common threat for the US and Europe to finally skills to make an airplane, there’s no doubt about that,” put an end to their dispute this past week, as the two he told AFP. “The Chinese are ambitious. They’re very (From left), Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s reasonable. They know it will take time,” he said. “They sides signed a five-year truce suspending tit-for-tat tar- Sundar Pichai. iffs. US President Joe Biden made it clear during his visit don’t want to take on Airbus and Boeing in 2025.” to Brussels on Tuesday: Washington and Brussels must The C919 was built with US and European help. Only “work together to challenge and counter China’s non- 14 of the aircraft’s 82 suppliers are Chinese, according to ‘Risky’ path market practices in this sector that give China’s compa- Kennedy. The wings and fuselage are Chinese but manu- Huge changes for The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote nies an unfair advantage”. For the past four years, state- facturers in the country have yet to master the skills of Wednesday on the package, which has some support run manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of building engines or airplane electronic equipment. Internet and Big from Republicans in addition to the Democratic leader- China (COMAC) has run test flights for its 168-seat, nar- “They prepare their industry to meet domestic needs, ship, signaling a likelihood of passage in the full House of row-bodied C919 airplane, a potential rival to Airbus’s it would be inferior products but at least it would be Representatives. The fate in the Senate is less clear. A320 and Boeing’s B737. national,” Aboulafia said. The airplane is heavier than the Tech unveiled The measures come following a 16-month investiga- COMAC expects to obtain airworthiness certification US and European aircraft, making it less fuel efficient tion in the House led by antitrust subcommittee chairman from Chinese air traffic regulators this year, coinciding and thus more expensive to operate. David Cicilline which concluded that tech giants were The antitrust overhaul package with the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist WASHINGTON: abusing their dominant positions and had too much unveiled in Congress targeting Big Tech, if enacted, Party. The aircraft received between $49-$72 billion in From duopoly to ‘triopoly’ power in the economy. Christopher Sagers, a Cleveland could have far-reaching effects on how people use the state subsidies, much more than the aid that Airbus and But COMAC is racking up customers. The company State University professor specializing in antitrust law, Internet and on America’s biggest and most successful Boeing were given by their governments, according to says it has 815 orders from 28 clients, most from Chinese said the package represents a radical approach to deal- companies. The five bills, due for a committee vote on Scott Kennedy, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic airlines-though few are confirmed orders. China Eastern ing with tech firms’ growing power. The bills “would Wednesday, could pave the way for a reorganization or and International Studies in Washington. Airlines was the first company to make a firm order in make the platforms operate more like airlines or utility breakup of giants such as Google, Facebook, Apple and “The very real problem is that China is manipulating March for five aircraft. Huang Jun, professor at the companies, which have to provide their services to any- Amazon while reshaping the entire internet ecosystem. the market in playing Airbus and Boeing against each school of aeronautic science and engineering of Beihang one who wants them, and not give anyone (or them- The measures would stop tech giants from operating other and demanding technology transfers as a condition University, said the C919 will not be a game changer. selves) discriminatory advantages,” Sagers said. a platform for third parties while offering competing for orders,” said Richard Aboulafia, aviation expert at But it may be cheaper than its rivals and create an “These laws also could bring an end to some prod- services on those platforms, dealing a major blow to the Teal Group, a market analysis firm based in Virginia. “ABC pattern” in China, with Airbus, Boeing and ucts that are very popular,” he added. likes of Apple and Amazon. China’s air traffic has recovered much faster than else- COMAC operating in the country. “We just hope we “I’m not sure how Apple could continue even selling Lawmakers also are seeking to ban tech firms from where in the world as the country brought the coron- can join this market and occupy a certain market its own mobile software, for example, if iOS devices or prioritizing their own products or services, with Google avirus outbreak under relative control well before others share,” Huang said. For Airbus chief executive the App Store were denominated ‘covered platforms,’ clearly in mind. Another measure would require data last year. Boeing believes that the Chinese market will Guillaume Faury, COMAC “will progressively become a and there could be consequences for products like “portability” and “interoperability,” which could make it need 9,360 aircraft in the next 20 years, one-fifth of the decent player”. “So we will grow probably from a Amazon Prime, Google Maps, books digitized in the easier for people to quit Facebook, for example, while world total. It could be a major windfall for the A320 and duopoly to a ‘triopoly’” by the end of the decade for Google Books project, and who knows what else.” But keeping their data and contacts. the 737 MAX, though China has yet to authorize the single-aisle aircraft, he said. — AFP Sagers said the impact might not be bad in the long run The largest tech firms additionally would be barred because “markets rearrange themselves and new com- from acquiring competitors under the package, which petitors turn up to replace them... But it is to say that would also add funds for antitrust enforcement. Fiona these laws seem risky and I find their consequences hard Scott Morton, a Yale University professor and former US to predict.” official who has written extensively on Big Tech, said the legislation stems from the failure of antitrust enforce- Blank smartphones? ment in the US and elsewhere to make a dent in the Other analysts offered stark warnings against unfore- dominance of major technology firms. seen consequences of upending the massively successful “This is regulation, it’s not antitrust anymore,” Morton firms on which many consumers rely in their daily lives. said. If the bills are enacted, she noted, Apple might have Iain Murray, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise to sell or shut down its music service so that it doesn’t Institute, said the measure might mean a firm such as discriminate against rivals such as Spotify. “Apple would Apple would need to shut its App Store, ship “blank have to choose,” she said. phones” without any apps, or spin off its phone division. An interoperability requirement “would be very pro- “For the most part, the average consumer will see her found for consumers because it would let people join user experience severely degraded,” he said in a state- social networks other than Facebook and (Facebook- ment. The legislation mirrors Europe’s Digital Markets owned) Instagram and stay in contact with their friends,” Act and is likely to “distort” competition, according to Morton noted. The package comes amid signs of a more Aurelien Portuese of the Information Technology and aggressive posture by Washington against dominant Innovation Foundation, a think tank which often reflects tech firms, including President Joe Biden’s nomination of the industry’s views. Portuese said the legislation comes SEATTLE, WA: A Boeing 737 MAX 10 airliner taxis at Boeing Field after its first flight in Seattle, Lina Khan-a prominent advocate of breaking up Big amid a wave of resentment toward Big Tech but may ulti- Tech-to head the Federal Trade Commission, one of the mately hurt consumers by allowing less efficient firms to Washington. — AFP agencies charged with antitrust enforcement. gain in the marketplace.—AFP Established 1961 9 Monday, June 21, 2021 Business Squatters fill Gaddafi compound as Libya’s housing crisis bites Satellite dishes, water tanks now fill the grounds of Bab Al-Aziziya complex

TRIPOLI: Before Muammar Gaddafi ouster, Libyans uprising, Libyan authorities considered turning Bab steered well clear of the Bab Al-Aziziya compound Al-Aziziya into a “green zone”, an amusement park or from where the dictator ruled, but a housing shortage a memorial for the “martyrs” who had fallen in the in Tripoli has forced squatters to move in. Satellite conflict to oust Gaddafi. None of those projects has dishes and water tanks now fill the grounds of the once materialized. feared fortified complex in a southern suburb of the But according to information obtained by AFP, capital, as young boys kick balls and cars drive in and authorities are planning to turn Bab Al-Aziziya into a out of the main gate. park as part of a wider campaign to beautify Tripoli. If Much of the sprawling compound was destroyed in so, the new residents of the once feared Gaddafi head- NATO bombardments during the 2011 uprising against quarters could face eviction. “I will not leave my house,” Gaddafi and then rebels went on the rampage, ran- said a man who gave his name as Hassan, declining to sacking it. Now dozens of families have moved into the reveal his true identity for security reasons. His squat small houses once allocated to soldiers and the villas “was in an appalling state, there were no doors or win- that were home to high-ranking army officers. Bashir, dows”, said Hassan, who claims to have spent the equiv- 68, has been squatting in a 400-square-metre (4,300- alent of $32,100 on repairs. square-foot) villa since 2012, one year after Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels in Sirte, the coastal ‘Decent housing’ Mediterranean city that was his hometown. Ten years since the uprising that toppled Gaddafi’s “Hundreds of Libyans have come to live here,” he regime, many Libyans who used to receive government said, puffing on a cigarette. “The villa had been set grants and subsidies are struggling to make ends meet. ablaze and it took me a year to renovate it, at great The oil-rich country descended into chaos after the expense,” said Bashir. “But I’m not complaining.” dictator’s fall and still faces a host of political and eco- The complex, complete with bunker and a warren of nomic crises, including chronic power cuts, petrol underground tunnels, was Gaddafi’s home and the site shortages and derelict infrastructure. from where he ruled Libya for four decades. Built in Years of conflict in post-Gaddafi Libya have result- the 1980s, it was reinforced following a US air strike in ed in tens of thousands of people being displaced, with 1986 in response to an attack on US servicemen at a many seeking refuge in big cities like Tripoli, creating a TRIPOLI: Libyans shop at a Friday market set in the gardens inside the Bab Al-Aziziya compound. Before Berlin nightclub, for which Washington held Tripoli housing shortage. Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster Libyans avoided like the plague the Bab Al-Aziziya compound from where the dic- responsible. “Before the revolution, you could find houses and tator ruled, but a housing shortage in Tripoli has forced squatters to move in. —AFP there were less people (in Tripoli). But now finding an ‘I will not leave’ affordable house is rare, prices have skyrocketed,” said In its heyday, Bab Al-Aziziya, which covers six Bashir. “Today, a small apartment costs around often go months without pay, and bank loans are placement of Libyans due to conflict, with many peo- square kilometers (two square miles), housed a zoo, 400,000 dinars ($83,000). Where can I find money almost impossible to obtain. Economist Kamal Al- ple moving to big cities, means that finding decent an indoor pool, countless murals and a fairground in like that?” Mansouri said insecurity has forced “foreign construc- housing is hard,” he said. “And rents have doubled in its gardens. Gaddafi had expanded the grounds by The minimum monthly salary ranges between 450 tion firms to pack up and go, leaving behind 200,000 the past 10 years,” said Tripoli-based real estate agent knocking down adjacent neighborhoods. After the and 600 Libyan dinars ($90 and $120), civil servants unfinished homes”. “Population growth and the dis- Ali Kelfat. —AFP

2030 and would be the equivalent to the production Asian competition Asian manufacturers are also investing in Europe, Europe powers up of 16.7 million battery electric vehicles, a T&E In another report, Transport & Environment said with the Chinese group AESC planning to work with spokesman told AFP. “Given the monstrous increase in battery electric vehicles could account for all new sales Toyota and Renault on battery plants in Britain and demand, there is a major stake at hand for manufac- of units in the 27-nation European Union by 2035 — if France. Two South Korean companies, LG Chem and e-battery drive turers to break the battery makers’ oligopoly,” said policymakers introduce tighter CO2 targets and strong SKI, have already opened factories in Poland and Eric Kirstetter, a sector analyst at consulting firm support for infrastructure to charge cars. Automakers, Hungary, and China’s CATL is building one in BRUSSELS: As electric car sales soar, Europe has Roland Berger. which are under pressure to transition out of fossil fuel Germany. European Commission vice president started to build up its capacity to produce batteries “They will also have to ensure access to materials vehicles, are putting money into battery production. Maros Sefcovic said in March that the continent on the continent but it remains far from reducing its for the electrodes (anode and cathode), which will German giant Volkswagen has invested in Northvolt needed to achieve strategic independence in what has dependence on Asia. China, Japan and South Korea determine the batteries’ price and availability,” he and also plans to build five other battery plants. become a critical sector.He wants European factories produce most of the world’s electric car batteries. added. In Sweden, the start-up Northvolt expects to Stellantis, which owns brands such as Alfa Romeo, to cover the region’s needs by 2025. That is a tall Europe now has projects to build 38 gigafactories reach annual production of 150 GWh in Europe by Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge and Fiat, is working on two of its order, according to Oliver Montique, an analyst with with a combined annual output of 1,000 gigawatt 2030, with one plant under construction now and two own, while electric pioneer Tesla wants to make its future Fitch Solutions. Montique targets 2040 for the estab- hours (GWh) and an estimated cost of 40 billion euros much bigger ones on the drawing board. Northvolt gigafactory near Berlin one of the biggest in the world with lishment of “an entirely closed loop supply chain ($48 billion), according to a June report by Transport has previously said that production capacity would 250 GWh of capacity by 2030. European governments are where the vast majority of battery materials are & Environment, a non-government organization. reach 32 GWh by 2024, or enough batteries for backing the projects because they want the continent to extracted, refined, processed and produced into bat- This annual supply could be reached by 2029- 600,000 electric vehicles per year. maintain a major role in future automobile manufacturing. tery cells on the continent.” —AFP

WEEK ENDED ON 17 JUNE 2021

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10 Established 1961 Business Monday, June 21, 2021 Brandatt, first Gulf e-commerce company to join OTC platform Brandatt shares registered on OTC platform

KUWAIT: Mubarak Al-Badr, Founder and Chairman economy, thanks to the joint cooperation between One of the major targets of the distinguished Al-Badr also indicated of the board of directors of Brandatt Electronic our Company and local and international compa- activity of launching “Brandatt” on OTC Platform, that upon the Company’s Trading Company K.S.C., announced the registra- nies, as well as to the customers, users and suppliers the system for trading securities unlisted on registration, it becomes the tion of Brandatt company shares on OTC platform; joining the application. In this respect, we cannot Kuwait Stock Exchange, is to open the way for our first Kuwaiti technology system for trading securities unlisted on Kuwait ignore the efforts exerted by our workers in all customers to be true partners of a Kuwaiti success company to join OTC Stock Exchange, to be the first Kuwaiti and Gulf technical, administrative and logistical fields, as well story to be added to the records of success sto- Platform and provide its company in e-commerce sector to trade its shares, as the recommendations of expert houses. Hence, ries, similar to international companies. shareholders with opportu- by sale and purchase, using that activity for the we are very keen to provide our customers with Mubarak Al-Badr added that, stemming from nity for an easier exit or for public. It is worth noting that Brandatt application, their various requirements, focusing on expediting the principle of transparency, Brandat shall be the entry if new investors. which is available on Apple Store and Google Play fulfilling their orders with the most possible quality keen to display its information through “Al- On this occasion, applications, in addition to Huawei Store for Apple and speed, whether they were inside or outside Mawazi.com”, which is the first provider of real- Fahad Al-Shariaan, CEO and Android devices, whether for mobile phones or Kuwait. time price data and information on the shares of of KIC Brokerage laptops, includes different thresholds to online In order to achieve integration in performance, companies unlisted on OTC Platform in Kuwait Company, stated that KIC Mubarak Al-Badr shopping channels, including everything related to Al-Badr said: “We were keen to own a service- Stock Exchange. Brokerage Company sole- men and women and children. logistical arm represented by the delivery company, Brandat’s keenness to display its information ly provides electronic trading solutions through its Al-Badr pointed out that Brandatt E-Commerce Evco, which is 100 percent owned by Brandatt, so through Al-Mawazi platform is due to the fact that it application and website to its customers on OTC Company was established in 2016 and, since then, as to ensure the level of quality, service and speed is characterized by ease of obtaining the main infor- Platform, the system for trading securities unlisted has widened its activity gradually until it achieved in local delivery, in addition to our keenness to con- mation and its continuous investigation of the accu- on Kuwait Stock Exchange, which, in turn, will several successes at the commercial and economic tract with major global delivery companies to racy of information it provides to shareholders and allow a large segment of Shareholders to trade the levels. Therefore, it is one of today’s attractive and ensure that orders reach our customers all over the investors periodically through official sources and shares of all companies registered on the Platform contributing sources to support Kuwaiti national world”. not only through the company’s general assembly. electronically.

their cards locally and internationally, by getting 1 ing providing special NBK launches summer chance for every KD 1 spent locally, and 2 chances offers, draws and special when using their cards outside Kuwait. valuable prizes.” campaign: Customers “We are keen to be KFH to join The eligible cards are as follows: closer to our customers l NBK Visa Platinum Credit Card from the youth, by care- could win 9 Tesla cars l NBK Visa Signature Credit Card fully identifying their pref- GUST’s virtual l KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is NBK Visa Infinite Credit Card erences, which helps us in l keen to reward its customers all year round by NBK-Kuwait Airways (Oasis Club) Visa our efforts to meet their career fair continuing to launch unique and exceptional Signature Credit Card needs and helps us design l campaigns that give them the chance to enter NBK-Kuwait Airways (Oasis Club) Visa offers and rewards to suit KUWAIT: Under the theme draws to win prizes tailored to their expecta- Infinite Credit Card their lifestyles, in addition of “A bright future starts l Mohammed Al-Othman tions. In this context, NBK launched its annual NBK Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card to our digital services and with KFH”, Kuwait Finance l NBK-Kuwait Airways (Oasis Club) Visa payment solutions, which House (KFH) is participating summer campaign 2021, enabling customers to win 9 Tesla Model 3 cars. Platinum Prepaid Card are considered the most advanced in Kuwait,” he in the virtual career fair l It is worth mentioning that NBK’s campaign for NBK Platinum Mastercard Credit Card added. organized by the Gulf l this summer is the first of its kind in Kuwait. NBK World Mastercard Credit Card Al-Othman emphasized that NBK strives to University for Science and l NBK credit or prepaid cardholders can get the NBK World Mastercard Miles Credit Card enrich the banking experience of NBK Credit Technology (GUST). The l opportunity to enter a draw and win 7 Tesla Model NBK World Elite Mastercard Credit Card Cardholders by offering them an exquisite lifestyle, 22nd career fair will be held l NBK UEFA Champions League World and the opportunity to participate in unique and virtually for two days from 3 cars when using their eligible cards during the campaign that started early June 2021 and ending 31 Mastercard Credit Card exceptional campaigns all year round, which are June 22nd - 23rd through l KHIBRA platform. December 2021. NBK also allows students who NBK UEFA Champions League Platinum always well-liked and popular. Mastercard Prepaid Card With returning to normal life, National Bank of Group Chief Human Zeyad Al-Omar transfer the student allowance to the bank and Resources Officer at KFH, apply for Al-Shabab prepaid card to get 3 chances On this occasion, Mohammed Al-Othman, Kuwait launched a variety of exceptional rewards Zeyad Abdullah Al-Omar to enter the draw on 2 Tesla Model 3 cars. General Manager of Consumer Banking, National for its customers, including cashback campaigns, said that KFH participation comes in line with its efforts in Eligible NBK credit and prepaid cardholders will Bank of Kuwait, said: “Our summer campaign this salary transfer rewards, and other exclusive offers acquiring and qualifying the national talents. It also con- have greater chances to enter the draw as they use year is totally exceptional and was designed to and draws that were well-received and appreciated firms its keenness to always be present in GUST career meet the expectations of all our customers, includ- by customers. fairs, and reflects its commitment to providing students with career opportunities. Al-Omar added in a press release that during the virtual career fair, a specialized most powerful TV operating system - Apple TV 4K Burgan Bank announces KFH HR team will conduct virtual job interviews and Ooredoo offers works seamlessly with Apple devices and services to answer job seekers’ queries while educating them on the magically transform the living room in ways that every- winners of Yawmi draw opportunities available at KFH and the private sector. one in the family will love. He pointed out that KFH has achieved great ratios in Apple TV 4K to The all-new Apple TV 4K comes in two storage fla- KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the nationalization, indicating the bank is keen on maintaining vors and is available for Ooredoo customers at KWD names of the daily draw winners of its Yawmi high levels of benefits to its employees and new recruits. The customers in Kuwait 66 for Apple TV 4K 32GB, and for KWD 74 for Apple account draw, each taking home a cash-prize of KD bank encourages its staff to be certified and highly qualified TV 4K 64GB. Customers can also purchase it through 5,000. by providing them with all training programs they need to KUWAIT: Ooredoo Telecom, the first to introduce inno- Ooredoo ADD for KWD 3 per month for the Apple TV The lucky winners are: enable them to enjoy productive and satisfying careers. KFH vative digital services in Kuwait, and Gait, Apple 4K 32GB, or KWD 3.5 per month for the Apple TV 4K 1. Hasan Abdullah Ashkanani continues its efforts to be a leader in the field of talent devel- Premium Reseller, announced the launch of the next 64GB. The Apple TV 4K is also available through 2. Zaid Natae Rowaie opment, particularly national labor by attracting, training, and generation of Apple TV 4K with the Siri Remote which Ooredoo and Gait official websites and sales of point, in 3. Thekrayat Mousa Kakouli qualifying young graduates. It is worth noting that KFH has makes it even easier to watch shows and movies on addition to branches. In a statement, Ooredoo Kuwait 4. Farah Osamah Aljarallah taken part in two virtual career fairs organized by the Apple TV with intuitive navigation controls. Hence, shed a new light on the fact that companies that operate 5. Nadeen Hasan Alsadek American University of Middle East (AUM) and the Apple announced the launching of its all-new Apple TV in different sectors compete for maintaining and gaining In addition to the daily draw, Burgan Bank also Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) and recruited a number 4K, in April 2021. new customers, where customer satisfaction is driven by offers a quarterly draw with more chances to win of national talents to join KFH family. KFH has strong part- offering them value through meeting their changing higher rewards, offering the chance to one lucky cus- nership with GUST in different fields that encompass spon- With A12 Bionic, Apple TV 4K now supports high tomer to win KD 125,000 every three months. The soring the Islamic financing club activities, cooperation and frame rate HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby desires and demands. Therefore, Ooredoo is always coordination concerning workshops, seminars, conferences, Vision video, enabling fast-moving action at 60 frames keen on being the first in the country to offer its cus- Yawmi Account offers daily and quarterly draws, lectures and training courses, in addition to career fairs and per second (fps) to play more smoothly and appear tomers the latest products and services that will wherein the quarterly draw requires customers to scholarships programs among others. more lifelike than ever before. Together with tvOS - the undoubtedly improve the customer experience. maintain a minimum amount of KD 500 in their account for two months prior to the draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 in the account will entitle customers to one chance of winning. If the account NBK Money Markets Report balance is KD 500 and above, the account holder will be qualified for both the quarterly and daily draws. Higher prices Retail sales Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open a Dollar rises amid The producer price index (PPI) was released on Tuesday Data released on Friday showed UK retail sales unex- Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to where it illustrated a gain in prices paid by producers, which pectedly fell last month for the first time since January as maximize their chances of becoming a winner. The might force companies to increase prices on consumers. The consumers spent more on meals and drinks out and less on higher the level of the deposit, the higher the likeli- a hawkish Fed PPI has gained 0.8 percent in May following a 0.6 percent grocery shopping. The volume of retail sales fell 1.4 percent hood to win. increase in April. The main driver to the increase of produc- in May compared to the previous month, throwing econo- KUWAIT: Last Wednesday saw a shift in the stance of the tion costs comes from increased material costs and labor mist’s forecasts of a 1.6 percent increase into the wind. Federal Reserve, who has for months been wary of signaling expenses. Additionally, increased demand has depleted inven- The decline followed a jump of almost 10 percent in that an end to its ultra-loose monetary policy would be in tories combined with transport bottlenecks, which influenced April, when non-essential shops were allowed to reopen for sight. A hawkish twist saw Federal Reserve chair Jerome the prices to increase. the first time since early January in most of the country. The CBK announces Powell announcing at a press conference that Fed officials largest contribution to the monthly decline in May came expected to start raising interest rates in 2023, in addition to Markets react from food stores, where sales volumes fell 5.7 percent. winners of Al-Najma beginning talks on eventually reducing the pace of its $120bn The shift in the Fed’s projections jolted the government Indoor hospitality reopened on May 17 in many parts of the per month asset purchase program. bond market, where treasuries of all maturities sold off UK, resulting in many people eating out rather than cooking The moment when the Fed might start winding down its sharply in the back of the release. The benchmark 10-year at home. Non-food stores, in contrast, reported a 2.3 per- Account campaign support, suddenly looked to be on the horizon. The dot plot is note rose 0.08 percent before cooling down to close the cent increase. Household goods stores, such as furniture, now showing that 13 of the 18 FOMC members predicted a week at 1.443 percent. The 5-year note closed the week 0.14 reported the fastest growth, of 9 percent. KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait conducted the first interest rate increase in 2023, compared to 7 in March’s percent up at 0.876 percent. The 2-year note yield, which is A Separate report released on Tuesday showed the num- weekly draws on Al-Najma Account and salary transfer dot plot. Fed officials are now expecting two interest rate hikes even more sensitive to the timing of Fed rate rises and had ber of employees in the UK has risen by 197,000 since April, campaign yesterday. The draws were conducted in the in 2023, a year earlier than the forecast just three months ago. budged little so far this year, jumped as well, to close the week the sixth consecutive monthly increase. The biggest gains for presence of Ministry of Commerce and Industry represen- Powell went on to explain the changing views during his press at 0.252 percent. The Fed’s hawkish tone saw the greenback May where among people working in hospitality, mainly tative Ahmad Al-Basman. conference, saying “Many participants are more comfortable strengthening taking the index up 2 percent to close the week young people living in London. The unemployment rate that the economic conditions in the committee’s forward guid- at 92.225. The dollar’s strength took its toll on the single cur- averaged 4.7 percent over the three months leading to April. The results of the draws were as follows: ance will be met somewhat sooner than previously anticipated. rency, pushing the EUR/USD pair to three months lows clos- 1- Al-Najma weekly account - the prize of KD 5,000 And that would be a welcome development.” ing at 1.1860, with the cable following suit reaching three BOJ holds its ground went to the winner Akeel Hussain Al-Ibrahim Powell tried to put some brakes on the notions of a rapid- month lows of 1.3809 against the dollar. In its monetary meeting statement on Friday, the Bank of 2- Salary account campaign - the prize of up to KD ly accelerating timeline toward monetary tightening, saying Japan kept its rate targets unchanged and announced that it 1,000 - went to the winner Hamad Mohammad Al-Ajmi that the dot plot needed to be taken with a “grain of salt”. UK inflation will maintain its massive stimulus to support the economy The bank stated that the salary campaign is aimed at The Fed has vowed to continue buying Treasuries and UK’s inflation saw another jump last month, overshooting and extended a September deadline for its pandemic relief customers who transfer their salaries of KD 500 or more to agency mortgage-backed securities at the current pace of economists’ forecasts and the Bank of England’s target, as the program, suggesting that Japan will lag well behind the US in the bank, especially Kuwaiti employees and residents work- $120bn a month until it sees “substantial further progress” reopening from lockdown drove up prices. Figures released ending its crisis mode policies. In a briefing following the pol- ing in the government, oil sectors and companies listed with towards its goal of a more inclusive recovery. Only later by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday showed icy decision, BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said “In Japan, the bank as well as retirees, and take advantage of the bene- would it increase interest rates, after certain economic mile- prices of consumer goods rose 2.1 percent in the year to May, inflation had not reached 2 percent even before the pandem- fits of this campaign and get an instant cash gift from KD stones were met, stressing that that the Fed’s monetary policy up from 1.5 percent in April and the highest level since July ic. As such, we must continue with our ultra-loose monetary 250 to KD 500 or an interest-free loan of five times the guidance is not calendar-based but dependent on economic 2019. The consensus expectation was 1.8 percent. Central policy even after the pandemic subsides, in order to achieve salary and a maximum of KD 10,000 to Kuwaiti pensioner, outcomes. bankers have expressed confidence that such steep rises will our 2 percent inflation target.” The regulator surprised mar- along with expatriate customers who transfer their debt Fed officials are now projecting that the US economy will be temporary, driven by short-term supply chain bottlenecks, kets with the unveiling of a plan to boost funding for fighting amounting to KD 10,000 or above to the bank will receive grow by 7 percent this year, and 3.3 percent in 2022, with rising commodity prices and suppressed demand. But some, climate change, joining a growing number of central banks an instant cash gift of 1 percent from their transferred debt. unemployment rate falling to 3.8 percent by the end of 2022, including BoE chief economist Andy Haldane, have warned stepping up efforts to address its economic and financial The bank stated that Al-Najma Account prizes are dis- down from 5.8 percent in May. Although they do not see the against complacency over upside inflation risks. It is worth consequences. tinguished by the highest cash prize and diversity of prizes economy to be overheating, they predict core inflation to noting that BoE governor Andrew Bailey said last month he throughout the year clarifying that the account offers week- jump to 3 percent this year, but would fall back to 2.1 percent would not hesitate to tighten monetary policy, by raising Kuwait ly prize of KD 5,000, monthly prize of KD 20,000 and a in 2022 and 2023, a scenario consistent with the Fed’s aim of interest rates from their current 0.1 percent, if price rises Kuwaiti dinar semi-annual prize of KD 500,000 in addition to the largest a full recovery. appeared to be consistently outstripping 2 percent. USD/KWD closed last week at 0.30110 prize - linked bank account payout of KD 1,500,000. Established 1961 11 Lifestyle Features Monday, June 21, 2021

Female and male specimens of the endangered Azraq killifish (Aphanuis Sirhani), only Visitors view fish from along a wooden bridge at Azraq Wetland Reserve. Abdullah Oshoush, an environmental researcher, holds found at Jordan’s Azraq Wetland Reserve, swim in a pond at the reserve, about 110 km specimens of the endangered Dead Sea toothcarp east of Jordan’s capital, on June 10, 2021. — AFP photos (Aphanius dispar richardsoni) in a glass jar at the reserve.

ordan is racing against time to Two decades ago the RSCN succeed- save a tiny rare fish from extinction ed in saving the endangered Aphanuis Jas falling water levels partly trig- Sirhani fish in its only habitat in the Azraq gered by global warming threaten to dry reserve, about 110 km east of Amman. It up its last habitat. The Dead Sea tooth- got its scientific name from the Wadi carp - scientific name Aphanius dispar Sirhan, which extends from the Arabian richardsoni - has been on the red list of Peninsula to Azraq, but is commonly the International Union for Conversation known in English as the Azraq killifish. of Nature since 2014. The IUCN warns Only about six centimeters long, it is also that the “exploitation of spring waters silver but the female is spotted while the and climate change” are major threats male has black stripes. facing the four-centimeter-long, silver- colored fish. Predators, birds “This fish is threatened with extinction “In the year 2000, there were no more Ibrahim Mahasneh, director of the Fifa at the global level. It is endemic here and than 500 Azraq killifish in the oasis, which Nature Reserve and member of the Royal does not exist elsewhere,” said Ibrahim means it was on the verge of extinction,” Jordanian Society for the Conservation of Mahasneh, the manager of the fish’s last said Nashat Hmaidan, the director of the Nature, gives a briefing about the endan- home, the Fifa Nature Reserve. Lying A general view of the Azraq Wetland Reserve. RSCN Biodiversity Monitoring Center. “It gered Dead Sea toothcarp. some 140 km southwest of Amman in the was declining sharply, and it reached just Jordan Rift Valley and 60 km south of the the existing threat,” added Mahasneh. low rainfall and the change in its environ- 0.02 percent of the number of fish in the accounts for almost 70 percent of the fish Dead Sea, the area is the lowest wet “The reserve is the last home for this ment, as well as the presence of other oasis,” he said, blaming other predatory in the waters. But he cautioned the goal reserve on Earth. endangered species of fish,” said envi- fish that feed on it and its eggs.” fish and migratory birds as well as a fall in now is that the numbers should “never Established in 2011, the reserve con- ronmental researcher Abdallah Oshoush Researchers are now preparing to water levels. drop below 50 percent”. Hazem Hrisha, sists of some 20 sq km. It is located who works in the reserve. open an artificial pond just for the tooth- The RSCN studied the fish’s life cycle the director of the Azraq Wetland reserve, some 426 m below sea level and is man- carp so they can grow safely and their and determined it needed shallow water highlighted its important biodiversity, with aged by an independent body, the Royal ‘Precious treasures’ eggs are not devoured by predators. to lay eggs, and should be isolated from more than 133 plant species and more Society for the Conservation of Nature The male fish also has a streak of blue Each season, a female produces around other species for the best chance of sur- than 163 species of invertebrates. The (RSCN). Even though the Hashemite along its sides, while the female has 1,000 eggs. The aim is then to release vival. “We collected 20 fish over two reserve “is located on the most important kingdom is primarily desert, this area of incomplete black stripes. It is not known the young fish back into the natural envi- years and put them in a concrete pond bird migration paths,” he said, adding two wetlands is crisscrossed by streams and how many still remain, but “monitoring ronment. “In Jordan live two unique designated for breeding.” After the first thirds of the bird species found in the king- is home to a variety of plant and wildlife programs have warned of a clear decline species of fish that do not exist anywhere fish were released back into the waters dom had been recorded in Azraq. — AFP species including birds. in the presence of this fish in recent else in the world. These are our precious the team saw its presence had increased “We have a plan to save and breed years,” Oshoush said. Among the envi- treasures and they must be preserved for from 0.02 percent to nearly 50 percent. It this fish... to create a natural habitat for it ronmental threats causing numbers to our ecosystem,” said RSCN spokesper- “was a great success,” he added. to breed and at the same time to mitigate drop is the “lowering water level due to son Salem Nafaa. Twenty years on, the Azraq killifish

fter months cooped up in coron- avirus-hit Manila, Tanya Mariano A file photo taken on Nov 1, 2008 shows Afled the Philippine capital to work Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi escorted by from the beach, joining a growing number People walk along a running track at the a female bodyguard, known as an Amazon, at of digital nomads helping a devastated This photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows recreational area. the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow. tourism industry stay afloat. A ban on for- Tanya Mariano with her pet cat at her apart- eign holidaymakers entering the archipel- ment in the town of San Juan, La Union ago nation and domestic travel curbs province, north of Manila. — AFP photos Mariano sits at the porch of her apartment. since the pandemic began last year have forced many operators to close and Normally packed out with local and inter- you’re still bleeding out for sure, but wiped out millions of jobs. national tourists, it now averages around you’re at least generating something to Many digital workers in congested five to 10 guests at any one time - about offset enough of it,” said owner Denny Manila, fearing COVID-19 and fed up 10 percent of its capacity - said general Antonino. with lockdowns and restrictions, are manager Dennis Serrano. With the resort Digital nomads now make up 30-40 escaping to largely deserted nature hemorrhaging as much as 200,000 pesos percent of his customers and he hopes hotspots to do their jobs - injecting much- ($4,180) a month, he hopes the situation the trend continues after the pandemic to needed money into communities depend- will be “back to normal” by next year. even out the seasonal fluctuations. ent on outside visitors. Sitting with her Even the white-sand resort island of “They’re able to do their work but in laptop on the balcony of the ocean-view Boracay has been turned into a “ghost between meetings they can surf, they can apartment she rents with her boyfriend in town”, according Eugene Flores, manag- go hiking, they can go to the falls - there San Juan, a surf town several hours er of the La Banca House boutique hotel, are more things to do,” said Antonino. north of her home, Mariano says the where most of the rooms are filled with move has been a “big quality of life long-term digital nomads from Manila. ‘I didn’t need to worry as much’ This image shows picnic tables at a recreational area between the port and the city center of improvement”. Official figures show arrivals to the island Nine months after Carlo Almendral left the capital Tripoli on June 8, 2021. — AFP photos “Being close to the ocean, being close fell to less than 335,000 last year, com- his “prison” apartment in Manila’s finan- to nature is very calming,” said Mariano, pared with more than two million in 2019. cial district for San Juan, the chief execu- picnic tables, a play area for children and 37, a freelance writer and communica- “When you go out you can see shops, tive of an artificial intelligence start-up grassy sections - a first step towards tions specialist. “When I’m in a meeting, you can see restaurants, you can see said he has no plans to leave. The 43- Libyans chill demilitarizing the heart of the capital. The usually Zoom or Google Meet, I try not to hotels that are really closed. Only a few year-old often starts his day with a dawn area, located beside the seaside road, use the beach as my background - I just are open,” Flores said. bike ride through the countryside or a surf opened to the public a few weeks ago. show people the wall so they don’t hate when the waves are up. It ends with a at ex-barracks Tripoli mayor Ibrahim Al-Khlifi called the me.” There are no official figures on the ‘You’re still bleeding out’ business meeting and glass of wine on transformation “a wise decision”. “Our number of people working remotely from The glacial pace of the country’s the beach at sunset, accompanied by his aim was to limit the spread of weapons the country’s picture-postcard beaches COVID-19 vaccine rollout is likely to rescue French bulldog Alfred. and shut down all military camps inside and dive spots, but it is certainly a frac- delay the full reopening of the country’s “I didn’t realize how much time I had for Gaddafi’s cities,” he told AFP. tion of the millions of tourists that usually beleaguered tourism industry. For now, spent worrying about the pandemic until I flock to its shores. digital nomads are a “target market”, said got here,” Almendral said from the beach- Release daily pressure The impact of COVID-19 travel restric- the Department of Tourism, encouraging front resort, where his office is a breezy ‘Amazons’ Other former military sites are also tions on the sector has been dramatic: resorts and hotels to cater to the “new rooftop studio with a sea view. “Being being turned into gardens, parks and $37 billion slashed from the economy and breed” of travellers by offering fast inter- here has made me more productive and bathing areas that should be accessible the loss of over two million jobs, accord- net and wellness activities. more creative.” — AFP to the public soon, he added. The securi- ibyans a decade ago could scarcely ing to World Travel and Tourism Council The influx of mobile workers, whose ty situation in Libya has been slowly have imagined picnicking at a key data. Manila salaries stretch further in the improving since a truce was signed last military facility in Tripoli, but today a Bravo Beach Resort on the southern provinces, is keeping businesses like L year by warring parties and the subse- once feared site has been transformed island of Siargao - a renowned surfing Papa Bear restaurant in San Juan afloat. quent installation of a new interim gov- into a family relaxation area. The military destination - has felt the pain acutely. “You are not completely bleeding out, ernment tasked with preparing the coun- academy of Muammar Gaddafi’s try for December elections. “Libyans entourage of female bodyguards, known need these kinds of spaces to release the as “Amazons”, was long seen as a sym- pressure of daily life,” Khlifi said. bol of the dictator’s extravagant and Tripoli’s recreation zone has been a hit capricious rule. since its opening. Families picnic at In the chaos and conflict that followed wooden tables and benches while chil- Gaddafi’s toppling in a 2011 NATO- dren enjoy the playground or get ice backed uprising, a succession of armed creams from a van. Tripoli resident groups sought to take control of the Muhannad Kashar said he and his family strategic site, located between the port come every evening. “I like doing exer- and city center. Finally four years ago, the cise, and here, I can go for a walk with Tripoli authorities decided to turn it into an my wife while our children play nearby,” outdoor public recreation zone. They the 47-year-old said. “We can breathe the demolished the buildings, training areas fresh sea air, and with all these families, it and high walls surrounding the barracks, This photo taken on June 2, 2021 shows digi- feels like Tripoli is alive again,” said his leaving only a control tower at what was tal nomad, Carlo Almendral, the chief execu- wife in her late thirties, who did not give formerly the academy’s main gate. tive of an artificial intelligence startup, her name.—AFP In their place, they set up five-a-side browsing his laptop at a beachfront resort in Almendral sits with others as they relax at the beach. football fields, running and cycling tracks, the town of San Juan. 12 Established 1961 Lifestyle Features Monday, June 21, 2021

Migrants from Africa work on June 11, 2021 at Top Manta, a clothing line created by an association of African street Sneakers are on display at Top Manta. T-shirts are on display at Top Manta. vendors in Barcelona. — AFP photos

hen he left Senegal, risking his two local artists to create trainers made ing for Europe. Following a week-long She is currently finishing a course in Council. “In the end, it’s the cities who Wlife to make the dangerous boat from sustainable, vegan-friendly materials sea crossing, he arrived on the island of dressmaking as well as learning Spanish have to cope with the situation no thanks trip to Spain’s Canary Islands, that that are produced in small local work- Fuerteventura in 2006, eventually making and Catalan. “I don’t like selling, that’s to a law that we cannot change.” Lamine Sarr never thought he’d end up shops rather than mass-produced. With a his way to Barcelona. But it was only two why we’re here: Learning things so we If she had known what was awaiting selling fake goods on the streets of robust sole, they come in black or tan years ago that he managed to leave his don’t go back on the streets,” says her, Manga says she wouldn’t have left Barcelona. Known as “manteros” after with a strip of colors “reflecting Africa” life as a mantero after the union helped Manga from Senegal, who sewed masks her homeland. “It’s very complicated, the blanket on which they lay their wares, and the Top Manta logo: A blanket, that him to obtain his papers, as it has done and other protective gear at the start of being here five years without papers or these street sellers live a precarious life, also represents “waves” of the dangerous around 120 others. the pandemic. work.” Still without papers, she’s hoping always on the lookout for the police. So sea crossing many brave to reach Spain. Today there are around 100 street sell- things might change given her newfound Sarr decided to do something different: Launched earlier this month with a He helped set up the Barcelona Street thought-provoking ad on Instagram Vendors Union, which has just launched where the collective has 63,000 followers, its own brand of trainers in the hope of the trainers retail at Ä115. “Life is not like “changing the rules of the game”. a trainer advert. We know the race is full “As we were always selling counterfeit of traps,” says a woman’s voice over products, it gave us the desire to create a footage of police racing after a migrant brand with our own designs and our own and wrestling him to the ground. “It’s not clothes,” explains Sarr, 38, inside the about just doing it, it’s about doing it union’s shop in Barcelona’s Raval neigh- right,” she says, in a slogan with a clear borhood. And the name they’ve given the spin on Nike’s Just Do It campaign. trainers is “Ande Dem”, which means “walking together” in Wolof, the most Insurmountable red tape widely-spoken language in Senegal. Sarr says it is impossible to work as a Behind the project is Top Manta, a street seller and not have problems with clothing company set up in 2017 by the the law. For the union, the main aim is to union, which is mostly made up of sub- get the manteros off the street where Saharan Africans. “When we first created many end up no thanks to Spain’s immi- the brand, we thought about trainers. We gration laws. In order to get residency ers working in Barcelona, according to ‘An unrealistic law’ ally, the sewing machine. “I’d like to carry thought it would be easy but we didn’t papers, the law requires non-EU citizens City Hall figures. It was the disappear- Some 25 people work in this base- on sewing, that’s my profession,” she have the means,” Sarr told AFP. And to prove they have been in Spain for ance of tourists as a result of the pan- ment workshop which they acquired with says, dreaming of one day designing her what better way to kick against the sys- three years, to show a one-year work demic that put an end to Oumy Manga’s help from City Hall which has backed own collection. For now, it seems Top tem than by giving those who are known contract, have a clean criminal record five years working as a hawker on the several of the union’s initiatives. “The Manta has a future: So far it’s sold all of for selling fakes on the streets of and more. streets. Wearing a colorful turban that underlying problem comes from migrant its first batch of 400 pairs of trainers and Barcelona their very own brand of shoes, “How can you be in a place for three matches her dress, this 32-year-old is influxes and a law on foreigners that is is now preparing to order another. — AFP made locally in Spain and Portugal. years without doing anything? I couldn’t focused on making a t-shirt at the Top unrealistic,” says Alvaro Porro, who is The project has been two years in the believe it,” said Sarr who didn’t tell his Manta workshop where African tunes responsible for head of commissioner for making, with the manteros working with family in rural Senegal that he was leav- mingle with the rattle of sewing machines. the Social Economy at Barcelona City

hen Cristiano Ronaldo and The reach of social media gives WPaul Pogba removed Coca- such protests more power than ever A pair of Randolph Aviator Sunglasses in the Cola and Heineken bottles before. “I call it side-swipe activism,” Concord style, are seen. during Euro 2020 press conferences, Chadwick said. “Whether you are it showed sports stars are rejecting online or you are in the physical world, sponsors’ products that fail to corre- if there is something in front of you spond to their personal values, ana- that you don’t like or isn’t aligned with lysts say. Ronaldo has a combined your own values, you just move it out social media audience of around 500 of the way.” million followers, so when he speaks, Peter Waszkiewicz, president and CEO of Randolph Engineering, holds a pair of Randolph it has an impact. Headache for sponsors Aviator Sunglasses in the Concord style at Randolph Engineering in Randolph, Massachusetts The 36-year-old Portugal captain is Some reports suggested Ronaldo’s on June 17, 2021. — AFP photos a fitness fanatic and made clear what gesture caused Coca Cola’s share he thought of the Coca-Cola bottle set price to fall by $4 billion at one point, about after 12:00, when the phones start- out in front of him as he spoke to the but many analysts said the footballer Biden gifts Putin ed ringing and the social media went media on Monday before his country’s might not have been responsible. abuzz, then we realized what was going opening match against Hungary. He Gregori Volokhine, President of on,” he told AFP, saying it was “pretty shifted the bottle out of sight of the Meeschaert Financial Services in New pair of iconic tense and exciting”. “It’s pretty amazing, cameras before saying in Portuguese: York, said the drinks giant’s shares fin- isn’t it? I mean how often does an oppor- “Agua!”, appearing to encourage peo- ished 0.25 percent down, in line with tunity like this happen?” A worker solders the frame and other compo- nents of the sunglasses as part of the 200 ple to opt for the natural choice the overall dip in the Dow Jones that US-made aviators Specs of this style are often worn by instead. Ronaldo went on to score day. “With a market value of $235 bil- the military - the company has had a con- steps required to complete a single pair, with the entire build taking six weeks. twice in the 3-0 win against Hungary lion, that corresponds to just over tract with the US armed forces since to become the all-time top scorer in $500 million. We wouldn’t even have 1978, which buys some 25,000 pairs per or his first meeting with Vladimir made in a small town in the northeastern European Championship history. noticed if there hadn’t been this con- month. That’s in addition to the pairs Putin in Geneva last week, US state of Massachusetts, and the compa- The next day France midfielder troversy,” Volokhine said. F Randolph Engineering sells to the gener- President Joe Biden gifted his ny, founded in 1973, boasts of its “hand- Paul Pogba, who is Muslim and does So what is the impact for brands al public in the United States, where the Russian counterpart a pair of American- crafted in the USA” credentials. not drink alcohol, made a similar ges- when top sports stars reject the prod- aviator look was made famous by the made sunglasses in the US leader’s sig- “President Biden, I’m sure, gave those ture by removing a bottle of Heineken ucts of the sponsors who pay tens of 1980s Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun”. nature aviator style. Peter Waszkiewicz, glasses to President Putin as a symbol of beer during his press conference. The millions of dollars to be associated It takes 200 steps over six weeks to head of Randolph Engineering, said he our national heritage,” Waszkiewicz said. fact that it was a non-alcoholic version with an event such as Euro 2020? “It manufacture the “Concorde” style, the felt “surprise” at seeing the sunglasses “And let’s hope it’s the symbol of peace,” did nothing to lessen the message. is too early to say,” said Bertrand pair gifted to Putin, which was named his company made become a diplomatic he said. — AFP “We’re in a new era where athletes Chovet, head of Brand Finance token at a meeting followed the world after the 20th-century supersonic aircraft. seem to be reclaiming their voice. France. “Product placement could, over. A matte black polarized pair sells on the They seem to reserve the right now to though, be more nuanced these days. “It was a normal business day until Randolph website for $279. They are speak and behave in ways that are But the players benefit from these consistent with what they think, what sponsors so they are acting in a slight- they feel, what their values are,” said ly contradictory way.” Professor Simon Chadwick, the direc- Coca-Cola and Heineken did not tor of the Centre for the Eurasian respond to AFP’s request for com- Sport Industry at Emlyon Business ment, but UEFA’s tournament director School in France. Martin Kallen said: “The revenues of Ronaldo has been happy to the sponsors are important for the endorse sugary soft drinks in the past tournament and for European foot- - in fact he did promotional work for ball.” Chadwick believes such protests Coca-Cola in China in the mid-2000s are a serious headache for sponsors. and has worked for their rivals Pepsi. “This poses a big challenge because But Chadwick told AFP the the two extremes are probably the Portuguese superstar was saying, only way forward for sponsors. Either very publicly: “As an individual I have you take away all the logos or you vig- the personal right to move on from orously enforce the contractual rights whatever I did in the past. “I am enti- associated with a sponsorship deal,” tled to change my opinion, I am enti- he said. — AFP tled to shift my values, I am entitled to A variety of colored lenses sit on a rack waiting to be cut and A worker adds lenses and puts the final assembly touches on the object to products that are not consis- paired with frames. 200-step process to complete a single pair of sunglasses, before tent with what I am or what I am trying being boxed and shipped. to represent.” Established 1961 13 Sports Monday, June 21, 2021

TOKYO: Autonomous electric vehicles, which will be used at the Olympic Village, are seen during a media tour of the Tokyo Partitions are seen installed at the fitness centre to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus during a media tour of 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP photos the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo yesterday. Fever clinic and COVID kits: Tokyo 2020 shows off Olympic Village

TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 organizers threw open the doors carrying out drills. But in just a few weeks, all that will Beds are made from recyclable cardboard, but are of the Olympic Village to the media yesterday, show- change, with national teams taking up residence and up tough enough to stand up to beefy weightlifters and casing virus upgrades including a fever clinic just over to 3,000 staff manning everything from stops for towering basketball players, organizers say. Kitajima a month before the Games begin. Organizers are in the autonomous buses to kitchens serving thousands of promised excellent safety protocols, and athletes aren’t home stretch before the July 23 opening ceremony, and meals. likely to face the hot water shortages or dodgy plumb- are trying to build confidence that the mega-event will ing that have made headlines at some previous Games. be safe for athletes and the Japanese public. Yesterday, ‘Drink alone’ Olympic officials expect most of those staying in the they unveiled the dedicated virus clinic, warned that The specter of the coronavirus, which forced the village will have been vaccinated, but the rules apply drinking in groups at the village would be prohibited postponement of the Games last year, will hang heavy regardless of inoculation status, and athletes could be and said a mixed zone for guests had been scrapped. over the village. The newly added fever clinic, separate kicked out of the Games if they fail to comply. Warning posters urging anti-virus measures including from the main medical facility, will be used to test and In a taste of the challenges ahead, a member of the room ventilation have been placed throughout the isolate people suspected of virus infection or consid- Signage is seen outside a room at the doping control station Ugandan Olympic delegation that arrived in Japan on mini-city, which can sleep 18,000 athletes and team ered close contacts. “This is just another example of during a media tour of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Saturday tested positive for the virus, despite report- members during the Olympics and 8,000 during the how we are stringently managing matters about possi- Paralympic Village in Tokyo yesterday. edly being vaccinated and testing negative before trav- Paralympics. ble COVID infections,” said Takashi Kitajima, general el. The safety measures are set to make for a Games The first glimpse of the village since last year’s post- manager for the village. Testing will be “the biggest like no other, with overseas fans already banned and a ponement revealed a virtual city within a city, with challenge”, with about 20,000 carried out each day, And there will be no partying, officials warned. “When decision on domestic spectators expected as soon as everything from a playground and florist to dry clean- according to Tetsuya Miyamoto, an official with Tokyo you drink alcohol, in principle, you are requested to today. Public opposition to the Games appears to have ers and ice baths for athletes and staff. The site stretch- 2020’s medical services. drink alone,” said Kitajima. softened in recent days, though a handful of protesters es across 44 hectares of reclaimed land in the Tokyo Teams will collect their own samples for processing stood outside the village chanting against the Olympics Bay, with 21 residents towers, a 3,000-seat canteen, a largely off-site by private operators. Other virus meas- Recyclable cardboard beds as media toured the site. A new poll yesterday showed park, gyms and recreation facilities, complete with ures include reduced seating for diners, plexiglass Competitors can only enter the village shortly 86 percent of Japanese fear the Games will spark a Nintendo consoles. shields between gym equipment, and a kit of hand sani- before their event and must leave within 48 hours of rebound in virus cases. After the Games, the village will Young trees that organizers hope will eventually tizers and soap to be handed to village residents. being eliminated or their competition ending. be transformed into thousands of luxury bayside con- provide shade during the fierce Tokyo summer dot the The village will be particularly important for athletes Conditions won’t exactly be luxurious, with single dos. Around 900 were sold before the postponement otherwise almost eerily empty village, populated only this Games because they are barred from going any- rooms of nine square meters (100 square feet) and last year — some carrying a price tag of 170 million by workers, uniformed guards on bikes and firefighters where else except training and competition venues. doubles of 12 square meters (130 sq ft). yen ($1.5 million). — AFP

Recyclable cardboard beds and mattresses for athletes during a media tour at A view of the main dining hall of the Olympic Village during a media tour A Tokyo 2020 employee walks past hand sanitizers at the entrance of the the Olympic and Paralympic Village for the Tokyo 2020 Games, is seen in the of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village in Tokyo on June 20, casual dining hall during a media tour of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Harumi waterfront district of Tokyo yesterday. 2021. Paralympic Village in Tokyo yesterday.

Emotional News in brief Mission accomplished: Dressel, Ledecky Richardson punches Olympian tests positive get job done with wins at US trials

Tokyo ticket TOKYO: A member of the Uganda Olympic OMAHA: World record-holder Caeleb Dressel will try (1500m) you’re the future,” Ledecky said. “I told her team has tested positive for coronavirus on to add 100m butterfly Olympic gold to his two world after that one she’s the now.” There was a certain sym- arrival in Japan, just over a month before the titles after a victory Saturday at the US Olympic swim- metry in the one-two finish. Nine years ago Ledecky EUGENE: An emotional Sha’Carri Richardson surged pandemic-postponed Games, officials said. The ming trials. Dressel, who clocked the world record of was 15 when she won the 800m free at trials and went to 100m victory at the US Olympic track and field tri- first group to arrive from Uganda — a nine- 49.50 at the 2019 World Championships, led wire-to- to London and won her first Olympic gold. strong party, including boxers, coaches and offi- als in Oregon on Saturday, punching her ticket to wire on the way to victory in 49.87sec. cials — landed at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Tokyo in 10.86 seconds. The 21-year-old Texan That was a shade off his semi-final time of 49.76, but Saturday. They are the second team to arrive streaked over the line at Hayward Field and moments easily enough for victory over Tom Shields, a 2016 Rio after Australia women’s softball squad on June 1. later revealed that her win came after a week in which Olympics relay gold medallist who was second in 51.19. But one of the African nation’s delegation tested she learned of the death of her biological mother. Dressel, who won two relay golds in Rio but finished positive during screening at the airport, a gov- A jubilant Richardson leapt into the stands to share sixth in the 100m freestyle, has since emerged as a mul- ernment official told reporters. The person test- an embrace with her grandmother and other family ti-event star, winning a record eight medals, six gold, at ed twice but their condition remained unknown, members following her victory. “This year has been the 2019 worlds. reported local media. — AFP crazy for me,” Richardson said afterwards. “I’m still He had already punched his ticket to Tokyo in the here, last week finding out my biological mother 100m freestyle, and later Saturday topped the semi- passed away. And still choosing to pursue my dreams, final times in the 50m free ahead of Michael Andrew still coming out here, still making the family that I do Semenya fails again and 2012 100m free gold medallist Nathan Adrian. “The have on this earth proud.” goal of this meet is making the team,” Dressel said. “I Richardson said sharing her win with her grand- OMAHA: Caeleb Dressel of the United States reacts after PARIS: South African athlete Caster Semenya would have liked to be a little faster just to put more of a mother, family and coaches had carried extra meaning. competing in a semifinal heat for the Men’s 50m freestyle missed out again on Saturday in Regensburg, show on for the home crowd. But we made the team and “Without them, there would be no me. And without my during Day Seven of the 2021 US Olympic Team Germany to qualify for the 5,000 meters at the I’m in the final of the 50. This meet’s going as according grandmother there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson. Swimming Trials at CHI Health Center on Saturday in Tokyo Olympics. The 30-year-old finished fourth to plan as it possibly could have.” My family is everything to the day I’m done,” Omaha, Nebraska. — AFP in Saturday’s race in a time of 15 minutes 57.12 Katie Ledecky echoed that sentiment after complet- Richardson said, adding that hugging her grandmother ing her qualifying campaign with another dominant vic- had “felt better than winning the race.” seconds, more than 47 seconds outside the 15:10 required to compete in Tokyo. Semenya has been tory in the 800m freestyle, her time of 8:14.62 putting Earlier, Richardson had started slowly and trailed her more than five seconds ahead of surprise second- Backstroke shocker Javianne Oliver at the halfway stage. But she hit the the Olympic champion twice and world champion three times over 800m, but is barred from com- place finisher Katie Grimes. The time was nothing spec- It was an upset in the women’s 200m backstroke, as front with 30 meters to go, and pulled clear to score a peting over that distance by World Athletics’ tacular for Ledecky, who owns the world record of Rhyan White and 18-year-old Phoebe Bacon finished decisive victory. Oliver finished second in 10.99sec testosterone-reducing regulations. — AFP 8:04.79 and in fact the top 10 times of all time. But the one-two to shut world record-holder Regan Smith out while Teahna Daniels was third in 11.03. five-time Olympic gold medalist said she wasn’t too of a 200m spot in Tokyo. White, 21, had already Richardson is the second fastest woman in the concerned about times coming out of the eight-day tri- punched her ticket to Tokyo with a runner-up finish to world over 100m this year, running a 10.72sec in April. als in which she qualified to swim the 200m, 400m, Smith in the 100m back. Only Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has run quick- Van Niekerk achieves mark 800m and 1500m freestyles in Tokyo. “I think we feel She won the 200m in 2:05.73sec while Bacon, an 18- er, the two-time Olympic champion running 10.63sec pretty good coming out of this week, mission accom- year-old University of Wisconsin standout, was second in Kingston earlier this month. PARIS: Olympic champion and world record plished,” Ledecky said. “You can’t really take that for in 2:06.46. Smith, who is already on the team in 200m Richardson however showed on Saturday that she holder Wayde van Niekerk on Saturday achieved granted.” The 15-year-old Grimes was impressive in butterfly as well as the 100m back, was third in 2:06.79. is ready to give Fraser-Pryce a serious challenge at the 400m qualifying standard for the Tokyo taking second place in a career best 8:20.36, running It was a season-best for the swimmer who set the world next month’s Olympics. Her winning time in Saturday’s Olympics at a meeting in Madrid. The 28-year-old down open water Olympian Haley Anderson on the final record at 2:03.35 in 2019, but not near enough to give final came despite running into negative headwind. In finished in a time of 44.56sec, inside the required lap. “I was just, like, in shock,” said Grimes. “I can’t even her a chance at a backstroke double in Tokyo. Simone the semi-finals earlier Saturday she had run a blister- standard of 44.90sec. The South African was sec- begin to explain how excited I am.” Manuel, 100m freestyle gold medallist in Rio, bounced ing but wind-assisted 10.64. ond in the race behind Colombia’s Anthony Jose “Ohh,” she added on a sigh. “Gosh.” As she hung on back from her shock exit in the semi-finals of the 100m Richardson’s victory capped a second day of action Zambrano who clocked 44.51sec. Up until a lane rope and absorbed her accomplishment, Grimes free with the third-fastest time in the 50m free semis. that mostly followed the form book. In the men’s 100m Saturday, Van Niekerk had yet to meet the quali- was congratulated by Ledecky and by two other mem- Abbey Weitzeil, winner of the 100m, led the way into opening heats, Trayvon Bromell, the fastest man in the fying mark for the Tokyo Olympics in either the bers of her club team in the final who had already Sunday’s 50m final in 24.27, with teenager Torri Huske world this year, comfortably advanced to the semi- 200m or 400m. — AFP booked Tokyo berths — Bella Sims and Erica Sullivan. second in their semi in 24.45. Manuel won her semi-final finals with a wind-assisted 9.84sec—AFP “I told Katie Grimes after her third place in the in 24.50.—AFP 14 Sports Monday, June 21, 2021 Antetokounmpo outduels Durant as Bucks oust Nets to reach East finals LOS ANGELES: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 tle bit out there because the team really tried their points and 13 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks best,” Antetokounmpo said. “We kept our compo- defeated the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 in a thrilling sure. We were down 2-0. A lot of people didn’t game-seven overtime on Saturday to advance to believe we could make it.” the Eastern Conference finals. Khris Middleton tallied 23 points and 10 The best-of-seven series has featured almost rebounds for the Bucks, who became the first road everything, including epic scoring performances, team to win a game in the series. Brook Lopez aggressive fouls, rim-rattling dunks, series-ending chipped in 19 and Jrue Holiday contributed 13 injuries and of course, Saturday’s winner-take-all points to the win. Antetokounmpo hit the game- game seven which turned into a see-saw affair with tying basket and Khris Middleton delivered the dozens of lead changes throughout. game winner in overtime as the Bucks advanced The only thing missing was an overtime which to the NBA semi-finals for the second time in Kevin Durant set the stage for in game seven three seasons. when he drained a turnaround jump shot at the Milwaukee took the lead for good, 113-111, when buzzer in regulation to level the score at 109 all in Middleton converted on a 13-foot turnaround front of a crowd of 16,200 at Barclays Center are- jumper with 40 seconds to go. Durant shot 17 of na in New York. 36, draining four three-pointers, while James Two-time league MVP Antetokounmpo shot 15- Harden chipped in 22 points but shot a dismal five- of-24 and had five assists in 50 minutes of playing of-17 in another frustrating playoff performance time in the head-to-head match-up with Durant. “I from the former league MVP. Harden was playing want to be great,” Antetokounmpo said. “We had to with a sore hamstring. give everything.” “Give them credit. They are a great team. They BROOKLYN: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots the ball during the game against the Durant finished with 48 points, nine rebounds have a great chance to win the championship,” said Brooklyn Nets during Round 2, Game 7 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and six assists but missed two jumpers in the final Durant of the Bucks. Durant forced overtime after New York. — AFP minute of overtime that could have tied the score the Nets failed to hold onto a five-point lead in the and possibly forced a second extra session. “We got final minutes of the fourth. looks, we just didn’t knock them down,” said Durant. With just 1.6 seconds left, Durant hit a 24-foot line making it a two point basket instead of a Middleton said. “But once he hits that shot, we’ve “At the end of the day, I try not to get too high, turnaround jumper from the three point line. After three. “We got lucky his toe was on the line and got to forget about it. There’s still ballgame left. not to get too low. But I almost got emotional a lit- video review, officials ruled his foot was on the they called it a two,” Milwaukee’s Khris That wasn’t the game.” — AFP Marquez takes Fans, police clash as German MotoGP for Ahly edge Esperance, first win since 2019 SACHSENRING: Marc Marquez banished 18 Chiefs shock Wydad months of struggles yesterday as he dominated in the rain at the Sachsenring to win the German JOHANNESBURG: Mohamed Sherif MotoGP. The six-time world champion, who scored as title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt returned this season after crashing in the opening took a giant step toward the CAF race last year, escaped early and stayed clear of Champions League final by winning 1-0 at in-form Portuguese Miguel Oliveira and champi- Esperance of Tunisia on Saturday after onship leader Fabio Quartararo. pre-match clashes between fans and police Marquez started on the second row of the grid saw teargas fired and kick-off delayed by but burst through at the start and was battling for an hour. The other semi-final first leg pro- the lead with fellow Spaniard Aleix Espargaro of duced a shock result with Serbian Samir Aprilla when rain started to fall. While other rid- Nurkovic netting on 35 minutes to give ers grew more cautious, Marquez reacted by Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa a 1-0 win at attacking harder. Wydad Casablanca of Morocco. “The victory was a low possibly, but when I In Tunisia, trouble erupted before the saw a few drops on laps four and five I thought: kickoff at the 60,000-seat national stadi- ‘this is my race’,” he said. “When more drops fall, um in Rades near Tunis when more than I pushed more. I take a risk. Then the second race the 5,000 spectators permitted under started with Oliveira.” Catalonia GP winner SACHSENRING: Honda Spanish rider Marc Marquez is celebrated by the circuit staff after winning the German coronavirus protocols gained entry. Police Oliveira emerged from the pack to give chase but MotoGP Grand Prix at the Sachsenring racing circuit in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz, eastern Germany, responded to taunts from an unruly crowd was more than a second back. The laps followed a yesterday. — AFP by firing tear gas and stun grenades as consistent pattern. both squads abandoned warming-up on Marquez, who is still recovering from the com- breaking down and to maintain the delighted grin Yamaha in contrast to Assen, home of the Dutch the pitch and fled to the changerooms plicated break to his right arm, gained time turn- on his face. MotoGP next weekend. “This podium is gold,” with some coughing and others gasping ing left and lost time on right-handers. But he It was his 11th straight victory at the said Quartararo. “All weekend we have been for breath. managed to preserve a cushion of more than a Sachsenring, which like him was off the MotoGP struggling. Now I’m looking forward to Assen, Amid fears that the clash of the north second. “It was a little cat and mouse all race,” circuit last season, but it was the first for him and one of my favorite tracks.” Quartararo now holds African giants would be called off, order said Oliveira. “He was faster in some sectors, I the Honda team since Valencia in November 2019. a 22-point edge over compatriot Johann Zarco was restored and Ahly agreed to play after was faster in others. We battled at a distance.” “We did it!” he said. “We will do it again. We are who was eighth on his Pramac Ducati. South a one-hour delay having received a written Marquez held on for what was clearly an emo- in a complicated situation but we will try to keep African Brad Binder was fourth on a KTM. The pledge guaranteeing their safety. The tional victory. “It was hard to concentrate this level.” factory Ducatis of Italian Francesco Bagnaia and showdown between nine-time champions because of all the memories and all the sensations Quartararo, meanwhile, increased his lead in Australian Jack Miller were next and remain Ahly and four-time winners Esperance was of the past year,” said Marquez, pausing to avoid the championship on a track that does not suit his fourth and third in the standings. — AFP decided by a 67th-minute goal from for- ward Mohamed Sherif, his fourth in the Champions League this season. Mali-born Ahly midfielder Aliou Dieng Mubarak Al-Kabeer was allowed to surge forward from his own half and pass to Sherif, who tapped in a club hosts tournament rebound after his first shot struck the post. It was the seventh time the Egyptian Red for the disabled Devils have beaten the Tunisian Blood and Gold in 19 meetings in the marquee African club competition with eight drawn. KUWAIT: The Mubarak Al-Kabeer Disabled Sports Club organized the Kuwait Open Brilliant save Championship for disabled clubs in Kuwait on Ahly host the return match in Cairo Saturday. Mubarak Al-Kabeer Club Chairman next Saturday and a draw will suffice to Ibrahim Al-Mashaan lauded the event and its suc- secure a place in the July 17 final in cess, and thanked heads of the other clubs for Moroccan economic hub Casablanca. their cooperation. The championship was held While Ahly winning was not unexpected, under the patronage of Sheikha Sheikha Al- first-time semi-finalists Chiefs succeeding Abdullah Al-Sabah, Honorary President of the KUWAIT: Some of the winners are celebrated at the end of the tournament. certainly was with vastly more experi- Kuwait Disabled Sports Club. enced Wydad hot pre-match favorites to build an aggregate lead. Nurkovic was flagged offside by an assistant referee after beating goalkeeper Pulock makes clutch Ahmed Tagnaouti with a shot into the cor- ner of the net. But a VAR review delivered save as Islanders level a different outcome and the Senegalese referee awarded the goal. Earlier, Chiefs goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma had deprived series with Tampa 2-2 Wydad of the lead with a brilliant save off LOS ANGELES: Defenseman Ryan Pulock made a a header from Libyan Muaid Ellafi. desperation save in the dying seconds with the net As the second half drew to a close, empty as the New York Islanders held on to beat Chiefs had up to nine men behind the ball Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Saturday in game four as they successfully deprived the two-time of their NHL playoff semi-final series. champions of an equalizer. Apart from the The Lightning almost tied the game at the final vast gap in Champions League experience buzzer as Ryan McDonagh fooled everyone on the between the teams, Wydad were guided by ice but Pulock. McDonagh sidestepped goalie Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti, who began Semyon Varlamov and delivered a spinning backhand coaching 42 years ago and has won five that appeared to be heading into the open cage. CAF club competitions. But Pulock slid on one knee across the middle of Opposing him were Arthur Zwane and the crease and blocked the shot, sparking wild cele- Dillon Sheppard, who were taking charge brations and allowing New York to level the series of Chiefs for just the third time as caretak- against the defending Stanley Cup champions at 2- UNIONDALE: Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning blocks a shot by Brock Nelson #29 of the New York Islanders in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Semifinals during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Nassau ers after head coach Gavin Hunt was fired 2 in front of a home crowd of 12,900 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday in Uniondale, New York. — AFP last month. Hunt had been in charge when Coliseum. Asked by reporters if he ever played the teams met at the group stage with goalie, the 26-year-old Canadian said, “Maybe Wydad winning 4-0 at home and losing 1- street hockey. That’s about it.” Islanders, who seemed to get some spark after head the third period for the Lightning. Goaltender 0 away. Chiefs hope to become the third Game five is scheduled for Monday in Tampa, coach Barry Trotz juggled the roster and inserted Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots. It remains to South African winners of the competition Florida. Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal and Matt some fresh legs. be seen just how big a setback this is for the after Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Martin all scored in the second period for the The move worked as New York scored three Lightning, who had been getting progressively bet- Sundowns. —AFP Islanders, who survived a third-period rally by the goals after scoring just four in their previous two ter with wins in game two and three after losing the Lightning. Varlamov made 28 saves for the games. Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson scored in series opener 2-1 at home. — AFP Monday, June 21, 2021 15 Loew dampens German Euro euphoria after Portugal rout

MUNICH: Joachim Loew has attempted to dampen will be just as testing,” he said. attacking move which led to Cristiano Ronaldo giving German fans’ Euro 2020 euphoria after a thrilling 4-2 Portugal the lead. win over Portugal boosted his side’s chances of reaching World Cup lesson It was the first time Ronaldo has scored against the knockout stages. Germany bounced back from los- Loew’s warning is based on bitter recent experience. Germany and extended his record of 12 goals scored at ing their opening Group F game to world champions At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Germany bounced five European Championship finals. However, the hosts France with an emphatic victory over the holders on back after a shock 1-0 defeat to Mexico in their open- roared back with four unanswered goals as Havertz and Saturday as Kai Havertz and Robin Gosens shone. ing game with a last-gasp 2-1 win over Sweden, only to Gosens scored after sustained German pressure forced The result in Munich blew the group wide open, but then finish bottom of the group after being stunned by own goals by Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro. Germany need to beat Hungary, who managed a sur- South Korea. Against France the Germans tightened their defense prise 1-1 draw with France, to be sure of reaching the Nevertheless, at the Allianz Arena there were but failed to create chances. Faced with Portugal, they cut loose and attacked the space Ronaldo’s side gener- ously allowed them. “It was a very strong performance for us against the technically sound and counter attack- minded Portuguese,” said Loew. “We showed a lot of morale especially after falling behind, did not lose the thread and kept calm. We overwhelmed Portugal’s defense a few times.” SEVILLE: Spain’s midfielder Ferran Torres (center) vies for the ball with Poland’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (right) ‘A little euphoria’ during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group E football match between Germany have injury concerns for Wednesday as Spain and Poland at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, Spain, on Ilkay Gundogan, Mats Hummels and Gosens all limped Saturday. — AFP off in the second half. “Hummels’ knee ligament has flared up again, with Robin it was the adductor, Ilkay Gundogan took a blow to the calf,” said Loew. “We did- n’t want to take any risks, but I don’t think it’s anything Spain battling for dramatic and if all goes well, it should be okay.” Loew explained it had been part of the plan to play with “a completely different power on attack” com- Euro lives after pared to the France game by “creating more danger on MUNICH: Germany’s forward Kai Havertz (left) celebrates with Germany’s midfielder Toni Kroos after scoring his team’s third the wings”. However, the Germans know they cannot Poland stalemate goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group F football match between Portugal and Germany at Allianz Arena in Munich, expect the same space to attack against the Hungarians Germany, on Saturday. — AFP in Munich on Wednesday. “Hungary will be a tough opponent, one we should SEVILLE: Nine years after winning their third major not underestimate. They are very strong defensively and tournament in a row, Spain are struggling to qualify for last 16. “The next game will perhaps be even more encouraging signs all over the field for the coach, not will be tough to crack,” warned Havertz, who responded the knockout stage of Euro 2020 after only drawing their dogged, because Hungary stand deeper and defend least from left-back Gosens who came of age with an after a poor display against France with a goal and first two group matches. Coach Luis Enrique said if with eight or nine men,” warned Loew. outstanding display. The 26-year-old Atalanta player assist. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Poland had been a boxing On Saturday night, the streets of Munich’s city cen- headed in Germany’s fourth goal to add to his two Despite Loew’s efforts to play down the win, the match, his team would have won on points but his team ter were full of jubilant fans celebrating the victory after assists, while his spectacular early volley also hit the mood in the German camp has lifted dramatically. “It’s looked like they were on the ropes and lacking a knock- arguably Germany’s best performance since the 2014 back of the net, but was ruled out by VAR because fun to play in this atmosphere, the cauldron is bub- out punch. After starting with a stalemate against Sweden World Cup that they won in Brazil. But Loew, in his last Serge Gnabry was offside. bling,” said Thomas Mueller. “We have three points and last week, Spain now sit third in Group E and need to tournament in charge, tried to temper expectations. Despite dominating the early exchanges in front of things in our own hands. We mustn’t overdo it and beat Slovakia on Wednesday to guarantee qualification “Nothing of significance has happened, we have only nearly 13,000 fans in a crowd limited by Covid-19 become arrogant, but we can believe in our own quality for the last 16. Placed in a group that appeared one of the won a game, but now come further challenges which restrictions, Germany were caught out by a counter- and allow ourselves to feel a little euphoria.” — AFP kindest in the draw and cosseted by a format that allows all but the very weakest to go through, failing to reach the next round would be nothing less than a humiliation for Spain. “I was expecting more,” said Luis Enrique. “I was Barcelona move to Glen Kamara, Finland’s expecting six points and zero goals conceded but this is the situation.” quiet threat who took Luis Enrique complained last week about the state of give Depay ‘something the pitch at La Cartuja in Seville where Spain are playing their three group games, a gripe that was repeated by extra’: De Boer stand against racism Manchester City midfielder Rodri on Saturday. Jordi Alba, La Roja’s stand-in captain in the absence of Sergio Busquets, said they also “lacked a bit of luck” as Gerard AMSTERDAM: Netherlands coach Frank de Boer is HELSINKI: Finland’s fans will have eyes on star strik- Moreno’s penalty struck the post while Alvaro Morata hopeful Memphis Depay’s Euro 2020 form will be posi- ers Teemu Pukki and Joel Pohjanpalo as the Euro 2020 failed to convince despite his opening goal. tively impacted after the confirmation the striker will debutants face Belgium today, but one of the team’s One explanation favored by the Madrid press is that play for Barcelona next season. Depay has long been greatest assets will be quietly effective midfielder Glen the squad has talent but not leaders, the kind of survival linked with a move to the Camp Nou and on Saturday Kamara. instinct a 35-year-old Sergio Ramos might have provided. Barcelona announced the 27-year-old had signed a two- “I’m very close to saying that he is, these days, the “Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos — they year deal to join on a free transfer from Lyon. best player on the team,” Janne Oivio, sports journalist give you fear, it will be a battlefield,” former Germany “Maybe the transfer to Barcelona will give him some- at Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, told AFP of the striker and coach Jurgen Klinsmann told the BBC. “This thing extra to help him perform at his best,” De Boer told 25-year-old who this season helped undefeated Spain team is full of technical talent, they know how to reporters yesterday ahead of the Dutch team’s final Euro Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title. But the soft- read the space and when to play, but there is no fear of 2020 Group C game against North Macedonia in ly-spoken Kamara was recently thrust into the lime- them anymore.” Amsterdam today. “We need Memphis at his best to go light not for his footballing skills but for being racially as far as we want in this tournament but we have confi- abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela. Spanish downturn dence in him and he is a confident player.” Born in Finland to Sierra-Leonean parents before Busquets was in the stands against Poland after Depay, who scored 20 goals in Ligue 1 for Lyon in the moving to London aged 12, Kamara has impressed at receiving a negative COVID-19 test and he should return season just finished, converted a penalty in the the Euro, winning praise for his skill in tight spaces, his against Slovakia, but Spain’s problems appear to run Netherlands’ 2-0 win over Austria on Thursday in front knack for winning duels, and his composure under deeper. They have now managed just one win in their last of watching Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman. However pressure. “He’s very relaxed all the time (on the pitch), eight games at major tournaments, a run stretching across he has come in for some criticism from some Dutch fans ZEIST: Netherlands’ forward Memphis Depay takes part in but that doesn’t mean he’s not fighting,” Finland coach five years, and have scored more than one goal in only and media for failing to take other chances. their MD-1 training session in Zeist yesterday on the eve of Markku Kanerva told reporters, calling Kamara “defi- two of those matches. Since thrashing Italy at Euro 2012 “I think Memphis is his first critic and I’m sure the their UEFA EURO 2020 Group C football match against North nitely one of our key players”. to complete their historic hat-trick, Spain have recorded criticism doesn’t affect him,” De Boer said of the former Macedonia. — AFP At a Europa League match in March, however, five victories in 13 tournament games, one of those a dead Manchester United player, who is a huge star in the footage shows the normally serene Kamara reacting rubber against Australia at the 2014 World Cup when Netherlands. “He knows if he played well or not so let’s with disbelief after Kudela covers his mouth and says they had already crashed out in the group. know our path to the final and to get to the final you hope for the Netherlands that he can reach the level that something into his ear. “I felt humiliated. All my family, Luis Enrique was appointed in 2018 to sharpen the have to win every game, so I don’t really care who we we have in mind.” friends, fans, whoever is watching, I felt like a little focus and oversee a shift in approach, to tweak Spain’s play next,” De Boer said. “We have no influence on it.” The Oranje have already secured qualification for the boy,” Kamara later told UK channel ITV. possession style and bring them in line with the game’s De Boer said he would make two changes to his team last 16 as winners of Group C after beating both Ukraine UEFA handed Kudela a 10-match ban — the mini- more modern, physical style. Yet there has been little evi- for today’s game at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the outcome and Austria in their first major tournament since the 2014 mum sanction for “racist behavior”. Kamara himself, dence of it at Euro 2020, where his team have racked up of which is academic for both sides: North Macedonia World Cup. “When we are doing well we can beat any- meanwhile, was banned for three matches for physical- almost 2,000 passes in two games for the return of a sin- are already eliminated after losing both matches so far. body. Hopefully we can grow into the tournament and ly retaliating while in the tunnel — and has since been gle goal. Robert Lewandowski showed what can be done “They want to get their first ever points at a tourna- we still have some better performances to come,” said targeted “daily” by online racist abuse. even with a scarcity of opportunities, his brilliant back- ment. They are proud to be here, but we want to win and De Boer, whose team will play in Budapest in the first The midfielder now declines to take the knee as an post header in the second half on Saturday a clear will be taking it seriously,” said De Boer. “There is no knockout round against one of the best third-placed anti-racism gesture before the Euro matches. “If UEFA demonstration of the cold, clinical finishing that Spain way we will be taking them lightly. They beat Germany sides on June 27. genuinely wants to ‘Show racism the red card’, then it’s desperately lack. He gives Poland hope, given they will go 2-1 recently (in a World Cup qualifier) so this will not be Victory there would set up a quarter-final in Baku time to stop the tokenism and take a zero-tolerance through as runners-up if they beat Sweden and Spain’s an easy game.” — AFP against the runners-up in either Group A or B. “We approach,” he said in a statement.—AFP final match against Slovakia produces a winner.—AFP Established 1961 Sport

MONDAY, JUNE 21, 2021 Wales qualify as Swiss made to wait

ROME/BAKU: Matteo Pessina scored as Italy a Verratti free-kick leaving Ward with no chance. It made it three wins out of three at Euro 2020 by was the first goal for Italy in a major competition for beating 10-man Wales 1-0 to finish top of Group A the Atalanta player who had been called up as a late yesterday with both teams advancing to the last 16. addition after Stefano Sensi’s injury. Pessina’s goal means Italy will play the runner-up Francesco Acerbi replaced Leonardo Bonucci at from Group C in the next round, with Wales facing half-time with an eye towards the knockout rounds. the team that comes second in Group B. Bernadeschi missed a chance for a second after the In his 35th game in charge of the Azzurri who break with a free-kick from distance hitting the failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Roberto post. And Wales’ task got even more difficult when Mancini’s side also matched an 80-year Italian Ampadu was sent off 10 minutes after the break for record. Italy extended their unbeaten run to 30 a late challenge which caught Bernadeschi’s ankle. games - 25 wins and five draws - a feat last Cardiff City striker Moore came off the bench achieved under two-time World Cup winning coach after an hour in place of Joe Morrell with Bale Vittorio Pozzo between 1935 and 1939. reverting back to midfield. Bale missed a golden It was also an 11th consecutive win with a clean chance to level after 75 minutes with Moore cross- sheet for Italy who had already booked their ticket ing for the unmarked skipper who volleyed over. to the knockout rounds with a game to spare. Italy Meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri scored twice as will play Ukraine or Austria at Wembley on June 26 Switzerland beat Turkey 3-1 in Baku yesterday, but for a spot in the quarterfinals. Wales, semi-finalists they will have to wait to see if they reach the last 16 in 2016, suffered in a game they played a man down of Euro 2020 as one of the four best third-placed for most of the second half after Ethan Ampadu was teams. Wales held on to second place in Group A sent off for a foul on Federico Bernardeschi. thanks to a superior goal difference after their 1-0 Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, Wales’ all-time lead- loss to Italy. ing scorer with 33 international goals, could not add Shaqiri’s goals came after Haris Seferovic’s first- to his tally missing a chance for the equaliser in the half opener and either side of Irfan Kahveci scoring final quarter of an hour. Wales coach Robert Page Turkey’s only goal of the tournament. Switzerland made three changes to his starting line-up, Ben coach Vladimir Petkovic made two changes from Davies, Chris Mepham and Kieffer Moore dropping Wednesday’s heavy loss to Italy, including giving ROME: Italy’s defender Alessandro Bastoni vies for a header with Wales’ forward Gareth Bale during a UEFA to the bench with the trio one booking away from Steven Zuber his first start of the championship. Euro 2020 Group A football match at the Olympic Stadium yesterday. — AFP suspension. Turkey boss Senol Gunes brought centre-back Mancini also brought in fresh players for their Merih Demiral back after dropping the Juventus curled a sublime effort past a helpless Cakir. Shaqiri outside the area before firing a left-footed strike final group game with eight changes, and a three- defender last time out, with his side looking to avoid should have doubled his account for the match less into the top corner for his first international goal. man frontline with Federico Chiesa, Andrea Belotti a third straight competitive defeat for the first time than two minutes later when a bursting run put the But Switzerland restored their two-goal lead six and Federico Bernardeschi. Paris Saint-Germain’s since Euro 1996. Switzerland opened the scoring in Liverpool midfielder clear with just the goalkeeper minutes later as Shaqiri claimed his second. Marco Verratti proved decisive on his return from the sixth minute, silencing the 17,000 crowd sup- to beat, but Cakir saved with his foot. The 29-year-old, who scored just once in 22 club injury after a six-week layoff. Belotti threatened porting Turkey due to close historical and diplomat- appearances this season, netted again from another after 12 minutes but Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward ic ties between Ankara and Baku. Zuber on-form Zuber assist following a quick counter-attack. With held firm with Emerson Palmieri then missing a Seferovic buried a low effort past Turkish goal- Just after the half-hour mark, left-back Mert 20 minutes to play, Switzerland still needed a two- chance from a distance. keeper Ugurcan Cakir for his 22nd international Muldur tested goalkeeper Yann Sommer with a shot goal swing to move above Wales into second place. Rafael Toloi fired another which took a deflection goal, after Zuber’s dummy. Zuber was involved again from outside the area but the 32-year-old, who Petkovic added fresh legs to his attack by replac- off his Atalanta teammate Pessina, into the arms of for the second 20 minutes later, as Seferovic held became a father for a second time earlier this week, ing goal-scorers Shaqiri and Seferovic with Ruben Ward, while Chiesa missed an opportunity to latch up possession and his pass deflected to the parried away. Switzerland’s advantage was halved Vargas and Mario Gavranovic. But Switzerland on a Belotti shot across goal. But Pessina broke Eintracht Frankfurt winger’s feet. on the hour mark to send the crowd wild. failed to find the required goals and their fate is in through six minutes before half-time with a flick off The former Hoffenheim man then fed Shaqiri who Hakan Calhanoglu fed Kahveci who shimmied the hands of other sides’ results. — AFP