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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 / RAJAB 3, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17613 16 PAGES 150 FILS Iran hack targets Kuwait, UAE units Team under Guard

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13, (Agencies): Anomali, a cy- ber security company head- quartered in the United States of America (USA), has conducted a research revealing that Iranian hack- ers are eyeing government institutions in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a possible cyber es- pionage campaign. A report published on the website of The Hacker News quoted the re- searchers at Anomali as saying that the brain behind the campaign is Static Kitten, also known as Mercury or MuddyWater. The attack includes the installation of a remote manage- Photo by Bassam Abu Shanab Wooden boats belonging to local fishermen during a break at the Fahaheel Fish Market marina. ment tool called ‘ScreenConnect’, which was acquired by ConnectWise in 2015. “The tool has unique launch parameters with custom properties, along with malware samples and Opinion URLs masquerading as Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Council in the UAE,” the researchers disclosed. Previous reports stated that Static Read Ibn Khaldoun before hope dies and nations fall Kitten started in 2017 and it is behind several attacks against countries in the Middle East. It actively exploits By Ahmed Al-Jarallah the sects, and the Abbasids pursuit to Zerologon vulnerability in real-world Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times wipe out the Umayyad Empire. attack campaigns to strike prominent From that day, the Arab countries Developing capabilities of Israeli organizations with malicious LOOKING at the state of the Arab entered the maze of coups, revolu- payloads. world today, you would see a nation tions and civil wars. Some of them The Iranian Republican Guard al- that does not learn from its experienc- even allied with the enemy against legedly commanded the State-spon- es, and does not read its history even the brother. The voice of sectarian- Kuwaiti youth top priority sored hacking group to carry out the though it was instructed to read by the ism rose over the voice of national- campaign, the Hacker News report Lord of the Worlds, Glory be to Him. ism. Institutions turned into backyard — Details Page 9 — added. These nations are living in waste for offi cials, so none of them could Claimed and corruption. It is as if Abdul Rah- grow after allowing the infl uentials to man ibn Khaldoun was talking about dominate the scene. Among them are New cases 851 Anomali discovered two separate the downfall of these nations in his some of those who had the opportu- lure ZIP files hosted on Onehub that book, “Muqaddimah” (Ibn Khal- nity to occupy high positions in their claimed to contain a report on rela- doun’s Prolegomena) published in countries. They worked to implement tions between Arab countries and Is- 1377. their sick dreams and began to spend French envoy COVID positive rael or a file relating to scholarships. Ibn Khaldoun was neither a sooth- their country’s wealth in sabotag- The researchers explained that “the sayer nor augur ... he was just a man ing brotherly and friendly countries, KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13, URLs distributed through these phish- who knew the condition of societies as seen during the so-called “Arab (Agencies): The French embas- ing emails direct recipients to the in- and their people, and was blessed Spring”. Hamad bin Jassim did that sy said in a statement Ambassa- tended file storage location on One- with the knowledge and sciences of when he spent $140 billion on sabo- Day by day dor Anne Claire Legendre tested hub, a legitimate service known to his time. If it had continued to de- tage projects, deducting from it a per- positive for the coronavirus on be used by Static Kitten for nefarious February 10, 2021, reports Al purposes. Static Kitten is continuing velop in the Arab world, the situa- sonal fortune amounting to about $35 HOW can the government force a citizen returning from abroad, Rai daily. to use Onehub to host a file containing tion of the Arabs would have been billion, and tried to invest it in seiz- perhaps alone or with his family, to be quarantined for a week in The statement read, “The am- ScreenConnect.” completely different, but ignorant ing power in his country and neigh- a hotel and pay for the stay, while his home is available? bassador immediately isolated According to the researchers, “the societies dig their own graves with boring countries. This is absolutely absurd from the government ... absurd be- herself, and all those who came cause people are forced to waste money unnecessarily. attack is launched by guiding users to their hands. These political hawkers see only in contact with her during the a downloader URL pointing to these Ibn Khaldoun wrote seven centu- their own interests ... some of them If a citizen does not have money, he is sent to prison - guest of the Minister of Interior - where the State spends huge sums of last 10 days were informed in ZIP files via a phishing email that, ries ago, “When nations fall, many have taken extremism as a path to public money, much more than the cost of a hotel. coordination with the Ministry when opened, launches the installa- astrologers, beggars, hypocrites, pre- achieve their goals, such as the Mus- O Allah, we do not ask You to undo what has already been of Foreign Affairs and in accor- tion process for ScreenConnect, and tenders, scribes, cacophony singers lim Brotherhood Group, which feeds done. We ask You to have mercy on us. dance with the protocol. “The French embassy has tak- subsequently uses it to communicate and average poets appear, and also on crises of countries. … Yet, tomorrow is another day. with the adversary. The URLs them- agitators, mouthpieces, palm read- If the regimes that indulged in the Zahed Matar en all necessary precautionary measures to place all its employ- selves are distributed through decoy ers, horoscopes, revelers, politicians, game of control since the time when documents embedded in the emails. meddlers, satirists and opportunities Abdul-Nasser began to promote coups ees in isolation, pending the test results that will be conducted in ConnectWise Control (formerly too. in the 1950s had instead spent billions called ScreenConnect) is a self-hosted “Terror reigns under such condi- Newswatch accordance with the health rec- on productive projects in needy coun- ommendations.” remote desktop software application tions ... people seek refuge in sects tries or throughout the Arab world, the Kuwait, meanwhile, said 851 with support for unattended access ... rumors prevail ... friends turn into Arabs would have today been at the people were tested positive for and conducting meetings with screen- enemies, and enemies into friends ... highest levels of progress. KUWAIT CITY: The Amiri Diwan mourned on Saturday Nora coronavirus with six related sharing features.” false become true... true voice fades They fought their failed adventures, Ahmad Al-Ghanim, widow of Sheikh Jaber Fahad Al-Sa- deaths reported on Saturday tak- It has been discovered as well that ... suspicious faces appear on the sur- preferring the opportunist and the cor- bah, who passed away at age 77. The burial will commence ing the total cases up to 176,903 the ultimate goal of the hackers is to face, and sociable faces disappear ... rupt over the sincere friend. Some of after Al-Asr prayer. (KUNA) as deaths rose to 998 respec- ❑ ❑ ❑ utilize the software to connect to end- dreams become scarce ... hope dies ... them fell into the arms of the enemies, tively, according to the health points on client networks, enabling the sane grows more alienated ... and and even worked for them as a cheap DUBAI: US prosecutors have charged the son of a civilian ministry. them to conduct further lateral move- facial features are lost. servant, as is the case with Hezbollah Navy staffer in Bahrain over her stabbing death in the Mideast The number of people hospi- ments and execute arbitrary com- “People become more attached to and the terrorist hired militia group of island kingdom. talised with the virus currently mands in target environments in a bid their tribes and to homelands such Iran. Federal court documents accuse Giovonni Z. Pope, 27, of stands at 10,651, with 129 of stabbing his mother to death at her off-base apartment on Jan. them in intensive care units, to facilitate data theft. that it will be a form of delirium. The It is true that the condition of the “Utilizing legitimate software for voice of the sages is lost in the noise Arabs is not pleasing at all, but hope 31. Contact details for Pope could not be immediately found according to ministry spokes- and his listed public defender did not immediately respond to a man Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, malicious purposes can be an effective of preachers, and the outbidding of is always there. Just as religion fi nds a request for comment. (AP) way for threat actors to obfuscate their the concepts of nationalism, patriot- who revealed that some 9,119 person to revive it after every hundred ❑ ❑ ❑ swab tests were conducted over operations. In this latest example, ism, belief and the fundamentals of years, so also it is possible for coun- the last day out of a total of Static Kitten is very likely using fea- religion. tries to fi nd after every century a per- TOKYO: The Japan Meteorological Agency says a strong earthquake has hit off the coast of northeastern Japan, shaking 1,660,406. tures of ScreenConnect to steal sen- “People of the same household ac- son to rescue it, which we hope will He went on to urge nationals sitive information or download mal- cuse each other of betrayal, and ru- Fukushima, Miyagi and other areas. happen soon. Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV said the Fukushima and expatriates alike that abid- ware for additional cyber operations,” mors of a great escape, intrigue and However, before anything, it is a Dai-ichi nuclear plant was still checking if there were any ing by health precautions, main- the researchers added. conspiracies become common, with must to read the history of the Gulf problems, and there were no immediate reports of irregularities ly, following social distancing advice coming from all ends. Outsid- rulers to realize roles. For this rea- from other nuclear plants in the area follwing Saturday night’s rules, is the only way to halt the Also: ers are planning everything for the lo- son, the utmost wishes are that they magnitude 7.1 quake. (AP) spread of the virus. PARIS: The governments of France, cals... and worst of all, the homeland read Ibn Khaldoun’s Prolegomena, ❑ ❑ ❑ The ministry had earlier re- Germany and the United Kingdom ported that some 717 more peo- becomes a transit station that every- and contemplate on it ... i.e., if they RIYADH: The Saudi-led coalition to support legitimacy in on Friday expressed concern about one is ready to leave.” already know who Ibn Khaldun was, ple had been cured of the virus Iran’s production of uranium metal. Yemen said Thursday its air defense forces intercepted a bal- over the past day, raising the to- One century ago, the Arabs failed or heard about him. listic missile fi red by the Yemeni “Houthi terrorists” towards “We, the governments of France, the test of establishing a proper nation. the Kingdom. tal of those to have overcome the Germany and the United Kingdom, This is due to the fact that, instead of Email: [email protected] The destroyed missile was intentionally fi red towards ci- disease to 165,254 note with grave concern the recent According to informed building institutions, they were busy Follow me on: vilians and their properties in the Saudi southwestern city of confirmation by the International Khamis Mushait, Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki said in sources, the decision taken by weaving conspiracies against each the government, represented by Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that other. They were thus re-creating the a press release carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Iran is producing uranium metal in He affi rmed that the coalition will all necessary measures the Ministry of Health, to close experience of Andalusia that was lost violation of the JCPOA,” three Eu- [email protected] to destroy the terrorist militia’s advanced military capabilities. some sectors was on point, re- in the confl ict between the princes of (KUNA) ports Al-Anba daily. ropean heavyweights said in a joint They affirmed that there will statement. be “no retreat from the closure They argued that under the JCPOA, decisions”. Iran committed not to engage in pro- The sources revealed that eas- ducing or acquiring uranium metal or Sheikh Ahmed on trial in Geneva on forgery ing the closure decisions must to conduct research and development be related to the achievement on uranium metallurgy for 15 years. GENEVA, Feb 13, (AP): Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmed tions at the International Olympic Committee and other govern- made by the Ministry of Health “Recalling our statement of Janu- Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will go on trial in Swit- ing bodies within the Olympic family. An IOC member for near- in vaccinating a certain percent- ary 16, we reiterate that Iran has no zerland this month in a forgery case he has said is linked to po- ly 30 years, the former Kuwaiti government minister has been a age of citizens and expatriates litical rivalry. charismatic figure in sports diplomacy, often in business suit or credible civilian justification for these to immunize the community by activities, which are a key step in the The case has essentially removed one of the most influential jeans and his trademark ponytail hairstyle. creating herd immunity and pre- figures in world sports from public view — the so-called “King- The Sheikh’s influence grew with winning election in 2012 development of a nuclear weapon,” venting further transmission of they stated. maker” of Olympic and Asian soccer elections. to lead the global group of national Olympic bodies, known as the COVID-19 virus, thereby re- Lawyers for the Sheikh told The Associated Press on Friday ANOC. One year later, he was a key campaigner helping Thom- ducing the number of infections, They strongly urged Iran to halt he will attend the hearing listed by a criminal court in Geneva to as Bach win the IOC presidency. File photo shows Sheikh and the percentage of intensive these activities without delay and not run from Feb 22-26. In November 2018, Sheikh Ahmed formally stepped aside - Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al- care patients. to take any new non-compliant steps “He is absolutely determined to obtain a full acquittal and is “temporarily self-suspended,” in the official Olympic phrase - Jaber Al-Sabah who will go on The sources elaborated on on its nuclear programme. trial in Switzerland this month “In escalating its non-compliance, confident about the positive outcome of the case,” Geneva legal from the IOC and ANOC after being indicted with four others by accused of forgery. Lawyers an agreement for the supply of firm RVMH said in a statement. Geneva prosecutors. for the sheikh say he will attend a new batch of the Pfizer - Bi- Iran is undermining the opportunity It is unclear when the panel of three judges could give a ver- The Sheikh has said a political rivalry in Kuwait led to a for- the hearing listed by a criminal ontech vaccine to Kuwait very for renewed diplomacy to fully realise dict. mer prime minister filing a criminal complaint against him in the court in Geneva to run from soon, affirming that there is no the objectives of the JCPOA,” they Sheikh Ahmed earned his reputation as kingmaker of elec- Swiss city, a hub for banking and international arbitration cases. Feb 22-26, 2021. (AP) fear of the vaccine shortage. warned. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 2

TELLS A STORY Survivors endure psychological scars Pain & Purgatory

oana Dagher lay unconscious and hemorrhaging 60-person-long waiting list. It has provided support Junder a pile of rubble in her apartment after the for 750 people since the blast. Most are experiencing massive Beirut port blast in August, on the brink of post-explosion symptoms, depression and anxiety, death. Atwi said. On Embrace s helpline, 67% of the phone She survived because of the courage of her husband calls since August are from people in emotional dis- who got her out, the kindness of a stranger who trans- tress, and 28% had suicidal thoughts. ported her in his damaged car and the help of her sis- The blast left mental wounds even in those it didn t ters during the chaos at the overwhelmed hospital. wound physically. But Dagher doesn t remember any of that: The Najla Fadel, 33, was miraculously unscratched 33-year-old mother of two lost her memory for two full when the blast shattered the glass windows of her months from the trauma she suffered in the explosion, house, badly injuring her child s babysitter. In the including a cerebral contusion and brain lesions. last months of her pregnancy with her second child, I lost my life on August 4, Dagher said. I lost Fadel transported the bleeding woman to the hospital my house, I lost my memory, I lost two friends, she by herself. added, referring to neighbors killed in the explosion. I She has since struggled with nightmares. She often lost my mental health, and so I lost everything. wakes up, heart pounding, thinking the explosion has The Beirut explosion, which killed more than 200 happened again. people and injured more than 6,000, caused wounds on I jump at any sound and start looking for shelter, an even wider scale on the mental health of those who Joana Dagher she says. lived through it. The worst, she said, are thunderstorms and the Dagher is gradually regaining her memory. But another kind of pain sound of the Israeli warplanes that regularly violate and fly low through lingers. Lebanon s airspace. Though therapy now helps, she said she no longer feels the same. Da- A few nights ago, when planes were roaming above Beirut, I slept in gher is usually a calm and independent person, her sister Jihane said. the corridor, she said. This way I am halfway from my kids room, I Now she experiences bursts of anger and stress, emotionally shutting can grab them faster and run just in case. down and at times getting aggressive all signs of post-traumatic stress Fadel saw a therapist for a while. Many others don t get help. disorder, according to experts. There are a lot of people neglecting their mental health or don t know The past 6 months have been a purgatory, Jihane said. When you what to do, said Souraya Frem, president and co-founder of Cenacle see someone you love suffer so much, everyone suffers with them, you De Lumiere, an organization that after the explosion began offering free are helpless. mental health support in Beirut. The blast was caused by a fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammo- People are struggling with poverty, how to make ends meet and so nium nitrate stored in a port warehouse. One of the biggest non-nuclear they don t see mental health as a priority, Frem said. explosions ever recorded, the force tore through the city, sending people From Perth, Australia, where she moved after the blast, Sarah Copland flying across rooms and slicing them with flying glass. Windows and said she has been seeing two therapists to cope with her loss. doors were blown out miles away from the epicenter. In the explosion, a shard of glass tore through the tiny chest of her Even in a country that has seen many wars and bombings, never had 2-year-old son, Isaac, ending his short life. That day, she said, her life so many people tens of thousands directly experienced the same came to a standstill. traumatizing event at the same time. My last image of my little boy is something a mother should never It came on top of the stress that Lebanese were already feeling from see, she said. That comes into my mind when I least expect it we are multiple crises, including an unprecedented economic meltdown, the going to do something, and it comes. It is very distressing. coronavirus pandemic and a feeling of helplessness after nationwide pro- At the time, Copland was employed by the U.N. in Beirut. Thousands tests against corruption that failed to achieve their goals. of miles from Lebanon, the memory haunts her. There are very high levels of anxiety and worry across the population, The sight or sound of broken glass gives me anxiety, she said. Ly- said Mia Atwi, psychologist and president of Embrace, an organization ing in bed at night I hear the wind against the windows and that really working on mental health awareness and support. There is a low mood freaks me out. I freeze up because it reminds of the whishing sound as the bordering on clinical depression for the majority of the population. explosion came through our windows. Demand for therapists has ballooned, making it hard to find treatment, Copland s 2-month-old son Ethan keeps her going, she said, but the especially since many qualified experts are leaving the country. pain is deep. Hearing children scream, even if it is in delight, takes me Embrace expanded its clinic after the explosion and still it has a back to the hospital, to Isaac and to the children screaming in pain. (AP)

In this August 5, 2020 file photo, a drone picture shows the destruction after an explosion at the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. The mental health impact of the Beirut explosion that killed more than 200 and wounded more than 6,000 continues to lay its heavy weight on those who managed to survive the day. The blast was caused by a fire of unknown origins that ignited nearly three thousand tons of ammonium nitrates that had been left to rot in a port warehouse for years. Inset: Hussein Haidar, 27, who got injured at his office in the explosion. (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 3 Weather Expected weather for the next erly wind to light variable wind Jahra 27 12 Prayer Timings 24 hours: with speeds of 06-26 km/h. Failaka Island - - Fajr ...... 05:08 Asr ...... 15:12 By Day: Warm with light to Station Max Exp Min Rec Salmiyah 24 17 moderate north westerly wind to Sunrise .. 06:29 Maghrib .. 17:36 Kuwait City 26 15 Ahmadi 23 17 Zohr ...... 12:02 Isha ...... 18:53 light variable wind with speeds of 08-28 km/h. Kuwait Airport 27 08 Nuwaisib 25 11 By Night: Rather cold to cold Abdaly 27 10 Wafra 26 09 with light to moderate north west- Bubyan - - Salmy 25 10

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

Amiri Diwan must hand over projects to ‘Finance’: MP Bill sets one year jail, KD 3,000 fi ne for sexual harassment By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh the offender. Arab Times Staff Meanwhile, MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari submitted a bill mandating the Amiri Diwan KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: MPs Abdullah to hand over the projects or enterprises it is Al-Mudaf, Mehalhal Al-Mudaf, Muhan- currently executing, supervising and fi nanc- nad Al-Sayer, Badr Al-Mullah and Hassan ing to the Ministry of Finance; which will Jawhar submitted a bill regarding sexual then distribute the projects or enterprises to harassment in response to a report aired on the concerned ministries. Al-Qabas TV recently. The bill prohibits the Amiri Diwan from The bill defi nes sexual harassment, establishing, contracting, fi nancing or su- which is punishable by law, as something pervising projects or enterprises. The air- said, done or hints sexual impression by an craft under its custody will be handed over individual targeting to Kuwait Airways Corporation which will another; causing the manage the fl eet as per the civil aviation latter embarrassment laws. The corporation will then provide or harming the body. aviation services to the Amiri Diwan. According to the The State Audit Bureau (SAB) will su- bill, anyone who pervise the transfer of projects or enterpris- witnesses such ac- es from the Amiri Diwan to the Ministry of tion should imme- Finance and submit its report to the Nation- diately report to the al Assembly within six months. concerned authori- Al-Kandari pointed out the Amiri Diwan ties. It mandates the is supposed to represent the political lead- Ministry of Interior ership; hence, the implementation and su- to specify technical Al-Mudaf pervision of projects or enterprises affect its methods for receiv- main role. He said the project or enterprise ing such calls and to guarantee the privacy implementation and contracting activities and security of the whistleblower. of the Amiri Diwan is a violation as these Anyone convicted of sexual harassment activities are tantamount to obligating the is imprisoned for a maximum period of one government to neglect its duties stated in year and fi ned KD 3,000 maximum or any the relevant law and Constitution. of these penalties. MP Ahmad Al-Hamad proposed granting In case the crime is repeated, the per- rent allowance to Kuwaiti female teachers petrator will be imprisoned for fi ve years married of non-Kuwaitis, those who are di- maximum and fi ned KD 5,000 maximum or vorced and the widows like their expatriate Photo by Mahmoud Jadeed any of these penalties. counterparts. Makeshift homes in the shape of a resort are built in the desert opposite Sulaibiya and at Kabad. Such places are rented out to families or a group The executive decree on the law will be On the other hand, MP Muhammad Hadi of people who like to spend the weekend away from the humdrum of the day to day life. issued within three months after its ratifi ca- Al-Hewaila forwarded queries to interim tion. Minister of Finance Khalifa Hamada about On the same issue, MP Abdulaziz Al- the failure to collect debts, which the moni- Saqaabi proposed amending Penal Code toring institutions estimated at KD 270 mil- number 16/1960 in order to add an article lion, from various institutions. stipulating that whoever sexually or immor- He submitted similar questions to inter- ally attacks another in words or action will im Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water GCC mulls anti-Covid fi ght be imprisoned for three years maximum Muhammad Abdullatif Al-Fares, indicat- and fi ned KD 3,000 maximum or any of ing the uncollected debts are estimated at these penalties. KD 299 million; as well as interim Min- By Marwa Al-Bahrawi How to stem increase in cases? In case the attack results in physical dam- ister of Justice Nawaf Al-Yasseen regard- Al-Seyassah Staff age to the victim or destruction of his prop- ing the outstanding bills estimated at KD erties, the penalties include fi ve years im- 3 million, interim Minister of Health Dr KUWAIT CITY, Feb prisonment maximum and fi ne of KD 5,000 Basel Al-Sabah about the KD 31 million 13: The health ministers maximum or any of these penalties. uncollected payments, and interim Minis- Arrivals to bear cost of 7-day quarantine The court has the right to publish the ter of Information Abdulrahman Al-Mutai- of the Gulf Cooperation verdict in a daily newspaper and the cor- ri on the uncollected debts amounting to Council countries, at the KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: A pre- stitutional quarantine is manda- 7-day period for 6 nights, as fol- responding expenses will be shouldered by about KD 6.3 million. invitation of the GCC liminary agreement regarding in- tory for all arrivals into the country lows: stitutional quarantine at 3, 4 and – Kuwaitis and expatriates. The For 5-star hotels – Single Secretary-General Dr 5-star hotels has been reached expenses will be borne by indi- room: 270 dinars; Double room: Travel agents bemoan losses Nayef Al-Hajraf, held and becomes applicable from viduals. 330 dinars; 4-star hotels – Single an exceptional meeting Feb 21, 2021, reports Al-Qabas The sources revealed the pro- room: 180 dinars, Double room: through visual communi- daily quoting knowledgeable posed institutional quarantine 240 dinars; 3-star hotels – Single sources. prices which require nod from room: 120 dinars, Double room: Egypt puts transit travel on hold cation technology to ex- The daily added, the 7-day in- the offi cial authorities include 180 dinars. KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Tourism and trav- risks travelers might be exposed to as a re- change views and review el offi ces in Egypt have suspended ‘transit’ sult of uncertainty of air traffi c. the current situation re- limit its repercussions. health ministers of the GCC coun- formation that will be recorded and packages for Egyptians wishing to travel to The source pointed out the resumption of garding the corona pan- The sources indicated that the tries have decided to form a work- the effectiveness of the vaccines Kuwait via a third country, for an indefi nite travel largely will depend on the decisions demic, based on the initia- meeting discussed the causes of the ing group of virus specialists in the used with different ages, mutations period in order to avoid a recurrence of the taken by governments, whether through recent increase in cases, and joint member states to study the genetic and side effects being monitored. crisis due to Kuwait’s suspension of travel transit fl ights, or direct fl ights between the tive of Kuwait’s Minister measures to maintain health security sequence of the “COVID-19” vi- The sources added the meeting as a result of the epidemic situation in the countries when the epidemiological situa- of Health Sheikh Dr Basil and control the epidemic situation. rus present in the GCC countries also stressed the importance of country, reports Al-Qabas daily. tion stabilizes. Al-Qabas has learned from a reliable Mohammad Ibrahim, the agent of a Al-Sabah. The sources stressed the min- and to make use of the laboratories continuing to implement precau- source in the Egyptian Ministry of Immigra- group of travel agencies in Cairo, explained The Ministry of Health said in isters discussed the protocols that of the member states to take appro- tionary health measures in a pro- tion that the ministry’s operations room is to Al-Qabas daily that travel agents suffered a statement Dr Basil Al-Sabah were followed to diagnose and priate precautionary decisions. active manner whenever the need working to facilitate the return of thousands heavy losses due to the sudden decisions to thanked the health ministers discover cases of the mutated vi- The ministry stated Dr Al-Sabah arises or not, and coordinate this of stranded Egyptians after they failed to suspend and postpone fl ights, making it dif- in the GCC countries for their rus, and the proposal to conduct a welcomed the important decisions with the various sectors in each of make their way to Kuwait. fi cult to continue providing these packages prompt response to the invitation joint Gulf study of the genetic se- taken by the health ministers, the GCC states to avoid entering a The same source revealed the Egyptian due to the instability of air traffi c and the to the meeting. quence of the virus by the special- which confirmed the importance second epidemic wave. government has asked travel agencies to change of preventive policies in each coun- He explained the meeting dis- ized authorities, to benefit from its of exchanging information be- During the meeting, Dr Al-Sabah stop offering travel packages due to the try. cussed the current epidemiologi- results to enhance the capabilities tween member states regarding stressed the importance of extraor- cal situation in the member states of health systems to monitor and new strains and the precautionary dinary meetings between health in terms of cases registered in each respond to the pandemic, and to measures that are applied in each ministers in the GCC countries to mp profile getting to know you country and the precautionary take precautionary measures based country and the effectiveness of exchange views and information measures that have been taken by on scientific studies. the PCR tests to diagnose mutated and take appropriate health mea- them to control the pandemic and The ministry pointed out that the viruses, and sharing the vaccine in- sures to reduce the repercussions. Voting Record

■ Formation of a fact-finding 10,880 expats leave in 30 days ... 99,000 renew permits committee to investigate the bank deposits of MPs in 2013 – ap- By Fares Al-Abadan period amounted to 363 per day. issued for transfer from the gov- total number of workers whose Hamdan Salem Al-Azmi proved Al-Seyassah Staff and The reasons for the cancella- ernment sector, and two for Gulf residence permits have expired ■ Sunni No confidence motion against Agencies tion varied, as 4,024 work per- workers. while outside the country has risen Independent/Tribal State Minister for Cabinet Affairs mits were cancelled because of The fi gures revealed that the to 6,000, in addition to more than Fifth Constituency and acting Minister of Information KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The the expatriates’ fi nal travel, 611 number of work permits issued 4,000 who requested the cancella- Muhammad Al-Abdullah in 2013 – number of expatriates who left work permits due to death of the with the approval of the Coun- tion of their work permit in order approved the labor market has increased HAMDAN SALEM AL-AZMI ■ Cancellation of the grilling holders, 257 work permits were cil of Ministers within three days to leave the country. was born in 1968 and holds a mas- motion against HH Prime Minister with the cancellation of the work transferred to family visa, and increased by more than 21 per- According to statistics, PAM ter’s degree in Law. Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak permits of 10,880 expatriates dur- 5,988 for residency outside the cent on February 10, which is by approved 11,000 university de- He worked as a lawyer in 2014 – rejected ing the period from January 12 to country. 77 permits to reach a total of 439 grees, and 47,000 companies ben- and legal researcher at the ■ Partnership Enter- February 10, which extends to 30 In addition, the number of work work permits, compared to 362 efi ted from the Authority’s elec- Ministry of Interior. He is a prises Law in 2014 – re- days. permits renewed for expatriate permits on February 7. tronic services. jected According to offi cial statistics member of Kuwait Lawyers ■ workers during the same period Meanwhile, the Public Author- The statistic also showed that Amendment of the issued by the Public Authority reached about 99,142. About 30 ity for Manpower (PAM) said the work permits of 5,000 Ku- Society. He also served as Constitutional Court Law in a member of the Board of 2014 – approved for Manpower (PAM), the num- work permits were transferred to 99,000 residents renewed work waiti employees in the private Directors of Rabia Coop- ■ DNA Law in 2015 – re- ber of expatriate workers who left family visa, 54 permits for trans- permits between Jan 12 and Feb sector have been updated, while erative Society and Omariya jected the labor market and whose work fer to the government sector were 10, 2021, reports Al-Qabas daily. 1,556 work permits have been Cooperative Society. ■ Cybercrimes Law in permits were cancelled during that canceled, 14 work permits were The PAM statistics show the cancelled. He ran for the parliamen- 2015 – rejected tary elections for the first Al-Azmi ■ Disqualifying candi- time in 2013 when he won dates convicted in offend- Bans relaxed 2,407 votes and ranked fifth in his ing lawsuits in 2016 – absent ■ Amendment of Penal Code constituency. He also emerged vic- number 17/ 1960 in 2016 – ab- torious in the 2016 elections with sent Time to ‘party’ again 5,038 votes which put him in second ■ Amendment of law number place; and in the 2020 elections when 28/ 2011 on allowances granted KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The health authorities have decided he got 8,387 votes and ranked first in to lecturers at Kuwait University to allow holding buffets in restaurants and hotels, provided the Fifth Constituency. and Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic everyone adheres to social distancing and other health require- Affairs in 2016 – approved Statement ■ ments, reports Al-Qabas daily. Amendment of Housing Wel- The committee also decided that the laundries can operate Al-Azmi previously pointed fare Law number 47/ 1992 in 2016 after 8:00 pm provided they do not open the doors or entertain out that the removal of National – rejected people but can continue to work behind closed doors. ■ Amendment of National As- Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al- The committee also ended the suspension of the sports ac- Ghanim from office should not be sembly Elections Law number 35/ 1962 in 2016 – absent tivity in investment areas. the top priority if it would disrupt ■ Public Tenders Law number Meanwhile, the Minister of Oil, Minister of Electricity and the legislation and monitoring tasks 49/ 2016 in 2016 – approved Water, Dr. Muhammad Al-Faris, has asked the Undersecretary of the MPs. He said Al-Ghanim ■ Amendment of Pharmacol- of the Ministry of Electricity and Water to commission Engr would remain in his post for four ogy and Medicines Distribution Jassem Al-Nouri and other senior offi cials of the ministry, to years and his removal will cause Law number 28/ 1996 in 2016 – study the Civil Service Commission letter about rewards to damages like the dissolution of the approved front row workers from all aspects. Assembly. ■ Law number 26/ 2016 on Minister Al-Faris said in a press statement yesterday he is He addressed his colleagues, specifying the number of individu- keen to protect the rights of employees who worked on the stating “you can get rid of Al- als who will be granted Kuwaiti frontlines during the pandemic in line with laws and regula- Ghanim through the grilling of HH citizenship annually in 2016 – ap- tions governing the issue of bonuses. proved Duaij Al-Azmi, Chairman of the Workers Union of the the Prime Minister but this will ■ Sports Clubs Support Law result in the dissolution of the As- Ministry of Electricity and Water, asked the concerned au- number 21/ 2016 in 2016 – ap- thority to prepare the list of names of employees who are sembly which is not in the interest proved ■ entitled for reward and not bow to the CSC demands in any of the people. The citizens elected Law number 18 / 2016 on way. us to perform our legislation and granting social support to the el- derly in 2016 – approved Minister Al-Faris during a meeting with the President of monitoring roles, not to push for the Federation of Trade Unions in the Joint Sector Mahdi Al- the removal of the speaker.” Serafi discussed the classifi cation of workers in the Ministry of Electricity and Water. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 LOCAL 4 Municipality fails to notice as camps spring up in many areas

MPW receives 610 complaints about road repairs in 10 days Al-Rai photo By Muhammad Ghanem The barbed wires being removed in Khaitan area. ‘Decision does not infringe on rights of employees’ Al-Seyassah Staff MPW removes barbed wires KUWAIT CITY, Feb Oil minister seeks report on allowance suspension 13: Despite field cam- The Ministry of Public Works started movement of people during the early paigns by the Munici- removing the barbed wire in Khaitan stages of the Covid-19 pandemic dur- KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Minister of pervisors, reports Al-Anba daily quot- allowances for supervisory positions is pality teams and the separating blocks 9 and 10, reports ing partial and total lockdown in some Oil, Minister of Electricity and Water, ing reliable sources. a matter related to observations made Al-Rai daily. areas of Kuwait. Dr Muhammad Al-Faris has requested The sources said Minister Al-Faris by the Audit Bureau. ministerial committee The barbed wires were placed The sources said the MPW will re- a detailed report from the ministry’s is waiting for full details in this regard The sources stressed instructions to follow up on the im- in several areas to prevent people move barbed wires from all isolated undersecretary and senior offi cials on at the beginning of the week, indicating given by Al-Faris are crystal clear and plementation of health from entering areas and to control areas. the suspension of allowances for su- at the same time that the suspension of not to infringe on rights of employees. requirements, camps continue to spring up in several areas which most often than not are full of people, fre- quented by many fami- lies and equipped with games and the lime, reports Al-Seyassah daily. The Al-Seyassah daily spotted the camps as far as eye can reach but seem to have avoided the watchful Ambassador George (right) with Sultan. eye of the Kuwait Municipal- ity. Indian envoy calls on KOC chief Many observers say they are surprised the Municipality has The Ambassador of India to Kuwait means of enhancing institutional co- failed to detect the activity, H.E. Sibi George met with Emad Sul- operation between India and Kuwait while the Municipality teams tan, CEO, Kuwait Oil Company, and especially in the domain of hydrocar- rush to close a store here and a discussed with him interalia, ways and bons and allied services. store there or even venture out in remote areas to lift neglected Move a proactive measure cars and called on the Munici- pality to implement decisions with a single rule and not allow Gulf Insurance Group to conduct the virus to spread in other ar- eas. Observers emphasized keep- PCR tests for over 400 employees ing the camps standing will KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Gulf Insurance lead to people gathering, es- Group – Kuwait (gig-Kuwait) announced pecially since the camps have that it would conduct a complementary become the only outlet in light PCR examination for over 400 employ- of the lack of travel. They also ees at the gig-Kuwait’s main headquar- noted that there are many youth ters. This follows the Group’s interest in and family camps on the sides upholding the safety of its employees and off the mainland. maintaining a safe environment to work Complaints in. Additionally, the PCR testing was a Meanwhile, the Ministry proactive measure performed to detect of Public Works announced and quarantine employees that tested pos- that the ministry’s Mainte- itive before spreading the virus. nance Engineering Sector Since the start of the pandemic, gig- has received 610 complaints Kuwait has been committed to uphold- ing the highest standards of safety for its and reports regarding road employees. Preventive measures such as In conclusion, our goal is to continue and network repairs in vari- the most recent PCR testing resulted in a ensuring our employees are not at risk ous governorates within 10 great turnout and enforced that the correct and collecting data that supports our rules days since the beginning of protocol is implemented at gig-Kuwait. and regulations during the pandemic. February through the Works Emergency Switch and on its WhatsApp number. In a press release, the min- Efforts underway to issue ‘specific’ istry indicated 461 complaints were answered during the pardon to those who fled to Turkey same period, while work is underway on 149 other com- By Raed Youssef chances of adopting comprehensive par- don law are almost non-existent, in light plaints, confirming its full Al-Seyassah Staff commitment for immediate of the divergence of parliamentary opin- response to all complaints of KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: While the par- ions concerning those included in it, as citizens and residents around liamentary coordination committee agreed well as the government’s reservation that the clock through direct with the State Minister for National As- threatens to return any comprehensive phone calls via the Hotline sembly Affairs Mubarak Al-Harees on the pardon law approved by the Parliament. 150 or through the ‘What- priorities for the next parliamentary session, There is a conviction that approval of this sApp’ for work emergencies which is voting on the laws of total pardon, initiative for two former MPs among the ‘93333150’. amendment of electronic crimes, and elec- convicts would, by extension, mean the ap- The source stated once com- tions, informed sources revealed that there proval for the rest, and their return will hap- plaints or reports that fall within are efforts to obtain special pardon for those pen without going through the corridors of who fl ed to Turkey. legislative and legal procedures. the jurisdiction of the ministry They explained that a high-ranking of- The sources revealed that a number of are received, files are opened in fi cial is intending to launch an initiative Shiite MPs asked the government to take the electronic automated system aimed at persuading those convicted in a unifi ed stance concerning the fi le of for follow-up and transferred the cases of storming the parliament and national reconciliation and amnesty, and immediately to emergency freedom of opinion, which include former insisted that everyone should be under teams, which in turn deal with MPs and bloggers, to accept a “special this umbrella, either through approval or these complaints within the con- pardon” based on a compromise formula rejection. cerned ministry sectors in all that allows them to return to Kuwait. They said, “However, to exclude some regions of the governorates until This offi cial will inform those con- will not be acceptable, and such a thing they are completed. cerned with the special pardon that the is in contradiction with the Constitution.” ‘Gulf reconciliation’ Turkish FM Cavusoglu lauds Kuwait’s efforts DOHA, Feb 13, (KUNA): Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday expressed appreciation to Kuwait’s efforts in resolving the Gulf crisis. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Qatari coun- terpart Mohammad bin Abdulrahman, Cavusoglu hailed the resumption of normal ties between Gulf countries, describ- ing it as a good development. Good relations between the neighboring countries bring benefits, development and security to the whole region, he said. He argued that there are other problems in the Middle East region that require joint action to resolve them, mainly those related to Washington-Tehran relations, the sanctions imposed on Iran and the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran. He expressed hope that the Yemeni crisis would end and peace and security would return to the Yemeni state soon, extolling the UN efforts aimed at restoring peace and secu- rity there. The Turkish minister described the current developments in Libya as “positive”, hoping that power would be trans- ferred smoothly to the new government. He affirmed that Turkey backs the peaceful political pro- cess in Libya, and noted the discussions held today in Qatar dealt with this issue. ‘Interior’ tours correctional institutions sector and SED KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Minister of Interior, Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali, during a tour of the Correctional Institutions Sector and Sentences Enforcement Department (SED) stressed on the ne- cessity of continuing the rehabilitation and training of workers within the correctional institutions sector and the implementa- tion of the provisions on how to deal with inmates in accordance with the requirements stipulated in international human rights charters and standards, reports Al-Seyassah daily. This came in a press release issued by the Directorate- General of Public Relations and Security Media Department of the Interior Ministry after the tour. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 LOCAL 5 REMEMBER WHEN

Photograph courtesy of The Center for Re- DEFENDING KUWAIT search and Studies on A British force was sent to Kuwait to assist the local army af- Kuwait and the work ter it defeated a group of desert raiders at Rigai on 28 January 1928. A considerable force of Kuwait’s cavalry was also pre- of Dr Yacoub Al- sent, ready to defend the city. (From the book ‘Old Kuwait: Hijji in the book Old- Memories in Photographs’) Kuwait: Memories in Photographs fi rst published in 1996.

Courtesy of The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait diwaniya A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION ‘Kuwaiti ship sails with a badly torn sail and a lost oar’ “IT IS very painful for every Kuwaiti to see the country retreating from lead- today, but there is no use,” columnist Khalid Al-Arrafa wrote for Al-Anba from here we say ‘To whom it may concern’.” ership positions in various fi elds under the cover of darkness of chaos that daily. ❑ ❑ ❑ denotes the absence of a clear vision for the state’s functioning, the work of its “We are still living in a state of confusion when it comes to making or institutions have taken a back seat while the neighboring countries are active taking decisions in the midst of the health situation which we live, and the “On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Kuwait’s National Day and the and moving forward at a brisk pace while Kuwait is mired in confl icts over number of Corona infections which did not exceed 350 until we were plagued 30th anniversary of its liberation, all Kuwaitis - individuals and institutions - political crumbs and refuses to deviate from the narrow personal individuals and the numbers jumped to more than 800 a few days later due to the plans have the right to rejoice and to express this joy in various ways and means, as – the people who we have chosen and helped to become the Pharaohs, in a and ideas of those who make the decision in Ministry of Health that took us to long as they do not transgress the law, commit mistakes or engage in activities moment of intellectual emptiness,” columnist Sattam Al-Jarallah wrote for square one with numbers of infections increasing. and behaviors that harm others,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote Al-Seyassah daily. “I asked the offi cials in the Ministry of Health a few days ago why there is for Al-Sabah daily. “The bitterness is that no one is looking at Kuwait as an umbrella that an increase in the number of cases during the past two weeks. “However, some individuals, especially children and adolescents, some- will protect him/her, his/her children, and the future generations during harsh “Is it because of opening the airspace or because of non-compliance with times transgress and behave in a way that make others discontented and weather, but they look at the country as a milking cow, even if its udder dries health instructions, or are there other reasons that we know nothing about, prompt them to complain. This is a common and frequent matter, it is no up, they do not and will not hesitate to suck the blood, but as usual, the Ministry kept mum until it held a conference a few days ago longer surprising. “Despite our reservations over such a behavior, it is not which is what is happening now, in light of the fl imsy and explained the reasons that led to this increase and the answer was clear. our topic today. Here, we will focus on mistakes committed by offi cial bodies disputes and the scenario is portrayed as if children “There are countries that are listed as most dangerous in terms of infections claiming to celebrate national holidays. fi ghting in the street. and are on banned list, but were allowed to enter the country after spending “For example, some citizens and expatriates told us that on the main street “We celebrate with our Emirati brothers their suc- the quarantine period in the third country and hold the corona-free certifi cate. between Farwaniya and Omariya, and some internal streets in Omariya, they cessful probe of hope to Mars, which is undoubtedly “The decision-maker should not have considered opening the airspace for witnessed strange and reprehensible activities as a way of celebrating. The an Arab achievement, not only Emirati.This is an in- the entry of nationals of those countries until the conditions stabilize, and then electrical poles on those streets were opened, wires were extracted from them, centive for every Arab and every Gulf Arab to strive gradually opened after the stability of the health situation in those countries wrapped and connected to illuminated decorations hung on the poles. for better. instead of the current situation – by sometimes opening the airport and at “Is it recklessness in dealing with people’s lives or being accustomed to “We unfortunately see Kuwait revolving in a vicious other times issuing orders to close which has led to irresponsible confusion. mistakes and being guided to dangerous, harmful and unlawful ways in ex- circle, whether with regard to resolving its political “There are decisions which may include the solution to prevent the transit pressing joy and celebrating occasions?” crisis or the struggle between parliamentarians and fl ights coming to the country from the affected countries, with the exception ❑ ❑ ❑ the government over goals that, if we study them, can Al-Jarallah of citizens provided they are forced into institutional quarantine and if we do be considered just daily routine procedures within the “The abundant oil in some Arab countries is exactly the same as the oil this the situation will once again stabilize. in small quantities or absent in other Arab countries!” columnist Hussein work of any government, and the basis for them is the law, which is the rule “It is clear that the health authorities have not learned from their mistakes among all, especially the MPs whose duty is to ensure implementation, and Alrawi wrote for Al-Rai daily. which they committed since last March. They should have found a clear and “This means Arabs have no share of their oil, as it is limited to their gov- to monitor the government performance, but unfortunately they have disre- ready mechanism that obliges the arrivals to conduct PCR tests at accredited spected the law. ernments. Therefore, the Arab citizen is not interested in the rise or fall of centers, as well as subjecting all those who return to institutional quarantine global oil circulation indicators. Perhaps, if he hears ‘OPEC’ and ‘OAPEC’, “At a time when the country is suffering from an economic and fi nancial instead of contacting and interacting with people. crisis that requires solidarity and work according to modern and legal visions, he will think that the former is a medicine for cough while the latter is a type “The ministry’s statement also blamed citizens for non-compliance with of cigarette! everyone in the two authorities is working to fabricate more problems, but the health requirements, which are one of the reasons for the increase in infec- worst is the absence of an authentic government that does its work properly, a “Although oil in foreign countries is much less than the Arab oil, why do government which is not for the disposal of urgent matters, while the National tions. “Don’t dump the responsibility for failure your plans on others as we they have urbanization, development and progress in everything, even on their Assembly is disabled, as if it was an Assembly for the inhabitants of Mars, are committed in applying the law, so apply the law then you will fi nd what streets, buildings, hospitals, markets, buildings, laws, factories and fi elds?! where the Emirati brothers ‘are heading’ while we in Kuwait sail in a ship makes you happy. “Why do Arabs produce thousands and millions of barrels of oil a day, with badly torn sail and lost oar.” “We would like to ask the health offi cials ‘Are the PCR tests for arrivals re- yet the best fi nancial revenue does not refl ect fi nancially on the homeland?! ally sound and correct and there are no cases of fraud? Is there a commitment Also: Why do we see so many needy, indebted and unemployed citizens despite our by those who are coming from these countries to adhere to home quarantine governments’ production of such large quantities of oil?” “We have repeatedly warned the health authorities to reconsider their deci- and follow-up by the health authorities? Have you discovered cases of people sions before they issue them since the beginning of the corona pandemic until infected with the virus among the arrivals? What are their nationalities? And — Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

Bid to fi nish Other Voices transactions ‘Guard’ units well-trained faster: DGFD KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Al-Ali inspects Al-Qurain Market Deputy Prime Minister ‘Juha’ and Governor’s mule and Minister of State for KUWAIT CITY, ing and praised the role of By Ahmad alsarraf little and continued his famous say- Cabinet Affairs Anas Al- the Mubarak Al-Kabeer ing: I will enjoy the money for fi ve Saleh said the new elec- Feb 13: The Dep- n the past mules, donkeys, horses years, during which either the gover- tronic services launched Municipality to ensure Iand camels were considered means nor will die, or I will die, or the stupid by the Directorate-Gen- uty Chief of the everyone adheres to health of transport similar to what cars are mule will die. eral of Fire Department National Guard, requirements in non-food today. Their use differed from one It seems that the decision to distrib- (DGFD) aim to simplify Lieutenant-Gener- stores, restaurants, and environment to another, so mules ute plots for construction in Mutla’a procedures to complete others who are committed were used to climb mountainous ar- and South Abdullah Al-Mubarak was transactions faster, and al Sheikh Ahmed to implementing the deci- eas, horses galloped in the plains, issued with a political background making it easier for citi- sions. and the camels and desire despite all the warnings Al-Nawwaf, said remained true zens and residents to the emergency This includes the own- expressed by more than one compe- complete their proce- to its name tent authority. There is still no logis- ers of shops and markets ‘the ship of the dures in a short time, re- units and teams of of all kinds as necessity tical plan for the region or for how to ports Al-Anba daily. desert’ and so fi nance the required loans, nor clear the National Guard demands. He pointed out on ... and some Al-Saleh recently paid answers to many vital questions. are well-trained to the Mubarak Al-Kabeer of them were a visit to the headquar- Municipality is considered The number of houses in the pro- dear to their ject is 13,000 units and their owners ters of the prevention support the mili- one of the distinguished owners be- sector in the suburb of will receive easy-to-pay loans from tary and civil state MoI photo authorities in following up cause of their the state without any interest in the Mubarak Al-Abdullah Sheikh Ahmed tours the exhibition. the health requirements, scarcity or in- Al-Jaber, accompanied authorities in deal- range of approximately one billion especially since its reports telligence. dinars, or more than three billion dol- by the head of the Gener- ing with various successes in assisting the assigned to secure the site It is said alsarraf al Fire Force, Lieutenant- show the volume of work lars, this is in addition to what was types of crises. state agencies, which has and praised their efforts in it has on its shoulders com- that one of spent and will be spent on the pro- General Khaled Rakan won praise and approval protecting vital sites and the governors owned a favorite Al-Mukrad, and the dep- Sheikh Ahmed Al- pared to other municipality ject in terms of infrastructure, roads, Nawwaf said this during at the offi cial and popular urged them to be vigilant branches in other governo- smart mule. To take advantage of the bridges and all other miscellaneous uty head of the general mule’s intelligence, the governor de- fi re-fi ghting force for the a tour of a number of ad- levels, especially during and alert at all times. rates. services to create a residential area ministrative support units the COVID-19 pandemic, Meanwhile, retired cided to teach it to read and offered for nearly four hundred thousand prevention sector, Major Al-Ali indicated during a a big prize to those who succeed in General Khaled Abdullah and the Center for Chemi- as the guards stood side by Lieutenant-General Abdel fi eld tour on the outskirts of people. side with their brothers in Fattah Al-Ali, who heads the task, with the threat of putting Insisting on proceeding with Fahd. cal Defense and Radiation north Ahmadi, about 100 to death those who failed. As usual, During the tour, Al- Monitoring at the Tahrir all ministries and state in- the ministerial committee tents were removed by the granting of licenses and allowing there are always those who volun- large number of citizens to build in Saleh listened to a detailed camp, the National Guard, stitutions. to ensure the implemen- municipality, stressing that teer to do such impossible tasks, and explanation of the elec- He praised the capa- tation of health require- these diffi cult circumstances is a un- thanks to the directives of gatherings at the present the result was that all of them lost wise decision and a building disas- tronic systems launched His Highness Sheikh Sa- bilities of the Center for ments, stressed the law time are strictly forbidden their lives, so the rest of the morons by the DGFD and the ter and chaos will inevitably follow. lem Al-Ali, Chief of the Chemical Defense and is strictly applied on eve- and this includes beaches stopped entering the challenge. With half that amount and ten per- mechanism of using them National Guard, who has Radiation Monitoring in ryone, and said what the along the country’s coasts The governor doubled the amount cent of the land area, it was possible through the department’s shown keen interest and supporting state institu- field team does is in im- to prevent the spread of the of the prize and after waiting for a to build the most beautiful residential electronic portal and the supported the strategic tions concerned with pre- plementation of the deci- virus. short time, Juha presented himself to complex with all modern services, Kuwait electronic portal serving the environment sions issued by the Coun- For his part, the head the governor and accepted the chal- but it seems that I am talking to my- to accelerate the pace of plans to expand its func- tions in support of state and its advanced monitor- cil of Ministers, pointing of the Violations Re- lenge and left the governor’s palace, self a lot. achievement and digital ing stations to measure out that the team has so dragging the mule behind him with a We will discover the extent of the transformation instead of agencies, so it modernized moval Department in the pollution rates in various far organized field trips to heavy cloth bag of money. problem within a few years, and we paper transactions in line the support system. Mubarak Al-Kabeer Mu- People gathered around Juha The administration has parts of the country us- 15 different sites. nicipality Eng Majed Al- will search for the responsible person with the state’s general mocking his stupidity, and lamenting to hold him responsible, and we will plan. He also viewed the qualifi ed trained teams at ing modern devices and In a press statement dur- Mutairi said the municipal- his inevitable death with the sword of mechanisms to combat ing his visit to Al-Qurain then discover that he was dismissed, electronic portable devices the highest level and pro- ity is keen to implement the the governor, but Juha silenced them, retired, or died. I suggest returning to for use during inspections. vides them with the best leakage operations at oil Market in the Mubarak decisions of the Council of saying that he asked the governor to read the story of Juha and the mule of He also visited the devices and equipment to installations. Al-Kabeer Governorate, Ministers related to health pay him the prize money in advance, the governor. Fire Protection Systems deal with emergency situ- Sheikh Ahmed Al-Naw- Al-Ali indicated the impor- requirements, especially and to give him fi ve years to teach the ❑ ❑ ❑ Training Center, which ations. waf also toured the Irsal tance of adhering to health since there are monitoring mule to read, even write, and he had was established to train He added the National Kabd station, during which requirements by wearing teams that continue to work what he wanted. Then Juha paused a e-mail: [email protected] new employees. Guard has achieved great he met the offi cers who are masks and social distanc- around the clock. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 LOCAL 6

Braisa Al Roumi Sheikha Hanouf Bader Al Muhamad Al Sabah Dr Leila Vali from Kuwait University

Dr Bassam Al Faili Honoring the Saint John’s Scout group. Omar Kammourieh talking about his experiment. Kuwait will always be an oasis for humanity and prosperity: Sheikha Hanouf IWG marks Kuwait’s 60th Independence Day, 30th Liberation Day anniversary KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Under the patronage of H.E. Sheikha Hanouf Bader Al Muhamad Al-Sabah, spouse to H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs, KUDLO, Philippine envoy Honorary President of the International Women’s Group- Kuwait (IWG) cele- brated with the group the 60th anniver- sary of Independence and the 30th anniversary of Liberation Day. Laila Boulos, master of ceremonies, tackle ‘domestics’ issues eloquently and seamlessly managed the virtual program. Mrs. Ambreen Mustafa spouse of Bid to resume recruitment the Ambassador of the Republic of Pakistan and president of IWG deliv- ered the welcome speech and congrat- KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: new workers before or during ulated the State of Kuwait, citizens and Kuwait Union of Domestic Ramadan at the latest. residents on this auspicious occasion. Regarding the renewal of recruit- The event commenced with the Labor Offices (KUDLO) ment contracts between the local offic- National anthem orchestrated by Saint Quamar Al-Mumin Chairman Khaled es and their counterparts in the John’s Scout, Orthodox Church. Al-Dakhnan and members Philippines, Al-Dakhnan expects a Sheikha Hanouf Bader Al Muhamad solution to this simple problem by the Al-Sabah, as guest of honor, in her of the union recently met end of this month and once the embas- taped speech highlighted loyalty and with Ambassador of the sy opens its new headquarters. appreciation to the souls of martyrs Philippines to Kuwait He appealed to the Public Authority who sacrificed their lives for Kuwait. for Manpower (PAM) and Ministry of Sheikha Hanouf also praised the Mohd Noordin Pendosina Interior to quickly address all pending efforts of the international community Lomondot and the labor problems in order to resume the for their support during the liberation attaché in the office of recruitment process soon. of the State of Kuwait. Adding that Meanwhile, Director-General of the Kuwait is forever grateful to the allied Al-Dahknan to discuss the union Abdulaziz Al-Ali revealed they forces for their continued support to latest developments in discussed all the problems that the bring peace and stability to the region. resuming the recruitment Filipino domestic workers and local Reiterating that the occasion is also recruitment offices are currently fac- an opportunity to commemorate of domestic workers, women martyrs and recognize their Ambassador Mohd Noordin ing. reports Al-Jarida daily. Pendosina Lomondot Al-Ali added they also tackled the invaluable role in the liberation of Al-Dakhnan told the daily that delayed renewal of recruitment contracts Kuwait and their sacrifice for the sake “the Filipino ambassador and the completed.” He explained these between the local offices and their coun- of peace and prosperity for future gen- labor attaché promised to resume workers refused to continue with terparts in the Philippines, according to erations. Honoring chef Sadeqa Esmael the recruitment of new domestic their employers and they want to which the labor recruitment process is Recovery carried out. He said the ambassador and workers as soon as the problems of return to their country, calling on the labor attaché stressed the need to Sheikha Hanouf Bader Al Muhamad female workers currently staying the Ministry of Interior to speed up solve the problems of domestic workers Al-Sabah offered condolences to the at the embassy are solved and the the procedures for their departure staying at the embassy and expedite their families who have lost a loved one procedures for their departure are to pave way for the recruitment of return to Manila. during the COVID-19 pandemic and extended well wishes to those in recovery and called on Allah for an end to this universal pandemic. She praised highly the commitment of the IWG board to adhering to the required health measures imposed by the Kuwaiti government and thanked all volunteers and various service men and women in Kuwait who fight on the front lines of this pandemic. Al-Sabah also thanked the IWG for service to the community and bringing awareness to the special attributes of Kuwait’s soci- ety and cultural activities. Sheikha Hanouf concluded her Clethe Gubler, Vera Al Mutawa, Kamelia Al Mutawa speech by stressing that Kuwait will always be an oasis for humanity and our planet. Prof. Leila Vali also gave the grandeur it well deserved. prosperity and will continue to be the an enlightening presentation on Quamar Al-Mumin, a young land of peace and friendship. Kuwait’s participation in the space Kuwaiti woman poet delivered a son- Dr. Bassam Al Faili, Founder and program and praised Omar and Mahlak net on women empowerment. And a Director general of Orbital Space and Abdulla, the two students involved. gastronomic experience was enjoyed Director of Innovation & Enterprises The event continued with a Kuwaiti by watching chef Sadeqa Esmael from Director at KFAS delivered his address folkloric dance performance by Mrs. Dar Hamad restaurant present a step and described the efforts and achieve- Braisa Al Roumi; The British School by step method to making a national ments of his team with the interna- of Kuwait’s orchestra La Camarata, Kuwaiti dish. tional space program. Omar the winners of the 2019 Bahrain music The event concluded with special Kammourieh one the students on this championship for the Gulf, perfor- thanks to the distinguished guests, volun- team gave details of the project which mance of “Watan Al Nahar”, the patri- teers, board members and the event entailed sending bacteria into space to otic symphony that was created during AlWazzan Hectar crisps company and be used in an experiment on how to the Iraqi invasion. The BSK Camarata the online participants and board mem- reduce the effect of carbon dioxide on orchestra gave the auspicious occasion bers for making this event a great success.

BSK Orchestra Overdue debt declarations 1,933: MEW KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The Ministry from 1,225 subscribers with overdue dures like travel ban, confiscation of of Electricity and Water (MEW) has bills have been collected, asserting the vehicles and freezing bank account. determined the total number of overdue ministry is currently pursuing the Sources disclosed the total amount of debt declarations for fiscal 2019/2020 remaining 708 debtors. uncollected debts currently stands at - 1,933 out of the total 10,552, reports Sources said the ministry issued KD11.150 million, indicating some of Al-Anba daily quoting sources. warnings to those who have stopped the subscribers have not paid three or Sources affirmed the ministry has paying installments for the accumu- more installments as at the end of fis- taken legal measures and payments lated bills; in addition to other proce- cal 2019/2020. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 LOCAL 7

Central Bank does not allow storing client data outside Kuwait Cloud providing banking industry with transformational opportunity By Consultancy and Research The final word is that banks should Department, approach them from a strategic perspective picturing the future Institute of Banking Studies — but based on their current status. Kuwait They should realize that this is a Authors: Dr Thalaya Alfozan and long journey that will have a se- Ghaleb Aoude vere impact on enterprises’ people, processes, and technologies. Peo- This is the last part of ‘Cloud ple and processes are the hardest to Computing and its Impact on Ku- develop and transform. Crafting a wait’s Banking Sector’ research sound strategy for transformation — Editor is the best means to achieve the ❑ ❑ ❑ enterprises’ goals of sustainable growth objectives, shareholder ex- An outstanding example of AI pectations, and client satisfaction is the Bank of America’s Erica27. and confidence. The safe way is to Erica may advise a client not to do it with the help of trusted advi- buy something because he/she will sors and experts. go overdrawn, or advise that he/she While doing this, banks should spent $50 on Starbucks the previ- keep their eyes open. Even these ous week. They also may advise a trends or phenomena are undergo- client if he/she is paying more on a ing phases of ongoing transforma- specific utility consumption than his/ tion. The Financial Post32 in its Jan her neighbor. 31, 2020 issue posted that the Ca- Another technology implemen- nadian Finance Minister, Bill Mor- tation that uses AI as one of its Comments Comments neau, released the findings from the underlying foundations is Robotic This is an interesting result. Having all three possible answers at the It is interesting to see this response in light of the answers to results same time reflects lack of clear cut regulation. shown in Figure 11 above. first phase of a review by an advi- Process Automation (RPA) 28. RPA sory committee he launched in 2018 programs robots to perform business This is a fundamental question that banks should have an answer to, especially with the increasing adoption of cloud computing. to study the merits and risks of open processes that usually require people banking. The advisory committee to accomplish. RPA has profound has recommended that the federal implications on the operating cost of government take steps to enable organizations; banks are not an ex- open banking in Canada, but also ception. proposed the term, open banking, AI, so far, is just scratching the should be replaced with the poten- surface. What AI might bring is not tially less-confusing “consumer- yet imaginable. Major players, in- directed finance.” The report says, cluding banks, are working hard to “Consumer-directed finance is con- build services driven by what AI can sumer-controlled, secure and pro- offer. AI is changing the world that tects privacy. It allows a consumer we know. Financial institutions are to give instructions to a financial taking the lead to exploit AI capa- institution to share their transac- bilities. tion information with an accredited 5.1.5 Fintech third party of their choosing.” This Fintechs mainly use the Cloud nomenclature change fits well with to reach their clients. According to the industry trend to be more con- Investopedia29, Financial Technol- sumer-focused, personalized, and ogy (Fintech) refers to the integra- client-controlled. Today, the client tion of technology into offerings is in control. by financial services companies to In a highly regulated financial improve their use and delivery to industry, banks cannot do it alone. consumers. Good examples include They should receive support from money transfers, depositing a check their regulators clearly and con- with your smartphone, bypassing a bank branch to apply for credit, rais- sistently. They also need to work closely with their cloud vendors. ing money for a business startup, or Comments Comments managing your investments, gener- During the one-to-one discussions These answers are not understood. All answering banks responded pos- There is a strong tendency for all banks to deploy Fintech solutions. with officials of all banks, the mes- ally without the assistance of a per- itively to this question while some previously stated that they are not sure if All banks depend on Fintech partners for their Fintech plans. son. banks can store data outside Kuwait. sage was clear. They are looking Fintechs impose a real threat to the forward to having a clear and un- ambiguous regulatory guidance mainstream regulated banking sector these countries have regulated revolutionize their services, opti- for the following reasons: that they can depend on while set- ■ the new entrants to the finan- mize their workflows and business ting their short, medium, and long- They operate outside the con- cial sector. Underlying open API processes, boost their profits by trol of the financial services’ regu- term plans without the need to go technologies make data sharing implementing new CAPEX/OPEX back to the regulator at every step latory bodies, such as central banks possible. Open Banking puts the costing models, modernize their or treasury boards. However, the of the way. Though CBK released user in control of his/her data. It is customers’ experiences, and im- the CSF document after complet- Central Bank of Kuwait has issued opening the door wide to innova- plement sustainable growth plans. a Regulatory Sandbox Framework ing the survey, the document rep- tion in the financial sector. Tradi- 5.2 Survey on Cloud Adoption resents what banks in Kuwait are document30, which provides “a tional banks are trying to catch up Status in Kuwaiti Banks safe space that allows for experi- waiting for and need. The industry by implementing more aggressive As an integral part of this study, is so dynamic; markets are so open, mentation with innovative prod- digitization initiatives. we conducted a survey on the sta- ucts and services relating to Fin- and banks need to be ready and stay Open Banking was triggered in tus of cloud adoption in all Kuwaiti tech without incurring the cost of competitive. The CSF regulatory October 2015 when the European commercial banks. Cloud adoption document will help them move in obtaining official licenses. The is a new and dynamic phenomenon. environment caters for either prod- Parliament adopted a revised Pay- the right direction. ment Services Directive, known as The objective is to get as accurate Finally, banks must work closely ucts and services that are based on, picture as possible. Since the num- or relevant to, electronic payment PSD233. The new rules included with regulators, mainly the Central aims to promote the development ber of Kuwaiti commercial banks Bank Kuwait, and all their other of funds that require the Central is ten in total, we decided to con- Bank of Kuwait’s approval prior to and use of innovative online and stakeholders and partners to ensure mobile payments through open duct one-to-one meetings with the that they successfully implement their launch in the local market, or best authority in each bank to reply the other innovative products and banking. In August 2016, the UK’s their business strategies using the Competition and Markets Author- to the survey questions. This ap- best available technologies. services that are based on new or proach allowed us to get answers, innovatively applied technology,” ity (CMA) 34 issued a ruling that ❑ ❑ ❑ required nine of the largest UK as well as elaborations on the back- as stated in the document. ground and internal discussions About the authors ■ Their digital startup status banks to allow licensed startups direct access to their data down that led to each answer. We also Dr. Thalaya Alfozan gives them the significant advan- asked the surveyed to provide any Comments tage of being flexible, innovative, to the level of transaction-account There is a similarity between deploying Fintech Solutions and going Dr. Thalaya Alfozan is the IT transactions. The adoption of Open additional notes or comments that Director and Computer Science and with a much lower operating they felt valuable. These proved to cloud. This is understandable since Fintech solutions depend mainly on cost. banking then spread to other parts cloud technologies. Professor at the College of Science of the world. be invaluable in drawing insightful Going forward, Fintech will gain momentum within the banking industry. at Kuwait University. ■ Fintechs managed to boom in conclusions. the past few years because they are 5.1.7 Cloud Regulatory Mo- Building on his technical back- non-regulated and non-licensed. mentum ground, Dr. Alfozan has worked Global technology companies The Stanford – Vienna Trans- 5.2.14 Summary of Banks General Responses for over twenty years as an IT such as Google, Facebook, Ama- atlantic Technology Law Forum The following table represents a summary of the free format responses that the banks stated in their surveys. The Number Consultant in large public, pri- zon, Apple, and IBM28 became (TTLF), a joint initiative of Stan- column represents the frequency with which the answer appeared. vate, and nonprofit organizations. significant players in the Fintech ford Law School and the Univer- Response ...... Number He handled a range of diverse sys- world by offering payment ser- sity Of Vienna School Of Law, We have a concern related to the lack of cloud expertise in the local market ...... 3 tems, applications, and other IT published their paper titled “Mov- infrastructure projects, along with vices. They have both the financial Cloud will eliminate the many difficulties we face in managing our IT resources, such as applying patches ...... 1 capacity and the advanced technol- ing to the Cloud – The Intersec- their associated support tasks that tion of Cloud Computing, Finan- There is a risk if we fully adopt Cloud that has to do with ensuring the stability of our connections to the Internet ...... 1 involved a variety of different cli- ogy required. There are many more It would be best if we can have AWS or others build their cloud datacenter in Kuwait ...... 1 on a smaller or local scale. These cial Services and Regulation in ents and technical environments. Europe, the United Kingdom and We are considering implementing cloud service where systems can reside in the Cloud, but client data resides on-premises ...... 2 Dr. Alfozan has a vast depth of new players are providing instant We have implemented on-premises private Cloud so we can easily adopt the Hybrid cloud model...... 1 payment services that cope with the United States35 in 2018. The knowledge and profound work ex- the instantaneous and dynamic paper outlines the journey of regu- Lack of awareness of the Cloud and its capabilities ...... 1 perience in Project Management, retail speed that characterizes our lators in Europe, the UK, and the There is a lack of awareness related to the security of the Cloud ...... 1 Software Development, Database times. Other areas of Fintech in- USA to come up with more precise We have implemented a Hybrid cloud model ...... 2 Design, Business Process Model- clude lending services, online ac- and more uniform guidance for Understanding the difficulty of the Central Bank’s regulatory role ...... 1 ing, Workflow Automation, and counting, wealth management, the Cloud. The European Banking The Central Bank mainly has security-related concerns ...... 1 Technical Training. e-commerce and online shopping, Authority (EBA) in Europe and Cloud is important to achieve strategic objectives...... 2 Dr. Alfozan has a Ph.D. in Cog- health services, and insurance. the Financial Conduct Authority Most if not all new banking solutions are cloud-based ...... 1 nitive and Computing Sciences The Cloud, AI, and chatbots are (FCA) in the United Kingdom is- Data must be fully encrypted using two distinct private keys so that even if the cloud provider is forced to reveal our data for from the University of Sussex, delivering the scalability that is re- sued new recommendations and legal reasons, the data will not be decrypted unless we agree by means of providing the second key ...... 1 United Kingdom. He obtained his quired by these types of advanced guidelines for cloud outsourcing in Master of Science degree in Com- services. the 2017 and 2018 timeframe. The puter Science from the University 5.1.6 Open Banking US Department of the Treasury During the survey, we managed 5.2.15 Findings during Discus- from all the surveyed banks, survey of Oregon, USA. He is also a Certi- Unlike the traditional banking also released a report identifying to meet with all Kuwaiti commercial sions with Banks questions had to respect certain lim- fied Microsoft Professional. services that provide clients with improvements to the cloud regula- banks. The survey included thirteen As mentioned before, we had the its. Banks will not feel comfortable To contact: [email protected] all their banking needs from one tory landscape in 2018. However, (13) specific questions about Cloud privilege of meeting with the sur- releasing strategic information about banking service provider, Open the paper shows that these efforts and the related Fintech adoption veyed banks in one-to-one meetings. their plans. Ghaleb Aoude Banking31 is disrupting the bank- started over fifteen years ago and status. The rest of this section will These are the key findings: Note: The authors conducted Mr. Aoude is an Executive-Lev- ing industry the same way as Uber have continued since then. The provide a graphical representation of ■ All banks confirmed that the the survey from 3/11/2019 until el consultant with more than 35 and Airbnb did for the taxi and document refers to the guideline is- each issue/question, and the respons- Central Bank requires that they store 20/1/2020. It covered all ten com- years of Information Technology hospitality businesses, respective- sued to cloud service providers by es received. copies of backup data outside Ku- mercial Kuwaiti banks in the State (IT) and business management ex- ly. Open Banking is an emerging the Committee of European Bank- This section will highlight how wait. of Kuwait. perience. concept whereby clients get con- ing Supervisors of the European banks in Kuwait endorse, plan for, ■ All banks said that the Central 6 Conclusion Mr. Aoude has managed to bring trol of their financial data, and they Union under the name of “CEBS or deploy cloud trends and technolo- Bank does not allow storing client The Cloud brings several key mission-critical projects to their can securely share it with other in- guidelines 2006”. gies. It will not show any details re- data outside Kuwait. benefits to businesses. The ben- targeted outcome in government stitutions seeking a return on their The paper states clearly that: lated to any specific bank. The ques- ■ Banks do not have a written efits include: instant scalability, and private sector environments. (clients’) money. “Key to a successful cloud adop- tions of the study were formulated in regulation from any government accessibility from anywhere, in- His leadership skills drive teams While open banking does not tion in financial services will be such a way not to reveal any sensi- entity regarding storing data outside creased speed and operational and operations to deliver according seem to require cloud infrastruc- a tight cooperation among regu- tive data that banks would prefer to Kuwait. agility, reduced expenditure, au- to defined performance metrics. ture, open banking depends on lators, financial institutions and keep confidential. We all know the ■ Banks are required to send tomatic updates/patches, robust Mr. Aoude has vast experience processing a large amount of data cloud providers to ensure that the sensitivity with which banks declare a request to the Central Bank of disaster recovery, higher security in various IT projects, including in- from different sources and formats right frameworks, programs and their plans. It is noted that answers to Kuwait to get approval for every if well managed, reduced carbon frastructure development, software using modern data processing tools processes for the cloud are devel- some questions included a ‘select all new cloud implementation. This footprint, flexibility in computing development, turnkey projects, such as Artificial Intelligence and oped and implemented, which will that apply’ option. process is done on a case-by-case resources usability, and better en- ITSM, datacenter, and call center machine learning. This environ- offer increased security while en- Comments basis. terprise collaboration. The collec- implementations. He developed a ment is best served by cloud com- couraging further innovation.” ■ Lack of cloud expertise stands 5.2.16 Limitation of the Study tive impact of these benefits can rich consulting experience capable puting services32. Cloud-based 5.1.8 Summary out. The study, we believe, had to live provide businesses with the neces- of aligning IT services with busi- open banking will continue to pres- The Cloud and the cloud-driven ■ The focus on the Central Bank’s with the following limitations: sary competitive advantage they ness goals and objectives through surize conventional banking insti- technologies are providing the fi- role related to cybersecurity and ge- ■ The Central Bank was not in- need in today’s business environ- concrete initiatives and projects. tutions. To keep their competitive nancial and banking industry with ography of data storage. cluded in the survey. We knew that ment. In addition to his consulting, edge and grow, legacy banks need unprecedented transformational ■ It is interesting to see the sug- the response of the Central Bank, as The Cloud, Fintech, Blockchain, management and technical back- to innovate and implement outside- opportunity. When coupled with gestion of having a public cloud set a regulatory body, could have been and the other emerging ecosys- ground, Mr. Aoude has assumed the-box services. artificial intelligence (AI) which up in Kuwait. valuable. However, the scope of the tems are changing the world as we business development and sales This trend has gained much mo- is considered the next informa- ■ Encryption and encryption keys study extended to commercial banks know it. These phenomena have management positions over the mentum in the UK, USA, Austra- tion revolution, the banking in- are real players in information secu- only. been disruptors to the historically course of his career. lia, and other countries. Already, dustry is destined to innovatively rity in the cloud space. ■ While we received cooperation stable financial services industry. To contact: [email protected] Bombardier to end Learjet production, cut 1,600 jobs

In this fi le photo, Jaeger The Learjet, which became ing, which has withered in the Group. “For its time it sym- with Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967. Mah (left), is greeted by synonymous with lifestyles of pandemic. bolized personal executive In recent years, production Vancouver International the rich and famous, is about The iconic jet was among transportation. Besides, Carly of the plane had slowed to Airport CEO Larry Berg to fade into aviation history. the fi rst private luxury planes. Simon put it into a fantastic about one a month. Thurs- (right), and pilot Brent Canada’s Bombardier an- William Lear based his design song - that cemented its place day’s decision was foreshad- Fishlock as he steps off nounced Thursday that it will in part on military jets. The in popular culture.” owed in 2015, when Bom- a Learjet upon arrival at stop production of the Lear- fi rst Learjet fl ew in 1963, and Along with being a line in bardier pulled the plug on an the airport after a short jet later this year to focus on more than 3,000 had been Simon’s 1971 hit, “You’re So all-new model, the Learjet 85, tour in Richmond, British more profi table planes. built since. Vain,” the jet showed up else- citing weak demand. Analysts Columbia. (AP) That means the elimination “It was sleek and it had al- where in pop culture, including could see the end of the line. of 1,600 jobs in Canada and most a fi ghter-jet pedigree,” the hit TV show “Mad Men.” “The only thing the pandem- the United States, another said Richard Aboulafi a, an Frank Sinatra let Elvis Pres- ic did was accelerate a sad blow to aircraft manufactur- aerospace analyst for Teal ley borrow his Learjet to elope ending,” Aboulafi a said. (AP)

Market Movements 12-02-2021 Change Closing pts Change Closing pts GERMANY - DAX +8.98 14,049.89 AUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -40.78 7,081.32 FRANCE - CAC 40 +33.85 5,703.67 JAPAN - Nikkei -42.86 29,520.07 EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 +23.93 3,695.61 PHILIPPINES - PSEi -91.14 6,991.01 S. KOREA - KRX 100 +36.98 6,700.66 PAKISTAN - KSE 100 -247.16 45,808.36 INDIA - Sensex +12.78 51,544.30 CHINA - Shanghai SE +51.60 3,655.09 Business

Fed signals little concern about risk of potentially high infl ation or fi nancial-market instability Powell stresses commitment to full employment and low rates WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): Fed- ter have been “a staggering 17%,” eral Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Powell said. underscored the Fed’s commitment The Fed last year refi ned its defi - to reducing unemployment to multi- nition of maximum employment as decade lows, where it stood before a “broad and inclusive” goal that the pandemic, while signaling little includes consideration of the unem- concern about the risk of potentially ployment rate of Black and Hispanic UK economy suffers its high infl ation or fi nancial-market in- Americans as well as overall jobless- stability. ness. Powell stressed during a webcast President Joe Biden is pushing a to the Economic Club of New York $1.9 trillion economic rescue pack- that the U.S. job market remains age that has raised concern among weak despite having improved from some economists about potential the depths of the pandemic-induced infl ation, in part because millions of biggest drop since 1709 recession. Americans who have been fortunate And he signaled that the Fed enough to keep jobs have accumu- isn’t considering any increase in its lated signifi cant savings. Once vac- Govt to announce new plans to protect jobs and bolster economy benchmark short-term interest rate cines are more widely distributed, from its level near zero. He also said those savings could fuel a burst of the central bank is not currently con- spending beyond what still-decimat- LONDON, Feb 13, (AP): sidering any reductions to the size of ed businesses could handle, spurring The British economy suf- its $120 billion in monthly bond pur- higher prices. chases, which are intended to keep Powell, however, showed little fered its biggest decline longer-term interest rates low. concern that such a dynamic would in more than 300 years in The chairman did not refer to occur. Last month, he suggested 2020 as the coronavirus the surging stock market or to re- that any high infl ation that resulted pandemic closed shops and cent signs of market froth, like the would likely be temporary. explosive volatility in the prices of Powell was also asked by Peter restaurants, devastated the GameStop and other stocks targeted Blair Henry, an economics profes- travel industry and cur- by ordinary day traders. sor at New York University, how tailed manufacturing. He emphasized, as he frequently Biden’s proposed rescue plan com- The economy shrank 9.9% last has before, that the loss of millions pares to estimates issued by some year, more than twice the fi gure for of jobs has fallen disproportionately analysts, such as the Congressional 2009 at the height of the global fi - on the least-advantaged households. Budget Offi ce, of the gap between nancial crisis, the Offi ce for Nation- “Despite the surprising speed of the economy’s current output and al Statistics said Friday. The drop recovery early on, we are still very what it would be if it were back to is the largest since 1709, when a far from a strong labor market whose full health. Most estimates of that cold spell known as the Great Frost benefi ts are broadly shared,” Powell gap are much smaller than Biden’s devastated what was then a largely said. $1.9 trillion package. agricultural economy. Powell’s language “would sound The Fed Chair said that questions The data comes as Britain’s econ- remarkable to an earlier generation about the amount of economic aid omy remains shackled by restric- of central bankers,” said Krishna should be determined by Congress tions designed to combat COVID- Guha, an analyst at the investment and the White House. But he also 19. A rebound in growth during the bank Evercore ISI, in a note to cli- suggested such calculations are fourth quarter has been stifled by ents. His speech “placed restoring imprecise and may not be helpful England’s third lockdown, which a strong labor market at the heart guides for policy. has closed schools, restaurants and of the central bank’s agenda to a Powell also highlighted the fact non-essential shops since mid- greater extent than perhaps ever that just before the virus intensifi ed, December. Tough restrictions also before while playing down con- infl ation remained low even when remain in place in Northern Ireland, cerns about potential excess infla- unemployment fell to 3.5%. Scotland and Wales. tion.” “There was every reason to ex- Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa, left, Europe- covery and Resilience Facility document, designed to “Today’s figures show that the He noted that roughly 4 million pect that the labor market could have an Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, cent- help the bloc with the economic impact of COVID-19, economy has experienced a serious people who are out of work have strengthened even further without er, and European Parliament President David Sassoli at the European Parliament building in Brussels on shock as a result of the pandemic, stopped looking for jobs, which causing a worrisome increase in in- pose for photographers after a signing of the EU Re- Feb 12, 2021. (AP) which has been felt by countries means they aren’t counted as unem- fl ation were it not for the onset of the around the world,” the U.K.’s top ployed. If they were, the unemploy- pandemic,” he said. EU aims to release virus recovery fund by summer treasury official, Chancellor Rishi ment rate would be closer to 10%. For now, there is little sign of ris- Sunak, said in a statement. “While And while the job losses among ing prices. Consumer prices rose Top European Union offi cials on massive coronavirus recovery fund then. there are some positive signs of the the highest-earning one-quarter of just 1.4% in January compared with Friday urged member countries to so that the sorely-needed money can Von der Leyen also said that economy’s resilience over the winter, Americans have been just 4%, job a year earlier, the government said swiftly submit plans for how they be released starting this summer. the EU aims to have 70% of adults we know that the current lockdown losses among the poorest one-quar- Wednesday. would use their share of the bloc’s The call came as the offi cials across the 27-nation bloc, which signed an agreement on a 672.5 has a population of around 450 mil- continues to have a significant impact billion-euro ($814 billion) “Recovery lion people, vaccinated by the end on many people and businesses.” and Resilience Facility” made up of of the summer. Sunak said he would announce loans and grants devised to help the To receive their share of the re- new plans to protect jobs and bolster EU’s 27 countries breathe new life covery aid, which is linked to a se- the economy when he delivers his into their virus-ravaged economies. ries of undertakings and respect of annual budget statement to the The facility is the central pillar of the rule of law, EU countries have House of Commons on March 3. the 750 billion-euro ($908 billion) re- been requested to submit reform COVID-19 has hit Britain’s econ- covery plan adopted by EU leaders plans by the end of April. The plans omy harder than most other industri- last year. It must still be endorsed must dedicate at least 37% of the by national parliaments, hopefully budgets to climate and at least 20% alized democracies. French GDP within weeks. to digital transformation. The fund- shrank 8.3% last year, Germany 5% Once that is ratifi ed, “the (Euro- ing will be available for three years. and the U.S. 3.5%. pean) Commission will go to the So far, 19 EU countries have The GDP figures show the breadth market, raise money, and disburse,” submitted draft plans to the Com- of the pandemic’s economic impact Commission President Ursula von mission, which is in charge of their in Britain. der Leyen said. assessment. Seven other countries The service sector, which accounts “By mid-year we should be able are well advanced in what von der for about 80% of the U.K. economy, to disburse the fi rst funds,” she said. Leyen described as a “humungous” Up to 13% could be handed over process. (AP) shrank 8.9% last year, with output from accommodation, food and bev- erage businesses down more than 55% from February levels. Manufacturing fell 8.6% and con- Oil edges higher to $62 struction 12.5%. In hopes of relaxing the restric- tions that have devastated the econo- in absence of demand my, the U.K. has moved to rapidly vaccinate its most vulnerable resi- By Kamel Al-Harami demand is not forthcoming until dents. More than 13.5 million peo- Independent Oil Analyst all traces of the pandemic disap- ple, or about 20% of the population, pear, which is not likely to happen had received at least one dose of DESPITE the oil price reaching the by the end of the current year. COVID-19 vaccine by Wednesday. highest level more than one year Of course, the Coronavirus Andy Haldane, chief economist ago, the rate of oil supply is still relief fund of $1.9 trillion will lead for the Bank of England, said the A fl yer of ABK’s ‘Samsung Visa’ weekly campaign higher than the demand for oil. to stimulating the USA, as well as vaccination drive is helping Britain With the world still under the the global economy, particularly turn a corner in its battle against the mercy of China, which is the second world virus. Lifting COVID-19 restrictions COVID-19 economy to work in tandem with is likely to unleash a wave of spend- ABK congratulates winners of and its muta- others to push for global growth. ing by consumers and businesses tions and with Nevertheless, the demand pic- that will trigger a rapid recovery lockdown in ture is not clear, with China still later this year, he said. most parts of not being around, especially since the rate of travel has plummeted “A decisive corner is about to be Samsung Visa draw campaign the world, turned for the economy, too, with there is no by more than 65 percent due to fear of COVID-19 spread, which enormous amounts of pent-up finan- KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Al Ahli each receive a Samsung Watch3 are: tions, supporting a shift towards a real demand for oil yet, is making all of us very concerned. cial energy waiting to be released, Bank of Kuwait (ABK) announced ABK’s Samsung Pay offers users cashless future. especially The same goes to our country like a coiled spring,” Haldane wrote the winners’ names for the final a better way to pay, offering a sim- For more information about ABK since oil con- Kuwait where the number of new in the Daily Mail. “Samsung Visa” weekly draw cam- ple, safe, and contactless payment please visit eahli.com or contact an sumers are Al-Harami COVID-19 cases is on a rise, But that optimism comes against paign, which started in November solution. The bank will continue to ABK customer service agent via ‘Ahl- withdrawing from commercial reaching more than 1,000 per day the backdrop of Europe’s deadliest 2020. The lucky winners who will introduce innovative digital solu- an Ahli’ at 1899899. stocks. since last week. This means extra coronavirus outbreak, with more Meanwhile, OPEC-Plus is keep- precautions must be taken or else than 115,000 deaths recorded so far. ing the supply tight and maintain- we will end up facing the return of “These figures confirm that not ing overall control of supply, as it is lockdown. only has the U.K. had the worst scared of any additional supply Despite the increase in oil pric- death toll in Europe, we’re experi- until normal life presumes, or once es to hit $60 and above, the encing the worst economic crisis of the oil-consuming countries start to demand picture is not clear. The any major economy,” said Anneliese complain of higher oil prices or non-OPEC producers are march- Dodds, the opposition Labour ing to increase the production, and Party’s spokesperson on economic further escalation of oil prices. perhaps eat into the market share OPEC-Plus will certainly come issues. “Businesses can’t wait any of OPEC and its Plus-partners … longer. The Chancellor needs to under pressure if the barrel price but for how long?! goes any level above $ 65 per bar- ❑ ❑ ❑ come forward now with a plan to rel, as it could lead to sudden secure the economy in the months increase in supply, while the email: [email protected] ahead, with support going hand-in- hand with health restrictions.” ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 BUSINESS 9

General Motors settles with California for $5.75mn In this fi le photo, Clarence General Motors Co. has lion vehicles in 2014 - one of as $1 million in 2017 to the Friday. Ditlow, executive director agreed to a $5.75 million set- the biggest recalls in the na- U.S. Securities and Exchange California’s settlement of the Center for Auto tlement with California regard- tion’s history - from the largest Commission for an accounting came about because the Safety, displays a GM ing false statements the com- U.S. automaker because the case. Later that year, the au- state’s largest pension sys- ignition switch similar to pany made to investors about switches sometimes caused tomaker settled with dozens of tem, the California Public Em- those linked to 13 deaths problems with its deadly igni- the sudden termination of states for $120 million. ployees’ Retirement System, and dozens of crashes of tion switches, state offi cials electrical systems, including GM did not admit any wrong- lost millions of dollars in GM General Motors small cars announced Friday. power steering and power doing as part of the 2021 stock. The company knew like the Chevy Cobalt, The faulty ignition switches brakes. agreement with California. about the faulty switches in during a news conference led to at least 124 fatalities In 2015, GM agreed to pay “We are pleased to have 2005 but failed to report it to on Capitol Hill in Wash- and 274 injuries nationwide. a $900 million settlement to cooperated with the State of federal authorities until 2014, ington. (AP) The defect also resulted in the end a U.S. Department of California to resolve this mat- offi cials said, and hid the prob- recall of more than nine mil- Justice criminal probe, as well ter,” GM said in a statement lems from investors. (AP)

Biden’s team likely in no hurry to lift the tariffs imposed on $360bn worth of Chinese imports Biden treads carefully around Trump’s combative trade policy WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): In ing insult to close allies like Canada and countries that pollute the air or to his fi rst weeks in offi ce, President Joe that have fought alongside the United block investments in projects that foul Biden has wasted no time in dumping States in confl icts from World War I to the environment. a batch of major Trump administra- Afghanistan. Trump’s use of the tariffs “has tion policies. He rejoined the Paris Yet the Biden administration has created a clear opening for a future climate agreement. He ended a ban shown little inclination to move Democratic president to impose wide- on travelers from mostly Muslim quickly on the issue. At her confi rma- ranging tariffs and sanctions to combat countries. He canceled the Keystone tion hearing, the incoming commerce climate change,’’ Harrell wrote in the XL oil pipeline. He reversed a ban secretary, Gina Raimondo, dodged a journal Foreign Policy. on transgender people serving in the question about the metals tariffs. She The Biden team will also have to military. And so on. told Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., only that decide whether to rethink Trump’s Biden and his team are tiptoeing, she would consider his point that Mis- confrontational approach toward the though, around one of Donald Trump’s souri manufacturers have been hurt by WTO, the Geneva-based organiza- most divisive signature legacies: His the tariffs and would “take their needs tion that sets and enforces global trade go-it-alone moves to start a trade war into account.’’ rules. By blocking replacements to the with China and bludgeon some of Exerting political pressure from the WTO’s top court, the Appellate Body, America’s closest allies with a gale other side, a coalition of steel com- Trump rendered it powerless to resolve of tariffs on their steel, aluminum and panies and workers want to preserve disputes. other goods. In upending seven dec- the tariffs. They sent Biden a letter Biden may use the issue as leverage ades of presidential support for free last month arguing that they need ur- to persuade the WTO to enact changes trade, Trump vowed to shrink the U.S. gent help in an economy weakened by that the U.S. has been demanding for trade defi cit and restore millions of lost COVID. years. These include making it easier American factory jobs. “Imposing tariffs is always easier for Washington to bring cases against In the end, by most accounts, the than lifting them,’’ said Wendy Cutler, other countries for unfairly subsidizing Trump tariffs achieved very little - and a former U.S. trade negotiator who is their companies or for dumping prod- managed to antagonize some of Amer- now vice president at the Asia Society ucts in export markets at artifi cially ica’s closest trading partners. Policy Institute. low prices. Yet for now, the Biden administra- Biden even chose last week to rein- “You can get something the U.S. has tion seems intent on approaching trade state aluminum tariffs on the United long sought: Reforms,’’ Lovely said. with caution and deliberation. Most Arab Emirates that Trump had lifted Likewise, Biden’s team is likely in striking, perhaps, is what Biden hasn’t as he left offi ce. Trump, apparently no hurry to lift the tariffs that Trump done: He hasn’t called off Trump’s rewarding the UAE for its move to imposed on $360 billion worth of trade war with China. He hasn’t prom- In this fi le photo, President Joe Biden speaks about the economy in the State Dinning Room of the White House, recognize Israel diplomatically, had Chinese imports in a dispute over ised to scale back or cancel his tariffs in Washington. (AP) replaced the tariffs with quotas on alu- widespread belief that Beijing uses on imported metals or end an impasse minum from the UAE. predatory tactics, including cyber- that’s left the World Trade Organiza- cities. These areas have suffered from thinking about working people but tions with key U.S. allies, such as the “Imports from the UAE,” the White theft, in its drive to overtake the tion unable to function as arbiter in low-priced imports from China, Mexi- (about benefi ting) fi nance and agri- European Union and Canada, which House declared in a statement, “may United States’ technological domi- global trade disputes. co and elsewhere. business,’’ said Lori Wallach, direc- were bewildered and infuriated by still displace domestic production and nance. U.S. policymakers across the Instead, the administration’s policy- “There is competition for the swing tor of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Trump’s mercurial and belligerent thereby threaten to impair our national political spectrum are frustrated by makers are focusing on other, unrelat- state voters who are in favor of (trade) Watch. rhetoric and actions. security.’’ what they see as China’s illicit trade ed priorities - distributing COVID-19 protection,’’ said Daniel Ikenson, di- Mindful of that lesson, Biden’s Eventually, anyway. If the administration eventually practices, repression of the Uighur vaccines as fast as possible and pro- rector of trade policy studies at the lib- team, led by a president who seldom “The mantra has been: No sud- decides to reduce or end the metals minority, crackdown on dissent in viding much more aid to a pandemic- ertarian Cato Institute. tires of affi rming his lifelong ties to den moves’’ on trade - and focus on tariffs, it could offset the impact by Hong Kong and aggressive territorial pounded economy that has yet to re- Democrats are still stung by working class America, has promised instead on fi ghting the pandemic and enacting a public works program that claims in the South China Sea. The gain nearly 10 million lost jobs since Trump’s surprise victory in 2016 a trade policy that will create or protect delivering more economic relief, said requires lots of steel and aluminum. Biden administration is unlikely to February. and some of the trade-related fac- U.S. jobs. William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade Or it could tout the benefi ts of a Buy ease off. “He is going to take his time,’’ said tors behind it. Trump abandoned the “We will use trade, in coordination offi cial now at the Center for Strategic American push that Biden has an- Nathan Sheets, who served as Treas- Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University modern Republican Party’s support with both international and domestic and International Studies. nounced whose goal is to channel ury undersecretary for international af- economist who is a senior fellow at for free trade agreements favored economic tools, to create a more in- Consider Trump’s tariffs on foreign more federal dollars to support Amer- fairs in the Obama administration and the Peterson Institute for International by America corporations that have clusive prosperity for America and steel and aluminum, which he imposed ican industries. is now chief economist at PGIM Fixed Economics. “Biden has said repeatedly deep connections overseas. Instead, Americans,’’ Katherine Tai, Biden’s in 2018. Reducing or dropping those Then again, far from abandoning the Income, said he thinks that before that he needs America to be stronger Trump cast himself as a populist choice to be U.S. trade representative, taxes would seem like an easy way to contentious national security tariffs, Biden’s trade team agrees to reduce before he takes on a lot of these trade defender of long-suffering manufac- said in a speech last month to the Na- heal wounds. the administration might just consider or cancel Trump’s tariffs, it will likely issues.’’ turing workers - an “America first” tional Foreign Trade Council. America’s allies were especially using them itself - but in a different demand sweeping changes in Chinese One factor may be that reversing champion who would eradicate un- Biden’s vision, she said, “is to im- angered by Trump’s dubious justifi - way: To fi ght climate change. policy - changes that might take years, all of Trump’s policies could height- fair trade practices and restore Amer- plement a worker-centered trade poli- cation for the sanctions: Dusting off In August, Peter Harrell, the incom- if they happen at all. en risks for a Democrat who is close ican factory jobs. cy.’’ a little-used tool of trade policy - Sec- ing international economics adviser “It’s not like (the tariffs are) a near- to unions unhappy with America’s For Democrats, Trump’s 2016 vic- The new president has promised tion 232 of the Trade Expansion Act on Biden’s National Security Council, term bargaining chip: ‘You give us x, pre-Trump free-trade consensus. Po- tory, due in no small part to blue collar at least one signifi cant change from of 1962 - he declared their aluminum argued that if Congress doesn’t act on and we’ll give you y,’ ” Sheets said. litically, Biden depends on support in voters, provided “a harsh lesson about Trump’s America-above-all trade and steel to constitute a threat to U.S. the issue, the president could use Sec- “They want to keep the heat on Chi- Midwestern manufacturing towns and the perils of a trade policy that’s not stance: Biden wants to patch up rela- national security. That was a sting- tion 232 to impose tariffs on products na.’’ ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 BUSINESS 10

Huawei takes HSBC to UK court for docs in extradition fight

Huawei took U.K. bank HSBC to court on adds to pressure faced by London-based business dealings in Iran. In this May Friday to get it to hand over documents, in a HSBC, which earns much of its revenue in Huawei’s legal case focuses on an August 16, 2019 file new legal maneuver by the Chinese technol- China. 2013 PowerPoint presentation Meng gave to photo, a ogy company fighting to stop its chief finan- Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, a senior HSBC executive in Hong Kong that man is sil- cial officer from being extradited to the U.S. was detained in December 2018 on a U.S. detailed the company’s relationship with houetted from Canada. request as she was changing flights in Skycom and its compliance efforts. near the Huawei applied at the U.K. High Court for Vancouver. The U.S. government accuses Meng’s legal team has accused the U.S. Huawei logo records it believes will show Chief Financial Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company of using a misleading summary of the meet- in Beijing. Officer Meng Wanzhou didn’t mislead the called Skycom to sell telecommunications ing that cherrypicked selected slides. (AP) bank about evading sanctions on Iran, as equipment to Iran. They are seeking the entire PowerPoint U.S. authorities allege. Meng is fighting extradition to the U.S. presentation, which they say shows Meng The legal request further complicates the where she is charged with committing fraud explained the relationship between Huawei geopolitical battle over Meng’s case. It also by misleading HSBC about the company’s and Skycom. (AP) S&P 500 closes wobbly week at new record high Asia shares mixed as Europe markets rise

NEW YORK, Feb 13, (AP):Technology compa- nies led a late-afternoon rally on Wall Street Friday that capped a week of wob- bly trading with the major stock indexes hitting all- time highs. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after spending most of the day wavering between small gains and losses. The gain nudged the benchmark index to a record high for the sec- ond day in a row. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also set new highs. More companies reported solid earnings, including manufacturer Mohawk Industries and genetic testing company Illumina. Bond yields rose, giving banks a boost. Bumble shares continued to climb after the company made a big splash in its stock market debut the day before. Optimism that Washington will come through on trillions of dollars of more aid for the economy and encour- aging company earnings reports have helped stocks grind higher this month, along with hopes that the coronavirus vaccine rollout will set the stage for stronger economic growth in the sec- ond half of this year. “The one thing that continues to be supportive for the market is just the fact that the risk-reward in the U.S. equity market still seems to be the best In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Michael Urkonis (center), works with fellow traders on the floor during the Signify Health IPO. (AP) game in town,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. economic recovery falters. The latest the direction of the U.S. economy. good. Roughly 75% of companies in on the company’s initial public offer- round of U.S. government aid as the The S&P 500 rose 18.45 points to U.S. government report on jobless Democrats have decided to use a legis- the S&P 500 have released results, ing. economic recovery falters. 3,934.83, while the Dow gained 27.70 claims reaffirmed that employment lative process that does not require showing overall growth of 2.8%, Banks made some of the strongest Germany’s DAX gained 0.6% to points, or 0.1% to 31,458.40. The remains a weak spot in the economy, Republican support to pass the $1.9 according to FactSet. That’s a sharp gains as bond yields rose, which allow 14,049.89 and the CAC 40 in Paris Nasdaq added 69.70 points, or 0.5%, even as vaccine distribution ramps up trillion package. reversal from the 13% contraction ana- them to charge more lucrative interest on rose 0.6% to 5,703.63. Britain’s FTSE to 14,095.47. in the hopes of eventually ending the “We’re sort of awaiting catalysts,” lysts had forecast in late September. loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 100 gained 0.94% to 6,589.79. Traders also bid up shares in smaller pandemic. The University of Michigan said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global Mohawk Industries shares climbed rose to 1.20% from 1.16% late Thursday. Asian tradings were mixed as companies. The Russell 2000 index survey of consumer sentiment came in investment strategist at Charles 6% after the company posted stronger- Wells Fargo gained 2.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.1% rose 4.04 points, or 0.2%, to 2,289.36. well below expectations as well, a sign Schwab. “The market is still of the than-expected quarterly earnings. U.S. stock and bond markets are lower, to 29,520.07 and the A&P/ASX Despite a week of mostly minor that consumers are wary to spend in opinion that there will be a vaccine- Genetic analytics company Illumina closed Monday for Washington’s 200 declined 0.6% to 6,806.70. India’s gains and losses for the broader mar- the face of economic uncertainty. led, broad economic recovery in the jumped 11.9% for the biggest gains in Birthday. Sensex closed flat at 51,544.30. ket, the S&P 500 notched its second Investors do not expect the market second half of this year.” the S&P 500 following its encouraging World shares were mostly lower China’s Shanghai SE Composite straight weekly gain. to move substantially higher in the A majority of companies have now earnings report. .Most Asian markets were closed to gained 1.43% to 3,655.09 while South Investors are hoping for a new near term until there’s more clarity on reported their latest round of earnings Bumble shares rose a further 7.3%, mark the Lunar New Year. Korea index KRX 100 was up 0.55% round of U.S. government aid as the the future of government stimulus and and the results have been surprisingly extending big first-day gains Thursday Investors are hoping for a new to 6,700.66. ‘Drop threat of sanctions’ German govt mum on letter offering gas aid BERLIN, Feb 13, (AP): The German government refused to comment on a leaked letter indicating that it offered to help facilitate the import of U.S. liquefied natural gas if Washington dropped the threat of sanc- tions over a new subsea pipeline from Russia. Germany’s finance minister allegedly wrote a letter to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in August saying the German government was “willing to con- siderably increase its financial support for LNG infra- structure and import capacities by up to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion)” if, in return, the United States “allows the unhindered construction and operation of Nord Stream 2.” The letter was published this week by the group Environmental Action Germany and matches reports by Germany weekly Die Zeit last September that Berlin was seeking to fend off U.S. opposition to the pipeline by offering to boost imports of U.S. gas. A German government spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter, saying any correspondence on the issue was confidential. “The federal government is in contact with the U.S. government about the U.S. sanctions and the threat of sanctions relating to Nord Stream 2,” spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters in Berlin. Demmer added, however, that the government had “acted in a coordinated way” over the issue in the past - suggesting that other ministries and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been involved in the discussion. The leak of the alleged letter is an embarrassment for Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is running to succeed Merkel in September’s national election. Scholz’s party, the center-left Social Democrats, have been outspoken in their support for Nord Stream 2 even as some other parties have edged away from the project in light of Germany’s strained ties with Russia over the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the alleged kill- ing in Berlin of a Georgian by a Russian government hitman, and the conflict in Ukraine. Separately, comments by German President Frank- Walter Steinmeier drawing a link between Nord Stream 2 and Germany’s debt over World War II have raised hackles in Ukraine and Poland. Steinmeier had told daily Rheinische Post that Germany needed to keep in mind its eventful history with Russia. “There were phases of fruitful partner- ship, but even more times of terrible bloodshed,” he said, citing the 20 million people who died in the Soviet Union during World War II. “That doesn’t justify mistakes in Russian policy today, but we mustn’t lose sight of the bigger picture,” said Steinmeier. German news agency dpa on Wednesday quoted a letter from Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, saying Steinmeier’s comments in an inter- view last week “hit us Ukrainians deep in the heart.” Melnyk accused the German president, whose role is largely ceremonial, of ignoring the fact that millions of the Nazis’ Soviet victims were Ukrainians. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 SCIENCE 11

Coronavirus

EU rolls out AZ vaccine Some Europeans get ‘choosy’ about shots WARSAW, Poland, Feb 13, (AP): Many Europeans are desperate for a coronavirus vaccine. But not just any vac- cine. As AstraZeneca shots are rolling out to European Union nations this month, joining the Pfi zer and Moderna doses already available, some people are balking at being offered a vaccine that they perceive - fairly or not - as second-best. Poland began vaccinating teachers Friday with the As- traZeneca vaccine, and some had misgivings about being put in line for a vaccine they believe is less effective than the others. Ewelina Jankowska, the director of a primary and high school in Warsaw’s southern Wilanow district, said nobody in her school was enthusiastic about getting the AstraZen- eca shot, although many signed up, eager for any protection against a virus that has upended their lives and their students’ schooling. “I still fear the illness more than the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said Jankows- ka, who was infected with COVID-19 in November and had a very slow re- covery. AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish company, developed its vaccine with the University of Oxford. While regulators in more than 50 countries, including the EU’s drug watchdog, Ioannou have authorized its widespread use, it has attracted more criticism than others due to concerns about its human trials. Several European nations have recommended the drug A Polish teacher is vaccinated against the coronavirus with the AstraZeneca vaccine in Krakow, Poland, on Feb 12. As Poland began vaccinating teachers on Friday, only for people under 65, and other countries have recom- many say they are unhappy that they are getting AstraZeneca vaccines against the coronavirus, rather than the Pfi zer shots earmarked for health care workers and mended it for those under 55, because AstraZeneca’s trials the elderly. (AP) included a relatively small number of older people. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot acknowledged the criti- cism but said regulators had reviewed the data and deemed the vaccine safe and effective. COVID-19 vaccines are in Coronavirus short supply, he said, and the AstraZeneca shot offers high levels of protection against severe disease, which is the most important benchmark in fi ghting a virus that has killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide. “Is it perfect? No, it’s not perfect, but it’s great,” Soriot CDC releases road map on reopening schools said Thursday. “We’re going to save thousands of lives and that’s why we come to work every day.” The World Health Organization says the AstraZeneca In-person schooling can be done safely vaccine is about 63% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 after two doses. That’s less than the 95% effec- NEW YORK, Feb 13, (AP): The na- tiveness reported by Pfi zer and Moderna, but experts cau- tion’s top public health agency said tion against such comparisons as the studies were done at Friday that in-person schooling can German children suffer from mental different times and under different conditions. Furthermore, resume safely with masks, social dis- all have proven extremely effective at preventing serious ill- tancing and other strategies, and vac- health problems in pandemic: survey ness and death. cination of teachers, while important, is not a prerequisite for reopening. BERLIN, Feb 13, (AP): A new sur- Particularly during lockdowns Approved The Centers for Disease Control vey of children in Germany sug- “schools need to keep in regular “If you’re offered any approved vaccine, take it,” said and Prevention released its long- gests that the stress and depriva- contact with the students and ex- awaited road map for getting students tions of the coronavirus pandemic press appreciation and attention,” Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and are taking a toll on their mental she said. “Otherwise there is the Tropical Medicine. “They have all been found safe. Vac- back to classrooms in the middle of health, especially among those danger that children from at-risk cines are the world’s route back to some sort of normality.” a pandemic that has killed nearly from underprivileged families, re- families lose their motivation and French President Emmanuel Macron angered scientists 480,000 people in the US But the searchers said Wednesday. eagerness to study.” last month when he called the AstraZeneca vaccine “qua- Rosa Camacho walks with her kids at agency’s guidance is just that - it can- The study by the University Medi- Researchers questioned more si-ineffective” for people over 65 - a comment that came Disney II Magnet Elementary School, not force schools to reopen, and CDC cal Center Hamburg-Eppendorf than 1,000 children between ages hours before the European Medicines Agency approved it on Feb 11, in Chicago. In-person offi cials were careful to say they are found about one in three German seven and 17 and more than 1,500 and said it could be used for all adults, including those over learning for students in pre-k and not calling for a mandate that all US children are suffering from pan- parents online from mid-December cluster programs began Thursday, schools be reopened. demic-related anxiety, depression to mid-January. More than 80% of 65. Those who criticized Macron argued that he had spoken since the district’s agreement with irresponsibly and had encouraged vaccine skepticism. Offi cials said there is strong evi- or are exhibiting psychosomatic them had participated in a previous the Chicago Teachers Union was dence now that schools can reopen, symptoms like headaches or stom- survey in June. Overall, four out of French Health Minister Olivier Veran, who is 40, made a reached. (AP) especially at lower grade levels. ach aches. fi ve children reported feeling bur- point this week of getting the AstraZeneca vaccine to show Recommended measures include Children and teenagers from dened by the pandemic. government confi dence in it for under-65s. hand washing, disinfection of school poorer families and those with mi- They said their families fi ght and Adding to AstraZeneca’s troubles have been criticism facilities, diagnostic testing and con- grant roots are disproportionally af- argue more, they have more prob- from the EU about delivery shortages, its lack of approval tact tracing to fi nd new infections and fected, according to the study. lems in school and the relationships yet in the U.S., and a preliminary study that raised questions separate infected people from others “Children who were doing well with their friends are deteriorat- about the vaccine’s ability to combat a COVID-19 variant in a school. It’s also more emphatic before the pandemic and feel shel- ing. They also eat less healthfully, discovered in South Africa. In its favor, however, is that it than past guidance on the need to wear tered and comfortable within their spend more time online and play is cheaper and can be stored at refrigerator temperatures - masks in school. families will get through this pan- fewer sports, according to the study. not the far colder temperatures required of the Pfi zer and “We know that most clusters in the demic well,” said Ulrike Ravens- “The parents seem to have ad- Moderna vaccines. school setting have occurred when Sieberer, the head of the study and justed to the challenges of home- In Cyprus, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou there are breaches in mask wearing,” research director of the children’s schooling and work and are trying Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s di- psychiatric clinic at the university to cope as best as possible,” Ra- warned that opting for one over another risks delaying inoc- hospital. vens-Sieberer said. “But they, too, ulations, given the limited deliveries of Pfi zer and Moderna rector, said in a call with reporters. Branson Magill “However, we need better con- are reaching their limits.” vaccines in the coming weeks, and he noted “all three vac- The guidance was issued as Presi- cepts to especially support and A bout of snow across Germany cines reduce hospitalizations and deaths drastically.” dent Joe Biden faces increasing pres- strengthen the mental and emo- this week allowed children to get Yet in Poland, Spain and Italy, some unions complained sure to deliver on his promise to get tional health of children from at-risk outdoors for a brief break from lock- that their members are slated to receive the AstraZeneca Discovery the majority of K-8 schools back to in- families.” she said. downs and other virus restrictions. vaccine, expressing concerns they were being treated as less person teaching by the end of his fi rst important than groups getting the Pfi zer or Moderna doses. 100 days in offi ce. He acknowledged that the goal was ambitious, but added, with differing advice for elementary, enough to return. Police unions in Spain have raised concerns about a gov- Virgin Orbit to launch sats: Southern middle and high schools. The new guidance was embraced by ernment decision to administer AstraZeneca shots to police, California-based Virgin Orbit said Tuesday “It is also a goal we can meet if we fol- low the science.” “We know that most clusters in the both sides of the debate, with each say- military, fi refi ghters and teachers. it has signed an agreement to launch a pair school setting have occurred when ing it bolstered their position. House Some Italian doctors in the private sector are declining of small satellites for a Polish company later Sacrifi ced there are breaches in mask wearing,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said this year. AstraZeneca shots, saying they want the Pfi zer or Moderna Biden said schools will need more Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s di- it’s further evidence that schools are shots going to public health care workers. The agreement with SatRevolution of Wroclaw, Poland, comes less than a month money to meet the CDC’s standards rector, said in a call with reporters. equipped to reopen now. “I’m not a no-vax AstraZeneca. But for an at-risk popula- after Virgin Orbit conducted the fi rst suc- and called on Congress to pass his Vaccinating teachers can provide The new information “affi rms what tion, health care workers, they should use the same vaccina- cessful fl ight of its air-launched Launcher- COVID-19 package quickly to get “an additional layer of protection,” she many of us, including students and tion strategy for everyone and not create any discrimina- One rocket. $130 billion in aid to schools. said. parents, have known for months: It is tion,” said Dr. Paolo Mezzana, a Rome plastic surgeon who The two satellites are intended to be part “We have sacrifi ced so much in the Asked how the guidance differed critical for schools to open as safely helps administer a Facebook group of private doctors. They of a 14-satellite Earth observation constella- last year,” Biden said in a statement. from that offered by the Trump admin- and as soon as possible,” he said. have been posting refusals to accept the AstraZeneca shot tion and will collect multispectral imagery “But science tells us that if we support istration, Walensky said, “We’ve used Becky Pringle, president of the after vaccinations began this week. and data for agricultural and energy custom- our children, educators and communi- stronger languages than prior guid- National Education Association, ap- Relief ers in the US, Poland and elsewhere, a Vir- ties with the resources they need, we ance. We’ve been much more prescrip- plauded the guidance but said schools gin Orbit statement said. can get kids back to school safely in tive here as to putting some guardrails are failing to meet it. Most still have In Poland, the government announced earlier this month SatRevolution ultimately plans to have more parts of the country sooner.” on what can and should be done to get outdated ventilation systems, she said, that the planned delivery of more than 1 million AstraZen- more than a thousand small satellites in low The new guidance includes many of to a safe reopening.” and few have the type of virus testing eca doses meant teachers could get their shots ahead of Earth orbit by 2026 for continuous observa- the same measures previously backed “And I can assure you that this is programs suggested by the CDC. schedule because the vaccine would not be given to older tions. by the CDC, but it suggests them more free from political meddling,” she “CDC standards still aren’t be- adults. Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit also re- cently announced that it has been selected forcefully. It emphasizes that all of added. ing met in too many of our schools,” But instead of expressing relief, the head of the main by a Dutch company, Innovative Solutions the recommendations must be imple- There’s wide agreement that learn- Pringle said. “We can and must pro- teachers’ union, Slawomir Broniarz, criticized the use of the in Space, to launch the Royal Netherlands mented strictly and consistently to ing in the classroom is more effective vide students the opportunity to return vaccine in remarks that, in turn, came under fi re from scien- Air Force’s fi rst satellite. The satellite will keep school safe. It also provides more and that students can face isolation and to in-person learning, but we also must tists and the government. be used for communications experiments detailed suggestions about what type learning setbacks at home. But teach- ensure that every school has the safety Michal Dworczyk, who leads the government’s vaccine and to demonstrate how very small satellites of schooling should be offered given ers unions in some areas say schools measures in place to keep students and effort, said he regretted “that some irresponsible politicians can be militarily useful. different levels of virus transmission, have failed to make buildings safe educators safe.” or trade unions have tried to scare teachers or cause such Virgin Orbit, founded by Richard Bran- anxiety by giving false information about the AstraZeneca son, uses a modifi ed Boeing 747-400 jet to vaccine.” carry the LauncherOne rocket to high al- institution in New Hampshire to do so. programs available to them that focus on climate science, while offering them fl ex- titude, where it is released from beneath a “High school and college-age students climate studies,” Interim Provost and Vice ibility to explore specifi c areas of interest.” Yet a sense of misgiving has settled in among teachers, are increasingly taking an active role in President of Academic Affairs Ann McClel- The university said the program will al- who already have been in confl ict with the government for wing and then ignites its motor. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ doing something about climate change and lan said in a statement. “The climate studies low students to explore a variety of other years over low wages and unpopular reforms. its effects, yet there are very few college program allows students to go deeper into related disciplines, topics and skills, or pur- Patrycja Swistowska, who teaches second grade at the Park announces gorilla birth: Congo’s sue areas of specialization that match their Wilanow school, said she signed up for the AstraZeneca Virunga National Park has announced the interests, such as business or art. (AP) shot despite her fears and confusion. birth of a male gorilla, the fi rst baby this ❑ ❑ ❑ “I feel that teachers are treated a bit worse and this is the year for the park that says its mountain gorilla families have been instrumental in River otter pups born at zoo: Zoo Mi- vaccine that they offered us. They didn’t offer us the vac- ami is celebrating the birth of three North cines given to doctors and other professional groups,” said raising the threatened species’ global popu- lation. American river otter pups. Swistowska, 39. “I am disoriented and I don’t feel good The park said that this is the fi rst baby The Feb 5 birth was the fi rst for their about this. We are paid worse and this is just another exam- born to 10 year-old Bazirushaka and is the mother, Zinnia, the zoo’s communication ple of us being shown our place.” 12th member of the Lulengo family. The director, Ron Magill, said in a news release. In Italy, the head of the SAP police union, Stefano Paolo- newborn was discovered by rangers on It was also the fi rst birth of this species at ni, argued that if offi cers believe they are getting a less- Thursday during a routine check in the park. the zoo. effective vaccine via the police force, they can opt out and The Virunga National Park is home to The pups were born in a secluded den in wait to get another shot later when the rest of the population some of the world’s last mountain gorillas the Florida: Mission Everglades exhibit and is vaccinated. That would defeat the strategy to vaccinate whose population now stands at more than are being well cared for by their fi rst-time 1,000. There were 17 gorilla births in the mother, Magill said. as many at-risk people as quickly as possible. Some unions It is still too early to determine their gen- are going ahead with the AstraZeneca rollout without com- park last year, it said. The announcement comes about a month ders, he said. plaining, refl ecting gratitude to get any protection. after the park said that gunmen shot and Zinnia arrived at Zoo Miami from the Dr. Arianna Patricarca, a 52-year-old Italian dentist who killed at least six rangers in the park in Ny- Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island received the AstraZeneca shot Thursday, called it “a great amitwitwi, located in the Rutshuru area. where she was born. opportunity and I am very happy that I did it.” More than 200 rangers have been killed She and her pups will remain isolated be- Warsaw preschool director Agnieszka Grabowska also since Virunga became a national park in hind the scenes to ensure they have minimal welcomed getting the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday. 1925, offi cials say. (AP) disturbances while they bond and grow. “It is a great relief,” said Grabowska, 48, adding that she ❑ ❑ ❑ The pups’ father is 5-year-old Edison, who came to Zoo Miami in October 2016 was exhausted after a year of the pandemic. ‘Climate studies program’: Plymouth A woman receives a shot of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V at the South Pest after being rescued as an orphan and hand- “I have been waiting for this moment all year,” she said. State University has started a bachelor’s Central Hospital in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb 12, as the vaccination with Sput- raised by a group called Wild Florida, the degree program in climate studies, the fi rst nik V against the new coronavirus begins in the country. (AP) news release said. (AP) Film SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 FFeatureseatures evidence ofwidespreadvoterfraud. Department ofJusticecouldfi opinions, notstatementsoffact. were constitutionallyprotected validate theclaimsofhisguests Dobbs’ statementsappearingto of thecharges.Italsoarguesthat well asSmartmatic’sowndenial evidence tobacktheirclaims,as questioned PowellandGiulianifor alities noteinstancesinwhichthey limits offreespeech. long-held assumptionsaboutthe One AmericaNewschallenge Trump outletslikeNewsmaxand voices onsocialmediaandpro- watched astheriseoffar-right ic, wroteFridayinastatement. Connolly these issuesfortheCourt,”J case andlooksforwardtobriefi General continued evenafterthen-Attorney the “disinformationcampaign” Venezuela’s socialistgovernment. technology orincahootswith election througheasilytampered had somehowhelpedstealthe stated orimpliedthatthecompany guests orpersonalitiesfalsely 13 reportsonFoxNewsinwhich in complaint fi was marredbyfraud. integrity oftheelectoralprocess tions bythepresidentthat the day:unprecedentedallega- job incoveringthebiggeststoryof Dobbs andPirroweredoingtheir defending Fox,argueBartiromo, Kirkland &Ellis,whichisalso election fromTrump. an efforttostealthepresidential that thecompanywasinvolvedin conspiring tospreadfalseclaims matic, whichaccusedthemof the eye-poppingamountbySmart- Powell well as company Smartmatic. brought bythevotingtechnology part ofa$2.7billionlibellawsuit against themandtheiremployeras seeking thedismissalofclaims Rudolph Giuliani Dobbs hosts — WASHINGTON: to thepandemic. The festivalistakingplaceinasized-down,morevirtualformdue tion andwillcompeteforthetopGoldenSilverBearawards. Thursday announced15fi BERLIN, Feb13,(AP):TheBerlinInternationalFilmFestivalon Berlin festannouncescontent-richcompetitionslate among others. from France,Romania,HungaryMexico,SouthKoreaandJapan, the selection. al fi makers tomakethemostofthissituationandcreatedeeplyperson- rywhere” byBenceFliegauf. Ryusuke HamaguchiandHungarywith“Forest—ISeeYouEve- rean “Introduction”byHongSangsoo. Cow” byBehtashSanaeehaandMaryamMoghaddamtheKo- Maria Schraderand“NextDoor”byDanielBruehl. Going totheDogs,”directedbyDominikGraf,“I’myourman” New York “Smartmatic isconfi “The First Amendment protects “The FirstAmendment protects The fi The lawsuitisbeingclosely The complaint alleged that The complaintallegedthat Smartmatic, inits285-page In itsmotions,lawyersfrom Bartiromo, DobbsandPirro,as The selectionincludesseveralGermancontributionsandfi Along theGermanfi “This Competitionislessrichinnumbersbutverydensecon- “The disruptionbroughtonbytheeventsof2020hasledfi Japan ispresentedwiththe“WheelofFortuneandFantasy”by There’s anIranian-Frenchproductioncalled“BalladofaWhite lms,” artisticdirectorCarloChatriansaidinastatementabout , weresuedthismonthfor and Donald Trump lings bytheFoxperson- William Barr Maria Bartiromo,Lou , attorneyforSmartmat- led Feb4instatecourt Jeanine Pirro , hadcitedatleast ThreeFoxNews and said the saidthe dent inits Sidney lawyers lms areworldpremieressuchas“Fabian— —are . Erik nd no lms thatarepartofthisyear’scompeti- This imagereleasedbyA24shows,(fromleft),StevenYeun,AlanS.Kim,Yuh-JungYoun,YeriHan,andNoelChoinascenefrom ng motion fi ing allegations,”accordingtothe less oftheaccuracyunderly- about judicialproceedingsregard- the presswhenitinformspublic technology company, Dominion. Smartmatic andanothervoting been madeonitsnetworksagainst ing someoftheclaimsthathad segment withanexpertdebunk- ‘M Yuh-jung), straightfromKorea,helpsquiteabit seem thusfar.TheadditionofGrandma(Youn fi fundamental splintersthatfestersthroughoutthe before inpursuitofthisdream.It’sonethose condition andgoingintoevenmoredebtthan from ahospitalwhenDavidhasprecariousheart he islookingoutforplacingthemanhour’sdrive hatchery. It’shardnottowonderwho,exactly, get outofthebusinesssexingchickensat later admitsthathewantstobeafarmerand fornia forspaceandmoreaffordableliving.He life intheOzarks.MonicathinkstheyleftCali- coming abouthisownintentionsfortheirnew through themassiveyard. that theirhomehaswheelsandtakeoffrunning the kidsdon’tseemtomind.Theythinkit’scool on concreteblocks.Inside,it’sevenbleaker.But they pullintotheirvastlottofi like, butMonica’sfaceturnssubtlytostonewhen what thehouseyourhusbandhaspurchasedlooks not solongagowhenitwaspossibletoknow of anewstart.Howfunnyitistoimaginetime David (AlanKim),toArkansaswiththepromise their daughter,Anne(NoelKateCho),andson, who hasmovedhiswife,Monica(HanYe-ri), immediately. StevenYeunisthefather,Jacob, nari” makesyoufallinlovewiththeYifamily fully investedfromthefi that makesitsouniversalandgreat. farm. Andit’sthespecifi American parentsmovedtoArkansasstarta his ownchildhoodinthe1980s,whenKorean All threehostslateraireda Essential portraitoffamilyin‘Minari’ lm, whichisagreatdeallighterthanitmight Jacob, itturnsout,hasnotbeenentirelyforth- Only arareandspecialkindoffi Variety led onbehalfofDobbs. maker LeeIsaacChungbasedthefi inari’ couldnotbemorepersonal.Film- Berlinale totakeplaceinasized-down,morevirtualform By LindseyBahr lms lm- city ofthisdelicatetale rst minute,and“Mi- Film 1900 novel,nowinthepublicdomain,hasspawnedmanyadapta- Kassell ful WizardofOz,” again? atrm Dobbs Bartiromo New LineCinemaismakinganewadaptationof“TheWonder- Are weofftoseethewizard,WonderfulWizardofOz— nd atrailerhome whose fi president, andinsteadtheentrieswillbejudgedbysixdirectors approach totheinternationaljurythisyear.Itwilldowithouta take placeinJune. winners andaselectionofotherfi follow June9-20,atwhichthepublicwillgetachancetosee ners, istobeheldMarch1-5.Planscallfora“summerspecial” vals, willbesplitintotwopartsbecauseofcoronavirusrestrictions. nale,” traditionallythefi the pandemic.OrganizersannouncedinDecemberthat“Berli- tent andstyle.” The festivalalsoannouncedlastmonththatitistakinganew An onlineeventfortheindustry,withjurychoosingwin- The fi Gadot showcaseswomenofwonderindocu , thevisualarchitectof“Watchmen,”settodirect.Baum’s lm hasyou lm festivalistakingplaceinarevampedformbecauseof lms wontheevent’stopGoldenBearaward. lm on lm L. FrankBaum ❑ boy andhisgrandmother.It’sthestoryofanger kids tornbetweencultures.It’sthestoryofalittle serve theirownheritage.It’sthestoryofyoung assimilating intotheheartlandwhiletryingtopre- faith inoneanother.It’sthestoryofimmigrants life hasnotgoneasplannedandwhoarelosing etic onethattranscendsitsownwalls. feeling likeamovieoutofnowhere,it’sstillpo- such studiedrealism,butevenifitsuddenlystarts drama ofthethirdactfeelalittlecontrivedafter it alljustfl ments andchoresdinnersloneliness the everyday.Thereareinjuriesanddisappoint- The plotisscarcelymorethanthemundanitiesof around thebigandsmalloftheseuniquelives. that areasclearandhazyamemory,jumping It’s thestoryofahusbandandwifewhose “Minari” istoldinalmostepisodicvignettes nection evenifitremainsimperfect. grows, however,andturnsintoreallovecon- like Korea).Theirrelationshiptransformsand she doesn’tactlikearealgrandmotherandsmells with, thendisappointedandjudgmental(hesays this personhe’snevermetandhastosharearoom sends himintoatailspin.Firstheisanxiousabout dramas andfears.Thearrivalofthegrandmother is moreunformedatonly6,butstillhashisown be akindofsurrogateparent.David,meanwhile, her parents’frictionandtriestobothmitigate are notsaintsorstand-insmouthpieces. presentation ofauthenticchildhood.Thesekids like aporcelaindoll,enjoybeingkid. tling. ButshealsohelpsDavid,whoMonicatreats doesn’t knowhowtobakecookiesandlikeswres- with thehumor.Sheplayscardsandswears rst oftheyear’smajorEuropeanfi They aretheirownpersons.Anneisawareof One ofthegreattriumphs“Minari”isits ows from daytoday.Thismakesthe children’snovel,with lms. Theawardceremonyisto the companytofi seeking” lawsuit:anattemptby she callsSmartmatic’s“headline- gests analternatemotiveforwhat not relatedtothelawsuit. a plannedprogrammingshiftand network saidthemovewaspartof day afterthelawsuitwasfi dropped Dobbs’showFeb.5,a Bartiromo inhermotionsug- The FoxBusinessNetwork Memory ll itscoffersafter Nicole lm festi- led. The Woodsman” and“ALittleBitofHeaven.” worked primarilyintelevisionbutdirectedthefeaturefi directed threeofitsnineepisodes,includingthepilot.Shehas of mychildhoodaswepaveanewlymintedyellowbrickroad!” iconic shoestofi — feelsmoretimelyandurgentthanever.Theseareprofoundly original themes—thequestforcourage,love,wisdomandhome tale,” saidKassellinastatement.“Theopportunitytoexaminethe and humbledbytheresponsibilityofre-imaginingsuchalegendary marked elementsliketherubyslippers. New Lineandthe1939fi Oz.” Itwillhavesomeadvantages,too,sinceWarnerBros.owns a “freshtake”and“reimagining”of“TheWonderfulWizard musical by tions overtheyears—mostfamously,ofcourse,1939MGM events ofthe1939classic. Raimi ney Co.’s“OztheGreatandPowerful”in2013.Directedby The mostrecent“WizardofOz”fi Kassell isanexecutiveproducerofHBO’s“Watchmen”and “While the1939musicalispartofmyDNA,Iamexhilarated Kassell’s versionwillnotbeamusical.NewLinesaidit professor atSyracuse Univer- lawyers argue. the heartofourdemocracy,”her ish reportingonissuesthatcutto designed tochillspeechandpun- meritless; itisalegalshakedown $144 millioninrevenue2019. reporting lossesof$17millionon Roy Gutterman Full Coverage:Elections “This complaintisnotjust good fi love andpositivitypeace.Thatwasavery Woman’s beliefsystem,”shesaid.“I’mallabout character. when shestarredinasolomoviefeaturingthe derstand herinfl Woman 1984”lastyear.Shefi 2016, andshestarredinthesequel“Wonder all theycantomaketheworldabetterplace.” ally arethereontheground,sweatinganddoing costume andfi day onavideocall.“Igotosetandputmy cause theyarethetrueheroes,”GadotsaidTues- and oppression. ties affectedbyviolence,poverty,discrimination traordinary things.Thewomenliveincommuni- other places,whoovercomeobstaclesanddoex- California, Michigan graphic channel. series thatdebutsApril19ontheNationalGeo- producer of“Impact,”ashort-formdocumentary her workingbehindthescenesasanexecutive to bringgoodtheworld. ter, LOS ANGELES: and starring “My beliefsystemisveryclosetoWonder Gadot hasbeenplayingWonderWomansince “I keepcallingthemmywomenofwonderbe- The six-partseriesfollowswomenin The 35-year-oldIsraeliactor’slatestprojecthas time: 115minutes.Fourstarsoutoffour. thematic elementsandarudegesture.”Running tion PictureAssociationofAmericanfor“some and virtualplatforms,isratedPG-13bytheMo- of anAmericanfamily. and expectationslovelife.Itisthestory Gal Gadot Victor Fleming “Minari,” anA24releaseinselecttheaters t forme.”(AP) ll, andIameagertodancealongsidetheseheroes ‘Minari.’ (AP) James Franco , amedialaw ght tomakebelieve.Buttheyactu- isonamission:createmovement Like herWonderWomancharac- uenceandresponsibilityin2017, lm. Thatmeansitcanusesometrade- and starring Also: and , itwasset20yearsbeforethe Puerto Rico, lm camefromtheWaltDis- the court’sdecision,” hesaid.(AP) factual statementswillbecentralto they havefordealingwithfalse speakers andwhatresponsibility liable forprovidingaforum political issues. fuel publicdiscourseonimportant Amendment rightsanditsdutyto reasonable argumentsaboutFirst sity, saidFoxinitsmotionmade rst begantoun- “Whether the broadcaster is “Whether thebroadcasteris Judy Garland among Brazil, . lms “The lms Sam ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

French singer Fabien Marsaud aka Grand Corps Malade, (right), and French singer Camille Lellouche, (left), perform on stage ‘Mais je t’aime’ during the 36th Victoires de la Musique, the annual French music awards ceremony, at the Seine Musicale concert hall in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the outskirts of Paris, Feb 12. (AP)

Obit Television

‘A towering pianist’ ABC News to air newsmagazine on Black experience Chick Corea, jazz great Ludacris cooking in kitchen on new show with 23 Grammys, dies LOS ANGELES, Feb 13, (AP): Lu- Gabon, in their fully equipped kitchen. gered by George Floyd’s death. Jour- NEW YORK, Feb 13, (AP): Chick Corea, a tower- dacris can rap, write songs, and act. “She does all the cooking, which nalist Jemele Hill and actor Marsai ing jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards He just can’t cook, and no, opening is part of the reason I can’t cook,” he Martin of “Black-ish” are among the who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked cans and slapping together bologna said. “She has her own style and she’s guest hosts. alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died. or grilled cheese sandwiches doesn’t very, very good at it.” Besides stories by ABC News jour- He was 79. count. Will Packer, who executive pro- nalists, episodes will present a variety Corea died Tuesday of a rare form of cancer, his Back in his days of, as he says, not duces the show along with Ludacris, of voices including Carmelo Antho- team posted on his website. His death was confi rmed having “two nickels to rub together,” admits he previously would not eat ny, Nick Cannon, Danny Glover, by Corea’s web and marketing manager, Dan Muse. Ludacris would throw together what- anything prepared by Ludacris. David Alan Grier, John Ridley, On his Facebook page, Corea left a message to his ever he could fi nd, chow down and get “I would eat your cooking now,” Saweetie and Janaya Future Khan. fans: “I want to thank all of those along my journey back to his music. Packer said. “If I had a choice, you or The network saw Black viewer- who have helped keep the music fi res burning bright. English singer Jane Birkin’s daugh- “When men like myself are hungry, your wife, I am defi nitely eating your ship soar last year during program- It is my hope that those who ter Franco-British singer Lou Doi- we just want to eat,” he said Thursday wife’s cooking fi rst.” ming that explored the aftermath have an inkling to play, write, llon looks on stage during the 36th on a video call. “We don’t want to take Ludacris tries his hand at Indian of Floyd’s death and a two-hour perform or otherwise, do so. Victoires de la Musique, the annual 30 minutes to an hour to cook.” food in the show. “It’s so complex that “20/20” special on Breonna Taylor, If not for yourself then for the French music awards ceremony, at He’s fi nally upping his skills in the I just wanted to understand how it’s said Marie Roberts, series creator rest of us. It’s not only that the the Seine Musicale concert hall in kitchen in “Luda Can’t Cook,” a one- made,” he said. and ABC News’ senior vice presi- world needs more artists, it’s Boulogne-Billancourt, Feb 12. (AP) hour special that debuts Feb. 25 on the The irony of not being able to even dent of integrated content strategy. also just a lot of fun.” discovery+ plus streaming service. He cook rice (“it’s going to stick to the ABC also did specials on Juneteenth A prolifi c artist with doz- gets schooled by chef Meherwan Irani, pot”) and owning a stake in Chicken and disparities involving race and ens of albums, Corea in 1968 who introduces Ludacris to interna- + Beer, a restaurant serving Southern- class during the pandemic. tional fl avors and techniques. replaced Herbie Hancock in style comfort food inside the Atlanta Still, at least half of the audience for Miles Davis’ group, playing “It was an eye-opener and so many airport, isn’t lost on the Grammy-win- lightbulb moments for me,” he said. several of these programs was white, on the landmark albums “In ning rapper. she said. It illustrates the opportunity Ludacris isn’t the only entertainer in At the same time, he wants to cor- Corea a Silent Way” and “Bitches to both speak to a Black audience and Brew.” the kitchen. Singer Selena Gomez has rect one thing. been upping her quarantine cooking educate others about what is going on He formed his own avant-garde group, Circle, and “The whole Luda can’t cook is only in the community. then founded Return to Forever. He worked on many skills on “Selana + Chef,” which was 99% true,” he said. “There’s 1%; I can renewed for a second season on HBO Each “Soul of a Nation” episode other projects, including duos with Hancock and vi- cook tacos.” will feature an “in the kitchen” seg- braphonist Gary Burton. He recorded and performed Max. ❑ ❑ ❑ Ludacris fi rst got interested in food ment with familiar faces discussing classical music, standards, solo originals, Latin jazz ABC News says that next month it current events and end with a musical and tributes to great jazz pianists. Spears Timberlake when “there was a placenta that was at- tached to me when I was in my moth- will begin airing “Soul of a Nation,” or spoken word performance. Harvey Mason Jr., interim president and CEO of which the network believes is the fi rst “We refer to the show oftentimes as The Recording Academy, wrote: “Chick rewrote the er’s womb.” But his mother, Roberta, didn’t set prime-time broadcast newsmagazine a news-variety show,” Roberts said. rulebook for jazz in his more than fi ve-decade long Variety focused on Black life in America. While only six episodes at fi rst, career, receiving mass critical acclaim along the way much of an example in the kitchen. “I love my mother with all my heart. The network has committed to six Roberts said there’s a possibility “Soul for his musical excellence.” episodes that will air on consecutive of a Nation” could be expanded in the Corea was named a National Endowment of the My mother was not the best cook in the NEW YORK: In a lengthy social media Tuesday nights. No premiere date or future. Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He was a member of the world,” he said. “Her food and cook- post, Justin Timberlake says that he wants ing has gotten better and better over a time slot has been announced. “As we produce these six hours, it’s Church of Scientology and lived in Clearwater, Flori- Britney Spears Janet to apologize to and Each episode will be centered on a very clear to us every single day that it da. He regularly won the title of Jazz Artist of the Year Jackson “because I care for and respect long period of time.” could be 600 hours of television,” she from Downbeat Magazine. these women and I know I failed.” Ludacris cedes to his wife, Eudoxie, theme, such as spirituality, activism “I’ve seen the messages, tags, com- who is from the west African nation of in sports and the racial reckoning trig- said. Irreplaceable ments, and concerns and I want to respond. In addition to his Grammy wins, Corea also had I am deeply sorry for the times in my life four Latin Grammy wins. In a tweet, the Latin Re- where my actions contributed to the prob- women, minorities and others who felt wrote. “The industry is fl awed. It sets men, The #FreeBritney hashtag has trended lem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not Jackson was unfairly forced to pay a far especially white men, up for success. It’s heavily in the last week, with celebrities cording Academy called him “a virtuosic pianist and higher price than Timberlake. designed this way. As a man in a privileged backing Spears, including Paris Hilton, one of the most prominent Latin jazz musicians of all speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in “I also feel compelled to respond, in position I have to be vocal about this. Be- Miley Cyrus, Bette Midler and more. times.” The Blue Note jazz club in New York City part, because everyone involved deserves cause of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it Jackson was also a trending topic around simply called him “irreplaceable.” many others and benefi ted from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” he better and most importantly, because this for all that it was while it was happening in the 2018 Super Bowl and after, with the Drummer Sheila E. took to Twitter to mourn. “This wrote Friday. is a larger conversation that I wholeheart- my own life but I do not want to ever ben- hashtags #JusticeforJanet and #JanetJack- man changed my life thru his music and we were Timberlake’s social media post comes edly want to be part of and grow from,” he efi t from others being pulled down again.” sonAppreciationDay going strong on social able to play together many times. I was very fortu- a week after the release of The New York media before Timberlake’s record third trip nate to call him my family,” she wrote “Chick, you Times’ documentary “Framing Britney to the stage at the Super Bowl. (AP) are missed dearly, your music and brilliant light will Spears,” the FX and Hulu fi lm that takes ❑ ❑ ❑ live on forever.” a historical look at the circumstances that Hip-hop star Q-Tip called Corea “one of the coldest NEW YORK: LVMH Moët Hennessy led to Spears’ conservatorship in 2008 and Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury pianist/keyboardist/songwriters of all time” and rap- highlights the #FreeBritney movement of group, has put Rihanna’s Fenty fashion per Biz Markie celebrated Corea’s 1972 jazz fusion fans who want to see her released from it collection on hold. group Return to Forever, calling it “fossil fuel for an and given control of her life. The documen- The move, confi rmed by LVMH eternity of rap samples.” tary aired an old interview when Timber- Wednesday, comes nearly two years after Last year, Corea released the double album “Plays,” lake spoke about sleeping with his former the fashion conglomerate announced which captured him solo at various concerts armed girlfriend and indicated that he ridiculed the collaboration with the pop artist and simply with his piano. her by hiring a look-a-like for his “Cry Me business mogul. Rihanna became the fi rst “Like a runner loves to run because it just feels a River” music video. Black woman to head a luxury house with good, I like to play the piano just because it feels Fans called out Timberlake for contrib- LVMH, which owns such labels as Chris- good,” he told The Associated Press at the time. “I uting to Spears’ very public breakdown and tian Dior, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton. can just switch gears and go to another direction or controlling the narrative about the end of “Rihanna and LVMH have jointly go to another song or whatever I want to do. So it’s a their relationship. made the decision to put on hold the RTW More backlash hit Timberlake as social activity, based in Europe, pending better constant experiment.” media began to recall the wardrobe malfunc- The double album was a peek into Corea’s musical conditions,” according to the statement by tion with Jackson that caused a national LVMH emailed to The Associated Press. heart, containing songs he wrote about the innocence controversy at the 2004 Super Bowl. Some A representative for Rihanna couldn’t of children decades ago as well as tunes by Mozart, argued that Jackson, as a Black woman, immediately be reached. Thelonious Monk and Stevie Wonder, among others. fell victim to a racist and sexist double LVMH said that the Paris-based compa- Corea is the artist with the most jazz Grammys in the standard and received harsher treatment than ny and Rihanna will focus their efforts on show’s 63-year history, and he has a chance to posthu- Timberlake, as a white man, did and that he the growth and long-term development of mously win at the March 14 show, where he’s nomi- benefi ted from “white male privilege.” French singer Benjamin Biolay reacts after receiving the Best Album award for Fenty on cosmetics, skincare and lingerie. nated for best improvised jazz solo for “All Blues” and And the NFL’s decision to invite Tim- ‘Grand Prix’ during the 36th Victoires de la Musique, the annual French music WWD fi rst reported the news on best jazz instrumental album for “Trilogy 2.” berlake to perform at the halftime show awards ceremony, at the Seine Musicale concert hall in Boulogne-Billancourt, LVMH’s pause of Fenty fashion collection. three years ago triggered a backlash from on the outskirts of Paris, Feb 12. (AP) (AP) ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 SPORTS 14

Proteas win by six wickets Pretorius takes 5-17 as SAfrica beat Pakistan in 2nd T20 LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 13, (AP): Fast The third and fi nal game is at Lahore Jon-Jon Smuts (0-20) restrained Pa- bowler Dwaine Pretorius took a record on Sunday. kistan in the middle overs with wrist 5-17 in South Africa’s six-wicket vic- Pakistan captain Babar Azam (5) spinner Shami not conceding a single UAE sheikh’s investment in Israeli soccer club put on hold tory over Pakistan in their second saw a wretched run in the T20 se- boundary off his four overs. JERUSALEM, Feb 13, (AP): normalization agreement between shekels, or about $90 million, in the Twenty20 international on Saturday. ries continue when Pretorius had him Pakistan’s middle order struggled Plans for an Emirati sheikh to Israel and the United Arab Emir- club over the next decade. But in Pretorius’ fi gures were the best by trapped leg before wicket off his sec- against both spinners and only Mo- purchase a 50% ownership stake ates last year. It was also seen as recent weeks, questions have re- a South African bowler in a T20 inter- hammad Rizwan, who scored his fi rst in Israel’s famed and controver- a turning point for a club that had portedly arisen about the sheikh’s national and helped to restrict Pakistan T20 I ton on Thursday, again showed sial Beitar Jerusalem soccer club gained notoriety for its racist fans true wealth. The Marker, an Israeli to 144-7 after Heinrich Klaasen again CRICKET promise with a 41-ball 51. have been put on hold, the team and its refusal to have an Arab business news website, reported won the toss. Iftikhar Ahmed (20) and Rizwan said Thursday, following reports player on its roster. last month that an audit of the A 77-run partnership for the third tried to force the run rate but both questioning the sheikh’s fi nances. The team had said Sheikh Ham- sheikh’s fi nances commissioned by wicket off 53 balls between Reeza ond ball. holed out in the deep in Pretorius’ re- The purchase was announced ad bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, a mem- Israel’s soccer federation revealed Hendricks (42) and Pite van Biljon Babar, who was run out without turn spell. to great fanfare in December, ber of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, several inactive companies and fi - (42) scripted Proteas’ clinical run- scoring in Pakistan’s three-run win in The right-arm pacer had Khushdil billed as the fruit of a US-brokered has pledged to invest 300 million nancial discrepancies. chase as the visitors reached 145-4 in the fi rst T20, played across the line to a Shah (15) caught behind in his last 16.2 overs and ended their fi ve-match delivery which came into the batsman. over before clean bowling Mohammad ker to better Ryan McLaren’s previous West Indies in 2010 at Antigua. ball 30, which featured two fours and losing streak. Spinners Tabraiz Shamsi (1-16) and Nawaz for a duck off a brilliant yor- South Africa record of 5-19 against the Faheem Ashraf hit an undefeated 12- two sixes. Italians slip to 29th straight loss Riding high Suter wins women’s May’s spectacular try helps England pummel Italy 41-18 LONDON, Feb 13, (AP): With an downhill for fi rst gold at worlds NFL-style leap and a spectacular one- handed grounding, Jonny May scored the pick of England’s six tries against Weidle fi nishes 2nd for silver, Gut-Behrami earns bronze Italy in a 41-18 bonus-point win that kickstarted its Six Nations title defense on Saturday. CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, A 28th straight victory over the Italy, Feb 13, (AP): Corinne Azzurri was not without its faults for the champions, however, with sloppy Suter ended Switzerland’s passing and loose defense giving the 32-year wait for a women’s Italians some joy in an open match downhill world title on Sat- inside an empty Twickenham. Returning to their home stadium a urday, winning her fourth week after a chastening 11-6 loss to straight medal at a major Scotland, the English predictably col- championship but the fi rst lected their first points of the champi- onship after recovering from conced- gold. ing a third-minute try. Tries came from Racing in sunshine under crisp lock Jonny Hill, Anthony Watson (2), England’s Jonny May scores a try blue skies, Suter mastered the fellow winger May, replacement during the Six Nations rugby union Olympia delle Tofane and decided flanker Jack Willis, and fullback Elliot international match between Eng- Daly. land and Italy at Twickenham Sta- the race by using excellent gliding dium in London, on Feb 13. (AP) skills on the fl at bottom section of the iconic course. “It’s for sure a huge step,” Suter said RUGBY about her fi rst gold. “I am so, so happy Russian track prez because all the hard work in the last years paid off today.” May’s was one for the ages as he Ivanov steps aside received the ball tight on the touchline Suter’s teammate Lara Gut-Behrami late in the first half, leapt high over the MOSCOW, Feb 13, (AP): The led for most of her run, but two costly attempted diving tackle of Luca Russian track federation’s presi- mistakes saw her drop to third, earn- Sperandio and managed to place the dent stepped aside Saturday after ing bronze after she had beaten Suter ball down with his left hand as he taking a job with a government to gold in Thursday’s super-G. crashed into the corner flag. agency, bringing more leadership Kira Weidle fi nished a career-best That gave England a 20-8 lead at churn to a body which is already second for silver, winning the second halftime and Eddie Jones’ side pulled suspended from World Athletics medal for Germany this week. Switzerland’s Corinne Suter speeds down the course during the women’s downhill, at the alpine ski World Cham- away for a result that was about on par over doping. pionships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Feb 13. (Inset): Corinne Suter celebrates holding the gold medal on the with the average margin of English The federation, known as podium after the women’s downhill. (AP) wins in this fixture at Twickenham, RusAF, said that Pyotr Ivanov SKIING would officially remain president which was 43-12 coming into but relinquish his authority until Saturday. The Italians slipped to a 29th Olympic super-G champion Ester England fi ght back in 2nd test vs India straight loss in the championship, ATHLETICS Ledecka missed the podium by seven- stretching back to 2015, but will take hundredths in fourth. CHENNAI, India, Feb 13, (AP): In- ing 150 off 208 deliveries. hitting 18 fours and two sixes. solace in giving the English a proper Breezy Johnson, who had four dia lost three wickets in the final ses- “We knew it was going to turn from Rahane survived a dubious DRS game right from the moment halfbacks December 2022. That’s when World Cup podiums this season, was sion but was still in a strong position day one so it was a good toss to win,” call, which was later reversed. He Stephen Varney and Paolo Garbisi among the fastest racers but the Ameri- restrictions imposed on Russian at 300-6 at stumps on the first day of Rahane said. “I forgot whatever hap- didn’t survive for too long afterward, combined to send wing Montanna sports officials by a Court of can failed to make up enough time af- the second Test against England on pened in the fi rst test and backed my- bowled by the recalled Moeen Ali (2- Ioane – the nephew of Australia’s ter nearly skiing out early in her run Arbitration for Sport ruling expire. Saturday. self.” Rahane was out for 1 and 0 in 112). Digby Ioane – over in the left corner. Irina Privalova, gold medalist and fi nished ninth. Rohit Sharma (161) scored his Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin (13) A 44th-minute penalty from flyhalf The top favorite for gold, Sofi a Gog- in the 400-meter hurdles at the seventh Test century and put on 162 then added 35 runs for the sixth wick- Garbisi briefly trimmed the deficit to 2000 Olympics, will take tempo- gia, missed the race after the Italian runs with Ajinkya Rahane (67) for CRICKET et. England captain Joe Root dismissed 20-11, and even though England pow- rary charge at RusAF. suffered a season-ending knee injury the fourth wicket. Both batsmen were Ashwin late in the fi nal session. ered clear, the Azzurri at least man- The CAS ruling blocks Russian two weeks ago. dismissed after tea as England fought Pant was his usual aggressive self, aged an excellent second try through government representatives from Goggia had won the last four down- back. the fi rst test, which England won by hitting fi ve fours and a six so far. Tommaso Allan after he ran onto a sitting on the boards of a range of hills on the World Cup circuit, after Rishabh Pant (33) and Axar Patel 227 runs. Earlier, Sharma had anchored the pass out of a tackle from Federico sports bodies. The Russian cabinet Suter had triumphed in the fi rst race of (5) are the batters at the crease. Sharma was out against the run of Indian innings in the middle session. Mori. appointed Ivanov as deputy direc- the downhill season in France in De- Rahane brought up his 23rd test play, caught at backward square leg He and Rahane made sure that India Still, it was a second straight heavy tor of a government anti-trust cember. half-century off 104 balls. Sharma was as he went for an aerial sweep against didn’t lose a wicket after being re- loss, after losing to France 50-10 last body last month, one month after Suter believed her second place in motoring along at the other end, cross- Jack Leach. Sharma faced 231 balls, duced to 106-3 at lunch. weekend. the CAS ruling. the worlds opener helped her believe she could win gold in downhill two days later. She said she didn’t speak to Gut- “I started with a silver medal in Behrami before the start as the two super-G. That was already amazing for Swiss skiers both went for gold. Luna Rossa win ‘trade-off’ to open challenger series fi nal me. I always knew in downhill there “I raced for me. I usually don’t WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Feb 13, through a semifi nal series against U.S. fi nal, while Luna Rossa had the advan- land suggested the latter route was the are more chances,” said Suter, who is a look too much at the others,” Suter (AP): The fi rst day of racing in the fi nal challenger American Magic. tage of more racing in its 4-0 series win better one. Team UK’s extra development passionate horse rider when away from said. “Also today, I was at the start of the America’s Cup challenger series In winning the round robin, the Brit- over American Magic. The question time didn’t appear to have helped it over- the slopes. and didn’t want to race against some- between Team UK and Italy’s Luna hovering over the fi nal series was which come its vulnerability in the light winds in Suter, who won the season titles one. I just wanted to prove what I can Rossa measured what British skipper team had the best side of the trade-off: which the fi rst race of the day was sailed. in both speed disciplines in the last do.” Ben Ainslie called the “trade-off.” SAILING was time in the boatshed more valuable Luna Rossa’s greater time on the race- World Cup season, became the fi rst Suter has medaled in the last four Team UK dominated the challenger than time on the water? course was apparent in its slicker crew women’s downhill world champion speed events at worlds, after taking sil- series round-robin, winning all of its Luna Rossa’s impressive performance work which was evident in the second from Switzerland since Maria Walliser ver and bronze in downhill and super- races to progress directly to the fi nal. ish team gained more time to hone and Saturday in beating Team UK twice to race, sailed in stronger winds in which the won in 1989. G two years ago. Luna Rossa was forced to advance develop its boat ahead of the Prada Cup start the best-of-13 race series in Auck- teams were more closely matched. ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 SPORTS 15

Multiple trucks crash behind leaders Rhodes wins Truck Series opener with first Daytona victory DAYTONA BEACH, Florida, Feb 13, (AP): Ben Rhodes raced to his fi rst ca- reer victory at Daytona International Speedway with a last-corner pass in the NASCAR Truck Series opener. Rhodes was tailing Cory Roper when he slowed to hook up with team- mate Matt Crafton for a push. Craf- ton threw a block and darted to the top, creating momentum that helped Rhodes pull even with Roper. Multiple trucks crashed behind the leaders and Rhodes edged ahead on the outside. Jordan Anderson ducked low around Rhodes and fell 0.036 behind catching Rhodes. “As a driver you are always asked about what your biggest accomplish- ment is. This is it. This is hands down it,” Rhodes said. “This is the place to be.” Anderson was second at Daytona for the second consecutive year. He drove through the fi eld from 12th to nearly winning the race on the fi nal lap. TRUCK RACING

Anderson’s fi rst trip to Daytona was as an 8-year-old when he and his father camped in the family truck and caught the races. “Just being here is exciting for me,” Anderson said. “So much energy, so much emotion. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be here in a national series coming from Columbia, South Caro- lina.” Drivers, including Drew Dollar (51), Kris Wright, center, and Spencer Boyd, front right, crash at the finish line during the NASCAR Trucks auto race at Daytona International Speedway, on Feb Anderson said he’s considering 12, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (AP) shutting down his truck team as Jor- dan Anderson Racing transitions into an Xfi nity Series team. But he’s de- termined to keep the truck running as an opportunity for young drivers and nearly pulled off the win. Anderson will attempt to qualify Doncic scores career-high 46 pts Saturday for the Xfi nity Series opener. Rhodes and his ThorSport Racing crew each earned $25,000 bonuses from Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis. The title sponsor of the Truck Series posted $300,000 in sea- son-long bonuses before the race. as Mavs overcome Zion, Pelicans It was a statement win for Thorsport, which earlier this month announced its return to Toyota after three years with until she fi nally smacked into the wall. Ford. Thorsport was a Toyota partner Davis propels Lakers past Grizzlies for 7th straight win from 2012 until 2017. The hood of her Ford scrunched as the “We came back to Toyota and force into the energy-absorbing barrier we won in our fi rst race with them,” caused the wall to swell. DALLAS, Feb 13, (AP): Rhodes said. “You can dream about Deegan fi nished 24th out of 36 Luka Doncic scored a ca- NBA Results/Standings this - I’ve dreamed about this I can’t trucks. reer-high 46 points, Kri- tell you how long... since I was seven Meanwhile, the third-tier Truck years old. Nothing describes the feel- Series got a fi nancial boost when Le- staps Porzingis added 36 ing. I’ve had very few days like this in monis announced his bonus system and the Dallas Mavericks WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): Results and my life to have this much elation.” before the race. Camping World ear- standings from the NBA games on Friday. marked some of the bonuses for the overcame Zion William- Charlotte 120 Minnesota 114 The race was sent to overtime when son’s career-best 36 points New York 109 Washington 91 Timothy Peters triggered a multi-truck road crews on the race teams - a rare San Antonio 125 Atlanta 114 crash with six to go. Rhodes led Da- acknowledgement for the team mem- in a 143-130 victory over Dallas 143 New Orleans 130 bers who make the car run. LA Clippers 125 Chicago 106 vid Gilliland at the start of the two-lap the New Orleans Pelicans. Detroit 108 Boston 102 sprint to the fi nish, but the running or- Lemonis also pledged to the Truck Denver 97 Okla. City 95 der shuffl ed before Rhodes fi nally took Series champion both an electric pick- Doncic, who also had 12 assists Utah 129 Milwaukee 115 the checkered fl ag. up truck and an electric recreational and eight rebounds, connected on Orlando 123 Sacramento 112 three of four Dallas 3-pointers in Portland 129 Cleveland 110 Hailie Deegan, promoted to her fi rst vehicle. Camping World also set aside LA Lakers 115 Memphis 105 full season in a national season, spun in $100,000 for incremental bonuses or, just 93 seconds as the Mavericks Eastern Conference her debut for David Gilliland Racing. NASCAR said in a release, “team made 13 of their first 15 shots in Atlantic Division She took a long slide down the apron needs throughout the season.” W L Pct GB the third quarter. The Mavericks Philadelphia 18 8 .692 - matched their season best with a Brooklyn 15 12 .556 3-1/2 Boston 13 12 .520 4-1/2 fourth consecutive victory and beat Toronto 12 14 .462 6 the Pelicans for the fifth straight New Orleans Pelicans’ JJ Redick, left, and Josh Hart defend against Dal- New York 12 15 .444 6-1/2 time. las Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (77) during the first half of an NBA basketball Southeast Division game in Dallas, on Feb 12. (AP) W L Pct GB Williamson set a New Orleans fran- Charlotte 13 14 .481 - chise record by making all 10 of his Pistons (7-19) have beaten Boston ington. Miami 11 14 .440 1 shots in the fi rst half and fi nished 14 of (13-12) twice and also have wins over Derrick Rose scored 14 points in 20 Atlanta 11 14 .440 1 15. His only miss was a wide-open 3 Orlando 10 17 .370 3 the Lakers, Nets, 76ers and Suns - all effi cient minutes off the bench in his Washington 6 17 .261 5 early in the second half. teams above .500. second game for the Knicks. Central Division Brandon Ingram scored 30 points W L Pct GB for the Pelicans in what was supposed Clippers 125, Bulls 106 Magic 123, Kings 112 Milwaukee 16 10 .615 - In Chicago, Kawhi Leonard scored In Sacramento, California, Nikola Indiana 13 13 .500 3 to be the second meeting with Dallas Chicago 10 15 .400 5-1/2 this season. The fi rst, scheduled for 33 points, Lou Williams and Marcus Vucevic scored 42 points and matched Cleveland 10 17 .370 6-1/2 Jan. 11, was postponed because of CO- Morris came up big in the fourth quar- his career high of six 3-pointers in Or- Detroit 7 19 .269 9 VID-19 issues. ter, and Los Angeles beat Chicago. lando’s victory over Sacramento. Western Conference Leonard fi nished three points shy Vucevic shot 17 of 22 and had nine Southwest Division W L Pct GB of a season high set two nights earlier rebounds. Michael Carter-Williams San Antonio 15 11 .577 - BASKETBALL at Minnesota. He scored 16 points in returned for the Magic after miss- Dallas 13 14 .481 2-1/2 the third quarter to help Los Angeles ing more than fi ve weeks because of Memphis 10 11 .476 2-1/2 stretch a four-point lead to 12. New Orleans 11 14 .440 3-1/2 a sprained left foot, He scored 15 of Houston 11 14 .440 3-1/2 Lakers 115, Grizzlies 105 his season-best 21 points in the third In Los Angeles, Anthony Davis scored Nuggets 97, Thunder 95 Northwest Division Ben Rhodes celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Trucks In Denver, Nikola Jokic fi nished an quarter. W L Pct GB 35 points, LeBron James had 28 points, Utah 21 5 .808 - auto race at Daytona International Speedway, on Feb 12, in Daytona assist shy of a triple-double, scoring Spurs 125, Hawks 114 Beach, Florida. (AP) nine rebounds and eight assists and Los Portland 15 10 .600 5-1/2 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to In Atlanta, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 Denver 14 11 .560 6-1/2 Angeles rallied to beat Memphis for its Oklahoma City 10 15 .400 10-1/2 seventh consecutive victory. help Denver beat Oklahoma City. points and San Antonio beat Atlanta. Jamal Murray also scored 22 points Minnesota 6 20 .231 15 Bruins rally past Rangers 1-0 Kyle Kuzma had 20 points and 10 The Spurs opened a seven-game Pacific Division rebounds for the defending NBA cham- and Michael Porter Jr. fi nished with 15 trip with a season-high 77 points in W L Pct GB pions. Davis fi nished two points shy of for the Nuggets. They trailed most of the fi rst half. Keldon Johnson had 20 LA Lakers 21 6 .778 - the game before winning their second LA Clippers 19 8 .704 2 his season high in his return from a two- points and Dejounte Murray added 16. Phoenix 15 9 .625 4-1/2 Faulk, Blues top Coyotes in game absence with an Achilles injury. straight. DeRozan had eight assists. Golden State 14 12 .538 6-1/2 Montrezl Harrell scored 14 points Trail Blazers 129, Cavaliers 110 Trae Young led Atlanta with 25 points. Sacramento 12 13 .480 8 for Los Angeles. In Portland, Oregon, Gary Trent Game 5 of marathon series Jazz 129, Bucks 115 Jr. had 26 points and Portland handed Cleveland its sixth straight loss. No. 8 UCLA beats Utah 69-58 GLENDALE, Arizona, Feb 13, (AP): In Salt Lake City, Rudy Gobert had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Utah beat Carmelo Anthony added 23 points, Justin Faulk had two goals and an as- and Enes Kanter had 21 points and 13 NHL Results/Standings sist, Jordan Binnington stopped 24 Milwaukee for its sixth straight victory. Joe Ingles tied his career high with rebounds for Portland. The Trail Blaz- shots and the St. Louis Blues ended ers have won fi ve of their last six. Williams helps No. 2 UConn a three-game losing streak to the Ari- 27 points, Donovan Mitchell had 26 zona Coyotes with a 4-1 victory. and Jordan Clarkson 25 to help Utah Hornets 120, Timberwolves 114 WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): Results and win for the 17th time in 18 games and In Charlotte, N.C., Terry Rozier standings from the NHL games on Friday. The quirks of a pandemic-altered women pound Georgetown Boston 1 NY Rangers 0 season have pitted the Blues and improve to an NBA-best 21-5. scored 41 points and rookie LaMelo St Louis 4 Arizona 1 Coyotes against each other for seven Pistons 108, Celtics 102 Ball had 20 points and 11 rebounds in WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): Chantel Horvat added 14 points and East Division Charlotte’s victory over Minnesota. GP W L OT Pts GF GA straight games, a fi rst in NHL or NBA In Boston, Saddiq Bey scored 30 Christyn Williams broke out of a 12 rebounds, and Natalie Chou had 12 regular-season history. points, hitting his seventh 3-pointer with Charlotte improved to 13-14, open- Boston 13 10 1 2 22 40 26 ing a fi ve-game homestand with its slump with 19 points and No. 2 points. The Bruins (12-3, 9-3 Pac-12) Philadelphia 13 8 3 2 18 46 41 Arizona won three of the fi rst four, 39 seconds to play after Boston cut a UConn overcame another slow start overcame 40% shooting by scoring 25 Washington 12 6 3 3 15 44 45 all in St. Louis. The Blues won the fi rst 13-point fourth-quarter lead to three, and third victory in four games. Minnesota NY Islanders 12 5 4 3 13 28 31 points off 15 Utah turnovers. of three in the desert behind Faulk’s has lost four straight to fall to 6-20. to beat Georgetown 64-40 for its Pittsburgh 12 6 5 1 13 37 44 Detroit held on to beat the Celtics, sixth consecutive victory. Brynna Maxwell led the Utes (5- NY Rangers 13 4 6 3 11 31 34 big night and some spectacular saves Bey added 12 rebounds and went 7 Knicks 109, Wizards 91 New Jersey 9 4 3 2 10 23 26 by Binnington. for 7 from 3-point range, including the In Washington, Julius Randle had Williams was 8 of 19 from the 12, 4-12) with 14 points and six as- Buffalo 10 4 4 2 10 30 32 fi eld and sparked a 16-2 run that sists. Central Division Ivan Barbashev and Brayden shot that gave Detroit a 101-95 cush- 24 points and 18 rebounds and New GP W L OT Pts GF GA Schenn scored empty-net goals to seal ion in the fi nal minute. The last-place York cruised past cold-shooting Wash- turned the game around. Her layup Arizona 60, Wash State 51 Tampa Bay 12 9 2 1 19 44 25 it. midway through the second quar- In Tucson, Arizona, Cate Reese Florida 11 8 1 2 18 37 30 Columbus 15 7 5 3 17 45 50 ter put the Huskies (16-1, 13-0 Big had 17 points and six rebounds, Aari Carolina 11 8 3 0 16 39 30 ICE HOCKEY East) ahead, and they didn’t trail McDonald added 14 points and fi ve Chicago 15 6 5 4 16 44 47 again. rebounds and Arizona beat Wash- Dallas 11 5 3 3 13 37 30 Bueckers grimaced while play- Nashville 14 6 8 0 12 34 48 Johan Larsson scored his fi rst goal ington State. Detroit 15 3 10 2 8 29 49 ing 39 minutes on a sprained right Sam Thomas had seven points West Division with Arizona, and Darcy Kuemper GP W L OT Pts GF GA stopped 23 shots. ankle. Despite the injury, the stand- and fi ve steals, and the Wildcats (13- St Louis 14 8 4 2 18 47 44 The Blues and Coyotes both had out freshman had 19 points and nine 2, 11-2 Pac-12) pulled away from a Vegas 11 8 2 1 17 37 27 assists, ending a streak of six games Colorado 11 7 3 1 15 38 24 games scheduled for this week shelved 44-42 lead after three quarters by Anaheim 15 6 6 3 15 30 39 due to COVID-19 issues, setting up an scoring at least 20. limiting Washington State to three Arizona 13 6 6 1 13 35 37 unprecedented, non-playoff seven- fi eld goals in the fourth quarter. Minnesota 11 6 5 0 12 30 30 game series. San Jose 12 5 6 1 11 34 46 BASKETBALL Charlisse Leger-Walker had 19 Los Angeles 13 4 6 3 11 40 44 Bruins 1, Rangers 0 points for Washington State (9-8, North Division In New York, Jaroslav Halak made 7-78). GP W L OT Pts GF GA Toronto 14 11 2 1 23 52 36 21 saves for his 51st shutout, Nick Georgetown (1-10, 1-10) lost its Miss State 69, Illinois St. 52 Montreal 14 8 4 2 18 50 38 Ritchie scored in the second period ninth in a row. Freshman Kelsey In Normal, Ill., Jasmine Franklin Edmonton 16 9 7 0 18 55 52 and Boston beat New York for its fi fth Ransom led the Hoyas with 15 Winnipeg 13 8 4 1 17 46 36 straight victory. had 16 points and 10 rebounds to help Calgary 13 7 5 1 15 39 34 points. Missouri State beat Illinois State. Vancouver 17 6 11 0 12 51 66 East-leading Boston extended its Ottawa 15 2 12 1 5 32 63 points streak to 10 games (9-0-1) in a UCLA 69, Utah 58 Abigayle Jackson and Brice Calip Note: Two points for a win one point for physical, tight-checking tussle that in- In Salt Lake City, Michaela Ony- each added 11 points for Missouri overtime loss. The top four teams in each division will qualify for playoffs under this cluded several fi ghts. On Wednesday Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save against St enwere had 25 points and seven State (12-2, 8-0 Missouri Valley). season’s temporary realignment. night, Boston beat New York 3-2 in Louis Blues center Ivan Barbashev (49) in the first period during an NHL rebounds in UCLA’s victory over Mary Crompton scored 16 points for overtime. hockey game, on Feb 12, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP) Utah. Illinois State (9-5, 6-5). ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 16

Spain’s Rafael Nadal hits a backhand to Britain’s Cameron Norrie during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis cham- pionships in Melbourne, Australia, Feb 13. (AP) Sports Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com Barty advances as Rafa reaches 4th round at Melbourne Park for 14th time in 16 trips Medvedev finally works out how to win five-setter MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb 13, He is chasing a men’s record 21st Grand Slam result by reaching the No. 6 Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 7-5. 6-2, 6-1 win over Kristina Mladenovic (AP): Daniil Medvedev finally worked major title but entered the tournament round of 16 at the Australian Open. There were no fans in the stands due and will next play No. 5-seeded Elina out how to a win a five-setter. All by with back stiffness and without any Seventh-seeded Rublev had a 7-5, to the start of a five-day lockdown Svitolina, who won the last nine games himself. competitive matches in 2021. 6-2, 6-3 win over Feliciano Lopez, imposed by the Victoria state govern- to beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4,6-0. The fourth-seeded Medvedev was In his immediate future is No. 16 ending the 39-year-old Spaniard’s ment in response to a COVID-19 out- No. 22 Jennifer Brady dropped only 0-6 in Grand Slam matches that went Fabio Fognini, who had a straight-set 75th consecutive major tournament. break at a quarantine hotel. Up to 30,000 four games to advance to a fourth- to five sets, and his Australian Open win over Australia’s last hope in the The Russian men had one loss on spectators daily - 50% of capacity - had round match against No. 28 Donna third-round match against No. men’s draw, 21st-seeded Alex de Day 6, with No. 19 Karen Khachanov been admitted on previous days. Vekic, who saved a match point and 28-seeded Filip Krajinovic looked like beaten by No. 9 Matteo Berrettini 7-6 Minaur. No. 61-ranked Jessica Pegula had a beat Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4. it was going all the way. (1), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). Berrettini will After some angry outbursts from an next play fifth-seeded Stefanos increasingly animated and chatty TENNIS Tsitsipas, a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 winner over Medvedev directed at his box in an Mikael Ymer of Sweden. otherwise empty Rod Laver Arena - Two women with titles already this fans have been banned as a COVID-19 Medvedev had been bothered by a year are through to the Round of 16. precaution - his coach, Gilles Cervara, problem with his upper left leg and Top-ranked Ash Barty, who won the got up and left. had a medical timeout for treatment Yarra Valley Classic last week for a title in “He said just before leaving that late in the fourth set. her first tournament back from almost 12 he’s sure I’m going to win the match. Italy’s Fabio Fognini celebrates his When he fell behind 5-2 in the months on the sidelines, beat Ekaterina He’s going to leave me alone to be win over Australia’s Alex De Minaur fourth, Medvedev shouted, “I never Alexandrova of Russia 6-2, 6-4. more calm,” Medvedev explained in in their third round match at the saw something like this!” Barty next faces American Shelby his on-court TV interview after Australian Open tennis champion- He returned to better much play in Rogers, who beat No. 21 Anett Saturday’s 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 win. ships in Melbourne, Australia, Feb the deciding set, smacking an inside- Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3. Some pundits, including John 13. (AP) out forehand winner to a corner to Elise Mertens, a 2018 Australian McEnroe, are tipping the 25-year-old close an 18-stroke exchange and break Open semifinalist who won the Russian to make his major break- who helped him win the ATP Cup title to go up 2-0. Gippsland Trophy tuneup tournament through in Australia. Medvedev, on a for Russia last week. No. 2-ranked He didn’t drop another game as he last week, had a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 17-match winning streak that includes Rafael Nadal, a 20-time major winner, seized the momentum back from 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic. She’ll titles at the 2020 season-ending ATP is also in his half of the draw. Krajinovic, who was previously 4-1 in take a seven-match winning streak into Finals, said while that’s nice to hear, Nadal extended his winning streak matches that went the full five sets. her next match against Karolina he’s got a long way to go. against fellow left-handers to 16 with a Medvedev, the U.S. Open finalist Muchova in the fourth round. He’ll have to face unseeded 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. last year, will next play McDonald, a No. 25-seeded Muchova rallied Torino’s Nicolas Nkoulou, (right), and Genoa’s Mattia Destro jump for the American Mackenzie McDonald in the 69-ranked Cameron Norrie, reaching player he compared with Roger from a 5-0 second-set deficit in near ball during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Torino and Genoa at next round. After that could be a quar- the fourth round at Melbourne Park for Federer in style. McDonald beat Lloyd silence, which only made the turn- the Olimpico Grande Torino stadium in Turin, Italy, Feb 13. The match terfinal against No. 7 Andrey Rublev, the 14th time in 16 trips. Harris in straight sets to equal his best around seem more bizarre as she beat ended 0-0. (AP)

Granada beaten Liverpool collapse, Foxes go 2nd Atlético extend ‘lead’ over Real Burnley end winless streak with easy victory at Palace BARCELONA, Spain, Feb 13, (AP): Marcos Llorente and Ángel Correa got Spanish league lead- LEICESTER, England, ers Atlético Madrid back on the winning path, providing the Feb 13, (AP): Slumping goals in a 2-1 victory at Granada champion Liverpool fell to on Saturday. a third straight loss in the The three points came after Atlético had English Premier League stumbled in after a dramatic late col- their march lapse against Leicester, toward their first league giving up three goals in title since seven minutes in a 3-1 2014 when defeat at King Power their eight- round win- Stadium on Saturday. ning streak It led to Liverpool manager was ended Jurgen Klopp conceding the title, by a 2-2 with his team down in fourth and draw against Llorente 10 points behind first-placed Celta Vigo. Manchester City having played The hard-fought win at Granada two games more. increased their lead over title- “Yes,” Klopp said. “I can’t believe holders Real Madrid to eight it, but yes.” points with an extra game to play as well. Granada stymied the visitors’ SOCCER attack until Llorente struck in the 63rd minute from the edge of the area for his eighth goal in all Leading 1-0 through Mohamed competitions this season. Salah’s league-high 17th goal, Yangel Herrera equalized Liverpool were pegged back in the three minutes later after 78th when James Maddison’s low free Atlético’s only defensive let- kick crept in and then went behind down when it failed to clear a after another blunder by goalkeeper corner kick. Alisson Becker. A week after gifting Manchester City crucial goals in a 4-1 loss, the SOCCER Brazil international collided with deb- utant center back Ozan Kabak as they attempted to cut out a long pass and But Correa put the front-run- the ball fell kindly for Jamie Vardy to ners back on top for good in the run through and tap into an empty net. 75th with a shot that took a Harvey Barnes capped Leicester’s deflection off defender Jesús stunning fightback, running through Vallejo before the ball looped unchallenged - after Liverpool con- over goalkeeper Rui Silva and ceded possession pushing for the Leicester’s Marc Albrighton (left), fights for the ball with Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson during the English Premier League soccer match between fell into the far corner of the equalizer - and slotting his finish past Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, Feb 13. (AP) net. Alisson in the 85th. Luis Suárez, who leads the Liverpool dropped six points behind league with 16 goals, had Leicester, which climbed above Leipzig consolidate second place Atlético’s best chances before Manchester United into second place, Llorente’s opener. The former in the race for Champions League Barcelona striker volleyed a pass qualification. The champions are in by Correa off the crossbar just danger of losing their place in the top after halftime. four, with Chelsea and West Ham only Dortmund’s Bundesliga slump continues Atlético have only lost once in one point further back. 21 league games this season. Atlético were still without for- Apart from his error, Alisson had a BERLIN, Feb 13, (AP): Borussia second goal in the 51st. Hertha Berlin drew at Stuttgart 1-1 at Werder Bremen 0-0. wards João Félix, Thomas solid game, twice denying Vardy in the Dortmund’s poor form continued when Haaland had a goal ruled out for for their first point in three games Leipzig warmed up for Liverpool in first half and then pushing a shot from Lemar, Moussa Dembélé, and they wereheld by visiting Hoffenheim to offside before he finally equalized in since Pál Dárdai returned as coach, the Champions League with a hard- midfielder Héctor Herrera, all the striker onto the post amid that wild 2-2 in the Bundesliga on Saturday. the 81st. Dortmund’s draw was one of Mainz scored two late goals at Bayer fought 2-1 win over visiting Augsburg. period when Leicester fought back. confined because of coronavirus Erling Haaland’s 16th goal of the four across all games in the afternoon. Leverkusen for 2-2, and Freiburg drew Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann infections. Meanwhile Burnley returned to season salvaged the draw for would be relieved to see his team con- winning ways in style after a quick Granada stayed in eighth place Dortmund, but will do little to address solidate second place without any after their third league loss at start proved key to beating Crystal questions of defensive frailties and major injury worries ahead of Palace 3-0. home this campaign. charges of complacency among the Real Madrid host Valencia on Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Jay home team. Rodriguez netted inside 10 minutes at SOCCER Sunday. Selhurst Park and Matt Lowton added Dortmund have won only one of its ❑ ❑ ❑ a brilliant third two minutes after the last six league games and are dropping back in the race for the top four Coach Filippo Inzaghi break to end a four-match winless run Tuesday’s Champions League round returned to his former Bologna for Sean Dyche’s team. Champions League qualification plac- es. The gap is likely to grow with of 16 first leg game in Budapest. The club and watched his Benevento Burnley’s day ended on a sour note, side recover a 1-1 draw in the though, when captain Bee Mee left the Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and match was switched to Hungary as Borussia Mönchengladbach all play- German authorities did not give snow and leapfrog the host in the field on a stretcher after an innocuous Serie A table. collision with Jordan Ayew. ing on Sunday. Liverpool an exemption against Ihlas Bebou missed two good restrictions affecting visitors from Inzaghi was fired by Bologna The center back was put in a neck brace in 2019. following a five-minute delay although he chances for Hoffenheim before Jadon Britain due to coronavirus mutations. Sancho beat the offside trap at the Leipzig had to wait till the 38th Bologna made a perfect start was later seen up and walking. when the unmarked Nicola Burnley moved 11 points clear of the other end to open the scoring in the minute for the breakthrough with Dani 24th minute. Olmo scoring a penalty at the second Sansone scored after 55 seconds, relegation zone but Palace’s woes with- pouncing on Musa Barrow’s out talisman Wilfried Zaha continued. Munas Dabbur equalized on a coun- attempt. Rafał Gikiewicz saved the terattack in the 31st. Spaniard’s first attempt but was blocked shot. In his absence, Palace have lost 18 of Bologna dominated for the Hoffenheim’s Stefan Posch jumps for a header with Dortmund’s Erling ordered to face him again after a VAR their last 20 top-flight games and the Dortmund’s shaky defense always first hour in thickening snow. latest spoiled Roy Hodgson’s 350th looked susceptible, so it was no sur- Haaland during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia check showed he moved ahead of the Premier League game in management. prise when Bebou scored Hoffenheim’s Dortmund and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Dortmund, Germany, Feb 13. (AP) goal-line before saving.

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